Still alive and in Italy!

It took a little less than 17 hours of travel to get here, including trains, planes, taxis and buses (and a missed flight in Paris), and I've only been here in Florence for about a day and a half, but all I can think about is how happy I am here. I feel so absolutely at-home and alive-- it blows London out of the water despite the fact that I don't even speak Italian. I can't stop smiling!

I'm taking hundreds of pictures and some movies in order to capture every part of this trip. I need to live here.

So it goes.

Ahhh, man. I keep waiting for this little rough patch to end so I can write about it with retrospective clarity, but the damn thing just keeps crawling on. Things are starting to look up, though-- mainly, I have a few exciting job prospects that I'm waiting to hear back about. For about a month or so I was concerned that my cancer had returned, but after about $8,000 of doctor visits and tests (thank goodness for insurance) everything is clear and that issue, at least, is over.

What I really wanted to announce today, though, is that tomorrow night I'm heading to Italy with my family for a week! We've been planning the trip since last Thanksgiving and I almost can't believe it's finally arrived. We're staying in a condo in central Florence but I hope to see as much of the country as I can, with or without my family. One of the things that I'm most excited about on this trip is that I'm not a cash-strapped student like I was when Matt and I went to England and France-- I'm going to be able to enjoy myself and spend money without stressing myself sick. Apparently there is also a computer with internet access in the condo, which means I can post live updates during the trip... at least in theory. Ideally I'll be keeping myself too busy for that.

The only thing I'm worried about is that Evan is very sick at the moment and I'd rather be here to help him. More and more, it seems to be that life isn't about what happens to you, but when.