Yuck, it's already Sunday evening and tomorrow it's back to work. It was a very mellow weekend, but worked and did my usual bellydancing on Saturday... then last night I went to Teatro Smeraldo to see for my very first time the Bellydance Superstars "Babelesque" show. AMAZING, felt like I am so so so so far away from calling myself a bellydancer, plus the coreographies were incredible, costumes stunning and the music was so catchy! I was totally blown away by Tribal bellydancers, this fusion branch of bellydance I just discovered, which features these beautiful dark haired gothic-like dancers that dance to a very particular music that always recalls the regular beats and moves, but is more modernized. Plus they do several yoga movements, such as going down with their backs until they reach waist level, stunning! I would love to get into this ethnic discipline, and make myself up like them, not the piercings though!
Anyway, I totally recommend everyone go watch this show, even non dancers, even men. The women are so beautiful that they kept staring bedazzled and fascinated!
THE DRUM SOLO TECHNIQUE (Sonia):
Wednesday, March 26 2008
A bunch of kilos heavier
It's 7am and Aliah left for the airport about 10 minutes ago, I was sad to see her go cuz during her stay here with me we got along great, plus I was getting used to having a company in the house besides Tigro! Then again I didn't shed any tears because I know she's going back to her family and because we will see each other very soon. I have plans to visit the US this year and she will of course be one of the first people I'll want to see.
Hectic week!!! Here's a recap, it was mainly what I had programmed but with slight variations:
- Wednesday 19 -
morning- pickup at airport, mad traffic on the way home, opened up all my goodies, almost had a clothesgasm
afternoon- shopping on C.so Buenos Aires with gelato
evening- sushi with Veronica and Ilaria, then drinks at Nottingham Forest-- amazing time!!
- Thursday 20 -
out around Milan: Piazza Duomo, Via Torino, Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga etc., Aliah didn't buy anything, the things she liked were either way too expensive or easily available in the US
evening- drinks with friends at Noon then a quick snack at Panino Giusto
- Friday 21 -
morning- getting our bags ready
afternoon- car trip to Portogaribaldi (FE), cool and cloudy, but nevertheless pleasant; walk around the town and to the seaport, windy as heck on the beach-- my ears almost fell off
evening- dinner at my mom's with Aliah having several foodgasms
- Saturday 22 -
Crazy early morning drive to Ferrara, left car parked and took train to Venice where we spent 4 1/2 hours touring San Marco and its square, eating disgusting pizza (then again I've been to Venice 4 times and was never lucky enough to find good food), walking around looking at stores heading to Rialto bridge, where we took amazing pictures. Back on train at 6pm and home after a drive at about 9pm-- needless to say we were dead
- Sunday 23 -
Easter, lunch at a seafood restaurant
afternoon/evening- headed back to Milan, it was way too cold and rainy in Portogaribaldi to stay and shop at Lido Estensi
- Monday 24 -
morning- lounged like piggies
afternoon- tour of Cadorna area, walked around Castello Sforzesco and Parco Sempione, Arco Pace and back again, gelato @ Chocolat
evening- pizza with Ste @ Carlsberg, drinks with Aliah on Corso Como @ Pitbull where we met some sticky Italian men who tried to get fresh-- mamma Rich had them all in check though LMAO
- Tuesday 25 -
morning- Aliah went to Corso Buenos Aires for some last minute shopping while I cleaned the house (or at least tried)
afternoon- Met with Erman at Bar Piola for a coffee
evening- amazing late dinner with Ilaria and Veronica at a Trattoria in the Tortona area
- Wednesday -
morning- up at 6.30, Aliah takes taxi to Cadorna and Malpensa Express to the airport, while I am sitting here trying not to go back to sleep-- that way I can get to work early and leave at 4.30 pm today LOL.
You can find the gagillion pictures we took in my Picasa gallery, hope you like them!
Aliah is coming tomorrow, and I am so excited! I am so happy she is coming to visit, it'll be a great opportunity to spend a week together and show her how I do it here in Italy. Except I'm a little concerned ROFL cuz she's tireless and wanting to have a blast, something I am also looking forward to doing even if I'm morally and physically exausted from work and the cold season. Thankfully the weather is getting better, even if it should rain during Easter weekend, dang!
So I'm going to pick her up at the airport tomorrow, her flight lands at 7.45am at Malpensa, which means I should leave at 6.45am as it takes about an hour to get there, up at 6.15am tomorrow... YIKES! By the time she'll land and we'll head back to the city it'll be time for lunch, and I have a huge pot of homemade ragu simmering on the stove as we speak, I figure she'll enjoy some fresh pasta with tomato sauce or ragu, things that we take for granted here while they are so very much appreciated by an American!
Today I went grocery shopping and totally didn't know what to get, cereal, bread and jam, croissants, orange juice? So I got them all LOL... I think best thing would be to take her out to breakfast for some warm cream croissants and cappuccino with a generous sprinkle of chocolate.
Yes I am very excited she's coming :) and now that she's on the plane and I won't ruin the surprise, here's what I have in store for her, and don't get scared of the details, I am a planner!!!
- Wednesday 19 -
morning- pickup at airport
afternoon- shopping on C.so Buenos Aires
evening- sushi with Lucrezia (yea I know it's Jap food for an American in Italy, then again she'll have a million ops for Italian food)
- Thursday 20 -
out around Milan: Piazza Duomo, Via Torino, Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga etc.
evening- drinks with friends at Noon (Cadorna)
- Friday 21 -
morning- TBD
afternoon- car trip to Portogaribaldi (FE) where we'll spend a short weekend at my beach house
evening- a nice ice cream at Portogaribaldi seaport and a walk around the boardwalk
- Saturday 22 -
morning drive to Ferrara, where we'll take the train to spend the day in Venice, back in the evening
- Sunday 23 -
Easter, lunch at a seafood restaurant
evening- shopping at Lido Estensi
- Monday 24 -
morning- TBD
afternoon- drive back to Milan
evening- some bar at Navigli
- Tuesday 25 -
TBD - perhaps Lake Como
- Wednesday -
morning- take her to airport
Now, isn't this hectic!??! I know it would be great to take her to Florence as well, but she's staying for such short a time, plus I think Venice will make up for it all! Plus this way she'll really get an insight at my life here, it's not like I spend my life touring the county! LOL
It's so funny she's bringing along a million things I ordered online:
Petco.com + ebay:
- pet toys for my parents' dogs
Drugstore.com:
- 2 apricot scrubs
- 1 tub of vaseline (best moisturizer in the universe, why doesn't it exist here??)
- 2 bottles of nyquil for my mom
Sephora.com:
- Clinique lotion
- Clinique moisturizer
- Clinique cleansing balm
- Dior Mascara
- French manicure pens
Victoriassecret.com:
- Secret Embrace bra and thong
- Infinity Edge bra and hiphugger
- 100 ways strapless convertible bra in white
- Laceup corset top in black
- 3 brazilian cut lace panties
- strapless bra top in candy pink
- bandeau exotic bathing suit
- star print bathing suit in white
- bra top tank dress in cherry red
- beach towel (as gift)
Miscellaneous:
- various bags of brownie and chocolate chip cookies mix
- a pair of UGGS!!!!! Finally!!!!
A lot of money spent that didn't hurt much due to the amazing exchange rate dollar-euro, but heck!! It's gonna feel like Christmas time in March!!! Then after this I'm going to have to rest, because I need to pay my condo expenses (560 Euros), my 6-month car insurance (300 Euros), my vacation to Egypt (500 Euros left) and of course I'm planning on buying a new bedroom, as I have already told you before. WOW!! It's just like Freddy Mercury used to say in a song, I'm going slightly mad... it finally happened!
But heck, aren't these the pleasures that make life worth working for??
Friday, March 14 2008
A COINful experience
It's 1am and I just got back from a hectic special event organized at the Coin department store which was just inaugurated in Milan. It was supposed to be a hot, VIP evening, list only, with people from showbiz and the beautiful Milanese society, while really my friends and I knew we were just going to run into the usual people, many of whom we call our usual list of acquaitances.
We showed up at 10.30pm as expected we waited a gagillion minutes waiting to get in even if our name was on the list, and then we just found ourselves catapulted into an alternate reality.
Imagine finding yourself all of a sudden into a Christmas Eve-like Macys, except it's evening time and most of the aisles are half dark, there is mad grunge music playing in the background and your aim throughout the evening is go up the eight department floors through the steep escalator, hoping that what will be up above will be at least more decent than what you are seeing... then suddenly finding yourself up on top and wishing you could simply click your heels and magically appear out of the store, into your car and on the way home.
Am I getting too old? Despite my tiredness I gave it my all to take time to go out and socialize, to mingle, to keep myself involved. However it's like lately no matter what I do I just wish I was home on my couch watching TV with my Tigro, perhaps even in nice company. Well now I better get to bed, because tomorrow I need to wake up for work and there will be a whole lot of work to do, I already know it.
So I am really looking forward to a relaxing weekend. My friend from the US Aliah is coming to visit me next week, she will be here for 6 days so I am going to take a few days off work and show her a nice time around town. I just hope we will find some pleasant weather!
Friday, March 7 2008
If I really want something...
So what if I'm 27 years old and spent 38 bucks on a stuffed animal, so what if I still like hello kitty, so what if it's expensive, so what. Yesterday at Messaggerie Musicali I just had to get it, it was sitting pretty on the shelf whispering "pick me! pick me!" while I was on my darn way to the foreign languages book section. So what, I just got two new students, so what, I have so little time to do everything I want, so much to give, to take, to teach, to learn... how's a stuffed animal going to get in the way?
I started wanting a stuffed hello kitty that night I was pissed off, picked up my friend Ila and went to Venegono, near Varese, to pick up Anna. We were driving and I saw a black car in front of me with a hello kitty in the back, so my original thought was to put my new purchase in the car. But in the car I already have ducks and flowers, and other various critters... plus I don't get to enjoy my hello kitty that way, so I decided to place it on top of my computer monitor, and took a picture, it's on your right.
I often think about the value of money, I care about my savings, I am concerned about not splurging... but if I really want something I just have to go out and get it. Forget about the stuffed animal, even my living room furniture cost me 5000 euros but is one of the best purchases I've ever made, because it stands out amazingly when you enter the house. I love its color and its smell, its nooks and crannies, the way it's never full because it's so functional... I love how it's everything I wanted it to be and I didn't have to settle down for less, sometimes it's worth it.
So I am in full planning stage, my life is going ahead in its own steady direction, I'm studying, I'm working, it's time to knock out a few of those 2008 resolutions. I want a new bedroom, and I got my eyes on a beautiful bed (or a company that makes the most amazing line of iron beds); I've been looking around for cheaper models, but still haven't found them. I figured I'd like a "diva bedroom," composed by this silver leaf bed, silver bedstands, a white or black closet (still have to decide on this) and a nice Baroque silver stuffed armchair in the corner. I already know what color I want the walls to be, a lilac. Stop. Rewind. The beds I've seen so far:
I would like to go check out the furniture fair in April, and hopefully I will get over the shock of the extremely unaffordable price.
Monday, March 3 2008
Practically destroyed
Friday I stayed in and relaxed, Saturday rehersals and in the evening dinner with friends... Sunday rehersals from 5pm on to the beginning of my first dance recital this year, came back home at midnight and went straight to bed. So almost eight hours of sleep should be enough to recharge, right? Well, here I am sitting in front of the computer half dressed and I barely have the strength to type. It wasn't the coreographies that did it, more the confusion, the wait from a performance to another, getting changed in the VIP lounge while the waiters were passing through because it was the only way to get to the kitchen. Coins and bells, veils and glitter, the loud latin american music in between, I just couldn't wait to get out there, dance and come right back home. But in the end it was thrilling as always, to put myself on the line, in the spotlight, just thankfully I get calmer the more I do this.
Perhaps there will be pictures, I dunno, lighting wasn't really good because some ass decided to use strobe lights so there were moments of darkness where movements were hardly seen.
Yuck, it's already Sunday evening and tomorrow it's back to work. It was a very mellow weekend, but worked and did my usual bellydancing on Saturday... then last night I went to Teatro Smeraldo to see for my very first time the Bellydance Superstars "Babelesque" show. AMAZING, felt like I am so so so so far away from calling myself a bellydancer, plus the coreographies were incredible, costumes stunning and the music was so catchy! I was totally blown away by Tribal bellydancers, this fusion branch of bellydance I just discovered, which features these beautiful dark haired gothic-like dancers that dance to a very particular music that always recalls the regular beats and moves, but is more modernized. Plus they do several yoga movements, such as going down with their backs until they reach waist level, stunning! I would love to get into this ethnic discipline, and make myself up like them, not the piercings though! 
Aliah is coming tomorrow, and I am so excited! I am so happy she is coming to visit, it'll be a great opportunity to spend a week together and show her how I do it here in Italy. Except I'm a little concerned ROFL cuz she's tireless and wanting to have a blast, something I am also looking forward to doing even if I'm morally and physically exausted from work and the cold season. Thankfully the weather is getting better, even if it should rain during Easter weekend, dang! 
