ADJUSTMENTS

My oh my.... Roman living.

I'n not in Kansas anymore, that much is for sure.... and to that I say thank god, and holy shit all at once.

I have spent the last two days looking at one unbelievably terrible apartment after another. I swear finding a decent apartment in Rome is like finding an apple seed on the LAX tarmac... (what a mataphor..jesus chase) But it's true. Shit is fucked up here. "Monolocale" it means one room- with a tiny kitchen, a bathroom and if your lucky room to stand (the latter of course being optional...) But this is my price range. What with the Dollar being in the toilet as it is...and me not having a job... I just have to be realistic.

It's an adjustment, that is for sure...for those of you who knew my last apartment... which seems like a palace in comparison- I am preparing to downsize greatly. But after this morning's venture I think I have to rethink a few things. For one, I am now prepared to pay quite a bit more for an apartment... honestly, I think I would rather live better and maybe not stay here as long than live like shit and stay longer... We'll see. I mean, I am not trying to be an American Prima Donna... but seriously... is it so much to want a shower? Am I a spoiled western beast to want a refriderator that is larger than a computer screen? I've been spoiled, I don't dare deny it.... but this is Rome for gods sake. (which is lot more like NYC in terms of real estate than I had previously been led to believe...awesome.) That being said, I remain sort of curiously and hopelessly optimistic.. as if I cannot fathom a world where all of this doesn't work out. (you know the old "once lucky, always lucky" misconception...)

And I mean really, I have an apartment I am welcome to stay in for as long as I need to, and I have been lent a Vespa until I find one to buy. So the truth is...so far, I'm fucking set...

SO- my first appointment to see an apt was at 9:30 this morning... I left the house at 8am... because Rome is an incredibly hard city to navagate in, so I gave myself ample time to get lost, find myself and eventually find said apartment. (the apartment by the way was something out of Silence of the Lambs... the kind of place you would expect to find yourself dead in the trunk of a car kind of thing...very homey...) Ok, but so anyway- it was SO UNFUCKING BELIEVABLY COLD this morning. I mean like, packing raisins that turn into walnuts style... the kind of cold where your eyes water and then the tear frezzes on your cheek. That kind of cold... Ok, so imagine that cold, and then imagine screaming down the street on a Vespa totally exposed and all windblown. The first half hour I yelled out loud and laughed hystericlly at the pure absurdty of the situation. The second half hour I began to cry and the hysterical laughing just kind of turned into minor hysteria... then- somewhere around an hour and 15 minutes into this frost bitten venture- I was lost as hell, streets change names without warning...holy fuck ...I got pissed. Then- FINALLY I found this dump of an apartment and the creapy guy who wanted to inseminate me, I thought for sure, was asking me when I wanted to move in... that's when I decided to change the gameplan- and opt to look for apartments in a wee bit higher price range.

Looking back I can laugh.. but it was a rough morning. And that was just the first place.

Take it in stride Chase. Take it in stride.

Ahh man it's great. I mean- I can'teven remember the last time I was lost in LA... I'm lost all day long here.. it's awesome. I just wish it was warmer. Being lost is one thing- being lost and cold is quite another... but what the hell.. you know? I came here for something different- and in pure italian style- they have surved up a steaming dish of exactly that.

This afternoon I am going to look a at a Vespa- I have a very good feeling about it...hopefully by tonight I will be a Vespa owner...but we'll see. At this point I have all but let go of any and all expectations...

So thats it. To recap:

its cold.
really really cold.
apartments are like apple seeds.
my tits are like walnuts.
and the city is my oyster.

fun times. fun times.

xoxo
and ciao.

ps: sorry for any spelling mistakes, this wasn't written on my computer but rather at an internet point... no spell check here...