Big wheels keep on turnin' / Carry me home to see my kin

Well, where were we? (Alliteration alert!) Ah yes. I finished my research papers with minor stress. I’m definitely glad that’s over. To celebrate, my roommates and I went to see Failure to Launch at the Odeon’s “Original Sound” (movies in their original language) night. Pretty cute. Always good times at the movies.

Last weekend Emily Jane, Carlee, Lisa, and I went to Paris! It was beautiful, of course. I think just walking down the open boulevards was the best part- Florence can get claustrophobic. Big shoutout to Sara Day, our fearless tour guide during the rain on Saturday! The Eiffel Tower was much better at night than during a cloudy day. I got lots of pictures there. On Sunday we went to the Rodin Museum and the Musee d’Orsay- both amazing. The Impressionists at the Orsay were definitely my favorite.

Well, my time in Italy is winding down. We just finished our last week of class, and finals are next week. Obviously, we are all traumatized by how fast this semester has gone. This weekend I’ll be doing some studying and “me-time” with Florence before I say good-bye. Oh gah, how sad. I think this calls for some retail therapy. Anyways, here is a list I have been thinking about-

Things I’m jaded by in Florence:
1. centuries-old architectural/artistic wonders, e.g. Brunelleschi’s Dome and Bottecelli’s Birth of Venus
2. mopeds careening around corners in predominantly pedestrian districts
3. homemade gelato on nearly every block
4. multiple high-end designers on one street 5 min from my door, e.g. Prada, Gucci, D & G, Fendi, LV, YSL, Cavalli, Pucci, Zegna, Valentino, etc on Via Tornabuoni
5. the ancient streets I walk every day were once traversed by the likes of Dante, Michaelangelo, and Galileo

I can’t wait to be settled at home, but leaving Florence is heartbreaking. I’m bracing myself for reverse culture-shock. Really- getting acclimated at home is going to be worse than adjusting here. It definitely won’t last long, considering the best friends and Southern food binge I’m starting as soon as the wheels touch down. Sweet tea, Bojangle’s, sausage and pancakes, barbeque, burgers, yummm.

Fyi, I arrive in Charlotte around 3:00 on Saturday. My cell phone will be activated by then, so give me a call and forgive me if I sound dazed and confused. I’ll make one last post after that. Hope to see you soon!

Fra-gee-lay. Ooh, that must be Italian!

First off, that title has nothing to do with the post. I just had to work it into this blog somehow.

Okay, April blew by like a hurricane. After spring break, we grudgingly went back to classes, but then a few of us went on a school trip to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompei- near Naples in the south. Capri was gorgeous, of course. We took a boat tour around the island, rode rowboats into the Blue Grotto, ate Napolitan-style pizza in the village of Capri, and had the best gelato in all of Italy. GREAT day. We spent Saturday night in a 4-star hotel where we had an incredible 4-course meal. I even tried codfish! I know, I’m branching out. On Sunday, we drove to Pompei and explored the ruins with a great guide, Frederico. I thought it was so interesting. And of course, I was having Latin class flashbacks like whoa. Lisa, Emily Jane, and I had a yummy lunch at a café near the ruins’ exit- we tried “granita”- basically orange or lemon slush. Delish! Sunday afternoon was spent on the bus- 6 hours back to Florence. It was fine, though- we watched National Treasure (yay American history) and Blue Crush (yay surfer chick flick).

Dad came for his visit over Easter weekend. The highlight was eating out for lunch and dinner every day. Definitely. Over the course of the weekend we explored Florence, went to the Boboli Gardens, shopped in the street market, went to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, and, like I said, ate a lot. On Sunday we watched a parade in the Duomo Square, then watched the traditional Explosion of the Easter Cart- very cool. I’m sure Dad will have a lot to say about the weekend on his blog.

Last weekend I went on another school field trip (with a bunch of UNC kids) to the Italian Riviera. We saw several towns on the coast, including Portofino, Camoglia, and Santa Margherita. Then on Sunday we were free to roam around Cinque Terre, a strip of five little villages perched on the sea. It was a great weekend- not rushed at all. Except that it was a holiday weekend so every Italian and their brother was in Cinque Terre. A little crowded. Va bene (whatever/all good/okay).

Speaking of the holiday, last Tuesday (April 25th) was Liberation Day. The Allies liberated Italy from the Nazis on April 25, 1945. I learned that in Contemporary Italy class. See there? I am learning over here.

So this weekend, my roommates are going up north on a field trip. In my solitude, I will be writing several research papers. Yup, it’s that time of year. Finals are fast approaching, and then I come home! Right now I’m very very excited and a little bit sad. This will probably reverse in a few weeks. Anyways, I’ll conclude with one of my famous lists.

Random things I’m looking forward to in the US:
1. shopping carts
2. markers
3. my car radio (the car itself is a given)
4. voice-activated dialing
5. free refills
6. fountain Diet Coke
7. Brilliant Brunnette conditioner
8. cheap take-out (esp. Kyoto Express)
9. constellations
10. woods
11. my multi-function alarm clock
12. my Carolina koozy (3rd reference to Diet Coke, ha.)

Una semana en Espana

Bottom line- spring break in Spain was amazing. After getting to Madrid late Friday night, Emily Jane and I spent Saturday museum-hopping. We saw all kinds of art at 3 different museums. My favorite was the private collection at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza that included lots of Impressionists and even a couple landscapes from the Blue Ridge. Made me a little homesick. : \ After the last museum, we hunted down Zara and H & M for some serious retail sightseeing.

On Sunday we took a bus (a really nice one, at that) to Sevilla. It was gorgeous! There were orange trees everywhere and the weather was in the upper 70s. Emily Jane’s friend Becca, her host mom, Inez, and her daughter Ana, met us at the station to take us to the hostel. Inez and Ana are so great- they obviously adore Becca. I could pick up some of their conversation in Spanish, too! Our hostel was beautiful, located in the middle of the pedestrian shopping district (I promise that wasn’t planned). And we ended up with a double room to ourselves instead of the dorm we had booked online! After checking in, Becca took us on a walking tour of Sevilla to the Plaza de Espana and its surrounding gardens (check out my Webshots). The next day, we slept in and went to the Cathedral while Becca had class. We met up later for dinner at a Thai restaurant- no grief for not eating Spanish food, okay? All that mattered was that it wasn’t Italian. On Tuesday EmJ and I visited the Real Alcazar palace, which had some incredibly beautiful gardens. Then we met Becca for lunch along the river. I had some fried swordfish (I’m branching out) and we shared some delicious sangria. For dinner we got some goodies at the supermarket at El Corte Ingles (a huge dept store) and ate on the roof-top terrace of our hostel. Again- amazing.

Wednesday we left on a train to Malaga, on the southern coast- the Costa del Sol. After finding our hostel in the smaller suburb of Torremolinos, EmJ and I headed straight for the beach. It was paradise. Becca met up with us later and we had dinner at a small bar near the shore. We pretty much spent all of Thursday afternoon on the beach, where I got a nasty sunburn that I’m still nursing. Otherwise, it was just perfect. Spain is probably one of my favorite places in Europe now- probably because of the weather and the fact that I could actually communicate with people. It’s good to be back in the apt in Florence, though. On Saturday, we registered for our Fall classes- scary. I can’t wait to get back home to the Dash, then Cheerio, then Chapel Hill!

Receive all praises thine

I know this is a delayed reaction, but I’ve been scrambling to catch up with my entries.

YEAH HEEEEELS!

Yes, I considered waking up at 3 in the morning to follow the game on the dial-up connection in Mom’s hotel room, but I went to sleep, fearing it would stress me out. Well, I’m not going to lie- I thought the game would be ugly. Like, u-g-l-y UGLY. So when I pulled up my MSN.com home page, you can imagine my shock when I read the headline. “UNC shocks Duke on Sr Night” or something like that. Naturally, I proceeded to read every article I could get my hands- or mouse- on.

This was definitely the peak of my CH home-sickness, especially after all the drama that’s been happening on campus this spring. It’s hard being so detached. But I am SO HAPPY for the guys. GAH I still can’t believe it. Second in the ACC?! Top fifteen rankings?! Are you kidding me?!

“And get this: Carolina, not Duke, enters the ACC and possibly the NCAA Tournament as the hotter team.

Now, come on, did anyone, and we mean anyone, consider this a possibility last April, in October, a month ago? If you did then you're a lot smarter than anyone else in this business.” (Andy Katz, espn.com)

We’re watching the ACC Tournament at a bar this weekend. I’m SO excited. March Madness is here in Florence- and I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

p.s. Bobby is definitely my favorite.

soccer, shopping, and mimosa

After the Olympics, things were pretty much back to normal around here. We did go to a soccer match, though. Florence’s major-league team, Fiorentina, is crazy popular around here. This year they’re doing really well, too. Unfortunately, they lost the match we went to. But it was entertaining, that’s for sure- the fans are wild. I wish I understood their chants and shouts…

Mom came for a visit this week. Basically we shopped and ate. A lot. And it was wonderful! I even learned how to cook a few more things- be impressed. On Wednesday afternoon, it was beauuutiful, so we went to the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace. I expected them to be very flat and manicured but I was definitely wrong. There were hills and paths through the trees- just gorgeous. And since it’s across the river and up the hill, there were gorgeous views of Florence. (Stay tuned for pictures.) I’m definitely going back when it’s warm so I can spend the whole day exploring.

Wednesday was also “Festa Della Donna” in Italy- Woman’s Day. Yes, it’s pretty much the best holiday ever created. One of my teachers explained that it was created because every day is men’s day. HA. On the holiday, women receive pretty flowers called mimosa and celebrate with friends. So, after Mom left for her flight, Brooke, Emily Jane, and I went out to eat and grabbed some gelato. We capped off the night with about 5 episodes of Sex and the City on dvd. Oh yeah- definitely a ladies’ night. It was GREAT. We plan to celebrate next year. Get excited, kids.

Olympics Round-up

Yes, it was AWESOME. The train ride was long, but great- we passed through Cinque Terre, which was thrilling for my roommates and nostalgic for me- I went last May. There were several pictures taken out the window as we sped by. When we got to the station in Torino, we didn’t have any spare time to walk around the city, so we boarded the train to Pinerolo with all the other fans. There we caught the shuttle bus that took us up into the Alps to the little town (basically village) of Pragelato, where the ski jumping event was held.

The hour-long bus ride was really one of the highlights of the whole trip. Of course there was a lot of snow on the ground and the mountains are magnificent- and we weren’t even in the high country. Sometimes the road reminded me of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. But our driver had some mad skill so it wasn’t that bad. I took a picture of one of the hairpin turns. When we got to Pragelato, we saw the ski jumping hills in the distance and it hit us- we really made it! Excitement. In town, it was like we had entered a flea market. There were vendors all over the place, selling fruit and veggies, meat, cheese, t-shirts, you name it. Very surreal, but fun. We made friends with an apple vendor and got some great cider- yummm, just like home.

Another unexpected highlight: we noticed a large crowd waiting for something outside of a lodge on the road. Our apple vendor friend informed us the lodge belongs to Monaco’s royal family and Prince Albert was about to leave the house. So we saw Prince Albert leave in his motorcade. Whaddya know.

After passing through security and walking down a long path (beside a creek- how quaint), we arrived at the venue. Outside the stands there was a pretty big area with official food and souvenir stands, etc. Of course, we all bought stuff at the souvenir tent- we have 5 identical sweatshirts in the apartment now. After that, it was growing darker and closer to start time, so we found our place inside the stands. Turns out our “Standing” tickets really meant general admission among seats. We found a good spot, broke out the posters, took some pictures, and then the jumpers started. Since it was the qualifying round, there were 60 trials, so we saw a lot. This event really is amazing- you think, oh that looks easy. Then you picture yourself doing it and think, oh crap I would die. Basically. It’s so great though. And the hard-core winter fans like the Russians and Scandinavians were hilarious to watch.

After the event was over, around 7:00, we made our way down the mountain and into Torino. Btw, I heard “Numa Numa” on the shuttle bus. Since we had time to spare before our train left, we made our way across town to see the Olympic Stadium and the flame. We couldn’t go inside, but we got some pictures from the street. Good times. We boarded our late train with a zillion other students, and waited with them in the wee hours of the morning for our connection in Pisa. We ended up rolling into Florence around 6:30am, and I crawled into bed around 7:15am.

And it was worth it.

p.s. You can check my pictures at the link on the right, or on Facebook.

Small detail, really no biggie.

Oh wait- yeah it is.

Have you heard? I’m going to the Olympics!

You could say I’m a little excited. Six of my friends and I are leaving Florence Friday morning on a train to Torino. We get there around 1:00 in the afternoon. In Torino proper, we plan to go see the Olympic Stadium (gotta see the flame) and Village. Then, we get on a train for about 45 min that takes us to Pinerolo, closer to the mountains, where we board a shuttle bus to Pragelato. In Pragelato (obviously it’s a good sign that the name has “gelato” in it), we will be attending the Ski Jumping Qualifying round at 6:00 on Friday evening.

We’re pumped. Yes, ski jumping is really random, but it was one of the few events for which tickets were under 100 euros. It should be super-cool to watch though. It will be dusk by that time, and Pragelato is much further into the Alps than Torino is. We’re planning to dress with some serious layers and buy all kinds of over-priced Olympic gear. Plus- we’re getting supplies to make signs. Our favorite US ski jumper is TBD. Maybe we’ll be on NBC. Stay tuned.

We won’t be spending the night- we didn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to find 7 free beds a month before the Games. So we’ll be heading back to Firenze on an overnight train. It’s going to wild. It’s going to be cold. It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime.

That's a negative, ghostrider. The pattern is full.

It’s been over two weeks and I’m really getting settled in now. Last Friday we finished our presession Italian class. It was pretty good, but 4 hours of one class in a day can get old. The UNC group has definitely grown a little closer- there are about 50 of us here. The kids from other universities just arrived at our school- it’s a little awkward. You could say we (UNC kids) are a little possessive. Now there are American students all over our neighborhood. It might get old.

Last weekend my roommates and I went to Milan to celebrate Lisa’s 20th birthday. At first we were going to surprise her with a day trip to Viareggio, on the Tuscan coastline- about an hour away- but then we were like, hey let’s get wild and go to Milan! We all wanted to go at some point and our schedules are just going to get busier. So, off we went. We took a morning train and got into the city around one. We had contacted a cheap hostel listed in our guidebook, so we got Metro tickets and followed directions to the hostel. It was in a nice neighborhood (parents with strollers everywhere, etc) but just looked really sketchy. It was pretty weird- the most random people were staying there and there was some sort of party in the grungy courtyard that night. Whatev. It was 10 euros.

Milan is pretty much the polar opposite of Florence, as Italian cities go. It’s verrry metropolitan and commercial. It’s just funny that most of the commerce revolves around fashion. The duomo (central cathedral) was pretty impressive- even if the façade was under construction. There were a lot of teenagers hanging around the piazza, which I found bizarre. My roommate Carlee said it’s pretty common because Italian kids go to school Saturday mornings, then go out to “see and be seen.” Well, the area around the duomo is a big shopping area, too. Inside an adjacent complex- the galleria- were Louis Vuitton, Brics, and more high-end boutiques. My favorite part was the snazzy McDonald’s- complete with Starbucks-esque “McCafe.”

On the other side of the galleria, we stumbled upon the La Scala theatre. And I got excited. Basically, La Scala is the Mecca of Italian opera. So basically- all opera. And most major musical works of the 19th century. Countless operas debuted there; stars were made on its stage. You could say I was in awe. It’s pretty much the only reason I wanted to go to Milan. We went inside the theatre’s museum, which is actually pretty neat if you’re any sort of theatre or music dork, like me. They had a special exhibit on the soprano Renata Tebaldi (complete with various costumes and a letter from Rudy Guiliani declaring Dec. 11, 1995 “Renata Tebaldi Day” in NYC- very cute), opera posters from up to 100 years ago announcing performances, portraits of composers and singers, and an exhibit on Mozart and his operas at La Scala. The 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birthday is this year- Europe is pretty psyched about it. Hands down, the highlight of the visit was the glimpse inside the theatre itself. A few of the boxes were open to museum visitors. Of course, we tried to get tickets for a performance of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” that night, but they were sold out. This wasn’t a bad substitute, though. I was in awe. There were tears. There was a no-flash picture so as not to alarm the guards. The end.

The rest of the day was spent shopping- hello, Milan. Of course, we didn’t really go for Valentino or Versace. So it was off to H&M for us. Woohoo winter sales! It was awesome. And packed. But that was ok- I got at least 100 euros worth of clothes for under 60. HA. That store is awesome. Is there one in Atlanta?? I need to hit that up. After shopping, we got a bite to eat at a small restaurant in the galleria. I had a pizza with ham on it. It was probably the best pizza I have ever consumed in my life. Perfect sauce, cheese, and crust. Mmmm.

After a restless night Saturday, we weren’t really in the brightest of moods, so we kept the morning’s festivities to a quiet amble through the Pinoteca dell’Amrosiana- Milan’s main gallery. They had some pretty nice stuff. By far the coolest was a special exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical designs for catapults, cannons, and the like. Talk about before your time. I also saw a manuscript on the Divine Proportion (Dan Brown, anyone?) by Luca Pacioli. I was like wait- how do I know that name? Oh yeah- Luca Pacioli is the father of accounting. He created the credit/debit system. I got excited. Shut up, I know I’m a dork.

After the museum we wandered back to the station and boarded our train early so we made sure we had seats together (there was a bit of a hassle on the first trip). The train was great (a surprisingly nice car for an Italian train), but the sun was really hot so we were pooped by the time we got home. Thank goodness we live near the station (another reason you should VISIT ME!!!).

Monday morning we started our regular class schedule for the semester. I had my two UNC core classes (just Carolina kids, plus a few from other schools that applied to the UNC program) and Italian language class. Classes here should be interesting- there’s a lot of reading and very few graded assignments. Tomorrow, I have a class on the European Union from 3-5:30. It’s my first and only class; considering I’m a morning person, this should get interesting.

Of course, we’re all looking forward to the biggest sports event of the week (yeah I love Willie Parker, but come ON- I have priorities). Carolina-Dook! But here’s the thing- it’s on here at 3:00am and the local sports bar won’t show it live because there are only about 20 of us that are interested. They’re going to replay it at 8pm tomorrow, so we’re going to read up on the game (there’s no way we could not hear about it) and go watch it tomorrow. I really just want to see Bobby blow past Greg Paulus and David stuff one over JJ Redick. Hey, I’ll even take Sheldon Williams in Redick’s place. Okay, I’m getting worked up now that I’m thinking about Dook. Grrr.

Anyways, that’s about it for now. Wait- no it’s not. What’s up in your lives? Really- send me an email. Awards for personal emails go to Jenny Manzullo, Sara Huffman, Ellie Klein, and that random kid I lived with for a couple semesters. Tell me a funny story from your day or something stupid someone said in class. I don’t care! I want to hear! I need entertainment! Please? Okay.

Mere =)

"Wisdom," et al.

So it’s been almost a week since I left the Dash. It feels like a month. Here’s a summary of what I’ve been up to- hence the point of this blog.

Tuesday morning I woke up early to get an emergency appt at the dentist. I had a bump on my gum way in the back and wanted to make sure it wasn’t an infection or something bad. Turns out, my one and only wisdom tooth decided to pop up the week I leave for Italy. (I’ll try to spare you the gory details.) The dentist wanted to take it out but that really wasn’t going to work out considering the effects of anesthesia don’t really go well with air travel. Fast forward to the oral surgeon- he sliced off the gum on top of the tooth (they put some gooey numbing stuff on it, of course), gave me some gauze, antibiotics, and pain meds, and sent me on my way. So the tooth is exposed and he’ll take it out completely when I get home in May.

By this time it’s about 11am, I still have to pack the rest of my stuff, and leave the house by 2:30pm. Actually, it wasn’t as stressful as I thought. I packed in a good amount of time and Mom took me to Sonic for a milkshake. =) For some reason, I thought I had to be at the airport really early, but it was no big deal. I wasted my time at the gate watching a movie on my laptop and reading about Lindsay Lohan in Vanity Fair. I also met a couple UNC girls on my flight. Remember how windy it was Tuesday night? Yeah, imagine being in an airplane. It definitely cut down on flight time, though. Oh, I watched March of the Penguins- very soothing for the trip. I like Morgan Freeman’s voice.

My connection in Frankfurt was delayed for about an hour, but there were about 10 other UNC girls there to commiserate with (with which to commiserate). Florence greeted us with drizzly weather but really lax customs protocol- just two guys to check your passport. Far cry from the mile long lines at Heathrow or Gatwick. Three other girls and I crammed our luggage in a minivan-sized taxi to go to our housing agency. When I say crammed, I mean it- that thing was stuffffed. It was impressive. After checking in with the housing agency, I walked to my apartment a couple blocks away. The noise of my giant duffel bag rolling over the uneven cobblestones was embarrassing but at least I didn’t get lost.

Our apartment lacks a few things we, as American students, are used to, but considering Florence is a zillion years old, our flat is pretty awesome. First of all, it’s huge- good thing, there are 6 of us. We have a loooong hallway connecting 2 bedrooms at the front of the building, a pseudo-living room and my bedroom/bathroom in the middle, and the kitchen, 2nd bathroom, and the 4th bedroom in the back. I share the middle bedroom and its adjoining bathroom with Carlee. All the bedrooms have simple twin beds, a table, and a wadrobe for clothes. That’s it. Storage has been an issue (no Linens & Things, go figure) but we’re getting the hang of it. Our bathrooms are pretty nice- tile all over and towel warmers too! The kitchen is pretty basic- tiny fridge, small sink, no microwave, a gas stove, and just a washer- we use the clothesline off our narrow balcony. The balcony’s view consists of the buildings next door and behind us. I think the one behind us is a hotel- the ground floor looks like a lobby. As I expected, we don’t have a telephone or internet access. We don’t have a tv either. Some of the UNC kids do, though- so we’ll probably go to their house to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony. More on the Olympics later.

Thursday through Sunday pretty much consisted of settling in our apartment, shopping for food and household supplies, and finding our way around the city. Thursday night we went to our landlord’s trattoria- delish ravioli. Friday night we went to a trendy-ish bar. Saturday night a guy my roommates met from NYU (they have their own campus here) cooked us dinner in our apartment. That was fun- our first family style meal. Over the weekend a cold hit me pretty hard. Yesterday I schlepped around but made time for cinnamon gelato and a “coca cola light.” Guys, the gelateria down the street is aMAZing. It’s really cute; it looks kind of like a soda shop or diner. They have all kinds of flavors- I’ve tried 3 (3 down, 30some to go). And it’s even listed in my guidebook.

Basically, I’ve been cut off from the world since I’ve been here. I heard from my roommate Brooke that Dook lost. That was very exciting. I heard from a classmate this morning that the Broncos lost. That was very sad. Otherwise- I have no idea what’s going on. For big games like the Superbowl next week and hopefully Carolina-Dook, we’re going to see if a pub will play them for us. I think someone heard about a place where you can request, in advance, a certain game to watch. Sounds good to me.

Fyi- I’m writing most of my emails (and this post, actually) in my apartment while offline, then sending them when I can use the computer lab at school or an internet café. Of course, if you want to splurge, you can call my cell phone. I bet text messaging is pretty cheap though. Send me an email for my number (I feel funny about posting it for the world to see-- then again, a creepy person could have just read this detailed post about my life over the past week- oh well). Hey! Send me an email for anything! I want to hear about your lives too! I miss NC terribly- esp. Chapel Hill. I have my UNC Alumni Association calendar to keep me company, though- ha.

Okay that was a really long post. They probably won’t always be like this. After all, I have things to do! I haven’t even seen the freakin Arno yet, and it’s like 5 blocks away! But I have seen the Duomo (it’s big). And I’m going on the school trip to Rome in a few weeks, yesss!

Get excited, kids.

Feet on the floor! Let's go!

Well it's Monday night and it's serious crunch time. Most of my clothes are packed, I have piles on the bathroom counter, and there is a lot of clutter on my bed. But I'm getting there... sort of. Of course, I still have multiple errands to do tomorrow morning and I have to figure out how to cram the rest of this stuff into my luggage. Speaking of which, the huge rolling duffel I got last week is the best luggage ever. Well I might change my mind during the trip but so far it's great. Big Grazie to Beth and the girls for forwarding it to me (yes, I was a ditz and shipped it to Chapel Hill). By the way, you could definitely pack a Venezuelan in this thing ;) .

My camera is ready to go- stay tuned for news on a Webshots page or something. And pleeeeease keep me updated on your lives! I want to know everything that's going on in NC or wherever you are. But don't say a word about Lost- DVR's got me covered, ha.

I'm digging talkin to ya,
Mere