7 Week Update

Ciao, Buon Giorno amici miei.

Alrighty friend and family, let's give you an update on things here in the land of Italy. 7 weeks down this past Thursday, March 21st. Time is really flying along it seems. Almost 2 months of living and working here already passed. I have to really take stake of all I have gotten done in this short period of time. Just the other day I was looking at what I need to get done yet for my house, my car etc....when it dawned on me I have checked off quite a few boxes already. Boxes such as:

• Landed a house all my own, completed contracts, have power and gas, water and wifi turned on and working.
• Have my Italian driver's license test taken and passed, ID in hand.
• Have my siggiorno passport stamp so I can travel all over EU without issues
• Have my codice fiscale card (Italian social security card type thing) so I can make major purchases and hold accounts like cable, wifi, buy a car, open bank accounts etc.
• Searched for and found 2 like new love seats and 2 regular sized like new refrigerators
• Landed all my major kitchenware and appliances for free or nearly free from squadron spouses group and fellow operators.
• Kitchen stools and table were given to me from a very kind couple in the squadron.
• Patio coffee table landed from an online facebook group
• Bought a simple CharBroil, 3 burner gas grill from the BX and assembled the beast myself for some serious summer grilling action! 
• As of this post I now have a new bed to sleep in! After 7 weeks of hotel and sofa sleeping I have my own darn bed! Yes!

It took my own mother to point out that even with some major tasks ahead to knock out and accomplish, I have in fact gotten a lot done so far in just 7 weeks. I have 3 years minimum to be here so why I often rush to get it all done right away...I do not really know? Stress I do not need to impose on myself honestly.

So what are these things I have yet to get done with or work to get done with you ask? I'll tell you.

My car! I want my car so f%cking bad right now! It left my house Jan 26th from Oregon, WI and I have not seen it since. It was set to arrive in port of Genoa Italy April 3. Just 2 days ago I am told it will now by April 10th! The 5th it was supposed to be arriving on base last I was told. So now it may be the 15th of April before it makes its way to me on base here in Aviano. What sucks about not just the delay and me not getting my car and ALL the goods I crammed inside the car as well, but now I have to extend my rental another 10 days which means $200 extra cash out the door I would rather have spent elsewhere. That totals my rental car cost to $1300 over my first 9 weeks living here. Much greater tragedies in the world yes I know but as a frugal spender and budget master, I hate having surprise expenses land in my lap that I cannot control for. Tis is life sometimes right?

As of yesterday I now have my brand new bed mattress here! An aloe vera, Tempurpedic double thick queen mattress for the master bedroom. Later today I go collect my bed frame, night stands, dresser and washing machine from a local Italian guy selling me all of it for just 350 Euro, a steal for what I'll be getting. This will pretty well complete my master bedroom as well so I am pretty stoked for that. I just need the rest of the clothes in my car to get here to truly be done with it!

I still need to get 2 patio chairs to go with the table I have. I also need a coffee table for my living room. And lastly, a want more than a need, I want a TV stand and TV for the living room so I can advance from watching streaming TV on my laptop and cell to a regular TV for once. My Bose speaker, Google ChromeCast (also in the car) have never been so yearned for. My all in one desktop computer and my printer are also in the car so it would be just dandy to get those here sooner than later.

I will close with a few upcoming notes and FYI's for you all to stick around for. 

April 25-29 I will be going to Lake Bled in Bled Slovenia. An almost mythical place for photos of the Lake Bled island church and high cliffside castle. The hikes, bike rides, boat rides, paddle boarding etc....all popular things to do here. I have my hotel booked and my restaurants picked out to hit each day. 

Lake Bled Island Church

I have officially taken over another blog as of last week as well. AvianoFoodie.com has been run for a couple years now by Randall Broome, an active duty AF servicemember who will be PCSing out of Italy in June. He will stay onboard until that time but I can begin contributing myself right now as well. This works very well for him as he need not let the blog dissolve and I can now have two separate blogs with a more fixed focus. This one here for my lifestyle activity and travel posts. Aviano Foodie will be strictly for my visits and experiences to restaurants and markets all over Italy with a focus on those nearest the Pordenone province where I reside. 

 That is all for now folks. Stay tuned for more coming up in the next couple weeks. Hopefully, my car is here by the time you hear from me again! In fact, please pray for me that it is! Until then....

Arrivaderci a presto. Buona Giornata! Mi amo tutti!