trinacriabob

JUST SAY NO! as Nancy Reagan would have said. If that doesn't work, JUST SAY "f@#k YOU." (Pardon my French)Sorry, but I categorically hate anyone who is into these kinds of things. When I first moved into Portland after architecture school, this guy and his wife would always talk to me at the gym. They were in the same line of work as me. They talked about other business opportunities and wanted to meet for lunch. It turned out to be Amway and not our line of business. I was furious. In fact, since Pacific Northwesterners are such unfriendly assholes where the natives don't take to the transplants, compared to Californians, in my estimation, I came to learn that too friendly of a come-on at Barnes and Noble or elsewhere in the NW was typically Amway. It´s like mega-church evangelism for people who can't think for themselves. Also, a skill or professional license is a "barrier to entry." We know from basic Economics 101, when there is no barrier to entry, markets become overcrowded and profits are thinned out. But tell this to the idiotic morons who take to pyramid schemes.

Right you are. It is primarily the first, given the triangular shape of the island. Then, that symbol of the 3 legs sticking out of a head...that's the Trinacria icon as well. I love that place, but the people are NUTS!

Birthday greetings to you from Northern Portugal! Enjoy your day, if this isn't already belated!

insecure

credibility

I agree. I think that a few awkward things in the car could have been designed out or designed differently with the stroke of a pen and it might have been a little more successful. I like the Monte Carlo and am saddened by the closing of this chapter. Interesting to think that every last one of the lower 4 GM divisions had a rear drive coupe in the 80s that sold like hot cakes yet the market no longer has room for even one model. Yes, there are plenty 2006 and 2007 Montes still on the lots. The thing is that most of the colors and trims are not good. Charcoal with a grey interior, wheel covers and no option package doesn't cut it, even at $ 19,999.

Your grandmother is beyond lucky to have come from Taormina. Why anybody would ever leave there is beyond me. That's where I sat on the beach for the last 3 days (and 3 days at Marina di Ragusa prior to that). Palermo I can do without.

PB, you are going cosmo on us...did you do an online translation or ask Paulie?

Doritos

P-C-S, shame on you for "quella mente sporca"

I don't hold back very much, but I am generally professional when I need to be. Still, I'm pretty up front and it's hard for me to wear a facade. I especially don't hold back when it comes to customer service or a transaction. I push back in a big way. I would say this started in about my mid-20s when I was first on my own and had to watch out for my own hide. Plus, if you consider some stereotypes: Sicilian (little or no filter) Sagittarius (little or no filter) baby of the family (less filter) I have no problem being a nonconformist. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Franco, you need to eventually cross the pond. You'll find out differently. LOL.

Owned (both myself and my parents): Buick Oldsmobile Chevrolet (Parents) owned and I have driven their: Pontiac Not owned: Cadillac (wouldn't mind a DTS, though) Also, no ownership experience with GMC nor their more exotic/foreign brands

Just reading this thread thoroughly. You need to analyze things and make smaller changes. I just got back from Sicily this morning and up to Florence. I was born in the US and we went back to Sicily when I was 4 and came back when I was 8, so I went to K through 3 overseas, in Italian and was actually "socialized" over there. You know what? I am no longer of that place. This trip confirmed it, though I had fun (insanely hot weather) though I will always continue to travel to Western Europe, though. If you can afford (time wise, resume gap wise, etc.) the jaunt over the pond to Cologne and know you will come back, then do it. If you think it will make you happier, remember the title of the book "Wherever you go, there you are" And, I wanted to refrain from commenting on Chas, but others have, so I will join in. He appears to be superficial, fueled by external things rather than internal things. (He can probably enter a contest with Imelda Marcos as to who has more shoes - ). That's not mentally healthy. Maybe you are the healthier one and better off without him. I can't stand superficial people.

Not enough.

Here across the pond, pizza tends to be served on an individual basis, is less expensive than in the states and is delicious. I had thin crust pizza the last 2 nights -- topped with olives, artichokes, prosciutto and mushrooms. Fantastic. I really don't like thick crust pizza because I like tasting the ingredients. Which type of crust do you like?

grilled cheese

Auguri per una rapida guarigione, P -- I just flew back up from "La Sicilia" into Firenze this morning.As for the legs, as B refers to, I am fairly dark now and all my body hair has turned dark blonde from sitting on a beach in Sicily for 6 days at temperatures that were at about 100 degrees daily. So, yes, he will be the sexier one.

Pappardelle

I just saw this...I am having trouble reconciling how one can be a multi-lingual redneck. I could just hear Bubba down in Tex-ass telling you "You speaking that Eye-talian again, boy?" I have gotten flack from college educated people (mostly in the uptight NW) for speaking foreign languages in the office to friends or even while making reservations with Iberia or TAP on the phone.Pontiac is not a redneck brand at all. It's just a kick-ass niche brand for the General. I think the rear lights on this new car are 'effin terrible. They say "Mitsubishi 3000" in a big way. Do something original. I can design better cars than most of these f@#ks and I don't even have the specialized training!

Tortellini just finished a plate

Someone you really want to be hanging with to improve your standard of living...

She does not feel up for the trip.Plus, if you knew how screwed up and catty the relatives were in 2000 (you know, Americans must have money) when she was last there, she has chosen never to make the trip again and I don't blame her. I head for Sicily tomorrow AM and will not be seeing any of my relatives down there.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

crazy (the people...)