American Dream

Docks, Stars and Horseshoes

I sit on the docks looking out at the slowly setting sun.  I try and focus, just me and my music.  But around me are so many people trying to do the same thing: watch the sunset in peace.  Why can't I watch the sunset in peace?  My foot start tapping, my fingers drumming to the beat of an off beaten tune.    I do the thing everyone does when they watch a sunset, I think  I think hard.  I think softly.  I think far.  I think near.  Splashing the Hudson waters with my feet I think about where I was and where I am.  What defines me?  When am I truly happy?  For right now, I am truly happy on this dock, right here, right now, isn't that enough?

Fresh to Death

We had to run.  No matter how early we ever try to leave for the train it always seems like I am running for a train.   Fortunetly, we did make it just in time with some tag teaming, one person parking and one getting the tickets, but we made it on the train which was the important part.  Anyway, every seat was full, of course, so we walked down the train until we found three seats in a car.  I sat down next to what was I later figured out was two girls pre-raging for their birthday, on the 12 pm train into Manhattan.  Now, I have absolutely nothing against day drinking, and I really can nothing bad about day drinking in strange places (the weirder the better), but Budlight lime?  Really?  That's where I draw the line.  Have some class ladies. 

Hurry Christmas, Hurry Fast

Break was wonderful, I only had a few short days and let me tell you they were jammed packed and I still didn't get to see everyone I wanted to.  I did get some stuff I really needed done though, I cleared out my closet again, the less stuff I have in general the better.  My opinion is if I can live months at a time without it, or missing it, most likely I don't need it and if I need it later in life I can just buy a new one.  So I need cleaned my room, getting ride of that skirt from middle school I loved and was "waiting to fit into again" (Ha) and those chatchski's that just were collecting dust with no sentimental value.  I felt better leaving my room this time around knowing I had just....  Less.  I did keep all my posters though, I have a couple, ehem, motivational posters from the movie Kick Ass.  I like being reminded each morning I get up that I can do what ever I set my mind to, and that I will kick ass at what ever I so desire to peruse...  the only caveat to that would be directions and maps(fail on all accounts).

The Case of the 24 Hour Layover

I arrived at the Florence airport with no incident.  That morning I packed up the last of my stuff trying to make sure I would have the simplest flight home as possible, ironic I know, but that was my goal.  I had just a small carry on and a small checked in bag.  I always get little butterflies when I travel about everything that could go wrong; is my bag overweight?  Will I have trouble at security?  What about my connecting flight?  What kind of fees will I have to pay for those changes?  What if my seat mate wants to talk the whole time? So I try and come up with contingency plans before I even leave my house (Can you tell I have had traumatic flights before?).

Thanksgiving #italygirlproblems

I bought a Thanksgiving Parmigiana instead of a chicken 

I once again, hit another hurdle: my first holiday away from my family as a working girl.  I was a little apprehensive as I come from a large, loud family.  My dad is one of eight, and they are all very Irish.  Meaning get together's - even something as simple as a first communion is usually 50+ people.  My mom is Italian - and we all know how that goes down.  40+ people, everyone in the kitchen telling everyone what to do.  This would have been the first Thanksgiving since my great grandmother passes, whose house we usually have dinner at.  I am not going to lie- nostalgia was hitting me like roundhouse to the gut - and that is a little tough to swallow and not show your opponent that you are crying like a little girl.

It's The Final Countdown

And so it begins -  my final hours before take off.  I have my rain boots tucked safely away, piles of individual packets of powdered Snapple and my bear (who I am unashamed to say has been to as many countries as I have) in my carry on.  Now if only my luggage would zip closed I would be golden.  The day has been crazy, I felt like was being stretched into a million different places trying to finish the long list of things I needed to get done.  Somehow I miraculously managed it because here I am sitting in my parents office typing away, as the house sleeps.

I came back yesterday to find all my plants had shot up over the past two weeks.  The morning glories took over - climbing on; the trees, the fence and the porch making a raucous mess.  My brother and sister where off enjoying their summers as kids should be and my mom took me to find shoes, and my dad and I finished the banking.  I deferred my phone, it was the only way to preserve my number but not pay to have a phone I would never use.  What that means is they freeze the number, I cant tell if I am relieved I don't have a phone or going through withdrawl of legitimately not having a phone any more.  I can handle not being on Facebook or my email for long periods of time( I may not like it but I can do it) but my phone is another story.  My mom didn't understand why I made such a fuss about keeping my number - she was voting to just delete it and get a new one when I came back.  Some part of me just couldn't let go, I can still delete it later if I so choose but for now my phone lies dormant surrounded by all the other things that didn't make the cut.  It looks a little like the island of misfit toys- I am sorry Buddha mug and shirt that I bought in the 5th grade its not that I don't love you but there is only so much room in my bag and I can't bring everything. 

Totally Necessary and Important Tangent:
I sometimes wonder how younger generations will deal with power outages without their phones or facebook or constant connection to their networks?  Not to go all Into The Wild or Armageddon on you but I am pretty sure that need be I could survive on my own for a while.  I would get lost as hell and never find my way back to anything and most likely eat something that (while harmless to most people) would end up killing me.  But for that one glorious week - I would survive like a champ. I am not so sure as to how these kids would do without power - because for all their life problems their is an App to solve them.  I digress, this is not a social commentary but the ramblings of a girl who had far too much coffee and went a little overboard on shoes.  I swear I never thought I would be that girl but show me a pair of Carlos Santana's and I melt like a Popsicle in July.  

Annnddd moving on.  Tomorrow should be interesting I am taking the train to DC which should take just over five hours, not the longest train I have ever taken but it is the longest train I am doing by myself.  I am bringing with me the card game Phase Ten and peanut butter.  This will be my go-to solution to any homesick crisis that may confront me.  A kid come crying to me about missing their parents and wanting to go home - I make them a PB&J, play some cards and have just chat with them.  Boom.  Done.
 
I know I am going to forget something so long as I have my passport and my credit card I am not going to worry about anything.  I find that thinking like that helps to have a calm flight and a relax traveling experience.

The Importance Family

My parents raised me knowing the importance of family, they believed that to be a fundamental building block to our character.  Family come first.  Friends come and go but your family comes forever.  If you donate to charities - first makes sure your family is ok - then you share with others (that is if you have a cousin who is homeless you find ways to help that cousin first before you donate to a charity).  Those and many other ways of thinking, are now just second nature to me.  I didn't realize until later in life that other family's don't operate how our family operates.  When our elderly is sick or in need - we hire in home nurses and have family move in or move them in with family.  We don't farm out the old to nursing homes.  Its just not done.  There is a deep respect for the history and life that was lived. 

I had dinner with my aunt my last weekend in Poughkeepsie, and she told me wonderful stories about my dad as a kid, and how she had watched all of us grow up - and how she grew up.  Before dinner was over she made me promise that I would be back for holidays, and to keep everyone updated.  She also gave me a piece of my grandmothers jewelry to remind me that family is always close by and that there will always be someone watching over me. 


So why should I ramble on about family for a paragraph - what does family and respect for family have to do with travel?  Travel and adventure may be about leaving everything you know and love - but its the family who supports who pushes you out of the nest to fly on your own wings for the first time - that makes coming home so sweet.

A Change of Scenery

Summer:

Its been such a whirlwind I haven't been able to think straight everything happened so fast I can't believe its almost over.  As I suspected at the beginning working 5 days a week with a rotating schedule, having graduation parties to attend, family events, and what ended up being a whole lot less time to sleep than I ever had to deal with (and I was a college student on the crew team) - my travels through CT were put on hold.  although I did visit more places than I blogged about whoops.  I had much less free time than I anticipated.

I did see so many things during my brief travels and definitely learned a lot about myself and Connecticut.  The main point that was really emphasized by not only the people I spoke to but also the culture of many towns was the importance of tradition and family.  When I boil down everything I heard from people around our great state family and tradition was the overwhelming sentiment.  Someday I think it would be a great project to pick up again as it was so interesting, a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be!  There are so many hidden gems in Connecticut than people give it credit for(myself included) and it can be extremely easy to discount as boring if you don't know where to look.

What: working in retail, visiting friends and living with my family this summer taught me was to have courage in my convictions and to be more confident in my decisions.  I made some friends, had some laughs and learned some new tricks.  Month's ago I used to joke that I wasn't going to leave college without a fight, I was actually at peace after I got settled back at home.  My School is just a bunch of buildings, but the college experience I loved and will miss is college; that is doing Teach-For-America in Newark, that is going to India for a year to study women in Rugby, that is going to Ireland to be a screen writer, that is working in the Manhattan, and the other million and one people doing amazing things.  That is what I will miss, and as I learned this summer- that college wont end just because we aren't living together in that physical place any more.

Fast forward two months of working long hours, seeing people every other weekend, and a sudden realization of my love of Iron and Wine and you arrive at the end of July.    

Thursday July 28th - I get a call offering me the job to be the RD in Florence

Tuesday August 2nd - I move into campus housing 

Sunday August 21st - I will fly out to Florence 

So in the span of four days I packed up my entire room, got my finances in order and went back to school for
training.  I lugged all my suitcases up one flight of stairs which was enough for me reconsider every single item I packed, there is no way I need all of those clothes!  Especially if I am going to not only have to lug them on a 5 hour train ride, through the airport, connecting flight, and up six flights of stairs.  No way Jose.  I tell anyone who asks about traveling is to pack light, you need a lot less than you think you do!  Only, I didn't take my own advise.  Everyone re-wears clothes when they travel and you can always buy clothes there.  However my logic in the extraordinary amount of things I packed (two of the largest suitcases I could find in JCPenny, a rolling carry on, side bag and purse all packed to the brim) is that.... and how do I put this delicately.....  I am not of average size.  I have on occasion (in jest of course) been compared to an Ent (a mystical tree in the book series Lord of the Rings) for my contemplative nature and tall stature.  They don't exactly carry Ent-sized clothing in European stores as the average size woman I overshot by 8 inches before my freshman year of college.  My choices are very limited when I comes to replacing the simple things like shoes, and pants which most people don't think of as difficult items to buy - I may just have to develop a stronger friendship with the mail-room than I ever anticipated.  As for now though I feel like I have everything packed and ready for blast off at the end of August.  

Foods I am packing:

Diet Snapple Peach Ice Tea

Peanut Butter

VitaCraves    

Music I am listening to:

Mika - Kick Ass

Radar Brothers - Horses Warriors 

Labrinth - Let The Sun Shine