A Random Genius.

Monday Monday, Oh Monday Monday. After spending way too many hours last night trying to figure out my plans for the summer, I was exhausted this morning. The internet is wonderful but sometimes actual human interaction can be better. I am on a deadline for Mama and Papa I. and as of yesterday I was going to be heading to Turkey but due to a random genius idea, I might be putting Turkey off until next year (next time, trust me there will be a next time) God must really be on my side lately (maybe he is seeing me in all of the museums I have been going to..umm I don't know..coexist?) I randomly (well not so randomly, I had been thinking about this for a long time but when the pressure and time came closer for me to actually get my act together, I did what my favorite gelato place says..perche no? why not?) I decided that because I am in Europe and because the Cannes Film festival is in France, which is Europe, why not try to work the festival? Perche No? After class today, I decided to call American Pavilion to see if they just happen to have an extra spot available for the summer and Walter, the head of recruitment, told me that one innocent soul had just dropped out and that I would be able to apply for the position, even though the application was due back in November. I spent the whole evening writing college essays. At 4 am, I realized it was time for bed. Submit. Fingers crossed. Who knows, I might be walking the red carpet? Ciao Ciao

postness from the Muund didle day on the 7th of April in the year due thousand and ot.

Sunday Is A Good Day To Do Nothing. Like Loving The Home Base.

Return from the damn damn delatusted around 4pm but for some reason I was in the mood for cleaning because all of the animals at the Via dei Ginori Zoo left the house an absolute pig sty. The Gorilla was to return around 5 pm, so I thought I would be a nice sidekick and cook dinna to eat on the roof. Grilled chix (holla Chef Karl..I haven't forgotten about you) and the view of the Duomo was just what I needed on a Sunday night. I was going to head to the Art School to do work but got caught up in trying to figure out my plans for the rest of the summer. At 10:30, I realized it was 10:30 and that I had been sitting with my eyes glued to the damn computer for far too long. Indeed it is nice to have internet in the apartment although Ufficio [Uooo Fiii Keey OOOO] (my internet host) likes to exclude me from surfing the web. Aliza, one of my roommates, hogs the internet. I swear her computer has internet magic in it because it always works.  I mean if your computer was covered in pink. I mean everything, the font, the screen, the actual computer itself.  Its hard for electrical things not to attract to it.  But when my computer does work, I find myself bloody eyed hooked to the screen or as my roomate called me out on the other day " loving the home base too much". Maybe nights would be spent differently without it...who knows? But then I guess I wouldn't be speaking to any of you with out it. Well I am off to bed, long fun birhtday weekend, big exciting weekend ahead. See woah see woah

post ness from the month of april on the day of 6thness in the actual day of sunday in the year of 2 thousand and otto. 

Birthday Campers.

Rise and Shine Amsterdam Campers. From our bunk beds we did rise and then off to breakfast for a big surprise. American coffee, granola and OJ...wowza the ten little campers did say! (Wow I am such a poet!) We wanted to go to the Anne Frank house early to beat the supposed disasterous line. It was quite an interesting experience. It was very surreal walking through her home. Having read the story back in the day, and having such a strong connection with the history, it was truly shocking to actually be physically present in the space. I have to say however, the way they redesigned the house to make it into a museum is very unappealing and industrial...slightly distracting. Stainless steal railings do not add a comforting feeling to a daunting historical home. We grabbed a cup of coffee and then wondered the streets of Amsterdam. I have said this before and I will say it again, Amsterdam is a glorious and beautiful city and I could imagine myself living there, it is just damaged by the smoke clouds of pot lingering over the city and the red lights over the doors take away all of its charm. It is eerie how much freedom the city has and I found myself feeling a little uncomfortable at times. And when I said earlier we walked around the entire city, we actually walked around the entire city in search of the infamous Pancake Bakery. I ordered a Mexican Pan-cake. It was more like a crepe (so don't think I am crossing the sweet and salty line). We finally made it to the Van Gough Museum only to walk around the entire building, it was like follow the leader but the leader was lost. Three girls laughed at how ridiculous it was but then they told us that they did the exact same thing. I AMSTERDAM pictures followed by more eating. Waffles delight plus free waffles delight. Mir convinced the man at the most delicious waffle stand in the entire world to give Dar and Lime free waffles for their birthday. After a long day of eating and museums the 10 little campers headed back to their cabins. Nap time I say, it was nap time indeed. In honor of the two little campers birthdays, Lime and Dara, we celebrated at Waggamama's. Say that a couple of times, it is quite nice. We headed back to the hostel to play camp games in our cabin. Zoo is sure fun to play with 10 of your friends after not seeing them for a long time. Cheers to 21.

Oh, Ah, Yeah, Baby Amsterdam

My flight for the dam dam was at 2:30 but there was still a lot of traveling that needed to be done before that. I ended up leaving my apartment around 10:30 after dragging 8 bags of garbage down the stairs because the animals left the house a pig pin. Literally, everyone left me with 8 bags of garbage in the front hall and if I hadn't taken it out then, our house would of collapsed over the weekend from mold invested garbage. I hopped on the 11:30 train to Pisa, from Pisa I took the train to the Pisa airport, hopped on board and fell right asleep. Typical Allison move. I finally got into Amsterdam at 4:30 but it took me awhile to get adjusted to the airport and find my way around. For some reason, I decided to follow the directions from the dutch police women in her uptight suit, instead of Effie's, and I ended up walking into the Red Light District in order to find the hostel. Up and down, red light after half nudey women in the windows, I just couldn't seem to find it. Terrified, I called Effie 3 or 4 times just to make sure I was in the right area. I finally made it to the infamous Bulldog Cafe/Hostel only to find my dear Michigan loverlies waiting in the lobby. Lime, Joj, Karp, Ilyssa, Amy, Effie and Dara and I all met up in Amsterdam for the weekend to celebrate the birth of Lime, Dara, Effie and Ilyssa. We checked in and made our way up the stairs to "Camp Bulldog", thats what I like to call it because our room was actually like a cabin at camp. We lugged our luggage up the stairs and then we each chose our bed. 5 bunk beds in a dry room with 10 purple sheets and a bathroom shower in one. For dinner we had to live up Amsterdam American style (since all of us Amuuricans were together..perche no?) and I ordered the biggest quesdilla the Hard Rock Cafe had to offer. I hadn't had anything to eat all day, my stomach felt like it was caving into itself and even after eating the worlds biggest and most delightful quesdilla, I could of had more (don't tell anyone..I am quite the oink oink these days) After a delicious dinner full of laughter and delight we headed to the comedy club "Boom Chicago". It is compared to Second City or one of those types of comedy clubs and it was just the thing I wanted to do on this Friday evening. I love improv shows, and I loved this one. For the warm up, the host divided the room into four different sections and as he waved his hands at the section he made us say a different sound. For instance my group at first said, OOOOOooo and then the second group said "ahhhhh" as he pointed his finger in their direction. In no time at all, the entire club was saying "Ooo Aaah Yeah Baby". I thought because I was sitting the closest to the stage that I might be called up but thank goodness I wasn't. They played this game where they made everyone in the room raise their hands if they were male, and then raise their hands, if they were under the age of 25 and then keep their hands raised if they hadn't had a relationship in the past 6 months. Two men remained in the crowd. One of them was an American, probably my age and other one was a German man, who was definitely not under 25, was in a relationship and for sure did not understand a word the MC was saying. He gets on the stage and they question him, sure enough he was 45. The game was called fill in the blank and the actors would start a conversation and then they would ask the two men to fill in the blank. The german man was put on the spot and was asked to fill in the following sentence "I will give you my ___________" Out of all the things he could say in this entire world, he said "I will give you my worst energy" but the actors translated it as "I will give you my worst allergy". Okay maybe this doesn't seem funny to you but if you would of seen this German-buck-toothed-old-fart getting red in the cheeks from being put on the spot you would of died too! The entire show was a hoot! By the time it was over, it was pretty late and we were all very exhausted. Slumber party in the Bulldog. Goodnight sleep tight!

21 shots for her 21 birthday.

happy birthday pants.

Today was the real day of the birth of Pants. The Gorilla and I made signs tonight to in honor of her b-day. Signs like "what-up-b**tches, I am 21, with a picture of her from facebook, made our apartment quite a funny enviornment.
The Gorilla, our favorite friend in art school and I picked up the most delicious greek food and headed back up to the art school for an artsy fartys book arts party. We got home around 11 because the mid-night owl hooted us out. I drew a picture of the midnight owl and I will post soon. I am not sure if I even mentioned who the mid-night owl was but she is the art school monitor who does not speak a drop of English and all she know is how to say Clean Up in 5 minutes. She is a very unforntunate creature and is often caught singin opera and or classical music while making art.
I packed up my bag because tomorrow I AM STERDAM.

from day of the birth of pants "shasty fowler", that being the thursday, the fourth of April.

I took 21 shots for her on her 21 birthday (don't think I am crazy, shots being photographs. Here are some from yesterday and tonight,.

skip-a-dee-doo-daa.

I have yet to miss one Italian class so far, and the Gorilla and thought this Wednesday afternoon would be the perfect afternoon to grab lunch and sip coffee instead of sitting in class and learning borning things like the past participle. Hey, we get three days of unexcused abscenese and why in the world would we not take them, if they are freely handed to us. So instead of going to Italian class, we went to Anna's early and then to the Market for some sweet treats. Tonight was book arts to the maximum. The Pants turned 21 at the mid of night. The Roomdogs made Jello Shots for her instead of a birthday cake. But luckily the Gorilla and I were too exhausted to go out because by the sounds created in the middle of the night, it was a rather rough night. Lets just say the Gorilla heard the following words at approximately 4:00 "Well you are just going to have to wait in line for the bathroom".

wednesday april 2, the second day of the fourth month in the year ness of two and oh and eight.

hello. goodbye.

good books. good eats. good bye.

book arts show and pld in apt.

Book Arts class was devoted to hanging book arts art for the book arts show tonight. Everyone in the class was assigned to bring different food and or drinks. The theme of the show was "A Fools Tale" in honor of April Fools day and the subject of our project...books! We each had to make a book using lino-cuts and text. The Gorilla and I were originally responsible for bringing quesadillas but when we realized and by realized I mean when we actually thought about the country we were in and the difficulty of actually getting flour tortillas, salsa and chicken all with in a reasonable budget, we realized that maybe just salsa was a better choice. Then someone else could bring chips. Chips are weirdly expensive here. Well, I actually don't know because I don't eat chips but the fact that they didn't have tortilla chips at the euro store automatically put them in the category of being expensive. Anna's. Anna's. Anna's. Dried Fruit. Market. Dried Fruit. Photog. Photog. Photog. Angry Photog. Apparently, the hippie-commi told us that we had to have our film developed and our paper purchased but last week when she said "have two rolls shot" and your paper purchased, I thought she really meant have your two rolls shot, and not developed. She became an angry hippie-commi and then got mad at me, the Gorilla, and Camille for not being prepared. I wasn't going to sit back and let her get mad us for not being more clear with her assignments. Some how the three other people in our class had their photos developed or at least said they did. I found out later tonight that one of kids in my class, Max, told her he agreed with her and that our film was to be developed but when the teacher left the room he confessed that a. she didn't say to have our film ready and b. he hadn't even shot his. What an evil soul. Luckily we had our Book Arts show tonight, and we all got to leave early. My entire photo class minus one of my roommates is also in my book arts class. Tonight the Gorilla and I were quite socialites. At 7:00 p.m. we had our book arts show. Great turn out. The Via Dei Ginorites had the greatest apartment turn out. We bribed them with free food, so obviously they were there. After our show, we continued our eating streak and headed to Dara and Ef's Apt for a little PLD. The Gorilla and I were new guests to this tradition. Because we were busy all day with class and then art shows, we had to bring something that required little to no cooking, and no was our option. At the market we picked up a large bag of fresh olives and a huge chunk of swiss cheese. The euro store had delicious crackers and when you put these items all together they make a mean appetizer. Much to our surprise, everyone loved it!
I decided that Dara should pretty much drop out of school and become a traveling scholar and preacher. I am not sure how we got into this, it was probably because we were talking about our art history class (it seems to come up when words like hate, annoyed, boring, and jesus are around) but the following comes from the teachings of Dara Katz:

"Mary got knocked up by God. She was just being honest when she said that Jesus was "the son of god." I mean let's face it, God was probably just a tattoo artist from across the street and Mary was most certainly not a virgin. If this is the case,
1. this is the best lie that ever got told and got away with in history and
2. and if this is the case it's pretty ironic that he was the best thing ever to happen to man kind, right?

On our way out of the apt. Dara wanted to show the Gorilla her new ring but the Gorilla with her large and in charge Gorilla hands, couldn't handle its delicate nature and she dropped it on the floor. With in a matter of seconds, Dara flopped on the floor in quest of her ring. It got stuck behind this dresser in the front hall and rather than moving the dresser, Dara brilliantly grabbed her umbrella and went fishing. This doesn't sound funny when I am typing it but when she pulled out a sweater of dust bunnies from under the dresser with now ring, I almost peed my pants.
Bed time for bonzos and socialites!

i am a model and you know what i mean.

Monday monday monday. A beautiful Monday indeed. Being here has made me actually not hate Mondays so much. I thought I was in big Italian doggie doo doo today because I forgot to do my Italian homework and then realized 10 minutes before the class that I should probably start it but there was just not enough time. I think my teachers have been able to get into my mind lately and when I arrived in Italian my teacher told us we were going on a field trip after we went over the first part of our homework. The same first part that I was actually able to complete. Then, we took a class walk to the Arno to watch jets fly over us shooting Green, Red and White smoke from them. The "president" (even though I didn't think there was a government in Italy right now) was in town visiting Florence. To show some country pride, the jets decided to give the city a show. We saw the jets go over our heads twice while walking to the river but by the time we finally got to the river, the show was over. It wasn't all that sad because a. we did get to see part of the show and b. we got to leave almost an hour early. Anna's for lunch ( I attached a picture of the table that I sit at...for visuals) For some reason, my favorite delight tasted more delicious than usual and the Gorilla and I were on the verge of ordering another one but we held back and told ourselves that we didn't deserve it and that our minds were just playing tricks on us. Indeed they were!! I picked up some euro store bubble gum and h20 and headed to painting. I will weirdly not get far on my painting at all and my teacher will love it. I will weirdly scribble in something and he will love it more than the stuff I actually spend long hard hours on but he is really encouraging about all my work which makes me excited. I am documenting my process so hopefully pictures will be coming soon. After class, I was exhausted and I came home to "write emails" in my bed which eventually led to a cat nap. The Gorilla and I cooked up a delicious couscous topped with chicken and veggies. We sat up on the balcony in hopes to see a glimpse of the President of Italy but instead we were able to see the blue sky and the Duomo glistening in the sun (so it was almost as good!) We finally got rid of the lentils today and I will never go back to those mushy days ever again! Tonight, I had a fashion meeting at school. My roommate asked me to be a model for her for the fashion show our school is throwing on at the end of the semester. She is in a garment construction class and obviously she couldn't resist picking the worlds most beautiful people, duh, the me and the Gorilla. However, I left the meeting a wee bit worried because they said I would have to wear high heals (gold ones to be specific) and that I would have to straighten my hair AND that I should probably practice. I am going to have to watch a few episodes of America's Next Top Model to get a few tricks. At the end of the semester the show will be held at this trendy club called 21 and we get a VIP room after the party! Bed time stories and catching up on life. Think of a photo project, think Allison, Think!

THIS POST IS FROM TODAY! WHOO HOO I AM FINALLY CAUGHT UP AND MY INTERNET WORKS!!

just another day in the park.

Sunday is a good day to do nothing.

Not only was it the Italian day light savings time today, it was also the first time that the Gorilla and I have actually stayed in bed past 9. It was probably not the best idea to sleep in on the one day where you lose an hour but it didn't seem to put a damper on our day. Today was another glorious day. The sun shining, the air smelled liked sweet honey and fresh cut grass. For some reason we thought we were special human beings and deserved to go out to eat today. We seem to be doing that alot lately. Today we convinced ourselves that since we missed eating breakfast, we should go for brunch and because we would normally spend 5 euro on breakfast (which we hardly do) and 5 euro on lunch (which we actually some times do, when we get dried fruit and Anna's). And what would a brunch be if it weren't at a restaurant called "American Brunch" We spent an usual and ridiculous amount of time getting ready today, probably because it was sunny and warm and our wardrobe options have sure opened up. We didn't leave the apartment until 2:15. Greek Omelet with fruit and toast, potatoes, side salad, ketchup and fresh black berry jam, with a side of American Coffee and Natural water. For 10 euro it was sure worth it. We sat out side, we watched tour groups with back packs and sunglasses follow the leader, we watched little boys drag bags of trash bags down the street and even made friends with a 6 year old Italian boy. The only unfortunate part about this whole dining experience was when the Jap squad entered sporting American Apparel's entire clothing line and Ugg boots with hobo bags and sun glasses bigger than their face. It is so sad that they think they are making a fashion statement or let alone that they think it is a trend because oversized t-shirts and sweat pants tucked in your boots and straight greasy hair seems more like something a hobo would wear, maybe thats why they call the style of purse that they all carry hobo's because they want to look like them. Its a little ironic the world snottiest people would want to look like hobo's. I can't believe I am dedicating this much of my blog space for this enough. After our delicious brunch and stories about crazy babysitters, and thank you notes written in black berry jam, (see above) the Gorilla and I headed back home to pick up a book, a blanket and our journals to bring to the Boboli gardens. After yesterdays magical day, I became obsessed with the Boboli gardens and I had to return again today. The weather is just incredible, that we couldn't do anything else but sit in a park and relax. We had story time in Boboli gardens and by that I mean I became a book on tape and I read to the Gorilla. We started a new book called "Can You Keep A Secret". Even though Mama I. gave it to me and told me she hated it, we were in the mood for a trashy novel. The author is the same person who wrote all those dumb "Shopaholic" books. 62 pages later, we were interrupted by the lady on the intercom telling us we had to go home. It was a bummer because it was not only a good part in the book but it was that time of day where the sun is still out but it is starting to cool down and there is not a cloud in the sky. We discovered a gigantic Centro. It was like discovering Super Target out south after going to the Target on Ward Parkway for all those years. We were so impressed. With such a late lunch, we thought PB and J and fruit was just what we needed for dinner. We finally made it home around 7. We climbed to the top of our apartment to watch the sun go down, to sip chi tea and finish another chapter in our book. We could of read for another hour or two because the book was full of such intensity but the sun went down and I couldn't see anymore. I went up the art school around 9 and worked for a couple hours on my new painting. I just got home, but my internet is not working so I am typing this on a sticky note on my desk top. I am going to try to go to bed early tonight but I know that that is probably not going to happen because the Gorilla has been asking me a million questions today and she will probably continue until the wee hours.


sunday of the day of the 30th of march-ness two thousand and aight.

the secret garden.

trashy novels in the park. space electronica in the dark.

We were going to go to Padova and Verona today with our school but at the last second The Gorilla decided to be a TC Gorilla and back out on it. Now that I am reflecting on my day, I don't hate her for it but last night I wanted to kill her. I could of gone on my own but the kids on CEA are actually terrible human beings who do not deserve to be abroad. I decided to hell with the Gorilla, I was going to go on my own schedule today. There are so many things that I have yet to see in Florence, so today was a catch up day for me. I was a tourist in my city. I grabbed a latte from the bar down stairs and then headed to the Boboli gardens. The line at the main entrance was so long that I decided to check out the back entrance. Since I arrived here, I have been trying to go this museum by the Boboli gardens called La Specula, and it just happened to be on my way to the back entrance and it just happened to be open. Room after room after room after room of every kind of species. My body went into shock. It was like walking into Bloomingdales and finding that the entire store was on sale. Unfortunately they didn't let me take pictures, which actually ended up being a blessing because I really got to look at everything and observe. My pen and handy dandy note book became one and I couldn't stop drawng. Birds, ardvarks, elephants, fish, worms, crikets, thing of animal, they had it all (they were stuffed ofcourse) I went into a drawing freenzy. The collection started in the 1700's and then the Medici family took into their arms and it became their private collection. The last part of the museum was by far the most interesting. Cases and cases and cases were filled with wax figures of different parts of the human anatomy. They were used as studies. Livers, eye balls, even pee pee's were sliced and diced and disected into a million and a half different ways. Technical drawings filled the walls. Cases of plastic women with their stomaches cut open and their hearts flinging out of their bodies. Below I attached some pictures of my drawings. Let just say I arrived there at 10 am and didn't leave until 1:30. I finally made it to the Boboli gardens around 2. I couldn't have asked for a better day. I sat in a nook at the base of a tree and read an entire book. Amy I. is a collector of trashy novels and on the way to Florence, she let me read one of them because I forgot to bring my book. I read about 5 pages on the plane before falling asleep but I never gave it back to her. I couldn't stop reading it. I now know why my mother can a. can read so fast b. read so many trashy love novels. Do not let her know that I am telling you this (even though I know you (mom) are reading this right now red in the face) I was hooked and I just couldn't put it down. After I finished my heart throbbing romance novel, I thought I had had enough mushy gushy goodness for one day but the minute I pulled my head out of my book, I noticed that love was all around me. Romantic couples were shnuggling in the park holding hands, kissing, laughing and enjoying the day in the sun. I watched one couple like it I watched Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in the Notebook. I know this sounds creepy but it was just so beautiful. Europe is full of lovers that aren't afraid to be in love. Around 5 I decided I had enough of lovey dovey action for one day and was on my way out of the garden when I heard drums pounding at the top of a hill in the gardens. Sure enough an entire parade of people dressed medieval costumes carrying flags and swords. Two men even engaged in an sword fight. In this city of magic and wonder, you never know what is going to happen. I met the Gorilla at the art school and I finished my photog project. We decided that since we were staying in Florence tonight we better take the opportunity and go out for a night on the town and by town I mean we better go to Space Electronica for a night of dancing. Dara, Rach Ha and the Gorilla and I made our way over to Space but we spent an unusually short time their because the Gorilla was being a spastic party pooper and wanted to go home. She wanted to go home so bad, she ran an unconcious marathon. I don't even think she knew how fast she could run. It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I am smiling now as I write this blog because I can't get over how wonderful the weather was and it was a perfect "allison" kind of day. So for all of you long lost husbands reading this blog (since I know I attract so many of them), you can read this and maybe find tips.

cinque.