When I grow up I wanna be a...

Do you fell grown-up? I wonder if anyone ever truly feels grown up. I remember having a conversation with my Mom once in which she told me that she still looks in the mirror and expects to see her 20 year old self. For me its more of an internal drama. I still associate myself with the recent college grads and even college coeds. I've never been particularly concerned about the passage of time. Rob once told someone that he worked with that I wanted to be a wedding planner someday. The girl he was talking to (a 19 year old) gasped and said something to the effect of "but it's too late for her to switch jobs!" Rob and I laugh about that one quite often. Because it has never once dawned on me that my life holds endless possibilities regardless of my age.

But I still have high hopes that one of the things I might grow-up to be is a grown-up. There are certain things that I just cannot seem to master, despite all my attempts to be a grown-up. Those of you who know me may be surprised to realize that I actually act quite irresponsibly. I won't go into all the details, but here are a few examples:

• I simply cannot keep a clean house -- at all. Not just neat, but clean. Both adjectives completely evade me (despite my being able to keep a very neat AND clean office space.)
  
• I should not be able to own nice things. Nice things get ruined around me. Note to anyone shopping for Christmas gifts -- don't buy me nice things. I appreciate the thought but you actually give me guilt when I ruin/break the nice thing you gave me. A certain oriental rug comes to mind here...
  
• My best friend and I have always joked about being co-presidents of the Lazy Club. Oh, am I lazy... See all previous blogs about television -- nuff said.
  
• Procrastination is my middle name. See previous blog about my car.... Hello: 1800 reasons why procrastination is bad.

Oh, there are soooo many ways that I am not grown-up. So the question is... who here thinks I will ever grow-up? And who here thinks that they consciously recognize themselves as a grown-up and can tell me when they first realized this? The floor is yours.

Oh, Nemesis you

Last summer I started doing yoga. I loved it! It made me feel powerful, healthy, super young, plus it made me loose weight. AND I even felt more spiritually in tune with the universe (I realize how dumb that sounds). This winter I just sort of drifted. Secretly I blame Bikram yoga. Bikram ruined my cool. Bikram is my nemesis. I secretly believe that yoga is to me what George W. Bush is to the US. Until I impeach Bikram nothing will be right. So I find myself sitting here thinking -- I really need to do yoga today. And then thinking -- Naw, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is on. And as much as I hate Bikram, that's how much I hate Angelina Jolie. Yet I keep coming back for more. The endless circle.

Ciao!

I'm back! I know you all missed me. Rob missed me so much he a)learned to cook and b) started watching Jon and Kate +8 all by his lonesome. I had an absolutely fabulous time. Even though this was a business trip it really did not feel like one at all. It was a FAM trip meaning, you are to get familiarized with an area in order to better sell it. That's the best kind of business trip ever, because you essentially take a very busy tour with no free time.

Here are a few pictures -- and then I'll tell you about my providential incidents:

I actually had a really good time in Milan. You hear some wonderment in my tone because nothing has ever gone right with me in Milan. It's a city that just doesn't agree with me but this time -- I liked it!

Teatro alla Scala -- I used my Italian here with stunning results.


Gallerie di Vittorio Emanuele II one of the coolest shopping centers ever.


The Duomo, still under construction after 2 years but absolutely stunning.


I learned that you're supposed to make 3 wishes when you enter a church you've never been in (hello - the trinity!) Plus I lit some candles. So that's bonus.

Most of our time was spent in the Lake District. We stayed mostly in Lake Garda, but spent one night in Lake Como. Truthfully, I think Garda is more beautiful. It's untouched, whereas Como has just become over populated and complex. Plus Garda is much more accessible (less expensive, easier to drive around).

The view of Lake Como from my otherwise crappy hotel in Cernobbio. That bell tower looks pretty doesn't it? Two minutes after I took this picture I could still feel the vibrations from the bells ringing.


George Clooney's villa in Lake Como


Lake Como as seen from Villa Monastero with clouds at mid-mountain level


Lake Isole (a very pretty, small, remote lake that not many people know about)


The town of Sirmione on Lake Garda on a very, very rainy day.

So those are the pictures -- here's the providence. Usually when I go to work functions, I dread them, because the people are not always so nice. This time I met a bunch of people that I genuinely like and want to stay in touch with. The providential part is that I met someone who reminded me of Rufus, a dear friend of our family who recently passed away. Hanging out with him helped me feel a little more at rest (plus he's an Obama voter).


Tony, Maria and Don (the one that reminded me of Rufus) in the beautiful raincoats we all had since it rained everyday. This picture was taken in Varenna on Lake Como after a visit to Villa Montastero.

Then on the flight from Rome to Chicago, I sat next to a young, soon-to-be priest named Tom who was just heading to his ordination after graduating from (drumroll please...) the North American College in Rome, where my Dad went. Normally I hate sitting next to people on planes because I don't like talking during flights. But Tom and I talked for about 4 hours and it was kinda cool. To me it seemed providential -- like a little reminder that my Dad was watching out for me.

The Family Picture

Less me of course, who is the photographer for this particular moment.