It's All Connected

It never ceases to amaze me how various aspects of my life will all of a sudden crash into each other when they seem like they are the most opposite things ever. Well, today was another "in your face Katie" kind of day. 

Today was thankfully a slow start morning- my pre-contract appointment was at 8 so that was my first official place to be. Are you confused about all these apartment viewings, going in to make an appointment, pre-contract appointments, inspections, contracting signing? Don't worry. I always just tell them what the last step I completed was and they tell me what's next. But seriously, it's complicated. I have to share the following from an email from my dad because although it's super ridiculous, it pretty much sums it all up:

OK, so I confess I am a bit confused.  You said you signed your "pre-contract" today.  But I don't remember you reporting signing the "preliminary-pre-contract".  And before you sign "The Contract" don't you have to sign the "post-pre-contract" and then The Contract then the post-post contract?

(Yes dad- I did laugh over that one.)

So at any rate Enzo convinced the inspector from the housing office to inspect my house on Friday since he'll already be in MdP. Yay Enzo! I actually think he was worried about his vacation which starts on the 18th (and the housing office is closed M-W next week for Italian holidays). I don't care- we got what we wanted! Well, pushing our luck he asked if we could also schedule the contract signing for the 25th or 26th. My vote of course is the 25th since I check out the morning of the 26th. That was a no go...even when we asked the supervisor of Enza, the contracting person we were meeting with. Oh well. Enzo assured both her and I that this place will pass Friday's inspection.

Off I go- happy that I not only signed the pre-contract but also got the inspection scheduled this week. Okay, getting to sleep in and having a chat session with home probably played into that a bit too but the housing situation is what's been keeping me up at night so it was nice to have progress (no matter how little) after 2 weeks.

Fast forward to me sitting in the chapel waiting for my amazing Green Team chatting with one of my assistants and one of the other volunteers. They too are currently going though this process and decided to rain on my parade by saying that houses never pass the first inspection. Well big boo. I'm still keeping my optimism though...I feel like the inspection of Friday was already a huge win so I'll just see how everything else plays out. And besides, I didn't have time to worry about it...kids starting pouring into the chapel and I quickly realized that without their name tags I have no idea who they are!

We made panda face drums & kazoos. (And couldn't wait for parents to sign their kids out.)

We played red light green light where I dominated. Although we played by doing the crab walk, the whole concept of "green, yellow, and red" are beginning to fade here in Italy...so I may have still moved forward when red was called? The kids did the same though and I still won but it was pretty close.

At dinner my team was so polite and quiet compared to the screaming blue team that passed us in the stair well. Seriously. My team was asked to perform the theme song for the kitchen crew but since that seems to be the "I need to use the bathroom" stopping point the performance was cancelled this evening. Maybe after our meal of chicken nuggets tomorrow they will be ready. Tonight's kid friendly dinner had my plate looking rather brown/tan/yellow - apple slices, grilled cheese, graham crackers, oranges.Where's the green stuff?

And then there was story time. We learned about King Ahab and Jezebel and as soon as marriage was mentioned, my up then pretty quiet room erupted in "ewwwwws" and a ton of laughter. I guess the ATP kicked in and my little troopers started acting like 5-7 year olds again.

Off to singing time we sang How Great Thou Art about 10 times with hand motions. My little curly haired 4 year old (who we later thought went missing but I guess just wanted to sit with the red team?) had a great time spreading her arms out for the "thy pow'r throughout, the universe displayed" portion. I had to turn my head to hide my reaction when one of the teen leaders asked the kids what "How Great Thou Art" meant followed by a "that's really really old English."

Closing was challenging yet again. After 3 hours of being together and it's late for some of them (yes, and me) kids start getting a little out of control. One of my instigators won't be there the rest of the week so hopefully it will be bit easier...maybe? I just wanted to sing and dance to the songs stuck in my head 24/7 at this point but even my ridiculous dance moves (I swear that's what we're going for, I just have a natural knack for it) can't get the kids back into it once they've lost focus.

At any rate, today's theme was God Listens to Me! (See? It's all connected.) I firmly believe this and although I often find we're not on the same time table, He hasn't let me down. I often tease that this job offer was nothing short of Divine Intervention...seriously if that other offer came through I'd be writing you from Mississippi right now. Ick. Don't throw this back in my face later on, but I'm pretty sure I'll take Naples on its worst day any time over Stennis.

"Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely." -Psalm 139:4

Let the Good Times Roll!

Well, it's here----my crazy long week where I go to work for 8 hours and then volunteer for 4 hours as I serve as the Green Team Leader for VBS.

Is it going to be a blast? You betcha!

Am I going to let the original Katie O. (as in the pre-schooler version when I first was dubbed Katie O.) out? Oh yeah.

Is it going to be a caffeine filled week? Oh you better believe it.

Training happened over the weekend and although admittedly I've been out of the VBS circuit for some years but this one was unique. How so? Well we talked about security threat procedures. Granted we are in a foreign country, on a US military base but it just caught me off guard. Oh well, if my Girl Scout days taught be anything it was to be prepared.

As previously mentioned we're using the Panda Mania curriculum so it's a panda filled week. No problem for this panda lover! Check out my awesome shirt that not only did I make, but I get to wear all week! Yeah, I really should have made two.... but he has freckles just like I do. The panda (without ears, but with freckles) is on the front and the "God is Wild About Me!" is on the back.

Give me another day and I'll be able to sing and perform with hand motions the theme song "Wild About Us." Hey- just cause I'm able to, doesn't mean I will. Eh, who am I kidding? I've already caught myself humming the tune and it's only day one. Spend any amount of time with me and you'll hear it.

Sorry. It is rather catchy! I should be working more on the hand motions for the leaders' performance of Undignified for Friday. Again, such a shame that so many of you are located in the United States and unable to make that performance.

My team grew (as in almost doubled) since the roster I saw on Saturday, but I also got 2 more assistants so that's good. My kids are awesome and I'd say 80% of them are 5. How do I know this? One of our games tonight was to see how old everyone was. Let me tell you...28 has never felt so old! Also during this game I realized that not many 5 year olds know their middle name...I guess they never get in trouble?

There were a few tears when kids realized their friends weren't in our same group or when parents left but nothing the tackiest green paper umbrella couldn't make better. (I'm just so glad I don't have to carry that around as the leader of the group!)

My fingers were painted while I held a stencil down with each hand while tables of 2 painted their shirts. The kids teased me since I had paint on me but they didn't have much on them...I wonder how that happened.

The girls out number the boys probably 1:3 so when we sing our theme song that breaks into two parts, I help the boys out. They will do the hand motions and try to be heard over the girls!!!

The little boy who prayed over our oh-so-kid-friendly meal of hotdogs and tots prayed for good tasting food. It's so hard not to laugh when you're not expecting it to be voiced but secretly hoping the same thing. 

During story time, when asked for different types of bears I was the one in the back feeding answers to the kids. It's not cheating...the koala, kodiak, and the sun bear all need to be known! Oh and I even kept my mouth shut with we were supposedly listing types of fish yet some of the following answers were accepted : whales, dolphins, jellyfish, seahorses. Who is teaching these kids science?!?

I've got twin girls that are adorable that with 2 other non related girls seem to always be by my side. There are two brothers 4.5 and 6 that are so cute and are always sticking together.

By 7:30 some of the kids were looking pretty sleepy. I was trying my best to keep the energy going but my reserve fuel was almost gone. One little girl asked if it was midnight. I told her no, but checked my watch just to make sure.

After one last round of Big House (aka the touchdown song) I was more than ready to get out of the marble floored, high ceiling, kid filled sanctuary and into some quiet even though tonight was a blast and it brought back a ton of RCP memories. I figure I've got 4 more days of this so it's probably time to get to sleep and get ready for the repeat tomorrow...

And oh yeah. If this post seems like a million times happier than the last two it's because it is. I'm still dealing with a lot of σκύβαλα (skubala) but nothing like getting a letter from one my little girls (Keiry) and watching 160+ kids sing, dance, and just have a blast to put things in perspective. I'll still be an adult when I have to this week, but I think I'm going to act more like a kid when I can...why let the small stuff bog me down?

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." -Psalm 139:14

Katie v Italy: our first falling out

This is just how my life is going right now....

Yesterday I teased about living under a rock for the weekend- but one with power right? (It's okay if you haven't read it yet). Well this morning probably around 5 I hear the power go out. How does one hear the power go out? Well, all of a sudden your AC turns off, you hear a few little clicks, and then if the little kids next door are awake you suddenly hear them. It's amazing that no matter how low I have the AC on it serves as a sound buffer. I think I was actually hearing people in the hall way too. Ah the joys of living in a hotel.

It's after 10 now and the power is still out. I'm not sure how I'm going to do my laundry or cook without the power coming back on. The two things going for me this morning:

When I realized the power was still out I almost had a fit when I realized coffee wasn't in my future. I then  remembered (or maybe it my brain was a little slow on the wake up?) what was in my cabinet due to the fabulous Stephanie. THANK YOU for this amazing iced soy vanilla chi latte I'm sipping on this morning.

Blessing number two was a fully charged laptop. And yes, I've already adjusting settings to maximize the battery life! Yay for a soundtrack for what is going to have to be a productive day. Seriously- talk about all my distractions eliminated! I mean weekends are tough enough since most of those I chat with aren't making appearances until late afternoon but I don't have emails to check, baseball scores to catch up on, or even shopping to do while I wait for the west coast to wake up.

Last week I had a few conversations with a friend talking about how sometimes bad things really turn out to be blessings in the long run. Granted in her case it was way more life changing than power being out for 5+ hours but I can't help but think that this is just a reminder that it's true. Well, I may as well go turn this minor set back into a good thing- cleaning part two, writing letters, and trying to make progress in Out of Africa sounds like just a fabulous (laundry free) way to spend my Sunday. Hopefully it's not totally laundry free though because I really would like some clean clothes...

1227 Update: Power is still out but my desk is no longer covered with stacks of letters, papers, and post-it notes. This is the longest power outage I've experienced so far here in Italy. Sort of reminds me of the Hawaii quake of 2006 when we were forced to play board games and drink wine...but that time around I was with 3 of my best friends so the entertainment was abundant. Oh well. Just another adventure to add to my ever growing list. I guess I could venture out to see if both loops of the base are missing power or if it's just this loop. (Mainly cause the kids are back next door.)

1400 Update: I think that if I had a camera set up in my room to tack my movement sporadically (aka time elapse) it would be rather entertaining. I think I travel the same triangle route every time I get up, regardless if I really need to. Stir crazy? Just maybe. Well, I'm making a break for it- time to go on a recon mission. I'm not sure what I'm going to find but I think getting out of my rather clean cell may be a good thing. Eh, who am I kidding? It's necessary at this point!   

1445 Update: Power is out base wide. The guys I talked to only had that info to offer and a "welcome to Naples." Ha. But they were totally right. Decided to walk off some energy (that triangle was too small to keep pacing) but then I realized it was rather warm. I did however see parts of the base in daylight that up to this point I've only seen at twilight.

1500 Update: Too hot to do anything but sleep. Good night. Saving last 35% of laptop battery.

1645 Update: I've had just about all I can take. Wanted to call home but realized my phone was dying.

1715 Update: Writing more letters and for about a nanosecond I heard the AC kick on. Major tease. Um, Lacey- I'm warning you now that your letter may be rather dramatic...even more than this post. Like I said. Final straw. 

1720ish: Power finally back on. Just in case you didn't realize that was the case, the fire alarm system also did a reset announcing to all of Griciango that the base once again had power.

Seriously. That's my Sunday. It's still laundry free but another good thing to come out of it was the fact my mini freezer is now defrosted and luckily I didn't have anything that was destroyed. You think food would be okay without power for 12 hours but I swear this fridge isn't like the ones we have back in the states. Sometimes things are really cold....sometimes they're cool. It's really anyone's best guess. 

In summary. Today is my first day in 10 weeks and 1 day that I'm not liking Italy. I knew it was bound to happen eventually but who would have thunk that a power outage would be the tipping point? I'm dead serious too...if I find out that the power company let all their employees start their August vacation which caused this situation I just may be asked to leave this host country.

Okay, Drama Queen out. Miss you all and I hope that your Sunday is filled with all the electricity you need to power your washing machine, kitchen appliances, and AC units.

Has It Really Been 10 Weeks?

That's what the calendar says when I flip though my Saturdays. 

Wow.

The last week has been somewhat of a challenge and I apologize to those that may think I was kidnapped by the Mafia, ate myself into a pizza oblivion, or got lost in a catacomb. Like I posted the other day- things are still great out here but I think the daily challenges are just catching up with me and perhaps even beginning to bog me down. For that reason I decided that this weekend was the perfect time for one of my live under a rock (with an extension cord for my laptop & tv) lay low kind of weekends.

Okay, well those who know me know that I very seldom just do nothing. This weekend will be no exception- I've already volunteered a few hours for VBS training and setup and plan to do the same tomorrow evening. I also finally got a few tasks off the list from um...Monday. Better late than never- right? Also since I take on the challenge of working a full day then spending 4+ hours as the GREEN Team leader for VBS starting Monday, I guess some of my weekend should be spent doing laundry, cleaning the path of destruction tropical storm Katie left during the week, and getting documents in order in anticipation of contract meetings for housing. Don't let me fool you- this will be spread out in between naps, wasting hours on Facebook, and Skype chats. Oh and eating. Don't forget food.

Get ready for VBS updates starting Monday. The theme is Panda Mania. I keep wanting to scream "Let's Go Giants." but think I'll be able to get it straight or else I'll just turn my group of little kids into Giants' fans. We were warned today that the leaders will be performing on the last day as well...it's like Girl Scout, RCP, and Science Camp all over again and I can't wait! It's such a shame that 99% of my readers aren't in Italy to see the performance. So sad.

It's A....

...you guys are too smart! The last 2 rounds of "Guess the Item" have been way too short. For those who didn't get a change to make a guess item #2 or item #3 they've already been guessed, but you can still take a stab at them for your own entertainment.

Seriously, take a look now if you want to because the answers are going to be posted below.


Don't cheat; take a guess!


Did you make a guess?


Oh well, the answers are already posted on those links too :)

Round #2

So I fully admit I have a problem...they're all gone!

Round #3:

Meet my fabulous new purse...made of ostrich leather.

Update Time

August is the Italian national month for vacationing. Despite the lack of posts lately I am choosing to post today to state the obvious: I’m not Italian, nor am I employed by Italians. (I told you- stating the obvious!) So while the beaches are filled with people and towns empty compared to normal- I am working away.  And working away I am. We teased on Monday that it was definitely a Monday: urgent documents, errors found (mine- the worst kind), phones ringing, & taking multi-tasking to a level it’s never been. It was the kind of day I went home and next thing I know I was waking up. Oops- got to love the unexpected nap.  

Over all, things are still great. Sure the minor hiccups here and there continue to occur, but for the most part they’ve been easy to resolve or I quickly forget about them. Unfortunately this latest hiccup does not fall in that same category. This hiccup is already beginning to look like it may be the kind that you can’t get rid and is so disruptive it’s almost painful. What is it? Oh a little thing called housing.

For those of you who haven’t heard- I put a hold on the “split-level” place in Monte di Procida last week. After dealing with the housing office  from hell over the phone I finally made an appearance. Roberto recognized me and gave me an are you kidding look when I told him it took me 2 months to find a place. (Hey- I was gone 2 of those weeks!) In true Italian fashion, we spent more time talking about non housing items than the 2 minutes it took to call Enzo to see when he was dropping off the paperwork for the place. You see, they need the paperwork in check before they can make an appointment. This appointment is for the housing office, the owner and you to enter into pre-contract agreement. My appointment is scheduled for the 9^th.

Not too bad right? Appointments although annoying are at least are a mark of progress.

Well here’s how my August calendar is looking:

9 Aug: Pre-contract Meeting

TBD: Inspection of unit (I’m hoping it too happens next week)

TBD: Any modifications/changes made (praying that it doesn’t require any)

TBD: Contract signing

TBD: +3-5 days for utility activation

TBD: Move in

26 Aug: “Eviction Day” from the Navy Lodge (AKA 90 day mark of being in Italy)

(Why do I feel like this information could be turned into a problem for Operations Management?)

And although I’m trying ever so hard to be optimistic about getting in this place before the deadline I’m being realistic and preparing for the worse. Seriously- as I told someone the other night- it’s dealing with the US Government and Italians. As if that’s not already a slow process, add the fact that it’s their vacation month so most offices (housing included) are all running on a skeleton staff.

So yeah, trying not to get my hopes too high and telling myself that this house was worth the two month search so a few nights transition won’t be too bad…as long as it’s only a few nights. It’s times like this when I wish I had Tracy’s spare bedroom (complete with meowing cat at 0500), Andie’s chair with Lady taking way more than her fair share, or even my parents’ spare room to once again host the Traveling Katie Show.

Again, trying not to let it get to me too much, but I think it’s the root cause of my “offness” this week. Luckily I have a few avenues to explore but it’s hard to ask people for help when I don’t even know the basic information. Worse case my stuff will be moved in and I’ll be “camping” while I wait for my other stuff to move from storage to mia casa dolce casa.

In summary:

• I’m getting tired of this transition phase lifestyle...I’m tapping out at 90 days.
• I’m learning first hand about Italian time...it’s a slow process filled with lots of caffé breaks.
• I love Italy and don’t want to go home any time soon...but I would love it a whole lot more if I too could take the month of August off.

Che cosa è esso? Round 3

Now it's time for a little game I'm going to call che cosa è esso? and pray that the internet translation is semi correct...but should I learn differently the game's name will change.

 

It's pretty simple:

• I'm going to post a picture of something I've found.
• Make your guess on the what it is- using the comments here on the blog.
• I'll keep track of points and if you rock at this game I just may send a little bit of Italy your way!

Got it? Good. Here's the 3rd picture in this game. I'm not so much looking for the item on this one but more what it is made out of, but if you want to ID the item as well feel free. Good luck!