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Diary 2012

Mr Bloom reunion! It was yesterday 26.12.2012, after I can't remember how many years. Don't scream and shout: it was just a private party, no playing no singing. But reunion it was. Temporary infinity. From left to right: Guitar (Emiliano), Bass (Ciro), Drums (Antonino), Keyboards (Michele), Voice (me). Thanks to Michele and to his beautiful family, who organised it, and to all who made it possible.

Logical and illogical things

Time is Neverending because Regine exists. I realized this, had this intuition, the other evening, while staring into her eyes. It sounds like a love quote, but it is a deduction theorem about love and time whose proof of validity is in the definition itself of its terms. The ones who haven't studied mathematical analisys or logic will have to believe my words, but the ones who know me well they know how much I am reliable on this logic and mathy things. PS. I don't eat cherries. I am not sure why, I've decided not to eat cherries.

She knows me too well

My Father was here with us in Berlin for 5 days. A memorable event, in a city completely covered by snow.

After more than 1 and a half years of inconstant attendance, I've completed my online German course at Deutsche Welle. The final exam, level B1, was successfully passed and I have received a Certificate. The results are quite a true mirror of the reality: I feel able to fluently talk to people now and understand a good percentage of what I listen to, though my grammar knowledge remains a step behind.

Seven stripes

I recently had to remove the following post from my Facebook page, as it was generating a fight between those who commented.

"Le bandiere che sventolate sul web sono come le pellicce fatte con pelle di animali, servono solo a farvi belli e a nascondere tanta ipocrisia. E pensare che le guerre, le lotte all'immigrazione clandestina, le forze dell'ordine che tanto criticate non servono ad altro che a proteggere i vostri privilegi, le vostre case di proprieta', i vostri smartphone a tariffa internet flat, i vostri abbonamenti a tv satellitari, le vostre auto e moto, le vostre vacanze, cene fuori, scarpe da 200 euro e tutte uguali. I vostri tenori di vita che spesso neanche vi siete guadagnati. Le vostre vite finanziate da genitori e da chi (come magari parecchi poliziotti o simili) prova a mandare avanti questa societa' con il lavoro e pagando tutte le tasse, mentre voi abbracciate bandiere in cerca di un po' di gloria sul web o in piazza. Ipocriti! " L. C. (PS. Chi tocca i miei fratelli e' mio nemico)

Imagine, I was neither really aware of what was going on before a dear friend took the phone and called me and told me to have a look. And I also had to write a denial of people comments who were trying to interpret my thoughts, while most of their comments were really out of the track I meant. Luckily, this website witnesses how my mind on certain things has always been. For who cares for smartphones? Who loves the wars or cares about police? Not me. But our lifestyles are an acting part of the unfair reality, and some lifestyles more then others. And they are frequently accusing the reality to be unfair or someone to be guilty of it, while they are helping this reality to sustain, consciously or not.

The additional dimension (La dimensione in piu')

Ho preso a scrivere in italiano perche' vedo che di recente mi riesce piu' di slancio. Certo, poi devo tradurre (perche' il web e' una finestra sul mondo tutto) (quasi quasi questi testi li frullo nel google translator e via! tanto alla fine il senso si capisce, e lo stile lo lascio ai parassiti), ma almeno lascio qualche traccia in piu' su questo diario ed i miei lettori (!), quelli non ferrati con l'inglese, si sentono meno in soggezione. Sto leggendo Bukowski ultimamente. Ho letto 'storie di ordinaria follia' ed ho di recente acquistato 'pulp' e ' taccuino di un vecchio sporcaccione' su Amazon (mi piace Amazon!). Bukowski e' come Lou Reed: scrive di se, lo leggi/ascolti e ti piace, e credi di poter fare qualcosa del genere anche tu. Domenica scorsa, dopo piu' di 2 anni, ho dinuovo giocato a calcio. In un parco a Wedding, nord di Berlino, con Regine, L. e M.. Certe cose non le disimpari, certo puoi essere fuori forma, ma il tocco di palla resta a prescindere. Ah, prima che me ne dimentico. Mi ero sempre chiesto dove vanno a morire gli uccelli di citta'. L'altro giorno ne ho trovato uno bello grosso morto fuori al mio balcone, un piccione o forse una cornacchia! Lo ha tirato via Regine, io non ne avevo il coraggio. Grazie amore mio, se solo penso al tuo sorriso quando mi guardi capisco di avere il senso dell'Esistenza proprio in casa mia. Resta comunque per me un mistero dove vanno a finire tutti gli altri uccelli di citta' quando muoiono. Resta tutto molto Pulp!

Lately I have started to write in Italian: it comes out more fluently. Of course, then I have to translate (because the web is a window on the World) (or should i just let them convert this lines with a google translator and that's it! the meaning is quickly understood, and the style I leave it to the society's parasites), but at least I leave some more traces in this diary and my readers (!), those who're not so fluent with English, they feel less intimidated. I'm reading Bukowski lately. I've red 'Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness' and I recently bought the 'Pulp' and 'Notes of a dirty old man' on Amazon (I love Amazon!). Bukowski is like Lou Reed: he mostly writes about himself, you read/listen to it and you like it, and you think that you too can do something like this. On Sunday, after more than two years, I've played football again. In a park in Wedding, north Berlin, with Regine, L. and M. Some things one never forget how to do, surely I was not trained as the good old times, but the fine touch still remains. Oh, before I forget. I always wondered where all those city birds go to die. The other day I found a big one died outside my balcony, perhaps a pigeon or a crow! Regine carried it away, I did not find the courage. Thank you my love, if only I think of your smile when you look at me I remember the real sense of Existence is right here in my house. It's still mystery to me, anyway, where all other city birds go when they die. It's still all very Pulp!

Napoli. 11-18 October 2012

Scrivo dal ‘bar 103’, bellissima giornata, splende il sole a berlino. di rientro da napoli dove ho trascorso una settimana tra gli affetti. ho visto quasi tutti i napoletani, qualcuno manca sempre all’appello, anzi a volte neanche lo faccio per intero l’appello tanto il tempo per vedere tutti come si deve mancherebbe, ed allora niente, appello ridotto all’indispensabile. e tralaltro stavolta non ero neanche in vacanza, ma lavoravo durante il giorno, quindi il tempo a disposizione si riduceva alle sere e weekend. pero’ ho fatto tante cose, dalle passeggiate con papa’ ai pranzi e cene con mamma papa’ e dario, uscite con dario e alessandra, con salvio & co, randevouz con maurizio, barbara, ale(s) e consorti, ho persino rivisto enzo, e qualche parente vicino. ora ho in programma altre 2 tappe a napoli nei prossimi mesi, natale e marzo per il compleanno di dario. il distacco da napoli e dall’italia e’ sempre nostalgico e triste, vedere papa’ che mi lascia all’aeroporto ed io che mi allontano. triste. ma lo sanno che sono felice qui, e che regine ed io dobbiamo stare vicini e tutto il resto. lo sanno, lo sanno. ma resta difficile farlo accettare al cuore. oggi ho pure ripreso la palestra, dopo la pausa napoletana. mi tengo in forma! soprattutto tengo allenata la mente, vedo spazi diversi da quelli in cui lavoro durante il giorno, cammino per arrivarci ed attraverso un pezzettino di mitte che mi piace, un po’ di movimento e di esercizi li faccio pure, e mi sento parte di qualcosa che si muove, si muove tanto e bene.

I write form the 'bar 103', a beautiful day, the sun shines in berlin. just back from naples, where i spent a week among my dears. i've seen almost all the neapolitans, someone always misses the call, sometimes i dont' even make a call for the entire possible audience for there won't be anyway enough time to see everybody, so it's been a call reduced to the minimum. furthermore this time i was not even on vacation, i was working during the day, so the time available was limited to evenings and weekends. but i have done many things, long walks with my father, lunches and dinners with mom and dad and dario, going out with dario and alessandra, with salvio & co, randevouz with maurizio, barbara, ale(s) and spouse(s), i've met enzo as well, and some close relatives. i have now scheduled two other visits in naples in the coming months, christmas and march for dario's birthday. levaing naples and italy is always nostalgic and sad, dad that leaves me at the airport and me walking away. sad. but they know that i am happy here, and that regine and i have to stay close, and all the rest. they know, they know. but it is difficult to make the heart accept that. today i also went to the gym again after the neapolitan's break. i stay fit! mostly, i keep my mind trained, i see spaces different than those in which i work during the day, walk through a piece of mitte i like, and little excercises i do as well, and i feel part of something that moves, and moves so well.

It has been a wonderful Summer.
I think back at all these sunny moments, and I look down to this page at all the nice things I have been experiencing in Berlin and all around... I am very satisfied of this Summer, I feel that we have enjoied the time.
And I look in front of me, because Autumn and Winter are approaching and here this is a serious stuff; a cold cold time, but a very romantic one too.

I feel like I want embrace the days behind me and in front of me, in a love gesture.

French Riviera and Provence (26th August 2012 - 14 September 2012)
...where we spent our wonderful 3 weeks of holiday.

I’ve seen the Beach Boys live. More than 2 hours of beautiful songs, without endless solos or instrumental stuff. Only songs, and each one better than the previous one. A wonderful gift (by Regine). The Music that I listen to, pop Music, has always been the best.

01.08.2012 Spaghettata.

My friends from the German language course came to our place for a Spaghetti based Dinner (Spaghettata).
Ingredients were directly imported from Naples. Participants came from all over the World: Italy, Germany, India, France, Brazil.
(In respect of people's privacy, normally I am not publishing pictures of people outside my family on my website, at least until I have been authorized to do it).

Dario and Alessandra finally came to Berlin to visit the City and to stay with us in our wonderful Zionskirchstraße place. And we have a new cappuccino machine now, directly from Italy. Thank you guys!!!!

My German level now is B1 and I am attending a B2 course in July. This means that I can be defined as an Independent User and I can manage in most situations that one would encounter when traveling in the regions where the language is spoken. I can report experiences and events, I can also describe my dreams, hopes and goals both in writing and orally.
It's nice to enjoy my German language's improvements in new Cafes and in the sunny days that July and beautiful Berlin are offering to us.

Derrick' summer.
My passion for the Oberinspektor Derrick continues. I am discovering new episodes on Youtube and improving my German at the same time watching them in original language.
An I am proudly a member of the Facebook's Derrick Fanclub.

Say it with pictures (when you don't find the words).

Italy - England : 4 - 2	Italy - Germany : 2 - 1	German Humor
I'm waiting for my...pizza!	In the 'Aufzug'	In the 'U-Bahn'

...by the way, I was lucky enough to watch Italy - England with my Father, as he and Mum were in Berlin during those days.
Just like the good, unforgettable, old times.

What happened in the second half of April?

We had a great long Week end in Schwerin, with Regine's family. It was a great time, a great idea.
Schwerin is the capital of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; I am discovering so many beautiful places in this Country.
While I was already aware of this beautiful people since a long time… And my thanks go to all of them, especially to Marie Luise and Christoph who invited us and planned it all. I won’t post any picture because of privacy reasons and because they are stored in Regine’s camera, which probably means that they will be available not before 2013/2014.

After almost 2 years of stop I am again playing Ping Pong and after 1 year I have again driven a car (the last 2 years anyway I have been driving really sporadically, the only time I remember was last Spring in Binz). This little things have their important meanings for me, like Einstein and a ball (see below)…

Spring is never sincere around here in Berlin, “…but when it comes We all fall in love …” . A fantastic weekend was the last one of April. Warm temperatures, Sun, colors, people, and beautiful Berlin and Mitte-Prenzlauerberg: how beautiful is the Place where we live.

My German is improving all the time: I have just passed the online test certification for A.2.2. Level and had many hours training on B.1. level:
… communicate in simple routine situations where I can describe my background and education, say how I spend my free time, where I live, what it looks like there and what a typical day in my life looks like. I have had about 225 hours of German language tuition and have a vocabulary of about 1500 words. A 2.2
… communicate in routine situations, describe my education, say what my profession is, what I do in my free time and describe my city, talk about my travels and what happened to me during my travels. I have had about 300 hours of German language tuition and I have a vocabulary of about 2000 words. B 1.

What happened lately?
This is a usual title I use form my blogs after a quite long time of absence or after a period full of activities and happenings which had been not reported. I would say we are now in the second category, as my latest post is dated mid March. But yes, indeed things to report happened lately, and I guess you may want to know. And here most of them are, not in order of appearance but in a random sequence driven by this tired and consumed brain… ...Gianfranco and Canio came in Berlin and visited us, and there would be much to say among homemade Pretzel, an half Marathon, 103 and Schwartze Pumpe, so many Baci Perugina and my discovery of Felafel. And they made new pictures of me and my beautiful Girlfriend after almost 8 years from the first Gianfranco’s masterpiece... ... Requiem @ Gendarmenmarkt... ...Visiting Schloß Rheinsberg with Regine, L., M., T., R. and little V.
And two things reappearing in my life: Einstein and a ball.

PS. Spring slices of March were a bluff. And yesterday it was snowing here! Never trust Berlin’s weather, I should have learned so far.

17.03.2012 Almost an entire day spent outside on our balcony, and the only thing I had on (except underwear and pants of course) was my T-shirt! Can you believe this? Spring (Frühling) is approaching Berlin, and we are getting ready. And I definitely need a new hairdo!

Napoli (click on the picture...)

"...che prende il cuore mio e poi lo butta la in un fosso..."
I am burning inside, I am happy for the gold he left to me, you made me the tallest man in the World.
I am breathing my childhood, I am breathing my soul while listening...

01.03.2012 Lucio Dalla.
Tu eri il piedistallo dal quale guardavo il Mondo. Grazie Lucio.
(You were the pedestal from which I watched the World. Thank you Lucio.)

18.02.2012. You may wonder what these 3 images have in common.
They are about the first half of February.

It's been really cold ´round here and we were almost freezing, especially me of course. My body is not made for that, or it is just my mind, but anyway there is something about this weather that does not fit with me... And when it is so cold outside I find myself retiring in a lethargy position, working mostly from home, fighting against my sense of responsibility which pulls me towards the gym, and drastically reducing my social interactions with the World outside. The good thing is that this freezing wave is finally stepping backward (or so it seems), leaving the scene to more acceptable temperatures.

And it was time to go to Amsterdam for some days and finally meet my team colleagues, from Europe, Asia and U.S.A.. And it was good indeed!

And, hey! Look at the last picture on the right.You see the guy on the right end? He is waiting for me. He is Brian Wilson (and the Beach Boys)! We'll meet next August here in Berlin!!! Regine has arranged this, my Regine. My wonderful, beloved Regine.

Berlin Leben: Sparchschule in die Kastanienalle und Fitnessstudio beim KulturBrauerei.
Berlin Life: German language courses in Kastanienalle and Gym in the KulturBrauerei.

...und Kino (beim KulturBrauerei).
...and we've just watched 'Drive' in the Cinema at KulturBrauerei. Regine did not appreciate it at all, while me... I did. I have a good feeling about it, don't know what exactly but there was something...
And it was not just the Soundtrack.

Some new stuff's just arrived here...Inn Berlin @ Zionskirchstrasse.

And we've joined Drive now car sharing.

So easy! So cool!

One of my daily quotes: "Fünf Brötchen, bitte".

Bread here is fantastic!

02.01.2012
I am returning in Berlin after a Christmas time spent in Naples.
Before arriving in Naples, I spent a couple of days in Rome where I met some of my friends and my colleagues. My former daily life is among the things I miss the most: the shining colours of Rome, the smiling faces of my friends and colleagues.
Now that I am back here I think of those beautiful days in Napoli with my friends and my family.

Waiting for me, in our nest here, I found Regine's embrace: a better welcome could not be imagined.
1st of January 2012 also means to me one year of Berlin, and entire 2011 spent here in the Hauptstadt and in my new Life. I would not be able to summarize this, but I hope the little notes in this web diary could help a little to give you a flavour of all this fresh air coming into my life.
People around me have been so patient and generous, and I know that some of them are waiting for a better me to come back. And I thank them all. As all the good kids do at the beginning of a new year, I promise to be a better man than the one I have recently been.
Post Scriptum. I have a Super Friend.