The Pope, Rainy Days, and Cannoli's

Last Saturday was one of the many rainy days we've had in Rome since we got here. I believe it's going to be a nicer week. (Well, in comparison to NY right now, any day here in Rome is nice.)

The day was originally going to be spent by visiting the Pyramid. Yes, a pyramid in Rome. However, since it was raining, we decided to make it a study day.


We walked with our umbrellas already opened and braved the rain and headed down my favorite street, Via del Corso, in search of highlighters (haha, since ours are already dried up). We walked 'til we got to Via dei Greci where we found the oldest english bookshop in Rome, The Lion Bookshop. It was such a relief to walk into this quaint little bookshop. It was quiet and for once, everything I looked at was in english. I picked up a Dublin travel guide in the sale section, which is this little backroom with books piled up all against the wall. Camay found 'The Color Purple' and finished the last few pages of it since she didn't get the chance to back home. We sat in the little kid table and just read our books as the rain poured outside. Then, as we were getting up and beginning to walk around once more, they began to play The Tings Tings and James Morrison. It was really good to hear the soft hum of their songs playing while I left the store. It was definitely refreshing because I felt like I was back home in the States.


After, we headed to the metro and went to the metro stop Colosseo to study in a cafe that was suggested to us. When we got out of the metro, the huge colosseum unraveled itself from the rainy skies. I couldn't get over the fact that I was in front of the Colosseum. I had seen this structure in textbooks, travel channel, and on the internet since I was younger. I'm actually checking stuff off my life-goals checklist! Anyways, it's crazy how I was standing in front of ancient history. I saw "Roman" Guards in full get-up, yelling 'Photo!'. Then it began to pour like crazy. They scurried along the circle with us, one of them yelling 'Hey' to Camay and went to find cover. Even though it was still raining, the sun was out! This made for great pictures. But, it was also very windy. My umbrella is retarded and I'm probably going to have to buy one soon, but it flipped backwards in the wind and Camay wouldn't help me until she got a picture! It turned out to be my FAVORITE picture in Rome so far. We went to Cafe Cafe, ordered some frutella and desserts, and studied in low lights and to soft jazz music playing in the background. It was so relaxing. We stayed there all afternoon and then headed back to the Colosseum to get some pictures during the night time.


Then, we headed back to Lepanto, the metro stop near our campus, and went in search for a new retaurant that took TicketRestaurant, which is what the school has given us instead of meals. They are tickets that restaurants and tavola calda's (hot plate restaurants) accept. After a long and tiring search, we settled for this scottish pub that we saw had the sticker on the door. We walked in and were seated by the TV where everyone was watching the soccer game. Hah, we're in a scottish pub where romans are watching a soccer game eating hamburger and fries. Oh, Italy. So we ordered our pasta and our drinks and waited. Funny enough, our drinks came before the meal. And when I mean drinks, I mean Camay's drink called 'Grappa' and my drink called 'Limoncello'. Her's was about 80-100 proof while mine was sweet but wayyy too strong. Not too long after, we got our pasta and ate our fill. I had about 5 small sips of my drink and handed it to Camay. Way too strong for me. So, she mixed hers and mine and actually finished it. So, if you're ever in Rome, and want to try some drinks only found in Italy, try Limoncello and Grappa, you'll have a grand 'ol time.


The next day, we went to the Vatican for mass. Another check off my life-goal's list. We went through security and escaped inside to this beautiful basilica that I just couldn't get over. Everywhere I go, I am truly astounded at the detail and preservation of such buildings. I was late to mass, so there were no more seats available, but I happily stood and kneeled on the ground with no complaints. Just being able to attend mass in St. Peter's Basilica was enough for me. I was overcome with emotion as I walked in line and joined the hundreds of Romans and other pilgrims to receive the bread. As I got closer and closer to the altar and the huge orant statues atop it, I just couldn't believe how I was there. I'm a Roman Catholic in Rome celebrating a Catholic mass. I can't believe how blessed I am.


After Mass, we went into the piazza and low and behold...The Pope was at his window talking to the crowd in all different languages. He had many people cheering for him, whom I lovingly called, 'Pope groupies'. They waved signs and had pompoms and cheered every chance they could. He released 2 white doves at the end. It was very surreal. I didn't get to see the Pope while in NY, so wow, I got to see him in The Vatican. I'm also going to be a part of the Papal Audience next week, I'm so excited. We then went to go buy some souvenirs and I adored the fake/stolen Gucci's, Prada's, and Fendi's that were being sold on the sidewalk (literally, on the floor). That is, until the sellers grabbed them and ducked when the police car whizzed past. At least in chinatown there were stores! Camay made dinner (an amazing pasta with breaded chicken) and we slept.


Monday, monday, monday! Monday was our first on-site visit in our City of Rome art class. We went to Circo Massimo, the Palatine Hill, The Roman Forum, and finally, inside the Colosseum. Circo Massimo is the remains of an actual circus. The Palatine Hill is where Rome was founded by Romolus and from the Domus' (rich people houses) atop the hill, there were still remains of the marble on the walls and beautiful marble flooring. The Roman Forum was wonderful! It was strange stepping through the remains of what was the center of Rome before. The colosseum was breathtaking. I couldn't believe I was there! We watched Gladiator in class the previous week, so seeing it in real life was crazy! We tooks tons of wild and fun pictures in the Colosseum.


We headed to Pastarito near the campus and had calzones, which, once again, beat any calzone I've ever had. It would have been a really nice late lunch except for the fact that a bum man-handled me! Ugh, so we were sitting there about to pay, and he comes out of nowhere and begins speaking to me in Italian. I really didn't know what he was saying or what to say to him but then he grabs my chin (AH!) and then points to my wallet. 'Oh, he wants money.' Since none of the workers in the restaurant were doing anything about the situation except standing and watching, I gave him a euro and he pinched my cheek and patted my back. I was very shaken and completely annoyed. I was losing euros left and right (well, not literally, but laundry isn't exactly free). Then, to end the night, I got my food stamps (TicketRestaurant) and had 2 cannoli's. I don't think I've ever tasted something so delectible in my life! It was a great way to finish a long day.


I've already written a lot, so I'll write about Tuesday, today, everything else in another entry. So here's some pictures.

Tivoli, Italy

as promised, more pictures from Tivoli!

expect a written entry in a few hours.

Pantheon, Pinocchio, and Piazza's

on wednesday, i went to mensa caritas, which is the soup kitchen i'll be doing service in while in rome. it's all the way on the termini stop on the metro line and is a long walk down a scary road. we will be put into different stations, depending on what needs to be covered, but this week we started in la sala, where we would fill up water jugs and assist anyone who needed anything. we were told that the sorta of people that come into this soup kitchen range from young to old, immigrant and italians. we went with a bunch of semester students and Antonella, who is the woman in charge of all community service activities. it was very scary at first. mostly because Antonella told us that some men will definitely try to hit on you. and it's not that i'm scared of getting 'hit on', it's more like..'well, i don't know what you're saying to me'. the language barrier is still my biggest issue. it was difficult trying to have a conversation with someone who knew very little english just as how i know very little italian. i learned words like sale (salt), mi dispiache (i'm sorry), non è possibile (it's not possible), and più (more). it was a very tiring night and i have no idea why. i'm able to walk all over Rome but standing around and getting water for tables was much more exhausting for some reason. it was quite an experience. camay went to go get a frappe which is sort of like a milkshake. i'm going to get one soon. then to end the night, we watched mean girls. i mean, it was wednesday (oops, we forgot to wear pink).

thankfully, we didn't have class the next day. we woke up around 11am on thursday and headed to the Pantheon! we walked passed the People's Square, beginning our day with a trusty self-timer taken picture. we went into a basilica (I need to find out it's name) on Via del Corso and it was gorgeous. every inch of the basilica was covered with splendid detail. after the basilica, we walked along and turned when the sign pointed us to another street. on the way, we stumbled upon Temple Adriano. we weren't actually planning on it, and i accidently mistook it for the Panthon (ah, don't shoot me) but it's quite a sight in itself. we took some pictures, went on our way, and found...PINNOCHIO! i completely forgot Pinnochio is an italian story. so we made some kissy faces with pinnochio and a few steps later, the Pantheon unfolded from behind the corner and i found myself saying loudly, 'oh my God, this is it! it's amazing!'. i quickly ran, skipped, and hopped to get a great picture (and even had enough time to snap a picture of italian nuns in there habits scurrying along pass the Pantheon. there were "roman" guards in full gear outside the landmark yelling, 'Photo?!' i didn't do my research, so i was surprised to see that the Pantheon is actually Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyrs. i said a little prayer and took some pictures inside this enormouse, historic building. i also didn't know that Raphael, the italian artist, was buried there (oh yeah, along with the first two kings of Italy).

outside the pantheon is a fountain and we stole some pictures from there, as well, and then we were on our way to Piazza Navona. or so we thought. we actually went in the opposite direction and found ourselves in front of other glorious, unplanned (for the day) sights of rome! we literally were looking for a sign or street leadin to Piazzao Navona and I turned and saw a green courtyard with the doors widen open to the building. i grabbed my 'when in rome' book and saw that it was Chiesa di Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, which was built into the original sight of Rome's first university. after some really awesome pictures, we walked along the street and found we were heading to Campo de'Fiori instead. so, we let out wanderings bring us to the open are street market (which was unfortunately already packing up and cleaning up). we attempted to find the remains of the theatre of pompeii but i forgot to read the bottom of the description in my book where it says that the buildings in the area are curved because they were built OVER the remains. big fail.

we headed back, determined to reach piazza navona, and we did! i love how the litte streets are always so packed with people and stores and motorbikes and little smartcars and then the huge scenery unfolds within seconds. Masterpiece sculpture/fountains by artists Bernini and Barromini filled square along with local artists trying to sell their pantings. after this, we decided, 'what the hey, we're out here anyway, what else can we stumble upon'. well good lookin' len and camay 'cause i found a vodafone which sells sim cards! unfortunately, i found out later, everything was in italian and only works in italy, contrary to what i thought before. from there, we went all the way back, bought a pinnochio souvenir (because i absolutely had to), and looked for le pain quotiediene. what we actually found was la baguette, formerly le pain quotiediene. we bought some coffee's (gasp, i drank coffee) and some desserts. after a long day, we scurried back, taking another self-timer picture at the same spot from earlier in the day, and then headed back to the dorms.

we were supposed to go to sleep early because we were going to head to Tivoli (a city outside Rome, in the moutains) but we ended up staying up late, again. i was definitely steaming that morning because the peoply coming back from clubs and bars were yelling and screaming when they came back, as if no one was asleep. gaahh. anyways, we woke up early and i ended up falling asleep on the bus while en route to Tivoli. thank goodness i brought my scarf because it was very chilly up there. in rome, it's been a very nice and steady 50-60 degree weather. tivoli, as dominico, our student affairs coordinator, had said, we were going to go to villa d'ete, which was apparantly one of the most beautiful villas in tivoli. and he was right.

my first impression of the villa is that right outside of it was an awesome fountain (pictures to ensue) and that right inside, the bushes were all wrapped with white linen for the cold season. i've always been a sucker to go see mansions, old historic houses, and villas because all this grandeur and design was made so that someone could LIVE in it. i cannot believe that people used to live in those beautiful rooms, rooms for every occassion. the garden was one of the best parts because it had fountains everywhere you turned. just absolutely splendid.

after villa d'ete, we strolled through the streets of tivoli and it was so quaint. it's just such a quite mountain village and everyone was doing their business on this very slow friday morning. after everyone on the tour, except camay and i, grabbed something to eat, i thought we were going to head to villa gregoriano, but we were vetoed by the people that said they wanted to head back to the dorms already. i was already mad at most of them for waking me up because of their screaming and yelling at 4am, but now they were bitching and moaning because they were tired and wanted to head back. what about the people that WANTED to still look around. sigh, what's done is done.

i slept through the bus ride back to rome and once we got back, camay and i walked on the other side of our neighborhood and discovered new places to eat and filled up our water bottles again. we've finished laundry and i hope we get to watch enchanted tonight.

ciao for now.

ps, get SKYPE so that we can voicechat (since my webcam doesn't work) online. my skypename is lenelilove.
and i have some pictures from tivoli on here, but more the next entry since camay has the some good ones.

gelato, panini's, & cheers from Rome!

camay and i have now become regulars at Standa, which is their supermarket. i have officially become a die hard fan of baguette's (which btw is only .79euros). i think i'm going to buy a fresh one everyday (or every other day). i love to just walk into the deli and bread section and inhale it's beautiful, fresh breadi-ness. lol. supermarket quirks i've come to notice: pasta > rice (they only have small boxes of rice. they have a whole aisle on just pasta alone) cheese and meat come in slices of only 4, no grated cheese, everything is pork, plastic forks cost more than spoons (if it's the same thing in NY, it's something i never noticed), and wine is superrr cheap (too bad i can't bring any onto campus OR any home!). food quantities are smaller in rome. our standard size fridge in american is actually considered 'large'. we're living on milk for breakfast because camay bought oatmeal and cereal and we're filling up our water bottles from the sidewalk fountains. yes! sidewalk fountains. it looks like an open hydrant, but it's actually fresh water from the mountains running through the system to come out through these fountains in the middle of the sidewalks!

my diet has consisted of pasta, pizza, and cheeeeese. i am in either food heaven or on my way to hell. i always thought NY pizza was the best pizza 'cause, well, you can't fold a chicago deep dish pizza. but i don't think it can even compare now that i've had authentic italian pizza. you order by weight, so you can order as much as you want, depending on how much you wish to spend. they are cut into sicilian slices and you can, as they've all asked us, to 'take away' or to 'stay'. when you 'take away' your slices, they fold it like a sandwhich and hand it to you in wax paper and you can walk out and eat it. it's actually much more convenient than the NY slice! my favorite is the eggplant parmeasean (but i really enjoyed the sausage and mushroom one, too). i also had my first taste of this italian speciality called 'arancine'. it's amazing. it's a fried rice ball with anything you want on the inside, like mozzarella, spinach, ham, etc. i had mozzarella and ham. mm, good. from the groceries we bought at Standa, Camay was able to make us this chicken/cheese/tomato sandwhich. one of the semester students kept coming in saying that it smelled good. well, let's just say it smelled just as good as it tasted.

i had my first authentic gelato and it was to die for. 'uno conno, per favore!' (one cone, please!) and 'canoli e cioccolato, grazi!' (canoli and chocolate, thank you!). so yes, i had canoli and chocolate gelato scoops in this tiny cone and then strolled the streets of rome enjoying every lick. i also ordered a panini! the panini's here look nothing like panini's in NY! who came up with the idea of putting stuff into flatbread! not the italians! i haven't even seen any flatbread. panini is really just a whitebread sandwhich with whatever you want in it. but it's pretty cheap,so that's good.

i'm going for canoli's tomorrow with a group of students and probably will never look at canoli's back in the states the same way. i'm sorry america, but the original always wins.

speaking of america, what an amazing day it must of have been there! INAUGURAL DAY! while i was on break from my 3 (supposed to be 4) hour class, i ran to the TV lounge and caught the beginning of Bush And Obama leaving the White house and watched as long as i could before returning to class. the seats were already quite filled when i came and left. by the time class ended, it was PACKED. i can't even imagine the pride in America right now. but as the St. John's Rome Campus gathered to watched on two big flat screens in a lounge, you could definitely be sure that there were cheers from Rome about our 44th president and our FIRST black and biracial president!

i'm currently watching the live stream right now on CNN/Facebook. I think, especially for a lot of people abroad and unable to watch it on TV, CNN has made it possible for everyone to be apart of history. i am praying for the Obama's,Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd who needed medical attention (Kennedy because of seizures) during the presidential luncheon, America, and the world. i pray for everyone.

on other notes, i got to stroll rome at night and it's quite beautiful. but VERY quiet. 4 hour classes might possibly be the death of me. i loved how guys down the hall were blasting taylor swift and singing along. the bathrooms are disgusting.

here are some more photo's from my adventure. ALL photos will be available on my flickr. link on the side.




ciao for now!

CIAO, Roma!

Wow, I cannot believe I am in Rome! (Or as the Italians say, Roma!) Some few things to note so far is that do not take roses from strangers on the streets when there are guys with you because they expect the guys to pay for it, keep bags as close to the body as much as possible, and practice italian as much as you can!

The plane ride over was exhausting. I boarded the plane at JFK, January 15th, after crying a little after leaving my family and Harold. After a little more tears in the plane, I listened to Kings of Leon, Jason Mraz , watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and some of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and had my first glass of wine without being carded! I landed at Heathrow in London. Heathrow is crazy! It's just a big airport made of glass. After running to my transfer flight which was only about 40 minutes after I landed, I boarded my plane to Rome (I slept through it).

When I touched down in Rome on January 16th, I met up with Camay after being lonely for many hours, who was on another flight, and we boarded the St. John's shuttle bus and headed to downtown Rome. There's so much graffitti here, more than NY (if that's possible). We ended up in this little street, which I later found out is named Via Marcantonia. We, as in the entire DTW group, began to roll our luggages round the corner and found ourselves in front of the SJU Rome Campus. We thankfully did not have to drag any of our luggage up because our RA brought them up in the elevator.

Camay and I walked into our rooms and yelled for joy. Not only do we have double beds, but a room with a KILLER view! We overlook the street below and see the rooftops in sunrise and sunset. We are also the corner room and the closest to the bathroom and laundry room. The only flaw right now is that the bathroom is co-ed. But either way, Kudos Rome Campus! Our room began on one side but we moved everything to our liking.

Then today, we woke up to the Roman sun coming through our window, got to the shower (before anyone else could), and then had orientation. We went on a short neighbordhood tour to check out where we could buy groceries and where to use our meal plan tickets. I bought milk (latter) and it was difficult because I got some attitude from the cashier but that's expected. Then bought some eggplant parmesean pizza. Then had an 'italian lecture with Gianna' who told us that when italian boys invite you for 'coffee' they really mean for sex.And there's no turning back once you do. That's sorta scary. Also, that italians don't wanna hear that you're from Jersey but from NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA, MIAMI! Lol, Gianna's hilarious. We finally then went on a historical center tour of the nearby areas. We went to this villa (which I don't remember the name of right now), the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain! I didn't get to throw any coins into the fountain, so I'm going back some time this week. One coin means you'll return to Rome, two coins means you'll marry in Rome, three coins means you'll marry a Roman! We passed by Armani, Prada, Valentino, and I drooled a little.

I am sitting in the dorms listening to Joe Jonas (hah), facing the window with this black sky and a faint glow from street lights. I planned to go to the Trinita dei Monti for church tomorrow morning. Hopefully the Vatican this week. That's it for now folks, here's a few photos. More on my facebook. I plan to make a flickr at some point for my photos.

Posthumous.

on january 23rd, 2008, i posted an entry on how much this evergrowing actor will be missed.

at the 2009 Golden Globes, last night, Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

the film’s director, Christopher Nolan, accepted the statuette from presenter Demi Moore and said “All of us who worked with Heath accept this with an awful mixture of sadness and incredible pride. After Heath passed on, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema — but with the extraordinary response to his work that we’ve seen all over the world, I, for one, start to be able to look a bit less at that gap in the future and a little bit more at the incredible place in the history of cinema that he built for himself with his talent and with his dedication to his artistry. For any of us lucky enough to work with him or to have enjoyed his performance, he will be eternally missed, but he will never be forgotten.” - credit: justjared.com

having seen most, of not all, of ledger's movies since 10 Things, back in '99, i believe this was the best way to honor him. on january 22, a year to date since his untimely death, the nominations for the academy awards will be released. & i know this is heath's year for wins.

the Oscars are scheduled for Feb. 22. And though nothing is certain, Ledger is likely to be, to use the Joker’s words, this year’s “unstoppable force.” - credit: nydailynews.com

so here's to you, heath.

------

other little notes:

+ the curious case of benjamin button left empty-handed!

- i've never seen slumdog millionare (best motion picture for drama, best screenplay, best director, and best original score) or the wrestler, where mickey rourke won best actor, but i hope this movie gets some recognition at the oscars!

+ anna paquin & true blood wins!

- come on, how can a crazy girl with a great louisiana accent who loves southern vampires not win!

+ oh, kate!

- kate winslet, one of my favorite actresses, wins for revolutionary road. the movie that reuinted THE movie couple. that woman can do no wrong.

+ neil patrick harris

- call me biased because i watched him on SNL this past week, but he shoulda won for his nom.

i'm a sucker for these award things.

don't forget the little people. literally.

big people making even bigger moves.

top $ raz

www.myspace.com/farrockchamp
get his album off itunes!
& check him out live @ the bowery poetry club for Bondfire!

fall of the albatross


www.myspace.com/fallofthealbatross (new mixed song, new layout!)
come check 'em out live this wednesday @ Plush in Flushing.
if you can't make it then, make SURE to come out to the event on this flyer. if they win this battle, they move on as national finalists and could win a chance at a 25k record deal. even if they place 2nd nationally, they still win! they'll be able to go on a 25-city tour! let's make it happen. =]

Salve, Bonjour, Hello 2009!

as i stand here at one of the computers at work, scanning film negatives to the computer and simultaneously observing my boss as he toys around with an ancient and large flash, which he has affectionately named the "real big monster", for his nikon to use at a party he's shooting tomorrow, i figured i'd write a blog entry.

i wish i had remembered on the 20th of november that my blog turned a year old so i could throw it a birthday post. but i forgot. i'm a bad mama.

looking back at the entries i've posted over last year, i can't believe i'm currently where i am now. i mean, last year, i blogged when my bed was on the other side of the room!

...all sarcasm aside. i can't deny what an exciting year '08 was. and, through it all, i've been able to share my life through this blog with my future self and others that have stumbled upon it. but, the thing i've noticed about myself, as a blogger, is that i don't reflect often about myself. or really, at all. and i believe that's the biggest flaw in this blog. i don't want to look back at the entries years from now and not know what i'm feeling. i'll know what happened. i'll know who i interviewed, whose concert i went to, what i did that day, but will i ever remember the emotions attached to them? no, i don't think so. so i'm beginning now.

today is the second day of the year 2009. last night i pulled out my big red suitcase and one of it's matching carry-on's and dusted off any debris that had accumulated on it since its last voyage back early last year. it might possibly be the luckiest piece of luggage on earth because it shall be my bag as i travel through europe. hemwattie was kind enough to follow through by coming over after i explained that i "opened the suitcase and didn't know what to do".

as i waited for hemwattie to finish dinner, i called up camay, who is the other lucky piece of luggagge (no, just kidding, camay, lol) that will be traveling with me. after having not seeing/talking to eachother, when we used to see eachother at least twice a week during the semester, it was good to hear her voice and finally discuss some issues about europe. we're planning to get together in person to finalize. i think my eyes opened wide and jaw dropped a little, after i hung up with her. our conversation made me realize that there's so much to be done in such little time.

when hemwattie finally arrived (and manny had finished assaulting her), we went to my dungeon/oasis and sat on the floor looking at my two big stacks of laundry and an empty red suitcase. i do remember actually scratching my head in confusion. but after an awkward 10 seconds of befuddlement, i pulled the laundry towards me and we disected each piece of clothing one by one. the conversation went something like this,

"do you need that?"
"no, but i want it."
-toss clothing to 'NO' pile-

after about two hours of clearing through clothes, we hopped onto the bed and looked online for other things that i'm supposed to stuff into my bag. apparantly i need sink stopper. then we weighed my massive suitcase and it came out to be already 25 pounds! i scratched my head again.

you see, for international flights, 50lbs is allowed. but since i'm travelling between four-five countries, the limit allowed is only 40lbs. and since i DO plan on buying a few trinkets to bring back home, i need to save some space in my luggage. meaning, i need to re-think my plan of 25lbs of just clothes.

after hemwattie left (and after manny had finished assaulting her), i sat in my room and thought, "wow, am i really leaving in less than two weeks?" for someone who opted to stay home for college, it's a wild idea. i'm not exactly sure why the idea is so frightening to me now. i've spent my whole life being the eager beaver to jump on a plane or get into a car and just travel, just get away. but this is europe. i'll be an ocean away from family, from my boyfriend, from my friends (except for one who is awesome enough to share the same interest in travel as i do). english is the second, if not third, language for 1/2 of these countries. but then i look at my suitcase and smile.

i have nothing to be afraid of. 2009, i know you will take care of me. i know you have big plans for me and so i will follow through dutifully. i'm sorry, in advance, if i stray away from the path once in awhile, but trust me, i'll get back on it. 2008blessed me with opportunities very few have. i am more than gracious for them. so i know you have many things in store for me in this coming year, good and bad, and i will take them head on.

to quote taylor swift from her performance in times square this year,
“‘Cause this is a new year, a new beginning and things will change.”