Did you miss me? Does anyone still read this?

You don't really have to answer any of those questions.

We've returned from Italy on Monday. It was a great trip. I'm still amazed at how freakin' HUGE all the monuments are in Rome. It seems the prevailing attitude is "I'm going to build a bigger monument/church/fortress/sculpture than my predecessor". This attitude infuses popes and emperors alike. No one is immune.

Venice is a city that doesn't have that "huge monuments strewn all over the place" mentality that Rome does. I love Venice, but I can see the city's slow destruction. Venice is like an incredibly rich dessert that has been sitting out on the counter too long. You know it might be past its prime, but it still looks so good that you want to eat it. You can see it rotting and sinking. Venice's ONLY industry is tourism, which is dangerous for the city. However, there's such a big attraction to the city. It's independent from the rest of Italy. It knows what difficulty it's facing. That makes you fall in love with Venice.

These are some brief thoughts about a big trip. Maybe I'll fill in more later.

I've returned home to my busy life. Nothing has changed. There is still a ton to do, and not much energy to do it. I'm going to New York next weekend, to follow the Camp Out movie. We are working on our apartment building to beat the band. TNP needs some attention. Like I said, lots to do.

In the craziness, I'm going to try to spend some moments writing my thoughts down here. I will need a space to record my thoughts.