20 Feb, Day 41, The Fashion Show

I would like to begin this entry with a shout-out to my friend Adam Gilbert for writing and performing tonight’s musical selection that I’ll hear while I write this entry. Readers located in the NY/NJ area should think about seeing his band perform live!

I caught a ride to Milano with one of my coworkers that live in the city. I arrived in the center before 7PM (earlier than I usually get home!), so had nearly an hour to kill before meeting Sally to go for a drink, and then go to the show. I took the metro to Garibaldi and began to stroll the neighborhoods north of the station in an area they call Isola. I’ve concluded that if I were to move to the center, the best location would be near Garibalidi because then I could get to work on a train to Arcore and then bus it to Vimercate, or take the metro to the end of the line, and bus to Vimercate from Colognio. I think in either case I’d be looking at a slightly longer commute, but I’m beginning to think I’d rather live closer to the center of the city. Driving is a third option, but I don’t think it’s worth the expense. Unfortunately, I did not find much in the way of apartments up for rent. But these things are seldom advertised publicly because the real estate agents have set up an extensive monopoly allowing them to collect exorbitant commissions on new leases because it is nearly impossible to find a place without going though them.

In any case, I was excited to meet Sally around 8 to head down to the show. I’d first contacted her nearly a year ago when I was trying to hustle for a job in Italy. I met her in person about a month ago. It was great to share some experiences with another person who sees Italian life and culture filtered by an American lens much as I do. This creates opportunities to discus a lot of comical idiosyncrasies unique to this region that deserve thorough jocular consideration.

We met up near the Duomo and headed to a café near the bar. I enjoyed the conversation that ensued, though didn’t feel like I had a lot of new news to share since our last aperitivo. I still don’t have closure on a new job contract, still interested in living closer to the center of Milano, etc.

Soon it was time to go to the show venue.