Today

My morning...
Craziness is the name of this institution, but today, with my coworker sick, I was in charge of the reservation site and a hostel... everything!
I would just like to say that the maid locked my keys, my phone, and all of my emergency numbers in the office, when I went to go help a guest.
Hence, I just had to climb down the face of the building 2 flights to get to the back door. So, in a sundress, I am hanging from a ledge over an iron fence.
Then, after getting the aforementioned guests taken care of, they were nice enough to scream at me because the apartment smelt like cleaning fluid.

This might not be my day, but at least it would make a good sitcom.

annie

Long Rambling Mass Update

Hey darlins.

Venice is amazing!

Work is difficult, but besides the boss who wishes he was in the mafia, lies like it is his sport, and watches porn on our computers at night and leaves it up so customers can see it, but it is great to feel like I am doing something worth my time and I don’t mind being on a computer all day. :) It is teaching me to stand up for myself, and I am becoming a real bitch! It is sooooooo cool! I am making him get his act together! It is pretty cool for me!

Trying to exercise more so I don’t get "secretary ass" (I hear is that is a technical term). Trying to join the climbing club here, but they only speak Italian... working on that. My roommates and I have hired a teacher who is cheaper than classes... so 4 hours a week a teacher comes to our flat and teaches us! Also, the guy I am kinda dating is teaching me Italian, but mostly Venetian slang and curses... VAFANCOLO!

Barcelona: job was ok, fell in love with the city and made some great friends. It was such a difficult job, but I succeeded in the end and should be going to Dublin next, in the next month. Then Berlin and Amsterdam. Ok, they hate me in the hostels of Barcelona and I would get screamed at... but after a few days, I stopped caring and yelled back at them... and got my quota!

I AM LEARNING TO BE A BITCH!!!!! See, traveling changes you! :)
Get your asses over here!! Venice is hot, smelly, they listen to crap music, and the people are rude, but otherwise it wouldn't be Venice. It is beautiful. The flowers are in bloom and everything smells amazing.

Went to the alps a few weekends ago with some friends (my roommates Claire and Carrie - who I adore!, Simone, and Marco) and spent the day hiking and swimming in the most blue water I have seen since Slovenia. 1.5 hours to be in the ALPS!! We went to this spectacular lake that is huge, surrounded by cliffs, but only locals go there because it is an half hour off the beaten path. Got the most amazing walking stick. Found it next to a waterfall I was climbing. Brought it home and saw someone had carved it. It is kinda scary, snakes and stuff, and I hid it for a few days because being superstitious, Claire and I swore it was possessed by the devil (not that everything I own isn’t already dominated by Satan) but It is the perfect height and I am appreciating the art I found in a pile of rubble :) (It has finally been removed from the closet, but still is no where near our bedroom - hehehehe, baby steps)

Later that night, went to a cheesy little carnival (you know, the kind that have the "Yo yo" and the "tilt a whirl") in the alps with a 700 year old church in on a cliff above it ringing its bell. The carnival was blaring hip hop and of course I was shaking my ass everywhere. They were selling the food they do at Italian carnivals (of course Claire and I went to compare - beer and gummies and stale rice crispy treats as big as your head but no candy apples!!) Kicked some teenage boys asses in Bumper Cars. Ok, so I might have not been able to walk when I was done and bruised all over, but I still beat them up more (or so I like to think...)

Saturday night on our date, "my man" took me salsa dancing in this square (after I made him try Mexican food because he has never eaten anything but Italian food - JESUS!). He studies Salsa, Mirangue, and classical guitar in his free time. I just found out from someone that in the of this huge group of people watching the dancing... well, while we were dancing, it turns out we were the only ones dancing! When I started dancing, tons of people were dancing. I was focusing so much because he is good and... well... I cant dance with others (hmmm... symbolic of my commitment problems... hmmmm?) This huge group was watching us! I had no idea! Everyone keeps telling him that we were great, but I had no idea we were the only ones... hard to explain over email... but very nerve racking. People stopped to watch us. I had no idea. I was just trying to keep up with him...

Anyway....

Will be back in the States at the end of July for Maciej and Trista's Wedding (YEAH!) and anyone in the NY area, will be having a move in party for my parents (if you help us move in, they want to let us use the house and buy a keg hehehehe. woo hoo. haven’t seen a keg in a long time)

This was long... sorry...
Oh yeah... two books to read... The Alchemist - Paulo Cahlo (must read, will analyze how you look at like, no matter how you currently look at life) Take Me With You (wonderful travelogue)

Shutting up now.
Ok...
Annie

PS Bad news... I NOW LOVE VEGIMITE! Stupid roommates converted me. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Venice

At work. Fast letter.
I have a job. Doing PR and marketing for an internet hostel reservation company.

Job: Flying to various cities to sign up hostels. They fly me out, pay for everything, and I get paid for every hostel I get on-line.

If I succeed in Barcelona next week, I fly to a different city in the world every week or every other week. If I don’t succeed on this trip with about 6 hostels, I get canned.

They are taking a huge risk on me; hope I can pull through. Got to get these hostels to join our organization. Then during the week, I also do portal work and reception.

Does anyone know some friendly hostels in Barcelona that not many people know about? I have all the advertised ones, but word of mouth ones are the type I am looking for.

Well, got an apartment (share the bed with Claire! - ha! hilarious), a job, some amazing friends... we will see how long it will last.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Know it will.

ciao bella

Well,

I am in Venice. I am so happy here. It is beautiful, I have amazing friends, and the weather is terrific. I have never seen such beautiful architecture EVERYWHERE! And the ice cream... Really want to live here and I have been given a job and an apartment, but I cannot because I am not a citizen of the EU and getting a work permit is a bitch. I was told if I can get a work permit in the next few months, I still have the job. We will see. Anyone have a sugar daddy in the EU that might want a very appreciative redheaded wife? Did you know that here any nationality can get a visa for being a sex worker? Yoda, don’t worry, I’m not becoming a prostitute, I just wanted to share this strange point. :)

I am having an amazing time. Claire and I have been catching up (I met her in Slovenia, she’s a Kiwi) and her flatmate, Carrie (from Oz) is fantastic. Carrie’s boyfriend, Simone (from Sicily), is the bees knees too. They are great people. So... I am really going to be sad to leave, but they want me to stay for another week... so we will see... maybe something will happen while I stay here. I at least am staying for our girls night out on Friday.

Ok, something is very strange. I have been cleaning and cooking all the time. Here, in Paris, and in London, I have been washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, doing peoples laundry and not minding at all. Dude, this is weird.

Italian men are different from the French. They hit on me, but don’t try to touch me or approach me. We all know how much I like strange people invading my personal space and all... :) Jesus, the amount of times I was just yelling at these assholes in France! Really had wished they spoke English. But here, they whistle or say "ciao bambina" but then duck their heads. so much nicer to have them be embarrassed about their disgusting habits. endears me more to them.

Also, Venice is proving to be another Slovenia. 2nd day here... broke the key in the door (what we thought was the only key until... well that’s a long story involving me and the neighbors and a lack of comprehension, but Wilma, the non-English speaking grandmother who lives next door is my new buddy), ripped off the freezer door trying to help Claire fix it. Today, whacked the hell out of my head today on the shower ledge... huge goose egg on my forehead. But a positive: got asked out by the hot train conductor on the night train from Paris to Venice. We exchanged numbers but since I will not be living here, I wont be around for our date on the 8th. hmmm... Olivier.

Well, waiting for an interview in London. After being teased with the possibility of living here, really don’t want to move back to London, but... got some wonderful friends there and it is a great job. Don’t want to jinx it, so we will wait for me to say anything.

Been lusting for Northern Africa. Really want to go to Morocco, Tunisia, and Algiers... we will see. Kinda would like some more cash and a bed for a few weeks... not to sure. kinda in limbo... but very happy about it. Hoping to get to Prague sometime very soon (Hi Sarah!)
Who knows... maybe home for a few weeks... maybe apply for a bunch more jobs...