Feeding Time At the Zoo

YAY! The winner is adorable!

2008-02-13T20:47:30Z

PUPPYBOWL!

2008-02-04T01:32:03Z

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 feel strange posting here...

2007-10-07T23:41:43Z

I haven't posted anything on this journal since 2005. Dear God! I just spent about an hour reading past entries and I think my once-great journal was actually pretty entertaining in its hey-day. I'm especially proud of how I chronicled my first Italy trip and I'm surprised how regularly I updated. I also think it's funny that, in one of my first descriptions of Jeti, I ended by saying "...and strange." HA! Well, yeah, is HE strange, in his way ;) He's the only person I know who puts warm milk on Coco Puffs.

I'm not completely sure why I decided to take up the journaling again. I feel like... things are passing me by... these are what should be the best years of my life and I never take any pictures, I never write any of it down, never even attempt to make things memorable. Maybe if I DID journal, I'm thinking, it would make the experience of living richer and more substantial.

Tomorrow I have to go to work and -- as usual on Sunday night -- I'm dreading it. I'm dreading the tasks and the passive-aggressive behaviors of one particular co-worker. I had wanted to write my career-goals essay for Lehman graduate admissions tonight, but I got caught up in -- of all things -- the Leave it to Beaver marathon on TV Land, so my plans were shot to shit. I also wanted to clean the turtle tank and do the laundry, which I still could theoretically do and I may do, only because J. and I are running out of underwear and the turtle tank is really quite filthy.

I'm getting into one of those moods that makes me want to re-assess and take-stock of my life. I came to a revelation a few weeks ago that my next step would be to become a (high school) teacher. The idea of working in education is really the only career-related thought that excites me. The idea of continuing on as I am is depressing. This may sound incredibly egotistic, but I hate being someone's assistant. I'm certainly clever enough to have some authority in my own life. I'm certainly smart enough to make decisions. And also, I want to use my degree. And also, I want to have freetime. The idea of having 2 months off and a really good salary to start is VERY exciting. J. and I have our plans made: the first year after I start teaching, we're making a beeline to Italy, Albania and, possibly, Turkey in the Summer. We deserve it and our current inability to travel is more depressing than anything else. In my perfect vision of that summer, we'd spend a month in Italy, 2 weeks in Albania and a week in Turkey with his family.

In the meantime, I want to take some steps to make life as it is more exciting and more fulfilling. This includes:

1. Journaling regularly
2. Taking pictures, even of ordinary things
3. Going out more regularly
4. Seeing friends more regularly.

So that's it... tomorrow night I'm breaking out the camera and taking some pictures and posting them up and then deciding whether this journal should remain public or whether I should make it private.

- Karen

Bahhh... after several months...

2005-03-05T17:05:58Z

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

La!

2004-12-30T22:29:50Z

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

My evening out with Cheryl, Christine and Fedak...

Cheryl and I.

Cheryl lookin' weird.

Christine and Fedak.

Io ;-)

Pictures 'round the house...
Before Christmas, I uploaded a bunch of older pictures (from high school until I left for Italy) to show Jeti. He really liked it, so I proceeded to take a few pictures of my apartment and he liked that too, so I figure it's about time to show him to rest of the house/the neighborhood and in general, begin to introduce him to the magic that is The Bronx. He hasn't seen these yet, but I liked them, so I figured I'd post them here too.

My house, as seen from the corner of Mace and Westervelt.

Westervelt Ave.

The front of my house.

Mace Ave.

My house with my mother waving hi.

Me on the stairs leading up to the front door.

Street signs in front of my house.

::Patriotic?::

Teddie.

Teddie and I. Notice the goofy expression on her face ;-)

Me by the Christmas tree and the manger.

Me and my father in the kitchen. I really like this one.

-- Karen

This seemed like funness...

2004-12-17T20:12:54Z

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...

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Went to Europe, traveled on many airplanes, fell in love, lost a lot of weight (on that note, started and maintained a diet/exercise routine), felt really proud of myself.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die? She wasn't really close to me, but someone who was married to my second cousin died. She was pretty young too.

5. What countries did you visit? Italy, England and Belgium.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? I don't know. I guess more self-confidence. I spent most of 2004 feeling really worthless and undesirable, so I'd like to have more self-confidence in 2005.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? There are a lot of those. I will remember August 18th - December 8th 2004 as my time in Italy and Europe, which was a wonderful and completely unforgettable time. I will remember Oct. 1st 2004 as the day I met my first love.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I guess my biggest achievement is having lost all that weight.

9. What was your biggest failure? I kind of regret not traveling alone to France and getting to see Paris, the Louvre, etc.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just a few colds.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I'm not sure. I didn't buy all that much this year that is particularly memorable and important.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? Roxanne's and my own.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I depressed myself a lot in 2004. No one really appalled me, except maybe Peem... he's always a little appalling :-D

14. Where did most of your money go? I'm not sure, actually. Random Italian expenses.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to Italy and specifically, when I finally got to Florence itself. Also, I was really excited when I started realizing that I was falling in love with Jeti.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004? I'm not sure.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Much happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Much thinner.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? I'm not sure.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worrying about whether or not I looked fat and whether or not I'm ugly.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? With my parents, hopefully at home.

21. How will you be spending New Years? I'm not sure about this yet. Maybe I'll invite some people over and we can just hang around.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004? Yup!

23. How many one-night stands? None.

24. What was your favorite TV program? My favorite programs are all old.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.

26. What was the best book you read? "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Romanian street music

28. What did you want and get? I wanted to get more self-confident.

29. What did you want and not get? I don't know. 2004 was a good year.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I haven't seen any, really.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 20. We all went bowling and then out for foods and then to my house to play Monopoly.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If Jeti had gotten his visa.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Just buy whatever fits well and isn't hideous.

34. What kept you sane? Roxanne and then later on, in Italy, I kept myself sane.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Mah, no one. I'm not too taken by celebrities. I think Kate Winslet is really pretty though.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage.

37. Who did you miss? My parents, Teddie, all my friends here, and now, I miss Jeti and Florence and Italy in general.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Jeti.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: A person has the power to do whatever he or she wants to do, if they put forth enough effort.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "We all live in a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine..."

-- Karen

More pictures!

2004-12-15T21:15:53Z

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).

BRUSSELS:

A street off of the Grand Place, the city's biggest and most important piazza. You can't tell from the pictures, but the whole thing is set up with this gigantic Christmas display, that includes a life-size stable with living sheep and piped-in children's laughter.

A building within the Grand Place.

Another, gold-trimmed Grand Place building.

Another Grand Place building.

The Manneken Pis, a fountain of a little toddler taking a pee :-D

A cool statue I passed by a few times.

GHENT:

A building in Ghent. It was SO foggy that day, I'm surprised these pictures turned out as well as they did.

A spire.

An attempt to dodge the fog -- a church and belltower.

A cathedral in Ghent, which houses a relatively famous painting by the van Eyck brothers.

BRUGES:

A house in Bruges. Bruges were at the height of its prosperity in the middle ages when its direct connection to the sea (and thus, its ability to trade) was cut off. As a result, the city lost its wealth and its ability to change the city. So, today, Bruges is a perfectly preserved Medieval city.

Houses lining a canal in Bruges.

And again.

Buildings along the city's main waterway.

A swan in one of the canals. For some reason, Bruges had an enormous amount of swans roaming around. It was pretty.

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

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2004-12-15T21:01:21Z

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.

DEC. 2:

Left to right: Jen, Me, Baily, Renee, Alison.

Jen and I.

DEC. 3:

Me, standing in a Christmassy street holding Jeti's gift.

Jeti, in the same street. The Christmas lights in Florence are really beautiful, but understated.

Jeti, concentrating on something.

More pictures to follow.

-- Karen

quitesurreal @ 2004-12-13T01:09:00

2004-12-13T06:24:18Z

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

::Back early::

2004-12-09T17:15:06Z

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

My final night in Florence

2004-12-03T16:06:17Z

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

::Actually made a to-do list today and then proceeded to do everything she'd written::

2004-12-01T18:24:07Z

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

Fiesole!

2004-11-28T18:06:25Z

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...

Jeti on some stairs. I love stairs pictures.

Me with the sun partially in my eyes. Behind me, you can see Fiesole.

Me on this little forest walkway en route to see one of the city's medieval churches. I thought the moss on the rocks behind me looked cool.

Jeti in the church's small cloister. We were able to enter the monks' actual rooms -- very small and old. You can also do that at the Church of San Marco near where I live and see the monks' cells, all frescoed by Fra Angelico. These cells had frescoes too, but by a lesser known artist.

Me, in a little window thingy.

Jeti by part of the Roman temple. I forgot what god this temple was dedicated to. I think it was once an Etruscan temple and then was later transformed into one dedicated to Roman gods.

Jeti and I within that Etruscan/Roman temple. I really like this picture -- I think I may actually print it and frame it and give it to him before I leave, which is in less than a week, btw.

Me, sitting on a leaf-covered part of something ancient Roman. Behind me, you can see part of the Roman Amphitheater.

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

Fotografie di Milano e Padova...

2004-11-22T11:58:31Z

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.

MILAN:

A bit of the fortifications of the Sforza Palace.

A cloister and garden in the Sforza Palace.

Sforza Palace again.

Milan's Piazza Duomo. The actually cathedral, which was behind me when I took this picture, is beautiful, but completely covered in scaffolding.

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The original church was destroyed during WWII (though, luckily, the area containing The Last Supper was unharmed).

The refectory containing da Vinci's fresco. The sign says "Cenacolo Vinciano"; literally "The Vinci Last Supper".

PADUA:

The Scrovegni Chapel exterior.

A classical statue garden outside Padua's art museum. In the background is the Scrovegni Chapel again.

A piazza in Padua. Under one of the arches, they were selling my new favorite food on earth: A warm nutella crepe. ::DROOLS!:: NUM NUMMMMS!!!!!

Padua's Duomo. The round building to its right (the baptistery) is entirely frescoes by a 14th century Veneto artist whose name I forget. It's beautiful. The duomo itself (possibly also rebuilt after WWII) is whitewashed inside and kind of bland (though the baptistery more than compensates).

-- Karen

Pictures and whatnot

2004-11-15T13:18:47Z

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.

AREZZO:

A main piazza in Arezzo, where much of Life is Beautiful was filmed.

Another view of the piazza.

A cool medieval building and tower.

A church containing a cross by Cimabue.

ASSISI:

the Church of San Francesco, which is actually three churches one on top of the other. The church is absolutely beautiful; the interior of the central portion is decorated with 13th century Florentine and Sienese frescoes. The upper church is decorated with fresco scenes by Giotto and the lower church contains the crypt and the body of Saint Francis.

Another shot of the church.

FLORENCE:

Jeti and I in his dorm room. His room mate took this picture for us.

Jeti and I at the soccer stadium. We got tickets through the school to see Florence's soccer team, Fiorentina, play against Livorno. Neither team is SO good (or so I'm told), but it was fun. It ended as a tie and the stadium was freezing.

Fiorentina fans in the stadium.

My friend Melissa and me at the soccer game.

Jeti and I. It was really, really cold.

Fiorentina fans lighting fireworks in the stands after the team scored a goal.

Melissa and I with the scoreboard behind us.

-- Karen

Sebbene io sia stanca, ho delle fotografie per voi...

2004-11-10T13:48:20Z

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

JETI AND I:

Like I said yesterday, I came out looking like an idiot in all the pictures Jeti and I took together on Sundau, but despite this, I managed to find a few of the lesser bad ones and post them. The others are... much, much, much, much worse.

Me, in Piazza Santa Croce. The church in the background is, of course, Santa Croce. The other half of it is covered in scaffolding now, so we intentionally only took the uncovered half. Michelangelo, Rossini, Galileo and Machiavelli are buried in this church are there's this really great relief of the Annunciation by Donatello inside too.

Me, on a bridge. Behind me, you can see Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Vecchio (that tall tower).

Jeti up on Piazzale Michelangelo. Behind him, you can see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, that same tower of Palazzo Vecchio and the rest of the city.

Jeti and I. This picture was taken in Piazza dell'Independenza, this park that we hang out in a lot because it's very close to my house and it's got benches and both of us support the idea of independence :-) I like this one because the color of our eyes came out very well.

Jeti in Piazza dell'Independenza.

David:

Technically, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but meh... I'd brought my camera along and I decided to use it. It's not a bad picture for something I took on the sly.

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

Killing time

2004-11-09T19:56:27Z

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

Friggin' mosquitoes

2004-11-05T14:58:47Z

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

Halloween (yes, more pictures)

2004-11-03T18:52:39Z

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...

Jeti in my room prior to the Halloween festivities.

Jeti and I (in full witch's attire) at the restaurant. The lighting can at best be described as "poor" and at worst "terrible".

Simon, Jen and Jeti.

Simon and Jen.

Jeti and I. He's making an odd face.

This one is a tad blurry, but tis okay anyway.

-- Karen

Yes, I have more pictures...

2004-11-03T18:40:33Z

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.

VINCI:

The Vitruvian Man model outside the machines museum.

Vinci panorama and campanile.

View from the machines museum, which is housed in a 15th century palazzo.

The machines museum building from outside.

Me, in a doorway adjacent to da Vinci's childhood home. The view from the balcony through that doorway was absolutely beautiful.

-- Karen

Heh...

2004-11-01T14:19:18Z

Sorry to bombard you all with pictures, but I was hit with a bolt of energy today and I decided to update with pictures. The problem is that I'd brought my laptop into the internet cafe and connected online with my laptop, which is all well and good, except now the battery has run out, so I can't use it anymore and I can't plug it in here. I actually have more pictures -- of Siena, of friends and from Halloween last night. I'll post these pictures and pictures from Siena later on, once I either can plug my laptop in and put them on disks, or else once I can plug the laptop in at the internet place. I'm leaning toward the former though because the internet cafe lady is being really rude to me and she seems really annoyed by me (and so, of course, you know this means that I'm acting 99x's more annoying and inept than I would have otherwise ... it's like, when someone acts unwelcoming to me, I encourage them to do so by putting my absolute worst foot forward and being clumsy and stupid and deaf and weird). Though, I'm comforting myself with the fact that she's been unfriendly since the moment I walked in, so there's not much I could have done to prevent it, short of not having come here at all today. Ehhhh... who even cares? I come here a lot and the guys who work here are always nice to me. Who says I'm automatically stupid and clumsy and incapable because this woman is being sort of a bitch to me?

I'll write about Halloween and stuff when I post my pictures from it. I had a pretty good night though -- Jeti, Jen, Jen's boyfriend Simon, and I all went out to this caffe'/pub place and drank sodas. Jen and I dressed up (she as something that required fishnets and a wig and I dressed up as a witch ;-) I think Jeti thought my costume was pretty cute.

Okay, I have to print out some shite for school (which is the REAL reason I'm here).

-- Karen

Even more pictures than that, if you can believe it!

2004-11-01T14:06:23Z

Venice pictures...

View of a Venetian canal during high water. It rained like crazy our first morning in Venice and the water level rose quite a bit, though I hear it could be much worse sometimes.

A shot of some water taxi gondolas. My friend Jen and I took one of these for 40 cents (we had a five minute ride across the Grand Canal).

A shot of the Grand Canal from inside the water taxi.

View of the Grand Canal from the Accademia Bridge.

San Marco.

San Marco Square.

Around San Marco.

-- Karen

Even more pictures than that!

2004-11-01T13:32:56Z

Here are my pictures from my trip to Ravenna (and Venice)...

RAVENNA:

Cloister to the Church of San Vitale.

The interior of the Church of San Vitale. The entire altar is done in Byzantine mosaic. I think this the most beautiful church I've ever seen.

The famous mosaic of Byzantine emperor Justinian and his attendants.

The accompanying mosaic of Empress Theodora.

The tomb of Gala Placida. The interior is entirely done in mosaic.

San Vitale.

Venice pictures to follow shortly.

-- Karen

Even more pictures!

2004-11-01T13:17:09Z

Here are the pictures from when I went to Rome with my mum and her friend Mary.

ROME:

Roman bridge with the Castello Sant'Angelo.

The Pantheon.

Fountain of Trevi.

Me, by the fountain of Trevi.

Saint Peter's Basilica.

Inside of Saint Peter's.

The Vatican with a shot of Bernini's columns.

The Sistine Chapel exterior.

Roman panorama.

The famous Lacoon and his Sons ancient Roman sculpture.

The stained glass in Saint Peter's.

Roman ruins.

Triumphal Arch -- I think this is the Arch of Titus, but it may by the Arch of Constantine. I don't remember.

The Colosseum.

Me, posing with some guys dressed as Roman guards, lol.

Inside the Colosseum.

A cool view inside the Colosseum.

View from the Palatine Hill.

Ancient Roman temple.

Me by the spot where they cremated Caesar's body (the area is actually in front of me, behind where my mum was standing to take the picture.

Ruinous columns.

A building on the Palatine Hill.

View from the Hill, again.

We went to Saint Peter's Square that Sunday to see the Pope give his weekly address. Here he is, from the window of his Vatican apartments.

A shot of the Vatican from near the Tiber River.

Michelangelo's breathtaking Pieta'. We weren't allowed to photograph the Sistine Chapel, but his frescoes were unbelievable. I can't really even put it into words how it felt to see them, except to say that it was INCREDIBLE.

-- Karen

More Pictures

2004-11-01T12:51:13Z

Here are the pictures from my trip to Turin and Aosta in mid-September.

TORINO (TURIN):

The Savoy Palace.

The Church of San Giovanni, where the Shroud of Turin is housed.

The archeological museum.

Me, standing in a archway in the Savoy Palace.

A bit of Turinese architecture.

Me by a fountain.

Turin, home to the 2006 Olympics.

AOSTA:

A shot of Aosta's Roman ruins.

A bell tower.

A small little church.

A Roman arch.

Roman wall.

A bit of the original Roman city gates.

Roman archway.

Roman ruins.

Me, sitting on a part of the Roman amphitheater.

Medieval cloister behind one of the city's churches.

Roman trimphal arch.

One of the original Roman guard posts and Roman city walls.

More soon...

- Karen