So, on the way to Italy, I watched 50 First Dates which was surprisingly very good. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler actually acted quite well together. I liked it a lot. I almost cried. Once again, I am a sucker.

Elba Island was very beautiful. I liked the people a lot. It wasn't a big city and touristy place like Rome or Florence, so not many people spoke English. I kind of liked it that way. At first, it was really hard to deal and kind of embaressing, but we (my parents, aunt, uncle and I) got the hang of it and managed with our Italian. I mainly used Spanish because it was good enough.

I ate a lot of gelato at a restaurant called Cipolla at the city on top of the hill close to us (Rio Nell'Elba, I think.) It was only one euro, so I took hardcore advantage. There was an old guy and a younger guy that served the gelato. I named them Gelato Man and Gelato Man Jr. Gelato Man knew English quite well, I think conversationally. Gelato Man Jr. was a bus boy/waiter. He was kind of quiet, but very nice. Haha, he had to deal with us and our Italian-English and then when he finished giving our coffee, some German tourists came along and started talking to him in German. The poor guy; all languaged out. He gave a "I don't really understand heh heh" smile and waved his arms in front of him as a "I don't speak German." It was funny, but you had to be there.

At our resort place, every night there were activities held by an entertaining staff from AinstAin, which I never really understood what it was. I guessed a dance club scattered around Elba Island because there were posters on shops with AinstAin and then a map with their locations. But I wasn't really sure. Anyhow, I was the only one out of my family to go to the night activities. One night I popped up (I think it was the Baby Dance...don't ask) on the terrace and the MC (his name is Andre, he turned 27 about two weeks ago) pointed to me and boomed in his MC voice "Signorina! Prego!" (Miss, welcome.) Then I got scared and ran away. But then my dad and uncle wanted some beer, so I went with them even though the cafe was on the terrace so then the staff pulled me down and made me dance.

It was worse than you think. I couldn't dance. I just couldn't. They don't dance like we do in America. At least, not at that time. They had exact steps and I was like "crap!" because I didn't know them. Not to mention the really cute, but short, guy that kept on saying "bonjourno" each time our family passed him was there. Oh man. He was on the staff as well. His name is Davide, which is a very popular name in Italy. He's 21.

It's hard to tell age in Italy because I'm American and I'm used to teenagers my age looking my age. But the people in their early and mid twenties look my age, and I look like theirs (probably because I'm quite tall compared to them.) So it causes some complications because that means a teenage girl gets hit on by older guys in their 30s, and is kinda disgusting at times. And if the girl's mother notices, it's just not good.

But the dancing turned out okay. I got taught how to Salsa by Valentina (she's so cute!) and some other dance move by Chinzia (she's cute, too.) I can still hear Chinzia's voice saying "un due tre quattro." Davide danced with me...fweeeh! But, um, I can't describe it. It's a ballroom hold- arms around the waist and hands above chest level. He was really fast and did I lot of spins and clumsy me kept on freaking out, so I screamed "no bailo! no bailo!" He looked kind of shocked and confused, so we just stood there and talked. I don't even remember what we talked about. I just remember how his fingers were still on my hips and I was like "shit" because my uncle and dad were on the terrace watching me. And then he asked my age and I was like "shit" because I had to tell him I was 17, and then came the usual explanation "17! I thought you were 24 or 25." And it's like yeah yeah...well, you were wrong. Then Sergio (older dude, 42) came along and said something to Davide in Italian and he muttered something about thirst and tired and went away. Shyeah.

The next night was Casino Night. Dad and I went, but Dad left later. I recognized many people from the night before. Most were parents of the many kids there- all who pretty much worshipped Davide (he liked kids a lot.) Valentina and Davide painted kids' faces, Chinzia was watching the token exchange, Andre was the roler for roulette, and Sergio was the marker placer. Dad got a few tokens and gave it to me. I started winning. I'd put my marker down and boom! The marker was placed in its vicinity of four (I always put my marker on the cross sections.) One win after another, my 35 points turned into 230. It was crazy. I don't even know what I did. Well, maybe. I started noticing a pattern where the ball kept on landing, so I placed my marker on a cross section where I thought it would maybe land. That's it really. But I kept winning, and I guess that's all that really mattered. People started putting their chips around mine and on top of it. The moms kept on talking to me in Italian, so I just smiled. They kept on exclaiming my luck and making jokes with hand gestures. Sergio was all "whoa." Anyhow, didn't win money. The person who had the most points won a prize. It was an AinstAin hankerchief and swimming trunks, which I gave to Herb because I had no use for them =P Sergio taught me the Barracha. Good stuff.

A cabarette. Some of it was mimed, so I understood it. It was pretty funny. One of the scenes took place on a beach, and a guy (Andre) was checking out a chick (Valentina) sunbathing. He tried to impress her and get her impression by shaking his umbrella and changing into funky pastel pink-blue trunks. Then she got up and tapped a stick because she was blind. I understood most of the Italian scenes except one, where it took place in a cafe or something. Bwah. Davide juggled and blew fire. They did something with the kids. I didn't really get it. They put them into flower costumes (which I thought was funny because they were all little boys) and made them read jokes to their parents. Then they gave little shoutouts to their parents over the mike, which was really cute. Stayed for the dancing. Talked to Valentina a lot that night. I think I bonded with her the most. She was also surprised I was 17, as was Sergio who thought my dad was my boyfriend (even though he looks quite young) and I started crying "mi papa! mi papa!" and he backed away in a bow with his hands pressed together in apology. I showed them a picture of Herb, which was pretty much his eye and a few strands of blonde hair. Valentina told me she was 21, and the youngest of the group. Her birthday is on April 27. In Italian, she told me she was a Taurus, and put her fingers to her head like horns and made a bull gesture. I told her I was, too and we were like "sweet awesomenisity!" except not with that phrase. We talked about popular names. I told her in the US (they call it America) Christopher, Sarah, Andrew and others were popular. Valentina, Davide and Andrea in Italia, as I later witnissed. I wish I could remember what else we talked about. I should've kept a journal there.

On the last day, everyone (the people with me) were asleep in the afternoon. So I went to the pool and sat there, listening to Booyaka IV. I watched the swallows above me, there must've been about 30. I was surprised none of them pooped on me. They skimmed across the pool and drank the chlorinated love. It was pretty awesome. I think I was a swallow in a past life.

Soccer Night! But my dad, aunt, uncle and I went out for dinner on Rio Nell'Elba, so I didn't get to go. However, all of Italy must've been watching...duh. Italy vs. Switzerland. They scored a point and the whole island cheered. It was awesome. Came back for the dancing, of course. By then, I knew their dances pretty well. Sergio pointed out that I wouldn't stop dancing. The mothers had taken a liken to me and talked to me a lot (I miss them already.) I talked to a girl my age, her name was also Valentina. She spoke English very well. She is from Milan. She said her friend went to Kansas as an exchange student and said it was very boring. I pointed out it was Kansas. We also talked about clubs, and how she was surprised she couldn't enter a lot of them because of her age. The mothers were shocked. It cracked me up. Then we told them that the drinking age was 21. Haha. They looked like it was the end of the world and they were going to faint. Seriously. But it was very amusing.

Davide was also with us (standing next to me...aaaah!!!!) and I saw fishes hanging from his fanny pack. They were Dory, Nemo and Marlin from Finding Nemo. I looked at it and said pesche which is fish. Dunno, for some reason, I had been obsessed with saying "pesche" each time I saw a fish.

Davide: Si, un pesce.
Me: Signor Pesce
Davide: Signor Pesce?! (rattles on in Italian about being Signor Pesce and mimicks something on a phone. The mothers laugh) I give you a pesce.
Me: No no! (I hide behind Valentina) Es triste!
Davide: Triste? Perque?

I try to explain it in English, Italian and Spanish and he still doesn't get it. So I look to Valentina for help. She and the moms explain the plot to him in rapid Italian and he still doesn't seem to get it. Nevertheless, he takes off Nemo and says "Pesce will go to America." Then he looks at Dory, pets it and says "mio pesce." Valentina points to it. "Se quillama Dory." He looks at us with big eyes and strokes it once more. Then Davide left because he was thirsty and went to the bar/cafe. So I talked to the moms and Valentina more. One of the moms also spoke English very well. She told me she wanted to understand it. She was really nice, had two sons. She lives around Florence. Anyhow, I looked at my watch and it was 12:15, so I decided to go. Everyone gave me the double-cheek kiss, and I gave Valentina (the older one) a big hug. You know, lift her up from the ground. She yelled "ayuda! ayuda!" and so Sergio jumped on top of us too. Andre laughed. Then I went to the bar/cafe to say bye to Davide. He seemed very tired. We did the double-cheek kiss thing and I told him "voy a dormir." He seemed a little surprised. He told me he would be there around 10 for a farewell for the people leaving, but I said we were leaving at 9:45 so I probably wouldn't see him. Then we did the double-cheek kiss thing again and I left. I was surprised my dad didn't come for me as he did for the previous nights.

The next morning, I did indeed see him. I checked out for my family at the reception area and I saw him hanging out with some kids. I didn't say anything because I was kind of afraid. Of what, I don't know. But I saw some moms on the terrace and so I said high. Shyeah, did the kiss thing. Then I yelled "Ciao, Davide!" and he waved and said "ciao." I told him "gratzie para el pesce" and he said "I will go to America and find you." Ha, that'll be interesting. As he said that, I made up my mind and slipped the ring I wear on my left finger and threw it to him. He caught it (I was sure it would drop) and looked at it in his palm. If you know me, I ran. Well, jogged backed to where I thought my family would meet. Davide yelled gratzie and I said prego. Umm, yeah. My family wasn't there so I freaked out. I asked some old women in really bad Italian if they had seen the people standing there. They said no. So then I went back to reception and saw dad. And Davide. Blah. Then I left. On the boat, I saw more of the moms and their kids. And there were more ciaos. The youngest son of the mother who spoke English well was holding his big brothers hand when we deboarded at Piambino. I had seen him stare at me a lot, especially on Casino Night, which was a little unnerving. I bent down and asked him "como va?" He just looked at me with big eyes and nodded his head, which I took as a "pene pene" (okay, like asi asi in Spanish.) So cute @_@

Oh! They played "Enloquéceme" by OV7. Mom, my uncle and I were at the Reception because she was making sure everything would be ready for check out the next day. Davide and Andre were there. I've just realized how much I've run into him. My uncle and I had seen them at Rio Marina at il mercato while on the bus. I hit Davide on the arm with my book (he said "owww" and I said "lo siento." Haha, so abusive) and told him we saw them at Rio Marina. My uncle patted him on the back where AinstAin was written in red. They were like "ooh, yeeeeaaah" in an Italian way. Then they said something I don't remember. Then my uncle left and it was just me (great.) Then "Enloquéceme" started playing and I told them in really bad Italian "yo se este canzion," then "I know this song...en mi classe de Español." Then something like "it brings back memories" and then I fake cried. Davide put his arms out and said, in English, "don't cry!" and Andre laughed. He laughs a lot. But it's nice. I found myself lip-singing a lot and Andre chuckled some more. Uhh..yeah, that's it.

It was kind of sad leaving Elba Island. I had the most fun there. Booyah grandma. So, I'm gonna end my Italy trip here for now because it's just too much.

I Am a Sucker
Thursday, June 3, 2:54 pm
"Peacekeeper" by Fleetwood Mac

I watched Awakening with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. At first, I thought it was Patch Adams because it had Robin Williams dressed as a doctor, but nothing was really funny so I was like "hmmmmm." Anyhow, I cried an insane amount. More than any movie I have ever seen in my whole entire life. It was happy, then it was sad, then it was happy. Haha, I cried when Robert De Niro woke up and then when everyone else woke up. Then when he wanted to go out the door, and I was sobbing from when Robert De Niro and the chick danced to the end. Oh man, I'm so weak.

Bwah, I need to watch Patch Adams.

The poetry presentation went well. The teacher signalled the "3 minutes more" card when I had just started my explication of "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath. I was like "shit" and started freaking out cuz I had a ton of stuff to explain. But it went well, nonetheless. Yay! Now everything's pretty much done except for the annotated bibliography which I'll be okay with. A bunch of people were freaking out in APUSH. I feel a bit guilty for being so lucky with what I'm researching because I'm not looking at sources like journals, old newspaper articles, etc. like everyone else has to. At least, just for this assignment.

The End of Junior Year...
Tuesday, June 1, 7:15 pm
"Elephant" by BoA

...really sucks. We have so much crap to do. Okay, so it's not really crap. But we've been bombarded with a ton of work. Annotated bibliography, poetry presentation, social justice presentation. So, I guess we've known about it for wuite a while, but it's like "aaaaaaaahhh!!!!!"

Holy crap, my poetry presentation on Sylvia Plath is this Thursday and I still haven't made an overhead of the poem I'm explicating. I haven't even expicated yet. And it's an insanely long poem. I'm going to die or something.

Kill Me Now
Sunday, May 30, 8:24 pm
"Think Twice" by Eve 6

Oh shit...this song. Jamie, where are you when I need you?

At The Moment
Saturday, May 29, 11:24 pm
"Deep in the Sweet Water (Joseph Bishara Mix)" by Rasputina

I really want to swim. Right now. Maybe in someone's concrete backyard or a hotel. A rectangular swimming pool with lights under water. There are little dug outs besides the wall with ferns and birds of paradises. The water will be cold at first, but the moment I dunk my head in it, I'll somehow get warmer. There will be a buzz of electric lanterns or vending machines.

It'll be a nice, clear night. I'll be floating on my back and see a few bats fly above me. Then I'll hope they don't poop on me. I'll glance to the side to see a few windows lit up, maybe see someone lean out the window and wave. If they whistle, then I'll flick them off and run. But that probably won't happen. Then maybe I'll take over the world.

Damn you, Rasputina, and your water motifs.

I Should Blog...Right About...Now
Saturday, May 29, 9:17 pm
"Boom Boom" by Chayanne

I'm honestly bored at the moment. I really shouldn't be, seeing I have a Social Justice and H. English presentation to put together, as well as a paper for English and APUSH. And...oh shit...I should start my college resume.

It's probably because my cat is sleeping on my lap. I probably don't want to move, cuz then she'll get all hyper and makes worse. Haha, she's falling off.

Anyhow, shyeah. Uneventful day. Woke up, played Pokemon Ruby. Yeah, my Battle Tower record is 46 straight. This one trainer broke out a Latias and I was all "wtf?" cuz super-legendary Pokemon such as Latias/Latios and Rayquaza aren't allowed. Mofos. I pretended to be doing homework. Yeah, that was fun. Each time one of my parents passed by, I'd pick up a book for my APUSH annotated bibliography thing.

Wow, I honestly think I played Pokemon Ruby the whole day. Haha. Well, I did some html too.

Doo doo doo. Okay, I'm done.

...oh yeah, SENIORS '05!

Panasonic Rechargeable
Tuesday, May 25, 7:35 am
"They" by Jem

Hey guys, I'm blogging. Isn't that just exciting? Yes. It is. As Herb has pointed out, it's been almost a month since I last posted. And here I am. Wahoo.

Don't know really what to say. One-acts went well. Last week, held a meeting with the writers of The Management, went to the park blocks and Saturday Market with Herb and my parents, went to the Thespian induction only to learn that I didn't fill in the Thespian application sheet because I thought the Lettering sheet and the Thespian sheet were the same. So started bawling my eyes out in front of the Keller because of my damn Prednisone, but then Herb came and made it a bit better. Fell asleep at my Auntie Donna's party. She has a nice bed. Went to a 1st communion. Theophilos. Shyeah.

Yeah...I know I screwed up on the layout.

I have 2 fanlistings I need to put up asap. Bleargh.