new starts.

The majority of the month of September, I have spent inside of a house in a bed. First in San Marino and now in Germany. Its been almost three weeks that I've had this virus and while I am getting better slowly each day... the day my health will be fully restored to me still feels oh so far.

Having spent so much time "resting"--I've had a lot of time to think. Of course being sick is not something I'd wish upon myself or anyone else regularly, but at this point, I've come to embrace it as my chance for a brand new start. Another one. Ending University was a chance for a new start. Moving to Germany was another new start. Ending LeoLingo and now having this illness feels like some kind of major end--and I am ready to tackle, yet again, a new "new start".

Life is actually continuous--just one moment to the next, yet human beings need this idea of a new beginning. "Its a new day!" or "A New Year!"--all of them are a chance to kind of put everything behind you, all those failures and things you feel you should have or could have done better and give yourself another chance to become the kind of person you want to see yourself become or to do the things that you feel in your heart, are what really matter and what you really want to invest your time in. Most human beings, I think, don't believe that pain or suffering or misery lasts forever--and that's why new starts are so important to us. Its that hope that human beings carry that this time, things will be better.

October is coming soon. I think autumn in Germany will be really beautiful. I haven't properly been outside in quite sometime, but from the window in my room, there is a vine that hangs down and all the leaves on that vine are bright cranberry red. Its my source of inspiration, seeing this vine there, making me wish to get better so I can get a look at Germany as the leaves start to change.

--And as soon as I'm able to, I'm going to bake a pumpkin pie--nothing says autumn like pumpkin and nothing tastes quite so good like pumpkin pie.

Hope you all have a good end to September and great new start to October.
Cheers.

a little rest and relaxation?

The Following Things Happened to Me When I was in Italy/San Marino:

- I went to Anna & Marco’s Wedding. It was beautiful.
- I ate more in the wedding reception than should ever be allowed for a human being to eat. Ever.
- I saw the sea near Rimini.
- I got to spend time with my good friends, the Gasperoni’s.
- I went to Urbino, where one of the oldest universities in Italy are.
- I lost all the photos on my camera somehow.
- They cannot be found.
- I started to feel sick on Tuesday.
- I felt even sicker on Wednesday.
- I had a high fever. It didn’t seem to want to go down.
- I went to the Emergency Room Friday evening.
- When the doctor lifted my shirt to check my stomach, she exclaimed, startled “My! You are so pale!”—as in not tan, like any Italian woman at this time in the year should be.
- I was told I might have Mono, but they are not sure. I need more tests.
- I spent the night with 7 other people crammed in a room on beds on wheels, being carted around when the doctors called.
- I spent the next X –number of days sleeping in Daniela’s room.
- I watched a number of documentaries, including one on Cleopatra, Gengis Khan and Albert Speer.
- I watched a number of Disney films.
- I ate a lot of melon.
- I drank a lot of aloe vera juice.
- I booked a flight home on Saturday, so to minimize travel time, and lo and behold when I got to the airport, the 1 ½ hour flight was delayed in Rimini for over 3 hours.
- I would have never imagined my time in Italy to have turned out as such.
- Such. Is. Life.