For Starters...

Change. Sometimes we are helpless to disrupt its path, regardless of how much we try to hinder it. However, just like time, change can be for better or worse, and that is controlled by our interpretation.

I'm starting with the discussion of change for the first post in this blog since that is something I have been dealing with a lot lately, both in changes to my life as well as many of my friends. First -- since I am the most important -- I will go over my changes, and why I'm starting this venture. My job just recently presented me with a very interesting proposal: a short term (five month) assignment to Italy. This was an opportunity was something I couldn't pass on, regardless of how much effort would be required on my part to make this a reality. The problem is that I am still quite young (25) to be taking a position abroad in my company. Most of my coworkers that travel frequently are over 40, with plenty of experience to support themselves. I, however, am the new kid on the block, and there are plenty of challenges ahead to prove my worth. The other challenge was that I needed to leave about a week after I was given the official clearance to travel, which turned out to be much more dramatic than I had expected.

The packing was relatively easy for me, since I am usually the one of my friends and family to go light on supplies for trips. What I had not prepared for, was saying goodbye to many of my friends. Since graduating from college a few friends had spread out across the US. These departures were fed piecewise so plenty of time was allotted to prepare and properly send them on their way. My trip did not allow such comfort for three close friends, all of which will be gone before I return. This is my one heavy regret from taking this job.

But when placed in the proper perspective, this should be seen as an exceptional time for all of us. We are all moving on in pursuit of our dreams, to find something new and exciting, to find what we want to do with our lives. There's no room to stay remorseful. We simply need to embrace the change and hope for the best. So I'll end this with a ceremonial "pouring one out for my homies". I wish the best of luck to all of you on your future adventures, Dan, Rich, and Laura, and I am lucky to have you all as friends.

 

Now that I've gotten that introspective garbage off my chest, lets talk about the trip so far. My flight over was business class on British Airways, Philadelphia -> Heathrow, England -> Malpensa, Italy. Both flights were very nice, even though I barely slept on either. I had plenty of accommodations to allow me to sleep, but a mix of unbridled anxiousness and crippling stress kept me awake. I ended up spending most of the time trying to sleep, and outside that I played sudoku and checked the flight plan. With about an hour left on the flight to Heathrow, I noticed I could have watched the entire third season of The Walking Dead, which could have brought me up to speed with all my friends, but it was too late AND I couldn't leave without listening to Now That's What I Call a Wedding. After the flights it was a quick trip over to my hotel, since it is connected to the Malpensa airport. The Sheraton is a very fancy place to stay, considering the standard fare three star hotels I've grown accustomed to in my life. See my room below:

 

 

I immediately took a shower upon entering the room, seeing that it had been well over 24 hours since I last had one and I could not show my face in public unless my stank had been addressed. I unfortunately did not know the grout connecting the tiles around the shower basin had eroded and left an easy path to the bathroom floor. After my 20 minute cleaning I stepped on one of the tiles and noticed it made a spongy, squishing noise. It was odd, but I did not think much of it until I opened the fogged glass door and saw about a gallon of water creeping its way into the carpeted bedroom. I quickly grabbed a towel and began soaking up the escaped pool of shower water before remembering that I'm part of the problem since I had not dried myself off yet. Needless to say, I felt kind of stupid for a while after that, which is a feeling I'm used to. Some thing don't change.

That's about all I have in terms of my trip thus far. Today I will be heading to Milan for a day trip, and will be reporting back with plenty of pictures and stories to share.