coa goa - week one

we started classes on wednesday morning: architecture history with stephano, field studies with virginia, and studio with stephano. our project will be a mixed-use housing facility and our site is a mountain side on the city's edge with a view down to the valley and into the harbor. the horizon is an infinite ocean. we had to hike up the mountain via a paved road to be able to appreciate the views from the site, but it was worthwhile. the graffiti on the retaining walls was vivid and brilliant, energizing the roadway which would otherwise be bordered by a massive concrete sheer wall.

i have a primo spot in the studio by a window with a view de la mere. my back is against the wall and my desk faces everyone else, so no one can see what i am working on unless they are standing right next to me. privacy is a luxury in this place and i will savor what little isolation i can find.

i plugged my computer power strip into the outlet wed night and tripped several circuits in the villa. there was popping and then no illumination - on two floors. the internet went out, too. we got the problem fixed - that is, my computer would remain without power for the time being. i needed to track down several more adapters to accommodate the monitor, cpu, and external harddrive. ron suggested an electronics store at the bottom of the funicular, so clint, averett, and I took the mountain-bus down into the city. the path from the villa to the funicular is lovingly called the "stairway to heaven" because the stairs are an almost straight run of about 250 treads. i will post a picture of this cruelty, but you can not feel my pain unless you actually climb these damn things. we joke that we will all have calves of steel by semester's end. at the bottom of the train ride, we exited and found the store, which didn't have a damn thing we needed. the only adapter he could offer me was from a german plug to and italian one. i refuse to play a game of telephone with my computer's power supply, so i declined the german adapter. he gave me an address for another electronics store that might carry the proper equipment.

i had trouble going to sleep thursday night so i started to read "the architecture of happiness" by alain de botton ( thanks beezer ) and it was quite delightful. i am about two-thirds through the text and will finish it up sometime this weekend for sure. i am finding i have a lot of spare time when there isn't a television or radio around. ill post the highlights of the book upon completion.

my only complaint about the villa is that there are no comfortable chairs to curl up in and read. we have a couch, but it can hold only a couple of people. one or two leather chairs somewhere, especially in the library, would be much appreciated.