U.S.A be ready I'm coming

And me too I will be in the bucolic surrounding of Vermont... 

Who will crack first?  

The challenge :  

PC obsessed vs Me

I haven't been to the States for quite a while now, not sure a lot has changed, but all my friends report back highly and they would actually consider swapping NY for London.

The way I see the States ( still open to be surprised on this trip ) as opposed to Sicily is the way you are brought up.

In Sicily, if you see somebody doing something he shouldn't, authorises you to do it as well.

In the States, if you see somebody doing something he shouldn't you report it, so nobody else will ever do it again. 

If you report it in Sicily ( even in kindergarten, all the kids will circle you and they'll start chanting... Chi fa la spia non e' figlio di Maria ( meaning, he who spies is not the son of the Madonna) 

Cultures... Let's face it... if I was born American I would have probably been electrocuted by now. Which really wouldn't have been a bad option either.

Waiting.. waiting for godot

Yup! always waiting for something that never materialises.. 

They are not dreams, you can't write a little letter to father Xmas to send things to you also because father Xmas only comes down chimneys and I only have a stupid fig tree

yes yes I know.. you can make things happens.

I know you couldn't care less. I know you will always remain of your opinion, I know you think I'm wrong and blablabla.. 

Birth? Coincidence? Luck...
X grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and counts among his ancestors, a rogue colonist who, in 1676, launched an unauthorized attack on Indians that briefly led to his controlling most of Virginia. His father, ran the North Carolina real estate operations of both Prudential and later Merrill Lynch & Co. When his father eventually remarried, it was to the sister of a man who was fast becoming a Wall Street legend: Julian Robertson.
He is the middle of three sons. His brothers,  graduated from local public schools, he, in his junior year, ventured out of town enrolling in preppy Episcopal High School, by coincidence Robertson's alma mater. Students at Episcopal were expected to work hard and had to sit in study hall during free periods and evenings. Only in the afternoon did they get a few hours outdoors, to play football or other sports. He didn't seem to mind. One afternoon I passed through study hall, and there was him, grinding away, recalls Lee Ainslie Jr., the former Episcopal headmaster and father of Lee Ainslie III, manager of the $4.5 billion Maverick Capital hedge funds. Most other boys would have been happy to be outdoors playing.

An aficionado of Ernest Hemingway and Nathaniel Hawthorne, he cultivated his love of the outdoors in the bucolic surroundings of Vermont. Southerners at Middlebury stuck out like sore thumbs, recalls classmate Christopher Brady, who heads money management and advisory firm Chart Group and is the son of former Treasury secretary Nicholas Brady. He hunted a lot, skiied incessantly and studied.
Still, there were some early signs of the future financier: During the summers following his sophomore and junior years, He worked as a clerk for New York Stock Exchange specialist Walter N. Frank & Co. and met Frank after working on his deep-sea charter fishing boat off Montauk, Long Island, during the summer of 1976.
An early influence was Paul Tudor Jones, who was sharing an apartment with Charles Johnson, a former roommate of Zack Bacon's at the University of North Carolina. Jones, who had started out as a cotton trader, was then working as a commodities broker with E.F. Hutton.
He soon headed off to get his MBA at Columbia University, where he used his student loan as capital to continue to trade. To his chagrin, he lost it all - and had to work odd jobs to make up the difference.
From this experience, he learned how to handle risk, he landed at Shearson Lehman Hutton in 1983 as a futures broker, trading on behalf of some of the biggest names in the hedge fund world. For a 27-year-old, he deployed a powerful Rolodex. Jones and brother Zack, who deployed landed at Soros Fund Management as head trader, threw plenty of business his way. He quickly became a top commission producer.
He was very fortunate to be right in the middle of that network, notes Charles Stockley, president of Stockley Asset Management, a futures trading firm, and a childhood friend of Jones's. You can't say that his career is a story of someone starting at the bottom and clawing his way up. But he took the ball and ran with it, and ultimately he surpassed them all.
His gilt-edged client list had another advantage, in addition to the hefty commissions: By trading on behalf of Soros and Jones, he learned their investing styles.
By 1986 he had acquired enough of a reputation to start managing other peoples' money. The following year, while still at Shearson, he set up a small fund . Right off he hit a home run. He correctly anticipated the stock market crash, going short S&P futures and then shifting to a long position just as the market bottomed.
By the end of the decade, he had established a strong track record, and he decided to move to a bigger stage

That first year, the fund was up 86 percent, thanks largely to his decision to short the Nikkei index just before the Japanese markets collapsed. He also anticipated Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and went short stocks and long oil.
As he set out to raise more money, his task was made easier by his friendship with Jones, who had decided to close his funds to new money. In a letter to investors, Jones recommended they invest spare capital with him. Jones also introduced him to Busson, who had helped him raise money in Europe. 

The story is for me and it's not for you.. also because you get bored of reading things like this I omitted some pieces and some names.

It's not luck... it's not coincidence... yes you have to be great, but somebody has to give you a chance... 

Waiting to hear what's the excuse this time.. 

I close my day with some thoughts

The world appreciates more people that recycle and donate to charity than people that respect others. 

Wish one single individual in this planet could understand that diplomacy it only serves the purpose of using your intellect to manipulate people. 

I offer them the choice to say no, I give them the opportunity to have their opinions. 

However that's wrong, because human kind prefers to be manipulated and pushed to do something, as long as that's done in a nice way.

That's an additional reason why there is no reason for the existence of human kind on planet earth. 

You can now use a service so that their phone calls don't reach a number but manipulate the system so that you can just leave a message into the answer phone, that's for people which haven't got the courage to say what they think not even on the phone. 

As people only like nice unchallenging people a new software has been developed and you can't even tell that's not a real human, it's just a nice smiling good looking diplomatic one ( i.e. the equivalent to the hologram that speaks in front of you).

Diplomacy can be replaced by a computer, thinking and opinions can't. 

But that's just a point of view, which will never be shared by unthinking individuals.  

I was born turbated and I will die deluded. Doesn't matter, I can't change the world because I'm fair, people rather have Hitler burning them alive.

He made history after all. 

Gina home alone

Errrrrrrrrrr.

11.10 : Hello... Anna... lights blew up. There is no light in 1/4 of the house.. including the fridge.. the braciolettine will defrost, what will I do with the meat?

11.12 Mum... I have been living in the house for nearly 3 years and that has never happened to me. Also... just 1/4 of the house? How is that possible? 

Let's rewind.. Where did you clean? What did you open? 

11.15 Nothing nothing nothing

well to make a story short, she manages to short circuit a part of the house while attempting to charge her mobile phone. How that's possible... not sure really!

Thanks to John ( the caretaker of the building, which loves me due to my slitty eyes connection and because when he used to have the keys of my flat used to perve on M's seminaked pictures from the photoshoot )

Anyhow.. Gina made him coffee, he switched the light back on. Bless him

15:00  ring ring  .... I found the brush ( that's to clean the carpet) how do you say flour in english? 

19:00 back home- 

there are objects on the shelves as they looked empty and M's scarf is properly ironed and packaged in a little plastic sleeve - because you know, Gina lives in that world in which in the morning, before wearing a scarf you remove it from the plastic unfold it and wear it, at night time you fold it and replace it in the bag

Come come... look what I bought? beautiful, useful... ( it's a brush to clean the floor on the balcony) I wonder how I lived without one till now

Gina bought Heinz tomato soup instead of chopped tomatoes, flour  ( which I already had) 

the nevermissable crisps ( the crunchy ones... ) 

I really don't know if my mum is like I'll be as an old woman, or as the creature I will put in the world. I think after this experience, I really learnt that no I haven't got the patience for it. 

Clearly.. as she hasn't talked all day... we have already touched the world domination the 100 rules of cleaning and the principles of cooking. 

She also said she hasn't stopped for one sec. Do you know what? I believe her. 

- I don't find these drawers suitable to keep cooking pans

- you should have allowed me to send you the sitting steps ( i.e. a small ladder which can be used as a seat) so she could reach the top shelves

- How do you clean the gas bits?? 

If I had a calculator to know how many carbon emissions she generated by using cleaning products I think will be more than a flight to NY. 

Tomorrow I'll hang a stepcount to her belt... let's see how many steps can she go through in a day in the house. I buy 10k 

Saturday: Wycombe - the caves and the trekking tour

Thanks to Diana for  the patience, the choice of trek and for spending a day with Gina and me. 

I must say it was wonderful. As you could see from previous post.. not enough to tire Gina but it was wonderful to see her happy and not complaining. She even said : You could not have chosen a better day! Bliss... what happened to that bliss only god knows.. 

As the original plan of walking 16km was "too easy" for her, she started the walk with a jog!

Sorry forgot the photographic evidence of today

When I say... it's like having a kid.. I'm not kidding

I also forgot ( not sure how... to recount the amazing day we had yesterday in the countryside...) but photos of that and full story to follow- yes.. yesterday was a wonderful day with Gina and Diana, but today everything got wiped out. I'm now certain that Gina suffers from ADD and that must be hereditary ( not sure that's an english word)  

It was the the first Soho pride in history with the sunshine and I missed it

I have been trying all day to say to myself, there are many Soho prides there is only one Gina. 

Still it was the only Soho pride with the sunshine since I seem to remember. 

Spending time with Gina is how I picture having my own kid, with the difference that a kid 

a) might find some other interest than nagging me

b) you can shout at the kid and tell him to shut up

c) kids sleep a couple of hours a day or stay quiet in front of the telly or a videogame

8 am : Gina could no longer stay in bed, hence she decided to get up and start going around the house, making noises and doing things

8:30 : I could no longer stay in bed, too much trotting around

9:00 : Mum please, it's morning, could you kindly stop asking questions till at least I have a coffee.. it really takes 10 minutes for me to have a coffee, can I read my emails and have a coffee and then we can talk

9:00:01 Ok then I tidy up the  drawers then.

9:00:02 Can I throw this away? 

MUMmmmmmmmmm

9:00:05  Can you check if this is expired?

9:00:07  Where shall I put this ? 

well in the flipping same drawer you took it from

9:00:10 Do you need this? 

9:00:20 Do you need all these stick things ( chopsticks!), you already have so many

9:00:30 blablablabla... 

i started smoking fags

9:01  you are not washing your hair again are you? It's going to fall off if you keep washing it

9:03 Can we go running?

 

Mum I really need to read some stuff, could you please, please be silent for 10 minutes

9:05 What is this for? 

9:06 and this? 

then she started hoovering.. and guess what.. the subject fell again on the infamous flipping carpet, the ugly horrible heavy extremely expensive white shit that she decided to deliver to my office on my birthday last year ( after months of discussions on the fact that I wanted a dark carpet) .. anyhow.. carpet now needs washing and she wants to attempt the flipping task with a toothbrush.. 

Can you not do something more useful? No... 

anyhow... 

I wasn't allowed to read, I ended up tidying the drawers and loading the washing machine

at 11.30 we eventually went out... destination : running trainers shop

Together with trainers, she must have tried 20 tops, for which I had to provide smaller bigger, smaller, let's try this again size. 2 hours later she's the owner of a new pair of running shoes ( still not convinced of why she can't use them to the gym too or why they can't be waterproof or why they don't make them black) 

It was painful, really painful beyond painful... including translating every single writing on every single t-shirt in the David and Goliah shop, trying every single tea in the tea shop and so on and so forth, like finding fridge magnets red phone shaped, finding a  present for a kid, find a pair of trekking trousers like mine, despite she doesn't ever go trekking.

Arguments of the day were 

once again the carpet, as tomorrow, while I'm at work, she'll attempt to lift it ( it weights 30 kgs) find a shop that washes it ( she doesn't speak a word of english and she gets lost) 

and... TATTOOs  the addition to the insults today was that clever people don't have tattoos... I really truly honestly don't understand how certain ideas radicate in her mind.

Anyway tattoos are for stupid and the only thing is acceptable is a small little flower on your  hand ( now that's a fucking idiot ).

After I managed to stir away from the "capricci della natura" akas gay people all day, on our way back we bumped into a group of trannies.

Gina : Where are they going dressed like that? 

me: today is soho pride

Gina : what's soho pride? 

me : it's a street party where people dress up, there is music all day and when gay people are proud to be gay

Gina: Does A ever dress like that? 

me : no mum he doesn't. 

Gina: can we buy a brush to clean the carpet?

I'm now home, I missed pride, I missed the sunshine, didn't buy any of the things I needed to, didn't read anything I was supposed to, I feel exhausted more than when i don't sleep for the entire weekend, I almost want to cry and to make it worse, the weekend is gone, tomorrow is work shit again.

Still can't switch on the telly because she doesn't understand it ( how on earth can you translate word by word the X factor???? ) and still I have to decide what to eat... I want a beer and a pizza but can't say that either.

I feel hopeless. I never ever have headache, today I have, I honestly feel drained. 

If I ever decide to have a kid, please friends, make sure I'm never allowed  to make him feel the same.

Gina

I just noticed how appropriate the picture is!

Well I wanted to post about the olympics, but can't really find pictures or I can't lie saying I watched them, however I'm very proud of the water polo  girls... ( more so because I used to play with one of them) and on this I could go on a tangent and start thinking what if I was there... But I must say I always wish I was somewhere else or doing something else, but I wouldn't switch my frustrating banking job for water polo olympics. Don't know why, but that's the way my brain works.. 

Let's switch onto the Gina subject. 

Gina landed Thursday, went to pick her up at the airport, despite with fever, she was there smiling and happy to see her little baby ( me ) with a sporty handbag, trainers and a 29 kg suitcase containing:

7 salami 

4 kg of parmesan

30 skewers of braciolettine messinesi

1 whole calf fillet

6 sausages 

and more...

and before you ask.. no no rabbit this time. 

The way I define my mum : she says I'm lazy and for those that know me, that makes them imagine a tasmanian devil little person which never stay stills.. 

Let's start from this morning. 

I took the day off, to spend time with her and it was Ferragosto in Italy, so work would have been dull anyway and as none of my clients were there, no damage could have been done by my colleagues. 

By 8.30, time at which I opened my eyes, Gina had already made the coffee, washed the floor, cleaned the windows...

9.00  G: did you have a shower? I thought we were going running! Me: errrrrr no!

9.45 the Zatorski guys arrive, including their little baby ... to deliver the 2m x 1m  lamb...

Despite the wife tells Gina that she speaks Italian and despite I tell her that they are the artists of the lamb. She said and repeated a couple of times " What's that? a dead animal? what do you have to do with a dead animal. that's not a painting... that's a picture of a dead animal. But is it really dead?? " the only thing Z+Z could reply was: "errrr.. there is also a bird in it.. and it's alive"

Anyhow... we couldn't hang the picture because as we discovered it weights 23 Kg and english walls, even my picture railings are not made to hold such a weight, hence the hanging is to be rescheduled. 

11.30 Gina and I leave the house : direction Borough market, where Gina tasted every possible thing and asked me about every individual food... as queuing doesn't exist in her vocabulary we couldn't eat in any of the places there, because people are just crazy that they queue to eat, so we bought some fresh mozzarella, some parma ham, begged the bread guy to cut a ciabatta for us and made a panino... this without .."ask the guys where he gets his mozzarella from, there is diossina in Italy".

however despite she didn't want to queue, she wanted to know what all these people were queuing for, so at every stall, we run to the front, she put her head almost in the pan and then left...the same for every shop... particular attention went to the fishmonger.. where she run to the front of the queue, asked me for every single name of every single fish to then scream : This fish looks very dead to me.. like more than a couple of days.. 

What's that?

ostrich 

blaaaaaaaww che schifo

( have you seen how many guys died in Italy with drugs.. you know london is at the first place do they take  pills or they sniff! - Ludovica said she never smoked a joint ) 

Sorry that's what she's saying while I sit here typing. 

Borough market bored her, so we walked a bit, then it was sunny so i decided to sit in the sun, where it was wonderful ( being  off work, relaxed on a sunny day it was wonderful and I was happy to be with Gina too ) .. she basically took the piss out of every single individual passing in front of us- the executive summary was that Italians have more piercing than Anglosaxons.. 

You know they showed this woman in italy with 3000 piercings and another one with nails long till her feet

Left the bench, after I manage to swig a beer and we went to the Tate,  from there onto the Millennium Bridge, St Paul's, the outdoor shop where she wanted to buy those amazingly comfortable chairs, then Bond street, Oxford street  ( at night time window glasses look very clean... how do you clean on top of the wardrobe? ) 

While I was queuing for my new Iphone.. yes couldn't resist to get the 3g 16g .. Gina, obviously not made to wait, went in and out of the shop searching every single shop around... she even managed to go to Body Shop ( her favourite place and convinced the woman behind the till to hold her stuff till my arrival).

then selfridges... because Gina likes 3 things in life... dried fruit ( of which we bought a massive selection of in borough market) Louis Vitton bags ( for which is absurd she has to queue) and body creams ( I think we stayed about 40 minute at la praire place, and she even managed to get samples out of the woman) 

9.20 cab home

10.30 dinner

Dinner discussion:

Would you sleep with a man if you knew he went with a gay guy? Those guys are just ill.. like the ones that sleep with kids

you know f and a don't look gay when they walk, does f not have a boyfriend? why not? does it not sleep with anybody?  does it not tell you guys?? 

Mum ... maybe the married men that go with gay men, have always been gay but maybe they were constrained by parents like you not to show it and marry a woman.. 

No.. they are ill

Ok mum

Can you pass me the parmesan

Gina is now walking naked around the flat, to go and weight herself... 23.14  she might be tired and maybe go to bed. ( i'm sure she'll call over in a sec to ask something) 

Shhhhhhhhhhh Gina is asleep...Ops.. no! It's cream time... 

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

WeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeGOAPE