Bean soup and the morning after.

So yesterday was my birthday. And what a day it was, totally unexpected spectacularness.  I played soccer with friends and we had a surprise birthday dinner and then went to the bar and then watch Back to the Future III.  After dinner we also visited this fabulous little place called Banco.  Now I'm fairly certain that the joy in this place represents our need for the material and is a pretty shallow undertaking, but the simplicity of it was nice.  You pay a euro and you get to pick out a little slip of paper which has a prize written on it.  I won a fly swatter.  Yeah, it looks like a hand, it's basically the awesomest thing ever.  For my birthday I got a huge bar of chocolate and a Pace flag. They bought me a cake and we had a whole lot of wine.  The real awesome part of the whole was just being with everyone.  Playing soccer in the afternoon, eating dinner together, and all being together and having fun.  I have a tendency to doubt the ability of random groups of people to really develop community.  In the summers, I work with groups of people and facilitate the development of the group dynamic.  But it never ceases to amaze me how good people are.  Yesterday really restored my faith in those around me, the power of people to love. Really refreshing.
After dinner, I got a crown to wear and we went to banco and then to the bar where i got a margherita and then we went and watched a movie. Basically it might have been the most awesome birthday ever.  I had breakfast in bed, soccer, food, wine, margheritas, and a birthday crown.  i realize that this entry seems to have been completely scattered. o well.
Then this morning, the bean soup i had for dinner last night seemed to have gone right through me.  Speaking of which, despite the yummyness of italian food, ive not been getting enough fiber.  Anyway, i clogged the toilet this morning.  hardcore clogged the sucker.  and then it overflowed.  Im in there thinking o crap, literally and figuratively.  and at the same time, adam is ringing to come up to the apartment and comes up and im in the bathroom and there is water all over the floor.  yeah poop water on the floor.  and adam wants lunch and im in my pjs.  and so i ended up unclogging the toilet with the toilet brush, and then i disinfected the whole bathroom.  good times.
basically i am in italy.  and i am learning that all of these people are beautiful and unique and full of love.  and each of them have there own stories and there own quirks.  But to have them all collaborate on a surprise for me, was surprising in its own right.

and i am going to start writing a novel.  inspired by national novel writing month.  im crazy excited.  i'll get back to you with how it ends up.