The Week of House Boundedness is Over!

The family and I have finally reached the end of a lack luster week during which little Pietro was continuously out of commission. It turned out his cold had developed into an infection in his throat, which later became a form of tonsillitis. Throughout the week, I was his caregiver from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and I have learned many things. Firstly, a sound I will never relish in is the wail of a child as he gulps down a dose of disgusting medicine clumsily hidden by a flavour that could have been 'banana' in another life. Secondly, Sesame Street and Wallace and Gromit are lifesavers when a child will not stop asking you to play "monster." And lastly, there is something special about the bond that develops between a sick child and the person who stays with him. You become like a second mother to him, which is one of the best feelings in the world. While the little monster drives me nuts sometimes, I think a part of me will miss having him around in the afternoon.

Before my week of house boundedness (yes, that IS a word), I made a point to fill my life with activities completely unrelated to childcare. I visited an authentic Italian discoteca with flashing strobe lights that conveniently obscured the dance moves of anyone with two left feet. This was a particularly exciting experience since I had never stayed out until 4:00 a.m. to dance before then, and I found that once I got over the 2:00 a.m. mark, my second wind was able to propel me forward throughout the rest of the night. (Hence I didn't fall asleep until 5:30 despite the fact that I was ready for bed before then!) I met some wonderful friends of RaeAnne, in particular Andrea, who has promised to take us both salsa dancing at a club sometime. Maybe the ballroom dancing I learned two years back will finally come into use!

I also went to see Changeling with Mathieu, and his two best friends Nicola and Marco. I must say that, for all of its gruesome content, it was a fascinating story. It was about a woman whose child is abducted by a serial murderer back in the 1910's, and the Los Angeles Police Force that does everything in its power to cover up the failure of its investigation into the case. Overall, it was acted out very well...that is, by everyone except for Angelina Jolie. (I don't know if my personal bias against her is clouding my judgment, but she didn't come across as very convincing due to her tendency to overact. And yes, I know, if you lose your son, you are bound to be hysterical, but certain tactics have to be applied to genuinely project that hysteria. In Jolie's case, she successfully went through the motions - she cried, screamed, and tore into the flesh of other people intent on bringing her down - but her performance as a whole left me completely cold.) I was interested to learn that the script was based on a true story which was discovered in the archives of the Los Angeles Police Department, just before it was to be sent to the incinerator shaft. I was also interested to learn that cases such as these were rife back during the first part of the 20th century. As for the film itself, Eastwood did an excellent job of capturing the ambiance of the 1910's. It was almost reminiscent of a film noir in the way it was shot. The Italian voice actors, too, were brilliant as usual, and I found that I understood about 20 percent of what was being said this time around. I am sure that <Hai ucciso mio figlio> (Did you kill my son?), which was repeated probably 100 times, is a line I will never forget.

I also finally purchased a new camera - a waterproof Olympus - with which I plan to take many photos of the Alps this coming weekend. It will our first ski trip out of the city, and apparently everyone goes at the same time because of the long weekend. Personally, I think I would rather take two days away from home and have no traffic rather than three days and a traffic jam there and back, but hey...beggars can't be choosers! See you all next week!