I’m actually pretty happy getting back to “normal” life after Drew and my Italian vacation. As previously mentioned, I’ve been traveling up a storm, and the prospect of not having to go anywhere on a plane for months is quite exciting.

The trip was pretty great, though. We spent a few days in Venice before heading to Rimini for Paganello, then relaxed in Cinque Terre for another few days before making our way home. Our timing couldn’t have been much better, as we missed the Easter rush in Venice and the weekend crowds in Cinque Terre, while still getting a great feel for both. And Paganello – 1600 frisbee players taking over an Italian beach resort town for a long weekend – was pretty amazing, too.

Select Italy cheers (among many):

• the Duomo in Milan
• gelato
• cappucino
• perfectly cooked pasta and fish
• Rick Steves’ Italy 2009
• beautiful Cinque Terre vistas during a clearing rainstorm

And the jeers (thankfully, not too many):

• water damage to my phone during said rainstorm
• the “Inter-city” trains in Italy, which apparently require a special kind of ticket that costs €15 more than usual, but they don’t tell you this at the station, and then charge you that plus an €8 penalty on the train
• the Holiday Inn Express Malpensa, which, in spite of being at Malpensa, is a giant pain in the ass to get to and not worth the money. €20 for a 1km cab ride? Absurd!
• the 7th floor food court at the Rinascente Department Store in Milan – way overrated and overpriced

No pictures yet, but check back soon. In the meantime, you can check out this sweet video I took of a dachshund, digging in the sand on the sidelines one day at Paganello.

I’m not quite sure yet how best to deal with my crippled phone (buy a new phone? or just a new screen?), but in the meantime, I’ve ordered a new computer. It’s been a bit over 4 years, and though my little 12″ Powerbook has treated me quite well, it’s time to retire it (perhaps it’ll become an interface to the robot arm). One of the big bonuses to upgrading is that I can now use Picasa for the Mac!

Ni hao! In less than a week, I’m off to China for work for the fourth time in a year. Though I suspect the economic downturn will curb my future travel some, I still expect another couple trips in the coming year. So that I might navigate a little better when I’m over there, I’ve been taking some classes in Mandarin Chinese. Only five lessons in, I’m really only set if someone happens to ask my name or the date, but hopefully the class has laid the groundwork so I can learn a bunch while I’m there.

I’ve been emailing some with my friend who raised our Thanksgiving turkey last year. I guess it’s time to order poults for this year, which means it’s high time I finish writing up last year’s experience.

[ Hopefully, posting the link will motivate me to finish the story. In the meantime, expect some missing images and an incomplete story. ]

Demine went well, and we raised over $3,000 for the Landmine Relief Fund, a little short of our goal, but a respectable sum all the same. And, as promised, here’s a little writeup about making landmine shaped chocolates for the event.

Lest you think my radio/blog silence implies a lack of activity, know that I’ve been hard at work on the aforementioned event, making some progress on the robot arm, planning my next trip to China (returning via Honolulu – it’s a rough life) in March, also planning a trip to Italy for Paganello (no, really, it’s a rough life) in April, playing ultimate, cooking up a storm, and eating well.

I’m always excited around this time of year, not so much because of my birthday itself (although that doesn’t hurt), but because Matt comes to visit. I think this’ll be the 8th or 9th year in a row that we’ve been in the same place (there were a couple years when we both lived in Boston and he didn’t have to travel), and it’s a tradition I really enjoy. Thanks for coming out, Matt!

Incidentally, this year’s will be the 10th annual Pi(e) Party — hard to believe, but true. I started having the parties as a way to have a birthday celebration that wasn’t too “me” focused. If friends were going feel obligated to bring anything, I wanted it to be something that everyone could enjoy. Pie seemed appropriate enough, given that my birthday is of course pi day, and a tradition was born. Over the years, we’ve had quite the range of pies, from frozen to homemade, apple to strawberry rhubarb to guinness pot pie, and pretty much everything in between. I’m looking forward to what this year has to offer!