Creeping up slowly

I receive emails from a wedding website on the 4th of every month, as a little countdown and reminder of things to do.

Just in case I'd forgotten

I’ve never really taken the time to have a look at them properly or explore the website created to-do list, but today thought I’d check it out. It was a little overwhelming, as there was a list about 30 different things I should have already done and should be looking to make a move on now. I was able to mark off quite a lot of them and one some I was months ahead, which was a good feeling, but there are certain things I can sense are starting to become pressing, and when Alf finishes his exam next week we’ll have to act quick smart. His mum is already threatening to go ahead and book a photographer without our consent, and that’s probably the main thing we need to get done at this point.

It’s a strange process to go through, in that you tick one thing off and then another rears its head. I can see why some people struggle to handle the stress because it’s a never-ending stream of do this, do that. It’s all worth it in the end, but finding the time to get to places, make phone calls, try things on, can all be a bit testing. There’s still a lot Alf and I must do (as my checklist is telling me) and my time management skills need to really come into their own over the next eight months.

Maybe it’s time to create a delegation checklist and to start leaning on that maid of honour of mine…

Just to break up the text

If you didn’t see this goal from Inter Milan’s Dejan Stankovic a few weeks back, check it out. We went to the Sydney FC-Wellington Phoenix match on Sunday, and by then end, with Phoenix battling to get back in the game, Alf began the call of “Stankovic” everytime someone had the ball on the halfway line.

And that’s why we don’t discuss politics

Sometimes the simplest things really get me irritated. Like my Italian homework last night.

I’ve changed and am now doing my course through the Uni of NSW (fantastic courses for anyone interested in starting to learn a second language). Anyway, each week we’re asked to write a half page on some topic given to us by our teacher, be it from a reading or about our childhood. This week, however, he decided we’d really get into the Italian spirit and asked us to write what we thought about immigration and refugees coming to Australia, because in Italy, politics are one of the first things talked about, not one of the last, like here.

There was one condition to this though, in order to practise our grammar, we were to offer ideas as to what Australia could do to help this situation or what we should do for these people (ie using the conditional tense). When I sat down to write this on Monday night, I struggled, mainly because I couldn’t realistically offer solutions to this problem, but I also didn’t want to completely vocalise my opinion on the topic. So I played it a bit safe, went along the lines of what you’re expected to say and kept it simple (also because it can be hard to express yourself properly in a language you’re only just learning… but I guess that’s the point of the homework exercises).

Before I left last night I had Alf cast an eye over it, just to make sure it made sense, and that was where my mistake came in. While there weren’t any arguments over my opinion or what I was saying, things became a little frustrating for me when holes and contradictions were found in my arguments. First problem was probably that I didn’t truly express what I felt in the first place, so in trying to make the point of some mystery persona, I confused myself and lost my way. But true response was to write one sentence that said, I’m not Kevin Rudd, he doesn’t seem to have the answers or solutions to this problem, and if I did, I’d be running the country, but I didn’t think that would go down so well.

So after getting dismayed at my inability to communicate properly, and with Alf telling me to just write what I think, I descended into sulking on the couch and then pointing out to Alfredo that this is the reason Australians avoid talking about politics. If it doesn’t cause arguments through differences of opinion (opinion that isn’t going to change no matter how persuasive you may be), it can cause frustration and exhaustion from trying to avoid saying the wrong thing and thus piss people off.

Alf simply explained that we were lucky in that we didn’t really have to discuss politics because our political system wasn’t in a complete shambles.

Touché.

(In following up that comment, a good article on Silvio Berlusconi in Newsweek recently. Worth a read, check it out here.)

A deep burn

I in no way condone sunburning for tanning, but this happens to everyone, every year in Australia and yesterday marked my entrance to summer. I suffered my first burn. And it was a pretty good one.

I had a quick visit to Bondi Beach yesterday with Meme, Alf’s friend from Monterotondo who arrived on Saturday morning. We had a swim (the water was freezing, but it had to be done), and then laid on the beach for about an hour or so. Yes, it was the middle of the day, so more the fool me for coming home burnt, however I did put cream on and thought our short stay may have prevented me from suffering any. I was wrong, and the pattern of my burn shows that, because I didn’t go out and do an all-over, complete body burn, but a patchy one on my back (where I missed getting the cream), my bum (around my swimmer bottoms), and the back of my legs.

Luckily for me it wasn’t so bad that it was painful, just a red burn that has thankfully quickly faded. But it was the official first burn of the summer, and I’m glad that I now have my marker to welcome the season to our shores.

Nice to have you with us, summer.

Sorry if this is becoming repetitive

It seems all I talk about at the moment is the wedding, but there’s quite a bit of organising going on at the moment, so sadly there’s not much else to report.

Alf and I booked our flights yesterday, so it’s officially locked in and holiday countdown can begin in earnest. In the end, we got quite a good deal, and while the financial crisis is having as big an impact on prices as I would have liked, we still managed to secure flights to Rome returning with a stopover at Bali (which meant booking an extra internal flight) for less than what I paid when we went there last Christmas. So not bad in the end, after some wheeling and dealing with the travel agent. It feels nice to tick another thing off the list so far out from the date.

I had originally booked flights for a higher price through a travel agent that offers a price matching guarantee. I’ll admit I was a bit nervous when doing so as the price did seem a little high, but when I questioned whether I might be able to find the flights cheaper elsewhere, I was told if I did to let them know and they match the price then knock a further $10 off. So like any streetwise consumer, I called some companies after paying a deposit to get some quotes. Not really surprisingly, I was quoted cheaper. So I emailed the agent informing him of the lower prices. I didn’t have any hard evidence of these prices, but I guess because of the specific figure he knew it was genuine and told me if he could find those prices too, we would have them with the extra cash off. He did find them (gasp!) and we were given a further $20 off each person.

So I guess you could say I was very happy with the service (despite the initial attempt to up-sell), as all this, while sounding like an ordeal, was in fact very easy to negotiate.

Next step will be making sure the airline looks after my dress on the way over. I won’t be letting that thing out of my sight and plan to start making arrangements with them very early in the piece. I can’t even begin to think of the heartbreak if something happened to it on the journey over. The thought almost makes me hyperventilate right now.

A general update

I’m getting lazy with this, and I apologise… kind of. But it probably wouldn’t be a true representation of who I am if I posted regularly, because losing interest and quickly finding new ventures laborious is completely who I am.

So what’s been happening. I’ve had strange facial skin diseases. Well, it’s more commonly known as dermatitis, I know it as painful because it adorned my eyelids and the corners of my eye for a full week. If you’ve ever had acid in your eyes (and I’m sure you all have, like that time you were held captive by Micronesian terrorists and they tortured you to find out where you kept all your old one and two cent pieces), it’s that kind of pain. So I’ve been convalescing. Why did I get this horrible derma breakdown? I don’t know. A prescribed cream has cleared it up, but it’s origin I put down to a combination of dehydration, dust storms, changing weather (doesn’t it always cause you trouble?), and a bit of stress. The good news is it’s all better now, hopefully never to return.

Accommodation is sorted for the wedding (see post below). Most people have booked and the rest are getting organised. So all sweet on that front too.

I’ve just looked down and noticed a healthy tan has started on my arms. I don’t condone scorching yourself in the sun and am a firm believer in suncream, but the nice weather has arrived and just having spent more time outside (like all Saturday in the park reading, delightful) and now riding to work has meant my winter pale palour has begun to turn to a healthy golden glow. It feels good.

Next week a guy from Alf’s village arrives to stay with us for a while. He’s taking the death defying plunge and boarding a plane for a country that doesn’t have common borders in Europe. Gasp. But it’ll be good for a few reasons. Alf will have a friend from Italy, who understands Italian ways and with whom he can be mystified about some Australian ways. I will be able to practice my Italian a bit more, Alf can practice his switching between Italian and English and Meme can practice his English. It’ll be one big language working bee.

And possibly the most exciting thing of all that has happened in the past week or so, not to me, but I’m still excited… My good friend Mat (Hootie to University of Canberra compatriots) was nominated for a Walkley Award for Scoop of the Year. In case you’re wondering, or if you haven’t guessed, the Walkleys are the annual awards for outstanding journalism. To be nominated for one of these is a truly great achievement and only the best can have their name mentioned in the same breath as Walkley.
Mat and another journo broke the story about the Rio Tinto execs that were detained in China and you can read the story here. Well done Hooten, truly deserved and looking forward to a celebratory glass with you at the weekend.

Ciao for now, tutti.

And… Now it feels real

A massive whoops. I wrote this a week ago and didn’t publish it. Shizen.

I wasn’t so much procrastinating, as just not finding the time to follow things up, but after an email to my sister Peta suggesting she should get in touch with where we are having the wedding about booking a room, just to let them know there are people that will be staying there, things have come along at warp speed. In the space of a few days, 15 people are now booked in to stay at Monte Pozzali, with possibly some more to come, and everyone has been hurtled into holiday planning mode.

It feels so much more real now that we are cofirming accommodation, looking for flights etc. Before it seemed like something so far away, but there’s a firmer reality to it now. I cannot wait. I wish it was so much closer. I can already see us sipping drinks outside the rooms, taking in the sun, watching the World Cup and generally enjoying life, Italian-style.

An aerial view of our wedding location. The string of buildings towards the bottom are the apartments and where many afternoon spritzers will be consumed.

The suddenness of needing to book rooms has probably been the first real stressful moment for us, although it really wasn’t that stressful. The most trying part for ourselves at the moment is deciding where we will stay. We have a few options and trying (10 months out) to know what we will want in terms of privacy is hard to say, but it’s not your typical wedding and I must keep reminding myself of that fact when making decisions. If I didn’t, I’d be much more of a dragon.

My excitement levels for our wedding are pretty high right now. I can only imagine what they will reach as the day comes nearer. I dare say I will reinvent excitement scales, adding new limits not even dreamed of before.

Red pens at the ready

Sunday marked nine months until the wedding. This is most certainly coming fast. I wish it was sooner and cannot wait to celebrate this day, but we’re starting to come to the point where we have to do things in terms of planning. One of those things is the guest list. This isn’t something I’ve been excited to do at all. Who makes it and who doesn’t? Where is the cut off? While Alf and I are in the rare position of being able to celebrate two weddings, we also have the trouble of trying to figure out who comes to which event. We would love to everyone at both of them, unfortunately, that isn’t possible. At least we have a room restriction that will force us to be stronger if it comes to having to cut down our numbers.

I’d really like to stick my head in the sand right now and pretend I didn’t need to do this, but it’s a necessary evil. Two things have been repeated to me since Alf and I got engaged (which I cannot believe was six months ago!). The first was that it comes around and goes really fast, so to enjoy every minute of it. I’m trying to do that. The second was that we should elope and solve all the problems that arise in planning a wedding. And I’m starting to understand that reasoning.

September madness

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this site, but life has been just crazy in the past few weeks. Apart from weekly deadlines being back to part of normal life, football finals have been a firm focus for the past few weeks. Sadly, that has come to an end and we will not be on the edge of our seats this weekend, willing the Dogs to do what seemed the impossible, well, apparently was the impossible.

Last Friday night I was all jittery and uncontrolled energy as the preliminary final ticked closer and closer and heading to ANZ Stadium we were all confident, feeling no nerves as we prepared to face Parramatta for the first place in the grand final. Alf had foregone a night of study to come to the game and witness, possibly, the Bulldogs qualify for the decider after last year finishing dead last. It could have been an historic moment, who wouldn’t have wanted to be there. I’ve been to plenty of live football matches, seen some epic wins. The first set of six in last week’s match would have to be the toughest and hardest I’ve ever witnessed. The hits the Bulldogs put on the Eels meant that after five tackles, they’d barely moved out of their 20. All signs were good and had that been able to be the moment that set the tone for the game, we may well have been playing this weekend, but it wasn’t. The next set, unfortunately, turned out to be the one that set the tone, and Luke Patten was knocked out, stone cold, taken off and that was probably where it slowly began to unravel. Despite holding on for the first half, after another knock out and a partial dislocation of the shoulder, the Bulldogs were gradually played out of the game.

That’s football. Sadly, it was Hazem El Masri’s last match and the look of disappointment on his face as he took his laps of honour was heart breaking. We all stayed back to give him the send off he deserved, as did many others. But the other moment I was glad I could enjoy, was being so engrossed in a team with my entire family.

When Alf and I have kids, they will, without doubt, but Bulldogs supporters. My family were able to make Alf as passionate about the team as we are, and our children will carry that on too. There will be no democracy when it comes to them choosing their rugby league team. There’s a tradition to be carried on. I’m glad I wasn’t given a choice because I now get to share in those moments in football with all my family, without niggling or stirring, we’re all feeling the same emotions. I was lucky because both my parents support the same team, and our children will have the same things, as will my sister’s children. Our friends are often scared of the Bollens’ passion for the Bulldogs, I’m excited that it’s only going to get bigger.

We could take over the world!

Addendum

I’m also excited about the fact I am wearing a skirt and t-shirt to work today because it is meant to reach 30 degrees today. I’m excited that last weekend it was 27 and 32 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, and excited that I was able to go to the beach for two hours, catch a bit of sun (with suncream of course), and have my first swim of the season! Granted, I froze my feet off working up the courage to go in, but it happened all the same people.

Life is good right now.