Feeling Better

It's amazing how much little things can help:
*Getting out of a two hour 40 minute night class after only an hour
*Depositing a paycheck
*Running into a friend while depositing said paycheck and then chatting at Starbucks and the Music School for over an hour
*Getting an awesome book and understanding myself as a singer and person better after only one chapter so far (Will probably post about this once I've read more of the book)
*Having a philosophical discussion regarding my field with a classmate (cute and nice guy)
*Getting an email back saying I will be missed at the Bible Study retreat
*Helping BestFriend find an article for class
*Sharing silly, creative assignments for tomorrow's class with a friend
*Going to bed before midnight (hopefully!)

I need to realize that I don't have to be perfectly happy with every single little thing in my life. I do try to focus on the positive as much as possible, and I shouldn't feel guilty if there is something I'm not happy about. I'm the one who's always telling friends, "Hey, your feelings matter. You don't have to feel guilty for what you feel. Sometimes you can't help how you're feeling. It's not a matter of how you're feeling but what you're choosing to do about it." And ... sometimes I just need a good cry to release my stress and anxiety. God will be with me regardless of what happens ... and even He wasn't happy all the time. Maybe I should go read the garden scene after the last supper description for my devotional this evening... I think I will.

Not worth reading ... just some moping

When I ever start to feel the least bit unhappy or when I realize I'm discontent with a certain area of my life, I feel incredibly guilty. God has blessed me. He's been so incredibly good to me. How can I find something to complain about? Or ... how dare I complain when so many things are going so right? There are so many people less fortunate than I am.

Today I find myself in a melancholy mood, in spite of the great success I've gotten to enjoy in the past week. And I feel guilty.

I was fine until I got an email today about the Bible Study retreat this weekend. When they announced that it was going to be this weekend, I made plans back in January to go. And then I never heard anything about it again. I figured they might have canceled it without telling me since I haven't been able to go to Bible Study that often this semester.

I'd wanted to go to the current opera production desperately, but didn't feel like I had any friends to go with. And then I learned that some of my friends went without inviting me this past weekend. (I thought I had written an earlier entry about the issues I've had with my former clique in here and I looked for it to link it, but I couldn't find it.) Short version: I was inseparable from 3 other girls all through college until this year. All in my major. All very like-minded. Things began changing as BestFriend, who's not in the clique, and I became closer friends. At the end of last Spring, the other 3 girls didn't always include me, but I had a boyfriend so I wasn't lonely. Then last semester when I was student-teaching, my grandmother passed away and I broke up with my boyfriend of nearly a year. These girls made no effort to be there for me during that particularly rough semester. I wasn't invited to spend time with them anymore- not even at meals.

At the beginning of this semester, they were a little better, but they regressed back. While all of this has been happening, BestFriend has been amazing ... but she's engaged and she now spends much of her free time with her fiance. I've felt quite lonely this semester because I am friendly with many people, and I have a good number of acquaintance-friends (nice chats, coffee here and there, but none at the level where we actually do stuff together). I feel like I have very few remaining close friends to whom I can bare my heart.

So when I learned another acquaintance-friend was going this Friday to the opera, I asked if I could join the group. (I was immediately invited and he apologized for forgetting to invite me in the first place!) So ... I planned to go because there are so many things I want to see and do here in this city before I graduate (and possibly leave the city for who knows how long if not forever).

And then I got the email about the Bible Study Retreat. Still on but shortened by a day. I wrote back to say I couldn't make it on Friday; could I still come on Saturday? I got the response today which said something along the lines of, People who only come on part of the trip don't get as much out, and it's hard for them to fit into the experience ... and it changes the group dynamics. Are you sure you can't come Friday?

Even though I'm sure it wasn't the intent, this message really seemed to say to me, "If you can't come for the whole time, you probably shouldn't come because you won't have a really fulfilling experience and you might take away from others' experience because things will change when you get here."

Because of the other feelings I described above (growing apart from friends, feeling lonely, etc.), this disappointment hurt even more. Yes, I could opt not to go to the opera on Friday, but .... and then I feel guilty for choosing that over something God- and faith-related. So it's like I'm putting God on a back burner. Again ~ the guilt. :-( So I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

Ugh, I have a meeting in 4 minutes. Ending this rather abruptly .... now.

Ah, Spring :-)

Today was absolutely gorgeous ~ sunny and warm. Surprisingly warm, considering that we had snow less than 2 weeks ago. (Weather here in CoolCity is completely unpredictable!)

So ... I took the opportunity to walk downtown between classes. I got some essentials at CVS (make-up, travel-size supplies for my conference next month), a new battery at RadioShack for my metronome (because it died last week) ... and ... I bought myself some flowers from a lady's stand set up near the major department store. Two bouquets of daffodils and a forlorn-looking tulip plant. (Tulips are my FAVORITE flowers, and I figured I could nurture it into better health.)

I was telling BestFriend about my afternoon trip at dinner this evening. She whined, "Fiance has been slacking. He's gotten me flowers only twice this semester." (He used to get her flowers every time he visited her, which used to be maybe twice a month but is now nearly every weekend.)

I wasn't really annoyed by this, but at the same time, I wanted to say, "At least you have someone who buys you flowers!" (aka "You have no reason to whine!")

Instead I teased her, "Well, I don't need a guy to buy me flowers! I'll get them on my own if I want them! And I did, so I did!" :-)

CGFC saga continues

CGFC has not been at church since I've been back from Spring Break. If he's there next week, it will be 5 weeks since I've seen him! I've been chatting with my some of my girls (my residents) about this ... and I've gushed over everything in here ... Sorry to leave you all hanging ... but God is leaving me hanging! :-) Perhaps even though CGFC has been closer to meeting my standards than any other guy I've known (I actually wrote out the long list), he may still not be the person God has intended for me. I'm OK with that, if that's the case, but ... this period of delicious agony in which that hasn't been confirmed is causing the butterflies in my stomach to twist and twirl about, flying in loops and colliding with one another!

I'm hoping CGFC will be here for Holy Week since we'll have several hours in services together ... Speaking of Holy Week, how is it possible that Easter is TWO weeks from today?! And then I graduate less than a month after that?!?!?!

Good news (aka some self-horn-tooting)

I should be practicing now ... did I mention that I'm in a sextet for Beethoven's Choral Fantasy? (The choral part is the last 5 minutes of the 20 minute piece for piano and orchestra, and my part may not even be 30 seconds of that, nor will I ever be singing by myself.) Still, it's a nice opportunity! (It can still go on my vocal repertoire list!) The range is really low, and as my voice teacher said, it's just too low for my voice to "ping!" In our mini-lesson yesterday, she said I won't be heard over the two sopranos because of where their lines are within their tessitura. So, what I'll lack in volume, I've got to make up for with every ounce of my body. I'm supposed to go to a practice room, put on my heels that I'll be wearing for the performance, and sell it. I think I'll save the heels for tomorrow's practice session before our rehearsal with the orchestra and the formidable conductor. :-)

~*~*~*~
Oooh, and today before choir began, my director (CD) called me over, saying, "Look what came in my mailbox today."

The magazine with my article in it! I didn't get to see much of it since she flipped the pages quickly to show me what it looked like in print form. Apparently they changed the title of the article (without telling me, *pout*) but it still looked sooooooo awesome! So professional! And ... my little bio was on the front page of the article [Estrella WrappedinSong will be graduating from MySchool in Month, Year with X degree.]

Then at the start of the rehearsal, CD made an announcement ... about how the magazine is distributed to 70K readers in (my career) field, how many people- including those with many advanced degrees- submit articles to the magazine, and ... how proud she was to have a contributor to the magazine as a senior in her choir at MySchool! And she also shared that it was national publication #2, (not mentioning that the first one was really not music-related nor was it widely circulated because of the magazine's extremely focused subject matter). :-)

My only disappointment was that it didn't arrive in my own mailbox today! Something else to hope for soon! "Else" meaning that I still have hope for CGFC ... I've calmed down a little since my disappointment at not seeing him this past Sunday ... but I'm also thinking that I should be more direct than just hinting we ought to get lunch sometime. I think I ought to be brave and tell him honestly that I'm interested in getting to know him better ... and that I understand if he is already in a serious relationship (which, according to my sources, he is not) or if he's just not interested.

OK, enough procrastinating! I have to get serious now and memorize the German text so I can sing it at lightning speed at the orchestra rehearsal tomorrow. Yay!

Update to previous post

I had complained a little about my crazy schedule for tomorrow in the last post ...

Not 15 minutes after I posted did I receive a phone call from my voice teacher canceling tomorrow's lesson. Then as I was walking over to the Music School to do some homework in the computer lab, I got a phone call from the teacher I'm supposed to observe tomorrow. She's sick. I won't be going in there either. Lots of extra time!

Guilty Secrets

I am guilty of:

*Including things I've already done on my To-Do lists so I can cross something off right away

*Checking my email compulsively

*Eating too much candy from the bowl I have set up for my residents by my door

*Sometimes not being fully prepared for classes but volunteering more than usual to make up for it (so I seem more prepared than I actually am)

*Daydreaming frequently when I ought to be doing work or sleeping

*Taking on too many responsibilities/activities in a short amount of time (i.e. tomorrow's schedule includes: 2 hours of observation at a local school (1 hour roundtrip commute not included), 4 hours of classes, a voice lesson, and attendance at a choral concert ... actually ... it doesn't sound so bad when I write it out like that ... it's pretty much a typical day!)

*Waiting long periods of time to do my laundry (The record? 5 weeks ... with clean underclothes everyday ... didn't realize I had that many pairs of underwear!) ... and I don't even have to pay at MySchool to do laundry!

*I still have an iron and ironing board that I borrowed from a friend about midway through last semester

*I'm procrastinating right now instead of: preparing a worksheet for a lesson I'm teaching on Friday, writing a paper for a core class, filling out job applications, cleaning my room, and all of the other million things on my To-Do list!!! Still ... *sigh* all is well!

Update to Future & Anxiety

So ... I met with Department Chair. I told him about the assistantship, what my job responsibilities would be, etc. He took a moment to look at the information I showed him, from my email correspondence with the program director.

"You know, Estrella, I think this would be a really great opportunity for you. And I think you'd be perfect for it," He paused and smiled before continuing, "But ~ I don't think you should do it."

I laughed at this contradiction and he made some of the same points my other professor had made- that this particular program isn't well-known enough that I would forge many valuable connections ... and ... that it's not really a springboard off of which I can propel towards a more advanced degree.

I asked, "Well, what if I thought about pursuing a second Master's degree? I mean, this one is a generic degree with emphasis in a certain field. How would it look if I were to go back in a few years, after getting this degree and some teaching experience, and work towards a second Master's degree which is more focused at a bigger-name school ... Basically, would it be considered [socially/professionally/academically, etc.] acceptable if I were to get the Master's I'd planned on getting from the type of school I would have expected to attend for an advanced degree?"

He said, "Well, if you were considering that, then I'd say, 'Go for it.' You have my support either way." He then asked how he ranked on the faculty feedback scale and I summarized what the others had told me. I feel very fortunate that I know I can fully trust my professors to give me solid (and good!) career advice, and that they're looking out for me! :-)
~*~*~*~

This evening, I received a phone call from the program director (PD). My plan was to call PD tomorrow because I hadn't had time on Friday, what with the minor medical procedure and all. I was VERY surprised to hear directly from PD on a Sunday evening. As in the email I'd been sent, PD asked about setting up an interview/visit. So we set up a day/time. Now I've got to prepare not only for an interview but also for a 3-part audition as well as a theory/history examination! 3 weeks from tomorrow. I need to call my voice teacher, but she has a young child and it's too late tonight. I need advice from my student-teaching co-op, but this weekend was a bit crazy at the school with the high school musical, so I'm going to email rather than call. I still don't know if this is what I want ... but ... PD dangled a huge carrot during our phone conversation. (International travel opportunity if I do the assistantship ~ oh my!!!) PD mentioned that there may be another potential candidate or two, but that the possibility that I could get the assistantship is very strong.
~*~*~*~

Other updates:
I still haven't heard back from either of the people (potential jobs!) to whom I sent my resume last Wednesday. CuteGuyFromChurch was NOT at church this morning! I was disappointed, but I'm feeling it'd be too stalkerish to email him through his job at his school ... so I'll just have to wait until next Sunday ... Time is so limited with this since I'll be graduating in less than 2 months! I'm debating on whether or not to email my private investigator and tell her that he wasn't there ... in case she has any ideas ... or if she might pass along his contact information (which I'm NOT going to ask for, but I'd consider using it if she shares it because it's acceptable to say, "So-and-so gave me your email ...") The more I consider this, the more I think I just might email my private investigator... but first, must email co-op regarding assistantship!

Lazy Saturday

I'm lying on my futon with my foot propped up because I had the minor medical procedure done on my toe yesterday. I'd been told that I might have to stay all day, depending on how much tissue they needed to remove. We got to leave after 4 hours, and I was told that all was well- no lingering issues, no dangerous tissue. Praise the Lord! We celebrated with a fast food lunch.

Because I was supposed to be off of my feet, I still couldn't make the combined choir/orchestra rehearsal for next week's concert (in which I have a small solo!). Instead, BestFriend and I watched a movie and folded her wedding invitations.
~*~*~*~

It's hard to believe that I was in Rome a week ago today. With the time change, I'm trying to figure out where I was exactly a week ago, at this very moment. I know I was somewhere in the Vatican ... I had just seen the Sistine Chapel. BestFriend and I were probably in St. Peter's by now, gazing at Michelangelo's Pieta. It seems like a dream ~ not reality ~ that we were actually there.

I just checked my digital camera and discovered that the display feature shows the time that the picture was taken. It was about a half hour ago that we would have seen the Pieta. At this point, I was either waiting in line to go up in the Cupola of St. Peter's Basilica or we were starting to climb all 300+ stairs.

Personal Detectives are Fun!

So a few weeks ago, I was on Cloud 9 after church because I'd gotten the chance to talk with CuteGuyFromChurch ... and because one of the other ladies in choir had offered to find out some vital information about him for me. She sent me the following today:

Age: 24
Relationship Status: Available...very!
Relationship Wish: Very interested in meeting someone...the right one!
[Here she listed his interests, all of which completely coincide with my own!]
My Recommendation: GO FOR IT!!!!!

*sigh* Everything seems completely perfect on paper ... So, um, God, if You're reading this, would you let me know soon if this is part of Your will/plan for me? Or perhaps I should be asking, "Am I the right one for him?" :-) I really, really, really hope I get to talk with him this Sunday ... and that I'll have some excuse to ... um ... suggest that we do something, eat, talk, etc. beyond that time!

My current brilliant plan is that he'll ask for information about Italy ... and ... I'll describe some highlights but hint that I have more stories to tell and pictures to share ... which might be easier over lunch ... or ... I'm hoping that I'm divinely inspired with a more creative way to indicate my interest without being goofy. :-) I'm not entirely sure how to "GO FOR IT!!!!!" but I'm glad she strongly recommended that I do so!

Anxiety & the future: LONG

I plan to write more about my Italy trip this weekend when I'm confined to bedrest after my (minor) surgery on Friday.

As much as I wish I were daydreaming about Italy, my mind is again filled with questions regarding my future. I know that God will take care of me, and I have this verse on my mind right now:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."~Jeremiah 29:11-13

Even though I know things will work out, I'm not really sure which direction I should be pursuing. I had decided I would immediately go into teaching. I've narrowed location down to about 12 different states (although if I could find an international position, I'd go for it!) ... but I don't know whether I want a job at the elementary or secondary level. Today, I sent out my cover letter and resume in response to two different openings: an elementary job in Florida and a high school job in Home State. But I love CoolCity too ... and if there were a job up here, I'd want to go for it.

Even though I was planning to teach next year, I responded to an online posting about a graduate assistantship in my field because I was intrigued. The person in charge responded to my inquiry with more information about the position. I wrote back, saying that I wasn't sure I qualified because I lacked the professional experience desired for the ideal candidate, but I included my resume just in case. I heard back yesterday from the person in charge ("impressive resume") and was invited to schedule an interview soon.

I don't know what I ought to do. I plan to keep applying for teaching jobs, but I don't know if I should pursue this Master's opportunity. It wasn't what I had planned. Without being too specific, I'll try to share my thought processes in order to help my organize my thoughts ...

PROS:
*The 14-month program would be the specialization that I wish I could have gotten in my undergraduate career.
*The program director has a good reputation in my field, and under this person's direction, the students in the program have accomplished much.
*My responsibilities in the position would be good preparation for me as a secondary teacher.
*I'd be higher on the pay scale for my first job because I'd have more education.
*I might also be more marketable because of the graduate degree (it depends).

CONS:
*Location: The school is pretty small and it's in the middle of nowhere. This means that there are NOT opportunities or life-enriching activities like those I've had here in CoolCity.
*This school is not a step up from my current school. "Glorified undergraduate specialization" (as one of my professors referred to it) is not the best step if I chose to continue with my education in order to someday teach in higher education (as has been recommended to me by several of my professors).
*Continuing with the last point, I had figured that I would apply to the big-name schools (in my field) for my Master's after I'd had a few years of teaching experience. I figured getting the teaching experience first would help me figure out the specialty I'd study for my Master's.
*I'm not entirely sure whether I want to work at the elementary or secondary level, and a degree focused on secondary specialization may make me less marketable if I decided my heart was really with younger students.
~*~*~*~
So I talked with two of my professors today about this, and I have a meeting with my department chair tomorrow.

Professor #1 (in my area of specialization) spoke highly of the program director and strongly recommended that I apply- not because of the school but for the person.

Professor #2 (in my field, but not my specialization) told me that he and my department chair agree that if my goal is to first be a teacher (and not a performer), then they recommend that I get teaching experience first. This is so that I may have context for interpreting and applying the content I'll get through my education in a graduate program. P2 told me the story of how he'd applied to a big-name, stellar Master's program and while waiting to hear back from the school, he was offered a fantastic assistantship and other opportunities by another lesser-known, not-as-strong program. He opted for the pricier, stronger-reputation program and got the better education and connections which have been much more helpful to him than what he would have gotten out of the smaller program.

Because he is a person of faith like me, I confided to him,
"You know, I've always been the type of person who goes after opportunities that I believe will help me in my future career. (This is why I have a decent amount of experience on my resume even though I haven't graduated yet.) I feel that when God gives me opportunities, I ought to take advantage of them because He gave them to me for a reason. I mean, I know I've been really fortunate to have had the opportunities I've had because they've served to solidify my desire to stick with this field for my career. Now I feel like I'm being pulled in many different directions: Teaching - but where? what age level?- and this possible assistantship. I don't know which opportunities God is telling me to pursue."

He paused a moment before responding,
"A lot of seniors feel the way you do, and you have more opportunities than many of them." [I'm cutting out the part where he highlighted some of my strengths because I don't want to brag on here. :-)]

He went on,
"Unfortunately, God doesn't always tell us what we want to know about our future. It IS frustrating at times, but I do believe He gives us a great deal of freedom to choose what we want to do within His plan."

I mentioned the Jeremiah verse here, and he shared a verse with me:
"In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9

He encouraged me to visit the campus and interview, even though I sense that (he wouldn't tell me directly what to do) he thinks I ought to wait and go for a better program after getting some teaching experience. I think that visiting/interviewing is good advice because that in itself will be a good experience for me. I'll see what the Dept Chair says tomorrow too ... and I'll continue to look for and apply for teaching jobs. I figure God will lead me where He wants me to be.
~*~*~*~

In my conversation with P2, he asked me where I wanted to be in 10 years. I think this is where I said I wasn't sure which age level I preferred. I did say that I do hope to be married and have a family someday, and I recognize that teaching at the secondary level in my field is not always so conducive to that, especially since I am a female. (I didn't say, but perhaps I should have, that I'd really like to only work part-time if/when I have kids because I really want to be there while they're growing up.) I said I knew I wanted to teach in some capacity and be involved in the music ministry at my church. (Looking back, I'd also include "be involved in the music in my community.") He asked me if I wanted to go into higher education. I mentioned that that had been suggested to me and I'd strongly consider pursuing that, but that it wasn't something I was hoping to do right away ...

(I didn't share the following part with him either:) This issue of my career is so tightly connected with my personal goals. I recognize it's not realistic to hope that my mad crush, CuteGuyFromChurch, and I will somehow end up together before (or if) I leave this area in the next few months. I don't want to be too focused on my career that I end up alone. I don't want to be so focused on finding Mr. Right that my career goes nowhere. I don't want to over-focus on either because I also want to be able to appreciate the present, where I am now. My tentative thoughts were to pursue the further education/career until Mr. Right showed up. Then I'd re-evaluate what my goals were (career, family, etc.). But ... I'm nervous that I'll get so caught up in my career that Mr. Right just won't show up for a long time.

For goodness' sake! I'm only 21! I'm still a KID. I'm not even old enough to rent a car! Why am I freaking out about this?! God, this is in Your hands. I can't think about this anymore right now. I should go study for my (ugh) core class.

~*~*~*~
One last somewhat-related thought:
The joke in my high school youth group was to ask, "Did someone pray for patience?!" when something went wrong. Every year when we traveled to our youth conference, something would inevitably happen, i.e. bus caught on fire, plane delayed nearly a day, etc. I'm wondering if God's trying to teach me patience (and work with me on trusting) since I'm not doing such a good job with it right now. :-)

Flying ...

Our initial flight from CoolCity airport to LayoverCity was delayed for 2 hours, causing BestFriend and me to miss our connecting overnight flight to Rome! Thanks to a very helpful customer service representative for the airline, we were booked on an overnight flight to Frankfurt where we'd catch a plane to Rome. Even though we missed our first half-day in Italy, we got stamps in our passports for Germany, so I can now officially include it as a country I've visited. (Combined with Italy, I can now say I've been to 7 foreign countries! Yay!)

Yesterday, while waiting in LayoverCity to get our connecting flight to CoolCity, the person at the desk announced that the flight was overbooked. Would anyone be willing to give up their seat for a guaranteed seat on the next flight? Volunteers would get a $300 voucher to travel on the airline within the next year. BestFriend's fiance had already left to pick up BestFriend and me from CoolCity airport ... so she couldn't opt for the later option ... but I decided to take the later flight.

After our flight had taken off with BestFriend on it, I began talking with another man who also volunteered to give up his seat. I learned that he was a history professor at nearby school in CoolCity. And -- he used to teach at the same high school where I did my part of my student-teaching! Talk about a small world ... and then one of his former students (a year younger than me) ended up being on our new flight. The three of us had a long discussion because the new flight ended up being delayed for quite some time. We discovered we had all been on the same flight from CoolCity to LayoverCity last week! Again- coincidence?! He offered to give us both a ride back to our respective residencies, and we both took him up on his generosity. A unique and fun twist to the ending of a wonderful, wonderful trip.

Bella Italia ~ pictures! :-)

So, I did opt to miss the classes because I'd already emailed the professors. But ... it's a good thing I did because I learned of new residents on my floor (not from my bosses, but from my other girls and from our floor's awesome housekeeper), and I got a phone call from a former teacher/friend at home who recommended me for a job for next year! Yay! (HS choir director in nearby area is retiring.)
And ... even though I have not started on the work which was due for my classes today, I did upload some Italy pictures for your viewing pleasure:

This ^^ was the combined luggage that BestFriend and I brought to Italy. Really. Our backpacks (mine on the left) and our purses. My plan was to bring old clothing I no longer wanted ... and I was going to throw it out as we went along. We were extremely proud of ourselves for packing so lightly!

Yup, this is the Colosseum in Rome. Gorgeous ... and huge! Standing next to it and near it was awe-inspiring when I considered the history of the structure ... and considered that wherever I stood near it, millions of people had stood there before me for centuries. The games and other activities held there were open to the public, even to the poor, and of course, tourists from all over the world had been visiting the ruins for centuries too.
One of my favorite shots from Venice, taken from the Rialto Bridge. I LOVED this city ... BestFriend and I walked everywhere ... and the town felt incredibly cozy and not overly modern or extra-touristy like the other places we visited.My favorite bargaining story: The Gondola Ride. BestFriend and I walked up to a gondolier on Monday mid-afternoon (wow, this was already a week ago!) and asked the cost of a ride.

"80 Euros," he replied. We looked at each other, downcast. We were not able to pay that much.

"Are the prices the same at all times of the day?" I asked hopefully, since BestFriend and I had discussed trying to get a ride early the next day, thinking that early morning might be a better deal.

"At night it starts out at 100 Euro." He told us, and no, there were no cheaper rates for earlier in the day. He then asked if we were students. We affirmed that we were.

"Special student price is 70 Euro," he offered. BestFriend and I looked at one another again.

"We'll have to think about it," I said truthfully as BestFriend and I started to walk off, about to discuss whether we ought to consider paying 35 Euro apiece for a ride. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"For you- special price. 60 Euro. There are not many customers right now." BestFriend and I looked at one another again- this was a much better deal and much more doable. We grinned, knowing that we both wanted to go, so we agreed to pay 60 Euro. Amazing view, soothing ride, and well worth it!

A view of Florence from Pitti Palace ... BestFriend and I were especially excited about visiting Il Duomo because we had learned a piece last year in our Music History course which had been played at the unveiling of the Dome. The composer had been commissioned to write a piece by a wealthy patron named Eugenius. The song was somewhat polyphonic, meaning that the parts overlapped one another so that the text wasn't clear throughout the piece. The composer wanted to please his sponsor, so in one very clear measure, all of the voices unite on the word "Eugenius" so that it was very clear to the audience who had commissioned the piece. BestFriend and I quietly sang to one another, "Eugenius!" while we were inside the Dome. :-)

I did end up leaving behind clothing and flip-flops and toiletries ... but BestFriend and I both decided to purchase small carry-on baggage outside of the Florence train station (for 10 Euro apiece) to hold our souvenirs. :-)

Slacking after Spring Break

On Saturday, my last full day in Italy, BestFriend and I woke up at 7am (Italy time) in order to get to the Vatican by the time it opened. We went to bed at 1am the following morning after a long day at the Vatican Museums, an evening at the opera, one last outing for yummy gelato, and packing. We got up at 5am to leave for the airport by 6am for our 9am flight. I had a few half-hour naps on the two plane rides (Rome to this country, that airport to my airport) ... and didn't get to sleep until midnight (my time here) last night.

Feeling extremely worn out, I seriously expected to not be awake and functioning for at least 12 hours ... so I emailed my professors and told them I wasn't feeling well. (I wasn't feeling well ~ I was exhausted and sniffly!) I set my alarm for noon so that my sleeping pattern wouldn't be too out of whack, and I went to sleep.

Imagine my surprise (and horror) when I woke up at 7:30am this morning, feeling quite chipper. No more sniffles. Not really tired.

Did I get to work immediately, completing homework assignments for the classes I had planned on missing today? (I admit, not having the time to do the work before break or after I retured to campus at 10pm last night DID factor into my decision to email my professors.) Of course not!

So now I'm debating ... try to go to class anyway? Or just miss those 2 classes I had planned on missing and use the classtime to do the work?

I feel like such a slacker student. I've never skipped classes before ... not when I didn't have a legitimate excuse, like a conference or a mandatory performance/class/what-have-you for my degree program which ALWAYS takes precedence (their opionion) over anything else we do, even if it inconveniences their colleagues in the other departments in MySchool.

I think I will decide after I indulge in a lovely, LONG shower. I had calculated that I'd gotten maybe 6 hours of sleep in that 70-hour period (with the time changes... but I was really tired, so my calculations may have been off) ... but I didn't calculate how long it's been since I had taken a shower (not quite as long, but long enough that I feel gross). Oh, and Daylight Savings Time? MY calendar said that it wasn't until April 1st! (I figured out something was wrong when my cell phone and my alarm clock read two different times.) It's probably a good thing that it happened yesterday because it's one hour less difference to which my body has to adjust from Italy to here!
~*~*~*~

I do promise to write more interesting things about the trip ... and post pictures! It really was amazing!!!

Italia

When I get home, I will hook up my camera so I can post photos .... but ... as I am sitting now in an internet cafe in Firenze (Florence) ... no photos yet. Trip has been amazing ... Rome (2 days, 1.5 left within our trip), Venice(2 days), and our first day (of 2.5) in Florence ...

I have had gelato every day (except for today) ... and wine every night. I did get picked up by Italian guys and one tried to kiss me ... More stories later since I need to email my parents ... but ... all is well and wonderful. :-)

Buon giorno :-)

Godwilling, I'll have been in Rome for nearly 6 hours by this time tomorrow. :-)

My girls were advising me to find a nice Italian guy while over there.

"Take pictures of all the handsome ones!"

Now, I've been warned about the stereotypical behavior of the Italian men. Apparently, making eye contact is an invitation to flirting ... but I teased back,

"I won't only take pictures of them ... I'll take pictures with them - a new Italian boyfriend each day!"

When I return, I'll probably have tons of work to do ... but ... I'll definitely try to write as soon as I can ... :-)

I can't believe I'm leaving for Italy today!!!