ELECTROLITE

My plans have changed today because of the rain ... I decided to leave GLACIER NP at the end of this trip ... and go EAST ... so I took my SPEEDING TICKET and I visited LITTLE BIGHORN ... a part of the speeding ticket I think I did the right thing ... :O ... and after WASHINGTON, IDAHO and MONTANA ... I am finally in WYOMING ...

... more precisely tonight I staying at the SUPER 8 HOTEL (w/ free WiFi) of COBY, WY ... almost 50 miles from the EAST ENTRANCE OF the YELLOWSTONE NP.

The way to come here has been completely gorgeous ... in the middle of the mountains with deers on the side of the road and a continuous change of weather ... snow, sun and again snow and again sun ... simply stunning ... and this picture ...

... is capturing the moment when driving downhill I got out of a light snow storm and I found the sun ... in the same very moment on the CD PLAYER I had ELECTROLITE of REM ... on the part where it says "If you ever want to fly Mulholland Drive Up in the sky. Stand on a cliff and look down there. Don't be scared, you are alive. You are alive" ... I felt soooo touched ... it is something I can't explain ... I guess everybody had these moments of pure HAPPINESS ... where you really think you can fly and you don't care about anything and anybody and you feel part of the creation ... to me it happened today there ... the people who really know me ... know that although I define myself as an happy person so far I had very few moments of ecstatic happiness ... I guess this is an other one ... strange to write about it on the blog ... where everybody can read and comment ... but I think this is very much me ... share with others ... so that's OK ... :D

I felt sooooo happy all the way down that I think I played ELECTROLITE at least 30 times ... kinda of childish ... but who cares ... here some other pictures of the stunning sunset ... myself in a SELF PORTRAIT (with the camera on the car) ...

... here the sunset over the mountains ...

... and here a fortunate coincidence ... while I was out of the car taking the previous picture I was playing ELECTROLITE so I kept the door open (I think the closest car was in 5 miles) ... and when I went back I realized of this nice reflection ... and here you go ... an ELECTROLITE SUNSET for you ...

LITTLE BIGHORN

Until last week, when I start to plan my ROCKIE MOUNTAINS TRIP ... I didn't really know why SITTING BULL was so famous ... the same for CUSTER ...

... and, of course, the same for LITTLE BIGHORN ...

... kinda of heard these names before ... but I wasn't sure if they were real places or HOLLYWOOD creations ... today I visited LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT. It is in MONTANA and it is located on the anonymous battlefield where on June 25th-26th 1876 the NATIVE AMERICANS headed by SITTING BULL defeated the 7th CAVALRY of Lt. Col. CUSTER ... and for the AMERICAN ARMY that was the biggest defeat ever ... for the NATIVE AMERICANS it was the biggest victory ... but it didn't change the history ... the WHITE IMMIGRANTS occupied the land and forced the NATIVE AMERICANS in the RESERVATIONS.

The NATIONAL MONUMENT has plenty of informative booths, there is also an introduction video of 17 minutes which explains all the phases of the 2 days battle. Basically the ARMY saw this huge campground of 7,000 CHEYENNE, LAKOTA and ARAPAHO including almost 2,000 soldiers and decided to attack ... this time they despite their firepower they weren't lucky ... and the INDIANS won ... CUSTER got KILLED and SITTING BULL enter the legend.

I didn't know what to expect from this place ... but I have to say that its beauty and the way this battle went made me think a lot about the brutality of the human history ... a continuous CLASH of CULTURES, RELIGIONS, CIVILIZATIONS ... in which the stronger always won and always wrote the history ... and I am wondering if this is what is happening today as well ... with all these thoughts I wander for a couple of hours in these wonderful hills ...

... which remind me a lot of certain part of TUSCANY ... and I found the burial places of an INDIAN WARRIOR ...

... and of a 7th CAVALRY SOLDIER ...

... I simply loved the phrase on the tombstone of LAME WHITE MAN ... "A Cheyenne warrior died here on June 25th 1876 while defending his homeland and the Cheyenne way of life" ... at the same time I felt so lonely when I was close to the tombstone of the SOLDIER ... Why this guy was here? Who was he? Who sent him here? While I am walking I am reading the flier of the NSPS ... basically in 1868 the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT gave to the CHEYENNE, LAKOTA and other tribes the eastern part of the Wyoming ... the government promised to protect them ... but when in 1874 the GOLD was discovered in the BLACK HILLS ... the heart of the new Indian reservation ... the promise was not valid anymore ... so the army had to force the NATIVE to go out of the initial land promised them ... mmm ... yes ... too embarrassing and too long to write on a tombstone ...

I continue to walk with a sad feeling ... the feeling that I am part of an invasion ... I am not very different by that guys of the 7th CAVALRY ... I am an INVADER ... and while I am asking to myself if I should do something different ... I get close to the entrance of the PARK and I spot this huge ... for a backpacker like me who loves public transportation it is really difficult to describe it ... up to you to decide what it is ...

... to me it looks a CRAZINESS ... probably his gas bill is one of the reasons why we are in IRAQ ... but fortunately for this guy I don't have the guts of SITTING BULL ... I won't shoot any arrow to his tires ... I had enough problems with the POLICE today ... I just want to forget about it ... so I close my eyes ... and I want to believe that the souls of the NATIVE AMERICANS is still free like these horses that I spotted today while I was wandering in the park ...

SPEEDING TROUBLES

Today SERIOUS SPEEDING TROUBLES for me in MONTANA ...

... this officer caught me while I was driving 91mph in a 75mph freeway ... when he saw my ITALIAN DRIVING LICENSE commented that "Mmmm ... ITALY ... of course for you guys in Italy 91mph is not that fast ... but here in Montana it's a lot" ... of course I didn't comment anything ... I think I just did one of my stupid smiles ... in a situation like this my sense of humour can really be harmful ... I close my mouth and I crossed my fingers ... I paid my $40 bail and the officer gave me the receipt ... and when I read it I found out that I should appear in court in Montana on June 16th ... but on the back of the receipt if I am reading correctly ... because the officer asked me to pay the bail cash ... I think I am the exception ...

... or at least I hope so ... I don't really have any plan for June 16th in Montana I think I will have to ask to a lawyer. This is my first ticket in US ... but I am sure I won't forget it ... after that ... I sticked to the limit ... 75mph ... all the way ...

... without exception ... :D

SPEECH IMPEDIMENT

So, today is the 1st day of my ROCKIE MOUNTAINS TRIP ... I drove through three states ... (i.e. Washington, Idaho and Montana) ... and in all of them I found a mix of rain and sun ... mostly rain, though ... almost 500miles drive in 7 hours and of course a lot of gas ... but it was definitely worthwhile ... I saw wonderful and diverse landscapes ... because of the rain I didn't take many pictures ... here the only decent one I manage to take ...

... I ended up my trip in MISSOULA, MT. According to the USA ROUGH GUIDE is "one of the most vibrant and friendly small town in the country" ... I didn't see many small towns here in US ... but trusting the guide ... I decided to hang out here and sleep here tonight. Now I am in the LIQUID PLANET COFFEE SHOP ... really cool and with free Wi-Fi for the customers. Before this I went to dinner to the IRON HORSE BREW PUB ... this is the sign I found in the parking lot ... ... and I have to say that these guys know their customers ... so, I seat at the bar ... and after 5 minutes a girl seats beside me ... she is a kinda of cute but she looks and sounds way too drunk ... I am watching the EAST COAST NBA FINAL on the screen and I am drinking my HEFEWEIZEN beer ... and I don't bother her ... after a while she grabs her chair and she gets closer ... she asks my name ... and here the funny part ... she doesn't understand what I am saying ... she starts asking if I am RUSSIAN ... I tell her that I am ITALIAN and my name is ANDREA. Her name is TINA. She is a journalist and a musician ... she has a Master in ENGLISH and her IQ is 160 ... and again she doesn't understand at all my accent. I can't really complain ... I don't even know my IQ ... so what's the point to discuss with a DRUNK GIRL with 160ish IQ!? No point!? At a certain point she claims that I have a serious SPEECH IMPEDIMENT ... which reminds me the first scene of PULP FICTION ... I start laughing and of course she thinks I am having fun of her. I order a soup and a salad and she decides to get a part of the salad ... but after a bite she starts cursing me that she hates GREEN SALAD ... and she asks if I am stupid ... and why I did force her to eat it ... :O ... I decide to teas her and I try to explain her that she didn't put enough dressing ... she stops me in less than 2 seconds ... and with WIDE OPEN EYES ... she tells me that she doesn't understand a sh*t of what I am saying and that I need to go to a doctor to get checked my SPEECH IMPEDIMENT ... I laugh again and again she asks me why I am having fun of her. The conversation continues with funny exchanges of misunderstandings. I finish my salad, my 2nd beer and after a chat with the bartender I decide to take off ... at this point she grabs my arm and she asks me to hang out with her tonight. I smile and I am tell her that I am headed to a COFFEE SHOP ... and a VERY STRONG COFFEE is exactly what she needs as well. Again she doesn't understand ... I am out of the PUB with my SPEECH IMPEDIMENT and in a while I find the LIQUID PLANET COFFEE SHOP ... I guess she is still in her ALCOHOLIC LIQUID PLANET ... :O

And now ... I have to find a place to sleep ... tomorrow I have 200 miles drive to the GLACIER NP ... apparently up there tonight will snow ... and some of the roads will be closed ... I hope not too many ... Xing my fingers ... :X

ROUGH VACATION PLAN

I am ready to leave again. This time will be VACATION. Of course I don't have anything ready yet and I don't have any RESERVATION ... but I am sure that these 2 guides will help me out ...

... and, even if I never stick to my initial plans, my rough plan for this vacation is to spend 9 days on the road ... leaving sometimes tomorrow morning from SEATTLE and driving to MISSOULA, continue to GLACIER NP (NATIONAL PARK) and spend there a couple of days hiking, visit BOZEMAN, go to YELLOWSTONE NP and spend at least 2-3 days there, move to GRAND TETON NP and make 2 days hiking. If I will have time I will visit also LITTLE BIGHORN (i.e. where SITTING BULL defeated Gen. CUSTER) ... in this trip I should drive through the states of WASHINGTON, IDAHO, MONTANA and WYOMING ... and I am really excited ... I will bring my LAPTOP with me ... and if I will find some data wireless coverage I will keep updated the blog with pictures and stories ... Xing my fingers that everything will go all right ... :X

KETCHUP EXPLOSION

So, tonight was supposed to be the night to catch up with a couple of good friends ... ARJANG and AMY who are living here in SEATTLE. They are renovating their house ... and in SEPTEMBER they will get married. We went out to drink some beer ...

... but the funniest part of the evening was when I tried to squeeze the KETCHUP out of the JAR ... not sure if I did in a rush or if the JAR was not closed properly ... anyways this is what happened ...

... a true explosion ... funny enough when the waiter saw it ... he didn't gave me any napkin but he rather gave me a new JAR ... but I think I had enough of KETCHUP today ... :K

ALMOST $2,000 STORY

This is what happened to me today at lunch. It is a story on how I amost made $2,000 out of $20 buying a BURRITO ... and eventually lost $1 ... and it is not about a POKER game ...

So, the story goes like this ... today I went with some colleagues to BAJA FRESH, a MEXICAN restaurant chain ... in REDMOND, WA (where I am working in this period). At the counter I couldn't decide what to order and I start asking to MARIAM, the girl at the counter, what she would recommend me ... she recognize my foreign accent but she thought I was MEXICAN ... I told here I am ITALIAN ... but I can speak a little bit of SPANISH ... so we start speaking in SPANISH ... I told her about my December trip to MEXICO ... and I found out she is from GUADALAJARA ... where I spent my first days of the trip ... it was a nice and passionate conversation. I ordered my BURRITO and I gave her the $20 that T**N gave me last night ($20 STORY post) ... which I now believe had SUPER POWERS.

When I went to the table ... waiting for the call for my food ... I realized that MARIAM counted on the receipt for $2,000 ... and she was supposed to give me $1,993.66 ... we laughed with my colleagues about it ... an especially when we realized that out of nothing ... I made $20 last night ... and today almost $2,000 ... :o

My friends asked me if she really didn't gave the change for $2,000 ... so I put my hand in my jeans pocket and I counted the money ... what I found out ... is that MARYAM instead of giving me the right $13.66 change ... gave me only $12.66 change ... so I realized that I almost made $2,000 but basically I lost $1 ... :D ... one of my colleague suggested me to go back and ask for the $1 ... but I didn't do that ... I think she well deserved it ... this time a girl had fun of me ... :D

$20 STORY

So, this is a $20 story ... and the $20 I am speaking about is the bill in this picture ...

Tonight was supposed to be a relaxing night. No plans at all. I was planning to spend some extra hours in the office trying to have some work done and nothing else. Everything changed when R***N, our account manager, called me and told me that our beloved customers were in town ... so he suggested to go out to have a beer with them. I can't refuse this type of proposals.

We headed to the TAP HOUSE GRILL in BELLEVUE, WA. I was expecting to see just a couple of guys ... but actually the gang was bigger ... almost a dozen of them. At that point I understood that they were looking for somebody (us) to pay for their dinner. I knew only a couple of them ... in particular I was happy to see T**D a former colleague from LA. Beer was good. Dinner was not special ... almost mediocre. Of course R***N had to pay for the dinner ... you know CUSTOMER RULES ... :( ... but he got a $120 discount (the cost of the appetizers, I believe) by the restaurant because they bring the main courses in different times ... again ... CUSTOMER RULES ... :)

We stayed there some more time ... we were having a good time and we were speaking about everything ... but mostly business related discussions ... at a certain point (after too many beers, probably) T**D ... started asking me if I will work again with him also in SAN FRANCISCO ... but because at this point I don't know what I am going to do ... I kinda didn't answer ... or I did answer in a vague way. Anyways ... L**N a lady project manager started pushing me ... and in a funny way she start telling me that I have to make T**D happy and BLABLABLA and I need to work on this project. The conversation was a mix between funny (for the beers we drunk) and serious (for the topic). I don't know how but she ended up pulling out her wallet and she told me that she was going to pay me if I was going to tell her the truth. I show her my right hand palm ... I smiled ... and she put this bunch of $20 bills in my hand. I close my hand. I put the money in the back pocket of my jeans. And I did answer her that ... "Yes I am planning to work on the project. And thanks for the money". T**D pulled out $1 bill and he asked me where. I got also this $1 bill and I answer him that "Most likely I will have a national position, but I am not 100% sure. But $1 is really a good buy for that information".

At this point L**N realized what she did and she couldn't believe she gave me all her money. So she wanted them back. I laughed and I refused to give her back the money. My excuse was that I didn't ask for them. Everybody saw that. It was a business decision. She decided to give me the money. The scene was hilarious. L**N was almost mad ... she realized she game me almost $200. R***N, our account manager, was almost embarrassed. He couldn't believe it. T**D and the rest of the gang were laughing like crazy.

The situation continued for few minutes. I almost managed to convince her ... I told her "If you think about it, this is a great story to tell to your girlfriends ... basically you just paid $200 for an Italian guy who gave you some fun during a lonely night in SEATTLE ... that isn't that bad ... :)" You should have seen her face ... :O

After 5 minutes of negotiations I put my hand in my pocket and I pulled out the first bill I found ... it was a $20 bill ... the one in the picture. I gave it to her. L**N wasn't happy about that. She claimed she had to catch a taxi in the SAN FRANCISCO tomorrow and she needed cash ... she wanted back her 200 bucks. At a certain point ... she asked for a paper signed by me, or better by R***N, that she gave me this money she could expense them to her company ... an other 5 minutes negotiations and I ended up giving the $1 to T**D and the rest of the money to L**N ... I don't how but out of the blue I had the last moment bright idea and I ask her back my $20, which were actually not mine, but hers, ... and of course ... she was so happy she recovered $160 that she gave me back the $20 bill ... without thinking that actually the $20 were hers ... :)

The night continued pretty smooth ... some more beers and a safe drive back home ... oooopppss ... to the hotel ... more I think about it more I am convinced that these $20 were well deserved ... tomorrow R***N and I will have the first round of beers paid by the customer ... :D

FLAT TIRE

So, tonight I got a flat tire in SEATTLE ... but the way it went is really funny ... I would say almost unique ...

... today the story starts from the office this afternoon. We had a kinda important meeting here in SEATTLE today ... one of these HIGH PROFILE BLABLABLA MEETING in order to setup a new project ... some important people in the room ... some Senior Manager who flew all the way through US to get there. The meeting went all right ... for the first time I tried my new introduction "My name is Andrea Bonanomi. I am the ## (my field) expert to support this project ... but most important ... I will be the next ##### (my company name) CEO" ... a simple way to make people remember me ... and make them understand that I am as serious as George W. Bush when in May 2003 from the deck of the LINCOLN declared the conclusion of the MAYOR OPERATIONS IN IRAQ ... :X ... BTW ... if you have the chance try to use this introduction ... it is really funny to check the people reactions ... :D

Anyways ... back to my story ... after the meeting we headed to a dinner at the FISH CAFE restaurant in KIRKLAND ... a town in the SEATTLE neighbourhoods. Very nice and classy restaurant. When we got there all my colleagues parked in the VALET PARKING ... and I did the same. Went to the restaurant. Order. Good appetizers and wine. Suddenly a call on my cell phone ... 801 something phone number calling me. Who is this 801 area code number? Probably it is work ... better I answer ... "Hi, this is NATIONAL RENTAL CAR". Strange, what do they want from me? "Hi. How can I help you". "May I speak with Miss Andrea Bonanomi, please?" ... "It is me. This is Andrea Bonanomi" ... "No, I am looking for Miss or Mrs Andrea" ... again this game ... I should change my name here in US ... :O ... "I am Italian. In Italy Andrea is a male name. It is me" "Very good Mr. Bonanomi. I am calling you because your car has a flat tire" ... mmm .... what is going on here ... am I already drunk!? ... I rented the car with NATIONAL ... that's true ... but the car is in the parking lot in front of the restaurant ... how they can call me and tell me that I have a plat tire ... this is a joke ... "A what? A Flat Tire? Sir, how is it possible you know my car has a flat tire!?" "So, you left your car in the VALET PARKING at the FISH CAFE restaurant, right!?" "Mmmmmm ... yes" "So, the restaurant just called us and told us that your car in the VALET PARKING has a flat tire and if you would be so nice to go there and let them know what to do with the tire they will appreciate it. After that you can drop the car at the closest NATIONAL location and pick up a new car". "WOW ... that's really funny ... BTW ... can you come here to exchange my car?" "No sir!" "OK ... I tried ... I guess my lucky bonus is over today ... :D". I am telling the story to a colleague and he thinks I am already drunk. I am going down to the parking and there is the VALET parking guy, LARRY and the restaurant manager who are waiting for me. They basically want to know if I want them to change the tire ... of courseeee I want ... I am becoming a AMERICAN-FAT-ASS myself ... :) I speak 5 minutes with LARRY ... he is a surfer himself ... but he told me he is normally freezing his feet (and not only those) in the OREGON water ... I feel lucky ... I can surf in the cold but still warmer CALIFORNIA waters ...

Dinner went OK ... we had a wonderful ALASKAN SALMON ... apparently a very rare type of salmon ... and I can tell you ... very good ... never got such a tasty and delicate SALMON ... but most important went I went back to pick up the car it had the new tire. I gave $40 TIP to LARRY ... something I never did before ... and I think I could have give him more ... but this is what I had in my wallet ... but again ... I think this is the most deserved tip I gave in my life ... and I was happy to tip ... :D

I need to be honest here ... I always associated VALET PARKING with lazy FATASS people and TIP with AMERICAN TOURISTS coming on vacation to ITALY. After 6 years of living between ISRAEL and US I am start changing my mind ... and tonight I realized that both VALET PARKING and TIP sometimes are simply great ... :D

CONVERTING VEGETARIANS

Today a very FAT LUNCH for me ... I went to FATBURGER ... a chain restaurant, very proud of its not healthy menu ... definitely a restaurant with a lot of PERSONALITY. Here the bill I got today for my lunch ... very funny ... I got THE BIG FAT DEAL ... that consist in a FATBURGER and not happy of the basic one ... I got also CHEESE and BACON and of course FAT FRIES ... but I got a DIET COKE ... I can't get sodas with sugar ... you know I am on diet ... like most of the Americans ... :D

What I loved the most of the restaurant is their motto ... WE ARE CONVERTING VEGETARIANS SINCE 1952 ... I simply loved it ... but tomorrow I think I won't be able to do it again ... probably I will get a lighter sandwich ... maybe VEGETARIAN ... :D

W

A couple of weeks ago I bought in REI in SEATTLE a new pair of sunglasses ... very HAPPY about them ... the brand is NATIVE and they are really cool ... with the normal set of BROWN polarized lenses you get 3 other set of lenses ... YELLOW, ORANGE and TRANSPARENT ... and it is really easy to change them. LEIF like them as well ... on SUNDAY MORNING we tried all the possible combinations of lenses. In the first picture ... a YELLOW lens and an ORANGE one under one of the cornerstone of our HOME ... the PULP FICTION poster in the kitchen ...

... you can notice the plastic soldiers (a Xmas gift to LEIF a couple of years ago) and LEIF's new LICENSE PLATE ... and here LEIF modeling with the two orange lenses ...

... yesterday I learned myself that ... the strange symbol that LEIF is doing with his right hand stands for W ... like WEST ... like WEST COAST ... because we are definitily happy to live in the WEST COAST ...

HAPPY HOUR

If you are thirsty and your wallet is not particularly full on Saturday afternoon at the PIER there is one place to go .... DRAGON ... $1 BEER HAPPY HOUR. I don't particularly like it. Too small and they tried to make it too upscale ... anyways JASON, LEIF, an other couple of neighbour and I went there on SATURDAY AFTERNOON ... I think I drunk only 1 beer ... still busted from previous night ... when I drink a little bit too much (not that much, though) and I didn't sleep enough ... but LEIF and JASON manage to drink also for me ... here a picture ...

... the RED GAGS were gently handover to us by a waitress after we spill more than once some beers on the table and on the floor ... not a big loss though ... I got only 1 beer but I didn't find particularly good ...

HERMOSA LIFE

This is what a daddy does on FRIDAY AFTERNOON in HERMOSA BEACH, CA ...

... not bad ... not bad ... :D

WINDOW VIEW

So. Today I am back to HOME ... in HERMOSA BEACH, CA ... weather changed during the day ... kinda of gloomy in the morning, became really sunny and now it is gloomy again ... kinda of regret the SEATTLE weather of the last 3 weeks ... can you believe it!? Day was nice ... slept in, went surfing, did some shopping, went to pay my rent ... and saw this CAT ...

At the begin I thought it was a ceramic one ... but when I realized that was a real one I decided to take a couple of pictures ... and the one that I like the most is this one ... the stones, the window, the CAT ... and my double reflection ... partly in the window and in the mirror inside the house.

SEA-LAX

An other passage on the route SEA-LAX for me ... today I left SEATTLE and I flew back to LA. I took FRIDAY OFF and because I really want to enjoy 3 full days of vacation at home in HERMOSA.

I love flying ... and this trip has been as beautiful as many other I had ... I had been assigned to the seat 7F ... which means window seat facing WEST ... which is always good at sunset ... but before that ... I saw my first FLYING SALMON ... designed by ALASKA AIRLINES ... really well done ...

During the flight I watched to one of these endless spectacular sunsets that you can see on from airplanes ... and this one was particularly good ... as soon as we took off we saw this gorgeous sunset over the PUGET SOUND ...

... and after that ... this nice feeling of going through the red clouds illuminated by the sunset ...

... and here the strange feeling to be above the sunset ... with the clouds below us filtering and reshaping the sunset ...

... and finally the last tale of the daily sun ...

I enjoy also the rest of the flight ... I went in the bottom of the plane to stretch my legs and I ended up knowing two flight attendant ... Ether and Carol ... both living in ANCHORAGE, ALASKA ... I told them about my plan to visit ALASKA and they gave me a bottle of ALASKAN BEER for free and plenty of advices ... I understood that better I take at least 2 weeks off and a lot of mosquito repellent ... but a part of this side effect of the Alaskan summer ... seems that I can have a very good time there ... between glaciers, wild life, hiking, 20h/day light and more Alaskan beer ... :O

The trip ended at LAX ... and I was really happy to see the familiar sign welcoming me home ...

... and the ceramic corridors of the airport that are reminding me either of an hospital or the initial scene of THE GRADUATE ...

... but here I am ... back home ... 3 days full of relax and good time for me ... :O

THE ITALIAN JOB

Today's dentist visit was much better than expected... and the most interesting part of the visit was the XRAY picture of my mouth ... it was done with a composition of several pictures ... basically a PANORAMIC COMPOSITION. The single pictures had been done with a XRAY CAMERA rotating around my head. I asked if they had the digital picture for my blog ... but they didn't ... 'cause everything was analog ... so I had to take myself a picture of the XRAY image ...

Dr. RICE and my comments out of this PANORAMIC VIEW were something like:

1. You don't have the upper WISDOM TEETH ... (YEAAHHH!) 2. The bottom ones are growing straight ... (GREAT!) 3. The two WISDOM TEETH are slightly touching the nerve, so no big risks of complications ... (THANKS G-D!) 4. I really want to remove your two WISDOM TEETH ... (AAAAHHHH!) 5. I will have to make you sleep for 30 minutes ... (MMMMM!) 6. Overall cost of the visit / XRAY / surgery is $1,077 ... (Good that 80% is on the insurance!)

... and here some other comments from PAUL, my British tooth troubled (*) colleague, and my answers ...

7. Your WISDOM TEETH are really perfect, don't remove them ... (AGREED!) 8. You lucky ... you teeth are really good and you got only 2 cavities ... (YEP LUCKY!) 9. What is that SINGLE FILLING covering 2 teeth ... looks like a bridge ... is that an ITALIAN JOB!?! ... (I guess so ... I did it in Italy ... but the 2 dimensional picture is missleading ... it is a good job ... :D) 10. Go to clean up that TARTAR ... (YOU RIGHT, already fix the appointment with Dr. Yamamoto!)

So basically this XRAY picture demonstrated what I kinda of knew already ... I have actually more wisdom in the bottom part of my my body than in the upper part ... :O ... and because I am the perfect procrastinator my take out of these 10 PIECES of WISDOM is ... forget about removing them for now ... tomorrow night I am flying to LA and I am going to surf for 3 days ... if it will hurt again I will take more LBUPROFEN ... :O

__

(*) Thanks Paul for correcting the wrong "english teeth troubled" spelling to the correct "british tooth troubled" ... even if to me still "teeth troubled" makes more sense ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERMAN BRO!

In case you have lost the previous episodes ... LEIF is my GERMAN ROOMMATE ... who after almost 3 years living under the same rooftop is "de facto" my GERMAN BRO. And today May 17th 2006 is a special day for him. And not only for him. It is a special day for the entire 244 MONTEREY BLVD INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. Today is LEIF's birthday ... but again it is a special birthday ... Leif is in fact leaving the 20ish and is joining the 30ish ... AAAAHHHHH ... painful ... very painful ... I AM SORRY MAN ... I still remember when it did happen to me ... it still hurts ... I can't believe it is happening the same to you ... :O

Anyway I am sure that you will manage it in the greatest way ... starting from next weekend ... when I am supposed to go back home (if my dentist will let me) ... YOU, JASON and I will have to seriously celebrate it!

In the meantime ... you guys out there ... and I know that most of you know and like him ... please help me to support LEIF in this difficult moment of his life and ... wishing him ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEIF ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!!!

TOOTH 17

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day. After 5 days of pain I have an appointment to the dentist surgeon. I am not sure if he will just make a X-ray or if he will pull it out. I am speaking about one of my WISDOM TEETH ... until yesterday I would have call it the "left bottom wisdom tooth" ... but after yesterday visit I learned that its name is TOOTH 17 ... circled for me (afraid about the fact that he circled also the other 3 WISDOM TEETH, though) by my general dentist ... Doctor SUGAMURA ... which for his origins (i.e. JAPANESE) and my bad memory for the names ... I prefer to call YAMAMOTO ... but I never dared to call him like that in front of him ... just worried that he will use all his TOOLS ... to prove me the JAPANESE superiority ... :X

YAMAMOTO suggested me to ... rinse, every 6 hours, my mouth with warm water and salt ... and for 69c I got IODIZED SALT for the rest of my life. Get some pain killer every 6 hours ... and here I discovered the addicting power of LBUPROFEN ... really good!!! Avoid to chew hard stuff ... i.e. no APPLES, yes ICE CREAM ... and that was a nice surprise. On top of that, my eyes are getting red due to the pain ... so I decided to complete the kit with some EYE DROPS. And there you go ... here a "STILL LIFE" of my desk today ... pretty cute ...

My secret dream is that tomorrow the surgeon won't pull out my beloved tooth ... I mean ... I carried this guy all over the world ... I hope I won't have to leave it here in SEATTLE ... and on top of that if they will cut the gum ... I understood that for 1 week I won't be able to fly ... and next weekend I am planning to fly back to LA for a short visit ... so I am just hoping for a miracle to happen ... Xing my fingers ... and closing my mouth ... :X

BEAUTIFUL SEATTLE

The weather in SEATTLE has been perfect in the last weeks ... apparently it is warmer here than in LA ... so if you want to visit it ... this is the right time ... and if still you have doubts ... look to this picture ...

... isn't this city simply beautiful ?-)

The QUEER DESSERT

I have to admit it ... I tried hard to have a partner in crime for tonight dinner ... but I miserably failed. The Spaniard colleague decided to study. My English buddy decided to cook (I know what you are thinking ... I told him the same!!!). My Italian friend went to the swimming pool. My Indonesian friend had a class (watercolor painting ... he says it is the perfect environment to pick up new girlfriends ... and so far he failed miserably). After this endless string of failures ... I decided to go to dinner alone ... which is something that happens to me pretty often since I am always traveling in new places.

I headed to CAPITOL HILL ... QUEER area in SEATTLE ... which is simply LOVELY ... and it is probably the only area where there is a high concentration of nice bars and restaurants open after 8PM.

The dinner was simply perfect ... I had a SINGHA BEER (I fell in love with this beer during my 2004 THAI + CAMBODIA trip) and a seafood rice noodle soup (PHO) in a very inexpensive and authentic VIETNAMESE restaurant ... and I had also time to take some pictures ... here one of them ...

... the view is on BROADWAY Ave.

I didn't get any dessert at the VIETNAMES restaurant ... I decided to go for a STRAWBERRY SHAKE at DICK'S FAST FOOD ... but the fate ... made me meet my daily queer sweet fan ... which is again something that happens to me any now and then.

So. I am walking on the curb of BROADWAY Ave and almost at the intersection with OLIVE ... this young guy calls me. I am looking to him very rapidly and I say something like ... "no, thanks". I have to admit that I thought he was begging some change. When I meet people asking for change I am trying to give them some money ... generally the coins I have in my pocket ... and when I don't have any ... I give them $1 bill. Tonight when I saw this guy I decided that I didn't want to give him money. Don't ask me why. There was no special reason. I guess it is in the rights that wealthy people shouldn't have ... should be a duty to give money to people who need them ... anyways ... that's an other story I guess.

Coming back to the original story. This guy follows me and in a very polite way is asking me why I didn't even look at him. So I look at him. He is probably dressed better than me ... or at least his shirt has been ironed better than mine. He looks at me and he says something like "I didn't stop you for money. I have money. Look here". He pulls out his wallet and he shows me $20 bills to fill the empty tank of a HUMMER H1. I don't know what to say. He smiles. "Do you know why I stopped you?". I guess I got it now. I don't want to answer. "I stopped you because I like you". There you go. Now is getting interesting. What I am supposed to say? "Thank you, but I have to go". "Really. Look at you. You are really handsome". I guess at this point I felt a kind of uncomfortable, but also a little bit proud of the compliment ... at the same time ... I decided that I am still straight ... so no way! "What's your name?" OK ... now I feel like I am in trouble. My name is ANDREA ... which is a male name back in ITALY ... not here in US, though. I am going to tell him, so he thinks that it is my queer name? You know what? Who cares? "Andrea. My name is Andrea". Now the smartest move. "Andrea, today is my birthday. Do you want to make me a gift?". I start smiling. Almost laughing. This is funny. I should use this question next time I meet a girl!?. But ... back to my problem ... how can I get out of this? "Really you are really sexy in this black shirt". I have to let him understand I am not for him. "You know what? I would like that my girlfriend will tell me something like this ...". "Mmmm ... aren't you gay?".Thanks G-D he asked me ... "No, I am not ...". "Are you sure?". "Mmmm ... a kinda ...". "What a pity. You are really sexy". The light turns green and I am ready to leave. He grabs my hand. "At least give me a hug for my birthday". I gave him a hug. I guess was the funniest hug I ever gave in my life. I am walking away and I feel special. Even if in my entire life I don't think I will ever like a guy ... I have to admit that ... feel that an other person likes you and can stop you in the middle of the street to tell you that ... even if is a queer and you are not ... makes your day ... or at least made my evening ... and you know what? ... I forgot to get my STRAWBERRY SHAKE ... :D

GOETHE

I think this self portrait I took on Saturday on the EMP (Experience Music Project) in SEATTLE ... perfectly defines the GOETHE sentence ...

... "In the colorful reflection, we have what is life".

Although I saw all these details only after I downloaded the picture on my laptop ... I love the asymmetry between the left part of the picture with the old couple slowly walking and the right part with the young girl running ... looks like the old couple is slowly walking towards something inevitable (the death!?) while the young girl is running away from it ... and the two colors ... the red and the blue ... are there to make the difference even more evident ... and I am just in the middle as a witness ... and fortunately for the picture nobody really cares about me ... :D

LEARN to DANCE

SEATTLE is really a city full of surprises ... especially music wise ... today I spent most of my day in the CAPITOL HILL area ... and on the curb of BROADWAY Ave ... I found these self explanatory dance lessons ...

... these are for RUMBA ... but there are also for TANGO and others ... so if you will come to visit SEATTLE ... you don't have excuses ... you have to learn how to dance ... I guess the same is for me ... mmmm ... OK ... but for today I had an excuse because I was without any partner ... :D

PLAYING with the WATER

PLAYING with the WATER has always been one of my favorite hobbies ... I love water sports ... and even now that I am surfing ... one of the nicest moments is when I am back to my place and I am using the hose to clean surfboard, wetsuit and porch ... so .... today when I saw this fountain in the SEATTLE ANDERSON PARK ... and the kids playing in ... I couldn't resist ... and with the excuse of taking some pictures ...

... I went inside myself ... luckily I had flip flop ... and it was just perfect ... :D

JIMI HENDRIX

Ladies and gentlemen ... from SEATTLE, WA ... JIMI HENDIX ...

This is the very unique and expressive statue, located on the curb of BROADWAY AVE, that a private fund dedicated to one of the most famous SEATTLE citizens ... JIMI HENDRIX was in fact born and raised here in SEATTLE. Here he bought here his first guitar (he was left handed but he used right handed guitars) ... he learned to play ... and he played his first concerts here.

JIMI HENDRIX died in PARIS, FRANCE but his burial place is also located in SEATTLE ... actually in RENTON, WA ... between SEATLLE downtown and the SEATTLE airport ... but I didn't go to visit that ... I prefer to remember JIMI on his knees playing his guitar rather than under 6ft of ground ...

SEATTLE SPACE NEEDLE

The SPACE NEEDLE is one of the symbols of SEATTLE and it is probably the most distinguishable piece of its skyline ... unless you decide that the SEATTLE SKYLINE is this one ...

... in this case I think the ONE WAY sign ... will challenge it ... :D

If you will visit SEATTLE you will read on the touring guide that the SPACE NEEDLE has been built for the 1962 WORLD FAIR and it is 600ft (i.e. circa 200m) tall. The NEEDLE can be probably defined as the SEATTLE SPACE AGE MODERNIST ICON (personally I prefer the ROCKET of the FREMONT neighborhood).

What you won't written anywhere is that picture wise ... it is probably best captured reflected on glasses or metals ... here a couple of picture I took yesterday ... in the first one the SPACE NEEDLE reflected on the EMP (EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT from the architect GEHRY) ...

... and in the second one the ORIGINAL and the REFLECTION on a glass of the PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER ...

WEST COAST by TRAIN

I love to travel. And as much as I love to travel I love to dream. And of course ... one of my favorite hobby is to dream about traveling. What I am doing is an accurate planning of the trip, though ... as a matter of fact I rarely plan anything in my trips but the days off (which happen more than once to be extended), the purchase of a touring guide (and most of the time it is a LONELY PLANET) and the places to visit (which most of the time don't match with the ones I actually visit) ... I think I booked a room in advance only once ... because I was landing at 11PM and the city where I was staying the first night was not really recommended for room searching after sunset ...

So. Today it happened that I saw on THE SEATTLE TIMES this AMTRAK advertisement ...

... and of course I started to dream about a trip on the WEST coast by train (and other thing that I love is to travel with public transportation) ... LA-SEATTLE or vice versa should be really cool ... and I think I will do it before I will leave this country ... I didn't check yet on the website ... most likely it will take 3 days ... this is the time that my friend RICC took to drive from LA to SEATTLE last winter ... so I just need to take a day off and with an extended weekend I can make it ... just wait to see my reportage on the trip ... :D