It’s official. Nikki finally has a job!  She’s working with her big brother at Coldstone and so far, being employed seems to suit her just fine. I am happy for her because this is such an important step towards indepedance and self reliance. I am happy for me because I am no longer responsible for supporting her expensive habits– like purchasing all of her clothing at Hollister. She’s in the process of learning just how many hours she needs to work  before she can buy the hotly coveted pink hoodie and I’m loving it.  I’m planning on paying the kids a visit next time they are working together to take a picture. Two employed kids! Yay, them– and YAY me!

We are back in the US after a wonderful and eventful week in Italy. The wedding was beautiful, so was the bride. Spending time in beautiful Siena was slightly complicated by both Nikki and I getting sick. We spent a total of 2 1/2 days either in bed or trying to recover, which made the week a very short one..

Here is our itinerary, i’ll fill this in with photos when I am awake and functioning in a time zone that matches my physical location..

Sunday, December 7th– we arrived in Rome and were greeted at the airport by my mother’s good friend Paula. While we waited for Paula, Nikki impressed me by devouring a rather sizable Italian sandwich without making any alterations or change requests.. A good omen for our culinary adventures to come!  We drove to Siena in the afternoon where we met up with my Mother and her soon to be Husband, Francesco.    They found us a beautiful B&B, located in the old part of Siena, just steps from the Piazza Del Campo.

Monday, December 8th- We went to an ancient city near Siena, which was AMAZING!  later that same day is when Nikki got very ill.  I tried what I could to make her comfortable.. which mostly consisted of trying to keep her from getting totally dehydrated since she really couldn’t keep anything down. It was awful and only mildly made better by our beautiful surroundings.

Tuesday, December 9th- Happy Wedding Day and Happy 16th Birthday,  Nikki!  The birthday girl was a trooper, dragged herself from her near deathbed to attend the wedding Ceremony. The wedding was held here and it was beautiful. The ceremony was officiated by the mayor of Siena (i think) in a beautiful room with amazing fresco’s on the ceiling.  I couldn’t really hear the vows very well but I did get a sense for how much this meant to both the bride and the groom. There is something to be said about waiting until you are all grown up to marry.

Wednesday, December 10th- Nikki is feeling better and we’re venturing out to visit with my mother’s brother who was in town for the wedding. Unfortunately, later that same day I got what Nikki had..  and the RAIN started, which stayed with us for most of the remainder of the trip.

Thursday, December 11th- Angela: near death, in bed and fully medicated. Nikki: shopping and exploring Siena, despite the rain with Grandma  Monika and Francesco. Nikki and Francesco have a  great friendship and it’s been fun to watch the bonding, despite a significant language barrier.

Friday, December 12th– I am feeling a little  better  and we take  off for Rome.  Unfortunately, Rome is suffering with record breaking Floods and  the Mayor declares the city to be too dangerous  for  entry. I am NOT kidding.   Parts of  Rome, including the beautiful Trastevere were flooded. Look at all this water..!

Saturday, December 13th–Happy Birthday to me!!! Just to celebrate the occasion, the rain decided to take a break and presented us with a good 6 hours of blue skies and sunshine. I was able to spend my birthday touring Rome, mother, Francesco and Nikki in tow which was wonderful. Nikk and I went inside the Colloseum and we also visited other places, including the Forum Romanum and the Piazza Spagna. What an amazing City!

Sunday, December 14th-10 hours on a plane with a non-working iPod and a daughter who would hardly speak to me. Need I say more?

Here are a few photos from the trip.

In September of 2003 I sent this message to my friends, having just returned from Italy where I “met” my mother again…

—————–e-mail dated 10-3-2003…………………………………….

My little boy is all grown up.. At the risk of sounding cliche’- it does feel that he was born yesterday and yet he’s driving, working and moving towards independence a little more each day. Things I remember about the day he was born:

-There was a HUGE snowstorm

-Adam made some weird snorkling sounds when he first came  out, prompting me to think he had a some sort of nasal deformity

-Grandma Pansy was a little too eager with the Camera

-My Doctor declared Adam to be “enormous” – f air enough, he was 10 pounds 13 ounces..

-Adam’s Dad looked like he’d been struck by lightening, a look that did not wear off until about a month after he was born

-I was secretly worried that i had NO IDEA what to do with a baby..

18 years  later, we celebrated Adam’s coming of Age with a Surprise Party which Nikki and I managed to organize despite the fact that we were both sick.  We rounded up friends, decorated the house and had Mike keep Adam away until everyone was assembled.   He was totally surprised but very happy.  After Pizza and cake, we took to gang to see Adam’s favorite Movie, “The Big Lebowski” which happened to be playing at the Weinberg Center.  Adam had told me that this movie “changed his life” and I was eager to see it.   Now I am afraid to ask which part of the movie changed Adam’s life since the whole  Masterpiece revolves around a middle aged white man who spends all day in his bathrobe, buzzed and drinking White Russians..  There are definitely some memorable characters and it was pretty funny but as far as I can tell, my life has not been changed:)

Adam is 18 but the really good news is that he’s not yet realized that he doesn’t have to ask me for permission to do things anymore… I am waiting to see how long this will last.

I’ve been trying to put into words what this means to me and I can’t. I know, hard to believe- Angela at a loss for words.

I am equal parts of exhilarated, exhausted and in disbelief at what took place yesterday and it’s going to take me a while to process it.  Talking to friends I met through the campaign last night, we kept asking each other “What are we going to do with our lives now that it’s over?”. General consensus was that we’d probably fill our free time with all the things we’ve been neglecting and postponing for the last few months.  Cleaning houses, reading books, hugging kids, going on hikes, getting sleep, eating better, exercising more– EXHALING, laughing and celebrating starting TODAY.

I spent last night surrounded by friends and other volunteers and it was absolutely one of my favorite days in my life. Today, my voice is gone, I look frightening (circa 3 hours of sleep) but i am filled with absolute and unabashed joy at what we just accomplished. Yay, America. You got it right. 

Check out this video– I was at this party when the results were announced: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/video_player/standalonePlayer.htm?url=/media/sixth1105/sixth1105.flv 

I am in the background, shaking my head in amazement. My friend Lori however, is very much in the foreground, being swung around by a very happy Gil.

Also- here is an audio slideshow from the local newspaper.  In the “hands” picture, mine is the white one:)

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/media/slideshows/reax1106/index.html

  75 more days, Mr. Bush….

Between hours of canvassing, making phone calls and driving up and down mountain roads in Virginia, I squeezed in a concert at the 9:30 Club.
Amos Lee’s latest album “Last days at the Lodge” has been in heavy rotation on my iPod and seeing him live was a thrill. He’s a superb performer and together with a great band, they put on a fantastic show. He played all my favorite stuff, new and old including my new favorite groove “Won’t let me go”.. listen!
To my friend Leigh who convinced me to go with her, THANK YOU. We had both had a tough few days and walked away feeling energized and uplifted.

One happy voter! I don’t know about you but it feels GREAT to be able to vote for someone I actually believe in for a change..

I spent Saturday canvassing for Obama in Virginia with my dear buddy Elaine and BOY did we get rained on!   We signed on with the Leesburg office and they promptly dispatched us into Suburbia Hell.  Our turf was a neighborhood with hundreds of houses, two feet apart and looking exactly the same.

Elaine was a Canvassing Virgin (not a word used often when describing Elaine) so she spent the first hour worried that we were bothering people by knocking on their doors.  Unlike me, Elaine has never worked in Sales. I have a pretty thick skin when it comes to rejection and love people- so canvassing is a fun activity to me.  When I first saw our territory, I made up my mind on what kind of people I thought lived there. I expected to see mostly white, upper middle class families with husbands who worked in the High Tech corridor. …and lots of stay home Moms driving minivans.  The first 3 doors were opened by women and men of Indian descent and we quickly figured out that this was a multi-cultural version of Stepford Village.  We met some nice people and only one person shut the door on us mumbling “No Obama!”. We talked to a young Indian woman who was able to vote for the first time and excited about voting for Obama but a little worried about his muslim father.  She explained to us that she felt that Islam is the one religion that requires its followers to be a “muslim first”, setting aside another other considerations when making decisions.   We had a good conversation and were able to put her at ease a little, at least I think we did.  She also explained to us her concern about Pakistan being treated as an ally by the current administration and she really appreciated Obama putting Pakistan on notice in a recent speech. I always learn something new when canvassing.  

The funniest interaction I had was with a gentleman who lived in one of the biggest houses on the block. He opened the door and when I identified myself as a Obama Volunteer, he said “ I don’t trust him” in a very monotone and matter of fact way. I was stumped for a second but recovered and asked him why. He then said that he didn’t think Obama would “carry out our constitution”.  I then pointed out that Obama was a constitutional law professor – who better to carry out the constitution than someone who studied and taught it?  The gentleman didn’t know this but it didn’t seem to change his general attitude. I tried to extricate myself but then I noticed that I had another voter at the same address, presumably his wife. When I asked to speak with her he said she was in China. Phew, okay- no problem. We’ll try again another day!   Just then, the phone rang and before I could excuse myself, the man disappeared to get the phone and left me standing at the door.  He was back right away, holding a computer!  I wasn’t sure what was happening until he said “My wife is calling from China- she wants to talk to you”.. Before too long, I was having a spirited discussion with Mr. McMansion and his wife in China. Finally, after 20 minutes or so I was able to get away, telling the man I didn’t want to interrupt his call with his wife. That was a strange experience, to say the least. 

We ended up knocking on 71 doors, in the pouring rain feeling like a couple of hamsters in the maze of McMansionville.  Back at the campaign office, I handed in my forms and the canvass captain gave me a most peculiar look.  She said “Angela, why did you mark all these people as deceased?”. What?? I thought DEC meant decided!  

It’s just 8 more days until the election and if you find yourself with any free time between now and Election Day, please consider volunteering.   It’s fun, easy and extremely rewarding and a great way to make a difference!  Any local friends who’d like to join me, I am headed back to VA for the weekend coming up..

All the sudden, Virginia is a Battleground State! This is no small feat, considering that the last time VA voted for a democratic candidate in a presidential election was in 1964!  The candidates have been spending quite a bit of time in Virginia and when an Obama rally in Leesburg was announced, I jumped at the chance to go see him live and in person. I made up a “last minute personal appointment” as a reason to take the afternoon off– probably making my boss believe I was going on a job interview.  I gave both kids the option to get out of school but only Nikki took me up on it. We arrived at the park around 1:30pm with the gates scheduled to open at 3pm.  We met up with Elaine and kids and the general mood in line was that of a bunch of people waiting to go to  rock concert.  Because we got there early enough, we were able to secure a great spot about 100 feet from the stage and with a perfect view. The kids were buzzing with excitement and the energy of the crowd was positively electric.  Obama supporters are a very diverse and very fun crowd.  I was standing between a  waspy government lawyer who was on his blackberry trying to negotiate his way through a problem at work and a group of college students who’d driven to Virginia from New Jersey to see Barack.  We ended up standing next to the media area and the girls (Nikki, Sophia, Danielle and Madeline) were interviewed by a local station which was pretty exciting.   We had a couple of warm up speeches by local politicians and finally, around 5 30,  Obama bounded onto the stage with the crowd going nuts.  He gave a standard stump speech but being there instead of seeing it on TV made it very different.   Here is a slideshow of photos published by a Chinese Newstation– including a picture of Nikki and Soph: http://www.campaigncoverage08.org/?p=315 

It was an amazing experience and I’ll never forget it. Now, can we just hurry up and elect this man our next President??

The kids and I moved to our current house in 2001 and I love my neighbors and my neighborhood.  In seven years, I’ve done a lot of running and walking in the surrounding area and we are lucky to have nice walking paths and a couple of local parks near by.  One of the reasons I love Frederick is because it has not been completely overrun with construction. Even though my neighborhood is fairly close to downtown, i have a huge piece of farmland about half a mile from my front door. I’ve stopped at the edge of it many times, always happy to see the Cornfields, the cows and the expanse of land untouched by new home construction. A few times during full moons, i’ve ventured to the edge of the land to look at the moon because it’s so much clearer without all the streetlights. However, I’ve never gone any further than that.. until today, that is. On an evening excursion, I decided to start walking along the freshly mowed cornfields just to see where I would end up.  Initially, I was nervous and reciting  what I would say to the farmer if he happened to catch me tresspassing on his land. After a few minutes, I relaxed and started looking around. Soon, I left behind all the houses and noises of my developement and I started hearing the birds and the wind instead. Before too long, it was just me, the seeminly endless cornfields on the right and  eventually the Monocacy River on my left.  Feeling the cornstalks crunch under my feet reminded me of late summers in Italy, playing in the cornfields with my cousins until the sun set. Being close to the water and smelling freshly tilled earth was just glorious.  Amazingly enough, I’d only left my house 20 minutes before yet suddenly, I was in a totally different world. The river is very low, it hasn’t rained in weeks. Leaves were gently falling from the trees, creating a dense layer on the surface of the water. The sun was setting and I was watching the rays peeking through the trees when I saw a family of foxes slowly making their way across the field and coming straight towards me. Foxes! Less than a half mile from my house and in seven years of living here, I’d never taken this walk.  I sometimes feel that the daily grind of life has done a number on my sense of wonder.  I am overstimulated and somewhat jaded …but those foxes had me smiling from ear to ear.  I kept walking for quite a while, birds, rabbits and badgers scurrying away but not too fast– it didn’t seem like they were overly concerned with my presence.  Heading back into the general direction of my neighborhood, I discovered a paved walking trail, snaking along the river and taking me almost all the way to the back of my developement.  All the walking I’d done and i didn’t even know that path existed. What a perfect Sunday afternoon surprise.