Two very close friends of mine have experienced unexpected deaths in their families in the last two weeks. One her mother, the other her brother. I wish I was closer to give them the kind of support I would like. I never know what to say in times of grief, I feel like everything I can think of sounds cliché and trite. I know when I've needed support the gesture and sentiment was what mattered, so I'm certain my friends know how deeply sorry I am that they have to feel such a loss, and I love them very much. Blessed Be to you both.

Okay, Okay, I'll take one for the team and go check this out. Thankfully I'll be on a chartered bus for the ride home so I can safely slip into a hypoglycemic coma. Looks worth it to me!

Let me elaborate...

So I have many tales of woe about this little adventure o' mine, but I'm trying very hard to keep bitching to a minimum. But I need to respond to a comment I received about my last post. I brought a camera to Italy. As a matter of fact my super sweet rommies gave me a brand spanking new Fuji A800 the night before I left, and it was working just fine, but when I took it out on the plane to play with it, the display was broken. I have no idea what happened. I'm sending it back to my friends so they can exchange it, but unfortunately they can't mail me a new one because the customs fees would cost about 500 euros or 750 dollars! I'm on a strict student budget at the moment but I'm hoping that my honey will be able to bring the replacement camera with him when he comes to visit in October. Anywho, it won't kill me to revisit the sites I've seen so far so I can snap some artistic shots. Fingers crossed, I will have an Italia 2007 photo album on my smugmug page before you know it!

and I see my blog template has disappeared. I can do this.

No local friends. No money. No camera. I'm sure I'm supposed to be learning something here.

Yikes! In some areas here each block of the 'same via' can have a different name. It'd be like walking down Powell Street and it would be called Powell Street beween Bush and Sutter, but then Main Street between Sutter and Post, and then maybe Loony Street between Post and Geary. That's it! I'm learning my way around by landmarks!

I just had the most deliciously salty, soft and warm prosciutto and mozzarella panini in the universe while window shopping at Valentino. It was my own little Breakfast at Tiffany's moment.

Real Mature

So I'm the old person in my group of students from CCSF. There are about 15 of us and I learned yesterday that most of them aren't even 21 yet! I keep catching myself rolling my eyes when one of them says something incredibly naive or giving the boys stink eye because they won't stop talking when the director is giving us important information. Yesterday during orientation the housing director was reviewing the do's and dont's of student housing and she was very seriously emphasizing that overnight guests are forbidden. She told a story of a girl who was locked out of her own room because her roommate was having a 'private party' in there and the phrase made me laugh out loud. I looked like such a dweeb!

First Impressions

Okay, with the gazillions of pictures I've seen of Florence, I had no idea The David, as well as the Duomo, were so big! I was wandering around looking for a hostel when I stumbled upon The David and I actually got a little choked up when I saw it. I got blurry-eyed when I took in the Duomo as well, it's so magnificent! I've already walked across the Ponte Vecchio while eating gelato and covered enough of the city to have seriously pulled a hammy I think. My living arrangement is perfect, I have a clean little room with a terraza and it's about a 20 minute stroll to school. This morning we had a terrific thunderstorm just as I was leaving the house; I miss those from the East Coast. We've had a few orientations and mixers at school and I'm looking forward to being more sociable when classes start next week. So far so good, just missing my sweetie, friends and family like crazy. Of course I'll post more as I do more. Ciao for now!

It still feels surreal to say or write 'my boyfriend'. At moments it seems impractical beginning an exclusive relationship weeks before I leave the country, and we haven't hashed out all the details about how this will work while we're apart, but I've never been more fulfilled with any other man and so it feels promising knowing that we're building a foundation for what I hope will be an incredible future together.

Perfection

Last Monday my wonderfully thoughtful and romantic boyfriend surprised me with a mini-getaway to The Huntington Hotel . We stayed in the super plush Star Suite overlooking Huntington Park and Grace Cathedral from one side, and down California Street and much of SOMA from the other. This was without a doubt the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in. It was pretty much a really big one bedroom apartment with amazing room service and a luxury spa. My sweetie arranged for a couples massage for us and a manicure for me, I love the pampering. We went to dinner at Cafe Sociale, and he even brought his favorite bottle of wine (quickly becoming mine as well) that we shared on our first date. I was deliriously happy the entire day and night. The next morning we went to Tartine for breakfast, and promptly returned to the hotel room to nap; life can be hard ya know. Later we joined friends at Fresca for lunch and Pisco Sours and then moseyed over to a bar to enjoy afternoon cocktails on the back deck in the sun. Soooooo yeeeaaah, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

i know this will hurt
but the ride feels so thrilling
stock up on band-aids

A Sweet Gesture

Last week a suitor baked me a delicious peach and raspberry crisp. From scratch. Wooing me with food is pretty much the best angle I can think of. Thank you, Mr. Chef Man.

have i mentioned i'm a bonafide coffee drinker?

After my aspirations of working my way to becoming an authentic Italian a few months back I quickly resumed enjoying the occasional decaf almond latte from Cafe Venue. But when I was in Illinois last month I took my Grammy out to breakfast every morning and every day I asked for a cup of decaf; it just goes well with pigs in a blanket. When I returned and moved in with my friends in Alameda, I started pouring a tiny cup of their Peet's half reg/half decaf blend every morning with breakfast. It gave me just enough focus and motivation without the brain scramble and heart palpitations. Yes, caffeinated fingers on the laptop make for more typos, but that's why God made Spellcheck. It's been five weeks and now I literally roll out of bed and start the coffee machine before I even use the bathroom and I'm up to two cups a morning (still half/half). I tried not drinking any while my housemates are gone for the next week, but I'm miserable. I wake up with a headache, zero drive to get anything done and I miss the aroma. I'm determined to be stronger than this little addiction, so wish me luck and don't give me a hard time if you see me in line at Starbucks!

And I only go on about one date a year because...

A few weeks ago I went to Mendocino for a three-day Vipassana meditation retreat. We practiced noble silence which means no talking, no eye contact and no gestures, you're supposed to focus inward and ignore those around you. We're given a hearty breakfast and lunch, but only tea for dinner. The silence, no eye contact and even restricted diet I can abide by, but I'm much too much of an observer/busybody to tune everyone out, so I happened to notice there were a few cute guys in the men's group. On the last day noble silence was broken they set out snacks and "noble chatter" began. I was scooping some popcorn into my bowl when one of the cuties approached and asked how the popcorn was. This was my reply, "It's great, fiber, just what I need right now". Yeah. I'll give you a minute to let the horror sink in. Why I felt it was vital to let this hottie know that I needed to poo is beyond me. In my defense, I had been without social interaction for three days.

I was in Illinois a few weeks ago, and whenever I'm there I indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures-Country music. I used to listen only to Country music in the early 90s so it's fun for me to cruise through middle America listening to songs that take me back in time, and to hear how Country music has progressed as well. One thing I always liked about Country was the slight innocence most love songs conveyed. Well obviously it's been a long time since I've listened on a regular basis. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard a new song from Brad Pailsey(2-3 times an hour I might add) called "Ticks".



Every time you take a sip
In this smoky atmosphere
You press that bottle to your lips
And I wish I was your beer
In the small there of your back
Your jeans are playing peekaboo
I'd like to see the other half of your butterfly tattoo.

Hey that gives me an idea
Let's get out of this bar
Drive out into the country
And find a place to park.

'Cause I'd like to see you out in the moonlight
I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks
I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks.

I know the perfect little path
Out in these woods I used to hunt
Don't worry babe I've got your back
And I've also got your front
Now, I'd hate to waste a night like this
I'll keep you safe you wait and see
The only thing allowed to crawl all over you when we get there is me.

You know every guy in here tonight
Would like to take you home
But I've got way more class than them
Babe that ain't what I want.

'Cause I'd like to see you out in the moonlight
I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks
I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks.

You never know where one might be
There's lots of places that are hard to reach
I gotcha.


Whoooooaaaa, easy partner. This ain't a naughty little euphemism that may make me blush, this is downright lewd. Just because you mention moonlight and wildflowers doesn't mean I'm not grossed out.

Personally, I always like to know who's in the kitchen cooking my food.

I'm officially a Californian

2 weeks ago I was having dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant with my family when the table began to shake. I looked around the table visibly alarmed, and in an instant I had horrific thoughts of light fixtures falling on our heads and windows shattering around us. But when I saw the look of confusion on their faces I remembered that we were in Illinois and realized it was just a really big truck that had passed by. I gotta lay off the hooch!

the move

It's a very strange feeling not to have any keys on my key ring except for my handcuff key.(It's come in handy believe you me!) I'm focusing more on the excitement of my upcoming adventure and less on logistics and I feel great. I learned a few things this weekend that are worth sharing:

1) Always hire movers. My weak ass carrying one box at a time down three flights of stairs for three days was not the way to go.

2) The kindness and generosity of a friend in your moment of need will touch you deeper than you ever imagined.

3) I heart spackle. I can always become a hole patcher if my voice acting career doesn't pay off. I love before and afters.

Absolutely lovin' these guys. I really appreciate their super simple and direct lyrics, sometimes I'm annoyed with too many metaphors and cliches. 'Hey there Delilah' and 'Hate (I really don't like you) are my favs so far.