Posted December 5, 2023 On 01/12/2023 at 9:28 PM, drahkon said: Just had one of the best meals of my life: Ossobuco with risotto alla milanese. I will dream of this tonight. This just in: Italians make good food. I am actually considering running away from my family going to Como over Christmas. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Ashley said: This just in: Italians make good food. Well, I knew that before thanks to my godfather You're the admin who has been learning Italian these past few years, right? I need some pointers on apps, materials, etc. I'll try to take a course next semester but would be up for learning some basics before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2023 30 minutes ago, drahkon said: Well, I knew that before thanks to my godfather You're the admin who has been learning Italian these past few years, right? I need some pointers on apps, materials, etc. I'll try to take a course next semester but would be up for learning some basics before. Sì, although it's taken a back seat recently as I kind of plateaued so I switched to Spanish and too busy for that. I've said before in the language learning thread that Duolingo won't teach you but can work for practice, same with things like Memrise. Recently used Language Transfer for Spanish and there's 70 lessons for Italian. The whole idea is starting with where the languages have similarities (the cognates) and builds on that to discuss similar etymologies etc. It's English-based so I'm not sure how useful it would be to you. Obviously your English is great, but whether it would be the same I don't know. But it's completely free so no harm checking it out. Weilla Tom on YouTube I found useful. But really it's the classic immersion. In my case that's having friends that speak it (must message a friend in Milan actually) and practicing that way, but obviously stuff like Netflix for Italian content. In terms of Netflix the limited series Everything Calls for Salvation I enjoyed as well as the films Rose Island and The Man Without Gravity (common denominator being Elio Germano so if you find some of his other films elsewhere check them out - I particularly liked My Brother Is An Only Child but it's difficult to find now). Aside from that I listen to a lot of Italian music which is kind of practice... If I think of any more resources I'll let you know. I've found learning Spanish has been helpful. I sometimes get vocabulary mixed up because of similarities, but it's helping to reinforce the grammar especially when it comes to things we don't have in English like reflexive verbs, direct object pronouns etc so if you know another romance language that'll probably help you. And you're German so at least you're used to gender and Italian only has two! In the new year considering signing up to a Spanish service that costs $150 a month but you can book yourself into as many one-to-one sessions (lessons or practice) as you want so considering doing that for say two months to boost myself and then maybe finding a private tutor or pester my Spanish-speaking friends. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2023 It's now been over a year since we got home from hospital after Ollie's second surgery. While he's not due another checkup for a few more months, he's doing great. He's just starting to walk and is absolutely non-stop, and his imagination is already coming through strong. 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 6, 2023 12 hours ago, Ashley said: snip Thank you Will definitely look into your recommendations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 1 It's 2024! Hope you all have a fabulous year. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22 Day 300 of no alcohol, woohoo! Spoiler Day 3 used to be the biggest struggle, and it’s something I’d realised for a few years. Day 1 was always easy, I was recovering, in hangover state, mostly in bed and surviving by eating junk food and half-watching rubbish on TV. Day 2 was when the world seemed like a better place, the hangover was (mostly) over, and I could do what I wanted with my day, unencumbered by alcohol or the results of it. Day 3 was when I got the intense pang, as I’d had a normal day, so now the allure of alcohol was back, as I’d ‘proved’ I wasn’t an alcoholic. Alcoholics must drink daily, I had proven everything was fine as I hadn’t drank in over a day, heck, I deserved to treat myself, I was on Day 3! And I did, on every third day for years and years. And even the last few years when I was now aware of the pattern and tried not having a Day 3©, and tried to instead continue on without alcohol, I did some mental gymnastics to justify getting a drink in the end, and while I may have been subconsciously sad and disappointed in myself, I had every justification under the sun to allow myself to partake in Day 3 of wine and beer time once again. Today I celebrate Day 300 of no alcohol! I still can’t quite grasp that I have got this far, which is why I only make note of it every now and then, as I don’t want to freak myself out and break any kind of streak I have. I had started putting the day number on my chalkboard, but stopped doing it the last week or so as it was making me too aware of it, bringing it to the forefront of my mind too much, when I had been sailing for a month or two without thinking about alcohol too much and just enjoying life. But the fact that I couldn’t get past Day 3 for so long and have now hit this milestone is something I’m happy and a little bit confused about lol. All I know is that I never want to go back to that place, so without making myself think too much about the future, all I will say is that for the immediate days ahead, I will continue to make more distance from those days, and will work out how much time has passed when I get that curious feeling again! Until then, here’s to day 300+! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 27 DAY 365! (of no alcohol!) A person close to Scatman John told me that he used to refer to a year of sobriety as a ‘Birthday of Growth’, so happy 1st Birthday to me lol. I just danced around the room like a loon to something by John I’d never heard before, I feel about 10 years old! The cravings aren’t really there now, I get the odd pang every now and then but I think my dumb lizard brain is finally calming down, and my actual self is aware enough that nothing is worth those hangovers or embarrassing texts, status updates or Snapchats… I’ve lost a few people over the last year, either naturally or because when I was no longer getting drunk all the time and making bad decisions, I realised how bad they were for me. A few others because it seems that we actually didn’t get on at all when I didn’t have my drunk persona. I guess I didn’t realise how much I let slide, or brushed under the rug, or agreed when I didn’t agree, to things while under the influence I also thankfully don’t get myself in stupid situations, like going to clubs, drunk and by myself. It may sound like my life has gotten a lot more boring, but I love it so much more, and feel a lot more like my actual self, the kind of person I was when I first got my dog Banjo and was hyped for the Wii. Despite not drinking, I’ve had some of the best days out ever, just doing more quality things with old and new friends, instead of getting pissed until 4am and pestering people. I’ve been to different arcades, and I’ve been to them LOADS, with different sets of people, playing DDR, setting the high score on Pac-Man and playing GameCube games. I’ve done things I know I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do before, like meeting with Gina for the Scatman biog, and opening up to people more than ever. It’s weird to be in a place where a future seems like something that will actually happen. Previously, for years, I was surviving day to day, and with the suicidal ideation, not exactly thinking too far ahead, but I now actually have the ability to look ahead and wonder what life could be like in the future. As such I have applied for a college course, and while I am not pinning too much hope on it, I’m going to do it for fun and see where it takes me. That’s one of the things I have thought about doing for literally years, but never had the confidence or belief to do it until now. This next part is kind of a joke but totally true too: I will give Pikmin 4 another chance LOL. I was SO mean to that game, like, I hated it with a passion, and was seething with rage over every change they made to the series from the OG games. You’d have thought Oatchi mauled a family member or something. I never even completed the story, let alone 100% it and get medals etc like I did in literally every other Pikmin game. But when I remember that game now, I immediately have the taste of non-alcoholic beer in my mouth, and a feel of agitation. I played it at the HEIGHT of my panging for the drink, and I think that somehow made the cutest game ever my biggest enemy lol. misattributed hate, or something like that, I’m not sure the exact phrasing. There are some parts of my personality that are very slowly starting to make a bit more sense. I still feel like there’s a bit of the puzzle missing, but I occasionally remember things I’d completely forgotten about, things from my childhood and teenage years, that make me think, “fuck, that was a bit weird, and somewhat explains this/that about why I act certain ways”. I still don’t totally have it together, as @S.C.G and @Ashley will no doubt attest to, but you two, as well as a few others in my day to day life, and this site, have been SO helpful. I have always been terrified of letting anyone get too close, but then, and this is a realisation I’ve only really had in the last year, I do get lonely but try to mask it with other things. But this place is always here, when I’m my own worst enemy and won’t talk to, or refuse to talk to anyone For now I shall keep on taking my time! A day at a time! Spoiler You know that I been licked and I'm terminally hip And you see me crawlin' in again, reeking of the same gin Through the door many times, same condition, broken mind Gotta start the same show all over again Powerless, flowerless, cannot do this any more Remember to surrender to the power of your choice Acceptance is the answer, page 449 Slow down, take it easy, Tommy, ain't no hurry here Take your time, take a day at a time Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, (Take your time) oh-oh We can do, we can do, we can do it Inventory purgatory checked out my soul I'm a legend in my own time, legend in my own mind The plug is in the jug and reality is setting in The pink cloud is wearin thin, the girls are lookin' good But I'm broke But I'm broke Hey, Tommy, lookin' good, got a tan, feelin better? Heard you readin' chapter five, you know how to stay alive Every morning hit you knees, ninety meetings, ninety days Heard you share, we care, check it out, Tommy Take your time, take a day at a time Take, take, take your time, take a day at a time Take, take, take your time, take a day at a time Take, take, take your time, take a day at a time 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 5 Ooooohhhhh, my best friends will have babies next week. I was just told that labor will be induced on Monday. I'm super excited for them, I'm also super nervous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 19 Baby girl #2 due on Monday..! We're both wishing she were here already given how tough a pregnancy it's been. I'll have even less time to visit NE! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
