lessons in why traveling the day before a final is an unwise idea

[theladyrose]

Venezia Mestre isn't the worst place to be stranded in the middle of an unexpected transportation workers' strike.

It's just that with less than 12 hours before the first part of your Italian I final and after a good 11.5 hours on the train from Vienna, you really don't want to be dumped overnight rooming with Venice's ugly cousin, hoping that you'll be able to snag the first train to Verona at some unknown ungodly hour.

I could talk about how Vienna was otherwise worth a wonderful weekend of procrastinating on finals and papers by touring Hapsburg palaces and art museums, but I really need to get back to work.

In the meantime, on a more serious note, a former classmate/student of mine (yes, it's complicated) has been documenting the typhoon disaster in the Philippines that has been relatively ignored in the news media. I highly respect his work as a freelance photojournalist and recommend checking out his coverage and his other photographic work here.

Comments

[dancing-avenger.livejournal.com]

oh my. i stayed in mestre while on vacation. not that exciting. good luck!

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And good luck on the job hunting process!

[laleia.livejournal.com]

Um, I wouldn't really refer to any of the CIRCLE people as my students, perhaps because it's not really a class, or because I don't think I really taught anything so much as guided and/or existed as a resource.

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

I never know how to refer to CIRCLE people to those not familiar with the program, especially since so many of them are our friends. CIRCLE wasn't a real class, but I do think it was a legitimate seminar. Participants is probably a more fitting word, but I'm still not quite satisfied with that word.

[(Anonymous)]

I, personally, like to go with "friends" although I suppose in your case, "suitor" or "ex-beau" would work just as well ...

[laleia.livejournal.com]

P.S. That was me, by the way.

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

"Ex-beau" doesn't work at all because he was *never* a beau in the first place! (Cease your mocking laughter, I can hear it across the Atlantic.) Suitor's rather quaint, but I guess it works. Technically he's more like "the one guy who tricked me into going on a date that was the one date I went on last year."

But oh, wait, you saw that firsthand :P

[laleia.livejournal.com]

I don't think that is really considered a date considering you MADE ME GO WITH YOU and used me as a human shield. Just saying.

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that you (maybe April) pointed out that I was being trick dated in the first place and that you so kindly volunteered to serve as a shield, which I then socially pressured you into doing...