Recently

The most stressful issue of the day, though connected with others, is definetly what to do next semester. I am currently rushing to get a passport and visa worked out for Florence, which in a difficult decision I am leaning to over Budapest. Though I have family and family background in the latter, the program in Florence seems tighter and well run and I can visit budapest. It will cost about 14,000, much of which will come from me. So I need to figure that out. To complicate things I sent in my app to apple after my interview, and I won't hear back until after I nede to decide Florence (the first big payment is due on the 15th). I am also going to send my resume to studios that Imagineering hires for consulting work, and I won't hear back from them soon either.

Stressfully enough, my computer is also crashing every 5-30 minutes and I am retyping this for the second time. It will be sent in to apple soon.

That brings us to Disney class. Today we had class at Dr. D's house. You see, he has a room, the buki buki rooom, decorated (or rather themed) in a tiki manner. As it is our week to discuss adventureland and representing the other, it was an appropriate setting. It is a great entertaining or studying room, with a large collection of books, many disney, a large collection of tiki themed items, and a volcanic rock fountain (well thats outside). He and his wife were great hosts and it made for a fun class. Tonight was no exception, however, to the issue that irks me about the class. It seems that we never quite make the leap to where what we talk about is really useful, at least for me. We talk about the theory, for example that presenting exhibitions of other places at a world's fair eventually makes a comment on the presenters (this isn't really one of the more theoretical discussions but stay with me). We, the presenters, are able to create this space, we are able to present all this and classify it. We are over them. OK, so the reading makes this point, and we can see the connection to Epcot. . so? is there a moral implication (we never outright discuss it, if there is)? How does this affect the guest? Or really, why is that important in the wider picture of WD, the US, or our commodity driven culture? How do we use this ovservation?

More significantly on the subject of the D, this friday we have the conference at the Henry Ford, headlined by Marty Sklar! Carel ann Marling is also speaking. It should be some day. And a week later we are leaving for our weekend at WDW! That friday Dr D announced today, we will be meeting with an Imagineer, not sure who, and the President of celebration in celebration. And then the evening is in the MK, and I believe saturday is in animal kingdom. Dr. D also gave us the book, Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom as gifts today, which was extremely generous of him and I am excited to read it. I know that there are some big oppurtunities ahead of me, and I am nervous that I won't be ready to soak it all in, or really that I don't know enough to appreciate it all or I"m not in a state to appreciate it all, or I won't be ready with intelligent enough questions to position myself for any kind of consideration for employment down the road.

Right so... yesterday I acheived the first of several semester goals. I beat my previous best mile time 7:01 (from junior year, i think) and beat my goal of a 7 with 6:42. I am 99% sure that I ran 8 laps. Sometimes I forget, but i was running about 50 second laps until I sped up on the last, so it makes sense.

I went to a meeting tonight at the JRC about a trip they are running in december to Israel to study at a yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusaleum. Andrew did a similar but longer trip before camp last spring. Between what he has said and tonight I am pretty excited about it. I need to interview, and hopefully I get the full scholarship and it's only 399. Jordan and Mike Feldman are also going. It would be a terrific oppurtunity. I wanted to wait for Ben to be eligible for Birthright so we could experience Israel together, but who know where Israel or us will be in a couple years. And Andrew pointed out that they are really single age trips, so I would be with predominatley people Ben's age.

He turns 17 on Sunday, so I will be making the trek home to celebrate that this weekend. Looking forward to that. In the meantime I have a lot of work and deciding to do.