Woo Hoo!

Hubby rocks, let me tell you - and I'll stay away from Tuna Girl territory. ;)


Our Italian phone line doesn't work. I have no idea why, but it's been like that for almost 2 weeks now. We've been without DSL for almost a week as of yesterday - hubby somehow managed to get the DSL working again (or the Sgt at the shop, or e-mailing, etc - all I know it is works so !!!!). That means our Vonage works again. I couldn't care less if our Italian line doesn't work. The people who need to get ahold of me have my cell # in-country and that's good enough imo.

So now, I can check my e-mails again, do my blogging, etc. I love my Techno God, really I do. :D


Something I thought might be of interest to a few posters/visitors - Ancestry.com has ALL it's military records online for FREE until 06 June. You will need to sign-up for an account but it's FREE as well. The records date back to the French & Indian war (and earlier) so get out there and USE THEM!!



Oh yeah, and I lost 1 pound this week. I haven't been doing the exercises every day - been spending time with hubby and NCIS.

Woo Hoo!

Hubby is HOME, safe and sound. Typing will be non-existant for the next few days (or weeks). Gotta go spend time with my Handsome Husband! :D

Exercise Post Four

Yeah, I missed making post four on time. I did the exerciszes last night, laid down for one of the back yoga positions and well ... didn't wake up until the alarm went off at 0600 this morning. I'm guessing I was tired, tired tired. That or I just passed out, but I'm stickin' with tired.

I weighted myself this morning and I lost 2lbs this week. Only 18 more to get to my first goal! But, 2 down is better than none, yeah?

Gotta go do some important stuff. Post again later ...

Exercise - Day Three

Just finished up my exercising for today. I know, I know, it's late compared to the others but today was a busy little beaver kind of day. But, I DID do the exercise and that's the important bit, no? Even if I don't have a total 24 hours between today and tomorrow well, that it got done is the point to stress, imo anyway.


Did 20 reps of 9 exercises but well, couldn't manage a full 20 on the last set. I wouldn't say muscle fatigue but my biceps and back muscles were just not into the full 20. I did manage 16 reps for it, so not a total wash-out. I have to build up muscle stamina, and each day will hopefully build that little bit more.


The Gazelle was a killer today. I couldn't seem to stay within my "target" heartrate. I kept pushing too high, though I think stress may have something to do with it. I'm not happy I couldn't maintain the heartrate I managed on Monday but again, the more I try the better I get (I hope).


Yoga, well, for all the stretching and muscle relaxing I got out of it, I have a serious pain in my neck. Seems to be centered on my right rear muscle group, with my chin on my breastbone and rolling towards my left shoulder is when I feel it most. Rolling my head helps but it hasn't seemed to go totally away yet. I may get out something warm and rest it to relax the muscles more. The balance thing is ever so slightly better. IE, I managed a count of 2 more before I lost my balance on the right leg, only counting 1 on the left - but that's 1 and 2 more than I got yesterday. Little steps, I have to remind myself, little steps.


Now, I'm off to read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I placed a request for it a few weeks ago and now I have in my excited little possession the second of Brooks' zombie books. I'm really looking forward to it, as Zombie Survival Guide is actually one of my favorite books. I must say, out of all the USAFE bases we've been to (and USARER too), Aviano has a really good library for the base size it serves. RAF Croughton has a kick butt sized library considering it's terribly small size of patrons but Aviano holds it's own.

Spelt Flour?

Anyone know of where to get Spelt flour without a 3 - 4 times shipping rate? Apparently needing 5lbs of Spelt flour shipped to an APO means I must pay a minimum of $12 shipping and handling. What's worse is it's all via the USPS and dude, they don't charge that much! God forbid I need something in Europe without being able to get it shipped via UPS.

If that fails, anyone know what the hell Spelt flour is is Italian, and if they even grow that stuff here? Most of the fruity "organic" shops sell it stateside, and well I'm not in the mood to hug a tree or be analy raped without lubricant when they try to hit my pocketbook.

I've been e-mailing some butt on eBay and while they replied to the first e-mail and said they'd ship USPS to us they won't reply to any other's asking for a shipping cost (it's buy-it-now, not an auction). Without a shipping fee, I won't consider buying it because well, I KNOW I'm gettin' screwed by the "love everyone" folks, so no chance I'm going to assume I'm NOT getting screwed by eBay sellers.

Why is Spelt Flour so damn important? True Roman bread for True Romans needs SPELT FLOUR!! Thus, it's a very niche market and apparently the Amish have it cornered.

Exercise Post 2

Well, did my exercising today. I uped the reps to 18, though still at 10lbs and only one set. Tomorrow I'll up to 20 reps, then start adding a new set on Thursday.

I was more easily able to hold "mountain" pose and "standing archer" though "swan" was more difficult today. I don't know if that's down to me and my body or down to the fact that the carpet was repulsive and I just didn't want to be any closer than necissary to it - hence my not doing "snake" at all (you have to lay face-down and um, no ...)

I'm not feeling the after effects (lethargy mostly). I did turn in at 2300 last night which is quite early for me. No strains, no pains, no nada. I could tell my left thigh needs strengthening, along with having a balance issue more strongly on my left leg alone. Oh well, I shall continue to work.

I'll go back to cardio tomorrow. I'm going to do Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun and then Tues/Thurs/Sat on a two week circut. See you tomorrow ...

Exercise Post 1

Well, started today. I'll keep a running post going every day about the exercising and how it's going.


Did 15 reps, 1 set - to exhaustion (not to FAILURE), with 10lb dumbells of 10 exercises. I was quite red faced, not tired but knowing I put in a good effort when I was done. Roughtly 38 mintues, with little to no rest time between.

I'll slowly add more reps, then more weight over time. Then add more exercises as well. Need to do the "building blocks" before you build the tower.


Did 20 minutes (1 mile) on my Gazelle for cardio. Took my pulse several times over and seemed to have stayed within the max cardio/fat burning zone.


Did 10 or so minutes of yoga afterwards. Not really as a "cool down" or stretching but mainly balancing poses (mountain, archer, half butterfly, stading archer). I did a few other poses as well but I noticed I need to work on my balance so leaned more heavily to those.

I was quite sleepy afterwards but I don't think it's due to the exercise. I seem to get deeply relaxed with the Yoga and I assume that just fed into the muscle usage previous.

My flexability isn't bad. In archer I can still get my heel to my head and standing archer gives a really good stretch in the leg muscles. I'm actually much more flexable than I thought I'd be but with 3 kids and a dog to keep up with, I guess that's a good thing.


All in all not a bad start to the exercise regime. See how I feel tomorrow!

Snow in TEXAS over Easter Weekend

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mommies out there - to be, new or "been there, done that". I hope you have a great Mother's Day!

Happy Military Spouse's Day!

Never do a coin-check with me in the room. Hubby made sure I got my own several years ago, and while it says Air Force Spouse ya'll are all entitled to it.




Since the coin is really difficult to make out, this is what it says on the back:

GIVEN IN GRATITUDE
FOR UNSELFISH, FAITHFUL
AND DEVOTED SERVICE.
YOUR UNFAILING SUPPORT
AND UNDERSTANDING
HELP TO MAKE POSSIBLE
YOUR SPOUSE'S LASTING
CONTRIBUTION TO A
GREATFUL NATION.

Online Workout Buddies?

Had my doc's appointment today and she suggested having 1 goal at a time, using them as markers to reach my "ultimate goal" which is about 55lbs from here. Basically, in 6 months (the end of the year) I want to be down to 170lb, which I consider to be my "fighting fit" weight.

So, any military spouses - or bloggers in general, that want to be an online workout buddy? I'm shooting to loose 10% bodyweight should take roughly 2 1/2 - 3 months. I plan to weigh myself ONCE a week, and then blog it on my weight ticker (under "About Me"). I also plan to do freeweights (or machines) 5 days a week, + 3 days a week do some cardio workouts via my Gazelle (or running, or eliptical, or bike, etc).

I'm not stressing swimsuits, size tags or weight. I like to see nicely defined bicepts, tricepts (which need some work ...), etc. I'm looking forward to more energy, feeling better health wise (I've got the blahs at the mo), etc. Anyone want to take up the challenge? This is what you'd be agreeing to:


Working out - HOWEVER you feel best doing it (machines, free weights, etc) 5 days a week (Monday through Friday is best imo with 2 days off on the weekend), 3 times a week some cardio (running, biking, etc).

Only working for 30-45 minutes MAX no matter WHAT kind of excersizes or cardio you do. It's much easier to manage that time rather than hours at the gym, etc.

Parking your car 2 slots (at least) farther from the door and walking those extra 10 or so steps.

Blogging 1 post a day (on workout days) to say what you did.

Blogging 1 time a WEEK when you check your weight (and if you don't want to say "I weight this many lbs" say "I lost this many pounds").

Blogging any mood changes, energy things, etc you feel like blogging about.



None of those are drastic imo. They're all quite doable - at least for me. I also plan to go to whole wheat pasta, bread, etc. I've seriously cut down my soda intake (I'm not going cold turkey, thanks), I've drastically upped my water intake (to make up for fluid loss from soda and up my fluid intake in general).

I'm not going to tell you what to eat, what not to eat, how much of it, etc. Small baby steps is all I'm going to take and I won't expect anyone else to take bigger steps than me, so don't think I'm going to call and yell at you if you eat that second slice of cheesecake (or the whole thing ...).

I also plan to treat myself once a week to something I want, be it chocolate/Cinnabon/Marco's Greek Food, a movie, a new book, etc. Once I reach my 10% loss goal I'll do something 'big' for me. Maybe a nice dinner with the hubby without the heathens (ooohhh, that's be NICE ... I so miss "dates"), or a stop up for a manicure (though that idea still scares me), or a "run away" day trip.

I'm hoping to loose 2lbs a week, that's all. NO crash diets, NO stressing "I lost only yadayadayada today" crap, as little stress as possible actually. NO beating myself against the head because I "snuck" something - I have no intention of feeling like food is my enemy. I like my food, I'm not going to refuse to eat something I like, that's setting yourself up for failure before you even start.

I plan to start on Monday. So, anyone who'd like to take me up feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at a _ texan _ abroad AT yahoo DOT com (remove spaces, use signs instead of AT and DOT).

Better?

Well, some anyways, compared to yesterday.

I put in my flowerbed today - flowers came from the Housing voucher. And then I was prepared to kill the dog as he ROLLED IN THEM!! He's now currently stuck in his crate in our bedroom and I'll let him out when I feel like it because after rolling in potting soil, he then jumped all over my husband's leather sofas. Not a good idea, really.


Tomorrow starts our Primavera (Spring) Bazaar up at Hangars 1 & 2. I need to buy some Go-Go Juice (Strawberry flavored), and some bee's wax for the diptyches (ies, s, whatever) if the honey man is there so... I also have a doc appointment for an all-around checkup and to see if I can get a referal to the "nutso" folks about possibly getting a boob-job and a tummy-tuck on the AF dime. I doubt I can pull it off, but well, what's the worst they can say? No?!?


I got my Apicius' cookbook in today. As I only ordered it on the 1st, I'm very pleased with the shipping speed. That, or the PO here is no longer being buttheads but I think it's probably up in Frankfurt that had the backlog.


I'm not going crazy today, which I say is down to the flowerbed. I beat some serious energy out (and stress) while getting it ready for planting. Note to all who want to garden here - do raised beds or be prepared for some seriously rocky soil (even CO wasn't that bad).


I've mowed the grass, I still need to sweep up the cut grass on the sidewalks and patio, respool the weedeater and weedeat a few other places, then we should be all set for our inspection tomorrow. I'll post photos in just a few and you can see what I've done compared to some other residents who apparently due to their 'friendlyness' with the MSgt butthead in our housing area are excempt (so they think) from Housing regulations. This should be amussing tomorrow ...


Gotta go do some more yardwork! But it's nice and sunny and warm and I can think in my head that I'm in TEXAS even if my brain is smart enough to know my body ain't there ... I can always dream!

Eh

That's how I'm feeling right now ... EH ... Not very damn enthusiastic, I can tell you that much!


I really miss the hubby ... For so many reason other than conjugal ones - though I really miss that too.


I've got the damn Austin Powers themesong running through my damn head non-stop - that you oh so little Telecom Italia. It's their 'muzak' selection for the phone in complaints. It bites ass to listen to 20+ times a day!


I miss my husband, have I said that already?


My kids, I love, but lord help me I need AWAY from them! The bad part about deployments is the lack of childcare. I can't go anywhere without them unless they're at school and I never manage to get all my errands done while they're gone.


I miss hubby ... I want him HOME now and the USAF just isn't listening!


I've got a freakin' housing inspection come Friday. I have shit to do in the yard to make sure it's up to passing (never failed one yet). I've got a few more stubborn weeds to kill in the driveway (open brickwork BITES!!), along with more salt to spread. Reguardless of what my stupidass neighbors might think that driveway is my own personal Carthage. It's just that some of those damn Carthaginians aren't gettin' the message to scram and don't come back!


Not that I'd have hubby help with the yard work (he's allergic to chlorophil I'm convinced) but I REALLY MISS HIM!!


My lupines are springing up well, that's good. I would very much like to see a bluebonnet but that hasn't happened just yet. I'm workin' on it though. My heliotrope is blooming, but not nearly enough. I have to see if I have more seeds for it, I love that stuff and want it in full bloom.


Did I mention I miss my husband? 'Cause I really do ...


I need to go pick up my damn flowers/potting soil/mulch for our housing unit. I have the vouchers, only good until 31 May, but haven't managed to get there while they're open. I always seems to hit them during their siesta and there are no hours posted anywhere I can find. I so really want to have a good look and see what all plants they have.


You know, it's not like my life gets easier when hubby's HOME but I have someone to share the responsibilities with. I miss those extra shoulders that help me carry the weight.


I still need to sew another tunica. I've been making diptychs so I haven't got the tunica worked on just yet. The material still sits, as does my sewing machine. I'll get there in the next few days but nobody is gonna die if I don't do it today.


What officer do I need to yell at to make the Pentagon understand I MISS MY HUSBAND!!


I want a freakin' Schwank Steak and some good German bier! Heffeweissen would be REALLY nice right now, maybe a few potato croqetten, a jagger snitzel mit mushrooms. Damn, I miss eating out and eating real food. *sad sigh*


Um, hubby ... Please come HOME!!!


Please USAFE gods, let us have 1 last European assignment (Maybe up by Hadrian's Wall? Ramstein again?) after this hellhole. It's not Italy, it's Aviano, never doubt that.


I really miss the hubby. Not that I don't always miss him but it's just much worse this go round. I wish he was HOME so I could touch him, hear him breathe, hell, smelll him. Yes, I really do like how my husband smells and I miss the fact he's not here to sniff up. I miss not hearing his voice. I especially miss the fact he keeps me sane and I could really use a sanity boost right about now ...





I think that's all for now ... Oh, one more thing ...

I might have mentioned it, but I REALLY REALLY MISS YOU, my Handsome Husband!!

I'm Ouiser!

Oh lord, to a T am I Ouiser! They're gonna use my name in stories to scare little kids - hahahaha!! And I'll probably be related to them.

Some Ouiserisms for your consideration:

This is it, I've found it, I'm in hell.

I am just about at the end of my rope with you.

I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood for the past 40 years!

Clairee Belcher: [discussing the color of the football uniforms] ... But I love the top - such a vibrant purple. Bob, would you call this color "grape" or "aubergine'?
Ouiser Boudreaux: SHUT UP!
Clairee Belcher: What?
Ouiser Boudreaux: You're makin' a fool outta yourself, Clairee.
Clairee Belcher: I am not.
Ouiser Boudreaux: This is football. All people care about are touchdowns and injuries. They don't give a damn about that grape shit.

I'm not as sweet as I used to be.

Don't try to get on my good side, Truvy. I no longer have one!

He is a boil on the butt of humanity!

Oh! He's a real gentleman! I bet he takes the dishes out of the sink before he PEES in it!

A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Dear me, some of those actually HAVE come out of my mouth. Tsk, see, we really are like that in the "South" (TEXAS actually but well, I'll take what I can get). They just didn't get the drawl right.

I broke

I plugged everything back in today - late last night really early this morning some damn time anyway. It's not the loss of Vonage, the loss of e-mail or the loss of bloging that did me in. It was the loss of talking to Hubby that clinched the deal.

This deployment is just really wearin' on me at the moment. My stress is through the roof (even for Aviano stress level), my nerves are down to a raw core bundle, I'm shocked I haven't developed a nervous twitch just yet ... YET being the key word here.

Anyhoo, don't tell the ALICE but ... um ... it's
W
O
R
K
I
N
G

For how long, I don't know but .... I can 'talk' to my husband and that's the important thing so, eh.

Incommunicado

Okay, for those family and friends that read this blog:

Do NOT call the Vongage number, I won't answer it.

Do NOT e-mail and expect a response anytime soon, you won't get one.


I'm disconnecting all the stupid techno shit when I'm done with this blog posting. I will check my e-mail at the library if I get a chance, but we're now down to less than 5 mintues connectivity and I'm done ... Just DONE.

I'm tired of the raised bloodpressure, the lying Italians that refuse to help in any way, the crap equipment that they won't replace or repair. I'm just unplugging everything. It will remain that way until hubby gets HOME and either fixes it or finds a way to get online without it.

I may, or may not, update the blog. Depends heavily upon my mood at any given time.

There IS Justice!

And certain celebutards who can't keep their disease ridden legs closed are subjected to it! Even in Kalifornya.

Hilton to JAIL!!

Oh, I just can not express how much I hope the 45 days she got are unending. I also hope they don't segregate her, let the general population have a go at her. Then tape it for her stupid show, hell, throw her little friend Richie in there too! Lock 'em both in a 12'x8'. They could trade VDs!

And it just keeps getting better! The judge wouldn't let her opt into paying for a smaller, more comfortable jail. She's going to the big bad slammer with all the other women.

We all know the broke ass Hiltons (they have NO $$, only land holdings - that not a one of them earned) will do everything in their sick, twisted giggle-at-the-porn-movie way to get her out. But I hope she sweats bullets for a month in a half. I hope the guards make sure to rattle her bars every day, I hope the other inmates get their fair share of her too. I hope she stays through it all, then goes right back to her whore ways when she gets out. And that they throw her ass in for 6 months, then 12, then years innumerable.


I very seldomly comment on 'celebrities' because they'r all spoilt rotten brats than need repeat ass-kickings but this is one hell of a news item to finally get. (DSL again) Teach them that the only reason they make the 'news' is so people can laugh at their stupidity, their VDs, their fellow 'friends' getting thrown in jail for being paedophiles and rapists! Now, when can we expect Britney and LoWhore's turns??

Tada!

Yes, yes, I can sew. Without a pattern even! Please ignore the goofball that is modeling - I don't have a sewing dummy so well, I had to use the next best thing. (I'm just kiddin'...)

Now mind, that tunica is the most simple thing to sew. It's foolproof, which is really good considering around a sewing machine I'm a fool. I've got a second to make, with red trim (for the boys) but I'm actually pretty happy with this one. Again, not that you could really screw the thing up.

That way the boys and the girls have one they can wear and get their picture taken in. Woo hoo! We're getting closer to Roman day ... Oh dear god and I've got loads left to do - damn diptychs mainly. (Can I pay anyone to make them for me?? Huh?? Please?!?!) I've also got to get some ceramic pots in, trial and error my Roman road and murals, get the Spelt flour in, try a few recipes (I'll make the meat ones in advance but let the kids help with preping and making the veggie and fruit ones, maybe even the bread), and round up a few things more for my archaeological dig. Oh my, I'm going to give them a full Roman day but whoo - I can so see myself passing out when it's over.

Archaeo News

I love archaeology, even non-Roman archaeology, so I thought I'd share some of the news coming out of Europe, and parts farther afield.

New Layer of Ancient Greek Writings Detected in Medieval Book - THIRD layer baby, and it's a text about an earlier work by Aristotle! This palimpset is priceless considering the knowledge we've already attained from it. Think how many more secrets and lost texts may still be there. It's enough to make a bookworm's head swim.


Following in the steps of a Trojan hero - an article about the discovery of where Aeneas firt stepped foot upon Italian soil. That is, if you believe the ancient Romans and their foundation myths. I personally do not, but it is quite fascinating that it's taken this long for them to realize under their feet is a far older town than the 15th century they thought it was. Virgil was a great poet, but no historian. The Aeaneid is worth a read, but not as a historically accurate document. Octavian wanted to give Rome a founding myth that was unshakeable. It still survives, MMDCCLX (2760) years later (figuring from the founding of Rome, as per the Roman calendar). Considering they're basing their identification on the location of a temple to Minerva, it's pretty interesting stuff.

Another interesting bit for the Trivial Pursuit minded is that Minerva is actually an Etruscan diety, with only the slightest of spelling changes. For all those who think Rome went to war with Etruscan invaders - Alba Longa (Rome's mother city) was Etruscan. Chances are better than not that Romulus and Remus were Etruscan in origin as well. Goes a long way to explain why if Rome threw off the shackles of Etruscan rule at the fall of Tarquinius Superbus (I just love that name) that they kept the language, the banking, the commerce, the grave and religious rituals, the entertainment (gladiators). It also explains why Roman life is Etruscan life, in a toga versus a Greek peplos (for the ladies). The Greeks were the most prized for knowledge and culture in the Roman world (most slaves that were paedigoges were Greek, as were the tutors) - the Etruscans were allied to the Greeks, they would have passed that alliance onto their citizens (the Romans). The Etruscans weren't "driven out" as it's been retold by the Romans themselves. They WERE the Romans.


Ancient mosaic of the real Gladiator found - In a villa siezed (illegally) by Commodus, they've found a monochromatic mosaic with a gladiator with a trident and net (Retiarius) by the name of Montanus. It's surmised that the blood lust loving Emperor had a favorite, and that we now know his name. Sadly, someone has already attempted to pry it from the ground, damaging it. Hopefully not beyond repair but I wonder if they weren't doing it to sell to the sick disgusting thieves at the Getty.


Gladiators' graveyard discovered - On the subject of gladiators, there's some speculation that they've discovered the first gladiator grave yard. Apparently the bones are showing signs of mending, as well as bizarre wounds which could have been caused by the weapons used in the ampitheatre (tridents, nets weighted down, etc). If the identification is correct, this is a once in a lifetime discovery. I hope they study it as totally as possible, because we might never get this chance again.



Queen Elizabeth II To Visit Jamestown - Her Majesty will be visting the first true and successful English foothold in the "new world". It's been 400 years since we started this little experiment, and my how we've grown. We may have had a bitter brawl with our mother land, but we still like her to come and visit. Like any family, we love 'em, even if we don't like 'em all the time. I'm glad to see that this time, Her Majesty and Prince Phillip will be able to actually view Jamestown instead of just hearing how it's in the middle of the river - circa 50 years ago. I hope she has a good visit and that the Derby is to her liking. While it might not be Royal Ascot, we do like our ponies fast in the States - good little "colonists" we are, we kept that trait.

??

Well, I reread my last post and I think some might get the impression I dislike Italy. Or, Italians in general. Neither is the truth. I dislike (very strongly) a subsection of Italians and the Italian way of doing things. Much like I dislike (hate even) the way car salesmen in Texas have a nasty habit of sayin' "Well, darlin, can I talk to your husband?". It's very patronizing, very offensive imo and being a non-entity just burns my butt.

There are loads of nice, sweet, helpful Italians too. The ladies at the Commissary are great, even if they give the littlest heathen a big head ("she's beautiful", "she's so pretty", etc. - she's cute and she knows it and she uses it to her advantage...not a good thing imo).

The ones at the BX are very helpful (as are the Commissary). We've actually gone in and asked them at random to translate something right after we got here and they were very helpful, which is much appreciated. They've helped me make sure my cell phone got credited by listening to the all Italian menu, and even switching it to English for me. I love 'em!

There is an absolute DOLL who works at our gift shop. She's 7 kinds of nice, always chats with the kiddos, always has a smile and a "Ciao, bella!". She's got great deals and I love shopping with her for gifts going stateside.

It seems to be mainly men that are the buttheads. Not all, there are quite a few I've met that aren't butts but it's those sore thumbs that annoy me. Maybe they're threatened by an empowered woman, maybe they don't like Americans, I don' know, I don't care. My husband wouldn't tolerate an Italian woman being treated that way, neither would I so I won't tolerate it being done to myself either. It's disrespectful in a way only a Texan or a southerner would understand - I can't properly put it into words.

I have noticed that the gentlemen in the south of Italy (Rome and farther) are much more polite but have "mano de muerto" (literaly the "hand of death") which likes to 'roam' on public transport but I don't use public transport, let alone by myself so ...

I've been told the folks down south are poorer than those up here, which I guess makes sense. The big towns are up here (Milano, Venezia, Vicenza, Padova, Firenze, etc) while in the south the only 2 large ones I can name are Napoli and Roma. Could be they're just hustle-and-bustle but still, there's no reason to be disrespectful towards a woman, for any reason in an offical context and only very few in personal ones imo.

It doesn't totally suck in Italy, just I hate to deal with 'offical' channels for anything. They're dismissive and rude for the most part, not neccissarily traits one would normally connect to the Italians. I still have loads of places I love, but they'll never include the bank or Telecom Italia or even the post office.

Oh the joys of Italy

Yeah, that title is sarcastic. For the last FOUR MONTHS I've been dealing with a DSL modem that's shit. Why do I say the modem is bad? Oh ... let's see, in the last damn near 120 days I've replaced:

the phone line between the wall and the modem THREE TIMES!!

the cables between the modem and the Network (Linksys) another FIVE times!!

the power cords to the Linksys & the Router TWICE!!

the various cables and telephone lines between the Router and the Linksys THREE times!!

I've also reset:

the Linksys username and passwords to the factory default, and the ones Alice says to use - and surprise surprise - NO CHANGE ON THE MODEM DROPPING THE LINE!!!




The ONLY constant, that I CAN'T change is the Alice ADSL modem! And it won't stay connected for more than 7 minutes at a go. I've had family back stateside time our Vonage talks and it dies within 7 minutes.

Of course, according to Telecom Italia there is NOTHING wrong with their crap!! That's when I've managed to find anyone at Telecom Italia capable of uttering anything in English. I understand fully that I'm in Italy and should speak Italian, however, when the local phone stores (run for TELECOM ITALIA - they're contractors) tell you the WON'T help you and to "call this number" and "wait for an English speaking operator" you'd think in damn near 100 days of calling TI that you'd manage more than ONE person who could speak English. We won't even talk about the standard 20 mintues PER CALL wait - and I've made more than ONE call every day!

I kid you not, ONE person! Everyone else goes "I only speak Italian" (of course, it's in Italian, not English). I've tried every form of Latin, Spanish and butchered Italian I can to get some help and NADA!!! I was told, in NO uncertain terms there was NOTHING wrong with my modem. Even though every shred of logic would dictate that the ONLY constant issue is what's WRONG!!! But, I guess I use a wierd version of American logic in which when all other possibilites are eliminated - you're left with the ONLY possiblity that's WRONG! Stupid American woman me - thinking that if all the OTHER electronics check out, it must be the ONE that I can't change, I can't reset, I can't replace.

I've even begged - in broken and brutalized Italian, to get the modem replaced. We're LEASING the modem and they won't replace it! The phone number you're supposed to call WON'T replace the damn thing as their records show "no faults" on the line. Um, hello? When I lose my modem due to a power outage 4 months ago and it won't stay connected for damn near 120 days now - you'd think that Telecom Italia's customer service would be capable of helping ... Apparently they can't help American women. I don't know if it's the American part or the woman part. Considering some of the other offish and good-ol'-boy behaviour I've experienced in this country I think it's the combo of the two.

Example - Banco Populare (ON BASE!!!) called my husband to TATTLE on me for asking for the log-in information for our Telepass account. They told me, when I went in that they "couldn't help". They waited 3 hours and CALLED MY HUSBAND. The BANK MANAGER went so far as to say "I don't know if you know about it, but your wife came in asking for log-in information for your Telepass". That's roughly the point my husband hit the ROOF!! He apparently had a really good go at the Bank Manager for daring to tattle on me (my name is on that account, and I have a standing, valid POA) for asking about bank information. Besides the fact, he'd ASKED ME to go to the bank as he didn't have time due to work. I think that's when he finally bought the "they're FUCKED IN THE HEAD here" I've been telling him about.

Another example, in case that one wasn't enough, is calling the housing maintenance office. The lady who answers the line is a DOLL!! She's quick to help, does fantastic at scheduling appointments, is just all around fantastic. The plumbers who are working for housing are a totally different story. I've got a leak in my laundry room - I've called about it several times actually. The sink in the laundry room can NOT be turned on or you end up with standing water on the floor. They used the WRONG sized coupler ring to connect the u-bend to the drain pipe. It's too large, and leaks EVERYWHERE!!!! When you tell the Italian plumbers this, they give you the "stupid American woman thinks she knows something" face. I kid you not, that is EXACTLY what that face it - they don't DARE give it to my husband. It's gotten so bad that I won't call Maintenance for water issues, I'll let them fester until hubby calls (which is funny to watch considering they keep the same hours his office does) and then - shock of shocks, the Italians fix it RIGHT UP!! Without ANY attitude, becasue a MAN told them what's wrong. This is ingrained in far too many Italian males.

Apparently Italian women are NOT to be trusted to do anything. They can't set up cable, they can't do car stuff, they can't deal with house issues, they can't go to the bank, yadayadayada. Women in this country are treated by too many men and too many governmental organizations as non-persons. It's even gotten that bad on base - MPF is one of the main perpetrators of that shit. Let's just put it oh so mildly that one thing my husband is sure of is my ability to deal with shit myself!


I've broken down (at the beginning at this hellious deployment) and gone to the shop. I won't do so again, I despise bothering the shop. Anyone who knows me in real life will probably be flabbergasted that I dared to bother the shop - I don't go there, I don't bother them, they didn't sign up to take care of stupid shit for spouses while a deployment is going on. I care not a wank that the USAF has a standing rule to take care of spouses - my husband is NOT in the country, thus my SPOUSE stuff will not be taken care of by anyone other than ME! As our spouses' group is untrusthworthy I won't go to them either. There are those who try very hard, but turn repeated blind eyes until it's dragged kicking and screaming like little cockroaches into the light of their husbands' offices. I despise dirty tricks and too many in this squadron enable them by pretending they're not a problem if they're not attacking THEIR family members. (Gossip queens ain't got nothin' on this base, or this squadron - one of the elected 'officers' is the reason my Naples trip was cut short and I'm not really able to discuss it at the moment ... But when I can, I'll name names and ranks and EXACTLY what went down. I'll even tell you where they got assigned to! Wait for it.) That however, is neither here nor there in the ADSL issues.

So, I'm to the point I want to take a sledge hammer to my ADSL modem. Maybe if I shater it into a billion little shards, tape it up and throw the damn thing at them at the phone store that they'll finally decide to FIX IT!! Since I can't even get a replacement one (though we're LEASING and we don't OWN this one), they won't really mind me destroying it ... What's the harm? There's obviously nothing wrong with it, nothing to worry about me doing to it. It's already an irrepareable PIECE OF SHIT so a little beating it with a heavy metal mallet might actually do it some good.

Yes, I really am loosing my mind during this deployment. I feel it slipping away and the main culprit is Alice and Telecom Italia. Aren't you SO GLAD you don't live here? Count your blessings for your dial-up modem. When my POS goes down, it takes my stateside line and my internet connection with it! I loose ALL contact with humans other than my shit neighbors and well, I wouldn't piss 'em out if they were on fire!

When you're stuck in the house with 3 kids and a dog for company, you get really tired of watching "The Simpsons" and kids movies. You get really tired of getting after them to clean up their messes and do their chores. You really do start to lose your mind ... And you KNOW IT!! It's a terrible thing really, especially when you consider ONE Italian helping would negate it all.

Sorry for the rambling but this shit just keeps going and going and going. It never changes, it never gets better, I don't get a single solitary break from it for ONE DAY. Not one single day have I NOT had to call Telecom Italia about this shit modem, not one day have I actually gotten the help I've asked for. Not one damn day, and people wonder why I'm nuts ...