Another piece of the dream died today. Team Win is now a mere twosome. Sweet Joe left on Saturday. Today Will also bowed out. Now it is only Scott and I who remain, and I’m not sure if even we will be living together come the fall. You see, I don’t want to live in McCollum if I don’t know the other three guys I’m living with. It’s not like a freshman dorm where you might get roommates who aren’t ever there (therefore doing their craziness elsewhere). People move into McCollum to make it their home. They come home and they stay home. I will be Scottie’s roommate if we live in a double somewhere else. I have been told that Rogers might be a possibility (though it is a grad student dorm). I would even be willing to live in a single (though I don’t know what Scott would do then). I’m going to call tomorrow to see just what the story is. I am almost positive that I will be living on campus; now it’s just a question of where.
A collection of blog posts originally published on Xanga from January 2004 to April 2007. Their subject matter is varied.
Bad news all around today. First, FSU’s National Championship trophies have been stolen! You can read all about it by clicking here. This story broke on Thursday but I didn’t hear of it until today (haven’t been watching SportsCenter). What kills me is that there were no security cameras near the trophy case. Come on!
The second bit of bad news is a little more personal. I talked to Joe Chandler today, and he told me that he will not be living with me this year. I knew this was a possibility, but it just sucks for it to be a reality. His first choice was to live with Team Win in McCollum. However, his second choice was to live with his roommates from the previous year if housing didn’t cooperate. Housing didn’t cooperate, so he’ll be staying put. I’m sad. He is my idol after all.
Now, as much as I have enjoyed this whole slow day thing, it’s getting a little old. Yesterday was spent doing errands. Last night and today have been spent working on my Europe photo album (I’ve finished Paris, which leaves me with only 6 1/2 weeks of photos left).
It looks like my church will only be able to attend two days of Soul Fest rather than the entire weekend because of the cost. I’m not sure what that means for my Soul Fest experience, whether I’ll have to ride up with them or not. I might make the case that if I’m already there I can meet the crew at the gate at a certain time, give them their wristbands, and give them directions on what to do from there. I’m not sure if Pastor Tom will buy that, but it’s worth a try.
Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment with my neurologist (that’s my seizure doctor). I’ve been off my medicine since February, so this is my first appointment with her since then. She’s going to tell me if I can drive or not. Be praying for me, that she finds that nothing is wrong and that she says that I can drive. It’s going to be a long difficult summer if either of those don’t go through.
I am loving these slow summer days without any school work. I woke up late, made a few phone calls, did a little typing, made some progress in my Bible study. A good day overall.
I called FSU Housing today. They said that they only way people will get into McCollum at this point is if people drop out. The deadline to sign up is July 1, so time is running out. Joe Chandler is in Smith, Scott and I are in McCollum but with two weirdos, and Will is still off campus. At this point I’m not sure what to do. I called Scottie today talked to him a little bit, but I caught him at work so we’re going to talk more about it tonight.
I didn’t have a Father’s Day post yesterday. This was not because I was swept up in my celebration of this Hallmark holiday, trust me. (Happy Father’s Day Dad!)
Saturday night I hung out with Ashley and Sarah over at [location]. I’d be more specific, but each time I try to write that sentence with where I was it sounds funny. It’s a house where some of Ashley’s relatives live, and she’s living there for the summer (or at least the time being, I realize now that I’m not sure how long she’s staying there). At any rate, that’s where I was. We cut strawberries (only after they made me feel bad for not cutting them), I made fun of the resident dog, we watched a movie called Beyond Borders that was okay but not what we thought it was, and caught up.
It was fun. Not like old times, which I’m happy about. I have this fear of not feeling like I’ve grown or changed when I see people that I haven’t seen for a long time. When things aren’t “just like old times” it means that things are changing, people are moving on, I’m growing. It was a good evening.
So just to put today into perspective: two weekends ago I went to Rome, last weekend I went to London, this weekend I went to… Glastonbury, CT. Hmm…
I got a haircut today. At the moment I don’t like it at all. It’s still long, but it’s all the same length of long now. But I think it looks a lot more feminine than my old long hair, so I’m a little pissed off. I’m not sure if I really don’t like it or if I’m just mad that it’s not as long as it used to be. I don’t know. I’m pretty angry about the whole thing though, that I’m sure of.
I don’t have anything to do today, but I can’t say that that bothers me. I’m having a hard time getting excited about the rest of this summer. I just want to be lazy and not do anything, but I don’t think that’s going to fly.
This afternoon I write to you from Marlborough, CT. The adventure of a lifetime has come to an end. Before I get to today’s headlines, let me recount just how it came to a close.
Wednesday was not so much a day as it was an experience. So much happened on that day that it doesn’t all seem like the same day. It began after a bad night sleep. I had stayed up late studying for my Art History exam. I had set my alarm for 6:30 AM originally, but since I didn’t go to bed until 3:30 AM I changed it back to 7:30 AM. I still didn’t feel like I had gotten enough sleep the rest of the day.
The Art History exam was very difficult. I think I got a good enough grade to pass (I took the class pass/fail). But there was just so much to write about and not enough time to write. Grand Tour was really easy, so I’m pretty sure that I got an A in that class. It’d be sweet to walk out of this semester with two A’s and a pass. That would really help my GPA.
So here’s where I stand. I’ve finished everything for Modern Italy. I still have to turn in my final paper, but the work for that class is done. I still have to study for Art History and Grand Tour tonight. My finals in both classes are tomorrow. Both will be difficult tests too. It’s going to be a long night.
Today I’ve spent basically the entire day working. I took a break at about 2 PM to get lunch and write some postcards, but other than that all I’ve done today is type. Actually, I also took some photos early in the morning. I’ve got more pictures to take, mostly of weird stuff like the hotel, the Study Center, maybe this Internet cafe. You know, everyday stuff. But most of the cool stuff in Florence I’ve taken pictures of already.
I am so tired of working. Pray that I stay awake tonight and that I get a lot of solid studying done.
I am so tired of school. I haven’t had a real break in so long. I just want to have nothing to do for a little while. I’ve got two tests to study for. I’ve got a take-home test to complete. I’ve got a paper to complete. Then I’ve got to pack and make sure everything else that needs to be taken care of before I leave gets done. It’ll never end. Or it will end and I won’t be prepared.
Today I did go to my last class of the summer. So I guess that’s a good thing. I’ve earned three quarters of my grade in Grand Tour and currently have a 93% average. My Art History average is in the low 80s, but I’m taking pass/fail, so I have a ‘pass’ in that class. As for Modern Italy, I still have a test and a quiz that haven’t been given back, but before that I had an A average. I’ll check up on that tomorrow when I turn in my paper and test.
Strange Things About Europe, Volume 10
1) I love the British accent, but after a while it becomes very irritating.
2) The Brits drive on the wrong side of the road, which is weird enough. But the entrance for the Victoria Train Station is on the right side of the road (which is the wrong side of the road for them). And every time I crossed that street (which was numerous) I almost died because I looked the wrong way.
3) Walking down the streets of London inexplicably made me want to sing. “Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-oo! I do what I likes, and I likes what I do!”
4) About 2/3 of London is either closed or being restored.
5) Walking through St. James Park, I saw some kids flying a kite, and once again I felt like singing. “Let’s go fly a kite. Up to the highest height. Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring. Up through the atmosphere. Up where the air is clear. Oh, let’s go fly a kite!”
6) It’s actually more difficult to go through customs in Italy than it is in Cuba.
7) I felt like more of an international traveler than ever when I looked into my wallet and found three currencies (pounds, euros, and dollars).
I have returned to Florence after a wonderful weekend in England. I have such a story to tell. You’d better get comfortable for this one.
