A Girl With a Sword

it's such a wonder that I think I'll sleep instead

I'm at Stanford, all checked into the institute and sitting in my dorm room. I got here and took a nap. It's been a long day, but it's still not dinner time. Dinner is the first meal my meal card (oh sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you!) will get me.

Let me tell you, California is magical, seriously, aside from the fact that my familiarity with California comes from the combined powers of Hollywood, The Decemberists, and Dave Eggers, California itself is a pretty magical looking place, soft, round little hills, with trees in just the right places, oleanders along the highway, bougainvillea (for those in the know, the drive down here from San Francisco reminded me of the drive between Gaeta and Sperlonga, except I couldn't see the sea). It really feels like I'm not even in America anymore. I found myself thinking, 'oh, this looks just like Southern France, in the old movies . . .' then I realized it probably was Southern France in the old movies. The weather is stunning, warm with a fresh breeze. I haven't seen much of my fellow instituters, besides invading another girls' room so I could use their ethernet cable to get my computer on the sweet sweet wireless. Most people don't seem to have arrived yet.