Archived entries for idii
maya takes manhattan
just back from a hotel room on the LES, where I was hanging out with Matty, Maya and a friend of hers. It was good to see her – like she’s changed but not at all. it would be much more of a post if i had a picture to prove it. damn the camera phone thief! maya may be back in a few weeks. hard to ascertain what she’s really up to. next time i see an old friend i hope to have my camera back. nothing seems the same without documentation of the event.
back in time, kind of
i arrived in ivrea late last night. i’m not sure yet what to say about it. it’s all so familiar, and alongside a bit depressing. the smell of talponia hallways, the rattle of the appliances in the old grey rooms… part of me wonders how i lived there for so long. in the institute there are a few people around, but most of the building is empty and unchanged. the outdated notices still hang from the walls, remants of old projects are scattered around, and there’s a huge pile of trash in what used to be the lab. but the school is definitely gone. space has been reappropriated by the few who remain, and there are pockets of activity here and there. it’s the same old idii, only more like a bunch of people without an institute. sleepy… more later… see my flicker stream (the pics on the right, mom) for photos.
better late than never?
tada… i’ve *finally* finished my thesis website, Actively Mobile. It’s only…4 months late? And finished is a strong word — it’s more like it’s up there with stuff in all the sections. Don’t read it, please. Just click on the link and notice that something comes up when you do that appears to have a prescribed format (vs an obvious mess of text and images). It’s not the sort of thing anyone will ever read really, it’s just proof that the project once existed. the project still exists, i suppose, but it’s in a box in a garage in ivrea! what do people usually do with the physical artifacts of a year’s worth of work? mine will most likely move from massimo’s garage to my closet, and then maybe to a basement or a storage space. what would you do with a little plastic box that talks?
where am i
half the time i feel like i’m home, the other half like i’m a ghost in town where i’ve outstayed my welcome or something. ok maybe that’s a bit dramatic… but it feels like i’m ‘hanging out’ without much of a purpose. i’m in ivrea, been here for almost a week, and leaving for london tomorrow.
it’s been a rough week, in some ways. in others it’s been great. i’ve spent lots of time hanging out with ruth & erez and andreea, seen an art show, and a circus, the seaside, and half a season of desperate housewives. oh and read the new harry potter. went through the emotional ringer as well, but i think i’ve come out the other side feeling stronger for it.
now on to the next stop in what is apparently my life… wonder when it will start to feel like one again.
quandry
it’s 6pm. i’ve been sorting and packing all day, save for the 3-hr trip to the airport this morning to drop off victor s. the heat wave has finally broken, which means it’s below 90 degrees for a change, and the wind is blowing like it’s going to storm any minute now. i’ve felt like a complete slug for the past week because it’s just too hot to run outside during day light hours (the ones i’m awake for anyway). so now is my chance to finally get in a run, if i do it quickly before it starts raining. but i just said my first goodbye to a classmate. ben’s left for good and he’s on his way to spain. was a strange feeling saying goodbye to him. one i wasn’t really expecting. i imagine there’s a lot more of that in store this week. makes me want a stiff drink.
hmmm so what will it be, quick run or stiff drink?
drowning in transition
i’m back in ivrea, and i’m supposedly all done, only i’m not. the school keeps coming up with new things they need us to do, immediately, which involve half a day of fiddling around with files,etc. meanwhile my room is a disaster area, and as everyone who sees it remarks, i have a lot of stuff.
i still don’t know where i’m going in the fall so i don’t know where i’m sending my stuff, and if i’m sending it at all or possibly driving it instead. so the shape and size of the boxes and how much stuff i’m taking is all up in the air. but somehow it needs to be boxed up and stored by the weekend. huh.
i also have this old car to sell… no one seems to need an 11-year old rover with squeaky breaks. eventually i guess i’ll have to just dump it somewhere, but the thought of dealing with it adds to the headache that is this transition.
then when i think of the emotional side of all of this… most of my classmates leaving tomorrow, half of the staff already gone, and relationships i’d counted on fading away in front of me, i don’t know what it’s going to feel like when all is said and done.
i hope once i get a job and find a place to live i’ll feel like i’m starting over. but right now it feels like i’m only going half way…packing up, without actually moving on. biding time, with out really knowing for how long or to what end.
all i know is that a week from now i’ll be on a plane back to the US for 3 weeks. before then i need to sort through everything i’ve amassed in italy, and weigh its sentimental vs cost of hauling value. i’ll store what’s left here in ivrea, clear out my room, move out, and go home. then in 3 weeks fly back to turin, and the rest is as yet unclear.
hooray for the V&A
! had no idea it was such an impressive place…very happy collabolla has a home for the summer.
posters in the subway
the front of the museum
exhibition entrance
collabolla
our caption
everything seems to be up in the air
Everything seems to be up in the air at this time
Everything seems to be up in the air at this time
One day soon, it’ll all settle down
Everything seems to be up in the air at this time
All across the nation, people are gettin’ together
From many ideas they form a single goal
Some people are gonna benefit
And others gotta sacrifice
But everything seems to seems to be up in the air at this time
I got some certain special feelings for you
I got some certain special feelings for you
I don’t know if they’re good or bad
But I just might give you a call
Everything seems to be up in the air at this time
Ambiguity Song – Camper Van Beethoven, 1985
over
wow. it’s all over. graduation was monday, and my mom’s been here since then so we’ve been running around milan since then. i’m just back in ivrea now, and don’t even know what to do with myself. there are things to do: like food shopping, and cleaning, and packing and more packing, and transferring computer files and more cleaning and more packing. but i can’t bring myself to start. maybe after a day of doing nothing i’ll bore myself into productivity.
but oh, my god i’m done. now on to real life, in some form or fashion.