He's BAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!

Yes, yes, yes ladies and gentleman. I have returned to the life of blogging as well as the good life in Bologna, Italy.

From almost 7 weeks in Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles and even Reno, Nevada I'm back. I plan on doing a little bit more this time around. I'm a seasoned veteran now. No more wide eyes when I'm walking down the street (although with spring time around the corner and skirt season fast approaching...). I got some things planned.

I've been back for a little bit but, between the jet lag, the sudden change of culture, constant cigarette smoking, and answering of what I did during Christmas vacation, it took awhile. But boy does it feel good.

Its good to be back with the guys I live with. Nobody has really changed except for one of my roommates officially has a girlfriend. He had been trying to snag her for quite some time and he is very excited these days. The guy from Kosovo has been beside himself these days because Kosovo is getting its independence tomorrow and, as you can imagine, this is huge. The stinky one has an intense mo hawk and is well, still stinky. (I'd rather be trapped in a port-o-potty at an construction site than in an elevator with him) And then there is my boy Luigi. If you don't know about him by now, you should.

After my mom did some convincing, I decided to join a gym. I didn't belong to one the first semester but decided it would be beneficial this time around. I first went to the more expensive, very bourgeois gym knowing it was expensive but just to see what they had to say. This guy sat me down and pulled out the brochure and showed me what the normal price was. But, he said, he could do something special for me. He then wrote down another price in huge letters and circled it saying this was 'a great deal'. To join the gym, he had me paying about $120 and then about $100 per month there on out. At this point he was underlining and circling all these numbers on the paper. I kept nodding and said I'd come back the following day after I thought about it.

I never showed up.

I went to the other gym around the corner. Much cheaper and friendlier people. A little bootleg but in a good way. They have 2 total treadmills, 2 stationary bikes and one bench. Its mainly for University students so its cool. This place was more than half as cheap (does that even make sense?) and I love it. I stand out like a sore thumb there, too. On purpose. I wear a yellow headband and a long sleeve shirt that reads 'San Francisco 49ers'. Maybe I'll havesome blue or yellow socks and rock out to my ipod. Its great.

My plan of not eating pasta while at home has worked great. As to not over-do-it, I steered clear from pasta with the exception of the phenomenal pasta al ragu I made right before I left. (ask my ma if you want details) The simple yet tasty pasta dishes my roommates make and offer me every time, have been great. With my pizza spots and small restaurants still around the corner, I'm covered on the food front. And I'm off to Parma tomorrow to have the famous Parma ham and Parmesan cheese. (yeah, that's where it comes from)

For now I have to go find out why Luigi is screaming "Vafanculo!" to his computer.

I'll be back