Still alive. (Well, barely. 'Tis finals season.)

I'm still reeling from a 20-page paper and presentation I had to put together for my Istanbul Architecture class.

My topic was [please note: this is a direct quote, exactly what I had to work with, grammatical errors included]: "urban & functional development of Hippodrome Area & its environments."

To everyone who prayed me through the paper, thank you. I needed it. I didn't actually hit the 20 page mark, but after seeing that in Turkey, photos count towards your page limit (I didn't have any), I don't feel so bad. I think I covered everything I needed to.

And it's done. That's what I'm happiest about.

In fact, I'm so happy that my body rebelled and decided to get sick on Friday.

And I have more pictures! [Thank goodness for visiting family members who give you proper incentive to be a tourist.]

Except for the two painfully obvious exceptions, everything is from the Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum.

[Carpet detail]

[Lots of carpets. They have one of the world's largest collections.]

[Carpet detail]

[Selçuk tile detail]

[Detail of door from Grand Mosque of Cizre]

There are also a lot (well, that's putting it somewhat lightly) of illustrated Qu'rans. I'll put them up in their own post, probably tomorrow sometime.

m.

[Not. Counting. Days.

Not. Counting. Days.

Not. Counting. Days.]

When they talk about life experiences,

I don't think they usually count getting balsamic vinaigrette in your eye. However, it is most definitely an experience.

In other, slightly more pertinent, news:

My mom and I got back on Tuesday. I don't want to go anywhere ever again. Unless it's Turkey.

Un/fortunately, there are a few other things scheduled for this summer.

O., my cousin, is out of the hospital. (Yay!) She's doing better and better every day. There wasn't any swelling, and no more bleeding than the doctors expected. It goes without saying that she's covered in scabs--arms, legs, and face. In addition, her right eye looks like an eleven-year-old from the eighties was let loose in a makeup store.

My grandpa is also out of the hospital, although he's in rehab (no, obviously not that kind...although it is entertaining to imagine an 83-year-old there...).

I am from, and in, Tacoma. It is 9:46pm and 79 degrees. Things are not right in the world.

Tacoma has an official-ish-ish music video, Two Five Three. Two warnings: it contains language, and accurately describes the city I live in.

The new INK magazine is out here. The photography is always good, as are the featured artists. What makes this particular issue so cool are:

page 17. An article by Alex Taitague about boat shoes. Similar to Hugh Gallagher's NYU application essay. Which, incidentally, is well worth reading.

pages 182-7. Chelsey Scheffe. She can do just about anything. I should know. Not only did I sit by her at graduation, we went to China together our senior year (read: spent three weeks together in the same house).

pages 140-5. And interview with Isaiah Whitmore, a fashion student. I went to high school with him, too. He is gifted, is one of the sweetest people I know, and both come across in his interview.

About a year ago, my cousin K. (out of my three cousins, she's the coolest. Sorry. I take that back. Out of my entire family, she's the coolest) told me about The Big Bang Theory. Since I now have to wait until next summer for more Doctor Who and I'm out of school (read: not hanging around the math lounge, listening to conversations about topology, theoretical physics, stats, and computer science), my geek coefficient has been significantly reduced. Big Bang Theory has changed that. It's about Sheldon and Leonard, theoretical and applied physicists, respectively, and their troubles operating in the real world. Sadly, it's quite accurate. Even more sadly, I understand most of what they're talking about.

m.

slowing down

Remember how I said things were slowing down?

Well, I lied.

Not on purpose, of course.

We found out on Wednesday that my younger cousin got hit by a car while riding her bike, and then we found out this morning my grandfather broke his hip.

Yes, all this in only three days.

They're both in the hospital (my cousin's still in the ICU), and we don't know when they'll be out. We're flying out today (in a few hours, actually) and will be there until Tuesday.

If you could pray for them, that would be wonderful. Well, actually for all of us. There are the grandparents, the parents, and the two cousins, and then the aunt and...me.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

2 Corinthians 1:2-5

m.

Oh, yeah. This, I think, qualifies this as the worst 4th I have ever had.