The January Line

Almost half of January 2008 has passed, and in a way, I feel like I have finally taken a step over the “January line”. Something that I’ve been afraid to do since finishing my undergrad. Much like how the “September line” has always been about, “what road do I take?” or the summer turning point, the “January line” has been about, “where do I go next?” or the winter pause to look at the map and figure out if I’m in the right place. Although, I still can’t say for sure, I’ve finally decided to just continue and hope for the best. I figure that at least this way, I can say I went somewhere and finished something.

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Life in Milan continues much as it has since I arrived in October: too expensive. School is a bit of disappointment, but every so often is sparked with renewed interest by new topics and lecturers. My roommate relations are in constant flux, primarily that with my Chilean counterpart, but at least its becoming more routine. On the plus side, I’ve got work and dance to keep me busy. And as of yesterday, add to that cooking.

Yes, cooking.

For I don’t know how many Christmas’, I’ve gotten at least one cookbook as a gift. This Christmas was no different. So, thanks to a relatively free Sunday, and foregoing some initial hesitation, I took to the occasion to “cook by the book”. My first dish? Steamed broccoli with cheese sauce (Hey, I could only make what I had). For dinner, I made “real Italian” Spaghetti with tomato sauce. Although I don’t think I made enough, I think my old French teacher would have agreed that it was “to die for”. Well, at least one of my roommates thought so.

Today, I made "Popovers" for lunch (too much) and Spanish stuffed peppers for dinner (not enough). The latter really took some time to prepare and even required me to go out and buy some more ingredients. I’m really enjoyed myself. I think I can see why there’s such a thing as the food sciences.

As for other highlights, my new 72 year old friend Adriano and I celebrated our birthday together the day after with tea and biscuits. We talked about everything from China to Italy, and psychology to cosmology (his favorite topic). I felt I learned a lot, perhaps too much. I was really glad to have found him, and we agreed to meet every Saturday for Chinese lessons, so long as I agreed to listen to him speak about cosmology. Sounded fair to me.

My actual birthday consisted of a lot of work, finishing some research for my job and then attending to household matters (getting our bathroom door and the downstairs window fixed among other things). In the evening, I finally got to sit down with my Latvian roommates and eat some dinner they had prepared (my Chilean roommate was in Florence with his girlfriend at the time). After that, they actually partook in a little salsa lesson by me before coming to Caffe Carribe with me. It was a nice gesture even if they weren’t really into the dance or the music. The night got a little more complicated than I would have liked, thanks to a really aggressive Italian and a really drunk roommate, but luckily the night ended well, thanks to the staff and a really friendly Italian who drove us home. I think that experience was another lesson for me about “helping people”. The message being basically the same as that of the German girl I had met on the train to Milan, just reinforced with a “you don’t know me”. I can’t argue that.



The past week was largely consumed by a joint project between the Strategic Design students and MBA students of the Politecnico. It was an interesting experience in another part of the city, with a lot of new lessons to learn from my fellow classmates. It made me feel like an MBA is where I belong. Oh well…

On Friday, my Chilean roommate officially through me a “Tim Party” for my birthday. Our apartment wasn’t as filled as our house-warming party, but it was nice. The “after-party” was a bit too much for me financially and physically, so after venturing to a club thereafter, I said that I had had a good night, and didn’t want to end it uncomfortably. So, I turned around and went back to the apartment. And I’m glad I did.

Saturday evening was a similar night with some of the MBA students. However, instead of ending it with the same conviction as the night before, I carried on with two of my roommates and two new “friends”. We ended up in another club where I just sat down and closed my eyes until a group of girls woke me up and insisted that I dance. In the most strangest way I could ever remember doing, I got up, took off my trenchcoat, and started to dance. I felt like a puppet. It was so weird, and needless to say, uncomfortable.

I visited Adriano before that, but not for a Chinese lesson as agreed. He had called me the day before to say he had an accident with a tram car and couldn’t leave his apartment. So, I promised to entertain him for a while, listening to him speak about his condition (something that I think I helped get his mind off by telling him how strong and healthy he looked. How’s that for psychology?), and of course, cosmology.

Today, I woke up and decided I needed to do something about exercise. Afterall, there’s no point in eating better, if you don’t move better. So, I bought myself some weights and a yoga mat. Much cheaper than going to the gym here. Oh yeah, I guess you can add that to my list of things to keep myself busy. In the words of my brothers, “Giv’r”!!!