17 Sept, Day 36, Shopping and Calcio

I woke after a good rest around 11, ate a few croissants, a kiwi, grapefruit, and a cup of espresso for breakfast. I think they may put crack in the coffee here. Although I am trying to resist, I find myself drinking more and more of the stuff. I wouldn’t call it an addiction or dependence at this point, but I can see how it becomes habit forming.

Since the weather was marginal, and I got a late start, I decided to take care of some shopping instead of exploring. First stop was the bookstore. After much browsing and internal debate I purchased Harry Potter #5 (in Italian.) The book cost 3x the other ones I was considering, but at 800 pages I guess I could get my money’s worth if it’s a decent story. Next I went looking for a shower curtain and appropriate hanging materials. I found the curtain and one spring-loaded tension rod. So now I can suspend the shower-head above the tub instead of holding it. This is a marked improvement towards taking a proper shower. In fact I’m considering changing my original plans to build a small frame for the curtain, and instead opting towards a more minimal approach with a couple of suction cups. Next I went looking for lights. I hoped to find one for the mirror in the bathroom so I could do a better job shaving, and one to place near my bead for reading without an overhead light. After stopping in several stores, I ended up waiting for the lighting depot to reopen after their lunch break. Here I found several lighting fixtures costing upwards of 200 Euros. They had an appropriate bedside lamp for 24 Euros, decreased to 20 after a discount. Now I just have to wait 15 days for it to be delivered. I did not find an appropriate bathroom lamp with a non-destructive-mounting, so I’ll experiment with moving the bedlamp back and forth for shaving and reading. After all, I’ll never need to do both at the same time…

Seeing now apartment improvements are adding up, and forseeing the possible desire to buy a blanket in the future, I’m beginning to explore scenarios to approach my proprietaria in an attempt to get her to pay for half of the improvements if I don’t take them with me when I move out. Really, this is better for everyone. I don’t have to deal with shipping or selling things, and she can have a better apartment for less than the cost it would take to restore on her own…

At 6:00 Antonio, one of my coworkers stopped by to pick me up to go to a soccer game. We drove to the metro stop, and then took the train to the stadium. I was surprised by the size of the stadium. Not that it was larger than most I’ve seen in the states, but I was expecting this to be undersized.

I enjoyed watching the game despite not having a vested interest in either team winning. I enjoyed this approach as I felt I was able to appreciate the sport on a higher level as I could admire the talent and skills of both teams. I guess its like watching Jeremy Shocky in the NFL. I wouldn’t cheer for the team he plays for, but since he was a Cane, I can still admire the skills of the player and enjoy when he makes a play even though I would prefer that his team lose.

However, the fans were also quite interesting to watch. I wouldn’t say they had more vim than the student section of any major university of Florida, but the fans are mostly adults, and I am not as used to seeing older people get as vivacious about a sport. I guess with age comes experience, because this group brought a few new tricks to the stadium. I was most impressed by the use of fire. The core section of the Inter-fanbase lit magnesium flares on a number of occasions. For those who don’t know, magnesium burns at close to 3000 Fahrenheit, and is certainly the type of fire to exercise caution about. Aside from the antics of the fans, I was also impressed by the speed at which the game moved. Critics and naysayers of soccer often cite that the game moves too slowly with some games ending after only 1 goal. However they neglect the fact that the sport is free of the TV timeouts disrupt the continuity of nearly all States-based professional sports.


Here's a picture of Monza at night: