I was trying to think of some new things to write about this week and yes, I have discussed progress upstairs and even took a walk upstairs to see what has been accomplished. It turns out, I am seeing some color on the walls of the bathroom and kitchen as tiles are continuing to go up and the floor of the shower seems to be down. Most of it is under paper to protect it, but it is progress. We also had the washer/dryer delivered last week, which I believe I mentioned and the new additions this week is that yesterday, we bought a brand new bed, and a sleeper sofa for the living room, both being made custom for us, so the first pieces of furniture are in process, so that is progress and the bed is hotel quality from a factory store that cost less than what I paid for my new bed, custom made back in the states some 4 years ago that in the end, was destroyed in the flood that hit my storage locker. It is nice to be starting new. Of course, they will be made and delivered, hopefully, at a point when we have a place for them, but it is progress. ​

The other event this past week is that my second interview with the English Language School yielded a positive result and they wanted to offer me a contract and most appreciatively accepted. Now mor paperwork and bureaucracy. I need to have an Italian bank account and I thought that would be relatively simple, and they even suggested I try Revolut, which is really an online bank and not specific to Italy. However, for identification purposes, they require two things, one my passport, easy enough and two, proof of visa, which as you have heard from me, before is in process. So, technically, I do not have a visa, yet, but they require it, so while the school wants to offer me a contract to start by the end of the month, unless I can get an Italian bank to accept all the proofs I have, so I can open an account here in this place, it may be all for naught. I hope not and we will just have to see. It would be a very nice balance, but also make things even more complicated, but nothing in life is worthwhile, is easy and this is no exception. They say that what does not kill us, makes up stronger and this experience certainly is. ​

Progress is an interesting word. It means that things have moved forward and while this is true, on the condo, on the paperwork, on the delivery of items for the condo etc., it is sometimes like watching grass grow and as they a watched pot, never boils. I only went upstairs a couple of times this week and yes, the tiles are down on the floor in the kitchen and on the walls there. They are down in part the bathroom floor, covered by paper to protect them, and the walls are being prepared for painting, I think, but I see no paint in sight. Yes, some of the walls are patched and ready to be painted, but as I will share a few pictures of the progress, it matches the pace of this country, slow. ​

I did have my second interview for a teaching English job on Monday and it went well. It turns out that the lady who interviewed me is from Canada, and we had not just the usual suspect questions, but it was mostly a conversation. I was also asked to prepare a lesson plan that was conversation oriented and one where it was a subject that, if one had a group of students, there would be some common ground. There was vocabulary and some writing, but the focus of this school is on conversation and not dwelling on grammar, as most of the students are at a B1 or B2 level and so they are able to engage in a real conversation, with some potential errors, but also able to truly understand the concept. I wrapped my lesson around travel planning and itineraries, what a shock, huh!!! In the end, she has been here in Italy for 15 years and the conversation, as the one I had with the American, here 25 years from New York at the hostel, was essentially the same. ​

The bureaucracy here is beyond slow. The lady mentioned that even though her kids were born here in Italy, they still question, or can’t find documents, and I should remain confident of getting my residency in the next few months. She told me everything was paper and not on the computer. I think the most interesting part of the interview was when she explained the process as I had asked about training in preparation for the job, and she said they do not use that word anymore. Apparently, they call in onboarding, training is a word that is politically incorrect. You are not supposed to train people. Why not? I guess it has been ancient history since I had done an interview, which is true, not counting my “interview” at the Christmas Tree Shoppes several Novembers ago. Remember the Christmas Tree Shoppes. They don’t exist anymore. In any case, that was not an interview, as I had essentially said at that time, you are looking for a warm body over the holidays and it is seasonal. You know what happened. I was hired and stayed on for over 2 years, full time before I parted ways. ​

As far as this interview was concerned at Wall Street English having not done an interview since I started at Adventures plus nearly 20 years ago, I think I did well. We were two adults discussing experiences and the experience of life in Italy. She shared the methodology of the school, asked what questions I had, reviewed what the lady the other day had discussed, and this lasted about an hour, give, or take. I like their system and would be happy to work there part time, 15 to 20 hours, if hired, and it would a nice balance, as they are very flexible and even cover a lot during what is my slow season here, so we will see and if I am hired, wonderful, I will share next week, if not, I will share next week. The pay is reasonable and would be a nice addition, but then the Italian government would get their cut, and then I would be fully integrated into the system, but I am getting ahead of myself when all is said and done. It was a good experience, and it did get me out of the house and out of my routine. I even grabbed a good porchetta sandwich afterwards, very tasty, but very fattening and a stop at bookstore near Repubblica before heading home. Sometimes you just have to go for it. ​

As this month progresses, I am also very excited to be welcoming clients here to Rome. More chance to get out of the house, and not just do paperwork or e-paperwork as it were. Yes, I know I need to make time to get out, but sometimes I just get bogged down and as the bulk of my clients for this year are traveling in September and October, I need to make sure they are taken care of. Just yesterday, I sent out two sets of e-documents full of wonderful ideas and of course, the necessary vouchers, all electronic, and the day before another set of e-documents, complete with important and exciting information. Gone are the days when I sent out my beautiful portfolio folder with a pile of papers. Besides, imagine how costly it would be to send paper portfolios to my clients across America from Italy. I am trying to do my part for the earth and my bottom line. My clients, overall, love the e-portfolio and as I think of new things to enhance it, I can add those elements very easily. In the end, the craziness will shift from being a captive audience for the workers, and the delivery people to meeting and greeting as many of my clients here in the Eternal City as possible as I too, will take to the road around this country starting at the end of September and into October. So, has there been progress, well yes, there has been, but it does not go in leaps and bounds, but in dribs and drabs. ​

I hope you have enjoyed my offerings each week and appreciate that you have read my blog posts and look forward to continuing with sharing. As always, thank you so much for your support of Rosa’s and my crazy little world here in Rome now that they have been merged into one. We truly appreciate your support. And, speaking of support of our crazy little world, check out the WP bling you can order on my website with Queensboro. They do a wonderful job and I do not make a dime on this. They even have the Rosa di Roma logo, if you prefer to order a knit hat for the wintertime and for those travelers with younger ones and deciding on what to do in terms of bringing all the seats and fold up cribs etc., don’t. Check out Baby Quip on my service page of the website. I now have an affiliation with them, and you can trust and order items for your next trip domestically or internationally via the Baby Quip link on my website, so you have less to carry enroute to your next amazing destination. Stay safe, healthy, and most importantly happy, and as always, your shared comments and thoughts are most welcome!!!

Yes, we were, but I unfortunately had a bad case of a stomach bug, so yesterday, nothing was done. Actually, I know the real cause and you would think I would learn. While I had gone to the farmers market this past Saturday, and bought lots of really good veggies, including fresh corn on the cob as it looked so good, so I had to have some. I had not eaten corn for a long time, but I said I have to do it, so I did, and I paid. The taste was amazing, but the effect was not so good. I guess, sometimes you simply must learn a lesson again. No more corn for me, canned or fresh. My system does not handle it well, so yesterday, while I got a minimal amount of work done, really, it was a down day. Before that, this past week was really good, but really just an ordinary average week. However, I am getting very excited to welcome many clients to the Eternal City starting later next month, some I have met in person, but most, not and how cool it will be to meet them in person in my adopted city. ​

Yesterday, we also had an amazing thunderous rainstorm here which lasted some hours and dropped the temperatures which felt good last night, but as nice as it felt, a nice cool breeze all night after it stopped, so a good night’s sleep, but this is Rome, and it is still August, and the temperatures will sore again today. Lots of work to do indoors for me and Rosa is at the library as she was yesterday, no guiding, two days in a row, but rest assured, she like me, for the next 2 months will be crazy busy as I have clients coming in and she is guiding them, plus her other clients along the way, shopping for furniture, fixtures, and other assorted household things as we move in about 5 weeks from now, ready or not. I am also on the road to different parts of Italy starting later in September and October and looking forward to sharing those experiences. Beyond that, I may be teaching English as a Foreign Language, so more to add to the schedule. Have not heard about the second interview or what bureaucratic red tape I will have to deal with, but I know now what to expect, having experienced as much as I have now, almost two months in here in Italy, so the balancing act will continue as will wading through the sea of paperwork on all fronts. ​

We shall see, but I am in it for the long term because the lady who changed my life for the better is here, my wife and there is no other place I would rather be. It is sort of funny that as much as I love to travel, and I still do, I am becoming more of a homebody. I also do more of the cooking, doing the wash, cleaning etc., as Rosa is out most of the time. I once was a chef, many decades ago, as you may know, so I do enjoy cooking. The highlight of last week’s cooking was homemade chili and nachos. I even found some cheddar cheese at the grocery store. I made homemade guacamole. Remember, I mentioned the farmers market on Saturday. They had beautiful huge perfectly ripe avocados and could not resist, one euro a piece and these were not the small Haas, so we had a feast. She said we need to invite people over as I cook in quantity, but I could not make this meal in single one-night portions, so overall, it was just a regular week in the De Lillo – Bachrach household with many more to come as we move forward. ​

I hope you have enjoyed my offerings each week and appreciate that you have read my blog posts and look forward to continuing with sharing. As always, thank you so much for your support of Rosa’s and my crazy little world here in Rome now that they have been merged into one. We truly appreciate your support. And, speaking of support of our crazy little world, check out the WP bling you can order on my website with Queensboro. They do a wonderful job and I do not make a dime on this. They even have the Rosa di Roma logo, if you prefer to order a knit hat for the wintertime and for those travelers with younger ones and deciding on what to do in terms of bringing all the seats and fold up cribs etc., don’t. Check out Baby Quip on my service page of the website. I now have an affiliation with them, and you can trust and order items for your next trip domestically or internationally via the Baby Quip link on my website, so you have less to carry enroute to your next amazing destination. Stay safe, healthy, and most importantly happy, and as always, your shared comments and thoughts are most welcome!!!

It is coming up at 11:30 am here in Roma and the temps have dropped a little. It will be a chilly 89 to 90 F (31 to 32 C), as I start to write this week’s musings. It is a mixed week, and the most important and best part of the experience of this past week is making it to 6 months married. It has been a roller coaster throughout, and never a dull moment. This morning, and the reason for starting my post this late is that we had to go the Posta Italiane to submit a packet of paperwork to the state, the city, the region, at this point, I do not know to essentially allow me to stay legally, but it will not be until April 1, 2025, perfect day, April Fools Day when I have an appointment to get the permanent residency. In the meantime, after my 90 days here as a tourist, hopefully for the last time, whenever I go out and if I am asked by an official of any stripe, I must produce a stack of paperwork that has a hologram or a QR code, I don’t remember if asked. ​

She has done so much research, so she and I could understand, but it simply makes sense. I don’t care about the cost, if there is a charge, but with all the red tape so far, I want to not have to duplicate everything we have already done. I so appreciate what my amazing wife has done and taken away her time to make this happen and I know it is stressful for both of us. I know in the end we will be good and after talking it out with my colleague and his situation, I can laugh about it that maybe it is not as bad as it seems. I am here in Rome, living with my beautiful, amazing wife who I love and adore. There is so much more to do, and I believe the workers will come back next week and continue working on the condo. Did I say we have been married six months now. Of course, I bought her a bouquet of roses, one for each month and a sunflower, her favorite flower, to signify we are one. We also went out to a place for pizza, but it was not so good, so instead we had a nice dinner at home last night. ​

I continue to be busy with clients and have been creating some templates using Toby, Voyagers AI, and sometimes I go down the rabbit hole and take forever to get out. I must admit the idea of using AI was not something I was so eager to do, but at least for now, when I am trying to simplify some of my practices, mostly in word documents, it is a very good tool. I also wanted to take some of the old templates I use in my e-portfolios, that were different for different countries, languages and make them all the same in terms of format as opposed to the continuing to use the ones I had before which all looked different as I had used different sources. Now, there is consistency and continuity, and Toby is starting to understand my writing style. No, this is not going to Toby for his input. My weekly blog is right from the heart, or nothing will be sent to him for a rewrite. I have other reasons to use AI and little by little these things will be incorporated into my workload, but never this personal blog of the WP. ​

In the end, as I finish this post, with not really much that is new; it is cathartic as when I arrived back home, I was stressed out from the PO experience and more paperwork, but now settling into the rest of my day, I realize many things or remember many things. I know, or sometimes I have to kick myself to remember that I can’t stress the things of which I have no control. I must appreciate what I have and the most important thing I have is my life with my beautiful bride, in what is really an amazing place. I do fall back into my old habits occasionally and that is not good. I know everything will get done in good time, really not, but it will get done. ​

I have to remember that this life I am living is a gift that I never would have experienced if I had not met Rosa just before the pandemic. While I keep busy, I have to keep a routine, with the time difference between here and America for the most part. Almost forgot, I also had an interview for a teaching English as a Foreign Language on Monday and a follow up interview in the next couple of weeks, I also have many clients about their start their travels, many here to Italy and even Rome specifically, as well and many conferences here in Italy, forthcoming in the next couple of months, so life is very good. I will get to meet a number of these clients here in Rome, for the first time, from all over America, and Rosa will be guiding them while they are here in the Eternal City. So, wish me luck on the second interview for the teaching job, which also comes with bureaucratic red tape to legally work here, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I do need to sometimes remember how lucky I really am, and I am very lucky. 
I hope you have enjoyed my offerings each week and appreciate that you have read my blog posts and look forward to continuing with sharing. As always, thank you so much for your support of Rosa’s and my crazy little world here in Rome now that they have been merged into one. We truly appreciate your support. Stay safe, healthy, and most importantly happy, and as always, your shared comments and thoughts are most welcome!!!

I have also started cleaning up emails and my database, as I have had some slow time between, as August has been a time to simply catch up. Today, Rosa and I are continuing the paper trail and bureaucratic red tape sea to my residency, and since tomorrow is Ferragosto, a major holiday, among thousands here in Italy, I will get to the market to get some bargains, as it were, since the outdoor markets will be shutting down for this and most likely the rest of the month, so who knows, but I am sure I will find something. Last week, for 1 Euro, I got several kilos of aubergines, eggplant for those who know it this way, and in Italiano, melanzane. It will be an experience, for sure, and done when they are about the close, but before the hottest part of the day. ​