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!