Snow Madness

Well, looks like I was right. Despite the fact that I can't actually remember a time when it snowed on Christmas before, it happened this year. In fact, I think it snowed most of the week! Like all of you, I am sure that after having to dig out your driveway for the 3rd or 4th time, the snow really lost some of its magic. It probably also didn't help that I didn't really play in the snow at all because I was either playing games on my computer (not much time left until I build that new one and don't have to deal with this constant restarting) or doing things with my family (although I guess maybe when I am shoveling snow that could be considered playing if you were a sadist). Anyway, I enjoy the snow but am ready for being able to leave the house and drive on the roads (hopefully without having some idiot crash into me).

Christmas came and went, and I think it was pretty nice this year, even though the weather made shopping and stuff a bit of a chore (in fact I still need to order my sister's gift and probably get a bit more for my brother too). I got a lot of cool stuff, and luckily they were more big-ticket items than small stuff (which is good since I have to move again soon and I don't really need all the little things I have collected over the years). Can't wait to get riding and use my new jerseys. Izzy got some snacks and a little cat toy which he is loving, although I still hate to take him from my parents since they really have gotten used to his charming personality. Maybe they will want a cat of their own sometime...

Well, can't think of anything else, so I hope you all had (or are still having) a great holiday and are not stuck in snow or getting carried away by the "massive flood" from the melting snow. Ciao

Addicted to Love

Short blog about a movie (just a heads up folks)

So, I just watched the film Addicted to Love starring Matthew Broderick and Meg Ryan. I guess I have seen part of this movie before because I remembered little things like them watching the other couple out of a camera obscura, and the derelict building, but I had never seen the entire film before. Overall, i'd say maybe 9/10, but I really like this movie. A little cold hearted and black-comedy to be a chick flick, but it is in essence a romance film (not that there is anything wrong with that). Meg Ryan plays her part as the angsty motorcycle-riding artsy photographer quite well, and Matthew is the good-natured booksy astronomer. Acting was great, and you really fall into the characters. Anyways, great film, and if you are looking for something to watch alone, with a loved one, or in company, I think you could do a lot worse than to check out this one. Hope you like it.

White Winter

Snow. Funny that it always ends up snowing the most when you don't have the opportunity to enjoy it. After warning of the impending conditions for the majority of Wednesday, "Blizzard 2008" held off until very early morning of Thursday. And Blizzard it was. I woke up to a fresh coating of about 4 inches which is massive for the Seattle area (although barely a sprinkle in places like Minnesota which spend time in this weather in shorts [see recent How I Met Your Mother]). During the day, the white continued to fall, which was pretty cool since I had forgotten how cool it was to look out into the woods covered in snow. Took some pictures (something I still need to get loaded onto a computer... sorry) and spent a lot of time watching the white world. A little before noon I shoveled the gate to the neighborhood a little so we could prop it open (so anyone who had driven out could make it back home) and it is surprising to me about how acclimated I am to the weather now, since not a month ago I was in Venice being chilled by weather not nearly so cold. Odd.

I kind of want to race around through the woods on my mountain bike. Maybe tomorrow that will have to happen. Especially considering the fact that it might snow even more Saturday night. Quite the snow for Redmond this season. A white Christmas might even be a possibility. How fun would that be (except for, you know, the whole relatives coming over and potentially getting stuck in a ditch kind of thing...) And my brother, stuck over in Pullman finishing his quarter at WSU has to deal with getting over the pass to come home tomorrow. Hope he can get over (I need him to tell me what he wants for a gift still!).

Well, I hope you (reader) are either able to venture around or snowed in with loved ones so that you might best enjoy this time. Sorry I haven't been able to see everyone yet (since getting back to Seattle), and if I don't see you soon, hope you are having a good winter!
Play in the snow now, why don't you?

Snow Drift

Back in the Northwest, I am happy to say that winter actually exists (although apparently since leaving Rome it has entered the monsoon season [which i think is usually a spring thing...], but that still isn't winter...). The weather is crisp, and yesterday/overnight it has snowed! Always fun walking around and listening to the crunch of ice under your feet. We also went out into Snoqualmie and bought a Christmas tree yesterday! Now we just need to clean off all the snow and get it into the house... haha, that might have to wait a little while.

The other day I was heading into Seattle to meet up with my roommate Mark and some of our friends to see My Name is Bruce, which was playing at the Varsity theater. The movie was funny in typical b-movie way, and the best part was that the Man himself was there and fielded a few questions after the film! Awesome. The FUN part of my story comes earlier though. After getting home from Europe, I found out that my car had just sat the entire time I was gone (should have figured and disconnected the battery before I left...) and as a result, completely dead. So, Thursday evening as well as much of Friday was spent charging the thing, and finally I got it going to head to the Sandpoint Gallery to visit my friend Kristen and see the show she had going. Little did I remember that you can't drive from Redmond to Seattle between the hours of 6am and 8pm without getting stuck in traffic. Nice, but it gets better. Somebody decided to break their car toward the bridge, and as a result I spent 3 HOURS waiting to get to Seattle. So, as much I was wanting to see Kristen and her art, that plan died. And with the movie that we had pre-purchased tickets for at 7pm, I almost missed that too, getting to my apartment at 6:35! Needless to say, I was not happy with how traffic had treated me. Just another reason I can't wait to get on the bike again.

Final pieces of info; Went wine-tasting yesterday and saw all my parents' friends (and answered "how was Rome?" like 10 times...), finished downloading some cycling films that I am looking forward to seeing, and today I am baking (so I plan to make some tasty granola and some go-lean crispy bars!

Hope you guys are all having a good mid-December! Ciao!

Settling In

Being home, it is amazing at which the rate of routine takes hold. Familiarity sweeps over, and things become second nature again. Even though I was gone for nearly 3 months, I had no problem navigating these places I was so accustomed to. After a day of relaxing and doing little chores around the house (like cleaning up my luggage) I went out to dinner to meet up with my roommate and good friend Mark, and my other good friend Kyle. It is good to see familiar faces and while we talked quite a bit, it is becoming obvious that there is a lot of catching up to do! Friends have moved around, my work-buddy-turned-friend Carson bought a new sweet car (gotta check it out sometime, this guy just keeps getting new cars...), people have drifted apart a little. So many changes!

After dinner we went to the Best Buy to pick up some cheap shit and also ran into Mark's gf and my other roomy Aly. After the blow of surprise at seeing me, we chatted about when I am moving in and other little things about the apartment. It will be interesting to move over, and be back in Seattle (which will be nice for hanging out with friends, but likely be worse for getting in good rides and also commuting to work...). Speaking of work, I am currently updating the old resume and throwing together a nice little portfolio for the jobs I can hopefully get interviews for (thanks Emit and Matt!).

Glad to be home, now I just need to get everything rolling smoothly again!

Homecoming

This is my official last post from Italy. This isn't the end though, as I have decided to continue the blog stateside, and just let people have a little insight into my life. I finished packing yesterday, and managed to haul all my gear over to the Rome Center, so life is pretty smooth sailing. We had a final group meal yesterday and many of us said our goodbyes. It has been a great few weeks and I am happy that I had the chance to meet some of these people, and also I have been veery happy with the support that the faculty have given me. One of the students, Cliff, recently put together a website that covers the final show including pictures and video. http://despeaux.com/saprxiv/SAPR_Final_Show/Main_Floor.html
I think that the show went pretty well, and it was nice to finish the project.

I am ready to be home, and I keep thinking of what I will do and what I want to see, and all those crazy things. Obviously I will be a little out of it, since I get into Seattle at the equivalent of like 1am here in Rome. But, I should be able to catch some zzzs on the plane so hopefully it won't be too hard to make it through the evening. Once i am back on track I kinda want to pedal around a little (obviously nothing crazy since i've been out of saddle for awhile), and I also want to spend time with my family. Friday I guess I am going to a movie in Seattle with Mark and some other friends, so maybe I will figure out a way to make Friday my friend day or something. You know, catching up and shit.

Rome and Italy in general has been great. I loved Brussels. I wish I could have found a place that sold jerseys here, but at least I will be coming back with my sweet treasure one. I can't wait to get back into pace at home. I have to set up interviews for jobs and also make sure my graduation is all in order. I also can't wait to see Izzy and also just be with my parents and my brother. I miss all my friends, but at the same time I will miss the people I've come to know here. I guess there are plans to keep in touch, so we will see how they go. I am coming home. Every minute is a step closer. Can't wait!

Finally, here is a cool video I found the other day of one of my favorite cyclists, mr Jens Voigt. I love the part where he talks about his body and his brain. I completely know the feeling, and his way of talking about it just made me smile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UncELpyKQLU

Alright. See you all soon. Ciao!

Show Time

We knew it was coming, but I guess some people just didn't understand how fast. The day is here. Show time is tonight! After cleaning up the studio (which took a long time because apparently some people did jack-all yesterday) we got about to setting up our finals in the conference room (main show room) and then also hanging up drawings and other work in the now clean studio space. Seeing as I had prepared everything and even had my piece hanging in the studio yesterday, my work for hanging stuff was incredibly easy. No hassling about what to use, or how to put it up. That was what yesterday was for. Anyway, all that is left now is to wait for people to show up, stand around and answer questions I guess, and then go home feeling happy that the work is done.

The work is done. Crazy. Just a few more days. I need to make sure I get all the little loose-ends finished before we are shipping out. Yesterday the architecture kids left, so we got a preview of that game. It should really be noted by the free bin that it is for things people might want, not a place to toss your trash. While I have found some cool free food and stuff in the bin, yesterday we found a open carton of milk, some dried out nasty ravioli, and some other assorted crap. Seriously.

Time to get things done. The show will be nice, and I am already happy about seeing what everyone has been doing. Hopefully there will be stuff worth mentioning in the next post. Ciao

End of an Era

Yesterday was the last day for working on the final project. That being said, I spent pretty much the whole time I was in studio working on my background (I was already done with the actual piece, thinking ahead is fun), and it was a good thing that I gave myself the time to do this because I probably put about 4 hours of playing around in and still wasn't happy (although I had figured out how I wanted it set up, and figured out the hanging issues). This morning was when it all finally came together. I had planned to just make my quite red paper less bright so I thinned out some black ink to do a wash. Unfortunately, too dark still (at least compared to my plan). What ended up happening next was an odd mixture of working the paper and adding layers of the ink mixture. The result is a crazy texture and irregular surface that does a good job of popping the art off the wall while also defining the location. Nice, and sorry for going into the details. Anyway, the rest of this morning was studio clean-up with a lot of things being trashed and work being stored away and whatnot. I had brought my camera to studio earlier today to take photos of all my work, but I think I am going to try to ship some home with my luggage. Since I had my camera (and still plenty of storage) I decided to pop off a couple shots of the studio space. So, then post clean up I just had to do a few more. It is funny to look at the sets of photos and think about how they are only separated by a short time period. Looking at the cleaned up area, I definitely thought about the time here in Rome as almost over. I need to make sure I get off my ass and hit up all the things I still want to do. In less than a week I will be back to WA and it was funny to read that the weather there is slightly warmer than here! What the heck is going on. Why is everywhere still warm? I actually spent all of yesterday in a short-sleeved shirt. It is DECEMBER! Anyway, I guess it is a good thing for me... More cycling! I think that is something that has to happen when I get back. That and driving. It has been awhile since I thought about it, but I miss my car. Today's internet time started with email from nwmr2 telling me I had a private message. Wow. So, head over to the board and after a few tries, logged in. With that step I then spent a good chunk of time with cars and even forced myself to get headphones so I could watch 1:42:08 and a Forza2 drift video that were on autoblog. Cool. So much to do when I get home. Just a few more days here. I had better go enjoy them, huh?

The Final Stretch

Here I am, only 8 days left in Rome. Hard to imagine that it is now December. And by that I don't just mean because the weather is so silly here that I have been walking around in a t-shirt outside no-problem. I mean more that it just seems like time has flown by. I arrived in Italy before the start of October, and while this blog didn't begin until a little while back (so you can't re-live all my experiences here) it just seems like this period of study has gone by with amazing haste. I have traveled to many places, seen many things, yet there always seems to be things that I missed, things I wish I could still do. I wonder how things would be different if I was here for even just another month. Where would I go? What things would I make an effort to do or see? At the same time, as with any away-from-home experience, I am ready to be back with the people I care about and the things I miss. I have gotten to know a group of new and unique characters, some of which I will try to continue to see back in the States (others I will be happy to hopefully never come in contact with again). I feel that my time here has been helpful to not only show me how quickly one can become acquainted with new surroundings, but also how I can do things that I wasn't sure I was ready to do. Traveling into places that are unfamiliar is always challenging, but realizing through experience that you can navigate through a new place (even one that doesn't really cater to your language) without too much trouble was amazing. I made an effort to experience new things, break out of habits, and also see artwork and architecture that is famous and incredible. And, as the days left here come to an end, I think that I made the best of my time. Sure there are things I wish I could have done, but those will always exist, and one can always hope that they have the time and financing to finish those journeys in the future. With my mind set, I look forward to my remaining days here, confident that I will be able to squeeze out the few things I have left to do. Final project, you are almost done. Chocolate shopping, give me a few hours. Home, I am on my way.

Sorry that this post seems so much of a conclusion. I guess my mind is ready and my hands just went along with the train of thought. I will keep you guys up to date as these few remaining days draw out, and I hope that I have nothing but good news left for my final posting from Europe, which I assume will be posted on Monday. Keep on reading friends, and I hope your roads continue winding.

Welcome to Winter

Despite frequent warnings of impending cold, I have yet to be in Rome and think "I need to bundle up more, it is cold here". It has happened in Venice, mostly because it was further north and the temperature was lower, but also because of the terrible wind-tunnels that the narrow streets become as the ocean breeze goes through them. But now, in Brussels, I have been into actual winter. There is something refreshing about the chilly weather and the time you spend coming in out of the cold and just relaxing in a warm spot. I think this weekend was the first that I have really felt like I have been in winter this whole trip.

Belgium, and more to the point Brussels, was wonderful. The sheer difference from anything we have run into in Italy was just a wonderfully welcome experience. The people seemed nicer (even though they spoke French primarily, so we really didn't understand much), the food was delicious and different (Tasty sausages, massive kebab, frites), and the city was fresh and beautiful. It sort of reminded me of Seattle, just a version of Seattle with better and more frequent parks, as well as historical buildings and churches thrown in to spice it up. Much nicer than the monotony of classical building of Rome (which is sort of sad to say, but I just miss some of the more modern touches that the architecture of business towers and trendy buildings have). I really enjoyed the whole trip.

Things worth doing in Brussels:
+Checking out the Atomium (even though it was kinda lame inside, this is a pretty cool and iconic structure)
+Going to the Brewer's Museum and getting a free beer.
+Eating the wonderful kebab that are all over the city and not only taste better and are more filling than those in Rome, but also cheaper.
+Learning the history of this rather young nation
+watching the holiday light show
+Checking out Autoworld, even though we didn't get to check out the cool sports cars on the 2nd floor
+eating the waffles (as well as their other foods)
+Drinking the wonderful actual beer (Italian beer just isn't all that amazing)

Things that I wish we could have done (maybe next time...)
+Go to the Eddy Merckx tram stop for a photo next to the sign
+Find a bike store and hopefully find a cool regional jersey
+Go to Luxembourg, since it is sooo close
+Had more beer
+Had more waffles

Haha, alright. Almost the end of the trip now, in fact I get back home on December 10th, so then I will have to make sure I do interesting things at home.
Here is a cool set of videos for your viewing pleasure, thanks to the guys over at BKW
http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/jens-voigt.html

Bon Voyage

So, seeing as we are swinging full-tilt into the Thanksgiving weekend I hope you all have some awesome times ahead. However, since I am not in the land of festive early winter dining, my weekend is instead the longest weekend I get whilst studying here in Roma. So, what do you do? Travel. I had thought at the beginning of my trip here that I'd love to check out the big car companies' factories throughout Italia, and other wistful thoughts included trying to explore the Alps a tad (maybe even on a bike!). However, the sad truth is that I never accomplished these ideas and won't have the time to during the remainder of my time here (probably a good thing for the Alps, kinda hard to ride up a steep incline grade when it is covered in ice and snow...). So a bit over a month ago, mostly on a whim, I decided to go with one of my classmates to visit a couple he met pre-quarter in Athens. Turns out they live in Brussels, Belgium (as you probably know, Belgium is a big cycling country). Woohoo. That location almost promises that I'll be able to find some cool local jerseys, a great addition to my cycling wardrobe and also useful souvenirs. The problem with this fairytale trip is that despite our kind emails, it turn out this couple has rescinded their offer. Too bad, we are still coming! So, since you won't see any updates to this blog (likely) over the upcoming days, you now know where I have vanished.

To keep you happy though, I have browsed the interweb and found these pleasant pieces for you:

http://magazines.drivers-republic.com/driversrepublic/thetruth030/ GT2 goodness vs. the Nissan Godzilla

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/No-Bake-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx A tasty looking snack I want to make when back stateside

http://www.gnam.beniculturali.it/ Cool museum we checked out today (Some great stuff here) in addition to the Villa Borgese (a big collection of classical sculpture and artwork including magnificent Bernini Sculptures, a few works of Raphael, and even a large Di Vinci)

Finally, until the end of the week it looks like you can go here http://www.cervelo.com/ and participate in a short questionnaire for a chance to win a jersey.

Alright, Ciao!

Venice, Land of Wind Tunnels

So, the main reason for the big delay between this and the previous blog was that this weekend I traveled up to Venezia with two of my colleagues here, Ben and Cliff. We left early Friday morning and got into our spots only to realize the train ride was actually 4.2 hours long (I guess they knew, I was the only one who was confused...) So we began our journey hanging out in one set of seats since the departure at 8:50 left the train mostly vacant. Listened to some music (sort of getting tired of some of these mixes now, need fresh stuff :/ ) Then, around Florence the train suddenly got packed and I had to move to my assigned seat after this girl (who must have been in a hurry to sit because she kept pointing and talking at me as I was getting up and moving) came aboard and asked for her seat. Shortly after, but before the train began moving again, my friends ended up being moved to their assigned seats which were just across the walkway from me. Go figure. Anyhow, more music while Italian businessmen read their newspapers and tried to sleep between answering phone calls and getting yelled at to be quieter by a short-tempered woman sitting next to Cliff. Finally we ended up in Venice, and it was interesting to watch the land taper off and soon it was just a bridge of road and track heading out until we pulled into the station.

Once off the train we realized that since Venice is more north than Rome it is cooler, obviously, but cooler than we perhaps were thinking. As we walked around we finally found our little B&B and then set out for an evening adventure. We walked about for around four hours until it was about 6ish and the light was too dark to really take any photos that would turn out well. We made our way back to the room and watched some tv while deciding that we wanted to go out and have a good Venetian meal. We finally found a good looking place and settled in for a great tasting meal that for me included a delicious Venetian bean and noodle soup and was followed by fried seafood before being topped off with a tasty apple strudel thingy. Yum. That day ended with a little MTV-IT.

Day 2 was mostly taking photos and checking out churches. It is crazy to wander into some random church and see before you one of those famous paintings you see in every art history class you've ever taken. As the day rolled on we ate too much food and then ended up walking around buying stuff for a bit (I got a cool sweater, mostly because I was getting chilly but it looked nice so I lucked out). Too full still from lunch we grabbed some little snacks and went home to watch tv and movies until Cliff decided he wanted food. So, we walked around for a bit before sitting at a little cafe and he order food while I payed too much for beer. Woo-hoo

Finally day 3. So, since we barely hit any museums yesterday today we scrambled around and found ourselves in the museum that didn't end. After about an hour in a museum about Venetian history we were suddenly in a classical sculpture gallery. Backtracking we continued the first museum and then ended up in a painting collection! Then, right as we were about to leave we got taken into a solo artist show by an Austrian artist who was painting Venice. As we left we noticed another entrance into what appeared to more museum, but we were wiped out. We continued to wander about for a bit, ate some Chinese food for lunch (I felt a little bad about eating Chinese in Venice, but I needed something new) and then we sat on the water-bus taking photos until they kicked us off at the end of the run. Now, only a few hours left til our train, we walked about with the wind slowly picking up and making it even colder. Photos pretty much done for the day we went to the station and climbed aboard the train and waited there eating a bit until it left about 45 minutes later. Venice done.

Another Step in This Direction

So, here we are. Ever closer to going back to the States. Ever closer to finishing up school. Ever closer to having to do interviews for that job. It seems like a lot of life is coming up on me pretty quick, and despite the potential for that all being so much work I am ready for it. This experience in Italy (and soon Belgium for some more European experience, not to mention cycling swag, beer, and some food that Italy just doesn't offer) has been great, but it has really been a vacation. Work here does happen, yet it seems to me at least to be less focused that when I was at school. More spread out. I look forward to having things sort of back into order. Which reminds me that I'll need to move into that new place sometime when I get back into Washington. Fun... Oh well, I plan to reduce what I own so that it isn't so much moving.

Not a lot to report here. Saw some really cool art yesterday when we went to a Bruno Munari exhibit (cool Italian Industrial Design guy). Listened to former UW graduate artist Tim Roda talk about what you need to do to be a successful professional artist (insightful). Finally listened to UW professor Ellen Garvens talk about her work as an artist and where it has led her. That is sort of something I've been thinking about lately too. How my life is leading me. Sort of scary to think about, but at the same time you realize that things build up. So, I guess what I mean is that sure right now things sort of seem rough ahead, but things will snowball up and before you know it you've got things rolling along. It isn't common for avalanches of progress, but even glaciers started out as small blocks of ice; mountains built from a single grain of sand. You just need to keep that chin up and move forward without worrying about every little thing.

And now for a first with my blog, links to stuff! First off, I was reading this blog and I loved the comment following the Obama bike. http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/gender-politics-sex-bikes-and.html
And then following on I was intrigued by this silly genderalizer tool that someone created to determine the genders of blog writers. http://www.genderanalyzer.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnew006.blogspot.com%2F
Apparently I am gender neutral with a shift toward feminine when I am writing. Interesting, given that a lot of people find me to be quite crude and masculine in real life (until they get to know me, I'm actually a pretty nice guy, seriously). I guess I can give off a bad first impression (especially at parties, but I can't help that most of my friends are also guys and that I used to work in an auto-shop [otherwise known as the land of the most foul language you'll ever enter]).
Finally, reading around on Rapha I found myself in the middle of the Continental Series write-up about the Snoqualmie falls ride they attempted. http://www.rapha.cc/continental/index.php?page=627
I like the falls, and was intrigued to see their ride plan, which I guess starts in Seattle. Looks like a possible ride for next year when I live in the city. Anyway, fun read and reminded me of home, which was nice. I also glanced back over the sister ride, the Stevens pass affair. http://www.rapha.cc/continental/index.php?page=600
I had read this one just before leaving Washington, and enjoyed their story about the ride that bit back. I can't wait to get back to cycling and hope I can get my friends to actually motivate themselves into riding some of these more grandiose journeys with me over the coming year. Alright. I guess I will leave you with the reading, and leave myself with the working. Ciao

Time Flies

Today, while setting up a rough list of what I need to do today (since I felt I didn't accomplish much yesterday), I realized that my actual time to work on the final project here is quickly running down. Surprising to think that just the other day we were celebrating All-Saints, and now here I am with less than 12 days of work-time before the final show. I guess it doesn't help that this weekend I am losing almost 3 days running up to Venice to wander around and take photos and whatnot, and that just a few days after that I am flying up to Brussels for the long Thanksgiving break! Any way you look at it, days just keep flying by here and my only option is to really start cracking down on this project. Looks like I need to start bringing things home where I can work with a bit more concentration (rather than all the distracting videos and pictures and conversations everyone throws around in studio). I am looking forward to the trips though. It seems important to soak up as much as I can because it may be quite awhile before I find myself in Europe again. The fact that I am seeing so little of Europe as a whole is also sort of disheartening, but then again I am studying in Italy, not vacationing on the continent.

This leads me to also realize that I will be coming home in barely any time at all. Wow. I mean there are still 3 weeks or whatever until the program ends, but especially with the travel and the build-up of work as this project needs to be finished, I realize that these days will just continue to fly by. I hope that much like some of my friends I will be able to resolve my project with enough advance time so that I can relax a bit and fix little things before the show. I am pretty happy with my idea, and I think that especially as the piece comes together it will really be a good project to wrap up my time here. I know that it will definitely have a feeling of Italy in it, which is something that I really wanted to do while I was here. Hope that I can get it close to the image I see in my head. Alright, time for me to actually work on this. Ciao

Plodding Along & Feeling the Need

So, this weekend was long and enjoyable because we were down to a skeleton crew of housemates, luckily the ones who seem to be responsible adults. However, at the same time it was a little frustrating because I was ready to start working on my project but since I had made it through the last talk with just ideas, I felt I needed to get permission (if you will) to actually start making hard progress. So, instead of working in the studio for hours and making progress like some of my classmates, I instead was forced to continually re-draw my little idea diagram and explain things to myself about what I wanted to do. I know this is indeed progress, but not quite the solid evidence I wanted. Oh well, today during my meeting I was given the green-light so now the floods of creativity and work can flow out. I guess.

The other side of my current progression here is that I am more and more feeling the desire to be on my bike. I think most of this is probably my fault since I have been reading about the cycling world and blogs about cycling much more now than in the early part of the program. I also find myself window-shopping websites for things that I want (partly because the holiday season is approaching). I only have a month to go until I could begin riding again at home, but it will be the middle of December, so we will see how much actually gets done. It is unfortunate that I missed some wonderful riding time, but I feel good knowing that I am doing a good job staying in shape so that I should be able to jump back into the game much quicker than even entering last year. I also feel happy that I now have this outlet from which I can let others know what I see and experience once I actually get back to the real world. "The Real World", funny that I heard one of my classmates refer to life back in Seattle as that this morning. It is true that we feel distanced and not quite ourselves here in Rome. Still, I am excited to return to the normal life that I have at home, even though I will lose the grandeur of this city, this place of so much history. Ok, that's enough of my mind getting lost. Hope you all are enjoying your lives, and I look forward to seeing everyone in a month.

Lucky Strike

Today, despite a rather late start (8am!) I got myself around and did a good morning jog. Funny that just yesterday I was writing about finding treasure that lifts your spirits and makes your day because on this morning's run along the Tiber I found my attention drawn to a bright colored pile of fabric in the mud along the trail. Curious as I am I went over to investigate. Small zipper... Rainbow ringed sleeve? As I cautiously picked up my find I was shocked to find out it was a cycling jersey! Dirty of course, but a cool find none-the-less. I decided it would be mine, yet I wanted to continue my exercise so that I can be in maintained form for when I can actually ride a bicycle again, let alone don a jersey. So, after carefully setting the prize on the side of the trail (making sure it wasn't super noticeable - it is mine now after all and I don't want someone else stumbling across it) I continued on my way. Despite my attempt to clear my head as I ran on down the trail, my thoughts were continually pulled back to the jersey. "What size is it?" I wondered, "what does it actually look like minus the muck?". I forced myself to continue until the usual turn-around point and as I came back to my new prize I was relieved that it was still there. I figured out a sort of awkward but effective way of holding it and maintaining my ability to run, and made the rest of my exercise while clutching the treasure. Once home I attempted to clean it up so that I could find my answers. To my delight it is a medium, and it appears to be a world-champion look jersey but with a large print in the middle that is some man and words (his name maybe) and 1996. I would like to find out what the words actually mean, but it will have to wait. Anyway, I threw it in the wash to ensure cleanliness before putting it on, bit I am definitely excited. Obviously, this is just a cool coincidence, but to me it felt like a sign that cycling misses me too.

Speaking of cycling, I recently added NYCBikeSnob to the blogs I follow (a pretty widespread and popular blogger) and this it will be nice to gather news from his point of view (urban) as well as from bicycling.com which keeps me up to date on the racing side. I can't wait to be back to riding, and am intrigued to see how my riding life changes with the relocation to Seattle. Now I just need to find a good place to buy others jerseys such that I can gather more for myself as well and for gifts. Still, psyched about my find today and can't wait to see it all cleaned up!

Finding Fun

This week has been a lot of cold, hard work time, making the start of my final project count. Part of the reason I am really trying to get this work going is that I went to our first meeting with just an idea in hand. I honestly didn't think I was supposed to be loaded with sketches and pre-work, so I strolled in with my proposal and was ready to talk, and while I guess I convinced them that it would be good, the professors seemed a little worried that I didn't have anything they could look at. Oh well. So here I am, spending some good hours in the studio, but I think it will be worth it. Yesterday I gathered a lot of the rough information I needed and even got to work with the first of my boards (yeah, that probably won't make sense yet). Also, despite the constant blowing of the fuse that works the light in our studio, I actually got the Latin inscriptions carved in (a bit more work than I thought, since I am using found wood and the grain is a little rough). And then again today, spent quite a lot of time working on school stuff (although today was drawing work rather than my project, but still took up most of the day). It just occurred to me earlier today on our drawing/exploratory walk that the way that one makes it through these longer, work-heavy days is by finding those little moments of fun. The time you notice a little treasure (a marble, pen, or dropped money perhaps) on the ground and pick it up, or the joking around you do with friends while catching a quick lunch. It is these little moments that really let you relax and make it through our world of stress. I hope you can find some little treasures in your own life.

A quick outline of my project is this:
I am using a selection of differing sized pieces of wood that will be carved and painted to create a little travel-shrine kind of thing, much like you'd find in small chapels or churches. The big difference is that instead of being religious, my piece is supposed to be a document of scientific enlightenment. I hope it works out well, and will let you guys know as things come together.

Finally, I talked to my parents yesterday and was glad to hear they made it back from their travels alright. They had traveled down to San Diego and then were back for a day before going to Guatemala for a little while! They are finally settling back into the house and I guess my cat is back there now too, so he will no doubt be up to his usual antics. Only a month left before I am home too. I will be sad to leave Rome, but I will definitely be happy to be back in Washington. Alright, thats it for now. Ciao

Weekend Craziness

This weekend I went to Napoli (Naples) with our group. The days were pretty open, with only one big event each, yet I felt that everyday we were just spent, and some of this might have been from exploring a new big city, but I also think some of it was just that Napoli is a tough place. When we showed up we were ushered through the station and onto the subway (a personal first) which took us most of the way to our hotel. The hotel was a small place, and I think that we took it over with our group of 25. Rooms were given out sort of haphazardly, and I was lucky to be paired in the only double room with Ben. Anyway, we quickly ran off and ate at an alright pizzeria before checked out a large sculpture museum which was the result of the Farnese family collection. The evening was spent eating pizza again, this time at a better restaurant and with less hassling from the staff. The evening included a little gelato and walking before everyone crashed early. The next morning the stories were everywhere! People had complaints about the toilets not flushing properly, bed bugs, and no hot water. After the drama, and with the hotel promising to get things taken care of, we left on the train to Pompeii. This ruined city was awesome to explore and take in. The preservation of a city from ~80AD was breathtaking, and it was nice to wander around and see the magnificent ruins while also breathing in the sweet country air. After the day of ruins we continued the train ride out to the coastal city of Sorrento and watched the sunset over the bay and also played down by the water. After a little walking through the shopping areas we took the train back to Napoli and enjoyed a nice dinner with the professors and again ended the day with gelato and a walk. The third day started better, although I was still not completely satisfied with the hotel (but it was good enough to deal with). After a short bus ride (packed!) and some walking we explored a large collection (again Farnese) of artwork that was also the site of a Louise Bourgeois show. It was interesting to see the collection of her work set up in the same areas as classic works of art, but it was executed nicely. Once we regrouped, a small group and I went to a little family pizzeria and ate the best pizza I have had to date in Italy. It was the perfect crispness and the wood-fired flavor was just right. We then walked down the hill, across town to the hotel where we took a short rest before walking out to the coast and again watching the sunset (sort-of, it was behind a large building, but the colors were still there) and sit by the water. This evening took a seriously sour turn when we went to dinner at a place that some of the group had raved about the night before. Food was ok, but service was terrible and food showed up cold or late, or in the case of my friend Ben, the wrong dish! To top it off the waitress tried to get us to order things we didn't want and watched us count out the bill to make sure we didn't stiff her. Ridiculous! This morning things didn't get much better as my friend Sarah was the site of an accidental spill of hot coffee! Despite her injury she toughed through some church visits (with the help of delicious cinnamon gelato!) and the trip to Madre (the Napoli modern art museum) before we came back home to Roma. (Madre was a ton of fun, and included a large cast of famous artists including a big Rauschenberg show)

A crazy weekend, I am glad to be done with it. I hope Sarah feels better soon too

Concurrent Lives and Election Day

As November 4th has come and gone, I feel that many people will remember the day for the obvious reason of the presidential race, but it is also interesting to think about what other things will stay in people's minds about that day. For me, this election was interesting and important, but honestly there were other matters at hand that I feel will stick with me with just as much strength. The biggest deal for this day as part of my trip lined up with the fact that I have now completed the first half of the course. This happened as my instructors reviewed my drawing assignments and we talked about how I wanted to move forward with the individual work that will carry on from here until the wrap-up show. It felt good, as always, to hear nice things about my work and progression and I am happy to see that my instructors were pleased. The other big event of the day was our goodbye dinner for Professor Cummins, who has led us through our experiences here with an admirable amount of insight and a wacky charm which helped bolster spirits. While these events might not rank anywhere on the world stage, in my life, at this moment they are quite powerful and important features.

I want to talk again about how I never seem to get sleep on evenings of importance to me on this trip. Just as many evenings have carried into morning hanging out with friends or perhaps more recently a duo playing cards, this morning was spent with little rest as we sat in anticipation wondering how the people of our country would vote. In anxiety, some craved the embrace of nicotine. In insecurity, some bolstered themselves with alcohol. In tension, some paced or rocked where they were. But, in the end, we were all drawn to see the results. Seeking some respite from the drone of CNN, I embraced a friend as I attempted to catch some precious slumber. This brief escape was broken not much later, and in my disoriented waking I heard the ramble of Sen. McCain as he addressed the nation. Initial shock (as I thought he was giving a victory speech) was fast quelled as I stumbled to a spot from which I could observe the television. McCain's speech was instead about his acceptance that he had been defeated, and it was a very humble one about joining together as a nation and making these upcoming years into better years. Following was the touching speech of Obama as he accepted the victory. Political speeches always have a way of tugging at people's hearts, and it was interesting to see how my classmates reacted to the results and resolution of the evening. I can only hope that we can truly move forward as these two men have directed, and I wonder how this important event will compare with the multitude of memories I have gathered and will continue to collect over the course of this wonderful conclusion to my time in school. I hope everyone can have nights like these; nights where the lack of sleep is acceptable when weighed against the experiences gained instead.

A Welcome Escape

Over the last two weeks we have been working on a project, and like most projects it was getting a little hectic as the procrastination turned to desperation for many. In fact, quite a few of my classmates were burning the midnight oil last night to be ready for the critiques today. I on the other hand had a very relaxed weekend. It was really nice to be able to sit back and do nothing, but I started to feel really lazy and finally decided to go for an exploratory walk. My friend David and I traveled over through Trastevere and up to the large park on the hill, a place we had previously visited during one of the drawing adventures taught by one of the professors here. On a mindless, timeless wander we walked all around the park, taking in the sights as well as just being free of the city.

Growing up in Washington, I am used to plants being everywhere (especially when in rural areas like my parents' house), and so being in this concrete sprawl starts to get me down. I think that may be why I liked walking through the park so much, that and the fact that I didn't want to sit around all day like some people do. There were quite a few people going through the park and I again think about trying to come out here to run, despite the distance. Maybe I can take my backpack and carry water and some food and just be out for awhile... Anyway, we decided to leave through one of the other entrances and see what the non-center of Rome is like. Much like going to Lake-City Seattle, this part of town just feels a little less cared for, a little less of a place to hang out. It was interesting walking back toward town with just an idea of where to head and also nothing in the way of sidewalks to keep you away from cars. Despite those odds, we made it back just fine. I enjoyed my escape from the city as well as just an escape from thinking about everything that has been going on. Much like meditating, it was nice to just be out in the woods.
I miss cycling.

Accomplishment?

Sometimes things just feel like they happened too quickly. During the progression of our most recent project, I continually find myself comparing what I am working on with the evolution of everyone else's projects. I know it is silly to do this, since everyone works in their own way and in fact many will end up doing a couple of things while they try to resolve the problem in their head. I just feel kind of silly when I stumble upon something I want to do so early into the work. It isn't so bad now, seeing as our project is due in a few days (days that I have slowly worked on my project, thinking steps through more laboriously) yet the actual project was mostly realized within the first week. I guess I just am not sure whether my project will end up working as well as I hope when surrounded by the work of everyone else. It is silly to worry though, because as long as I have my project do what I want, everyone else should have the expected response. Sometimes you just need to move past the doubts.

In other news, drawing is back in full swing. I, perhaps like many, usually find myself getting rusty with actual drawing if I don't do it for awhile. My brain just likes to focus on every minute detail, try to pass off images like they were photographs. The problem is that I, again like many, am not a machine. I can't create an image that perfectly replicates a moment of time, so instead you try to create a feeling, a grasp at the image. These rougher sketches are indeed wonderful because it becomes possible to capture the emotion or idea of your subject. I just am happy that I can make the pictures work again, now that my cobwebs are cleaned away.

P.S. Take a moment and draw something without looking at your paper. Be happy with your result, because if you learn anything, it can't be a failure.

Wash Away

This entire trip has been pretty much devoid of normal weather here in Rome. The summer heat keeps plodding along (in fact it is supposed to climb up to 76f this weekend) and yet people keep insisting that it is usually much cooler by now. In fact, I have been warned that the buildings don't usually turn on the heat until mid-November (which might be annoying, because I already feel like our apartment is too warm at night, so I really hope it cools down enough to counter act any artificial heat). All I can say is that I miss my odd Seattle weather patterns. We were given our first rainy day yesterday (it has rained before, but usually only for like an hour before returning to sunny or just grey skies), and while it was one of those things where it kinda interrupted what you were doing or planning to do it was nice to listen to the rain beat down and breathe in the air after the rain cleaned up some of the smoky atmosphere. The fact that this was the first storm we have had was also sort of exciting. Growing up in the Seattle-area means that I have seen storms before, but we usually don't have quite the view at home. It is strange watching lightning illuminate the skyline and cast light over the buildings. I kept thinking it would be really interesting to try to capture the moment on the camera, but I decided I don't really have the ability to take the shot right as the light hits. When it wasn't too blustery it was relaxing to sit in the doorway, listening to the rain and just being in the moment, however the wind liked to pick up and if you weren't careful you ended up soaked as well as getting water all over the house (as was the case with a couple of my roommates...).

Setting the scene for yesterday, we had gone to the Vatican museum and wandered through its crowded hallways seeing a large collection of art and artifact, and finally being packed into the Sistine chapel (which was smaller than I imagined, but still pretty cool). This meant that the evening was more of a time for relaxing than being productive (even though I really should have been drawing for class), and despite reading and just kind of meditating while listening to my music, it was nice to let the rain run over you and in a way clean off the mess, much like it was doing to the city. Sometimes you just need to relax and let yourself be washed away.

The Magic of Travel

This weekend I journeyed up to Florence with some classmates in an attempt to see more of Italy as well as just get out of Rome. We realized that we were about half way done with the quarter and it just seemed like every weekend was changed to just-sit-and-relax-time, which is stupid because who knows when I will have a chance like this again. We planned to leave on the early train on Saturday so that we could be in Florence early enough to make a full day of exploring, and our plan was to get tickets for the late train out Sunday night. As with any big trip, you run into little glitches along the way that just make the trip more hectic and, in a way, epic. The start of this little story begin with me and my friends (most of the people going) deciding it would be good to party out Friday night (especially since it was the end of our Italian class that day). Half of our traveling party was part of the large group that went out to some dancing party (which I guess was kinda lame) whereas my friends and I decided to dine out at what turned out to be a really tasty Indian restaurant, drink, and hang out. Our little dancing party, though a little sad at 6 people, was a lot of fun and made our evening into quite the fun time. The down side here was that the party didn't really wind down until 3:30ish and by the time we had taken the ladies home it was now about 4:30 in the morning. This all with our train leaving at 6:50 across town. So, I decided to just go without sleep when most everyone else tried to squeeze in some shut-eye. As a result, I was the only one to be ready on time, and so we all started our hasty trek at about 6:15! Running across town we jumped on the train heading to Florence, accidentally ending up on the slow train, rather than the Eurostar we had paid for! This slow travel was actually pretty nice though since we all slept for at least a little while on the ride.

Into the city, we met up with a woman who was friends with my friend Acacia's aunt. Turns out she is an art historian and told us where to get student cards which let us jump through the museums faster and see just about every famous piece of art you could imagine. What an adventure! While in Florence we also got to dine at a really great Mediterranean place, a good cheap pizza place, some awesome gelato, and the key piece - a damn good Mexican restaurant! To make the weekend even more incredible, we went wine-tasting at one of her favorite places and ended up sampling 7 wines and getting some chocolate for 22 euro a piece (when it should have been like 30+ from the wines). Perhaps the best part of this journey was that she also put us up in her home, so we got to enjoy all that amazing stuff and not pay a cent for lodging! Simply put, this was my best weekend in Italy. Can you believe our luck?

Living in this Place

So, I was musing today that it becomes so easy to be completely acclimated to a place. Here I am in Rome, one of the oldest cities in the world, and a place so full of magnificent art and architecture, yet I am surprised to realize that most of the grandeur of the city is just blocked out by the mind. After that initial break-in period where everything that you look at ends up being some amazing sight, I think that you end up blocking it out so you can get down to business and go about your activities. It just amazes me that this is happening, but I think that in a way it is an important adaptation to make. If you were to walk about everyday with your eyes always scanning the sights, you would arrive at the day you had to leave without doing anything else! There is so much to do and see in a big city like this (or any big city if you think about it), that to live life without being selective between sightseeing scrutiny and productive behavior would just leave you without accomplishing anything.

I guess that perhaps the root of this thinking began in the past with our field trips/drawing sessions. Here we are, taking in sights and places that we have never seen before, yet we are supposed to be stopping our inquisitive investigations to capture specified things through drawing media. It just ends up leaving you feeling almost uninspired because the sheer quantity of things to see makes you feel like you really can't study anything. Sure, you might snap some photos to review later (and hopefully you can sort of capture the memories so that you might reminisce), but in the moment you never seem to fully absorb that situation. It is weird, but I can only hope that I am making enough memories between my work to be able to appreciate what I see and do here.

The other side of living here is something that I fully expected to surface at some point. When one lives somewhere for long enough they begin to notice things that really irk their person. I find this the most true when you live with people. No matter how much you enjoy their company, the little things root in and can drive you up a wall. I have begun to experience these things, and some are to be fully expected when living with a large group in the middle of a popular location. The first thing that started to bug me was really something that at first I enjoyed. Being that we are situated in the Campo De Fiori, we are every day treated to the morning madness that is the open market. While this a great way to get some odd produce, it does make traveling through and around the piazza annoying since people slowly mill about shopping for deals and wondering what they need. It is also fun to deal with the cacophony of yells as the people peddle their wares. The square clears out around 2ish so there is some respite before the evening comes and now the piazza is treated to the same music over and over and over and over from warbling musicians who make enough to decide they have a full selection of musical knowledge upon learning that 4th song...

Other gripes are simple things about living with 8 other guys, and really isn't of interest other than to point out the nice things about living with responsible adults. I realize as i read over this entry that I guess I might be a little moody about some of these things, but I think it is helpful to vent these feelings and people usually enjoy hearing about silly trivialities. This weekend I am off to Florence (Firenze), so hopefully I will return with something cool to say about that adventure. Ci vediamo!

Cooking is Fun!

This one goes out to all of you who feel like you can't cook. YOU ARE WRONG. Haha, let me explain. With just a few tools and pieces of knowledge you can make delicious and often very cost-effective meals. When you are stuck in a country with really only one cuisine, things can be simple or much more difficult (imagine trying to make something from another culture...), but especially when one lives in a mixing pot like the Seattle area, pretty much everything is available to you. What spawned this topic you ask? Last night, with the prep work of my roomies here in Rome, I cooked a sweet gumbo for seven people (with plenty to spare). Why is this so special? I have never made gumbo before, yet here we made something so tasty that the few people who thought they only wanted a little were running back for more! Ok, so you have never cooked anything but bowls of soup and quesadillas? Maybe jumping up to something like a gumbo is out of your way, but I'm sure you can make some delicious and easy pasta. Here's your meal for tonight, if you choose to accept my challenge.

Easy Pasta:
First off, you are going to need some noodles. Really, any kind will work for this idea, but fresh pasta (a little pricier mind you) works out to taste better and actually cooks faster! Now, you want to decide on your sauce and what else is going into your meal. Lets start off with a tomato sauce, since it is easy to prepare and tastes good on a lot of stuff. You can just buy any of them, but I'd stick to ones that are just veggies and herbs. Ok, now it is time to decide if you feel like meat in your meal. For most Italian meals this is likely going to be a sausage, but feel free to do chicken or something else (more specialty meats may require advanced cooking knowledge or ideas about what to cook with them, so for now lets stick to chicken or sausage). Finally, lets add some veggies to this meal. Here, if you are going for fast and cheap, buy a bag of frozen veggies (peas work great) and just let them thaw for about an hour-ish before cooking. Otherwise, let your stomach guide you to the flavors you want. Carrots, peas, beans, onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers... the list goes on. Try to experiment with things, but for your first endeavor, lets just do two things (onions and peas would go great, although you could really pick any two of that short list and be happy). This is enough (with some common spices) to make a meal, but you might want some parmesan cheese to put on top too.

Ok, lets make this meal! First, find a pot and pour in some water (half is usually fine), a pinch or two of salt, and a little olive oil. Once this comes to a boil, the pasta goes in (you will occasionally have to stir the pasta, and check it to see when it is done to your liking). Meanwhile, in a separate pan, pour in some olive oil and cook up your meat. You might want to cut the meat into small pieces to make it cook faster, but that isn't required. Once the meat is looking nearly finished cooking, now is the time to add the veggies. I usually dice them small so that the flavors mix well. Once the veggies are tasting cooked, pour in your sauce and let the whole thing get up to heat. This is where you can add spices like black and/or red pepper, basil, oregano, garlic, etc. Now, hopefully your pasta is cooked and strained out, so serve it onto your plate and pour the now heated and delicious sauce, meat, and veggies on top. Buon Appetite!

For more advanced meals, try mixing in more veggies, multiple meats or more specialized ingredients. The world of culinary gems is within your grasp! Experiment with flavors, colors, and textures. Perhaps soon I will post some ideas for something else tasty, but for now cook out your imagination and you can see why so many people fall in love with cooking as not only a small mental escape from life, but also because some of these things you make taste so good! Happy cooking everyone!

Always Changing, Always the Same

This morning was the best and worst I have had for awhile. Over the course of yesterday evening I had a bit more to drink than I should have and so I managed to feel a little groggy this morning along with drinking about a liter of water over the course of the night and while wandering quietly through the house as the first to awaken. Once I got through my morning workout though, I was definitely feeling better, and it is always kind of a cool thing to watch the morning start, with people busy setting up their spots in the market while the sun slowly illuminates the piazza. The reason this was a good day though was that finally there is a slight bite to the air, that crisp feeling that just makes you realize that the hottest days are behind you. I think that it is weird that I should crave the coming chill, and even as I type this I question why. I think maybe it just reminds me of home, although the air here is never quite the same; probably since there is so much less foliage. I miss the taste and smell of pine, the sweetness of crisp, clean air.

I realized today is the start of my 4th week in Italy. Seriously, nearly a month and yet it feels like so much less. I guess that being busy with all these artist lectures and movies and trips around town have really made the passage of time move in a odd path. There is so much that I have planned to do that just hasn't yet had time. Cliff was talking today about how he wants to travel yet he feels like he barely has time for it amongst the work and when he has to be around for his father's visit. Crazy to think that one of the first things I wanted to do was buy a pocket knife, and here I am with two weekends in Rome and I haven't done that or made it to the large Sunday market over by the girls' place. I have to really get focussed on doing some of this stuff before the trip runs out, which I am sure will happen before I know it...
One last thing for today. During our week-foresight meeting we had a short introduction to the world of camera obscura. I gather that this art of pin-hole cameras has a long tradition in the world of photography, and to my always intrigued artsy brain it seems like something that I could have a lot of fun with. David and Ben Wong seem to be sort of goofy camera nuts and so I think I will pick their brains about what to mess around with, and maybe this will be something for me to play out. It is interesting to learn about new media for art, and I am always interested in how to make things work for me. If all else fails, it could be a good way to make something to potentially remember this trip.

Odd Days

I guess you can tell when you miss something when little things make those thoughts spring to your mind. I was checking my email this morning and had received a notice that rapha has some new stuff in stock for their winter cycling line, and all I can think about now is the repetitive sounds of the hubs spinning and the background feeling of the wind blowing by. I guess that seeing the images of people actually cycling makes me feel like I am missing something more than occasionally seeing people roll around town on their cheap cruisers. While writing this I remember a funny thing someone told me the other day. We were walking along, I believe returning from getting a little snack or something, and I pointed out a little cat by gesturing and maybe saying something along the lines of "kitty kitty". Anyhow, I guess they thought it was pretty wierd and pointed out that they think people either love cats or don't care because you only ever hear about seeing them from people who are "cat people". I miss Izzy. Something about a little friend, like you develop in a pet, just really helps you unwind and occassionally get things off your chest. I guess these two things will just be something that keeps me going, because they are what I miss most while here.

Moving on, I think that weekends tend to be more trouble than good. Last week, as well as this one, I just feel like I get less sleep during the weekend because there is always something going on. I know that I have a choice about going to do these things, but usually doing them is more exciting and impactful on my life. I think I just wish that I could do it all and still get my rest without wasting away a day sleeping...

Yesterday I ran alone for the first time here. Running, and for that matter all exercise, alone feels like a whole different experience. You don't have the companionship, which basically makes me feel like I need to push harder since you almost always feel like you've done enough quicker. Without someone else to basically urge you on, it becomes much more important to make yourself push on. I guess that it becomes a very small way of looking at life. You have to make yourself do what you know you need to/should do. Perhaps if more people could motivate themselves to get going, to start every day with exercise or mental challenge, perhaps we would be a much better world. I guess I just feel like people need to get motivated. With that sum up, I am going to go do something, perhaps it is time you get up and go out into the world too.

Food and Living

Well, hopefully I can attempt to keep this a little more in order that the last post. So, quick recap: I am a student of UW who, for his final quarter, has traveled to Rome, Italy for a studio arts program. Travel and living here is quite a change from my life over in Seattle, and the first days were a little overwhelming, largely in part to this being my first time in Europe. However, I have made a pretty good group of friends and feel like things are actually starting to fly by. Of the 10 weeks that I am here, this is already the end of the 3rd, yet it still feels so new.

Jumping to the idea for today's post. My culinary abilities aren't anthing to really brag about, but I feel I can make some pretty tasty food, and here I have become the lead chef for my small group, although my 9 person house has 4 of us who are actually strong chefs, so the kitchen (which is small) is always bustling and the house is filled with the smells of cooking.

Europe in general is a wonderful place to cook. You have a much more accessable way to get fresh, amazingly tasty ingrediants, and the wine is equally abundant and cheap. I can easily see exploring the delicate and rich varieties of wine, especially as an experiment in the pairing with foods. A great example is that the other day I made a tasty experiment of sliced and fried sicillian sausage, garlic, hot sicillian peppers, and a spicy tomato sauce which was further flavored with a touch of basil. This was poured over a little pasta called gnocchini (or little gnocchi) which turned out to be deliciously spicy and very filling. The great surprise and success of the meal however was that I accidently decided to pair the meal with a Pinot Nero that I had purchased. Wow, what an amazing accident that was. The strong flavors and spicy qualities of the Pinot went so well with the spicy food that I honestly wonder if there could be a better choice available.

Another little recipe for all you guys to tide you until I can write again.
-Some fettucine pasta, preferably fresh for flavor and also cook time.
-Frozen peas left to thaw a bit so that they are moist
-Proscuito
-Garlic
-Tomato Sauce
-Zucchini

Start by dicing the proscuito into small strips or squares. Fry them in a pan with a little olive oil and the garlic (diced or whole cloves if you love the flavor). When the garlic has browned and the meat is crispy pour in the zucchini (diced) and the peas. The moisture of the peas will let them cook quickly and the zucchini should cook through by the time the peas are ready. when the veggies are almost ready, pour in the sauce. (feel free to also cook up some basil with the rest) Hopefully your pasta is ready to go now, and so when you have served the pasta, pour the heated sauce over the top. Garnish with a hard cheese (parmigion works great) and serve with a red wine (i chose some Nero D'avola, but play around) I think this could be delicious with some onion, and as with all experiments in food, play around and see what wonderful flavors you can find.

Arrivaderci my friends!

Welcome To Roma

Ok, basically I set up this blog since it has been something i have thought about for quite awhile now, yet didn't really know how i wanted to get about to it. So, after some talking around I figured out that this format is sort of sponsored by google and as such lets me easily tie it into my gmail account. But I digress, you came here to listen to my experiences with life, not the mundane reasonings behind why this blog was created.

Ok, so most of you know I am a big cycling nut, and that I sort of had some grandiose scheme in my head before heading out here about renting or buying a bicycle so that I could keep going during this sabbatical from the real world. After living here for awhile now I have found out how and where to buy a bike, but I have also gained some insight into the fact that I am sort of dead-center in an urban sprawl that stretches for large distances in every direction from here. So, unless I feel like a lot of urban riding or constantly dodging both pedestrians and vehicles (mainly the thousands of scooters and motorcycles flying around through the narrow streets and weaving between traffic) or breaking stuff running on the loose cobbles, I think I might just nix it for the trip. :/

In brighter news I got a great deal on some sweet running shoes, so I am continuing to get my blood moving, though not building those slow-twitch muscles as much as before (more like hopefully keeping them from atrophy) and when I don't run I am keeping up my other exercise so that I remain lean while amidst the land of carbohydrates.

Speaking of that though, I have been rocking the kitchen here, even though sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle. The scoop on my living situation is this. I am part of 9 guys sharing a 6th floor apartment overlooking the Campo di Fiori in the center of Rome. While our home isn't super crowded for living, it does get a bit tight in our kitchen since it is about the size of a large studio one in Seattle (like maybe 12x5ish plus the hallway which is maybe 3ish feet wide). All our knives are dull as shit, which is cool since cutting things isn't as fun as making a big mess... Joking aside though, if you haven't seen me make pasta, check it out when I am back home. Last night I was chefing it up for 6, since one of my classmates had her 22nd last night. What did I make you ask? I think I will have to start throwing up recipes some other time, sorry.

Ok, so this first post was a little scrambled, but I have a bit too much in my head for getting out all at once, so stick around, ok?