No cheese on seafood, no cappucino after noon, and other Italian tips

Thank God for the New York Times. Never mind my big purse, constant picture taking, and slight Southern drawl - now that I've read this article I'm sure to fit right in!

Anyone have any more for me?

La Dolce Vita

On Wednesday I leave for Italy.

On... Wednesday... I... leave... for... Italy.

Wow.

I've never been before. In fact, I've hardly spent any time in Europe, which becomes a bigger thorn in my side the older I get. I never did a semester abroad in college, I never took a month off of waiting tables... for no good reason. I always had fantasies of bumming around Europe - buying a Eurorail pass and trouping from country to country with almost nothing but a backpack and a journal - but at the time in my life when it would have been natural, I didn't. I was too busy trying to build a life, and adulthood - and all of the fun things that come along with that - became a priority that I was happy to undertake.

But now that I am nearing thirty, it's weird to me that I haven't traveled more. I feel very strongly that the next phase in my life will be about travel, and not in a vacationing sense. I want to get to the point where I am actually spending time in places, not just going on whirlwind trips. I feel like there is a part of me that would relate very well to European culture, and I am anxious to explore it, and in doing so, explore more of myself and my place in this world.

It's very easy for me to get stagnant. I'm not sure if it's Richmond, or my family, or laziness, or just life in general, but motivation can be very hard to maintain. I'm looking forward to this trip, because I know that it will revive me and get my juices flowing again - both at work and creatively. Lord knows, both of those areas of my life have been lacking lately.

So wish me luck on my first trip to Italy, and on hopefully entering the the next phase in my life - exploration.

Love him, love the idea

Barack Obama has thought of a new way to solicit donations, and I think it's brilliant. You can win a chance to have dinner with him.

Ok, so they're a little bit vague about how they're choosing the winners, but I don't really care. I like it. And I'm not ashamed to admit - I threw $20 into the ring.

Quote of the Day

"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew what kind of woman I wanted to become."

- Diane von Furstenburg

Bad hair day

It's been a weird couple of days. On Friday I had two moles removed - from my breasts. So I gave myself permission to take it easy. Saturday I luxuriated in doing not much of anything, save from catching up on reading, and getting used to my new Mac laptop (that's right!). This morning I had to rip myself from the lazy funk to greet my aunt who arrived early with the curtains that she had custom made for my bedroom, and we hung those quickly before I ran off to an annual Easter celebration.

So because I was in a hurry, and am still getting used to six stitches in a very sensitive area, I slacked off a bit today and hurriedly threw my hair into a barrette. Sure, not my best look, but who cares, right? It's a Sunday in Richmond, Virginia for Christ's sake.

Well, apparently people do. Tonight while paying my tab for a few beers after listening to my friend's band play, I got this little unsolicited comment from a gay man while passing me his business card -

"Honey, I can help you with that hair."

My feeble stammering about how I swear it usually looks better than this did little to wipe the smug look of of his aging face.

I guess I'm passing the age where I can get by on my charm alone. That, or this town is becoming tougher by the minute. Either way - gulp.