Hello again

Yes, hello again tutti

Today's will be quite a short post I think, largely because I'm tired and can't think of much worth writing.

Today is a national day of holiday here, I believe to celebrate workers. So, today, almost all Italians can relax and take life easy without caring about work. Oh, wait (you may see where this is going), it's just the same as all other days. No shops appear to be open (or at least the supermarket under my house isn't), so I have a busy day of watching tv on t'internet and reading about chess. My life truly could not be anymore wild and exciting. That said, I was out last night, and am off out tonight too, so at least I'm doing something.

Last weekend I went to a big cemetery here, called Staglieno. It's apparently a bit famous, and was quite impressive. I know, going to cemeteries isn't the coolest thing to do, and as it was a date with a young lady, I may have been skirting dangerously along the cusp of unconventionality. However, it was quite interesting. Dying here seems to be quite a big thing and an opportunity to show all those suckers who are still alive just how much money you have. "Damn fools with their functioning organs, I'm off to St Peter/the ground/reincarnation as a frog! That'll teach them." We quite literally walked through the ages, starting with the very recent, before heading up to the deceased for a considerable amount of time. They really should think of a snazzier name for that plot. But maybe snazzy isn't what you look for in a cemetery? In the DFACAOT plot, there were giant crypts and tombs that pharoahs would have been proud to kill all their servants for. Some of them were pretty impressive, and very old. There were a few that looked like temples, and several that were bigger than the house back in Scotland. It doesn't really seem necessary, as only one man's like Jesus in Italy (Berlusconi), and he's still very much knocking about. All this space being taken up for what appears to be an old-fashioned and therefore obviously more sophisticated peeing contest, and it's not getting used.

I'm not saying that this still of pomp around the remains of your loved ones is a bad thing, but it's just a bit unusual to the sober minded view of rememberance that many Scots/Brits take. Why spend all that money on the tomb when you could get pissed at the wake? It's all a question of priorities.

On Sunday, it's the derby here in Genoa. Last week, Genoa were away in Bologna, and were absolutely terrible, succumbing 2-0. Fiorentina spanked Roma 4-1, and so they're now 4th, no doubt pleasing many Florentines and referees. The derby is obviously a Big Deal, so I was keen to get a ticket. They went on sale on Wednesday morning, so I abandoned my lesson as soon as possible and headed to the shop. I arrived a couple of hours after it had opened, and queued for about 20 minutes. During this time, the security guard came out and said something along the lines of "there are only tickets for the Tribuna stand, about 100 - 150 tickets left". As I only wanted one, and was near the front of the queue, I wasn't too fussed. However, when the let me in the shop, I asked how much the tickets for that stand were, and they told me 100 to 15o euros. I was surprised, as you can imagaine, and left ticketless. Come on, I love football more than anything else, but this would push my dedication too far. So, on Sunday, I'll be watching the game in a pub.

I have for some time wanted a tattoo of something Italian. As you probably know, I like tattoos, and have disfigured my body (mum and dad's words I believe) 3 times. After much constipation and rumination, I've decided on what I'll be getting, which you can see here:

I just have to book the appointment, and I'm pretty excited. I realise that it might be a mistake, etc etc, but if this is the worst mistake I make in my life then I'll be quite happy.

I think that's all for now, I'm going to go and sit outside.

So long

Michael