Empty nights are both a gift and a curse, the gift of them lying in the solitude. Not that particularly after such lonely days as this I require still the same, but that I am not lost in being alone. There was a method in my initial selection of solitude which I was too blinded by fear of it to see.

I chose solitude so that in the case of emptiness I might use it constructively instead of frowning about a roommate or the weather or my current condition. So there is some blessing in that.
I can’t stop thinking about the Profumeria behind S.M. Novella. My time there was the first really in which I was struck by the age of a place, by the miracle of its continuous existence, almost its ability to be in many moments at once. It is cavernous, pure and dark, marble and figures everywhere. The things made therein are still made according to the recipes created by the monks who developed it in the 13th century. Many a Christmas gift will be found therein.
The humidity here is high, but I enjoy it far more than I’d imagined. I think it’s marginally lower than Hawaii. It keeps air warm even in the darkest of days.

If I do follow up with my intended Religious Studies minor, I will have no room for any additional writing classes without enrolling in a 5th class. I will also be unable to Pass/No Credit any of the Religious Studies or Media Studies classes, so when things begin to pile up, I will be able only to address them fully, no escape. Not that I might attempt escape from the Religious Studies courses; more at risk I think are my Media Studies courses, a major I wish I could change altogether, but… The first semester of my junior year of a major mostly completed is certainly not the time to begin. Besides, I think a Religious Studies major would overwhelm me; there is just reason for everything, including my realizing my interest in Religious Studies this late in the game.