Living in this Place

So, I was musing today that it becomes so easy to be completely acclimated to a place. Here I am in Rome, one of the oldest cities in the world, and a place so full of magnificent art and architecture, yet I am surprised to realize that most of the grandeur of the city is just blocked out by the mind. After that initial break-in period where everything that you look at ends up being some amazing sight, I think that you end up blocking it out so you can get down to business and go about your activities. It just amazes me that this is happening, but I think that in a way it is an important adaptation to make. If you were to walk about everyday with your eyes always scanning the sights, you would arrive at the day you had to leave without doing anything else! There is so much to do and see in a big city like this (or any big city if you think about it), that to live life without being selective between sightseeing scrutiny and productive behavior would just leave you without accomplishing anything.

I guess that perhaps the root of this thinking began in the past with our field trips/drawing sessions. Here we are, taking in sights and places that we have never seen before, yet we are supposed to be stopping our inquisitive investigations to capture specified things through drawing media. It just ends up leaving you feeling almost uninspired because the sheer quantity of things to see makes you feel like you really can't study anything. Sure, you might snap some photos to review later (and hopefully you can sort of capture the memories so that you might reminisce), but in the moment you never seem to fully absorb that situation. It is weird, but I can only hope that I am making enough memories between my work to be able to appreciate what I see and do here.

The other side of living here is something that I fully expected to surface at some point. When one lives somewhere for long enough they begin to notice things that really irk their person. I find this the most true when you live with people. No matter how much you enjoy their company, the little things root in and can drive you up a wall. I have begun to experience these things, and some are to be fully expected when living with a large group in the middle of a popular location. The first thing that started to bug me was really something that at first I enjoyed. Being that we are situated in the Campo De Fiori, we are every day treated to the morning madness that is the open market. While this a great way to get some odd produce, it does make traveling through and around the piazza annoying since people slowly mill about shopping for deals and wondering what they need. It is also fun to deal with the cacophony of yells as the people peddle their wares. The square clears out around 2ish so there is some respite before the evening comes and now the piazza is treated to the same music over and over and over and over from warbling musicians who make enough to decide they have a full selection of musical knowledge upon learning that 4th song...

Other gripes are simple things about living with 8 other guys, and really isn't of interest other than to point out the nice things about living with responsible adults. I realize as i read over this entry that I guess I might be a little moody about some of these things, but I think it is helpful to vent these feelings and people usually enjoy hearing about silly trivialities. This weekend I am off to Florence (Firenze), so hopefully I will return with something cool to say about that adventure. Ci vediamo!

Cooking is Fun!

This one goes out to all of you who feel like you can't cook. YOU ARE WRONG. Haha, let me explain. With just a few tools and pieces of knowledge you can make delicious and often very cost-effective meals. When you are stuck in a country with really only one cuisine, things can be simple or much more difficult (imagine trying to make something from another culture...), but especially when one lives in a mixing pot like the Seattle area, pretty much everything is available to you. What spawned this topic you ask? Last night, with the prep work of my roomies here in Rome, I cooked a sweet gumbo for seven people (with plenty to spare). Why is this so special? I have never made gumbo before, yet here we made something so tasty that the few people who thought they only wanted a little were running back for more! Ok, so you have never cooked anything but bowls of soup and quesadillas? Maybe jumping up to something like a gumbo is out of your way, but I'm sure you can make some delicious and easy pasta. Here's your meal for tonight, if you choose to accept my challenge.

Easy Pasta:
First off, you are going to need some noodles. Really, any kind will work for this idea, but fresh pasta (a little pricier mind you) works out to taste better and actually cooks faster! Now, you want to decide on your sauce and what else is going into your meal. Lets start off with a tomato sauce, since it is easy to prepare and tastes good on a lot of stuff. You can just buy any of them, but I'd stick to ones that are just veggies and herbs. Ok, now it is time to decide if you feel like meat in your meal. For most Italian meals this is likely going to be a sausage, but feel free to do chicken or something else (more specialty meats may require advanced cooking knowledge or ideas about what to cook with them, so for now lets stick to chicken or sausage). Finally, lets add some veggies to this meal. Here, if you are going for fast and cheap, buy a bag of frozen veggies (peas work great) and just let them thaw for about an hour-ish before cooking. Otherwise, let your stomach guide you to the flavors you want. Carrots, peas, beans, onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers... the list goes on. Try to experiment with things, but for your first endeavor, lets just do two things (onions and peas would go great, although you could really pick any two of that short list and be happy). This is enough (with some common spices) to make a meal, but you might want some parmesan cheese to put on top too.

Ok, lets make this meal! First, find a pot and pour in some water (half is usually fine), a pinch or two of salt, and a little olive oil. Once this comes to a boil, the pasta goes in (you will occasionally have to stir the pasta, and check it to see when it is done to your liking). Meanwhile, in a separate pan, pour in some olive oil and cook up your meat. You might want to cut the meat into small pieces to make it cook faster, but that isn't required. Once the meat is looking nearly finished cooking, now is the time to add the veggies. I usually dice them small so that the flavors mix well. Once the veggies are tasting cooked, pour in your sauce and let the whole thing get up to heat. This is where you can add spices like black and/or red pepper, basil, oregano, garlic, etc. Now, hopefully your pasta is cooked and strained out, so serve it onto your plate and pour the now heated and delicious sauce, meat, and veggies on top. Buon Appetite!

For more advanced meals, try mixing in more veggies, multiple meats or more specialized ingredients. The world of culinary gems is within your grasp! Experiment with flavors, colors, and textures. Perhaps soon I will post some ideas for something else tasty, but for now cook out your imagination and you can see why so many people fall in love with cooking as not only a small mental escape from life, but also because some of these things you make taste so good! Happy cooking everyone!

Always Changing, Always the Same

This morning was the best and worst I have had for awhile. Over the course of yesterday evening I had a bit more to drink than I should have and so I managed to feel a little groggy this morning along with drinking about a liter of water over the course of the night and while wandering quietly through the house as the first to awaken. Once I got through my morning workout though, I was definitely feeling better, and it is always kind of a cool thing to watch the morning start, with people busy setting up their spots in the market while the sun slowly illuminates the piazza. The reason this was a good day though was that finally there is a slight bite to the air, that crisp feeling that just makes you realize that the hottest days are behind you. I think that it is weird that I should crave the coming chill, and even as I type this I question why. I think maybe it just reminds me of home, although the air here is never quite the same; probably since there is so much less foliage. I miss the taste and smell of pine, the sweetness of crisp, clean air.

I realized today is the start of my 4th week in Italy. Seriously, nearly a month and yet it feels like so much less. I guess that being busy with all these artist lectures and movies and trips around town have really made the passage of time move in a odd path. There is so much that I have planned to do that just hasn't yet had time. Cliff was talking today about how he wants to travel yet he feels like he barely has time for it amongst the work and when he has to be around for his father's visit. Crazy to think that one of the first things I wanted to do was buy a pocket knife, and here I am with two weekends in Rome and I haven't done that or made it to the large Sunday market over by the girls' place. I have to really get focussed on doing some of this stuff before the trip runs out, which I am sure will happen before I know it...
One last thing for today. During our week-foresight meeting we had a short introduction to the world of camera obscura. I gather that this art of pin-hole cameras has a long tradition in the world of photography, and to my always intrigued artsy brain it seems like something that I could have a lot of fun with. David and Ben Wong seem to be sort of goofy camera nuts and so I think I will pick their brains about what to mess around with, and maybe this will be something for me to play out. It is interesting to learn about new media for art, and I am always interested in how to make things work for me. If all else fails, it could be a good way to make something to potentially remember this trip.

Odd Days

I guess you can tell when you miss something when little things make those thoughts spring to your mind. I was checking my email this morning and had received a notice that rapha has some new stuff in stock for their winter cycling line, and all I can think about now is the repetitive sounds of the hubs spinning and the background feeling of the wind blowing by. I guess that seeing the images of people actually cycling makes me feel like I am missing something more than occasionally seeing people roll around town on their cheap cruisers. While writing this I remember a funny thing someone told me the other day. We were walking along, I believe returning from getting a little snack or something, and I pointed out a little cat by gesturing and maybe saying something along the lines of "kitty kitty". Anyhow, I guess they thought it was pretty wierd and pointed out that they think people either love cats or don't care because you only ever hear about seeing them from people who are "cat people". I miss Izzy. Something about a little friend, like you develop in a pet, just really helps you unwind and occassionally get things off your chest. I guess these two things will just be something that keeps me going, because they are what I miss most while here.

Moving on, I think that weekends tend to be more trouble than good. Last week, as well as this one, I just feel like I get less sleep during the weekend because there is always something going on. I know that I have a choice about going to do these things, but usually doing them is more exciting and impactful on my life. I think I just wish that I could do it all and still get my rest without wasting away a day sleeping...

Yesterday I ran alone for the first time here. Running, and for that matter all exercise, alone feels like a whole different experience. You don't have the companionship, which basically makes me feel like I need to push harder since you almost always feel like you've done enough quicker. Without someone else to basically urge you on, it becomes much more important to make yourself push on. I guess that it becomes a very small way of looking at life. You have to make yourself do what you know you need to/should do. Perhaps if more people could motivate themselves to get going, to start every day with exercise or mental challenge, perhaps we would be a much better world. I guess I just feel like people need to get motivated. With that sum up, I am going to go do something, perhaps it is time you get up and go out into the world too.