Clearly Going

In the long-running debate between the mountains and the shore, I think that Hawai’i, the biggest island of the archipelago, may provide the best resolution. We’re staying in Waikoloa, about thirty minutes north of Kona, at a condo overlooking a gorgeous stretch of beach. The complex has been heavily fortified by professional horticulturalists, so from [...]

Full Circle

The last barrier standing between me and being done with my BA thesis was getting a release form signed by my advisor. It’s finals week here at Williams, and she had to proctor the final two-and-a-half hour exam for ARTH 102: Introduction to Western Painting. It was taking place in the massive subterranean auditorium in Bronfman, the [...]

Come on Oliver, let’s lounge!

So I haven’t posted in forever. It happens.
The Bahamas were just lovely, with plenty of lounging, reading, eating, lounging, swimming, lounging, judging, eating, lounging etc. going on.
Spring finally arrived in Williamstown in the form of summer, and at 91º this weekend it was time for a tasty Poker F picnic, a perfect end to a [...]

Apple pancakes

Another finals week done. I think between the six of us our house wrote enough for a full-length dissertation in the past nine days, and so it was with relief that we dug into our finals Sunday brunch, Poker F style (which was a good way to use up our excess apple supply before leaving [...]

Fried Artichokes and Passport Control

My final four days of Italy were spent in Rome, which was just as chaotic, ugly, and beautiful as everyone said it would be. We hit the usual spots (the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum) and they were all packed with tourists, but also all stunning and worthy of their place in the standard [...]

Ik heb de T-FACTOR!

When I was waiting at the gate for my flight from Gatwick to Fiumicino this January, I watched as each passenger came up to the agent and flashed his or her passport. I was the only American on the flight, and I was feeling quite lonely.
A couple months later the situation felt quite different as [...]

Italo Calvino

Here (finally) is something in response to some friends’ study-abroad panic attacks, from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities:
“And yet I know,” he would say, “that my empire is made of the stuff of crystals, its molecules arranged in a perfect pattern. Amid the surge of the elements, a splendid hard diamond takes shape, an immense, faceted, [...]

GOOSE LIVER!

Title inspired by purloined from this excellent strip.
I am leaving for Newark Airport in just under three hours. nnnnnn! I am very nervous about all the logistics in getting to Rome, but that is undoubtedly caused by my anal-retentive need to be in complete control and awareness of what is going on, which doesn’t happen [...]

Back Home!

Made it back home yesterday without great incident.
The last night on the Cape (Friday) is, understandably, a little melancholy for everyone in the house. Strangely, I wasn’t feeling this malaise, nor had I been much plagued by any looming worries about the upcoming year or even just what I’d do the week that I got [...]

Spring Break woo-hoo

Sorry for being totally absent for the last week. I got home and I just had to mentally check out. Seriously, it’s been non-stop eating, sleeping, and watching old seasons of The West Wing.
Midterms closed up on a good, let-it-all-out note (thanks, Ruth!) and, despite the fact that all of my various job prospects are [...]