Fanart, Fanfiction and Fangirling

Well, holidays are over and I'm back in the office tomorrow. Luckily we have a local holiday on Wednesday, so I won't have to work a whole week at least. And I can't complain this year: first I spent 3 very fun days with schwimmerin exploring Turin and Sirmione (both places I hadn't visited in a long time), then I went to the seaside for 9 days, with a day trip to Ravenna, which is beautiful and full of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Two highlights of the trip: translating a short inscription from Latin into German (!!!) for a German family who looked rather lost in front of a mosaic (it was very short and very easy, I really couldn't manage anything more complicated) and managing to change train on the way back and take my connection with only 3 MINUTES LAYOVER TIME. Which felt awesome, especially after missing the train I had originally intended to take. I couldn't leave Ravenna without visiting the Mausoleum of Theoderic, so I opted for a quick visit (the mausoleum is rather small anyway), then I rushed to the station and almost caught the train, but I was on the back and couldn't find the underpass, which was kinda hidden among the buses, and when I finally found it, my train had just left. After some extensive cursing, I decided to use the time until the next train eating a delicious ice cream, so that wasn't too bad. I really didn't think I would be able to take my connection with only 3 minutes and was ready to either get the later train (which left 20 minutes later) or a bus, but when I saw the first train was perfectly on time, I thought "OK, let's do this!" To tell the truth, even the railway website didn't list it as a connection, I found it while searching for trains leaving from Rimini (the last stop of the first train). Good thing I also double- and triple-check all possible travel combinations.

While I was at the seaside I also found out, totally by chance, that a Muse cover band was playing in a nearby town, so I hopped on a bus and off I went. And boy, were they good. I'll have to keep an eye out in case they ever come to Milan as well. Highlight of the night: three young kids walked in front of the stage during "Plug in baby" and covered their ears because of the volume, so the band started playing and singing very softly. And at the end of the song, the singer said something like "Well, that was an interesting "baby version" of "Plug in baby"." XD

And one day, as I was swimming, I even got an idea for a Mystrade ficlet! So after lunch I grabbed some paper and a pencil and wrote down a very rough first version. The idea is to turn it into a 221b ficlet and publish it soon, as it's a very summery story. Fingers crossed!

So, yeah, I really can't complain about my summer holidays this year!

On the 28th and 29th March, some Italian regions are going to vote for the local elections. Among others Lazio and Lombardy, two of the biggest and most important regions. Every political group has to collect a certain number of signatures to be able to take part in the elections.

In Lazio, PDL (Berlusconi's party) handed in the documents after the deadline.

In Lombardy, PDL (Berlusconi's party) handed in documents containing false signatures and signatures coming from dead people.

Yesterday the government (Berlusconi's party) wrote a decree that allows them to take part in the elections even if they shouldn't, because "laws can be interpreted".

What's there to interpret? If I hand in a document after the deadline or I sign under false name, I must face the consequences of my actions. They, on the other hand, can do whatever the fuck they want.

This isn't Europe, this is South America. 1970s South America.

I'm back! I survived - in this order:

a) a 6-hour drive, leaving at 5:00 am

b) a family wedding with relatives from Milan, Abruzzo and the USA

c) a day at the seaside (I didn't get sunburnt only because the sky was overcast)

d) a huge barbeque

e) a day in Rome (I got sunburnt)

f) a day at the waterpark (I got even more sunburnt)

g) another 6-hour drive, this time with my cousin's girlfriend too (she had forgotten her passport at home and is leaving for Hungary tomorrow, so she came with us to fetch it and is now on her way back to Pescara by train).

I ate so - fucking - much. Hopefully I didn't gain weight, because we walked so much in Rome and didn't lazy around much at the waterpark yesterday, but really, the wedding lunch had 7 courses, all fish-based. I had to refuse two courses because I was so full. And, for the first time in my life, I ate oysters. I've always refused to because, you know, you have to eat them raw, but I thought "Well, I've eaten sushi, why not oysters?" And, man, they were delicious.

My cousins have a kitten and a tiny little puppy (the kitten is bigger than the puppy!), they were always playing together. The kitten even licked my face this morning! AWW! >_< Speaking of my cousins, my American cousin lost two kilos since he arrived in Italy. How did he do that?! My aunt cooks tons of food! It's probably because he's always doing something these days, going here and there with his wife and 2 kids, but really, how much does he eat at home? And what? Only junk food? I really don't want to know.

I had a lot of fun, but now I need to go back to WG-hunting. Before I left, a girl had answered my email asking me if I was in Berlin so we could meet and she could show me the room, I told her I could go there at the end of the month, but she didn't reply! D: I wrote her another email, but I'd better send off some other messages as well.

God, it's so hot! D:

Look at these pictures:

http://sitesearch.corriere.it/gallery/Cronache/vuoto.shtml?2009/06_Giugno/ronde_nere/1&1

Do you think those are photos of an SS meeting from the '30s? You're wrong. Those are volunteers from the newly born association "Guardia Nazionale Italiana" (Italian National Guard), whose purpose is to improve national security by going around in groups and "controlling" the streets.

I am disgusted. But you know what's worse? (Yes, it gets worse.) People actually agree with them. I read an email in a local newspaper this morning that said "Well, there were groups like that during the Fascism and everyone was happy, weren't they?"

Yes, really fucking happy. I'm worried, very worried.