Bureaucracy, the gym, and computer maintenance (in a nutshell)

So to catch up on this week so far... classes are good, I am more or less understanding things. I should probably get more on top of my reading though, as I will start my third class in about two weeks and for 4 weeks or so, I will have all three classes on my plate. In History of European Identity, it seems we now have 4 students, and we are all from different countries! There is still the guy from Elba, and then two girls, one Brazilian and the other Greek. The Greek girl doesn't seem too confident in Italian - she was asking if there was a copy of our textbook in English... but it is nice to have a few more and I found lecture interesting yesterday.

I have also started going to a gym! Federico took me Tuesday morning to get signed up and everything, I thought he was going to work out too (ie he was going anyway) but it turned out he didn't. I signed up for three months (and if all works well I will sign up for 5-6 months after December). I worked out a tiny bit Tuesday but it was all so new and Federico was nicely waiting for me, so I didn't stay long. Then yesterday I did more of a "real" workout, which felt good since I haven't had a good workout routine since last semester at Georgetown. Hopefully the fact that I paid for it will keep me motivated to actually go three times a week! Between the health benefits and the money, I think I should be good. Even though it makes me a bit busier, I think it adds some good structure to my routine.

Encountered some more bureaucracy yesterday... I bought a student monthly pass for the bus, only to discover I also need a special card from the bus company saying that I am indeed a student. I thought maybe I could get that card at all the stores where they sell the passes but no... after visiting two of those stores the clerk at the second told me I had to go to the ATAF office by the station, so walked to the station, and first I went to the normal window, but THAT clerk pointed me to another office, where I discovered there was a form to fill out and a line to wait in. I didn't have time though, I was meeting Mairi for lunch. I took a form though and I have it mostly filled out. Apparently I also need another passport photo... luckily I am pretty sure I have at least one extra left with me. I was going to go this morning but time got short, so hopefully I can fit it in tomorrow, because in the meantime I am buying normal tickets which defeats the point of the monthly pass, saving money. At least I just have to jump through these extra hoops only once - the student card will be valid through when I leave in June... thank goodness. Too bad I didn't know ahead - I would have done this earlier! Just another thing I suppose.

Luckily another problem has been solved in a more complete way - my computer had been running a bit slow due to a problem with the fan. I wasn't sure if it was clogged or broken. After talking with my dad and e-mailing Dell, I figured I should clean it before deciding for sure that it was broken, and somehow got convinced I had to take the computer apart to clean it. I asked Federico if I could borrow a screwdriver, and to make a long story short my Italian family ended up adopting my issue right in the middle of dinner (not what I intended!). Federico took out the rest of the screws that I hadn't gotten to, but the computer still wouldn't open. Then Cristina called her father, who apparently fixes computers. After getting some of his advice, we decided to stop trying to open it, and figured okay we will vacuum it from the outside... so Federico took a vacuum to it and we left it at that. Well lo and behold, I turned the computer on to test it, and it ran normally again! Plus I could hear a very quiet whirring of the fan and felt airflow... seems as though at least for now the solution was a simple cleaning. I was also touched by the concern of Federico and Cristina, as I had really intended to try to address the issue on my own.

Still figuring out what to do this weekend - I thought maybe I'd have a friend coming into town but that probably won't work, so I am suddenly free. I definitely need to shop for shoes... the ones I brought with me are looking sadder by the day. And I am thinking of maybe trying to get to the Uffizi gallery for the first time. It is a definite MUST in Florence, and maybe (just maybe?) the crowds will be slightly less crazy than in early September. At any rate, I can skip the line and get in for free with my handy "Amici degli Uffizi" card which Lucia helped me get soon after I arrived.

I think that is all for now... obviously if I think of anything I will write more!