WORKING 28 HOURS STRAIGHT

It's over, it's over and it's over! Bloody hell ... it's over! We did it! I am sure it is not completelly over ... but like I told yesterday to a colleague ... this was like OHAMA BEACH for us ... and even if wounded, we managed to survive ... by itself this is a success ... so I am in WASHINGTON DC now ... and in the afternoon I presented the final deliverable to our customer and it's over! But believe me it has been painful to get to this point! In the last days this project has been really a pain in the *ss ... I think in the last week we worked an average of 18 hours a day ... and Tuesday it has been the worst ... or the best ... depending from the point of view ... after the previous night we finish at 3AM ... we went into the office at 10AM and we left at 1PM .. of the day after ... 28 hours straight ... but at the end we made it ... we managed to pull out a good work ... and believe me ... when you work for so long things get really strange ... and funny ... like when around 2AM my colleague RADHIKA pull out for us a small DJ SHOW ...... or when at 5AM we went to the VENDING MACHINE at the 2nd floor and we found out that it was broken ... basically it was giving credit without retaining the coins or giving random coins back ... we went down with 80cents ... and we came back with $1 and all these goodies ...... we renamed it ... THE DREAM MACHINE ... or when around 5PM in order to have the attention of a (male) colleague back in Europe (over there it was late night and I desperately needed him to answer to some question on a way a tool was supposed to work) ... I played on the fact that he had never seen me and probably he thought I was a girl because of my name (i.e. Andrea) ... during the 1 hours email exchange we had ... I was afraid to loose him ... with the secrets he knew about the tool ... and I started made him compliments ... and telling these things that girls are telling us (guys) when they need a favor ... like that ... "you are sooooooooooooo nice to answer me this late" ... and that "I can't wait to meet you" ... and ... " you are so smart" ... or ... "when are you coming to US I want to take you out to dinner and show you Dallas" ... and other b*llsh*ts like that ... but you know what?!?! ... it did work out ... I definitely got the detailed answers I needed ... and without them we were in deep sh*t ... and yes definitely ... things get really strange when you work that long ... and now I can't wait to get on the flight to LA tomorrow and have a weekend full of beer, surfing, skateboarding and friends ... yyyyeeeaaahhhh ... and believe me ... I can do that not for 28 hours straight ... but for 28 days straight ... :D

SUMMER SUNSET

Still in the office. And probably I will be here again until 3AM. An other crazy day full of work for me and my coleagues ... lately we are running at an average of 18 working hours / day ... but, of course, I have 5 minutes of relax for my blog ... so today is AUGUST 15th ... for most of the people this is just an other day ... for Italians, like me, this is FERRAGOSTO ... a day off ... the peak of the summer ... a party day ... the parties in Italy are as crazy as in US for the 4th of JULY ... but for most of Italians it is also the end of the summer ... the last sunset of the summer ... and this was today's sunset in Dallas when I went to drink a coffee a couple of hours ago ...... so I guess, as Italian, this is the SUNSET ON THE 2006 SUMMER ... too bad ... :o ... and ... travelling outside your country means also get ride of your habits, your holidays, your parties ... but I guess it is something I like ... and of course I can't wait to go back to LA to surf ... for the continuation of my summer ... like in the classic surfing movie ... ENDLESS SUMMER ... :D

HOW WE SPEND OUR DAYS

Today I read a quote that made me think a lot ... "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives" by the American author Annie Dillard ... and still I am thinking about it ... so trivial ... but so true ... it definitely did help me to better spend my time today ... and to dedicate some quality time to the things that I think are important in my life ... like ... contact some old friend ...

T-BONE SUNDAY

Today I had to go to the office and work and of course ... I don't like to work on Sunday ... I did it for so long when I was a student at the university (at that time I had to study) that I don't really feel strange ... at the same time I don't really like it ... today I ended up working with my colleagues for almost 12 hours and at the end we didn't even get the results that we were expecting ... BUT ... we had a perfect TEXAN lunch ... we went to a STEAK HOUSE close to the office ... I got a wonderful T-BONE ... cooked like I like the most ... medium rare ... soooooooooooooo good ... even in a sh*tty day like this I found something special ... and really tasty ... and look to the RESTAURANT MENU ... very professional ... looks more like a butcher check list ... but at least it gives you a good idea of the piece of meat you are going to order ... anyways ... my strong reccomandation (probably not very original) is ... if you have the chance to come to TEXAS ... don't miss their STEAKS ... they are really something incredible ... delicious ... almos sweet ... but please ... don't work on Sunday ...

TIRAMISU

Short weekend for me ... tomorrow I will have to go to the office and work ... but today I tried not to think about it ... and to enjoy the day with my friends here in DALLAS ... an other cooking day for me ... this time it was with BRIAN and NATAF ... celebrating NATAF fresh graduation ... they organized a small dinner with friends and I tried to help cooking ... together we did cook PASTA, SALAD ... and TIRAMISU ... which is Italian means CHEER / PICK ME UP ... and it really worked out pretty much like the name ... its preparation did cheer me up ... I realized once again how lucky I am to have friends ... and such a good friends ... I guess a friend is really someone you trust and with whom you can share your deeper thoughts, fears, ideas with the confidence not to be judged ... like an alter ego able to give you an other point of view ... without judging you ... anyways here some pictures of the TIRAMISU preparation ...... theTIRAMISU was really delicious ... everybody really liked it ... and the good thing is that also NATAF knows how to prepare it ... the Italian culture is spreadng also in DALLAS ... :D

TEXAN POINT OF VIEW

If you have never visited TEXAS ... this picture that I took today can help you to better understand what is the average Texan point of view on the world ...

... of course not all the Texans really think this ... or at least, I hope so ... :o ... and of course ... I am a kind of happy to be in neither category ... I am only wondering if the US President, proud Texan, has equipped the tanks in Iraq with this sticker ... that would explain a lot of things ... :D

BREAK EVEN THEORY (BET)

This is a theory ... one of mine ... not the only one ... about what to do out the rest of my life ... I call this one the ... BREAK EVEN THEORY (AKA BET ... which tells a lot about it) OF MY LIFE ... the idea is based on 3 basic truth ... 1. I don't want to die with any money left on the bank account 2. I don't want to die with any vacation days not spent 3. I love to travel and backpack more than anything else ... on top of that I am 35 and I have some savings (not a lot ... but some ... for one reason or an other ... I never bought an apartment / house) ... and I am not planning to get married ... sooooo ... what I was thinking is ... if I will continue like this ... I will get to a certain point in my life when I will have more money than time to spend them ... I call it the BREAK EVEN POINT ... so why not leave everything and start backpacking ... and continue forever ... backpack in the country that I love the most (not the Western world) costs $1,000 / month ... let's assume a margin and assume that I will spend the double ... like $2,000 / month ... this makes $25,000 / year ($24,000 + $1,000 for Xmas) ... if you try to make a model out of this crazy idea ... this is what you have ...

... the picture was taken few weeks ago when I amudse for almost 20 minutes with my BET my colleagues ... the theory is the one on the left ... on the right there are work related b*llsh*ts ... almost forgot ... you need to make an assumption also on the age you will die ... on the example for my colleagues I made 90 years old assumption ... even if I have the feeling that I will get maximum to 70 ... look to this picture that, for a coincidence, I took when I turned 35 years old in the YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK ... kinda of a hint for me ... probably I am really HALF WAY ...

... anyways going back to he formula ... the formula is ... YEARS TO BREAK EVEN = [(Supposed Age at Death - Actual Age) * (Yearly Spending After Break Even) - Actual Savings] / (Yearly Savings Before Break Even + Yearly Spending After Break Even) ... and ... the numbers on my actual savings and annual saving on the whiteboard are fake ... but using them ... if you are 35 years old, have already $500,000 savings, an annual $50,000 net savings ... and you forecast to die at 90 ... you will have your break even in 12 years ... when you will be 47 ... which is the number on the board ... unfortunately it is not true for me ... but I just wanted to see a small number as a result ... you know ... marketing ... trying to convince my colleagues that it was a good theory (not very scientific, I know) ... :o ... but ... you can try with real numbers for you ... the formula is very simple ... and ... in a way I know it is crazy ... but on an other way ... one of my favorite quote is "Your dreams are never silly; depend on them to guide you" ... and I believe in it ... let me check in few years where this theory will carry me ... but again ... this is not the only theory I have for my life ... I have an other couple of them ... one is related to B&B and an other about SURFING ... an other day ... an other post ... :o

NIGHTMARE CITY

OK ... put it like this ... if I should describe with a simple picture my nightmare city ... this is the best picture I could have come out with ... unfortunately this place exists ... it is DALLAS, TX ... and it is not the only one ... and I mean ... how can you deny to your citizens to use rollerblade, skateboard and bicycle ... and complain that they are overweight and that their gas bill is too high ... and that they are depressed because they can't do anything but eat and shop!? I think you can't ... anyways ... I left my rollerlades and my bicycle in LA but ... I am still using my J-BAY (i.e. skateboard) here ... I guess sooner or later some police officer will arrest me ... :o

INDIA, CHILE, ARGENTINA or CHINA?

You need to help me ... I can't really decide ... which is not a big surprise for me ... I want to go on vacation for 3-4 weeks in November / December ... but I can't decide where to go ... in the short list so far there are India, Chile, Argentina and China ... ... few days ago I was pretty sure I wanted to go to India and I went also to a book store to check a couple of travel guides about this incredible country ... and I got completely hooked up ...... but after that I emailed with some friends and they told me incredible things about Chile and Argentina ... and now I can't decide ... all of them have PRO and CONS ... CHINA for example ... it is changing so fast that every year I wait to visit it ... I am missing something and my former roomie Jake is living in Shanghai now ... and at the begin of the year I was pretty sure that my big 2006 trip was going to be there ... but now thinking better ... I don't like all the sh*t that the Chinese government does ... and I don't feel like visit China ... but again ... I buy Chinese stuff every single day ... so which is the difference!? INDIA is such a great and incredible country ... inspiring ... and November / December seems to be the best period to visit it ... and on the way back there is the chance to make a technical stop (need to check how much is going to cost me) in Hawaii and go to surf for a couple of days in Oahu ... but I am not sure if I want to do a trip there by myself ... I have the gut feeling that I will get in someway sick ... and I would like to have a travel buddy. CHILE ... there is a colleague and friend of mine living there now ... and an other friend, is telling me incredible things about it ... and actually he dare me that if I won't go there ... he won't speak with me no more ... but after US ... in 2008 ... I want to go work in South America ... so why spend a trip there ... at the same time I don't really know what I will do in the next year work-wise. ARGENTINA ... everybody are telling me it is amazing ... a friend of mine today wrore me a email which was 2 pages long telling me incredible things about Argentina ... but also in this case ... I have the gut feeling that I will end up working there sooner or later ... so better I wait to visit it ... and seems that for November / December I need reservation for any place I will go ... which is something that I hate ... how can I book a bedroom in August for December ... I don't even know if I will be alive in 4 months. Mmmmm ... difficult decision ... so if you have been in these places ... your suggestions are more than welcome ...

DALLAS RAIN

This summer is really hot here in DALLAS ... pretty much always above 100F during the day ... but I like it ... it is not humid ... it is dry ... or at least this is what I feel ... what I like the most is to drive with the open front windows and feel the heat while I am listening to my favorite music ... but today an unexpected (for me) rain came to refresh the city ... here a couple of pictures that I took and that I particularly like ...... I hope you will like them as well ... if you have the chance click on them ... you will be able to see more details ...

61 YEARS AGO and TODAY

August 6th 1945 Hiroshima, Japan ... the first atomic bomb was dropped ... in the very same day in Bergamo, Italy ... my dad was born ... and today is the 61st anniversary of one of the darkest pages of the human history ... and at the same time, for me ... a great day ... my dad birthday!cSometimes I find myself thinking what would have happen to me if my family was from Hiroshima, Japan ... rather than from Bergamo, Italy ... I guess I would not be here to type on my laptop keyboard now ... but I am here and I want to tell you something ... don't believe to your presidents, prime ministers, dictators, spiritual leaders, religious leaders ... any war can be avoided ... any ... without distinction ... for example ... speaking about the war where the western world is involved right now ... Was the WAR in AFGANISTAN necessary? NO! Was the WAR in IRAQ necessary? NO! Don't even let me speak about the ISRAEL-LEBANON WAR ... so you even remember why it did start? Because 2 soldiers were kidnapped! 2 soldiers, right!? Now ... how many people died so far!? Almost 1,000 ... 1,000! There is something wrong here ... and you know what ... at the end ISRAEL will have to accept a prisoner exchange with the Hezbollah in order to have back its soldiers ... and who do you think they will give to the Hezbollah!? Football players or belly dancers!?! No ... people they have previously kidnapped! You see!? HEZBOLLLAH wanted to go to war with ISRAEL and ISRAEL wanted to go to war with HEZBOLLAH and they did it .... but here relies the problem ... the Israeli and the Lebanese people didn't want to go to war ... but someone managed to let them believe that the war was the only solution ... and now they are dying on both sides ... the people who is taking the decisions for us (presidents, prime ministers, dictators, spiritual leaders, religious leaders) have their own agenda. Believe me ... if there is something you don't understand in what the your president, prime minister, dictator, spiritual leader, religious leader does ... there is a reason ... it is wrong ... like 61 years ago ... it was wrong to drop that bomb ... but not only that bomb ... any bomb! Did you see the two pictures in this post ... do you see any difference!?! I don't! I was told that one was taken in LEBANON 2 days ago, and the other in HIROSHIMA, JAPAN 61 years ago ... I believe it ... but again ... I don't see any difference! I almost forgot ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

I LIKE REPETITIONS

A funny set of advertisements for HOME FOR SALES in Dallas, TX ... I couldn’t avoid to take a picture ...... and the more I am looking at this picture ... the more I like it ... no doubt ... I DEFINITELY LIKE REPETITIONS ...:o

COOKING for my FRIENDS

All my friends know it ... I love to cook ... and i love to cook for them ... in the last 6 months far away from my home in LA ... without a kitchen I had an hard time ... but this week I proposed to my closest colleagues to cook a real Italian pasta for them ... we met today at Sirisom's home ... here while I am chopping the onions ...

... I prepared some RED SAUCE that I used for both BRUSCHETTA and PASTA ...

... actually the PASTA was really a lot 3 lb. ... but better something more than something less ...... it is really nice to share homemade food with my friends ... I simply love it ... there is something special in it ... I like the idea that I am creating something for them and we are enjoying it all together ... it is the best gift I can imagine ... not everywhere I found people so enthusiastic about it ... back in Italy it is pretty common to have dinners and cook all together ... the same in GREECE and ISRAEL where I lived before moving to US ... here in US it is more about BBQ and beer ... but thinking about it ... probably it is not that different ... anyways ... not a big deal ... :D ... hare some other pictures of our lunch ... the APPLE PIE was homemade by Sirisom ... really a good one ...

... and of course because of the heat the WATERMELON was the biggest hit of the day ... it is still hot in Dallas ... all day above 100F!

NO TAX WEEKEND

I am in Dallas, TX where ... it is extremely hot ... I have to work long hours ... most of my colleagues have a family ... it is hard to find a designated driver for the weekend fun ... I don't have a home here ... there are no waves to surf ... BUT (there is always a BUT) ... this weekend is the NO TAX WEEKEND (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) ... if I will buy cloths and stuff during this weekend ... I won't pay state taxes ... you see?!? ... there is something nice in any place you go ... and I need new shoes ... :o

FEAR and LOVE

Today I was having dinner with an Indian colleague ... I don't exactly how ... we ended up speaking about Gandhi ...... and he told me something that attracted my attention ... something like "I don't like what Gandhi did" ... I couldn't believe it ... how someone can't love Gandhi!? Especially an Indian. So I asked him why ... he told me he didn't want to speak about politics and religion with a colleague ... but at the end I managed to know what I meant ... basically he didn't like something that Gandhi did ... basically in his opinion most of today India problems are due to the fact that Gandhi didn't want to completely "exchange" Hindu and Muslim population with Pakistan (i.e. giving Muslim to Pakistan and keeping only Hindu) when the two countries got their independence ... I know a little bit of that piece of history (i.e. I am also trying to read a book about it)... but I can't really comment ... the only thing that I thought when I was speaking with him ... is the song FEAR and LOVE by MORCHEEBA ... one of my favorite bands ... I love it for its message ... it is something I never really realized before I heard this song ... the antagonism between FEAR and LOVE ...... when I grew up I thought that LOVE is always in antithesis to HATE ... and I kind of believed it ... when I didn't manage to love things and people I was asked to myself why ... and now I realized that the question that always works is "Why am I afraid to love this person?" or "Why am I afraid of this love this situation?" or "Why I am afraid to love this place?" ... and I pretty much always find an answer who is simple and manage to relax me ... and eventually live better ... and I believe that the greatest person we have seen on this planet were people who were not afraid to love ... without going back to religious figures ... think to people like MARTIN LUTHER KING or MANDELA or GANDHI himself ... he wasn't afraid to love also his Muslim fellow countrymen ... he was assassinated for this reason ... but I believe he was right ... he didn't allow the fear to kill his soul ... I like that ... mmmm ... probably too much philosophy ... better I go to sleep ... today it has been a long day for me ... at the end I went to sleep at 5AM ... but the meeting with the customer went pretty well.

2AM

2AM in DALLAS, TX ... and I am still here in the office ... with my colleagues ...

... to prepare a deliverable for a tomorrow 10AM meeting ... funny enough even if we will manage to finalize the results ... I am not sure if I will manage to wake up on time to present the slide deck ... in a case like this ... I think this strip explains everything ... better than tons of words ... enjoy ...

... and believe me ... it is all true ... and of course ... yes, I am an engineer ... and now, sorry, I have to go back to work ... :D

SUNDAY BEACH CONCERT

Tuesday night in Dallas, TX ... just left the office ... almost midnight ... but rather than write about the stupid (it can only stupid ... when you work from 9M to 11PM) day at work ... I like to share some of the fun I had Sunday afternoon back home ... in HERMOSA (i.e. HERMOSA BEACH, CA) ... there was a concert on the beach ... it is part of the summer activities that the municipality is organizing for the city ... here some picture with Leif, my roomie, and some other friends ... George, Daniel, Nicole, Silke, Anja and the little Zoe (if you are curious ... in Greek it means "life" ... and she is REALLY full of life) ... of course my favorite pictures are the one with the little Zoe in it ...

... and here some other one without the little Zoe ... I like the one with Leif and I together ... we really look like a beach version of the BLUES BROTHERS ...

... BTW ... this coming Sunday (August 6th) ... there will be the last oncert ... if you are in LA ... don't miss it ... be sure that it will be fun ... good luck ... (unfortunately I won't be there ... still in Dallas trying to make a sense out of the project we are running here) ... hopefully you will see also one of the nice California sunsets ... ... almost forgot ... the concerts are free ... just bring your own food and drinks on the beach ... and you will have the perfect Sunday evening ... yep ... the beach life is really cool in Hermosa ... :D

CRAP HAPPENS

I am ready to leave the ET Surfboard shop ... when I spot the catch phrase on Kevin's T-Shirt ... CRAP HAPPENS ... I can't avoid to smile ... Keeevin ... What's up!? ... I point to his T-Shirt and I say ... This is my T-Shirt ... You mean my T-Shirt!? ... I mean ... your T-Shirt is just right for me today ... Why!? ... Did you see what is written on it!? ... Mmmm ... in a sequence ... he looks to his T-Shirts, me and my board ... and he says ... Aaaabsolutely ... crap happens! ... and we laugh together ... But you know what!? You are lucky I am here to fix it ... Agreed!! ... and I leave the shop with a smile on my face ... but going back to the story from the begin ... yesterday I was back home in LA ... and after a late wake up ... I decided to go out surfing ... waves were 2-3 feet ... but towards the breakwater they had a nice shape ... first wave is a good one ... I turn left ... I ride it really well ... paddle out ... the second one is a good ride as well ... I manage to put the toes on the nose (i.e. the toes of my left foot on the nose of the board) ... it is fun ... paddle out again ... there you go ... an other good wave ... I am going for it ... I catch it ... I turn right ... I am standing ... I move my left foot ... again toes on the nose ... but ... CRAP ... my foot slips away ... BANG ... I can hear the BANG ... something strange ... I get out of the water ... NOOOOOOOOOOO ... the board is broken ... how did it happen!? ... and now, why is my leg bleeding!? ... I can’t believe it ... I look to both of them ... there are pieces of skin in the board ... and pieces of fiberglass under my skin ... I seat on the board ... and in the water I try clean my wounds from the fiberglass ... and I think ... who cares!?!? ... I will continue to surf ... I decide to catch an other wave ... but while I am trying to catch it I decide to give up ... too stupid ... the board is cracked ... the water will go into it ... CRAP!!! ... better I go back home ... I am sooo pissed ... and while I am walking home ... I meet a couple of friends who are going to play beach volley ... they can't believe to my story ... I can't believe either ... I have never seen anything like this ... and on top of that I am bleeding all the way ... not a nice show ...... but what is more painful is to think to my craked board ...... but fortunately ... there are shops that are fixing boards ... I put the board in the car... and I drive it there ... it is less than one miles from where I live ...
... and there I meet KEVIN with his T-Shirt ... he is a funny guy ... as soon as he spots the crack on the board ... he laughs and he asks me if a shark tried to give me a bite ... :D ... fortunately I did everything by myself ... the estimated cost to fix the board is $100 ... but believe me ... they are very well spent ... no other sport gave me as much as fun as surfing ... if you will ever have the chance ... go for it ... it is really great ... just be aware ... sometimes CRAP HAPPENS ... but belive me ... it is a really great sport ... the best for me ... :D

THIS IS NOT BREAD

I bought it back in February ... I believe it was Saturday Febraury 4th ... I didn't manage to eat it all ... so I left few slices in its plastic bag in the kitchen storage ... the day after I went to the LAX ... from there I flew to Atlanta and DC and back to LA after 7 weeks ... and when I came back after 7 weeks 7 ... it was still fresh ... I laugh about it w/ my roommates and we decided to leave it there for some more time ... everytime I came back from my trips I did check it ... still fresh ... today after 176 days ... Leif and I have decided to take a couple of pictures to prove it ...

... probably from the pics you can't really appreciate it ... but believe me ... it is still fresh ... I mean ... to the touch it is like fresh bread ... it looks like freash bread ... if I can remember corretly, when I bought it, it did taste like bread ... it is cheap ... but believe me ... THIS IS NOT BREAD ... they sell this stuff as bread ... but THIS IS NOT BREAD ... not sure what it is ... I believe it is a mix of preservatives and powders ... but definitely ... IT IS NOT BREAD ... I believe there are copies of the same product around in all the American Supermarkets ... PLEASE DON'T BUY IT ... :D

DOUBLE DOUBLE ANIMAL STYLE

So ... I am back home ... in LA ... I landed last night from DALLAS, TX ... I was hungry was really late ... so I decided to make a pilgrimage to my favorite burger place ... the beeeest ... the unique ... IN N OUT ... burgers are great ... really fresh ... the same for the FF ... they peel and dice the potatoes in the restaurant in front of you ... and the one in the picture is in INGLEWOOD BLVD which is on the way between the LAX airport and HERMOSA BEACH ...... my very strong suggestion is ... if you guys will ever come to visit CALIFORNIA, NEVADA or ARIZONA make sure to check if there is a IN N OUT close to where you are ... really they are the beeeeeeeeeeest ... and don't forget to check out their SECRET MENU (you can easily find it on INTERNET) ... basically there are orders that are not in the regular menu that is exposed in the restaurants ... but if you ask them you will get them ... w/o any problem ... they will appear also on your receipt ... last night I did order a DOUBLE DOUBLE ANIMAL STYLE w/ FF and SODA ... DOUBLE DOUBLE is in the menu ... but the ANIMAL STYLE addiction is only in the secret menu ... really good to know about it ... and don't forget that IN N OUT are the guys who invented the DRIVE THRU ... you can't miss it ... :O

MY J-BAY

I love it ... love it ... love it ... it is my new skateboard ... actually this is also my first skateboard ever ...

... and I love it even more because it is a present ... a present by my wonderful friend D ... it is for my birthday ... OK ... my bday was back on May ... but I didn't see D until then ... and I got it this week and believe me ... it is the best ... to see a friend ... get a gift ... and get such a great gift ... why a skateboard!? Mmmm ... back at the begin of the year I was supposed to relocate from LA to NY ... and immediately I thought I had to replace my passion for SURFING with something equally exciting ... so I thought to SKATEBOARDING ... I told to my friend about this idea ... but at the end to relocation to NY blew up (it is not clear yet ... but the likelihood is 99%) ... and the idea to buy the skateboard blew up as well ... but there you go ... D never forgets ... and here I have my new 4 wheel passion ... :D ... it is a SECTOR9 skateboard ... it is a longboard ... and the model is called J-BAY ... J-BAY in the surfing dictionary means only one thing ... JEFFREYS BAY, SOUTH AFRICA ... probably the most perfect reef break ever ... it is shot also in the movie ENDLESS SUMMER ... and as you can imagine ... the picture on the board is JBAY ... :D ... I have already funny stories about this board ... last night I tried it for the first time here in DALLAS, TX ... in the parking lot of my company ... completely empty ... a similar setup of when I learned to drive the car back in Italy ... anyways ... after 10-15 minutes that I was trying it ... it slipped away and I fell on the ground ... while I was taking care of my wrist ... I saw the board run away ... so far away ... that basically it ended up ... in a huge manhole (everything is big in Texas) ... anyways ... I almost lost it ... for a simple miracle the tail did stuck in the manhole entrance ... like a car on the cliff of a mountain in a Hollywood movie ... :O ... I almost had a heart attack ... let's imagine ... how can you logically explain something like this ... !?!? ... at the first ride I almost lost my new skateboard in an empty parking lot in TEXAS ... good that it didn't happen ... now it is a little bit scratched (on the other side ... you don;t see it in the picture) ... but who cares ... it is still with me ... today when I told the story to my colleagues ... they couldn't stop teasing me ... my friend Budi ... came out with the best catch phrase ... "Andrea yesterday tried to surf in a Texas sewer" ... definitely I need to go back to surf in LA ... most likely tomorrow night ... I will be there ... only for the weekend ... but better than nothing ... and I will check out the real waves ... :D

MOVE that SIGN to the UN!

I love to have fun of people ... tease people ... and to make jokes ... sometimes I really exaggerate ... since I have memories ... I can remember my dad telling sentence like Stop it! ... or ... Do you really want someone to break your legs, don't you!? ... or ... For sure you took all this from you mom! ... and again the best is ... Sooner or later you will find someone who will kick you ass ... I have to admit that so far I had been pretty lucky ... I had troubles only once in Israel ... when one of my jokes was misunderstood by a colleague ... but also in that case I managed to escape the hanging ... anyways ... yesterday at the BWI (Baltimore Washington International) airport when I saw this sign ......

... I thought immediately that I wanted to say something really stupid ... but I didn't ... that would have been too stupid even for me ... but at the same time I thought to all the politicians and prime ministers and presidents and dictators and fat asses ... and fat asses and all the gang around them ...... living in any continent of the world who are joking about this ... not knowing they are joking ... or probably yes ... do you remember this guy at the UN I guess ... and I guess you do remember the nice drawings he presented (one thing that I always wondered is if he personally did them or he asked to someone else to do them) ... and again POWELL is not the only one .... actually I like POWELL ... I always read with interest what he said and I am not sure why ... he presented this slide deck ...... did you realize that this slide deck is part of the cause of the biggest tragedy that the world has seen in the last decades ... searching on GOOGLE while I am writing this post I found this link ... http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ ... you can check by yourself ... some 43,000 people died up to July 7th 2006 ... what do you think ... should we propose a UN RESOLUTION? My proposal is this ... move that sign from the BWI CHECK IN area to the UN CHECK IN area ... I am just afraid that more than one permanent member of the UN SECURITY COUNCIL would VETO it ... :X ... mmmmm ... probably when they were kids their dad didn't convince them to stop joking on serious stuff ... OK ... I am done for today ... let me go to try my new skateboard now ... I need to relax ... :D