Summer: That annoying break between school

I should have gotten to my Europe updates earlier, but I'll just look at it from the standpoint of having more time to reflect on my experiences. Yeah, I love good excuses. Actually, it's probably a good thing because I just decided that I should illustrate my trip with the loads of pictures I took. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that this would be a good idea. Anyway, this message will stay up here while my new retroactive posts appear below. They might be a little more detailed and drawn out compared to my "normal" writing, since a lot happened on the trip that I may or may not want to read about years down the road. In case you're curious, here are some recent developments since my return from Europe:

I saw my diploma for the first time several days ago. I had it all along, but it was covered up by a simple piece of paper stating my major, which I thought was my diploma. "Not quite as fancy as I imagined," I thought. Well, it's actually pretty nice.

While digging through my stuff, I found the first mixed CD I ever made, circa 1997. It had Weird Al and Will Smith on it. Back when mp3s and CD-Rs were still emerging, I had a business in making mixed CDs for friends. The problem was that all my friends listened to rap, and I didn't. So I had to go and familiarize myself with all sorts of rap music. Up until then, I thought Will Smith was rap. Even Weird Al raps harder than he does.

I found a roommate for next year who has an apartment along the canal in downtown Indy. From what I've heard, I think there is a pool in my "backyard." Maybe I can finally learn how to swim. Either that or I'll just end up studying all the time.

I brought back a couple bottles of wine from Europe. On June 12, about a week after my return, I was drinking milk while checking out the wine labels. Next thing I knew, I was swirling my milk and holding it under my nose to sniff it. That's when I knew I had had too much wine in Europe.

And then I found ten euros.