Pompeii Today: Bill Jennings

April 26

Hey, it's my birthday!

Here are some interesting things that happened on April 26, according to wikipedia and Playbill Online:

121: birth of Marcus Aurelius, one of the so-called Five Good Emperors, and the only Roman emperor to write a work that's regularly read and translated to this day (the Meditations, a work of philosophy in Greek)

1478: Lorenzo de Medici and family attacked by the Pazzi while attending mass in Florence; Lorenzo's brother Giuliano is killed

1865: death of John Wilkes Booth, shot while trying to avoid capture for assassinating Abraham Lincoln

1970: Stephen Sondheim's landmark musical Company opens on Broadway, beginning a stellar new phase in musical theater history

1986: The nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Russia, explodes, causing the world's worst nuclear disaster.

People having birthdays today include:

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121)
naturalist John James Audobon (1785)
blues singer Ma Rainey (1886)
Anita Loos (1888), author of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
film director Douglas Sirk (1897)
architect I. M. Pei (1917)
comedienne Carol Burnett (1933)
actor Alan Arkin (1934)
composer Giorgio Moroder (1940)
actress Joan Chen (1961)
actor Jet Li (1963)
POW Jessica Lynch (1983)

Fund Packet

Yesterday I received my official acceptance packet for the big fellowship that I received at the end of March. Of course, there was everything that I expected:  the acceptance form, the indemnity waiver, the instructions on how to file my expense report.  But I also found a few personal touches that made me feel a little bit better about the whole thing:

• A baseball hat, with the encouragement to send in photos of me wearing the hat while on my trip.  (They love to receive postcards, too).
    
• A composition book, so I can journal my thoughts while I'm away
     
• A clear plastic pencil case, so I can file my receipts while I'm gone.

  It's starting to feel real! 

I'm Going To Italy

I finally received the letter that I have been hoping for. 

Back in January, I learned of Fellowship Opportunity #1, which gives teachers money to do an innovative project during the summer.  I wrote up a four-page proposal and ran it past Valentin, who found all the weak points.  After incorporating his suggestions, I sent the proposal in.  A few weeks later, I boiled my proposal down to two pages and submitted it to Fellowship Opportunity #2, a faculty development competition at my school.

In February, my school's fellowship committee met and announced the results of their deliberations (i.e., who would receive Fellowship Opportunity #2) at one of our morning assemblies.  As the committee members were describing the winner's proposal in deliberately gender-neutral language (most of my colleagues are women, yo), I realized they were talking about me and started to hop up and down in excitement.  The kids realized it was me as well, and began to scream and shout their support.  They gave me a standing ovation, which was overwhelming and exciting.  Can you tell why I love my job?  I do it all for them.

Much time passed, and I despaired of ever hearing back from Fellowship Opportunity #1.  The large number of applicants, they explained via a cursory e-mail, meant that the original "we'll get back to you" deadline had to be extended.

On March 30 I received a knock on my door from the UPS guy.  He had in his hand a legal envelope and an Amazon package.  He had me sign for the Amazon package, and then he left.  Le sigh.  A few seconds later, though, he knocked on my door again.  The legal envelope was also for me.

I tore it open, knowing it was from Fellowship Opportunity #1.  The envelope was heartbreakingly thin, so I steeled myself for the bad news.

I won the entire amount that I had asked for.  The maximum allowed, actually.  More than three times Fellowship Opportunity #2.

So. 

This summer I'll be traveling to Rome and Naples, among other places.  I've got enough money to stay for six or seven weeks, possibly longer.  I'll be taking photos and doing research, all with the goal of creating an educational website about daily life in ancient Roman times.  I'll also be creating a travel blog to document my journey, and uploading pictures to Flickr and doing all sorts of other things. 

I'm using this Yahoo 360 space to write down travel tips and links to relevant websites.  It's for me, but also for Valentin, my parents, my brother James, my sister, and my co-worker Jeanne, all of whom are making their first trip to Italy this summer and will be meeting me in Rome for some or all of their visit.