the end of another roman year

2004 is coming to a close, and quickly. let me apologize first off for providing you with a whopping 3, count 'em 3 journal entries this entire year. (including this one) note to self, new year's resolution, #1.

luca's progress this year has been incredible. he's walking, talking, sometimes running, he rocks out to rockin' songs, and sways to mellow ones. i can't explain how wonderful it is to watch a person grow up and develop into who he will become in the future. and how such a short time can make an enormous difference. we all went back to the states for a little in late october, for seth and suzi's wedding, and to vote. i came back to rome after the 2 weeks while aubrey and luca stayed for what we thought would be an additional 2 weeks. due to circumstances beyond our control, they had to stay another week in the states, which meant we spent thanksgiving apart. it also meant i hadn't seen them in 3 weeks... and when i picked them up at the airport, luca had changed into a little boy, instead of the baby that i left in NJ.

ok... so let me give you a quick recap of the past 7 or so months since i've last written. the summer went well.. it wasn't as hot as it was in 2003, and lots of friends passed thru town.

the armijo clan was in town for a little. two days in rome all together, then they went to france, and carol and the kids came back for a week while aaron was following the tour de france. the cousins got along wonderfully, and shortly after they left, luca really understood the whole walking thing a lot better.

i spent 2 days in lourdes, france on the papal trip, and we also got to fly on the papal plane. that was an amazing experience... just knowing that on this plane are hundred or so people, one of them - the pope. it was kind of surreal.

luca's 1st birthday party was a fun time at the park under the castel sant'angelo. a couple of friends, lunchmeat, and italian pastries always equal a good time.

heading back to america in late october... we had a connection thru london which turned the day into an even longer day, but thankfully the british airways crew was among the best i have ever seen in the air. they were very helpful, and nice towards luca. and the food was at least edible... seth and suzi's wedding was a beautiful day. lots of friends, food and revelry. it was fun to be back in the states, after almost a year, but again, there was no time to see EVERYONE, and do EVERYTHING we wanted to do. i did spend a few days in manhattan making contacts for the future. the whole trip went by in a breeze.

after i returned from the states in early november, my brother and pete came out for a week. that was a lot of fun too. it was great hanging out with the boys in rome, and seeing thier reactions. matt had been out a few times, but it was the first time for pete in a long time... i love seeing people's reactions to rome. even from seeing the little alleyways that i love so much, to thier first taste of roman food, and of course the big monuments. the hardest part of that whole time, was that my family was not around. 3 weeks. that seemed like it dragged on forever. i ate thanksgiving dinner with our friends, while aubrey was in NJ with her family. this year there were 55 people at the thanksgiving dinner.... most ever. and i think never again that big. it was amazing - a 38 pound turkey, and literally TONS of veggies. and there were still leftovers!

sadly a number of our friends here have left rome. a few decided to head home, and others for work related issues will not be coming out anymore... unless they decide to vacation here. not to mention the number of students we've met, and become close with, who split when thier semester is up. it's been a series of really great, really quick relationships. in and out... our good friends micah and nikoma are probably going to head back to the states sometime mid 2005. another friend is leaving in february, and some have left late summer.

work wise, things have been ok. i got some work with BBC, and an independent production company cutting an EPK for sony music. 2005 will be much better for me. it needs to be. i've got some more contacts (non-news) and things lined up for early next year. i'm still planning on coming back to the states for 2 months or so to do some freelancing in NYC.

february 2005 will be very hectic. aubrey's folks are coming out for a week from the 19th to the 26th. my aunt and uncle are coming out for a week from the 20th to the 26th. and my parents are coming out from the 22nd to march 4th. there will be a few nights of, "yes, we need a table for 8 plus a highchair please"

back to the present now:

the christmas season in rome was nice. strange, but very nice. it didn't seem christmas at all, probably because this was the first christmas we were not with our extended families. christmas eve was nice. we spent teh day baking cookies and preparing our half of the christmas dinner in pomezia. somewhere in between aubrey found time to make a wonderful christmas eve dinner for us. menu: potato pumkin soup, sausage with broccoletti, garlic bread, fried baccala', and yes, cookies. after dinner i headed out to work. we filmed the pope's christmas eve mass. got home at around 2am to find that santa had come and gone. he left lots of great toys for luca, and a few nice things for aubrey and me. he also had time to drink the milk and gingerbread cookie that we left for him.

christmas morning was fun. luca was old enough to open his own gifts. that was great to watch! he was excited to open and play with his new toys for a little bit, before returning to his old toys... then aubrey and i went back to cooking for christmas dinner. it rained pretty much all day long. around 2pm we headed out of the house with 5 bags full of stuff; micah picked us up and we headed out to pomezia. christmas menu: aubrey's potato pumpkin soup, stuffed mushrooms, a wonderful liver pate', lasagna, stuffed goose, veggies, and yes, more cookies. plus we made eggnog, aubrey made vin brule, micah and nikoma made pecan pie and anura made a flan. the kids went to sleep and gave us a little "adult time" which was nice. the drive home was a bit scary at times: in the pouring rain, on a terrible italian highway with no lights, and people flying by.

the day after christmas, st. stephen's day, my birthday: got up late. had a quick breakfast, and then lunch with rich and hada. back home for a nap. then a quick visit to giovanni's and then home. movie. bed. was a nice relaxing birthday, even tho it rained pretty much all day.

it was a fun year all in all, mostly due to luca. but 2005 will be even better.

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and have a fantastic new year!

ciao, justin