Perseverance

That has been my mantra.

I am proud to annouce I am officially a published travel writer. Here is the link to my article.

Venere Blog

Also, my secret that I have been keeping under wraps for sometime, is about to be revealed….drum roll please….

Olio di Oliva e Sogni di Vino

L’Aperitivo del Vino

Yes, I have changed my style once again.  Hope you all enjoy it! 

a presto

 

Snow again

I woke up this morning thinking I was going to work.  But the latter happened.  On my way to work I spun out in my car and felt the urge to not keep heading towards the small town I work in.  So I turned around and headed home.  I felt good about not going to work because: 1, my sister has the stomach flu and I am taking care of her now. 2, I am writing a story for a contest. 3, I am working on my secret surprise.  All in all, as much as I hate snow, Chicago wind chills, and driving a 10 year old that doesn’t have anti-lock brakes, I am able to embrace the snow on days like this.  I am home, writing and watching La Dolce Vita. 

 

Barry, you gotta love to hate him

I am spinning off of Sallycat’s Adventures latest post entitled ‘The voice”.

I have not been writing on this blog as much for one reason and one reason alone….I am in disarray(my new word to describe my anguish).  To back track, I used to HATE, DESPISE, New years when it came around.  Because in my mind, I think of all the things, I did, didn’t do, could’ve done, would’ve done, wish I’d done….blah blah…and then all of the sudden it is a NEW YEAR….WHAT?

I am still trying to take in this present year. 2007.  Why is time going so fast???  OK Katie what have you done wrong to make yourself be back to where you were 2 years ago…working as a temp, no direction, no money, no apartment…..Alright alright…sorry…that was Barry talking.

Like Sally, she has the “voice of doom” I have Barry.  One day about 2 mos ago, Barry decided that he wanted to be named Barry, in my head(Oh God Katie has lost her mind, I think she is schizo.)  I accepted the name Barry and moved on with my life.  Then I realized he wanted a bandstand to express all my deepest, darkest fears, doubts, worries.  I began to instruct him no, I am sorry Barry you cannot put me down, I am have accomplished way too much to NOW let you….the stupid voice in my head….dictate the way I feel about my life.

He went on and on.  Trying to make some point that I will fail, fall apart, cry uncontrollably with no end in stopping.  Then the most wonderful thing happened to me:

I became a freelance travel writer!!!

I received 2 jobs in one fun filled week, the same week my sister passed her Personal Training test, my Brother-in-law was offered a new job.  It was probably the best week since…well….in a long time.  And you know what happened to Barry…

I shoved him in a tiny box, ducktaped his mouth shut, ducktaped the box shut with a large wine bottle sitting on top of this tiny box.  He was silent.  He was flabbergasted.  WHAT, HOW CAN SHE BE SO HAPPY, SO CONTENT, SO HAPPY TO BE ALIVE???I HAVE FAILED AS AN ANNOYING PAIN IN THE ASS.  HA HA HA!!  (evil connotation)

I didn’t hear from him until the New Year started to roll around.  I heard a whimper here, a mumble there..but I then SAT RIGHT ON TOP OF THAT BOX.  As I was listening  to Brooke Fraser’s Shadowfeet, I was hopeful, faithful, that this bastard will leave me the hell alone.  I am confident in my actions this time around that he would be gone….well…that is what I thought.

Little did I know, he had a plan to break out, when I was feeling the tiny bit of self-doubt.  Thus I bring you back to where I am right now.

I cried on my way home from work, listening to Shadowfeet.  It wasn’t the kind of cry, like ‘oh woe is me’ , but like ‘why are you feeling this way, you are doing just fine, listen to these lyrics…

Theres distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
but I’ve heard rumuors of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

That is key…whispers of a well-lit way….I am here these whispers….I will find where they are coming from.  I have no doubt in my mind.

At this moment in time, listening to Brooke, I feel much better.  I know this is a process, a hard one,  but I will for sure move forward with hope, faith, and strength to be the BEST Katie I can be.  Because there is only one of me, no one else can play ME.

Thanks for listening and not thinking I am a looney cakes. 

a presto amici

 

Oh secrets

I have a secret but I cannot tell quite yet.  I have been working on it as we speak. 

I have plenty things churming, rowing, flowing, in my head, I just can’t seem to get it all down on paper.  I am working on project that has both drained me mentally and physically. 

I hope you all enjoy the piece I have created once I unveil it. 

The anticipation is killing…my impatience is killing me more. 

AHHHHHH

a presto

 

Tagged once again

Tina, mia amica bella, has tagged me to partake in 7 random things about myself. Well I am intrigued and shall begin…

1). When I was little I loved all animals that started with a “K” or words that rhymed with Katie. For instance, Koala, Kangaroo, and Haiti…:)

2). I used to want to become a nurse and work in prenatal care with babies. Then I went to Italy….

3). I make collages and hang them all over my walls. It makes me happy to be creative.

4). I played 15 years of soccer. My knees are paying for it now.

5). I went paragliding off the Alps in 2002…amazing views and a bit nauseating.

6). I still to this day see my Boppa(grandfather) whenever he shows up. He passed away on New Years Eve 2002. I talked to him unconsciously and he responds to me. You might be thinking “Katie is a bit nutty” but I like to think of it as a gift, I am not afraid or taken off guard when he appears. He makes me calm and makes me feel safe. You can say he is my guardian angel. Miss you Boppa!!!

7). I once sailed across the Mediterranean on a kayak. Well I was the 1st mate on kayak of a man named Dan who I met on the trails of Cinque Terre. Yeah when I told my friends I was traveling with, I was going on a boat with a complete stranger, they said “We hope to see you Monterossa.” It was the most amazing 15 min ride I have ever been on. With my HUGE backpack on my lap, I saw the most beautiful jellyfish all around me, just hanging out.  Was I scared, hell no!  While sailing along, I found out he and I had the same birthday, which at that time I NEVER heard of someone having the same bday as me. It was a risky experience, but you only live once, right?

OK now it is tag time…hmmm

Emily from Confessions of a 20-something

My passionate amica, Jeni

NYC/Caribbean ragazza

Roam to rome lady friend

I guess that is it….I am sorry if I don’t know your real names ladies!! Write me and I will know them…

a presto

 

A new year, A new Tango

Last night I went with Rose to the Chicago Tango Academy. I was taught by a young couple names Romulo and Margo. It was actual structured class that we learned the basic step which was never taught at Ritz Tango Cafe. I am so excited to start this year out with yet another joy in my life. Tango.

We took the beginner’s class at 7pm and then watched a bit of the advanced class and then Rose and I wanted to catch up on each other’s lives so we went to a real nice sushi restaurant nearby. Then we came back for the Milonga at 10. We didn’t know if we were going to stay but Margo gave us the stink eye if we didn’t come back.

I was asked to dance first by the Russian in our beginner class. He has never danced before and it was a bit uncomfortable because he is still learning so we kind of just ended up staying in the same spot on the floor. Oh well, I wanted to be nice. Rose’s first words when I arrived back at our table was:

You are a trooper!

I was then asked to dance by older man, right off he started giving me pointers, trying to tell me what to do, asking me if I knew what OCHOS were????? OH I WAS LIVID!!! Thanks to the advice I received from Tina, I politely asked him to stop criticizing my dancing and just dance. He stopped talking then and there. And I think I danced very well, just listening to the music and moving along with him. I was not nervous, I was feeling the music inside my soul and felt amazing in my own skin.

These teachers are going to wonders for my dancing technique and love of Tango.

Here is a video of my teachers: Romulo and Margo

I am back in the Tango swing….a presto amici

 

The Painter within…

Thanks to Jeni, I was reading Sark’s New Creative Companion this afternoon. I was inspired by all her sayings and how I feel this book was made for me, and my kind of thinking.

And because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.”

Be who you truly are and the Money will follow.”

Believe in Everything!

You are always on your way to a Miracle….The Miracle is YOU!”

Do what you know how to do NOW, and then “act as if” you know how to do the rest.”

All great ideas need a human channel to bring them down to earth.”

Those are just to name a few of the inspiring words that led me to this

I painted 22 pictures. I was on a roll and it made me feel great. I had such a pull to keep going. I painted my thoughts, my feelings, my strengths, my weaknesses, my passions…..everything that is going on in my head. It was a different kind of release. It was a creative release.

I am loving this new part of ME. I think it is important to express myself anyway possible. I love to write but sometimes I will head over to the paints and brushes before I pick up the pen.

I can honestly say…with pride and confidence….

I AM A PAINTER NOW!

a presto

 

Inspiration, Dave, and a Necklace

I went to the coffeehouse yesterday to write and I ended up talking to a really nice jewelry maker. Apparently she was there when I walked in about 2 hours prior to meeting her, but I never saw her.

I ended up talking to her for about 25 minutes about how she started making jewelry, she asked what I did, we talked about Italy, about how it is important to keep to your guns. Yeah, it was a random inspiring person that crossed my path. Doing what she loves, she enjoys, has a passion for, and presses on. She is also a massage therapist that pays her big bills, but she knows that making jewelry is something she loves to do, so she keeps it up. I left our meet-cute with not just a gorgeous necklace but with a sense of clarity.

Damn, I honestly am on the right track. I can feel it. The Universe is definitely on my side.

These past couple days when I meet people, see old friends, they ask what I am doing now. I answer with a proud and fulfulling feeling of:

I am a Freelance Travel Writer.

It feels therapeutic to me. As though I was always supposed to be introducing myself as that. I always had this as a vocation but yet I kept it inside.

Tonight I was watching Driven starring Dave Matthews with my brother. I have never talked about Dave on my blog, not that I remember. But for some reason he struck yet another chord with me.

I have been a fan since my early college years thanks to Megan Miller. But yet I never felt quite the way I felt tonight watching what he went through to become what he wanted to become. I was mesmerized by his rise to stardom and yet still sticking to his guns and being himself throughout all his fame and fortune. I felt an over exuberant emotion from this experience with Dave. He is full of energy, poetry, drive, assurance, and passion. I love all these qualities. In anyone, such as myself, I feel that these are characteristics that I have acquired throughout my years on this earth.

The clearness of my path and what my dream has shown its’ faint colors in these days. Their are many other strings being pulled inside me by interactions such as the aforementioned, as well as from across a vast ocean. It is amazing how strong the feelings I still have from that country where the Iori and Gazzotti families came to be. It is so strong and apparent where the ending of this path will lead.

Barry is fading yet again.

Dave…my vision….my shadowfeet….have the lead in this leg of my existence.

Nothing is more self assuring than this feeling that I have at this moment 11:44pm, 23 Dicembre 2007.

Buon Natale

 

Happiness

I recently read an article about Will Smith, actor, comedian, musician, father, husband. He is known for being upbeat and always smiling while on set. He is always cracking jokes and wants people to enjoy themselves. This is a quote of how he gets sick if there is too much darkness.

“I will get physically sick if I spend too much time in down situations. I was in Sweden once in the winter time when it’s dark. I got physically sick. And it’s hugely important for me to be like (claps his hands loudly) ‘Come on, let’s get going!’ I’m faster, I’m better, I can be funnier. It’s better for my body, for my sanity, for my family, for my life, if people are having fun. My skin is better.”

It is probably the most sincere thing I have heard from a big name like Will Smith. He is always a good time on screen. I always enjoy his movies. He does know which movies to pick that everyone will enjoy.

The fact that he is in constant pursuit of being happy, that is such an inspirational thought. To be that in-tuned with being happy with what you do, how you interact with people, and how you face each day.

This article made me think quite a bit. I know everyday I don’t wake up like how Will expressed but I really want to try each day.

The negative ego in my head, whom I will call(he needs a name of some kind) Barry, (it keeps sticking out in my head, that name).  Anyways, Barry keeps wanting to spoil my days these days. Even though I locked him in a chest deep in my mind, he still seems to be bugging me. He is screaming from inside that box, making me get down on myself.

I refuse to let this bastard get the best of me.

Happiness is right around the corner.

 

A Christmas Meme 2

I just realized I only mentioned 10 things.  4 days later…d’uh!

11.  Listening to the snowfall

12.  Listening to Christmas songs from my childhood, The Muppets 12 days of Christmas, Alvin and the Chipmunks….there are many more.

Lucky 13. Do you hear what I hear?

a presto