i smoked my first cigar on the beach in ft lauderdale. i wasn't very good at it. in my opinion, "breathe in" and "inhale" mean exactly the same thing. apparently, the difference in the definitions is the difference between looking smooth and coughing up a lung, which i nearly did. in our seven days in florida, we got a lot of sun, rode a lot of waves, and made a grandiose sandcastle and an even more grandiose wall of sand to protect it from the waves. unfortunately, sand isn't much of a match for the tide coming in. the guys ate a lot, slept a lot, and played in the water a lot. the girls got free henna tattoos on the boardwalk, checked out by a few bored lifeguards, and thrown in the ocean once or twice. we all took a memorable midnight swim. and now i've got three more weeks of school, graduation, and a month or two to get myself together before i start school in august. time was crawling along and now suddenly it's all moving in warp speed and i can't figure out how i can possibly have only 25 days till i'm out of here. i went running when i got back on campus today and finished up by spending some time praying in my favorite spot. the trees have bloomed since we left before break, and the wind was blowing some petals around. i thought of that old-school scorpions song winds of change. we always heard it the summer i was in greece. the bus driver always listened to this old-school rock station and it played over and over. change is blowing around today, twisting the new leaves and shaking the petals on the trees. and the wind of change blows straight into the face of time like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell...

and here's a virtual tour of my vacation...
"a bar, a party, an institution"
the best waiter (and great food)
the worst waitor (and great food)
where we spent most of our time...