Genoa, rainy Genoa

First and foremost, out to Annie -- I soooooo totally now understand your frustration with this forum!  Posting in the US is simple to do, I can move pictures, put quotes under them easily, but from overseas?? Blech!

Now, back to business.

For those of you who know me, I travel on two things -- my stomach and photo ops.  Not for me, I tend to avoid being in my own shots, but for things that catch my eye.  Tuesday in Genoa was pretty good for that.  The day started out far, far too early with a spouse that was suffering jet lag.  After several hours up, I finally went back to sleep, and he eventually did as well.  He woke me up at 8:00 a.m., imitating Simon's cat in "Feed Me," (check it out on YouTube), giving our universal sign for hunger.  So I staggered into the toilette, got ready, and went to our breakfast.  

Not a typical continental breakfast, but not bad!  Sweet pastries, hard rolls, swiss cheese, ham, salami on the cold side; runny cheesy eggs, cut up vienna sausages, and bacon on the hot side; and cold cereals.  Not bad for a continental breakfast.  So Wayne, his iPhone and I settled down and had a good breakfast before figuring out what to do for the day.

Linus had his blanket, Wayne has his iPhone.  =]

     

The day was gray and rainy, so we held of heading out until around noon, when we headed to Da Genio, a "must eat here" establishment listed in Fodor's, and recommended by the NY Times.  The restaurant is in the Piazza Dante, about 3/4 mile down the road from our hotel.  It was sort of the way on to the aquarium, so we headed for lunch.  The local specialty here is linguini with pesto sauce, so I had that as the first course, Wayne had acorn fusilli noodles with pesto.  Second course was stuffed squid.  The portions are just small enough that the first and second course were filling without fearing that one wafer thin mint at the end.

After that, to the Aquarium!  The Genoa Aquarium is the 2nd largest in Europe, and is designed inside to mimic the feel 

of a ship.  The exhibits range from Mediterranean to Caribbean to Micronesian, with a few land creatures thrown in for good measure.  It was fantastic!  Plus we

 got nice views of the surrounding city from within the facility.

Then we started back to the hotel, using a Google map on Wayne's iPhone.  It gave directions in minutes rather than distances since he chose the walking option, and it was just screwy.  Walk to the left for 1 minute, then turn right.  Walk for three minutes and then bear right to stay on same road.  In the rain, which began again as soon as we began walking home, which probably made me walk more quickly.

I failed in following it in the very first minute, going too far.  Wonder what length stride it is calibrated for...certainly not mine!

Back to the hotel we went, going the very long way, making our way around the old city in the general direction of the hotel until we reached the Best Western, and the official taxi stand.  Wayne pulled out the iPhone again, and kept looking it over as the rain began to pour harder and harder.  We were about to get a taxi, but decided to walk up to the palazzo.  Lo and behold, it was the Palazzo de Ferari, which was our target from the beginning.  From there, a left turn onto Ave. 25 Settembre, and a walk back to the hotel, where we got ready for the pre-cruise ice-breaker.

Boy, was THAT an event...there was wine (red/white/sparkling), some hors d'oeuvres, and about 65 people, to include our cruise organizer.  Looking around, I saw that we reduced the average age of those in the room by 10 years!  

Wayne and I got some plates, sparkling wine, and made our way over to the bar where we met a retired couple (the gentleman had just retired a few months ago from Apple and is traveling the US with his wife in an RV with a Mac setup).  Nice couple, good conversation, could see sitting with them at the second seating.

We parted ways after a half an hour of chatting, and met another couple who sort of faded into the woodwork as we were approached by a woman at least 1-2 inches taller than I.  Her name is Janet, and she runs a non-profit organization that brings music to retirement homes and other remote areas.  Great job, great thing to do for people!  She and her husband Bill (and their daughter whom we met at the end) are out of Salt Lake City.  Janet and Bill were...interesting...to say the least.  I think they were more than a little tipsy, and the topic turned from Macs to politics.  Both Bill and Janet are rabid Democrats of the fiercest order.  And scary!  Their daughter had just graduated from Cornell, and has a similar political view to mine.  Registered Republican who votes Democratic when the conscience dictates.

Yes, it dictated on this election.

It turned very scary when a short, very heavy set gentleman (?) with a raspy voice came over and started shouting about "that son-of-a-*&^%$," how there were no good Republicans (excuse me, Colin Powell anyone?), and how Bush will have had no visible impact upon the American political spectrum of the future (Supreme Court appointments, anyone??).  

AUGH!!!  Wayne, take out your iPhone and rescue me!!!!!

Which he did.  He swooped in, made his parting remarks, and whisked me away.

Hopefully, the other 2/3 of the MacMania crew will prove a little more well rounded than the last 3 we met.  If not, this should prove a very comedic blog.

Ciao!

Buon giorno from numero sei undici!

Oh what a circus, oh what a show!  Continental has gone to town over the trip of two Mac geeks flying to Rome....

Poetic license, I know.

So let me say that being in Chicago for my birthday was a very good thing, although the amount of time spent there was near to insignificant.  We will have to go back and spend a week some time in September so that I get to see Navy Pier and go up the Sears Tower like a typical tourist.  

I did get the 2nd gen iPhone out of the trip there, though, a nice, shiny black 16Gig iPhone!

The day after the birthday, we got up at 5 after another night plagued with jet lag, headed out to O'Hare, and checked in.  Naturally, when trying to get boarding passes the night before, my passport information had disappeared from the Continental website, so no early check-in.

When we got there, we were ticketed for the first two legs (Chicago to Newark, Newark to Rome), but the third leg (Rome to Genoa) we had a little slip of paper that said "this is not a boarding ticket," meaning check in at Al Italia in Rome.  

First flight went well, got in to Newark on time, maybe even a little early, but my knee began to act up.  A lot.  We went into the President's Club, put our stuff in lockers, and then headed out through the terminal in search of cash machines, the currency exchange, and lunch.  Lunch was at Gallaghers, yummy!  But the knee kept throbbing, and getting worse.  

Then all heck broke loose.  We went down to the currency exchange machine, and my knee buckled, cracked and was in general unpleasant.  We then got to the ATM that did currency exchange and withdrew 200 Euros each, and walked back to the lounge.  We went on the personal conveyor belt, and were walking slowly, and my left shoe lost its heel.  Wayne picked it up, and we put it back in, but I wasn't confident.  Later, the right heel came off as well, and we never could find it.

We got back to the lounge, and changed seats twice, and I really couldn't tolerate the pain level any more, so I was out in search of Motrin.  Got it finally, popped two dry, and got online.

When the time came, we boarded the plane, and got into their upgraded seats, woo hoo!  (Of course, when you pay both dollars and miles, you are likely to get upgraded when there are empty seats...)  We were approached by the Al Italia liaison, and informed that we would be escorted to the club when we debarked so that we could use the showers and freshen up before our connecting flight.  Nice!  

But then we wound up sitting on the flight line for a very long time, and were significantly delayed.  Visions of my flight to Russia were entering my mind, the time where my flight was delayed, we arrived an hour late, and I was rescheduled onto another flight to Moscow, and my luggage didn't make it.  But it looked like we were only going to land a few minutes late.

Finally, we took off.  

Let me tell you, flying to Europe is quite different than flying to Guam.  The menus came out, and we had choices among osso bucco, halibut with shrimp, chicken with mozzarella di buffalo, just to name a few.  The appetizers were lobster bisque, quiche, Italian pastas.  The whole thing was just amazing.  Took my mind off the delay.

After fitful sleep, we landed, and got off the plane.  No one to meet us and bring us to the club.  We finally headed to the connecting area, went through customs, and headed to the Al Italia desk.  I couldn't find my little slip saying "This is not a boarding pass"!  EEK!!  But I had my passport and baggage tickets, so no worries.  Until we got to the desk and were told that I already was issued a boarding pass.  

What, did my one lost heel miraculously get off the plane with the voucher and sign itself in?

Oh, did I mention she gave me a completely different flight number and time?

Anyway, we checked in, got boarding passes and headed to the gate.  We waited in the middle of a herd of people, and tried to listen to the PA.  It was like PAs of eras gone by, with Europe never upgrading to new speaker systems.  I kept mentally comparing it to Japan and Korea, with Italy losing out big time.

Boarded the plane, headed to Genoa, and finally good luck.  All our baggage arrived!  I could have danced.  Walking through the customs was a breeze, and we got our taxi to our hotel without the usual usurious rates.  Very tired puppies, we checked in and set up shop upstairs.  (Naturally we could not function without setting up internet, etc)

Following showers (Wayne unable to shave thanks to a broken sink stopper that we disabled later in the day), we went downstairs to look for the shoe repairman.  We were given vague directions that there were two in the square behind the hotel.  Gamely, we went out in the rain and spent probably the better part of an hour looking.  No luck.  Went back to the hotel, had lunch, asked the concierge for directions (all of which were very vague -- go to the Tabac and turn left -- and met David Pogue!!!

Who's David Pogue, do you ask?  He's a technology columnist for the New York Times who also has a video podcast that we watch.  And enjoy.  Yeah, yeah, geeks you say.  Well, it's true! Even the cats have a .Mac account, Rocky_and_Oscar@mac.com.  When I told Wayne who it was, David asked if we were fellow geek cruisers.  And we are.  We're here to be on the Mac Mania 8 cruise set up by Geek Cruises.  After talking for about 10 minutes, we parted ways with David giving us the card to a restaurant that he and his family had visited, and we set out.  

We went along the route the concierge gave us.  No luck.  But there was a seamstress.  We went in her shop, and neither understood the other.  I finally pulled out the shoes, and she rattled out words to me.  I didn't understand.  She then saw Wayne, and fired of the fastest Italian I've ever heard, ending with "capische?"  That, I understood.  "No capische, Inglese

," the response.  She then took us outside, pointed, and said "bar!"  So we took off.

Still no luck, so another 30 minutes of wandering, and we found the restaurant recommended by David Pogue.  

We headed back a different way, saw a shoe store, went in and asked if there was a cobbler nearby.  They nodded and started to talk simultaneously.  I motioned for them to write it down, they did, and we found the place in under 3 minutes!  On Piazza Savonarola, we found the shop operated by Tony Calzolaio.  Tony "Shoe" Calzolaio.  =]  After a few minutes of not understanding one another, we pulled out our relative calendars, and agreed that the shoes would be ready by 8 am Wednesday, 2 1/2 hours before we would be headed out on our cruise.  Hooray!

Funny side note on the shoe store.  As I was asking for directions, I also asked the ladies if they carried shoes in a size 44 (please note that they were 5'1" at the most), and they looked at me aghast -- "For women? Oh, my, no!"  I had to laugh.

Back to the Star President for naps, the Daily Show (the Obama interview), and then out to the Ristorante Galletto al Mattone for dinner.  We arrived at 7:30, and had the place to ourselves for about a half an hour.  We managed antipasti, first course, and then I had some cheese for dessert.  Nice meal, and after chatting with the waiter, we were treated to a complimentary digestive -- also known as limoncello.  Perfect!

Now to sleep, hopefully, this evening, and to go to the Genoa aquarium tomorrow.

Ciao!

Lost in real time...

Ok, ok, I've been silent...to be honest, I had the back to work blues, and have been desperately trying to figure out what it is I really want to do.  And to try to tie it into Wayne's retirement schedule.  And to make a difference.

I was initially going to file paperwork to come back on active duty for 2 years, but thanks to the knee, I'd been on profile for over a year prior to the surgery.  So, until I can take a valid PT test (six months from now), I can't even file.  That one went out the window...for now.

I've finished my CIO certification and am three classes away from the CISO certification.  I get to walk the stage in DC next year, and the year following.  So, that aspect of life is about finished.  But what to do next?

Consulting hasn't been hitting the mark for me lately, although Booz was wonderful giving me the full time and partial disability for 2 months.  I'll stick it out with them for at least the next six months while I rehab.

So what did I do?  I applied to the University of Hawaii Masters of Social Work program!  After 19 years of counseling Soldiers and friends, plus my own therapy time, I feel a special ability in this area.  It's a big change, and one that my therapist thinks is triggered by a mid life crisis (turned 41 yesterday in chilly Chicago), and it makes Wayne extend his retirement by about 6 years (which he is willing to do, after our discussions over the past month).  I'm glad he's going to support it, because I really do need change.

Speaking of change, I should be blogging more as we are headed off to Italy on our MacMania eastern Mediterranean cruise!  Expect pictures from Pompeii, riding camels in Egypt, and lots of touristy schlock in addition to commentary on the seminars.

Ciao!

On Kauai

Deep sigh. Roughly 9 months ago, Wayne and I planned a hiking trip out to Kalalau over the "Founder's Day" weekend (I still call it Columbus Day). This was when I first returned on to active duty, and was feeling pretty darn good having hiked out to Hanakapi'ai. Then came the return to active status, daily PT, and lots of walking/running/etc.

Some time in May, I stopped PT altogether due to the incremental stress on my already damaged ACL, and began the process of going to Orthopedics to arrange for the revision surgery. So, no hike to Kalalau for me. :(

This morning at about 6am I dropped off Wayne and Brooke at the trailhead. It started to rain, got heavier, so I waited, but no aborted hike. I'm now back at the Westin in Princeville and about to go out and walk for three to four miles along Hanalei Bay. Not quite the same, but blessedly without a knee brace! Yes, awesome news yesterday at the surgeon's office. Fully on track with the recovery, I just need to get to the 5 degree hyperextension of the knee that my right one displays, and I'm about fully operable. True full healing won't happen for about another 4 1/2 months, but I'm well on the way. I got to throw out the knee brace in his office yesterday!!! And I'm using the stationary bike, the elliptical trainer, walking backwards (!) on the treadmill, and using weights.

There's a really nice gym here at the resort, so I'll be in there in the evenings to complement my morning walks.

Oh, and did I mention the spa nearby where I will get my massage???

It should be a good weekend with pictures, planning on walking the golf course path, going to Waimea Canyon, and kayaking on the Hanalei River. More to come.

Just wish I had been well enough to be out on the trail, but with the rain, might be better off at the resort. =]

Aloha!

p.s. Shout-out to Dad -- Happy Birthday! I called the Cull House, your gift certificate should be in the mailbox today.

The Other "C" Word

And body rehab begins. I started on my low carb diet yesterday, actually looking to follow the Weight Watcher's plan again without the weekly weigh in. I was graduated from the stationary bicycle to the elliptical machine in pt yesterday, and continued to work with weights, increasing the number of sets rather than the weight load. I still suck at balancing on my left leg, but I think I sucked at that even before I had surgery. Then it was four hours of Booz work, followed up by meeting Wayne at the gym at Schofield to start upper body weight training again. I'm getting back into a groove, I have to!

I know that the "c" word has many connotations, and although "can't" resonated most loudly with me over the weekend, there is one that is even more oppressive: "cancer." So many people in my life have been touched by the disease. My father's baby brother died of Hodgkins and Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, his mother of advanced lung cancer at the ripe age of 82. My mother is a breast cancer survivor. My friend Janet's mother is not. I go to the dermatologist anywhere from 2-4 times a year to deal with actinic keratosis -- pre-skin cancer cells. My father has had to have a chemical facial peel to deal with his skin cancer cells. My high school health teacher's wife just died of lukemia.

And now my sister's mother in law has been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, very advanced. They took her to Sloane Kettering last Friday, but the results are only with my sister and brother in law. They haven't told her, or her husband. This is a horrible disease, with even more horrible treatment that doesn't even truly cure a person.

It's October -- breast cancer awareness month. Do yourself a favor. If you are 40 or over, schedule a mammogram (boys get breast cancer too, by the way). Mine is due in November. Find a cancer walk and either donate money or your own two feet to walk it. Susan G. Komen foundation has hundreds of them. Wear someone's name on your shirt and walk either in celebration, or in memory. 1 in 5 women will be struck by the disease. Early diagnosis is the only saving grace, so do your self exams and get those mammograms. Especially if someone in your family has already been diagnosed.

I'm registering Wayne and me to walk the October 19th race for the cure in Honolulu. I hope some of the rest of you do the same!

Aloha!

The "C" Word

Of all the things I hate in the world, the "c" word is among the top, and the most frequently heard these days. Can't. I HATE that word.

It was drill weekend, but not too terribly bad. I had to weigh in, which was distressing, as I have been active, but not my normal active self over the past month. I've gained about 8 pounds. Yuck. Luckily, I can do the stationary bicycle now, and will be doing so starting tonight when I meet the spouse at the gym on Schofield.

Day one of drill was a farewell for the General, who is retiring, followed by a trip to the movies with Wayne. We saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Not something I would normally choose, but my two preferences were not playing at the theater in Kapolei. It was cute.

Day two I was on my own in the office, writing OERs, awards, a request for orders and access to the Japan classified network, and doing mandatory training. Not another soul from my section was present, the office was freezing, and the knee throbbing. At the end of the work day, I headed home to wait for Wayne, who was out hiking with Brooke on their final preparation for the Kalalau Trail. That's when I heard the "c" word. I was told that they took an alternate route down from the top of the pass, essentially rock climbing, and they decided that I can't ever take that route down.

I was upset with that proclamation. More than a little, in fact. I explained that the things that I won't be able to do once the knee is healed generally involve sharp pivoting motions, like on a basketball or volleyball court. The verdict was modified to "can't for now."

That's still the "C" word.

Between my girlfriend's marital trouble, my sister's mother-in-law's extreme illness, my sister's marital strife, my throbbing knee and the "c" word that cuts out activities I enjoy, I was upset. In fact, there were a few tears. I went out and snuffled to Wayne, and told him never to use that word in my presence again! He scrunched up his face and was about to say something, and I must have given him the look, because he revised whatever words were to be spoken to "we should go up that way rather than down."

And, later, while making dinner, I got an unsolicited "I love you," which helped a lot.

Good God, am I menopausal, or do I need to go back on the Strattera??

I've been feeling disjointed, emotional and just not myself over the past week, which was my first week back to work. Thank goodness it's only 50%, I would have failed miserably at every task. Even when blogging, I jump from subject to subject at an astonishing speed without any obvious connections (even for me)!

So, it's back on the Strattera, and back to the gym today. Hopefully, the combination of these two things will bring my brain and self back to normal.

And I'm abolishing the "c" word!

Aloha.

Gray days

Sorry so quiet over the past week and a half -- I have actually been in a bit of a slump, realizing that full time work is looming and I am not nearly quite ready to go back mentally. Couple that with a lot of rain, my girlfriend's diminishing reconciliation prospects, an inability to get out and walk due to aforementioned rain, and ridiculous inability to park at Tripler to go to physical therapy, and you have an unhappy redhead.

I had been told of my new position, working on the Guam joint enterprise architecture project out at NCTAMSPAC, which was exciting! I'd be working close to Wayne and close to home. We were already planning commuting, and going to the gym in the evening, stuff I really wanted to do.

And then, silence. Turned out that two lead EA folks from McLean are coming out to Hawaii for six months, and my spot in the workplan disappeared. Now, my boss was scrambling to get work for me. And recommended me for a project at PACOM in an area with which I am not familiar.

I know, good opportunity to learn something new, but if anyone out there knows the landscape at PACOM, parking is abysmal. I'd wind up at the bottom of a very large hill each day, having to walk it to work. Up is not so bad, it's down that's a problem. A long, steep down.

:(

Cue music, magically my short term disability was extended by 30 days until the end of October, so no need to grasp out at work right now, and another 30 days of healing!!! That takes me up to just before we leave for our Mediterranean cruise, so I ought to be in full swing by the time I get back. :)

So let's see, what's been going on? Besides having to reschedule several PT sessions due to no parking at Tripler, and not walking. Hmm. We had Eliot for the weekend for the first time since he headed out to UH as a freshman. It was good to see him. We hadn't heard from him in a while, so I texted him, asking if he was ok, enjoying school, and would he call his dad. He's good when I text him that way. He called Wayne that day and made the arrangements to come over. We went out to the India Cafe for dinner that night, and the next day walked to Denny's for breakfast, got to see Burn After Reading (darkly wicked, better than In Bruges), and had dinner out.

Sunday, Wayne and Brooke hiked the Hau'ula trails in preparation for their Kalalau hike next weekend (I was originally going as well until the surgery came along), and I sat under a tent and did my pt exercises. FINALLY heard from my girlfriend (she's been off the radar for over a week), although it wasn't promising for reconciliation. I walked (with sunscreen on) for about 15 minutes on the beach, only to burn my shins. You should see the patches where the brace was. But the water was soothing, and I was able to relax.

Finally got my friend out of her house on Monday to go walking -- she came Tuesday as well. Things are not boding well for her, her husband told her he feels empty inside, but doesn't want her to make any decisions until he returns from helping his mother on the east coast. I think she's ready to file, and she is mentally cataloging how they will split up the house, where she will go, and what she will do. Wasn't able to get her out this morning, but I think that was because he was still there. Sigh.

She brought me to my pt session on Tuesday, where I had great news. No longer need electric stimulation on my quad, the muscle is firming up, and not quivering when I contract it. We changed my routine to include weights and walking backwards (!) on the treadmill. It really looks like I have graduated to phase 2 of recovery.

I did my walk this morning (I was looking at the Nike+ website, and realized that the knee injury really started bothering me in May, when I stopped walking altogether), and was pleasantly surprised to see I have finally hit the 500 mile marker! I'm establishing a goal for myself of 25 sessions in the month of October, and I plan to meet or beat that goal!

Time for home pt exercises and a drive downtown to Booz Allen to pick up my computer and let my boss know I'll probably be working half days, mostly from home during the next 30 days.

His ears were burning -- he just called and is pleased to know that he doesn't have to find work for me for a few more days...and wants me to submit my timesheet!

:)

Ok, back to exercising and getting ready for work.

Aloha!