My Italian Job

So Gina needs a car after returning back from OZ and finding her poor Saturn coupe is not running ( due to not changing oil - how does that happen when I'm not even in the states to drive it. Hmmmmm.) Lets UPGRADE my set of wheels. What do you think I would like best in, not get in a car accident and finally have power locks? I was thinking Jeep Wrangler but after my save the earth make over I went back looking. This week my love of the week is a Mini Cooper!




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One from the original Italian Job


I test drove one today. yum yum vroom vroom. It felt like like it was my very own. Now can anybody teach me stick - seriously?

Hot town, summer in the city

Hot summer night + 4 hot mamas= a excellent night on Brady Street.

First stop: The Nomad: Where the guys are guys and the women drink beer too. Except for me because I know I can get a cheap g+t (gin and tonic) I've renamed my drink to a "gina tonic". If you say it real fast your server won't even know the difference.

Second Stop: Vucciria's: We're not in Milwaukee anymore. Who can resist martini night? Not us. Usually I'm a bit razzled after a cosmo but this greeno didn't have me in. We bounced to the beat of Dj Soto and when our eyes couldn't take any more light changes we headed across the street

Third Stop: The Garage: A sardine can of posh people. Time for a Spotted Cow, why? easy to order and fast to serve, no need for this busy bartender to make a drink I want one now! (Later on I get a Hacker Phsoer where they have to take the time to pour it right and top it with a lemon, note: this drink is very had to dance with). I ran into my brilliant co-worker we all had a good time talking it up.

Last stop: my bed: no heels allowed - one water served on ice - fan on high.

Whores on the Hill

There is this excellent book I just finished reading it's called, "Whores on the Hill". It is based in Milwaukee, late eighties at the last all girls school. The book is filled with car rides to the east side, dancing at Metropolis, movies at the Oriental and trips to Kopps. The story revolves around 3 out of control girls who take pride in being tagged the whores on the hill. Whether it's making out with boys, sneaking out of the house, having your first boyfriend or cutting class we've all been there. It will make you wish you could go back and cut your skirt and grab that one guy you've lust over and smack a big wet one on him. Well maybe for some.

It's TOTO!

TOTO came and rescued me from a drowning in a well. I mean we fought the wicked witch of the west and gave the tin man a heart. We sort us - this is my pup pup Lexie also known as the urinator because everytime someone new pets her she tend to piddle on them. Very cute, I know. She also thinks she is a cat and perches on the couch. She sleeps a lot and just is cute for 24 hours. Unless she is in a car, this is when she foams at the mouth and maybe puke if you don't put her on stable ground. Her and I wait for her sister to come home from her adventures roaming the neighborhood looking for the food. Lexie has some good stories but won't tell all of them to me: )

My Horoscope

So it seems my horoscope have been pretty accurate the past couple weeks. Here's mine today.

Capricorn:
"It's super-tempting to do something that feels good in the moment, but consider the consequences of what will happen later, not to mention how you'll feel following your actions. If you know you'll feel lousy or filled with regret at not stopping yourself, why do it? So refuse to jump into this snake pit. Treat yourself with the respect you deserve. Aren't you worth the best care around?"


What would feel good right now is revenge but I'm frankly not in the mood for all that jazz. Now I will gather my dignity and do what is right for me. currently: walking out the door to the sunshine. future: walking out the door to the sunshine : )

TOP Movies

I'm going to start recommending Movies, Books and other sorts.

Today is: one of my all time favorite movies.


L' Homme du train ( Man on a Train)

>> A small french film. Two strangers meet. Each has a completely different lifestyle and they wonder what would have happened if maybe their life was like this person they just befriended.

working with the breeze

It's 3:00. I'm sitting in my apt the windows open and doing freelance work. Ya I might rather be sitting by the lake reading or running through the sprinklers downtown. This is my ideal work situation: working from my powerbook with the wind flowing in.

I'm thinking about getting a vespa. what color do you think I'll look best with?

Good People

I think Jack Johnson's lastest album lyrics suck. Sorry Jack, but you can't write a good song with the lyrics of "staple it together". He has excellent instramental parts but the lyrics are not as stunning as the previous albums. Jack, we need more songs like cocoon and symbol in my driveway. There's meaning there. I can sing this to someone while I am shampooing my hair. I might tell my co-worker to Staple it Together but who signs to their co-workers? Take that back I did it today - (laughing at myself)

I've been recomended Ben Lee and Alexi Murdoch. They are like 17% Jack Johnson and the rest themselves.
Songs to listen to : Ben Lee : Gamble Everything for Love and Alexi Murdoch: Song for You.

moonshadow

feeling of the day is described through a Cat Steven's song - Moonshadow

I left work and it was just gorgeous outside, it felt as if I didn't work 9 hours. I walked past Buca's and there was this swanky music playing. It took very much effort not to dance and jump around. I didn't want people to think I was on drugs. Maybe next time I will just pretend I am on drugs. It was such a fullfilling weekend to hang out with friends, have good conversations and just be merry without a care in the world. I think the sun and large bodies of water do that to the soul.

Well I must now apply to the CIA, Katie, Sara, Chris and Adam are prolli having a good laugh at that one, aren't you now. he he!

no more desperate housewives

what will we do without the plumber, the daisy duke shorts, and the secrets underground??? Watch Reruns!!! Hurray, the stress has gone done in my life for the weekend. I have a good sense of humor and good friends which can make up for the dad that won't tell me when his girlfriend is moving, the job that isn't secure, and the relationship I put my soul into has cracked at all sides. So do I confront my family, find a new job and move away or closer to a man I onced put my faith into? It's no wonder I now garden. Making life with my hands is an incredible feeling.
>Restoring life restructures the mind.
>Restructuring life restores the mind.


gina

cucumbers!

So after finishing my last post I went into my bedroom to find that my first seedlings have come up. Right now my garden is in my large bedroom windowsill. They overlook the intersection of Humbolt and Lyon. Well I'm so excited that my I've actually done something right and soon there will be baby cucumbers. Funny thing is, I don't like them, chopped up in salads but that's about it. Anybody know what I can make with cucumbers? Well I'm up early, back to bed or go to work? rats, duty calls.

I'm not in Kansas anymore

Milwaukee is so easy to live in. I can walk around the lakefront have great conversation . I can have a white beer at Von Tier. I can walk to work. I can see a Brewer Game in loaded suite. I can smile while we lose volleyball (tuesdays). I can show off in volleyball (thursdays). Well I am quiet content for not at least. I love having time to hang out with my friends. There's many parts of my life that i wish I could have done different. I'm glad now though I can appreciate what I have and grow from there. I started a garden and I think unconsciously that was a metaphor for something else. I've never had a desire to initiate a garden and when I got back to the US, I knew that starting a garden was on the top of my list. Whether it be smarting up in environmental affairs, relationship affairs, money affairs, carreer affairs, friendship affairs, etc... i now I am so much better off after being in Australia. It's about going out of your comfort zone, now matter how hard it might be.

my vintage hat and a night on north

Yesterday was so nice outside that I took a stroll down Brady St. I couldn't be happier with a pleasant breeze and the smells of grilling out. I kept on smiling at everyone because happiness can be infectious. So it was pleasant when I got a smile or even a "hey" back. I walked into a vintage clothing store filled with large beaded necklaces and pink furry coats. Then in the back was a hat begging to be taken home. It's just grand black with a large black ribbon and a little red feather poking out from the side. It reeks of jazz and the 1950's.

My partner in crime for the night was my good friend from Madison and we first went to Holligans for food, then the BBC for my co-worker's gig. FUZEE. Check them out next time there playing in a pub near you. After some tunes it was down to the Landmark for darts and pool. Now a fancy looking cat can be spotted fairly quickly down in the fog of the landmark so it wasn't a surprise that my hat made a name for itself in women's bathrooms and pool tables. It may be a man's trademark, that hat, but I can pop a cigar and have my brandy too. Ya dig.

Me CP3O, You R2D2

I need a fellow geek to come see Star Wars with me. I had two girlfriends - one liked Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and I obliged and went to see the movies with them. But this is Star Wars witch kills the other two. If I go it alone and Darth Vador creeps up on me, well I will have to fight it alone. Better start pumping the iron and playing with my light sabor.

Happy Friday!

The Days are long and the Nights are Longer

I'm getting used to working eight hour days again. The first day was painful because I didn't have my afternoon stroll in the sun and anticipation warm wine nights. I've gone back to my thermos of Alterra coffee and cuppa tea in the afternoon. Some days I think it would be good to purge myself of the evils of coffee and sugar. It starts to be a good thought well till about nine o'clock where my caffiene addiction kicks in and my herbal tea isn't doing the trick. The headache starts around 2pm and still I don't run to the coffee stand to get a latte. Well it's very painful. I may start a coffee anonymos support group. So for now a cuppa coffee in the am and uno glass of wine at night will suffice.

I went to VSVH: Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped dinner tonight. Why was I so concerned in how I looked when half the attendees can't see. The speeches were very moving and I'm so glad to be apart of it. It put me in a good spirit to walk home - (about 20-30 blocks). So sometimes when I'm in a good mood I sing to the songs on my ipod. I don't really know how loud I'm signing but I really don't care anyway. My friends know me for doing strange things so this isn't out of character. So I'm walking down Van Buren and this electronic song comes on and the only lyric is "Take me for a Rocket Ride" There is this huge lead up to the first time it is said so I'm very excited and just blurt it out I'm assuming quiet loud when it comes. And I know it is loud for one reason. A guy on his bike road past at the exact same time and gave me a goofy stare. I couldn't help but laugh. Something about a pedal bike doesn't scream rocket ride.

Well that's all for now. Have to rest up for some bump-set-spike action.

Random thoughts (just like the weather)

Hello lads and lassies,

Yes back to going to sleep with 70 degree weather and waking up to the 40's. Work is Works and the cats are still cool. I'm got my old job back doing design work with School of Continuing Ed. I cut my hair, got some cool roomies, living in an excellent part of Milwaukee. (East Town: South of Brady, North of Downtown). I'm trying to be conscious to help save the envirnoment so I don't have my car. ( well that's not really an option anyway seeing as how it cannot operate with a bad engine! ) So I've got my gas free bike. Also I made a nifty grocery bag so that I don't have to keep using the plastic ones. I'll post a pic once I get a camera. I saw the movie ENRON, which I highly recommend. The man I was closest with is now very far from me and I fucked that one up and am very sorry for it. Time to watch Life Aquatic, again.

Back Home

Greetings all i am back home safe and sound and a tad cold. Good to see the Milwaukee and Chicago skylines this weekend and hang out with my "mates". I did ask my bartender ( Zander @ the Twisted Fork) to make me a shandy: beer and lemondade. Well not as tasty as it was in OZ so maybe I'll have to just learn to go back to Miller.

I am going to keep my blog as little birds have been telling me people actually read what I'm doing : ) i may have to change the title to gina's adventures working as a graphic designer (who knew? ) and then for more romantic posts I'll post my thoughts on the new Bruce Springsteen album (which is a cd and dvd) very fancy brucy boy. Well time to sort the white and colors and do all my wash.

Sad to Leave

Well I spent the weekend in Melbourne and just love it. Stayed at a hostel close to the beach and walking distance from the shop and city - well the city was 8k away. Which I dunno what it is in miles prolli around 4. This weekend I went to some markets, went shopping, took the tram and the trolley, visited the War Memorial. Anzac day is tommorrow and that is a public holiday paying tribute to soliders. Budda's birthday was yesterday and went to a really moving celebration in the city. Did some wine tasting and hung out on the beach. The weather is quite colder than in Bellingen. I cried on the plane leaving Bellingen beacause it is hard to leave a place you love so much. I've met some really incredible people and went to some really amazing places. I wish I had more time to go discover the other little places in Australia. Well, I will be back Tuesday. If anyone wants to do drinks I am game. And if anyone has a car or a couch I could put my name on that would be excellent.

gina

Rumor has it.....

rumor has it that I will return to the states in less than 7 days! sorry i haven't been posting I've been too busy going out to dinner and working. I spent the entire afternoon at the beach today. I played in the ocean and even though it wasn't a nude beach it was nude... My new family and I had a lovely picnic and ran in the waves and it was just good fun. I leave Bellingen tommorrow morning. It is very sad to leave this beautiful and sometimes I don't know why I am leaving? Usually you hate a place and then leave it. You never really leave something behind that is this beautiful. Well I have a job, a family, and a place to stay if I ever do return. If you read my previous posts I was given 2 missions. One was achomplished today and they other was not. Which one did Gina complete? POST ANSWERS PEOPLE! thank you!

I leave for Melbourne tommorrow. I have to do lots of shopping how many people want presents? Maybe I'll just buy some vegemite and everyone can share. Good - good.

Playing cards with George W

Yesterday my friends parents came for the night. Their dad, I wasn't going to say this to him because I think it is an insult but he ended up saying, " People say I look like George Bush." Well from the eyes up - yes. It was an Australian George W and we played cards.

My friend Miss Sara would absolutely love the news over here, they depict Bush to be a complete fool. Not only do Australians think this way but every single god damn other country thinks this - it is fantastic! Not for republics (Sorry Johnsons) Here we get most of television programming from England and other news stories from the Eastern countries. It is all very interesting and you really get a sense for how they view America. It's no wonder they hate America. People think America is stupid for re-electing Bush. (cough cough). We I said I was going to leave the country for 4 years if Bush was re-elected. Well I got my chance. I was asked to stay. I just have to get married, which I will have to find someone at the pub I suppose and earn my green card. Well 10% is true. I did get asked to stay and work part time doing design work. Very tempting - really. If there was a maybe a 4 story building, a dance club that makes cosmos (or a dance club), and a movie theater I would have said yes. But I will come home I don't like to admit it. I don't think I told you about the guy who rides his horse to town. He prances in on the main road, docks his horse across the street and strolls into the pub for a few. My favorite drink here is called a shandy - beer and lemonade.