Life at home, and some exciting stuff. =)
It has now been two weeks since moving out of Ann Arbor and I often think longingly of being back again. Already, I know. What can I say? My heart must still be there… ^_~ so what have I left to do but go back and visit? ;) So far this “summer”:2 trips, not counting the one I made to move out the rest of my stuff. Yesterday, I took the 43 min drive (at least when I’m driving =P) to Ann Arbor to see some awesome people. I had lunch with Jocelyn and we made our goodbyes because she is going home to Singapore on Monday. Come July she will be off to study abroad in Chile for a year and who knows when we’ll be able to see her again. =( Joc was one of the first few people I met in connection with St. Mary’s - totally welcoming me when I joined the Newman Choir. Sigh. This “fleeting” aspect of college is something I’m still getting used to. I always think about that quote: “People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” It’s so difficult to accept that we will all inevitably go our separate ways. I have to keep telling myself: change is good, change is necessary. That’s what life is all about, isn’t it?
I’ve enjoyed the many obvious comforts of living at home, i.e.: my mom’s cooking, free laundry, my (seemingly) giant non-extra-long full size bed, having my car, my baby grand (that’s actually in tune! =), etc. I do miss having Ethernet; dial-up isn’t so fun, which is why I’m not online much anymore. I’ve tried to refrain from complaining too much though - ever since it was pointed out to me that a 45.2Kbps connection isn’t really that bad after all. 0=) I’m still not used to the signing off business; fixatedly checking away messages is one of my favorite ways to procrastinate (I’m sure you can all relate to that one! ^_~). Given that I am still jobless (still waiting on a call-back) and my summer class doesn’t start until July, I suppose I don’t really have much to put off anyway. =P
So besides hanging out with home friends (if they’re not classing or working) I’ve been busying myself with doing things around the house. It’s really not bad, helping mom out gives me a domestic feeling =D Plus, given that she and dad are so busy all the time it’s the least I can do. I especially love making dinners at home. Dorm-life didn’t inspire too much in this department, for obvious reasons of inconvenience, expense, time and so on (Though Anne and I nevertheless had some good times first semester cooking in the Stockwell kitchenettes!) So here at home, I’ve been cooking lots of things, trying new recipes, practicing for the fall apt-life =P, you know. ^_~ A new favorite of mine: Linguine with chicken, tossed with a creamy portabella alfredo sauce…sooo good. Another thing to try: Combine sliced cucumber and tomato with 2 parts rice vinegar to 1 part olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Let this marinate for a while. Right before serving toss this with lettuce (romaine or iceberg or whatever you prefer, I like to use the spring mix =D) 1 sliced apple, and sliced almonds. It tastes great and it’s great for you!! =) More recipes to come later…
On music: I love being able to practice at home again…it’s wonderful. And so I spend many hours with the Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and others. Of course there’s also Best Songs Ever and the Broadway stuff. It’s all good to me. =) Download some classical music today! (Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is pretty awesome! =D)
On art stuff, my latest project: Repainting my mom’s bathroom. The theme: climbing Wisteria and perhaps ivy (I think I might do a border, I’m not quite sure yet! =) inspired by these really cool window treatments that look like stained glass. I also have two paintings that are still in progress: a path in the woods (still untitled=), and a portrait of the Blessed Mother. I have a feeling it will take me a while to actually complete them.
I am excited about many things that are going to happen soon. Well, I should say I’m more excited for the excuse to have a good time. *<=) In 10 days I will be entering my third decade of years, yeah, that is the big 2-0. I’m not too freaked out I think. I’ve already had my mid-college crisis, so I’ve moved beyond the getting old thing. I think it’s more of an omg-the20s-lots-of-important-things-happen-in-your-20s-and-I’m-not-ready-for-this wave of panic. Questioning the future is something I need to learn to keep under control. I think for my personal sanity and also for those dear to me. Perhaps I need a new mantra. “The Future” is inevitable, right? Que sera sera…
Two of my friends, Amy and Demita, have May Bday’s too, so we decided to collaborate on a celebration of sorts. =P There’s a Triple Party happening on the 22nd of May, 5pm at Amy and Demita’s Apt. If you want to come (which I hope you do=), please let me know by May 15th! (email me: gardines@umich.edu) =)
The other thing involves a little bit of a trip to Italy con la mia famiglia. =) We’re leaving on the 27th…just under two weeks from now. I can’t believe how soon that is since I’ve been looking forward to this trip since last semester! =) The plan as I know so far:
Rome: St. Peter’s Square, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. Somewhere in there we may meet up with some relatives. Coincidentally enough two of my mom’s sisters are going to be in the area because they’re Mediterranean cruise ports in Rome the day after we arrive in the city…mom was really excited about that. =)
Umbria
Viterbo
Orvieto: A visit to the cathedral, a fine example of Italian Gothic Architecture. =)
Siena area, Tuscany
San Gimignano
Chianti vineyards
Greve: wine tasting!
Florence: Renaissance gem, city of the Medicis =) Piazza Santa Croce, Piazza Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia dei Lanzi, the Piazza del Duomo and the inside of the cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, the Baptistry, and possibly the Uffizi Gallery [including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo!!] (I had to write essays on these great works of art in the art history class I took my very first semester! It’s going to be awesome to see them in real life and not on slides!! =D)
Pisa: Square of Miracles, Leaning Tower
Venice: Canals, gondolas, and Venetian glass blowers, St. Mark’s Basilica, maybe a boat trip to Burano, and perhaps a gondola trip with a serenade from a local troubadour…=P
Southward along the Adriatic coast, then across the Apennines
Assisi: Birthplace of St. Francis. A visit to the Basilica.
Back to Rome, then coming home. =)
So I’m really excited about this.
What would be really awesome is if I could be able to visit Elio (for those of you who don’t know him - he came to Ann Arbor to study for a year and joined the Newman Choir!) I’m not sure it’s going to be entirely possible and/or practical because he lives in Bari, which is really far south of where we’re going to be. Peccato. = /
Hmm, by the way the sky looks now I think we’ll be getting more rain. Hopefully it will be a good storm since it’s more interesting that way.
Okay friends, hope life is treating you well. Talk to me sometime because I miss you. Later. =-*
I’ve enjoyed the many obvious comforts of living at home, i.e.: my mom’s cooking, free laundry, my (seemingly) giant non-extra-long full size bed, having my car, my baby grand (that’s actually in tune! =), etc. I do miss having Ethernet; dial-up isn’t so fun, which is why I’m not online much anymore. I’ve tried to refrain from complaining too much though - ever since it was pointed out to me that a 45.2Kbps connection isn’t really that bad after all. 0=) I’m still not used to the signing off business; fixatedly checking away messages is one of my favorite ways to procrastinate (I’m sure you can all relate to that one! ^_~). Given that I am still jobless (still waiting on a call-back) and my summer class doesn’t start until July, I suppose I don’t really have much to put off anyway. =P
So besides hanging out with home friends (if they’re not classing or working) I’ve been busying myself with doing things around the house. It’s really not bad, helping mom out gives me a domestic feeling =D Plus, given that she and dad are so busy all the time it’s the least I can do. I especially love making dinners at home. Dorm-life didn’t inspire too much in this department, for obvious reasons of inconvenience, expense, time and so on (Though Anne and I nevertheless had some good times first semester cooking in the Stockwell kitchenettes!) So here at home, I’ve been cooking lots of things, trying new recipes, practicing for the fall apt-life =P, you know. ^_~ A new favorite of mine: Linguine with chicken, tossed with a creamy portabella alfredo sauce…sooo good. Another thing to try: Combine sliced cucumber and tomato with 2 parts rice vinegar to 1 part olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Let this marinate for a while. Right before serving toss this with lettuce (romaine or iceberg or whatever you prefer, I like to use the spring mix =D) 1 sliced apple, and sliced almonds. It tastes great and it’s great for you!! =) More recipes to come later…
On music: I love being able to practice at home again…it’s wonderful. And so I spend many hours with the Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and others. Of course there’s also Best Songs Ever and the Broadway stuff. It’s all good to me. =) Download some classical music today! (Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is pretty awesome! =D)
On art stuff, my latest project: Repainting my mom’s bathroom. The theme: climbing Wisteria and perhaps ivy (I think I might do a border, I’m not quite sure yet! =) inspired by these really cool window treatments that look like stained glass. I also have two paintings that are still in progress: a path in the woods (still untitled=), and a portrait of the Blessed Mother. I have a feeling it will take me a while to actually complete them.
I am excited about many things that are going to happen soon. Well, I should say I’m more excited for the excuse to have a good time. *<=) In 10 days I will be entering my third decade of years, yeah, that is the big 2-0. I’m not too freaked out I think. I’ve already had my mid-college crisis, so I’ve moved beyond the getting old thing. I think it’s more of an omg-the20s-lots-of-important-things-happen-in-your-20s-and-I’m-not-ready-for-this wave of panic. Questioning the future is something I need to learn to keep under control. I think for my personal sanity and also for those dear to me. Perhaps I need a new mantra. “The Future” is inevitable, right? Que sera sera…
Two of my friends, Amy and Demita, have May Bday’s too, so we decided to collaborate on a celebration of sorts. =P There’s a Triple Party happening on the 22nd of May, 5pm at Amy and Demita’s Apt. If you want to come (which I hope you do=), please let me know by May 15th! (email me: gardines@umich.edu) =)
The other thing involves a little bit of a trip to Italy con la mia famiglia. =) We’re leaving on the 27th…just under two weeks from now. I can’t believe how soon that is since I’ve been looking forward to this trip since last semester! =) The plan as I know so far:
Rome: St. Peter’s Square, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. Somewhere in there we may meet up with some relatives. Coincidentally enough two of my mom’s sisters are going to be in the area because they’re Mediterranean cruise ports in Rome the day after we arrive in the city…mom was really excited about that. =)
Umbria
Viterbo
Orvieto: A visit to the cathedral, a fine example of Italian Gothic Architecture. =)
Siena area, Tuscany
San Gimignano
Chianti vineyards
Greve: wine tasting!
Florence: Renaissance gem, city of the Medicis =) Piazza Santa Croce, Piazza Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia dei Lanzi, the Piazza del Duomo and the inside of the cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, the Baptistry, and possibly the Uffizi Gallery [including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo!!] (I had to write essays on these great works of art in the art history class I took my very first semester! It’s going to be awesome to see them in real life and not on slides!! =D)
Pisa: Square of Miracles, Leaning Tower
Venice: Canals, gondolas, and Venetian glass blowers, St. Mark’s Basilica, maybe a boat trip to Burano, and perhaps a gondola trip with a serenade from a local troubadour…=P
Southward along the Adriatic coast, then across the Apennines
Assisi: Birthplace of St. Francis. A visit to the Basilica.
Back to Rome, then coming home. =)
So I’m really excited about this.
What would be really awesome is if I could be able to visit Elio (for those of you who don’t know him - he came to Ann Arbor to study for a year and joined the Newman Choir!) I’m not sure it’s going to be entirely possible and/or practical because he lives in Bari, which is really far south of where we’re going to be. Peccato. = /
Hmm, by the way the sky looks now I think we’ll be getting more rain. Hopefully it will be a good storm since it’s more interesting that way.
Okay friends, hope life is treating you well. Talk to me sometime because I miss you. Later. =-*