One day and counting - I leave tomorrow!
Today, I spent the day visiting with friends and doing... well, doing nothing. :-)
I got to watch the guys from a local landscaping company fix the yard up. I have them removing some trees, cleaning the yard, and making a path from the front yard, along the side of the house, to the back. When I return, I'll be able to do some minor mods before fall/winter sets in and then I can focus on the yard in the spring time.
It seems I picked the perfect time to go to Sicily. Yesterday, Malden started to do street work to replace the gas main. That means for the next 4 - 5 weeks, our street and the surrounding streets will be under construction with very little parking. Talk about timing!
I'll be off-line for a few days. I figure that it will take me until Monday to set up reliable internet access and a phone. Until then, I'll just have to read and write. :-)
Ci vediamo a tutti!
Benedizioini,
---Vncenzo
Because, eventually, everyone always talks to Vinnie.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
2 Days and Counting
2 days and counting. Just today and tomorrow and then Friday I board the plane.
Everything is set except the arrangements for an overseas phone. Sprint (my current carrier) sucks. I need a phone that will do text, voice, and data (especially for GPS). Their solution is ... nothing. Actually, they want me to go to their international office and use their HUGELY overprices international roaming rates. My current phone has an embedded sim chip so it won't work overseas even if they unlock it. If I pay full price for the new S4, I can use a SIM chip overseas if they unlock it but they won't do that until it's been on their network for at least 90 days - and the phone is like $600! If I"m going to pay full price for a phone, you can be damn sure that I'm not going to lock myself into a 2 year contract that only screws me!
I may just buy a new phone and sim card while in Sicily and hope for the best. At least I'll have internet during the day at a local bookstore. I should be able to put my phone on their wifi network and send/receive texts with my gmail/voice account. That's going to have to do until I can get to a mobile phone store in Sicily that will rent for a month or sell a cheap smartphone.
Ciao a tutti!
---Vincenzo
Everything is set except the arrangements for an overseas phone. Sprint (my current carrier) sucks. I need a phone that will do text, voice, and data (especially for GPS). Their solution is ... nothing. Actually, they want me to go to their international office and use their HUGELY overprices international roaming rates. My current phone has an embedded sim chip so it won't work overseas even if they unlock it. If I pay full price for the new S4, I can use a SIM chip overseas if they unlock it but they won't do that until it's been on their network for at least 90 days - and the phone is like $600! If I"m going to pay full price for a phone, you can be damn sure that I'm not going to lock myself into a 2 year contract that only screws me!
I may just buy a new phone and sim card while in Sicily and hope for the best. At least I'll have internet during the day at a local bookstore. I should be able to put my phone on their wifi network and send/receive texts with my gmail/voice account. That's going to have to do until I can get to a mobile phone store in Sicily that will rent for a month or sell a cheap smartphone.
Ciao a tutti!
---Vincenzo
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
3 Days and Counting
3 days and counting - today, Wednesday, and Thursday - Friday I board the plane! It's really starting to seem real instead of a pipe dream. Now I'm starting to realize how inadequate my Italian-American slang really is. Luckily, I little immersion learning will cure that!
This morning, while playing around with my phone, I realized that I have an amazing program on it for voice recordings. It can record up to 86 hours and I can offload the files to my PC or send them to the cloud if I get a wifi signal. So, even though I'll need a local smartphone for calls/texts/gps, I'll keep my US phone handy for quick pics and voice memos.
I have a great guidebook to Origia and Siracuse. It shows dozens of interesting things within a 30 minute walk of the B&B. I really don't think that I'll have any trouble filling the time.
Ciao a tutti,
---Vincenzo
This morning, while playing around with my phone, I realized that I have an amazing program on it for voice recordings. It can record up to 86 hours and I can offload the files to my PC or send them to the cloud if I get a wifi signal. So, even though I'll need a local smartphone for calls/texts/gps, I'll keep my US phone handy for quick pics and voice memos.
I have a great guidebook to Origia and Siracuse. It shows dozens of interesting things within a 30 minute walk of the B&B. I really don't think that I'll have any trouble filling the time.
Ciao a tutti,
---Vincenzo
Monday, September 2, 2013
4 Days and Counting!!!
OMGs, I can't count.
Monday (today) - 4 day
Tuesday - 3 days
Wednesday - 2 days
Thursday - 1 day
Friday - I'm off!
I can't believe I messed that up!
Monday (today) - 4 day
Tuesday - 3 days
Wednesday - 2 days
Thursday - 1 day
Friday - I'm off!
I can't believe I messed that up!
5 Days and Counting
5 days and counting until I leave for Sicily.
Today, I finished 90% of my packing. Basically, I'm done. I always like to pack early so in the last 2 or 3 days leading up to my departure, I can rearrange where I packed stuff. Inevitably, I realize that I really don't need something in my carry-on and moving it to my checked bag makes room for reading material or space to make my carry-on lighter.
I still have to make some scans of my documentation. I know that I'll have physical copies of things (emergency contact info, passport, directions, etc.) but I will feel safer knowing that there are electronic copies easily accessible to me.
The last thing I need to do is find my camera (I found the charger and power cord!) and pack my laptop.
I just tried to add the Blogger app to my Hootsuite account to make updating the various social networking accounts easier. Unfortunately, Hootsuite chokes every time it tries to connect.
I'm going to miss my usual September routine - apple picking, cherishing the crisp arrival of the fall, celebrating the equinox in New England, etc. I really do think that autumn is my favorite season. Sure, the others have things going for them but there's something special about autumn in New England.
Ciao a tutti!
---Vincenzo
Today, I finished 90% of my packing. Basically, I'm done. I always like to pack early so in the last 2 or 3 days leading up to my departure, I can rearrange where I packed stuff. Inevitably, I realize that I really don't need something in my carry-on and moving it to my checked bag makes room for reading material or
I still have to make some scans of my documentation. I know that I'll have physical copies of things (emergency contact info, passport, directions, etc.) but I will feel safer knowing that there are electronic copies easily accessible to me.
The last thing I need to do is find my camera (I found the charger and power cord!) and pack my laptop.
I just tried to add the Blogger app to my Hootsuite account to make updating the various social networking accounts easier. Unfortunately, Hootsuite chokes every time it tries to connect.
I'm going to miss my usual September routine - apple picking, cherishing the crisp arrival of the fall, celebrating the equinox in New England, etc. I really do think that autumn is my favorite season. Sure, the others have things going for them but there's something special about autumn in New England.
Ciao a tutti!
---Vincenzo
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