I've had a great shift in thought recently. I realize now how much worrying about the future was consuming my thoughts. I suddenly have all this extra time to devote to stuff that actually matters or that I can actually control rather(not that getting into a grad school didn't matter). I've actually started piecing together a first draft of my thesis.. More on that soon. I've also filled out paper work so I can live at the Jen library for the rest of the year. Thesis students can actually reserve cubicles, which were once used as Levy's department store dressing rooms.. It's actually a really cool adaptive reuse. SCAD's good at stuff like that.

The library is rich in history. It has a very prominent location on Savannah's Broughton St., and was the site of one of Savannah's most notable sit-ins during the civil rights movement.On a much lighter note:

I have a new item on my wish list:

There clearly needs to be a Jefferson...

I want to share this picture -it's where I ventured to on my birthday for some

'de-stress time' with my best friend... It seems that I've been struggling to control my stress lately, but this place definitely helped. Anyone recognize it? I'll give you a little hint:

"RUN FORREST RUN!"

I got a phone call tonight-

I got into the University of Virginia's Master of Architectural History program! It's an amazing program that is at the cutting edge of the field, and I am so exhaustedly excited.. I admittedly barely kept my composure while the Chair of UVA's department delivered the good news over the phone. As soon as I hung up I screamed loud enough to alarm everyone on my block, right before I ran laps around Forsyth park... Then I called my parents and sisters.

I feel blessed-this is a great opportunity...There so many things I want to do right now, but perhaps it would be best if I left it at that.

It was quite an eventful weekend...

The Seventh Savannah Symposium was truly a success in my opinion. Professionals of the field flocked to Savannah to deliver research papers, as well as, Dr. Louis Nelson, chair of the University of Virginia's Department of Architectural History and Dr. Kenneth Foote Professor of Geography and American & European Landscape at UC-Boulder who delivered separate keynote lectures on the 'Spirituality of Place.' Both delivered good talks on separate different discussions.

I needed the symposium. Every year I go to a conference or symposium it inspires me. When I get to see the work others are doing- the research-I get to take my mind off of my own projects and papers for a day or two. It really recycles my ambitions to do Architectural History. Interestingly enough it also gives me determination and a greater drive to want to go to grad-school in Architectural History. This is a bad and good thing, as I wait for my admissions decisions.

Saturday night I had a birthday party at Wild Wings Cafe. It was truly a delight to have my closest friends around me this year(compared with the last). Speaking of last year-a year ago today my mother arrived to be with me at the hospital in Marseilles, France. I'll never forget how surprised and completely emotionally altered I was to see her. It was a flood of both good and remorseful feelings. We hugged each other for what felt like an eternity, but while I had become numb in many ways to the idea that I'd never get home. She was just beginning the struggle. It was perhaps the greatest birthday present I've received to date, and the hardest birthday in terms of physical and emotional incident.

I spent Sunday evening with someone amazing.

I've been feeling different lately.

For the first time in my life, stress- trust me I'm feeling it-seems to only affect my mind. I know if you're just reading this blog for the first time you may be a bit confused. My teenage years were defined by how bad my body felt. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in high school and it seemed to have an effect on everything I did. Today, I don't seem to feel the same. I don't seem to have stomach pain when I get stressed out, and I don't carry a fever when I'm upset. Find wood and knock on it NOW. haha

It's been a hectic week.

(The preface might not do it justice.)

First, I went to Eleanor this weekend. I have begun some intense research for my thesis. I'm in the thick of the main 'field survey' I'm calling it. I am doing a lot of measuring and overall data collection about what remains of my site. My biggest challenge when writing so far has been to eliminate some thoughts and discussions. There seems to be so many issues and broader topics that I'm having

to eliminate to get to the main topic ideas..Every keeps telling me "remember this is only an undergraduate thesis." below is the Eleanor Presbyterian Church(from the original concept of 1937)

Second, I've been losing sleep still. The admissions decisions are getting closer, and things are coming down to the wire for graduate school admissions. I can't wait to receive the final decision just so I can sleep peacefully again. Perhaps even a rejection is better than not knowing..well maybe.

Third, the seventh Savannah Symposium is this week. Architectural Historians from all over the world will come to Savannah to deliver papers and discussion topics in the field of architectural history. I am looking forward to a great weekend of lectures. The topic for this year's biannual symposium is 'Spirituality in Space'. Topics

range from western to nonwestern and cover just about every time frame.

Also, my friends are having me a birthday party.They're calling it 2/22 Bowties and Blu.. LOL I might have been the inspiration for this. They invited a few friends to go to Wild Wings cafe on Saturday night after the Symposium is over. I look forward to seeing everyone. I will surely be blogging soon on my symposium experience.

Finally, make sure to check out my friend Jennifer's blog(I helped design it so give her good feeback ;] ) it focuses on Standardbred horse harness racing(say that ten times fast.

I have the flu. I've had a runny nose, ear ache, head ache, and all those other odd aches that come along with the territory(including a sore nose by this point). Some how in the middle of it all I've stopped to reflect on where I was last year. I would have been back in France, still hospitalized. It makes the flu feel like a holiday.

My sister has impeccable timing-she sent me a package in the mail[not knowing that I was sick]. It was full of all the essentials(well sort of) and much more.Thanks MAC-the beats are freshly addictive, and the candy is gonna be amazing when I can taste it. LOL

I miss my family much. I'm looking forward to graduation-perhaps just as an excuse to see everyone.

In other news. I sent out a few extra last minute Grad school applications, and now I sit and wait. I couldn't tell if I was over thinking about it last night or if it was my fever that was keeping me up. Blah. I'll give it a few more weeks, a few more prayers, and a few more sleepless nights.

WAR, ART, & ARCHITECTURE

War hasn't been nice to art, artifacts, and architecture in the past.This should be an obvious thought. War hurts more than the people and governments involved. Some easy examples I can think of

off hand would include(these are just a few):

The French Revolution

Aside from people losing their heads from all sides of the conflict, many people saw it fit to destroy architectural details and sculpture. Here are some examples. I took these photos in Avignon.. From a portal at the Palais

de Papes(Popes Palace) where the papacy was in the fourteenth century. During the time period of the French Revolution around 1792 churches were looted and dest

royed along with royal

buildings of course.

WWII EXAMPLES

There are numerous examples of destruction from the Second World war. Paintings displaced and even lost are countless. As the Nazi's swept Europe they both looted and misplaced famous works. One famous Example is Raphael's self portrait pictured below.

As well the Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt.(one of my all time favorites) And finally Johannes Vermeer's The Astronomer .

In an attempt to "exterminate the Polish people and culture" parts of Warsaw the Polish Capitol was turned to rubble. Pictured in the background is the Catholic church left standing.

The United States is by far no where clean of blame. US bombers are to blame for the bombing of Monte Cassino. Monte Cassino is a notable hilltop monastery from the first century. It is where many believe that the Benedictine order was written, which set the basis for monastic tradition in the western world..(kind of a big deal...lol) The United States ended up bombing it because of a Nazis stronghold on the mountain top there..

Many call this the 'one of the greatest architectural loses of WWII'

The Iraq War

The war in Iraq was another conflict that saw its share of looting and great lose of art, artifacts and antiquities. (TO BE Continued)

As political disputes continue taking place in Egypt. We can only wait and wonder what the outcome will be, but further how it will change the largest collection of antiquities owned by one country.This is a link to Dr. Zahi Hawass's(Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, ) website which has daily updates on what has happened so far http://www.drhawass.com/

While the countdown to Graduation and more importantly Graduate School acceptance is taking forever. I can at least be informed about it when it does happen.. SCAD has created a Graduation Blog to inform students. This is a good thing: http://blog.scad.edu/graduation/.

Countdown: Exactly 4 months...(!)