Archives2009

Welcome to at&t. I see you are calling from 123-456-7890. Is that correct? Please say Yes or No. Yes. Okay. Are you currently an at&t customer? Please say Yes or No. Yes. Okay. Now in a few words, state the purpose of your call. You can say things like Add at&t U-verse to my services, Continue Reading

ME: The doctor says my appendix was gangrenous and ruptured. DAD: That’s what you get for eating all that organic food. Maybe he has a point. I’ve always been active and the majority of the time get my servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (buying organic only per Environmental Working Group guidelines), whole grains and Continue Reading

A couple of Saturdays ago, I woke up feeling like I had rolled on top of a set of steak knives, each one jabbing a different part of my abdomen. I attributed it to the hummus and chips and popcorn I had inhaled the night before and figured it would be gone by bedtime. I Continue Reading

There are lots of rules posted on the walls of the YMCA: Don’t use your cell phone. Don’t pee in the pool. Don’t leave your children in the lockers. You know, all the regular stuff. But I never thought we would need a rule for something as routine as taking a shower, until now. In Continue Reading

I regularly pack my suitcase with a load of bricks. When it comes to coffee, I’ve been known to drink Starsucks. I like geese even though they crap all over everything. I comb my hair with a rake. I spend good, hard-earned money on jeans that look like they’ve been snagged on a tree branch Continue Reading

After saying our goodbyes to Carol, HK and I made our way to the Termini and eventually the airport. At the international terminal we said our goodbyes. I’m not a fan of this ritual because it can easily make my face leak. I watched her walk away, not much bigger than her back pack, facing Continue Reading

Quick like a bunny, I made my way through Trastevere’s cobblestone streets, across the bridge over the suspicious Tiber and back down to the Internet café. Heather and I were finishing lunch at the Ditta Trinchetti, when I reached in my purse and realized my passport was missing. The worst thing that would happen is Continue Reading

Jesus, it’s hot. Carol arrived today and we had a delightful lunch at an outdoor café. We shared some bruschetta, aqua minerale and red wine. I enjoyed an insalata di tonno (tuna salad). The food tasted fresh and was just the nourishment we needed to make the trek up the hill to the Basilica di Continue Reading

Pretty penance. The Italy in my head is all about Tuscany and its rolling hills, gardens with bright red tomatoes and cypress trees lined up at attention. I had to experience it. But first we would drop by Florence for a walk around the Duomo, through the crowded Piazza della Signoria and across the Ponte Continue Reading