UNTITLED

Still not convinced this is reality...I mean- getting up every day jumping on my scooter and zooming by the colosseum, the forum, the piazza venezia, and the campo di fiore on my way to school- HOW IS THIS ALL REAL? I said that I need to get a job- and it’s true, I think it might reinforce the reality of this situation.

It's finally getting warmer here- and it's like a whole new city. It has been 9 years since I lived in a place that had seasons, and I had forgotten how nice it is to appreciate the approach of spring... each day a little warmer- each day one less piece of clothing. AHHHH.

Pete and Sally (my cats) are great- I think they miss their yard- but then so do I. They have their windows they sit on, and their tiny balcony they turn their nose up at. But the apt is a decent size and so we are comfortable. They have their heated pads, their pillows, and Pete has my cashmere sweaters.... and we have each other. And amazingly- the three of us have discovered- that is all we really need. As long as when it gets dark, and nighttime comes- we can get in bed- Pete at my head Sally at my knees... the three of us are fine. It's like a reset button every night. We can take anything as long as we stay together,. Such a team us 3.

Meeting an Australian girl who might be interested in renting my spare room tomorrow. Nervous- don't want a roommate. Unfortunately I can no longer afford the luxury of living alone. Not in the center in this apartment anyway- and I just don't want to live far away- away from everything I love about Rome.

Carter sent me 4 episodes of the OC- 2 of which I had seen- but I watched them anyway. It was SO WIERD to watch the commercials, and the coming attractions for things like American Idol, and Family Guy.. and all this weird American crap I haven't thought of in ages.

It was pretty weird watching it, and then once it was over turning off my computer and being like- fuck- I'm still in Italy, I forgot for a minute. It was super weird....

So my daily schedule is like this: I get up early- write, sweep (an everyday must in this apt) make coffee, shower, do homework blah blah... then I run down to the internet point to check email, read news ect. Then I spend about 2 hours working on the job hunt... resumes, faxing, calling, whatever.... class is from 2 to 6. Then I usually come home, eat. Maybe go out with a friend, maybe go to my local pub, maybe hang with Alejandro, sometimes go to a movie- whenever there is one in VO ("version Origionale").... don't have a TV- so I have discovered these marvelous things- don't know if you heard of them- they're called "books" They're amazing. It's true, I stared reading, whatever I can get my hands on- it's awesome. So I don't really miss TV anymore (which is probably why it was so weird to watch it last night...)

And so it's pretty easy- I found my grocery store, and my butcher, the place to buy flowers and wine, and I'm finding the good shitty pubs, the swanky places... found the best restaurant in Rome... doing really well. But now I have no money anymore... so it's like fuck. Now I know where to go, I just cant' go there.

But it's good for me to be poor. I've spent so long appreciating everything around me- friends, family, the car, the house, the life.... never realized I should be grateful for the money.... hah.

I cook a lot at home, and I am loosing weight. The ingredients are so much better here- it makes me seem like I am a much better cook than I am. My kitchen is small, but sufficient. I don't have a lot of things, and it's so funny how I have learned to improvise to make do. Need a vase for flowers? Use an old tin can... need a cup for salt? Use an espresso cup... I made eggplant parmesan the other night and I COULD NOT find bread-crumbs at the store. So I bought bruchetta and put my clogs on and stomped it down into crumbs. It fucking worked... hilarious. I don't have bowls. No bowls... who knew cereal could be so good out of a sauce pan.... I just can't bring myself to buy all new shit- I ALREADY OWN A KITCHEN FULL OF SHIT IN THE STATES... I don't know. (But I will buy bowls... I need those). The cappuccino machine was a total necessity though. Really awesome. Having a small fridge and a scooter that can only carry so many groceries at a time means I have to shop often- and it makes me feel like I am very much in the moment.

And I have a washer machine... no dryer. It too is small so the loads are small and frequent- and I line dry my clothes- which makes them stiff and full of lint. But I don't really care... it's all fine. (tough with the cat hair though...)

I like it in Rome. I know I keep writing these long drawn out love stories about Rome- and for that I apologize- must be getting boring… but life is good here…

One last thing today- about a month ago ya’ll had the Grammies- and I just wanted to give a public shout out to my cousin TJ who fucking won a Grammy for his work on the latest Wilco album. TJ is an exceedingly talented and humble little man- but I am very proud of him- and give major props to a 28 year old who already has a fucking Grammy on his shelf. Well done T.