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weathering the
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 Where did February go? It is almost gone and it feels like it had just started. Over there, over there, send the word, send the word, over there, that my worldly possessions, my worldly possessions, are still over there, over there. Thank you, George M. Cohan. Actually, they are finally going to be dispatched across the pond, very soon, in fact, their departure, I heard the other day, March 7, and best of all, duty free. Yes, I could have had them sent late last year, and even could have saved some rent on the storage, but now, I can have my last worldly possessions, including my vehicle, sent, over here. Months of paperwork, confirmation of my residency here, proof of my domicile in America, for as long as I lived there, let’s see, my whole life as a US citizen. Oh, there was the year I lived in France, but that was 50 years ago. In the end, this Year of the Jubilee is finally having doors open up much more quickly than last year when I arrived in Italy, so one more hurdle has been cleared. As with the system here in Italy, and with any system, it seems, once one door is opened, there is another one to go through. That is the case here. It is like the old show, of decades ago, Get Smart, in the beginning where Maxwell Smart has to go through door after door after door to get to Control. Lots of bumps along the way, but each one will get tackled. In the meantime, life continues forward. Rosa enjoyed a very nice dinner at Bull Steak for our anniversary last Wednesday, and after the clock struck midnight, we were home and back to our normal routines. Again, nothing wrong with our “boring” lifestyle right now. We need to get through these things, so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor, and we will.
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Wow, what can I say, after last week’s long-winded post, and the bureaucratic progress that has been made, and more has been accomplished. Now, my residency is official, so we can ship the stuff across the pond, and not have to pay customs duties and today, we added more to the list and more accomplished on the list. All this is very good news, but all is small compared to what today is. Today, appropriate enough is our 1st wedding anniversary. Can you believe it has been one year, today, since we were married in Las Vegas, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel? We have been through so much since then and everything leading to that day one year ago. Good things come to those who wait is an old adage that really is true. Of course, I have not, in my life, been the most patient of people, be it for the benefit of my clients and making sure they are taken care of, which is my priority, or on a personal level. I have shared with you, over the past ½ year of so, the trials and tribulations of my life here in Rome and, while there is nowhere else, I would rather be, given that the love of my life is here, I can’t say there have not been times a frustrating, and I knew this coming in. My biggest issue has been with the bureaucracy and all of its tentacles spread around the country and beyond. Remember, with my current situation, I can stay, but I can’t leave without the possibility of being denied re-entry. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that situation, the biggest issue of the bureaucratic nightmare that has held me here within the Italian borders has been lifted. I now am officially a permanent resident of the country of Italy and have an identity card called a Permesso Di Soggiorno which once again allows me to travel across Schengen Borders and be able to return home. We found this out last week, after we also had had a visitor from the city hall, to verify my residency here in our home, I think, last week and given that there were still several possible business trips on the horizon, that may have had to be cancelled, given I was told to show up in March to collect my card, we found out, on line, that the card had been issued. Actually, it was issued sometime in December, the 6th, to be exact, so technically, I have been a legal resident of Italy since December. Remember, we went in November to try once more to get the paperwork moving forward, perhaps a bit faster. Not knowing the status, my trip in March, as all the others prior could have been on the chopping block, as well. Actually, I had already cancelled one part of it, so I already felt a bit defeated, but Rosa said, don’t cancel March, don’t cancel the march trip, so I held onto the core piece.
 Can you believe it that January is over already? Crazy no, as it seems that time is flying faster and faster for me, at least. The first month of 2025 is gone and we are in the runt month of the year. Okay, maybe that is not fair to call February, the runt month of the year, but hold on, it is the smallest of the litter of 12, and even in a leap year like year, it still only had 29 days, a year ago, and that is still less than the other 11 months, so for me, it is the runt. By the way, do you know that February, during Roman times was the last month of the calendar year, and not the second month of the year, so having already fixed the other months, to either 30 or 31 days, they only had so many days to spare, so February was shorted a couple of days, in the case of 28 or 29, depending on the year. And imagine, you were born in this month, and lucky or unlucky to be born on Leap Day, you only celebrate your birthday every 4 years. Just kidding you get to choose, lucky you in those non-leap years, which is your birthday, so you have choices. It is interesting that we categorize things to give clarity to our existence and that is with days of the week. I usually write this blog on Humpday (Wednesday), as it the middle and that much closer to the weekend, as we have reached Humpday. Monday is the start of the workweek traditionally, and Friday, well, here comes the weekend. Thursday gets more excitement as it closer to the weekend and the days of the weekend, well, that is what they are, the weekend. I forgot one, right, yes, I know, Tuesday, which, well, really is the runt of the week, as its significance, and its positioning in the week, puts it on an island of well, not close enough to the weekend, and well, where does it really fit in. On the radio station I listen to back on iHeart radio, KQRS, they have something called unfun facts on Tuesday, which puts Tuesday, out there, not for its great significance, but just the opposite, and so, the day gets it pub, but not necessarily for the right reasons, and yes, I sometimes write my blogs, the Tuesday night before. In the end, days of the week really don’t hold too much significance, given I work in some capacity every day, be it teaching or my travel business.
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March 2025
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