As you probably don’t know (unless for Italian readers), elections for parliament and government are going on today in Italy, my birth-country.
Those who are not Italian may find it a little weird, since last time we voted for parliament and government, it was spring 2006, but that’s the way things are: the government lost the support of the parliament, so we’re back to voting, once more.
In Italy no reliable exit polls are held: back in 2006, exit polls said until the very last minute that the Republicans (more or less, down here in southern Europe we would say “the right” as opposite to “the left”) were winning, and in the end it turned out exit polls were completely wrong and the Labor party (once again, I’d rather say “the left”) went to the government.
Today I believe that the average Italian citizen does not believe in anyone of the two possible next political leaders, namely Berlusconi and Veltroni.
We all know that our politicians are not worth a single cent. We have already seen them, they did not solve the problems of our country, and during this campaign, they did not propose concrete solutions.
Furthermore, exit polls show, until now, very little difference: 41% against 39.5% (some say 40%). Which means, whoever will win, won’t have a strong, reliable majority that would help in actually concretizing SOMETHING.
What we really need, what I envy so much to the USA, is someone NEW. Someone who is not yet corrupted, not involved with the mafia, someone who BELIEVES in changing things.
As for me, I could not vote, because in Italy you have to go back to your hometown to vote, and the river here (the Rhône) last Friday has flood the railway. So I spent 4 hours in the middle of nowhere under the rain (they had us leave the train and stand next to the railway, yes), and in the end I had to go back to France, so I couldn’t vote. And I also caught a cold.
(Not to mention I felt as I lived in India, when the monsoon arrives, only it was way colder)
(Therefore, I couldn’t even get the pictures of my mountaineering ski, sigh…)
Now people, I work in the finance business, and I have one sure advice if you want to invest: buy some land, or pour some earth on your balcony, and sow some cereals in it.
Step number two, if you don’t know how to cook, learn to cook.
Next year you won’t be hungry, and you’ll be saving tons of bucks.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Back from the Haute Route
I believed in it, I believed in myself, and in the end, I gave it all. And that’s why I proved to be strong, I proved to be more than able, without hesitating a single second.
Here’s how it went.
On Saturday morning, we started the Haute Route from Chamonix, on a perfect day: the sun was shining, there was very little wind, the weather was warm and the snow perfect. We hiked up the first length, and then we had to go down a vertical ditch: the first half we ensured us with a rope, while the second half was free climbing, with crampons and an ice axe, our skis attached to the backpack. I was leading, and it was so exciting, not to mention the incredible panorama!
We proceeded by climbing up another passage which was way more difficult than the first one, but then again I’m better when it’s a matter of skills than of strength.
When we finally got to the hut where we were spending the night, the weather had already started turning bad, a cold wind was blowing, and we were glad to go inside and give ourselves a rest. There were people from everywhere: USA, Canada, Spain, Switzerland (of course!), France, Sweden and the three of us. Although everyone was older than I, I still had a laugh with a lot of people, everyone was there for the same reason after all!
On the next morning, the wind was blowing up to 160kmh (almost 100 miles per hour), there was less than 5 metres of visibility, and lots of snow falling.
We started our trek, we had to ski down 1600 mt of altitude down the glacier, and it was tough, since the wind kept making us fall and so on, but we managed everything pretty well.
We continued the day by climbing up to the next refuge, and it was a mess because, although the wind had lessened, the visibility had gotten even worse, so we had a hard time in actually FINDING the hut.
On the next morning, snow was still falling, but we were way too motivated to surrender! So we climbed up to the next peak, but once up there we realized that we could not cross and go down on the other side without provoking an avalanche.
So we made our way back in order to find another passage, but we called the keeper of the hut were we were going to, to let him know we were going to be late. Only, he told us that due to the newly fallen snow, the way up to the refuge was way too risky, and that avalanches were sure fall during the afternoon.
So we had no choice but to renounce, since I didn’t have the whole week of vacation we could not afford to stop for a whole day (and the weather forecast were bad for the rest of the week either.
As I said, I am however proud of myself. Next year we’re giving it another chance, it’s sad we had to give up, but those who know the mountains know that this is part of the game, so even if we did not reach Zermatt, I’m glad of what we did, together dad and I.
At the same time, the emotions of the climbing, of the panorama, of the storms, were so great and deep, it was definitely worth it. And next week I’ll have some pics to post!!!
Here’s how it went.
On Saturday morning, we started the Haute Route from Chamonix, on a perfect day: the sun was shining, there was very little wind, the weather was warm and the snow perfect. We hiked up the first length, and then we had to go down a vertical ditch: the first half we ensured us with a rope, while the second half was free climbing, with crampons and an ice axe, our skis attached to the backpack. I was leading, and it was so exciting, not to mention the incredible panorama!
We proceeded by climbing up another passage which was way more difficult than the first one, but then again I’m better when it’s a matter of skills than of strength.
When we finally got to the hut where we were spending the night, the weather had already started turning bad, a cold wind was blowing, and we were glad to go inside and give ourselves a rest. There were people from everywhere: USA, Canada, Spain, Switzerland (of course!), France, Sweden and the three of us. Although everyone was older than I, I still had a laugh with a lot of people, everyone was there for the same reason after all!
On the next morning, the wind was blowing up to 160kmh (almost 100 miles per hour), there was less than 5 metres of visibility, and lots of snow falling.
We started our trek, we had to ski down 1600 mt of altitude down the glacier, and it was tough, since the wind kept making us fall and so on, but we managed everything pretty well.
We continued the day by climbing up to the next refuge, and it was a mess because, although the wind had lessened, the visibility had gotten even worse, so we had a hard time in actually FINDING the hut.
On the next morning, snow was still falling, but we were way too motivated to surrender! So we climbed up to the next peak, but once up there we realized that we could not cross and go down on the other side without provoking an avalanche.
So we made our way back in order to find another passage, but we called the keeper of the hut were we were going to, to let him know we were going to be late. Only, he told us that due to the newly fallen snow, the way up to the refuge was way too risky, and that avalanches were sure fall during the afternoon.
So we had no choice but to renounce, since I didn’t have the whole week of vacation we could not afford to stop for a whole day (and the weather forecast were bad for the rest of the week either.
As I said, I am however proud of myself. Next year we’re giving it another chance, it’s sad we had to give up, but those who know the mountains know that this is part of the game, so even if we did not reach Zermatt, I’m glad of what we did, together dad and I.
At the same time, the emotions of the climbing, of the panorama, of the storms, were so great and deep, it was definitely worth it. And next week I’ll have some pics to post!!!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Believe in yourself
I’m so tense I almost ache.
Yesterday night, while KS, Maria and I were hanging out at our place, the Sponsor called me to inform me that our Haute Route has been anticipated. I am leaving tonight for Switzerland, and I’ll catch up with the others tomorrow morning at the first hour.
The reason of all this mess is that weather forecasts announce a great day for tomorrow, while snow and rain are expected for the rest of the week, so we decided to take advantage of sunny tomorrow and progress as much as possible (the goal is to make day 1 and day 2 path all in one day).
I know I have trained constantly; I have been running a good deal and everything. But I am stressed out, I’m afraid I may fail, I’m afraid I might be too weak. ARGH!!!!!
This is worst then when I used to do running competitions as a teenager.
Furthermore, I had not prepared my things, so I had to do a washing machine in a rush yesterday night, find a place to sleep in Switzerland for tonight, and I still have to manage to leave work unnoticed around 4PM tonight to go rescue my backpack and hop on the train.
Okay I can do it. I’ll put on some relaxing-self confident booster music like Enya, plan out the slightest detail and deal with the whole thing.
I’ll be back posting next Thursday, unless I miserably fail, iun this case I might post sooner.
But I won’t fail.
Yesterday night, while KS, Maria and I were hanging out at our place, the Sponsor called me to inform me that our Haute Route has been anticipated. I am leaving tonight for Switzerland, and I’ll catch up with the others tomorrow morning at the first hour.
The reason of all this mess is that weather forecasts announce a great day for tomorrow, while snow and rain are expected for the rest of the week, so we decided to take advantage of sunny tomorrow and progress as much as possible (the goal is to make day 1 and day 2 path all in one day).
I know I have trained constantly; I have been running a good deal and everything. But I am stressed out, I’m afraid I may fail, I’m afraid I might be too weak. ARGH!!!!!
This is worst then when I used to do running competitions as a teenager.
Furthermore, I had not prepared my things, so I had to do a washing machine in a rush yesterday night, find a place to sleep in Switzerland for tonight, and I still have to manage to leave work unnoticed around 4PM tonight to go rescue my backpack and hop on the train.
Okay I can do it. I’ll put on some relaxing-self confident booster music like Enya, plan out the slightest detail and deal with the whole thing.
I’ll be back posting next Thursday, unless I miserably fail, iun this case I might post sooner.
But I won’t fail.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
That time of the year is coming...
I got an evaluation from the worst asshole of the Paris office managers.
This is the kind of guy who, while I’m working for him, spends half of his time telling me how I’m way better than all the other colleagues of my same seniority and other BS like that (which is honestly frustrating, since I’m one of the worst paid, thanx to the combination of being a foreigner (not American) and a woman. The other half of his time, he messes up my analyses, so that once they are presented to the senior manager, I have to redo half of the job.
Anyway, today I got the evaluation, and, although it says plenty of things about me, in the end I’m rated as “up to standards”. This would be good, if it wasn’t for:
- you need an excellent level to have a decent bonus, and the year-end meeting which will allocate bonuses is next month;
- he has been blathering about how excellent I am throughout the whole job.
WTF?
Truth is, I’ll never become anything more than a manager (in the best case scenario) in this job, so one day I’ll have to take my chances in some other business.
I keep dreaming about, one day, starting my own business (probably a restaurant), but in reality the simple idea of the responsibility freaks me out.
If this was a Kinsella book, I’d find the perfect job (in television), the perfect, rich man, and I’ll be okay for the rest of my life.
A long time ago, however, I realized that Kinsella’s pattern does not apply to my life. And therefore, I’ll have to learn to stand up against managers.
This is the kind of guy who, while I’m working for him, spends half of his time telling me how I’m way better than all the other colleagues of my same seniority and other BS like that (which is honestly frustrating, since I’m one of the worst paid, thanx to the combination of being a foreigner (not American) and a woman. The other half of his time, he messes up my analyses, so that once they are presented to the senior manager, I have to redo half of the job.
Anyway, today I got the evaluation, and, although it says plenty of things about me, in the end I’m rated as “up to standards”. This would be good, if it wasn’t for:
- you need an excellent level to have a decent bonus, and the year-end meeting which will allocate bonuses is next month;
- he has been blathering about how excellent I am throughout the whole job.
WTF?
Truth is, I’ll never become anything more than a manager (in the best case scenario) in this job, so one day I’ll have to take my chances in some other business.
I keep dreaming about, one day, starting my own business (probably a restaurant), but in reality the simple idea of the responsibility freaks me out.
If this was a Kinsella book, I’d find the perfect job (in television), the perfect, rich man, and I’ll be okay for the rest of my life.
A long time ago, however, I realized that Kinsella’s pattern does not apply to my life. And therefore, I’ll have to learn to stand up against managers.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Whatever (I had a dream)
Okay, I didn’t think about writing this, but I really don’t feel like sharing this story with anyone I know, and I need to get it off my chest. Hopefully, once I see this post in my blog, I’ll stop thinking about it.
I had a dream last night 'cause it looked just like a dream
I had a dream last night but it looked not like a dream
I was relaxing home (but it wasn’t anywhere I know), when I felt the strangest sensation from my belly.
It was summer, and I was wearing white light trousers and a white tank top that did not cover my tummy, which was flat and tanned. All in a sudden, I knew I was pregnant.
Mercy, mercy, I made a call
Make me a suit so I can get it off
Heaven help me, my head is spin'n round
Stop this airplane cause I got to get down
I went to buy a pregnancy test, and although I don’t know where I was supposed to be, it was not Europe, the vegetation, the buildings were different. The test was positive, of course.
I knew who the father was.
I had a dream last night, and it fit me like a glove
It was a scream last night it was getting kinda fun
When I got back “home”, Andrea the Hunter was there.
“I came because I felt that you needed to talk to me” he said, smiling.
“I’m pregnant with your baby” I answered quietly. “I wanted you to know, but I’m not asking for anything”.
He looked, somehow, as if he already knew, he had a glow, a look of wisdom and slight happiness, something I had never seen on him.
“But you will marry me, won’t you? After all, we always knew we would end up together”.
I was perplex, we had never been in any kind of relationship but friendship (no clue about the pregnancy, in the dream no sex was involved).
In the end, we got married. And he was just everything but Andrea, he was the ideal and perfect husband.
I had a dream last night, because he looked just like a dream
I had a dream last night, because he looked just like a dream
And then, we were somewhere on a white sand beach, and it felt like something was going to happen soon, the pressure was tangible, like ten thousands storm was going to break. Something was approaching, something horrible, something to fear. And somehow, I knew it was me who was provoking it.
He was on fire last night, and I was breathing gasoline
I had a dream last night, and it fit me like a glove
I had a scream last night
Lord above...
I know this whole lot doesn’t mean anything, and that no one will probably understand it, but it’s been on my mind for the whole day, together with the song Whatever (I had a dream).
I had a dream last night 'cause it looked just like a dream
I had a dream last night but it looked not like a dream
I was relaxing home (but it wasn’t anywhere I know), when I felt the strangest sensation from my belly.
It was summer, and I was wearing white light trousers and a white tank top that did not cover my tummy, which was flat and tanned. All in a sudden, I knew I was pregnant.
Mercy, mercy, I made a call
Make me a suit so I can get it off
Heaven help me, my head is spin'n round
Stop this airplane cause I got to get down
I went to buy a pregnancy test, and although I don’t know where I was supposed to be, it was not Europe, the vegetation, the buildings were different. The test was positive, of course.
I knew who the father was.
I had a dream last night, and it fit me like a glove
It was a scream last night it was getting kinda fun
When I got back “home”, Andrea the Hunter was there.
“I came because I felt that you needed to talk to me” he said, smiling.
“I’m pregnant with your baby” I answered quietly. “I wanted you to know, but I’m not asking for anything”.
He looked, somehow, as if he already knew, he had a glow, a look of wisdom and slight happiness, something I had never seen on him.
“But you will marry me, won’t you? After all, we always knew we would end up together”.
I was perplex, we had never been in any kind of relationship but friendship (no clue about the pregnancy, in the dream no sex was involved).
In the end, we got married. And he was just everything but Andrea, he was the ideal and perfect husband.
I had a dream last night, because he looked just like a dream
I had a dream last night, because he looked just like a dream
And then, we were somewhere on a white sand beach, and it felt like something was going to happen soon, the pressure was tangible, like ten thousands storm was going to break. Something was approaching, something horrible, something to fear. And somehow, I knew it was me who was provoking it.
He was on fire last night, and I was breathing gasoline
I had a dream last night, and it fit me like a glove
I had a scream last night
Lord above...
I know this whole lot doesn’t mean anything, and that no one will probably understand it, but it’s been on my mind for the whole day, together with the song Whatever (I had a dream).
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Back to the cold!!
Two weeks ago I caught a bad flu. I kept on working, although I had up to 39 Celsius (102F), and I had to travel to Milan for some business meetings, and then back to Lyon. By the end of the week I was exhausted, looking and feeling like crap.
KS was pretty worn out as well, since he had been working quite hard, so we took a week off, bought a last minute plane ticket and went to Morocco.
We spent a week in the sun, visiting Marrakesh and its surroundings, spending a day in the desert, and also relaxing by the hotel swimming-pool. The weather was great, sunny and definitely warm (almost too warm to go around at noon), and we could finally spend some quality time together: although we have been together for one year and a half, this was our first vacation together!!
After relaxing and sun tanning, we came back to a stormy, snowy and very cold France. On Easter I took a train to go visit the Parents, and it took me 9 hours to get there (it normally takes about 5 hours and a half).
It was still nice to see them, to spend Easter with the family and so on, plus the Sponsor and I have settled the last details for our haute route from Chamonix to Zermatt (since we won’t meet before April 5, the day we have rendez-vous in Chamonix).
Since it’s been snowing a lot in the last few days, it’s sure we’ll have enough snow on our path, and although it’s gonna be tough, I’m really looking forward to it.
The other side of the whole thing is I still have to train, so today instead of having lunch I went running. The park was snowy, it was awfully cold to run, even the male lion looked sad with his hair wet. But I still ran 6 miles and a half (10.5km), and I was honestly proud of myself. Plus, since this week work should be pretty slow, I’ll probably manage to train as much as I want!
KS was pretty worn out as well, since he had been working quite hard, so we took a week off, bought a last minute plane ticket and went to Morocco.
We spent a week in the sun, visiting Marrakesh and its surroundings, spending a day in the desert, and also relaxing by the hotel swimming-pool. The weather was great, sunny and definitely warm (almost too warm to go around at noon), and we could finally spend some quality time together: although we have been together for one year and a half, this was our first vacation together!!
After relaxing and sun tanning, we came back to a stormy, snowy and very cold France. On Easter I took a train to go visit the Parents, and it took me 9 hours to get there (it normally takes about 5 hours and a half).
It was still nice to see them, to spend Easter with the family and so on, plus the Sponsor and I have settled the last details for our haute route from Chamonix to Zermatt (since we won’t meet before April 5, the day we have rendez-vous in Chamonix).
Since it’s been snowing a lot in the last few days, it’s sure we’ll have enough snow on our path, and although it’s gonna be tough, I’m really looking forward to it.
The other side of the whole thing is I still have to train, so today instead of having lunch I went running. The park was snowy, it was awfully cold to run, even the male lion looked sad with his hair wet. But I still ran 6 miles and a half (10.5km), and I was honestly proud of myself. Plus, since this week work should be pretty slow, I’ll probably manage to train as much as I want!
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Random thoughts
It's snowing, and fucking cold.
This morning, it was 12° and the sun was shining, I wore a light silk white suit and opened shoes with no socks, and happily headed out. By noon it was raining and windy. And now it's below zero and snowing.
And I know I always say I love snow and so on, but tonight it sucks, also because KS has to go to the airport tomorrow early in the morning, and I worry about the highway.
At work, I'm on a project I'm hating.
Every morning, all around me are familiar, worn out faces, in a worn out dataroom. I get up early, go to work, and feel like I'm going nowhere. It's too frigging cold to go running, and my ankle hurt pretty badly (no clue why).
Tomorrow the Sponsor will go to see the doctor, who will probably recommend some more chemio, and I hate that he's going through this (and I cannot even be by his side).
Finally, I keep eating, and, to look stunning as I used to, I should lose 6 kilos, but I don't think I am able to do it right now.
Things will get better, I know it and need to hold tightly to this idea.
Before moving to France, I never called the Parents or granparents, unless something had to be said.
Every day, during my daytime, I collect anedocts to tell the Panther, and every night I call her and discuss happy matters like books, recipies, family matters and so on. We talk half an hour or so, every night.
And this only makes me feel just a little tiny bit less guilty for not being there with them, for them.
Forgive me dad, for not being by your side. I think about you all the time, every day, with my mind, I'm with you.
This morning, it was 12° and the sun was shining, I wore a light silk white suit and opened shoes with no socks, and happily headed out. By noon it was raining and windy. And now it's below zero and snowing.
And I know I always say I love snow and so on, but tonight it sucks, also because KS has to go to the airport tomorrow early in the morning, and I worry about the highway.
At work, I'm on a project I'm hating.
Every morning, all around me are familiar, worn out faces, in a worn out dataroom. I get up early, go to work, and feel like I'm going nowhere. It's too frigging cold to go running, and my ankle hurt pretty badly (no clue why).
Tomorrow the Sponsor will go to see the doctor, who will probably recommend some more chemio, and I hate that he's going through this (and I cannot even be by his side).
Finally, I keep eating, and, to look stunning as I used to, I should lose 6 kilos, but I don't think I am able to do it right now.
Things will get better, I know it and need to hold tightly to this idea.
Before moving to France, I never called the Parents or granparents, unless something had to be said.
Every day, during my daytime, I collect anedocts to tell the Panther, and every night I call her and discuss happy matters like books, recipies, family matters and so on. We talk half an hour or so, every night.
And this only makes me feel just a little tiny bit less guilty for not being there with them, for them.
Forgive me dad, for not being by your side. I think about you all the time, every day, with my mind, I'm with you.
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