Welcome Best Month of 2013!

April is back! And yes, it is the best month EVER! I've always thought this, but it was solidified a few years back when I gained the support of others. Okay, so we all have our birthdays this month, but lots of other fabulous things happen in April. Like...

The official return of baseball! Neeks and I are doing our best to stay up tonight to track the men in orange and black take on the evil ones. But a 10pm start time is almost worse than when they start at 4am...the fact that we have to track them online via GameDay doesn't help much. In fact, truth be told, Nico went to bed at the end of the 3rd inning. I'm proud...he almost last longer than his grandma does at a game :) {Oh wait. He was just hiding on the couch. He does like baseball!)

And yes, my birthday does happen this month but way before then, some other things happen...

I get to run the Paris Marathon. Nothing like turning 4 months of training into a 5ish hour race. Thank goodness I'll have my running partner, and friend, there each step of the way. And yes, we're going to have fun in Paris before race day. After the race? We'll have fun but things may just be funny if we're delusional.

Then, my favorite cousin ever rolls into town. Yes. I have no problem saying she's my favorite. I have the letters from the past 20+ years from her to prove that she's not only family, but also a friend. And I have no intentions of losing her in Naples...you can only lose one per year or else it's just poor form. At any rate, we've got a short weekend adventure planned which will be just what I need because the following week?

MY PARENTS ARRIVE!

Well, they arrive to Europe. I've got to go meet them to have yet another adventure before bringing them back to meet their grand-kitty and give them the crash course into Italian living. While I'm doing that, I'll hopefully be distracted enough that the big 3-0 doesn't sink in too much. Seriously. Actually, I'm hoping to have a firework extravaganza, complete with semi American food, and being surrounded by the ones I love because I can't think of a better way to enter my 30s.

Yep. Yep.

Alright. Just a few reasons why April rocks- especially this year. If these "April Showers" ever go away, my sweet-peas and petunias just may make my patio more welcoming and now that it's light past 630 I think it will be wine and sunsets out there again. But for now? I need to get back to tracking the game and figure out how to combat the serious lack of sleep I'll have come morning.

Happy April 1st Everyone!

Passing Out Wildcards Left & Right?

Recently in the early morning baseball banter back and forth with my coworker I came across a very disturbing fact.

At first I didn't believe him and called my coworker delusional (I mean, he is a Dodgers' fan after all), but after we raced to "Google it" we got our facts straight- 2 teams per league will advance via wildcard!?

What in the world?

And perhaps the most ridiculous part is that they have a 1 game play off game to figure out who advances in the wildcard spot. (Because really, the normal season doesn't give each team enough opportunities?)

Lucky for me the Giants' magic number is now 2 so advancement looks pretty good. The problem is, now I need to worry about a 3rd place team coming in and taking the World Series title? (ie the Dodgers if they can get their act together....ha, I couldn't even type that without laughing out loud. Okay, maybe it was more of snicker.)

Ugh. We both had to check when this came into effect, apparently at the start of season. So just chalk this late discovery up to "living in Italy, where baseball ranks below soccer, volleyball, and basketball."

Let's Go Giants- I want to see you play while I'm home next month!

Don't Question Your Math Skills...

...this is a real time posting and yes, it's 3am. Funny thing is we've been up since 130. And when I say we, I really mean Nico woke me up and now he is the one back in bed sleeping while I'm bloggin'.

At any rate, since my brain is on overload I figured that it's time to brew a pot of coffee and give one of my rambling updates. Keeping up shouldn't be that tough of a challenge, although trying to translate what sleepy Katie is typing may be...

With the change of the weather I'm finding myself needing little sleep. Not sure if that's due to the temp change (I hate sleeping with the AC on), longer days, or just the urgency to get things taken care of before house guests invade. You'd think that with my challenging days at the office followed by the gym and errand running I'd be exhausted by the end of the day...but no. Chalk one up to Italian coffee I guess?

Luckily the 2012 Coach Pitch Baseball season has ended so that's one less thing on my plate.  Although I was never able to convince the kids that I really was the head coach (which I was) we had a great season. The only loss we had was the win I wanted the most on my birthday, but what can you do in a league that score isn't actually kept? Actually, near the end of the season I started counting the outs made by each side rather than runs scored to see how they were doing. The kids did an amazing job in improving (and in most cases acquiring) their skill set. Now will I be coaching again? As I told the organizers when collecting the awards for the kids, um ask me in a few months. Told the parents the same thing when they asked if I'll be on the soccer field again this fall.

Things on the work front have been okay. My coworker returned from her 3 month training not too long ago and heads back to the states tomorrow for another week or so. This is the last time she will be gone for a while which is good because I think I'll go crazy if I have to continue this job solo.

And why we're chatting about my job, I need to vent a little frustration. We've been going through a review all this week so I've been sitting in on our interviews about procedures (think MIC you NPS folks), but let me tell you...if I get the Katie is new and has only been here 1 year story one more time I may scream. Yes, it's true I've only been here a year. Yes, it's true that I still don't have a grasp on command history and organization (ha- neither do they at this point of the re-organization).  And yes, even some of my day to day stuff still remains a mystery since adequate training has been a challenge with the coworker's TDY schedule in combination with the urgent stuff we deal with.

But c'on.

ONE THIRD of my rotation is completed. Stop making excuses for me because really, I don't think it's justifying things so much as making me look like I can't handle the job.

One last thing on the work front and then I'll change topics- PROMISE!

The Navy did their PRT (Physical Readiness Test) a few weeks back and after a few days of hearing about people's scores or you know, failures as in the case of one horrible shinsplints fiasco, my coworker and I decided to look up what our requirements would be if we were in the Navy. Putting our white board to use we listed the requirements. I don't know all my numbers right now, but I need to do 13 real pushups to even pass. 13. 1-3. As in way more than I can do right now. To get a score of excellent I think I need 37. Ha. Decided I'd rather work on my 1.5 mile time to get it around 11ish minutes to have that bring up my overall score. At any rate, by the end of the day we had everyone in our office goals on the board and even a few others. Test date is at the end of August and as the youngin' of the group (as in there is an age group between me and the next person) I feel I have to learn how to do some serious push ups. Any one have any ideas on how to do this? (I mean, step 1 would be to start working on them.) Oh and yes, for the first time I wished I was 30 so I could get kicked up to the next group, meaning slightly more achievable goals.

Basta con lavoro. 

The funny thing is though, I can't think of anything else to write about now. 

Oh! There is the ever growing excitement of meeting my siblings in Madrid in just about a week before they head back to Italy with me. Bonus? A few of my NPS professors will also be here that first week! It's so great to see familiar faces from time to time. The activities I have planned are already out numbering the days they will be here so it's time to head to the chopping block and just deal with the fact that I'll need to have other guests head out for some of these other adventures, or just stop being so lazy on the weekends and go out myself.

Alright, one last thing because my alarm is about to go off telling me it's time to wake up to get some ab work in...

PUPPIES. If you're in Italy and want a puppy, let me know. A friend has 7 and is looking to find homes for each of them. I've posted pics on Facebook and even picked out the one I want...if I had a yard. I'd be handing them out left and right if I could but something tells me I shouldn't be giving a puppy to a 9 year old for his birthday...especially when I work with his dad. But believe me, I've tried. I'm using it as a threat now..."Loser of the PRT gets a puppy." "Submit your travel claim tomorrow or you get a puppy." Then again, I'm also using it as encouragement: "I know this job sucks from time to time, but wouldn't a puppy make it better?" To which one coworker responded, "I have a 1 and 3 year old- do you want to trade them for a puppy?" Everyone is a hard sale, but I'm working on my marketing skills.

And that folks is the conclusion of this rambling by Katie. I promise to go do some fun stuff this weekend- wine tasting, beach, and a 10K run with LPN. And yes, the kitties will be back at the end of next week. Yay!

Three Words

You know those pesky games played to introduce yourself in a group of strangers? Those "what CD can't you live without" or "what is your favorite holiday tradition" questions that you forget the person's answer in less time that you took to figure out some answer? Well, with the weekend being a little crazy I am forcing myself to sum it up in 3 words. Of course these words are going to be explained, but these 3 words will be my subject points.

#1: Kids
#2: Protests
#3: Pain

Got 'em?

Friday night on the way home I picked up 2 kids from my coworker to finally make our sleepover plans that have been in the making since soccer season a reality. Miss Fancypants, Mr. Poon, and I (Queen Cootie) had a fabulous night making sugar cookies, eating pizza, and being silly. In the morning (640am- painful!), we continued the fun with Uno, a picnic breakfast in the sunroom, and movies before heading off to our baseball games.

As we were minutes away from the park, we were stopped at the intersection by police directing traffic. My lack of Italian and his of English finally got me a "wait here until I tell you" or you know, maybe it was me trying to explain that I was trying to head to Carney Park? While I dialed up my assistant coach to assure him that I'd be there, with 2 of his kids, the protest parade walked right in front of us. As in an "oh crap, AFN warns me about not being involved with sort of stuff and I have two kids entrusted to my care right now" close. While they started to complain and fret about missing their games I tried to remember just what this protest is about. All I remembered was that it wasn't supposed to impact my route to the park and yes, it's going to get worse as the months go by. I think it has to do with a water treatment facility and/or plans for a landfill...

About 15 minutes passed and then we were on our way to the park so I could find the other 11 of "my" kids and coach my team to another victory. And you know what? They not only won, but 3 of them actually took what we learned at practice and applied it to get 4 outs in one inning! After the game, we stayed at the park chatting, playing soccer and volleyball before eating late lunch and then watched the NATO rugby team.

Once home, I evaluated the damage from my house guests: flour coated kitchen, a sink full of dishes, a weary Nico. Luckily once he realized it was just me walking through that door he resumed being my silly kitty and played until it was time to get to bed in preparation for the Naples 1/2 Marathon the next morning.

Everyone has a different definition of pain, but my current one would be "the only feeling your body has after running 13.1 miles on cobblestone streets taking you up and down hills when you haven't ran in 4 weeks." Ouchie! But I did it without injury, and without quitting, and although it was my slowest time at this distance...it wasn't that far off. I blame my lack of Lori running at my side but that's just because I really miss her and would rather blame her than admit it ;) Lucky for me, I found a stand in and he did a good job making me keep running when I wanted to lay down in the middle of the road and take a break. I'm pretty sure this was my last run for a while; my toes need a break and it's going to warm up to "Katie melts" temps before too long.

As we walked back into the metro station we heard the dreaded word sciopero. It's one of those words I learned early here in Italy because it means "strike." So, the public transportation folks were once again protesting but I really have no idea why on this one other than it's been a few months so they must be over due?

Hm. I did okay with that summary. Like always there are way more details and tangents to explore so if you feel like asking questions- go for it! Right now though, I need to go drink another L of water, cook some dinner, and then collapse on my couch with an icepack or two.

Now Coaching for the Carney Park Storms...

...Coach Katie! Or you know Mrs. Katie that one of the boys shouted when I pulled up to get the equipment.

Today was the perfect day to kick off baseball- sun shinning the sky, the grass looking greener, the kick of to March Madness all were signs to get started with baseball!

Although I was a swimmer and water polo player growing up, I had one short season of softball. I don't think we did that well and I'm pretty sure I missed several games and practices on account of orientation for my summer exchange program to Japan. My brother actually still sings a song about my coach! She was...well...let's just say I'm trying to not be like she was because her memory still haunts me when I see a softball.  

With a somewhat limited skill set and lots of help from online tutorials, I'm proud to announce that the first practice of the Storms' 2012 season is in the record books AND everyone survived! Sure I probably have a few parents thinking "crap she's our coach?" but the 3 parents that helped me today rocked and I think we're going to have a great season with plenty of parent support.

So how did all of this happen?

Since soccer season my coworker has teased about coaching baseball, and only 2 weeks back did we commit to coaching the team his son is playing on. Well, through a twist of fate (or ships falling apart) I've been "promoted" to head coach due to his travel schedule. I also think he started to see how I get when talking baseball, and as the orange and black started to sparkle in my eyes he got a little scared... He is still going to be there when he can and our boss has also offered to help run drills so I think I'm in good shape as far as "adult supervision" goes. And that's for both me and the team of 8-year old boys!

We may not have the best team (yet) but like during soccer I'm going to set my competitive nature aside to watch these kids grow in their abilities and confidence in the game. As a baseball nut, I think if they walk away with an appreciation for the game (even in this ridiculous form where outs don't count and runs aren't counted- yeah right) my job is done. Granted, I want to see them win because you better believe that I'll be keeping score just like them.

Stay tuned for updates as our season kicks off on the 24th. I figure that with the time difference I'll be watching even less Giants' games this year so I'm going to give the Storms a seasons worth of effort, energy, and emotion. And with me on the mound, it's going to take just about everything I have!

Qui, là, e in ogni luogo...

Ciao tutti!

I'm warning you know, this is a "here, there, and everywhere" sort of post. I feel like I've been a little too quiet out here. Granted February was a rough month but with the sun shinning longer than the 8 hours I'm stuck underground, my body staying relatively germ free, and less time out there running (I <3 tappering)...there is just no reason to be so quiet.

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This week has been crazy as we move back into our (not so) "new and improved" office space. Somehow although I was on the list to move day 2, here we are coming up on day 4 and I just may finally make the cut. I'm in no hurry to move over there since who knows how long it will take to get my computer and phone up and running again, but by this afternoon I felt like I had almost been left behind. Then again that could be due to our shop of 6 was a mere 3 strong today so seeing another SSU member was pretty difficult to do. Then again, I think I got my miles in walking back and forth between my files and my computer or trying to track someone down. 

It's been fun though since everyone is in the same transition state (translation: not very productive as we move in and wait for IT) so I've been chatting with people I normally wouldn't have. Even though I heard the phrase "cruise director" said in my direction, I'd like to think that my interior decorating skills have helped ease the transition into an even smaller office space. Hey, if we're living in super close quarters we gotta stay on speaking terms.

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The ridiculous rental car was returned today but Ravi is still at the shop. Apparently they had him in traction for 2 days to get the frame back to normal...so it's slowing the whole process down. It's not like they didn't know that damage was there as they were the ones who pointed it out to me!

It's a whole insurance mess with $ rates stateside versus me living in Italy. Luckily I have a coworker who doesn't live too far away that can drive me to work the next 2 days. I'm really hoping that Ravi gets returned on Friday afternoon or else it's going to be an interesting weekend.

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Italian III is nearly over. In fact tomorrow we are going to be watching a movie. I have this feeling that I won't know much of what's going on if tonight at the pizzeria is any indication. I have moments where I feel like I can carry on a pretty decent conversation but then when I go try to practice in town I get overwhelmed and revert to gestures or my few key verbs. I know it's in there and I know it's all going to click one of these days. How? Well, I catch myself thinking in Italian. Well, I think it's Italian. I should start writing it down and seeing if it actually translates properly. Uffa! I actually have some homework assignments I need to get done.

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I decided to go for it- I will be coaching baseball. Right now I have a team of nine 8 year old boys and it's still coach pitch so it may somewhat resemble a ball game. My coworker will be co-coaching and we have a few of the same kids from soccer so it should be a fun time. Two of our other coworkers have also offered help running drills if we need it/if we go on travel so it's just going to be the SSU little league team! I figure if I survived coaching soccer, the game I knew nothing more than "no hands", I should be a pro this go around. Best part? The opening day is the weekend after the Rome Marathon, so it will be a perfect transition.

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Yep. We're in a little over a week before the main event....the Rome Marathon. I've officially reached the "just get me to the starting line and look for me about 5 hours later crossing the finish" point. With an attitude like this it really shouldn't be a surprise that I haven't been too faithful the last week on my mid week running. I'll get there. I'm just trying to prevent major stress on my germ exposed body because I'd like to have my full SB strength come race day.

Seriously though, I think I'm more excited about heading up with my training partner and her husband to spend the time in Rome since I really haven't done much of that since arriving in Italy. No doubt about it, a fabulous time will be had and come Sunday afternoon we will have traveled 26.2 miles  a piedi. 
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And finally, because you know it's not a true rambling session if he's not mentioned- Signore Nico. He still answers better to the crumpling of paper than to his name. He still gives me attitude when I walk through the door, even if it's clear he just woke up from a "nap." He still is obsessed with drowning his toys in water before running them to the couch to bury in the pillows. And his newest habit is to make sure I get up after the alarm goes off but rather than following, he curls up and goes back to sleep. And despite all his faults they are still out numbered by all the entertainment and joy he contributes to our household and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

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There you have it. Proofing it just now reminds me what happens when I do a continuous free write...sort of scary. My apologies for the run on sentences and all the other grammatical errors. (I left all my editors in Monterey!)