ciao

December 8

It’s Saturday and again I got nothing to do. I’ve just finished the Advance training yesterday which is quite disappointing. The instructor didn’t tackle some of the slides and we weren’t able to try some of the exercises. I do have the certificate as a consolation tho. I’m also planning as early as yesterday regarding my trip back to Singapore. My flight is on Saturday at 12pm and sadly, it’s in Rome which is 5 hours from Genova. So, to avoid the rush and the worry about being late for the flight, I decided to take the trip on the 14th and stay overnight on a budget hotel in Rome. Of course the trip includes a visit to the Vatican. I’ve already spoken with our instructor if its possible to finish the training on Thursday(13th) , if not then I guess I’d rather not have my training certificate than to face the possibility of missing my flight. Good luck to me then.

December 10

I bought my train ticket to Rome this afternoon before proceeding to Central Genova to take some more photos. I’ll be leaving on Friday(14th) at 5:57am, a day ahead of my flight to Kuala Lumpur and hopefully everything will be fine.

December 13

It’s my last night here in Genova. I have finished packing my things and my luggage is quite heavier now due to the three sets of documents I got from the trainings. I have written a simple thank you note for the hotel just to express my gratitude for their assistance and hospitality. Today was also the last day of my Developer course training after the instructor agreed to my request. My co-trainee, a Spanish, coincidentally stays on the same hotel so I do had a companion again at walking back.

I plan to wake up at 4am but I still don’t feel sleepy. It’s almost 11pm and in my attempt to cradle myself to slumber, I decided to write this entry and hope to be able to sleep early tonight after several nights of insomnia. So off I go now. Wish me luck.

December 14

Aboard the train to Rome. I have a wonderful seat near the window although I’m facing the opposite way from the train’s direction. It’ll be a long journey.

…

In Rome near the Central Terminal. After checking in a 2-star hotel where the receptionist happens to be a Filipina, I had a light lunch and commence with my plan to visit The Vatican. I spent most of my time inside St’ Peter’s basilica wandering and taking pictures. Bought some souvenirs and a rosary for me and my girlfriend. And by the way, the hotel where I’m staying sucks. The toilet stinks!

December 15

Singapore. Whew! After 17 hours of travel(5 + 11 + 1), I’ve finally arrived. I haven’t taken any sleep as I spent my time watching movies in the plane. I’m glad to be back although I have a lot of laundry to wash before I can rest.

come stai?

November 26

It’s my first morning in Genova. Having a bit of jet lag, I woke up at 2am…but I didn’t know that hehe. I looked at my mobile phone and saw the time as 8am, so I get out of bed and took a shower, dressed up (using the same clothes) and went out to have my free breakfast. Before reaching the elevator, I looked at my Ipod touch for the time and then suddenly realized it’s still in GMT +8. I laughed at myself and went to bed again. I still have 7 more hours to sleep hehe.

…

My first breakfast is composed of two breads, cappuccino, cereal, and yoghurt. The lady serving breakfast is quite accommodating and seems to be easy to get along with. Now, I’m on my room’s balcony scribbling this before I go out and buy something in the grocery and likewise to scout for the location of the training.

…

Geez, my camera’s LCD seems to be broken. It doesn’t have any crack on it but somehow the display is nothing but white lines. It’s still working when I last took a shot in Amsterdam. *sigh*

November 27

Today will be the first day of training for my Unilab Basic course. I managed to find the location yesterday and it’s just a few minutes walk away from the hotel. I’m planning to use my legs as carriage for my daily trip to the training as it will likewise allow me to exercise while appreciating the view along the way. The road is near the shore so it’s quite a sight especially on sunrise.

November 29

Whew! Finally my luggage has arrived. It’s indeed good news after arriving back from the training. Now I can finally change my clothes and have my thick jacket, although I have also bought a black jacket here since my sweater alone seems not enough to warm me. Sadly though, someone stole my memory card reader from my luggage.

November 30

I went back at the hotel quite early today. I’ve completed the Basic course and received the certificate after passing the exam. The training went well although as far as what I have seen, the system isn’t impressive that I might not recommend using it for our clients. I feel that we can build better customized system for this purpose and be limited only by our current knowledge instead of using Unilab and be limited by its shortcomings.

December 1

It’s 5:52pm and I just finished watching “Ms. Potter”. Oddly though, it’s already dark outside with the chill starting to embrace this soul. I got nothing to do today. I woke up late and waited for my girlfriend to be online. It’s our “monthsarry” and I had the mistake of mentioning it after we’ve agreed not to celebrate it anymore. Aside from Raquel, my auntie nene is likewise in constant communication with me thru emails. I have also informed mom and the rest of the family about my situation and she’s just glad that I am safe. After chatting with Raquel, I went out to buy some groceries. As I walk to the store, which by the way is what I usually do, I mean that my commute has always been on foot. Honestly, I’ve never tried commuting in a bus here. I believe that I’ll enjoy the place well if I’ll use my legs and appreciate the landscapes at my own pace. So, as I was mentioning, as I went my way to the store, I took some shots with my digital camera. It was kinda frustrating taking photos with a broken LCD. I can never view the composition of the shot. But still with hopes that indeed it’s the display that’s broken and not the lens, I took shots after shots. My card reader which is supposed to be my hope to verify if the photos are fine was not on my luggage when it arrived. All that was left was the plastic pack and I just couldn’t imagine somebody would be interested at stealing it.

December 3

I decided to visit the Aquario di Genova today. It’s a few minutes travel by bus and yes I finally commuted by bus since walking that distance is just not right hehe. I anticipate a wonderful experience with this visit since my colleagues, who have been here, have suggested not to miss dropping by the place. But instead, I was mesmerized by the sheer elegance of the true face of Genova. It is comparably different from the countryside ambiance from where I stay. I’m not sure if it’s a city but it sure is crowded. The bus stopped at the Piazza de Ferrari, and upon alighting, the beautifully crafted facade of the surrounding buildings instantly caught me at awe. The huge fountain at the center is likewise lovely. So I sat for awhile and checked my map again looking for landmarks. My destination is the Aquario but certainly it wouldn’t hurt to wander for a while (an excuse for being lost). Eventually, I reached my rally point and was equally gripped by the sight and the number of yachts perfectly lined up in a seemingly calm sea. It’s almost sunset so I took the chance to capture some sunset shots with my “blind” cam. I was able to find a card reader earlier which is similar to what I previously had although this time it’ll cost me 15 euros. Oh well, a small price to pay to be able to capture as many photographs I can take during my stay here in Italy. So after wandering a bit, I purchased my 15 euro ticket, and entered the famous Aquario di Genova. Wow! It’s indeed as captivating as I was told. The whole place is in surround sound constantly playing the sound of waves and seagulls (I guess) which makes you feel as if you’re just walking along the shore. There are several tanks and smaller aquariums which contain a variety of marine life, from corals to small fishes, to dolphins, sharks, marine turtle, and that huge weird-looking fish that I only saw on Discover channel, until of course, today.

With all these fascinating sights I’m experiencing, I was suddenly struck of how I miss my girlfriend and how I wish she was here with me.

December 4

My training for Advance Unilab course started today. It’s on another building which is quite far from the first. I have scouted the place last Friday so I was able to arrive early. There are currently only two trainees for this course like on my previous one, except that instead of a serious Russian, my co-trainee is a funny middle-aged man from Holland. Also for a change, we ate our lunch at a bar instead of consuming the free lunch served in the training room. The training went well with several laughs in between. The Dutch is staying at a hotel near mine so we took a walk back at our hotels while having some occasional conversation.