Magician Nites

im alive!

2007-07-13T22:06:00.000-04:00

well, im alive. i know, its been so long since ive posted that it could have gone either way!

I dont have any real excuses, so I wont try. It was just one of those things where i got futher and further behind, and the idea of trying to catch up was too daunting.

But, since the last time I posted I have...
> taken my 5 week trip to Italy and England - and it was awesome!
> moved to Portland OR
> and just yesterday, made a payment to La Università per Stranieri in Perugia and will be moving back in September!

photo problem fixed

2007-02-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I figured out why some people cant view the photos! There was a slight problem in the html I used for the photos, which some versions of Internet explorer read wrong. So, I've changed the photos in "Snow People" and tomorrow will try and change the other photos.

If there are still problems viewing them, please let me know!

snow people

2007-02-01T15:58:00.000-05:00

After the snow last week, I figured we were done for the year. But this morning it started snowing again. It snowed for an hour or so but didnt stick. Later in the afternoon it started up again, and pretty soon it was sticking. Not to the road, but everywhere else. The urge hit me to make a snowman. Unfortunately there wasnt nearly enough snow (less than an inch) and our yard wouldnt provide the nice clean snow required for a proper snowman. So I did the next best thing - I made mini snow people.

After my mini snow people had spent some time in the snow, they got in the spirits themselves, and made their own snowman. They even had an extra scarf for him.

*note: This post was written yesterday, but blogger wouldnt let me upload photos. Today all the snow is gone! :(

my next adventure

2007-01-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

Well, the snow has come and gone. It's now warmed back up to a point where you can go out in a tshirt and not freeze. My project at work is almost done, and im finding myself suddenly with more time on my hands... Atleast for a couple days until the next project starts. So I thought I'd post about my upcoming trip.

In March I'm taking off for 5 weeks of vacation split between London and Italy! I shouldnt be spending the money on this trip, but my want to see friends prevailed over my need to save money. Plus, I got $500 round trip tickets to London! :D My destinations are already set, and involve mainly hoping around to see different friends, with a little bit of sightseeing thrown in.

First stop is obviously London, where I'll be staying with Fede and hopefully seeing a few other friends who have moved up there. I'll be there for almost a week before flying down to Ancona and going down near Civitanova to see Emanuele, Matteo, Luca and most likely some of their friends who I've met a few times before. I'll only be there for a few days before hoping over to Macerata to see Jackie and Antonello for a few more days. After that its the train up to Milano to hang out with friends from school last year that are still up there. I'll also be hoping up north to see Carole for a day! I'll be spending about a week up there before flying down to Catania to stay with Caterina. Ive worked it out to be down there over easter weekend when she has some extra time off of work to hang out. Since it'll be my first time in Sicily, I'll also be doing a few touristy things on the days that she is working, and although I have a huge list of possible places to go, I havent decided on any and probably wont decide till Im there. Ill be there for about another week, maybe a little longer before getting a flight back up to London. I'll spend my last few days hanging out with Fede again before flying home. Its a lot of moving around, but I'll be in each place long enough that it shouldnt be too bad. Although I know each time I have to say goodbye to people its going to be hard!

snow!

2007-01-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

This morning when I got to work (aka, big warehouse with no windows) it was sunny out, and not too terribly cold. When I left today, there was almost an inch of snow on the ground, and it was coming down hard! A couple miles away from the base though, the flakes started turning into slush and rain. When we got home nothing was coming down, but it was obvious that we had missed a show today while we were gone. I went on my normal walk around the neighborhood, and took a few photos:

knitting and stuff

2007-01-25T06:59:00.000-05:00

I enjoy knitting, but I've found that here in Williamsburg there isnt much use for scarves. This caused me a problem, cause lets face it, a girl only needs so many scarves when she never has a chance to wear them! So for Christmas this year I did a bit of knitting. Not as much as I was planning to, as I got a late start. But I did manage to to knit two scarves, one for my mom and one for Jackie. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of them before I mailed them off. I did get my mom to take a photo of the one I made for her though:

This scarf was also my first attempt at blocking. Obviously it didnt work so well, as the scarf still tends to curl up around the edges. My mom says she likes it this way though, so I suppose all is good. Also in the photo is this weird chicken ornament thing that I got for her. Somehow it seemed like something she would enjoy :) The pattern in the scarf is eyelet diamonds the whole way. Actually fairly easy to do, although a little time consumming.

The scarf I made for Jackie was in the same yarn, but a different pattern. Her's looks a bit more like rounded fans one on top of the other. It was even more time consuming, but again, a simple pattern to follow. Perhaps later I'll take a picture of the picture in the pattern that I used and post that :D

In other news, I'm finding myself with a lot of extra time on my hands in the mornings. I'm working on a project here in town everyday, but we dont leave until around 8.30 or 9.30 depending on the day. I like to give myself an hour to an hour and a half in the morning to get up, shower, read email and have coffee before leaving. And while I have my alarm set for 7.30, I havent actually heard it in over a week. My body keeps waking me up sooner. Yesterday at 6.30, and today at 6! Granted I have been going to bed around 10.30 or 11 at night, do I really need to be waking up before the sun has even started to peep out!? On the bright side, atleast by the time i get to work I'm wide awake!

Catching up

2007-01-03T10:48:00.000-05:00

Okay Okay, so I know its been FOREVER since I've blogged. And I've got no outstanding excuses. But for those of you who may still read this, yes, I am alive!

My trip to the west coast was wonderful. I saw family and friends and had a great time, despite some long rides on greyhound which left me missing the Italian train system.

In Portland I went shopping with my mom, drank way too much wine with my aunt, and explained to my uncle my particular tastes in jewelry (he's into jewelry making). I went out to dinner with two old friends from high school, Paris and Debbie who I hadnt seen in a couple of years it seems like. We must have talked for an hour at the resturaunt before we realized that we should order! There is something great about old friends like them - even if you dont hang out with them very often, you're never at a lack of things to talk about when you do see them and the night always comes to an end way too soon. We decided that the next time we would have to do a 'slumber party' as a few hours at dinner just wasnt enough.

Left: My mom insisted that the cat be in the photo with my aunt and I so there would be atleast one sober person.
Right: My uncle tends to bring out the kid in me.

From Portland my mom gave me and AJ (my friend who was in Senegal with the peace core) a ride down to Corvallis where we met up with our group of college friends for lunch. Luckily, despite forgetting that there was a Beaver home football game that day, we managed to avoid traffic, and slipped in to the restuuraunt between the crowd that was leaving when the game was over, and the crowd that had been at the game and was coming to eat. After lunch we were off to Bend to spend Halloween with friends.

Silly me thought that I could get away without having a costume - not with my friends! When they discovered that I didnt have a costume, I was made into a Christmas tree, yes that's right, a tree. Lights and all. While it didnt rank up there with the best of my costumes, I was surprised about how many people knew what I was and complemented me on it.

Halloween weekend with friends in Bend

Two days later it was back to Corvallis for AJ and me to spend more time with friends there. It was very surreal wondering around Corvallis, but not actually living there anymore. We quickly came to the realization, that Corvallis may be a good place to grow up, and go to school when you have friends around and other activities to keep you occupied, but after that, it's a sucky place to visit.

Back up to Portland I found waiting for me a birthday present from my uncle, an Ipod video! I'd been wanting an ipod for a long time but never found the extra cash to spend on one. It was a great present to get and kept me occupied on the many flights I had to come.

The next day I was off to San Fran where I met up with Kari when she got off of work. That night we went wondering through the Italian district which is by her apartment. It was odd to be walking down the street and hearing Italian spoke amongst the English! The only time I've really heard Italian spoke in America was at Jackie's wedding! I didnt have the opportunity to talk to anyone though, and rather enjoyed just walking around catching pieces of conversations without them knowing I could understand.

The following morning, when we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed to for our favorite passtime - shopping! After wondering through some stores we met up with Christie, another friend we studied with at OSU for tapas and a large pitcher of sangria - needless to say we were a bit happy when we left lunch. Several bus rides and more shopping later, we found ourselves back at Kari's apartment eating take out chow mein and getting ready to head to the club - It was my birthday at midnight! I have no idea what time we got home that night, only that I was both happy and tired from a great night out when we did.

Me, Kari and Christie before going out

Kari was back at work Monday morning and while I had plans to go explore the city more, when I woke up something told me it wasnt going to happen. I'd been fighting off a cold, but it finally caught up with me. I spent the next few days huddled up in Kari's bed while she worked, occasionally venturing out to the store.

Thurs I was off again for another flight, this time to Reno to meet up with (yet another college friend) Jeff. It was great to see Jeff again, even if I was still a bit sick. Friday night we met up with some of his friends from work and went to a club to dance the night away. Despite being in Reno, I'm not much of a gambler so I only put $4 into the slot machines (and only that because it was my last day there and I had it in my pocket.

Monday morning I was at the airport bright and early at 6.30 am, although I didnt get in to Norfolk till midnight. I'll spare you the deatails of the day, only that it was a lot of waiting!

_________________________________

Since my trip life has been pretty normal. Work, sleep, watch tv, play with the cats, etc. Thanksgiving and Christmas were both fairly uneventful at home with Josh and Jen, although it was nice after last year to spend them with family. Now after a bit of a break for Christmas, I'm trying to get myself back into the work mode. Hopefully I wont be quite as bad about blogging this year, although its hard to come up with things to write about when everyday is the same. Perhaps I'll make some more knitting posts... who knows.

I hope everyone has a great 2007!

Vacation!

2006-10-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

I'm finally headed home for a much needed vacation! I bought my ticket out to oregon yesterday, and will be going next wed, the 25th! I havent been home since July 05 so I'm pretty due for a visit. It wont be a real long visit, but it'll be jammed pack.

I'll be heading to Portland first to see my mom and aunt, and a few random friends up there. Then I'll be taking off for a few days with AJ, split between Bend and Corvallis (my hometown) seeing the boys and celebrating halloween the right way! Then it's back up to Portland for another night or two before heading to San Francisco on the 3rd to see Kari and celebrate my 24th birthday on the 5th. My plans at that point are still a bit up in the air, as I may be coming home straight from SF, or I may head to reno for a few days the following weekend to see my friend Jeff and then head back to Virginia after that. Whatever I end up doing, I have a feeling that I'm going to be pretty tired by the time I get home!

all done!

2006-10-02T13:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally finished it, and with only a few tiny errors! (pearl instead of knit, grr!) Kalika seems to like it though :D It's actually an orange color, Beaver Orange really, despite it looking a bit red here. And in length its about 5.5 feet, almost as tall as me! Now I'm on to figure out multi color knitting - I want to do one with two wider cables one color, and the space inbetween another color. I'm going to try knitting it in the round so that all the carries from one color to the next dont show, I just hope that doesnt make it too thick in the end :D

Newest creation

2006-09-20T18:38:00.000-04:00

I've finally gotten back into knitting, after taking a bit of a break this past year. I figured out how to do a cable stitch the other day, and now I'm working on this scarf. Not too shabby. Of course all I ever make is scarfs, but this one is a bit cooler than my normal knit-stich only creations. It's slow going, although I'm not finding it too difficult to do. Certainally is a good way to practice the stich - my next project is to try a cable knit hat to match a purple and orange scarf I made a couple weeks ago. The yarn for that is a bit more difficult to work with though, so I figured I'd better get the feel for it first with this before attempting that one.

In loving memory

2006-09-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

Scooter
Spring 1991 - September 15, 2006

procrastination strikes again

2006-09-10T17:07:00.000-04:00

Well, in typical Lori fashion I have procrastinated a lot this week on work. Which means the next few days are promising to be full of long hours and little other than flash. I always do work better/faster under pressure :D

My brother and Jen are also leaving tomorrow to go to Texas for a week. Which means I'll be stuck at home all week alone. I've got myself set up with a supply of goodies to keep me occupied though: 4 new books (Lipstick Jungle, The Testament, The Broker, and Dante's Inferno) and The Godfather dvd collection. I love the Godfather movies, and have wanted the collection for awhile. I kept trying to find copies online to download, but without luck. Yesterday though, I spotted the set at costco for $30 and I couldnt resist. These along with work should keep me busy, and I always have the cats to talk to ^__^

In Memory...

2006-08-31T14:01:00.000-04:00

In Memory of my uncle Don who passed away this morning, after fighting with cancer the past few months. He could be a pain sometimes, but we loved him anyways and his memory will be with us always.

mozzarella balls

2006-08-08T22:50:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I wrote this post about what i thought i'd miss about italy, and what I thought I would be glad to have back in america. There are certainallly many things I've missed about Italy in the past month, but i hadnt thought of this post until tonight. The other day we bought a container of marienated "fresh" mozzarella balls from Costco. Now I should have known better than to think these would be up to par, but tonight they sounded good, so I tried a few. My first clue should have been when i opened the container to find they were packed like sardines into there... well atleast we got our monies worth i thought... until i tried to stick a fork into them to pull them out. I was met with resistance and knew at once that just as my fork was not sliding into the balls with ease as i was so used to, their taste wouldnt be the same either. I have to say they werent the worst thing i've eaten, and certainally better than american made parmesan, but i dont really know what the mozzarella tasted like. Instead the taste i got was one that reminded me of garlic bread, as the oil they were marinated in was so strong.

Somehow or another my yerning for fresh mozzarella reminded me of my list... (note: current comments written in italics)

Things I'll miss about Italy:
- Fresh, cheap produce Still true, the produce here just isnt quite as satisfying...
- multiple cafes during the day While I miss getting them at the bar, I do have my mocha here and treat myself to two huge 3-shot esspressos a day
- aperativos Definately miss these!
- 5 min breaks always turning into 10 or 15 Well, right now i take as long of a break as i want, so i suppose this doesnt really apply. Although I do miss the company i had during those breaks
- good shopping I went to a mall the other day, not for shopping but to get my eyes checked. I walked through some sort of department store on my way in. passing the "juniors" section i felt appaled by all the gheto gangsta wanna be skanky clothing they were pushing on teenagers. Needless to say i felt no urge to try anything on
- hearing italian I've taken to talking to the cats in Italian, and to my brother when I'm annoyed with him. Otherwise I get an occasional dose of it when I call a friend. I miss having it around me though, and was a bit of an adjustment to hearing English all the time. I still find myself thinking in Italian quite often.
- walking to the store Or walking ANYWHERE for that matter...
- sms-ing (so expensive in the states!) I think I miss my cell phone in general. The poor thing sits on my desk with no connection looking so lonely and neglected
- hearing someone's conversation then spending 5 min debating in my mind whether they were speaking english or italian, cause its getting to the point where i dont automatically distinguish between the two anymore. Cant say i've run into this hear, although somtimes the accents i hear can be as strange as a foriegn language
- going to the bar above the school, getting a cafe in the morning... panino at lunch... another cafe... candy.. another cafe... bottle of water.... and then after it all, and several hours and trips down to the school and back later, finally paying for everything all at once. ahhhh trusting in one another... good faith... the honor system....

Things I'll be happiest to have back in America
- Starbucks! ;) I have actually only had Starbucks 4 times since I've been here. but I am VERY happy to have my flavored syrups back
- 24 hour stores I havent taken advantage of this yet, although it still surprises me when Jenny runs to the store at night and i find myself looking at the clock in shock that it's still open
- access to a car yeah..... a car that i cant drive cause i have no insurance....
- wireless internet now this is one thing I am definately happy to have back!
- my kitty who is laying snuggled up on the bed next to me right now, as he has taken to doing all the time. No one knows how to give better lovin than a cat
- leaving the house in sweats and not getting weird looks okay, still havent brought myself to do this yet, other than going out onto the deck
- english although it can be easier to express myself, i still find myself stumbling as i accidently switch into italian and then get puzzeled looks from my brother
- central heating and airconditioning it's taken me a month to adjust to how cold my brother keeps the house, but after spending half an hour in the open suana called outside, I'm happy to come back to the cold
- mindless entertaining television watching I've got well over 100 stations as well as 3 movie on demand stations each bringing numorous movies to my fingertips, yet i still find myself bored by TV very quickly.
- cat napping on the couch another one i havent done yet. although it is nice to have a comfy couch to curl up and read on

It's hard to sum up what I miss about Italy... I suppose you could say everything other than the government and its annoying rules for foreigners. Especially though I miss my friends... sitting around laughing... walking the streets... hanging out at the columns having a beer... walking late at night to the sandwhich stand for for a to-die-for spicy sausage and grilled veggies hoagie, then sitting in the park making a mess of everything trying to hurry and eat it before it fell apart.....

As far as what im happiest to have back in america.... cheap books at costco, turkey lunch meat, my cat, and flavored coffee syrups.

if i had my choice of where i would wake up in the morning... Italy, no doubt about it.

Virginia....

2006-08-03T11:39:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am, alive and well, and with an actual post about Virginia. Life here is good, although I feel like I'm on an extended vacation visiting my brother. I'm used to spending my days "surfing the net" when I visit my bro, only normally it's for a few days at a time. Now that I've been here a month my days have become relatively routine. Although there have been a few episoides of cultural shock (I still get a bit wide eyed at the selection and shear bigness when I go into a grocery store) I have been pretty well shielded from it. Although I've never been here before, it is still my brothers house, and although significantly bigger than his previous ones it still feels like 'home.' My old coffee table and end table are even here.

I think I have been mostly shielded from the cultural shock, as I hardly leave the house - and when I do its normally to go to the store. The house is pretty far out of town, and as such its impossible to go anywhere without a car. Seeing as my bro/wife have only one car currently, and I'm not on the insurance, I dont go anywhere unless its with them. We did take a trip to Virginia Beach the other weekend, not to actually go to the beach (they're not the lay on the beach type of people) but rather to walk along the "boardwalk." The Boardwalk was like a big fair. Haunted houses, mini golf, rides, tacky souvineer shops, and ice cream lined the street. I think this was probably the clostest to cultural shock I got - only because it was new for me, it almost felt more like going to another country then being in the US. We dont have any beach towns like that in Oregon.

As I said before, my days are mostly spent at home. Here I rotate between watching tv, bumming around on the net, playing CIV, and doing a bit of work. Yes, I am actually working. Although not at a real "job" (seeing as everything is to far away for me to be able to get to one). Instead I have started doing jobs online. Random design work, random monkey work. Things that arent incredibly interesting, and pay isnt great, but I figure if I'm going to spend my days sitting at my computer I might as well get paid for it.

I've also taken to studying. I'm trying to teach myself java and php, in addition to fine-toning my actionscripting skills (flash). The funny thing is, now that I'm done with school, I've actually started studying. I really dont think I've studied this much since HS. Never had the need to study a lot during university. It was a bit rough going at first sitting down with a 500 page book and going through it page by page (to make sure I dont miss anything), but it has become a bit easier over the days. To keep myself sane I stop now and then to make some silly/stupid project using what I've learned. Still, there is only so much my brain can absorb on any given day, so it's going to take awhile to get through this stack of books. Lucky for me programming is mostly math and equations, and i have the type of mentality that soaks them up and understands them without having to re-read. I do it once, and I've pretty much got it.

I did take a walk the other day around the "block" and down to a pond nearby. I was thinking of going a bit further, but by the time I got to the pond my clothes were stuck to me from the humidity, so I decided to turn back. The whole thing only took half an hour, and it felt nice to get out. I dont think I've ever been so inactive in my entire life. It's amazing how nice a walk can feel. I didnt think to take my camera until I was already a bit away from the house, and didnt want to turn back. Next time I'll take it along though to get some shots. It'll be a few days though, as the heat and humidity here has got it feeling about 110 outside. Not the best time to be walking around. I think once the temps come down a bit (suppose to happen next week) I'll be able to finally convince my brother for us to go take a walk through the "old" Williamsburg. We drove somewhat close to it one day and it looked nice (although extremely done up for tourists). We're also supposed to be taking a trip to DC one of these weeeknds. It's a bit of a shame being here yet stuck in the house, as history is so interesting to me, and I've always wanted to come to the south. Although we're at the northern part of the southern states, Virginia was officially part of the confederates during the Civil War. I know things are mostly modern now, but I was hoping to get a bit more of a historical look at things while I was down here.

Well, that about does it. my morning break time is over and it's 'off to work i go.'

firenze

2006-07-21T20:18:00.000-04:00

Roma

2006-07-21T19:19:00.000-04:00

"man's best friend"

2006-07-21T11:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if its pathetic or cute that I'm taking photos of myself with my cat. What do you think? Maybe I should change the background to make it look like we're in a more interesting place.... beach in italy?

Sorry uploading the rest of the photos slipped my mind. I'll get back on those later today. :D

Almost a year ago...

2006-07-17T10:57:00.000-04:00

Well, after almost a year I finally got my film developed from my month around Italy with Kari. At least the film that made it back to America with me. I lost a few rolls along the way. Particuarly from the Amalfi coast. It seems that I am never meant to have photos from that area as everytime I have taken photos there I always loose the film. Go figure. Anyways, there are some of the "highlights." Eventually I'll get them all posted on a subdivision of my site along with the rest of the photos from the year there. I'm working on a page now, but its a lot of photos :D

Anyways, here they are, sorry if the quality isnt the best... Walmart doesnt do that high res of scans.

Venezia

Roma

blogger is having problems and not letting me upload more photos right now. The rest will be uploaded later.

my man

2006-07-15T23:37:00.000-04:00

I stole this one from Annika and I have to say that i quite enjoyed it :D I highly encourage everyone else to take some time and see what kind of man they're really after. The creepiest part about this test was that out of all the guys in it, Jude was definitely my top pick. Talk about accuracy!

Adventure man

You scored 65% masculine, 47% athletic, 81% exotic, and 50% refined!

You like a man who doesn't need the crazy muscles to prove he is a 100% man. He is mysterious and his pictures make you want to jump into his head to see what is going on in there...or his pants I suppose. You like a little bad-ass in him and you may like someone like.....Jude Law. But let's face it, the whole point of this was to look at a bunch of hot guys.

Link: The What type of MAN turns you on Test

Lake Como

2006-07-13T12:17:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time in a land far far away....

Okay, so it's taken me un excusably long to get these photos up, but better late than never, right? At least now with a lack of things to do I'm able to get caught up a bit on blogging :D

At the beginning of June I headed up to Colico where Carole lives with her and Annika for a day. Annika was in Italy for the Monster GTG, and as they headed back up north they stopped off in Milan to pick me up. The drive up there was gorgeous (as you can see from the photos). Half way up the lake we stopped and took a fairy across to the other side, and then continued the drive up to the top where Carole lives. That night we went out to dinner with Jennifer B and her husband Davide at a resturaunt up on the side of the mountain. The place was so high up that the road ended shortly after it. The views were spectacular and the food was a hefty mountain cusine. Overall it was a fun relaxing day, and a real pity to return to the noise and scruff of milan the following morning.

A day in Loreto

2006-07-10T22:51:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago (the 29th) Jackie and I decided to head to Loreto. Neither of us had been there in 3 years, and before it was with the school. When we went before we walked straight through town to the duomo, and didnt do anything else. So we thought we would head back and check out the rest of the town. When we got off the bus it was quite easy to find our way around. Across the street and through the gate and we were in.

After wandering around a "theatre" (ie, cool old building under construction) and hoping we wouldnt get kicked out, we headed down the street. Right away we felt the throngs of tourist traps. Everywhere we looked were post cards and tacky souviners, and the numbers only increased the further we went along. We knew we were heading in the right direction. Soon enough we found ourselves in the piazza.

The first time I saw Loreto I was a newbie in Italy. I had been in the country a month or two at most, and my eyes were still permanently glued wide open. I remember the piazza seeming very grand and open. Much different than the ones in Macerata, this one had a fountain in the center and porticals along the side. It was winter and I remember it was almost empty except for a couple of lonely tourist carts. This time the piazza seemed different. I've seen a lot more now, and it didnt seem quite as special. still beautiful, but not as much "wow". There were also way more tourists and locals out as well, and it didnt have that erie silent feeling as before.

After taking a few minutes wandering around for fotos, we headed down the side of the church and out of the city to a look out point. Although the day was fairly grey, in the distance we could still see the sea. We headed back to town along the other side of the church, and found our way back to the piazza. now facing away from the church we looked ahead to decide where to go, and were met with a surprise. The only street was the one we had originally come in on. Could it really be that the town was this small? Was there really nothing else to see? We took off wandering with a side agenda of finding a resturaunt for lunch. surely there must have been a side street we missed. soon enough we stumbled upon a second street, and gained hope of a lunch in a place without a tourist menu. After all, the locals must eat somewhere. As we continued down the street things didnt look so hot. We eventually found a little bar-restraunt, but the menu seemed a bit sketchy. We decided to head back to check out one of the pizzarias we had seen. As we walked into one we quickly became confussed as it looked more like a bar than a pizzaria. Not sure whether we wanted to stay, we asked for a menu. The lady at the bar then informed us that they dont cook there. Confused we asked her what about the sign outside that said pizza. Her response, oh yes, they do have pizza, and proceeded to hand us a menu. judging by the place not seeming to have a kitchen, we decided to leave as microwave frozen pizza wasnt what we were hoping for.

After an unsuccessful attempt to get a suggestion for the tourist office, and a confirmation that the town indeed had only two streets, we decided to head back to the bar we had seen before. Upon entering the place actually seemed nicer. The menu was a bit limited, but for lack of other options we decided to give it a go. This turned out to be a bad idea. I have to say that it was the worst meal I had eaten all year. (yes, even worse than when fede made me dinner of rice and potato - mixed together and with only soy sauce with it - at least that had flavor).

When we finally managed to pay and get out of there, we decided to head down to a polish cemetary. the walk the hill was quite nice along a little foot-only path. Unfortunately when we arrived it was closed for lunch time and wouldnt be open for another hour. We were still able to see in though from through the gates and over the wall. It was quite different looking than the cemetaries you normally see in Italy. With our list of sites nowcomplete and several hours to kill still, we decidedto hop back on a bus and head to porto recanati and have a walk around. Time quickly passed there as we strolled from one end of the boardwalk down to the other, stopping for a popcicle before heading back. Soon enough we were back on the bus heading to macerata

tourist in milan

2006-07-08T06:56:00.000-04:00

Despite the lack of photos on my blog, i really do love to take them. I just dont really think to take them in the city where i am living, and hate to stand out as a tourist.

In milan the prime feeding ground for tourists is piazza duomo. It seems that when tourists come to Milan they only have a few things on their list, convienently located close together so that they dont have to wander out into the big, dangerous city. This list includes the duomo, the scala (theatre), the castle, and the last supper. oh, and i almost forgot, shopping. But this doesnt take them away from the center either.

Sitting on the steps of the duomo during an afternoon can be fun. There is great people watching to be had and you can hear countless languages go past you. It can also be fun to laugh at the tourists as the street venders corner them. There are two types of venders at the duomo. Type one is the type you find all over the city trying to hand you religeous books, or sell you items which may actually be useful in some cases. The second type is the kind you find only where tourists are, and they bother only tourists. Trying to give you the "free" friendship bracelets, or sell you pigeon food so you can stand like an idiot covered in pigeons (not to say it isnt fun - yes, i did it in venice several years ago). Now I was never bothered by the second type, only the first type. They seem to know the difference between locals and tourists and stick to their given territory. This made me happy as I got extremely annoyed by the ones who attacked tourists (even though it can be funny, one time I actually told one off as he was trying to tie a bracelet on some poor guy's wrist. the guy obviously had no idea what was going on. guess i was in a bad mood that day....)

During my year in Milan I never walked around with my camera at the duomo, except for the occasional concert or 3am drunken walk home, and even then it was only to take photos of friends, never of the duomo itself. Yet I was determined before I left to take a few photos. So on my last night in the city I stopped by the duomo with K before heading to an aperativo. I painfully took my camera out of my purse and started to point it at the duomo. All the sudden at my side their was a man trying to sell me bird food. Before I had even taken one foto. Now K and I werent speaking English, we werent looking around in awe, the only thing we were doing different than normal was that we had a camera. Typically these guys will bug you for awhile before they leave. This one however was smart. He got the hint from my glare and my simple yet firm "i dont want any" and left. I took one foto and then my phone rang, and I spent the next 10 min talking to a friend, loudly in italian. no one came up, until I closed my phone, at which point someone else immediatly came up. I wasnt quite as nice this time, and was a bit annoyed. it was ridiculous after all. I had spent all year there, yet as soon as i want to take a photo I get bugged. Well, as this guy approached me with his handful of food i didnt even let him say anything. Instead I looked right at him and (in italian) said "Dont you think if I wanted some of your fucking food I would have come to you and bought it?"He turned around and left, mumbling something behind him. And we did the same thing. I'd had enough playing tourist for one day.

Instead off we went to our aperativo, one foto taken, and decided to come back that night when we wouldnt be bothered taking photos.

lazy day drive

2006-07-07T11:43:00.000-04:00

My last week in Italy I spent down in Le Marche visiting friends. On Saturday I went for a drive through the mountains and into Umbria with Jackie and Antonello. The day was quite relaxing as we glided along the curves. Looking out the windows I was reminded of Oregon. The landscape, while slightly more hilly in Le Marche, is very similar to that of Oregon and imparticular the Williamette Valley. I always feel at home when I'm in that part of Italy. We avoided the highway and instead stuck to 'back roads,' and soon found ourselves in a little town where we stopped for lunch. The food was great, although the waiter was a bit weird... and exceeded the point of weird when he litterally picked up Jackie's fork and began feeding her. After lunch we took a walk through the town, which was greatly under construction, before getting back in the car and continuing on.

As we headed further into the mountains we continued to climb higher and higer as the road twisted back and forth. Eventually we came upon a clearing where we stopped for a drink of water from a fountain. The fountain consisting of stones and an old tub was fed by mountain spring water. One of many such fountains you find along the road through Italy. The views were spectacular as the land gave way to valleys on either side of us. Further ahead I could see a small town perched on a hill. After our legs had a good stretch we headed down into the valley and pass the town.

When we got to the valley floor Jackie pointed out some trees on the side of a hill to me. They were planted in the shape of a map of Italy, and apparently their planting was ordered by Mousolini. I'm curious as to if they were put in other locations in Italy as well, or if this valley holds the only one. It seems like such an odd place to put it. After reaching the other side of the valley we bagan to climb the hills again, as we headed over another range and onto our final destination, Norcia.

Norcia is a cute little walled town, sitting relatively flat on the valley floor surrounded by open space. The streets were lively with people, most of whom were tourists although Italian tourists rather than Americans. Norcia is a well known spot in Italy for several reasons, one being that it is the birth place of St. Benedict and another being it's sausages. Throughout the city little stores selling local sausages and cheeses lined the streets, all boasting boar heads outside.

After playing tourists, taking lots of photos and eating some gelato we got back in the car and headed towards home a bit sleeping. We stopped along the way tucked deep into the trees at another fountain. The road that lead us there, and the one that would lead us out were both the kind that are so small only one car can pass. If another comes from the other direction someone will have to backup a ways to a point where the road gets wider to allow the other to pass. It's the type of driving that to me would be challanging, but to Italians is just the way of life.

As the sun began to set we arrived back home in Macerata, all a bit sleepy but happy from our adventure that day, the escape from life, and also from the summer heat.

Scooter!

2006-07-06T18:58:00.000-04:00

my kitty scooter!
he's been waiting for me to come home the past year. And while Josh and Jen say that he never does anything but sleep all day in his basket, the last two days I've actually gotten him out and moving around some. I think it's good for him. I think he's happy to see me, as Jen says that he would never have done that before.

planes, trains and automobiles

2006-07-05T10:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I lied. no trains (this time) -- and unfortunately, no taxi's either.

Yesterday my day started off bright and early at 6.30am after 2 hours of sleep. Still a little bit buzzed from the night before, I quickly popped outta bed when the alarm rang and made my way to the kitchen for coffee. One of the girls I was staying with woke up to come hang out with me before i left. since bags were all packed and offee being drunk i decided itwas time to call a taxi. -- oh fuck moment #1 -- in order to call a taxi you need credit on your phone. and i had none. neither did anyone else in the house. Solution: Skype! My friend turned on her computerand waited to call a taxi while i finished getting ready. After awhile she came to me: 'Lori, there's a problem.' the taxi companies werent answering the phone. onefinally did and said they had no taxis. how could they have no taxis?? we began calling every company in the yellow pages. -- oh fuck moment #2 -- finally one told us the news: Taxi strike.

It was now 7.30am, plane leaves in 3 hours. K and I hauled my bags out of the apartment and down the street a few blocks to the bus stop. Even though we'd have to change buses once, it'd get us to the station. -- oh fuck moment #3 -- 3 buses passed by completely packed. One couldnt even open it's doors. Not only was it rush hour with everyone going to work, but with the taxi strike the buses were more packed than normal. There was no way that with bags we were going to get on.

7.50am and off I ran to the tabacci to buy more credit for my phone. As soon as it became credited I began calling people i knew with cars. finally stefano answered, obviously i had woken him up. In a panic i begged him to come get me saying that if I didnt get to the train station in 30 min I'd miss my flight. Now he only lived a 15 min walk away, so driving i wouldnt think it would take him more than 5-10 min even with traffic. But he got lost. I have no idea how, but he did.-- oh fuck moment #4 -- After several panicked phone calls and lots of me walking up and down the street freaking out scaring italian grandmas, and 45 min later he showed up.

8.35am in the car driving Stefano doesnt listen to us as to which way the station is, and takes off in the wrong direction. With morning traffic and lots of one way streets it took us another 15 min to get there (should have been a 5 min drive).

8.50am and im quizzing the bus driver on when we are going to leave and what time we'll get there, and does he know how early i have to be there before an international flight. What time does my flight leave, he wants to know. I tell him 10.30. He says, oh yeah, no problem. we'll be there at 10, you'll be in time. Some how i didnt believe him.

9.05am on the bus, and on the phone with Alitlaia. -- oh fuck moment #5 -- check in closes 45min before the flight leaves. there was no way i would make it in time. So I called my mom, and freaked out to her not sure what to do. I knew there was nothing i could do till i got there, and that even then all i could do was go to the ticket counter and see if i could get on another flight.

10.30am my flight is leaving, and im finally getting to talk to someone at the ticket counter. She takes my passport, looks up my info, and then proceeds to type tings on the screen and periodically dissapear for 20 min. then she casually says to me, that she has me on a flight leaving at 12.30 with a transfer in NY, but that it arrives in a different airport in DC. I was estatic, but a bit worried about how much I'd be paying for this last min ticket, so I ask her. She doesnt understand the question, I ask again, and she gives me a weird look and says "no, nothing."

12.15pm and I'm finally given a seat on the plane (I was actually over-booked on the flight before). The flight was fairly uneventful, and we arrived in NY at 3pm (eastern time). Passport control and customs was smooth as usual, and first thing when I got my bags checked I headed straight to starbucks. I was thinking of taking a photo of me with my ice carmel macchiato, but seeing as I looked like complete shit I decided against it. yes though, it was everything i had been hoping for, better than i remembered, and i actually was walking around the airport with a smile on my face while drinking it. I was shocked by the price though of over $5 for a grande! back in c-town it would have been under $4. gotta love sales tax...

5pm, plane is supposed to be leaving in 15 min but we still havent started boarding. weather outside is pretty bad, and sure enough an announcement comes on, all trafic in and out of the airport has been susspended due to lightening. 5.30 we finally get on the plane, around 6 we finally leave. It was a short flight down to DC, about 45min total. (I didnt realize how close it was!) Coming in was pretty cool as I saw the white house and all those other monuments for the first time. was a bit surreal. What was even weirder though was all the houses. looking out the window I seriously thought i was looking at a little model town. Not because they were so small from the airplane. I'm used to that. But rather just the style of the houses was so weird.

Around 7pm I finally walked through the airport and found my brother and his wife waiting for me. I was fairly disorientated from the long day, lack of sleep, and having so much english around me. my eyes were also extremely dry so I wore my sunglasses the rest of the night (including the entire time we were in the resturaunt for dinner, as well as while sleeping on the drive home). We drove through DC a bit in the beginning, I am surprised at how small it actually is. The streets were hella crazy though for the 4th, and half of them were closed.Will have to go back another time while I'm awake... we didnt watch any fireworks as we were all too hungry and it took to long to find a place open. By the time dinner was over I was zonked and passed out as soon as we got back in the car. If we did see any while driving, I have no idea.

signing out

2006-06-25T08:19:00.000-04:00

well, tomorrow is my last day of computer access before i get back to the states. But tomorrow is also my last day in Milano, so I dont think I'll be spending it hanging out on the computer. (Dont worry though Carole, I'll be sure to post when I get to the US!)

The last couple days here have been packed, with the Sting concert in piazza duomo Friday night, and notte bianca last night and me running around during the day trying to get everything done and ready. Today I've still got to go buy a carry-on bag, and get all packed up and ready to go, yet im also supposed to be at a friends house in an hour and a half to watch the soccer game, and another friends house after that to help him with flash. meanwhile im still sitting here with my hair dripping from my shower and slowly letting the coffee seep into my system as the last two nights I havent gotten home till 6 or 7 am. ahhhhhh

but just for you mom, I finally have a foto of my in front of the duomo (well, kinda!)

And yes, the sun is rising, not setting!

Anyways, time for me to get going and enjoy my last week in Italy!

bags packed

2006-06-21T11:35:00.000-04:00

well, yesterday i reached the two week mark. and i slept through it. literally.

things got so crazy here with work, that sat night i slept only 5 hours, sunday night only 3, and monday night not at all. not until noon on tuesday. at which point i went to bed, work finally done, and slept until 8 this (wed) morning. i woke up only for about an hour around 8pm tuesday night, hungry, ate and then went back to sleep. i was a bit groggy this morning when i woke up, but after coffee and a shower im feeling good. it was great to sleep.

now with only 5 days left in milano, i decided to pack my bags. as i definitely have two bags worth of stuff i wont be using the rest of my time here. So now that's all pack, and what remains I'll *hopefully* be able to get in a carry on (which i need to go buy as normally i only use a backpack but this time for more space i'll buy a roller). If I cant get it all in I get to ditch some more winter sweaters. feels weird to have the bags packed. Even though I dont fly out until the 4th, tuesday i take off for macerata and probably wont be coming back to milan until the 3rd. So i need to have everything packed before. Granted i didnt need to do it today, for some reason i wanted to.

and so begins the count down... 12 days till america.

catching up

2006-06-14T13:09:00.000-04:00

I know I know... I'm way behind on blogging. but in all fairness, i've been really busy! Plus my beloved computer decided to die. It's now in the shop for the next week while they try and figure out what is wrong with it, and if it's even possible or worth it to repair it... I'm not sure what is wrong, but i do know it's something bad, and serious, and most like expensive. ugh, perfect timeing, 1 week before school is done! luckily i had warning signs, and had copied everything to my external drive the night before. my plan was to try and re-format the hard drive the next day to see if it would help. well, i have no idea if it would have helped because the computer refussed to let me do it, and then proceeded to only give me a screen of jumbled random text when i turned it on. This is just the last, and fatel step of a long list of things that have gone bad with my computer in the past few months.

But, to my rescue came one of my profs (one of the only good things at my school) who immediatly upon hearing about my computer offered to let me borrow one of his laptops that he doesnt use. So once again ive got a computer at home.

The past few weeks have been extremely busy, so much to do for school, and lots of flash projects to work on. I have taken a couple break though, the first being a trip up to Colico with Carole and Annika (from ExPats), and the second being when a couple friends from Macerata came up to visit me for 2 days this past week! Yes, I've got photos, but they're all on my external which isnt hooked up right now. So those will be uploaded later, along with more detailed descriptions (including Luca getting lost in Milan without his cell phone, and our journey to find him).

In more recent news, I've only got a few days of school left! 3 more classes this week, a presentation Monday, and another presentation the following Monday and then I'm all done! Wohoo! After which it will be a quick trip to Macerata for a few days before getting back up to Milan in time to catch my flight to the states. I really cant believe that 3 weeks from now I'll be in Virgina. It's going to go by like it was nothing! Really though, I'm having a hard time comprehending it. It just doesnt seem like a reality. I'm sure it'll probably hit me after I've been there for a month.

Oh, I've also just bought La Verità del Ghiaccio (The truth of the ice) the newest Dan Brown (author of Davinci Code) book. I havent read a book all year, as I wanted the next book I read to be in Italian. Well, it finally is. I just bought it yesterday so I'm only about 25 pages into it, but it's going good so far. I dont know the meaning of every word, but I'm able to figure out the idea from context and have yet to use the dictionary. It's a bit slower than reading in English, but I'm happy with the rate I'm going. I also really like his writing, and although this seems to have the same basic plot as Angels and demons & The Davinci Code, I still think it'll be good. Another one of my profs was reading it and said he really liked it, so we'll see how it pans out. Probably wont get it done before I get back to the states, too much to do here to sit around all day reading. But who knows, I got a couple of longer train rides and a flight coming up, so I may just be able to get through it :D

That's all for now, it's way too hot in my room (where the internet is) to hang out here any longer writing. Maybe once it cools down some tonight and if I find the time I can get those photos posted.

> untitled 1 <

2006-06-03T04:13:00.000-04:00

In case you are wondering where I have dissapeared to, I've been eaten alive by flash and html coding. 2 more weeks of classes. whew. Of course then I'll be on vacation, and packing to get ready to move to the states. so blogging wont be too common of a thing until i get to virgina i have a feeling.

Although this weekend, tomorrow to be precise I am going up to Colico to hang out with Carole and Annika for the night! I wish I could have gone to the monster gtg, but alas there is that coding keeping me here. So instead I will just take the night off. Cant wait to see them, and I'll be sure to take some photos to post (as I'm sure they'll be doing as well!)

tickets bought

2006-05-13T17:27:00.000-04:00

well, i finally did it. i bought my tickets, and today recieved my confirmation that my student status went through (allowing me to get slightly cheaper tickets). So it's all settled. 10.30 am July 4th I fly out of Malpensa, arriving in DC at Dulles at 2 pm. Which means hopefully I'll be out of the airport by 3pm. My brother will be picking me up, and I've already told him that our first stop out of the airport (if I dont find one there!) will be at a Starbucks :D

The more I got to looking at tickets, I realized that I kinda liked the idea of being back in the states for the 4th of July. I've only missed it once, when I was living in England. I did nothing special that day, went to work like normal. I think it will be a nice welcome back to the states to go "home" and watch the fireworks. I'm hoping for a big burger and fries, a couple beers, and a nice show before I pass out from jet lag.

I'm not sure what we'll be doing. If we'll hang out in DC and watch the show, or head back to williamsburg. I'm hoping not williamsburg though, as I'm guessing the show there would be quite limited (kinda like the year I spent the 4th in Prineville, OR... the show consisted of about 4 or 5 fireworks spread out over half an hour. now THAT was pathetic.)

Anyways, I'm down to 5 weeks of classes, one week vacation, one week final presentations, and then 4 days to wrap everything up before getting on the plane. The plan is to head down to Macerata once again, and hopefully actually see Jackie this time during my week vacation before presentations. Of course as in all things with my school, we probably wont find out what days we actually have our presentations on until the night before. For example, our presentation for triennale was supposed to happen originally on the 2nd of May. It's been re-scheduled 3 times already, all 3 times cancelled. now there are rumors it'll happen next week. who knows.

but no complaining about class. now it's time to go, as people are arriving and there is a disco calling my name. gotta have some fun before i leave!

randomness

2006-05-06T06:46:00.000-04:00

I got tired of the green. Not that the blue is much better, but a bit. I want to re-do the look completely, but alas html is not my strong point. While I could make a site that looks the way I want it to no problem, I get confussed with these automated postings and how they get stuck into it. So until I get that figured out, this is what I get. Actually, I think I may have figured it out. Iàm just too lazy right now to actually do it :D

I really dont have anything interesting to say, but I havent posted in awhile so i figured I would. I got the blog links fixed (sorry Annika!). This damn cold is still lingering around, and while I feel a lot better (as in I can actually somewhat think) I'm still attached to a roll of toilet paper.

Milan has had spring for the past week or so, but the last couple of days it has decided to cool down some, which I'm not extremely appreciative of. Thus today's foto, another from my weekend in Puglia.

relaxation

2006-04-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

I had an incredibly relaxing weekend down in Le Marche hanging out with friends. no computer, no school, no homework. just walking, eating, talking, drinking, and sleeping. cant get better than that. Sat night, Sun, and monday were spent in macerata hanging out with various people and just wandering around. I saw paulo, billy, maxi and drini, and met up with an american girl at the hostel who had just finished studying in macerata. I headed to the aha office with her monday afternoon and actually saw filberto, who surprisingly remembered me. The weather was beautiful and hot there, and i spent a few hours each day laying in the park just enjoying the sun.

Monday night I went to dinner and drinks with luca, matteo and emanuele, and then tuesday instead of coming home decided to stay an extra day and hang out with them and a few others on the beach for a bbq. looks a little shady, i know, but lorenzo's dad just bought the land and they havent fixed it up yet. honestly. it was a little bit chilly tues as the sun was hidden behind clouds all day, but that didnt stop us from having a good time.

I'm not really in the mood to write about the weekend, so instead you'll just have to check out these photos:

Whip Lash

2006-04-22T06:01:00.000-04:00

Just as a felt like I was getting things figured out with what I'm doing next, moving to virgina, looking for a job... just when I am getting ready to buy my plane tickets.... Life throws one at me, making me and my plans spin round and leaving me once again unsure of what I am doing.

Yesterday when I arrived at school I went upstairs to the bar for lunch, and sat down with Egidio, and Luca (my prof). They were talking about portfolios, how to find jobs, etc. I didnt pay much attention to the convo, until suddenly Luca turned to me and out of the blue asked me "do you know how to use flash" - "yeah...." he just kinda went "hm" thinking to himself and went back to the convo with Egidio. Then a few minutes later asked me if I was interested in staying here and working. Apparently a friend of his at www.i-side.com (warning, all in Italian) is looking for someone new, and asked Luca to recommend someone.

The job would start as an unpaid internship for 2 or 3 months, and then switch to a full time. So now I'm supposed to email this guy and tell him that Luca sent me and get more info. I'm not sure whether I would be the right person for the job, or if I am really interested in it. Luca seems to think I'd be a good fit. but who knows.

Looks like that small chance I might stay in Italy just got an unch bigger.

Spring Break

2006-04-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

Spring break is one of the things I'm really missing this year. It was bad enough that over winter break we had homework as the semester didnt end before had as it did at OSU. But for spring, we dont get a break. nada. We have several long weekends in a row, but not an entire week off at once.

This hasn't stopped most of my friends from taking a week off however. Numbers at school have dwindled. On any given day only about half my class is there. So I decided to join in the fun and take a little break, although I'll do it on the weekend instead of skipping class. While I'm not heading to Sardegna, Holland, London, or France like some of my other friends, I'm going somewhere else, which for me is just as good. Macerata.

I always got weird looks from friends at home when I would take a vacation to Italy, and my response to their question of where I went was Macerata. Where?!? would be their response, to which I'd reply, 'you know, that town i used to live in.' This was then greeted by questions of well what did you do? and even stranger looks when my answer was 'oh, just hang out, watch tv, wander around town, see freinds. For me a trip to Italy isn't about running around from Florence to Rome to Venice, taking photos of leaning towers (which, btw, I've yet to go to Pisa) or 'funny' signs written in Italian. A trip to Italy is a chance to relax, visit friends who I havent seen in a long time, and just hang out. It just happens to be in another country.

Now that I live in Italy the looks arent quite as weird when I say that I'm heading to Macerata, although I still get the questions of "where's that?" So this weekend I'm taking myself a mini break and heading down Saturday, and coming home Tuesday. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing the whole time, plans with various friends are slowly falling into place. Sunday is still a day without any plans. If it stays that way, and the weather is nice (which it's supposed to be!) then I may head to one of the nearby towns that I visited oh so long ago as a newbie in Italy. The towns are just blurs in my memory, parts of long days of waking up early to take a bus ride, then walking around all day in a heard while hearing a lecture on art history. Still, I have some nice memories of the towns. Since my computer was stolen and I lost all my photos (8 months in europe all gone!) I've lost track of which memories belong to which towns. Slowly and surely though with the help of google I'm giving names to the images in my head. I think it would be interesting to go back to one of these towns and see how i react to it now that I'm a bit more familar with Italy.

Will my eyes still open as wide as they once did? We'll soon find out.

Weekend in Puglia

2006-04-12T13:13:00.000-04:00

The train ride down to Taranto was rather uneventful. I managed to catch some sleep on the way though, and get a bit of work done despite there not being a plug for me to charge my computer. For most of the trip the scenery was all things I had seen before, having traveled along the route down and through Le Marche and to Pescara many times. After Pescara though it was all new for me, having never been down that far south on the east coast before. At first the scenery wasnt that different, but eventually the architecture began to change, and I started too feel like I was somewhere new. On the stretch of the trip from Bari to Taranto at one point we passed the carcus of a train, several cabins laying on the sides in ditches down below the trap. A reminded of an accident.

During the train change in Bari I had been cursing the yahoo weather man, and started to plan my revenge. It had said online that the weather would be warm and sunny, but I was greeted with cold, cloudy skies, and a threat of rain. I reminded myself however that Taranto was still another hour away and on the other coast, so hopefully the weather would be nicer there. When I arrived in Taranto the sun was indeed shining, and I stripped off my jacket for the walk to the hotel. I had no map with me, but had looked at one before hand. It was a simple 20 min walk, across a bridge, through the old town, and across another bridge. As I crossed the first bridge I could look out across the water and see the hotel in the distance. The walk was quite pleasent, as I decided to stay along the water front and go around the parameter of the island. After having read to much about what a dirty port town Taranto was, I was surprised to find it clean and an altogether nice place. Certainly cleaner than Milano.

view from my hotel room

When I arrived at the hotel I got an odd look from the receptionist at first. I dont think I'm quite their typical customer, and I'm sure she thought I was lost at first. As soon as I explained to her who I was though, her look changed, and she quickly and politely handed over my keys, directed me to my room, and told me that my brother was in his and what number it was. I meant to take pictures of my room, as it was my first time staying in a 3 star hotel, but kept putting it off and eventually forgot. I dropped my backpack in my room, and headed down the hall to my brothers. He looked almost surprised for a second to see me, but I suppose after being in a foreign country for the first time it is a bit surprising to have someone show up that you know. We hung out and talked for about an hour until it was time to go to dinner (at 7.30 so as we would arrive right at 8 when the resturants open - they werent quite used to eating so late). He also gave me 3 bottles of coffee syrup that he brought for me (yay!) and a starbucks coffee mug he brought for Fede (who was very excited when I gave it to him!).

For dinner we went to a pizzaria nearby. As they had been there the night before, the waiter remembered them and quickly handed over the menus in English. I lasted about 30 seconds with mine before wanting an Italian version. The English translation was so bad (as often is!) that I thought it would be easier to read in Italian. The waiter seemed a bit confused when I asked for a menu in Italian, but quickly got me one. I was right, it was easier to understand. I spent awhile translating the random different english items to the group before we ordered. It was a relaxing dinner with perhaps a little too much wine. After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I stole my brothers internet for a few minutes and then headed to bed. Not before taking advantage of the multiple TV stations though to watch the end of a bad made for TV movie.

sunrise

I woke up early Saturday morning at 6 am. I'm not sure why I woke up, perhaps because by 11 last night I was sound asleep. None the less I found myself awake and the sun peeping into my room from behind the curtains. It's been a long time since I've had that happened, as having a first floor apartment we close our metal shutters every night. Drawn by the glow I pulled open the shades to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise. The sky was pink and the water glistened as the rays of sun hit it. Sitting there watching the sunrise I was reminded of being at home, where in the winter I would wake up before the sun, and often sit on the stairs eating breakfast and gazing out the window as the sun slowly came over the roof of the house across from me, and gave light to the day.

When I left the hotel I decided to cut through the middle of the old down on my way to the station. The town was peaceful, although the streets were indeed a bit dirty. The dark buildings and narrow streets reminded me of Macerata, although not as hilly. Morning life was going on as usual as people stood about talking to friends, children playing, and shop owners sweeping the ground in front of their doors.

On the train ride to Martina franca I stared out the window at the country side. It was so nice to be out of the city and see some green. Around me were various farm lands and vineyards, houses converted out of old Trulli structures, and palm trees and cacti like none I've ever seen lined the tracks. When I arrived I was surprised at how dead the station was. I knew it was a smaller town, but not that small, I expected there to be a few more people there. Unsure of exactly where to go, as I had no map and only a vague memory of instructions I had found on the net, I stopped a local high schooler and asked directions to the centro storico. He first looked at me as though I was crazy, and proceeded to tell me it was very far. Still, he proceeded to head me in the right direction. The main road I took to get there was quite nice, the town was alive with people, all of whom I'm sure were locals. The street was lined with palm trees in place of where I am used to seeing leafless trunks in Milano (spring hasn't quite hit us yet). The sun was out and it was a beautiful warm day. While I wished to strip off my jacket, I resisted the urge. It was already obvious that I was a tourist to the town, and I felt no need to draw extra attention and stares to myself, as most of the locals were still in their winter coats. So i settled on simply un-buttoning my jacket as I felt that was as much as I could do without having a grandma stop me and tell me to bundle up before I caught cold.

Within 15 minutes I had found myself at the city gate. I guess after living in Milano my perception of what 'very far' is, is a bit different than those living in Martina Franca. Before the gate was a large square filled with locals young and old alike enjoying the sun while chatting with friends. When I entered through the gate I was greeted with the Palace and grand fountain.

the Palace.... cant remember the specific name

As I wandered around the streets continued to buzz with people finishing up their morning shopping before heading home for lunch. Within half an hour though the streets were silent except for the occasional conversation drifting out from the open windows above. Had I closed my eyes I could have easily imagined that I was back in Macerata taking one of my favorite lunch time walks where its easy to imagine that you're back in time hundreds of years ago when the town was first built. With my eyes open though, it was obvious I was indeed not in Macerata, or anywhere in central Italy for that matter. The golden brown buildings and dark stone roads I was used to had been replaced by white washed walls, many more balconies, and streets paved in white stone. Even the streets themselves seemed smaller than those in Macerata, as many of them were barely wide enough for a moped to go down, and would never allow access for a car.

I spent the next hour wandering the tiny streets of the town. One street after another lead to a dead end courtyard and tiny shrines. Every few minutes i would find myself in front of various small churches. Continuously I found myself back on the main street, and at the central piazza. However, it wasnt until about the third time that I approached it from the right direction to notice a pale pink building peaking out from a side street, its colors contrasting against the rich white walls that surrounded it.

I soon found myself feeling that I had exhausted the labrynth of streets the town had to offer. Although I never did find one particular piazza that I had seen photos of online and had been searching for. However, having left my notes with the name of the piazza back at the hotel, I decided to call it a day, and headed back to the train station. The first half of the ride back wasnt quite as peaceful, as I managed to catch the train back that was mainly used by high school students returning to nearby smaller towns after class. Soon though I once again found myself alone on the train, as we made the last few stops and pulled into the station at Taranto.

As I exited the station I prepared myself once again to hear the noises of the city, but was strangely surprised to find the town relatively silent. Walking along one of the main streets I would go several minutes without having a car pass by. Everything was closed down for siesta. I have adjusted so much to life in Milan where things stay open all day, that it was a surprise for me to find that even this port town, which is by no means a tiny town, still closed down in the afternoon.

When I got back to the hotel I attempted to do a bit of homework, which lasted about 5 minutes before flipping on the TV. Discovering that there was nothing good on, I decided to take a shower instead. Afterwards I headed to my brothers room where I discovered he had finally returned from work and lunch and we hung out a little while before heading out to dinner (once again at 7.30). This time we were with a slightly larger group of 4 other people (compared to 2 the night before). We headed to another resturaunt nearby - that they had already been to before. they need to be more adventurous! While I was tempted to get a hamburger and fries, I decided instead on pasta (I think I really am becoming italianized!) as did everyone else. After dinner I suggested that we get a grappa, which only one other person had tried before. -- For those of you who havent had grappa, its a very strong alcohol made from the left over grape parts after wine is made. you normally would only have one small glass of it after a meal. Normally -- The group liked it so much that a second round was quickly ordered. Lets just say that this was particularly strong grappa, and that i dont drink as much as i used to so my tolerance has been lowered. I dont remember if I had 3 or 4 (but i do know that others had more than that!) but it was more than enough to get me quite drunk. After a short after dinner walk we headed back to the hotel where I quickly passed out. I'm told that it was around 11. 0:)

Sunday we were up fairly early again, having agreed to leave at 10. We were going to lunch with the same group who had been at dinner the night before, at a nearby winery. After missing the exit, and then getting lost in a small town, we finally stopped to ask some people for directions. Being the true good hearted southern Italians they were, they offered to take us there, having us follow them. They quickly hopped in their car and off we went. About 10 minutes later we waved goodbye to them and parked the car ready to explore.

my brother

the grounds

The grounds were quite nice, although I felt a bit as though I was in disneyland. It was a large resturaunt/hotel that had a bit of original archtitecture, but you could tell that things were definitely added on and remolded for the visitors viewing pleasure. They didnt speak much English there, so they were happy to find out that I spoke Italian and I soon became the official translator. Having arrived early we sat down at our table in a large ball room type place, being the only ones there. Soon afterwards the food started coming out.

The antipasti consisted of fresh mozzerella, prociuto crudo, deep friend artichoke hearts, deep fried potatoe and cheese balls, and some kind of little cheesy veggie layered bake thingy. The primo was a plate of fresh seafood, which I and another lady politely declined. It consisted though of mussels, squid, and some other things I dont quite remember having not eaten it. The Secondo was a pasta dish of Orechetti with a tomatoe based sauce made with eggplant and speck (ie. little chunks of bacon). It was quite yummy. Afterwards we had a plate of cheese and various vegetables, followed by a desert of fresh fruit and a selection of little bombom type things. (If I ever steal the photos from my brother. I'll post some). The whole lunch lasted about 3 hours. After arranging the purchase of bottles of wine for several of the others, we were off once again, this time headed to Lecce.

old church on the way to Lecce

We took the back roads to get to Lecce, driving through various small towns. On the way we spotted many churches of course, but one inparticular caused us to stop and take photos. I'm not quite sure why, perhaps its size in relation to the relatively empty surroundings. who knows.

Arriving in Lecce we took awhile to find the center and a spot to park. Once out of the car we headed to a market we had spotted nearby. It was the first market for the group, and the girls lingered through it checking out purses and sun glasses. After the market we headed to the towns Castle where the were several art displays going on. After a quick trip through those we were off to the Roman amphitheatre in Piazza San Oronzo.

the amphitheatre

After the mandatory photo shoots we headed to the duomo and wandered around some of the other side streets. We only spent a couple hours in Lecce, and didnt see much. I wasnt in a particuarly foto happy mood, so once again photos will have to wait until I steal them from my brother who was happily clicking away. After a stop for Gelato and some pizza we were once again back in the car and on the road headed back to Taranto sleepy from a long day of eating and driving (and probably more so from the alcohol infussed night before!)

Monday morning I was up early once again at 6.30 to get ready and eat some breakfast before heading off at 7.30 to catch my train. After saying goodbye to my brother and a few others who were already down for breakfast, I headed back through town to the station. The two days had gone by far too quickly, and I was sad to be leaving again so soon. I wish also that I had taken more time to explore Taranto further as it seemed as though while definitely no medival hill town, it had its own share of treasures to offer. Whenever I do get back down to Puglia it will be on my list of places to stay as it also makes a good base for exploring the area. The train ride home was long and sleepless, and i arrived back to my apartment almost exactly 12 hours after I had left the hotel. 30 minutes later Fede was here and we started work on our project for the next morning. The vacation was over way too soon.

finito

2006-04-06T08:59:00.000-04:00

well, im finally done with the flash projects. whew! I finished about an hour ago. In the last 4 days I have done little other than sleep and flash. but, atleast i have some money in my pocket now, albiet not a lot, but enough to buy me some food, and fund a trip down to macerata to see friends. I think I may also escape to the store today to try and buy a new pair of jeans. Only its not so much fun going alone, and I dont think I can get anyone to come with me. But we'll see. I'm desperately in need of a new pair, although it could easily wait till next week. Right now I've got one pair of jeans that fit me, and even those are a little big. I have one other pair that I can wear while washing the first, but even with a belt they dont like to stay on too well, plus they have a hole in the crotch! I'm not quite sure how that happened since they're only a couple months old. I've lost so much weight though that none of the 5 pairs I brought with me from home fit. (which I hate cause they were really cute and new!) Even with the belt they will fall right off. I'm not even joking! I've lost about 30 pounds since I got here, 25 of that since december. horribly fast I know! but I assure you I'm eating. I even started purposfully eating more when I realized how fast I was losing the weight. It would be one thing if I was working out, but I'm too lazy for that. my workout includes going up and down the stairs at the metro (and then only if there isnt an escalator!) Still, not having a car and walking more probably helps. As does the quality of the food here, not drinking beer atleast 5 nights a week, and also my two month stint of being sick. ugh.

So yes, I need knew jeans. but seeing as I only slept 3 hours last night, and no more than 4 or 5 each night every night the last week, im not sure if I have the energy to force myself out of the house other than a quickie run to the store.

Tonight will be bedtime early, as I have to wake up at 6 to leave here by 7 and catch my train down to Puglia! Yes, tomorrow is finally the day. I take off bright and early and get there around 5.30pm. But It will be great to see my bro for a couple of days, even if I do have to leave early monday morning. I have no idea what we will be doing. which reminds me, I need to copy a bunch of info off the itnernet and get prepared for a couple of day trips with him. Hmmm... going to buy jeans is looking more and more less likely. ha. oh well, I enjoy planning trips :D

I'll try and post photos monday night when I get home of the trip. Although I'll only post a few here, the rest will be on Ringo if anyone wants to see them :D

Have a great weekend everyone!

work work work work

2006-03-31T13:43:00.000-05:00

I'm getting myself in work mode. the next few weeks, with the next week inparticular are going to be crazy hours working. During the next 5 days i am not only working on 2 projects for school (including a client presentation wed) but I am also working on 7 (yes, 7!) projects for $$.

I've taken to the Italian college student way of paying others to do your homework. Only I dont pay others to do mine, instead I'm the one getting paid. In the last two days I've gone from doing the projects for 2 people, to 7. It will be a lot of long hours, but I need the money and at 50euros a pop it aint so bad. well, when worked out to how much per hour, its not great. but it gives me something funner to work on than my projects for school. And, it means that I will have a little bit of money to do a little traveling to go see friends before I head back to the states. So its worth it, if only for that (and possibly a haircut!)

The first project starts tonight. I just got done meeting with the girl, and now I'll eat some dinner and start working. So if I seem to dissapear for the next week, that's where I've gone... into the void that is known as Flash.

wish me luck

attack of the killer ants

2006-03-31T03:57:00.000-05:00

Why is it that whereever i seem to live, those tiny little annoying black ants follow me?! For the past few years every spring/summer they would come pouring out of the woodwork and into the house. My weapon at first would be a papertowel. That quickly changed to a bottle of spray cleaner, as it meant less bending over and effor. Only problem was that left ant bodies and wet floors alover the place (but the floor would be nice and clean when I'd get around to wiping it up!) Eventually I switched to ant traps and those seemed to do the trick.

I think the ants stowedaway in my luggage. The past few weeks I've noticed an ant here or there, nothing bad though. This morning withen 10 min of waking up I had killed over 20, mostly congregated in the corner of the room near my bed. oh lucky me. now I'm extra itchy just at the thought of them, and everytime i think i feel something i think it's an ant.

Looks like I get to go to the store later in search of posion traps.

Notte Bianca

2006-03-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

I'm in a bit of a procrastinating state, so I thought I'd share some stories from the other night. Unfortunately I dont have any photos :(

Saturday night was Notte Bianca in Milan. As best as I could figure out - with about the 2 questions i asked - it is some kind of celebration of spring time. It is probably the biggest party of the year in Milan, with public transport running all night long, and every piazza packed full of people. There were by far more people out than at new years or carnevale.

Our night started out around 9 when some 3 of Beanie's friends from her city arrived. Along with them also came a random guy that one of them had met on the street while asking directions. The guy was kinda strange, but nice and ended up hanging out with us all night. We drank at home for awhile, before heading out at 11. When we got to the metro there was a HUGE line of people waiting to buy tickets. I had never seen that many people at our metro stop before. It was probably atleast a half hour wait if not longer to get tickets. Beanies friends though causually made their way up to the front however, so we only waited around 10 min. When we got to the duomo the piazza was absolutely PACKED. As there was a wait to get up the stairs and out of the metro. We pushed our way along and finally made it someone close to the stage, although off on the side so we were only able to see things thanks to the huge screens. I didnt know most of the artists that we heard, the only one I recognized was Tatoo. It was a big event put on by MTV and a local radio station. Everyone was in good moods singing along and dancing to the music.

We ended up staying at the duomo for only about half an hour before heading down via Torino to the columns (one of the old city gates). On a normal day the walk would take between 5-10 min. That night it took more than 30 due to the crowds. We stopped along the way and bought some beer from one of the many people set up along the street and continued our party as we walked. When we arrived at the columns it was yet again another mass of people. We didnt even try to get out into it, but instead set up camp under the columns where a few of Beanie's friends were already at. From there we heard about some kind of big techno party out by Bovisa, and decided to go check it out. After a quick stop at a bar for more beer and hotdogs for the guys, we hoped on the tram. The tram ride only emphasized the festive air, as there was a group of people with tamberines playing and singing as we went along. We quickly joined in dancing while others who werent in quite as festive of a mood watched on. The ride went quickly, and while when we arrived at the stop we had no idea where to go, it was easy to find the place from the huge group of people going there. It was just a big game of follow the leader.

When we arrived we really werent sure what to expect. Outside the sidewalks were full of people, and as we approached we saw a big building with a long spiral cement path going up a few floors. As to be expected, it was also jam packed full of college kids. I'm not quite sure what the building was, but when we finally made our way up to the top, we arrived in a HUGE room the size of the entire floor, set up with a stage, lights, bars (and fortunately bathrooms!) I think it was around 3 am when we arrived. We dropped our coats by a speaker and set up camp nearby where we danced and drank till 7am! By then the sun had already risen, and the crowd had thinned out a bit, although there were still atleast a couple hundred people there. I would guess there was over 1000 when we first arrived (my highschool had 1,200 students, and it seemed to be more people than that!) We eventually decided to call it a night, as while there was still music playing, it had switched from the party techno to more of 80's pop.

On our walk back to the tram stop we passed by a charter bus where a group of people outside invited us to come along for the ride (jokingly of course) - but we stopped and talked to them for awhile finding out they were actually going quite near to Beanie's town. We had to wait a little while for the tram, and finally made it back to our neighborhood around 8 am. Before heading home to sleep we stopped off at a bar for breakfast. while the others got cafe, (I couldnt even think about getting one, all i wanted was my bed!) I happily munched on my first HOT cornetto (pastry). While I've eaten them plenty of times, I've never been to a bar early enough in the morning to have one fresh out of the oven. It was marvelous. I would consider getting up early another morning just to run across the street and get a hot one sometime.

around 8.30 we finally made it home, and by 9 we were all asleep. Sleep didnt last long though, as people started waking up around noon as the sun shone brightly through the window, and after a couple hours of lounging we decided to head into town in search of food. We ended up getting pizza for lunch, and sat outside at tables enjoying the sun, and too tired to move for a few hours talking. Next it was a quick wander through the center, before heading back home. By the time we got home and Beanie's friends left for their drive back, it was almost 8pm - almost 24 hours after the party started.

While it was definitely a long day, it was also incredibly fun, and different from ANYTHING I've ever done before. I cant imagine anything like this happening in america. At least in sleepy corvallis city wide all night parties dont seem to have been discovered. The way that Italians come together in the piazzas for concerts and parties, everyone together enjoying the spring time (or whatever the even it may be) is something that I know I'll miss about Italy. On nights like this it doesnt matter if you're surrounded by complete strangers, because you're all friends.

The BC

2006-03-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have found a strange new addiction, and i cant get enough of it. The BC (http://www.the-bc.com/) is a student produced parody of the hit show The OC filmed by students at Boston College. I discovered it yesterday through the Apple site, and have since this morning watched all 4 episoides. I'm now waiting for the 5th to be posted. It's a web-based show, with all episoides available free online for download.

While the acting isnt what I would call good, it isnt bad either, and it makes for a lot of laughs. There are a lot of little jokes in it that you may or may not get, depending on where you are from. It's a great look back though at american college life, while throwing in a bit of unpractical plot lines for laughs.

if you got some free time i suggest you check it out. but be forwarned that it can be quite addicting in an odd way.

hangin with the roomies

2006-03-25T09:28:00.000-05:00

okay, finally got some pics from the party last week....

Giorgio and me after our run to the store... and yes, the cart is STILL in our house.

Me, Giorgio and Beanie (the roomies) with our not so full anymore pot of goodness

Beanie and me with some of beanies friends whose names i cant remember

and once again the guys whose names i dont remember...

I really need to get better about remembering names...

headin 'home'

2006-03-22T17:08:00.000-05:00

a wonderful thought just occoured to me: I dont have class until 11 tomorrow. That means i get to sleep in until 9.30.... ahhhh

the last few days have been thouroughly tiring. it's strange, as i used to pull these types of hours all the time, and for weeks at a time rather than only days, often with less sleep. i've gotten out of the habit though, as school is here is much less demanding than back home, and im not working either as i always did before. today was yet again frustrating with my group. we were all supposed to work last night and come with a bunch of ideas to talk about today, and get going on our project. well, we met. between the three guys in my group, they had 4 ideas (3 of which coming from one person....) - i had 4 pages of ideas. Needless to say i walked away from that meeting muttering things under my breath. i'm not sure if they stuck around longer and talked or not. but i wasnt about to waste my time with it, if they're not willing to do the work, then why should i bother. i have no problem doing the whole project myself, but alas we were assigned groups to work with. and while i normally like working in groups, i refuse to let someone (or even worse 3 someones) tag along for a free ride. they want to be part of the group, they need to pull their own weight.

on another note, i've been in a weird mood lately. i think it is because time is winding down here, and i'm starting to plan my trip back home. the only thing is, 'home' is a place ive never been. a state i've never been to. im about 95% sure i'll be heading to virgina to live with my brother. the other 5% is just in case i some how get *offered* a job here - im too lazy to put in the effort to try and find one, as messing with trying to convert my PdiS really doesnt appeal to me. so, the plans have started. ive been looking at plane tickets, and am getting ready to buy. my brother is talking about a great burger place we can go to after they pick me up from the airport, and i already know what my first purchase back in the states will be - one grande iced carmel macchiato coming up.

while i've never been there, it is my brothers house. and as he has moved from one place to another over the years, they've always felt comfortable to me. i never feel like a stranger there. and, this time my dear kitty will be there waiting for me (hopefully, he is 16 so he could go at anytime now... but i have faith he will wait for me). Still, i get an odd feeling thinking about going home, and not having it be Corvallis. Corvallis has for the past 16 years been my home. But I no longer have a house there or family there, and i only have a hand full of friends still lurking around the university. I'm sure at some point I'll find myself back on the streets of Corvallis, but i have no idea if it'll be in the next year, or in another 10 or 20.

I'm excited to be heading somewhere new, to somewhere that daily life seems to run so much smoother, but at the same time i know i will miss italy, and suspect that i'll also miss milano with which i am forming a love hate relationship. I have no doubt that I'll be back to Italy, possibly even this fall/winter. but once again it will only be a vacation, and it will be spent running around from one place to another trying to see friends. vacation is never the same as living somewhere.

It was funny the last time I went back home after 8 months abroad, to experience the culture shock being back in my own city. When I moved to Italy and England I was expecting things to be different, and was prepared for it. But I wasnt in the least bit prepared to face it when i went home. Some of the things I remember most from 3 years ago were:
- having stores be open 24 hours
- how my friends thought I was weird for going to the store almost everyday and buying food for only a day or two at a time (something that had become normal to me here)
- my friends thinking i was weird for cooking food everyday rather than just eating out of a box.
- going to a football game and having the obnoxious drunk fraternity boys yelling the whole time
- the shear amount of drinking done by my friends, and how the night wasnt over until you were puking or passing out
- realizing that it was only about a 20-25 min walk to school, which when i came back seemed like nothing to me having been without a car for 8 months, yet before i left i always drove to school.
- how completely stressed out americans get over school work (and yes, I know I do this too, but less than my friends back home, really!)
- how closed minded a lot of my friends really were
- not having a piazza and a gelateria to meet at in the evening

so, as i think it'll be interesting to look back at in a few months time, and see how things have changed, I've decided to write a list of what I think I'll miss most about Italy and what I'll be happiest to have back in america.

Things I'll miss about Italy:
- Fresh, cheap produce
- multiple cafes during the day
- aperativos
- 5 min breaks always turning into 10 or 15
- good shopping
- hearing italian
- walking to the store
- sms-ing (so expensive in the states!)
- hearing someone's conversation then spending 5 min debating in my mind whether they were speaking english or italian, cause its getting to the point where i dont automatically distinguish between the two anymore.
- going to the bar above the school, getting a cafe in the morning... panino at lunch... another cafe... candy.. another cafe... bottle of water.... and then after it all, and several hours and trips down to the school and back later, finally paying for everything all at once.

Things I'll be happiest to have back in America
- Starbucks! ;)
- 24 hour stores
- access to a car
- wireless internet
- my kitty
- leaving the house in sweats and not getting weird looks
- english
- central heating and airconditioning
- mindless entertaining television watching
- cat napping on the couch

one of those days

2006-03-21T12:29:00.000-05:00

i have to say when i got home from class today i was in a pretty bad mood. i was about to come and rant on here right away, but decided to take a break and read expats and some blogs first. definitely a good idea - great way to relieve stress.

we had a presentation today. not of a final project, but just of what we've been working on. Still, this presentation took a long time to put together (and im sure as hell not looking forward to having to do a formal presentation of our process every week for the next month and a half, as its a huge waste of time to format it all!). I've been working on this project everyday for the last week. And not just a couple hours. yesterday I woke up at 8, was at school at 9 and started working. at 6 i left and went across town to make a copy of the key for the gate on the street (as i lost my keys a couple weeks ago, and apparently there is only one shop in all of milan who can make copies of this particular key), then stopped by the store on the way home. I got home at 8.15. Fede showed up five min later, and we started working while cooking dinner. continued to work while eating, and didnt stop working till 1. I got to sleep at 2, and woke up bright and early again this morning for class. At least we had a good presentation.

I hate presentation days though. no one here has any respect for the work that anyone else has done. during the presentations everyone talks the whole time, is on their computers checking email, watching movies, doing whatever. I went up to the front row, and could still barely hear what the presenters were saying. I'm sorry, but we all did a lot of work, and we all deserve the respect of the attention of the others while presenting. and it drives me crazy that the prof never does anything about this.

i could go on with this rant about a lot of other things that happened today, but honestly i just dont feel like it. reading back over this, its a bit of a wimpy rant. oh well. that's a good thing i suppose, as i have calmed down from a couple hours ago when i was yelling at my group (im not a teacher, im sure as hell not being paid to teach, and i dont see why i should be expected to try and sum up concepts that i spent five years learning into a one minute explanation for the rest of my class. not only is it impossible to do, but if the prof wants the class to do it, then he should explain it to them, not me. of course i think that would go against the rules of the school, as it would require actually teaching something.)

the good news is that our presentation kicked ass. the annoying part is that people in my group who have done almost no work, complained about the working process that im making us use (the process that the prof wants us to use, but did a shitty job explaining, im just fortunate enough to have actually learned it before). and it drives me crazy when one member of my group who we havent seen since thurs, and who has done no work, shows up today and decides that he doesnt like our concept. im sorry, but you get as much say in it as the effort you put in. if you dont work, if you dont meet with us, and dont tell us that you're not coming, you can not just come in and decide that you dont like what we've done. we then had to spend an hour explaining the entire concept over to him, to convince him that it is good, while i try to explain the difference between an idea, a concept, and visual language, and that they are definitely not the same thing. to sum up, we got no new work done today, its almost 7 now, and ive still got way too much to get done tonight. ugh

okay, so it looks like a did go on a bit more. whatever. I think its time for dinner and a hot shower before getting back to work. i need a break. oh, and just because ive had such a frustrating day, im gonna be a rebal and not dry my hair after my shower! ;)

lazy photographer

2006-03-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

I've been annoyed lately with my digital camera and how slow, old, and bulky it is. (I bought it 5 years ago...) so I've been on a bit of a strike against it. Most the photos on my camera from last night are random pieces of people, or backs of heads so I'll skip posting those. This one turned out decent though of K and me. More photos to follow once I steal them from beanie :D

casa mia

2006-03-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

well, i've been living here for almost 4 months, so i figured it was about time i post some pics of my room. and what better time to do it than right after I cleaned! normally I have more stuff out and it doesnt look so sparce. but we're having a pre-club party tonight, and rule number one of parties is put EVERYTHING away. If its left out, it'll get something spilled on it.

(couch and my bed)

(my bed again, table, blah blah blah)

(giorgio's bed and desk - he hasnt gotten home yet and cleaned, haha!)

brotherly love

2006-03-13T16:57:00.000-05:00

well, the dates are set. Friday the 7th i take the nice long 10 hour trainride down to Taranto to see my brother for two days, then head back home monday morning. While he's actually going to be here for about 10 days, he'll be working most of the time so I'm just going to go for the weekend when he'll (hopefully) have free time. And, not only is he bring me syrup (yes yes yes!) he's also bring a coffee mug for Fede - fede loves american coffee so much that he even bought an american coffee maker. only problem is you cant get coffee mugs here! right now he has an old dunkin donuts mug that he bought off of ebay. pretty soon though he'll be drinking out of a starbucks one that'll be nicer than mine!

This is the only foto i got of my brother and me on my computer. probably from around 1992 give or take a year. im not quite sure what he is doing to me, but that pretty much sums up the nature of our relationship - and im sure given the chance he would do whatever that is to me again. looking at the photo now, and noticing my finger, i wonder if he wasnt trying to get me to do the whole "Redrum" thing - afterall, it was halloween :D

the clock is ticking

2006-03-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

Last night while trying to fall asleep a thought occured to me. it's nearly mid march. and as the sun is starting to shine, the days getting longer and the need for a scarf dissapearing, im reminded that my time here is almost done. while i had wanted to try and find work here, ive since decided that i need to be responsible. i've got debt i need to pay off, and the smart thing for me to do is move back to the states. so as i try to find motivation for school, im also trying to enjoy my time that is left here. Spring is beautiful in Italy and I look forward to the coming months, few as they may be.

April promises to be a good month. every weekend is a long one, with numerous hollidays taking place. the real news though, is that my brother is coming to Italy. He'll probably only be here for a few days, as it is just a business trip, but it will be good to see him. Of course he's not coming to northern italy, oh no. Puglia. looks like i got a 10 hour train trip ahead of me. Still, it is a good excuse to go to Puglia where I have never been but have been wanting to go for some time. I am only hoping that he'll have a couple free days so we can explore. He's going to Taranto which I have heard is pretty much just an industrial port town. I'll definitely be taking day trips while he is working, but it would be nice if he was able to come along. He's never been here before and I would love to show him a bit of Italy (even if its places i dont know either!)

In addition to visitng my brother in April, I hope to be able to spend a few days in Macerata. I havent been there since October, and I feel a need to get back. April will probably be my last chance for longer trips, as after that it's only regular 2 day weekends. Not to mention lots of projects. May will be a month full of presentations as projects finish, and June will be spent re-working past projects from the year, and getting ready for the final presentations that we have to do of our work. Before I know it I'll be on a flight out of Italy.

It really is amazing how fast time goes...

health check

2006-03-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

well, the visit was a little less painful this time - different doctor, and i made it there and home in less than 4 hours. i left feeling a bit relieved after having a lung xray come out clean. the doctor things this is just the flu dragging on a really long time, and gave me a prescription for antibiotics (6 weeks of a flu is too much). he also gave me the name and location of another doctor nearby who im supposed to go see after im done with the antibiotics. he didnt say why, just that i need to go see him. im guessing just some kind of follow up appointment. who knows. the only bad news is that unless i wanted to head into the center tonight, i gotta wait till tomorrow to get the medicine - everything is closed around here. so looks like i got another restless night ahead of me.

one thing that made me smile at the doctor was while i was in the waiting room coughing every few min (people slowly moved aaway from me) at one point a little old lady came up to me and offered me a hard candy to suck on for my throat. i kindly declined as the cough was coming from my chest and not my throat (my throat is fine if not a little sure from all the coughing) and i had visions of the candy going flying across the room from the force of a cough!

italian health system

2006-03-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

the italian health system remains a mystery to me. like most things in italy, it is overly complicated.

a couple months ago my belly button was infected - dont ask me how, it's not pierced. but it was. i ignored it for awhile because i hate going to the doctor here. but when i started running a fever and it was really flamed up i decided i needed to get something. first stop, the pharmacy. here i was told that normally they could give me something, but since i had had a fever, i needed to see a doctor instead. great. so up i went to the imediate care at the hospital to wait five hours. when i finally saw a doctor her response was "strange, i dont know what it is. ive never seen this before" - not exactly what you want to hear. She then spent awhile looking through a book before giving me a prescription for creme - the same creme that the pharmacy would have sold me had it not been for the fever. she also told me that i shouldnt come there, that i needed to get a "regular" doctor.

"regular" doctors in italy dont exist at clinics like they do in america. oh no. instead there are hundreds of them - all with their own office. these offices often are located on the first floor of an apartment building. And the doctors arent there on a normal basis. only a couple hours a day. and from my experience in macerata, even if they say that they will be there on a certain day or at a certain time, it doesnt mean they will. you also dont make appointments, and there are no receptionists. instead you walk in and imediately find yourself in some kind of waiting room. here you ask who is last, and then take a seat. your turn is after who ever responded.

when living in macerata the school told us which doctor to go to - we didnt have a choice. here though you have to choose. but even that is a complicated process. first you have to go to an agency where you wait inline for while along with a bunch of other people, and they assign you a doctor. this was my journey today.

i've been sick for almost 2 months now - the infection and a series of colds and flus have left me missing half my classes, and pretty darn tired. two or three weeks ago i started feeling better, except i had developed a cough. not your ordinary run of the mill take some cough syrup cough mind you. no, this is a cough from deep in my lungs, which causes me to end up doubled over on the floor from convulsions hacking up hard little bits from my lungs. coughing attacks like this make it a bit hard to sleep through the night, so ive been a bit of a zombie. this in combination with the fact that in less than two months ive gone down three pants sizes - without dieting - has lead me to be a bit concerned.

wishing to avoid the dreaded doctor, i asked a friend back home to talk to his dad for me and tell him my symptoms (his dad is a doctor). his dad's advice, i need to go see a doctor and get it checked out. yesterday i was actually feeling a bit better, but today i woke up feeling horrible. and its just gotten worse over the course of the day. my lungs hurt, front back sides, all parts of them. i feel like there is a filter in my throat blocking half the air, even though my throat is clear. and taking anything but a shallow breath sends me into another coughing spree.

so after class today i found myself waiting to get assigned a doctor. when it finally came my turn to talk to someone, they told me that as a foreign student if i want to see a doctor i need to buy the health insurance. luckily i had bought it, and it was good for a year - unluckily that is a calender year, not a physical year. so i was told that if i want get a doctor i had to go spend another 90euros for the insurance. in the meantime though if i was sick, i could go to the imediate care at the hospital.

great i thought. another few hours waiting. so now im at home making a late lunch and debating whether or not i really want to go see a doctor. the answer is no. but with the pain in my chest and the thought of another sleepless night ahead of me, i think it's best of i go. so after i eat my pasta i get to take another journey to the hospital. oh joy.

photos

2006-03-04T14:49:00.000-05:00

for those of you who dont know, i post most of my photos on Ringo. If you have an account feel free to add me, or if you'd like an account drop me you're email and I'll send you an invite!

Carnivale - Milano style

2006-03-04T12:27:00.000-05:00

aparently the church in Milano uses a different calander. so while everywhere else carnivale finishes on wed, here it finishes saturday. So today after meeting with my group this morning, we all decided to head to the duomo and check things out. It's quite a bit different here - not nearly so touristy, but more the people who actually live here. Lots of children dressed in costumes, a parade (which from what i saw of it wasnt that great) and generally chaos. One of the main things to do is have fights with confetti, silly string, and spray foam. Mostly the kids do it, but some adults as well. I wasn't planning on participating, until my friend Antonio bought a can of foam and started attacking me. I quickly got this away from him and started spraying him. of course this meant that he had to go buy another can, and the war started. It was quite fun if not silly, and luckily the foam causes no damage except making your hair a bit greasy :D

antonio decided to start using the foam for street art... his drawing of me - apparently im the devl. >:D

the only bad news - at some point during the war i managed to loose my keys. now it's off to the shop to make copies of my roommates before they close.

Venice in a day (or two...)

2006-02-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

ahhh venice. how wonderful it was. but before I get to that re-cap, I have to complain about one thing: the price of printing.

i just went and paid 57euro to print 27 pages (A3/tabloid) in color and have it bound. For that same price I have printed 100 pages back home, on higher quality paper. I cant believe how expensive it is here! I am NOT looking forward to having to print all these projects come June for our final portfolio presentation... there goes a few hundred right there. The only good thing is that the quality is good, and the service was fast, the whole thing took less than 20 min - where as at home I would have had to wait a day or two. Still, 57 euro... and tomorrow I have to give it to the client (bastard) who for sure isnt actually interested in using any of our work - and even if they did want to use it, they get to use it for free - how crappy is that!

At least though I had my venice mini-vacation, so im in a good mood even though ive got a long night of work ahead of me still. The day started off a bit rough, waking up at 6.30 to get to the station at 7 for a 7.15 train. Then it was too close to departure time for me to buy a ticket from the automatic machine, and the lines were so long at the counter that there was no way I'd get one in time. So I called up a friend of mine who was waiting at Lambrate, the next station to catch the train, and had her buy one there for me. I figured that the guy wouldnt be coming by before Lambrate to check the tickets anyways - unfortunately he did come by. But it was alright, I told him that my friend had my ticket and we'd had confussion about what station we were meeting at. He didnt seem to care, as we were just pulling into Lambrate and sure enough a few min later when he came to check the tickets, I had one.

The ride there was an uneventful 3.5 hours, spent listening to an American across the isle complain loudly to her friend about anything and everything. I wanted to strangle her by the end of the trip. Although it was funny listening to the Italians who were sitting next to her talk about her in Italian as they understood her English. The train was packed full of people heading to Venice for Carnivale, and when we arrived we all poured off the train in a big mob heading to San Marco. Along the way I decided to play tourist for the day (something I rarely do) and gave in to buying a mask as my friends had them as well. It was fun to join in the festivities. We found a place selling hot wine, which none of us had ever tried but considering our cold hands thought it'd be a good idea. So we grabbed some to have with our lunch, and then wandered the back streets some more. Eventually we made our way to the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco stopping along the way to take some photos.

(K, me, and Sasha after our hot wine)

(while I'm becoming Italianized in my lazyness, I'm becoming Asianized in my photo poses)

(a new friend I met along the way)

(Sasha and K in front of the Rialto bridge)

The closer we got to San Marco, the more people there were. Way more people than the little streets were meant to handle, as we were packed like sardines, unable to do anything but move along with the crowd as we were smashed body to body everyone pushes forward. Eventually though the crowd broke as we entered into the Piazza - of course there was a new crowd awaiting us, but this one was slightly more dispersed. Here we ran into all kinds of people masked and costumed for Carnivale. Some were decked out in extravagent costumes, others were in halloween type costumes (normal in Italy for the youth during Carnivale) and everywhere there was confetti being thrown. At one point a little girl ran up to me, threw confetti all over me with a big grin on her face, giggled and ran away. After a brief tour of the piazza and photo sessions with the costumers, (on Sasha's camera, I'll post them after I get them from her), K and I decided it was time to open one of the bottles of wine we'd bought. I'd come prepared with a bottle opener, so we found ourselves a seat and started drinking. Sasha was catching an earlier train back and only had another hour or so left before needing to head to the station, so she continued on the photo-hunt through the piazza while K and I relaxed.

We warmed our steps for a couple of hours enjoying the people watching. As I was opening the bottle a group of Americans passed and made a comment about how it was a good idea. I think they were a bit surprised when I responded back in English, as I had previously been speaking Italian. They asked if they could use my cork screw if they got a bottle, and I said sure thing. So after a few minutes they returned with a bottle and we all sat around talking for awhile. It turns out they are living in Germany working on building a cruise boat for an American line. They had just come down to Venice for a couple days for Carnivale. After awhile we said our goodbyes as they decided to continue their tour of the island and we still had more wine to drink. While sitting there masked I looked over at one point to see a guy crouched down next to me taking a photo. I couldnt tell, but it looked like he was taking a photo with me on the side. After a min I felt a tap on my shoulder, and sure enough there he was motioning with his camera for me to turn around so he could take a photo. It was a bit strange, but I figured what the heck, so now some tourist or someone or other has a nice up close shot of me in my mask. I'm not sure where he was from, as he didnt say a word the whole time, but he didnt look Italian...

Eventually Sasha came back and we said our goodbyes as she headed off to the train station. In need of a bathroom, K and I decided to wander a bit more. Long lines and an euro charge each awaited us at the bathroom, but boy did we feel better after that. We headed back to the square where a big stage was set up and a bit of a fashion show going on.

After the show was over we decided it was time to open the other bottle of wine, so we found ourselves another step, and relaxed. After a while a mother and her son in costumes decided to hang out next to us for a photoshooting. So pretty soon we were unable to see anything but the crowd of people in front of us taking photos of them. While it was a bit annoying we kept ourselves entertained with our bottle, and conversations with the boy who really didnt want to be there. He told us he wanted to go home and was tired of having people take his photo. He found it fun though putting on a bit of a show for us as he made faces to the different cameras, and I even got him to make one for me.

Around this time we had a choice to make - we could either start heading back to the station to grab an 8pm train home, the last of the night, or stick it out till 5am when the next train left. We were feeling pretty good with the wine in us, and the festivities were starting to pick up, so we decided we'd stick it out. We wandered off in search of an area with more locals and students rather than all the tourists, and headed over to Campo Santa Margherita. Here some music was just starting up as the students were coming out for the night decked out in all their strange costumes (sandwiches, football players, babies, etc). We grabbed ourselves a couple of kababs and beers, and found a bench to hang out on. We talked to various people throughout the next couple of hours, but no one had any definite ideas on where we could go that night to party. Eventually I had a guy come over and start talking to me in what I thought was bad English, but after realizing that he wasnt understanding my Italian, found out he was actually from New Zealand. He was living in Venice working, and after a beer with him (Alex) and his friend (Andy) we decided to head off with them in search of some of their other friends. The next few hours were spent wandering the streets through the crowds of parties, and stopping at various bars to drink. We met quite a few people, some italians, some from australia, and others from other places. It was a great time speaking a mix of Italian and English and making some new friends. As the night wore on and we were all getting a bit tired, Alex and Andy offered to let us crash at their place instead of having to stick it out for the train (not to mention trying to find the station in the dark). We eagerly took them up on the offer and were soon sleeping peacefully in a warm house rather than hanging out on a cold bench at the station. We ended up missing the 5am train as we slept till early afternoon. Eventually we caught a train and made it back to Milano around 9pm, exhausted from our adventure but quite happy all the same - and better yet with an invitation to come back and visit with a free place to sleep.

2006-02-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Venice was wonderful, exactly what i needed. But I'm extremely tired right now, so details and more photos will have to wait. I should have time Tuesday to get some things up. :D

venice for a day

2006-02-24T16:21:00.000-05:00

well, ive decided that despite how much homework i should be doing all weekend, im gonna take a vacation. i think i need it.

so tomorrow morning im off bright and early (well, early atleast, 7.15am!) to Venice with a couple of friends from school. we dont really have a plan, but im sure there will be plenty to keep us entertained. As to when we're coming home... well, that depends on where the day leads us. its either an 8pm train, or keeping ourselves busy till a 5am train. We're young, we can do it!

stuck in a rut

2006-02-22T07:40:00.000-05:00

im finding myself totally un-motivated these days. i've been sick for awhile now, sleeping a lot, too much in fact. while im feeling a bit better this week, im continueing to miss a lot of lessons. im hoping to get over this flu/infection soon and get some energy back, so i can actually wake up in the mornings and go to class. its hard though. school is boring me, the projects arent very interesting, the classes are reguarly things ive studied before, learned before, and have no desire to sit through another lecture on history of design, or how to draw a text box in flash. the teachers dont motivate me to do any work, as my friend likes to say, im being italianized, not caring, not putting in my best effort, or anywhere near it, sleeping, and finding myself saying "va bene" to school projects that i know arent good enough and could be improved.

---but when no one else cares, when the standard is so low, when i get nailed for being a hard ass because i think we should actually try to do something that gets a comment other than "va bene" from the instructor then we dont do it because im out voted and when we get told we should have done it i get blamed for it not having been done, when i personally get blamed for the work of a group of 15 people not being done even though it wasnt my responsibility to do it, when the instructor is talking to the class about what we have to have done, but is looking straight at me because for some reason im supposed to carry the weight and be responsible for the actions of others to do their work, when im some how expected during the last 30 min before an exam to explain to everyone how flash works because they didnt listen during any of the lessons and then during the exam they get mad at me because i wont come to their computer and do the work for them, when i continuously say something but am completely ignored then one of the guys in my class says the same thing and he's praised for such a great idea, when im not afraid to say that a design is horrible and doesnt work and then get pegged as being pissed off at everybody because i dont want to put my name on work that i would be ashamed to show, when im forced to sit through a 2 hour class doing absolutely nothing because for some reason it takes 2 hours for 15 people to save one file each to the profs usb key, when i have to sit waiting to look at other peoples work because they didnt come prepared to class and instead do their work during class while we're supposed to be presenting, when everyone talks through the presentations so you cant hear the person that is talking and the teacher does nothing about it, when people come to class and paint their nails instead of listening to the lecture and trying to understand the italian then i have to explain everything to them, when the computers never work at school, when we have to wait 5 months to get mousepads (and still only at half of the computers) so the mice actually work, when classes continuously start 30 min late because the prof doesnt show up, or decides to go 2.5 hours with the other group and only 1.5 hours with our group yet if i show up more than 5 min late im told i cant go to the lesson---

...when i can continue to go on with this list for the rest of the day and not run out of things to add to it...

id say i have a right to be frustrated, and justified in lacking motivation.

its one of those days when i just want to quit it all because its a waste of my time, but i paid too damn much money to be here to do so.

as promised...

2006-02-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that all fit into the box??!!

2006-02-09T05:58:00.000-05:00

this morning im enjoying a big hazelnut latte..... mmmmmmm
nothing can make this a bad day

goodies!

2006-02-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

today I arrived home from school, after 10 hours straight of lessons, brain dead and tired. I had just finished checking online after a package my mom sent me, to discover that it arrived in Italy this morning (so the post office claimed anyways), when my roommate said "o c'è un pacetto per te alla cucina" (there's a package for you in the kitchen). I was a bit confused, thinking maybe my brothers box had finally arrived. but when I went to the kitchen i discovered it was from my mom!

I was a bit too tired to get really excited about it, but imediately grabbed my keys and started trying to get it open (which took a few min as i didnt have stregth to break through the tape). My mom had warned me that she packed it full, but i really couldnt believe just how much she crammed in there. i dont have the brain power right now to line things up all nice and take a photo, but will do so tomorrow (you wont believe how much was in this box). In the meantime, a list will have to suffice - if i can remember it all.

allora:
-10 pairs of socks
-two small bottles of Torani (my favorite) hazelnut syrup
-Aleve
-a jar of kraft cheese spread
-3 boxes of mac and cheese
-a big bag full of mac cheese mix (which i originally thought was a yellow diaper for some reason - but knowing my mom wasnt that surprised if she had sent me a diaper with something wrapped in it)
-2 boxes of stove top stuffing
-2 packs of peanut butter cups (which i imediately introduced to my roommate as he LOVES peanut butter but had of course never seen it with choc before)
-8 packets of gaucamole spice mix
-2 packs of taco seasoning
-choc strawberry cream things
- 2 snack size bags of ritz crackers (one peanut butter, one cheese)
several hot cocoa mixes
-4 top ramen mixes
-2 snack bags of cheetos
-choc coins
-3 packs choc cow tails (never seen these before)
AND (items typical of my mom)
-a weird cow where you pull the string and the arms and legs move
-5 washclothes where they are all compact and you get them wet to make them full size

I think that is all. I'm not motivated enough to look through it again at the moment. :D all this fit into a box about 12x12x8 I-ll include a pic of the box as well tomorrow.

the hard part was deciding what i wanted for dinner. I was tempted to eat a bunch of choc and cheetos, as this would mean i wouldnt have to get up from the couch, but decided instead on mac and cheese, or rather pasta and cheese made from the bag of powder (which I gladley would have eaten a whole box of mac and cheese, simply for the taste, i wasnt really hungry enough).

anyways, i think this has been one of the dullest posts about something exciting, but as is evident by now, i could have won the lottery and not had the energy to be more excited at the moment :D

Thanks mom!

speaking dialect

2006-02-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

Living in Italy the different regional dialects are part of my life on a daily basis. I always hear my friends speaking to others in dialect, and have picked up some bits and pieces over time. being exposed to it has made me think more about my own language, English.

Everyone is well aware of the differences between English, and American. When my friends ask me questions about the language, I always ask whether they want an answer in English, or American. A couple weeks ago though, I was talking to another American at my school, from Pensylvania. I dont really know her, but one of my friends knew her, and I have spoken to her a couple times. We were talking about English and American, and I jokingly said that I speak Oregonian.

This has gotten me thinking about whether dialects exist in America as well. Sure, we have different accents depending on what part you're from, and some different expressions. It's hard to know though, unless you have traveled around a lot. The majority of my life has been spent in Oregon. After Oregon, I've spent more time in Italy than I have in the combined rest of the US. So I wouldnt neccasarily consider myself well informed on the different dialects. I would take a guess though, that they do exist. They're just harder to notice as we're so much more spread out, and most times i think they fall into the category of slang.

I've noticed that a lot of dialect here, is merely shortening of the words, things I do with English all the time. the most common come to mind: wanna, gonna, shoulda, woulda, whatcha, coulda, doin, etc. These are all things I'll write, and are more noticeable. There is also the genre of words that I'll say, but have never actually written. One of my friends who only knows a bit of English, likes to say "dont you worry about it." I was thinking about this phrase, and how I would say it.... 'dont worry bout it' - and I realized that I wouldnt even say it like that. but more of like 'don worr boud i.' hearing it said, it's easy to understand to an english speaker. but seeing it written it takes on a whole new form. it's almost undecipherable.

when I speak English here, it's almost always to non-natives, and so I have to speak slower, and clean up the language. when I'm not thinking though, I often slip back into my normal tounge... and the confussion of my friends has lead me to notice just that much more how much the language has changed.

anyways, as usual I'm not quite sure where I am going with this. Just a thought.

bad luck streak & a bit of humor

2006-02-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

well, i've been having a bit of bad luck lately. my brother mailed me a package almost a month ago. it has yet to arrive. the american post office claims the italian post office has it. the italian post office claims they've never seen it, as its not in their system. so my brother has started a trace on it, and it could take up to 60 days to figure it out. my mom also just sent me a package - hopefully better luck with that one.

the bad luck doesnt end there though.

tonight my mom tried calling me - i wasnt sure if it was her, as i missed the call, but it was a "nessun numero" so i figured it was from america. so i checked my computer, and sure enough she was online saying she had something urgent to tell me. fearing for the worst, i was a bit worried - i wasnt sure if something had happened to someone or what. anyways, it turned out to be a problem with the bank.

so i called the bank. apparently they have reason to believe that someone has gotten ahold of my card number (even though i assured them that all transactions that have happened and are showing up online, are mine.) they however said there was nothing they could do, their security system has closed my card. normally this wouldnt be a problem. a new card would be mailed to me, I'd have it within a week, and in the mean time i could just go to the bank in person to get money. unfortunately there is no US bank in Italy.

So now I'm in italy, less than 10euros cash, and no way to access money. good thing I went shopping for food the other day.

luckily, the bank automatically sends you a new card every year. my mom got this card about a month ago, but I told her not to bother sending it to me, as i didnt want to take the chance of someone taking it, and i had my other card here which was valid for another year. now though, i wish i had had her mail it to me. she's now running to the post office with the card, and sending it to me fast as possible. but with me being here, it'll most likely be monday before i get it. in addition, I'll probably have to sign for it, which means I have to skip my class on monday and wait for the mail man to come - so he'd better have it when he comes!

to add to injury, but a bit funny at the same time... as i was talking to the guy on the phone at the bank, he kept making lots of small talk, what im doing here, how life is trying to say stupid things in bad italian, like buona fortuna and such. then, at the end, he had the nerve to say "well, when you come back to portland maybe we'll meet sometime, I live in portland too" - !!! there was no way i was going to continue down that path. so I just laughed, said maybe, and bye.

somehow though has much as its been a bad week (treking around milano to several post offices waiting in long lines searching for a package that seems to have 'dissapeared' - then having my card cancelled) im actually in a good mood. I woke up this morning with energy (been exhausted lately, my iron had gotten really low so I've been swallowing pills twice a day for the last couple weeks, thinking its finally starting to take effect), got 42/46 on my color exam at school today, hung out with a friend afterwards, and tonight after this whole bank incident, had a good laugh with my roommate over her flash project that I helped her with. In addition, she has a friend who wants to pay me to do her next flash project for her! I know its wrong to do others homework, but it seems to be pretty common here... and $$ is always good, especially these days :D

so although i feel like i should be in a bad mood right now, i've got a smile on my face that i really cant get rid of. not that im complaining though.

metro mishap

2006-01-31T13:24:00.000-05:00

i like to think that ive come to know the metro system pretty well. i know which lines to take to get where, I know which part of the train to get on to exit closet to where i need to go at the next change. i have learned how long it takes to get from one place to another, what side of the train the doors will open on at what stop, and unless im going somewhere strange, i dont need to look at the map to see how to get there. when the train is moving, i know when i can stand without holding on, shifting my weight as needed, and when there will be a curve strong enough to warrent holding on to a bar. i dont think about the metro anymore, its part of my life everyday, and i simply do it as easily as breathing. and until today, i've never taken the wrong train.

at lambrate station where i go for school, (and where i used to live) there are two entrances/exits, one at either end of the station. i always exit through the same one when going to school - the other when i would go to my old house. when i'm coming home though, i enter depending on who im with. when im walking with others who take the metro, i enter at the first, go down the stairs, and to the platform on the right. when im with my friend who lives near the station, i enter at the other, go down the stairs and to the platform on the left.

today was a day when i was with my friend, and entered at the second. I went down the stairs, and got on the train that had just arrived. it seemed a little odd as there were a lot of people on baord for this time of day - normally people are heading home, out of the city, not into the center. I shrugged off the weird feeling though, thinking it was probably because I got on a car more towards the center rather than one of the end ones i normally take. as the train started going though, things felt a little weird. the motion of the ride was different - i cant say how, but it felt different. where i normally needed to hold on, i didnt. and where i normally didnt, i did. it's been a long few days, so again i just thought, eh, I'm tired. nothing more. then we got to the first stop, and the doors opened on the other side of the train from where they should have. now i knew something was up - this has only happened once before, when i was coming home and for some reason the train stopped on the opposite platform than normal (i still havent figured out why). I looked up and out through the window at the station, where there should have been a sign with the name "piola" there was isntead a sign with the name "udine." I was headed in the wrong direction. the doors closed, as i stood mistified, trying to figure out how i had managed to take the wrong train. as we headed to the next station i thought over what i had done, and realized that i had gone to the platform on the right, as though I had entered from the other entrance, when i should have gone to the left. everything that seemed weird to me before became clear. there were more people on the train, because they WERE headed home, i was the one headed the wrong direction.

it wasnt a hard mistake to fix, I got off at the next stop (which was above ground, the first time I'd seen a metro stop above ground here - at a location I'd never been) and walked across to the other side of the platform to wait. I felt a bit stupid getting off one train only to head back in the direction that I had just come from. but there was little more i could do. All in all it only added maybe 8 minutes to my trip, but it seemed like so much more. furthermore, it was a bash to my ego. I always pride myself on knowing where I am and what direction things are - i never get lost, i may not know the quickest way, but i always know what direction i need to go, and get there (except for one drunken incident a few years ago where i got lost 2 blocks from my house...) i guess it just goes to show that no matter how many times we've taken a journey, we can still loose our way.

snow snow snow

2006-01-27T11:54:00.000-05:00

well, it has now been snowing for almost 2 days straight. they say tomorrow we'll get rain... im not sure if that is a good thing or not though. while yesterday we only had a few inches of snow, it has now gotten to be over a foot that has fallen. this means that no one is driving. combine that with the fact that its friday and everyone is trying to leave the city for the weekend, and you get extremely packed metros. I've never seen anything like it. coming home from school today there was a line going down the stairs to get to the platform, as the platform was too full too hold anymore people. I somehow managed to squeeze my way down, only to watch 4 trains go by before i was able to get on one. 2 of these trains didnt even stop because they were so full. Normally people are fairly polite, let everyone get off first, and they they get on. today though it was a mad rush. as soon as the doors opened everyone was pushing to get on, even though there was NO room at all. People on the train were yelling to let them off, and it was general chaos. I finally made it home though, about an hour after i left school (normally takes me 25min). I'm just glad I dont have to leave the house again until friday.

this is from yesterday, the view out of one of the windows at school. Looks quite nice... today you couldnt see the trees through the snow.

Horrible picture of me, but i figured i'd post it anyways. After class yesterday with my friend Sasha. I forgot to take my glasses off after class, and it wasnt until looking at the photo that I realized i still had them on!

Also after class yesterday (Andrea and Fede) - pay attention to how much snow is on the cars. This was at about 4.30pm (it had started snowing sometime during the night before)

This is a car by my school today. You can see just how much more snow fell today.

Outside of my bedroom window about half an hour ago (5.30pm). And yes, its still snowing.

blog additions

2006-01-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit lazy about blogging. School has been really busy with midterms and finals. Unlike in america where all finals happen in the same week, and midterms around the same time, there they stretch out over almost two months. So while typography is done and over, and design history starting, I've still got a final in semiotics, a midterm in color, a project in advertising, and a project in visual. The two projects being due (for the most part) on monday. Yup, it's gonna be a long weekend. Not to mention the fact that it's been bloody cold here again, and we're expecting a couple inches of snow tomorrow.

On a lighter note though, I wanted to mention a few new blogs. Carole, who lives north up at the lakes, has started a blog after a bit of proding over on expats. Carole hosted the GTG up at lake como back in October. She also graciously came to my need in the fall when the misquitoes were eating me alive, and mailed me some plug-in repellents (as I was told at the store that there were no more misquitoes, and I would have to wait till the next year to by them). Unfortunately the same theif who stole my last box mailed to myself from the states, also stole her packet so I never got it. The troubles with the Italian post office... that's more of a book than a blog entry. Still, I really appreciated the thought!

Annika, one of the regulars and a monitor over on Expattalk also started a blog, documenting her efforts to move to Italy (hopefully for the GTG in June!), as well as some really cute pics of her son :D It's great to be able to peep into each others lives through the blogs, see what everyone is up to, and often times be able to relate to the same experiences they're going through living in another country, or in their efforts to get here.

One final blog, of a different type, is blogfolio started by group B at my school, and relates to the project that we're working on for Portfolio in Piazza. As part of our project we're having our own 'booth' at the exhibition, where fotos from our journeys here will be displayed. The blog is a way for the photos to be viewed by others. we can all submit fotos, and then they will post them on the blog and others can make comments about them. It's an interesting look into how a bunch of designers view the world. There aren't a lot of photos as of yet, but hopefully soon there will be more (I still need to send some in!). Sorry though, it's all written in Italian. But you can still view the photos!

Finally a pass!

2006-01-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

Well, after a month of buying tickets daily for the metro, I finally went today and got a metro pass. Much cheaper. I'd been waiting, as I needed first to get my codice fiscale. And to get this I had to find a day when I could afford to wait in long lines - or so I thought. The secretary at the school insisted that I had to go to the main office in the center, and that I had best get there early in the morning as it could take a few hours. Well, considering I had class everymorning, this wasnt the best option. Then, one of my friends told me that he got his in an office by the school, and it only took about 15 min! Apparently there are various offices throughout Milano that you can go to. The one in the center gets the most traffic as it seems to be the best known by foreigners. Most of the people who go to the other offices are Italians doing other paperwork. So last week I got my letter of attendance from the school, and off I went during an afternoon break. Normally it would have taken about 30 min to walk there, but I was lucky enough to get a ride from Egidio, who then came in with me and did most of the talking, so it was a smooth process. The whole thing (including getting there and back) took about half an hour. Not too shabby.

School has been really busy and hasnt given me any more breaks until today. So after class off I headed to the ATM office at Loreto. I decided to avoid the one at the Duomo, as no doubtably there would be more people there. It only took about 10 min, and two forms (as on the first I accidently used lowercase letters - a no no). My monthly pass isnt good till Feburary, as the guy insisted it was too late in January to make it worth buying the months pass (even though I know it would have saved a few euros). Instead though he suggest that for next week I just get a weekly pass! I had no idea there were weekely passes. For 9 euros I get to use the metro for a week. I wish I had known that before, as I've been paying between 10-15 each week. grrrrr. So for the next couple of days I'm still on daily tickets, but then next week I get to use my beautiful scratch off what week it is and stamp it once ticket. And come February I'll be able to travel all I want for the low price of 17euros a month.

I didn't actually get my identity card today - gotta go back in a couple months to pick that up he said. In the mean time I have my receipt. The nice thing about not having the card though, is that I dont have to scan anything, just walk straight in, and show my receipt if they ask for it. Once I get the card, you have to scan it everytime you enter and leave the metro/bus/tram. Not that big of a hassel, but still. :D

Funny thing happened today in the metro. I was coming up the escalator, and there was an asian woman standing at the top. she was looking down the escalator, and I thought maybe she was waiting for someone. Then, after I got off she started trying to walk down it! She quickly realized that wouldnt work as she almost fell backwards. I couldnt help but laughing a bit - after all, she was okay, if not a little shooken up. Why she didnt take the stairs down in the first place (they're RIGHT next to the escalator) I dont know. I just couldnt believe that she was standing there studying it, could see that it was moving up, ad then tried to walk down! Even if by some chance she has never seen an escalator before, she should have been able to figure out that it moved up after how long she was watching it. Oh well. I guess some things are just over peoples heads.

a pleasent surprise

2006-01-15T09:52:00.000-05:00

I'd resigned myself to working with a non-so-favorite business card design. better than the one i previously spoke about, but still not one that I felt worked great. I had actually only made it as an example why it *didnt* work, so that I wouldnt be asked to do it later. I had thought that they had picked this design. Then this morning I was pleasently surprised with an email, asking if it was the one I recommended or not. I seized the invitation to voice my opinion (which we all know I love doing) and calmlly wrote back an email saying that while the card worked to some extent, I thought that one of the other two would function better, and give better results. I stated my reasons why, and waited.

Of the two I suggested, I was sure one of them would not be picked. It just seemed like it pushed things too far. The other though, I had hopes for. And although my favorite was the first, I would be satisfied as well working with the second. to my surprise I soon received an email back saying that they would go with the first! I'm now beaming with joy and getting ready to work my little heart out as my faith has been renewed.

Good things do come to those who wait. :D

a harder life

2006-01-09T04:03:00.000-05:00

this morning I received a phone call that my morning lesson was canceled. I had already gotten up, so now I'm awake early, and dont have to be at my next class till 4. What on earth am I to do with myself. well, homework of course. but it's too early for homework, so I decided to poke around on the internet. I remembered that I had been a bad friend, and not read AJ's past couple of blog entries all the way through. So I flipped over to her blog and started reading.

AJ is currently serving as a peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. She left the states for Africa around the same time I was settling into my first apartment in September. AJ, a dedicated and serious volunteer had already started doing research and planning before she left the states. She spent the first bit of time in Dakar, going through training, and has since moved out to a smalll viillage. In a receint entry, among other things she wrote "The truth remains, however, I am here, living in a mud hut, bathing from a bucket, cycling 7 km over sand to get to town, living on a meager volunteer’s allowance - all things that my American friends would consider hardships - but I am still living far above anyone in my village. "

How true it is. I like to think I'm fairly adaptable... but then I get cranky without my coffee (last night I dreamed, yet again of starbucks), or if I have to go too long without a shower. I think 'sure, I could live in a mud hut' - but I'd be squelling every five minutes at the insects I'd be living with. Truth is, it's a hard life living there. And that's her point. I consider it a hard life, yet its still a lot better quality than a lot of people in her village. It's amazing how much we take for granted in this life of ours.

I dont give myself enough credit to be able to write something profound on the subject. So instead I suggest that you go and read AJ's blog. And while you're at it check out her friend Clare's blog who is also serving as a volunteer but has been there a lot longer. I garuntee its worth your time to read. Furthermore, if you haven't checked out the Albanian Alps Institute link I've got on the side, take a look there as well. It might be of special interest to any of you living in Italy who may get annoyed by 'those pesty albanians.'

graphic designer, or desktop publisher?

2006-01-08T07:02:00.000-05:00

There are days when you feel excited about things, and days when you dont. I've started doing some free lance work for the company my brother works for. They've bought out another company and were in need of the whole shabang. I got the logo done, through some struggles, and compensations (I put in a line to avoid having a graditent), and last night I was working on a business card. They had sent me a file of their current design, and I cringed as I looked at it. They asked me to see what I could do with it. So last night I worked till the wee hours of the morning, till I couldnt go more than a minute without yawning, and I put in my best efforts to give them a card. Honestly, I haven't worked that hard since I was working on the logo design for Portfolio in Piazza (the one the teacher loved, but the client shot down). It felt good to be designing, and I was quite pleased with what I came up with. I felt that I had forsure talked them out of the hideous design, and into something better. I followed the standard rule of giving them three designs, one that pushed it, one that was in the middle, and one safety - or rather what they were expecting to get, and in this case that meant re-do of their card. I was pretty sure that they would pick the one in the middle. The one that pushed it the furthest was my favorite, but i felt it would be too much for a group of programmers.

So last night I sent the file off to my brother to forward on. He wrote me saying that the thought I was going the right direction, and that he was impressed. And so my sleepy eyes doozed off content. I awake this morning and checked my email. One from my brother, with the subject "this is what tom wants" - I felt uneasy. I waited to last to open the email, unfortunately it was a slow day and there weren't a lot of others. So eventually I had to open it. Sure enough, I saw a sight I couldnt believe. Pasted in the email was the copy of their current card. They decided they wanted that design, and just changed to add "arlignton TX address on back" at the bottem of the card, and then they'll print the arlignton address on the back of the card.

Well, you can guess how I completely sunk when I read this email. this job has gone from having the prospect of being a great addition to my portfolio, to now being completely eliminated. When I had to add the line to the logo, I thought "okay, I can still put it in my portfolio as long as everything else is strong. the line isnt that bad" - but now... bad logo, bad card design. This project would keep me FROM getting a job if it was in my portfolio, rather than help me to get one.

The thing that urks me the most is that from the start I said that I was a designer. I wasn't there to just put their designs into a program that worked. The pay may be good, but it's not good enough for that. If that is what my job is to be, I'd rather spend my time working on my own projects and improving my portfolio. I was ensured though that they wouldnt be coming to me unless they were serious about having it designed.

So now I'm at the point where I really just want to say to hell with it, I'm not your little monkey who is going to transfer your crappy designs into illustrator for you. But in reality, I need the money. And I made a commitment to do the project. So I'll stick it out, even if it means dreading working on the prjects. I'll do those which I've already agreed to do, and if it keeps up this way then I'll decline any further projects.

I am a graphic designer, not a desktop publisher. and I refuse to become one.

little women

2006-01-06T08:18:00.000-05:00

I have fond memories of the movie Little Women from when I was younger. I only saw it once, and it was so long ago I barely remember it. At christmas time I was searching for movies in English to watch and decided I'd try to find it. my attempts however, we unsuccessful. So after a few days of trying, I decided to look for a text version instead. It was suprisingly easy to find. So for the past week or so I've taken to reading a couple chapters at night before I go to bed. I'd never read the book before, but tend to like the books more than the movies. It holds true also in this case. Perhaps I was too young before when I saw the movie, or perhaps it's just more evident in the book, but I've found there to be so many good lessons hidden within it's pages. If you haven't read it before, I'd suggest it.

Although it was written and set in a time over a century ago, I still find myself relating a lot to the characters, and learning from them. Not neccasarily how to be a "proper" lady, but more of how to have patience, wait, and work hard for what you want. In time, it will come to you. I think a combination of the book, as well as the time of year, has gotten me thinking more about my life and where it is heading. As I wrote before, my time here is almost half up. And soon I'll be finding myself in need of making decisions. While all decisions we make have effects on our lives, some are bigger than others.

Two and a half years ago when I returned home from my 8 months living in europe, I had a dream to return. And while I did return twice for visits, I wanted more. And so I set my sight on getting back to Italy one way or another. the easiest way I found, was to go to grad school. A year ago this time I was still preparing my application. grad school seemed so far away, and it's amazing to me to think of all that has happened in the last year and how my life has changed. When I got my email of acceptance I was estatic. I couldnt believe I was actually moving back to Italy. The 11 months I was to spend over here seemed like a lifetime in comparision to the 4 months I lived in Macerata. Already I've been here 5 months, and it seems to have flown by faster than the 4 before.

Coming here was a big decision, one that I knew would have great impact on my life, whether it be good or bad. I was restless and ready to get out of Oregon again. I wanted to improve my Italian, and I hoped to find a job here after school was done. While most of my friends seemed a bit amazed at my decision, and told me how they couldnt imagine moving to another country themselves, they were all supportive of the move. It was hard to say goodbye to them, not knowing when I would return, or where they would be when I did. yet one thing I have learned over the years is that the people who are really important in your life, will always be there, and you'll always find a way to see them again. And so I have no doubt that one day I will find myself once again lounging on a couch, playing mario kart, and enjoying times just like before. the only thing that remains uncertain, is when that day will come.

The past month in particular has been hard for me. Part of me regrets not going home for christmas, yet the other part of me is glad that I stayed here and stuck it out. I've been flip-flopping back and forth on what to do when school is done. where i will go next. whether i can afford to stay in italy. whether i want to stay in italy. When I left home I knew it would be a challanging year, and that at the end of it I'd either be so sick of Italy I'd never want to return, or I would have an even deeper love for the country.

Lately I've been thinking that I want to go home when school is done. To be back where everything is familar, I can speak the language without problems, and I can go and sit in a coffee shop for hours reading or working on my laptop. The part of me that wants to return is the part that is tired of the difficulties of living somewhere new. the daily struggles. some days are better than others. Yesterday I got an email from a friend who I havent seen since beginning of Oct. We've talked a couple times on the phone, or through the occasional text message. but nothing to great extent. I had sent him an email a few days ago, nothing too long or interesting. When I got his response the first thing he wrote was "ma hai imparato l'italiano molto bene!" (but you've learned great italian!) It was a small little compliment, but it was one that really struck me. While some days it feels as though I still cant say a thing, I know that I have come a long ways with my Italian over the past few months. It's a struggle, but it's one I decided to take on, and I'm slowly getting better.

So where am I going with all of this. I'm not quite sure. But that's the joy of life. the little surprises we find along the way, the unexpected happenings. When I came here my goal was to stay after school, find a job, and work for a year or two. While there are daily struggles, I know there would be struggles in america as well. I like to think of myself as being strong willed and independant, and I think most will agree with me on these points. So while there are days when I think that I'm not cut out to live in Italy, that I want to return to America where things are "easier," I'm not ready yet to forget about and give up on my goal.

And so with that, for those of you who actually read this blog, I'd like to say that I've made my decision. While there is still no garuntee that I can find a job here, while I know life will continue to be a struggle, I'm not ready to give up. And so the next few months I'm ready to dedicate myself to working harder at both my design and language skills, to impress my professors, and form connections. If I can find myself a job here, I will stay for atleast another year.

a day with the chickens

2006-01-05T12:41:00.000-05:00

I decided to escape Milano for a few days. Fede has been wanting me to come visit him for awhile now, so I thought I would finally take him up on his offer. So Monday morning I took off to Bologna where I met up with him and his girlfriend, Abbi (I dont remember her real name, as Fede always calls her Abbi). We grabbed some lunch, and wandered around Bologna. Fede was mad as he didnt realize I'd been there before, and everytime he tried to show me something I already knew about it. The one thing he did show me which I didnt know before, was if you stand at the right spot, the statue in the piazza looks as though it has a really big penis because of how the hand lines up. He was quite proud of being able to show me this. :) To escape the cold we stopped in a bar and got some hot chocolate. We were speaking a combo of English/Italian, but I guess we had gone through an english spell, as someone came over and started talking to us in English trying to sell us things (cds etc). We looked up at him and started responding to him in Italian. He was quite surprised as he had thought we were tourists. Nonetheless he tried to sell us things anyways.

That evening we headed to Castel San Pietro Terme, where Fede lives, just outside of Bologna. It was really nice to get into the country side a bit. Felt a lot like home being in a valley with hills all around. We went to Dozza, another nearby town for dinner. There we ate at one of the two open restraunts (I was later blamed for everything being closed, as the next morning the bar we tried to go to was also closed). I surprised Fede again by knowing what Ragu was. For some reason he thought Americans didnt have it.

The next morning I took off and headed to Faenza, 20 min away, where I met Jackie, Cyndi, and Danilo (Cyndi's husband) for the day. Before checking out Faenza, we drove to another nearby town, Brisighella. It was a cute little town, with a castle and clock tower on the hills above. (Cyndi has an excellent description of the town on her blog, with more historical information.)

the main road in Brisighella

Jackie, Cyndi, and Danilo as we climbed to the top

the view of the town below from the tower

me having a bit of fun climbing on stuff

We climbed up to the clock tower where we were awarded with excellent views, despite the gate being locked so we couldnt go in. Afterwards we headed back to town and ate at the only open restraunt for lunch. The owner and her family were really nice, showing us photo albums of the town, and talking to us about America. Her brother was seated at the table next to us and was excited to speak about America. It was cute as he would be silent for awhile until he thought of something to say, and then he'd lean over and talk for awhile. Towards the end of the meal Danilo made us all crack up, as he asked to take a picture of the "Chickens" - he meant Chicks, but got a bit confussed.

After lunch we headed back to Faenza where we wandered through town, ate Gelato, and checked out different ceramics stores. It was a nice town, much more lively than sleepy Brisighella. This is a great time to travel through the smaller towns as they are all decorated with lights and everyone is in a festive mood.
the main piazza in Faenza

a beautiful sunset in Faenza

Jackie wanted to take a photo of the lights, but couldnt hold her camera still enough. So she decided to put it on a car and use the timer. After a min or so of messing with it, trying to get it lined up right, she was surprised by the window rolling down, and the guy in the car asking what she was doing! She came running over to us and told us what happened and we all laughed and giggled like a bunch of little school girls. Sometimes its great fun to play tourists.

After awhile Jackie and I said goodbye to Cyndi and Danilo who were headed home after a long day together of laughs. It was great to spend some time with other Americans and be able to have some girltalk. Poor Danilo was a bit out numbered, but was a good sport through the whole day. Jackie and I checked out a couple more shops before heading to the trainstation. We still had a couple hours to kill, so we stopped at a bar nearby that Fede had recommended to me, and had an aperativo. It was extremely inexpensive, and a very nice atmosphere. Definitely the hang out for people our age. Eventually it became time to catch our trains, and Jackie and I said goodbye, trying to figure out when the next time we'll be able to meet up with be. It was great to see Jackie again after 2 months, and be able to catch up a bit.

I took the train back to Castel S. Pietro, where Fede picked me up. We went and grabbed some pizzas from the best pizzaria in all of Italy (as Fede claims) and headed back to his house to eat. After dinner we went to his friend Cicho's house (another nick name - his name is also Federico) up in the hills. There we hung out, listened to music and talked. I had met Cicho one time before, as he also goes to school in Milano, and it was fun to see him again. We played with his cat, and I shocked the Italians by telling them about catnip. They had never heard of it before, and couldnt believe me that we actually gave our cats a type of drug. As I wasnt sure exactly what catnip was, thus making it impossible to explain correctly in Italian, we looked it up online. After they were convinced that it was harmless to cats, Fede agreed to give some to his cat if I could get some mailed to me. It was really relaxing just chillin, and was nice to be in real homes (as in living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, just like in America!) rather than small student apartments. I'd been missing that feeling and it was so nice to do it again.
Cicho
Fede
Abbi
(Fotos at Cicho's house taken by the marvelous Fede with his wonderful photographic skills.)

Soon enough though I needed to return to Milano and get back to work. So wednesday morning I headed home. I was a bit scared by all the snow on the way - EVERYTHING was covered in white. But when I got into Milano I was greeted by sunny skies, and some of the warmest weather we've had in awhile (42 degrees!!!). It was a great couple of days and just what I needed to help cure my big-grey-city blues.

New Years Eve

2006-01-01T08:21:00.000-05:00

Caterina showed up at my house around 8pm last night... and so did the snow! Luckily by the time we left the house around 11, the snow had pretty much stopped. We had a few drinks at home before we left, and then headed off to the center. We were unsure of what we would do, but new there would be something happening at the duomo.

The galleria and duomo

one of the concerts set up by the city

the galleria

caterina and me

At the duomo we found TONS of people. mostly other foreigners, or other poor people like ourselves who didnt want to pay for the discos. A little before midnight we decided to head to the castello where the fireworks would be going off. It reached midnight at some point while we were walking along, but we dont know exactly when as there was no big count down or louder celebration. The fireworks from the castle were rather lame... maybe they were better from the other side, not sure. But either way we had fun.

the walk from the duomo to the castle

the castle in the distance

me and caterina again

A little after midnight we decided to head back to the duomo, and in search of a cheap bar I'd heard about. When we arrived back at the piazza it was completely different than an hour before... so many of the people had left. Anyways, we wandered for awhile in search of the bar, finally found it, and realized that we were the only people who found it. It was sooo empty! We used the bathroom and quickly left. We wandered around some more, and eventually stopped and talked to a group of guys for awhile, although they really werent that interesting. After that we headed back towards the duomo in search of a taxi to go home. Never has it been so difficult to find a taxi. Everyone wanted one, and none were driving by.

After while we gave up and decided to get something to eat. And where of course is open at 3 am on new years? McDonalds!
Now you know I must have been drunk if I ate at McDonalds. Other than my brief stop one night with Kari last year for some fries, I havent eaten at McDonalds in probably 8 years or so... If not longer. Anyways, as horrible as mcdonalds is, it tasted sooooo good. We downed those burgers and fries.

After McDonalds we decided to search again for a taxi, this time while walking. Figured if we walked, we'd be warmer, and we'd be closer to home so it'd cost less. Also, as the mass of people waiting for a taxi by the duomo seemed to have only grown, we figured it may be faster to walk the whole way home. So off we went. we didnt have a map, and I'd never walked from my new apartment to the center. I had a vague idea of what direction it was. So we went that way. We may have zig zagged a bit, but we eventually did find Corso Como, which I thought I knew how to get home from. However, my memory from the map was that there should be a street in front of us that we would walk straight along, and get to my house. However, in reality, there wasnt. So after about 20 min of standing on the corner we eventually got a taxi. We also go new years prices, as the ride which was only a few min cost the same amount as the taxi the weekend before from the other end of town. oh well.

When we got home we collapsed into bed. I dont know exactly what time it was... 4.30 maybe? I feel sorry for Caterina though, poor girl has to work all day today!

snow...

2005-12-30T19:03:00.000-05:00

I forgot to post these the other day. Tuesday I woke up to snow, and it continued to snow all day. In true fashion I didnt leave the house, but rather took photos out my window... the view from my new apartment is quite different, being on the ground floor and with a bit of a courtyard.... It never snowed that heavy, rather light all day. but still managed to get a few inches.

Torino

2005-12-30T18:19:00.000-05:00

(I started writing this post, and without thinking started writing in Italian... I suppose that's a good sign, right? anyways, pardon me if the writing is a bit dull... my brain is kinda dead after a full day of Italian...)

Today I went to Torino with Caterina. It was a fun day out of the city, fairly uneventful, but fun none the less. I always had a bit of a bad impression of Torino... for some reason I thought it was a rather ugly town (I blame my friend Alex from Napoli.. who lived there for a year and was always complaining about it). Proved myself wrong though today. it's actually quite a nice town, and I'd like to return another day... a day that is a bit warmer perhaps so I can enjoy walking around more.

Our primary reason for going was to go to a photography exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe. I have to admit that I didnt know anything about him except for a brochure that Caterina showed me for the exhibit, and asked if I wanted to go. I was excited to get out of Milano and go somewhere new, so I quickly said yes. The exhibit was interesting, fairly pornographic, but there were some humerous parts, and some parts that made you think. Overall a good exhibit.

We also went to the Egyption museum, which was quite different after the photos. It's been awhile since I've been to a museum with Egyption stuff, so it was interesting as well. It turned into a bit of a treasure hunt trying to find the entrance to the museum, as we were right where it was marked on our handy map from the train station tourist office, yet all we found was a Benneton (and some how resisted the urge to go in... holding out for those January sales!) We eventually found the entrance after going almost completely around the building.

The street outside of the building had all these flags hanging... not sure why... anyone know?

blah blah blah. Anyways, enough of that. As for the city, it was rather nice, but eirily deserted all day. We arrived around 11 am, and the streets were so quiet, and empty of life. Quite odd. The city looked quite different than Milano (sorry mom, meant to take a picture of the architecture... but kept thinking i would do it later and then forgot....) It was much more austrian than Italian looking. Both of us really felt as though we had gone to another country... you know, other than the occasional Italian we heard. I did take a picture of the river though, and the Castello del Valentino....

By the time we were done with the egyption museum it was around 5, and we were quite hungry as we hadnt eaten yet. We set off in search of food, and found an "american" themed pub that looked decent and cheap enough. Good choice. I havent had a hamburger since probably June. boy did that hit the spot. along with a some beer and fries we were quite content and sat relaxing for awhile before we ventured back out into the cold.

When we left it had gotten dark, and the city had some how managed to come back to life. The streets were lighted with holliday decorations, and we actually had to compete for space on the sidewalk at times. Walking along we joked about what we would do if there were no more trains (although we knew there would be as it wasnt even 8 yet...) Perfect timing, just as we were talking about how we'd be popcicles by morning, we walked by our savour, a barel with a fire burning in it. Perfetto. We quickly made a mental note of where it was incase we needed to return later. ;)

I'd have to say the higlight of the trip though (second to the hamburger of course), was just hanging out, wandering around and talking. I usually hang out with guys here (not that I'm complaining Fede, you're wonderful!) but it was nice to spend the day with another girl for once. I'm really happy that I've become friends with caterina. I've never had many female Italian friends... they always seem rather closed, and uninterested in talking to me. while I dont know Caterina very well yet, we're quickly becoming good friends (especially since we've been abandoned here in Milano for the break!)

It was also rather rewarding today to see that my Italian has improved in areas other than just design vocabulary. While she knows some English, she very rarely uses it. so about 99% of our conversation is in Italian. I'm not complaining as its great practice for me. and it felt good to be able to spend all day speaking in Italian and not need a dictionary or have to give up on any subjects because translation was too difficult... I dont think I've done that before today.

Anyways, we'll see what new years eve brings tomorrow. Unless we can find some guys willing to pay our way into a club (its atleast 40euros entrance!) we're just going to wander around the center where there are supposed to be concerts, fireworks, and ice skating - though i doubt we'll do it as we'd probably both fall flat on our faces within the first 10 seconds! :)

Tis the season

2005-12-23T12:22:00.000-05:00

well, winter break is finally here. yesterday was my last day of classes. Over the past week the numbers have dwindled at school, as so many people were headed home for the hollidays. Everyday was a round of goodbyes, and well wishes as people left for the airports and train stations. What will I be doing this holliday season? you're looking at it. As prices are high for plane tickets, I've decided to stay here for the break.

I havent been big into the hollidays for years. We're not a religeous family, so I never had that aspect of christmas as part of my life. honestly, although I know as a child I was excited about christmas, I couldnt tell you when the last time was. Winter break for me meant time away from classes and homework (here we only have two weeks off, and homework to do during it!); time with friends drinking hot chocolate, watching movies, and playing a few rounds of jenga; and seeing family who, while we all lived in Oregon, I only saw once or twice a year. Over the years things have dwindled down, last year I even spent half of christmas day working in my brothers livingroom.

This is my first Christmas away from home, and I have to say, it really doesnt feel much like christmas. Chirstmas, like Thanksgiving, has turned into just another day. Like a weekend, time to relax, listen to some music, and do some homework. The only signs of Christmas around me are a tree in the lobby of my building, and a card on my table from a friend at school. I cant say I'm particuarly sad. I'm happy to have a two week break from my alarm in the morning. I'm actually viewing this lack of christmasness as an advantage over my classmates, as I'll have move time to work.

So, what will I be doing this weekend? well, tonight has started with one of my christmas present to myself: a jar of nutella. I've never actually bought a jar before - I've never allowed myself. My reason being that I know, that like a pint of Ben and Jerry's, it's likely to dissapear in all one sitting, and I'll be left with a bad belly ache. The jar has been open for about 10 minutes now, and I'd say I've gone through a good quarter of it. Time to get that lid back on, and get it out of my sight. my goal is to make it last the weekend... wish me luck.

My other present to myself (or rather from my mom as I used xmas money to buy it :D), a bottle of rum and a bottle of coke. No, my plan isnt to sit at home alone and get drunk, but rather have a little holliday cheer with my friend Caterina. Caterina, while from sicily, is unable to return home for xmas as she has to work the day after. We've yet to go out together, as between school and her work schedule there just hasnt been the chance. So tonight we're treating ourselves. She'll be coming over later for a few drinks before we head to a nearby disco to dance the night away.

Tomorrow, after sleeping in as late as possible, we'll be heading over to Michelle's house (Michelle is from Chile, and is the 3rd and last person who has stayed here in Milano). There the three of us will be having a little holliday celebration involving a couple bottles of wine, and dinner of "pancakes"....? Michelle said that we'd have pancakes... although I think maybe she meant some kind of crepes, as the things she was talking about putting in them would be quite strange in pancakes... and for dessert, pancakes/crepes with nutella! (she doesnt normally by it either, as she has the same problem as me when a jar is around...)

Christmas day I think I may head into the center with my camera... I expect the streets to be a lot emptier as so many people have left town.... and I hope to get some good photos. Some time this week I think I will head to Torino with Caterina for a day to see a photo exhibit, and wonder around town as neither of us have been there before. I've heard mixed opinions on Torino, but I think getting out of Milano for a day would be good for me. As for the rest of the break, relaxation - we dont have another day off of school until April!

It's hard to believe that I've been here almost 5 months already, and my time is almost half over. Soon I'll be having to make decisions on what to do next. While I would like to try and find work in Italy and stay for awhile, I think financially I cant afford to. Pay is soooooo much lower here, and my student loans at home demand a higher income. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I do miss America (or atleast starbucks...). So most likely I'll be moving "home" come end of June. Where my next home will be is still up in the air. I've several ideas floating around in my head, but for the time being I'll keep those secret. Still, pretty soon Ive to start looking at airline tickets. I'm not ready to leave Italy yet, but I've still got six months here. And something tells me it's gonna feel nice to take that first step on American ground...

I hope you all have a great holliday season, wherever you are, whatever you're doing...

learning a new language

2005-12-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of learning a new language. and it's not italian. it's a language i've come to despise, not because it's bad, but because I'm utterly lost with how to speak or understand it, and frustrated beyound belief. i cant do anything without my 'dictionary,' and even though i know translations, its still not clicking. i wasn't expecting it to be this hard.

what new language could i possibly be studying, or why would i be studying ANOTHER when i'm still in the process of learning italian? well. it's not actually a language. but it feels that way. it's the metric system.

for most 'expats' i doubt its as big of a deal. look up a conversion now and again. not a daily part of your life. for me though, i'm forced to work with it constantly. every time i need to design something (which i spent about 75% of my waking hours doing) i have to do it in mm and cm. but someone tells me a square is 165mm by 74mm.... okay, 16.5cm by 7.4cm, but how the hell big is that? I cant picture it! my fellow americans can understand this frustration, and lack of visualization. for the non americans, try this: try to picture a shape that is 17inches by 11in.... can you? can you visualize how big that is without having to convert it all to cm? and when you do convert it, it's an odd number: 43.18cm by 27.94 cm. now try visualizing that. annoying with those decimals and odd numbers in there, isn't it? now imagine you have to spend hours doing this. and you have to waste so much time doing calculations just so you can visualize the size of something. its frustrating as hell.

i've gone from being able to visulize what i want, and put it on the computer in a matter of seconds, to having to spend 5 min to figure out how many mm wide i want my text box to be!

language check

2005-12-09T15:44:00.000-05:00

The TV at my old apartment was in Stefano's room, so I hardly ever watched it. Actually, I'd guess that I have watched less than 1 hour of tv since October. At my new apartment though, I have a tv in my room. It stayed off for the first few days, as I have been really busy. but the last two days I've needed a break from work, and have ventured to turning it on. I've been greeted by old friends, tv shows I havent seen in months, and something else. The ability to understand.

Before when I watched tv, I could understand the basic story line, what was happening, and a good portion of the dialogue. Still, I had to think about it, had to concentrate on the Italian. Now I find myself sitting with the tv on, while chatting to friends online. I'm not watching, only listening, and yet I know what's happening. It didnt even occour to me at first that it was in a different language. I no longer sit and translate the words in my head. They're there. I know them. In fact, when I stop and try to translate things into English, rather than just listening, I often find myself getting blogged down and lagging behind. It's a good feeling to be able to understand without trying.

So while my speaking stills are still a little slow at times, I have faith that my brain knows the words, it's just a matter of finding where they are hidden away when I want to use them.

Reflections

2005-12-05T08:23:00.000-05:00

I just got done with my first "real" meeting with my group for a project at school. It was envigorating, frustrating, funny, annoying, and complicated. Not only are there language barriers to face, but also the fact that we come from different training backgrounds, and have different views.

I can be a very external person, and tend to take charge of a situation, rather than sit idely. If I dissagree with someone, I will state my viewpoint, and give reasons why I believe as I do. I like my opinion to be heard. Today I am kicking myself for having left my dictionary at home. Working in a group can be difficult, but luckily I've had some experience with it, and while by no means am I an expert at it, I have progressed in my collaborative skills. To this extent I tried not to take control at our meeting, but let everyone have input, as it should be. I quickly learned that with this method, no body said anything. And several times, eyes turned to me and asked "what do we do?"

So finally I gave in and started talking. However, il mio Italiano è veramente brutto. I feel bad for the way I express things, because I know it comes across more as orders. That than saying "we should" do something, I say "we must" do it. Those who have worked with me on projects know that in English I often come across as demanding, when I dont mean to be. Well, in Italian its way worse. Still, my group is patient. They understand that I'm not trying to boss them around, but rather it is just a fault of my language skills. By the end of the 3 hours though, my Italian was flowing smoother, and coming more easily. It always takes awhile to switch my brain to thinking in Italian rather than English.

Still, problems came. Not big problems, but just a matter of communication. We'd go round and round in circles, me saying one thing, another saying another, then me, then them. And finally we'd realize that we were both trying to say the same thing. Things were never tense or bad, always laid back and relaxed, but frustrating because of the language. When the professor came in to say bye to us, he laughed at me as I was laying on the floor, leaning back and looking at him upside down. my head was spinning from the Italian, and in times like this I just cant sit still in a chair.

I have to say I really enjoy this professor, or rather art director, as he doesnt like us to call him prof. He is very open, and very easy to talk to. If I disagree with something he says, I'm free to say so, and he'll listen to my opinion. And he doesnt just listen and dismiss it, it takes it into consideration. I can also do things such as lying on the floor, or wearing sunglasses in class, dancing to music when there is no music, and he doesnt look at me like I'm strange, but rather looks as me as though I might be on to something. I think he apreciates this laid back attitude that I have in his class. With other professors this wouldnt be acceptable. Things must be very professional. But how can I be creative when I'm forced to sit still in a chair for 3 hours listening to them talk AT me? At this stage in our schooling we are not children anymore. We need to be able to relate to our profs as equals, or atleast quasi-equals. :) We need to be able to say our ideas, to have conversations, to form relationships with them. That is one thing that I dearly miss from OSU, knowing my profs, having them know me. I know it will come with time, but for the most part, the profs dont seem itnerested in learning how our minds work. They seem interested in their paychecks. This doesnt produce a good learning environment. When you're working on a large project with many people, you have to be able to trust your art director that the see the bigger picture, and that they are leading you in the right direction. I have that trust in him. That's not something I can say about many of the profs at the school.

I seem to have gotten sidetracked, and I'm not quite sure where I was going with this post to begin with. but I wanted to say something about the language. In the beginning I was quite frustrated that we werent starting our projects sooner, but now I see that it was neccasary to wait. If we had started working right away, it would have been so difficult just to communicate with each other. As it is, it is still difficult. My group is 4 people, me, two Italians, and a Korean girl. The Korean girl is very sweet, but her Italian is still horrible. We cant understand what she is talking about most of the time. And we can tell her the same thing 20 times and she still doesnt understand. I'm by no means fluent in the language, but I have it better off than a lot. And I'm thankfull for this. I've felt in the last couple of months like my language hasnt really progressed any. I havent been studying at all. At the end of the day I just cant bring myself to do it. My brain wants relaxation. And I end up speaking English a lot of the time as I hang out with Fede so much, and its just easier for us to talk in English. But in reality, my language has improved. I look at the conversations I had in the meeting today, and realize that 2 months ago I couldnt have had them. Just being in class everyday and hearing the words has taught them to me. My brain knows the words, its just a matter of me finding them in there. In some ways its frustrating that no one in my group speaks English, and I wish that I had Fede with me to translate my ideas. but at the same time its better for my Italian this way. I cant lean on him as a crutch forever. Although I was wishing I'd had a couple beers in me this morning, as its somehow a lot easier to speak Italian with the aid of a little alcohol. ^___^

fotos

2005-12-01T14:09:00.000-05:00

well, seeing as i've had some demand from people to post photos of me and friends, i've decided to finally get off my ass and do so. we really dont do anything that interesting, just hang out. so here is proof from dinner last night, that i actually do have friends. :D

Andrea, me, Egidio

Federico

snow and syrup

2005-11-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd post a couple of photos... Today's snow, and my syrup! (which I will be trying very shortly when my friend comes over. yum!)

Mental Health Day

2005-11-29T05:57:00.000-05:00

Today I feel like a bit of a bum as I sit at home. Culture shock and homesickness and spending countless hours in classes that move at the rate of a snail and i really dont learn anything, have gotten the best of me. Last night my brain completely shut down. I really couldnt think or do anything. I had gone over to my new apartment to met the new roommates (I'll explain more about the apartment later) and then over to Egidio's house to work. It was useless though, my brain wouldnt function to do jack shit. It reminded me of how important it is to get away sometimes, and just chill with people and give yourself a break. While I do hang out with people, I realized that we always talk about design, or school, or differences between america and italy. What I'm in need of rather, is a night of bullshitting, playing mariokart, and drinking beer. I'm in need of a night at home with the boys, doing nothing but just chillin and having fun. Unfortunately I know that isn't going to happen. The guys last night, Egidio and Federico we're really great, trying to cheer me up. They pretty much stopped working too after I got there. I'm not sure if it was because they were done, or because they could tell I was in a comotose zombie state and in need of help. Somehow though, it just wasn't the same.

So today I took a day off. I slept till 11.30, woke up, looked outside, and saw snow. yes, more snow. More today than last time, as its actually sticking. And it's actually rather pretty. In addition, I just recieved a lovely present from the postman! My friend Matteo went to England a little while ago, and brought back with him two bottles of STARBUCKS hazelnut syrup for me! He was going to bring them with him to Milano when he came up for a NadaSurf concert, but sadly ended up not being able to come due to school. So he posted them to me instead. The only reason I'm not already indulging myself in a hazelnut latte, is because I ran out of milk. I must get to the store. Soon. :D

So while I'm still feeling a bit groggy and my mind is still a bit of a blur, the day is getting better. I woke up this morning and somehow had my concept for the "Be! low the Line" project that has been driving me crazy for the past two weeks. Maybe I dreamed about it, I'm not sure. but I woke up, and remembered having a really good idea. I then sat there thinking for a few minutes until it came to me. Unfortnuately it's a bit complicated to make, and I'm not sure if I'll have it for tomorrow's intermidiate critique. But atleast I have something to explain now, whereas before I had nothing. And I can definitely have it done in two weeks.

So here's to my mental health day. It's time to do homework.

morning surprise

2005-11-26T05:57:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning late. almost noon. I had turned off my alarm since it's saturday, and had closed my shutters on the window to help keep cold air out. Result, darkness and un-desturbed rest. I woke up and went about my morning as normal, reading emails and such before ever getting out of bed. Finally I decided to check and see how cold it was today. I dont even remember what temp it said it was, all I saw, was the snow on the report. I checked 2 other reports just to get their opinions, before going to my window and braving it. To my surprise when I opened the shutters, I saw fluffy flakes coming down, much different than the icy little ones we had yesterday. Despite how much I complain about the cold, there is somethng magical about that first snowfall, that first morning of waking up when you're a little kid, running to the window and watching the snow fall down. Listening intently to the radio to see if school is cancelled, then bundling up and going outside to play with your friends.

Well, we dont have quite enough snow to play, its only sticking to rooftops right now, and somehow I imagine even if it was a weekday, school wouldnt be cancelled (although in corvallis this miniscule amount of snow would tempt them to cancel school - that's just how much of wuses we are).

I'm reminded of the snow and ice "storm" last winter where OSU got closed for 2 days in a row. Historical. Walking to fredmyers 3 blocks away took almost half an hour because of the inches of ice layered on everything (it was a perfect time for our front door lock to stop working!) It was a fun winter going sleeding with everyone, and the magic loop on the way to Kathy's house. Hot chocolate and cookies, late breakfasts at Sharies. good times and good memories all around.

Apartment Hunt

2005-11-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

Well, as the end of the month nears, and I realize more and more that I need to find an apartment (where has Nov gone?) I've started making phone calls. I went and looked at a place with Federico the other day. The location was perfect, the price was great, but the apartment sucked. So that is a no go. We saw another posting that looked promising, but called and the price was way too much. So tonight I started making calls on beds in shared rooms for just myself (as Federico doesnt actually have to move, he'd just like to). no longer available. no longer available. yadda yadda. Found one that is within walking distance, farther than my current, but actually just around the corner from Federico, and about 2 blocks from my friend Egidio. I went and looked at it tonight, and it's great! Its fairly big, clean, 4 girls living there, I'd be replacing one of them. All foreigners, all really nice. I figured that I would be there about 15 min, but ended up staying for two hours hanging out with them and talking. There is no internet currently, but I can hook it up if I want. Price is GREAT. The only reason I didn't say yes (well, actually I did say I wanted it) is that there was another girl who came and looked at it this morning, and they told her that they would wait a couple days for her to respond. So if the other girl doesnt take it, I get it. I wont know till sunday or monday though.

So, in the meantime, I've set up a meeting to go see another apartment tomorrow afternoon. Price is okay, a little more than this one, but there is internet already, and itd only be 3 of us there, both the others are Italian. The downside, location. not walking to school, but rather about a 30 min commute, involving a switch of metro lines. I really want to find something near school, but all the others that were near school are already taken. So I will look at this one. There are also a couple of other ads I may call tomorrow to go look at. They're not near the school either, and while probably also a 30 min commute, they're the other way, and actually further out of town. Which is fine if I can take the metro. but at night if I have to take a taxi would cost a lot more. so we'll see. I'd like to have something secured by monday, as wed is the end of the month, and I needa get outta here. I dont think Paola (my land lord) will have a problem with me staying a few days into dec, since she doesnt get back till the 8th. I'd like to move friday though.

snow....?

2005-11-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

Every weather report that I look at says something different. But today, it is snowing. Not hard, just very small, tiny infact, flakes. Not constantly, but occasionally all day it has been doing this. I'm not sure what tonight will bring. The ground is thouroughly wet though, so I doubt anything will stick.

As I walked home from class today, I prayed that the heat would be working. Thankfully, my prayers were answered, and I came home to a warm house! I'm not sure what my plans for the weekend will entail, but I'm hoping that they include a heated house. If so, I'll probably be perseuded to stay home! Which all in all can't be that bad as I do have quite a bit of work to get done.

I'm looking forward to Monday, as we find out whose logo the client choose for the Portfolio in Piazza project, and we get to learn more about what exactly we will be doing. I think my logo stands a good chance, but it all depends on what the client is looking for. Mine is definitely not the stereotypical vector line drawing logo (such as everyone else made) but takes a new approach and offers something a bit more dynamic. It still has tweaking to be done to it of course, but the instructor seemed to like mine, and I think he will put in a good word for it with the client.

Other than that I have strange little exercises to do this weekend, nothing particuarly interesting, except the "Be! Low the line" project for photoshop. I'm still struggling with my concept for it. It's not due for 2.5 weeks, but we're supposed to bring something this week to class... I need to devote some serious hours to brainstorming and diverging on it. I want to do something conceptual, but it would also be a lot easier to just do something funny. We'll see how it goes. Nothing is ruled out at this point.

thoughts

2005-11-24T17:02:00.000-05:00

Forgive me if this post is a bit dull, dry, and unmotivated. I'm frozen.

The radiator in my room doesnt work. The radiators in the rest of the apartment are regulated by the building, not by us. This means that the house is always either freezing or roasting. Eiither way we usually end up having to open a window, either because it is too hot inside, or it is hotter outside. It is bad when it is hotter outside, considering that our highs have been in the low 40's. Right now it's 32 degrees out. And it's only 11pm. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 39. It's damn cold.

This morning on the way to class my nose was burning from the cold dry air. I have begun living in my thermals. I have no gloves, so my hands are frozen by the time I get to school. Hell, my hands are frozen just sitting in my room. my snowboarding jacket has been broken out. I've yet to wear it outside, but I'm sitting in it right now, and think tomorrow it will get a trip round town. I dont care if I get looks for wearing it. It's too damn cold here.

Today is Thanksgiving. The holliday has lost its meaning for me over the past few years, however today I did miss it. I didn't think I would, but I did. I think it's more the thought that I had to go to school today, and again tomorrow, instead of getting the days off. And no turkey, no stuffing, no potatoes - I had pasta. yum. And no early bird shopping specials tomorrow. nope, just not the same.

As far as good news goes, I actually went out to the paper store today. It's a bit of a trek to get there, but they have a pretty wide selection of paper - not sure about buying parent sheets. but otherwise they got good stuff. It's nice to know that it's possible to get paper here, even if they school doesn't believe in actually printing your projects. In fact, I dont think the school believes in printing at all. Today I found out that we have a limit of 30, yes THIRTY prints per month! That's just ridiculous. I tell ya, this school is going to be getting a nice little unofficial website made about it as soon as I'm done. There needs to be more accurate information about it available. But, they do apparently have a paper library at the school. They dont tell us it is there, but I asked my teacher, and he pointed to a big closet. I haven't investigated yet, but plan to do so tomorrow. We'll see if it really a redeming quality, or just another area they lack in.

i swear I had more to write about, but i am getting sleepy now and can't remember. perhaps it'll come back to me tomorrow.

Mac & Cheese

2005-11-19T04:54:00.000-05:00

Last night's dinner... mmm mmm yummmm

Visitors!!!

2005-11-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

Today 7 of my friends flew all the way to Milano to surprise me!

While I was pondering the question of "what is a line," my doorbell rang. You can imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered Ryan, Jared, Sean, Jeff, Amy, Jose and Kari all waiting for me! Steve paid for their tickets, but unfortunately wasn't able to join them. I have a feeling that the trip is a surprise to some of them as well! ;)

They came bearing gifts:

Gaucamole seasoning (just in time! I just used my last packet!) Hershey's miniatures, Mac & Cheese (curtisy of Chad! - I know what I'm having for dinner!) and of course the Lori B-day special: Vodka, RedBull, and Dayquil!

Thanks Steve-O!

projects projects projects

2005-11-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

well, things are finally starting to pick up and get busy around here. It seems that all the classes in unisen have decided to start the projects. Which means free time is going from overwhelming, down to null. Ahhh just like at OSU. :) And while the others are groaning about how much we have to do, I cant help but get excited and look forward to needing to pull all nighters again.

For my advertising class we are starting work on a campaign for a photography exhibit. The exhibit happens every year in September, so we're working on the ad campagin for 2006. Its a class effort, with our teacher acting as art director. Our competition is the other class. One of our campaigns will be used (unless of course they both suck ass. But that is doubtful, and of course my group is going to win). In visual design we started getting info on Bastard, an Italian company that makes skater/snowboard clothing and gear and such. Representatives from the company are coming next week to give us more info on what it is they are looking for. In the meantime we're doing as much research as possible. We're working independantly on this project, with the chance that our work will be used by Bastard. We've also started a project in my "photoshop" class, although I need to read through the assignment sheet with my dictionary still. I understand the gist of it, but others seem to think it is going to be hard (which I dont) so I'm wondering if I missed something. Once I figure out exactly what it is I'm doing, I'll let ya know.

So far I like all of my teachers decently enough, some are really good, like my photoshop teacher, who is always looking at me and asking "are you bored?" and apologizing for how slow the class is going - yet there are those who dont understand, so we cant move much faster. I think he generally feels bad that I'm fighting off sleep in his class (and it's a 4 hour long class!). He's full of all kinds of great knowledge though. Today I got a website off of him for a PAPER STORE (the first I've heard of in Italy!). I'm very excited to go and check it out....

The only teacher who I am learning to despise is my Flash teacher. I dont know why he is such an ass to me, but I've decided to return the favor. We move so freaking slow in that class. It's boring to follow his exercises exactly, its all things I already know how to do. So in an effort to use the time productively, I mess around with flash and try to learn something new. Other people in the class also do this, and he doesn't care if they do. I however, am not allowed to. I have to follow his lessons exactly, and sit there being bored off my ass for 2 hours. He has proclaimed that I dont understand anything he is saying, and dont know what I am doing. And no, it's not just me thinking that he is being an ass to me, others agree. Last week the lesson was actaually tolerable, because we had a sub - the guy who will be teacher the class the 2nd semester. Thank god he's actually seems like a nice guy, and doesnt have a stick up his ass. Of course he assumed I didn't speak Italian, and was surprised when he learned I did. Then when I was messing around with my own thing, instead of yelling at me to follow the example, he understood that I knew how to do it, and asked me questions instead about where I was from. the 2nd semester wont get here fast enough as far as that class is concerned.

There isn't anything particuarly noteworthy to talk about regarding my other classes. Outside of class I do homework, try to study some Italian, and hang out with friends some. Last night a big group of us went to the Birraficcio after class for a pint and dinner (gotta love cheap home brewed beer and free food). Hung out there for a couple hours, then I went over to Federico's place and had debates about composition for a couple of hours, before making loud seagull noises at midnight in an attempt to frighten his roommate in to wanting to move out - so that I can move in. yes, the apartment search continues. It was an interesting night, although I think Federico now hates me as I was a bit harsh on him ;)

recipies....

2005-11-15T04:27:00.000-05:00

One more quick post before I'm off to class.... We had to make a recipie for one of my classes. restrictions: A3 paper size, black/white, no words. Quite a basic boring exercise in making icons. I decided to do mine differently and have a little more fun with it (including playing with glue, lighting things on fire, and smearing charcol around). I wanted to do something where when I looked at it, it felt like it. Take a look, it should be pretty easy to any american to know what it is. Anyone else might have a problem. :)

.... oh the difficult projects we're doing....

brithday weekend re-cap

2005-11-06T06:33:00.000-05:00

So this post is actually quite delayed. I started writting it last week, but saved it and forgot about it. So now I'll finish it is a real quick re-cap of last (last) weekend and the bday.

Well, the birthday is officially over, and in both time zones I am now 23. I have to admit that it didn't much feel like a birthday, but it was fun anyways.

Thursday night a small group of us from school decided to go to some concert/exhibition that Stefano had read about. It didn't start until 11, so we got an aperativo first and hung out. When we got to the place, it was a bit different from what we were expecting. It was like some kind of hippy gathering. The music was very "experimental" as in it was hard to tell if they'd ever played an instrument before. We ended up leaving about 20 min after it started. It was fun anyways though just hanging out and making fun of how bad it was.

Friday morning my lesson was cancelled. AGAIN. yes, I've yet to actually have this lesson yet. Since there was no school I went and met Federico and we went into the center, wandered around and took some photos. We spent most of the time in a park, which was quite nice. Here's a picture in the park, and a few of my favorite shots from that day.

Friday night I went out and met Helen from expats, and some of her friends. We did some bar hoping, and it turned into quite a fun night.I'm looking forward to the next chance to go out with them. It was nice to be able to hang out with some people not from my school, and get some variety in the conversations. :)

Saturday I spent most of the day sleeping off Friday, and when I wasn't sleeping I was still in bed. I eventually got up and got ready to go out and meet Federico and his friend Lorenzo for a pint, and then we headed over to Teresa's house in navagli for a party she was having. (Teresa goes to my school and is from Germany). There were a ton of people there, and it was good times all around. About every 5 minutes something was being spilled or dropped, and I'm sure her floor the next day resembled our old floor in ctown -- unsafe to walk on without shoes. While it wasn't actually a birthday party for me, I got sung happy birthday in several languages before I left, and it was a relaxing night just to hang out with friends.

Anyways, that is the quick birthday re-cap for those of you who haven't heard about it. I'll try and write more on recent events (such as yesterday I had my first interesting class at school!) But it is doubtful that it will happen today, as I dont think I'll be back home till late.

Gill Sans - regular

2005-11-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

When trying to choose a font for oneself, one must first find ways to narrow down the choices as there are so many. I relate it to playing a game of Guess Who, where one asks the broadest questions first, which can eleminate the greatest number of possibilities. Such as “male or female” or in this case “serif or san-serif?”

For me the choice is easy. I am a san-serif. I have always been a san-serif, and I’d venture to guess I always will be a san-serif. I like a good serif font, they are classic, time tested, and reliable. All good characteristics. However, serifs are also traditional, set in their ways, and a bit too formal for me. San Serifs are more fun, relaxed, and modern. They relate to a younger generation, and the prospect and welcoming of new ideas. They represent creativity and innovation.

While I am a san-serif, I am a reliable one. I have been carefully trained over the years, and have a wide range of knowledge and skills. I did not wake up one day and decide I was a designer. Rather I’ve grown, and continue to grow into one. For these reasons I made my next elimination. I am not a ‘bastard’ font that has been crudely thrown together, I am not decorative, and I am not a fad. I am a font that has been carefully crafted and developed, producing strong results. I have a wide family to choose from depending on the situation, which means I can continually be used in new ways.

There is one more question before looking at particulars. Am I a condensed font, an extended font, or somewhere in the middle? Condensed fonts while allowing for more information to be squeezed in, can also be a bit overwhelming in how much they hold. They also tend to be more hurried in how narrow they are, and it is always a race to get the next letter on the page. Extended fonts however, can be a bit too slow. They take their time, and tend to compensate for lack of information by spreading things out. I find myself to be in the middle. I do not put in too much, or too little information. Instead I find a balance. While my projects do not knock one over the head with how much is contained in them, there is always a strong concept and never a need to fill space.

At this point I have a good list of criteria and can explain in more detail the specific aspects of Gill Sans which made me choose it over the others which met the same criteria. Gill Sans is a very clean and professional font. It is very geometric in its angles, with strong verticals, creating a smooth and consistent rhythm. Throughout all of the verticles, there are also occasional strokes thrown in which propel you throw the letters, as happens in any well designed work. The “a,” “c,” “e,” “r,” “s,” & “t” are all examples of this.

While reliable and generally predictable, like me there are always small surprises hidden within. They are often understated and unnoticeable at first glance, but add layers of meaning and concept. The “K” for example, has a slightly longer foot, providing for a strong base, and emphasising sturdiness. The “g” pays homage to tradition in its form, showing that while modern the font still has history and respects the traditions of the past. The “M” has a characteristic which is not particularly common, demonstrating a bit of quirkiness. This being that the middle of the “M” comes only to the x-height, and not all the way to the baseline. This minimizes the over powering nature the “M” which can sometimes occur, and makes it more approachable. It also questions the traditional, and pushes towards new answers and solutions.

Gill Sans is a well-crafted font which exudes both tradition and revolution. When I chose it, I did so for all the reasons above, as well as others which I have not listed. After all, as with a good font, some things should remain a surprise to be discovered further down the road.

Writers block

2005-11-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm working on my homework for typography class tomorrow. We have to pick a font for our name, something that represents us, and explain why. I've done this project before a couple of times. I did it just a year ago in fact, at which point in time I determined I was Akzidenz Grotesk. As I had a bit of free time on my hands this weekend, I decided what the heck, lets re-evaluate myself, and see if I've changed. To my surprise I had. I am not Gill Sans - regular. I know my reasoning behind my choice, and unlike others in my class, it is not because "I like it." I'll post my reasoning later, for those who are interested in seeing inside the twisted mind of a designer. After five years of studying fonts, I've become a bit of a snob. Although not as bad as some others I know.

Still, the challange remains to write out my thoughts, in a coherant way. A task which anyone who knows me, knows is not always easy. My mind jumps around from one topic to another, and I make connections which can be hard to follow. Generally though, I find a way to get my point across. Generally though, I do it in English. I've now realized that I have to explain myself in Italian, and I am learning this is no easy task. I stared at my name on my screen for about half an hour, before I decided it might be best to write it in English first. This turned out to be a good idea, as the words quickly flowed from my mind to the keyboard.

Now though, I've reached a wall. No for lack of knowing what I want to talk about, rather the opposite problem. I find myself at a point where I either have to dive in head first and turn my homework into an essay, or skim across the top. I look at the clock and realize that it is getting later, and that I still need to translate this sucker. I am willing to bet that I have already written more than anyone else in my class. Yet I am no where near finished. So I sit. And think. I must stay focused, and not get sidetracked. You've probably noticed that I like to write the way I talk, the way I think. This can sometimes be good, but can also be bad.

As I sat, my fingers no longer typing I realized what I needed. Bomber nachos and Heff. The perfect answer to writers block. Unfortunately I had neither. But I did have chips, cheese, and gaucamole. And boy were they yummy.

Now, a bit renewed, I sit at my computer again, and continue my task of explaining why I am indeed Gill Sans - regular.

Dreaming in Flavors Part II

2005-10-31T04:23:00.000-05:00

Last night I dreamed that I was back in the states for some reason, and was leaving the next day. I was at the supermarket in order to buy all those things I missed, and the one thing I wanted the most, Torani. To my horror I ran through the store as announcements that they were closing rang out over the speaker, and couldnt find any. I went from isle to isle, and it was no where to be found.

Its scary the things we dream of.

I awoke this morning and quickly went to the kitchen and made myself some cafe. My friend Matteo went to England last week, and brought me back a bottle of hazelnut syrup. Mmmmm I cant wait until he visits and brings it. :) The vanilia I found here just isnt the same. But it works. It allows me my big cups of pick-me-up in the morning. There are some things I'm willing to give up ("when in Rome..."), like going and sitting in Starbucks with Kari, talking for hours over a frappacino and bagel from Noahs (of course I really have no choice in giving these things up). Giving up my morning cups of goodness is not something I'm willing to do. Italians tell me - you're in Italy, do it like we do it. True, I'm in Italy, but I'm not Italian... and until the day that I miracuously become Italian, I intend to keep my morning ritual in tack.

Weekend GTG

2005-10-30T04:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took a quick trip up to the Colico on Lake Como for a get-to-gether with some members from ExPats in Itay. My train was supposed to be getting in at 10.40, and Carole who was hosting the GTG was to be picking me up. Well, I'm sure the train got in on time, but I however was not on it.

I had a string of bad luck yeterday morning. On the way to the metro a lady stopped and asked me for directions. I hate it when people blow me off when I'm lost, and I have memories from last summer of wandering around this exact neighborhood lost trying to find the school for half an hour (which turned out to be on the other side of the station). So I couldnt say no. It would have gone a lot faster had she known where she wanted to go, but she had to stop and get the address out, we had to find the street on the map, then explain to her that yes, we're at lambrate metro, but there are two exits, and we're at the one not marked on the map. trust me. I live here. Anyways, this took about 10 min out of min travel time. When I finally got away and ran down into the subway, I got there just in time to see the metro leaving. Great, have to wait for another. There's a few more minutes. I got to the station with 10 minutes to spare. I ran up the stairs out of the metro, and to the self service machines to get my ticket. The longs where horrible! I waited for 5 min, but as always the people trying to buy tickets had no idea how to use the machine. The station was full - Saturday morning everyone trying to leave town. I remembered that there was a ticket office up by the platform that never seemed to have long lines. So taking a risk and ditching the last 5 minutes of waiting in line, I ran up the stairs to the ticket booth. There was no line, in fact, I wasnt sure if they were even open as the light was still off. But there was someone inside. So in I went. He said that he wouldnt be open for another 15 min. I told him my train left in 5 and that the lines down stairs were terribly long. He looked at me and said itd take about 5 min to get his machine up and working, but that he'd try. So we sat there. waiting. He looked up what track it left from, had the money all out and ready to go once that ticket was in my hand. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in a little sweaty office with no air, and only extreme heat I had my ticket. I yelled thanks as I went running out of the room and to the track. Of course, on the other side of the platform. I decided to forgo validating my ticket, as I'd just write the date and time on instead. I can be a bit mean, and I always laugh secretly when I see people running through the station trying to catch their train. Well, I was now one of those people. Dodging people and jumping over bags I made my way to the platform, just in time to see the train pull away.

The next train didnt leave for almost 2 hours, and from a different train station. So back to the metro I went, over to Garabaldi station, where I got to hang out and wait. I eventually did make it to Colico at 1, where Carole picked me up from the station on the way to lunch.

Lunch itself was wanderful, cured meats and bread, pasta, more meat dishes, tiramisu, and cafe. Oh, and lots of wine. :D It was great to be able to meet people and put faces to names. And as an added bonus, Jackie and Antonello were able to come! No, they didnt make the drive just for lunch, but were going to be in the area that weekend for a caving convention anyways. Despite being in different parts of the country, Jackie and I have actually managed to see each other quite reguarly so far.

I only really saw the lake from the train ride, but it looked gorgeous, and I cant wait to get back up and explore a bit more! The whole area reminded me a bit of home with the types of trees, and the fact that fall was actually present. The air was unbelieveably fresh, and it was so nice to look out and see something other than grey buildings! Here's a view from the resutraunt.

After lunch we went to a chocolate factory where they sold fresh chocolate at incredibly low prices, I couldnt resist and had to buy some. yummy. Oh, and Jackie brought me my birthday present, and adorable scarf from a shop in Macerata that we had seen. I love it! And as Antonello was sure to point out, this way I wont get sick! (I always seem to be sick when I go to visit them!) Thanks so much for the scarf and for lunch too!

After the chocolate factory everyone said goodbye and went their seperate ways. Before going back to the train station, Carole took me up to see her house. She bought a ruin of a place, and had the entire thing remodelled. She did a wonderful job with it, and the view from her balcony is amazing. She has invited me to stay for a weekend, and I cant wait to take advantage of the offer!

Overall it was a fun relaxing day, and I rode the train home sleepy eyed with a full and happy belly from lunch.

morning greeting

2005-10-28T05:09:00.000-04:00

A few days ago Stefano and I arrived home at the same time as one of our neighbors - and his toddler son, and several bags of groceries. Since we live on the top floor and would undoubtably have to pass by their apartment anyways, we offered to help carry bags for them. It turns out that they live in the apartment directly below us. The man was most greatful for the help, I had seen him before in passing, but never talked to him.

2 days later, bright and early on our way to class we were crossing the street outside our apartment. Someone walked by, and smiled saying "buongiorno!" I had been in a daze, nursing my coffee and not paying much attention. Afterall, who do I know that lives around here? I turned my head as he passed, he looked familar, but it didnt click from where. Stefano, who had also been caught off gaurd turned to me and said "its the man from our building with the groceries."

As we continued on walking I had a little smile on my face. It was the first time since coming here that I passed someone I knew in the street and had them great me. How nice I thought, as I sipped my coffee.

The taste of home

2005-10-28T03:58:00.000-04:00

While I find myself in the land of wonderful chocolate, there is one for me that will always taste like home. Golden coins. For as long as I can remember my mom has given me golden coins every year for Christmas. I used to beg for them when I was a kid. I cant explain why, but they have always been my favorite. I'd recognize their taste anywhere.

This morning I decided to stop by the store on the way to class and pick up some chocolate to share with people, since it is the last day of school before Halloween. I thought there had been a section of Halloween candy at the store, but I was wrong. It was Christmas candy, and down on the bottom self, there they were. Golden coins, just like at home, except imprinted as euros.

I quickly bought some. As I made my way to class my mind kept drifting to them in my backpack. I was determined to wait until I got to school though. It turned out that my class was cancelled for the day, so I was only able to hand them out to the few others who didn't get the message and showed up like me, and friends who were there for other classes. Was I disappointed? A bit. I didn't get to share the spirit of Halloween candy with others... But that also means more for me. :)

I ended up waiting until I got home before I had any. I peeled off the golden wrapper, took a bite, and closed my eyes. The taste instantly transported me back to Christmas mornings as a child, going straight to my stalking where there would undoubtedly be coins waiting for me. Everything was exactly the same - the taste, the texture, the hardness, even the wrapper is made of the same foil as when I was a child.

It was unmistakably perfect.

feeding addictions

2005-10-20T04:18:00.000-04:00

Last night when I got home from class my head was spinning. A four hour lecture in Italian. A four hour lecture in English is hard to sit through... But in Italian. My brain was mush. I needed an outlet, something to do where I didn't have to think. So I started searching again for Civilization. After about 10 failed download attempts, I finally found a file that looked promising, only problem, it was BIG. So I left my computer on overnight, hopeing to wake up to good news. As luck would have it, it worked. I got a fully working version of CIV III. And I played it for two hours this morning, before having to tear myself away to get ready for class. It will be a good distraction tonight. :D

Cultura Tipografica

2005-10-19T05:25:00.000-04:00

This morning was my first real class. Typography. It's a lecture/theory class, and we will do no projects in it. Just sit there and listen to the prof talk about typography. And of course, it's all in Italian. I actually understood though, I think it helped that I've studied typography so much before, cause everything we went over today was a review. For me at least. For a lot of the students its all new material. In fact, when the professor asked who had studied typography before, I was the only one other than the few students who had taken the visual design basic corse at SPD last year. At least I was the only one who understood the question and raised my hand. ^___^

I'm feeling much better today though, my head is a lot clearer so I think that helped a lot also in my comprehension. As a side note, there is a little victory for us english speakers in that the text book for the class is all in English! so at least I wont have any problems understanding it. I was also the only one who raised my hand when she asked who spoke good enough english to be able to easily understand the book. She laughed when I raised my hand, and then added "who isn't a mother tounge speaker."

Also, on the list of recommended but not required text books, is Stop Stealing Sheep, a book I read a few years ago at OSU. Needless to say I wont be buying that one again.

I'm interested in seeing how this class is gonna end up being. I have a feeling for at least the first month it is going to be mostly review for me... After that I am hoping to learn at least some new ideas, or new perspectives on typography. I know today was just an intro lecture, but the only tings I found myself taking notes on were Italian vocabulary. At least this will give me a chance to improve my Italian I suppose.

This afternoon I have another class, (4 hours long!) that is called "computer visual a." I think basically it is going to be a lab course introducing us to computer programs such as indesign, photoshop, illustrator, etc. Oh yeah! more review! haha. I must remember to look at the positive side. While everyone else is trying to learn these basic concepts, I can focus on improving my Italian. :)

cars for the students?

2005-10-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

Today was a presentation at my school of my course. We finally found out what our schedule will be for the first semester, got some information on living in Milan and the rules of the school, and saw our professors. It was quite the event. Scheduled to start at 4pm, it actually started at 5. I should have known, I'm in Italy, nothing starts on time. ;)

Flying high on dayquil, my brain didn't particuarly want to work in English, let alone in Italian. Yet I had no choice. At least I was better off than some students who speak no Italian at all. As the presentation started I still had doubts as to how it was going to work. would they speak in English? Italian? who knew. Well, we soon found out. Italian. And fast Italian at that. I sat in a daze as each professor got up, introduced themselves, said what they teach, and talked about the importance of it in design. While I understood the general ideas of what was being said, there was a lot that I missed. It was a harsh slap in the face of what the next year has to bring.

At one point they kept talking about the school's "macchine" and the students use of them. I was very confussed as "macchine" means "cars." After a couple minutes it finally dawned on me, as I remember that while "macchina" is commonly used for "car," it really means machine. And in this case they were talking about the computers, not cars. Once I realized this everything made sense. But boy was I lost for awhile there.

I hoping that it was a combination of being sick and medicines that slowed me down, and that once I get better I'll be able to think clearer again. In the mean time, I have classes at 9 am tomorrow, and I have a feeling my head is going to be spinning afterwards. I'll write more tomorrow of my impressions of the school and how things work. Perhaps my head will be a little clearer then...

Flying Wheat

2005-10-18T16:04:00.000-04:00

Growing up I always saw the cartoons and such where the bread goes flying out of the toaster. As a kid I was always dissapointed that our toaster did not send bread flying into the air. Never have I had a toaster that actually did this. Until now.

I decided to make myself a tunafish sandwhich for dinner, on wheat none the less. Wheat bread is something that I had never seen in Italy before. When I lived here before sliced bread seemed to be a new concept. Now it's everywhere. The store across the street seems to sell three basic kinds- white, multigrain, and wheat. I've been a bit skeptical of it so far, but decided today to try it, and so I bought a loaf.

So anyways, I stuck the bread in the toaster, which I had yet to use before. Not knowing how long it was going to go for, and not wanting my bread to burn, I decided part way through to stop it. Normal method: pull the handle back up. So up the handle went, and out my bread went, flying into the air. It was quite the sight really, and gave me a good chuckle. Leave it to the Italians to do things like on tv...

Weekend in Macerata

2005-10-18T05:03:00.000-04:00

I decided to take a quick trip down to macerata this past weekend. Although I'm not sure quick is a good word to describe the trip itself. In order to take advantage of Trenitalia's Viaggi Quanto Vuoi offer, I had to take an IR down from Milano. To make matters worse, I discovered that my MP3 player has decided to stop working. 7 hours of silence later I arrived in Macerata. As always, the last hour of the trip was spent in anticipation, watching out the window for the familar skyline.

When I arrived, both Jackie and Antonello were at work, and I had about an hour and a half to kill. So I made some phone calls, and before long was sitting at bar della sport with some old friends of mine, Billy, Maxi, and Paulo. While I had seen Maxi during my August trip, it had been over a year since I'd seen Billy and Paulo, so it was nice to catch up with them. The biggest news of the night, Maxi's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy about two weeks ago. It was fun to watch Maxi's face light up as he talked about his first son.

Saturday night was spent with other friends, Matteo and Luca who came into town to see me. After an aperitivo and an unsuccessful attempt to grab dinner at The Palace, we ended up going to 4Porte. With just our luck, there was a birthday party going on that night, with a group of 20 yelling middle schoolers. After dinner we went to bar centrale and hung out for a bit, where the crowd was defiantly older, as most college students were at home for the weekend. Still, it was a fun night out with the boys.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to head into the mountains with Jackie and Antonello and a group of caving students who were practicing on the ropes. We headed to an area up above Frasassi caves, parking outside of Genga and hiking in. The hike was quite nice, although rather cold and foggy when we first arrived. As the day went on though the sky cleared up quite a bit, giving way to some very nice views. I always love spending time in the foothills of the Appenines, as the area reminds me a lot of Oregon. On the hike back, Italians kept pointing out to Jackie every red tree that they saw, as she has been missing the way fall looks back home. It's not quite the same here.

(A look back at Genga from our hike)

It was sad to leave Macerata yesterday, and head back to dreary Milano. This trip had been particuarly nice weather wise, making walks around Macerata and the smell of the air even more rememberable than normal. I'm a strange one, as I love the beginning of winter, when the air has that crisp feeling to it. And of course it is always sad to say bye to Jackie, who despite embarrising me by sending random english nursery rhymes to guys at the bar, is always fun to see. It's been odd living in Italy but not in the same town as her. Yet there is a chance she'll be making her way up north at the end of the month, just in time for halloween and some pumpkin carving.