hi friends! sorry i can´t write more but i´ve just finished writing a blog entry on my new blog so please feel free to check it out! http://renouncerejoice.blogspot.com/ . All is well with me and I hope with you as well, wherever you may be. Thinking of you, my loves, always!
con amor! carmella
Showing posts with label Carmella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carmella. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Friday, 26 June 2009
χαιρετισμός αργκό !
Lovelies! The subject of this post is "hello most loyal friends!" in Greek! I'm still in utter disbelief that I'm here, but anyway... I missed my day, and I am so sorry! We actually got to Greece at the beginning of the week but internet has been hard to come by and also, I have been a very busy bee and I've barely left the boat.
The trip to Greece from Italy was blissfully relaxing. We meandered our way down the Italian coast for a few days, passing by the island volcano of Stromboli, swimming off the coast of Capri, and sailing through the straight of Messina at dusk. There are 3 of us on-board, my dad and I, and a French crew my dad's age named Jean-Philippe. During the trip, we each had two shifts a day of 4 hours (mine was 8-12 am and pm) where we were on watch - basically, we have to make sure the boat doesn't run into a tanker and sink. Pretty straightforward. When I wasn't on watch, I was doing a variety of things, none too exciting: sleeping, reading (Omnivore's Dilemma, Of Love and Shadows, a book about the Camino, Nat'l Geographic magazines), writing, dreaming up Watson ideas, listening to my dad's crazy adventures of his youth, sitting at the bow watching for dolphins (none came! very sad) . . . that's about it really.
By the weekend, we had reached Greek waters and Monday afternoon, we squeezed our way through the Corinthian canal and headed for our final destination - Athens (or rather, Pireaus, which is the port city just outside of Athens). As idyllic as life at sea may sound, life on land sucks for a sailor. Getting to shore means you have to do all the things you couldn't do at sea, like CLEAN EVERYTHING and fix all the things that have broken en route, etc. My life here at the marina has not been very inspiring. Mostly a LOT of manual labor, all day, in the hot son - scrub, rinse, polish, wax, repeat. In a few days, we'll get to do some sightseeing (although I've been doing a little bit already here in the marina, and let me tell you, Greek men are quite the lookers, especially the one working on the boat next to ours. Dark features, olive skin- I'm a big fan.).
I'm still feeling like a huge dunce who can't speak the language, or read the alphabet for that matter, but that's okay. All is well in the land of Zeus and friends. It was most lovely to catch up on all of your lives - I miss my babyloves! Next Tuesday, I'm going to France to spend a whirlwind 24 hours with my friend Laura, then I'll be London-bound, and then America! Expect a phone call (or for me to show up at your door - Cait, Rachel, Julian, Dan, Megan, others?!).
αγαπάω (love),
Carmella
The trip to Greece from Italy was blissfully relaxing. We meandered our way down the Italian coast for a few days, passing by the island volcano of Stromboli, swimming off the coast of Capri, and sailing through the straight of Messina at dusk. There are 3 of us on-board, my dad and I, and a French crew my dad's age named Jean-Philippe. During the trip, we each had two shifts a day of 4 hours (mine was 8-12 am and pm) where we were on watch - basically, we have to make sure the boat doesn't run into a tanker and sink. Pretty straightforward. When I wasn't on watch, I was doing a variety of things, none too exciting: sleeping, reading (Omnivore's Dilemma, Of Love and Shadows, a book about the Camino, Nat'l Geographic magazines), writing, dreaming up Watson ideas, listening to my dad's crazy adventures of his youth, sitting at the bow watching for dolphins (none came! very sad) . . . that's about it really.
By the weekend, we had reached Greek waters and Monday afternoon, we squeezed our way through the Corinthian canal and headed for our final destination - Athens (or rather, Pireaus, which is the port city just outside of Athens). As idyllic as life at sea may sound, life on land sucks for a sailor. Getting to shore means you have to do all the things you couldn't do at sea, like CLEAN EVERYTHING and fix all the things that have broken en route, etc. My life here at the marina has not been very inspiring. Mostly a LOT of manual labor, all day, in the hot son - scrub, rinse, polish, wax, repeat. In a few days, we'll get to do some sightseeing (although I've been doing a little bit already here in the marina, and let me tell you, Greek men are quite the lookers, especially the one working on the boat next to ours. Dark features, olive skin- I'm a big fan.).
I'm still feeling like a huge dunce who can't speak the language, or read the alphabet for that matter, but that's okay. All is well in the land of Zeus and friends. It was most lovely to catch up on all of your lives - I miss my babyloves! Next Tuesday, I'm going to France to spend a whirlwind 24 hours with my friend Laura, then I'll be London-bound, and then America! Expect a phone call (or for me to show up at your door - Cait, Rachel, Julian, Dan, Megan, others?!).
αγαπάω (love),
Carmella
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
buongiorno di Italia!
Hola amicos, from the land of pasta and pizza! After a long and harrowing journey across the country (from San Diego to Boston to NYC, with an overnight stop in Boston that involved delicious food, great company, and some very dangerous mojitos!) and then across the ocean blue, I finally find myself safe and sound in La Spezia, Italy, aboard the Marianna, the barca a vela (sailboat!) that my dad works on. (For those of you who don't know, my dad is a sailboat captain and every once in a while I join him to help out on the boat and deliver it to a new place - in this case, Greece.)
Sorry for all of those parenthetical interjections, but my mind is a bit of a mess at the moment. I'm a bit overwhelmed to by the language barrier here; I've never really spent any time in a country where I couldn't easily communicate with the people. I can read most of the signs and string together a few simple words to get my point across, but the minute anyone speaks to me, it just goes way over my head! I feel completely dumbfounded and helpless, and the intense jet lag is certainly not helping...
My dad seems to have become a local, which means his Italian is fantastic and his driving is terrifying. So far, Italy has been mostly a blur from the passenger seat. I wish I could get out into these hills and take in the sights, smells and sounds of this incredible place, but no can do. We're on a tight schedule! I arrived on Sunday in Pisa, my dad picked me up, we saw the tower (it's leaning alright!) and then we drove to Florence to meet up with my sister and her friend. They're traveling around a bit before they start their summer jobs in France working at an English camp. Florence looked awesome (Megan, was that where you were during your time in Italy?) but we only had time for a quick walk around the town, then dinner and gelato - YUM. (My dad's favorite word in Italian? Assaggiere, which means "to taste", and he uses it quite often at all of the gelato stands.)
Anyway, we're aiming to leave tonight or early tomorrow morning and it should be about a week-long journey to get to Athens. It's been 3 years since my last sailing trip, so we'll see how long it takes me to get my sea legs back! Hopefully we'll get to see dolphins (my favorite part about sailing) and we'll be passing by several Greek islands so maybe I can convince my dad to stop for some swimming!
Below are some pictures of my life as of late. The first two are from San Diego. Rosie and I loving life at YOGURTLAND (not to be confused with yogurtWORLD) and the next one is of Windansea at sunset, a beautiful beachy cove just a few blocks from Rosie's apt! The last two are from my first sunset in Italy, at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.
multo amore!! Carmella
Sorry for all of those parenthetical interjections, but my mind is a bit of a mess at the moment. I'm a bit overwhelmed to by the language barrier here; I've never really spent any time in a country where I couldn't easily communicate with the people. I can read most of the signs and string together a few simple words to get my point across, but the minute anyone speaks to me, it just goes way over my head! I feel completely dumbfounded and helpless, and the intense jet lag is certainly not helping...
My dad seems to have become a local, which means his Italian is fantastic and his driving is terrifying. So far, Italy has been mostly a blur from the passenger seat. I wish I could get out into these hills and take in the sights, smells and sounds of this incredible place, but no can do. We're on a tight schedule! I arrived on Sunday in Pisa, my dad picked me up, we saw the tower (it's leaning alright!) and then we drove to Florence to meet up with my sister and her friend. They're traveling around a bit before they start their summer jobs in France working at an English camp. Florence looked awesome (Megan, was that where you were during your time in Italy?) but we only had time for a quick walk around the town, then dinner and gelato - YUM. (My dad's favorite word in Italian? Assaggiere, which means "to taste", and he uses it quite often at all of the gelato stands.)
Anyway, we're aiming to leave tonight or early tomorrow morning and it should be about a week-long journey to get to Athens. It's been 3 years since my last sailing trip, so we'll see how long it takes me to get my sea legs back! Hopefully we'll get to see dolphins (my favorite part about sailing) and we'll be passing by several Greek islands so maybe I can convince my dad to stop for some swimming!
Below are some pictures of my life as of late. The first two are from San Diego. Rosie and I loving life at YOGURTLAND (not to be confused with yogurtWORLD) and the next one is of Windansea at sunset, a beautiful beachy cove just a few blocks from Rosie's apt! The last two are from my first sunset in Italy, at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.
multo amore!! Carmella
Saturday, 13 June 2009
who loves the sun?
forgot to post the beautiful picture of my red bean brownies (which I still have a few of in the fridge....have they gone bad by now? hmmm)
anyhow, here it is:
in other news, carmella just called me from JFK, on her way to sail the world with her dad from pisa to athens. i'm steaming with jealousy, especially since my weekend plans only include an asian side of the extended family schmooze fest in santa monica. i don't really know any of these people, nor do i really speak chinese, nor do i really have this strong sense of family that makes me want to get to know or be known by this family i apparently have, all of whom look same. also, santa monica is a long, gas-wasting drive. and i'm lazy.
however, despite my slothful handicaps, i've been getting into some lovely walks lately, around my sea foamy town, with happy waves crashing into rocks, baby seals burrowing into the sand, irrigated parks sucking water from the colorado basin. i used to really hate san diego, and i'm still wary of spending my time here, but i have found new ways to appreciate the place, by looking through tourist's eyes, and exploring the city's natural and artificial wonders more actively. i always have a more interesting experience when i dig for treasures in the desert than when i sit around and passively receive...which generally means watching tv and eating popcorn with cheese powder. i have carmy to thank for this new enthusiasm.
it is also interesting to note, that as soon as carmella left, our overcast 65 degrees and cloudy problem came back. hm. who brings the sunshine? because it isn't me.
anyhow, here it is:
in other news, carmella just called me from JFK, on her way to sail the world with her dad from pisa to athens. i'm steaming with jealousy, especially since my weekend plans only include an asian side of the extended family schmooze fest in santa monica. i don't really know any of these people, nor do i really speak chinese, nor do i really have this strong sense of family that makes me want to get to know or be known by this family i apparently have, all of whom look same. also, santa monica is a long, gas-wasting drive. and i'm lazy.
however, despite my slothful handicaps, i've been getting into some lovely walks lately, around my sea foamy town, with happy waves crashing into rocks, baby seals burrowing into the sand, irrigated parks sucking water from the colorado basin. i used to really hate san diego, and i'm still wary of spending my time here, but i have found new ways to appreciate the place, by looking through tourist's eyes, and exploring the city's natural and artificial wonders more actively. i always have a more interesting experience when i dig for treasures in the desert than when i sit around and passively receive...which generally means watching tv and eating popcorn with cheese powder. i have carmy to thank for this new enthusiasm.
it is also interesting to note, that as soon as carmella left, our overcast 65 degrees and cloudy problem came back. hm. who brings the sunshine? because it isn't me.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
hellos from sunny D !
Hello all you pretty people, from sunny san diego! (although it is a bit overcast at the moment - and we are confused.) Rosie and I have been having a lovely time over the past few days, just living the life, you know how we do. It's been a fantastic mix of touristy things (sunday in balboa park - all the countries at the international village were giving out free food from their country!), laziness (sleeping at LEAST 11 hours every day and watching our way through the entire season 2 of Weeds - so good!), and athletic ventures (long walks on the beach, hiking up mountains, etc). Our looong sleeps have also given us ridiculous crazy dreams, so we spend a fair amount of time analyzing those as well. (Last night, Rosie went on a ride in a white van and talked philosophy with strangers and I spent all night at a raucous jewish (?) party).
We've also spent a substantial amount of time eating (how surprising), thinking about eating (duh), and concocting delicious food creations (a la jess joy/rose) from essential ingredients such as FROZEN YOGURT (a southern california staple) and avocados (obvi). We just made awesome quesadillas, complete with guacamole and refried beans - for breakfast. Last night, Rosie, her parents and I all went to eat 99cent fish tacos at the local mexican eatery and then saw Up in 3D! I wish I could have taken a photo of all of us in our glasses - we looked baller! Tonight we're thinking about participating in UCSD's undy run (it's their finals week) and then hitting up a few gays bars with rosie's hilarious friends. Should be a good time (if we don't get arrested). Wishing you guys were here to bask in the glorious california sunshine!
hella hugs, Carmella
ps - just thought you should be up to date on the latest cute baby video!
Monday, 1 June 2009
on the road again
Hello pretties, it's so lovely to have this blog to look forward to and know that each time I check, there's more than likely going to be news from one of my favorite girls in the world. What a lucky treat! We'll never be apart! everrrrrrr.
okay. Anyway, I'm sitting in my new humble abode, in a sweet little room on the second floor of a pretty white house on Montague Road, 92 montague rd. to be exact. I've only been here since yesterday (hey, I had to milk Chapman for allll it was worth - I just couldn't leave, and who can blame me!) but it's been a nice stay so far. Something about the way the wind whips around the yard, or the way the birds chirp outside my window. I can't explain it but it feels right, you know? (although, it would feel better if I could see your pretty faces in this scene!) There's a park across the street with baseball and basketball games everyday, and Puffer's is a short bike ride away. There's a porch to watch the summer storms roll by and a big tree swing in the yard. I can't complain. except... well I'll get to the complaining in a minute.
As a sidestory, I went to Reunion this weekend! I've never attended and I'm glad I was well enough to get out of bed (finally!) and make it to some of the lectures and events (and parties!). My favorite activity was people-watching all weekend, seeing old friends catch up on life as their kids ran around the freshman quad making trouble. There were some skeezballs and lotsa oldies and tons of cuties and everything in between. I went to this talk given by a couple from Class of '89 who now own and run their own dairy farm just 35 minutes away in the Berkshires (Sidehill Farm). It was crazy because I see them sell their yogurt every weekend at the farmer's market and I never realized they were Amherst alums. It was pretty awesome to hear their story, and they were such a sweet adorable couple - ah! All they did was talk about their cows and how they each have their own personality quirks and whatnot. Adorbs. Sat night, bluesox alums performed and of course the Zumbyes too, and then everyone hit the tents. Pete and Jay (a band formed of amherst alums who I'm sure a lot of you have seen play before) played for the class of 2004 tent and that was the most happening party of the night, for sure. Alums from all the other tents flocked over to groove and jam with us young folk, and it was pretty hilarious. Anyway, all in all a good weekend - what a trip to get a glimpse of us in 5, 10, 50, or 65 (!) years.
Otherwise, my complaints. Well, it's just one, and it's pretty dumb. Like I said before, I'm all settled into my life here at 92 Montague road. I have a porch godammit. But does that really ensure anything? stability? no! I leave for Boston tomorow, and then, I'll be on the open road of adventure once again. I'm almost not ready to leave so soon, but I guess I'll just have to suck it up and get out there! The bags are packed, I'm ready to go. Next time I post I'll be in California with Rosiepants and then off to another shore, another ocean, another adventure. Until then, happy travels to all you munchkins out there who are heading out on your own adventures, wherever they may take you this week.
ready for flight,
kisses from Carmella
PS I've left you all a present on facebook, in the form of a photo update! <3
okay. Anyway, I'm sitting in my new humble abode, in a sweet little room on the second floor of a pretty white house on Montague Road, 92 montague rd. to be exact. I've only been here since yesterday (hey, I had to milk Chapman for allll it was worth - I just couldn't leave, and who can blame me!) but it's been a nice stay so far. Something about the way the wind whips around the yard, or the way the birds chirp outside my window. I can't explain it but it feels right, you know? (although, it would feel better if I could see your pretty faces in this scene!) There's a park across the street with baseball and basketball games everyday, and Puffer's is a short bike ride away. There's a porch to watch the summer storms roll by and a big tree swing in the yard. I can't complain. except... well I'll get to the complaining in a minute.
As a sidestory, I went to Reunion this weekend! I've never attended and I'm glad I was well enough to get out of bed (finally!) and make it to some of the lectures and events (and parties!). My favorite activity was people-watching all weekend, seeing old friends catch up on life as their kids ran around the freshman quad making trouble. There were some skeezballs and lotsa oldies and tons of cuties and everything in between. I went to this talk given by a couple from Class of '89 who now own and run their own dairy farm just 35 minutes away in the Berkshires (Sidehill Farm). It was crazy because I see them sell their yogurt every weekend at the farmer's market and I never realized they were Amherst alums. It was pretty awesome to hear their story, and they were such a sweet adorable couple - ah! All they did was talk about their cows and how they each have their own personality quirks and whatnot. Adorbs. Sat night, bluesox alums performed and of course the Zumbyes too, and then everyone hit the tents. Pete and Jay (a band formed of amherst alums who I'm sure a lot of you have seen play before) played for the class of 2004 tent and that was the most happening party of the night, for sure. Alums from all the other tents flocked over to groove and jam with us young folk, and it was pretty hilarious. Anyway, all in all a good weekend - what a trip to get a glimpse of us in 5, 10, 50, or 65 (!) years.
Otherwise, my complaints. Well, it's just one, and it's pretty dumb. Like I said before, I'm all settled into my life here at 92 Montague road. I have a porch godammit. But does that really ensure anything? stability? no! I leave for Boston tomorow, and then, I'll be on the open road of adventure once again. I'm almost not ready to leave so soon, but I guess I'll just have to suck it up and get out there! The bags are packed, I'm ready to go. Next time I post I'll be in California with Rosiepants and then off to another shore, another ocean, another adventure. Until then, happy travels to all you munchkins out there who are heading out on your own adventures, wherever they may take you this week.
ready for flight,
kisses from Carmella
PS I've left you all a present on facebook, in the form of a photo update! <3
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
chapman forever!
Hi all ! Hope everyone is doing well wherever you are, from Connecticut to España. We really have exploded from the center (Amherst) and out into the world in all sorts of crazy directions, like a firecracker! I'm so excited to here about everyone's adventures.
These days, my life is not so exciting, I must admit. But it has been wonderfully and lovefully lazy, which I've needed badly. (Well, except for that time when we walked to Noho... ) Mostly, I've been hanging out around Chapman with Selena Rosie and Cait. Jess left to NYC with Bill yesterday and Becky arrives Friday from Florida (via train!). Yesterday I became super sick randomly. I had it all from a raging fever to full body aches. It was not a good time, but luckily I had lots of pretty people to lay around the house with and recuperate. Cait made us an awesome veggie chicken pasta dish and Rosie made a wicked good chocolate cake with blueberries - muy delicioso! I drank lots of liquids (throat coat!) and after a good nights rest, I'm feeling much much better (but not good enough to go to work today.. hehe). Cait and Chris just left to take Rose to the airport and the Xie family has departed on their way down South. The house is weirdly quiet - no sounds of Selena padding around the house packing up her life (buttcrack and all!), no Tony to be found in the living room watching sketchy R.Kelly videos, no offensive curse words to be heard coming from Rosie's room...
I'm sitting in Becky's disaster of a room downstairs. Outside, the birds are chirping sweetly and the rain is coming down lightly. The greenery outside her window is the lushest I've ever seen it. Maybe later I'll take a walk into town. Or lie in bed with Cait all day reading. and so, the point of this story is-
I miss you guys.
chapmanly yours, Carms
These days, my life is not so exciting, I must admit. But it has been wonderfully and lovefully lazy, which I've needed badly. (Well, except for that time when we walked to Noho... ) Mostly, I've been hanging out around Chapman with Selena Rosie and Cait. Jess left to NYC with Bill yesterday and Becky arrives Friday from Florida (via train!). Yesterday I became super sick randomly. I had it all from a raging fever to full body aches. It was not a good time, but luckily I had lots of pretty people to lay around the house with and recuperate. Cait made us an awesome veggie chicken pasta dish and Rosie made a wicked good chocolate cake with blueberries - muy delicioso! I drank lots of liquids (throat coat!) and after a good nights rest, I'm feeling much much better (but not good enough to go to work today.. hehe). Cait and Chris just left to take Rose to the airport and the Xie family has departed on their way down South. The house is weirdly quiet - no sounds of Selena padding around the house packing up her life (buttcrack and all!), no Tony to be found in the living room watching sketchy R.Kelly videos, no offensive curse words to be heard coming from Rosie's room...
I'm sitting in Becky's disaster of a room downstairs. Outside, the birds are chirping sweetly and the rain is coming down lightly. The greenery outside her window is the lushest I've ever seen it. Maybe later I'll take a walk into town. Or lie in bed with Cait all day reading. and so, the point of this story is-
I miss you guys.
chapmanly yours, Carms
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)