My Obsession with Italy

I obsess about Italy.  I get a bit loopy when I read about it.  Or watch a movie set there.  Or flip through recipes in La Cucina Italiana.  A stack of old issues sitting on my desk floats in my peripheral vision, begging me to trek to the places hiding between their covers.

I travelled to Italy once.  A whirlwind 2 week trip in 1995 from Milan to Bergamo to Venice to Florence to Pisa to Rome to Pompeii and finally to Amalfi.  Each place amazed me.  Each charmed in its own way.  I want to go back and spend months in each, becoming a local, and absorbing everything Italian.  Then I want to add to my list of destinations: Sicily, Puglia, the Cinqua Terre, Genoa, the Lake District, Abruzzi, and all the small towns scattered between.  That is my dream.

Of course my husband, stepdaughters, dog, four cats and two best friends must accompany me.  I dream big.

For now, I read and write about my obsession while Big Daddy (dog) chews on my Groucho glasses.  And Q-Tip (cat #4) steps lightly from sewing machine to filing cart to desk, scattering her long white hairs along the way.

Ciao!

What have you been doing for 9 months?

August 18th, 2006.  My last day working in a high stress, technology management job.  One day, I had it; I knew the time had come.  And I know many can relate.

Luckily, unlike most, I was actually able to quit.  My crazy, wonderful husband supported me 110%.  And due to the Great Tax Day Blaze of 2005, wherein we lost many belongings thanks to a neurotic hairdryer, we had savings from our insurance settlement.  Just enough to cover unpaid time for me to do all the things I wanted but couldn’t while dwelling in the stress of my job.  Woo-hoo!

I planned to do them all.  Write a book!  Make cheese!  Start a gourmet food company with some friends!  Invent things!  Create things!  Read like a crazy woman!  Organize every nook and cranny of my home!

That was over 9 months ago.  Wow.  Anyone else thinking about how time flies?

I did make cheese.  Home-made ricotta.  It’s actually pretty easy!  And very good.  Check out the book that supplied the techniques and the recipe.

Also, check out Leeners, a great company for supplies, whether you are making beer, wine, cheese, or bubble gum. 

I did write a novel.  It’s true!  I’m a NaNoWriMo winner!  Thanks to my writing teach (read her blog at http://planetpooks.wordpress.com), I found out about the National Novel Writing Month’s annual November contest challenging you to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.  You’re supposed to turn off your inner editor, and just let the words fly!  I knew midway through the month that my story was disjointed and crappy, but I plugged on.  I wondered how people working 40 to 60 hours a week could succeed.  It was fun and a bit painful, but I managed to meet the word count.

I worked on a gourmet food startup company with my good friends Deb and Beck.  We are on hold for now.  But one day, we will be the next Ben and Jerry.  And Jerry.

There are also many things I didn’t do.  One I regret, but only a little.  I didn’t organize a damn thing.  Nope.  Kitchen cabinets still a mess.  Girls’ rooms still filled with clothes that no longer fit.  Garage overflowing with too many gardening tools.

Instead, I drove my bee-yoo-tiful stepdaughters to school every Monday morning and picked them up at dismissal each Monday afternoon.  No after school care for them!  (At least not on Mondays.)  I made lovely meals for my family without having to start them after a harrying day at work.  I ran errands during the week without the normal weekend hordes.  And I cleaned my own toilets.  Yup – talk about bringing one down to earth.

I have new perspective now.  Even though I am now in the market looking for work, I will never go back to a job that stresses me every day and keeps me awake every night.

We all know that life is too short.

What would you do if you had 9 months with only your dreams to chase?

I am a blogger.

A week has passed since I created this blog.  My first. 

During that time, I carefully considered what to write for that critical first post.  Surely it had to be profound, right? 

During that time, I also questioned whether I am a blogger.  Or not.  I decided time will tell.

So, you may ask.  Why did I decide to do this?  Peer pressure from my writing class?  (They all have great and interesting blogs.)  A misconception that people will want to read what I have to say?

Nope.  (Well peer pressure may have a little to do with it…)  I will blog because I want to learn to write.  To be more observant of what is around me.  To use that information as seeds that will grow into my writing.  Someone, some day, will be glad I started this blog.  It will detail my journey.

If you subscribe to this, forgive me for wasting your time.  And thanks for listening.