Only Connect

Major weekend this past weekend. My best friend got married. And is having a baby. Major life milestone--for her and for me, since she is my travel buddy and go-to girl for all of life's crises and pleasures, big and small alike. It obviously brings to mind that I am beginning again, relationship-wise. (That's Pam, me, Pam's sister Reesa and our friend-from-Houston Bettina.) But the nice thing about being boyfriendless (for the moment) is that I have really connected with friends in a way that feels meaningful. I have more emotional energy to devote to them--and to devote to myself and my life. Have had several long, wine-filled evenings with old friends and it was nice to talk about everything going on in my life rather than just focus on The Relationship. It's very easy to forget how good it feels to hang with your closest friends when you're coping with the ups and downs of love.
In any case, amo mi amici!
Ciao--
Paola

Working late and neglecting the blog!

Wow. I feel as if I am truly back in New York, Italy glow starting to wear off a tad. I've been in the office til 10:30, two nights in a row, starting to dip my toe into the dating world (which, unfortunately, doesn't always feel exactly fun) and am generally a bit grumpy. Grrrr. But I have been getting to wear my new glasses at work a lot, doing all that computer work. Much as I love SELF (and I do!) I don't like working 12-hour days--I'm glad I have to do it only rarely.

The book, however, is going great. I got an amazing, amazing essay in from Pari Chang today, a former student who ditched her lawyering job to write full time. (She wrote about making that transition in SELF a few months ago). And I got another essay from a writer I met in Rome, Ethel Smith, a professor at a college in West Virginia who is writing a memoir about being a black woman in Berlin. Her essay is going to be extremely interesting--it will examine some race and class issues in a pretty surprising way. The book is so much fun--it is pretty much all pleasure. I feel so lucky to be able to do it. Working with all these great writers is amazing, being able to get personal fast (which I always love), getting to think and write and edit. About sex. What could be bad?

Ciao amici!
Paola

A weekend in the Catskills

Spent the weekend in my good friends' Matthew and MP's house in Andes New York, with Caroline and John, and Connor, 9 months. Connor is talking already: His first 3 words were "hi" "book" and "exactly" which he pronounces exSACK...
Very, very, VERY cute. Needless to say, we got him to say it over and over and over again.
We did lots of porch sitting, as we always do, gave each other career pep talks, dreamed about taking cool trips together and enjoyed the usual debauchery of a summer weekend, including lamb burgers and Ben & Jerry's peanut butter cup ice cream. I love it so much, I can't keep it in my own house, but I was very glad to see it in someone else's house--and partake!

My book was born on this very porch, above, with the encouragement of the folks above, two years ago already. Long live the off-road girls (and their guys!).
Ciao!
Paola

An utterly narcissistic entry

I just got a haircut tonight, and I have no plans, no one to see it but the doorman. So, before it gets all mussed by rain and frizzed by humidity (I have Jewish hair), I thought I'd document the "salon blowout" look, as SELF would term it.

On a more serious. intellectual note (for you mom and dad), this blogging thing, far from making my life feel more isolated and solo, is actually making life feel richer for me for a number of reasons. First, there is the simple pleasure of writing every day, which is something I have never been able to do--it has been years since I've done my own writing in a regular way. To me, diaries have always seemed too annoyingly self-conscious. I'm already thinking my thoughts, I KNOW what I'm thinking so why write it down? Whereas blogging is about talking to other people, whether one, ten or two hundred. I like writing for an audience; it makes it feel more like a job, except without the pressure for perfectionism. The medium of the blog has helped me give myself permission to be imperfect, which I know sounds kind of cheesy, but it's been incredibly freeing creatively. The other wonderful thing is that I've started documenting much more with photography and it's really fun--people seem to like my photos and it's not a way I ever expressed myself before. So it's nice to be flexing a new creative muscle. But mostly, it's because the blog makes me frame my life in a positive way (because I don't want to be whiney and morose and negative for an audience) and by framing it that way, it suddenly becomes that way. Classic cognitive therapy. I feel as though I'm looking at everything more closely because I know that I am going to document it, so I have to remember, plus figure out the more hopeful take on it. And then I FEEL more hopeful.

Plus, it's so wonderful to have an almost daily account of my Rome trip, with photos and commentary. It allows me to hold on to the joy of my trip longer. And I feel as if it helps the people I'm close to, far and near, feel more connected to me, which makes me feel more connected to them. So, thanks for reading, whoever you are!

Ciao,
Paola

Happy Fourth of July!

Enjoy lounging, loafing, beaching, barbequeing, firecrackering and celebrating. Don't forget to use sunscreen!
Ciao!
Paola

I love summer in NYC....

...especially when it's a perfect summer evening like tonight. Sun setting over the Central Park reservoir. I feel so lucky to live in a place where I can work late if I need to and still get home easily and fast enough to do an errand and be on the reservoir doing a sunset run by 8 pm.

The only downside: It is so absolutely perfect and beautiful and balmy outside that it makes me wish I had someone to share it with (other than friends and family). Oh well, I am going to try to enjoy where I am now and be open and see who/what enters my life. That sounds so uncharacteristically Zen of me--maybe I'm turning into Elizabeth Gilbert!
Ciao amici!
Paola

My boyz

Spent a lovely weekend at my sister and brother-in-law's house in the Berkshires. (My cuter-than-ever nephews, clowning around, are pictured above.) Die-hard beach person that I am, you can't argue with perfect weather and a hike to a beautiful waterfall (Bash Bish Falls, if anyone is interested. Gorgeous).

After the hike, we went out for pizza--the first time I've eaten pizza since I've been back from Italy. BLEEEECH! Not to be a prima donna, or anything (hey, just realized that that is an Italian phrase--maybe I DO want to be a prima donna), but you just can't compare Italian pizza to American pizza. Granted, this pizza came from upstate New York rather than New York City or the boroughs, but still.

Here are the problems with American pizza:

The crust is too thick and not the right consistency. In Italy, one person can easily eat the better part of a pie because the crust is so delicate and thin and light, with just the right crunchy but chewy consistency and amount of salt.

The sauce is way, way, WAY too sweet. In Italy, fresh tomatoes, lots of garlic. No sweet sauce.

The cheese is too thick and goopy. In Italy, the mozzarella is incredibly fresh and not glopped all over the pizza so it pulls out from your mouth in a long rubbery string.

There are no real spices. In Italy, you can taste all kinds of delicate flavors as well as the true flavors of the crust, cheese and tomato and basil.

In short, in American, pizza is fast food. In Italy, it is a wonderful meal. At least to me!
Ciao!
Paola