Do you ever return somewhere and see it in such simpler terms? Whenever I return to a place I’ve lived, the streets that wound around so complicatedly seem simple; the pace of the place seems so less rushed. The return trips lose the magical “newness” of the first visit, but make up for that loss […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: The Deep Blue Darkness – Fourth Technology Casualty Averted
Last night the general theme was blue. No matter where I turned, blue was the color that kept sticking out to me. At 10:30 I walked out of the apartment and was committed to procrastinating some more. My last paper I have to write in my Undergraduate career was due this morning and I’d already […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Family Visit
My family just left. My parents and brother arrived around 12:30 in the afternoon on Sunday. Proving once again why I should check e-mails at least once a day (including the two days before), they arrived three hours later than I was originally expecting them. Their plane left Des Moines late, causing them to be […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Intense Relaxation
After one of the best dinners of my life (more to come in the next version of Eating in Italy), I think I’m ready for the week. This week will be one of the most draining I’ve had in college. Having four 10-page papers due in a three-day period during the semester I took 20 […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Athens (Paint)
I’ve never claimed to be cultured. I’ve never tried to pretend that I knew anything significant about art. In fact, until last year, I’d only been in one art gallery in my entire life. Florence is definitely changing that for me. Florence is making me appreciate art, but it doesn’t make want to spend […]
ContinuePains of Technology
It’s always dangerous for a Computer Science student to do online applications. We’re the most demanding and we’re the least patient when the technology fails. Most of the seminaries have downloadable PDF applications. It’s the standard. When I applied to colleges four years ago, it was the standard then too. Two of the four I’m […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Appli-
Applications. Graduate school applications all have essays that are tedious to write. I understand their utility, but how effective are they for the committees needing to select which applicants are selected. Does seeing how well one person writes a four page essay show a posteriori how well that person will do in graduate school? Are […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Aborted Rome
I’m back from Rome. The crisis is averted. I left for Rome this morning with huge plans. I had a list of places I wanted to visit and things to do. Besides doing some homework, I was planning on visiting five churches (including St. Peter’s again). Jen, a girl from TCU, and I left this […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: The Heat is On
Heat is a wonderful and terrible thing. It has the ability to cook but also to burn. The appliances that give it have capacity to warm a room but also split open the back of the head. Today’s theme: the heat is on. For about two weeks in October, I was on a countdown to […]
ContinueFlorence, Italy: Athens (Top Ten)
I’ve absolutely loved my six days in Athens, but there were also moments when I knew I needed to return to Florence. Here are the Top Ten: 10 – I felt like a rebel with my shaved head; the Greek Orthodox priests definitely couldn’t pull it off. 9 – I tried three of the four […]
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