She'll be a-comin' down the mountain when she comes.

I've been trying to scoop out a post on Lisbon but somehow until how I haven't managed to. Maybe it's the combined stress of EVERYTHING coming down on my head in these last two weeks (apartment, surgery, general feelings of unease) that I don't really want to bother.

So i'm going to "adjourn" for a bit more and hope it comes to me before the memories move on too much. I prefer writing freshly, though.

What it comes down to is that tomorrow we find out if we got our Montesacro apartment and i'm nervous for a lot of things, if it's really the right place for us, if financially it will work out, the comittment of buying all of this furniture together etc. etc.

I still can't get over how ugly the tiles are.

But i'm just really anxious to move out of my current room and start to share a space with Jacopo -- from the start even, while living apart has been appropriate for this first year of our relationship -- it's really becoming a big pain in the culo. Things got better when I moved closer to him and to my work here at Piazza Bologna -- and it will be eliminated entirely starting the first night of our dinner together in the new place. As sparsely furnished as it's gonna be for a few months... I can't really say where (floor? bed?) we shall be eating that first dinner.

That's in 20 days. My how time flies.

That's IF we get the place.

Tomorrow will tell all. And i'll write it first here.

I'm just looking forward to tonight and cuddling up and venting out in Jac's arms and just trying to let go of all of the awful stress of these past few weeks and relax and talk with him... I really just need to 'come down' off it, you know? And being with him is always the best thing for that.

Sigh.

When the going gets tough.

So the "landlord" of our would-be perfect appartment was arrested while we were in Lisbon. Apparently the guy rented the apartment for 10 days, showed it to lots of people, confirmed it to lots of people, took 1300 euro deposits from lots of people and was planning on escaping with the money. I'm not sure how it happened but he was reported to the caribinieri and they arrested him.

Thank god we never handed him any money, at least not yet.

We gave up the other apartment in Montesacro for this place.

What is, is.

Now, as for Lisbon, the first two days were nice even though neither Jac nor I felt very well--- but by day three Jac was full-blown sick with a neverending stomach flu (he's still sick, poor thing) and so we missed out on much. I'm still not feeling 100% so i'm going to hold off on writing my impressions of Lisbon for the moment. Maybe tomorrow.

Today i'm just sad and exhausted. I've already given up my current room from the 1st of July ... so apartment or no apartment I have to move out, and will probably move in with Jac for awhile, far, far away in Fidene. :-(

I guess I should be counting my blessings right?

Blessing 1: The surgery that I will have isn't super-serious and I will come out of it 100% healthy and fine -- and besides, all of the doctor visits and exams and expensive tests over the last few months have served to confirm that I am very healthy. That is truly a blessing.

Blessing 2: This asshole with the apartment never took any money from us before he got arrested.

Blessing 3: Because Jac's rent doesn't end till October i'm not going to be homeless, I can just go stay with him until we find a place.

Blessing 4: I didn't catch what Jac has. Thank god.

Blessing 5: I have a lovely, wonderful boyfriend that I love very much.

Blessing 6: OBAMA IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINEE AND HE IS GOING TO KICK MCCAINS REPUBLICAN ASS IN THE GENERAL ELECTIONS! WOOO

I'm going to have to keep repeating these to myself all day.

I wish there weren't such awful people in this world.

Last Train to Lisbon

Tomorrow afternoon Jac, Emma and I catch a flight from Fiumicino to Lisbon to spend four lovely days as guests of the Italian embassy there, as Emma's father is the Italian ambassador to Portugal.

Monday there will be a big party for the embassy to celebrate Italian liberation day.
I'm not even sure what Italian liberation day is all about -- but I do know that it means that Jac & I get to dress up all fancy. And that's all that matters.

This past month has been a real dream, between finding our apartment -- Jac's surprise birthday (went very well, he liked his gifts) -- this trip to Lisbon ... normally i'd be worried about something awful happening to balance out all the great stuff. Unfortunately that came yesterday, in the form of a trip to the doctor and the forboding shadow of a simple outpatient surgery in a few months. Keep in mind i've never so much as had a stitch. Much less been in a hospital for any length of time.

So thats the bad news. But I have a whole beautiful summer before I have to think about it, and there is a slight chance (very slight from what I understand) that it won't have to happen at all.

Fingers crossed.

For now let me just think about beautiful Lisbon. Post soon to come.

The World in Short

So much going on the in the world. Myanmar is destroyed by a horrific cyclone putting the death tolls way over comfort level (not that there is ever a comfortable level...) Austrian dad Josef Fritlz locks his 18 year old daughter up in a cellar dungeon for 24 years and fathers 7 children by her without anyone knowing, not even his wife... Billary continues to pursue the by now hopeless Democratic nomination -- which is making it increasingly difficult for her to bow out with grace... (I support Barack Obama) Roma is playing into the last game of the Scudetto after miraculous results yesterday between Inter and Siena (they tied -- Inter, if the earth has been spinning in the correct direction yesterday, would have won) and Rome ousted Atalanta 2 to 1 -- and noone can sleep well for an entire week because next Sunday, if Inter ties or loses with Parma -- and Roma wins with Catania -- well all-party-hell will break loose in Rome and you can expect to see some crazy pictures posted on this spot. The last time Roma won the Scudetto was 2001.

So all of this is going on and then there's little ole me in the world and my goings on and it's May and today Jac is going to sign/send the letter of "disdetta" (a letter you send to show you intend to end a contract) for the contract of his apartment -- so we can finally finalize the move-out date though we are open to any way of moving in together sooner. We're in some strange sort of hyper-in-love phase -- I am not quite sure why -- maybe it is because tomorrow we celebrate the anniversary of our first year together or maybe it's because we get how damn lucky we are to have found one another -- we've spent this entire weekend sort of reveling in that feeling and talking about our new apartment and plans. I am happy.

And then there is also the trip to Lisbon at the end of this month -- whooohooo! Plane tix are bought. We are leaving Saturday afternoon the 31 of May and will be back the evening of 3 June. I hope to do a lot of small trips this summer-- Jac and I have mostly decided to not do a summer vacation this year -- we're going to need the money to furnish the apartment and get settled in (we want an empty apartment -- a lot of apartments here are already furnished with old, ugly, out-dated, dusty furniture -- and we are faithful worshippers of IKEA). So it is kind of sad but considering that this means we can take a lot of smaller less expensive trips it's not so awful -- then for our winter vacation we'll go somewhere nice and sunny to make up for it (Cuba was thrown out as a possibility).

Yes, yes. I am happy. Life is good.