Vote "Dario Fo"

Today was the definite highlight of the week: I got to vote!!!
There were municipal elections yesterday and today, and with Micky's help, I managed to cast my vote for the Milano municipality. Obviously, I voted for the candidate in whose campaign team Micky has been working the past weeks. The other good thing was the fact that my voting station was really, really close (on the way to the supermarket). And it was an interesting experience, anyway!
As for the results, they are not so good. Most of the cities have had great victories for the leftwing, but Milan will probably stay in the claws of the right. Not surprising of course, but there was some hope for a moment. The first exit polls said it was 49 against 49, but by now it has gone up to 51 against 47. So, unfortunately, it isnt gonna happen. And I also dont know whether my candidate came in or not...
Ciao,
OJ

3 Things

Three things I have to share today:
- I have been studying... a bit. But not quite enough. It is partly the weather, though. It is really humid, but not actually sunny. Makes me really fcking lazy
- Today I met up with Jakob, my MSc supervisor from Groningen. He happened to be in Milano for some congress-kind-a-thing and we met up for some drinks in a bar close to my house. It was great to see him and great to hear some of the news from Groningen. I really enjoyed that. I did come back completely broken though... I guess the whole sitting-down thing is not really for me, right now: Lying really is the best. Even though I took a pain killer before going to see him... Oh well, not much longer until the operation we hope)
- I know I have mentioned it before, but Angels in America is really, absolutely, AMAZING. I have watched it again over the course of the past few days (it takes about 6 hours) and I am just so completely overwhelmed by it... An absolute MUST-SEE!!!!!!!!
Ciao,
OJ

Finished all my regular courses 9/9

well, I finally started my realy studying! And found out that I can still combine it with lying in the Sun, without problems... It is just that the first exam that I will have on the 14th of June will concern the subject matter of 3 different courses, and the one that was in the first quarter has completely sunk away so far! I am trying to dig it up, but that isnt going extremely well, so far...
However, on the positive side, I did receive my grades for my fourth-quarter exams! For my Industrial Dynamics course, I had an A (equivalent to about 8.5-9 in Dutch grades), which is nice, but doesnt really matter. It is, obviously, not one of my core courses and I didnt really care with which grade I would pass. More importantly, however, is that I passed for the second Political Economics course... Mind you, I only had a C (equivalent of 6), but considering the fact that I wasnt able to finish one of the 3 assignments due to my little medical issue and the fact that I couldnt finish the exam because I wasnt able to sit any longer, et cetera, taking all that into account: I am Very Happy about the result!!!
At least, it means I have gotten it out of the way. So it was, after all, a good decision to take part in the exam, because otherwise I would have to find some other solution for it, which would have been such a hassle!
For the rest, there isnt much news....
Ciao,
OJ

Not too bad, what about you?

Not much going on here. I am really kinda bored with staying home... But i gives me time to study my Italian book (which I hadnt really opened since Xmas). And with studying for the field exams, of course... Or well, actually, I havent really started for them yet. It is just that I have never been able to movitate myself for studying more than 2 weeks in advance (and that is pushing it, really). So mainly, I really am just bored. And tanned, I must add to that. Although I do finally have time for some other things that I normally dont get to do: taking baths, playing the piano, et cetera. And as long as I keep taking my ibuprofen and not move too much, I dont even have that much pain!
So, it really isnt all bad, I guess...
I have, however, completely fucked up my camera, which pisses me off. I hit it against a wall during the party and now it kind-of-doesnt-really-completely work anymore... oops.
Ciao,
OJ

Boredom

Dottoressa Piattoni (Doctor Large Plates) decided this morning that I indeed needed a bit of help. She didnt even need a lot of convincing to start making a few phone calls, which finally resulted in a slightly improved situation. Her friend, who happens to be the head nurse of the department that will operate me, promised her that my operation will take place on or before June 8. Which is better than the second half of June I heard before, I guess. I am not entirely happy about it, but that date has a number of advantages: First, I will be able to do my first field exam stress-free, as it will be on June 14. Second, During that week, Fedor will also be here, so I will have someone to take care of me. Obviously, that is always nice... So I guess, I will just have to accept lying at home for another 2 weeks or so. As the Italians would say: boh. The only thing is that I am getting so damned bored. Even the internet starts losing its charm after so many hours. And the last day or two, the weather has been cosi cosi, as well. Stuffy, hot and cloudy: not very good for tanning...
Oh well, to put it in an appropriate way: Shit Happens. Not much to do about it, I guess.
Ciao,
OJ

Party...

We spent all day on preparing for the party: Do all kinds of shopping, make pizza dough, make Champagne Sangria, et cetera. Finally, we were all completely prepared for the arrival of Baril (I dont know how to write that), Meghans friend who had prepared a little Turkish entree buffet... HOWEVER, 15 minutes before Baril was arriving, suddenly the lights switched off. Completely. After fighting with our electric system for a while, we managed to get half of it going again (excluding, unfortunately, my room). So the party could get started!!! After our little entree bits and pieces, our other guests arrived. Unfortunatey, I was bench-bound.

This didnt help much for my party-experience. And I must say that all-in-all it wasnt the party it was supposed to have been... Unfortunately so.
But I had fun and managed to achieve the appropriate amount of drunkenness by the time I went to bed at 4AM.
Today we faced the challenge of having to clean up the mess. And a mess it was! Probably the worst mess we had on any party of ours, so far. But in a well-managed effort of the four of us (including Micky's girlfriend...) we got it done quite quickly. This only left the issue of not having electricity. In half the flat. Finally, after much research we discovered that water apparently invaded the plug of the oven so we got the electricity back online (except for the oven). In another act of Murphy's Law, however, in order to get internet connection during our half-black out I had moved around our internet-machinery. But something must have gone wrong with the already dodgy system, because I finally couldnt get it to work again. So we re-cabled the entire flat and use wire-full internet (as opposed to wireless internet).
Finally, tonight in an act of good luck, we managed to get the oven back online as well! So we could make another bunch of pizzas for tonight and maybe tomorrow morning! Now, I will try and get some sleep before going to see my GP again tomorrow morning...
Ciao,
OJ

Hot...

Oh dear, it most certainly is bloody, bloody hot... But I am getting a real nice tan, so that compensates for being so warm all the time. I spent my day sunbathing, reading and cleaning bits and pieces. We wanted to make sure the house is sorta clean to start off, before the party tomorrow: I am soooooo looking forward to it!!!!!!!!
Ciao,
OJ

Eurovision

Lying in the Sun a lot still. And trying not to move... But also planning a great party for Saturday! Now, dont worry: I can plan parties while lying down! Training Pandora to play nice party music, making shopping lists (for my flatmates of course) and emailing invitations: It will indeed be a HUGE party!!!
And today of course, there were the semifinals of the Eurovision. Well, despite the fact that I didnt have a pub with friends and a big screen to watch the semifinals, I still watched it via the internet and made a scoring form. Italy completely ignores the entire concept and obviously doesnt broadcast it either. So I had to use the internet (Viva il NOS).
My personal favourites were Slovenia, Russia, Finland, Andorra and Ukraine, but unfortunately 2 out of these 5 didnt make it to the finals. In my predictions which countries would make it, I had 6 right, out of 10. Not a very good score at all, I guess. And, btw, IRELAND sucks! And so did Sweden. But both went through anyway...
Oh well, I guess I can rest now that I have seen the semifinals. Of course, during the party on Saterday I wont be able to watch the final, so this was my bit of Eurovision Fun for this year...
Ciao,
OJ

My exam...

Well, after trying to study a bit on Sunday, which merely resulted in a a rather bad sunburn, you can imagine I wasnt overly well-prepared for my exam on Monday. But, after taking 800 mgs of Ibuprofen I decided to go and see what would happen. It turned out to be a relatively easy exam, except for the fact that I couldnt sit up properly, concentrate or calculate the most simple things. All in all, it didnt go very well and I do not deserve to pass. BUT, with part 1 of this same course, I was absolutely sure I failed (and still passed), so the grading system is very "tolerant". So there is actually a reasonable chance that I did pass, but I dont really deserve to.
After the exam I went home and rested. I actually did not feel too bad. Yet. Once the painkillers started losing their effect, I found out that I really am not doing very well. I couldnt make a single step without cringing, basically. Today, things are a bit better, but I still need to take painkillers (even though I am not actually doing anything at all). I am trying to get another appointment with my family doctor, to see if she is able to get me higher up the waiting list (or better pain medication).
Today, I read a book. And did some groceries. For the rest: nothing.
Ciao,
OJ

Lying down

Well, I have found a reasonably comfortable way to get a little work done: lying down, on the terrace, in the Sun. And that is where I have been for the past two days: Trying to study.
The "biggest" thing that happened to me was the opportunity to pickpockets in action. From my terrace, I was able to have a great view of 2 ***** kids (aged 10 and 13 or something), who tried to slip their little filthy hands into the bags of at least 4 different ladies. And they were bloody good at it, as well. Apparently, our area is their turf, but I had never seen them before. But it certainly was impressive, how good they were (plz note that I didnt want to use any stereotypes and didnt call them gipsy...)
Ciao,
OJ

...

Well, I did go to Uni today to study. But it was all a very uncomfortable affair, so I left again at 16.00. Studied at home the rest of the day... But that is not going very well, either...
Ciao,
OJ

Medical shit in Italy 2

Spent all morning queueing and paying in hospitals, basically. The first queues were just to be able get the results of the ultrasound from yesterday, but then I went to the real hospital. Waiting, waiting, waiting in order to meet the "surgeon", who concluded that I had an ernia inguinale (Yes, I did indeed already know that). After making it through that red tape, I made it to the actual desk where the make appointments for operations.
I found a lovely doctor to translate for me and she felt so sorry for me, that she decided that she was willing to cut me up next Tuesday. Or so I thought. She then realised that it was my second ernia inguinale and had to give up on operating next week. Apparently, a repeated ernia is more difficult to operate and she didnt have the time to do so next week. So now I am in the normal system: on the waiting list, waiting for a phone call. And this will probably take FOUR TO SIX WEEKS!!!! Which sucks, because I am really, really not comfortable...
I tried to study this afternoon, but had to give up at one point. Not very convenient for the exam I will have on Monday. And of course my (very important) field exams that are going to take place in June!
Ciao,
OJ

Medical shit in Italy

Well, during the weekend, Fedor and I were able to enjoy some more fabulous weather, but this morning he left to go back to Holland again... The rain gods were crying that he was leaving too: we had a horrific thunderstorm all night and morning as a result of it! Now, more seriously though: Monday, I had to visit my new GP (family doctor), who turned out to be a very sweet lady who spoke fluent English and turned out to be very competent and all. She established (as I expected) that I have a Inguinal Hernia (aka "liesbreuk"), which kind of sucks... I had been having trouble for a while, but the past week or so the troubles were getting significantly worse (as in the inability to walk properly). The doctor told me to get my hospital appointments to have it all checked out, which I expected to take weeks or months. However, when Micky called the hospital-phone, it turned out that everything could be arranged very quickly. In fact, today I have had an ultrasound made and tomorrow I will see the surgeon in the hospital. I expect to know the date of the operation straight after that... The ultrasound today was not quite as good an experience as the doctor yesterday. Apparently, I should have magically known that I was supposed to arrive before 15.00 in order to pay for the ultrasound, even though my appointment was at 16.00. The cash register was closing at 15.00, however...
So I finally did have the ultrasound made, but have to go back tomorrow to pay for being allowed to take the results!
Anyways, before people get too worried: I have trouble walking and standing, but am fine for the rest. It is mostly inconvenient. Especially because I have an important exam coming up on Monday... But I guess I will survive...
Ciao,
OJ

Long time no post

I realise it has been quite a long time since I have posted. This is obviously due to Fedor's visit, with whom I have simply been too busy (and distracted) to write regularly. Mainly, I have been occupied with 3 things: Studying, travelling and being ill.
Tuesday and Wednesday, we spent at University, both studying. Monday in a week, I will have an important exam and Fedor just had to work on his normal courses. So those days, we worked in unison on our respective purposes. At night, we mostly chilled out and just watched some movies. At the same time, however, I also realised that the physical discomfort I have been having recently was getting worse. Finally, I decided to go on the internet and diagnose myself. I have done so and will see my doctor on Monday to confirm my own diagnosis (and I will tell you the outcome afterwards. But it will probably include an operation... NOT GOOD).
Thursday Morning, we got up early and travelled to Venezia. We arrived in the beautiful gorgeous city at 11AM and spent the rest of the day walking around (and boating around). The hotel we stayed in was a tiny thing near Piazza San Marco and was very cheap. Our room was the size of a double bed, but it did have an outdoor terrace the same size. So that was perfect!
The city is simply amazing, as you will be able to see on the photos below, but my inability to walk properly didnt really help. The next day we travelled to another (semi-deserted) island with all the other tourists (tourist-venetian ratio is about 100:1), which was pretty too. At the end of the day, we travelled back to Milano and went to bed exhausted. Today, we have only been to the market and the supermarket and are spending the rest of the day at home. I am not really mobile anymore until I see the doctor, so we dont really have a choice.
Now, photos from Venezia!
Ciao,
OJ

Bye Matt and Anthony

Saturday morning, Matt and Anthony arrived. It was great to see Matt again, and to meet Anthony. They were also very, very lucky with he weather, which was absolutely beautiful. We went to the market, had lunch and visited downtown. Including my first visit on top of the Duomo in a year. Even though I have had so many visitor recently, I didnt go on top of the Duomo with any of them until now. It was great, and we spent some time sunbathing there. After drinking some bubbly in the park and resting for a bit, we went to the Naviglio for dinner. Unfortunately it was quite busy that day, so most aperitivi were full. Instead, we ended up in an absolutely lovely restaurant, where we enjoyed pizzas en bubbly. After that gorgeous dinner, the next stop was my favourite beerhouse, La Fontanella. Three (gigantic) beers later, we were all in quite a state. The perfect state to go and pick up Fedor who was arriving at Central Station at about 1AM...
He didnt know we were going to be there, so he was happily surprised to see us! We walked home from he station, because the last tram had already left and at home, we enjoyed a few more drinks.
The next day was very quiet. A total of four things: Hightech (my favourite shop ever), lunch, Cimitero Monumentale and dinner. Of course, all this was surrounded by relaxing, drinking and fun! The weather wasnt as good as on Saturday, but it could have been worse!
This morning, I brought Matt and Anthony to the station and they went home again. It was a lot of fun!
The best part of the weekend, however, was that the Antagonist (Cedric) FINALLY fucked off!!!! Finally, he is no longer creeping through the house at random moments and finally we are able to have fun again! I have said "ciao" to him twice in the past 5 weeks and I am glad I do not have to ignore him any longer: GOOD RIDDANCE!
Ciao,
OJ
PS Some photos from this weekend: