bernardo says

"I Feel Happy of Myself"

10 Things I Did on 10/10/10

1. Made caramel.
2. Started Jay Cutler on one of my fantasy football teams. (For those of you who don't follow football, Cutler didn't play today due to injury. This was very bad for my fantasy team.)
3. Congratulated my brother for running a half marathon.
4. Went food shopping.
5. Watched The Simpsons with the Banksy opening couch gag.
6. Used my panini press. Twice.
7. Watered the plants.
8. Read the Sunday paper.
9. Sat on my balcony and drank a Sam Adams Octoberfest.
10. Fed a friend's cats.

Some Pictures From Italy

Here are a few pictures from the Italy trip. A bunch more are on my facebook page and even more on my flickr. (link coming soon)

 

 

 

 

My grandfather grew up in this one room house.

 

Abruzzo getting ready for The Pope.

 

 

This pizza was amazing.

 

zoom zoom polizia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother was born in this house.

 

YouTube. YouParfum.

 

 

prosciutto pizza looks better than pacman.

 

Firenze

 

Freedom comes when you learn to let go. Creation comes when you learn to say no. - Madonna

 

 

 

                         

 
 
  

Italia

Recently, I took a two week vacation to Italy (with a few days in Boston). To say that the trip was absolutely amazing would be an understatement. Both in Italy and in Boston, I spent time with great people, ate incredible foods and saw so many postcard worthy things. I have an amazing family and amazing friends and I am so so thankful. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that there aren't any positive adjectives that can convey how awesome everything was. 

Italy:

• Rome to Sulmona, Abruzzo to Florence. 
• I saw the house that my mother was born in. 
• I saw the one room "house" where my grandfather grew up. 
• I met lots of relatives/people in the town where my grandparents were from.
• I met Benny Francoise, who used to be a chef with my Dad in Boston. Now, Benny lives in Italy and sells garlic and olive oil for a living. He has 400 olive oil trees...if you want to buy his olive oil, you need to let him know how much you want months in advance. When it's time, you show up with cash and your own containers. He doesn't package it and he doesn't ship it. My Dad asked him if he misses Boston/working as a chef. Benny said, (paraphrasing) "No, I don't. But I would like to have one more busy Saturday night back in the kitchen with everyone. That would be fun." When he said this I pictured a slammed small kitchen with everyone working at a frantically fast pace, but with movements so precise that they resembled a smoothly moving machine. With Italian opera playing.
• I had huge incredible dinners without any menus being opened.
• The food. Oh, the food. (I wish more restaurants here offered pineapple & watermelon after meals.)
• Great conversation and quotes with my family.
• Club Space.
• Lots of walking and steps.
• Connecting flights. Missed flights. 

I didn't want to leave. I want to go back. It's one thing to go on a vacation and have the memories and pictures. It's another thing when that vacation affects how you look at life. The 3rd annual DiGirolamo summer vacation gave me memories, pictures and a new perspective. 

Where the Wild Things Are Review

I finally saw Where the Wild Things Are. And I'm glad that I did. Am I going to run out and by the DVD? No, but I liked it. (And by "run out and buy the DVD" I totally mean "go to amazon.com and buy the DVD.")

Lines that stuck out:

- "That was fun, we forgot how to have fun." Think about that for a minute. When was the last time you had fun? Did you have fun today? Have fun. Have more fun.

- "This is all yours. You're the owner of this world. Everything you see is yours." 

Also, James Gandolfini does the voice of Carol. Sometimes I pretended that Carol was the Tony Soprano of the Wild Things. Some of the lines could have worked for either Carol or Tony and that made me chuckle. 

"NY-Z" - An ABSOLUT Collaboration with Jay-Z

This is dope. Jay-Z talking about New York, his September 11th benefit concert at Madison Square Garden and how he hooked up with John Mayer through twitter. Also, they blur out Wale.

 

Word to Tim Strube.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE

I drove in the snow today. I miss driving in the snow. It calls for an extra level of awareness and alertness. You have to be in control while watching out for others who aren't in control.

I drove to the MFA to met Jeffrey Ellse for lunch. Jeff's an old friend (who gave me my first skateboard, which I still have today) and a great artist. Click the picture to see more of Jeff's work.

You are my sunshine on a snowy Boston day. I spotted this behind the MFA.

 

The Boston North End Italian Accent

"Yous guys."

Fenway Park

I was home last week and did something that I've never done before: I took a tour of Fenway Park. Of course I've been to countless games there, but I've never taken a tour. It was great. I got to go in the press box on some Theo Epstein/Peter Gammons steez. I sat in the Green Monster seats. I walked through the "employees only" hallways which had Red Sox poster sized pictures and plaques all over the walls. I got the baseball chills more than a few times.

Even if you're not a Sox fan, Fenway Park is a place that you should go to...see a game there; take a tour. Trust me. I went with Dodger fan and he loved it.

As a wise man once said, "During baseball season, Fenway Park is the best bar in the world."

Here are a few pictures that I took...click here for the rest.

 

 

 

 

New Year's Resolutions/Suggestions/Things to Think About

Ann Landers wrote this years ago. Which Ann Landers? I don't know but I do know that I think you should read it. Happy New Year everyone.

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time.

Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Share a funny story with someone whose spirits are dragging. A good laugh can be very good medicine.

Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Pay a debt. Give a soft answer. Free yourself of envy and malice. Encourage some youth to do his or her best. Share your experience and offer support. Young people need role models.

Make a genuine effort to stay in closer touch with family and good friends. Resolve to stop magnifying small problems and shooting from the lip. Words that you have to eat can be hard to digest.

Find the time to be kind and thoughtful. All of us have the same allotment: 24 hours a day. Give a compliment. It might provide someone with a badly needed lift.

Think things through. Forgive an injustice. Listen more. Be kind.

Apologize when you realize you are wrong. An apology never diminishes a person. It elevates him or her. Don't blow your own horn. If you've done something praiseworthy, someone will notice eventually.

Try to understand a point of view that is different from your own. Few things are 100 percent one way or another. Examine the demands you make on others.

Lighten up. When you feel like blowing your top, ask yourself, "Will it matter a week from today?" Laugh the loudest when the joke is on you.

The sure way to have a friend is to be one. We are all connected by our humanity, and we need each other. Avoid malcontents and pessimists. They drag you down and contribute nothing.

Don't discourage a beginner from trying something risky. Nothing ventured means nothing gained. Be optimistic. A can-do spirit is the fuel that makes things go.

Go to war against animosity and complacency. Express your gratitude. Give credit when it's due -- and even when it isn't. It will make you look good.

Read something uplifting. Deep-six the trash. You wouldn't eat garbage, why put it in your head? Don't abandon your old-fashioned principles. They never go out of style. When courage is needed, ask yourself, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Take better care of yourself. Remember, you're all you've got. Pass up that second helping. You really don't need it. Vow to eat more sensibly. You'll feel better, and look better, too.

Don't put up with secondhand smoke. Nobody has the right to pollute your air or give you cancer. If someone says, "This is a free country," remind him or her that the country may be free, but no person is free if he has a habit he can't control.

Return those books you borrowed. Reschedule that missed dental appointment. Clean out your closet. Take those photos out of the drawer, and put them in an album. If you see litter on the sidewalk, pick it up instead of walking over it.

Give yourself a reality check. Phoniness is transparent, and it is tiresome. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of nature. A flower is God's miracle.

Walk tall and smile more. You'll look 10 years younger. Don't be afraid to say, "I love you." Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. If you have love in your life, it can be the best year ever.