Dec 31, 2005...

Goodbye old year... here goes another one... not too happy, after all, it could have been better but hey, you live, you learn, even if the experiences you go through are difficult to handle.

Whether you're by yourself or you party with friends, whether you're at home or far away, there's a moment tonight when you think back about what happened during the past 12 months, maybe trying to figure out what went wrong, if you made mistakes that you could have avoided, or what you did right, what brought you happiness, what made you smile...

No sweat. Here's another chance to make things right, another 12 months to redeem yourself, to improve, to grow, to make mistakes, to think, to enjoy life, to laugh, to hate, to cry, to love...

To live.

Just a few more seconds... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

And so that was Christmas...

Christmas gifts received this year:

- a lot of time to rest, relax, and read
- a new friend here in town
- the trust of a friend who lent me his car for the holidays
- numerous phone calls with my mom (free, courtesy of Skype)
- dozens of emails/ecards with holiday wishes from friends all over the world
- the best lasagna I've had in months (courtesy of my Christmas day hostess)
- the graduation of a very good friend (in Italy)
- the company of people I enjoy being with

Who said that the best gifts are the most expensive ones?

If only people were able to see beyond material possessions, if they were able to recognize that the best gifts they can receive are their health and the love of their friends and family, the lines in the stores on the 26th of December wouldn't be that long; nobody would feel the need to return anything.

Una poesia anche per te

You probably don't know what I would give
For you to be happy
You cry tears made of air
Invisible tears
That only angels
Know how to wipe

But there will be a new season
There will be new roses

And there will be
Within you and
Beyond the horizon
A little poem

There will be
Maybe it already exists
Beyond the horizon
A little poem for you, too

I'd like to be born again, for you
And start it all over again, together
As if you didn't feel any pain
But you created dreams made of crystal
Too courageous and fragile
To die now
Just for a regret

There will be
Within you and
Beyond the horizon
A little poem

There will be
Maybe it already exists
Beyond the horizon
A little poem for you, too

Forgive, and you will forget
For how much it can hurt, you know
You are still here
And give your everything, and give so much
As long as your sign will be visible
Let the sun melt this knot
As it does with snow

And there will be
Within you and
Beyond the horizon
A little poem

There will be
Maybe it already exists
Beyond the horizon
A little poem for you, too

Only for you

(Una poesia anche per te, Elisa. Audio and Video - in Italian)

"Il faut tant, et tant de larmes, pour avoir le droit d'aimer"

Somewhere, in the distance, an accordion is playing a sad tune. In the crisp morning air you walk, remembering, thinking, hoping...

Des yeux qui font baiser les miens,
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
Voila le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ca me fait quelque chose.

Il est entre dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause.

C'est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui
Dans la vie,
Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.

Et des que je l'apercois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat.

Abrasive mood

Romance is dead.
It was acquired in a hostile takeover by Hallmark and Disney, homogenized and sold off piece by piece.

(Lisa Simpson)

Surprises

Sometimes it happens that the best things come unexpected. I had a very nice conversation today with a person I hadn't heard from in a while, someone who is very important for me and is a very important part of my life. And it was unexpected, it came from the blue, while I was busy thinking about what to do, just carrying on the little tasks of the day.
Right when things go wrong, when life is biting you in the rear, there you go, something nice happens that brings you back on track and shows you that, after all, things are not as bad as you thought. Perfectly in line with the Holiday spirit.
This person reminded me of things that happened in the past; this person brought back very dear memories, moments that I would never trade back for anything else, random memories such as the sound of a name, the smell of a certain brand of soap, the brightness of a color, the softness of a touch.
And while I was thinking about it, again carrying on the random tasks of the day (namely buying apples at the supermarket), a thought came to me. Relationships can be divided according to the four elements: fire, water, rock and air.
"Air" relationships are the ones that you need in order to learn what love is, the relationships that teach you what it means to be with someone else and to start thinking in terms of 'we' rather than 'me'. Just like we need air to survive, we need 'air' relationships to get started.
"Water" relationships are the ones that are not necessarily needed, but they make you feel better, just like a glass of water on a hot day. They are the relationships that you go through and soon forget, the ones that don't last long, give you pleasure for the time being, and that's it, you move on to something else, just like water flows in a river, it doesn't stop.
"Rock" relationships are the ones that hold you down, the ones that are heavy, in many ways; heavy because they hold you down and don't let you be or do what you want to be or do. Heavy because they sit on your stomach, just like a rock, and even though you feel their presence with all of your being, they don't make you feel as comfortable, it feels like there's something there that is not entirely supposed to be there. Heavy because a rock can be a pretty solid point of reference, and this kind of relationship makes you understand that there are reliable people out there who will never move an inch, they'll always be there for you.
And then there's fire.
"Fire" relationships. The heart-breaking, breath-stopping, mind-numbing, soul-blowing relationships that last the lifetime of a butterfly, but that you never forget; just like a scar when you burn yourself with fire, they are always there, in the back of your mind, to remind you that you are alive, that you can feel the extremes of happiness and pain, joy and sorrow.
I have been burned in the past. And no, I would never trade in those moments, for anything in the world, pain or happiness; they are my most precious memories.
A sparkle was still alive today.
Unexpected.

The comedy of politics and the politics of comedy

There was a very interesting interview aired on BBC World radio - one of the most popular Italian comedians, Beppe Grillo, was interviewed about the state of the Italian Parliament. According to a page he published (with sponsorship from Italian citizens) on the International Herald Tribune, there are a large number of Italian politicians who sit in the parliament and have been convicted of crimes that don't even allow THEM to vote in public elections until 2009. And they are the ones MAKING the laws...

What is more appalling is that we have to wait for COMEDIANS to say this kind of stuff. In Italy we could never have programs like Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, David Letterman... We had a number of comedians who tried to do their job - that is, criticize the government and the politicians through satire (Sabina Guzzanti, Daniele Luttazzi, just to name two). They got kicked out, they are persona non grata on TV. And this is because our Prime Minister does not like to be criticized, doesn't want people to THINK for themselves. Much better to find out which soccer player is dating which showgirl...

This interview is in English, check it out here.

And this is the page he published on the IHT:

If you want to check his blog, the Italian version is here and the version in English is here.

Enjoy.

Life in 2005

(I always get funny stuff forwarded to me - I like to share!)
(and a lot of stuff from this list IS true!!!)

You live in 2005 if...

1. Accidentally type in your password in your microwave
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers for your family who counts only three members
4. You send an email to someone sitting right next to you
5. The reason why you don't keep in touch with your family is because they don't have email
6. You go home after a long day's work and when your landline rings you ask yourself what they are trying to sell to you now - none of your friends uses your landline, EVER
7. When you call from your landline you dial "zero" to get the outgoing dial tone
8. You've been sitting at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies. Or you have gone to four different buildings belonging to four different companies but you always worked for the same one
10. Your boss is incapable of doing your job
11. When you go to somebody's house you don't call from the cell phone unless you find a missed call
12. Your apartment doesn't have enough energy for all of your electronic appliances. If you want to charge your cell phone you have to unplug the battery charger, the MP3 player and the digital camera
13. Going out without your cell phone, if you are between 20 and 65, makes you panic and dash back inside to get it
14. You get up in the morning and connect to the internet to read your email and the news before you have breakfast
15. U wrt mssgs lk ths
16. You are looking around your desk to make sure nobody sees you laughing at a computer screen
17. What is worse is that you perfectly know who you want to forwards this list to
18. You were so much into reading this that you didn't notice that number 9 was missing from the list
19. Now you are checking that number 9 ACTUALLY IS missing from the list
20. And now you are laughing at yourself!
And don't say it's not true!