read it and weep.

I woke up with an acute pain in my heart today…a need to go home…and a crying in my heart for a God I sometimes feel hasn’t followed me here.

Last night was the big goodbye, the last get-together of our class before everyone takes off for August vacation. The majority of my classmates will be spending the next five weeks in the destination they call home. When looking toward August, I saw an opportunity to do a bit of exploring in the countries around me and take advantage of the hospitality some of my new friends in their home countries. It never once occurred to me to go to the States during August.

But when I woke up this morning, with “buy a ticket to Turkey” on my to-do list, I found myself going to Travelocity to do some other searches…”Milan-Omaha”…”London-Omaha”…even ”London-New York.” All options were over a thousand, answering my desire to go home with a firm, “No.”

But it’s not Nebraska.
It’s not the heat of summer that peels off make-up before I step past the screen door…
or the miles and miles of roads that lie between pieces of civilization.
It’s not Portland, either, although I’ve dwelt on that city a lot in the past.

I miss the unmistakable feeling of being known.
I miss my own laugh.
I only see glimpses of myself here, and sometimes I wonder where she’s gone.

It’s not like I’m walking around sad with a frown upon my face…
Nothing of the sort,
but
Sometimes laughter is only felt as deeply as the one who instigates it knows me.

And if you’re reading this, I probably miss you.
baci e abracci.

go hard or go home

Newman Grove volleyball team slogan 1994?? or 1995?? I remember the t-shirts with block letters on the back saying "GO HARD OR GO HOME." This statement has been going through my mind this morning.
I didn't adopt it then, but it seems to fit my life right now. As I type I am on the longest no-sleep stretch of my life. It's currently Wednesday at 7pm. I haven't slept since Monday at 9 am. The last 24 hours have been sans caffeine, fearing a jolt would make me crash before this morning's presentation.
---
I wrote that yesterday. All in all, I was up 60 hours straight, unless you count the 3 minute naps I took during other people's powerpoint presentations.
More soon...

Vote now!

With all the election hype...that I'm missing...I thought I'd get in on the action by creating my own election. Please cast your votes for TQ hair of your choice. Okay, so maybe this is more on scale of American Idol rather than the American Presidential election, but remember that YOUR VOTE COUNTS! (If phone lines are busy please try back.)
Hair A

Hair B

(Yes, I realize that picture B belongs in a hair salon window. It's my "drama" shot from glamour shots Milan, if there were a glamour shots Milan.)
(Indulge me a bit, and I'll give you some substance when I have time.)

This Tweek in History

(Title by Pete-za)
The mosquitoes are abundant in Milano during the summer months. There are two canals that run through Milan, and anyone who lives close to the water get hit with the bugs. I have, in the past week, had up to 40 bites at one time. They seem to attack mostly at night, and that means they can bite places they wouldn’t normally, like the bottom of my foot. Do you know what it's like to have a mosquito bite on your heel?

I noticed I was getting bit more at night. I found out Sylvana started wearing repellant to bed and using a plug-in bug killer without telling me. I went to the store to buy repellant the next day.

When we have new people in the house, the little buggers seem to attack the new blood. So come visit me in Milan! (Aren’t we great hostesses?)

The Brits live right along the canal, and they have no experience with mosquitoes in Britain. They sleep with mostquito nets over their beds like they’re in some sort of jungle. It turns out Lauren is allergic, and when she get bit they swell up the size of a tennis ball…not kidding. She takes it in good humor and references herself as the elephant woman until the swelling goes down.

Mel C, another one of the Brit’s has been doing project work at my house this week. Their loft doesn’t have a lot of work space. I, of course, was playing autopilot dj, with my ipod on shuffle. Her comment after 2 days of working together was, “Listening to your music makes me feel like I’m in an episode of Dawson’s Creek.”
Compliment? I’m not sure.

So this next week is 4th of July and we are having 4th of July at the Brits’…partly for convenience and partly for the irony. (Pete was really against the idea at first, but it was mostly because he is jealous of the male models that live next door. :)

I want to stage a revolution re-enactment, but none of the Brits have signed up. I guess volunteering their apartment for a stellar dance party will have to do. The mix? American favorites mixed with techno. Can you imagine? I can’t wait to hear Dolly Parton woven into techno. (If you have any MUST HAVE songs for the play list, swing ‘em at me.)

The party will be an all day event, Pete and I are declaring it an official holiday although we don’t have the day off. We want to bring American things to the students of Domus. We will begin with an all-day BBQ, but I'm deadset on doing other silly traditions that are out & out American. Mel C. suggests a beauty pageant. She also wants to wear a cowgirl outfit with the Union Jack. I told her to not bring that flag to this revolutionary party! In my opinion a pie eating contest or hot dog eating...anything with overeating...is in order.


More later, for now Versace is calling.

and the world spins madly on...

(title by Andrea)
My view of the world was shaken today, but to explain I will start from last week...

Last Saturday night I was over at a friend's house with a very eclectic group of people including photographers, designers, male models :), and English teachers....at some point during the evening it occurred to me that 4 continents were represented. Asia, Africa, and (of course) Antarctica weren't there. I knew with only a few quick phone calls we could have made it 6.

Some wheels started turning in my head about having a 6-continent dinner, a novelty I have never experienced and don't know if I'll have the opportunity to create again once I leave this environment. I mentioned the idea to my friend Andrew, who was in town at the time, and he said he'd personally been part of a 7-continent dinner, but he couldn't remember how they managed to get Antarctica. (?!Me neither?!)

This morning I passed the idea onto Sylvana, hoping maybe we could host such an event here at the apartment. She said, "Whaaat? Whatareyoutalkingabout? ThereareFIVEcontinents!" (Sylvana talks very fast.) I consulted my Italian friend Roberto, and he agreed...only 5 continents.

Now, how did I I live my entire life without knowing how many continents there are?! I mean, there are a lot of things taught in schools that are presented as theories, but the 7 CONTINENTS was presented as pure, solid (land-mass) fact.

By the end of these conversations, Sylvana conceded to 6 or 7, but Roberto held steady to his measly 5 continents (and declared himself my geography teacher).

Worldwide the opinion ranges from 4-7 continents, here are some of the discrepancies according to my friends and Wikipedia:
1) America is one continent. Both the the Peruvian and the Italian agree on this. Andrew-7-continent-dinner-winner says he recently had an argument with a Spanish 9-year-old on this very subject. He came out the victor when he pointed out the separation of the two continents by the Panama Canal. I hope this kid's parents don't come after Andrew when little buddy flunks geography.

2) I was told Antarctica is not a continent because it is ice and not land. However, this is not a true statement. (Andrew declares the exclusion of Antarctica as "a crime.") Although, not included in my friends' count, both Italy and Peru have formally declared Antarctica as a continent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System).

3) Although my friends don't agree with this, it is believed by some that Europe and Asia are one and, therefore, Eurasia. Those who believe there are only 4 continents include Africa in this ensemble.

4) Not included in the numbering but still an important difference, Australia is not the name of a continent but rather the name of the country only. The continent, according to Italy and Peru, is Oceania. No matter what you call it, Australia is the only continent staying decisively continental from all counts.

There's a great chart here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

I need some feedback. Does everyone know about the continent controversy? Am I behind because I haven't studied geography since 1993? Am I the only one who refers to Australia as a continent? Please, please tell me I'm not the only one.
FYI I still vote for 7 continents, but I'm a loyalist. Go North America!

sorry for the absence

Ciao tutti! (meaning "hello everyone" I have Trishawna-ized it to "Ciao-sers Tooters." SOME people think this is funny.) I have been a silent blogger for the last month, which means I haven't blogged at all, and for this I am deeply apologetic. I think it had something to do with my vow to truly be here. The more I'm connected to the internet, the less I am truly here. So I will do my best to balance because I believe this is an important communication device.

Enough excuses and apologies!

I have created a plan to get me creatively writing again, but I need your help. I would like some title suggestions...not subjects on which to write, just title suggestions. Then I will do my best to write a story based on that title. The sillier the better. If you really want to give a subject suggestion, that's okay too. You can send them as a comment to this blog, to my myspace page, or to my e-mail account.

Thanks for your assistance. Over & out.

Dedications

"Peas and other minor objects" is dedicated to Pete (see blog under Petate) who always takes pictures of his plates of food before he eats them. Pete flew back to Orlando on Tuesday for a short stay. Over a month ago he rattled off to me his plan for every meal he would consume on this trip. The kid likes food, and he really misses the food back in the States. C'mon, Pete, get on the Piadine bandwagon.
I simply found this meal heavy-on-the-peas highly ridiculous and therefore picture-worthy.


This second pic is Alessia, my best good Italian friend, and I. Alessia: for the stress, the coffee breaks, and the late-night spontaneous dance breaks...here's to you, cusser.

A great big public THANKS to miss ruthie fisher for the lovely package she sent me this week, which included Andrew Bird's new release "Armchair Apochrypha."
I betcha didn't know, I created almost my entire entry for the Domus competition while listening to Andrew Bird's "The Mysterious Production of Eggs." This new release seems to pack even more of a punch, and I should be able to shuffle a coupla projects out during airtime. If you don't have this album, run out and buy it right now. Or quickly point your mouse towards iTunes and purchase. That's an order, Mista!