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:

Strike

Today was a long day at Uni. After all, the public transport started striking at 8.30, so I had to get to Uni before that. I managed. Followed some classes, read some papers, et cetera. Unfortunately, my last class finished at 18.00, which was also the time the trams started striking again (they stopped striking between 15 and 18), so I had to stay at Uni for another while. Oh well, shit happens.
Now I will go to bed quite early, because I have to get up early tomorrow, in order to do some shopping etc before Matt (and boyfriend) arrive at about 11.
Also, tomorrow night Fedor arrives!!!! Woohooo!!!!
Ciao,
OJ

Forza Barca!

Yesterday was the Day of the Presentation for one of my courses. Normally, I am not really bothered with these kind of things, but the paper I was presenting this time was so bloody complicated that I actually thought it would be a bit of a problem. But it went quite ok. And the teacher apparently realised how hard the paper really was, because he didnt give me a hard time at all! So, in order to celebrate this, we went out to watch the match yesterday (not Ajax-Groningen, of course, even though that may actually have been more interesting! Instead, we watched Barcelona-Milan). So we had a good night when AC Milan had their asses kicked (Milan=Berlusconi, so the club doesnt have a lot of support among my leftist friends).
Today, I was supposed to work on a report. But I was unable to motivate myself strongly... Instead, I played around all day, did a little bit of work and applied for an internship in Manilla, the Phillipines. Now, the chances of actually GETTING the internship are about 1 in 1000, so dont get all excited. But it would be kinda awesome, wouldnt it? To go to Manilla for 2 months this Summer, in order to do some research...
Tomorrow, I will have to get up early, because the public transport starts striking at 8.30, so I have to be at Uni before that time (they do strike quite often, but at least they try to be a little bit considerate. The strike only starts at 8.30 and they will not strike between 15 and 18 o'clock either. Unfortunately I will have class until 18.00, so I will not be able to take the tram home....)
Ciao,
OJ

Liberation Day

This Liberation Day, it rained... Well, drizzled. But after the last days, it was quite a shock. Hopefully, it will get better!
I spent my day at Uni, working on my (important) presentation for tomorrow. It is not gonna be fun, because it's a really, really fcked up paper that I will present. But we will see how its gonna go....
Ciao,
OJ

Bye Bastiaan...

Thursday Morning, I went to class all morning and enjoyed some lunch and sun afterwards. In the afternoon, I went to pick up Bastiaan at Central Station. Of course, it was great to see him again and we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on my terrace chatting and drinking wine. After another stroll through town, we had dinner and drank some more.
The weekend weather was as good as the forecasts promised, with 27-28 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. Of course this was worth a celebration and we therefore planned our first terrace party of the year on Saturday. For that, we did a lot of shopping, and after lunch we visited the Cimitero Monumentale. The rest of the day was spent on preparations for the party (and lying in the Sun). About 20-25 people showed up for our BBQ party (including the whole range of completely strangers we always expect) and had some nice foods (my BBQ squid was rather successful). Of ourse, both Bastiaan and I were quite drunk in the end and ended up going to bed before the party was over.
On Sunday, trying to forget the hangover, we got to a very slow start. Visited Hightech, Duomo and the rest of town. And, of course, went for Sushi Aperitivo at Bento Bar! Because I simply love that place!!!
This morning, I brought Bastiaan back to Central Station, where he would catch his bus again. On my return from the Station, I heard the repeated call of my bed and slept for another while. This is ok, because I have yet another little holiday (Monday and Tuesday), to celebrate the liberation at the end of the Second World War..... I am not kidding, this is what Italians celebrate: the fact that they were LIBERATED (obviously, I always point out that they didnt get liberated: they just lost, but this point of view does not attract a lot of support among Italians).
Ciao,
OJ

Sunnnnnn

I think I have done so little recently, that I have become completely unable to do anything. It is either that, or I have to design a presentation of a paper that I just REALLY REALLY do not understand... That would be an interesting new experience... But whichever of these may be true, I did not do much today. Not enough, anyway. I did, however, have a lovely lunch in the Sun today and worked on my tan. These are important things too, right? Unfortunately for Bastiaan, who will be arriving tomorrow, the weather seems to worsen a bit for the weekend (they are still forecasting 27 degrees for Sunday, but the multi-day forecasts totally suck.
Below are two pictures. One to show that babies simply make great accessories and one of my daily lunch place (a picture of a few weeks ago with friends)
Ciao,
OJ

And I am back...

On Thursday, I started my Holland trip in the morning by flying to Holland. The most important observation was that it was cold... But of course, seeing Fedor compensated any cold I might have felt. After hanging out at home, we spent the evening playing games with Fedors friends.
Friday afternoon, we started our little trip around the country. First stop: The Hague, where we visited friends who moved to a lovely apartment. After a gorgeous meal, the next stop was Rotterdam, in order to visit the beautiful new house of another set of friends. After spending the night at their place, Fedor and I could hitch a ride to my parents place, which was obviously very convenient.
Next stops consisted of my brother and family, my friend Seda and my other brother and family... Of course, this being easter time, I was completely ODing on chocolate eggs already, but it was great to see everyone! At night, we went to the pub where a bunch of people came to see us! Jochen en Jorryts decoration of the pub may have shocked a few people though... (my picture, announcing OJ, Queen of Milano, one-night-appearance in Groningen on his Holland Tour: Lets just not mention that again...).
The next morning I felt surprisingly fresh and after some Easter breakfast, Fedor and I drove back to my parents place for a lovely lunch. At the end of the afternoon, we jumped on the train again in order to reach Nijmegen in time to have dinner with Fedors Mother etc. Another night of fun was the result (and a late night, as always). Monday was a relatively quiet day, with only 2 major visits planned. The first visit consisted of Brunch at Fedors father's house. Absolutely lovely, as well. And after a little walk in the area, we continued to our next agenda point of Monday: Yet another new house! This time with friends from Highschool, whom I do not see very often (at all). Another evening of a lot of laughs was the result.
THANK GOD we could sleep very, very, very late on Tuesday, because Fedor and I were both completely exhausted! Apart from a little shopping (books etc), we only had one other, final, thing to do: Have dinner with 2 other friends. We did, enjoyed the hospitality of De Spil (Seriously, if you are in Nijmegen: go and eat there: its lovely), but didnt stay out until extremely late.
After all, this morning, we had to get up early again. Fedor had to go to work and I had to go to Eindhoven, in order to fly back to Milano. And so I did.
Coming back was really quite nice, especially because the weather is amazing and I got some more hours of Sun on the Terrace: I am so easy to please...
Now, I am exhausted from this week of holiday and I will go to bed very early.
Ciao,
OJ

Olanda: Domani

The party yesterday was quite a lot of fun, but I left early, because I was very tired. So I was home before midnight. Today, I spent some time at Uni, but didnt do too much... And in the afternoon, I went to Chinatown (near my house) to buy my first set of suitcases!!! I bought a trolley and a realy (smallish) suitcase for the combined price of only 29 euros: I love Chinatown!
Finally, I spent some time sitting in the Sun, because I would like to be a bit sunburnt when I am going to Holland. I think my mission has not reallly succeeded, but it was worth a try! Tonight, I packed my suitcases to be properly prepared for my early flight tomorrow! Olanda: HERE I COME!
Ciao,
OJ

Bye Lotte (and Berlusconi)

Well, after Lotte finally arrived Saturday Night, we came home for lots of Fake Margheritas and Mexican food. Meghan did her best! We also went out, and I once more concluded that Loolapaloosa really kinda sux.
On Sunday, we had to take it slowly, due to a rather large alcohol take-up... And besides, Lotte wasnt very lucky with the weather: it was cold and it drizzled. But of course, this didnt stop us from going to Hightech. And the Cimitero Monumentale (which is really not even that bad in the rain: it suits the atmosphere). At night, Sushi Aperitivo and relaxing, because we were still exhausted from the party the night before. On Monday, the weather wasnt much better and we did a quick tour of the main tourist things (Duomo, Castello). The rest of the day was spent on Shopping. Lotte spent a small fortune on buying A LOT OF clothes, so that was really quite fun. At night, we were exhausted from the day's shopping and just did nothing again. This morning, I brought her to the station and went to Uni. I didnt have too much to do, so I could go home at 16.00 again. Resting for a while, cutting my own hair and preparing to go to a Big Birthday Party (of 5 people) tonight: Looking forward to it!!!
The good news about today: I FINALLY managed to get my "Health Card", aka Medical Insurance!!! It is settled! I am insured!!! And I have a doctor!
And of course, the other good news of today: Berlusconi is OUT. Good riddance, I hope we can now get rid of all the bloody election talk... Probably not, because they like a good election here and the next (mayoral) elections are in 6 weeks. In fact, this will be my first Italian election where I can participate. As I now have my Carta d'Identita, I also applied for a Electoral Card, which I should get in time to be able to vote for the new mayor of Milano!!! How cool is that?
Ciao,
OJ

Lotte???

Yesterday, I realised what a silly week I was having, so I decided not even to Uni. Instead I stayed at home, and finished reading my book. In the afternoon, I met up with Idil, to go to the ASL (insurance people). Of course, the office closed 2 minutes before we arrived (I knew they didnt open until 13.30, but I didnt realise they would close again at 15.00... How silly of me). Instead, we walked to and through Brera, where the Milano Furniture Week is happening. Honestly, there wasnt that much happening, but at least now we can say we have been there. At night, I relaxed and chatted with Meghan until late.
This morning, however, I did have to get up reasonably early again, because I wanted to go to the market etc, before going to Malpensa to pick up my friend Lotte, who was arriving from Copenhagen. But after doing all my stuff, and when I was just on my way to the station, she called: the flight had been overbooked and she was bumped. Of course, this means a hefty financial compensation (hundreds of euros) and she could take the next flight. Which arrives tonight at 19.00, instead of the morning at 10.30. So this was absolutely no problem. I, however, didnt really have anything useful to do though. But this afternoon, the temperature rose once more, so I spent the afternoon studying in the Sun on my terrace. Lovely...
Now I will go to Malpensa Airport to pick her up, and then we will enjoy Meghans Mexican dinner she has been preparing all day!
Ciao,
OJ

Berlusconi continued

Haha, Berlusconi now wants independent observers because he doesnt trust the elections he is organising (his own elections, yes). Especially because all the media is poised against him. Which is odd, because he owns all the media!!! Funny... But seriously, I will be very happy once these bloody elections will be over! No more bullshit about it!
Furthermore, I worked on my Political Economics today. This is an extremely quiet week, because I only had one class (on Monday), so I am taking it all very slowly. In addition, we are having discussions about the schedule of our field exams (we get to decide our own dates, but have to do so in a unanimous fashion: I now know why the EU doesnt work.... Breek me de bek niet open, zullen we maar zeggen)
Ciao,
OJ

And rainy days...

So finally Meteo.it was able to forecast the weather appropriately... It was indeed shit, and I did do a little bit of work (not as much as I had wanted to do, but I am just not busy enough to feel any real pressure...)
For the rest, I spent the day discussing the ins and outs of Berlusconi's newest craze... After calling the Dutch people Nazis and saying that Chinese people boil babies to use them as fertiliser, he now decided to take on the Italian electorate: Anyone who doesnt vote for him is a coglione, apparently: freely translatable as, a fucking retard!!!
Wow, considering that he has already mentioned before that he sees himself as Napoleon and Jesus, nothing should be surprising, right?
Ciao,
OJ

Sunny days...

Today was yet another lovely day and I must say that I am happy I am not too busy with studying this quarter. Because the start of the good weather seriously damages my incentives to study hard... I spent some time at Uni this morning, but lunch turned into a 1 1/2 hour ordeal. And afterwards, I spent another hour lying in the park... In the end, I actually didnt do very much at all!
So in that respect, it is a good thing that tomorrow the weather will be shitty (only 16-18 degrees....): I will be able to do some studying!
Ciao,
OJ

Bye Bard en Suuz...

Well, the Party, which took place at a Raggae club around the corner was Interesting, to say the least. Many people were there, so we had a lot of fun. But I surely realise that Raggae clubs are not quite my thing. But we got drunk and made our own fun instead!
On Saturday, this did sort of ruin our chances of seeing much of Milano. But as the good weather took a day off anyway, we were quite satisfied with just visiting the market, a shop, and of course the Cimitero Monumentale! I must say that the Cimitero isnt quite as pretty when it is rainy, instead of sunny. At night, we went for Sushi Aperitivo at Bento Bar: I am loving it!!! Sushi Aperitivo kicks ass!!! But we (Suuz) was rather hung-over, so we went home earlier and played another card game. On Sunday, we had planned to go to Genova, but while going to bed the night before, we concluded that the cheap Genova train would be leaving too early for us! So instead, we decided to go to Lago Maggiore.


And that, I must say, was a great decission! We started at Lavero, where we walked around and took the lift up the mountain. The lift turned out to consist of tiny little 1 or 2 person carriers, steeply climbing a mountain: I was terrified!!!!


At the end of the lift, we were able to walk another while, in order to reach the top of the mountain. Well, it was quite a climb, but absolutely worth it. Stunning views, lovely heat and lots of parasailers etc flying around us. It was really quite amazing, I must say...


After coming down, we crossed the lake to Verbania. Some more food, some more drinks, some more tanning and it was time to make our way back to Milano. All in all, a very good day!!!
(please note that I am ignoring the horrible struggle to come down the mountain top. Een ezel stoot zich in t algemeen geen tweemaal aan dezelfde steen, as we say in Dutch, but I always do this to myself. I enjoy climbing up a mountain and then realise I have to come down again. With sore knees and a sore toe... Not a good idea!)
This morning, I brought BarD and Suuz to the train station, because they were leaving again... We definitely did have fun!
Afterwards, I actually went to the Municipality with Idil, to find out what happened to my Identity Card. Info desk 1 sent us to number 2. Info desk 2 sent us to a different one. He then sent us to another one (4), from where we went to number 5. Number 5 sent us back to 3, who sent us back to 2, from where we could go to the appropriate one! And all in all, it only took an hour and 15 minutes (which is only about 10 minutes per desk)! And, amazingly so, I ended up finally receiving my CARTA D'IDENTITA. With this, I will be able to get health insurance. Which I need to get a doctor. Which I need to get a Declaration of Health, which I need to be allowed to go to the gym. I am nearly there!!!!
In the afternoon I went to class, enjoyed the lovely weather (21-24 degrees) and relaxed... Life is good!!!
Ciao,
OJ

BarD and Suuz' visit

Wednesday Morning, I did some working and went to class (I am having the week of the year with the largest number of classes...) In the afternoon, however, I went to the train station to pick up BarD and Suuz, who were arriving. The weather was great, so I really enjoyed sitting at the station waiting for them. After going to my place, we just sat ourselves on my terrace with some wine and beers, enjoying the Sun... It was absolutely gorgeous. Already quite drunk, we went to La Ringhiera afterwards.
Thursday, I had one of my busiest days of the year, which included class continually from 11 until 18 o'clock. So BarD and Suuz had to entertain themselves, which they did very well. At night, dinner was had near my house and we played card games until late... Today, another beautiful day, they have gone to Como, while I went to class. I also needed some time to do some other work, go to the supermarket etc. Now I am just waiting for their return, so we can have dinner with friends and go to the party of a person... I actually dont know whose party it is, but it was someone who has visited one of my earlier parties. So itll be fun, I guess!!!!

However, this has nog been this week's greatest news. Most importantly, I received results for the two courses I was still waiting for. Industrial Organisation was, as kinda expected, an A+ (i.e. 9-10). But the greatest news was the fact that I passed POLITICAL ECONOMICS... And I didnt even have a C, I actually got a B in the end (i.e. appr. 7), which turned out to be a relativily high grade as well! I am SO EXCITED!!!!! I really, really, really thought I had failed. Long live relative grading systems!!!! Anyways, I will now never ever say I think I have failed an exam... I promise.
Ciao,
OJ

Bye Esther...

Yesterday, after spending some time at Uni, I finished showing Milano to Esther. At night, I introduced her to the pleasures of Sushi... She was thrilled!
This morning I put her back on the bus and went straight on to Uni, where I spent the rest of the day studying and going to class. After all, I have to make sure to get some work done before the next crew arrives! Which will be... Tomorrow! BarD and Suuz will be arriving tomorrow and will stay until Monday. But, as BarD has been here before, I dont necessarily have to do the entire tour again. they are probably quite able to entertain each other!
Ciao,
OJ

Photos

Cimitero Monumentale:


Como:

Esthers visit

Friday morning, I went to Uni early, in order to make sure I could get some work done, before my classes (starting at 11). Because after the classes, I had to go to Station immediately to pick up Esther. She was rather unlucky with the weather, because it turned out to be raining. She had had to wait for me for a while, but apparently enjoyed herself with the locals...
After going to my place and looking around town a little, we went for aperitivo at the Navigli. Saturday morning, we obviously had to go to the market, as I always do. In the afternoon, it was time to go to the Cimitero Monumentale. The weather had become much, much better, so we had a lovely stroll around. Later on, in the Duomo, we encountered the Duomo Choir. Well, I am not one for religious stuff, generally, but the Church Choir in Duomo was very, very impressive, I must admit...

As it was the Notte Bianco (and the spring festival), there was a lot going on around town. So at night, we met up with a bunch of my friends. We listened to t.a.t.u. and Laura Pausini, who were performing at the Italian Music awards that were being awarded at the Duomo. Afterwards, we strolled towards the Castello, where we listened to some more music. At around 2AM we went home again.
After all, we wanted to get up reasonably early, to be able to go to Como. And yes, I FINALLY managed to evade the bad-weather-curse that Como seems to have for me. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we both got a bit of a sunburn... We walked by the lake, took the tram up the mountain and walked for some more overtere: it was lovely. Tonight, we were happy to be home though and decided to chill out for a bit... Tomorrow, I have to study, though, so Esther will have to entertain herself for a bit (which shouldnt be a problem, as the weather is expected to be lovely again!)
Note: I was going to post some lovely Como pictures here, but I seem to be unable to upload any. I will try to address the problem and post them later...
Ciao,
OJ

Fedors visit...

Due to Fedors visit, I didnt have much time to write more on my blog... But now he's gone, so I can update again! Tuesday morning, I went to classes and Fedor met me at Uni for lunch. Afterwards, we went to the Palazzo Reale to visit the Helmut Newton exhibition that was taking place. It was definitely an interesting exhibition: Nudes and Landscapes... But I was happy we didnt have to pay the full price of nine euros, because it wasnt actually very big. But it was enjoyable enough (and it was our daily portion of Culture). Afterwards, we visited another church, because we got the hang of doing churches when Lars and Niels were here! At night, we chilled out a bit, after going for a quick nice aperitivo.
On Wednesday, we had planned to go and visit another place. Of course, Como was on the agenda, but the predictions for the weather werent very great, so instead we went to Pavia. The weather turned out to be very lovely, and we had a lovely time in Pavia. It is an interesting place... A bit of a dump in many ways (many churches that were half-fallen apart and closed to the public), but it did have a nice atmosphere to it. The Castello was also nice, even if it was completely deserted by tourists etc. At the end of the afternoon, we went back to Milano.
This morning, I brought Fedor to the bus at 8AM and went to Uni straight afterwards. As I have a lot of visitors around this time, my studying time becomes rather compressed. So I worked on a problem set (and went to a class) until 21.30 afterwards. After all, tomorrow Esther will arrive, so I have to do the Milano-Tour again!
The domestic situation isnt improving much. The Antagonist is moving out (good riddance), but Meghan will also move out (Michele and Meghan have broken up), which is very unfortunate of course! But then again, I will only be here for another few months and I am hardly ever at home anyway, so I dont really care that much!
I also realised today that the weather predictions for Milano are extremely unreliable. Spring is definitely starting (about 18 degreest today), but different websites give very different predictions. According to Meteo.it, the temperature will continue to increase and reach 27 degrees on Tuesday. Weather Underground, on the other hand, predicts the weather to worsen to about 13 degrees on Tuesday!!! Seriously, two predictions about the same day and the same city to be 14 degrees apart! That isnt normal, right? Oh well, shit happens... I will finish with some of the Pavian pictures...
Ciao,
OJ

Miei Fratelli

Wow, it has been quite a while since I have written anything here. On Thursday, my brothers arrived and I went to pick them up from the station. After dumping our stuff, we started with a little round around the city center seeing some of the sights. At night, we went for a little aperitivo and afterwards for a few beers. Mind you, these were big beers (woohoo, a 75-centimeter tall glass in the shape of a gun: that is awesome!).
Of course my brothers both needed to rest from their respective children, so they needed a lot of rest. Or at least, that was the planning, but we actually were up and about before 9AM again! Of course, the Cimitero Monumentale was on the list again, because it is simply the awesome-o-est thing in Milano! After showing them University and having lunch, I went to class the rest of the afternoon, while they entertained each other. At night: Sushi Aperitivo! Very, very, very nice!!! And then we played games until late at night. On Saturday, we only did a few small things: Market, the Hightech-shop, lunch, until Fedor arrived. Together with Fedor, we visited some churches and had another aperitivo (of course).
Finally, on Sunday morning, my brothers left again: I definitely enjoyed their visit! The rest of the day, Fedor and I spent in bed, watching a miniseries (Angels in America is AMAZING) and resting.
Today, on the other hand, I had to go to Uni, where I am still. Fedor is studying (very good boy....) and I will visit one more class, before we will be able to go home again!
Ciao,
OJ
PS The home situation seems to be solved: The antagonist is being kicked out!

No Football for me...

After a good night of sleep (finally), I went to Uni this morning to finish my work on Fedor's thesis. It is really quite interesting, actually. But also, it is very, very long, so it was quite a lot of work to read it all (imagine writing that much...). After that, I wrote a draft outline for the submission of my Latvia paper to a conference near Pisa, this September. I will reconsider my draft in a few days, and send it to them. It would be great to be able to go to this conference!
At around 18.00, I figured I could go home again and chilled out tonight. I was supposed to join a group of people to go to the Stadium and watch AC Milan-Barcelona, but I finally decided I couldnt afford to. So, I will postponing my visit to the Stadium for another 6 months or so, when I hope to have a little bit of money again! At home, things are still rather quiet. The antagonist is rarely home, and if he is, everyone withdraws in their respective rooms. We will see how long this continues...
Ciao,
OJ

Faux Weekend

Today i pretended that it was weekend. I woke up at noon, feeling rather hung-over from yesterday... The party was fun: Really the first time for me to go to a real Italian-style party-restaurant sort of thing. It was great: the food was nice, the wine was...well... let's just say the wine was...
After my headache receded a little bit, I went to the supermarket and cleaned my room. I tried to organise myself to make sure I am ready for the arrival of my brothers on Thursday! I am really looking forward to that!!! And of course I am also greatly looking forward to Fedors arrival on Saturday!
The rest of the evening, I had some dinner, watched a movie and chilled. It was perfect. I was supposed to go to the Municipality again tomorrow with my friend Idil, but this has been cancelled and we will go next week or something. So I will have all day to work on some research etc.
And as Jorryt asked, I will be in NL again from April 13 until April 19, but I dont know about the exact schedule yet (concerning where I will be etc)
Ciao,
OJ

Q3 ends, Q4 starts...

Wow, that exam today was absolutely without hope. No chance (unless a miracle occurs) that I passed that. Everyone felt the same though, so this might reduce the damage a little bit. But I didnt answer enough question to pass this exam. Also, there wasnt nearly enough time, but we got extra time (and some more extra time, etc). But it was a rather depressing morning, because of that. Afterwards, I worked on revising Fedors thesis for a while. But I couldnt really motivate anymore, so at 17.00 I went home, to get a bit of rest and finally do the emailing I have been wanting to do for ages. Also, I should get ready for the new quarter, which started today. I have decided not to follow the course by Perotti, even though he is great. That will give me time off to do some other things unil Thursday, when Tabellini starts of again for the second part of his course.
But tonight, I will go out with the others to celebrate the ending of the exams, as well as Max's Birthday. That will be fun (especially because we are going to a pay-once-and-all-drink-and-food-is-included restaurant).
Ciao,
OJ

Warm. And Cold.

This weekend I added another 24 hours of Uni-time. Now I am as prepared as I am gonna be for my hell-like Political Economics I exam tomorrow... Not looking forward to that!
On a positive note, however, the weather has been picking up really well. It's sunny all the time and about 15-16 degrees, which is very pleasant. Today it was extremely windy, and therefore it felt colder, but it was still not too bad. Or at least, it would not have been if the University would not shut of their heating system on Sundays... Now it was basically freezing inside University, and to then go into the freezing winds was very unpleasant... Actually, now that I am thinking about it, last night when I went home, I waited for the tram for 20 minutes: That was also really cold (and depressing, because it actually didnt show up: the public transport system is having some trouble recently).
Now I will go to bed and hope that a miracle will happen before tomorrow and I will actually be able to do anything for the exam. I doubt it.
Ciao,
OJ

A

Today was yet another day of studying for Tabellini's Political Economics I (exam on Monday). However, the day was happily interrupted by the news that the exam from last Monday had already been graded. I received an A (in Dutch: appr. 9), about which I am obviously very happy!
So far, this has been a very good week! I received my A- from last term and this A from this term. And I also think I made the other exam very well: Me Happy!
Tonight, I turned out to be home alone. Of course, this was the perfect moment for me to blow up a fuse... And I had no idea where the fusebox was. So I called Micky, but before he had led me to the main fusebox of the building, I also ran out of credit on my phone: Murphy's Law. But finally, I managed and I was able to finish my pizza... (I actually did know you can't have the washing machine AND the oven on at the same time, but I just forgot...).
Ciao,
OJ

Unive, part II

The Industrial Organisation exam I had today was surprisingly easy. Either I just discovered an unknown talent in industrial organisation or, more likelly, the exam was simply really easy! Of course it started half an hour late, but that is only because at Bocconi people tend to be completely unorganised... In this case, the exam just wasnt ready yet (that is the same thing that happened in January for a different course). But oh well, I am sure I passed the course and I think I probably did quite well.
The rest of the day I studied, but I was/am really tired, so went home early, at 20.30. I did, however, receive an e-mail from my insurance company... Apparently, they indeed fucked up the dates (instead of 5h of December it was supposed to be the 5th of April) and then also printed the private details of a different customer on my bill. So, if you care about the privay of your own medical information: do not take an insurance at UNIVE.
Tonight, when I was home I didnt want to study, so I finally watched a movie I downloaded ages ago: La Mala Educacion. Definitely an interesting movie...
Ciao,
OJ
PS Anyone who has emailed me recently: After my last exam on Monday, I will start working on my backlog of emails... I promise.

Exam result after 2 months...

I appreciate all your support regarding Unive... The good thing (and the reason why I am not too worried), is that the bill isnt actually that much...
Today I went to Uni at about 8.30. I returned 20 minutes ago, at 23.30. And I wish that was a joke... But at least, I fell prepared enough for my Industrial Organisation exam that I will have tomorrow morning. And then, I will have 3 1/2 days to study for my final exam in Political Economics 1.
I also got some good news today. I FINALLY received my grade for Development Economics (or something like that: the course finished so long ago that I cannot remember the exact name. Something with development and income or something)... I had an A- (i.e. in Dutch: appr. 8.5)!!! This is great news, because it was an important course for me, as it is a course that is relevant in both my Core Fields (Political and Public Economics). So that made me really happy!!!
Now, I will go to bed because otherwise I will die on the spot, right now.
Ciao,
OJ

Unive

Well, had another full day of studying today. Not very productive, because other people kept on interrupting me with their questions about the material, as if I knew!
I also received a letter from my former health insurance company in Holland. They told me that apparently the insurance policy of F, born in 1993, does NOT cover MY hospital treatment on December 5, 2005 and I thus have to pay it myself.
This message obviously yields a number of questions. Why is my insurance policy attached to a person called F, born in 1993??? What hospital treatment was there on December 5??? (the letter didnt specify this) Finally, WHOSE treatment would it have been, because I wasnt in Holland at that time???
Oh well, I will see what happens concerning the insurance company. And I am watching the election results coming in on the Internet. It's probably good I am away from Groningen (a leftist-extremist coalition in the municipality...)
Ciao,
OJ

MIgration Economics: Done.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to Uni at 9AM. But I felt so completely tired that I actually left again at 19.00, to go home and chill out for a bit, before having to do an exam this morning.
I did indeed do the exam, and it was quite doable. The style of questions was rather debatable (eg "What was the opinion put forward in Borjas (2003), without naming the title of the paper... And we had about 5 papers of Borjas on the reading list, so I actually didnt know what he was talking about), but not too difficult. I did get my own mention in the exam, though! "During class, one student pointed out a problem in paper X. What did he say?". Haha, for me it was easy, because I placed the comment, but only one of the other students actually remembered which comments it concerned... Oh well, too bad.
After the exam, I started studying for my Industrial Organisation exam that will be held on Thursday! I really need to do quite a lot for that exam, still... I managed to go home at around 21.30, despite the public transport strike (mind you, Italian strikes seem to be sort of... unorganised. They announce a strike, but then most workers seem to forget they were supposed to strike and work anyway)... Now, I will sleep.
Ciao,
OJ

*sigh*

Left for Uni at 9... Unfortunately, I wasnt overly productive, but when I left at 21.30, I did feel I am nearly prepared enough for my exam on Monday. After coming home, I cooked and spent the rest of the night cleaning the kitchen down to the last piece. It is now cleaner than it has ever been, I am sure...
The Antagonist has been home for a very short while, but the house is still on non-speaking terms. And I would like to keep it that way, because I have NOTHING to say. The good thing, however, is that the Antagonist hardly even enters the house anymore.
I also realise that my life is pathetic: this was a fcking Saturday... I am not even having a glass of wine (I have become a total non-alcoholic until the end of my exams). *sigh*
Ciao,
OJ

Studying makes the world go round

Another long day of Migration economics and its influence on the welfare state, and third century Sethian Gnosticism... (interesting combination, btw). But I went home early, because I wanted to be able to go to the Supermarket before closing time (9PM). When I came home and I had dinner, I attacked the oven. After spending nearly 2 hours on cleaning it, I gave up. The oven won, but it was a hardfought battle!
Also, the antagonist came home. But, since the entire house is no longer on speaking terms with that person, the person decided to depart from us again. At least, I got my stuff back that was borrowed (after I asked for it, repeatedly)...
Ciao,
OJ
PS I have developed my own 4-step-programme of studying: QTMA... It is perfect for summarising a paper: Question, Theory, Methodology, Answer (what do they ask, why do they ask, how do they ask and what is the answer)... I feel like the AA (with its 12-step programme).

3rd century Gnosticism

Well, after a good day of studying, I came home quite early, because I wanted to eat something, before going to a bar to watch football (Italy-Germany: 4-1). But, when I arrived home, there turned out to be a domestic emergency. A one-against-the-rest emergency where the "one" complains that we should all clean more. Of course, this is a reasonable request. However, not if it the request is made in a threatening letter (threatening with all hell breaking loose, strangely enough) and a number of very strong insults. So, while the "one" was not here, the other flatmates have discussed about the letter and the consequences. For me, it simply means that I will limit my communication with this "one" to bare necessities and a zero-tolerance for dishes and noise... We will see who is the biggest nuisance (mind you, I am hardly ever home). After all this stress, I actually watched the match at home.
Today, I went to Uni at 8.30 and came home at 23.00. I did some effective studying. And I read and reviewed the first 26 pages of Fedor's thesis. I feel like I now know everything about the role of Eve in third-century Gnosticism... This is not the case, because I still have another 36 pages to go! And considering that the first 26 pages took me about 6 hours, this means I have a fair bit to do still... But, as my exams start on Monday, I also wanted to get some studying done! So, when I came home, I once again cut my hair.
I know it was only recently that I did that, but I bought a professional shaver yesterday and I wanted to try it out... Well, considering that the investment (for the electronic shaving-thing, with different pieces to it, plus scissors and a comb) was only 6 euros, I guess it was a great deal!!!
Ciao,
OJ

Good News

Hurray, my money from my pension fund did not get lost!!! I was starting to get some doubts, as the money transfer took a week to make it to Italy, but today I received my 453 euros! That means I can pay another 3 weeks of rent! Woohoo!
For the rest, there isnt much I can tell. I overslept, so I didnt make it to Uni until 10.30. And I got home at 21.00, but not much else happened in between. Studying for the exams still...
Ciao,
OJ

No nws

I left the house at 8.30 and was back at 22.00. In the meantime, I studied. I really cant say anything else... :-D Except for the fact that I have repaired our Wireless Internet (THANK GOD)
Ciao,
OJ

Tandoori, anywone?

Yesterday I had a full day of studying. That was good, because I actually did get some work done. At night, there was a party for Michele's birthday. An Indian friend of Meghan came to our house to cook for us and lots of other people. It was a lot of fun and the food was absolutely amazing! Cedric and his friend had been Torino and joined the party at around midnight. At 4AM we decided that we had had enough and actually went to bed, feeling satisfied about the great party!
I gave myself a day of from life in general (and studying in particular) so I could sleep as long as I wanted. Unfortunately this meant I was awake by 10.30 anyway, but oh well. The rest of the day was spent on Internet and movies: the perfect day.
One small/major inconvenience is the fact that our wireless internet router apparently died. So we have now gone back to the old-fashioned way of having to use cables... Oh dear, I really, really, really hope it will get repaired soon. I didnt realise how addicted I am to Internet, but having spent half a day without it and half a day with sort of half-internet (well normal internet, but not wireless) was a good lesson for me: I am an addict...
ciao,
OJ

Last day of class for this Quarter

Well, this morning I went to class all morning: Professor Devillanova, so it was useless to be there... But of course, you never know whether he might suddenly learn english and become capable of teaching! So I went to see the show anyway.
Afterwards I studied for a while and at the end of the day I had a Reading Group with Tabellini. Having done a bit more studying afterwards, I wanted to go home. However, with the turnaround of the weather recently (from Sunny and Cold to WET), my 20 minutes of waiting for the tram were not a very happy experience... Especially because I was expecting my monther's phonecall at 21.00. Finally, a tram arrived, but it randomly terminated 4 stops early so I arrived home, wet and grumpy at 20.59...
The phonecall was nice (hearing the stories about New Zealand from where they just returned, brought back great memories of a great country!)
Finally, Cedric came home with a friend from Geneva who was staying at our place (Ced was staying somewhere else). And this friend turned out to be AWESOME. Working for the UN, having been based all over Africa and on his way to Sudan now (and he's Canadian, which is cool)...
ciao,
OJ

Presentation and stuff

This morning I started with a little bit of studying. I tried to read a bit in preparation of my exams as well. The exams will be starting in 10 days, so it is starting to be time to really study!
After lunch (a lovely asparagus pasta... someting I hadnt had before) it was time for our presentations in our class in Fiscal Policy and Economic Integration (that is only the name of the course, it is actually about Migration and the Welfare State), where I was presenting an absolutely SHIT paper of some Italian lady who used Generational Accounting to analyse the influence of migration on the fiscal sustainability of the Italian welfare state. Of course, this sounds very interesting (I know that isnt actually true for the majority of the world population), but it was so poorly executed that it actually became easier to present: there was enough shit to talk about! Some of the other presentations were interesting...
When this class finished at 18.00, I decided that I couldnt be bothered to stay at Uni so I went home. And I finally did manage to Skype with my brother: nice!
ciao,
OJ
PS Gerwin: Dont tell me that came as a surprise to you... The fact that your decision making process is different when you are not the one who is financially responsible for the decision, I mean...

Studied today. I actually missed a class because I didnt realise it was being taught... Oops. Oh well, at least I used my time productively, instead!
I also had some more visitors confirming their visits soon! I will now have continuous visitors from March 16 until April 3! The first ones will be my brothers who are arriving March 16, which I am obviously looking forward to!!!
I went home early today (I got home at 20.15) because I wanted to Skype my brother for his birthday. But it first took me half an hour to reinstall everything (mike, Skype, etc), because my computer has been making some trouble. Then when I finally had everything installed, I realised that my brother wasnt online... So it was all useless, anyway... A bit silly, all that...
Ciao,
OJ
PS For those living in Holland who might sometimes be looking for cheap flights, this might be a useful link to remember...

Uni: 9-21

Well, today I studied rather actively. I finished a paper on basis of my thesis, concerning Generational Accounting in Latvia and sent it to a Journal... We will see what happens in that area!
In addition to that, I finalised the preparations for my presentation on Thursday (on the relationship between Generational Accounting and Migration in Italy). And I went to a class, of course.
In addition to that, someone from ABN AMRO called to solve my frustrations from yesterday! So that is all settled (well, its not, but at least I know what they are doing now. And possibly, I might receive the costs of making a new bankcard back).
I came home at 21.30, but the house is empty. I think everyone may have gone to a concert, but I'm not sure... Oh well, whatever. I wanted to go to bed early anyway
ciao,
OJ

ABN

Went to Uni at 8.45 this morning. Got home at 21 o clock. Mainly studying, but also a lecture. Met some of the new visiting students. 2 (independent) Poles, named Dominic and Dominica: what are the chances, I ask you... But they are cool.
Afterwards I went home again.
At home, there was a letter waiting from ABN AMRO. Seriously, I just dont understand banks, I guess. The whole story: 3 months ago I was told that I should get a new bank card. No reason (my old one was valid for another 2 or 3 years): I simply had to. The card didnt arrive, however, and I contacted the bank. They then cancelled the card that had been sent and told me to request a new one. Once more, I said I didnt want a new one because my old one was working fine... But I should order one anyway. I then received a letter I should sign and send back. Of course the return enevelope could only be posted in NL (inconvenient). I was then charged for the new card, because I had personally requested a new one and it wasnt a bank order!
After I emailed about this, they told me I should simply call them about it (for 2 euros a minute, never mind: I will pay the charge). Now today I received the card. In the accompanying letter, it is explained that there 2 ways to activate it: (1) simply use the card anywhere (in NL or abroad) and it works on your old PIN. Or (2), contact ABN (1 euro a minute) and after some questions they might activate it with the PIN number I will receive separately.
Obviously (1) is 10 times more convenient and cheap for me, as well as the bank, then option (2). So therefore the bank decided that I should use option (2) and contact the bank separately with the new PIN number which will be sent separately (and probably gets lost in the mail). Seriously, why does ABN AMRO make things so fcking complicated????
Ciao,
OJ
PS How many have you been too??? I have done 18 out of 100 (and I will hopefully do the 11 in Italy reasonably soon as well)

Uni: brrrrr

So today was Sunday, but unfortunately it didnt live up to its name. It was mainly cold-day, slightly rain-day, but definitely not Sunday.
Of course I fell into the same trap as nearly every week (een ezel stoot zich...etc) of going to Uni on a Sunday. I should have known by now that the heating is switched off on Sundays, which really is quite a problem in Winter... As it gets absolutely freezing down there! So despite my four layers of clothing, I only lasted until 17.30 before getting too cold to do anything. So I went home, where I could at least see the last bit of the ice-skating (thank the lord it wasnt an Italian who won this time, because I am still given shit about the men's pursuit...).
Tonight I continued watching the extras on the LotR: They are so awesome, seriously!
ciao,
OJ

Korean food: awesome-o

Yesterday, I spent most of my day at Uni. First some classes, then a bit of studying... It wasnt very interesting, to be honest. At night, I didnt do much either, except for eating an absolutely excellent fish-based pasta that Micky made. It was gorgeous!
I then wanted to see how much I would sleep without setting my alarmclock (as I am not a general sleep-lover, like Fedor is, this is a good indication of how tired I am/was)... Well, I was quite shocked to find myself sleeping for 12 hours, in other words: 2 nights of sleep! But it did mean that by the time I got up, I couldnt really be bothered to go to Uni anymore. It also didnt really help that the weather has changed 3 days ago. After our 12 weeks of Sun and Cold (varied with Snow and Cold), we now have Clouds and Rain... Seriously, the first rain since November!!! But that wasnt really an extra motivation to go to Uni. So I stayed in and fucked around (and watched ice-skating, of course).
Tonight, we went to visit Meghans friend Ji Suk (yes, we sometimes make little jokes about her name) who cooked us a gorgeous and lovely Korean meal!!! I had been wondering what Korean food would be like: Spicy, mainly. Fuck me, it was spicy. But really good, nonetheless. Now the guys all went to Corso Como to go out, but i couldnt really be bothered to spend the money and I want to get up in time tomorrow to go to Uni and do some work. So I went home.
ciao,
OJ

I Luv Sushi... Seriously.

Another good night rest and I am completely fit again. I worked all day on my paper about Latvia. And it is now finished, so I will be able to send it in to a fringe-journal soon. Also, I am thinking about sending it in to a conference near Pisa. I havent been there yet and I would like to visit...
This evening I went for Sushi-aperitivo at Bento Bar with 2 friends. It was absolutely lovely. I LOVE SUSHI. Especially if you only pay 8 euros for a cocktail and then enjoy the buffet (with some sushi) for free!!! Hurray, this makes me sooooo happy. We then had another few drinks at my place (the Japanese bar is really close), but go to sleep early: tomorrow class at 9AM again!
ciao,
OJ

My precious...

Tuesday Morning early, I received a msg from Matt: he had an accident and wrecked his car on the way to the Airport in London... Thank God he was not hurt himself, but obviously he wasnt able to come to Milano. Very unfortunate, but understandable... He will be coming some other time. Instead, I went to class in the morning, but went home straight after again to spent some more time with Fedor. We watched the extended versions of The Two Towers and the Return of te King (the first LOTR we did on Sunday): LOTR is SO AWESOME!!!
But of course, it was quite late after that and we had to get up early again. After all, Fedor was leaving again today and I had to bring him to Central Station. I was so exhausted after all this that I only went to Uni for my 2 classes, before going home and passing out...
After having some sleep, I enjoyed Micky's lovely frittata and started tackling the Dutch tax form I received today. A total of 35 pages, with another 100 pages of explanations. Seriously, emigrating is not for lazy people!
I also found out I would be able to go back: I scored 6.8 on my "Inburgeringstest" (in Dutch)... Haha, some of the Dutch friends I heard from actually failed!
Anyways, I think it is nearly time to get some more sleep... Because I am still exhausted...
ciao,
OJ

Gasoline, no Loolapaloosa...

Well, on Saturday morning I got up at 7, to make sure I would go to the market, visit the supermarket and still get to Uni at about 10AM. Of course this was necessary, because Fedor was arriving in the afternoon and I wanted to get some studying done. It was quite good, except that Fedors phone turned out not to be working in Italy (we dont know why) and he couldnt contact me. But, thanks to the Internet, I realised this and I was able to anticipate his arrival and wait for him anyway. It was lovely. At night, we had a dinner party with a bunch of (mostly Indian) friends of Meghan. Ced made fish in the outside oven and we made pizzas inside. It was awesome. Afterwards, we wanted to go to Loolapaloosa, but it was extremely busy and they didnt want to let us in. So we went to Gasoline instead (thanks to Ced, we could get in for free: that saved 18 euros each). After that, we had another little afterparty at home. That was precisely the thing that killed me, so I was terribly hungover Sunday morning. But we still had our romantic not-quite-Valentines-Day-Breakfast... And we watched LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring. OH MY GOD, it is SOOOOOOO awesome!!! Really amazing!
This morning, we got up reasonably early and went to Uni, where we studied all day. And I may proudly say that I actually finished all that I needed to finish. So I was very very happy with that. We got home at around 8.30PM and just watched another movie. Now, I am tired (we are tired, but I am not allowed to say we... WE-relationships are evil...) and we will go to sleep. After all, I have class again tomorrow morning, whereas Fedor can sleep for awhile, before having to pick up Matt from the Station!
ciao,
OJ

Oi, fuckfaces!

First of all, thank you to all those bastards who apparently have absolutely no faith in me..... Goddammit.
Second, I arrived at Uni just after 9AM to do Tabellini-related shit. When I left, some time after 9PM, I was still doing Tabellini-related shit. Seriously.

More precisely, I was working on a problem set for most of the day. And I also did a presentation during a reading group. I got absolutely grilled by Tabellini, but I think I came through in the end... So I was very very happy about that (even though I said the methodology of the paper totally sucked, but it turned out to be partly based on work of Tabellini himself. Oops. But I just guess he likes people having a strong, own, opinion...)
I came home and could eat some more food Cedric made (he's on a roll, cooking wise). Now I will go straight to bed, because I need to start studying early tomorrow: Fedor will arrive in the afternoon, and I want to finish some stuff before he arrives.
ciao,
OJ
PS For you unbelievers, I didnt drink anything else than 2 1/2 liters of water today, whether you believe it or not!
PPS How cute is this?

First drink of the week!

Seriously. I had the most incomprehensible class ever today. The teacher had absolutely no clue what he was saying. The students DEFINITELY didnt have a clue what he was saying. And it lasted for 3 fucking hours!!!! Especially his "normally I am very structured, it is only today that I am not" was rather funny.
In the afternoon I had another lecture. After that, I studied until it was time to go for Aperitivo at Fashion Cafe. We were supposed to meet Meghan and her schoolmates there, but they didnt make it until an hour later (and we were already nearly an hour later than planned). But it was fun, anyway. So after a few drinks (my first drinks, this week, as I normally do not drink alcohol anymore during the week), Meghan and I headed back.
I also received an email from my friend Matt, who decided to postpone his visit with one day (arriving next Tuesday, instead of Monday). Very inconvenient, as I had planned everything around him arriving on Monday... I wont even be able to pick him him up from the Station, because I will be in class. Let that be a lesson for everyone: if you are visiting me, do not change your plans a few days in advance. I am actually busy, you know!
ciao,
OJ
PS Think of me tomorrow: I am having a Tabellini Marathon tomorrow.

Writer's block = good

I arrived at Uni a bit after 9, but as the problem set still wasnt there, I wasnt really able to do anything. I just read a little and spent my time waiting for the problem set. Finally, it arrived at 4PM!!! So, then I had to start working on it... It is quite challenging though and at 7.30PM I figured I had done enough. So I went home. At home, Cedric turned out to be in a writer's block (music wise). Which is good news, because his favourite cure for a writer's block is cooking. So when I came home, there was a lovely tajine waiting!!! Luvly!
ciao,
OJ

I arrived at Uni a bit after 9, but as the problem set still wasnt there, I wasnt really able to do anything. I just read a little and spent my time waiting for the problem set. Finally, it arrived at 4PM!!! So, then I had to start working on it... It is quite challenging though and at 7.30PM I figured I had done enough. So I went home. At home, Cedric turned out to be in a writer's block (music wise). Which is good news, because his favourite cure for a writer's block is cooking. So when I came home, there was a lovely tajine waiting!!! Luvly!
ciao,
OJ

The Good. And the Bad

Wow, I was damned productive yesterday. And I watched an amazing movie: And The Band Played On. Very heavy, but also very interesting.
Today, I was very unproductive (to compensate for yesterday) and had a little Italy-is-bad-day... First, I was going to have class at 11. At 10.30, my friend Fernanda comes in to ask why she was the only one in class at 9? So I (and others) were very surprised, because the class was scheduled for 11. After some research, it turned out to be a miscommunication between the different University Bureacracies. The teacer thought the class was at 9. The students thought it was at 11. And Fernanda was simply confused and went to class at the wrong time. But the (rather odd) conclusion to the story is that the teacher is pissed off with the students and he refuses to teach the same lecture another time. I thought this was weird.
My second little frustration today was my attempt to finally register with the Italian Medicare, named ASL. I went to their office (with Giovanna, to translate), but now it turns out that the Municipality lied to me and their temporary registration is not good enough. Apparently I need my official Milano ID card to be able to register with ASL. However, the official Milano ID Card was supposedly sent to me 3 months ago. So either it wasnt (but the Municipality bureaucracy would never admit that) or it was simply lost in the Post again.
Conclusion: I cannot register with ASL.
The final frustration is the fact that we are supposed to receive a problem set today (and I have not got a lot of time to work on it, because there will be many a visitor next week), but it is, as always, late!!! That is simply annoying.
On a more positive note, my scholarship arrived. So I can actually do groceries again and stuff! And I received a postcard from my parents who are in New Zealand (why does mail from New Zealand only take a week and actually arrives, when mail from Europe is always lost or delayed??? That is weird, isnt it?)
ciao,
OJ

Hairdressing... :-)

Yesterday I spent at Uni. And afterwards, I cut my hair... Oh yes, I cut my own hair! I felt rather proud, I must say. In addition to that, I saved 12 euros or something, which is more than I currently own, anyway! Also, I past out quite early yesterday: I guess I just was really tired. Today, I decided that I didnt have to got to Uni and gave myself time to chill. So I studied Italian (I hadnt opened the book in a very long time) and watched some movies. It was a good day. And now I am ready to got to sleep again, hoping that my bimonthly scholarship payment arrives tomorrow and going to Uni early as well!
ciao,
OJ

work: 9AM-8PM

Today, I started with a 9AM lecture again. It wasnt too bad. Not very good either, but certainly not the best entertainment at 9AM... I then tried to work the rest of the day (I did have another lecture in the afternoon), but it didnt go as well as I hoped. I was continually distracted (I decided to write an article on basis of my Master Thesis and to submit that to a Journal: this'll be my weekend's project). Finally, I left Uni at 8PM, to hurry to the supermarket and go home afterwards. My bimonthly scholarship should be on its way (I have now started using the very last 15 euros I posess) and hopefully will be here on Monday... Otherwise, I will have a significant problem (every single bank account I have has reached its utter bottom... Oh well: shit happens.
For the rest, I was happy to finally use a piano today for the first time in many months. None of my flatmates are here (which is rare, because most of them are rather house-bound and I have no idea where they are. Of course, this is the moment for lots of separate lights to break down... 3 sofar, tonight...) and I could finally use the piano that is in my Michele and Meghan's room. It is really quite good (the sound is very good), so I had a good time playing some. I took a book last week when I was in NL, so that is why I was really eager to try whether I could still do it!
ciao,
OJ

And back to Uni...

More proof that the year of the Dog is gonna be a great year! I passed my Game Theory examination!!! Hurray!!! It was only a C, but nothing more could possibly be expected. I am just very very very very happy to have passed it (which definitely wasnt the case for everyone)...
In addition to that, I was (finally) given a tutor for this year. And I got the person I wanted: Guido Tabellini! So that is more good news.
This morning I went to half a class of Migration, but the teachers sucks so much, that I decided to spent my time more efficiently (somewhere else). I stayed at Uni until 7.30PM, when I decided it was time to go.
There is something else I wanted to mention here: This is an absolutely awesome new website. It is related to the Music Genome Project. You can basically generate a radio station there on basis of some song(s) you like. It will then plat songs which share features with the song(s) you like... It sounds weird now, but it works extremely well. If you ask the programme why it plays particular songs, it will tell you for example that you simply like songs with a mild acoustic syncopation, acoustic sonority and major key tonality. I dont know what the hell that means, but I do indeed like the song!
So, check that out, because it rulez!
ciao,
OJ

Back in Milano

Well, unexpectedly so, I managed to get out of the country last Saturday... I had a 3 hour delay, but at least the airplane managed to make it out of Snowy Italy! Poor Fedor has thus also been waiting for me for 3 hours at Eindhoven Aiport, the poor dear. But it was obviously great to see him again!!! (24 days apart: VERY LONG).
At night we ate and enjoyed each others company...
On Sunday, we went to Groningen, where we met up with everyone. Great dinner at Cervantes and far too much to drink in the Internet Cafe. The next morning was not quite that good, because I was rather hungover. But we had to do other things again (visit people, shop, lunch, etc). We finally got out of Groningen halfway the afternoon. Back in Nijmegen, we went to see the new house of friends (VERY AWESOME new house, actually) and then to a party. Again, it was rather late (3AM-ish) and poor Fedor actually had to go to class at 8.45 AM... And he did! I am very proud of him!!! Obviously, I just stayed in bed...
In the afternoon we did some more shopping and then spent the evening at Fedors Mothers place.... And for a third night in a row, got quite drunk. At about 4AM we got home and realised that Fedor had to get up really early again. He was supposed to leave for work at 8AM... Unfortunately, we only woke up at 8.15. Which was also quite late for me, but I made it to Eindhoven fine (well, I felt shit, obviously, but I made it). After some more delays, I got back to Milano tis afternoon. I spent the rest of the day reorganising all the stuff I took from NL. The thing I have taken includes the 12-DVD version of the Lord of the Rings, which Fedor gave to me! Isnt he just soooo sweet??? I cant wait to watch that, but I guess I will wait until Fedor is here next week...
Finally, in the few days I was away from Milan, the weather changed from bad snow and cold to 12 degrees, sunny and warm: Spring! Hurray! I have also decided that all the shit things that have been happening recently, are now over, because we have entered the year of the Dog. Away with the Rooster, welcome to the Dog!!! Now, all will be fine!
happy Year of the Dog!!!!
ciao,
OJ

Fuck

Fuck, fuck fuck,
I am not sure whether I will be able to fly to Holland tomorrow. I has been snowing for 24 hours now and wont stop for another 2 days. There is about 30-40 cms of snow so far and the city is coming to a halt. Today, all flights have been cancelled. Tomorrow: who knows... I will at least try to make it out of the city into Bergamo. But I dont know whether the airport will be opened again.
At least it is nice and quiet at Uni today (the teacher and I were the only ones who made it to our 9AM lecture).
I have tried another source of money: ABN. Failed.

Fuck,
OJ

Short post: NOT good

Summary: Yesterday I was very productive.
Today Mr. Ranieri called me to come to his office. He then told me, with a big smile, that I could obviously not get the loan I was promised. And that he did not find any other ones.
I dont know where his smile came from, but it seemed rather inappropriate. The good news is that I do not have to pay back the first installment of my loan immediately(I couldnt have paid it back, because I have already used it to pay off another loan).
After this conversation, I couldnt see the point of working anymore so I went home to get drunk. I am working on it.

My Heritage

Studied a bit this morning, before going to class at 11. It was boring. In the afternoon, I had my first lecture by Mr. Galasso, who is teaching Political Economics (together with Tabellini). It was quite a shock to hear an Italian speak such good English... I had trouble understanding him, because he sounded so natively southern US... Shocking.
Afterwards I studied some more and went home around 7.30PM. Tonight I didnt do much, but I did discover this site, where you can sign up for free and they do a face recognition on photos you submit, which is then compared to their celebrity database. It was a good laugh, and I now know I look like lots of different people, such as Lord Kelvin and ayatollah Khomeini. Most notably however, the name that returned for each picture I submitted, was Orlando Blom... Haha, I will just take it as a compliment. Fedors pictures, yield nearly only women, especially Indian celebrities. And Madonna, everytime... haha.
ciao,
OJ

Useless weekend

This weekend was absolutely pointless. Yesterday I wanted to study, but I was simply too tired. Instead I went to the market and did my weekly shopping... For the rest, I watched movies and set at home.
Today, a bunch of friends went to Como. Obviously I didnt go, because I dont have any money. So I planned to go to Uni. Until I remembered that the University switches off all the heating on Sunday. So instead I stayed at home and studied for a while. I analyed a paper, but couldnt really get into it. For the rest, I didnt feel like do anything, so I didnt. I cooked. But thats it.
OJ

Rejected...

I started this morning with my 9 o'clock class in Industrial Organisation. It is seriously boring, that course, but Professor Polo, who is teaching it, is quite well-known. It is another course that I only take because it is supposed to be easy (remember: If I do a course I dont want to do, I may as well take an easy course). I worked the rest of the day, although I had my Tabellini Reading Group to go to at the end of the day.
I also received notice that a paper which I co-authored has been rejected (but will be reconsidered after quite some revision) by the Review of Income and Wealth. This is obviously unfortunate, but the editor wasnt completely negative (and one of the reviewers was quite positive), so that still has some hope.
Finally, during dinner tonight, I had an interesting encounter with a Danish product from 1992: Gayniggers From Outer Space... Well, you cant judge it until you've seen it, I always say. It is definitely interesting, to say the least!
ciao,
OJ
PS Never mind about hunting down an ABP Pension Fund friend anywhere. My 500 euros will be here in a month...

The Day After

OK, I have decided I will not think about my financial situation anymore (but if anybody knows anyone at ABP Pension fund, tell them they owe me 500 euros! And I need it now).
I am not sure whether I mentioned this already, but I passed my Corporate Finance. With a C (in Dutch: 6), which is worse than expected. After all, the only reason for picking this course for most people was the fact that it was supposed to be extremely easy. With one B, one B- (Dutch: 7) and 2 fails and for the rest Cs, this was definitely an underestimation! But I dont really care, because I passed...
Furthermore, the new quarter has started, with some "interesting courses". Today I had the first course in "International Fiscal Policy and Economic Integration". The main features of this course are the fact that it has nothing to do with either of these things (its a course in Migration Economics) and the fact that the teacher is absolutely shit. His English is shit, he was completely unprepared, taught at primary school level and doesnt understand English. Do I even need to mention he is Italian? Again, like with so many of the really shitty teachers here, he is actually a good researcher... But his teaching is shit. And his course is pretty awful too. But as the potential substitute course has been cancelled, it is actually compulsory... (for the field of Public Economics, which according to the teacher has nothing to do with his course...)
After his double lecture, I continued my Leontief research this afternoon. And tonight, I watched The Day After (1983), which is an absolutely amazing movie (but not for the faint-hearted, I might add).
ciao,
OJ

Inappropriate Solutions

Well, drinking myself into oblivion obviously didnt solve anything... It was a fun night out, which ended in having to walk home because I missed the last tram. I cannot actually remember doing so, but did wake up in my own bed today. So I probably walked.
Today I tried another solution for the problems: chocolate binging... This just made me feel sick (especially when combined with my hangover-headache. For the rest, it seemed kinda useless to get out of bed. So I didnt.
OJ

Some days, one should just stay in bed...

Seriously... I dont like the typical whining Dutchie, but today I think I am allowed to complain a little... I had the shittiest day in a very very long time (worse than last Friday).
This morning, my computer suddenly crashed (which it does regularly, so nothing strange there), but when it had restarted, it had lost all its settings. I managed to recover My Documents (THANK GOD), but lost all my computer settings, including all my internet links, passwords, desktop items, installed programmes etc, etc. I was not happy.
I then went to University, but quickly wanted to activate my new Dutch bank card. Of course, the new card was then immediately swallowed by the cash machine. I complained about it, was referred to someone else, was re-referred to someone else and after half an hour told to come back later... All this time I was in a terrible hurry, because I had an appointment at University. I was NOT HAPPY.
My appointment at Uni was at ISU (some organisation which is involved in student finances, and also somehow involved in my loan-thing). Mr Ranieri, who asked me to come and see him welcomed me to his office and casually mentions that a mistake has been made in my loan application. It should not have been granted. Because Bocconi only has arrangements for its Master students, and not the PhDs...

WHAT????

EXCUSE ME??? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!!

was my approximate response, after I recovered from my mild heart attack. "Oh, would that be a problem for you?" WHAT???? Why would I want to get the fucking loan in the first place, if I didnt desparately need the fucking money???

Well, the end of the story is that my loan will be cancelled (basically saying that I have to pay back money I have already used to pay off another loan with). But Mr Fcking Ranieri was going to try and look for me whether he could find any other kind of financing, after I told him that I would probably have to drop out if I didnt get a loan (which is not entirely sure of course, but it isnt possible to live of 820 euros a month in Milano). I WAS VERY VERY VERY UNHAPPY.

I finally did get my bank card back though, after going there with someone else. And I also know the reason why it was taken in: I was sent a card in the beginning of December, but had it blocked because it still hadnt arrived 1 1/2 week ago. And I then requested a new card. A few days ago, a card arrived, so I figured this was the new card, but I now know this was actually the card sent in the beginning of December, which simply took about 6 weeks to arrive. Makes sense, right? I did get confirmation from ABN AMRO that I requested a new card though. But now they ask me to send a written confirmation that I want a new card... But of course, their envelopes cannot be used abroad... Seriously, why have Internet banking, if you are going to ask for written confirmation of everything anyway? To say this in the famous words of Van Gaal: "ben ik nou zo slim, of zijn jullie zo dom?"
I AM NOT HAPPY!

And I was hoping to recover my computer now, but it seems a rather tedious and large task. So I will join my friends for Aperitivo soon and simply try to forget all about this mess that my life suddenly turned into.
ciao,
OJ

Pictures from Newcastle

Back from Newcastle

Saturday, I got up early to go and visit Bergamo. I wanted to take the opportunity of flying out of Bergamo at a reasonable time for a change (normally, I fly at 10AM, this time at 4PM) and have a look around. Well, I was quite impressed. Its not big of course, but it has a nice enough atmosphere and some lovely views from te Old City.



In the afternoon, I went to Bergamo airport and flew to Newcastle, where I met up with my friend Matt and Jo, with whom I used to live in Sydney. I hadnt seen Jo for just over 5 years and we hadnt been with the 3 of us together for about 6 years. Jo lives in Auckland, NZ, so she is only in Europe twice a decade, so I wanted to take this opportunity to actually see her.
We stayed in a Traveloge down the Quayside, which was absolutely brilliant. Very affordable and in the middle of all the clubs and bars. We chatted for a long time, had some Indian dinner and then hit the town. Went to a few bars and a club. It was lovely!
On Sunday, we were all very hungover and didnt get out of the room until 1PM. After a good brunch, we brought Matt to the station, because he had to go home again (his journey cost 3 times as much as mine: train travel in the UK sucks)
Matt had to work again today, so he had to get back to Coventry, and afterwards Jo and I quickly went shopping (bought the jeans I wanted in the first shop I went in to. So much better shopping in the UK than in Milano). At night, we had a quick bite and met up with Jo's friends Kirsty and Allan, with whom we went to the Cinema to watch Brokeback Mountain. It wasnt actually as good as I had expected it to be, unfortunately... But we had fun anyway.
Today, we got up earlier and went to the Baltic (the Newcastle version of the Tate Gallery). Afterwards I walked Jo to the station and waited around for a bit longer, before going back to the Airport. Smooth fligh back and now I am home again.
ciao,
OJ
PS Thanks everyone for your cards and emails etc for my bday. But I really dont celebrate it...
PPS I have some more pictures I want to add, but I will do that in a separate post.

Italy... The bad side.

Today, I was strongly reminded of two reasons why I dont like Italy (I do like Italy, but there are some things which just suck). One major reason and one minor. I will start with the minor reason, because it is stupid and I will let the anger boil up for another while, before discussing the major one.
This afternoon, I tried to go shopping, because I really, really, really need a new pair of jeans. But it was simply impossible! Italians have such incredibly bad taste in jeans... There isnt a single pair of normal jeans to be gotten here. They are all filled with holes and random scratch marks and the crotch is always between your knees. Normal-fitting jeans are impossible to get!!!
Right, this was something I had noticed before and I will get over it. My major reaon for hating Italy (Italians) today is the following: This morning, I had a very difficult exam in Game Theory (the most difficult exam offered in the PhD, it is said to be... I dont know). I started by making a sketch of the exercises I was able to do (4 out of 6) and then went on to write them down properly. After 3 hours, the exam finished and I had written down 3 questions (our of 6). I started on the fourth one, but obviously couldnt finish it, so I handed in my exam. After waiting outside for a while, together with the majority of the class (4 people), it appears that the 2 students left in the class (Italians) are allowed to simply continue writing. In fact, they are given 25 minutes extra (and guess what? It took me 60 minutes to write out 3 exercises, guess what I could have done in another 25 minutes?). After the 25 minutes, one of us actually went in to ask the Teaching Assistant to stop this, because we feel treated unfairly (Italians use relative grading, so your result strongly depends on the results of others).... My own estimations say I have about 80 our of 180 points now (probably not enough to pass) and I would have had 110 out of 180 if I had 20 minutes extra. This would probably be enough to pass. I explained the TA why I was pissed off about it, but his response was "Oh, I will take it into account when I check the exams". Yeah right! The Italians in this course, who happen to be his friends (and girls), and he will correct for the extra work they did in the extra time they had. That is simply not true.
One of the people who felt treated unfairly has already complained to the professor of the course, and of course I will do the same if I fail (which I probably will).

Now that I am writing this down, it seems not so important. But passing every exam is very, very important and the way we were treated today is just so WRONG... I simply pisses me off completely and ruined the rest of the day. This may also have had something to do with the fact that I went to Uni at 7.30 this morning (only to find that my breakfast, which I had accidently left at Uni last night, was behind a mysteriously locked door).
OJ IS NOT HAPPY
But, on the bright side, finally: Tomorrow morning I will visit Bergamo, if the weather is good. And considering the fact that we have had Sun and clear skies for about 3 weeks, it probably will be good. And in the afternoon, I am flying to Newcastle, to see my friends Matt (from Coventry, UK) and Jo (from Auckland, NZ). They are my former flatmates from Sydney and we havent been together with the 3 of us since then, so it will be so much fun!!! I will return Monday evening to Milano, so you will probably hear of me then!
ciao,
OJ
PS Damn, that was a long post. But I really am fucking frustrated!

Battigalli

Studying at Uni today from 9.30 until 23.00, for my Game Theory exam tomorrow. And since I just discovered I left my groceries at Uni (I just got home), I will go to Uni extra-early tomorrow, to have breakfast and continue studying until 10AM, the moment of Truth...
ciao,
OJ
PS One of te reasons why this particular exam is so important is the fact that the teacher, Mr. Battigalli is also the director of the whole PhD programme...

zzzzzzz

My Corporate Finance exam today, nearly killed me... It was actually reasonably doable (compared to the average opinion that it totally sucked, so thats good), but it completely drained me of all power to do anything. I did study this afternoon, but I was exhausted and went home at 18.30 already. I only have tomorrow to prepare for my Game Theory exam on Friday, so I am kinda stressing out. But first, I need to sleep.
ciao,
OJ

Miracles exist

This morning, I went to my local Banca Intesa Branch... Ms Fazio (whats in a name) who had forgotten all her English last time I was there, regained her ability to speak English. Unfortunately she had no idea what the loan was about, and apparently it was too close to the holidays, so the Bank was still sort of slow... But she will call me tomorrow to finalise the arrangements. So thats great.
The rest of the day, I spent at Uni studying Corporate Finance. My god, how much do I hate that course? It is seriously one of the most excruciatingly boring things I have ever done!
But my day was brightened by the unexpected arrival of my mother's christmas package! I had absolutely not expected to see it arrive anymore, but it did! And even better, it hadnt even been opened (so nothing was stolen). Of course, the Italian post did decide to throw with or, or stand on it or something, so all breakable things were broken... But I was just happy to see it arrive finally! And I am now the proud owner of a Christmas-tie that sings christmas songs!!! Very nice...
After studying some more, I went home at 8.30PM to enjoy the meal Micky cooked. It was nice. Now I am simply ready to drop down by a lack of sleep and OD of exam-stress. And tomorrow I will do my CorpFin exam (which is gonna be a disaster!)
ciao,
OJ

Banca Intesa: I LUV YOU

Well, the exam went really well. I want to score really high in this course, so I have spent a lot of time on it, even though I knew the exam was going to be reasonably doable, and it went well (I still spent the entire 2 hours in the exam).

But, more importantly, I had sent an email to Banca Intesa, asking how far they were in assessing my creditworthiness and received an email this morning that they were still working on it and still waiting for some confirmation from my University. In the afternoon, however, I received the final RELIEVING email: I will get my 15 thousand euro loan!!!!!!!!! I am so excited, you wouldnt believe it! I will go to their office tomorrow and sign the definitive papers. And then I will finally be able to pay my deposit (Michele is nearly goin bankrupt), will be able to pay the rent next month (without the loan: no way), will be able to buy at least some clothing and pay off the loan to my brother!!! I am so very very very happy!!!! So tinight, I took a few bottles of Bubbly and we celebrated in the flat... Now I am even more happy. The only problem was that I was so excited that I wasnt able to study for my Wednesday exam in Corporate Finance anymore. This is kinda shit...

In other good news, Michele went to the doorman (who has been here since a week) and asked whether we could receive the mail addressed to us (I dont really understand why you have to ask to receive the mail that is addressed to you, but well). So I received my mothers Xmas card: thanks, its lovely! And some other mail: very nice...

ciao,
OJ

Tomorrow: First exam

I feel like a real student again after two full days of studying... Today was not a lot of fun, as there is some sort of policy against heating on Sunday. So this basically meant that I was sitting at Uni, wearing scarf, coat and gloves while studying for Institutions and Development: Not good...
This was also the reason why I went home quite early (6.30PM): I was freezing!!!
But I think I am quite well-prepared for my first exam. It will actually be my first sit-down closed-book exam in 2 years, I think... But my preparations seem to have been enough. I am more worried about Wednesday's Corporate Finance exam, because I have hardly studied for that at all yet.
Well, send me happy thoughts tomorrow, and I will let you know what happened!
ciao,
OJ
PS Just another photo, made by Jorryt, that I wanted to add:

Happy Befana everyone!!! The city seemed dead today, it was completely deserted for this holiday. Of course, me and my PhD-friends were at Uni, because we had to study. It was an interesting day of studying, about which I cannot be bothered to elaborate. In between studying, I had contact with my banks. I sent an email to my Italian bank, asking them why there is no progress in my loan-situation. In addition to that, I received 3 phonecalls of my Dutch bank. I want them to send me another new bank card, because the new bankcard that was sent me was lost in the Italian mail... Which reminds me, I have recently discovered a way to increase the probability that a package arrives. You must always add the phone number of the recipient on the address box (how could I have been so stupid that I didnt figure that out myself)...
But anyway, I am now receiving a new bank card again. And I now have an international account team!
ciao,
OJ

Ciao Fedor... :-(

After one more day of studying hard together and enjoying an amazing meal cooked by my flatmate Cedric, Fedor actually left again yesterday. I was very sorry to see him go of course...
The rest of the day, I spent at Uni studying. And in this case, when I say studying, I mean "studying, interrupted with a few religious discussions every now and then". That is, I had a religious discussion on a forum and joined a new religion: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
After that, I was actually quite satisfied to be able to sit home and relax at night.
This morning, after I managed to drag myself out of bed, I went to Uni again to study for one of my exams of next week. I left relatively early, because I wanted to enjoy the first day of Sale (I have no money, and running out of clothing desperately: I only had 2 pairs of trousers left)!!! Unfortunately, I hadnt expected shops to close as early as 8PM. So I never even made it to H&M and got stuck spending 37 euros at Celio (for trousers, 2 tshirts and some other shit: not bad, right?).
Tomorrow is another strict all-shops-closed holiday (the Epiphany), so it will be a good day to study. For the rest, I am afraid I will have to wait until after the exams, before I can continue enjoying the Sale (I am actually prioritising)...
Finally, today Meghan returned from the States and we had a celebratory dinner for that. It is great to have her back and to see her so happy!!!
And as a finaly thing, I want to add a few of the pictures Jorryt took when he was here, because they are pretty.
ciao,
OJ

2006 has started...

Pffff, considering the fact that we were going to have a party at New Year's Eve, we spent Saturday shopping. Shopping in the Patsy and Eddy style! Box of red, box of white, box of bubbly.... We were properly prepared for a good party, although we didnt manage to get any studying done... Shit happens. At night, quite a few people actually did feel like a party. Especially considering the fact that most of my mates arent in Milano, right now. I was happy to get a crowd of 15 or so in the house. Enough to have a decent party...



I was also very happy to be able to put a proper bottle of Champagne to my mouth. Because some people took some real good champagne:

Well, after a few hours of party, we went to bed... In the morning, I cleaned up all the mess and then woke up Fedor with a lovely little breakfast. The rest of the day, we made the important decision NOT to meet our studying obligations and watch movies instead. In addition to that, we needed to finish some more bottles of bubbly that were left over. And today we finally went to Uni again. Had a good 11-20 day and are now home chilling...
Have an amazing 2006 everyone!!!
ciao,
OJ