Extension of my brain

The Venetian Mask

2012-01-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

Since I have a little bit of free time this month (and maybe for a bit longer...but not too much longer) I'm trying to get back into reading. I have about 8 books on my bookshelf, either mine that I've bought over the last year or borrowed from friends, that I have yet to read. So I started again. And I'm so happy I have time to read again. After years of textbook reading and not having time to "pleasure read," I almost forgot how much I enjoyed diving into the world of a book. That's what it feels like to me; taking a peek into a world, fictional or not. My most favorite books are historical fiction, mostly about Italy. And of course, I can never get enough of the Harry Potter saga. Those books will forever remain be in a special place in my heart. Anyways, still onto the book.

The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker is a story about two friends who grew up as orphans in the Ospedale della Pieta, the famous orphanage in Venice. It follows them from the age of 12 and onwards 30 years, through growing up and maestra success (they were both accomplished singers in the Pieta's choir, one of the best ever [from what I've heard]), to their new families feud that had lasted hundreds of years. It takes you to a world where deception and personal vendetta's were the complete norm and money and familial power were more powerful in some ways than the government.

I love old Italy. I really do. Of course old Italy isn't really Italy because the country wasn't unified until in this last century. Venice was especially mysterious. The name of the book says it all. The Venetian masks are world famous and although most people associate them with Carnevale, the celebration of the time period before Lent begins in the early spring, the masks were used in everyday life in Venice. Either going about town with simple bauta masks (plain white masks normally, some with some embellishments) or going to parties and the opera in fancy, hand crafted and very expensive masks, Venetians were able to hide behind their masks.

A traditional women's Venetian mask with veil to conceal the rest of her face.

A simple bauta mask, without specific facial features, with black tie strings.

Traditional men's Venetian mask with specific facial features and hold handle.

I wonder what it would have been like to really live in those times. Books tell us specific stories about fictional or true characters. Most of the books I read combine real events with fictional embellishments. Those are the ones I love the most.

So here's to another book that I will read over and over.

Everything Happens For A Reason

2012-01-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

Everything happens for a reason, everything happens for a reason, everything happens for a reason..this is the mantra/saying/prayer that I have been repeating over and over in my head since December 23, 2011. The day when I found out that I was not getting hired by the agency I had been interning with since the end of September. To be honest, I was really upset about it but a little part of me saw it coming. I can honestly say that I did the best I could with what I was given and unfortunately, it didn't turn into a full time job. But now, 11 days later, I am ok with it. I have looked back on it and realized that they were right; it was not a fit. I learned a lot, as I have in all of my internships and jobs and any other working opportunities that I have had.

So I am back on the job hunt, again. But this time it's different. I have a year of experience behind me. My resume looks good and my skills have been improved a lot. After not "being a fit" at three agencies this year though, I have decided to refocus my job search and look into corporate positions and event planning positions. I've always loved event planning and have wanted to do it since the beginning of my college career. Now is my chance.

This is also my chance to make a move, literally. I'm bittersweet about saying that I'm moving back down to Southern California. I will be living with my parents until I get back on my feet with a solid job and save enough money to afford to live down there, wherever that may be. I missed home and being home for the Christmas holiday re-affirmed my decision. I had been contemplating moving back since my second internship ended. I love all my friends that I have made up here and my roommate, who has been more than amazing to me in the last few months (I was a major stress-ball...just ask my personal trainer. Even she said I was too stressed). I will be back down in SoCal by the end of January, ready to start the next chapter of my life.

I've been here for 3 years. In those three years, I have come more into myself that I ever thought I could. I've learned about myself and about working with people and I will carry these learnings and lessons with me throughout the rest of my life.

Everything happens for a reason. There is a reason I didn't end up at Gonzaga - this was so I would find myself at San Jose State. There is a reason why each of my internships did not work out - I was still learning. There is a reason for this last one not to work out - this was so I would have the freedom of decision to move back to my hometown. I still don't know what will come out of my move back down the state of California, but I'm sure that it will show itself soon, hopefully sooner rather than later.

And now for some resolutions because, well, it's 2012!

1. Take more spontaneous risks - in the workplace and in life.
2. Get out more and meet more new people (as if I don't know enough people already).
3. Be more attentive to what others are saying - my dad says I need to work on this and I agree...just don't tell him that.
4. Get in shape and get healthy. I'm on that road already and I know living at home will only aid, not harm, this one.
5. Be happy.

Here's to 2012 and may all of you out there have the best year yet.

Thankful for Constant Learning

2011-11-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

Nov. 7 - Thankful for Constant Learning

In the last 11 months since graduating from college, I have learned that the learning is far from over. I may have earned my degree through classes with professors but I'm earning a life degree through real life experiences from my peers and superiors. There is still so much more to a profession than the degree that helped you get the job. The best thing is that I've found an agency that encourages that learning agency-wide. Today, I sat through an hour long lecture on pitching the media, put on by one of the agency's VPs. He went through a presentation and told us what he knew and his experiences, to a room full of the younger part of the staff. That is what is so great about this place. It's the perfect mix of veterans and rookies. And some in-betweeners.

It hasn't all just been learning on the job this year for me. Everyone says you find yourself in college, but I've found more about myself in the year since. And I know I'm just going to realize more and grow more as a person in the next few years. This is the start of my adulthood and the learning is just going to continue. And that makes me hopeful for the future.

Thankful for my Faith

2011-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

November 6 - Thankful for my Faith

I am what you call "cradle Catholic," meaning that I was baptized barely 2 months after being born. I'm Italian and was born in New York, so of course I come from a big, happy, loud, eccentric family. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't really remember going to church very much when I was really young, but after my family moved to California, we joined a church that had started up the year I was born. It was full of young families (and some old) and that community became MY community. I grew up with the children of those families and count many of them as my "extended family" today. My faith is not so much being Catholic as it is being associated with that parish community. I call myself a "pick and choose" Catholic...I believe in most of the fundamentals of it, but some of it I just can't. And I'm ok with that.

I don't live at home anymore and can count the number of times I've been to mass up here on one hand. I always go to church when I'm visiting home and enjoy the mass, but going by myself up here has literally brought me to tears because it makes me so homesick. I don't need to be IN church to talk to God. More often than not, I find myself talking to him (and my grandfather, who passed when I was 7) while I'm driving. Just to make sure they're watching when I'm driving ;). In fact, it's almost easier sometimes to talk to my Popi than it is to God. I miss him a lot and his death had me struggling with my faith for a long time. I still question God sometimes today.

My grandfather died of cancer and I know many people who have either died of cancer or survived it. I have a hard time believing that God would take away so many good and wonderful people with this disease. And Popi was so young, only 63. I talk to him almost every single day about anything that is going on. I can only hope that I would make him proud if he were still here today.

I struggled with my faith for a short time. I wasn't sure if it was because I was adjusting to life on my own or that I wasn't sure what to believe. That's when I realized my "pick and choose" faith. I believe in Him and know he's watching me and would never give me something that he didn't think he could handle. He has a plan for me and it's my job in life to trust in Him. He gave me my family and friends so I have a happy life.

Being Thankful in the Month of November

2011-11-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing people post one thing that they're thankful for each day on Facebook and while I like that idea, I'd rather do it on here. And since I've missed a few days, I have some catching up to do. So here goes for the first 5 days of November.

Nov. 1 - Thankful for my family

Without my family, namely my parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, I would not be the person I am today. They have been my support system all along and I'm recognizing pieces of my parents' personality in myself as I grow up more. Which is an amazing thing. My parents are wonderful, loving, hard working people who were smart enough to raise their daughters in the same style they were raised; love with lessons. I love my entire family and am so thankful that I was born into it. I wish I could see my far flung extended family more often, but such is life that we're far away.

Nov. 2 - Thankful for my friends

If you're a friend of mine, you'll know that the words "I love you" come out of my mouth pretty easily, mostly in your direction. And that's because I mean it. Either I've known you a long time and you have become such a close friend that I consider you family or I've known you a short time and our friendship is growing. When my family moved out to California, we didn't have a lot of family around and we found a close knit group of friends that became our family. I've mentioned them before and they continue to be a part of "my family" that I miss so much at home. They've welcomed my family into their lives and influenced my life in ways that some of them may not even realize. So to all my "family", I love you so much and miss you all so much. Whether you're in Italy, England, California, Arizona or New Jersey, I love you :).

Nov. 3 - Thankful for my job(s)

I am fortunate enough to have found an amazing internship at an agency that is known for being a great place to work. I am finding my purpose in life and contributing to a company that I believe in. I am also very fortunate enough to have worked as a waitress at a restaurant steadily for the last 4 years. Yes, I know I complain about it more often than not, but I really am grateful that I have it. There are plenty of people out there today, especially today, who can't even find one job and I have the fortune of having two.

Nov. 4 - My health

Even though I probably could have kept much better care of myself over the last few years, I am healthy and happy. I recently made steps to take better care of myself and am feeling better than before. I am fortunate enough to live a life where I can afford to join a gym and take those steps of taking better care of myself. Also, my mental health is good. I am happy and in a good state of mind (even though my friends tell me I worry more than I need to).

Nov. 5 - My car

Yes, mom and dad, I'm VERY thankful for my car. I came to drive my car at a stressful part of this year and the circumstances of me coming to own this particular car were a major part of my stress. But I am thankful for it and the skills that it takes to drive it. I always knew I would eventually learn how to drive a manual, I just didn't think it would be this type of car. And now that I drive to work, I am doubly thankful for it. Long gone are the days of taking the train, and trust me, that's a big part of me being happy every day going to work.

So that does it for today. Since it's technically Saturday (nearly 1 am) I'll come back on Sunday with another one. Love you all and miss you all. G'gnight.

A Catch Up of Sorts

2011-11-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well. I haven't written in here in over 3 months. And what a 3 months it has been. When I wrote my last post, I was working at an agency in San Francisco, my second internship of the year. I was struggling a little bit with myself and trying to figure out where I would be by the end of the year. That internship didn't work out and in the end, it definitely was for the best. I had a month in between that internship and the internship I am now in and that month off from working an internship and just waitressing might have been the best thing for me. It really gave me a chance to reflect on the year and to absorb all the lessons I had learned or still needed to realize I had learned.

At the end of the month, I was hired on at my current agency and I absolutely love it. I hope to God that this is the place that I'll be for the foreseeable future because everything about it clicks. I like the work (which is high-tech, which I NEVER thought I would like and said so. I will gladly eat those words for years to come), I like my coworkers (they are pretty freaking rad) and I am happy going into work every day. Because in the end, if you're not happy going into work every day, then you're really not putting your best self forward and doing the quality of work you could do if you were happy. My supervisor said it best today in our weekly catch up, "I know this is work, but it still has to be enjoyable."

I'm still in the same house I've been in for the last 2 years with the same roommate. I love where I live, who I live with and am very thankful for my life right now. I know I miss home and the people at home a ton, but I can always go down for a quick weekend.

Unfortunately, since I'm driving all the time now, I have about zero time to read new books, so the brief purpose of writing book reviews is now kaput. Hopefully, I'll find a few minutes to read a book for fun here and there. Also, I joined a gym so I'm getting home later and later. I'm realizing that when you work a lot, you have to make sure you make time for yourself.

I also want to start writing in here a lot more. I miss writing for myself. It helps you unload what's on your mind, which is why I named this "Extension Of My Brain." So, here's to resolutions a few months early :).

An Ode To A Boy Named Harry With Glasses.

2011-07-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is about two weeks overdue but I’ve been a tad bit busy. The last Harry Potter film has come and gone and I’ve seen it and I feel…strange. But let me explain how much Harry has been in my life.

The first HP book came out in 1998 but I was not made aware of it until the following year. I remember the first time I heard about this boy wizard in 6^th grade. It was in English class and we still had required reading back then. One of my classmates, I think Steven Jacobs (excuse my freakish memory and blame my father for it), was reading it. Each week we had to give a short summary to our teacher, Mrs. Jordan, about what was going on in our books. When Steven described the scene, which I later realized was the letter receiving, it sounded so strange that I dismissed it immediately. I was at the end stage of reading American Girl books and was discovering my fascination with historical fiction books (which is stronger than ever today). The thought of a boy being surrounded by flying letters and delivery owls was so off to me. And since everyone started reading the books, I refused. I didn’t want to read what everyone else was reading. Well, of course, that didn’t last long. At Christmas that year, I received two copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; one from my aunt and one from a neighbor, both who knew my love of reading. So I figured, eh why not, I’ll give this a shot.

I was hooked. Not as hooked as everyone else, partly because my mom was not one of those moms who would go out to the release of a book and get it right away. But she did read the books just as much as I did (even though I always read them first because I read faster and then would beg her to hurry up so we could talk about it. I still do that, just with the movies now). In fact, the only book I went to the midnight release of was the final one, with a friend, my second year of college. Yeah, that’s how long those books were in my life. But nonetheless, shortly after they came out, my mom would get the new book and I would read it, then she would read it. I think when the first movies came out was when I really started to get into it. It was crazy and *magical* to see the images I had pictured in my mind shown on screen, almost exactly the way I had thought of them. The makers of the films really did do a good job. The early films are full of innocence and light and colors while the later ones are dark and mature, just how the books are.

I grew up with Harry, just like the rest of my classmates. I was 11 when the first books came out. Obviously I aged a bit faster but still. The thought of someone at 17 doing the things he did (yes I know it’s just a book) was unfathomable to me, in my world. I wish the wizarding world really did exist. He taught us lessons about friendship, loyalty, bravery and doing the right thing no matter what it took. Those are as good of lessons as any we will ever learn.

Now on to the final movie, which I saw with my two older cousins. That's something I love about my family; all of us cousins rarely interact, but I can guarantee most of us are Harry Potter fans and I'm so happy I got to experience the last of it with Alexis and Rhiannon. We were all pretty emotional, in our amazing smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-the-theater seats. I shifted so much (I get antsy sitting still for too long) and at one point had my arms hooked around my legs with my chin to my knees. It was an intense movie. Absolutely non-stop from beginning to amazing end. Yes, they changed things from the book a bit, but did it still make sense? Yes. Also, people have said they didn't like the epilogue at the end, fast-forwarded 19 years. I've heard "cheesy" and "corny" used. Well then, you must not have read the books. Because it was perfect in the book. And nearly perfect in the film. We didn't see a bit of it that was in the book but that's ok. We were pressed for time.

My next wish is that the entire book series is adapted into an animated series, like a mini series that we've been seeing. That way, every detail can be included and all the crazy magic that didn't quite look right with live actors will be made. I think that would be brilliant.

A chapter of my childhood has closed but is not over; it will never be over. Thank you J.K. Rowling for creating a whole world and bringing such *magic* into our lives.

Slowly exploring the new "neighborhood"

2011-06-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is a BIG city. Much larger than one would imagine. Thus, it has a lot of different neighborhoods, often divided by just a few blocks. My first internship was in the "China Basin" down by the ball park and my new one is in the "Financial District," a few blocks south of Market. Technically, both are identified as SOMA (South of Market) but the blocks that separate the two define them a lot. The closer to Market St. you get, the more lively you get. The closer to AT&T you get, the calmer you get (and more homeless people); well except for Game Days.

The thing that I am discovering about San Francisco is that it is one of the most diverse food places in the world. In fact, several magazines in the last few months have been featuring it as the "new food capital of the world" (please don't quote me..I just remember this statement, not the publications it was in). So naturally, a food loving gal like me would want to look around. Of course, as much as I love food, I am notoriously picky. Like crazy picky. But even if I can't find something on the menu I like/would eat, I do like to go in and see what it's all about. My new office is surrounded by TONS of little restaurants.

My first morning, I didn't have to be in the office until 9 am and had been told that no one really arrived before then. So, because I didn't have a key and didn't want to stand next to the door until someone came, I went to the cafe next door to get some breakfast (I am horrible about eating before I leave the house these days - 6:30 am breakfast makes this girl hungry again by 9 am). It was adorable and called Bay Area Gourmet. I didn't notice until later that day that they had a huge "GRAND OPENING" sign fluttering in the ever-present San Francisco breeze. It was interesting because they offer "personal drip coffee." Now, I am a coffee drinker, at all, but I found this process fascinating. The lady would scoop a cup full of coffee beans, put it in the grinder, slip a filter in a little holder with the beans in it, place a cup underneath and then pour boiling water into the coffee grounds and whisk them up, thus letting the very freshly brewed coffee drip right into the customer's coffee cup. I had never seen anything like it. And yes, I know, I am verrrryyy easily amused and fascinated. But hey, it's all about new experiences.
There is also this sandwich place called The Toaster Oven, who specializes in, you guessed it, toasted sandwiches. And I tried one the other day and even with my pickiness, I found it delicious. There's also a soup place across the street called San Francisco Soup Company, that is literally a door a counter and a menu. That's it. No seating area, hardly any room inside for any type of line. I must try it. My coworkers frequent there and the soup always smells delicious. Also, Specialty's is around the corner on New Montgomery. Now, I know this is a chain but I really hadn't been there much and have now fell in love with their chocolate chip cookies (only gotten them once..but oh goodness they were good.) What interests me so much about this particular location is the people who work there. The few times I've been in there (my agency orders snacks from them for client meetings), it's always all guys working and most of these guys look like the total opposite of what you would expect from a bakery worker. Specifically, they're all covered in tattoos and would look more comfortable in a store, well any other place than a bakery. But they are the nicest guys! Gotta love SF :).

So, since I have pulled away from writing about the books I have read (I swear I'm going to pick that up again), I will write about the little food places around my new place of employment.

Enjoy! And come visit me in SF!!

Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-06-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ch-ch-changes

My, my, my what a difference a month makes, huh? Well, I can officially say that as of today I am working at H3O Communications as an intern, having finished my previous internship with Fineman PR last Friday. It was a great experience and I am forever grateful to the Fineman team for teaching me so much. For reasons that don’t really matter, I took my leave of them and started today with H3O. I’m really excited to work with this new agency and they’re a bit bigger so I feel a little more comfortable. I’m still in SF, working further into the city than before and so far, I like it. Yes, I can see a construction crew out of my window at all hours of the day and the noise gets a little loud but sheesh this part of the city is so ALIVE. There were so many people surrounding me when I walked here this morning and even the office I’m now in seems alive. It’s got at least 4 different colors on the walls and the desks are set up in an awesomely collaborative way. In fact, even though everyone has an “assigned seat” people move around to work on projects and such. A good chunk of the staff have been in a meeting all day (unfortunately it’s the chunk of the staff and client that I’ll be working on…as a first day-er, I wasn’t in on the meeting) but it’s a big space that gets filled up. I really like it.

Life otherwise is pretty much the same. I work all day so I’m out of the house most of the time. Weekends are my veg-out time. I like it. This past weekend was a 4 day weekend, due to the leaving of one job and starting another mid-week and I have to say (and this scares me) I was so thankful to be going to work this morning that I didn’t care that I was still waking up at 5:30 a.m. and rushing to catch the train. Ahhh, routine. I did get a lot done this past weekend (and quick break) but mostly I relaxed. It was nice. You have to remember to give yourself some relaxation/me time or you’ll go crazy. I know that already and I’m not even in a full-time, salaried position.

I am excited about going home next weekend for a much needed family time break. My wonderful parents are throwing me a graduation party, since I have not only graduated but also got a job (how’s that for having my ish together?) and it will be wonderful fun with all the people I love and miss the most, the people who have surrounded me growing up and encouraged me in my college and post-college life. I can’t wait J. So that was slightly a random post, but hey I got one in right? Ciao, belle.

(P.S….I miss Florence so much still, that I constantly dream about it. As soon as financially able to, I’m running back there and will probably hug the glorious cobblestone that covers my favorite city).

Friends: They're Good for the Soul

2011-05-17T13:51:00.001-07:00

Lately, I’ve been feeling nostalgic for friends that I haven’t seen in a while. Luckily, in the past few weeks, I’ve been able to see a few old friends and have made plans to meet up with others. It started a few weekends ago when a friend from home was up on business in San Francisco and called to meet up after work. This friend is more like family to me and I hadn’t seen him very much in the last two years. He pointed out that we did see each other on New Year’s Eve but other than that, not much else. We had a great time and I really hadn’t spent time with him “out” so it was all an adventure. We had always hung out in the comfort of our family’s company and now that we’re “grown-ups” (still makes me smile to think that) we can do things on our own. Well, he’s a bit older so he’s been out on his own for some time now.

Then, yesterday, I got a call from a friend from junior college informing me that he was en route to SF and would I like to meet up with him. I laughed at his never changing way of making plans, aka NOT making plans and flying by the seat of his pants. We met up at a bar/café a few blocks from my office with two of his friends, one of which I went to junior high and high school with (small world in Southern California…small world) and we had a great time and then got a bit lost in SF trying to drop one of the guys off. It was great because we are all trying to convince him to choose SF for law school and he had said he didn’t know if he had seen enough of the city. Well he certainly did last night. On the drive back down (he was staying with a friend in the South Bay and drove me home) we talked about junior college and caught up on each other’s lives. It was nice.

I’ve realized that I have the sorts of friends that I can go ages without talking to, then see them and it’s like no time has passed at all. I think that’s what a true friend is made of. Of course, I would much prefer to see these wonderful people on a much more regular basis, but the fact of life is that we grow up around each other and when college and adult life hits, we can get far flung. The important thing is to hold on to the fond memories you have and make sure to catch up once in a while as well as make a few new memories. I like it that way. I have a verrry busy life right now and I don’t have much time for a social life. It’s nice and comforting to know that I have friends that I can just call up after a while and chat.

I also found out that some old high school acquaintances are moving up to the Bay Area soon and I offered to show them around. It’ll be good to see some old faces. Yay for being an “adult” J.

Where Were You?

2011-05-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

Last night, May 1, 2011, Osama bin Laden was confirmed dead. It's one of those chilling "where were you?" moments that we'll be talking about for years to come.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was in 8th grade and getting ready for school that Tuesday. I knew something was up when my dad turned on the TV to the news. Then the images flooded in. It was horrifying and scary and oh I still shudder when I think about it. That day at school is a blur but everyone was talking about it. Naturally, being junior high schoolers, we didn't really understand the huge significance. I just remember a teacher saying that our trip to Washington D.C. most likely was not going to happen. The news around what was going on in New York came out more and more.
A few days later, my family learned that my mom's cousin, who is a doctor, had been at Ground Zero for three straight days. She finally got home on the fourth, burned her bloody clothes and slept for a day. A guy my dad knew from high school was one of the firefighters killed and a distant cousin was killed in the towers. We saw their names on the wall of the memorial a few years later when we visited.
Now, nearly 10 years later, the evil man who was the mastermind behind it all has been killed. Gone. But the war on terrorism is not over. There is no way in hell those who supported him will take this lying down. The country is once again on high alert and now my 22 year old self is much more aware. And admittedly scared.
I was watching TV with my roommate and as our nightly routine, both of us were sitting on our respective couches with our laptops up. We were watching "Real Housewives of Orange County" because, well, we need to watching something mind numbing once in a while. I refreshed my Facebook page and 7 new statuses popped up, all about Osama bin Laden's supposed death. I gasped and my fingers flew to Google. With Google tentatively confirming it, I said something to my roommate, who by the way is studying for her LSATs and had an internship on Capitol Hill last semester and knows more about government and foreign policy than I ever want to know. She said if it's true it's huge, turn on CNN.
It was 7:59. I read that the president was supposed to have made an address at 7:30 ET. Obviously, that didn't happen. Finally, at 8:30 President Obama delivered a quick 7 minute speech that confirmed what all of social media was blasting. And I mean blasting. Watching Twitter auto-refresh along with Facebook was surreal. It was history at my fingertips.
I stayed up until about 11 pm watching it all unfold. And of course this morning told more. It's a huge moment in history and one that will certainly affect us in the coming days, weeks, months and probably years. We'll get through this.

So where were you?

New Background

2011-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick update of my new background. I was getting bored with the look and I was just browsing through the themes when I found the bookshelf theme. I loved it and I think that because I am *trying* to write about each book I read, it fits. With that, I really need to get on writing some more posts. I've read about 4 new books and haven't written anything! Eesh!

"Cancer" is a dirty word

2011-04-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Cancer is a disgusting, vile, dirty, cold-blooded killer. It doesn’t care who you are, who your family is or even how old you are. It sneaks up on you and only if you’re quick enough do you catch it early enough to get rid of it. It is also THE most terrifying word in the entire human vernacular, no matter what language it is spoken in, despite it being only six letters long. I absolutely, positively, to my dying day HATE cancer.

Yes, there is the ‘cancer’ astrological sign, which has a meaning all to itself. But the diseased definition of the ‘C’ word is terrifying. It strikes out of nowhere and if you don’t catch it quick enough, it spreads and spreads until it consumes you. I absolutely, positively hate it.

This comes from a few different places. One: my hatred of the disease from a young age due to the death of my grandfather (as mentioned in a previous post). I feel that his disease could have been prevented, had he been born in my time, where there is abundant information on how awful smoking is for you. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. And he was taken over first by lung cancer, which spread to his liver and his brain.

Two: I have a terrifying fear of breast cancer. I have no family history of it, but cancer doesn’t care about your family history. I have made it a goal for myself to participate in one of the breast cancer walks in the next 5 years. I make that broad goal because I have no idea when I will have the time to train for that. I can remember my mom training for it and she did it with a large group and it was intense. I want to make a difference somehow. Eventually, as a career goal, I’d like to work for a cancer group, either American Cancer Society or Livestrong. It’s just not realistic for me right now.

Three: I watched a movie the other night called One True Thing. It starred Meryl Streep (I LOVE her) and Renee Zellwegger. In it, Streep’s character was dying of cancer. I cried during the last few scenes of her life and if it hadn’t been so late, I would have called my mom sobbing and wanting to hug her and never let go. Hell, I want to do that on most days with no provocation. I can’t imagine having to watch my mother go through that experience, which brings me to reason number four.

Four: I just found out that an old friend from Camarillo was diagnosed with cancer and it has already progressed to stage 4. That has got to be absolutely terrifying for her and her family. I remember her and her family growing up. Her daughters played softball with my sister and our parents are friends. They moved to Washington a number of years ago and we’ve lost touch but my parents interact with her and her husband every once in a while on Facebook. I can’t imagine (as I’ve already stated) having to watch your mother go through this. I know her daughters and I know they’re going to be there 100% for their mom and supporting her all the way, along with the rest of their family. I am praying she gets better, overcomes this, kicks cancer’s ass. I sincerely hope for the best because she is an absolutely wonderful person and this world would be worse off without her.

There are plenty of cancer foundations, groups, and societies out there to battle this ugly thing. I just hope that someday there will be a cure for it. The unfortunate thing is that cancer has many forms; there are hundreds of strains of the thing and some of them are rare and absolutely lethal. Some, even if caught early on, can still kill within a few months. You never know where or who it’s going to hit. It makes me want to live every day like it’s my last. You should too.

Finally Exploring San Francisco

2011-03-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

   Start with something slightly sad (in a sarcastic sense): I’ve lived in the Bay Area for over TWO years and the only time I have been to San Francisco besides for work is for a baseball game, to do my paperwork for my student visa and to go to Pier 39. OH and a meeting at a hotel (can’t remember which one). This is sad for me (but not really sad when you think about it).
   Now something happy: last night began my quest to remedy this. My cousin and her boyfriend just moved up to San Francisco and live up on Market. Since she’s so close, we decided to do dinner and since I wanted to avoid a late night and have more cousin time, I stayed the night at their place. I had so much fun. First off, I was out of the office at 5:15 and at her place by 5:25. Changed by 5:45 after a quick business headshot (oh yeah, she’s a kickass photographer as well). Out the door walking through the shopping district, China Town and Little Italy all by 6:15. Do you realize how amazing that is for me?! Usually I don’t get home until after 7 and barely have the energy to do anything besides a simple dinner and put on jammies. I loved it.
   We decided to walk since this is the city and parking can be a total bitch. Plus it’s more fun. It looked like rain was threatening but we forgot umbrellas, despite her boyfriend’s warning (he stayed in to work; girls night!) Well about 5 minutes into our walk and about halfway to our destination (right on the cusp of Chinatown) it began to rain. We looked at each other giggled and ducked into a shop to buy some cheapy, but really good umbrellas. Oh well, adventure begins! Continue walking, all the while trying not to decapitate our fellow pedestrians (they were huge umbrellas, check out the picture below). All the while I am “oohing” and “ahhing” at all the sights in Chinatown. It really felt like I was in a different country all of the sudden. Then BAM! We turn the corner and we’re in Italy. Well it felt like it anyways.

   We went to this adorably tacky/gaudy Italian restaurant called ‘Mona Lisa.’ Authentic Italian to the max. All the waiters spoke Italian and were from there originally. Some things never change. Had the most delicious Italian food I’ve had since I was actually in Italy. To top it off, we had a great conversation, received free dessert and got the numbers of 2 of the waiters (they offered, I kept them :))
   Walked off our delicious dinner back to her building, got changed and went to a fancy bar for some drinks. Chatted a bit, looked at the pouring rain and how pretty the city gets when it’s soaking wet and then back up to her place. Changed into jammies and watched 2012. I wanted to watch King’s Speech and she agreed then said it “Nope! We’re watching something more fun.” And it was. Snuggled with her kitty, who according to my cousin, usually bolts from the room at the sight of any person besides her and had a wonderful night in.
   Needless to say, this will become more of a regular occurrence. In fact, it made me realize how much I miss living in a city, where you can just walk everywhere. She lives in an area where everything is in walking distance. Oh and my commute to work this morning? Woke up at 7, out the door at 8 and at work at 8:10. YES please. I want to move to San Francisco…now if only I could afford it.

No Internet = Huh?!!

2011-03-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Something interesting is happening at my office today. Because of the recent storm(s)…(well we call them those anyways) in San Francisco, Comcast has had some trouble keeping our phone lines and internet connectivity, well, connected. I have not truly been without internet access in years. Even if it was down for a few minutes, there was always a way to re-boot it or go elsewhere. Working in an office where Internet connectivity is absolutely essential to the way we work every day is a verrrry interesting experience when there is nothing working. Our phones are down, so we’re using cell phones to call necessary people, and our server is working so we’re working on documents (well everyone else is…I’m the intern and therefore have nothing pending except research…on the internet). But other than that, there’s a lot of chatter.

So what does one do when there is no outside work connectivity? Read the paper of course. Yes, I actually sat down with the office copy of today’s Wall Street Journal and went through the entire thing. No, I didn’t read the entire thing, but I did read a good number of the articles and looked at every headline and sub-headline. Then I read through last week’s “Time Magazine” about Japan’s crisis. And now I’m eyeing out lobby table chock full of “Wine Spectator” magazines, “Bloomberg” magazines and “Fast Company.” I have never read any of these publications (besides “Time” of course), but today is the one day I didn’t bring a book for the train. Le sigh. The Internet went out about 8:45 came back about 10:50 and is now out again after about 15 minutes of working; just enough time for me to check all my email and send a few replies and inquiries out. Now, I’m sitting here, occasionally picking up my desk phone for a dial tone and typing away at this.

Also, an interesting thing happened when I read the Wall Street Journal. I came across a “Destinations” blog, with a piece about an American living in Florence. Yes, I know I talk about that city a lot (I bet if you “control F” on my entire blog, that word would come up at least 100 times). I loved reading her take on it and not only did she talk about the beauty and wonder of that city (it’s my favorite, couldn’t you tell?) but she also went through ALL the red tape that it takes to even stay there long term. It’s a lot. And it’s frustrating; but so worth it. I day dream about that place and because I was day dreaming about it, I dream about it at night. And I wake up with a pang in my heart, wondering when I’ll get back there. I really, really miss it. But I digress.

I will add to this as the day unfolds. Most of us just want to work from home, even if that means loading a bunch of necessary documents onto flash drives and reloading them tomorrow with freshly updated versions. If I had more comfortable walking shoes, I might just go (finally) explore the city. But nope. Oh and there’s chance of thunderstorms today. Nooo way.

**Update: Internet finally returned for an extended period of time around 1 p.m. after going in and out several times. Seems to be holding. Thus this posting.**

RIP Antonio Bifulco 4.21.1932 to 2.26.1996

2011-02-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

15 years is a long time. 15 years ago, I was 7 years old and in second grade, getting ready to make my First Holy Communion. My sister was 3, almost 4 and in pre-school. We had moved to California a year and a half before and were still settling in.

15 years is also the amount of time that has passed since my grandfather, Antonio Bifulco, died from complications of lung cancer. I remember that morning like it was yesterday and the hurt still cuts just as deep, if not more now because of the time that has passed. They say that time heals all wounds. Unfortunately, time also allowed me to learn more about my grandfather’s illness and I’ve been witness to the havoc that cancer wreaks on families every day. I have learned the cause of his disease, smoking, and wish like hell that he had grown up in a world that knew the dangers of it. Instead, he grew up in Italy, during the time of war-torn, Mussolini-ruled Italy, having been born in San Giuseppe Vesuviano in 1932. If there was ever a wish in my heart so desperately for a time-machine, it is now.

It was an early, cold February morning. I was up and getting ready for school, like the rest of my family, getting ready for the day. Mom and Dad in their room showering, hair-drying, tie-tying. Little sister’s eyes still full of sleep, her adorable little face probably non-too happy to be awake so early, especially since it was still dark out. Besides she was never really a morning person when she was younger. I thought I had heard the phone ringing, but the details on that are fuzzy. What followed isn’t. I knew something was wrong when I heard my aunt’s voice on the machine downstairs. My parents couldn’t find the phone, or something. The only thing I clearly remember is my dad opening his door looking and me and it hitting me. I raced at him and he scooped me up as I sobbed “I knew it! I knew it!” My grandfather had died. My Popi Tony. The man who had come to America alone at the age of 26 to make a new life for himself. The man who had raised his my father and aunt, working as a bricklayer and pizza parlor owner. The man who improved his English skills by helping his children with their homework. He was gone. Forever.

I had known it was coming. My dad had warned my sister and I at Christmas. That time was a happy time. I came home from school one day, probably the last day of school before winter break, to my Nani, Popi and Aunt Maria sitting on the couch and talking with my parents like they had been there for ages. I was SO excited. I had missed them so much since we had moved to California. But my grandfather was very thin and very weak. I think I knew in the back of my mind that something was very wrong, but I was only 7 and really didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. I have a vague memory of my dad leaving in September that year to go on a trip with his dad. I found out later that they had traveled to Italy and Brazil so that my grandfather could say goodbye to his family. I can’t even begin to imagine who painful that must have been for my dad and the rest of my family. My grandfather was the one who traveled back to Italy as often as he could and has just as many memories with our family there as he does here. a

There’s a picture that I have, unfortunately not in my possession (it’s in my room at my parents’ house) of my grandfather that last Christmas Eve. It’s by no means a flattering picture, but it’s one I stare at all the time when I have it near me. He’s eating his spaghetti and is looking at the camera as if he was caught off-guard by the person taking the picture. His sweater is brown, over a white checkered collared shirt and both seem too big for him. His forehead is scrunched and what was left of his eyebrows are raised and his eyes, underneath his glasses, are wide. There’s barely a wisp of white hair left on his head that is spotted with liver spots, probably because of the cancer treatments he had been going through. He’s surprised. That image is seared into my memory. I’m sure we have happier looking pictures from that Christmas. I know we do. But that one is one that I kept. My dad buzzed his head over the summer and had lost some weight and I got the shock of my life when I Skyped with him and my mom. I was at our family’s house in Italy and hadn’t seen them in person since May. I know he did it because my dad is practical and figured that the shorter he cut his hair, the longer he could wait between cuts (he’s frugal and I love him for it). But he scared the crap out of me. He looked too much like his father in that picture. I mean, I know he is healthy and not nearly as thin, but God, he looked too much like him.

I cried that night. I cried for the memory of my grandfather, the man that I wish I could have known more, the man who tried to teach me his native language when I was learning to talk, the man who watched me with my grandmother every week when my parents were at work. I was his first grandchild and he loved me. I loved him. I still do and I think about him every day. I wonder at my actions and what he would think of me today. I hope I’m making him proud. I really do.

Somehow and at some point, my family landed in New York at the end of February. There was still snow on the ground; a lot of it. I remember my Uncle Stephen took my sister and I out to the front lawn of my mom’s parents’s house, with whom we were staying because of all the commotion at my dad’s family’s house, and we made a snowman that was lying on its back. I don’t remember why, but I remember laughing. We made its legs by packing a bucket full of snow and placing it on him. Well my uncle probably did. My sister was all bundled up with just her little, round like a cherub face and red from the cold, peeking out from her scarf and hat and snow suit. She was so sweet and didn’t understand really what was happening. I talk to her about it now and she has a few sharp memories of these days, but her biggest memory is the lack of one. She was so little when we moved that she never got to know him. I wish you had, baby girl. He was wonderful.

I remember going to the wake. There were so many people and so many flowers. To this day, I can not get a whiff of flowers without having a flashback to that day and that scene. I don’t talk about it much though. There were balloons saying “Loving Husband” and “Wonderful Father.” My grandmother was crying as people consoled her. And I remember this. I wanted to see him, one last time so I walked straight up to the casket with my sister and stared down at my grandfather. I thought he looked funny. He was skinnier than I had remembered (even at Christmas, he still had a little belly) but it was gone. He had makeup on, from the funeral home mortician, and a suit. I had never seen him in a suit.

Then I did something that my mom told me later that kind of shocked her. I reached out and held his hand and touched his arm and his face. It seemed the right thing to do, but he was cold. The Popi Tony I remember was always warm and smiling and laughing, eyes alive with merriment. Sitting at his kitchen table (which is still in my grandmother’s kitchen; I can’t bring myself to sit at the head of the table where he would always sit) with pants belted around his middle with a plain white undershirt on and slippers. It seemed to be his uniform. Occasionally he’d throw a cardigan on, usually navy blue or green it seemed.

My sister and I didn’t go to the funeral. We were dropped off at my mom’s sister’s place to play with our cousins. Rebecca and Rachel didn’t quite understand what was going on or why were sad. My aunt said something about our grandfather passing and that scared my cousin’s into thinking it was our shared grandfather (who is still alive and kicking, if I might say so). Somehow and at some point, we flew back to California to try and resume our normal lives. I was strange for a while. I didn’t feel like socializing at school and was always looking in the clouds for a sign of him. At night, if I had done something “bad” during the day, I would lie flat on my back with my blanket tucked around me for fear of him coming down from Heaven and smacking my bottom. I had heard stories of my dad getting the belt and I was terrified. I laugh at it now but it was a real fear for me.

I also wondered, and still do, if we had stayed in New York, would he have lived longer? We were his family. My aunt didn’t marry until after he passed so when my family moved to California, it was just the three of them. They say you can die of a broken heart. I know I shouldn’t think like this, but I wonder if he sort of gave up fighting, because we were so far away now. I hope he didn’t. Again, time machines would really come in handy for me sometimes.

I miss him. I miss him so much. I think about him every day and wonder what he would think of our lives. Me, on my own up here, working in San Francisco and having spent a summer in his home country. My sister at school in North Carolina, finding herself in the crazy world of college. My aunt married and raising her son in Brooklyn and my grandmother, still living in the house they shared on Long Island. I wish I could talk to him again, see him again. I’ve nearly forgotten what he sounds like and definitely what he smells like. Next time I’m home, I’m making copies of home videos so I can have them for myself.

RIP Antonio Bifulco April 21, 1932 to February 26, 1996. Ti amo e mi manchivi molto.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2011-02-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

This book has been on my radar for quite some time, but I never had time to read it or see the movie (which I sooo want to do, even after reading the book). Finally I got the chance (thank you, $3 book sale at Borders..you make my life. I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.) and absolutely tore through the book. I could not put it down. Generally I try to keep my book reading to the train because I want to make them last as long as possible. Not with this one. I couldn’t put it down. I would read on the morning ride, the evening ride AND before bed. Which is highly dangerous for me, because I tend to lose track of time and before I know it, it’s much later than I wanted it to be. Anyways, I LOVED this book. Elizabeth Gilbert, your writing is magical. I truly felt like I was there. My favorite part of the book (because I’m biased) was her story about her time in Rome. I felt like I was there with her and since I’ve been there before I could picture somewhat the places she was talking about. I only wished that she had talked more about her trip to Florence (I swear I miss that beautiful city more and more each passing day).

The fact that this all took place after she had gone through the worst part of her life was incredible. When she talked about her divorce and depression, I felt, again, that I was there with her and I just wanted to reach out to her after I had finished reading and see if she was ok. Which is completely silly because she is perfectly fine now and happily married to the love she found at the end of the book. That was another thing I loved about this book. It’s a real story. It wasn’t a made up novel. I am really beginning to like biographies. I used to think of them as dry and boring but if they’re written in the right tone and it’s a good story, I can just eat it up (no pun intended).

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, men and women included. She is a fantastic writer and I plan on finding all of her other books and reading them as well. She even has a quasi-sequel to Eat, Pray, Love that is about marriage and her journey to her current marriage.

Stones into Schools

2011-02-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

   So per my previous post, here is my so-called "review" of the second book I read. It's a book that a year ago I probably would not have read. Stones into Schools is the follow up book to Three Cups of Tea, the biography of American climber Greg Mortensen. I had heard of Three Cups of Tea because it was gaining so much notoriety and being read by friends and family (my sister had to read it her junior year of high school) and then was assigned to read it for my anthropology class last fall. I loved the book. We only had to read up to a certain point, but I devoured the entire thing. I would say it was more pleasure reading than assignment reading. Mortensen’s story is truly amazing. If you haven’t read the book, you need to. In fact, if you’re at a certain level in the U.S. Military, you have to read it. But I digress. The first book is written in third person, as Mortensen had help writing it. “Stones” is written in the first person and it is clear that Mortensen was the lead writer on this one. And it is wonderful. He really makes you feel like you are zipping round Pakistan and Afghanistan with him, and spending torturous months back in the U.S. after the 2005 devastating Pakistan earthquake. He writes it with an ease that makes you not believe him when he swears that public speaking and writing are not his areas of expertise. I was transported to a different world, a world that I am sad to say I really didn’t know much about. When the Pakistan earthquake occurred, I knew about it on a surface level but really didn’t pay much attention to it. I wish I had.
   What his organization, the Central Asia Institute, has done is truly amazing. Since they started building schools in 1997, and up to the point of this books release, they have built 145 schools focusing on education for girls throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. This feat is absolutely staggering given the attitude towards women in those countries, especially the rural areas. But look at me, I'm getting a little too outside my comfort zone.
   It was an amazing book and I strongly recommend both books to anyone who is looking for a new and interesting read. It really takes you to a different place and that, in my opinion, is the real purpose of books. To transport us to places we can't physically be at that moment.

Books, Books, Books

2011-02-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

Over the last month, I have been able to do something again which I really haven’t had time for over the last four years (even if I did sneak it in, therefore sacrificing study time): read for pleasure. My hour long train ride to and from San Fran daily has given me the time to actually read again. And oh boy am I ever. I’ve read about 4 books over the last 4 weeks. Some heavy, some lighthearted. I went a little crazy at the sale bin at Borders.

Now I’m not going to try to fool myself into thinking I can pose as a book reviewer. I promise you that. But I will be reflecting on what I read and writing about them here. I started this out as one long post but I realized I wouldn’t be able to without producing a massively long and drawn out post. SO, my new plan is that for every book I read, I will write on post about after. I’ll do my best to do this shortly after, or else I’ll have to go back and read that book again. And again. Aaand again.

Here’s a quick one on the first book I read. And it’s quick because this book was a very quick read, but probably the most fun.

The first book I read was a quick read, mainly because it was written in a way that those of my generation can’t seem to get enough of. The name: Twitterature. Yes, you read that correctly. This book is in short, amazing. It is a collection of all the great works of literature, minimized to 40 tweets or less, and each tweet has to be 140 characters or less. So that means I read all the greats in about 5 minutes each. It’s the most entertaining way of figuring out if you want to dive into the unabridged version, which I may very well do, once I’m done reading the 10 other books I bought on the first round. Follow the link here and read about it. http://www.twitterature.us/us/index.htm. It was put together by two freshmen at the University of Chicago. Can you imagine being 19 years old and already having a book published through Penguin Books? Nice!

Feeling Nostalgic

2011-01-24T13:56:00.001-08:00

I get into a mood every once in a while, when I peruse Facebook and look up old high school classmates or community college classmates to see where they are in their lives (ahh the beauty of FB and its non-communicating communication abilities). It gets me thinking about the time in my life when I met them, when it seemed that I was around them every day and couldn’t remember what life was like before meeting them. It was my daily routine. Natural to me to see them and talk to them and to know little details of their lives. Now, it’s me looking at big happenings in their lives because it shows up on the newsfeed. I’ll admit it, I’m a curious Facebooker. I like to look into pictures. It makes me smile and happy to see people I once knew so well doing so well in their lives.

Another component of looking at their lives now and wistfully looking back is to show myself how far I’ve come and what I’ve done over the last few years of my life. I know I’ve talked about this before, but I still can’t believe how much life has changed over the last 5 years. Five years ago, I was embarking on my last semester of high school. Oh my goodness. Now that feels like forever ago. That’s right, my five year reunion is technically this June. Do we need one? Hell no. Our generation is different from our parents in that if you have the tiniest desire to keep slightly in touch with high school classmates, you can, as I mentioned before. If our parents lost touch of a classmate, well then it’d take a miracle to find them again. Or Facebook if they’re tech savvy, which most of them are. My dad got on Facebook and promptly was found by at least 20 old high school classmates. I wish I could have been a fly on a wall in his high school days, and my moms. Just to see what they were like. If I was anything like them. I think I was like my mom. Bookish and sweet. Not too many friends and not part of the in crowd but not a total wall flower either.

Anyways I’m getting off track. I tend to do that with these posts. As I was saying, I’m nostalgic. High school nostalgic, community college nostalgic and even a little SJSU nostalgic. That part of my life was so recent and ended even more recent that I really haven’t had a chance to get nostalgic. Although this past summer definitely lends itself to that. I think it’s because the people I surrounded myself with over the summer are so far flung from me now. I Skyped this morning, while getting ready for work, with a friend in England, who is coming back to the states in two days to stay with his girlfriend, another friend we hung out with over summer. Another girl wrote on my wall saying she missed me. That’s what got me thinking. So thank you Kimmy & you’re beautiful too J. Then I started looking at old high school classmates. And most of my high school classmates were also my junior high and elementary school classmates. How strange that I don’t talk to really any of them. I see that a lot of them still do see each other often and it makes me wonder what life would be like if I had too.

Oh well. Here’s to being nostalgic J.

Life Changes In A Flash

2011-01-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

12:30 p.m.

This time last week, I was walking out of an interview, with an internship offer floating in my mind, and my voice gleefully yelling into the phone, “MOM! I got an offer!!” More gleeful yelling commenced, as my mom was at work on her lunch break and all of her coworkers could hear and as they had been hoping I would get something soon, they cheered as well. It was a happy moment, mixed with the fear that I was going to get a ticket in San Francisco for leaving my car a minute too long in its street parking stall. Don’t worry I made it back to the car on time and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and then screamed with happiness. Hey, I’m in SF, people do stranger things every day.

Now, I am on my lunch break on my third day of aforementioned internship. I.Love.It. Looooove it. The staff meeting on Monday completely opened my eyes and ears and I knew right then that this was going to be a good fit for me and a great opportunity. I am at an agency who deals with multiple clients and in the staff meeting, we went through all of them, providing updates and ideas for ongoing projects. The ease at which ideas flew around the room and the conversational tone of it all made me smile and think “oh yeah, I know this is where I’m supposed to be.” I think the words “I am with my people!” came to mind. I was busy that day, and yesterday and today. Busy little bee. Thank goodness, because two weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch at home running through a huge list of PR firms in the Bay Area and sending out resume after resume. That’s what I mean about life changes in a flash. It literally did. I got the offer on Wednesday and started the next Monday. That quick. In fact, Monday marked exactly one month since I graduated from SJSU.

I know that I am lucky to have found something so fast. I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real and then stick it in my head to work my booty off to make sure that I deserve the luck that life has given me. At PR day, two months ago, our keynote speaker talked about how most of finding a job was luck. Yes, skills and connections helped, but timing…timing is everything. The luck of timing has been on my side for a long time. It started with getting into SJSU. I had already enrolled in a different school but unfortunately that school, which I steadfastly believed to be my dream school was about $30,000 above my budget. Per year. Yikes. So instead I took a semester off, worked two jobs and applied to CSU’s. SJSU was my top choice and I got in. I transferred mid-year and this is where timing was on my side. It was far easier to get in mid-year as a transfer than in the fall, first of all. Second, the following spring semester (Spring ’10) was shut down for any transfers. At all. My class was the last class to get in mid-year and to avoid the difficulty of everything being impacted. Whew. And now, timing is on my side. The market has absolutely been horrible for finding a job, but now it’s looking up and companies and agencies are hiring again. They want to hire the lowest billable possible but they’re hiring. Which gives hope my fellow graduates and me.

So two years ago, I was just starting at SJSU, fresh-faced and alone in a new, strange city. A year ago, I was on the board for PRSSA, forging friendships and professional connections and continuing to find myself. Now, I’m a college grad and an intern at an amazing agency in a gorgeous city. Life changes in a flash.

Graduation

2010-12-17T00:43:00.003-08:00

I’m graduating from college tomorrow. I.Am.Graduating.From.College.Tomorrow. How incredibly strange is that? Very strange, at least for me. For the last 17 years of my life, I have been in school. I knew that in August/September I would be back in the classroom through until May/June. Summer’s were a time of fun and when I got older a summer of work. This past summer was a summer of fun. The next summer is going to be a summer of work, and the summer after that and after that. I am about to enter the adult world. Am I ready? I sure as hell hope so. As of the moment, I am waiting to hear back from an amazing company about possibly one of the greatest entry level positions created for PR graduates. I want it so bad. I love the company and even though it’s in an area (tech) that I’m not too familiar with, I always welcome a new challenge.
The last few years at SJSU have been amazing. I have grown so much, met so many amazing people and have been a part of things that I could have only been a part of here. That’s the beauty in going somewhere new. You get a chance to experience something that might never happen again. I came here not knowing a soul and I finish my college career with countless friends and memories. My involvement with school and our PR department has definitely shaped who I am now and who I will become professionally. The friendships I’ve created, the conversations we’ve had and the things we’ve worked on will remain with me forever.
I remember my first day here like it was yesterday. I didn’t know any of my roommates in the on-campus apartment and I had never lived with roommates before. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous. Mom, Dad and I drove up in two cars (because I have more things than I should...and since then I’ve accumulated more). We stayed at the hotel the first night and then headed to campus. My first impression of my new living space was whoa this is tiny. And still pretty cool. My one roommate was really nice and had thankfully traded numbers with me ahead of time. My first night was a little rough. I admit I cried. I was scared, in a new place and knew no one. Well, one person but she hadn’t moved in and we had only met once. After that first night, I was fine. I met up with Anna and we explored our new home. And then classes began, and I fell into my routine. I loved it.
Since then, I’ve lived in two other places with a bunch of people. Two others in the apartment, 20 others in a sorority house that offered amazingly low rent for the summer even if you weren’t a member (which I am not) and now in a house that i have lived in with 4 other people. Oh and I can’t forget this summer with my two roommates in Italy. Oh what a life I’ve led the last few years.
Ok I am rambling, but mainly because I sat down to write this with no plan whatsoever. I just wanted to get feeling out. In a conversation the other day with my friend Nick about our upcoming graduation, I warned him I might...no definitely will cry. And he said “Good. I wouldn’t want you to hold back anything.” I am SO thankful for my friends here (and yes, I am aware that I’ve said this several times over) but really I couldn’t have made it without them. And now we’re on to the next chapter in our lives. Full speed ahead.

A little update on my life...

2010-10-21T13:57:00.001-07:00

It’s been so long since I wrote on here. I really meant to diligently keep it up but 9 weeks into the semester, here I am, scrambling to gather my thoughts to get something down. Life is different, as it always is day to day, but especially from the summer. When I returned, I told myself that I wouldn’t let myself fall back into my old familiar habits, that I would get out more and live a little more than I had. Sadly, I haven’t. And I’m ok with that. I’ve come to realize that the person I was over the summer was a special edition of myself. I am not that person normally, although I have taken a few things from her and kept them around. I had fun this summer, there is absolutely no doubt about that. I did things I never would have done and met people who I hope to keep in touch with for years to come. I have a familiar place now in a foreign land that I can go back to with fond memories. It all feels like a dream. A really good, crazy, fun dream. I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind me that it actually happened. And when I look through pictures I smile and think ‘my god what was I thinking??’. I was totally carefree and I deserved it. It is the one time in my entire 22 years that I have fully let myself be free and have fun and act my own age. I’m a workaholic and always have been. I get bored if I don’t have enough on my plate. And my opinion of ‘enough’ is a lot of people’s idea of ‘way too much’.
So school is majorly underway and we are now, as I stated above, in the 9th week of the semester and it’s a Thursday, which means that this week is nearly over. I have to say that this is by far the busiest semester I have had, as far as a study schedule goes and even at that, I’m not doing as much studying I should be doing. I am mainly done with all of my classes for my major, save my final senior Campaign Management class, which is not as intensive as I thought it would be. But that makes room for the two history classes, one communications class and one anthropology class that I AM taking. Whew I’m getting my butt kicked. I’m almost glad I didn’t find an internship for the semester. I shudder to think how much sleep deprived I would be. And I don’t do well without my sleep. I’m a happy person but if I don’t sleep well, I start faking that smile and slowly get more and more stressed.
Anyways, per usual, I am getting off track and beginning to ramble. So what HAVE I been up to since I got back? Well, work, school, sleep. That is my life. I am working as much as I possibly can at Outback and working as hard (well not quite as hard) as I can to find a job for post grad, because, news flash, I graduate in less than 2 months. That’s right, ladies and gents. This girl is entering the working world very, very soon. Trying to save money (it’s harder than it sounds) and trying to get as good of grades as I can manage. I know it’s my last semester and most jobs don’t ask how you did in a class not pertaining to your career but I do want to finish on a good note. My classes this semester are very mentally challenging but it’s a good challenge. I’m reminded once again that if there were more that one could do with a history degree, besides teach, I would have been a History major and oh my life would have been so different. Probably still would have gone to Florence but under much different circumstances.
Another curious thing about my life right now is that I am finally starting to see the place that I live, and have lived for the last year, as ‘home.’ I have roommates who I get along with and enjoy spending time with, I have a routine and do things around the house. I feel like I’m actually growing up and becoming that young adult I have always heard about and imagined what life would be like to live like them. Well, I am. I’m not completely independent just yet, but that time is fast approaching. And I’m nearly ready for it. As I still have no idea where I’ll end up in the early months of the new year, I am hesitant to become completely comfortable. I’m excited for what is to come.
So, there is my little update. I am actually getting out tonight and going to a Tweetup networking social (a little more on that in a later post) with a friend. It will be good to get out. Until next time, ciao miei amice.

Italy, I'll be back soon..ish

2010-08-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

When I woke up this morning in San Giuseppe, I could not find a reason why I should leave. Well there were the obvious reasons, like school, family, work, etc. So instead I started looking for reasons why I should never go this long between visits again (last time I saw my family was April 2005). Later in the morning, when I was waiting for my ride (my cousin...sleepy head) I was talking to Z E and Z A, who are my Popi Tony's sisters (they always refer to him as Zi Antoino or my Nonno Antonio). Z E said that Popi visited every year, without fail, in May. I decided then and there that I would definitely be back in 2 years, even if no one is getting married. Somehow I will. If you book international flights enough in advance, you can find really good deals and lets face it, I don't really need to spend much besides the plane ticket when I visit the family. So, for now, I will return to Italy in May, like my grandfather, but every 2 years. Later, when my income is higher, every year. Family means too much to me not to. And in that train of thought, I am going to make more of an effort to see more of my family stateside. We're spread across the country, but that's no excuse. There really is no valid excuse to NOT see family. Because at the beginning and end of it all, family means the most.
Another big reason for going back to Italy so often is my grandpa's sisters. Out of the original 7 Bifulco siblings, only Zia E and A remain in Italy and Zi Mario lives in Sao Paolo, Brazil (I really need to get down to see him too). ZE is 84 years old and losing her hearing. That being said, the hearing loss is the only sign of her slowing down, but I'm not taking any chances. ZA is younger by about 10 years but still. She nearly broke my heart this morning when saying goodbye. She always cries right as we're leaving. It's not a big, soppy cry (as I've been known to do in the past). It's a glisten in the eye, sort of defiant cry. She sets her jaw and gets this look on her face that says to you "I don't want to cry but I just can't bear to see you go." On this trip, I learned that when my grandfather died in '96, the whole family went into mourning. Everyone closed their stores and didn't go to work. He meant so much to them. Giusy has just as much memories of him as I do. And looking through photo albums, I notice that he's very present.
There is a photo that I really want. It's from Giusy's parent's wedding 28 years ago and it's of all 7 siblings. It had to be shortly before Zi Giovanni and Zia Rosa passed away (they were the 2 oldest) It very may well have been one of the last times they were all together. From the sound of stories, Zi Giovanni and Zi Mario didn't go home nearly as much as Popi did. I didn't have time to go and find a quality print shop to get a copy made, so I will either ask Giusy or do it myself next visit. I want it framed and put in my parents house.

Instant Time Travel Needs to Happen..NOW

2010-08-13T02:51:00.000-07:00

I have a large family, that much is evident if you've been keeping up with these posts. And it's a very wide spread family. Spread across the States and across the world. Instant time travel would make life a lot easier. My family here has been so so amazing, it's going to stink tomorrow morning when I leave. They love us unconditionally even though we see them only once every few years. Every house I have been in has had mine or my sister's or my family's picture on display (one that we sent them at some point in time). My Zia Eleanor has a shelf in her sitting room with just pictures of my family. One is a shot that I didn't even know about. It's a different version of a picture hanging in my house. It was taken when I was around 5, nearly 6 years old because my sister was old enough to not look like a baby anymore. It's my whole family. Mom, dad, aunt, grandma, grandpa, sister and me. The one hanging in my house is a serious looking one with all of us displaying closed mouth smiles. The one in my zia's house has us all displaying huge grins. There's little me, clinging to my grandpa's arm, both of us with identical big grins. There is no doubt that I am my father's daughter and my grandfather's granddaughter. I look like him, with my mom's features as well. Being here has allowed me to hear so many stories about my grandpa, most of them involving how much he would eat when he was here (my family thinks I don't eat enough...fact is I just can't eat as much as my dad does haha). I'm not sure why we didn't keep the smiling picture for ourselves but I'm glad I saw it. I was beginning to forget what his smile looked like.
Anyways, the fact of the matter is that I love this crazy family and it just stinks that they are so, so far away from me. Since instant time travel is probably a few centuries off, I'm just going to have to either work a lot to be able to come here more often or find a job that pays very very nicely so I can still come here more often. Once every 4 years is just not going to cut it. I nearly cried last night when I had to say bye to my cousin Giusy and I will surely cry tonight when I say goodbye to Gianfranco and Antonella. I hate goodbyes. I know they're really only see you laters but when later is a few years off...it really hurts. Thank goodness for modern technology and more importantly, Facebook. It really has helped me keep in touch with my cousins here. And now that I have a better grasp on the language, it may seem like we're not even apart. Hopefully, I can come back soon. The problem is, the more I come here and the longer I stay, the more I miss them. It's a conundrum that will never be fixed. Oh well. So to all my family... I love you.

Driving in Southern Italy...

2010-08-12T05:17:00.003-07:00

In Florence, there wasn't much riding in cars going on. There was the occasional taxi ride when I was too far away from my house at a late hour to walk home (just wasn't safe..only happened a few times) or the ride in the car with my boss (which was scary...she was constantly on the phone and driving stick on the autostrade at the same time..eek). In San Giuseppe, I'm constantly getting in the car and going somewhere, and this has allowed me to become very observant on the driving habits of Italians down here. It's chaos. Slightly controlled chaos. Scary, ridiculous, nerve wracking chaos! I have been in the car with 7 different people in the last 2 weeks and there is similarity in their driving styles....you have to be quick. You have to anticipate someone cutting you off at all times. You really really have to have your eyes and ears wide open. Even if I knew how to drive stick (most drive stick around here...automatic is very rare) I wouldn't feel comfortable driving around here. I don't know how my dad does it. He drives auto at home but knows stick and the streets well enough to drive around here. Scary.
A big part of driving here is the horn. Good lord they use the horn a ton. It's how you let anyone who might possibly be coming up a street towards you that you're coming. Stop signs do exist but their presence is minimal and largely ignored. They took the California Roll and improved it to the Italian tap-of-the-breaks to slightly slow down just in case someone is coming. You use your horn more than you use your turning signal. And then there's the tapping of the horn to say hi to someone, which is just as frequent as tapping the horn to warn someone. Just now I went with my cousin Lina on a hunt for a gift for her boyfriend. We had tapped the horn about 5 times before we were off our street because you just have to say hi to everyone. Sometimes, you even stop to stay hello. I've been in a car trapped becuase two cars going opposite directions had stopped and the drivers were happily chatting away until all the honking and yelling has them saying "just come over later for some food and talk!!" or something to that extent.
The roads only add to the chaos of driving. They are largely unpaved in town and are therefore VERY bumpy and winding and there are switchbacks everywhere you go accompanied by hairpin turns. Scary as ever. My neck is actually sore from all the jostling I've experienced in the car. I can't wait to get back to the US where all roads that I go on are completely paved and smooth. Also, while lines for lanes exist, they are worn out and completely ignored. You can have a highway road that is meant to be 3 lanes become 5 lanes becuase people like to weave so much. Then there are the coastal roads, which are very very similar to the Pacific Coast Highway going through Big Sur. I'm not kidding. After driving around here, anyone could do that drive with ease. There are gorgeous views and if you're a passenger, it might be wise to keep your eyes on the ocean seeing as it's not moving. The driver on the other hand better pay 100% attention or there's most likely to be an accident. Becuase during the summer, it's not just cars and motorinos on the road: there's also big tour buses with tourists coming down to the coast for a looksie. I know because I was in one in late June. Oh that was scary. A big passenger bus winding along those roads. I like to think that a bit of Harry Potter-ish magic does exist here...in the damn cars. There is no other possible explanation to how no one crashes besides the explanation that all cars have the ability of the Knight Bus. It has to be that. Driving like this in the States would get you killed immediately.
In the States, men joke a lot that the worst drivers are women. Here not so much. I have noticed differences in drivers but that's based on personality and experience. Gianfranco drives with ease and on an open road likes to go all out and speed. He always has his thumb on the horn just in case and just seems completely calm. Antonella drives carefully but with a purpose. She's not shy about going but also isn't a crazy one. Francesco is a typical 21 year old male driver. He drives a little fast, turns a little sharp, uses his horn frequently, all the while grabbing his phone and talking to people. Michele would probably rather be on his motorcycle but he doesn't very much because he says it doesn't have a security system, so he's in the car. He's a good mix of Gianfranco and Francesco's driving styles. Always plays music. Enzo is a careful driver like Gianfranco but has to play referee with his two little girls in the back. That was a fun drive. They don't have car seats or really wear seatbelts here, so the little ones can be standing up and jumping around. Makes my nerves raw. Ooof. Giusy drives like Francesco but a little crazier. She's got a sweet little car that she likes to go fast in on the autostrade. But again never put us in danger. Lina is the most careful but I think that's only because she just recently got her license (March I think...she's 19 but the driving age around here is 18). She still stalls once in a while and shifts tentatively but knows how to use that horn. Oh and Angelo on his motorino is a different story but he's careful with me or with Anna because Anna is young and well I'm just not used to it. Uses the horn a lot and likes to go fast on straightaways. I like the motorinos. Makes me feel free =).
So there you have it. Driving in the States is NOTHING compared to here. And I can't wait to get back to the sane driving of the States. And a neck massage please.

Another day =)

2010-08-12T05:17:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY got a ride on my cousin's motorino yesterday. And yes that IS what I was most excited about. I love that bike. I love motorcycles. Don't ask me about the different makes or models, just ask me about the feel of being on one. Now I know that a motorino is probably nothing compared to a full motorcycle but sheesh the feeling has got to be the same. Or close to it.
Anyways yesterday was a full one =). Thank goodness for my timing because as soon as I was out of the shower, Lina and her grandma, my Zia Anna, were in the backyard calling for me. That's what they do...someone comes over and lets them in the gate with their key (everyone has them to my place since they all check up on it once in a while) then they stand in the backyard and call for me. It's hilarious. And of course I have to race to open one of the heavy security doors and say "i'll be down in 20 minutes!! wait!!" So I went with Lina to one of her friend's houses and listened to them chatter away and answered the few questions that came my way. I just liked to watch them talk. I know that sounds funny but sometimes they speak faster than their lips move. And they speak San Giuseppese, which is a dialect of Napoletan which is a dialect of Italian. It's any wonder how I'm learning the language properly here haha.
After we were there for a bit, went back to the family street (I'm just going to go with that since 5 out of the 7 siblings of my grandpa's family all have houses on the same street) and I went to Eleanor's for lunch again. After, Giusy and I went to the mall in Nola, which is a thing of beauty because it doesn't even LOOK like a mall....it looks like a giant hill with windows way at the bottom. It was built to look like that and has solar panels scattered amongst the shrubbery that covers it. We took her "neice" (boyfriend's niece who is 16 because his sister married young and he was way after the sisters) and we had a girls' afternoon out. I'm pretty sure I introduced Giusy to H&M and she loved it. Somehow narrowed the 8 things in her hand to buy down to 2. I don't know how that happened.
After I went and relaxed at home for a bit and tried to sleep because I knew I was going out with Michele and his friends and I had a funny feeling that it would be a late night. Nothing crazy, just sitting on a beach near Sorrento and eating pizza with a crowd of people. His friends are hilarious and I swear I think most of them have never met anyone from the States before because they were so curious about everything. Had me teach them a few English words and had a good laugh of trying to teach me some slang. I still have no idea what the words I was saying mean because they really couldn't explain it. Hilarious night but man was I happy to get to bed. And good thing too because today has proven to be a very very busy day as well. Read on =).

A fantastic 24 hours

2010-08-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Today has been my longest day here by far! Oh my gosh so much has happened in the last like 24 hours. Started out yesterday afternoon when Dana and I got dropped off at our hotel in Naples since her train left so damn early this morning. We checked in, put our stuff down and set out to explore. Got a taxi over to the Galleria (picture a mall in the shape of the Duomo....high glass dome included). Wandered through there for a bit then down one of the main streets with all the shops. Seems like everyone in Naples was on this street. Just people everywhere. The sales are coming to an end here in Italy and the stores were in chaos. We went into one store and an entire wall was blank..absolute madness.
Once we were tired of walking around (we really didn't want to venture far out of the area that we knew...it is Naples) we found a restaurant to sit and have a nice dinner at. We sat and talked for around an hour and a half, just the two of us. It was so nice. I love my family but I did want some alone time with my best friend. Haven't seen her in a year after all. Also, we got a bit tipsy. Shared a liter of prosecco and we finished it to the last drop. Delicious. Also I had her finally try limoncello. I don't think she liked it so much. Got a taxi back to the hotel and finally crashed. Set my alarm on my phone purposefully for 6:15 am because her train was at 6:50 am.
And before I knew it Dana was waking me up at 6:42 am. Luckily she didn't need to put anything away besides pj's and we both made a mad dash for the station which was (thank god) luckily just across the street. Made her train on time and got a hug goodbye in. But oof that was really close. Scared the crap out of both of us that she would miss her train which would mean she might miss her flight. BUT all is good. She is now on a plane across the Atlantic back to Toronto and I am back in San Giuseppe...and well fed once again.
Gianfranco picked me up from the hotel at 9 and went back to their house to get ready for church. Between this Sunday and last Sunday, I've observed that Sunday after church is family shopping time. The whole family will go out and go clothes shopping and talk with friends. The whole town is out on Sundays, totally unlike Florence, which was quite dead on Sundays. Shops were closed and everyone was sleeping in. It was fun. Then as soon as we got back to the house I had to run next door for a marathon meal with my dad's cousin Angelo's family. Angelo is the dad of my cousin Michele, who took Dana and I to Sorrento on Thursday. The families are all finally beginning to make sense and I'm slowly remembering who the heck everyone is. I have a HUGE family here.
The last time I was here I made a family tree of nearly the entire family, or as much as my dad and all his cousins that I talked to could remember. It was a really fun lunch. Just Angelo's family at first then Susy and her brother, his girlfriend and their mom came over and then it was a LOT of fast paced Italian and more food going on the table (dessert of course) and me feeling a liiiittle lost and tired. But it was also a family that I really didn't know prior to this trip so it was something that was wonderful.
So now I am back in my parent's place, resting up. Michele invited me out again with his friends to go down to Salerno but first I am going to Skype with my parents. Haven't done that in a few days and my mom even sent me a FB message asking for some sort of contact =). More cousins got in today (they were at the beach on vacation) and tomorrow a cousin from Brazil arrives that I've never met so that should be fun. I think she speaks some Italian other than her native Portuguese soooo it shall be interesting. Gotta love my international family <3 =).

Simply put, mia famiglia is amazing

2010-08-08T10:59:00.006-07:00

This week has been SO much fun. Dana got here Monday and we had dinner with Zia Eleanora and her family (Giusy, Angelo, etc.) Tuesday we went over there again and had lunch and just chilled out the rest of the day. Went with Antonella to get dinner supplies and hang out with Anna. I got to Skype with my mom and had a good conversation filling her in on what the week has been like up to that point. I can tell how much my mom misses our family here. It's not her family by blood but she loves them all just the same. Gianfranco and my dad lovingly call each other brothers (and if you were none the wiser you would think that was a true fact..not just that they are cousins who look extremely alike), and Antonella and my mom are equally as close now. Anna came in the room and just lit up when she saw my mom.
So we had dinner over there and just hung out. Wednesday was lunch again with Eleanora and then over to Antonella's to babysit Anna for the afternoon so both Gianfranco and Antonella could go to work and Imma could have a break. It was fun. She's a VERY active 7 year old and demands a lot of attention. We played about 4 different board games. Never play Uno against her...she makes up her own rules and doesn't listen to you, besides the fact that we barely speak the same langauge sometimes. It was interesting. Later that night, Dana and I went out to dinner with Giusy and my other cousin Susy to Giusy's cousin's restaurant. My parents went there with Giusy's parents when they were here in April so it was nice to talk to Jacapo and know that he knew my parents.
Thursday was another relaxing day with a late wake up and lunch again with Zia Eleanora (my other great-aunt is at the beach with one of her daughters until Monday...). Zia E asks me everyday if I am going to her house for lunch, but it's more of telling me that I'm eating there. And Giusy and Angelo are always happy to see us. They were sad when Dana said she was only staying one week. The best thing about my family is their absolute sincerity and generostiy. I have the best family in the world. Thursday night, my cousin Michele (don't ask how he's my cousin because frankly I can't remember but he is) took Dana and me and his girlfriend down to Sorrento just to walk around the center and got us gelato. I was so happy to be back in Sorrento. We walked the English Inn and part of me wished that it was a weekend so I would have a chance to run into one of the Florence For Fun people with the group for the weekend. And just like last time I was in Sorrento at night, it started raining just as we were going to the car. It was such a nice night and I got to know another cousin. It's so strange now that I'm older and here. And on my own for the first time with the family. I wish I could return the favor to all of them, but most of my family will never make it out to California or New York.
Friday morning, Dana and I got up early and Gianfranco drove us to Pompei. Originally, we were going to go through the ruins but the morning was hot so we decided against it. Dana wanted to see them but she said she could do without and I have all my pictures from last time. So instead we walked through the streets and went into shops, sat on the grass and talked and had a nice long lunch. A day just the two of us. Such a difference from the last time we spent together, which was in the craziness of the Senior Games last summer. Both of us have been through so much in the last year. Today marks a year from the halfway point of the games. We were both exhausted. Oi vey. When we got back, we went and took a nap (we were so tired..well I was at least. not sure why) and then got ready for the night. My cousin Enzo and his wife Lina, who I met 6 years ago when they were at my parents place as a stop on their honeymoon, took us out for a drive along the coast and a walk around Naples, which is just so pretty then a late night dinner at a restaurant here in San Giuseppe. The restaurants here are so different from home. At home, they're out on the highway and in your face. Here, you have to know where you're going or you'll miss it because it's usually tucked back from the road. And they're always so pretty. It was so much fun.
Well this post is ridiculously long. Going back to Naples now with Dana for her last night in Italy. Just a few more weeks and then I'm back in CA. Weird.

Simply put, my famiglia is amazing

2010-08-08T10:59:00.004-07:00

Dana the Canadian Comes to Italy and the Crazies =)

2010-08-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

(warning...this was written a full week ago..but is finally up nonetheless)
DANA IS HERE!!! yayayayay! For those of you who don't know, Dana is one of my best friends whom I met last summer when I was working with the Summer National Senior Games. Unfortunately, she lives near Toronto, Canada so I haven't seen her since I dropped her off at the airport on August 17 of last year. And now she's here with me and my family and I'm just so happy =). I went with Gianfranco, Anna and Angelo to the Stazione di Napoli to pick her up because she had flown into Rome. She got a bigger welcoming party than I did! Anna ran right up to her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Took her back to the house and settled in for a bit then went over to Zia Eleanor's house for a late night dinner. She was in a whole different world. And she is meeting everyone I run into, which is a lot of people. And she's almost completely lost on the language, which means that I'm not only translating for myself, but for her as well. She took a few years of French in high school and there's a lot of similar words so she's not completely lost.
So after pizza at Zia Eleanor's, Giusy took us over to the yogurt shop that Maria and Rafael own for some dolci. Then we went home to talk some more and sleep. Woke up at 11 and went over to Eleanor's again for midday lunch. Dana had her first full on Italian meal there and it was quite entertaining. Eating here is so different from anywhere I've ever been. They always begin with the pasta dish, then the meat dish, then fruit and then dessert. So much food in one sitting. And my family just loves her. As does the dog, Milo. The dogs, both Milo and Gennaro (Francesco's English Bulldog) are new to me and it's funny to see my family with pets. Milo is a little Yorkshire Terrier and just so cute. Gennaro is still pretty young but English Bulldogs aren't exactly tiny.
That night, after just vegging around all afternoon (there's not much to do..but that's ok), we met up with Antonella to run errands and go hang at their house. Had late night meal with them and played with Anna. Such a nice relaxing day. I love how generous my family is. I only wish that I can someday return the generosity they are showing me here. I've already told Giusy that when she comes out to California (if ever) she's not allowed to pay for anything, since she won't let me or Dana pay for anything. Ok long post. More on the next one =).

more from San Giuseppe

2010-08-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

When I was up north and would tell people that my family is from the Naples area, they would say "oh yeah you look like it." I never really understood what it meant to look like you were from a certain region of a country. Then I went to church with Gianfranco and Anna on Sunday morning and looked around and went "oh now I get it." It's the eyes. I have very very distinctive Southern Italian looking eyes. It's not the color but the shape and area around the eyes. I look like I could live here. And I look enough like my cousin Anna that one person that saw us out after church asked Gianfranco if I was his wife. hahaha. That was amusing.
Sunday was wonderful. After church and errands, we headed back to the house. As soon as we got there, my Zia Eleanor saw me and beckoned me over to her place. Of course, like always, she immediately put food in front of me. I swear, it's like they think everyone is constantly hungry. But I was since I hadn't eaten since the pizza the night before. So I sat and chatted as best as I could with her. Then another nephew, Santino, came over and then had me go with him to say hello to his family. It was nice to see them and a little funny since his daughters both have a Facebook and we've been keeping in touch that way. It's so much easier with Facebook.
After chatting with them I headed back to A & G's for the midday meal (I can't exactly call it lunch because it's such a huge meal..dinner isn't that big of a deal around here and it's super late). After a delicious meal of real pasta and a huge steak (yeah like I said..big meal) it was relaxing time. Anna doesn't do relaxing so we played around and then popped in a movie. Skyped with my parents and then went back to my place to change and get my computer because we figured out their wireless password. Francesco had invited me out with him and his friends so around 8 I went downstairs to his place (that's my favorite part about my family here…they all live in the same place).
When we finally got all of his friends together (we were in 3 separate cars because there were 12 of us..btw taking cars all the time is SO weird to me still) we finally headed out to the club. It was on the beach in Naples so it took a good 45 minutes to get out there. But it was so cool. The best clubs are the outdoor clubs. They're just so pretty and you never get too hot from dancing because the wind just blows right through. I had so so much fun with them. But I also noticed just how protective my family can be. The whole time Francesco made sure that he knew where I was and any time we were walking through the crowd, he made sure to have a hand either around my waist or on my shoulder. I don't know him very well and have only seen him a handful of times in my life but there's that familial bond. If he was in the states I would be just as protective of him. And everyone else. I wish they would come to the states. Angelo, Giusy's older brother, is the only one to ever come to visit and he did so with a bunch of friends.
We finally got back home around 3:30 and I passed out in Francesco's sister's bed because she's on vacation right now. He wouldn't let me go back to my house and sleep there by myself. But now Dana's here. Aaaand that's a story for a different post!

these posts...

2010-08-01T04:15:00.001-07:00

a little explanation on why there is so many posts all in the span of about 5 minutes...i am without internet at my place but i still write a lot. so when i get internet at a cousin's house i post =). enjoy and read from the bottom up. oh i love this place.

A feeling of belonging =)

2010-08-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

    I feel at home here. Like I belong here. It just seemed so easy. Like I said before I've only been here a handful of times. And one of those times I can't recall myself because I was so young. I was here when I was 9, 11 and 15. It's been 5 years since I was here last. It was for Easter in 2005. That was the year I went to Italy twice; once with the family in April and once with my church in August. That was the only time I've come here and not seen family. Probably will be the last as well. I just can't imagine myself coming to Italy and not at least staying here a week. Anyways, I digress. Those 4 times I've been here packed in so so many memories. I can remember when I was here when I was 9 so clearly. It was the first time me and my cousins had really met and we really didn't understand each other (of course). So we created this sort of hand gesture language that we just understood completely. Oh to be young again. You didn't need to talk. All you needed to do was play. And ride bikes. And my dad's cousins' husband would take me and my sister around on his motorino.
    One night, we had this huge party where my dad made pizza (go figure) and I swear anyone who was remotely related to us (which is a LOT of people…and that number has only grown since then) showed up to eat and drink and talk and dance and oh my gosh the amount of kids running around was incredible. It was just so much fun! Writing about it is making the memory just that more vivid in my mind. It was so much fun. That was the first time we met Antonella, now the wife of my dad's cousin Gianfranco. They had just gotten engaged. The trip we took when I was 11 was for their wedding. It was so beautiful. I can even remember getting ready for it at the house and getting in the rental car and somehow landing at this beautiful outdoor wedding site.
    The trip we took in 2005 when I was 15 was for Easter. We spent a good week and a half here and had one of the most delicious Easter meals I have ever had. Then we did something different: we played tourist and went to Venice for the weekend. Of course we drove and I swear if I never have to drive the autostrada here I will be just dandy. It's a crazy road. It's the highway but the speeds are waaaay higher than those in the U.S.
    I've been here 5 hours and already have spoken more Italian that I have in weeks. Which is good, it's what I expected out of this portion of my trip. The most entertaining part of it is Gianfranco and Antonella's daughter, Anna. She's 7 and oh she's just so damn smart. She already told me that she would be my Italian professor here. And I could teach her some English. She already knows quite a bit. On the way home from the train station, she was playing the soundtrack from Mama Mia and singing along with the English words. I'm not sure that she understood what she was singing but still. It was cute. And she's such a ham. Loves to be the center of attention. And she's just adorable. Can you tell I love her?
    The feeling of being at home was simple. I walked in and sighed. It's just a comforting thought. After everyone left, I made my tea and wrote a bit. Then I unpacked a little and settled in a bit then got ready to go. Walking into the 'backyard' of Gianfranco's building (they all live in the same building…no one ever really leaves home) was so normal. I haven't gone over there in 5 years and I swear I felt like it was something I did everyday. Gianfranco's sister was just getting out of her car and when she saw me she was so happy. Ah I love this crazy family of mine. But this is getting long. And it's my 3rd post in a matter of 12 hours. A liiiitle crazy. Oh well. I need to sleep. It's been a long, good day.

Finally in San Giuseppe

2010-08-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

I'm here. I'm really back in San Giuseppe. Back in the house that my dad and my grandpa built. Back in these familiar walls that are so so familiar even though I've only spent a handful of weeks here over my lifetime. This place means so much to me. More than I even know sometimes. Like right now. I can't believe how overwhelmed I am to be here. To be able to be here. I love it. I just spent 15 minutes looking around everything in it (it's a small place..nothing special). But I do love it. I truly love it. I have such good memories here. Laughter stands out the most. And pictures provide the rest of the memories. This is where I came on my first trip when I was 8 months old. My parents put me on the floor of the plane on top of a blanket and like a good little baby I slept most of the 9 hour flight from New York to Italy. My dad's cousin, her husband and two sons were living here at the time. Gianny is a year older than me and Francesco was a baby. I know this because of the pictures. That's why I LOVE pictures so much. Without them I wouldn't have these memories. There's pictures of Gianny and I in the play pen standing there in just our diapers because it was July/August and it was just too hot to put clothes on children. The adults wished they could dress like us. And there's video. My dad took video. Ooh I want to watch that when I get home. That is my earliest "memory" then. Of course I don't actually remember being here but still. I'm just sad that I never got to come here with my grandfather. It would have been so much fun. But I can feel him here. He built this place and therefore he is this place. I can look into the backyard and see the "garage" he built and see the stone work he put into this place. He was a bricklayer by trade and did beautiful work.
The train ride was fast….exactly why I took the bullet train. Had a little confusion when I got there and realized that I hadn't set up a meeting spot with my dad's cousin, Gianfranco. But we worked it out. His daughter, Anna, ran at me full speed and oh my goodness she was only 2 when I saw her last time. Now she's 7! SEVEN! Oi Vey do I feel old. Got in the car and got to the house. Immediately saw my great-aunt Zia Eleanora and her husband Zio Antonio. Oh I love them. She is one of 3 of my grandpa's 6 siblings that is still living and she's the only one with her spouse still alive with her. They're adorable together. I love them. And her daughter, my dad's cousin Lina came over. Then another great-aunt's granddaughters (there's a lot and you'll hear about them a lot so keep up) Anna and Milena came to say hi. All of this in a span of about ooh 5 or 7 minutes. They all live on the same street. It's not hard to see when someone new has arrived. Bustled me into the house. I had 3 different people talking to me in Italian and well it's going to be an interesting two weeks is all I have to say about that. But I'm here. I'm here I'm here I'm here. And my mommy left some green tea here when she and my dad were here in April and now I am enjoying that before I go greet the rest of my pazzo famiglia (that's crazy family). Love them. <3 being "home"

On the train

2010-08-01T04:10:00.000-07:00

As I write this I'm on the train from Florence to Naples. It's a little strange to think that I'm done with Florence..for now. A friend was asking if I was going to come back up for next weekend and I said no, I'm done. No more so say your goodbyes. The goodbyes were tough but they were in mass quantities so they weren't as bad as I thought they would be. A lot of "I swear I'm going to come visit you!!" We'll see if that happens. In a perfect world, all of us would follow through on our promises to go visit each other. The fact of the matter is, we're all college students and by the time we start earning real money, we probably won't have the luxury of traveling all over. I want to visit everyone I've met here. Which would mean me hop-skipping all over the United States and going to England, India, South Africa, Israel and France. Now that would be a fun trip. Last night was a perfect arrivederci to Florence. Nothing too crazy, just a simple dinner out with a few friends then wandering around for a bit and finally getting everyone together. The end of the night found us sitting at a table at Red Garter with the guys sharing a beer tower, plates of nachos and french fries in front of us. Yep, you read that right. But hey it wasn't my last night in Italy…I'll eat Italian food my last night here. But at that table was everyone I had spent the most time with and it was perfect. I wish a lot more people could have been there but they've all left already. August in Florence is depressing as a student. Everyone's gone home already. Oh well I had fun. Walked home with Ali, Lizi and Yai because Yai left at 4 a.m. Craziness. She's going to Puerto Rico to visit her family for a month then it's back to Georgia for school. Hopefully we'll meet again. I would love to visit Savannah. I've heard it's beautiful. Ali, Jez and Dylan ran (literally ran) to the station right as I was getting on to say goodbye. Ali said "See you in December" and the boys just said I better come back. I love those three. Oh I don't know what I would have done without them. Especially Ali. We started talking like each other about 3 weeks ago. I spent nearly every single day of the last 2 months with Ali and Yai. It's so strange not to be with them right now. It's going to be even more strange to be with my family without my mom, dad and sister. I've never been alone with them. It's going to be fun =). Ok for now I am done with this post. I just had to write something. Will probably update again soon. I'm in travel mode again which means I have too much time to think about things again. Ooh boy. 2 weeks left in Italy, one in New York, a few days at home then it's back to reality. Ahh the life I live =).

San Lorenzo Market

2010-07-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned the San Lorenzo market as one of the places that I would miss the most. Then I realized that I had never really talked about it in previous posts. So here we go. The Mercato Centrale is actually a large building that houses countless food and goods stands inside of it. It has short hours and the smells will murder your nose but it's so cool. Tons and tons of Italian food and delicacies everywhere. My langauge teacher took us there on a "field trip" once to test what we had learned thus far. So much fun. So that's the actual "Mercato Centrale"...outside is the madness. Vendors have set up their stalls all around the Mercato and down side streets so that it feels like this huge outdoor mall with cheap items. It's nuts. And the bargains you can find, oh my goodness. Most of the stands all sell the same thing so you can use that as leverage when you want to strike a deal. And the items they sell are pretty cool too. Countless clothing stores and stands with scarves and ties and all sorts of goodies. Most of the clothing stalls or that sort of thing have actual stores attached to them. Once I was wandering through with some friends and one of the girls got roped into buying a leather jacket. It was gorgeous but it would not have happened if the owner of the store hadn't taken us into his store and showed Chantall how amazing she looked in the tri-mirror. They know how to rope you in and before you know it you're getting a great deal on something you wanted but probably didn't really need.Then again you can get amazing deals on things that you DO need. Let's just say that I am an awesome bargainer and I didn't even realize it. Amazing. I love this place.

Things I'm Going to Miss

2010-07-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

I have been here for 2 months. Two very long, eventful, fun, crazy months. It feels strange to be leaving this place. But I am ready for it. I am ready to go spend some time with my family and with my best friends. And finally ready to go home and get back into the school/work mode and get ready to graduate. I am SO SO ready to graduate. But I digress. I am going to miss this place. I am going to miss:

1. The people. I have met some pretty fantastic people here and formed friendships that I will do everything in my power to continue. You can't just spend 2 months with someone and then not talk to them ever again. We have already talked about reunions even if they're more than a year off. The friends I have made here have been sort of a temporary family for me. I mentioned that in a previous post. We have to treat each other like family. We lean on each other. And I'm going to miss them so much. It's going to be so so strange to not be able to see them every day.

2. Walking EVERYWHERE. Oh I am going to miss this part so much. I'm sure that if I actually lived here long term I would get some form of transportation because I'm sure I would have to go outside the city every once in a while but sheesh it's been so nice not having to worry about a car here. Don't get me wrong I miss my car and driving but ahh you just can't walk around San Jose and Campbell like this. I mean you can in downtown but it's not really as enjoyable as it is here.

3. Seeing the Duomo everyday. And the Piazza della Republica. And every other fantastic monument here. It's just so much of a blessing to be able to call this place home and say "yeah meet me at the Doors of Paradise in an hour, k?" I mean, seriously...that's just awesome.

4. The food. I love the food here, even if my appetite was cut in half when I got here (I don't know why but I'm not complaining). The food is just so so much better here than it is in America. Not processed at all. Just fresh and delicious. I don't think I'll be able to eat pizza in the states ever again. Well I know I will but I'm not going to enjoy it nearly as much.

I'm sure there is a ton more that I am going to miss...I just can't think of anything specific. I am going to miss Florence. As a whole. The people, the food, the views, the nightlife (ooh the nightlife..it's a love/hate feeling there), just everything. Amo Firenze.

A Day in the Chianti region

2010-07-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of my trip here in Florence, we got an itinerary of things we would be doing throughout the weeks. The second to last thing was a trip to Chianti on July 24. On June 1, that sounded so far away. Well it was yesterday and we're almost done here. Finito. This time next week I will be sitting in my kitchen in my family's house down south. Ahh I can see it now =). Anyways, yesterday Emily, Ali, Sarah, Kim and I went with a group to Chianti through FlorenceForFun (the trip was meant for all the girls in the group but some opted not to come...oh well). It was an early morning, meeting at the farmacia in the Santa Maria Novella train station at 7:30. Took an hour long bus ride out and started walking. We were in an adorable little town called Panzano. Our tour guides, Remigio and Stefano, took us on a 2 and a half hour walk/hike through the country side where all the vineyards were, stopping for an hour at a church that had one of the most amazing views. The way the clouds were moving through the bright blue sky and casting shadows along the hills was just beautiful. I wish I could see that everyday. And the church was nice and cool and very pretty.
Finally around noon we got to the House of Sassolini, the family and wine makers that were hosting us for lunch and wine tasting. Delicious meal and great wine. Some not my favorite but hey I'm up for trying anything nowadays. We were just so hungry because we really hadn't eaten breakfast (it was 730 am!! I wasn't getting up any earlier than I needed to) and we had been walking around in the sun. It was a welcome break. The wine's weren't what I was used to and the grappa at the end was certainly not what I was used to. It's 40% alcohol and very very sharp to taste. Oh well have to try it once!
Got back on the bus at 5 and got to Florence around 6. My friend Kim, who was with us for the day, is actually a visiting Global girl from Milan and staying in Florence with her parents so we went back to her place to rest up and get ready for dinner. Her parents took all of us out and it was so so much fun. Ali and I suggested a restaurant that we've been to a few times and it was the perfect dinner. Everyone had a good time. We were tired but it was another friend's birthday so we ventured out after dinner just to say hello and happy birthday for a bit then it was back home to sleep. I woke up at 10 today....ahh the life. Loved it.

The Duomo

2010-07-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

   There are many "duomos" in Italy but the largest one is in Florence and I just have to say...it's huge. And magnificent to look at. Anywhere you are in the city you can almost always look down a side street and get a glimpse of it near the sky. It's amazing. I love it. And last Saturday, I finally climbed it. Yep, climbed it. There are 463 steps leading to the top of the capella and it is a feat that is done by hundreds of people a day. The climb was interesting. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, which really surprised me, as I am recovering from bronchitis right now and Saturday was only day 2 of medication. Of course, once I got to the top, I started coughing like crazy but hey I made it. And omgosh the view almost took my breath away. You can see EVERYTHING. Like everything. It's a 360 degree view of Florence and beyond. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, a nasty incident happened later on Saturday and I no longer have my camera so all the pictures I took aren't available. Buuut I will be "stealing" my friends pictures. So so gorgeous. I will have to come back and do it again with a better camera. And maybe on a not so hot day. We were sweaty. Like normal.
   It was just so surreal to think of how many other people had climbed those steps. The dome was completed in 1434 and has been in use since then. That's nearly 600 years ago. Crazy to think about. And the Cathedral is beautiful. Emily says that it's not as impressive inside as the Duomo in Milan but our Duomo is gorgeous on the outside. The colors are pink, green and white and oh it's just so pretty. And enormous. It's the longest nave of any church in the world. And it has a bell tower next to it as well as a baptistry in front of it. That is where the famous gold "doors of paradise" are. I can't believe this is where I've been living for the last 7 and a half weeks. Yep, that long. Which means that in just a week and a half, I'm leaving. Not for good but for now. Such a strange feeling. I can't really remember life outside of Florence. Well no, I do, but it feels like it's been so so long since I lived that life. I was walking with a friend last night and I said "I haven't driven in over 2 months...what if I forgot?!" Which is silly but seriously....I am not looking forward to having to drive everywhere. And that is for another post.
   The Duomo was gorgeous and the views were magnificent. I am definitely coming back and doing that again. Thank you stairs of Florence for preparing me for that epic climb. I wasn't even sore after =).

We're really growing up

2010-07-17T02:37:00.000-07:00

Last night Ali, Yaires, Emily and I went to see Toy Story 3. It was hands down the best out of all of them and I cried like a baby at the end. Cried. Sat there with tears streaming down my face and making soft little crying noises. Sniffling included. And if you have to ask why I cried, just go see the movie. And if you've seen the movie and still don't understand why I cried...you have no heart haha. Oh I love that movie. I could go and watch it again and again. It was a little more grown up than I thought it would be but hey the movie was about growing up. I grew up with that movie. Those movies. The first one came out in 1995 when I was 7. I'm now 21. Andy is going to college. I'm about to graduate. It was all culminating. Our childhood (at least for my generation) truly is over. Between Toy Story ending and the final Harry Potter movies coming out, childhood really is over. The first Harry Potter came out when I was in 6th grade. Just a little older than Harry was. Now it's done.

Obviously I have been aware that my childhood has been over for many years. But those classics are finished too. They'll live on but not like they did with us. Oh I don't know I've just been feeling so nostalgic lately. This whole year is nostalgic for me. The end of a chapter of my life. My formal schooling is almost done. As of December I'm done. No longer a student, in the school sense. I'm in my 20's now and before you know it these posts will be about what I'm doing at work or (very very far down the road) a family of my own. And yes I will still be posting. Because I have realized that I love writing. If I don't get thoughts down on paper, no matter how rambling they may be, I get a little crazy. Well crazier than usual =). Ok speaking of rambling, I'm doing it again. Toy Story 3. See it. Multiple times. Just go. Loves and Kisses from Florence.

A Feeling of Nervousness

2010-07-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

This is the first summer in a long, long time that I have not had a job. I mean I know I am doing an internship here but it's not as stressful as past summers have been and I am not working a second "job" for income. It's been nice. And for a few weeks I let myself enjoy the freedom of it. But now...well the worry is starting to close in again. I'm starting to get into school mode again (I know I know I have 5 more weeks left why am I letting myself get like this already). I just wish that everything was easier to foresee. I wish I knew that I was going to be able to go back home and find a good paying job and that everything would be ok. It's nerve-wracking. I realized earlier this week that I had to also think about buying books for my classes. Luckily they're not that expensive (thank goodness) and I have one already. And I hope I can get enough hours right when I get back. It's not that I'm looking forward to working again...I just need to. I need to feel like I'm doing something again. I have learned that about myself this summer. As carefree as I act, I really need to always be busy with something. Need to be working on something or my mind gets idle and I start to get bored and impatient. I like doing what I do and I wish I had more to do of it. That is why I'm looking forward to this fall so much. I worked it out so I have 5 classes on two days a week and 3 days a week where I can work work work. Hopefully I can find a place that will allow me to do that. I might even get 2 jobs just so I can be busy. I've done it before. Also I think I'm going to need it. I'm going to miss this place so much that I just need to keep busy and not think about it. Oh my mind is all over the place right now. I'm also slightly sick. Woke up with a nasty runny nose and my cough just won't go away. And this heat. Oooh the heat is not helping. And that sounded a little like complaining. I'm not. Just stating my feelings.
I need a plan. I need to know what I'm doing this fall now. Which is why I've been looking up companies all week and trying to email companies about possible fall internships. No dice so far. It's also the time difference. They probably get thousands of emails a day so when I email them at 3 am their time...well it's down the pile and probably won't be found for days. I am nervous. I don't like being nervous. I'm usually a very confident person who knows exactly where she's going within the next few months. Now I don't. I do have a faint idea but nothing set in stone and that is starting to creep into my brain and bug me. I was chatting with a friend about my summer and he commented that by the time I get to NY I'm just going to want to get to school and get to work. He knows me too well. That is probably true but I will try my hardest not to think about it. That week is with Samantha. And it will be filled with catching up with her while lounging in her pool, going to the beach and going ocean kayaking (now THAT makes me excited). Until then I will try not to let my mind wander into nervousness. I will do what I need to do and then I will let it rest. Yes, that's what I'll do. Ok thanks for reading along with my rambling mind...like I said it's all over the place right now.

Life Here is Temporary

2010-07-14T03:21:00.000-07:00

   It is now the Wednesday of my 7th week in Florence. Seven weeks. How did it get to be that long of a time? And how did the time go so fast? I feel like I've only been here a short time yet been here forever. Two weeks from Saturday I will be getting on a train and heading down south to visit my family. And when I leave, nothing will be the same. Even if I were to come back, the people I've met here (well most of them) will be gone and it will be a different time. I know I've posted in that strand of thought before, about how nothing is ever the same the second time you visit it, but here it is especially true. This city is such a youthful city that a good chunk of its residents rotate in and out around every 4 months. In the summer it's an even faster rotation. Most summer programs are only 6 weeks. I was fortunate enough to have a 9 week program and stay a bit longer. It's a fun and fast time but for those who actually live here, it's bittersweet. Sure they meet a ton of people every few months and gain friendships that allow them to visit but really, when are we all going to get the time to travel the world and visit each other. One would hope that would happen but the reality is that only a handful will. A friend of mine moved here from England with his family 6 years ago and he remarked that this life is just normal to him...making new friends every 4 months or so and then watching them go again. Some do stay longer, sometimes a year, but for everyone that just makes leaving that much harder.
   The friendships that I have made here hopefully will be long lasting. I know of a few that definitely will be. You become like family. You have to because in reality you don't have anyone else to turn to when you need that family feeling comfort. You eat together, you go out together, you talk constantly, you share your daily problems with each other and you take care of each other. It becomes normal to see each other on a daily basis and before you know it you've forgotten what life was like before you met all your new friends. I was chatting with a friend from home yesterday and it struck me that I can't remember how it is to be back home. I feel like I've been here so long. And to be quite honest, I'm a little nervous about going home. I feel like I'm going to wake up in my bed in San Jose one morning and ask myself if this summer really happened or if it was a long fantastic and very real feeling dream. Of course, I know it's real and I know it's happening. This post wouldn't exist otherwise. Going home is going to be so, so bittersweet. I love the people I've met here, but at the same time, I know that this lifestyle is not one to live long term. I don't know how they do it here. I'm getting burnt out already (and yes Mom I did just admit to that...which is why I've been taking naps the last 4 days...that and it's too hot to do anything else). Of course, if I were to actually live here and make a living here, things would be different. Much different. And the next time I come back, I will be older (maybe wiser) and have different interests. I wish that I had saved a little more money to come here so I would be able to travel a little more and really see it, but I know that this is far from the last time I will be visiting Italy. I love this country. It's just so gorgeous.
   So as I said, life here is temporary. The people you meet are here on a once in a lifetime meet and greet. You could meet someone by chance one night only to hear that it's their last/only night here. It's a travelers city, a stop on people's journeys. Which is fantastic. I've met people from all over the States and all over the world. We met a group of people who were traveling from South Africa who said that if we were ever in town to let them know. And with the wonderfulness of Facebook, I could very well do that. And friends from Scotland and England and everywhere else. I have a roommate from Israel that I would have never met otherwise because let's face it, Israel is not on my top 10 list of countries to visit. It's there but only as an if something comes up and it's possible.
   To the people I've met and become friends with, thank you. I love you. The next two and a half weeks are going to be fantastic. To the people I'm going to meet in the next two and a half weeks, thank you as well...you're in for a fun time =).

Project MODA Fashion Show

2010-07-13T03:50:00.000-07:00

So any of you who are friends with me on Facebook have noticed that I do an awful lot of "tagging" in my status updates. It's a cool thing about Facebook and very convenient when I'm trying to get the word out about something, like the Project Moda Fashion Show that the Global Experience interns put on last weekend. It was an experimental show, one that was made to look like Project Runway show, but secretly wasn't. Of course, like I said, this was the first time and well Rome wasn't built in a day. For it being the first time and for being a little bit in disaray for a day or two there, it went fantastically. We had 6 different designers and one vintage accessory designer donate their pieces for the show and 4 of our girls along with a professional modeled the pieces. They were fierce. The stage wasn't very big but we designed a sort of cross the stage/crossing in front of each other walk that turned out looking so so cool. And our hosts were wonderful. Cassandra was our host no matter what and a few days prior, she got her friend Mario to co-host. He was awesome. He's Napoletan so he took over the Italian speaking portion. Plus he's smooth looking. Gotta love that good ol' italian good looking man. I was running around a bit and at one point even helped dress one of the girls just to turn around and run back downstairs to let the DJ know we were good to go. I swear I climbed those stairs at least 20-30 times in like 4 hours. Oof. The show went off without a hitch and one of our teams "won" and then we all enjoyed an Aperitivo and headed out for some fun. I really had a fun night. We needed it. And I looked fantastic (not to toot my own horn or anything). Somehow there was a few spare minutes in there for the hairdresser to put my hair into this crazy up do that I would have NEVER thought of and then Chantall made my eyes look amazing. She's crazy talented...and she loves doing makeup.
So I know that's not a very satisfactory description of the show but there was so much going on and leading up to it that in order to fully explain....well it would take a loooot of writing and probably a day or two of reading. We had fun and I hope that GE continues this experience next year!

E Molto Caldo in Firenze

2010-07-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

One thing to know about traveling in Europe in the summer...it gets HOT. And I'm not talking about the California/Arizona/Utah/all of West Coast dry heat. Not even the East Coast humidity. Take East Coast humidity and dump a steaming bucket of water consistently on it. That's what it feels like. Like you are constantly being misted with warm water that is in no way refreshing. Oi vey. And it never stops. Even when the sun goes down, that constant slick feeling of your skin is there. You fall asleep to it and you wake up in it. Unless you're fortunate enough to have a fan or even AC out here, which is a biiig rarity. Electricity is precious and the buildings are pretty old. Having AC is a big time luxury. However, it's all part of the experience right? It takes some getting used to and the locals who live here treat this weather as if it's a regular 70 and sunny. I see people in pants around here all the time. I want to know their secret to not sweating profusely...maybe I can learn someday haha.
Actually it reminds me of a picture from one of the first times we visited my family down in Southern Italy. It was August (the worst and hottest time ever) and my dad snapped a picture of me and my sister still sleeping. The covers are down, our hair is up in messy ponytails and I believe we're both just in our underwear because it's so hot. And we're in that baby sleeping position with our arms above our heads and our legs kind of spread eagle. I know that sounds so strange but honestly it is pretty much the only comfortable position to sleep in when it's this hot. No covers, no pillows and minimal pjs. Of course we were young then. That sort of picture today can't be talked about haha. But honestly, I don't remember what it's like to feel cold. I know the feeling of a breeze on my face, but it's no where being cold. The AC is barely a relief. It just gets you back to a normal feeling. I know I'll look back on this in oh say November when I'm back in San Jose, freezing cold in my bed and curling up under the covers and wishing I could get warm. Grass is always greener on the other side eh? Ok that's my little rant about the heat. And even though I rant, I do love it here. Just wish it was about 20 degrees (F) cooler. =)

A Slice of Normalcy

2010-07-04T02:20:00.000-07:00

   Last night I got to spend time with the Redmonds, a family from home that my family has known for years. Kelsey is two years younger than me but we all grew up together and it was just so, so nice to see them and spend time with them. Even more so when Jack met me for mass at the Duomo. That was when I felt just SO content. I could close my eyes and just pretend that I was transported back home to Padre Serra sitting in church next to Jack and maybe my mom and my other side. I even had to pull him away from the priest, just like we do at home. All of my parents friends can talk for ages. It was always the same when we were kids. "get out of the pool we're leaving in 10 minutes!!" An hour later and dressed, all the kids are sitting there while the parents are still happily chatting away, maybe with a purse in their arms or something. Never changes. Of course I do that too now. "We're leaving...oh wait let me say bye!"
   So I met up with Jack at the Duomo while Sharon and Kelsey took a nap (shopping in this heat will run you down). After mass, we went out and met them outside the Doors of Paradise (I love that I can call that spot my "meeting spot"...so surreal) and Kelsey and I nearly knocked each over. I haven't seen her in so long. In fact we were talking about how much, or little, I've been home since I moved up north and I think I've been home a total of 6 or so weeks since last January. SO strange. And then Kelsey started at U of A this past year so none of are home now. The parents are all home with empty nests. Anyways, we had a drink outside one of the restaurants near the Duomo, one that I always walk past but don't even think about stopping at because well it's damn expensive. Then we strolled around for a while and did some window shopping before going to dinner at this adorable little restaurant where I tasted the most amazing ravioli ever. It has cheese and pear in the middle. OMG. Unfortunately that wasn't what I had ordered so now I have to somehow go back. Before I leave. I have to haha. And it was just so nice to sit and talk with someone that has known me and I could feel like I was with family again. I miss my family so much, and when I say family, I don't just mean blood relatives. My friends at home are my family. Like I've said before, I have about 20 sets of parents. Sharon and Jack are one of them. We had such a good talk about what I've been doing, what they've been doing and so forth.
   After dinner, I asked if I could have Kelsey come and hang out with some friends of mine. They've been on a two week tour of Italy and well I figured the girl could use some fun night time fun haha. We met up with my usual group and just went to one of the bars we frequent. It seemed like a low key time so Ali and I took her to Red Garter for a little taste of some of the dancing that goes on here. We called it a night early though because they had an early wake up time. But seriously it was just so much fun. It was so cool to be able to somehow connect my two worlds. Because this is seriously a whole different world for me. I have my world in Camarillo, I have my world in San Jose and now I have my world in Florence. I doubt the three will ever really be combined but that would be so cool someday. Maybe at my wedding haha. Which is eons away by the way.
   Seeing someone from home made me appreciate what I have back home. I know I want to travel the world and see as much as I possibly home and I can find comfort in the fact that no matter where I am, I can always go home. I will always have someone to talk to there and "family" to visit. My parents talk about moving somewhere different, but secretly I hope that they never leave there. I know they will (they want to live in Italy for a few years, which is perfectly fine...as long as they go straight back to Camarillo). I love where I grew up and I love the people I grew up with. I know someday we will all be far flung from each other but we'll never truly be away from each other. It's how family works.

What a Difference a Year Makes

2010-07-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

     Being here in Italy has had me reflecting a lot on what my life was like a year ago, specifically my crazy but wonderfully fun internship last summer. It's all so different. I got up every morning and went to an office and worked all day, albeit had fun laughing with my fellow interns but hey we worked hard. The entire summer. Well actually March through August. 6 months long. Driving a car a half hour every day. Wow that's different from now. I haven't driven a car since ohhhh May 28th and well I was in one the other day and it was just so strange to me. I don't know how I'm going to feel about having to drive everywhere. I mean I could walk but San Jose can not hold a walking around candle to Florence. It's just not going to happen. And last summer, I was working towards a specific event. It had a huge purpose and all of us were working towards the same goal. I feel like this is my "float" summer, where, yes I am doing an internship and experiencing a new life, but it doesn't hold the same level of stress as last summer did.
     There was so much more riding on my success in what I did last summer and so much depending on the team I was working with. I kind of miss that crazed "we have to get this done right and get it done NOW" frenzy. Even the 2 weeks of the Senior Games where I was driving to Stanford at 8 am every day and staying til 9 pm because I just wanted to do so much and just didn't want to leave. The days where I left early were so strange to me. I wanted to soak it all in and experience as much as I could of being in that event. This summer, all of my fellow interns from last year are all doing so many different things. Some of us have graduated by now and are working in real jobs, some are doing other internships and yet others are just traveling and having fun, like me. I feel like I've grown immensely in the past year and by the end of this summer, I will yet again have changed or rather tweaked some things. That is what life is...constantly growing and changing. It's a good thing.
    Ook got that off my chest =). I suppose I should get back to work, huh?

Homesickness

2010-07-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

     So I have been here in Florence for over a month now and well to be quite honest I am getting a little homesick. Twice now I've skyped with my mom and made her stay on with me for over an hour just because I miss her and want to hear her voice and see her face. It's different than being at home because in San Jose, I can just call her (which I do...sometimes too much) and hear her voice. They say that hearing someone's voice, such as a parents, is equivalent to getting a hug. And I'm a girl who likes hugs. Just ask anyone =). It's not so much that I miss home (well I do) but more so that I miss seeing familiar faces. I could be anywhere in the world and as long as I had a familiar face with me, I would be fine. Most of the time I am a very independent person. But right now, I just want a good long hug from someone I know and love and just to spend time and talk. Everyone around here is from such different walks of life, and I love it. But sometimes I feel like I just want to jump over to San Jose or Camarillo for a quick minute, see who I want to see, then come right back. They are working on instant transportation, right? (my best friend and I have been dreaming about that for years...imagine how much easier life would be with instant, snap-of-the-fingers transportation would be).
     I think the thing that is getting to me the most is the fact that I feel like I've already been here for so long and I know I have sooo much longer to be here, even if my last two weeks will be spent with family. I am so excited for that. Mainly the food haha. My family makes extremely good food. And a good time is always had with them. It will be strange to be there without my parents and my sister but we all have to do that someday right? It's only July 2 and I don't return to CA til August 20. That is a verrrry long time from now. And once again I'm missing birthdays and such. At least last year, I was still in the same state and time zone. Oh well, such is life and I am truly enjoying living here. It's a crazy lifestyle, one that I'm still getting used to but in due time, right? I am making friends here that I hope will be lifelong friends. Of course, none of us have a crystal ball and no one can say where we will all be in a year's time. Who knows.
    Ok this rant is over. But I have another one up my sleeve (which you already know if you read this from top to bottom like any other normal person reads a blog)

things work differently out here

2010-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

      So another observation post is in order. And this time it's about how Italians do business. I know I haven't seen too much of it, but what I have seen is interesting. And I have been around my family down south to see how it works.... sort of. So first I'll start with my friends. I have become friends with some club promoters and they do business in such a weird way. Well to me it is. They're young and they're here for fun so it's ok, but jeez I don't know how they do it. They hand out flyers for clubs and then get paid according to that. And in order to get paid they have to wait for whoever it was that hired them to meet. And usually that's a local and jeez do Italians take their sweet time. I waited with them once and the person was a good half hour late. That would so not happen in the US and if it did, it would be a one time thing and not happen again. It's just so much more lax out here. And then when the person finally got there it took another 40 minutes for anything to get done because they like to have a cappuccino and then have a smoke and then another shot of espresso. It's nuts to watch.
     Then there's the business that I'm in. I am doing my internship with an event planning company that specializes in weddings, private parties and congresses (big meetings) and the office is very lax. Most days I'm only there 3 hours and then go home. Granted it is their slow season. And again with taking their sweet time. Yesterday my boss brought me and the other intern to a planning meeting for a wedding expo they're participating in in November and we got there at the start time. The meeting didn't actually start til 40 minutes later and it was sporadic at best. Very very strange to me. It would make me crazy to work like this. But of course it's all what you're used to and adaptation is all part of working with different countries. That is, after all, what I am here to do. To get international experience.
      Well that's my piece for today. The weather is getting hotter and therefore making everyone very tired. Ahhh italia =)

The Hidden City

2010-06-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

   So since I've been here around 4 or 5 weeks (I've lost track) I have made some other observations about Florence. I know my last post was supposed to be about my "observations" but something struck me today. Florence is a BIG little city. By that I mean that the actual land size of it is not very large but there is just so, so much packed into it. And it works so well. From the street, all you see are little shops. However, once inside you see that they go on forever and many of the larger stores are multi level. H&M for example (what, a girl's gotta shop) doesn't look like a big store from the front but then it goes back and down. The main floor is below street level. All of them are like that. Take one of the pubs I went to a few weeks ago. From the front, it looks like a rinky-dink pub (and yes I did just use those words in an actual sentence). Then we went inside, up stairs and into this HUGE open upstairs room. It was amazing. It's the outside of the buildings that gets you. You don't realize it but many of them are complete squares so they have a lot of room inside. And the buildings are TALL. Shops are always on the first floor and here and there are scattered doors into the apartments. There are no apartments on first floors. Anywhere. Which is why the "first floor" here is actually the second level of the building. So when I go to my friend's place on the 4th floor...it's really the 5th. Oof. And I wonder why my legs are looking so great. Last time they looked this good was when I was at water polo camp like my sophomore summer and had to climb a staircase of 115 stairs up and down 3 times a day...before and after workout. Whew. And my clothes fit better. And I'm more confident. I love it.
   I feel more free here. Maybe it's the spirit of summer and the little to no responsibility that I have right now. Sure I'm going to be stressed about money when I get back home but I will deal with that when I get home. Although I do have to start sending out my resume soon...I want a better job when I get home. More like need a better job. It's a necessity. Especially if I want to move back here with a sufficient savings account. I know it's a funny thing to say I want to move here after only being here for a few weeks but it really feels good. I love walking around here. And being here. I want to be able to experience it in the winter too. I think it would be just as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer. Of course different styles but... I don't know I just really like the thought of it. And I will. I may not be able to get back here for a year or two but it will happen. And my friends will be here. The group(s) of people that I've been hanging out with are people who repeatedly come back here. Go home and work their butts off for a few months and then move back and live freely.
   So I guess this was more of a two part post. My love for the big little city and why I love it so much. It kind of reminds me of San Jose State (go with me here....) in that it's a BIG place but in a small space. SJSU is crowded but comfortable. It's a set block. Like Florence, which once had city walls (they all did). Of course those walls only remain as the "doors" and it has overflowed but not by much. Sorry I get a little carried away with all the history of this place. It's so freaking fascinating to me. If I did live here, I would be sorely tempted to take an Italian "history of Florence" class. Maybe even in Italian. Probably not though. There are plenty of university satellite campuses here, including NYU =). Oh yes that dream is still alive and well. And since they have a campus here, I could literally have the best of both worlds. And I think I will. Ok well, we're going out for the night....a post will follow on that subject soon. Like I said, I just feel more free when I'm here. =).

Vita in Firenze

2010-06-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

   So I have come to realize that I haven't written a whole bunch on my observations of daily life in Florence. Of course, you can't really characterize everyone's days as the same; this city is just filled with too many diverse people. I can tell you about it from my point of view though. For me, this week so far, life has been a little slower than the first 3 weeks, mainly because I am done with my language class and this past weekend I was in Amalfi and then Monday had literally nothing to do. I ran some errands, found a new friend and acted as tour guide all day. For the last two mornings, I've gotten up, showered and hustled over to the train station to catch bus 17 to my internship. On my first day yesterday, I was here for a total of 2.5 hours. Not too shabby eh? Especially since some of my classmates are already working 9 hour days. In a way, I'm envious. There isn't much for me to do just yet and I'm trying to make the most of it and going above and beyond. My assignment is slightly narrow though. Obviously, since I'm blogging from the office. Thank goodness I got my laptop back. It makes life so much easier.
   What I've observed of daily life around here is simple. The workers of the city get up in the morning and make their way to work, either by car, train, bus or their trusty feet. When I leave around 9:30 in the morning, there are people everywhere. And you can tell who the locals are. They are walking with determination and know how to best use the side streets. The tourists are the ones who look completely lost and are wandering around with a map. I try to help give directions if I can manage it but usually just let them fend for themselves. The best way to learn your way around a city is to get lost in it. That's what I did. I still do =). Oh and breakfast over here is a huge part of the morning routine. It is very rare that an Italian eats breakfast at home. Usually it's a shot of espresso or cappuccino or some other coffee drink and a pastry whilst standing at the bar at the local pasticceria. That's what I did this morning when my bosses got in and said "ok we go to eat!" then around the evening when everyone is off of work, everyone just walks around. It truly is a walking city. I mean yes, there are those who get around by other modes of transportation but the streets are so small and crowded that it's just easier to walk. And if you walk fast and know where you're going, it doesn't take long to get anywhere. I believe I made it home in like 20 minutes last night because I FINALLY figured out the most direct route from one of our favorite hangouts back to my place. Thank goodness too... I was dead tired.
   Ok that wasn't much of an observation buuut it's all I've got. Sheesh I need to sleep more. Yes Mommy you're right.... =)

The Amalfi Coast

2010-06-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of traveling down to the Amalfi Coast with Ali, Yaires, Cassandra and the rest of the Florence For Fun crew. It was SO much fun. We took the bus down to Sorrento Thursday night and got the hotel around 2 in the morning. Got up early the next day to catch the ferry over to the island of Capri, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Seriously. We took a boat tou around the island and took a dip into the Blue Grotto. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to do this, i INSIST that you do. It's not a very long trip in there, takes more time to get there and wait outside than you are inside, but it is seriously one of the most breathtaking sights you will ever see. It's a little cave that is accessible only by a small entrance, and that's only if the ocean isn't too choppy. But once you're inside, it's simply gorgeous. The light from outside reflects off the bottom of the ocean to make it took like the clearest blue you will ever see. Check out my facebook if you want to see. Or google it. It's amazing. It's SO peaceful. You can venture into the water if you want but the coastlines of Capri are infested with Jellyfish. Tons of baby ones everywhere. And they still pack a serious punch. Ahh so beautiful. I envy people who get to live there.

So after we went around the island and Cassandra pointed out all the famous people's villas and palaces (yes, the Gerber family has a palazzo on Capri...I know it's redic), we ventured over to Marina Picola for lunch and lying on the beach. Swam in crystal clear water and got all salty. Seriously, I could have licked the salt off of me. Accidentally did when I put my finger in my mouth. Haha. Such a relaxing day. Got back to the marina and took the ferry back to Sorrento for the night. Had dinner at the Hotel Cavour (where we were staying...such a cute little hotel and the staff there was so nice and so patient with all 71 of us crazy American tourists/students...we were trouble!) and then headed down to the English Inn in downtown Sorrento. I know English Inn?? Buuut Cassandra's been there a million times and they love her there. I love that place. It's my favorite out of all the places I've been as far as pubs. Mainly because it's a pub downstairs and then an outdoor club upstairs. So if you want to dance and have some fun go upstairs. But if you need a break just head back down the stairs and people watch on the street. People watching in Italy is so so entertaining. Mainly because of the variety of people and states of dress. Seriously, sometimes we wonder if some of these people have a mirror in their house. Or they just don't like looking in it because they know how ridiculous they'll look.

So the next morning, we got on the bus again and headed about a half hour away to Positano. Such a relaxing day. Literally layed on the beach all day and had the most delicious lunch with complimentary wine because I ate with Cassandra and Jenn (the two tour guides) and again, they go quite often and always eat at the same place. So nice to know people =). The weather was alternately sunny and hot and overcast and warm, so it was a good day. Went back to the hotel, had dinner and went back to the English Inn. Unfortunately, I got another case of Bronchitis this weekend (found out yesterday and don't worry I am on meds already. thank god) So I really wasn't feeling well. Walked home with Jenn, Cassandra and Brendan. And thank goodness. One of the coolest lightning storms was happening across the bay over Vesuvius and it just lit up the entire sky. Absolutely gorgeous. I loved it. I love thunder and lightning (I'm a little strange what can I say) and then right when we got back to the hotel, it started pouring. Like torrential down pour. LOVED it. haha.

Oh another little note about Sorrento. To get down to the beach from where our bus dropped us off, we had to walk down 801 steps. Yes 801. Thank god we ponied up a little money and got a bus back to the top at the end of the day. That was ridiculous. My legs were jello by the time we got to the bottom. And that's why Italians are so damn thin over here. They have to walk up and down mountains just to do their daily business. Absolutely ridiculous. But the beach felt oh so wonderful after. And even though the water wasn't nearly as clear as on Capri, it was still fantastic. I love the Mediterranean Sea. I could seriously live by it the rest of of my life.

So after enduring the lightning and thunder storm Saturday night, Sunday morning found us bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for Pompei. Took us about an hour and a half to get there and we immediately went into the ruins for a tour. Well Mother Nature must have been having some personal issues because she made it POUR on us the first 5 minutes which were of course uncovered. And most of us were in shorts and tank tops with no umbrellas to speak of. Oh well it felt nice and the sun came back shortly after. Now, I was in Pompei last when I was 9 years old. All I remember are the plaster casts of the people, dogs roaming everywhere and how damn hot it was. The cool weather was not unappreciated by me. I loved it. And now that I am older and was armed with a camera I will remember even more. It's just so crazy to think of how old that place is. The tour guide was spouting off years that were BC, acting like they were just in the late '80s. Nuts. And to think that these buildings, although completely ruined and still not completely excavated, are original just blows my mind. So so much history in this gorgeous country. I find European history so much more fascinating than American history at times, mainly cuz there is sooo much more to learn about.

The tour of Pompei took around an hour and a half then we had about an hour before heading off to wherever we were going next (more on that in a second). Jenn suggested Hotel Suiss to us and thank goodness. I LOVE pizza here. And since we were down there, people were talking to us asking how we liked southern Italy. I mentioned that had family down in San Giusseppe and omgoodness the guy that was helping us got SO excited, that he dragged 3 pour male waiters over to introduce to me during our lunch because they're from there. They were so confused and I couldn't really explain because A) i was stuffing my face with delicious pizza and B) i didn't know quite exactly how to explain haha. But sheesh they were cute. I like Southern Italian men.

So after lunch the original plan was for us to take the bus up to Vesuvius and hike to the crater. Unfortunately that little storm from the night before was still brewing and if we had gotten stuck in the rain up there, it would have quickly turned into a not so fun trip for all of us. So instead we jumped back on the bus and headed home about 3 hours earlier. Thank god because we got back to Florence at 10 pm as it was. By this point, I figured I had Bronchitis again ( I swear I can self diagnose by now...when I get home I'm going to a specialist and telling them to fix me...3 times in a year is a little ridiculous), and I just wanted to get home and sleep.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Met some new friends, some of which I've already run into around Florence. It's always nice to make new friends. We're all here together but when we get back to the States, it's just another friend to visit =).

And Just Like That

2010-06-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

     Another week gone by. This one was crazy busy and saw me go out almost every night of the week, which most of you know that I do NOT normally do. However, Florence makes me feel free and I'm not worried about being home at a certain time or worried about work the next day. I am here for my summer, my last college summer. And I am going to enjoy it to the best of my ability! And oooh we are. Yaires, Ali and I have been basically inseparable since last Thursday and I love it. We all get along so so well and it's not like it's just us three. Well during the day it is but at night we go somewhere together, meet with some people we know and proceed to make about 20 more new friends. It's amazing. Last night I went on my first ever Pub Crawl, organized by some of our awesome British friends. Quite the experience if I may say so myself.
     But I digress. If you're also looking at my Facebook pictures, you will see a lot of pictures from our evening adventures. But I swear I'm also going to class haha. And learning so much, so fast. We learned the past tense this past week and now I know more italian than my dad. Well grammatically speaking. Which is huge and fun =). OH and good news for me. I got my computer fixed and for super cheap (well sort of). I get to pick it up on Monday and then I will be able to resume daily posts of these. It's a very exciting thing.
     Oh and World Cup has begun. It's going to get a little crazy. Italy is defending and tonight USA plays England...which should be fun. More on that later =). Off for now. More later. Later loves

One Week

2010-06-06T02:44:00.000-07:00

     It's been exactly one week since I've ben in Florence and like I said in my last post, I LOVE it here. Seriously. I love the sights, I love the people and I love the people that I'm with. To recap the week, here we go: Monday was the first day of school and wandering through the mercat (biiig street vendor market that goes on forever). Made new friends and was out til 1 because I could (nothing crazy). Tuesday, more school, went to dinner at a darling enoteca right near the Palazzo Pitti (huge castle that the Pittis and the Medicis lived in way back when). Tuesday night had my first ever club experience at a place called Twice. SO much fun. Stayed out til 5 in the morning (and now know that I am so not cut out for that on a regular basis haha). Wednesday: woke up at Jasmines and spent the day wandering in the rain and just relaxing. It was a national holiday so school was closed, along with a lot of other businesses. Thankfully, it's a big city and it's summer so most of the things we wanted to do were still open. But it rained allll day. Thursday, more school. More wandering. Bought a purse (thank you Nani...silly me left my big one at home thinking I'd be ok with a little one) and now I have a genuine leather Italian purse. Had a homecooked meal at Robyn's. Walked home and finally all the walking I've been doing caught up with my poor foot and a nasty blister formed. Friday, wore tennis shoes (real ones) to try to alleviate the damn blister. Walked around so much that it burst (gross I know but it's important lol). Spent the night wandering with Ali and Yaires and made dinner at Ali's. Saturday, finally slept in a little bit and met up with Ali, Yaires, Adrienne, Sara and Chantall for a tour of the city with a tour guide that told us some really fun facts about the mnuments of Florence and why they are the way they are.
     Fun Fact #1: Cosimo Medici's wife was of noble Spanish birth and decided that the palace that the Republic was housed in and where they were living was "too small" (it's monstrous) so she bought the Palazzo Pitti across the river with her own money. Plus it has it's own gardens.
     Fun Fact #2: Cosimo built the Uffizzi for offices for his cabinet after taking over Florence officially.
     Fun Fact #3: He also built the passageway aboe the Ponte Veccho that connected to the Uffizzi because he was afraid of getting attacked by one of his many enemies while walking from the Palazzo Pitti to the Republic. Also the windows are small and high so that on one could see him walking.
     Fun Fact #4: The passageway in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio has large and lower windows becuase when Mussolini was in control of Italy, he wanted his good friend Adolf Hitler to enjoy the view from the Ponte Vecchio from up above. Also, no one but noble Italians had ever been allowed up there until Hitler.
     Fun Fact #5: The fact that Mussolini built those windows FOR Hitler is the reason that the Germans didn't bomb it when retreating from the Americans. They bombed every single other bridge in Florence so that the Americans wouldn't be able to cross. Instead they destroyed all the houses on either end of the bridge to block it. Didn't matter the American troops has floating bridges.
     Those are just a few fun facts from Louise, our Danish-Italian tour guide. Oh and the Feragammo family still owns the building that the store is in. It looks like a fortress.
     To continue with Saturday, or back track, we had lunch at this restaurant that Ali loves and has been to so much that the owner and staff love her and call themselves her big brothers and treat us like family. So much fun. Also met some guys from Indiana University who just graduated and are on a EuroTrip in celebration. They were fun. Also met Jez (met him Monday through Bri, adorable British guy) and his equally adorable looking British friend Neil. They helped direct us to where we were meeting the tour guide. After the tour, we wandered through the gold shops on the Ponte Vecchio (dangerous waters my friends...dangerous) and had a bit of gelato because well you just need to. Delicious. Then we wandered back to Ali's to rest for a few minutes before heading out again. This time we headed to the Fish Pub, a mainly American style pub with cheap drinks but good. Stayed there for a bit and met a group of recent grads from San Deigo State and chatted with them for a while. Ali made friends siwth some Italian guys who gave her 3 roses just cuz she's so pretty haha. She swears it's because of her hair. After we went back to the family restuarant and drank some amazing wine after hours and just goofed around. Then I went home and talked with my roommated for around 3 and a half hours, finding songs for him to play on his guitar and talking about life in general. Couldn't ask for a better roommate and a better week. I live a good life. And I know it and I appreciate it. Amo Firenze. That's all for now. oh and a quick computer update...it's getting fixed. Turns out I need my own laptop for a possible internship position (haven't interviewed yet but my advisor doesn't see why they wouldn't take me on) SO just being safe and getting my sanity back on that little note. Ok more in a few days. I miss you all so much and wish you were here to experience it all with me.

oh and HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDY TO MY BABY SISTER!!! ahhh how did that happen already?!

Amo Firenze

2010-06-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

I love Firenze. No way around it. It amazes me at how comfortable I already feel here and walking around. It's not that hard to get around. You walk everywhere and use the Fiume Arno (River Arno) as a guide and you just need to know where the Ponte Vecchio (sooo amazing) is. I wanted to write about Monday afternoon but now after being out and about I know that I can't, because then I would be gushing about every afternoon in every post. No, here it is. I walk past the Uffizzi, the Duomo, over the Ponte Vecchio on a regular basis. I live in a city that has more culture and history than the whole United States smashed together. I live here. Some of my friends have already decided to extend their stays and see where they end up. I wish I could do that. But I do want my degree, so have no fear, I will be back in August. But I may leave again. Already we have friends who are locals. It's amazing.
I love my school. Again, I will state that the teaching style here is superb. And I am SO excited to explore even further. But for now, the rain is keeping us indoors. Yes, it rains in Florence, and thunders too. But it's still gorgeous. ok I just wanted to throw that out there. Being in this wonderful city has made me not want to sleep. Unfortunately my body disagrees. Time for an early evening nap. Ciao a tutti e bacci

First Day of School

2010-05-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

     Yesterday was not your typical first day of school. I mean how many people can say they had their first day of school at a language school in one of the busiest parts of Florence (and this whole city is always busy)?? It was an amazing day. Mostly because I finally got out and met some new people outside my two roommates (don't get me wrong they're great but sheesh I needed some girlfriends). I started the day with a workout...the beginning of a LOT of walking. Francesco has a little workout room in the apartment and I got on the bike for a bit. Oooh I am out of shape. I knew that but jeeeez. Oh well with all the stairs I'll be climbing that will soon change. Showered and left for my school at 8:45 for a 9 am start. Got to the office and was directed downstairs to a table of 10 other equally nervous looking girls. YAY! We're a mix. Most of us are American but we do have a girl from England, who I ended up spending most of the day with along with a few others, and a girl from Puerto Rico who studies in the States. Awesome. We got checked in and got our notebook and books (thank goodness they gave us books) and were sent right away to our first lesson with Elisabetta. She's our morning teacher and later I found out she's my roommate Omer's afternoon teacher. Cool! She's hilarious. Native Florentine and you can just tell she has a real passion for teaching her language. Which is totally awesome.
     The best part of it all? 10 of the 11 of us are all in the beginner's course. Boy did I feel better about that. I was so nervous that everyone else would be fluent and I would be sitting there with no one. And as the day went by, the Italian that I learned my first semester of college (fall 2006!!! eeeek) slowly came back and I was understanding it so well. I'm sure by later today I'll reach the point of where everything is new (we move fast...it's only a 3 week course with TWO books). I just kept getting more excited as the day went by. Mainly because of my new classmates. I seriously love them already. By the end of the night (which was literally the end of the night...I got home at 1 am) 5 of us commented on how it felt like we had known each other forever, definitely not less than 24 hours. We had a morning break and headed across the street to get a quick snack (well I got water) and then back til 12:30. By then I was hungryyyy. Slice of the most flavorful pizza later on the lawn of the Stazione Santa Maria Novella with Jasmine and Mary Ellen and I was set.
     In the afternoon, we have our lesson with Luigi and two other students, one girl from Brazil and a guy from Switzerland. Poor guy was in a room with 11 girls and one male teacher (note the sarcasm? haha). No but he's a really nice guy. Shy but we're all so not shy so he'll come out of his shell by oh today. Luigi is another amazing teacher. I love the teaching style of this school. Because we have such a small group, it's all about interaction. Most of the time we are going around the room asking our neighbor a question (in Italian of course) and answering to each other. Great way to learn the language AND learn about each other. The second best way is when we leave the classroom and (try to) speak it to the locals, trying to find out way around Florence. We all know "dove de la...." ( where is the...) VERY well already haha. And scusa (excuse me) because man is this place crowded. And it's only the beginning of June, barely into tourist season and summer abroad programs. I saw and heard SO many Americans yesterday, mostly students, which is cool.
      After our lesson ended with Luigi (1:15 to 2:45....my shortest school day since like kindergarten), Jasmine, Mary Ellen and I headed back to my apartment for a little rest and to drop off our heavy books, because we wanted to explore. But first we had to meet with our social coordinator, Cassandra and our internship organizer, Anna. After that meeting I am STOKED on this summer. In addition to the day "field trips" that Linguaviva has planned for us, Global Experiences has 3 weekend trips and two socials (apertivo, the Italian style happy hour and the end of the summer goodbye dinner). So with Linguaviva, I am heading to Lucca on Wednesday (tomorrow or domani) because it is the Festa della Repubblica, which is the celebration day of Italy's unity. Lucca is supposed to be gorgeous. And Saturday, with GE, we're touring the Salvatore Feragammo factory (Italian SHOES!) to see how it all happens. Seriously can't wait. There's more but I don't have the schedule in front of me.
     And that was my first day of school. I'll leave the afternoon adventures for a separate post or this one would be longer than long. Plus I have to get ready for another fun day =). Miss you all so, so much and wish you were here with me. Ciao e bacci a tutti.

A Day of Highs and A Disappointing Low

2010-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today started off amazing. I woke up at 8:30 and felt tons better than last night. I was beat last night and desperately needed sleep. So since I felt good, I decided to put on my not nearly used enough running shoes and go for a walk around Florence to figure out exactly how long it would take me to get to my language school. Well, it only takes me around 8 minutes so I decided to wander. I ended up in Piazza Santa Maria Novella where a Nike sponsored race/walk was about to begin. So I started as a bystander and then figured I would just follow them as some of them were walking. It was the best thing I've done here yet. Not only did I get (another) good workout in but I also got to really walk around Florence. Since I was in the safety of a group, I felt more comfortable walking around. Now I know that everything really is as close as my books say. Firenze is only 39.8 square miles, so not very big at all. After about 5K the walkers reached the piazza again and I headed off on my own back to my apartment. On the way I met up with a few guys from South Carolina and Tennesse who were in Florence for the weekend while studying at a school north of Venezia (Venice). After walking with them for a while and exchanging pointers, I went back to my place, grabbed some money and headed to the grocery store to finally get some food. After that I took another nap. Jet lag really kills you, huh? The afternoon was going good. I talked to my parents on skype (8 am their time) and said we'd talk later. Then something that I am really not happy about happened.
I noticed that I had never shut my computer off, so I opened it to shut it down. The screen froze. So I restarted it and...nothing. Blank screen with a flashing folder with a question mark. I knew that symbol. The same thing happened to me last February, shortly after getting to school. It means that my hard drive crashed. Maybe it was from all the traveling, or maybe it was from all the use (yes Mom, I know I'm on it a lot). Panic hit me. Again for the second time in two days. Yesterday was when my converter went caput. Both times my mind went to my computer. I know my parents think that I am way too attached to it, but it really is a big part of my life. Silly I know but it has so much of ME on it. All of my work, music and photos. I have most of it backed up on my external hard drive but that's not the point. Oh and right now I'm using my housemates old desktop that he keeps for any students who come to stay with him. My first thought was buy a new computer. Way too expensive here. Second thought was to buy a cheap netbook. Also still out of my price range. So now I am going to go buy a converter (I still need to charge some things) and second I am going to buy a few more memory cards for my camera. It holds over 3,000 pictures but still. If I can't upload those at all until I get back, I'm going to have to keep them on disks. Delete unnecessary ones as I go but sheesh, 3 months in Italy with only 3,000 pictures? Not going to be possible. And when I get back in August, I can use my parents computer until I get a new one. I had planned to buy a new one anyways and I'll just have to buy one sooner than later and use the payment plan. And I have come up with this plan as fast as I wrote it.
So it comes to this. This summer will be a true test of my independence. Partial independence. On my own without my family, a real phone (i have a simple international phone with an italian sim card) and no computer of my own. We'll see how this goes. Any advice on the computer situation is appreciated. Thanks!

travel post #5: My first day in Italy

2010-05-30T03:52:00.001-07:00

   I’m here. I am in FLORENCE. In MY room. And so far my roommates (I have three til Monday) are perfectly nice. Thank god Omer (roommate from Israel, totally cool guy) is a strong guy because the stairs up to our apartment are STEEP. Like scary steep. And I was about to collapse. But let me start from the beginning.
   I left the U.S. at 5:45 p.m. EST. I arrived in Italy (Roma) at 7:35 a.m. local time. I got lucky and got my second flight with a group of about 35 “older” Americans who are headed on a week long tour of tuscany. All from the Boston area. Woo! And they helped. Saw that I was alone and let me tag along with them. Because let me tell you..Rome’s airport is frigging confusing when you’re trying to get to Terminal B from the arrivals terminal. It was a nightmare. Thank god we had almost 2 hours of a layover. Oh and the flight over from JFK was horrible. Well not horrible but definitely not the most comfortable. Like I said before, I know I’m short and don’t need a lot of leg room, but still, a girl needs to stretch out once in a while. Plus the cushions on the seats had a weird slant to them and my poor little booty kept going numb. (all from Saturday)
Sunday ----
   Ok so continuing... After the 8 hour flight from JFK, we landed in Rome and went through security again and then went through passport control (first point of entry to the country). By this point, I had introduced my self to a woman traveling with her parents with the big group (they were older. she was older...I just tagged along). They were so nice. The older man had been studying Italian with a tutor for a few weeks so he was pointing everything out in Italian. Helped me a little. Then we got on the bus to get us to our plane to Florence, since it was just a jumper plane. I wish we had had that plane from JFK. The seats were way more comfy and it felt like I had more room. I fell asleep on that flight but seriously it was a 45 minute flight and I woke up to us hitting the ground.
Cut to getting out of there. Grabbed my way too heavy luggage and booked it. Then I got outside and called my roommate (praying feverishly that my international phone that my aunt had given me would work). Confirmed that he was at the apartment. The began my real journey. I got on a bus for 5 euro (way cheap compared to the 22 euro taxi drive) and got dropped off at the Santa Maria Novella Stazione (Florence’s main train station). And started my trek to my apartment. Now, its really like a 7 minute walk, maybe from the station to my apartment. But when you don’t know where you’re going and you have nearly 100 lb in suitcase plus another (and I’m guessing cuz I didn’t weigh it) 20 lbs on your back....it’s a really long walk. I can definitely feel it today. My upper lats and upper back are sooooore. So are my thighs. Oi but that’s from the going up and down the stairs and the 6K walk I did this morning (more on that later). Finally, hot, sweaty and tired as hell (I barely slept. Airplanes are NOT conducive to sleeping comfortably), I finally got to my apartment. That is after using the little Italian that I DO know to ask where I was and how to get to my apartment. Then I saw the stairs of doom (they’re not that bad...but at that point they were). 40 quick steps heading nearly straight up. Again, thank you lord for giving me a strong roommate who wasn’t tired as hell.
   I was delirious. I was so thirsty that my throat was dry and the water hurt going down when I finally got a glass. And man was I red. And sweaty. Totally awesome first impression right? Got my stuff in my room and changed. Nearly fell asleep. The owner got home and we did introductions. Toasted my arrival with a shot each of Lemoncello (you don’t take it like a shot....it’s delicious. lemonade liquer). Then Francesco (landlord) invited us to this charity festival thing that his friends were working. It involved cheap, good food. I was all ears and the only one who went along. That was fine. Had delicious thin crust authentic margherita pizza (I ate the WHOLE thing by myself....but I had only had a breakfast sandwich at like 7 am on the plane). Met some of his friends, and was surprised at how many of them spoke English. The fact that SO many foreigners know English along with other languages, makes me as an American feel lazy. Sure we take a language in high school but these people learn at least 2 all throughout school. I have a cousin who is quadralingual (I think). Oh side note....all of my roommates speak English. In Israel (Omer) you have to along with in Brazil (Fernanda). Again, being American = culturally lazy.
   Anyhoo, got back to the apartment, chatted with my friend Dana in Canada (it’s very strange being AHEAD of her in time now...) and then hit the hay. Out like a light the second my head hit the pillow. And there you have my first day in Italy. My second day is half over and I’ll update you later on that. =)

travel post #4: My Best Friends

2010-05-29T06:49:00.001-07:00

   Ok I promise this is the last post in one day...I think. It’s about my best friends. Some I’ve known for years, one I’ve known for only a year. But I love all of them equally and care about them enormously. Samantha, Kristen, Heidi and Dana...you are my rocks. I love you all. And I just need to share how special you are to me.
   Sam, I’ve known you since birth. Our dads were in diapers together and grew up together and are still friends, even though they need our nudging once in a while to contact each other. I have a binder in my room with a photocopy of every letter I ever sent you from age 6 to 16. You sent it to me for my 16th birthday. I love it. Sometimes I’ll read through them and laugh hysterically at how ridiculous we were as adolescents. We’re even in a book! Remember that alphabet book that my parents (I think) had made for me when I was little? In it, you and I go on an alphabet adventure one rainy day in Bay Shore. I love it. And these last four years of college. We knew they would be tough but my god we didn’t know they would be this tough. I’ve leaned on you and you’ve leaned on me and I know now that no matter the distance, our friendship is one for the ages. I love you and I know you know that, because I tell you all the time. I can NOT wait for our adventures when I get back in August.
   Kristen, we started out rough haha. But over the years you’ve become like family and one of my closest friends. I can count on you to tell me when I’m being an idiot (which is quite often....sadly) and to tell it to me straight. You can always come to me and tell me about your adventures you don’t really tell anyone else. I love that about us. I can literally say anything to you and we can just laugh about it. Our families are like one big family. They’ll always be like that. You’re stuck with me biotch. You were one of the first people I met out in California and have remained steadfastedly in my life since. Even when you leave for a summer in Bolivia (crazy) and I leave for the next summer to Italy, we’ve always got each other. And we can always catch up like no time has passed.
   Heidi, my favorite little squeakers redhead. I LOVE you. And oh the times we have had. And you, also are like family. I even chose your dad as my second godfather. I have to say I talk to him more than I do my first. I know we’re both crazy busy and we may not talk enough but I know that when we’re both home and have free time, we’ll find ourselves at Coffee Bean for hours on end =). Going to college together would have been amazing, but life had other plans. And that’s ok. You are another that I can tell anything. And you the same to me. Even if you think I talk too much about too many things. I will never forget my first memories of you, in fourth grade (yes this story) when you broke BOTH wrists and had bright purples casts on. That is forever ingrained in my memory and yes I am going to bring it up at your wedding. Along with the fact that until lately, you would spill SOMETHING everytime you were my house. Milk, water, ice cream, anything. And like you always do, you would laugh hysterically, til you couldn’t move and then clean it up and joke about it later with the rest of us. =)
   Dana, my newest best friend. We truly have become BEST friends, against the most odds. Together for one summer, working on an insanely complicated event then pulled apart because well, you’re Canadian and live clear cross and up one country =). Thank goodness for MSN and facebook. I love you. You also know that because I tell you all the time. I know this has been quite the year for you, but everything will work out and who knows you and I could be traveling the world together someday. We talk EVERY day. I love it. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this summer with a 6 hour time difference. It’s bad enough when I’m 3 hours behind. Sheesh SIX hours ahead? ooh boy. And our friendship is just starting. But it’s one that will last. I can feel it. Here’s to years of friendships, world traveling trips and hanging out where ever we may be. And to endless nights chatting away.
   My four best friends. I have a lot of friends, but you four are the closest to my heart. You will ALL be in my wedding and a grand old time will be had. And yes, I know, that so-called wedding is oh maybe 10 years off with a groom who still has no face =). But don’t all of ours? My point is, I would not be who I am today without all of you. And the rest of my fabulous friends.

travel post #3: Long Island, I Love You

2010-05-29T06:48:00.002-07:00

   Ok so I wanted to keep each of these posts focused on a single topic, which is why there’s so many of them. I need to get all these thoughts down on paper before I lose them. I wanted to talk about Long Island. Sure it’s overshadowed by the greatest city on earth (well in some people’s opinions) but it has its charms and quirks. I love it. Maybe it’s because I was born there and desperately wanted to move back for so long (junior high sucked. Seriously), but I just love it. I love how it looks, how it sounds, and even how it smells (sometimes). The houses make me smile. They all look similar but have their own quirks. It’s mostly the brick houses, with the perfect red brick like my dad’s parents house or the big wooden shingled houses like my mom’s parents (they don’t live there anymore and I think it would pain me not to run into that house if I stopped by...it was my first home). They just look so cozy and homey.
   I still want to move back and with graduation fast approaching (December will be here before you know it folks) and with me not having strings attached anywhere, I can go ANYWHERE. Anywhere there’s a winery who wants me. Which means I have a lot of options. When I told Samantha this, immediately she said “OMG when you get back in August, we’re going out East!” Out East. That also makes me smile. Down to the shore. Robert Moses, Jones Beach, Fire Island. All those names make me so happy. I have yet to go to Fire Island, but oh be warned in August...I will go. So L.I. is now added to my list of relocation possibilities (or not): stay in Nor Cal, go to Oregon, Toronto (Canada....that would make a certain favorite Canadian of mine extremely happy) and now Long Island. Who knows.
   Even driving into Brooklyn made me happy. It’s not my favorite of the five buroughs but it has it’s charm. Again, the red brick and the white painted wrought iron fences with the flags hanging out and the humidity of summer hanging in the air, just tempting you. I saw a commercial that showed a little girl running around in her bathing suit at dusk, catching fireflies in a jar and watching them with a look of pure wonder on her face. I used to be that little girl. There are no flreflies out in California. At least, none that I’ve seen. That really makes me want to go back. For an extended period of time. I’m not saying I would move there permanently, but I would like to live there again. I also want to live all over the world soooo who knows how that’ll go.
   So, an ode to Long Island. I love you. For all that you are. You make me happy. You make a little sad. Overall you remind me of where I came from and what I’ve accomplished and done with my life so far. I thank you for that. I can look back on when I’ve visited and remember exactly where I was in my life at that time. Like a snapshot. Maybe someday you’ll become a movie.

travel post #2: Pit Stop in NY for less than 48 Hours

2010-05-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

   So before I headed over to the beautiful country of Italy, I stopped over in New York, my birthplace. Now, people try to tell me that since I moved out to California when I was only 6, I’m not a real “New Yorker”. I say, psshhh to that. It’s my home and I was old enough to remember how it was to live there, and be surrounded by family. Now that family is pretty far flung, as they’ve mostly left or moved to different parts of Long Island in the last 15 years. But being back just brings back a flood of emotions and memories, both from when I lived in NY and on one of my many visits. It was a quick visit. I got in at 8 p.m. Wednesday and left by 5:45 (late takeoff...not happy...but that’s for a different post) Friday. Not even 48 hours. But I packed those full.
   Wednesday night was spent with my aunt and her family in Brooklyn. Low key, pizza for dinner with the tv flipping back and forth between the Mets game and the Yankees game. Thanks to my uncle for being nice enough to put the Yanks on....theirs is a Mets household. Even though my cousin went to school Thursday morning with a brand new “New York Yankees 27 World Championships”. Hell yes. We’re working on him. Thursday was my favorite day. I drove into work with my aunt and because of L.I. traffic got to have a good talk with her. She’s my godmother and I don’t talk to her nearly enough, besides only seeing her once in a blue moon. Spent a little time at the office and met all her coworkers, who all knew exactly who I was and where I was going and “oh I’ve heard so much about you!” What can I say? My aunt loves me =).
   Then came my favorite part of my favorite day. My best friend since BIRTH (yes birth, ask my parents) picked me up and OH I was so happy to see her. I hadn’t seen her since 2007 and 3 years is far too long of a time to go without seeing your best friend. I have a few best friends but Samantha is my truest, longest, oldest best friend. There’s a picture to prove that we’ve known each other since before I was born. Seriously.
   So Sam picked me up and we attempted a few crazy last minute errands on my behalf, which failed miserably. But it’s ok I had a backup plan. Got lunch and went back to her new house. Now she and her family recently built a new house in a different part of L.I. and I hadn’t seen it yet. And I have just memorized her new address. I still have her old one ingrained in my head from writing letters back and forth all throughout junior high and early high school (Facebook? That didn’t exist just yet). So I got the grand tour, then we headed back out West to say hello to my dad’s mom who I also hadn’t seen in 3 years. And I don’t know what came over me but by the time we left I was on the verge of tears. Talking to her and looking at old pictures and looking around the old house just made me so emotional. I did choke up. I know why but it’s hard to put it in words. She’s old. She’s not in the best shape (although she still lives on her own). I know that this next visit at the end of the summer may very well be the last time I see her and that breaks my heart. I joke about her sometimes but I do love her. She took and my late grandfather took care of me when I was younger while my parents were at work. There’s a button picture on the wall of me with the both of them when I was 3. I nearly grabbed it because I want it near me all the time. Ah I’m tearing up thinking about it right now.
   When we left, as I said, I was about to cry. So I needed to get out of there before I really did start crying, which would make her cry and well two women crying never leads to stopping anytime soon. Just ask my mom (more on that later). Sam and I got back in the car and took off back to her place for her mom’s at home birthday dinner. Picked up dinner to go because the birthday girl shouldn’t have to cook on her special day and bam I was 12 again with my best friend’s family who love me as their own. Except now, Sam mixes drinks for us and gets her mom buzzed on her birthday. Love it.
   And just like old times, I spent the night, unplanned (very funny) and her bed is big enough that we were both in it and didn’t disturb each other at all. That is true friendship. Sam is like another sister to me and I’ve already informed that (needless to say) she’s in my wedding (that wedding that is no where near being ready to happen....oi vey). And this morning (Friday) we woke up and just like when I would visit when I was younger, her mom made us Mickey Mouse waffles =). Headed back to Brooklyn to pack up my things (I hadn’t planned on staying over and omygoodness my room was a mess..of course) and then Sam dropped me off at JFK. And as soon as I went to hug her I got this panicked feeling. I choked up, teared up and started crying. All while trying to maneuver a huge backpack and two huge rolling suitcases. I must have looked ridiculous.
   And here I am a few hours later, somewhere over the Atlantic, on my way to Italy. Sitting amidst strangers. Ahh the possibilities of this summer.

travel post #1: Airlines

2010-05-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ok this is going the first (well last to be read) post of a few in one day. But it’s really not. I just haven’t had a chance to actually post them to the internet =).
   I have been traveling via airplanes since I was 8 months old (yes I know, I’m spoiled). But I have no recollection of that trip except looking at photos of me, sleeping in a stroller while my parents and grandparents stood in front of the Tower of Pisa and the ruins of Pompeii and various other ancient structures around Italy (yes my first plane trip was to Italy...I was a lucky kid). Because I have been traveling since I was young, and have traveled a fairly decent amount (I think this is my 30th plane ride?) I have watched the airlines decline over the years. Not only in the sense that they aren’t as prosperous as they once were, but how much they give you for your buck.
   Back in the day, you bought a plane ticket, and you also got a blanket, pillow, snacks, headphones (for free) to listen to the in flight movie and included beverages and a meal on the long flights, like transcontinental flights (i.e. LA to NY). Now, thats definitely not the case. On my flight from LA to NY this week, we were offered drinks. Oh and a tiny blanket (thank goodness I’m not tall) and a pillow. Those have downsized. No food, no snacks and the plane’s DVD player had broken. So sad. Also my computer was dead (totally not related to the airline) but that made the 5 and a half hour flight seem like it was 10 hours.
   On my flight to Italy (so far...I’m writing this mid-flight...thank goodness for strong computer batteries) we HAVE received snacks and drinks (and you don’t even have to pay for the alcoholic drinks! but i don’t think it’d be wise to drink on a plane) and a meal (kind of nasty but hey they gave us something). I guess if you’re going to fork over $1000-$2000 for a plane ticket across the Atlantic, they have to give you something. Oh and they’re not the happiest staff in the world. Not too happy to be jumping across the pond again I guess.
   Oh and I have to mention that the gap between what the “economy” customers get compared to what the “business” and “first” class customers get is absurd. I have been fortunate enough to travel to Italy several times (6 to be exact) and this is the second time flying coach. And I am promising myself NOW that I will make a life for myself where I can afford the little luxury of buying at least a business class ticket. Up there in the front of the plane, passengers have room to stretch out (yes I know I’m short but sheesh even I need to stretch out), and obviously get a few more little luxuries. Back in coach, passengers are sandwiched in like sardines. Presently, on my Italian flight, I am in a row of a 2-3-2 configuration, while up front, it is a 2-1-2 configuration. Oi vey. I don’t know how any person taller than 5’5” can put up with being buckled in so tight. I know that when my parents fly internationally, they have to fly business because my dad stands at 6’3”....he would SO not like to be back in coach.
   Ok I think that’s enough ranting for now. I know the airlines are doing their best in this economy, but it just makes me wish for the “good ol’ days” when you got a meal included, especially a Happy Meal with a cool Airport themed toy =). Ahh childhood memories bring me back.

Such a strange feeling...

2010-05-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

   This is my last night in my parents house, in California, until August 20th. How strange is that? I don't even know how to describe what I'm feeling. I'm terrified for one. I've built this summer up so much in my head that I'm scared of anything that can go wrong. And trust me a lot can go wrong. I'm sad. I'm missing out on so much this summer. Mainly, a lot of big stuff for my sister. She's going to her first (and last) prom, graduating from high school, playing her last summer of travel softball, and she'll be away at college across the country by the time I get back from my travels. I won't see her until the day before I graduate college...in December. That is SUCH a long time. And my parents. I know they're happy for me and proud of me but they're also nervous. My mom and I got choked up just buying Euro for my initial days there. She kept repeating everything I still had to do and because I was stressed, I snapped at her. I tend to do that when I'm stressed. A lot. So she gently slapped my arm and said 'hey! this is the first time my daughter's going to Europe for 3 months...be nice.' And right there it hit me. This isn't just happening to me. It's happening to my family. It's a good thing. When she said goodnight to me tonight, I started crying. I cry so easily now. I never cried in high school. I don't know why. But now I can. And as she hugged me, she said 'remember, you've wanted to do this for so long and it's here. It's going to be wonderful.' And it will be. I just hope it's as wonderful as everyone keeps saying it will be.
   And my dad. I know he and I fight. We just butt heads. We operate in different ways and he doesn't understand why I operate and plan the way I do. I know I could be more thorough in my planning and do things earlier rather than later, but I'm still learning. I'm constantly learning. I'm in for a whole summer of intense learning of all kinds. I know he means well...I just wish we could express it easier. I'm going to miss him, but I feel I have to do this on my own. I have to travel on my own. I need to be independent. And when I get back, I need to find a job that will allow me to further become independent. I'm almost 22. By the time my dad was 22, he was with my mom and knew she was the one. He was so independent at such a young age. I compare myself to him, or at least I try. I know I haven't mentioned him much in these posts but I am now. I love my dad. He's the strongest man I know in more ways than one. He probably doesn't realize just how much he's taught me. He doesn't think I listen, but I do. I might not act on what he's saying right away but I do. He grew up so much differently from me. That's kind of a given when you look at the huge differences in our generations. But he grew up so much younger than me. He had to. Sometimes I wish I had grown up faster. I wish I could make him happier and more proud of me. And while I'm wishing, I wish my grandpa (my dad's dad) could see me off. Popi is the one who tried to teach me Italian when I was learning to speak. Unfortunately, I inherited the Italian stubborness and learned the word 'no' far too early. Apparently I would put my hands over my ears when he would try to speak to me in Italian. I regret that now, but as a kid, I really didn't know what I was doing. Ahh wow I really got off track with that huh?
   My last day in California was a simple one. Dentist appointment, stopped by a friends house to visit and visit with her new baby (omgosh I'm in LOVE with that little boy...he's perfect). Home for lunch and more packing (it seemed never ending) and then my sister's bf's playoff baseball game (they lost =(....so sad but it had to end somehow). Over to another friend's to say bye. Then to another friends for some birthday celebrations and seeing some people who I love very dearly and haven't seen in far too long. I consider this family MY family. All of them. I feel like it. In fact, somehow I forgot where the trash was and one of my "aunts" said "come on aly! how long have you lived here?! haha" and it's true. I know that house as best as I know my own. And vice versa. They're family. And I miss them.
   Oh this post is much longer than I thought it would be. It's me procrastinating going to sleep. Because in the morning I have to say goodbye. Thank god for waterproof mascara. Or not wearing mascara at all. In fact, I might just not wear makeup.....or not. Oh I really hate goodbyes. I know they're more like "see you later" but still...ugh I need to shake this off. I need to tell myself what an amazing summer it's going to be and that everything is going to be great. Yeah. Ok I shall now attempt to sleep. It's not going to go well because, well I can't fall asleep when I have NOTHING on my mind. This is big. Ok good night my loves. I will write more later.

Growing Up

2010-05-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

June 16 of this year will mark four years since I graduated from high school. It has been a long but quick four years. By long, I mean so much as happened in that span of time. I have experienced so so much and grown so much. It seems so much longer than four years. At the same time, it went fast. I can't believe it. When did we all get so old? The feeling started when a friend of mine from high school said congrats to me for graduating. She heard wrong but still it was like oh my gosh, we're at the graduating age. We're getting out into the real world. We have to start finding real jobs. I know of some people who are married and have started families. It just seems so grown up of us. I just got back from a friend's graduation party and had major dejavu in her backyard. I feel like we were just there for our high school graduation party. I know we weren't because I haven't talked to her in ages, although our families have remained close.

We're really all growing up. We have summer jobs that actually require thinking critically (well some of us do). We're looking for a job that will start our careers. When did we get this far? My younger sister is about to attend her senior prom and grad night and graduation. She is SO excited about college. Looking at her I remember how I felt. Like anything was possible. The last four years have been amazing. And my college experience isn't over yet. I have this hugely potentially amazing summer to look forward to and a last semester with new classes and new faces mixed in with the old. The possibilities are endless.

(written over 36 hours...oops)

Counting down the days....

2010-05-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

   At this point, I am in a state of denial. But it's not a bad thing. I am in denial that a week from today I will be leaving for New York and then two weeks from now I will be in Italy. It just doesn't seem real to me. I finally picked up my travel student visa yesterday and looking at that piece of paper clipped to my passport made me realize that I'm actually allowed to go now. The government has granted it so. I have a visa that will allow me to stay in Italy for 90 days. NINETY DAYS! Of course I'm actually only going to be there for 78 but still HOLY CRAP.
   I feel like it's not real to me because I still have things to do up at school. I have a few days to study before my finals on Thursday and Friday and tonight is my last night at work before I leave (weird...still not sure if it's my LAST night at work). And I have to pack but I'm realizing that that is not going to take as long as I thought it was. I just have to clear out my closet (which isn't too bad..I don't have that many clothes) and clear off my desk and do last minute laundry. And you just got my to do list that has been running through my mind the last few weeks. Oh and I'm going out with a few friends the night before I leave and none of them can believe it's my last night...they all thought I was leaving NEXT week. Nope, folks, I'm out of here.
   And that also makes me sad. I am missing graduation and my missing my graduation I am missing saying good-bye to a lot of friends who are moving on and away from the area. They are graduating...something I would have been doing if I had followed my four year plan. In fact, if I had gone to Gonzaga in the fall of 2008 like I had planned, I would have graduated this past Mother's Day. It's so strange to me how one decision affected the rest of my life. I know that happens all the time but really what if I had gone to Gonzaga? Would I be the person I am right now? I know I would be just with different people in my life and I would maybe be a little more tolerant of the cold. And I would have already studied in Italy because Gonzaga has a campus in Florence. Ahh that would have been nice. But it's in an alternate life that I'll never know anything about.
   Another reason for it not feeling real to me just yet is because I still have to go HOME. I am going home for a few days and I get to see my family and a few friends. I have to wrap my brain around how much traveling I'm going to do in such a short amount of time. Drive five hours, fly five and a half, then 10. wooo. All in a week. Yikes. And it really won't hit me that I am LEAVING until my dad drops me off at LAX early Tuesday....and I will for sure cry. No mascara for me that day. And it'll be my dad and oh I will just cry. I am horrible with good-byes. I always cry. I have no idea why. I know I'm coming back. It still makes me sad though.
   So this was yet another emptying of my brain. Sometimes I feel that if I don't get it out on "paper" it's just going to sit in my brain all day and drive me nuts. And even though it's in words...it's still going to drive me nuts. So until another day, another post, arrivederci =)

Nostalgia in the strangest places

2010-05-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

   I should be writing a 15 page paper that is due 24 hours from now. I'm halfway done, I promise. But I hit a wall. Well I hit a wall before I left for work 6 hours ago and now I'm just too damn tired to think about the global affects of the Olympics (sounds fun, huh? no seriously it is). So I'll write on here instead, about nostalgia and how it can hit you at the most random times and about things you never stopped to think about before. I'm talking about my place of work...it's an odd thing for me to be nostalgic about if you've ever heard me complain about work (and I have. ask my mother.)
   I started at ______ in October 2007 after hosting and serving at a different restaurant. I had applied to ____ when I was 15 but my horrible lack of math skills kept me from getting the hosting job (silly I know and kind of pathetic...I laugh about it now). So instead I concentrated on being a teenager and getting through my junior year of high school, worked at a boutique and then got into the restaurant world by way of a different restaurant who was so desperate for hosts that they looked at me and said "when can you start?" I was there from Jan 07 to Sept 07 when my boss at restaurant #1 moved over to ______ and said "if you're not at _____ in a month i'm coming back here and physically bringing you over!" I didn't need that because without her, I really didn't want to be at restaurant #1. Plus I knew the owner at _____ and really wanted to work there.
   When I first started at ______ I LOVED it. l-o-v-e. I was working with a family friend and the money was better and the customers weren't snooty. plus I didn't have to wear head-to-toe black (major hint at what ____ is). I had fun, my coworkers were nice, if not eccentric. Made a few friends there and got to see others more than I had in a while. Plus, a lot of people I knew came in all the time so it was fun to see friends at my work place. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world aaaaand my favorite manager (I've told him this, he knows it) moved on to a different store and things kind of went downhill, slightly from there. But it was ok because I was moving away for school and would be transferring to a different location anyways.
   I've now been at location #2 of _____ since last January, over a year now. And boy has it had its bumps and bruises. The thing I dislike MOST about restaurants is how damn cliquey they can get (staff, not customers). It's like being in high school all over again. I didn't like high school when I WAS in high school. I just never got to know my coworkers here and for that reason have felt a liiiittle bit "on the outside looking in". Ok I feel like that most of the time, but I do have some friends there who agree with me that most of our coworkers are, well, eccentric.
   So you're probably asking yourself at this point "what is she so nostalgic about?! sounds like she doesn't like it." Well I'm only at ____ for a few more shifts (2 to be exact unless I pick up another) before I leave. I'm not quitting but I'm not sure if I'll go back once I return to school in September. And thinking that these last few shifts are the last ever at ____ makes me a little sad. I've worked with this company for 2 and a half years, and lived off of it for most of that time. Sure I have thought about quitting a ton of times, but I'm not a quitter. Well unless there's something better lined up for me. Which is what I plan to do. But these last few nights have just got me thinking about when I first started. Also, the fact that we have a few new people gets me thinking about that too. Ooh if only I knew what I was getting myself into.
   SO _____ thank you for the good times you've given me, the lessons you've taught me and the money you've helped me earn. If we meet again in the fall, so be it. If not, I will always know where to get the most delicious and affordable steaks, if my cravings call for it. Weird how nostalgia works, huh?

All my Mothers

2010-05-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I meant to post this ON mother's day but am just now getting around to it. Life has been a little hectic as of late with the semester coming to an end (thank goodness). Oh and I worked on Mother's Day at Outback soooo that means I was not at home lazing around (another thing I am looking forward to for a short period of time). So here is a little bit about my wonderful mother and all the other amazing mommies in my life.

Mom ~ I LOVE YOU. my mother is honestly my closest confidant. I can talk to her about anything and I generally do. I will literally call her just to say hello and talk about nothing. Sometimes this annoys her (oops I forgot you had students at that time) or she has something that she is doing. But she always has time for me and my ramblings. She has taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to and that nothing should ever stand in the way of my dreams. Both she and my dad have always encouraged me and I love them for that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to be with her for the last two years and have been too low on funds to get her the gifts I want to....but she is the one insisting that I save my money and just call her to say hello. My gift to her next year will be to be there with her. I hope that by this time next year I have that leisure in my life. I can honestly say I don't know what I would do without her.

My Aunts ~ I have many fantastic Aunts...my mom has 5 sisters, 2 sisters-in-law and my dad has a sister. I am blessed to have these women in my life. They are all absolutely beautiful and we have the most fun when we are all together (which is very rare....we're all quite far flung from each other). I have a varying degree of relationship with each of them but I do love all of them. Plus I got amazing genes from all these ladies so heck yes I'm going to look hott when further along in my years =). Family is first in my mind and I am so lucky to have them as my family.

All the other mommies in my life ~ I have many parents. Ask anyone at home. I think I have something around 20 dads....this may be a factor in my non-existent dating life at home. But I have a whole bevy of my parents friends who I can go to if I need help. Many of them are parents of my friends as well. Most of them I call aunt or uncle. And some I call "daddy" plus their name or "momma" plus their name. Some mommas are called that by many. It's one huge family. All of these amazing women have had an affect on me in some way. Anne, JuneMarie, Mary, Anita (times 2), Annette, Elaine (also times 2), Helen, Beverly, Jackie, Lisa, Jill and oh my goodness I could go on forever. I miss my big family so so much and I wish I had more time to see them.

I may become a mother someday and I just hope to be as good of a mother as all of these women are. They inspire me along with countless other women who I can't even begin to mention because I know I would leave someone out and feel bad. So all my mommies....I love you so!

22 Days

2010-05-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Twenty two days until I leave for my summer of adventure. TWENTY TWO. 22 days to finish my classes, take my finals, pack up my room so my friend can rent it for the summer, spend a few days at home, and fly to NY before Italy. TWENTY TWO. As you can probably tell, I'm slightly freaking out. Just a liiiiitle. Ok a lot. It's hitting me now that I am going to be gone for 3 solid months. A lot of things can happen in 3 months. Oh the possibilities. I'm excited, nervous, scared, sad. All those crazy emotions. And yes, I've said this before. I did get to see my family this past weekend at my cousin's wedding, which by the way was one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I've ever been to...and I've been to a few. Seriously a magical wedding.
I do have an idea of what I'm doing this summer...I got a letter about participating in a fashion show in Florence and I am writing up a cover letter to go along with my resume. It's really happening. And when I get back, the possibilities are absolutely endless. One more semester starting in August and then I'm done in December. That fast. 9 months and I am done with college forever. That is, unless I get touched in the head and decide to attend grad school. Which is very possible seeing as I'm a little crazy. I'm SO excited and nervous. It's a good combination of feelings to have.
So that's all for now. I just had to freak out for a bit. Thanks for reading =).

A week later...

2010-04-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

So last Monday I ventured out to San Francisco for the second time to file for my student visa. And was told I was missing ONE thing so I needed to acquire this ONE thing and return Thursday (the office is open M & Th from 1-3:30...convenient much?). So I did. Skipped class again on Thursday to drive out there. Stood in line for an hour outside before realizing that not only would I make it to the front of the line before 3:30 ( I arrived at 1:30) but I would be late for work. Left. Returned AGAIN yesterday at 1 p.m. sharp and finally reached the window at 2:55 pm. And finally filed for my visa. I get to pick it up May 17th. Just in the nick of time. That is the Monday of the week I leave for home before taking off for Italy. Sheesh way to cut it close Alessandra....But I have to say this. I got the biggest feeling of relief and giddiness as I got in my car. I am really going to Italy this summer. I AM. And now I have to somehow focus on school the next 4 weeks and not let my mind wander to the wonderfulness that is Italia. And pack mentally a thousand times.

It is bittersweet. 3 months is a long time to be away. I know it is going to be worth it but I am missing so, so much. I am missing my departments' graduation in which several of my friends are walking, my sister's prom and high school graduation and a friend's wedding. Also, by the time I get back, my sister and a few other close friends will already be at school for the semester and my roommate will be in D.C. for an amazing internship that she worked her butt off to earn. It's bittersweet. Last summer and this coming summer are totally different. Last summer I drove everyday to an office and sat at a computer, planning a big sports event (Senior Olympics). This summer I will be interning somewhere in Italy and omgosh exploring that beautiful country. Completely different experiences.

My parents were recently there for a family event and I just can't wait to see all my family. And a couple that is a close friend of the family has been living there for a year and looking at all of their pictures just makes me giddy inside. I can NOT wait. I don't know how I'm going to be able to contain my excitement. I'm going to be jumping up and down in my airplane seat the whole 7 hour flight there (from NY...from LA its 12....sheesh).

ok ok I am rambling and have far too much school work to do...but AHHH I am SO excited. If you haven't gone to Europe and you want to.....do it. You will NEVER forget it. I promise.

Death

2010-04-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

   Death is not a favorite topic of mine. I don't think that anyone can be too fond of it either. The day and a half, I have had death on my mind. Not mine of course. I love my life and don't plan on leaving this world until I am good and ready and around 120 years old. I know, wishful thinking, but hey I'm stubborn. Just ask my dad. Anyways, death has been brought to my attention twice in the last 36 hours. The first time, yesterday morning when I was checking my Yahoo. On the main page they always have news story that are either breaking or highlighted for the day. It's great because you can localize it.
   A story had the headline of "Suspect in Ventura killings apprehended" or something to that extent. My stomach knotted and I clicked. Last May, a couple was murdered in their home in a city not far from me. The wife was 4 months pregnant and it is being ruled a triple homicide. It hits home because this couple was related to a friend of mine at church. I just could not believe it when it happened. It was the most horrific thing to happen in our county in a long time and no one could figure out why this couple. They were a wonderful couple with two children and one on the way. They were well liked and connected in the community.
   Sunday night they arrested a young man in connection. Now, Tuesday he was being arraigned and my friend's facebook page let me know that he was going with some family members. I pray for their sake that this is the right guy and that this guy, this scum of the earth who took innocent lives, gets what's coming to him. It's despicable. When I was reading the breaking news article I could feel myself boiling with anger at this person. A person I didn't know who had taken the lives of people I had never met. But it hurt and caught me off guard. I was so shaken that I couldn't get it out of my head until yesterday afternoon when I was preoccupied with not getting lost in SF. This type of death is the violent one, obviously. These people had a long life ahead of them that was going to be full of love and laughter and good times. Now their two older children, who were not harmed physically, will live life without their parents. It's cruel.
   The second time was about an hour ago when I was talking a friend I had done my internship with last summer. She started the conversation with the foreboding "did you hear the news?" Somehow I knew it was not good news. It wasn't. The beloved husband of our boss from last summer had passed away in the night and she had found out before me. I knew that he was sick and struggling and in and out of the hosptial but it still hurt. He was so love by his wife and children. Yes, he was elderly and ill but he was so so loved. I know this is going to hurt his wife and family but they know now that he is in a better place and no longer suffering. He was suffering for so long.
   Death is not fun. I experienced it for the first time when I was in second grade and my grandpa died. It's a surreal feeling. I don't look forward to going through those feelings again. Make sure that the ones you love know you love them and do your best to love and care for all in your life.

Student Visas

2010-04-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

   For my summer abroad, I am required to obtain a student visa. I know we are dealing with national security but this has been the most complicated and frustrating process I have ever gone through. I am making another attempt at getting all of my paperwork in today, and I really hope that I have it all this time. The frustrating thing is that different consulates and websites say different things. I have the list for the LA consulate of what they require. And then I go to the SF consulate to make sure I have everything and there are a few things extra from the LA list that they require. I thought this was a UNIVERSAL thing! If one Italian consulate requires a certain piece of paperwork, they should ALL require it. So I think that I have everything I possibly could. And am going to make the drive into SF once again, this time in the rain, because I have less than 7 weeks until my departure and well I need that visa on my passport before I leave California. It's essential. And nerve-racking. So a piece of advice to students traveling abroad for study...get help. Go through your school. If you do go through a private program, ask as many questions as possible. I learned my lesson the hard way (like I usually do). If my dad reads this, he'll probably laugh at me and then call me and tell me "I told you so." Yes, Dad, you are right.
   Oh and the rain. It has been raining on and off for a whole WEEK. I don't understand it. I know the whole saying "April showers bring May flowers" but my goodness. It's POURING. And my cousin is getting married in an outdoor wedding at the end of the month. I'm pretty sure that this whole week is putting her on edge. It's going to be beautiful no matter what but it'd be nice if it was clear skies.
   Ok well that's my rant right now. Here's to one more week of school and one more week closer to summer and my wonderful adventures.

24 Hours

2010-04-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

   Since starting this blog, I've begun to write blog posts in my head...but by the time I get around to actually posting them, in my mind, it's off. The timing isn't right anymore. Most of the time I abandon the unwritten post and convince myself that it was one topic that the virtual world just wasn't ready for. But this one...this one I want to post. But I need to set it up. See, right now it is 10 p.m. but I started writing this post in my head around 5:45 p.m. And the time matters for this post. A lot can happen in 24 hours...so pretend you're reading this as if I posted at, oh say 6:15 p.m. today. Not 10ish.
   5:45 p.m. on April 5, 2010 I was walking from campus to the light rail station, marveling at how much had happened in the last 24 hours. 24 hours ago, I was sitting at a kitchen table, enjoying an Easter bbq with a friend and his family. Easter has been a little different the last 2 years for me. Last Easter, I spent with my cousin and her fiancee at his grandma's house. A new sort of family if you will. I did this because I had to work the day before and could not make it home for Easter. The first holiday away from my parents. It was strange. This year I did make it home, but lo and behold, my parents are out of town. For good reason and I know they're having a blast. But it just so happened that this would be the year for my aunt's family and my family to just decide to do....nothing. Not really any celebration as a family. My family had my aunt and uncle over for Palm Sunday dinner the week before, so that was our psuedo Easter dinner.
   Anyways, I'm getting off track. 24 hours ago...sitting, laughing, talking, playing games. 24 hours from right now (10:05) I was watching a comedian's standup that my friend insisted I watch. And well I laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I got a good ab workout. Went home...packed a little more (it's amazing how far my stuff spreads when I come home for a week) and try to get some sleep. Wake up at 6 a.m. today (I swear I've been awake longer), Skype with mom and dad, assure them I'll be safe driving in the torrential rain (p.s. California......what the heck?). Say good bye to my sister as she goes off to school, pack up my car, drive 5 hours in rain and sunshine (bipolar state....I swear). Get back to the house up north, shower, dig out my school things, catch the train and boom I'm at school like it's just a normal day. And now, finally, I'm lying in bed as I type this and can't wait to fall asleep. Maybe dream of 24 hours ago when I was still at "home". Reality bites sometimes.
   It's all about going from the familiar and comfortable to the less-familiar and starting to get comfortable. I kind of surprise myself with how easily I switch from being at home me to being school me. At home me knows all the roads and knows where all my friends live and I enjoy the suburban lifestyle. School me knows my way around the city and takes public transit to school and walks around like I am not afraid of some crazy person trying to preach to me about Jesus and such. But all in all, I'm just one me....just different sides of me in different places. I don't even know where public transit is at home. But it's a way of life up here. Sometimes I worry that I can't be both and that I'll have to choose.
   Ok that is all for now. I am closing my eyes and going to sleep. It's going to be great. Just remember how much can happen in 24 hours...

Friendships

2010-03-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

   Coming home is something of a rarity for me these days. And it truly feels like a "break" because, despite the huge pile of homework that I need to do this week, I truly have no where to be other than home. No classes, no work, no going to the office (although I haven't done that in quite some time now). Plus, I really don't live here anymore so it really is vacation. Today is Palm Sunday, which in the Catholic world means a longer mass where we read the Passion of the Christ. Yes, that Passion. The Passion that spawned that very long and grueling movie by Mel Gibson. But I digress. It's the start of Holy Week because a week from today is Easter. So this week there is mass Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Because I am no a disciplined Catholic, I will most likely only go on Sunday (one because I can only handle so many masses in a row and two because my parents won't be around to make me go). It's a week that most people who do not regularly attend mass try to go. So this means that this morning at church I saw a TON of people. I love my church community. We are one giant family. And I mean that. I have so many sets of "parents" that it's unbelievable. And I saw a few today and it was wonderful =).
   But it got me thinking about relationships that we have when we live at home and how they change when we leave. For me, when I left for school, I left behind a lot of friends and knew no one at school. Now, I keep in touch with most of my friends from home sparingly, with the occasional Facebook chat conversation here and there. Some I miss a lot and would like to talk to more and others...well it just wasn't meant to be a lifelong friendship. What amazes me and makes me so happy is the relationships that I have with some of my friends. The ones that no matter how long it's been since I talked to them or seen them, we can just jump right back in like we never parted. Those are the friendships that I love. And hold very near and dear to my heart. You know who are (even if you're not reading this).
   Also, the other night when I first got home and everyone was in bed by 10 (waaaaaay too early for me), I sort of stared around my room for a bit, looking through my closet at all the things that I had deemed unnecessary to bring to college with me. One of those things was a trinket box that I got from a friend for my 16th birthday. We were such good friends then that she had even had it engraved. I haven't talked to her really since that year. So I sent a little facebook note to her to say hello. Ah, the wonder of Facebook. I don't know how we got on with keeping in touch with people before the internet. Those were the days when you really had to put in an effort.
   This was another emptying-of-my-brain posts but I hope you enjoyed it and it got you thinking. Who are the people that no matter where you are in the world or what point in your life you're at do you still want to keep in touch with? My friend Nick made a comment last week that went along the lines of "If we all (my group of friends at school) do not keep in contact til our dying day.....well I'll be sad." The truth is that some of us will and some of us won't. My parents are perfect examples of that. Some of their friendships have sustained over the years and some friends were just there for a bit.
   "Some people were meant to be in your life forever and others are just meant to make an appearance." - Greek

Driving Home

2010-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

I drove home today to Southern California from school. It was a quick 5 hour drive (catch the sarcasm?). But there was little to no traffic and for the first time I actually could appreciate the beauty of the California 101. Everyone says that the I-5 is much faster and more direct but it's such an ugly ride. I know that the scenery should not matter when I should be keeping my eyes on the road, but oh my gosh, the scenery on the 101 is so beautiful right now! Everywhere I looked, there were lush green hillsides and fields stretching to the mountains full of green produce. Then when I hit the San Luis area, I hit the ocean and the way that the sun gleamed off the ocean was dazzling (yes, I said dazzling). I don't know what it is, but I just was so relaxed the whole way home. Maybe it's because I AM relaxed. I haven't felt this relaxed and at peace since before Christmas. I think. But it's going to be fleeting. I know it. I have a loaded second half of the semester and then a quick pack up of my life and off to Europe. The next 9 weeks are going to FLY.
It's amazing to me how different the scenery is from north to south. Well, maybe it's the proximity to the coast and how the coast changes from rocky edges to sandy beaches. Big Sur is gorgeous. I've driven through once (not my choice..it's a long getting-lost story). But it's all cliffs. You have to LOVE hiking and rock climbing to truly appreciate the beauty. Once you hit San Luis Obispo, the coast is beautiful, smooth beaches with the tall mountains just across the freeway. That is why I love California. We have everything you could want as far as natural sceneries. We have high mountain peaks, sandy beaches, deserts and snow. Such a beautiful state. Ok well I'm rambling again. Off for now.

My Brain Never Stops

2010-03-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

If you read my previous post, you have an idea of what my weekend was like. And yes I am posting this a mere 20 minutes later. But I just had to. I am done with a HUGE project and silly me thought that now I could relax and let my mind wander. Not the case. At all. My mind was literally racing this morning in the shower. This is usually where my mind is most relaxed and I can contemplate my coming week. No. This morning, my mind was thinking of so many things, that I actually had to stop and close my eyes and yell at myself to stop for a second. As soon as I could, I wrote down everything that was on my mind. And well it filled up almost a whole page. Everything from what to do now with PRSSA (which is so much that my fellow board members might throw things at me at our next meeting), to homework and projects I have for school, to a very important conversation I need to have with my parents when I go home for break, along with what I need to pack for home and what I need to do for an event that I want to attend in October. Yes, I said in October (reference to my "Planner" post earlier this week). It makes me laugh at how no matter how much I want to shut off my thinking process, my brain knows me better. If that makes any sense.
I named this blog "Extension of my brain" for a reason. It really is. I know I've mentioned it before but it's oh so very true.

Regional Activity - Gone in the Blink of an Eye

2010-03-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend was busy. I was home for a total of maybe 12 hours. And most of those were to sleep and shower. The reason for this was that my PRSSA chapter hosted a Regional Activity. For those of you who don't speak PRSSA lingo, it's a two day conference for students interested in PR. And we packed the weekend full of stuff. Barely any breaks in action from Friday morning til Saturday mid afternoon. Which means for the board members aka planning committee there were NO breaks and some things over-lapped. This weekend has been taking over my life since the beginning of January. We, the board, lived, breathed and ate it. And just like that, in the blink of an eye, it's done. The participants are already all back home (or on their way) and all we have left is amazing memories, some wrap up evaluations and rest to catch up on (I did that this morning by sleeping for 11 hours...it's not advisable. now I don't want to go to work). This weekend reminded me why I love PRSSA SO much. I have great memories, I learned a TON and made a whole group of new friends and connections.

As Travis Murdock from A&R Edelman pointed out, we need to keep in touch with each other after this. Sure we're now friends but most important from the professional aspect, we are the future of the industry and we are now each others connections. These are the types of relationships that will carry you through your professional life. Already, we're doing that. I had a conversation with the Social Director of Sacramento State's PRSSA about how we should do a joint fundraiser activity with them. Working together will get you places. And even though I was on the planning committee and helped in setting up the panels, I learned a ton. The theme was The Survivor's Guide to PR....and boy did we get advice on that. The thing that stood out most, to me at least, was that you need to make sure that your brand ONLINE is strong. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, along with sites and applications that I hadn't heard about, are our strongest tools now. It's no longer just handshakes, business cards being exchanged and resumes being mailed. It's a constant conversation with your peers and upper level professionals.

The memories from this weekend will forever stay with me. We bonded; the board as one, the participants as one and as a collective group. It's great to host other school's chapters. We learn SO much from each other.

Planner - a person who plans

2010-03-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

That's what I am. I'm a planner. Always have been. It's like my security blanket. From day one I have always wanted to know what I was doing, where I was going. That's why I had my whole year planned (for the most part) by January 1 of this year. School January through May, Italy May through August, a week in NY at the end of August and back to school from very end of August through December. On December 17, my planning becomes fuzzy. I don't know what I'll do after that. Well besides go home for the holidays. January 1 of 2011 is blank. And it's making me nervous. Friends say that I need to loosen up and not plan so much. Fat chance. I have a running to-do list (its even "to do" stationary, compliments of my cousin's bridal shower) with varied highlighting. And one of the items on that list is to make ANOTHER list. Yes, I know... a little strange. But it's what I do. I'm lost without it. I can do without it for a little bit but then my brain becomes too crowded. It's easier to have it on paper so I don't have to have it constantly running through my mind.
But I digress. Nothing planned after December 17, besides the holidays. Hell, I don't even know where I'll be working in the fall. The goal is to work at a winery (I have a specific one in mind) but the type of job I find/can work with all depends on my class schedule, which I won't know until mid April (hopefully). Even not knowing that makes me anxious. I know it shouldn't and that I should be focusing on the here and now...but I just can't. I LIKE to make plans. But they're not like itinerary-like plans where I plan out each day. It's an outline or "guideline" as the pirate's code goes. I live by a guideline. And I like it. For instance, I have NO idea what I'm going to do while home on break, but I know I'm going home. And I have some school work to get done. And I want to go to some high school and tee ball baseball games (biiiiig difference but both enjoyable). And most importantly, I want to spend time with my family. The idea of being away all summer is bittersweet. It's my last summer as a student so I know that living it up ( as they call it) is a must but at the same time, I am spending very little time with my family. Who knows, it might be the best summer of my life. I hope so...well up until this point anyways. I want each year to be the "best year ever"...don't we all?
Ok I've reached the rambling point again. It's 1:15 in the morning and I have a midterm at 10:30. Eek. Such is the life of a college student. See, I can't even wrap my mind around the concept of having a day job and ONLY a day job. Sounds nice and relaxing. None of this school all day, work at night THEN homework and studying. And sleep in there somewhere. Ahh sounds nice. That's what I have planned next year. A day job and hopefully only a day job. Ok good night all.

It's March

2010-03-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

How on earth is it already March? March 8th, almost 9th (I'm writing this at 11:15 p.m.) to be exact. Spring Break is in 3 weeks but in those 3 weeks I have to do a presentation, write a paper or five, take a midterm or two and help host a weekend conference. OH and work as much as I can which isn't nearly enough. I truly can't wait until I can have an actual day job and not have to work at night and weekends and not have much of a social life. Not that I do right now...

So yes it's been a whirlwind beginning to the year. More like a tornado. That's how I feel lately. Like my life is spinning and spinning faster and faster and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I just want to stop the spinning and sit and breathe for a bit. My cousin's bridal shower was this weekend and that's when it really hit me how fast time was flying. She has been engaged for 2 years and is finally getting married next month. It's crazy. Our family has been waiting for this with a lot of excitement and it's almost here! But for me I thought it was so far off and boom it's almost here. Three weeks after that is the end of this semester and I'm off to Italy for the summer. No real break in action 'til I graduate and well after that it's life.

All that said, I just can't wait for Spring Break. I am going to get home as soon as I can and enjoy my time with my family. I am still homesick and I do tear up here and there. I guess that's part of growing up. So that's all for now. Once again emptying my brain.

Life lately...

2010-02-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

has found me really unmotivated to do school work. For instance, I am currently sitting in class. However, to keep myself from falling asleep, I am making a post because my teacher is so unfortunately boring. It's unfortunate because the subject is one that would usually interest me to the point of my classmates thinking me strange (history of american media). Alas (always wanted to use that), my teacher is so boring that it's making me crazy. Add that to the fact that the learning system that he uses "Blackboard" makes my internet as fast as molasses, it's been a frustrating day.

But back to my lack of motivation. I am getting through a cold and didn't even come to school on Tuesday. Yesterday, I just stayed in the lounge during a class that I knew I wouldn't miss much in. I have papers that need to be done and books that need to be read but for some reason, I just do not want to do anything. And no, the fact that the Olympics are on do not contribute to this, even though I am still following them avidly, cheering on Team USA and my photographer friends, via their teams blog NewSport Photo Agency. I met Patrick, Aaron, Clayton and Rick at the Summer National Senior Games last summer at Stanford and that was when they found out that they would be headed to Vancouver to shoot the Olympics. How cool is that?! Hopefully, I'll be there with them next time...well not with THEM per se, but in the same place, working with the Olympics. Ahhh a girl can dream, right?

See, I keep getting distracted. But maybe that's the root of my problem. Sleeping, surfing the net, watching TV just all seem so much more appealing than reading or writing for school. Even working on Convocation (which is going so smooth I should be nervous) or Regional Activity (which is NOT going smoothly so I AM worried) sounds more appealing. Oh well. I need to get my butt in gear. It's almost the end of February. 3 months from now is summer. I have to get through those 3 months though and those 3 months are filled with school work. Ugh.

Part of it is that I am going through a nasty bout of homesickness. It reached it's peak Valentine's Day weekend (no relevance I promise) which happened to be when my last post was. That post was about the Olympics in part because that was what was making me happy. In truth, I was fighting back tears all weekend. I was so depressed and feeling lonely that I believe I called my mom crying like 4 times that weekend...on top of the other countless times I called her.

Ok so this post has no real point. But it's me emptying my brain...yet again. On top of the aforementioned topic, I've got a nasty case of chest congestion which leaves me short of breath most of the time and coughing up phlegm. gross I know. ugh I just want to feel better and feel like me again, the girl who LIKES to do work. I need to find her.

The Olympics

2010-02-13T23:07:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver have FINALLY begun. I have been sooo excited for these games to start because, well, I LOVE the Olympics. I don't know what it is about them, but it's 2 solid weeks of non-stop sports. And I love sports. I'm not exactly the most athletic person (well my dad says I have the ability but no desire...which is true. I'd rather organize) but I still have a great love and passion for the world of sports. For those of you who know me, you know that I am a ridiculously big New York Yankees fan and love anything baseball. But I am warming up to other sports. I swam and played water polo in high school and played softball and (very briefly) soccer when I was younger. During the Summer Olympics, I will watch it all. Same with the Winter Olympics. But I have a worry associated with the Winter Olympics.

The Summer Olympics are generally more popular and many people I have spoken to prefer them over Winter. And by the numbers, the Summer Olympics are a bigger event. In Beijing, over 200 countries competed. In Vancouver, only 82 countries are represented, with a good handful of these countries only sending one or two athletes. It's understandable though. Not all countries have access to winter terrain, but everyone can go run on a track or jump in a pool. My worry with the Winter Olympics is that they are so much more dangerous. At least that's what I think. Between the tragic death of the mens luger from Georgia and the numerous crashes I've seen in speed skating and skiing, it's scary. These people have guts. I could never tell myself that "ok I'm going to go down this icy track at 90 mph and get out of it unscathed." No, I'm a scaredy cat, completely. In fact, right now NBC is doing a highlight on how high risk the Winter Olympics are. Nice timing, eh?

Despite my worry, I really can't take my eyes off of it. In the beginning of my fascination with the Olympics, it was strictly figure skating, because that was my mom's favorite. So we would watch that. But now I watch it all. For instance, right now I'm watching women's moguls where American Hannah Kearney just won Gold. I think the American's first gold of the Games. The first of many I hope. Next up is Apollo Ohno in speed skating and well I love him. Of course. haha. In fact, figure skating is the one sport where I only have a mere interest in this year. It's not because we don't have a strong team (it's an ok team) but because everything else seems so exciting to me. I was watching women's hockey this morning. That's right, I watched hockey. What is this world coming to?!

On that note, I think that's what I like most about the Olympics. It's the world. Literally the World Championships. It's the whole world coming together for a bit of friendly (at least it should be) competition. Everyone is invited and no one is discriminated. It's the ultimate networking event (sorry just had to throw in some PR-ness). And someday I will be there, either as a spectator, employee or both. I want to so bad. I am strongly considering going to London 2012. I will try even harder for Sochi 2014 and I will be at Rio de Janeiro 2016. That is what I want to do. The more I think about it, the more that I know that I want to work with the Olympics. Either with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) or the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Of course, the USOC is closer to home (it's in Colorado) than the IOC (Switzerland). We'll see. The next few years should be fun.

And I'm done. Happy watching! Go Team USA!!

technology + me = success?

2010-02-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

So something amusing has happened. At least it's amusing to me. Besides working on this blog, I have been helping with the upkeep of my student organization's conference website. It's a simple webs.com blog but still the thought of ME being the forerunner on something to do with technology is a little silly to me. I even taught my friend how to do something on it and he's the techno expert on most things. In fact, in the year that we have been friends, I have learned how to do about 50% of the things I do on my macbook. And I love it. I like knowing what I'm doing and I like getting creative with the website...which you can check out if you go to my facebook page and click on the link.

Now this new subject occurred a long time ago, but I have become one of "those" people who you rarely see without her laptop. All I'm missing is a smartphone, which sad to say is almost a necessity for me at this point. I still have a simple messaging phone, and although it has been very loyal and worked well for me the last few years, just isn't cutting it anymore. It's a dilemma for me. I want a new phone but don't exactly have the money for it. But I also want a new laptop (mine is coming up on 4 years old) and the new Creative Suite from Adobe (omgosh it's amazing). My goal is to have all 3 of these items in my possession at latest December, which is when I graduate and my student discount on said laptop and CS program disappear. So that's the goal. Besides having a fabulous year.

Ok those are my thoughts for right now. Ciao!

Brain Emptying at its finest

2010-02-02T15:21:00.001-08:00

So my original thought for this blog was to be a place where I would post maybe once a week and be done with it until my summer took off. Now I feel like it's a place to empty my brain and get my thoughts out without saying it out loud.

Stress has quickly become an unwelcome constant in my life. At least from now until the weekend of March 18. I usually can remain calm and generally avoid stress while still getting a lot done. But this is too much for me already. Between my student organization's activity we are hosting in March to the slew of reading I have for classes to my frustration with my waitressing job, it's just a little much right now. I know that it will pass and I will get through it but jeez. I've said this before and I'll say it again. I really think that life after college will almost be easier to manage. We'll go from taking a full load of classes, juggling and internship and a job to just one job (hopefully).

On a positive note, my friends and I had a "family" dinner last night. We were at my friend's house and had dinner with his dad and brother and there were a total of 9 of us at the table with a HUGE bowl of pasta and an equally huge bowl of salad in the middle of the table. At one point, it was silent except for eating sounds...that's when you know the meal was good. And it was a home-cooked meal with my amazing friends. I loved it, but then I got an overwhelming feeling of homesickness and even teared up for a few seconds.

So that is my brain emptying for the day. Sorry if I sounded a little bit whiny but it's going to be one of those days. =).

A week of highs and lows

2010-02-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

The first week of school is always an interesting one. With some classes, you know what to expect, either by knowing the teacher and their writing style or hearing from fellow classmates who have already had that class. Others, you have no idea what to expect and are going in blind. This semester, I have a decent mix of the two. I have a lot of research and writing to do this semester on top of my extracurricular activities. Some of this I expected and some I was thrown for a loop. But luckily I am able to take a bit of a break and concentrate just on school and work, instead of also throwing an internship into the mix. I was up for an internship with a great company but unfortunately my class schedule and schedule for the rest of the year didn't go with their needs. So here I am for the first time in a while, only working ONE job and having a full load of classes. We'll see if I get bored at some point. My goal is to get straight A's because I have the time to concentrate on classes.

So the highs with school were reconnecting with friends that I haven't seen since before winter break started and getting excited about some classes I am taking that I've always wanted to take (human sexuality for all you curious people) and the lows were realizing that I am taking some classes that may very well kick my butt (one class requires 8 5-6 page papers along with a group presentation, 2 solo presentations and 2 short presentations; another requires a 20 page research paper at the end of the semester). Also,the stress of an upcoming event that my student organization is planning and hosting is starting to really set in and take its toll. Like I said, it's going to be a long, interesting but fun semester.

On the home front, the highs were welcoming a new roommate that is fantastic already. She decorated our shared bathroom in a way that I have only dreamed of doing. I know that's a funny thing to point out but for me it's a big deal. I do miss my old roommate but life happens and people move around. So yay for a new roommate who seems like she is going to be fun! The lows of the week is realizing that this is the worse off I have been financially...ever. When I first started working, it was for pocket money and to have something to do after school and to learn about responsibility and get a little better at my work ethic. And I truly liked working because it was something new and I was doing something I had never done before.

Now it is to support myself because I have bills to pay and things to buy (necessities and once in a great while now something fun). I am a waitress and like most restaurants this past year, mine is still recovering and I am not working nearly enough or good enough shifts to get a good amount of money. It's really kind of scary. But I am, and always have been, pretty independent and believe that I can do it on my own...with a little help now and then. I have my parents to thank for that mindset and for the help now and then.

I said in a previous post that this was going to be a great year and I still believe that. However, it is going to be great in a different way than I originally thought. I am going to grown and learn a ton this year. And I am really looking forward to it.

It's a funny thing...

2010-01-27T13:06:00.000-08:00

...how a place that at one time seemed so foreign and daunting now feels more like home than anything else. And no I'm not talking the house I live in. I'm talking about the student lounge in my department's building. Anyone who is reading this and knows what I'm talking about will agree. My first semester here, I didn't know it existed. Well, I knew it was here but I never went in it and thought it was a place for others. Then I discovered it last semester and would spend my breaks in there. Now if I'm not in class, I'm in the lounge, chatting with anyone who is in there, working on homework or just relaxing before my next class or meeting. Friends and I have even joked about getting bunk beds or a pull out couch in there because all of us spend so much time in there and there's really not any place comfortable to lay down and take a quick nap.

Anyways, I digress. This time last year was the first time I stepped into this building and felt unsure if I would fit in. This semester, my 3rd here, I walked in and nearly hugged the wall because I've been away from it for 5 weeks. It just feels like home. Even when I go to a class in a different building and come back here for my next class, this is the building that just feels familiar. The faces and everyone there just feels comfortable. It's a good feeling.

School Time!

2010-01-26T13:41:00.001-08:00

Today I am officially a "senior" in college. For me, my senior year will be just that...one year. Two semesters but instead of a winter break in between, it will be a summer. I have it worked out that if I take 5 classes this semester (which I am, after a lot of last minute juggling) and do my study abroad over the summer (which I am) I only have 4 classes to take come Fall semester and then I will be DONE. Thank goodness.

Last night I lay in bed contemplating this coming semester. It's going to be one of a lot of challenges, both personal and professional. I thought about how even though I am 21 years old now, I still get excited for the "first" day of school. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was so excited. But it was a different excitement from when I was a kid. This was excitement at getting my school routine back on track and seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It's a craving for stability. This is the last year of that school stability. After December, I don't have that anymore and will have to find a job "stability" to have a routine with. But for now I can just enjoy this.

I also thought this morning that in May I will have been out of community college for 2 years. And in June out of high school for 4. It's a strange thing to think about seeing as high school graduation seems like a lifetime ago and community college a shorter lifetime ago. So much has happened since I was in those places and I barely remember how life was then. I can't imagine my life different from how it is now. Even living on my own was such an easy transition for me, even though I do get very homesick now and then, especially now. It's only 2 p.m. but I've already talked on the phone with my mom twice today. I just wish I was closer to home so I could just pop in for a visit every so often.

So today is the first day of school....again. I have two classes; one in the afternoon and one in the evening. It's the dreaded night class but seeing as I have already done a reading assignment for it, it sounds pretty interesting. It's the Senior Capstone Seminar for my minor even though I've only taken one other class to do with my minor. And it's going to be fun. I have to add the class (this is the juggling I mentioned before) and as a result have already emailed back and forth with the professor so I know he's at least a nice guy. After today I'll have an inkling about how he is as a teacher.

So as I should be paying attention to my teacher who is going on about the syllabus (which I've already read and have heard about this whole class from friends who have taken it already) I will sign off now. More for later. I am forewarning you on some stressed out posts to come between now and May. Possibly through December. So until next time...later!

I can breathe easy again

2010-01-19T13:26:00.001-08:00

I spoke to my mom this morning. She sounded tired and said she was in pain but I was just happy to hear her voice again. She should be there for a few days then home on bed rest for around 6 weeks. A friend of ours was there with her keeping her company since my dad and sister are at work and school. That is what I love the most about our group of friends. No matter what, someone is going to be there. And we would do the same, and have, for them. I miss that. But I have a great group of friends at school as well, so it's blessings all around. I'm trying to figure out a weekend that I can go home to see my mom in the next six weeks but not getting my hopes up. Right now the priority is to work as much as I can and start the new semester off on the right foot.

Another reason I am breathing easy again is I finally got my car to a repair shop and now have a rental car. It's amazing what a simple vehicle can do for one's sense of self and independence. I just hope my car gets back to me fast so life can go back to normal. The repair shop gave me an estimate of around a week to a week and a half but I hope that it goes as fast as possible, while still doing a good job. This experience has made me never, ever want to be in another accident again. It's much too stressful.

Also, it's been raining pretty steadily for the last 48 hours. It's stopped for now but this morning around 5 am I woke up to thunder and a flash of lightning. Most people would hate this. I'm strange and I absolutely love, love, love thunderstorms. It's almost a comfort to me. I fell right back asleep to the sound of rumbling and rain pouring down. My best friend is the exact opposite. Once, when I was visiting her, there was a thunderstorm and the next thing I know she's on the airbed with me shaking like crazy. I guess that's why we're best friends.....we're completely opposite in some ways. Ok well that's all for now. Mom's ok, car is getting better and we're getting much needed rain. Bring on the new semester.

This week

2010-01-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

This week has been a rough one for me. Although it could have been worse. And it's my own fault. I got into a minor accident that has left me temporarily without a car and that alone stresses me. I have always been an independent being and from the time I got my license and my first car, I have run all of my own errands and gotten myself places. Relying on my roommate and friends, even though they say it's no problem, makes me feel like I'm a burden. To this my mom says to forget it and remember all the times when I have driven friends places and done favors without expecting a return. So now I wait so I can bring my car in to get fixed and I pray that I don't have to wait too long for it to be returned to me.

On top of this, my mom is having a routine procedure on Monday. And I say routine because it really is a common procedure now. However, I still worry. And maybe it's because I just spent a few weeks at home and got used to having my family, especially my mom around, that it's so hard to imagine myself not there for when she goes into recovery. I know she will be fine, but the worrier (and I am) in me takes over. I just wish I was home or that home were closer to where I live now so it would be easier to see them.

Now I don't usually cry over movies or songs, but one song caught me so off-guard when I first heard it that I cried. And I still do, even when I know I'm about to click on it to listen to it. That song is Taylor Swift's "Best Day". That song is a near-perfect representation of my relationship with my mom. She is truly my best friend and I confide in her for pretty much everything. I was on the train yesterday going to a meeting and it came up and without even knowing it, I started to tear up. Being in such a public place, I didn't want to cry so I quickly changed it. But the words hung in my mind all day. Luckily a friend invited my roommate and I out to dinner and a movie and I didn't have time after the meeting was done and I was home to really sit down and have a good cry. I don't know why I get so emotional so easily now.

So I am going to leave you with this...another song that has truly got me thinking. It's Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying". It's a message that I know already but I haven't heard a song that really hits me like this. If you haven't heard it or can't exactly remember the words, look it up. Listen to the lyrics. And really listen to them.

New Year...New Year's Resolution?

2010-01-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so for the past few years I have resolved NOT to make a resolution for the new year because I have felt that it's just an empty promise to myself. I actually have one this year and for good reason. I have resolved that I am going to go to church at least twice a month. Now as most of you know, I'm Catholic and have always been very involved with church and always go every weekend. At least I do when I'm home. I have only been to mass once since being up at school and that was Easter Sunday and that good ol' Catholic guilt propelled me there. But being home for a few weekends and going to church a handful of times made me miss it. And there is no reason for me not to go to Sunday mass. There is a perfectly good Catholic church just 5 minutes from my house at school and I can easily get my butt up in time for mass. I just feel like I should. It makes me feel safe when I'm in church. I guess I haven't gone to a different church other than my home church because I was scared that it just wouldn't be the same. But no place is the same as what you're used to. Everything is different. It has to be. If everything was the same, there would be no exploration or really any need to. That's what's so great about the world. Every place is different and you can go and experience new things. So I resolve to go to church at least twice a month.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well it's another new year. And another new decade. This past year has definitely been one of a lot of changes. For starters, in January I finally started at a university. Moved away from home and moved into a dorm with 2 strangers I had never met in my entire life. Was left to find my way around a new city, a new region. Classes that were harder than any I had ever done before and for the first time ever, I was in a place where I did not know anyone. Now, I can't even imagine life without the people I have met along the way. All of them, and if you know me at all, you know that I manage to meet way too many people for my own good. The first semester went well. After never having roommates before, I discovered that all those lessons on cleaning up around the house actually stuck with me. Also learned that there are some people out there that I don't get along with and never will. I started my first real internship with the Senior Olympics. Summer brought another move with a new roommate and an interesting living experience, but fun nevertheless. The internship sort of ate up my life but the people I met there and the things that I got to do were something that I could not have experienced otherwise. The Games were two weeks of the longest days I've ever worked and I would have not traded it for anything. Then came fall semester and the start of living in yet another new place with a new set of roommates. If I don't move again for at least a year it'll be great for me. This past semester, as I've said before, was THE hardest semester I've ever had. But again the friends that I have made along the way helped me through it. And now, 2009 is over. On to 2010 and more adventures, bigger than I have ever done before. 2 more semesters and a summer abroad. This time in a year I will have a college degree and hopefully a job to start, or at least a few leads on a job. That's the thing... as much as I plan ahead, which I do (just ask my friend Nick, he's always telling me to stop, slow down and enjoy right now)... you can't plan for everything. As much as I would love to plan my summer down to the detail, I can't. And that's one of the main things I learned this year. I learned to let things happen on their own and not try to control everything, because attempting to do that just makes me crazy. SO with that I wish you all a Happy New Year and a wonderful year at that.

Next Summer

2009-12-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Next summer is going starting to sound like an amazing adventure for me. My parents and I booked my flights to Italy for next summer and in addition, I will be spending a little time in New York before and after the trip to Italy. I CANNOT wait for this trip. I just know that I am going to learn so, so much and come out of it a completely different person. So my trip starts as soon as school ends. I will drive home to drop my car off at my parents and then I fly to New York for a day and a half then fly to Italy. After my program ends I am staying with my family in Italy for another two weeks then flying back to New York for 6 days to spend with my family and best friend. I am so giddy with excitement, it's ridiculous. I just cannot believe that this is truly happening. I have wanted to study abroad since, oh gosh since I was a kid. At least in junior high. And I just know that it's going to be amazing. It's a little nerve-wracking to think that I will be away from home for around 3 months. I just can't wait. I think I've said that a few times. Well I just wanted to get that out. So this blog is going to be my main way of communicating what's going on while I'm away. Ahh the new year will be here in a few days. Amazing to think about.

Christmas

2009-12-26T23:17:00.000-08:00

was here and gone before you could blink twice. The strange thing about this year's holiday season was that I had been so focused on the end of the semester and already in the mindset that there would be no frantic christmas shopping that there really wasn't much buildup to it. I got home this time last week and really it was a quick week up until christmas. and like most years it was there and done. Christmas is obviously not what it was when I was young. My entire family is waiting for my cousins to have some kids so that nervous excitement can once again be experienced. That is the joy of Christmas, really....seeing the excitement on the kids faces. it just reminds you to be a kid and relax and enjoy yourself.

This week home didn't start off happy. I found out a few weeks ago that my mom needs a hysterectomy because of a benign growth in her uterus. Just that is enough to make me nervous, even though I know that the hysterectomy procedure is a very routine one and very common. But on top of that her mammogram scan came back with something "warranting further evaluation". Well that right there, told to me by my very freaked out mother right when I got home, was enough to make me cry several times over the next few days. But thank God (literally because I prayed so so much since finding out about this situation after thanksgiving) there is nothing to be worried about. i was amazed, even though i shouldn't be, at how absolutely loving my parents friends are. My mom has received several cards from friends over the last few days just letting her know that everything will be ok and that they, the sender of the card, is there if she needs to talk to someone. This is the reason I love coming home. My family could not have found a more wonderful group of people to become friends with when we moved here. We know, as a family, that if any of us are ever in need, we can reach out and visa versa. Our church community is like my second family... I even call some of them mom and dad.

But I'm rambling. It's great to be home. It's almost surreal at times to think that I really haven't been home that much since this time last year. This time last year I was preparing to move up to school and be on my own, really for the first time. I was terrified. But surprisingly, it was an easy transition. I could go into this past year more but this post is already long enough. So Christmas is over and almost done with (still have some post-Christmas sales to hit and more gifts on the way from family and friends) then it's New Years with some of my wonderful "brothers". Can't wait. And I really can't believe that I still have a month til school starts up again. Jeez. This time next year I will be a college graduate. Crazyness. OK off for now.

It's really over

2009-12-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

The semester is finally FINALLY over. Yes it is. I have to keep telling myself that because it seemed never ending. In fact I still feel like I have one more test to do or one more project to finish. But I don't. For one glorious month, four weeks, 30 days, I don't have to think about school..but I will. However, what I will be doing more of is writing here, reading my good ol' Harry Potter books, baking cookies, hanging with friends and family and watching fun movies. Just relaxing. Because along with going home for a few weeks, I don't have to go to work! Ahh it is going to be wonderful.

So today I did finish one last project for school, the convocation event binder, with my co-chair and got to cleaning out my school stuff and my room. It really is a wonderful feeling to clean after such a long, long time. Already my room is looking better and not a hazard zone like it has been. Clothes are in the laundry, dishes are done and I am starting to pack. Tomorrow morning I will load my car and make my way down the 101. Ahh wonderful. I'm going to miss my friends here but I'll be back soon enough. This year has been full of so much newness I have to sit for a while and comprehend that. But that's for another post at another time. Right now I'm going to cook myself some dinner and get ready to go out with a few of the girls to a fun bar downtown.

Right now..

2009-12-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

...all I want to do is get cozy on the couch and have a Disney movie marathon and color with markers and play with playdough. Yes, it is almost the end of finals. I have been fully immersed in studying since last week and let me tell you...it's draining. Tomorrow at noon will be d-day for me and my Media Law and Ethics grade. Like I said before I have NEVER studied this hard for a final. Then Thursday is the convocation ceremony, for which I am co-chair of the planning committee. I know it will go off without a hitch (fingers crossed) but I still worry. Anyone who has worked on an event with me knows that. I always worry even if I know nothing can go wrong. So *knock on wood* the ceremony on Thursday will be amazing and all the graduates will look spectacular and everyone will be happy. Finished my final website today and I'm proud of it. However, I don't know how long it will be on the web since it's on my teacher's personal server and he only has so much room on that thing. But yay know I know how to make a website...sort of. Ok I must get back to studying. Home on Saturday-ish. Can't wait to see everyone!

It's been raining for 2 days...

2009-12-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

..and I can honestly say that I have never studied this much for finals. Ever. And I'm not quite sure if that is a good or bad thing. All I know is that this semester seemed to go on for a full year, not a quarter of one. I try to think back to January when I first moved up to school and it just seems like a different lifetime. This week is going to go impossibly slow. I know this because it's only Saturday night and I have all day Sunday to continue my studying. Monday I have a final and then it's back home for more studying continuing into Tuesday. Work will interrupt that and then Wednesday at noon will be the end of it. Convocation on Thursday seems so far away from now. But of course I know that like most things I lament over lasting too long, it will be over in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, I will be once again making the drive down the 101 to home and family and friends for a few weeks. Who knows, those weeks could go fast and I will be sad to leave or they could go so slow that I will enjoy going back to the daily grind of classes, work and all other things that my life is full of now.

I'm relatively new to this blogging thing. Not quite sure how I should go about it. I think I'll write in it when I feel like. About whatever I want to, within reason of course. A lot has happened since I started up here and in the next six to eight months, even more things are going to happen. It's going to be a wild ride, that's for sure. And I'm positive that this time next year, when I am nearing the end of my undergraduate college career, I will look back and be so happy I did what I did when I did it. My motto is that life happens and it all happens for a reason =).

Starting This Blog...for reals

2009-12-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

Oook so I am officially done with my class that this blog was required for and now that I've had it, I actually like it. So this is my blog. You can go through my old posts if you like and see what I was up to all semester in my writing workshops class. And I'm also posting a link to my new media class blog, which has my final project on it in the form 3 videos. The theme is my family's christmas traditions. So don't make fun of me and just enjoy this blog. It's my new personal outlet.

Feature Story Broadcast

2009-12-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

In My Humble Opinion #2

2009-11-23T00:12:00.001-08:00

In my last post, I discussed the California Bill 656 and how much it would be able to help California’s higher education system. Now I am truly angered by this whole situation, but on a more personal level, on a level that most people would not stop to think about. This past week, the University of California regents board voted to increase UC tuition 32 percent, much like the CSU board increased tuition 30 percent and made it effective this past fall semester. It was inevitable. What I am angry about though, is the amount of attention the UC hike is getting and how they held rallies against the tuition much like we, SJSU, did. Yet, when SJSU and other CSU schools held these rallies, it was not that big of a deal. The entire nation knows about the UC rallies, demonstrated by the Time Magazine article online yesterday.

It’s long been a standard that the University of California schools are “better” than the California State University schools. It is the stigma of being a state school that most students look down upon. I can remember being a junior in high school and all of the honors students bragging that they were going to apply to a UC because they did not think that a state school was good enough for them. I, on the other hand, knew that I would be going to a community college first, which was even lower than a state school. I was a smart high school student, and I could have gotten into a good number of good schools and gone. But I have frugal parents who believed that going to a community college was just as good. I thought so too. At 17, there was no way I was ready to go away to school and live on my own.

It makes me so angry when people STILL put down state schools. I truly believe that I am getting a fantastic education at San Jose State. From what I have heard from my friends who are at UC’s, the learning is more theoretical, less hands on. You cannot gain experience in a field unless you do it yourself. You can only learn so much from reading a book and writing papers. I’m not sure what it’s going to take for the students of California to realize that a state school education is just as good, if not better, than a UC education. Although with all of the budget woes of California, it is getting to the point that no one will be able to afford a higher education.

Fish out of Water

2009-11-16T14:07:00.001-08:00

On April 2, 2009, I attended the MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana) Youth Poetry Slam. It was held in the gallery for MACLA on 2^nd Street in downtown San Jose. It was the top 12 competitors from the area and the winner would win a small cash prize and move on to the national competition. The ages of the group ranged from 13 to 19 years of age. I was attending as a part of my outreach project for one of my communication classes. I went with my friend Renae, who is Hispanic and had even participated in the poetry slams when she was in junior high and high school. She was working the lights and I was put in charge of the sound. It did not seem too complicated and the guy in charge was very nice and welcoming.

Once the first performer got on stage and started his piece, I knew that this would be something unlike anything I had ever been to before. The room was completely dark, except for the bright spotlight centered on the performer on stage. You could see the artwork on the wall behind them and the faces of the people in the first row and shadows of the rest of the audience in the background. All you could hear was the person onstage and the soft breathing of the audience. Each youth went up there and poured their heart out to complete strangers and friends alike.

I grew up with a near perfect family. I have a wonderful, loving set of parents and a younger sister who, although she can drive me nuts at time, loves me just as much as I love her. We live in a nice home in a nice neighborhood in a great town. I was surrounded by wonderful family friends growing up and never wanted for anything. I am worlds apart from the youths that performed that night. They spoke of growing up in broken homes and of wanting for the bare necessities. They spoke of heartbreak and of pain. The emotion that all of them evoked in me surprised me. I have never been one to get emotional while watching a show. I rarely cry during movies. But this was something different. It was watching a person who was around my age and should not have to face these kinds of challenges just yet.

Walking out of there that night, I felt like I should try to take more time out of my busy life to sit and reflect and get all of my thoughts down on paper. I also knew that nothing I wrote would be anything close to what these people had been through. I hate to admit it but most of the troubles were because I was not in the same ethnic group as them. Most of the youth were either Hispanic or black and had grown up in a world far different from mine.

Word of the Week #10

2009-11-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

canonical

read in "We the Media" by Dan Gillmor (online version)

"The canonical example of Metcalfe’s Law is the growth of fax machines."

definition (adj.): 1. according to or ordered by canon law 2. included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine, accepted as being accurate and authoritative, (of an artist or work) belonging to the literary or artistic canon, according to recognized rules or scientific laws 3. of or relating to a cathedral chapter or a member of it.

The SJSU chapter of PRSSA, Public Relations Student Society of America is a canonical chapter because it was one of the original 13 established by PRSA, Public Relations Society of America.

Japanese Internment Memorial

2009-11-04T00:48:00.000-08:00

The Japanese internment was the forced relocation and internment of around 120,000 Japanese Americans by the US Government in 1942. This event happened because the government was suspicious of Japanese spies after the attack on Pearl Harbor and it was the peak of Japanese dislike in the United States after numerous amounts of immigrants arrived in the U.S. over the first half of the 20^th century and had taken what American’s felt was most of the jobs. On February 26, 1942, President Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066. This order specifically allowed local military leaders to designate “military areas” as “exclusion zones”, from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” This caused all people of Japanese ancestry, U.S. citizens or not, to be excluded from the entire Pacific Coast because of its close proximity to Japan. They were only allowed to stay on the Pacific Coast if they were in internment camps.

Ruth Asawa is a Japanese American artist who is best known for her sculpture art. She started drawing and sketching when she was a young girl and it contined throughout her life. She is also a former internee. Born to Japanese immigrant parents, Ruth was a U.S. Citizen by birth but because of her family, was sent to the internment camp in 1942. She and her family lived in horse stables at the Santa Anita Race Track internment camp for six months before being moved to Rowher, Arkansas where another camp was. She graduated high school there and received a scholarship from the Quakers to study at Milwaukee State Teachers College. She eventually studied art at Black Mountain College and then moved to San Francisco with her white husband. There they raised six children and she continued to do her art.

In the early 1900’s Japanese male immigrants who had come to the area began to settle next to San Jose’s established Chinatown. By the time World War II came around, there were around 53 businesses up and running. However, the Executive Order 9066 put a stop to it and Japantown was essentially shut down. When the war ended and Executive Order 9066 was revoked, around 100 families came back and re-established themselves and re-opened their businesses. Japantown is located between Jackson St. and Taylor St. east of Sixth St. in downtown San Jose.

Yoshiro Uchida Hall on the San Jose State University campus was used as a transfer point to evacuate people of Japanese ancestry in San Jose and Santa Clara. There is a long-standing tale that because of this, Uchida Hall is haunted.

Ruth Asawa created the Japanese American Internment Memorial in front of the Federal Building on Second St. to commemorate those who went through internment in this area and to remind us all of what happened. It is a stunning display of the lives of Japanese immigrants in the area and how much their lives changed because of Executive Order 9066. The first panel on the side facing Paseo de San Antonio depicts the farming life that most Japanese immigrants knew when they first arrived. It shows them working the fields and in the stables tending to the horses. These people came to America looking for a better life for themselves and eventually for their families. Unfortunately what happened between the first panel and the last panel is a sad tale of betrayal by the very country that promised them a better life.

The very last panel of the memorial, on the opposite side, depicts Japanese American men sitting at a table with the Capitol building behind them. This is in memory of the legislation that Congress passed and President Reagan signed in 1988, formally apologizing for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government. The legislation was worded as saying that the government’s actions during this time were based on “race prejudice, wary hysteria and a failure of political leadership.” Also, money was awarded to each surviving person who had been interned.

To me, this event should have never happened. Unfortunately, we cannot change the history of our country. However, we can learn from it and we should make sure that nothing remotely like this ever occurs again. We live in a completely different world from 1942.