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