Torino, baby...

Let me start by saying that I promised photos of when Jorryt and Lilian were here, but I am going to pass this on to Jorryt's Weblog, where you can read the entire story of what we did and see the pictures...
Yesterday, we have been really good students! OK, maybe we got up a little bit late, but we did study properly until about 8PM. So there was no reason to feel bad at all! As a reward, we decided that we could have a day off today... We spent the day in Torino, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Got the train early this morning and spent the two hours in the train looking at the very Dutch-looking landscape. Seriously, I didnt realise how fcking flat this part of Italy is! If you'd forget the Alps looming in the distance, it could have been Holland without any doubt!
In Torino, as in Milano, the weather was stunning. Blue skies, very sunny... And fcking cold.
But the city is gorgeous. Very clean, amazing architecture and some nice things to see and do. However, the number of highlights is kinda limited. We do think we managed to see virtually everything (except the highly esteemed Egyptian Museum). All in all, we had a great day. And, I hesitate to admit, the first trip outside Milano (and Bergamo Airport) I have made in Italy. And definitely worth it!
Now we are home again, and we will probably go to bed reasonably early. Because tomorrow we are going to have a party at my place, with anyone coming who actually is IN Milano. There arent that many people here, so it might be a rather selective company. But thats ok... We will have fun anyway. But I can already tell everyone now: Have an awesome 2006!!!
ciao,
OJ

Long post...

Wow, I realise it has been nearly a week since I posted last... I apologise. But I have simply been too busy to do so. Obviously, I had Jorryt and Lilian over for 5 days, which was a lot of fun. We strolled through the city a lot and did a LOT of sightseeing. All the main sights (xmas market, Duomo, Galleria, shops, Castello, etc, etc, etc) and we had a really good time! Very relaxing and a lot of fun. Jorryt took a lot of pictures and I will soon post a few of them on my blog, but I seem to be unable to enter his site right now...
In addition to al the sights we saw, we ate a lot. And I really mean a lot. Managed to do my first Aperitivo at the Japanese Bento Bar, which was simply awesome. And Lilian managed to survive without any bad effects. This hasnt been very easy, because she has an olive (oil) allergy. Which basically means you cant eat anything in Italy, because everything is made with olive oil... Or so I thought. But it turned out to be quite bearable. On Christmas Day I made an eight-course meal for them, which was highly appreciated (no Tuna Carpaccio unfortunately, because it was impossible to find tuna anywhere). We also shared some Christmas presents and I am now the proud owner of a pair of clog-flipflops (klompen-pantoffels)!!! Very comfy, I must say... On the 26th, Jorryt and Lilan left the country again in the morning, and Fedor arrived in the afternoon. Of course it was great to see him again, and we had another lovely xmas dinner at night. Together with Michele and Cedric. We shared some more presents and we now are the proud owners of a blowup Snowman, named Margaret and another blow-up friend named Linda... (Sponge Bob was already here)

Well, it must be understood that it was a crazy evening, even though it wasnt extremely late in the end.
Yesterday, we stayed in bed all day. Just watching movies and chilling. It was lovely. Today was supposed to be the day that we were gonna go to Uni and study. But a significant amount of snow came down during the night, so there arent any trams today. So we stayed home today as well. Doing important things, such as updating blogs and wrigin emails...
Btw, I want to lower my estimate for the amount of mail that actually arrives to 50-60%. I received fewer xmas cards than ever before (and not a single one from any family member, except my great-aunt). And as I am naturally positive and assume that at least some people I know would send me a christmas card, I assume that the rest is lost... Just like the package my mother sent to me. Also lost... Grmpf. How difficult can it be to have a working postal service? Seriously?
ciao tutti,
OJ

Tapperij @ Milano

Yesterday was the final day of courses in the second quarter! It felt like a relief, to be honest. And to celebrate this, we had a little end-of-courses-celebration last night. A little Aperitivo and then back to my place to do some drinking. And finally, we went out to Loolapaloosa (or something like that). It was interesting, to say the least... I hadnt been there before, even though it is very close (at the end of my street), but it was basically the same as the Tapperij in Groningen. Except bigger. And more expensive. And with girls dancing on the bar. Interesting, to say the least...... :-)
Early this morning, Bjoern was flying to Germany again. Which was another reason why we had to go out last night, because he had to get to the airport early, so he went straight from the bar to Central Station. Of course I was drunk enough to think it would be a good idea to walk with him to the station... So at 5AM I finally returned, drunk as fuck. I woke up with a splitting headache, but not so strong that a little pink happy pill cant cure!! (ibuprofen, just before anyone gets the wrong idea). And now I am waiting for Jorryt and Lilian to arrive. Which they should have already, strangely enough...... Oh well, I'll find out whether they are lost soon enough, I guess.
ciao, OJ

Game Theory.......

Seriously, Game Theory from 11.00 until 17.30 with a total 30 minutes of break inbetween. That is simply torture. Seriously. Goddammit.
OJ

Arrividerci Fazio!

Wow, yesterday was my laziest day in a loooong time. I stayed in bed nearly all day. I did do a bit of studying in bed of course, but mostly I just enjoyed having a free Sunday. Today, on the other hand, I went to Uni at 9 and only came back at 8.30PM, to compensate for my lazy weekend... Followed some of my last classes this Quarter, which only lasts for two more days. Tomorrow I will have my final Game Theory class. From 11.00 until 17.00. I am absolutely not looking forward to it, as you could expect...
For the rest I have been discussing the fact that Fazio finally buggered of as President of the Banca d'Italia. And I read that Mario Monti might be replacing him. Monti is actually a teacher at my University, so that would be kinda cool... Finally, I wanted to leave you with this...

Ciao, OJ

Xmassssss

On Friday, I went to Uni again to study. But after my only class had been cancelled and I had spent some time studying, I couldnt possibly resist my friend Fenanda's proposal to go shopping. So we went to the Xmas market and a few other places. We ended up at the most posh and most expensive supermarket in Milano (where I saw the most expensive bottle of wine of my life: 3800 EUROS!!!! And it was just a random bottle I looked at!). We had a glass of wine there and something to eat (gorgeous really), before going off to meet some other people for Aperitivo. Unfortunately, I didnt paricularly like part of the company (diplomacy rules), so I left quite early. In a way, this was good, because I planned to study today. In the end, however, this never actually happened. I did go to the market and the supermarket this morning, as planned, but then realised I hadnt finished all my Xmas shopping yet... So I did. I made my third visit to Hightech (the most AWESOME store in Milano) and also went to the Xmas market again. Now, I have finished ALL the xmas shopping, so I wont be able to use that as an excuse anymore!
Tonight, there was the "apparently annual" Christmas celebration of Margherita and Daniele. They invited us and many others at their house (actually, her parents' house) and we had a lot to drink and eat. It was all very very nice! The house, as well, was absolutely amazing!!! More than 100 square meters! In the Parco Sempione area, I think I would have to quintuple my current earnings to be able to live there.... But the party was definitely very nice! Again, I missed a few other Xmas parties tonight, but I dont really care.
ciao, OJ

Home Alone (not the movie)

After a hard day of work, I went home to prepare for the evening. It was Cedrics Birthday and he was playing at Gasoline. In addition to that, he had a friend coming over from Florence. All in all, this simply meant we had to party!!! And we did. Despite the fact that there was nobody there at Gasoline! Really terrible, actually. And we left as soon as Cedric finished playing. We chilled out at home for some more time, and had some more drinks. This morning, however, after 3 hours of sleep, I had to get up and go to class. And of course, my 9 AM course was taught by Panunzi. He is a very nice guy, friendly guy, but he is so fucking boring as a teacher!!! I often fall asleep during his lectures anyway, but having hardly slept and breathing pure alcohol didnt really add to the experience, I must say. I have no recollection what the lecture was about, except that it was the most boring and excruciating thing I have done for a loooooong time! After that, I had 2 classes and didnt finish until 4PM. This wasnt fun after a night of drinking, I can tell you... But I survived and came home at the end of the afternoon, ready to die. I was chilling for a while, when Cedric and his friend came in and it turned out that there was a little dinner party at our house tonight! Well, I must say that the trout was brilliant, but now I am absolutely exhausted!!!! Everyone has left for the bar where Michele is DJing tonight and this is the very first time I am home alone.... After all, neither Michele nor Cedric ever go outside, if they can possibly avoid it, so I am never home alone. It is a strange experience...
ciao, OJ

Xmas parties Galore

Classes from 11 until 18 really dont leave a lot of time to actually do something useful...
So I didnt. I did, however, follow quite enough classes for one day!
And tonight, I skipped my first Xmas party this year. Italian custom is apparently rather favoured towards Xmas parties. This week, I have invitations to 4 Xmas parties (and 2 birthdays).. Today was the first one, and I was supposed to go with Cedric. We had been invited by someone we met last week, while going out. But I was too tired and Cedric had to work on his music tonight. Because tomorrow, he is celebrating his birthday and, more importantly, DJing at Gasoline! So he didnt have time to go party today and I didnt feel like going without him. So I didnt. Besides, tomorrow s probably going to be long enough a day anyway!
bacio,
OJ

Lonely, again

Yesterday was the last day Fedor was here: I brought him to the Trainstation again this morning.... boohoo. But, on the bright side, he will be back again in 2 weeks!!! I cant wait. The rest of the day, I studied. And I went to the Supermercato delle Scarpe (the shoe-supermarket). I know it is embarrassing, but this was the cheapest place I could think of to buy new shoes. And considering that the bottoms of my old shoes fell off, I didnt really have a choice...
Tonight, I was at home and watched some movies. Because of the new downloading method I am exploring, I have discovered an enormous reserve of movies that are amazing. Definite hits are: C.R.A.Z.Y., Le Temps Qui Reste and Grande Ecole. So whenever you're bored, dont miss out on them!

ciao,
OJ

San Ambrogio (etc) Holiday...

Fedor arrived on Thursday and of course, I was very very happy to see him again! We chilled out at home for a while and at night we went to the Fashion Cafe. It was very busy, and I met some new people: Australian girls! Very nice Australian girls, even... So we really had a brilliant time, before going home late.
On Friday, we finally finally finally made it to the Cimitero Monumentale together. We have been wanting to go there together for ages, but never actually made it. And now, we did...



After that, we went to visit the Christmas market in the city and did a bit of shopping. At night, we watched some movies and stayed home.
On Saturday, we did the standard thing to do on Saturday: Market and Cheap Supermarket. Afterwards, some more shopping for Fedor and some walking through town. The weather has been gorgeous the past few days, with bright Sun and about 10 degrees!!! Last night, I made artichokes and Lasagna for Fedor and Michele. Only the three of us are home, because Cedric is in Switzerland for the weekend and Meghan is in the USA for a month...
Today, we tried to do some studying and designed an e-mail Xmas card... You'll see.

ciao tutti,
OJ

15 hours and counting...

Yesterday, I just studied and tried to finish some work. But as I also had some classes in between, I didnt manage to get a lot done. And at night I decided to chill out at home, even though it was actually the last day of the week...
The reason for that is that today was San Ambrogio!!! Happy San Ambrogio everyone! I actually have no idea whether you can say that to people, but it is something that is celebrated extensively in Milan. After all, San Ambrogio is the protector of Milan... And tomorrow is the day of the Immaculate Conception (not the Collection, really), which is another day of celebration, and thus of closed shops and general festivities. As a bonus, we are also getting Friday off, so that is why the week is already over.
I did go to Uni today, however, because I still hadnt finished the things I need to finish before Tuesday, and tomorrow Fedor will arrive!!! Now, after working a few hours, I still havent finished my work, but I am getting closer! At least, I am ready to receive Fedor and to make sure we will be having a luvely time together!!! I cannot wait...
ciao, OJ
PS I have also come into Xmas mood now. I have started buying a few little xmas decorations. I wont be buying a lot this year though, because I unfortunately dont have the money to do so. The same goes for Xmas presents and cards. None of these this year: no money!

Oh Happy Days...

I left for Uni at 8.30 and came back at 20.30. And the best part was that I was fcking productive today, hooray! This is good, because I want to make sure that I dont have a lot to do during the little holiday coming up, when Fedor is here (dont ask me why, but there is a holiday that starts on Wednesday and lasts until Sunday).
Oh yeah, happy Sinterklaas everyone.... :(
And my final thought-of-the-day: I want to visit Cuba. My friends Bart and Tineke are there right now and their pictures look absolutely AWESOME!!! So I have added Cuba on my things-to-do-list...
Ciao tutti!!!,
OJ

Seriously, its not snowing anymore. Get over it!

I got up reasonably early to find my way to University. Unfortunately, this was more difficult than expected. The trams were still not going, despite the fact that the snow happened two nights ago!!! Amazingly enough, this apparently wasnt enough time for the city of Milan to clear the tracks properly... Even though in the Southern part of the Centre, the snow is actually nearly gone! I found that out when I finally did make it to Uni (walking, metro, walking...). Unfortunately, the heating at the University appeared to have given up fighting the cold. So it was bloody freezing in there. Even with all computers, lights and other electronic equipment switched on! So I didnt actually stay long and went home again to finish my studying... Kind of useless to have spent one-and-a-half hours on getting to and back University, isnt it?
Oh well, shit happens. At least, I still got some stuff done today. So thats great!
ciao tutti,
OJ

birthdays galore

Thursday night we had quite a ball, going for dinner to celebrate two birthdays... I left relatively early, but definitely had a really good time. The next day, I went to Uni early, because I needed some studying done, in between the classes. I was reasonably satisfied with my progress, so allowed myself to go home at 18pm. I had now completely run out of any money (I have been eating pasta with garlic for a few days), and invested my last money in a bottle of water and a bag of spaghetti. Once I got home, it turned out that it was Meghans birthday (I didnt even know... but that may have been because I didnt see her all week, because I have hardly been home). To celebrate her bday, everyone went to an Indian restaurant nearby. I didnt, of course.
After returning, we drank a few more drinks, which was fun. When going to bed, we realised it had suddenly started snowing...

I took this picture out of the bathroom window...
Today, I got up quite late, because I was exhausted from the past week. When checking my bank account via the internet, I received the best news in quite a while... My scholarship had been paid!!! So, after hearing this news, I was very eager to get to the market and the supermarket, because I could finally afford to buy food again!!! However, this was not as easy as it sounds. The 15 cm of snow that unexpectedly fell last night made quite a fcking mess of the city. The trams didnt drive at all anymore, the snowploughs had cleared the main roads, but created roadblocks for pedestrians when doing so... It was quite a survival trip! But I survived. I spent the rest of the day watching movies etc... BarD told me last week about a great new downloading tool (bitcomet, try it), and I now finally have some of the things I had been looking for for ages!!! (The last missing AbFab episode, Southpark 715, Little Britain season3 and most importantly: PRISCILLA!). So I am very happy and enjoy all my new entertainment. Tomorrow, however, I will have to go to Uni and study... So I should watch all the things I want to see today. And I will continue to do so, right now!
ciao tutti,
OJ

No inspiration for a title

Yesterday, I had my first day of hating Italians. Well, it wasnt even a day, it was only a few hours, but it really ruined my mood pretty badly. The problem was basically related to how fcking unreliable Italians are if you are meeting them... Anyways, I got over it and managed to get a fair bit of studying done. In the evening, I met with my Dutch friend Nina and her bf. We had a lovely apperitivo and I made her very happy with supplies from Holland.
This morning was another early start at Uni, in an attempt to get some things done. I have worked on 2 of my projects in Holland and did some real studying for the rest. At 8.30PM we will have a bit of a dinner to celebrate some birthdays, but I will not be staying late, I guess. After all, I need to get some more studying time in. My not-quite-favourite teacher has a particular obsession with giving lots of exsercises (as he calls them), and we got an exercise set for Tuesday and a huge one for the Tuesday after. But next week, there is a holiday from Wednesday on and Fedor will be here, so I am not sure about the amount of studying I will be able to get in. So.... I will need to finish all these bloody exercises before Thursday... Oh well, it'll be good for me to get some real study time in.
ciao tutti,
OJ

I luv Banca Intesa

I got up really early today, to make sure I would have enough time at Banca Intesa to arrange all I wanted to arrange. Unfortunately, the lady who normally helps me (Ms Fazio, but whats in a name?), lost the ability to speak English. So she had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about the possibilities of borrowing money, either as student or as normal person. A translating customer explained that I should simply have a look on a special site on the internet. So when I got to Uni, I did so. And, I know it sounds strange, it went really well. As far as I have understood it now, I am simply waiting for the confirmation that I am really who I claim to be (a PhD student at Bocconi etc) and then I will probably be eligible to get a 15 thousand euro loan. Under very favourable conditions, even... So maybe my money worries will soon be solved...
Tonight, we went out for dinner with all the 1st and most of the 2nd year PhDs, paid by the University. Great initiative, although I didnt actually stay long in the end... And finally, I received a present from Fedor today: Thank you, darling... Another one of those great Amazon features, the fact that you can simply order what a person wants and have it wrapped and delivered to them... And Fedor knew exactly what to get me, so I am very happy!!!!
ciao,
OJ

PS While enjoying my apparent success with Banca Intesa, I have a feeling that ABN AMRO is simply going mad. I now apparently have an account team, of which the manager called me yesterday to arrange some things with me. I didnt even know I had an account manager!!! The completely incompetent clerk that served me in Groningen in August apparently forgot to tell me that (just like he forgot to file all his paperwork that day, because none of the things I arranged with him, and of which I have the proof, actually came through...). Oh well, I will settle with an Italian bank instead...

Great Weekend

Wow, I can tell you in advance: this is gonna be a loooong post. BarD arrived Friday with a 2 1/2 hour delay. This was not due to the shitty weather hitting Holland (snow) or Italy (rainy snow), but due to a freak Public Transport strike, which kept all airplanes grounded. For some reason, Italians do tend to strike kind of randomly (although it is not nearly as bad as it was in Athens.....). So he finally made it at 5.30PM. At night we simply stayed at my place, because BarD actually felt a bit ill. We couldnt really have gone anywhere anyway, because there were no trams or metros, so it wasnt really a problem. The next day, the weather turned even nastier, which was unlucky for BarD, because I have had Sun (and cold) for the entire previous week... But we still managed to do a number of sights and some shopping.



These were pictures from the Parco Sempione area, covered in snow...
At night, we met up with my friends from Uni. We were supposed to go to a winetasting, but some Italian planning made sure that we couldnt. Instead we went to a pizzeria and had dinner there. After that, we went to my local Centro Sociale, where my flatmate Michele was playing the music technician to some American bands. It was my first time at the Centro Sociale, and it was quite an experience. A semi-legal bar in an abandoned warehouse, occupied by communists and anarchists. Not the scene I normally hang out with, but it was interesting to experience (and the beers were only 2,50 euros: really cheap!!!)
On Sunday, the weather finally became the way it had been all week before. Sunny. We took this opportunity to go to the Cimitero Monumentale. An absolutely amazing monumental cemetery (hence the name), where we had a lovely stroll. Here are just a few pictures...








After the Cemetery, we went for a lovely walk from the Cimitero to the Duomo and after that to Porta Genova, from where we took the metro home. It was a lovely walk.
Last night, finally, we were going out for dinner. BarDs lovely parents decided that they felt sorry for my financial state and gave BarD money to give me a real treat for once. So we were planning to go to the luxurious Japanese restaurant next door... Unfortunately, when we got there, it turned out to be closed on Sunday. So instead we went to a slightly less luxurious Japanese restaurant nearby (I have 4 Japanese restaurants in close range) and we simply ordered the works. The Full Monty of Japanese food... And it was abolutely amazing!!!! Very, very, very lovely (and costly). Thinking about it now makes me feel full again! Well, after that we went home, as BarD still didnt really feel optimal. This morning we got up early so I coudl bring him to the station at 7.45AM. After waiving goodbye I went to Uni so I could get some studying in before 11, when my first class started.
During lunch, there was a seminar I wanted to go to, but the classroom was too hot to stand it for 5 consecutive hours (I had another class after it), so I missed out on a seminar by Mr. Mass-Collel (for the economists among you, I know I should be ashamed of missing out on a seminar by such a famous economist, but I really really couldnt be bothered)... Tonight I have been at home, watching Baraka. Definitely something everyone should have seen, btw. Very spiritual, but also very nice.
I finally want to ask you to pray for me, because I will visit my local bank tomorrow and ask them to lend me money... I was hoping for a University arrangement, but this unfortunately failed. So instead I will have to borrow directly from my bank here. Otherwise, well, I wouldnt know what to do. I dont have anything left at all and owe my flatmate 2400 euros right now. Hmmmm, something is going wrong, isnt there? Oh well, just cross your fingers for me tomorrow...
ciao,
OJ

Tnx-giving

Well, our Thanksgiving very nearly got completely fucked.... An hour or so before we expected the first people to arrive, our fellow organisers called. They had just arrived at their flat to pick up some stuff before coming to us and they had had a burglary. Somewhere during the afternoon, someone came into the flat and took money, jewellery, 3 laptops, DVDs, personal stuff, etc, etc. (the same actually happened about a year ago at our flat, before I lived there). Obviously, this was quite a bummer for the Thanksgiving Dinner, but we started it anyway. In the end, we convinced the burglary victims to come over after the police left. After all, you should try and not worry for a night!!! And they came (at 11PM. And they Did not worry anymore that night. We had an absolutely awesome night. With great food, great drinks and lots of fun...
This morning, I decided to be wise and stay in bed late to make sure that I was copletely sobered up. So I got to Uni at 11.30, to start working on my assignments for Friday and Monday. I had to finish them today, because my friend BarD is arriving tomorrow, so I wont have time to study during the weekend. Well, I left Uni at 8PM and hadnt finished yet. I have been working until now (1AM) and will probably get a little bit of sleep and go to Uni really early tomorrow. After all, I have to finish it all, before my class from 9AM-2.30PM).
ciao tutti,
OJ
PS And all predictions say itll snow tomorrow.... Not looking forward to that!

cazzo di freddo...

Yesterday, I spent my time at Uni going to classes and studying. Unfortuantely, some of the rooms have freaked out run-away Heating systems, which think that 40 degrees is probably the most appropriate temperature for studying, so it was quite tough...
Afterwards, I went home to make a dinner for my flatmates. We hade a huge Indonesian meal, with lots of different things, and everyone highly appreciated my cooking. So I am happy about that.
This morning, however, I did have to enter the bloody cold again. The max temperature is now real close to zero (at night its like -7) and snow is on its way. In fact, Milano is one of the few places in Italy not covered in snow yet. Throughout the South, there is already snow. And around Milan as well... Apparently, it snowed a little bit here last night, but it was gone this morning, thank god...
Today, I made a try at some University Organisation which might be able to help with arranging a bank loan, but the appropriate person wasnt available. So at the end of the afternoon, I will try again (with Silvia of course, because they obviously dont speak english). Hope itll work........ And then, I will go home to make stoofpeertjes. This will be my contribution to the thanksgiving dinner we are having at our house tonight (with like 10-15 people coming...). Its gonna be fun!!!
ciao, OJ

My First Grade

It was nice to be able to go back to Uni again today and meet everyone... It was slightly unfortunate that I didnt do my compulsory exercises, but they shouldnt have been sent 3 days in advance, while I am in Holland.... Right?
I was also impressed once again by Ms La Ferrara's teaching ability. She is awesome. Most importantly, however, I received my first grade today!!! I received my grade for my income and inequality class, for which I wrote a paper on expected income inequality in the future of Latvia. I received an A (in a sort of American system). Mind you, for this class "all" students received high grades (all 5 of us), but it is still something like a 9 in the Dutch system... So that was nice.
I spent the rest of the day making my exercises and organising everything to get ready for the second quarter (which is already 1/3 past anyway). Making stacks that have to be read and stuff. Rather large stacks, I must say, because the teachers do not really seem to have a problem with asking you to read 500+ high-information-density pages for all the courses. But thats ok, itll give me something to do.
Finally, I have been thinking about the meal I am cooking for my flatmates tomorrow: Indonesian, that is!!!
Buone notte!
OJ

Back in da hood....

Well, that was certainly an enervating week... I know people think I drink a lot, but being in Holland for a week makes me realise I dont drink that much at all!!! Sitting in the pub for days in a row sorting starts to hit me by now... As does the lack of sleep.
Friday was another day of running around between people... But it was nice to see people again of course. At the end of the afternoon, Jorryt and I went to pick up the birthday present we selected for Esther... After this whole exercise, I waited for Fedor to arrive and together with the others we went to Esther, with our present:


Esther, unfortunately didnt particularly appreciate her present. Possibly, this is because the sofa is actually nearly the size of her entire room...

However, I just spoke to her on MSN and she finally agreed that it was a very nice present, and it made its way into the communal room of her house...
After Esthers, we went to town to start some heavy partying. With lots of alcohol involved, once again, of course!
The next morning, Fedor and I had to get up relatively early (too early, if you ask him), because we wanted to see the whole family before going to Nijmegen again. So we did. And at the same time, my Big Brother Lars (aka the Computer Doctor) repaired my laptop. This was highly necessary, because by now, it had slowed down to a near standstill. But he cured it very well and it is now working completely fine again!!! After all the family in Groningen, we went to Nijmegen to have dinner at Fedors fathers house. It was very nice, as always, although the evening took an interesting turn when Fedors little brother came home "ill".
This morning, we got up early again, because we were supposed to be at the airport in Eindhoven early. Unfortunately, Ryanair didnt feel like being on time... Which basically means that I spent 2 1/2 hours waiting for the airplane.
I was actually happy to come back to Milan (to come home), although I will obviously miss Fedor again, but it is simply nice to be home. The weather is also significantly better than it is in Holland. Until now at least. The weather forecast actually says that it will start snowing on Thursday and the maximum temperature will remain below 0.
I am NOT IMPRESSED.
ciao, OJ

News from da G-town

Should I feel bad if I didnt come with Fedor to Uni? Because thats what happened on Tuesday. The weather was so shitty that I told him that he should go by himself and I would wait for him at home, while he did his exam etc. Well, I dont feel bad... Te weather simply sucked too much. At night, we made a lovely meal and watched a movie. It was very nice. Unfortunately, we did have to get up quite early the next morning, as Fedor works on Wednesdays... For me, it was a good incentive to make an early start in going to Groningen. Btw, why are ains so fucking expensive in this country? As a student, you never have to pay of course, but you dont realise how expensive it actually is. The single journey (of 2hrs 15mns) cost me over 25 euros!!! Anyways, I got to Groningen and went to see my sister-in-law and my niece. Very adorable... After that, I continued straight to my other brother-and-wife and my nephew. Also very very sweet, in a different way. The kids are the same age, but are so very different... It is quite amazing to see the difference between them.
Afterwards, I went shopping for toiletries (which are half the Italian price overhere) with my friend BarD. Great to see him again. At night, I went to see my parents, before going back to da G-town to go drinking. Very nice... Thursday morning, it wasnt as nice, but I did manage to do my things. Hairdresser, coffee, talking to people, coffee, lunch, coffee, you know the drill... Last night, I had a lovely dinner at Marie's and we went to a bar afterwards (without Marie actually: te poor thing had to get up for work at 5AM-->Never work at IKEA).
Today I am dying my hair and have a last range of coffee dates set up... And tonight, Fedor will be here and we'll be going to a party!!!
ciao,
OJ

News from Nijmegen

Well, I am in Ollanda! In Nijmegen, that is. I left Milano Saturday morning in a dense fog. By the time I got to Bergamo, however, the weather was amazingly beautiful. I have now discovered that the weather difference between Milano and its surroundings is huge.... It had been lovely weather for days in Bergamo, while in Milano, it was shit.
Anyway, I was happy to arrive in Eindhoven and meet my soulmate. We travelled to Nijmegen together, sharing all the silly details one should share with your soulmate. I was very very very happy!!!
At night, we went for a quick dinner at Riva Restaurant, before going to the bar where Fedor was celebrating his Birthday. A huge turnup with all his friends. We had a great time and it was nice to see everyone again!!! (and Fedor got some really nice gifts, as well)
We ended up going to another bar (a formerly gay, now apparently very-straight bar... Very odd), which was of course a lot of fun, before we went home before 6. Sunday, we spent in bed, sleeping, enjoying champagne breakfast in bed etc etc, just the normal decadent things you do on a Sunday... At night, we went to check out the new room of Fedors little brother (it should be illegal for first-year students to have such great rooms: a 1st year should have a small room far away from the city centre: thats how everyone starts!!!), and had dinner at his mothers. Of course, lots of food and lots and lots of wine later, we went home.
This morning, we had to go to Uni, because Fedor has an exam tomorrow. So we had to study. We failed.
We arrived at 10 and studied from 11 until 1PM. Then we had lunch and coffee, and coffee, and coffee. And at 5PM, fedor had to do sports. Tonight is gaming night at a friends place, so studying is kinda out-of-the-question...
I also, shockingly, ran into my friend Kim from Highschool this morning at Uni, whom I have seen only thrice the past 5 years, every time at random... Amazing.
Well, I will finish my emailing now, and prepare for gaming night (last time, I had my ass kicked sooooo bad by this same bunch of girls, I really should review my tactics).
ciao ciao,
OJ

Gasoline!!!!

Wow! After that night of going out on Tuesday, when we ended up in an actual Birreria, I stayed in bed a little later than normal. Of course, at 11 I had to go to my first class in Development and Institutions. It is an absolutely great (very interesting) class and the teacher is awesome!!! A very pretty, young, Harvard graduate, who has worked with all top people and is also a mother of two! The most amazing feature, however, is the fact that she actually speaks understandable english too! At the end of the day, I had another class in Corporate Finance (fantastic, I am doing a PhD course at the level of Brealy, Marcus & Myers... So far: uber-easy!).
Last night, Cedric was going to DJ in Gasoline, a very famous club in Milan. So I made sure that there would be some of my PhD people. In fact, we were going to have a little pre-party at my place, because the club is 3 minutes away from here. Typically Italian, it is not possible to have a LITTLE pre-party, so we ended up with having about 15 people arriving here at midnight (sorry, neighbours on all sides.....) and we had a quick drinking session, before going to the club! The club was absolutely amazing!!! The sound system was astounding, the lighting very good and of course great music!!! At about 3.30 we left the club and Bjoern and I went back to my flat. He had taken his luggage to my place, because he needed to catch a plane this morning to Berlin. So we had some more drinks at home and then I walked him to Central Station (I dont know why I did that, I think it was the alcohol deciding that...) I came home at around 5AM and spoke to Cedric for some time. After that, I completely passed out until jumping out of my bed at 10, as I missed my alarm. And I did have to be in class at 11 again, until 4PM. Lets say, it wasnt fun. My physical state wasnt really capable of translating Battigalis Italinglish into something understandable, so that was quite useless to be there... Tonight, I have just been home, still feeling completely fucked.
ciao (37 hours until I see Fedor again!!!),
OJ

Second Quarter...

Last night, it was a quiet, relaxing night at home, eating some leftovers I could find. My new way of saving money is to not buy anything and just try to combine anything I can find in my cupboard... (I inherited a filled cupboard from my predecessor in the house, with lots of random products).
Finally I was able to eat something, at least.
Today I went to Uni again, to start the second term. at 11AM, I had my first Game Theory class by Mr. Battigalli... He tried to scare us badly by saying how difficult everything was gonna be and how impossible it was to pass for the course. But in my opinion, the most difficult part of the course is understanding him! His english is probably good, just completely incomprehensible due to his Italinglish... Normally, I would supplement a lecture like this with reading whats on the whiteboard, but that is totally impossible as well!!! His handwriting is possibly even worse than his speaking!!! Well, after that it was time for lunch and then everybody had to go back to their takehome exams, whose deadline was today at 17.30... Total stress all over the place! At 14.30 I had my second class of the day. It was a class in Corporate Finance, which I only decided to follow a few days ago. I was told it was a ridiculously easy course, perfect for filling up empty space in you curriculum. So I (and 5 others) decided to do it anyway. The teach was quite shocked to see 10 students, instead of the expected 4, but taught a great class! It was very understandable and vaguely interesting... As well as very easy, as promised. Now, before people start calling me a slacker, I want to clarify this. Of course, as a PhD it is not my only goal in life to simply find the easiest courses, but the most interesting courses. But, as a lot of my favourite courses have been cancelled this year, I will actually have to do 3 or 4 courses i really DONT want to do... And I can then try to do difficult ones (like the NumMeth class I just dropped out of), or just do an easy one... Well, my choice is clear. If I dont want to do the course anyway, I prefer to do an easy course I dont want...
Tonight, we will go for aperitivo and some drinks in town, to celebrate the end of the exam period!
ciao,
OJ

Artichokes 2.0

We had so much fun yesterday, making a lovely late-lunch/early-dinner (it started as dinner, turned into lunch, but considering that we started eating at 7PM, I guess it would be closer to dinnertime than it is to lunch time). The artichokes actually came out very well, and the main course of stuffed peppers and turkey (not for me of course) was gorgeous!!! All this was finished of with a fig-port sorbet to make a divine meal!
And because we started so early, we were also able to finish relatively early, so I was actually able to get up this morning. And today I have simply had a day of work in Uni. A lot of people had their Numerical Methods exam today, and they are all relieved to have finished that. The last things for this term will be finished tomorrow and after that there will be some serious going out to celebrate the end of the exams. I am not going to participate too actively in this, because I do not have the money to do so... But that is a wholly different story.
Another reason is the fact that the classes are already starting again tomorrow (before the last papers and takehomes of this term are handed in, the next term is already starting). So I should focus on those first, before doing anyhing too crazy. Especially because I will actually miss an entire week next week, when I am going to HOLLAND... I am really looking forward to it!!!! (I think I have written this before, which shows that it really is true, I guess)
alora, ci vidiamo!
ciao,
OJ

Artichokes.

After working all day yesterday (on some research from Holland) I went home reasonably early. At 6PM. On my way home I FINALLY finished reading Gianbattista Vicco's New Science... Oh My God, it was a horrible struggle. I think I spent about 5 weeks on those 490 pages. It was a serious struggle. Funnily enough, all the Italians that have seen me read it told me: "Are you nuts, I cant even read that in Italian... What the fuck do you think you're doing!!!" And they were mostly right... But I I read it anywyay, because I received it as a graduation present and I thought I should...
At home, it turned out that a Meghans friend Emma was coming over, and that Michele had cooked a lovely meal. This was all very lovely, of course, but I didnt stay too long, because I had downloaded some more things I wanted to watch.
Today was another day of muggy, depressive weather. But we sort of met with the entire house at around midday and agreed to make a house outing to the market. Michele finally didnt make it, so the 3 of us went together. Bought some lovely things for a great meal tomorrow (I am finally able to make my artichokes, something I have planned for each and every Xmas in the past years, but its always the wrong season). I am really looking forward to it. Tonight has just been a quiet real relaxing night, with finishing the laundry etc. (our washing machine has now broken down in such a way that it washes, but thats it. In other words: everything is soaking wet when it comes out. Extremely impractical when it is muggy and foggy all day long...)
Finally, here are a few more pictures from Halloween.
ciao,
OJ

Ryanair

If anybody would consider coming over (or going on holiday in general): Ryanair now offers FREE tickets (+tax)

What does Olaf need?

Well, I will not reply to Fedors comment. I think that, if I am not under enormous pressure, 9 hours at Uni a day should be quite enough. And considering the amount of money I am getting paid, this would put me down for 4 euros an hour.... And trust me: It has been a very very very long time since I have worked for THAT kind a money...
Just a small thingie. Apparently, the newest Google-related rage is going to Google and typing in "yourname needs". Of course I did, and Holy Google told me what I need:
- Olaf needs your support
- Olaf needs to create within itself a population that mirrors actual society and a more welcoming community
- Olaf needs to be neutered, and get all his shots, and heartworm meds, and flea meds. WHAT?
- Olaf needs a detached trigger finger. Yes, that might indeed be very useful... ???
- Olaf needs about 2 hours to dig out the tent.
- Olaf needs to be talked to twice. No, it is actually allowed to talk about me more often, really
Well, I think they're quite funny. But then again, I am just a nerd who has just watched Batman Begins and actually liked it..... How pathetic.
ciao,
OJ

Leaving at 7PM isnt early!

Yesterday, I was at Uni once more all day. Working on Latvian inequality. When I left at 7PM, everybody looked at me as if I was crazy for leaving so early. It is interesting to see that people think you're lazy if you leave at 7PM, even though none of them arrive before 10.30AM... Most people sort of wander in around noon. It makes sense to continue working until 9PM then, but if you get to uni at 9 or 9.30, I do find it reasonable to leave at 7PM. Right? Anyways, I went home, enjoyed myself at home and watched a movie... It was very pleasant (not the movie though: Robots is a total rip-off of Monsters Inc.)
This morning, when I was making breakfast, I actually ran into Cedric, who had only just returned from going out... How depressing.
At least I have nearly finished my paper for my only class... Some others are going completely crazy. Like people who work until 6 or 7AM (which would explain why they dont come to uni at 9AM)... Oh well, after Tuesday, when the final takehomes have to be handed in, everybody will be able to get some rest again. Or, on the other hand, on Tuesday the next block starts already and our first classes will be taught.
ciao, OJ

Halloween and stuff

My stay at University on Sunday only accomplished one thing: I dropped out of a course. After looking at the Takehome exam for Numerical Methods, I decided not to do it. It would have been impossible for me to do well enough on that, and I am afraid it would have cost me my other course. So I wont do it. I felt great relief from this decision... At night, I didnt do much, but on Monday I went to uni again. Despite the fact that it was some sort of a holiday (Day of the Dead, if that means anything to anyone: closed shops, thats all I know). But I had to continue working on my paper for my other course. At 5PM I did actually go home, to start preparing for Halloween. We had some people over to our house while preparing, before going of to a friends house for the party. Meghans Tornado costume looked amazing!!! I will post a few pictures, but I didnt take a lot, hopefully Meghans are better...
Unfortunately, we went home rather early. Meghan did not feel well, and as Michele was DJing, he couldnt come home with her. So I did.
But I didnt really mind, because it enabled me to at least get out of the house at midday today to go to Uni again. And work on my paper, although I was not very productive today.
Tomorrow, I will do some real work again... Looking forward to doing so. For the rest, there is really not much to tell (apart from the PSV victory against AC Milan, which is gonna piss off my Italian friends so much.... But lets not mention that again).
Oh, for those who are interested. I will come to Holland on the 12th and leave again on the 20th. From the 16th until the 19th I will be in Groningen.
ciao,
OJ

Sunday 10AM: At UNI

Friday was simply a long day at Uni, once more. I had also planned to work at night, but it actually turned into a drinking binge with my flatmates. This was kinda cool. We had a lot of fun and drank a lot of wine. The next morning, I got up reasonably early (10.30) and started my day by going to a costume store. I wanted to buy and axe for Halloween and found one that was very nice. Afterwards, I went to the market to buy lots of Vegetables etc. At home, I waited for the rest of the house to wake up, so I could ask MEghan whether she had any other accessories I could use for Halloween (so I wouldnt have to buy them). Luckily, she did. I did realise, however, I had to go back to the market to buy some other accesories. I went with Cedric, this time. And afterwards we went to the cheapo supermarket. When we got home it was already 5PM. Perfect time for lunch and Cedric cooked an amazing meal of gigantic mushrooms, of some sort of dubious tree-climbing kind. We had our lunch on the terrace until about 9PM, when it finally did get a bit too cold. I must say, however, that the weather has been amazingly gorgeous the past week...
Today, I got up early to go to Uni early. After all, it is now time to do something and I know I wont get it done at home...
Btw, I have now made a final decision about what to wear on Halloween. I will be Devon, who is a character from the movie The Brotherhood (a cult gay horror movie), although I am kind of fusing him with some other characters from the movie as well.
Alright, I will now go to work.
ciao tutti,
OJ

I spent today 9AM-7PM at Uni again, working on my paper for my Income Inequality class. I am trying to prove that it is possible for ageing to have an equalising effect, using Latvia as an example and its income distribution in 2060. This is a rather hopeless task, but at least I will have a paper to hand in. Tomorrow, we will also receive our take-home for Numerical Methods... That is going to suck. Even worse, however, will be the class exam of NumMet: The teacher told us today: "Of course, you have to know all the equations by heart, you are PhDs after all!" (we are talking about 200-300 equations. And oh right, I havent really done a lot for that course yet... Well, I am really going to have to think about whether I want to invest in making the take-home exam, if it is going to be hopeless to pass for the class-exam anyway...
I did, however, buy another flight ticked yesterday: January 28, I will come to Holland again for 4 days!
Furthermore, tomorrow (technically, this would be now) is Fedors birthday: WOOHOO.
*Happy birthday to you*
*Happy birthday to you*
*Happy birthday, dear Fedor*
*Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuu*
hihi,
ciao, OJ

To draw a cappuchino...

Yesterday, I brought Fedor to the Airportbus in the morning. The goodbye wasnt extremely bad, because we will see each other again in just over 2 weeks... When I will be in Holland. Afterwards, I was able to get to Uni early... Really early. I managed to get a fair bit of work done! This included finally bringing the Consulate's paperwork to the PhD Main Office. It finally arrived!!! A huge envelope, with inside of it the previous envelope and inside of that the envelope of before that, but it did include all my documents!!!
Last night, I started my little book of Learning Italian (it also explains things about Italy: "In Italy, to order something in a bar, you name the product..."--> OH MY GOD, REALLY I thought I would have to draw a picture!!!!
Today was another long day of working. And tonight I, once again didnt do anything...
Tomorrow will be another day of work: All very boring, I guess...
ciao,
OJ

Record breaking 11-hour lunch!

As I thought, I dint have any chance of writing on my blog, with Fedor here. The party we went to on Thursday was great! Some lovely people there and simply a fun time! Friday, I had to start class at 11, so I left early, while Fedor stayed in bed and joined me at Uni later. After some more time at Uni, we went home and chilled out for the night.
Saturday, we spent shopping. The market, some supermarkets and presents for Friends and Family of Fedor (he manages to miss 4 bdays in the week he is here). Saturday night, we were supposed to go clubbing with Cedric, but we really really couldnt be bothered. In the end, Cedric was quite happy with that, because he didnt really feel like it either! We just stayed in again and finished our Star Wars Marathon (we saw 1, 2 and 3: Damn, they suck!
We also quite wanted to go to bed early, because Sunday, we celebrated our one-year anniversary!!! Obviously, we had ourselves a champagne breakfast and all, but most importantly, we had a BBQ/Pizza lunch party. Lots of friends came over for lunch and we heated up the wood oven on the terrace again. Unfortunately, the weather wasnt looking too good, but at least it didnt rain (and it wasnt too cold). 30 pizzas, a lot of BBQ, some pasta and about 30-35 bottles of wine and spirits further, the lunch finished at around 1AM. I had already gone to bed at 11, but Fedor managed to stay out until 1. This is why I am now able to do some work, and write my blog, because he is still sleeping. I have one class this afternoon, so we will go to Uni for that. And tonight, we are meeting with Nina and Antonio, for aperitivo. Unfortunately, Fedor will go home again tomorrow!!!!!! But, in a positive light: In less than 3 weeks I will see him again, when I go to Holland for a week!
Anyway, I will now add some photos of our lunch yesterday...
ciao, OJ

Studying.... real studying...

Well, as soon as Fedor as here, I have so little time on my hands that I rarely post on my blog anymore! So, I will now actually give myself a short break from studying to write a quick msg. Tuesday, I went to Uni really early, because I knew Fedor would arrive, so I would only have half a day. When Fedor did arrive, this was obviously wonderful!!!! He took so much stuff again that I still had in Holland. It was awesome! At night, we went to a lovely chinese restaurant in Chinatown.
Wednesday we slept a bit late and went to Uni for a quick pizza lunch and some studying (actually, I went to class and Fedor studied). At night, we simply stayed home and chilled out.
This morning, we got up early again, because I had to be at class at 9 o'clock. Fedor is simply studying again all day, while I went to that class and will be studying until 16.30, when I have another class. Tonight, we will go the Fashion Cafe, where there is a big party. Michele will be DJing, and everyone will be there: it will be great!!! Unfortunately, I do have to go to class tomorrow at 11, but that will be fine!
Alore, arrivederci!
OJ

Quick post

I am gonna have to make this a quick post, because my network is very instable today and I dont know when I will be thrown off again!
Today, I went to Uni (I love my new way of going Uni: I dont have to transfer at all... So I can get a lot of time into reading Gianbattista's New Science (of which all my Italian friends tell me I am completele insane for reading it. They wouldnt even be able to read it in Italian, let alone in english)
Arrived at Uni at 8.45 for a working class in Numerical Methods. In the afternoon, there was a lecture in Numerical Methods (darn, its boring), and the rest of the day was spent on my paper for Income Inequality.
At 19.30, I went home again. To prepar for tomorrow: FEDOR WILL BE ARRIVING!!!! I am soooooooooooo looking forward to it! I cant wait to see him again. I will go to Uni early to get some work done before he arrives, because he will be here for a WHOLE WEEK!!!! WOOHOO.
Anyways, I hope to be able to post this post, without the network crashing before me again!
ciao, OJ

Things I love

The past two days, I have hardly been outside the house. I have been trying to get two programmes to work on my computer and I have been working on some data. Unfortunately, this didnt all go well, even though I need to write a paper about all this pretty soon. Tomorrow, I will try to do all this at University, where the computers are significantly better than my laptop is. This might increase my chances of getting things done.
I also just wanted to mention that there are two companies I absolutely love. Companies that are innovative, customer-friendly and simply brilliant. The two companies I mean are Google and Amazon.
Google is obviously most well-known for its search engine, but a rather recent feature was Google Earth. This feature enables you to get a satellite picture of the entire world, down to the detail that I can recognise the car of my former landlady in Sydney!!! Unfortunately, not everything has been loaded this well, but it is exactly this level of detail that has led India to actually think that Google might be helping terrorists!!! A more recent awesome feature that Google has launched is the weblog search engine. This is another amazing Google feature!!!
Amazon, on the other hand, has wholly different cool features. Apart from the incredible convenience of being able to order everything over the Internet, the single one thing I love most about Amazon is its Recomendation List. Amazon automatically generates a range of recommendations on the basis of past purchases. And, to be really honest, these recommendations are always incredibly good! I have already found so many books/DVDs I own and love in the recommendations list. I also have ordered lots of them!!! I simply want to say: I am impressed!
ciao, OJ

Discoveries...

Today, it was quite a challenge to rise from my bed and prepare to go to Uni. I did so, anyway. I had to go to class, so I had to go to Uni. I received great news there, because one of my exams has been cancelled. There was going to be an exam and a paper for my inequality course, but now the exam has been cancelled! So I have only one exam in 3 weeks!
After class, I arranged some more bureacracy and had lunch with the girls. Afterwards, I decided to try out another route home... I live just North of the City centre, the University is just south of it. The circular tram comes past both. I had taken the west-route once, but it took about an hour. Normally, I take the metro and then the tram, which takes about half an hour. Today, however, I wanted to try the eastern route. And it turns out to be really fast (on the map it appears to be a reallly long way). It took less than 25 minutes, and I didnt have to transfer even once! Finally, it also reduces my chances of being victimised in a terrorist attack, because I dont have to go past the prime target metro station anymore! Finally, I also discovered that I live really close to the Republica Metro Station (which is a different line than my normal Garibaldi station)!
At home, I helped cleaning for a while and chilled out afterwards. I will now continue to do so.
ciao, OJ

Pizza Party @ Via de Cristoforis

Today, I went to Uni at 9, which gave me a lot of time to work. I wasnt as productive as I wanted to be, unfortunately. But I finally did have a brainwave and a revelation at the end of the day, so at least I do now where I am going... I had a lovely lunch, with a few people, and worked more after this. At 16.30 I had an extremely boring class in Income Inequality (I should really find out what the official subject is, because Income Inequality is not actually it...) until 18.00.
By the way, here's a cool feature about Milan. We get to choose our own exam dates. There is an official exam week, and we were simply told to arrange all our exams to take place in that week. So, a lot of bargaining took place and I came out reasonably bad (one exam on Friday and one on Monday after that).
Anyways, my flatmate Michele emailed me thi morning that we should enjoy the weather while its still good and "we" decided to have a Pizza Party. On our terrace, we also have a sort of oven, which we can use to make pizzas. So we had a number of people over and had our pizza party. It was great (damn, these self-burnt pizza are darn good, seriously!!!!!!!)
ciao tutti!!! OJ (PS I am not drunk, just happy)

Can you feel the rhythm?

I didnt actually start crying yesterday, although I was very close once I got to the post office. Overthere, I was first told I that I was an idiot, because I didnt speak Italian. Afterwards, the lady at the desk told Silvia (over the phone) that she "obviously" couldnt do anything and that the documents "obviously" went back to Holland again. Or maybe, they didnt, but she couldnt possibly know, or try to find out. I simply went home, sad.
And drank with my flatmates, who could understand my sadness (seriously, changing my email address was simply as low as one could possibly go).
Today, however, I started with fresh courage and went to my first class at 9. Afterwards, I tried to use a computer programme, which was protesting quite a lot against me. But I managed to kind of use in the end. At around 20 o'clock, I left the University (I am finally getting into a working rhythm again) to watch Italy-Moldova with Bjoern. The match ended 2-1 and it sucked. I mean, seriously sucked... So now, I am home and will go to sleep. I did, btw, manage to reach the Consulate. I will pay them an additional 15 euros and hopefully my documents will now actually arrive (having it sent to the University, this time). In addition to that, they will also send a fax with the most important details to the University, to make sure I am not actually kicked out of the programme by force!
Bonnenotte, OJ

I will start crying soon...

Seriously, the whole world is after me...
I finally received an email of the Consulate (on my Yahoo address, instead of my Uni address), saying they have tried to reach me a few times, but that me email address appears not to work (even though they used it last week). It also included the service number of the parcel. So I then tried to find out which post office it should be. Unfortunately the 'post-office-finding'-feature of the website of Poste Italia did not work. Instead, Silvia called them, but the registration number I received was invalid. Instead, I went to the website of the Dutch post. This website has an online tracking service, great! Unfortunately, this additional service is only available for normal mail, packages, blablabla, but NOT for registered mail... So Now I called my brother, who will call the Dutch Post and then get back to me.
In the meantime, I have tried to find out why the Consulate email didnt arrive. The reason for this is that they have CHANGED my email address, without telling me!!! So, in conclusion, I will now have my ass kicked because the documents arent here, and they arent here because the Uni fucked up my user account. This is pissing me off.
Obviously, the fact that I was sitting in front of the computer half the morning, waiting, didnt really help either. I was waiting, because there was no electricity. And when the electricity came back, the central server was offline, so I couldnt do anything either!
Finally, I am trying to get something working on Amazon, but it doesnt. So I sent them an email, saying what I did and asking what else I should do. I then received an email back with the exact steps I had just described as completed!!!
I AM NOT HAPPY
ciao, OJ

A Jacobian matrix is totally different from a Jacobian-Matrix. Busy man, that Jacobi...

This morning, I managed to get an early start, leaving for Uni at around nine. This was quite pleasant, because I was actually able to get some work done today. Of course I did have to go to two classes in Numerical Methods for Macroeconomics today (shoot me now, please... PLEASE), but I survived them.
I wonder, however, whether I will survive my confrontation with the PhD director. Officially, I had to hand in my paperwork in July. I got a 2-month extension until the 15 of September. When I still didnt have everything ready, I got a final extension, but he really really wants everything to be done by the 14th... aka. This Friday!!! Of course, my paperwork IS ready, but I just seem to be unable to get hold of it. The Consulate in Amsterdam has sent it for the second time, last week, but it hasnt arrived. Unfortunately, the Consulate has also lost its ability to read email. So they do not respond to me (and I know they dont answer the phone either), and I dont know where my diploma is!!!! This is starting to PISS ME OFF!!! I think I will actually ask the PhD director to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, to see if they are able to kick someone's ass... I hope so, anyway!
On a wholly other subject, I have discovered another significant difference between Italians and e.g. the Dutch. The Italians do not appear to like salty snacks! In a random supermarket (not so big), sweet snacks occupy about 10-20% of the space. This is quite a bit more than in Holland. Salty snacks (crisps, nuts) take up about 1% of the space. In fact, my normal supermarket (which is relatively well-stocked: they have at least 40 kinds of pasta) has 1 brand of crisps, in 3 flavours. No nuts, no other salty snacks. I reckon this is weird.
ciao, OJ

Some people can knit ... and tomato *June Whitfield*

This Sunday was another lovely sunny day. I stayed in, however, to study. I was also waiting for Fedors Skype, as he was visiting my brother today. I finally got skyped at the end of the afternoon and talked to Fedor (and Lars, Rachel and Leah)... Very nice. For the rest, I didn't do much today.
However, I will use this opportunity to clarify what I mean if I say Aperitivo. Quite a few people have MSNd/emailed/said to me this weekend I partied so much, and I finally understood where the confusion comes from (because I have only been out twice in the past 5 weeks: not really big partying). It is the concept of the Aperitivo. The Aperitivo is an Italian custom of a bit of eating and a bit of drinking in the early evening, before going out for dinner around 10 or 11pm. In Milan, the concept of the Aperitivo is interpreted differently though. Here it means that you can go to a bar (until 10pm mostly) and if you order a drink (a beer or cocktail) for about 5-7 euros, you get to eat for free. In fact, this is the cheapest food you can get in Milan. Going to the supermarket will cost you more than that... Even without a cocktail! So when I say I go to an Aperitivo, it just means I grab a bite to eat.
Well, this has been quite enough again for today. I shall now go to bed to be up and running again tomorrow!
ciao, OJ

The Sun actually exists...

The weather finally cleared up today, after nearly a week of torrential rain... I got up much later than I planned to, at 12. I quickly went to the market to get some fruit and then went downtown to actually do some shopping (for the first time). While enjoying the weather, I analysed the shops. This was quite difficult, as I was not the only person who decided that it was a good time to go shopping. In fact, most of Milan apparently decided that the past week of cold rain made them realise that today was the perfect day to stock up on winter clothing... In other words, it was incredibly busy. Bjoern joined me, later, because he also needed to purchase something. He succeeded, and so did I: I bought 2 nice scarves, which made me really happy! They will be very comfortable and enjoyable.
After this small victory, I went home to rest for a bit. Tonight, there was football, so we went to a bar at the Naviglio Grande to watch the embarrassingly difficult victory of Italy over Slovenia. 2/3 of the bar was filled with Dutch people, however, so I also got live updates of how the Dutch team was doing against the Czech Republic... (excellent, that is)
And now I am home, and I will go to sleep and get ready for a day of studying tomorrow.
ciao, OJ

Friday....the weekend is here.

Today, I started by going to my D'Ambrosio class in Income Inequality. It turned out to be a private class, because everyone else's trams got stuck in a downtown demonstration. Halfway, the rest of the class did turn up however (mind you, the rest of the class is a total of 3 people). The lecture was rather good though, mostly. After lunch I went home again, because I wanted to find the cheap supermarket Meghan described. And I finally found it: It is like Aldi... Absolutely amazingly cheap (In Holland comparable to Albert Heijn prices), but no service. Which is fine by me! I did manage to buy a package of Pringles, however. This is quite rare in Italy, because Italians apparently do not like salty snacks... In a big supermarket, they will have two entire stands of sweats, but only 4 different types of salty snacks... weird....
So I enjoyed myself there, before going home and studying some more. At. 20.30, I went for an aperitivo at the Naviglio Grande. There was supposed to be some international student party as well tonight, but I didnt want to go there. However, at the Aperitivo, Max and Bjoern convinced me I should. So we went to my place, because I had to change and then walked towards it. However, the staff was rude and it was extremely expensive (hmmmm, maybe I do not want to pay 15 euros to go into a bar which is half-empty and which will close in 45 minutes.....).
So instead we actually went to the bar I was on Wednesday: Fashion Cafe. Isn't it great to go to places, where you meet friends and acquaintances at random. Well, Fashion Cafe is kinda like that. I even met Lara, the girl who used to live in my room and now lives in Geneva! It is such a small world.... isnt it?
But anyways, Now it is time for bed. Because I should sleep.
And tomorrow will be my first (cloth) shopping since I live in Milano: I will buy a scarf. I need it, because it is so fucking cold all the fcking time!!!!!
*today is the sixth day of rain*
ciao, OJ

Once upon a day, there was a post

I had written a post about what I have done today (not a lot, to be honest), but through some sort of a freak connection problem, I have now lost the post. I will summarise it, but I cannot be bothered to write it again: Today, I worked and followed a class until 6PM. Afterwards I went home to fight with my computer and my internet connection
ciao! OJ

One more step to go...

Today, I started by taking Silvia to.... the Ufficio Municipale!!! It was very nice, the people were very friendly and they gave me nearly 2 hours to work on my verbs... Arriving there and hearing "There are currently 104 people waiting in line, please take a number" didn't seem so promising, but in less than 2 hours, we got our turn. And, this is the surprising bit, quite easily got me a Declaration of Residence... Only temporary, of course, because an officer of the local residential services department will come to my flat unanounced and check whether I really live there(whats he gonna do? Take fingerprints?). But I did get my conditional declaration, which now enables me to enrol at the local Medicare office! Woohoo!
After this, I went to Uni and studied. I didnt have any classes today, so I simply read a number of articles and tried to pick up on old research (Yes Mark, I will send you an email tomorrow). Tonight, I went to Michele's first night as a DJ at the Fashion Bar. Meghand and I felt it was our obligation as flatmate and girlfriend to go and see. It was quite enjoyable, actually, and there were a lot of people from the fashion school...
Btw, did I already mention that I had contact with the Consulate in Amsterdam and that they tried to send my documents, but they returned to Amsterdam as "Undelivarable". They have sent them again, last Monday, but I am worried they might never arrive. And I do have the PhD Director's firy breath in my neck at the same time... My point is: If anyone would ever try to send me anything, please let me know in advance... (which reminds me, Amazon's replacement DVD, which was sent because the previous one was stolen at the post, arrived yesterday... Woohoo)

ciao, OJ

*I just can't hide it*

So yesterday, I was still a mess: totally fucked... Just like the weather!

Today, however, I simply had to be better again, because I had to go to the IMF recruitment officer's presentation. Not that I am looking for a job yet, or anything, because I will have to finish my PhD first... But it does give you something to look forward to. It is just great hearing the description of the perfect job. Exactly the things I want to do (research, but focus on the policy implications, help the poor, guide the blind and travel a lot!) and then hearing what a "competitive salary" comprises nowadays. A "competitive salary" apparently means a starting salary of 85 thousands dollars a year. AFTER tax!!! Plus fantastic secondary benefits!
Anyway, I am not there yet. Not even close. Not even remotely close... These are highly selective jobs given to the best PhDs, blablabla, but just the fact that these recruitment teams are paying a special visit to Bocconi, already seems like a positive starting point. Let's just say: it is not impossible to be playing in that kind of field when I am done (or even when I am not done: to do a 3-month internship for 4500$ a month net, with benefits).
Well, I was quite excited about all this. I wasnt able to ask any questions, if I had had any, because I hardly had any voice at all anymore. The lecture in Numerical Methods in Macroeconomics was horrible as always, after which I went home and back to bed...
Buone notte!
OJ

Rain, rain, rain

Why do I even plan to go to bloody Como anyway? Due to my plans to go there (I actually blame myself, and hoping the rest of the city won't find out), it has been pissing it down with rain again today. And worse, I think the Gods are trying to teach me a lesson: apparently the rain isnt going to stop for another week...

Another consequence of the weather (or whatever), is that I am now kind of ill. I have a horrific cold (including a fever, I think) and havent really been able to get out of bed today. I have already watched 2 seasons of Sex & the City (i.e. 24 episodes)... They are Meghans and I figured that there must be something good in them, considering the number of people that watch the show!

Well, I am just going to watch some more S&TC and go to bed early today. I hope to be better tomorrow...
ciao, OJ

Two quiet days...

Yesterday, I had a real normal-life day. It may have been one of the first days that I stopped feeling like I was on holiday, but felt at home instead. I simply went to Uni for a few hours until I went home to have dinner and chill out with my flatmates. Totally unexceptional, apart from the feeling of being at home, which I felt strongly yesterday. I no longer feel like a visitor in my flat...
Today, being Saturday, I stayed in bed late. Afterwards I went to the market, where I didnt get screwed for the first time... At the end of the afternoon I went to the INternational Foodstore with my flatmate Meghan and her friend Emma. It was great, especially because Emma bought ingredients to make an absolutely gorgeous Coconut Soup. And she made it afterwards, so that was brilliant. Monday will be my first test in the house, when I will cook for them. I am going to cook Mexican food, because I could not think of anything else. Cedric and Meghan are both great Asian cooks and obviously Michele knows more about Italian food than I do. And additionally, there is not much one can actually get overhere. I would like to make Indonesian food, but the ingredients are inobtainable. So I will wait for Fedors arrival, because he will take Indonesian ingredients along...
Tonight, I was supposed to go to a party, but I cant really be bothered. So I stayed at home, considering my options for tomorrow. I had finally decided to go to Genoa tomorrow, with Bjoern. But I then discovered how expensive it was to do so. So I changed my mind and we will go to Como instead... And I will go, no matter what the weather will do, even though the weather automatically seems to turn bad whenever I plan to go to Como...
Anyways, I am obviously enjoying myself still. So goodbye for now...
ciao, OJ

Any Cauchy sequence will converge in Banach space...

Last night I stayed up rather late with Michele and Cedric, talking bullshit and drinking whatever we could find in the house...
This did not stop me, however, from getting up reasonably early today to visit the Bank. I had understood my bankcard would be sent to my house, as well as the codes. But it turns out that I was just supposed to pick the card up at the bank. So I did. And I received two more codes that I need for the bank account. I now have 7 different codes, which alltogether take care of my banking business!!! But at least it works completely fine now! I have even used Internet Banking already...
Afterwards I went to Uni to study for a while and follow an incredibly horrific class in "Numerical Methods in Macroeconomics" and a great class in "Welfare economics". When all this was over, it was already 18.15 and we were meeting with the older PhDs at 19.30. So I stayed at Uni for some more time, before going to the Aperitivo with all our PhDs from all the years. It was really great to get to know the other people and find out what they are like.
At one point, the party was going to be continued at a bar in Abbiategrasso, but I decided against that and went home... To sleep... Finally...
ciao, OJ

She simply doesnt have the range... *Shirley Bassey*

Today I actually went to University to really start working (today is the first day of my new life: so far, it has been a holiday, overhere). This went quite well. Unfortunately, Silvia wasnt there, because we were supposed to go to the Ufficio Municipale today. But her boyfriend from London made a surprise visit (he left Sunday Night and she will go and visit him again for the weekend on Friday, but now he'll be here from Wednesday until Friday...), so we couldnt go there. Instead we had a lovely lunch with a group, before going to class in the afternoon. Afterwards, I felt as if a small herd of elephants had just run over me, so I wasnt really able to study anymore. So I went home and supermarket etc., before going out tonight for an Aperitivo at 8PM. This was quite enjoyable and I have just arrived home. Tomorrow will be my Bank Day (I will try and convince my bank that I havent received a Bank Card and that is is probably also taken by Poste Italiana), before going to Uni again.
Basically, today is one of those not-quite-worth-talking-about Days, but to make this post worth something, I'll put a picture here of my house from the outside. As well as a picture of Silvia and her hopelessly romantic (and rich) boyfriend:

ciao, OJ

Not Dead

As Fedor was here, I didnt have time to write anything the past few days, so this is going to be a long story:
Even before Fedor arrived, I already had an interesting experience with Poste Italia again. This time it concerned a package from Amazon, with 2 books and a DVD I ordered. The package had been opened by Poste Italia and resealed afterwards. After stealing the DVD... So now I am paying for a DVD that some son-of-a-fuck Italian shithead is watching. That pissed me off. But of course, the arrival of Fedor, Saturday afternoon compensated for everything!!!!! He also took the present Mark gave me for my graduation and I promised would get to Milano. Unfortunately, it broke in transport and the glass front was in ruins once it got here. But, I still hung it up in our living:

At night, we had a huge BBQ at my home with a lot of people (my PhD-friends, who all took random friends as well, and friends of my other flatmates, etc). This was an absolutely awesome party, and everyone was very drunk. Sunday afternoon, Fedor and I started with the quest that was set out by my ECU Posse. As my graduation present, I received a route through Milano to 12 places which contained Milano highlights. At each of these places, I had to open en envelope and something related to the particular attraction would be in there. Unfortunately, we did the tour on Sunday and Monday, and a number of things were closed. Some others had to be booked in advance and we'll do them next time (this includes the Last Supper and visiting the Scala). But the tour was great and we saw a lot of Milan (the Milan Museum was particularly excellent-->I didnt know it existed). Below here, there are pictures of the twelve places we went to, in the following order:
1. Bastioni de Porta Volta: ATM Bar, which was closed on Sunday, unforunately (we go next time)
2. Piazzale Cimitero Monumentale: a grand cemetery, which was also unfortunately closed (we go next time)
3. Piazza Della Scala: the Scala opera house, where I will try to book a show for next time
4. Via Sant'Andrea: Milano Museum, excellent
5. Piazza del Duomo: the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery, which is an amazing place and we had coffee there...
6. Via Palazzo Reale: the Royal Palace Museum, where we'll go another time, because the queue was endless...
7. Via Ugo Foscolo: the Feltrinnelli Bookshop, which is indeed the finest bookshop Milano has (and one of the few with any English books at all)
8. Piazza del Duomo: the Duomo of Milan, which is an awesome church. Especially on the roof, it is very nice.
9. Via de'Amicis, 19: an old amphitheatre, even though we were a bit surprised to find ourselves in front of an ugly residential building. Unfortunately, the museum was closed on Monday... Next time
10. Piazzale Cadorna: Modern art as part of Milano, very odd
11. Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie: the Last Supper, which I will book for next time
12. Piazza Buonarotti: the Music House of Verdi, very interesting.












As the photos show, Fedor took some lovely weather with him when he came here... We had a great weekend, also meeting our friends Nina and Antonio on Sunday... All in all, I was very sad to see him go again this morning. But he'll be back in 3 weeks, so it wont be too long, I guess. After Fedors departure, I returned once more to the Questura. I met a friend there, who was waiting as well. After 2 1/2 hours I was finally called forward and it turned out that all my paperwork was actually complete!!! So then I could enter another queue of people who waited for the finalisation of their Permesso di Soggiorno. And today, at 11.30 I finally became a legal immigrant in Italy!!! It really felt like a huge victory. My friend, who was from Non-EU Turkey waited for nearly 6 hours, but received hers as well!
After this victory I went to Uni, to find out that my lecture had been moved to Thursday. So after lunch, I went home and cleaned up some mess. Tomorrow I plan to really start studying. And to get my Milanese registration at the Ufficio Municipale (Gemeentehuis), but that will probably prove difficult...
ciao, OJ

Clarification etc.

I guess I should clarify what I was trying to write yesterday. I actually forgot I had tried to write anything until I saw it just now. It does explain why I had such a terrible hang-over today though....
As I said, I went to the post office yesterday to take care of my insurance papers. But the lady in question, who is guarding the post office and whose only job is to make sure no-one actually makes it to any of the desks, wouldnt let me in. She lost her English-speaking skills overnight and kept on shouting at me in Italian that I should call the insurance company to ask what the price of a one-year policy is, even though she had it written down in front of her... She simply refused to actually tell me... I did indeed, as I said, lose control in the end, cursed her, cursed all Italians, told her she was a bitch and was then not-so-kindly asked to leave the premises.
Oops.
Today my classes started at 9AM, which meant I had to get up at 7.30... This was a challenging task, considering the amounts of alcohol I consumed yesterday. But at 12.30 lunchtime started so I could have a sleep for 1 1/2 hours in the park. After this, I felt much better and managed to make my way to yet another post office. This time, however, I took my secret weapon: Silvia. And with my secret weapon present, it was not problem at all to get the insurance and arrange all that in less than half an hour. So I am now an insured man. Which should be the last barrier I had to take before being able to go to the Questura again to get my residence permit. We'll see.
Probably, if I make it on Monday, they'll have changed the rules and now require every person that comes to the Questura to wear something Red... And I dont have a Something Red...
But anyways, after my victory at the post office, it was time for a final lecture between 16.30 and 18 o'clock. After this, I was completely done for. So I have had a quiet evening at home and ignored all invitations to parties and celebrations.... Of course the main reason for this is the fact that tomorrow: FEDOR WILL ARRIVE!!!! I am soooooooooo looking forward to it. We are going to have a big BBQ tomorrow night on the terrace and we're gonna do lots of other cool things... I cant wait!
ciao, OJ

No Como today...

No Como today, because the weather was too bad. Unfortuately I could make it to the post office. I finally encountered my first time of losing control. When the bitch (who actually spoke english yesterday) finished talking, she d mader itcuite clear that she didnt need me... maybe next time.,
Tonight we had a party. I am drunk
cioa, OJ

You have now qualified for the next level: Post Office

I started my day with a lovely visit to Questura, now having all the papers I needed. Or so I thought... Unfortunately my Health Insurance Card (which is issued only for being abroad) is not accepted as a proof of insurance. In Dutch it says "this is your card to show you have insurace while you are abroad". In English, German, French and Spanish it says "This is your insurance card". The conclusion is that the police officer at the Questura did not believe me that it would give me cover in Italy. I need to show my policy itself. Which is in Dutch, so I cant show him. So I need to show the E111 form, which the Dutch company won't issue, because I already have the card... So I went home after this mildly disappointing result of waiting for an hour (only one hour, so thats good). After staying home for a while, I went to Uni to have lunch and follow a class by Mr. Maffezoli...
By now, I had decided to get a so-called "emergency insurance" in Italy, which would replace the necessity for a Dutch insurance policy. So I went, as I had been told, to a post office. They had no idea what I was saying, because it was in English. So I went to another post office. Overhere, they did not have a clue what I was saying, because they didnt understand why I wanted to get insurance at a post office (I didnt understand either, but I was told this was the way to go). Subsequently I went to a third post office, and here was someone who knew what I was saying. She finally gave me the form to sign in with, and the phone number I have to call how much it costs. After I find out, I can fill it in and return to the post office to pay for it (Yes. It is the standard studnt policy, for which this entire thing was made in the first place: why the f**k do you not know what it costs?????????). After I will have returned here, I will be able to go to Questura again, which will enable me to go to Ufficio Municipale again, so I can request public insurance at ASL. I am starting to have a feeling, it is personal.
Tonight, I went out with my PhD friends for Aperitivo and sat in front of the church afterwards, drinking beer... It was fun.
ciao, OJ

quiet lovely day

Today I have had a simple, quiet day. Went to Uni for a while, followed a class, chilled out with my friends and got home early. Not too much stress, so to say. The strike has been cancelled for tomorrow, which is too bad: It'll be busy at the Questura, which I had hoped it wouldnt due to the strike. Too bad...
ciao, OJ

Still no closer to any kind of insurance

I got up at 7 today to go the the Questura Centrale, where I wanted to find out what documents I needed to get the Permesso di Soggiorno (permit to stay). I only had to wait for 1 1/2 hours to be told that I needed a whole list of documents. All this despite the assurances other Dutch people gave me on the internet that you really, really only need your passport.
Anyways, the reason why I want the Permesso is because I wil be able to become a Milano citizen, and I will thus be able to get public health insurance, which I do not have right now. Now, to be able to get the Permesso, one of the things I need is.... health insurance!!!! I am not sure how to solve this yet, I will first try and get the other documents and then try with just my "insurance pass" from Holland. Probably, this will not work, after which I will have to try something else. The good thing is that Wednesday, there is a general public transport strike, so I cant go to Uni anyways, so I will simply sit at Questura all day. In addition to that, it might be less busy because people cant get to the Questura (its close to my house, so I can)
After the Questura, I went to Uni to arrange some things and went home afterwards.
Finally, I must say that "when it rains, it pours..." Now that the mail-stream has started flowing, it is coming in quite enthusiastically. Today, I received nine letters and a parcel (I can only pick up the parcel tomorrow, so I dont know what it is yet), which I think is a personal record for me. Mind you, 5 of the nine letters were from my Italian bank, and every single one contained secret codes to do "things" with. Use code X if you want to transfer amounts of money larger than a certain sum, but we wont tell you how large that sum is, if you want to do so via your telephone. etc, etc. FIVE CODES!!! This did include my PIN number, of a pass I dont have (yet, I guess).
ciao, OJ