This Is It!

Hey Guys,
The time has finally come! Friday I found out that I could start working on Wednesday, thank the Lord! I feel like everything happens for a reason. If I had started earlier I would have never been able to hang out with Allegra when she came and go to Venice with her. I also would not have been able to actually get there since my card was eaten up and I had no way of getting any money out (key takeaway: Always have a small stash to hold you over for a week). On Friday I got my new CHASE ATM card (bye Wamu, I loved you) and got the ok that I can start on Wednesday. I was definitely relieved when I heard the news. Iasked Jerry to come over and we shared of bottle of wine and caught up on the week, since we hadn’t seen each other for about a week. On Saturday I just chilled out and leisurely went to the school to be on the internet and watch some American TV. TVSHACK.NET is a life savior! I wish I had it when I was living in Germany. Anyway, later that night I went to my friend’s Daniel’s house. He and his boyfriend made dinner for Jerry and me. It was nice His boyfriend is from Gambia and made some traditional Gambian food. I wish I could give the name of the dish, but it slips my mind at the moment. I know it was white rice with a spicy okra sauce on top. After that we went to Magazzini. It was fun but this time the crowd was a little younger which I was not a big fan of. I definitely got some life nd ended up kissing 2 people, but only one of them was a make out session (harmless, not even hardcore). Then Jerry stayed the night at my house and left in the morning. I had plans to be productive on Sunday but I opened my wndow and felt how cold it was outside and decided to stay in for the day. I was on the computer all day chatting with family and random guys of Christmas present and past, perhaps even future. I basically set up dinner dates for myself from Wednesday to Saturday! I will keep you all updated on how all of them go.

Wed with Giuseppe
Thursday with Massimiliano
Friday with Andrea (cooking lesson)
Saturday lunch with Giovanni

Then Saturday dinner at Jerrys.

I had another date but I double booked Wednesday by accident and will hve to postpone Luigi until Monday. =)

Monday I woke up early and went to the Government building to get an official Italian SSN or codice fiscale. That went well. I then went to the school to sign my contract and look up directions to the building. After signing the contract I felt a sense of accomplishment and really didn’t do much except for getting caught up on some shows: Private Practice and Gossip Girl. I went shopping at the Duomo, where the day before the Prime Minister/ President Silvio Berlusconi got sucker punched (rock/statue thrown at his face, really big news here). Just imagine Brack getting punched by a random Republican against his policies. It is truly insane.Anyway, I found these shows at Zara that I thought they ran out of. They are som brown loafer high tops. They can be put low or high, very cute!

On Monday I also sent an email to my ‘company tutor’ at Zegna (Tom Ford Collection) Luca Ferri. He got back to me same day which was amazing here. It was definitely a good sign that we will be able to work well together. He told me the first half of the internship is in Novara at the manufacturing facility and the second part of the internship is in the Tom Ford Showroom. YAY! Really exciting! He also told me that we are working the Monday after Christmas so my trip to London to be with Allegra and her family has been cancelled, unfortunately. It is all good. I will get to London soon enough. Tuesday I woke up early again because I had my Permesso di Soggiorno (Residence Permit) meeting. I got there on time and the office did not have me in the schedule, and I presume they did not even have my paperwork. I was so over it so I just left, came back home and rested until 2. I am still a little bit sick; I think I got sick again after going out on Saturday night (Jerry is also really sick). Anyway, I know I will get up for tomorrow’s first day. I really can’t believe this day has finally come. I wanted to quit this process so many times and at this moment I am happy that I didn’t. Ok, now I have to shave and get my train tickets to Novara (where my job is). Much love and thanks for all of your support in this drama called my Milanese life! Oh yeah, now my focus is full time jobs. I have the Director of Career Services here looking into LVMH as well as a men’s luxury brand Larusmiani (possibility of VP level withn 3-4 years). I also emailed the Inditex Group with an update of my new experience. We will see how that goes!

-A