Leave me alone!!!

I feel uncomfortable and in a very bad mood. It seems that a combination of things have me in this very bad mood right now. Most importantly is the fact that I didn’t sleep well last night. The cat was making a lot a noise and someone’s stupid door kept slamming in the wind all night. I finally checked this morning and it was my stupid door to the balcony that was slamming and Nello was probably crying to tell me to get up and close it.
Today it has been very overcast and VERY humid all day. The office is hot and I’m sweating just sitting here at the desk. My legs ache from playing basketball last night and I can’t find a comfortable position to sit. I also feel bad because last night I almost put Mino in the hospital while we were playing basketball. He came driving down the lane and at the last second my reflexes said, “Let’s not take the charge” so I tried to turn out of the way but it was too late and he went right into my shoulder as I turned. Both of us are skinny and boney so it was a hard impact and he definitely got the worst of it. I barely felt it so I guess going to the gym paid off. I think something similar happened with him when we played soccer one time. He’s going to think I’m out to get him.
So I’m sweaty, tired, uncomfortable, and I’m accidentally beating up my friends. I’ll be going home soon, so My mood should pick up then and it looks like it’s going to rain today and tomorrow so it will be good sleeping weather. But until I've had some sleep, leave me alone!!!

Grand Albergo Internazionale

This picture shows another area that would be car free. The Grand Albergo Internazionale (the nicest hotel in town) is in the middle and the Windsurf (restuarant) is to your left and the Vertigo is to your right. Eating at the Windsurf outside is nicer without the cars but people would still have to be able to drive to the Hotel. It's the only way to get there. Also the old sailboat in the middle is the "Big Nose" I love that name for a boat.

Town Improvements

A story about last night: I called Teddy and Allassandra to see what they were doing and they were on their way into town so they picked me up and we went and had a gelato at the Vertigo. The strange thing is that at 10:30 PM on a Monday the road along the sea was closed. Now the Police have been blocking this street almost every night July and August to allow people to stroll along without the noise and fumes of cars. It’s been really nice. I just thought that is was strange that on a Monday night in September it was still in force. The traffic last night was very light so the need to block the street didn’t seem necessary. We parked and had our gelatos and by the time we were leaving the street was open again (around midnight).
I hear rumors that they are going to close the road for good one of these days and make the area into a piazza. It really would make walking around in Brindisi nicer but it would also add to the headaches of people trying to park in town. The picture above shows the area that would be closed to cars. From the sea to first buildings could all be a piazza.

Fall, but no colors

The weather this weekend has been very nice. Friday at work it was hot, mainly because there was no wind. A good breeze kicked up yesterday and now it's almost perfect here. So Fall is here but we have no changing of the leaves, palm trees are funny like that. The thing I notice is how early the sun is going down. It's very strange.
Yesterday I was going to go to an airshow in Otranto. I wasn't too excited because my big old film camera was broken. It has a monster lens that allows you to zoom in and get good photos of things like planes that would be a dot on my digital camera. I also loved this monster lens for getting photos of animals. I took it to a shop a long time ago and they said just to look at it would cost so much that it's probably not worth it. I bought the camera and the lens used so I agreed and went off into digital world.
Yesterday I thought, wait a minute, if this thing is worthless then why not take it apart (I think that is the engineer's code). I started taking out screws and parts. I noticed something strange. This one screw in the lens didn't turn. I played around with all the other screws. Then it seemed to click into place and the screw turned. To make a long story short the screw that wasn't turning was actually what the camera body uses to focus the lens. The camera coudn't try to focus because that screw had been knocked out of place (did I mentioned I dropped the camera way back). So I put everything back together and it works. Now it's not perfect because I'm sure some dirt and dust probably got into the camera but now I'm excited to get the big film camera out again.
Then as I was playing around with it I was amazed at how much that old camera weighs. The lens alone probaby weighs three times my digital camera. I'll let you know how it goes but you'll have to wait. There is no place to get film developed on Sunday and then I'll have to scan the photo in at work and then I can post it.

My baby...

I just received an email that's good and bad news. It looks like I get to keep my baby for another 2 years. By “my baby” I mean my car, a silver Alfa Romeo 147, that’s pictured above. Don’t be fooled by the photo, I’m showing it’s good side. The passenger side is where all the scratches and dents are.
It’s mixed news to me because I didn’t like the idea of getting a Ford Focus (my only option), but I would love to have a 4-door car. Also I fear the hassle of changing cars. Now I know where to go to get this one fixed. I have worked through all the “bugs”. Then again, getting the 2 door Alfa was huge mistake. It’s hard to get into the back seat and it’s impossible to open the doors without hitting another car in a parking lot.
In related news I saw that Alfa Romeo will be selling cars in the US again in 2009!!

End of Summer

And so it’s now September and the summer is over. Sunday was a beautiful day at the beach but there were still only half the people that would normally be there. Also it gets dark too early to go after work so my next chance won’t be until at least Saturday.

This weekend was also the big festival in town to celebrate the two patron saints of Brindisi, San Teodoro d’Amasea and San Lorenzo da Brindisi. I think the fireworks were bigger and better than last year. I really noticed a difference. I committed the photographer’s greatest sin. I showed up and had a perfect spot turned on the camera and the little battery light comes on. Perfect planning except for the simplest thing. I guess I don’t really need any more pictures of fireworks. This show reminds me that the big Labor Fireworks in Cincinnati were last night. The show here was nowhere near that big.

Every saint’s festival seems to have a new trivial item that is being sold everywhere. This year it was two magnetic balls that when you toss them up in the air they make an annoying sound like a bug hitting a bug zapper. The magnets hold the balls together and they rub on each other to make the annoying sound. Vendors were everywhere and now I’m sure I will hear them everywhere until the kids loose one of the two magnets.

Some things never change though, I was happy to see THE great salesman was back. This guy spends all night selling dishes. He’s incredible. You have to admire his ability in every way. He demonstrates the durability of the dishes by slamming them on the table from time to time. He can stack a huge set of plates in one hand in a matter of seconds. Then he carries them around like it’s nothing. I’ve seen circus performers that didn’t have this balance and control. All this and then at the end he gives you a ridiculous low price. 10 euro for all 25 pieces, aspetta!!!! 5!!! Solo 5 EURO!!!

I did it!!!

This week marks the 3rd Anniversary of my move to Italy (August 29th). This is amazing because there has been soooo many times that I thought I would never make it this long. Why is it a surprise that I’m still here? The reasons can be grouped in two general categories, a big problem at work or being homesick. Somehow I made it through and now I start what is supposed to be another 2 years here. Let’s see how that goes.
I still think about how many phases I’ve gone through. The first phase was exploring Italy. Taking little trips whenever I could around Puglia and random trips to other large towns up North. Then there was the time spent with Paola and doing little else. Now I’m in a phase where I’m hanging out in Brindisi almost exclusively and with the same people almost all the time. It’s definitely strange. I’m still learning about them and they are still learning new things about me. Who would have thunk that it would take 2.5 years of being here that I would then melt in and be making friends? I expected it to be like this after 6 months. Expectations can be way to high when you move someplace new.

Giuliano Palma and the Bluebeaters

The title is the latest in my addition to my music collection. I've heard them several times at parties here and I finally went out and bought the CD Long Playing. It's hilarious. Definitely a good time band. It is officially ska/regggae. They play mainly American songs and a few in Italian. The songs range from the theme to the Munsters to Jump. Did you ever want to hear a reggae version of Van Halen? The most popular with the locals here is their version of "Back on the Chain Gang".

Their website is http://www.myspace.com/thebluebeaters.

So this is the lastest in the list of Zucchero and Jovanotti.

Beach Shot

This is a random shot at the end of the day at the beach. The night before the sunset was great so I brought my camera the next day and, of course, the sunset was boring. I took this picture anyway. Also, this is when everyone is almost gone and good time to break out the Frisbee or play some beach soccer.

Pomodori!!!!

It's tomatoe time. Here we have Nello checking out the tomatoes I bought a few days ago. It was only 1 euro for 3 kilos which is around 6 pounds of tomatoes. I turned most of them into sauce and the others I've been eating raw with cheese or cucumbers or some type of salad. I couldn't resist the bargain.