Because I couldn't give less of a sh*t about actual football, I am watching the adorable PUPPYBOWL IV on Animal Planet. Check it:  http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/about.html

I promised Little Roxanne (rhodora) that I would update my livejournal a little bit, so I am. I haven't written anything since after Christmas :-O

I got a job at Met Food working in the deli. I work there three days a week (much to my dismay), on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I actually don't hate it as much as you may think, though I DO dislike most of my customers, lol. School feel overwhelming to me this semester. After a semester of having fun, laying back, traveling and eating in Italy, the pace of school at Marymount (combined with having almost no freetime whatsoever) has made Karen a trifle cwazy. Aside from that, I'm taking my first-ever studio art class (Oil Painting), which is NO WHERE NEAR as much fun as it seems. It's 6 hours a week of standing there, squinting, and getting covered in paint (and why is it I'm the only one in the class that seems perpetually covered in paint? lol).

BUT... all this working has led to: I bought my plane ticket to visit Jeti in May :-D !!!!!!!!!!!! He and I (still) talk every single day and (as goofy as this may sound, I'ma just say it) I really, really, really love him. He's wonderful and now I believe what most people would have already believed: he loves me too, and thinks that I'm wonderful too. I can't wait to go back there and be with him again. Of course, I'm not going for nearly long enough (18 days), but it's better than nothing and I'm trying to stay focused on how great it'll be when I get there than on how heartbreaking and terrible it'll be when I leave again. He and I are counting down the time... we have 9 more weeks to go starting Sunday.

-- Karen

Hi,

So, yeah, Christmas was nice and quiet and I got some nice gifts, including Simpsons DVDs seasons 1 - 5 and Family Guy seasons 1 - 3 so aside from the two times I went out, my daily pilgrimage to the gym, and my daily conversations with Jeti (who I find myself loving slightly more with each passing day ^_^), I've been doing nothing besides watching cartoons, lol. Considering that I think that's one of the best ways to spend one's time, I'm rather pleased with myself :-)

I AM looking for a job though. Just a little weekend job...

Anyways, pictures ( Read more... )

-- Karen

It's a 2004 survey thingy that I saw on someone's livejournal and wanted to do. I put it behind a cut to be polite...

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-- Karen

Here are my pictures from Belgium -- Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. Bruges was definitely my favorite of those three cities, though I prefer Italy to all three. Bruges is known as "The Venice of the North" because of its canal system (which isn't quite as extensive as that of Venice, which is actually just constructed on the water).

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I'm pissed off because Jeti and I couldn't talk today due to internet problems -- he kept getting signed off of AIM. We tried to talk for about 40 minutes before I told him to forget about it, go have dinner, and that we'd try again tomorrow. I hate that we couldn't talk today though, because it's something I've come to look forward too and I really like it -- I feel like if we talk for at least a half an hour or so, it's more or less like we're together in the same space (although, obviously, being an ocean apart puts the breaks on many, many things). Yesterday, we talked online for about 2 hours though, and it was fun and nice. So, anyway, hopefully he and I can talk tomorrow and in the meantime, I need to buy a new calling card.

-- Karen

Here are some pictures from my last two nights in Florence, first on Dec. 2nd, when I went out to dinner with some friends from school, and then on Dec. 3rd, my last night in Florence, which I spent with Jeti.

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More pictures to follow.

-- Karen

So, I'm just sitting here right now, sipping some peppermint tea and watching The Odd Couple on TV. So, it's officially been more than a week since last time I saw Jeti. I miss him a lot, but I'm happy to say that we've spoken in some form everyday since I left, either online or on the phone. During the week, we mainly spoke on IM (because neither of us can afford millions of dollars worth of phonecards) for about an hour each day but on Saturday, I called him up and we talked on the phone for a half hour and then today, he called me and we talked again for about a half hour.

I decided that I'm falling back into my exercise/diet routine starting tomorrow. In Italy, I ate whatever I wanted and I was hungry constantly and I still somehow managed to lose some weight and need to replace all my clothes. But I know here, I really need to watch what I'm doing or I'll regain it all. Besides, my new goal is to lose 40 - 50 more lbs before I visit Jeti in May. I want to give him a mild, but pleasant heart attack :-)

So, I'm tired, even though I slept something like 36 hours this weekend, lol. Yesterday, I woke up at 1PM (which is abnormally late for me) and then went to bed again at 12AM and woke up at 10AM this morning. Still, I'm sleepy.

I have all my last night in Florence/Belgium pictures, but they're on two different computers, so I'll post them as soon as I transfer my pictures from my mother's laptop (which I'd been using in Italy this whole semester) to my computer.

Love,
Karen

Anyway, yeah, I didn't get to Paris, mainly due to some pretty strong depression, which hit me the day before I left Italy. I didn't sleep at all the night before my flight to Brussels. Jeti took me to the airport and he hadn't slept either (which makes me feel good to know -- it's nice that he lost sleep over me as I did over him). The two of us spent the entire 5 - 6 hour wait (my flight was delayed two hours) hysterically crying in the airport (which also makes me feel good -- he tries hard to be manly and unemotional and he told me a few times that he felt like a sissy crying, but that he couldn't help it, and that he's never, ever cried over a girl before). So, I eventually got onto the plane (still crying) and said goodbye to Jeti (which took about 20 minutes before I actually walked away from him and got onto the security line) and when I arrived in Brussels, I was all alone, I was confused, didn't speak French, missed Jeti immensely, missed the familiarity and down-to-earth beauty of Tuscany and of Italy, missed Florence, etc. I called my mother, several friends, and Jeti hysterically crying, saying how if I can't go back to Italy, I want to go home to the US and be with my family and friends here, instead of all alone in Northern Europe somewhere. Being alone for 10 long days, struggling to move my gigantic and heavy suitcase around on trains and in the streets, being in strange cities without knowing anyone, was too much. I think I could have done it, traveling alone, if I hadn't fallen in love in Italy and missed Jeti and the country so much. But anyway, I felt like I was in this terrible and lonely in-between land, which was situated somewhere between the love and familiarity of Florence and the love and familiarity of NYC and I couldn't do it. So, my mother changed my flight and I went from Brussels to London and from London to NY yesterday and I arrived at about 7PM NY time.

I did get to spend 4 days in Belgium though, which is good because I can't see myself returning to Belgium at any time in my life, whereas I can see myself going to France and England for vacation or something. I'm not really sure what to think of Belgium, because the whole time I was there, I was horribly depressed and comparing it to Italy. I definitely prefer Italy and people in Italy -- my first four hours in Belgium, I asked someone for directions and the guy corrected my French pronunciation, even though I wasn't even trying to speak French. Four months in Italy and no one ever corrected how I said anything in Italian. But I think it's unfair of me to judge Belgium because I wasn't feeling very well while I was there. Bruges and Ghent are both really cute though.

So, I'm back and I feel rather strange and my cellphone looks really huge to me and I want to buy a new and smaller one, not to be fashionable (because God knows I couldn't give a smaller shit about that), but just to have something smaller to carry around. I also want to make it so I can send text messages to international numbers for not-that-much money and make international phone calls for less money too.

Jeti and I have spoken to each other every day since I left, and I hope we can keep that up. I'm still relying on the idea that once I reestablish my routine here and get back into life and to school (and possibly find a job somewhere), the time he and I are separated will fly by and May will get here fast and I'll go visit him in Florence. I'm also relying on the idea that there IS a way to get him to the US that's both reasonably legal and safe for us both.

Today, it's exercise bike, possibly healthfood store with Roxanne, and then diner with Cheryl.

-- Karen

So, it's finally arrived -- my final night in Florence. I feel very strange and weird and sad and homesick all at once, but given that I only have 6 minutes of internet time left, I'll save the exact description for later. I'm spending tonight with Jeti and we're exchanging Christmas gifts and having dinner. I'm going to miss him terribly, but I'm thankful that he's coming with me to the airport tomorrow.

Here's my travel itinerary:

Dec. 4th - 6th: Brussels and Bruges.
The Grand Salon Manor
47 Rue Lebeau
Brussels

Dec. 7th - 1th: Paris.
Centre International de Paris
44rue des Bernardins, 5 eme

Dec. 11th - 15th: London.
Balmoral House Hotel
156-157 Sussex Gardens

I'll try and get online as much as possible throughout my travels. Given that I'm traveling alone, I'll want to stay in touch.

Love,
Karen

Yeah, I figured I should make a to-do list today, since I had lots of stuff to do today. So, as of today, I accomplished:

01) Confirmed hotel reservations in Brussels
02) Made hotel reservations in Paris and London
03) Bought two train tickets to Pisa Airport
04) Shipped small suitcase home
05) Went shopping for souvenir Christmas gifts and bought some mighty nice things
06) Developed pictures that I want to give to Jeti as part of his Christmas gift and the picture I'm framing to give to my host family
07) Bought cheap frames, one for a picture I'm giving Jeti and one for the host family picture
08) Bought herself two rings (I saw and I wanted)
09) Searched for and found her Italian Permesso di Soggiorno and her return plane ticket
10) Starting thinking about packing her shit up

So, I think that after I finish the last of my exams tomorrow, all I have to do is give Jeti and my host family their gifts, spend lots of time with Jeti, and pack up and I'm ready (well, at least in terms of having all my shit together) to leave.

-- Karen

Jeti and I took a trip to Fiesole today. Fiesole is a little town not far outside of Florence (in fact, a regular Florence bus takes you there). I'd already been there once before when I first got here, but this time we went to take pictures (many of which actually came out pretty nicely, even the ones of me). They have some Roman and Etruscan ruins in Fiesole, though we couldn't go see the Roman bath house this time (they're building something there -- possibly a walkway). Anyways, the pictures...

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On Saturday, I spent the early portion of the day doing a little last minute sightseeing and I went to the Bargello Museum, which contains a wide variety of objects, including some very famous Renaissance sculptures Michelangelo's Bacchus, Apollo and Madonna Tondo, Verrocchio's David, whose face is reputed to be a portrait of a young da Vinci when he was in Verrocchio's workshop, and Donatello's David. Aside from the art, the museum is placed inside a medieval building that operated once as the city prison and then as the home of the podesta' during the years of the 15th century republic. The podesta' was always chosen from outside the city and held in this building, not allowed to leave, for a period of a few months, during which time he administered justice. The idea was that if he weren't from Florence and wasn't allowed to leave this place, he would be completely impartial. The coats-of-arms of everyone who served as podesta' are inscribed on the walls of the courtyard and the whole place is just really cool.

I also bought and ::gasps:: WROTE OUT many, many postcards, which I plan to drop in the mail either tomorrow or Wednesday.

-- Karen

Ciao a tutti.

This weekend was quite the busy one. First, on Saturday, I went with my da Vinci class to Milan to see the Sforza Palace (where da Vinci lived and worked for a number of years for the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza) and then to Santa Maria delle Grazie to see The Last Supper.

Then, on Sunday, I decided to wanted to go to Padua (Padova in Italian) to see Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, something I'd wanted to see since I was way to young to know or care about Giotto, lol.

Milan is much prettier than I'd imagined it, but I'm still glad I decided to stay in Florence to study. Padua, instead, is a lot less cute than I'd imagined. Much of it was destroyed during WWII and what was built after the war has none of the charms of a medieval city, which is what I'd expected. But anyway, The Last Supper and the frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel were both absolutely transcendent... two of the best pieces of artwork I've EVER seen. What was also really wonderful is that, since tourist season has died down considerably, there weren't any lines. In fact, I think I was the only American in all of Padua yesterday.

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-- Karen

Here are some pictures from my class trip to Arezzo, Sansepolcro and Assisi and of my Sunday in Florence with Jeti and at a soccer game.

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-- Karen

Here are some pictures from this weekend and from yesterday when I went to see David with my class.

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Tonight, Jeti and I are going to see a movie. Movies are only 5€ on Wednesdays. I'm not sure what we're seeing yet, but it's more or less a way for us to be together and inside out of the cold without having to eat something. It got VERY cold here on Sunday (not that I'm complaining) and suddenly, hanging around Piazza dell'Independenza is a lot less appealing. I bought myself a very cheap and pretty cute scarf on Monday and I intend to buy matching gloves as soon as I find someone selling gloves.

I'm pissed off at myself -- I have my volunteering every Wednesday morning from 10 - 12 and today, I completely forgot about it, slept 'til 10:30 and didn't remember I have volunteering until it was WAY too late to do anything about it. Well, I'm not too worried about it. I'm just taking it easy today and trying to avoid my room mate, who I don't necessarily dislike, but who's been riding my patience since she got back from Rome. She's got her shit all over the room and she's been helping herself to my things (including my black sweater, which she wore out in the rain and got wet, though she didn't ruin it). I mean, I'll admit that while she was away for those 10 days, I ate two of her apples and drank this container of orange juice she had, but that was only because I only had 8€ to my name and my ATM card didn't work and my mother hadn't Western Unioned me any money yet, but once I got the money, I went and bought apples and orange juice to replace what I'd taken. But I didn't like, try on her clothes and sit all over her stuff. This morning, she couldn't find her house keys and so, while I was trying to sleep, she turned on the overhead light (it was like a supernova in the room) and made all this noise while she was searching for them. She never found them, though she swears they're in the room somewhere. I don't see what is so hard about putting the keys immediately back in the purse after using them. She ALWAYS forgets the keys. Then, I'd been missing my Beatles White Album and my Bob Dylan CD and these two others and today, found them in the pile of her stuff. She'd taken them without asking me. I don't want to be a neatness and possessions Nazi, but I'm just sick of disorder.

But anyway, I don't have school today ::does a well-choreographed dance:: and I'm having dinner with my host family tonight and then I'm seeing a movie with boyfriend after that, so I'm happy and ::gasp:: CHEERFUL. Tomorrow will be a different story, when I have to hoist my ass out of bed at 7am for class at 9, but for today...CHEERFUL! :-D

-- Karen

I'm just killing time before I go meet Jeti for (a very late) dinner. I went to school today and went with my da Vinci class to see Michelangelo's David in the Accademia. It was awesome to finally get to see him -- the symbol of Florentine republican freedom and virtue, which once stood outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the city's civic center. We technically weren't allowed to take pictures, but I managed to snap one anyway with my digital camera (ha ha ha), I just forgot to put it on a disk, so I'll post it online soon as I could.

On Sunday, Jeti and I tried to go around and take pictures together, but it proved much harder than we'd thought, mainly because 1) I look like butt in all the pictures and 2) Most of the people we asked to take our picture didn't actually press the button enough so the picture didn't take and we felt stupid asking them to retake it. We went up to Piazzale Michelangelo (the place with the great view of Florence) and the view is great, but I just came out like total shit in all the pictures (and for once, I don't mean this because I'm inherently ugly...I mean, I just have stupid expressions in all the pictures and it's not even funny-stupid expressions, they're just stupid expressions and I look like a doofus). He wants to take some pictures of us that he can send home to his family in Albania and that's all well and good, but I don't want to send ones where I look like the world's biggest, stupidest idiot. So... we're taking many more together so that maybe -- maybe -- I won't look like shit in one of them and I can permit him to send it to his family.

I really wish someone were online right now to talk to. Boooooooooooooooooooooo.

NAH NEE NAAAAAAH!
-- Karen

Hiya,

I'm really bothered by the fact that there are still mosquitoes alive and sucking blood here in Italy. I mean, I'm really fucking pissed off about this, lol. They were supposed to have died, unmourned, by now, but last night and the night before, I was awoken by the sound of a mosquito buzzing in my ear (same thing that happened back in August and September) and I have about 35 mosquito bites. ::Enraged:: Oddio le zanzare!!

Okay, my rage has passed. Today, I intended to write some of my history essay (I'm writing about how European society's idea of the Ideal Love changed from Courtly Love in the middle ages to Neoplatonic Love in the Renaissance and the influence that had on the status and worth of women), It's an interesting topic, but I'm lazy. So, instead, I went to the supermarket near my house and bought a lot of stuff -- soy milk, granola, a huge bottle of water, two 6-packs of coke, apples and 2 cartons of orange juice (all this for well under 20€). Now, I'm killing some more time. I'll try and get something done on my essay before I meet up with Jeti tonight. I'm feeling unmotivated, though I did spend about two hours sorting and cleaning my half of the bedroom today, which does make me feel a little less unproductive than if I hadn't done that.

Okay, ciao a tutti! Scrivo ancora molto presto (forse con delle nuove foto).

-- Karen

So, here are my pictures from Halloween. Jeti, Jen, Jen's boyfriend Simon and I went to eat at one of the places on our meal voucher list and then we went to this caffe/pub place to drink soda and sit around and talk and stuff. It was fun, but my hat was swiped many a time, much to my dismay...

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-- Karen

Here are some pictures from when I went to Vinci with my Leonardo da Vinci class. We saw the museum of his machines and then his birthplace and childhood home.

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-- Karen