With three weeks remaining before final reviews (DEC.8), schedules are getting tight, stress levels are increasing and spirits are a little low. Valuable final presentations and papers are due soon for some of the most boring classes that I will ever take as a student. Funds are low and plans need to be made for winter and summer traveling.

It snowed yesterday, reminding me of previous winters, old friends, my old apartment and my undergraduate years.

There were two school wide lectures this week. The first was a presentation of research compiled by professor of Urban Planning Dan Hess during a visit he made shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans region. Sauerbruch Hutton Architects presented on Thursday. Beautiful buildings--sustainability--blah blah blah. The designs were received well by architects and faculty, so well that a very excited architect made the outrageous statement that Hutton's work "was the best stuff I have ever seen, ever, in 60 years of being an architect"(I giggled because i thought he was being really sarcastic), but I guess her style of presentation didn't do as much to excite the last 5 rows of students that left well before the end of her lecture. The sound of the exit door opening and closing could be heard throughout the entire lecture. On the other end---planning lectures are usually a little short on visual excitement resulting in low attendance from us architecture students (and faculty). However, the hot topic of "Katrina"(one word) is of such cultural significance that a fairly large number of architecture students showed up and actually stayed.