Archives > July-August 2007
So today I took half day off to come home, sleep (because I don't know why, I always need to pass out on the couch after work, for at least 30 minutes), go find an open eyeglasses store to buy daily contact lenses, buy car sickness tablets at the pharmacy and PACK MY SUITCASE.
Now I've never really complained with my luggage, it never takes me longer than a half hour to gather my stuff and put it in a convenient order into the chosen suitcase, but there are 3 different types of trips and I will list them below in the order of easy packing to hard-as-heck packing:
1) The family suitcase: this is the one you pack when you have to leave for a tranquil vacation either with family or with a long-time boyfriend, somewhere simple like a house you own or a bed and breakfast facility. GRADE OF DIFFICULTY: Green
2) The party suitcase: this is the one you take when you go on cool vacations with girlfriends and there is a fair possibility of nice encounters, the hardest part about this one is to bring the clothes in which you look the sexiest. There's nothing worse than going out with girlfriends when they are wearing hot miniskirts with high heels and you only have with you a baggy tshirt and look like a potato sack. GRADE OF DIFFICULTY: Yellow
3) The business/convention suitcase: HEEEELP! because you need to both bring elegant clothes in case you see everyone looks amazing as well as casual stuff to prevent from looking like you are trying too hard for that career advancement. So you gotta remember that no matter what clothes you bring with you you must have the proper shoes and accessories, or else you'll find yourself wearing a hot black business dress and a brown purse. GULP!!! GRADE OF DIFFICULTY: Red
The bag I'll be taking to Sardegna is exactly type 3, I even had to go out and buy a bag for the occasion... it didn't cost me anything really but it was a good idea because it's a middle ground between the small carry-on bag and the huge closet on wheels. How bad does it look to arrive at the airport and everyone is lightly packed while you need the strength of two football players to carry your stuff???
I practically brought as much as I could possibly fit, and the more I look at my suitcase the more I KNOW I'm probably going to end up wearing 1/4 of what I brought however I just can't seem to be able to part from anything I put in it, including the horrifyingly excessive shoe repertoire:
- 1 pair of sneakers (I'll be travelling with those)
- 1 pair of black ballerina shoes
- 1 pair of high heeled jeans sandals (which will look hot with mini skirts and jeans)
- 1 pair of elegant flat thong sandals with pearls
- 1 pair of gold flat thong sandals for the beach and simple stuff
- 1 pair of elegant mid-heeled beige shoes for business meetings
- 1 pair of high wedge sandals
are 7 pairs of shoes too many for a 5-day trip? And to think I didn't put in my new brown heeled clogs with the cute gold accent in the front... and the new shoes which you saw in my previous post (it's just not time for that type of shoe yet). Oh heavens, I know when I get there I'll miss something I didn't bring along! No matter how much stuff I take with me it's never going to be enough to feel at home.
Let's just hope I didn't forget to pack anything vital... underwear CHECK, bathing suits CHECK... ok, I'll keep checking...
Ok yeah... yesterday I was a little blue, my post probably lead some of you to eye rolling or else. This is just the way I am, I am often positive and optimistic but at times I just pull myself down way more than I should. There are so so many great things in my life right now, and I will recap them below so that I remember during darker times:
- I have a steady full time job that pays the bills and fulfills me, plus it gives me plenty of time for my personal life outside
- I have a family that cares about me
- I am finally studying to get a certificate in web design, and this is a dream I had since 1998 that I am FINALLY making reality
- my house will soon look like the dream pad, as I am getting wonderful ideas on how to remodel it (I didn't go anywhere on vacation on purpose, so I can buy some nice furniture)
- I have expanded my group of friends and know so many great people I have a blast with and experience new fun things with
- I am healthy and beautiful (hahahahaha yeah ok, I'm no Monica Bellucci but I like myself just as I am)
and today I went out and bought myself:
- 2 tank tops
- 2 pairs of shoes
- a suitcase (because I had either too small or too big ones, this one is just right for my upcoming 5-day trip to Sardegna)
- a 2100 watt ionic hairdryer - I have a feeling that as soon as I switch it on, the entire building's electricity will go out but on the good side my hair will be dry
- ... a cone. Those who love me and know me know exactly what it is... and I finally got one
I mean, how great is life? How great does everything seem when you look on the good side? Yesterday after work I went out to dinner with Roberta and Giulio, today I completely relaxed, went shopping and ended the day with a wonderful mixed sashimi (BOY DID I MISS MY JAPANESE FOOD!), and tomorrow I'm going to the pool with Giuseppe to catch a few sunrays... Monday and Tuesday work and Wednesday...
SARDEGNA!!!
I was sitting in front of someone who I found extremely attractive thinking, hey, I kinda like this guy (despite common opinions, I've always had my own particular taste in men) and there this person was going on an on talking about some other girl he's been dying after and who doesn't give a damn about him... he thinks he can get to her someway somehow, and the longer he talks the longer I notice the constant chain... someone attracted to someone who is attracted to someone else and so on and so forth.
But if each of us goes and looks for someone we can relate with, why do we keep looking in the wrong direction, for people who are so far apart from us we need to bend backwards to get to them? I know there are people who are attracted to me and yet again I shun them, I am not interested in them, they are simply not "my type."
Are we to keep wondering aimlessly to intermittently find people we die after, suffer from their lack of interest, get lost into our lonely oblivions, to run into someone else and yet go round and round again? Is this the circle of life?
I notice many, many of my friends have steady boyfriends, many are married and some even have kids, I think about how so far away I am from all that and I worry. Not because I feel like a spinster now, God I'm only 26, not because I want a ring, I came a step in front of the altar and was thankfully able to pull away, not because I want kids cuz I can't stand them... and although I don't want any of this am I to fall victim of society's stages of life, am I to find myself at 30 in despair because I still haven't found that person, am I to start looking for ANYONE because there is no longer time to find that ONE? And does the one exist? And if he exists, am I his one? Or just anyone... one thing's for sure...
I want to be found, and I want someone who will die after me, who will do anything to have my heart, who will make me feel his only one. I think I deserve that, I know I do.
Goodness, I have been taking crazy pictures, well, if not on vacation in the office, so here ya go!
Here, have a laugh... this is a shot they took of me at FNAC next to Johnny. I took an identical one for my colleague but I was better with it as she actually looks the same size as him, while I look like a creepy Geppetto-like mother.
It's so hard being back in Milan, it's cool, gloomy and rainy, it's been raining for almost 48 hours, I was asked to go to the pool on Saturday, supposedly because the weather is supposed to be warm again... and I am really really hoping, I know the city sucks when it's hot and humid, but being catapulted so quickly to the relaxing beauty of the beaches to the sad reality of late fall is a torture. So I am hoping my friend will be right for Saturday, and the same goes for my next week in Sardinia. We are going to be in Villasimius, they say the place with the best beaches ever in the entire world, and I was told this from people who have traveled all over the world to find this local area the best reason to stay within Italy. There are definitely going to be tons of pictures taken of that company vacation, plus I gotta post more vacation pictures from last week which I still haven't received.
So I thought that this year was going to be spend moping about not being able to have a decent vacation due to money trouble, I was so wrong! Never before had I realized so clearly how all you need in life is friends, family and the will to have fun getting rid of all the ugly thoughts that assail our everyday lives.
I spent my first week of vacation with Ilaria in Porto Garibaldi. My parents were also there and it was nice spending time independently with my friend and seeing them as well, plus we found extremely nice weather most of the time so we were able to fully enjoy the beach and the warm evenings shopping for our little things. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of that week as I didn't have my batteries with me but Ilaria took a pic with her celly of the only chilly afternoon, both of us at the beach wrapped in our towels hoping for the sun to come out. I hope to get them soon so I can log it as the only visual doc of that week.
This past week I was in Pontremoli (Tuscany) with Ste, it was a great week full of pleasant walks around the beautiful contryside (besides some ugly curves by car to get from A to B), cool evenings with new acquaitances, local festivals, a day at the shore (Marina di Pietrasanta) and a final evening at The Capannina, a famous club at Forte dei Marmi. More pictures with details are coming soon, so far here are some Ste and I took alone during one of our walks through Pontremoli, even during their wonderful Medievalis, a yearly Medieval themed festival.
There are more pics coming as soon as I receive them, including a day at the beach and a crazy night at the Alcohol Festival (drunk and crazy as ever lol!!)
I'll just stop thinking about the past, I will decide who, what, when, where and how. It will no longer be me wondering late at night, reminiscing, regretting, thinking about the what-ifs. I will simply walk alone, look ahead, knowing that there are people who would love to have me in their lives (as friend, woman, relative, whatever...) because wasting time to glue back the broken pieces of a mirror produce nothing but a monstrous result.
And before I leave you for my summer vacation I wanted to show you my latest goldfish design, I hope you like it!
Today was supposed to be a day of preparation when I ended up sleeping till noon and messing around on the computer, did some housework but very little and so now that it's 6pm I am thinking about sprinting around the house with the vacuum cleaner and try to do the least essential cleaning before I leave.
Tomorrow morning at about 11 I'll go pick up Ilaria (look at this I said 11 which probably means I'll leave at least 1 hour later than that) and we'll hit the road, I hope we don't find a lot of traffic but really, I prefer going by car than by train. I don't care if we find jams, at least we'll be singing in the car with the AC on full blast!
I plan on spending one full week going to the beach with no worries whatsoever, taking nice bike rides along the surrounding town roads, having ice cream at the sea port, shopping at Lido Estensi and nothing else!
I am probably going to return the next weekend, for 2 days tops, and get back in the car to go to Pontremoli where I'll be staying with Ste for the remaining week. We might even be able to spend two days in Finale Ligure with our other friends, we'll just have to see about that.
I'll be back for a week on the 20th and leave for Sardegna once again on the 29th... and be back in town to stay on the 2nd of September. I know that outside of Italy people aren't used to taking such long vacations but here everyone just packs up and leaves, companies and stores close... only the unlucky remain in town. Well let's rephrase it, I would LOVE staying in Milan now and taking my vacation some other time when it isn't as crowded and expensive, unfortunately my company closes so it's either now or never.
Hugs hugs hugs, I'll miss ya, and I'll be back to tell you all about it (and with pictures too!) :)
Ever since I fell back into the single jungle I've been hanging out a whole lot with many friends and acquaitances, and we don't just go to the movies or get a coffee. We go out usually twice, thrice a week, to the trendiest bars and clubs in Milan, and in our little group of habituès us ladies like to get dressed up in sassy outfits, do our hair in a new fashionable updo and put glamorous make-up on.
And so despite all the times we go out we find ourselves in the same exact situation: hoards of hot looking single women, all looking for that special someone which, alas, is no longer prince charming, is no longer "the one" but merely "someone," "anyone" really.
The more relationships we have the more we are clear on what we want, and the clearer we are on what we want the more we realize that something is only alive in our imaginations. It's like that weird gipsy lady said to me before even knowing my name, before even shaking my hand, "the man you're looking for, he doesn't exist."
And that was that. That was the gipsy's needle to pop my bubble, and the thought that maybe, just maybe, she may be right.
I reckon that men divide us into two groups:
1) The easy fucks: those girls that they pass around among friends like toilet paper, the girls that live day by day without thinking about a guy to spend time with, but more someone to take them out to dinner and buy them things.
2) The "nice" girls: but she's no sait, she wishes for an encounter with a nice guy who she can have a nice time with besides a shallow one night stand. I fall under this category.
Unfortunately men seem to think that group n. 2 is looking exclusively for a meaningful relationship perhaps with a ring, a wedding, children... AS IF!!! I've come this far to realize that in life we need to take things easy, and I'm up for fun, of course with a select type of males... then why is it that in order to stop our men from thinking we are psycho bride wannabes we need to carefully dosage every word, and level our behavior otherwise he'll be like the rabbitt in Alice and Wonderland and run away into oblivion?
This leads me to claim that yes, it's the new millennium, yes we are the future come true, but us accomplished women are just getting ourselves into the stickiest of all situations. Let me rephrase it, if a woman:
- is nice looking
- is intelligent and interesting
- is independent
- has a social life
she is a MONSTER.
Yes, she is a self-sufficient robot of the 21st century. Back in the days of Pride and Prejudice women sat around doing needlework and waiting for a decent man to ring the doorbell and ask for their hands, now we are at Just Cavalli cafè waiting for the bartender to hand us our cosmos. 
Most men who see a woman like the one above described RUN AWAY. Why? Quite simple... because men adore the woman that gives the impression of needing protection, the little flower that never contradicts, never puts things into a new prospective... they want a geisha in the bedroom, and an angel elsewhere. It's by now A COMMON FACT that women are a pain in the neck, it's a characteristic that men label us with just because we come with a pussy.
So what happens to this group of independent women? They fall victims of the social metamorphosis, and they become the hunters. They hang out together, each and everyone of them special and precious, they stand hungry in a huddle and look at a group of sad little preys in the back of the bar (the only group of decent looking men - as they tend to seem either all too ugly or too dense). The guys love the attention, and shyly smile back, they wave, maybe the most brilliant buys a drink... and that's IT.
The adventurous one calls you over, talks to you and sticks his tongue down your throat... you think there might be something to look into and you're mistaken, because that's the last time you ever see him. From strangers, to acquaitances, to tongue twisting buddies, back into nothingness.
And the world keeps on spinning, made up of tiny little units of new encounters, false hopes, waiting periods and sour realizations that yet again, the theory is confirmed:
An independent woman is alone in every way, and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
WAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! AMAZING, INCREDIBLE! LOOK IN THE BOOKWORM SECTION FOR A SHORT COMMENTARY WITHOUT SPOILERS
Here are a couple of pictures we took last week at Deseo... with Ste, Roberta and Elia...
The days are passing by slowly because I am yearning for a vacation but at the same time quickly as I can't balance my commitments and wishes with the allotted time. Among all the many things I'd like to do is finish my dreamweaver course (which due to my exaggerated precision is taking forever to complete) and keep reading my Harry Potter book.
Because yours truly, if you didn't already suspect it, was in front of the bookstore on Saturday morning, under extremely hot weather, woke up early that very same day to get her hands on a copy of the book which was released that same night. I've been avoiding news like mad lately because I notice they've been giving away the ending but I want to find out on my own what happens, after all the other six books I read I believe I deserve it!
Besides buying the book weekend went smoothly, on Saturday night I went with some friends for cocktails at Noon and then on to Deseo, another nice bar near Arco della Pace... I got to enjoy some pleasant hiphop music in the background, once for a change!
On Sunday we all got the excellent idea to go to the pool, considering that nobody had suggestions we went to the one by my house... from 11am to 5pm, I got home and thought I was going to die! The sun basically fried my brains out but the decent thing is that I got to tan more (and not burn like my friend Luigi, who is I suspect right now redder than a cherry tomato).
I'd also love to update the design of this site but I have no time whatsoever! Uh, I just want to be bored for a change...
Here are more pictures gee, I'm really posting a lot lately! We had a nice dinner with a smaller group of friends at Ste's house, here are some passable pictures, the subjects were really in a daze!
Here are pictures Ste and I shot of ourselves while on the beach at Portogaribaldi, we enjoyed two days full of sun and now I'm even a little burnt, which doesn't happen often with Emilia Romagna sun!
Pictures with Ada, Luigi, Lucrezia and Giuseppe
Thanks to Giuseppe for these, they are truly remarkable! I was quite upset that my top came undone, so I look like a whole bag of clothing with very little skin showing... at least my hair looked human, unlike the last recital! hahaha
