I'm still alive!

I've been very busy lately and I haven't had time to update the blog. Plus, this heat is killing me. I'm glad we have air conditioning at home. Luckily I'm working mostly at home but when I go to Milano I feel exhausted at the end of the day. 

A couple of things I want to share:

- DOGS. we are dogsitting a friend's dog! She (the dog) underwent a surgery last week and A. needed help so here we are :-) Tomorrow kira will stay with us -well, mainly with my mum- the whole day. It's nice to have a dog around again although it's weird to see her instead of Duick. Just in case you're wondering the answer is yes and no: on the one hand I feel better, on the other I still miss him a lot and I'm not over it. Last week I saw a dog like him (a gordon setter) and I burst into tears. I can't stand seeing gordon setters. 

A decision was made: no more gordon setters. Another decision was made: perhaps a golden retriever? My mum thinks she is ready to have another dog. The dog will be shared: we need my mum's help and she is a dog-lover like exactly like me. I'm not as ready as she is so I guess he (this is a thorny question: I'd like a male, she wants a female! G. is fine with both) will be staying more with her than with me IF we get him in the near future. However, given that she lives in the same property ... he will be staying with the three of us from the start. The plans are to get a dog after summer holidays. I must admit that I'm both thrilled and sad at the same time. But I can't have Duick back and we don't like living without a dog so... 

- FRIENDS. My Canadian friend and his family (4 people) will come to visit in July! They'll be staying at our place for 3-4 days and then we'll go to Sardinia. I'm looking forward having them here. G. is worried about his English and keeps telling me that he is not going to speak ("my English is too bad").  It's going to be tiring and funny, I guess. Other friends, one from the UK and one from Greece, will come to visit in October.

N., my best friend's son, will turn 1 tomorrow :-) he is ADORABLE and we'll celebrate him on Sunday. 

- SPORT. Well, I almost passed away during England versus Italy (Euro 2012)! I lost my voice but it was worth it. I doubt we'll beat the Germans tomorrow though... fingers crossed!

The dark side of sex

No worries, I'm not going to write about my sexual life which is not of interest to my readers. I'm going to write about a book that I'm reading. 

After Gail's comment, I give it a second try. I deemed it "ridiculous" and now I can't put it down. How strange is this? Basically, in this post I'm contracting myself but I gather you're quite familiar with it. It's an old habit of mine (i.e. closing a blog and then opening another one in less than a month). 

Let's be clear: I'm not saying that it's a good piece of writing. It's not "literature" but this book does have a point if you go beyond the fact that it's poorly written. I know this is not for me to judge as I'm not a native speaker, but I've read masterpieces in English so I kind of know what I'm talking about. 

So? 

The book everyone is talking about is disturbing and yet, after a few pages, I've found myself immersed in it, eager to know "what's going to happen next"... even if it does make me feel uncomfortable. First, it's not a mommy porn. Actually, it started as Twilight fan fiction even though I can't grasp the connections between the two. It's an erotic book which explores (and believe me, it goes into details) a dominant-submissive relationship between a powerful and very attractive man and a college student. Second, it's disturbing if you're not into BDSM and if you're a woman who is (can't you the guess?) the submissive. Third, the success is partly due to the fact that:

 women have the ability to read this kind of material without anybody knowing what they’re reading, because they can read them on their iPads and Kindles 

Got it! I'm reading it in English on my Kindle. Probably I wouldn't read it on my way to work (on the train) in Italian in paperback. I wouldn't read in Italian anyway, it's too explicit and I would blush too often. Forth, it explores the dark side of sex. It doesn't matter if a reader is not into BDSM, the book makes one think about issues of power, control, limits and boundaries. This is, I guess, the appeal of the trilogy. 

I'm back

Scotland in a month and Sardinia in July. No, I'm not going to Sardinia on holiday ... believe or not, I'll be there for a meeting. This will be a first for me: a meeting in a warm place :-) I don't think I'll be staying there just for a couple of days.

And then Bulgaria in September (not my fav.place) and Scotland again in December. And perhaps somewhere else in October but I still don't know about it.

These are all biz trips though, we don't know if and when we're going on holiday this summer. G's contract will end in July. He is quite concerned but I'm pretty sure the contract will be renewed. However, one never knows and, understandably, he is not thinking about summer holidays too much. Neither am I, to be honest. I'll be VERY busy until the end of July.

As far as Barcelona is concerned, we had a great time. It's definitely my favorite European city. We wandered around the city for 3 days and walked for hours almost everywhere and even spent a few hours on the beach at Barceloneta. Great weather, delicious food and nice hotel. However, if you happen to go there, I wouldn't recommend to stay too close to the ramblas for at least a couple of reasons. First, it's a noisy neighborhood and second it's the paradise for pickpockets. A Spanish friend recommended us a hotel which was not on the main rambla but in the heart of the Raval anyway. The hotel was lovely and quiet (except for the first night when Barca won the Copa del Rey) but the neighborhood was not ideal, especially at nights. 

I feel exhausted. This was just a quick update. I'm alive! I'm just busy at the moment but I'm planning to catch up with the blog.

p.s. by the way, along with the book mentioned in the previous post, I'm reading this which is very good. I've just started, but it seems an extraordinary piece of non-narrative fiction. On the contrary, I don't know why this is "the book everyone was talking about" as it is quite ridiculous. I read a free sample via amazon and I had enough. It speaks to certain female readers, I think. 

Learning Flowers Names

Inspired by The Language of Flowers:

• thistle
• fennel
• foxglove
• hydrangea (hortensia)
• anemone
• startwort
• columbine
• holly
• nosegay: this is my favorite word (an ornament that appeals to the nose), it means a small flower bouquet.

to be continued