Crossroads Seem to Come and Go

Hell yesss i'm the gipsy... i'll fly coast to coast, (country to country?)

Sad to be leaving DC, but happy to be going back to italia.




But I'll be back, DC, you just wait and see. At the beginning of this little journey I was in a strange place-- Hopping from Albany to Bridgton to Rome to DC in a very short amount of time and when I got here I think I was a little dizzy. Once I grounded myself (well, sort of), I was able to take in some of the more positive aspects around here-- and dive right into its wonders. Usually I crave those uncomfortable transitions in new places, and when I first arrived I hadn't embraced that yet. Honestly, the only reason I ended up here was because before I studied in Italy, I deferred my placement in this program to this semester. Fortunately, Chelsea now goes to school here, and so the prospect of coming became super exciting and less random. Not too mention, I got here a week late and felt rather thrown into an abyss of disorganization and frantic students... of which I needed to find friends, and fast! Fortunatly, I fell right into a little crew of awesomeness, who cradled me in their loving arms and haven't gotten rid of me since. Sorry Nicole, Kath, and Hope.. But seriously, how did I end up here? My life is a sequence of extremly random places, people, events, and ideas. Go figure. I love it.

It really is strange to look back just a couple months ago.. the massive snowstorm that essentially cut off DC from everything (getting from point A to point B) and we were all on the edge with cabin fever. We've seen the cherry blossoms, the museums, some political hype, etc., and now we have to go?! I don't want tooo!!! I'll have that little transitional period back in Maine for about 9 days and then I'll be off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Fed(erico)...! Gawddd help me get a job and fast. I'm broke! The metro here sucks up my money like you wouldn't believe! You don't even have a metrocard, you actually just exchange your first born child at entrance and exit! Mom and dad, if you're reading this, my bank account gently weeps... just kidding but i'm totally serious.

Anywhooo... I'm back on facebook now, as you all can probably tell. Sorry. I actually hate it, it's the biggest time-suck ever, because you get caught up in looking at bobby-joe's sister's roommate's aunt's ex-boyfriend's dentist's best friend's album from his trip to Trinidad and East Gistenbergland for like 2 hours and then you're like, WTF? Not to mention Fedster doesn't even have it anymore! basically, it's just a place where my friends who i already talk to everyday and i can facebook chat about the douchebag typing too loudly at the desk across from us, or for us to stalk each other's lives and lovers and potential lovers and the douchebag sitting across from us. and look at that dude's album from his trip to east gerkinstine. Or maybe I'm alone on this one, maybe you all are actually productive human beings when you have work to do.. and you actually sit down and do your work.

so yeah, sorry if i'm aimlessly talking here. you don't have to read if you don't want to.. pretty much, jenny, emily, and my sis will read this, and whatever, i like you guys.. so that's cool. sometimes i just like to write, OKAY? be thankful i don't submit the thoughts beyond the forefront of my brain.

oh and PS, Siena COllege is run by REPUBLICANS OR SOMETHING BECAUSE IT ALL SUCKS SGJNADKFGN AD;FKGJNG. Housing... goddamn HOUSING. That goddamn man.. the things I would do... I'm pretty sure he writes "lottery numbers" down in the dirt somewhere and somehow uses this process in deciding housing. once again, we got FUCKED OVER. I'm a good student, I've paid my dues- tuition and just sucking it up when we got fucked last year too.. and we didn't get a townhouse? If I could, I would transfer (and take my friends with me). Siena College, further proof of my random life (how did i end up there?)

so yep.. i'm running out of steam now. internship tomorrow. early morning, gross. and trying to finish up my papers before the end of the week.. woah. life moves quickly, eh? i'm sad to say goodbye to people, because as we know, i cannot so much as meet a cashier at a grocery store without wanting to know their whole life and staying in touch with them for forever and always hahaha... so sorry new friends (crew of awesomeness) you're stuck with me for a while :)

I am a masochist..

I am a masochist because I save every important thing for the very last minute, every time... i enjoy the pain it causes me when I have a 15 page paper due that next day and I only just began to look at the assignment. I really enjoy that pain.

GAHHHHHH. Whyyy???? Why do I do this to myself? Mom, dad, why have you failed in this department.. you have neglected to teach me the art of getting things done on time. Bahhhh. Just kidding (sort of). I suppose I have to take personal responsibility for this one.

Well, it has been a little bit since my last rant (post), but things are going well. DC is really beautiful right now- it's warm, even for me! We just got back from break a week ago. It was wonderful, il mio amore came to visit me in Maine.. we spent a night in Boston, too, so he's slowly seeing the whole country hahaha. He's been to Maine, New York, Massachusetts... what's next? Twas a lovely visit.. goodbyes are always a bitch, but thankfully I get to see him very soon because...

I'M LIVING IN ITALY WITH HIM THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, life. I'll just be gallivanting in the rolling hills of Tuscany with my prince. Don't worry friends, I know what you're thinking, how am I able to do these things when my account is almost seeing red?! I'll be working.. Fedex helped me (or basically wrote for me) my resume (in italiano), and there are a couple prospects at the moment. So, I'll be basking under the Tuscan sun from May 10 thru August 24. Visitors are welcome! (Under certain conditions). I'm super excited. :)))))))))))))Sometimes I can't believe this is my life that I'm living. You know, unexpectedly falling in love with this beautiful, talented, intelligent, funny, romantic, passionate Italian man while studying abroad.. (I guess he was hiding in Italy all these years) traveling to and fro each other's homelands anticipating the next time we are together and dreading the moment we have to say goodbye. This May will be the 1 year mark, I think.. although the first time we met was before May. But we hadn't started dating yet, so I think May is the month when the world shifted on its axis and the stars aligned and my heart started beating a little faster, stronger, and in sync to another certain someone's vital organ. Hehehe. I am such a sap right now. Va bene.

There is more to say, but I have a lot of work to do. I've spent too much time doing niente. But WAIT! My class went to see Bobby Mcferrin the other day, cool, right? Really cool guy- he spoke a lot and answered the audiences' questions and even sang with this one lady from the crowd, who was also very talented. ganzo.

Oh, and Nicole and I went to the Native American Museum on Saturday, right by the huge rally against humane health care reform. Some of these people were effing nuts- carrying signs that compared Obama to god knows who, and chanting things that just made you want to run. We made a little notebook-paper sign reading: Actually, I'm a socialist! And were on our way. Good times.. Haha, one man's sign said "Obama lies and kills people and babies!" Yes. Yes, Obama is definitly a people and baby killer.

Anywho... more later.

Love you all my wonderful people.

Casa dolce casa.... presto, penso che, si.

Ciao ragazzi!

Things are good in the neighborhood. I'm again in the library, I find myself blogging only when I have more important things to do. Things are getting a bit busy in the classes department, with spring break a week away. One of the assignments is called a community perspective paper, where we pick a neighborhood/community in DC and discuss it's strengths, weaknesses, ways to improve, etc... So it's pretty interesting but requires lots of in-depth work. Hence, why I'm so diligently working on it right now.

I'm going to go museum hopping soon because I have yet to do much of that. This weekend was pretty low key, but fun. I watched "Full Metal Jacket" which was a great movie. Federico recommended it to me, and I recommend you all to watch it as well. It begins at a training camp for Marines and sort of follows this crew of guys through their experience in Vietnam. Definitely movie-hangover potential. I don't know if it accurately depicts the war or marines, etc., but still makes you think.

What else have I done lately? Oh, Hope (VI) turned 21! hehehe. We went to a restaurant called Bullfeathers- which had a political atmosphere and we're pretty sure we saw a C pin. The food was decent, the drinks were strong, and it was dark and busy-- but the waiter was rude. Apparently he didn't realize we were VIP. Pshh... learn your acronyms, boy! Hope had her first (legal) G&T but had a midterm the next day so she limited herself to one. Smart girl. I'm sure you aced it, Hope :)

I would like to congratulate il mio amore, Allycia, for being accepted into a prestigious chemistry summer program in Austria!!! Well deserved, Lish. We will both be in Europe together at the same time, which is an equation for disaster and adventure and even more.. muahahahaha. I'm already fantasizing. But more importantly, I'm very excited for her because this is such a great opportunity academically and personally. Austria better get ready for this amazingly talented, intelligent, beautiful, and witty individual!

And apparently the brother has begun his quest to the west. He and Tim are going to stop by DC so I'm excited to see them!! Spring break starts Friday-- and Federico is coming to visit! Yayyyy!!! He'll get to see Boston, and then spend some QT in good old Bridgton, wootwoot. So I'm looking forward to seeing my btown homies-- it's been long over due. I miss you all so much! And of course, I get to see sister :))))), who I look forward to seeing more than anyone in the whole wide world because she's the wonder that's keeping the stars apart :)

See you soon folks.
Tell me how you are people.

PS... I think I'm gonna get inked soon, (once I have the funds). Booyah. Do you reckon my addictive personality will have me covered in them by 2020? Probs. :)

Honest Tea

Is overpriced.

But sooo good. I just paid $2 for a plastic bottle of: purified water, organic cane sugar, organic green tea, organic honey, citric acid and ascorbic acid.

I'm a proponent of eating organically, but whole foods is the devil. I just bought honey there, forgetting to look at where it was from, and as I was putting it into my tea last night-- I noticed that it was from EFFING BRAZIL. Why?! Damnit... and to think, my dad raises bees- I should have just asked him to send me some actual organic honey straight from the hive. I bet the carbon footprint of that bottle of honey would challenge that of the Hummer that drove by earlier. Every time I see a Hummer I want to die a little on the inside, but even more-- I feel a violent urge to throw myself onto that heinous hunk of metal and then slash the tires and then maybe the driver.

I'm going to Dollywood. Nicole and I are eloping there, right under the Wig-Slide... beside the Boob-coaster. Ya jealous? This is what we do when things get too rough for the going... we "go to Dollywood in my mind." And then we sing Dolly Parton songs (which I don't know but people here do).

Does this post seem pointless and scattered and boring? Good! I'm procrastinating! It's 10:22pm(although my clock says 4:22 because I'm too lazy to change it back from a million months ago) and I'm not even CLOSE to finishing my paper due tomorrow morning at 8. So while contemplating the wonders of the world and my future in effort to not do my paper here are some things that have come across my mind-

1. Texas and California can just fall off the US entirely (no offense to some select people), as my peers here would agree. CA is about to release about 600,000 prisoners back into your communities because they can't afford to lock them up any more! Frightening, right? SO go ahead and just fall off, become your own countries.

2. People wearing cologne or perfume at the gym should be banned from doing so. It makes me want to vomit (on them) when it smells like Abercrombie while I'm trying to run.

3. I think my ultimate goal in life is to travel and to be paid to do so... how can we make this happen folks?

4. I'm at the lib, and the guy a couple seats diagnol to me is watching funny youtube videos and snickering, it's sort of endearing.

5. Gay bars! Are awesome! The few awkward encounters are completely outweighed by the mostly naked male gogo dancers (with bodies sculpted by Michelangelo himself). If you're a lady, you don't have to worry about being hit on by gross men, but instead are told your hair is fabulous and then sing lady gaga together.

6. Pandora needs to not have a 40 hour a month limit.

7. I really need to see a good movie some time soon. A great one. Not a romantic comedy, not a comedy, not a horror, but a thought-provoking and disturbing film that gives you a movie hangover for days. I love those. I could just read a book, but I get way too attached and end up living in the book for the duration of my reading it.

8. Hugh Laurie is my very own jesuschristsuperstar. I heart him so much. If I owned the world I would look like Kim Kardashian (look, not act) and be married to Hugh. Or maybe the "russian" Alexander, in sex and the city.

I've wasted enough time. I'm going to Dollywood in my mind.
Should I continue this rhyme?

bahahahahahahha. someone STOP meeee.

woah.

Things i've learned recently.


1. You hear it time and time again, but there really is a moment when you understand these cliches and idiomatic expressions, such as the following. You have to love yourself before you can love someone else. So do what it takes, sit in front of a mirror and compliment your reflection, go to therapy, listen to tapes, isolate yourself in the woods for 8 months, take a class, find a hobby, meditate, join a cult, I don't care-- just make it happen.

2. When you're tempted to just sit in your room and listen to Bob Dylan and survive off of instant oatmeal for the day by yourself, for the love of all that is holy, go spend time with your best friend. At least you can sit together and have beer and [digusting] nachos and spill your guts out. She knows you better than anyone and when words fail, it won't matter. Maybe you can just cry and know she understands.

3. Talk is cheap. People will let you down, and as great literature often reveals to us, people are not always what they seem to be. The meanings you attach to people can be quite different than how they are, what they really 'mean'.

4. We really hear it all the time. I will repeat it. It really doesn't and shouldn't matter what you look like. When you think you're not pretty, tall, little, skinny, tan, or sexy enough, you need to stop and think if these things even matter. Because they don't. At the end of the day, the people who matter are those who don't focus on superficial qualities like weight or hair color. And when someone causes you to feel inadequate, it's a reflection of their shortcomings, not your own.

I would also like to have a feminist moment.. so hold tight for a sec. I was reading a magazine last night (so I shouldn't be surprised, as mags are usually just manuals to nip/tuck/paint/dress/pluck/prod yourself), and there was a particular line I was completely annoyed by. A guy writes in, "Guys know that girls have all sorts of standards and pressure to look a certain way, we understand." REALLY?! Hah. I don't think even us women understand the depth and extent that society has twisted our perceptions of beauty.

5. You can hop around the globe all you want but your personal struggles will still follow you. Absolve them. Then travel some more.

6. College is not all that it's cracked up to be. I'm beginning to feel like a robot- another student taking classes to get a job to make money to... to what? Life has become so... constructed. The things we laugh at, cry for, why we get married, where we go, our entertainment, is all constructed by the mass. These frames control us, and it concerns me.

But life is grand too, of course. Just not today. Excuse my negativity.

7. You can't please everyone.

8. People really honestly believe that things happen for a reason-- and I couldn't disagree more. Life is an accumulation of experiences that of course influences the next, but there is no ultimate plan.. what the hell would the point of life be if that were the case?

9. Eye contact scares the shit out of people. It separates the boys from the men and the girls from the women. I judge people who wear their shades and listen to their ipods all day every day... I dare you all to go outside, in a populated area, without your ipods and sunglasses. It's a whole other world! Besides, there's nothing sexier than eye contact.

10. There is little choice in love. Don't kid yourselves, cowards. When you ignore feelings or compartmentalize, bottle up, etc., you're inhibiting yourself from obtaining truth. Sounds like BS but I swear there's some truth there.. ahaa. but really.

11. Fake school actually is real school.. apparently, I have a paper to write. Blogging is not conducive to productivity.


So, Chels and I are making a deal. We're giving up Facebook for Lent. No, I'm not religious, but I've found that just looking at people's albums and FB chatting are seriously distracting me from doing more important things in life. Like interacting with people, face-to-face. Or writing papers. Soooo... ciao Facebook. If you're a person I like or know, you probs have my e-mail or cell number. Use them if you so wish.

ciao, for now.

So Holly Miller started a blog?!

She also started speaking in the third person.

Well... I decided to start a blog, mostly because some people that I know have done so and it's entertaining to read as it probably is also fun to write. So, I will give it a try. Communication via technology is really quite fascinating, eh? In addition, I figure this is a good way for my family and friends to see what I'm up to, since I'm usually frolicking about new lands, and it seems more neat and tidy than posting to people's walls on Facebook. Don't fret, I won't turn this into a 17 year old boy's emo journal... or I'll try not to channel my angst through my blog. I'll save that for Facebook statuses, right?

So, here I am, blogging world -- feel free to follow me.

Currently, I am in Washington, DC for a semester. I'm in a program called "Transforming Communities" which consists of a seminar class 3x a week, and an internship. It's a class unlike any class I've taken before. We go to sites and speakers almost every class and learn about all sorts of community related topics (housing, poverty, civic engagement, etc.). Moreover, I'm finally taking an art class!!!! Wootwooot... for those who don't know, I'm pretty into art, have always had an inkling to pursue it, but haven't yet. It's called "intaglio" which is Italian for carving/cutting. Drawing is an essential skill for this art, so it's the only reason I could sort of plop into the class. I think the teacher is a little frustrated by my unfulfilled pre-reqs (which I had waived by begging and pleading). So hopefully she'll see through my rather sloppy first prints and see a glimmer of talent in my rusty artwork. If not, well I'll take it as a sign from god (or Dawkins, as I see him...) and I'll lay my pencil to rest and shall never look back!


As for the weather, there has certainly been lots of snow. AU is actually closed, as is the rest of DC pretty much. Apparently Maine has set my expectations high as far as snow plowing and removing goes. How will I use all my free time? Well.. considering I have a ton of reading to do, I'll probably be drawing. Or having epic snowball fights. Or being angsty and tortured and write in a moleskin journal. (I've been really good at the emo-girl thing lately, as many of my friends I've recently talked to will already know) ahem, Emily Knauerhase.

Allora. Off to read, off to read. I'm supposed to have a (phone) interview tomorrow, but I'm wondering if they'll even be in the office domani. Also, wtf? (Sorry, older generations) phone interviews are so lame! How am I supposed to get a feel for the office or a general attractiveness rating of the staff?

Enjoy your week friends. Thanks for tuning in.