Time to resurrect this thing.
To all you loyal readers: I’M SORRY.
Some people (e.g. Shanaynay) brought it to my attention during the fall semester that I’ve been severely behind in updates.
But even more people, including some who I didn’t even know read this, mentioned it over winter break.
No more excuses. Even if my life becomes completely boring, I will keep y’all in the know. And like I told a certain Shannon the other day, if there are any really good stories from the fall, I’m sure they’ll make some sort of appearance eventually.
So I’m leaving last semester behind for now.
Break went by very quickly but was lots of fun. Looking back, I guess a lot happened: a few what’s-new phone calls with former Florentines; Christmas in Jersey with the aunts and cousins; Kara’s wedding; Chipotle burrito lunch before the Visi girls skipped down; Gonzaga alumni networking meeting; New Year’s at National Harbor with the family; Ryanne’s third 21st birthday; lots of miss-you phone calls with members of The Borgasm; Irish pub draughts and dinner with Fiorella; video game sleepover with Ludovic and Kairos story exchange with Stephane; dinner at Max’s with him and Ryanne; Union Station reunion with Steven; ciao dinner with Ona, Claire, et al; lots of catch-up phone calls with old friends; and of course lots of quality time with Bella (aka my little sister, aka the bitch, aka my family’s pet dog), Mom, and even Dad.
Sorry, Shan. I’m not over the “rote lists” yet. I’ll take this time to write you a shout-out for being so good at keeping our phone dates.
So, I was seated next to a very interesting person on the flight to Frankfurt. (Adrian and I traveled separately.) Does anyone remember the story about that time I flew back to New Orleans for lagniappe semester after Adrian’s graduation and decided to pound several beers back with the generous gentleman next to me? Yeah, it was like the opposite of that. The man sitting next to me, let’s call him John, was on his way to Japan to give a talk about missionary work and then going to the Philippines to do medical missions there. How crazy is that? His original flight plan got cancelled, so he got flight got rerouted through Germany. Which didn’t faze him because he speaks German. And Japanese. And Portuguese. And Spanish. And Italian. And Spanish. AND APPARENTLY TAGALOG?
Believe me, I quizzed him on the last three because I was somewhere between being very impressed and very skeptical. I'm sure there are more, but those are the only ones I heard.
But yeah, he works in Virginia, has a wife, four kids who he’s teaching these multiple languages, and still finding time to spread God’s word and love across the world.
Now I’m not going to get all preachy or anything but... kind of person who makes you reconsider your life and life plans, eh?
We only started talking after breakfast, but I had noticed how considerate and polite he was earlier to fellow passengers and the flight crew. I didn’t sleep at all the whole way, so I wish I had abandoned the subpar movie selection and struck up a conversation earlier. (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, anyone?)
But yeah, that last hour flew by. This is the kind of thing that I consider too fortuitous to be just chance or luck. It’s that trend that every time I’m completely lost in my life, the right, and often most unexpected, person (sent by God?) comes along. So I’m pretty grateful for that.
At this moment I have a rather long layover in Frankfurt and then back to Firenze without my biological family (save for Adrian) and without my huge Borgasmic family. And I miss both dearly. So whether you’re from one of those groups, a Tulane drinking buddy, a Gonzaga brother, a Visitation lady, or someone who’s known me even longer, I hope not to disappoint you any longer. Props to you if you’ve made it through all this.
And Shannon, don’t expect to get mentioned this many times ever again until we reunite. I HOPE THIS ENTRY’S CONTAINED ENOUGH RAW EMOTION FOR YOU.
(I apologize to everyone for the caps. People shouldn’t write when they haven’t slept.)
I'll do another update sometime this weekend regarding move-in and the first night and my new roommates.
For all you travelers and stalkers, here’s my schedule for the year.
January 28 to May 17: Firenze, Italia
May 17 to May 20: Washington, DC
May 20 to May 27: New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana
May 27 to July 16: Washington, DC
(June _ _ to _ _: Long Island and/or in NYC, New York?)
July 16 to July 21: Nashville, TN
July 21 to August 5: Washington, DC
August 5 to August 10: Chicago, IL
August 10 to ___________ _ _?: Washington, DC
If we haven’t already planned to meet up sometime in there, I hope to see you sooner rather than later. Feel free to send me e-mails since the phone rates are kind of atrocious. Ciao for now.
To all you loyal readers: I’M SORRY.
Some people (e.g. Shanaynay) brought it to my attention during the fall semester that I’ve been severely behind in updates.
But even more people, including some who I didn’t even know read this, mentioned it over winter break.
No more excuses. Even if my life becomes completely boring, I will keep y’all in the know. And like I told a certain Shannon the other day, if there are any really good stories from the fall, I’m sure they’ll make some sort of appearance eventually.
So I’m leaving last semester behind for now.
Break went by very quickly but was lots of fun. Looking back, I guess a lot happened: a few what’s-new phone calls with former Florentines; Christmas in Jersey with the aunts and cousins; Kara’s wedding; Chipotle burrito lunch before the Visi girls skipped down; Gonzaga alumni networking meeting; New Year’s at National Harbor with the family; Ryanne’s third 21st birthday; lots of miss-you phone calls with members of The Borgasm; Irish pub draughts and dinner with Fiorella; video game sleepover with Ludovic and Kairos story exchange with Stephane; dinner at Max’s with him and Ryanne; Union Station reunion with Steven; ciao dinner with Ona, Claire, et al; lots of catch-up phone calls with old friends; and of course lots of quality time with Bella (aka my little sister, aka the bitch, aka my family’s pet dog), Mom, and even Dad.
Sorry, Shan. I’m not over the “rote lists” yet. I’ll take this time to write you a shout-out for being so good at keeping our phone dates.
So, I was seated next to a very interesting person on the flight to Frankfurt. (Adrian and I traveled separately.) Does anyone remember the story about that time I flew back to New Orleans for lagniappe semester after Adrian’s graduation and decided to pound several beers back with the generous gentleman next to me? Yeah, it was like the opposite of that. The man sitting next to me, let’s call him John, was on his way to Japan to give a talk about missionary work and then going to the Philippines to do medical missions there. How crazy is that? His original flight plan got cancelled, so he got flight got rerouted through Germany. Which didn’t faze him because he speaks German. And Japanese. And Portuguese. And Spanish. And Italian. And Spanish. AND APPARENTLY TAGALOG?
Believe me, I quizzed him on the last three because I was somewhere between being very impressed and very skeptical. I'm sure there are more, but those are the only ones I heard.
But yeah, he works in Virginia, has a wife, four kids who he’s teaching these multiple languages, and still finding time to spread God’s word and love across the world.
Now I’m not going to get all preachy or anything but... kind of person who makes you reconsider your life and life plans, eh?
We only started talking after breakfast, but I had noticed how considerate and polite he was earlier to fellow passengers and the flight crew. I didn’t sleep at all the whole way, so I wish I had abandoned the subpar movie selection and struck up a conversation earlier. (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, anyone?)
But yeah, that last hour flew by. This is the kind of thing that I consider too fortuitous to be just chance or luck. It’s that trend that every time I’m completely lost in my life, the right, and often most unexpected, person (sent by God?) comes along. So I’m pretty grateful for that.
At this moment I have a rather long layover in Frankfurt and then back to Firenze without my biological family (save for Adrian) and without my huge Borgasmic family. And I miss both dearly. So whether you’re from one of those groups, a Tulane drinking buddy, a Gonzaga brother, a Visitation lady, or someone who’s known me even longer, I hope not to disappoint you any longer. Props to you if you’ve made it through all this.
And Shannon, don’t expect to get mentioned this many times ever again until we reunite. I HOPE THIS ENTRY’S CONTAINED ENOUGH RAW EMOTION FOR YOU.
(I apologize to everyone for the caps. People shouldn’t write when they haven’t slept.)
I'll do another update sometime this weekend regarding move-in and the first night and my new roommates.
For all you travelers and stalkers, here’s my schedule for the year.
January 28 to May 17: Firenze, Italia
May 17 to May 20: Washington, DC
May 20 to May 27: New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana
May 27 to July 16: Washington, DC
(June _ _ to _ _: Long Island and/or in NYC, New York?)
July 16 to July 21: Nashville, TN
July 21 to August 5: Washington, DC
August 5 to August 10: Chicago, IL
August 10 to ___________ _ _?: Washington, DC
If we haven’t already planned to meet up sometime in there, I hope to see you sooner rather than later. Feel free to send me e-mails since the phone rates are kind of atrocious. Ciao for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment