The days after Christmas

Sorry for my absence, again! The problem is, Christmas festivities take up a lot of time, with all those lunches, dinners, relatives around...
Now, though, most of that is gone, and that makes for extremely boring days! And, unfortunately, these aren't even particularly nice: from ill grannies to parents about to undergo surgery...that means spending a lot of precious time at home! :(
Of course, this isn't making me particularly happy; but then, I realise that in a couple of days I will be in the mountains to celebrate New Year's Eve!
Weird winter, this: it hasn't snowed at all, even in the mountains...and it's not good! But it's going to be fun anyway!
Stay tuned for more coming in the next few days!

Christmas week

Haven't been posting for a few days. You missed me, didn't you? :D
Honestly, I haven't had that much to say, last week.
Boring, sad days...apart from Friday night, when I had dinner out!
In the weekend, though, things went better: I got my first Christmas gifts and met up with a dear friend! Last night, though...
I went home slightly late, and started watching a new TV series! 100 Code, it's called. It tells the story of an American detective, Tommy Conley (Dominic Monaghan), who goes to the stunningly beautiful city of Stockholm (where else?) to investigate on a serial murderer who, apparently, started killing in New York City and then continued his spree in Sweden. Here, he is teamed up with Stockholm Police detective Mikael Eklund (Michael Nyqvist), whose methods are entire different from his new colleague's...
I've just seen four episodes so far, that is, just one third of the whole series, and I already love it! I'm not giving you any further information...if you're interested, just watch it!
Quite apart from this, I wish you all a nice week, and...see you soon! :)

Things I have learnt in one and a half year on Instagram (plus something else)

Ah, this week...
All the courses and modules in this semester have come to an end, so this week I am completely free! Before you start thinking that's awesome!, please keep in mind that, for me, there is nothing as boring as having nothing to do and staying at home!
I have, then, decided to write a new post. Something funny, not serious! So here we are.
The subject I have chosen is Instagram, the popular, photo-based social networking service. 
For a long time I thought Instagram to be absolute rubbish; but then, some friends persuaded me, and I joined it in August 2014.
Almost one and a half year after opening my own profile, I can say I have learnt a thing or two about the people who populate such network. Some of them, like the enormous number of fake profiles, are pretty obvious. Others aren't.
Here are the funniest ones, according to me: (NO DISCRIMINATION INTENDED!)

• As a social network, it doesn't offer much, in terms of actual communication between members, but still, some very good (amazing, actually...) friendships have started from there;
• There is a huge number of people around my age who still have an interest in cars and racing, a lot more than I expected, but still less than the bloody hipsters (and then they wonder why I hate fashion...). Of those racing enthusiasts, the majority seem to be girls, which is not bad at all (unless you are a sexist twat);
• Most of the above mentioned girls seem to be Swedish or, more generally, Scandinavian (other not bad thing);
• There are people who look like they are kind of obsessed with my profile: they like every single thing I post, from beautiful landscapes to nerdy stuff, EVERYTHING! And they are girls, so...can it be that they are secretly in love with me? :D (one of them is 6 years younger than me, so I definitely hope NOT; the others...I have no idea!);
• #throwbackthursday is a nice thing to me;
• The algorithm they use to give you suggestions for the people to follow is RUBBISH, as it thinks I might be interested in following footballers, socialites like Kim Kardashian and, even worse, MALE FASHION BLOGGERS! Can't possibly find anything farther from my tastes and interests;
• Last, but not least: those who kindly asked me to open an Instagram profile, promising that they would have followed me...well, they've been the first to ignore me! Okay.

Having discussed my Instagram experience, I would also like to talk a little about music: in the last few weeks, (too) many people in Italy have strongly criticised British singer Adele, whose new single, Hello, had just been released. It seemed as if, in those people's opinions, Adele had reached the lowest possible point, in terms of quality, in the whole of international music. First of all, I think that, while she is not my favourite singer and I do realise that her songs are not the happiest of them all, she is not as bad a singer as they want us to believe! To me, the lowest point in music has been reached by those extremely successful (an undeserved success, I believe) wanna-be rappers, the most influent of whom is the one who is also a judge on the Italian edition of The X Factor. If you are Italian, then you certainly know who I am referring to. If you are not, don't even bother: they REALLY are rubbish!

The end of first semester

Everything comes to an end. That includes, of course, semesters at university. This has mostly been a week of festivities, so I only had a class this morning. From next week onwards, I'll be (almost) completely free. I will, then, have time to think about Christmas presents and everything related to that day. Already booked my New Year's Eve in the mountains, just like two years ago. There's quite a bit of interest, this year, so I'm sure there'll be many other people, most of whom I already know! Not bad.
Just read the news. My dear and favourite driver, Ramona Karlsson, has just announced her pregnancy!  And of course, I couldn't help but wish her all the best! Hope the baby is going to be even just half as beautiful as his/her mother!
Strangely, though, she hadn't appeared in that dream I had last week...
Other than that, I wish you all a nice and pleasant weekend!

Boring days

I am so sorry for not regularly updating my blog in the last few days; the problem is, I couldn't find any inspiration to write.
Don't you think, however, that I am going to give up with this! I am sure that I will find new ideas soon!
The last few days have been quite boring and poor of things to do; Also, my grandmother has been hospitalised a fortnight ago, due to lung and heart problems, and only went home on Monday, even though she'd better have undergone rehabilitation at a specialised clinic. Other than that, my fitness plans are still going well, even though my instructor isn't exactly as serious as he ought to be: he prefers fooling around with women and girls instead of giving useful tips to us guys, he keeps telling stupid jokes and references sex-related topics every now and then. Annoying, isn't he?
All my closest friends are feeling well, some have exams, others are working, and it's always nice to hear from them!
I'm already thinking about Christmas gifts: I think I'll spend a couple of days abroad in February or March, but still I haven't decided where to go exactly. I have an idea, though...
On the other hand, I am sure my beloved sister is going to buy me a book. Chosen by me.
See you all soon! :)

Weird dreams

It's not the first time, nor will it be the last one. Last night, after having watched Fjällbackamorden, I was having a very good sleep. Then, all at a sudden, I started to dream. A strange one.
Let me describe it.
I was attending a high-profile rallycross event on what appeared to be an improvised track (seriously? Professionals racing on an improvised track in world-class cars? Can't be real! And it wasn't.)
A heat was about to start, and one of the teams found itself, for no apparent reason, without a driver, so...They started looking for a replacement...among the audience! A member of the audience was about to be randomly selected to compete in the race!
Weird.
And, of course, that one was me. Don't ask why.
I lined up on the starting grid, don't remember which car I was in. Full throttle, anti-lag system on, green light, off we go. I was, APPARENTLY, racing against the likes of Petter Solberg, Johan Kristoffersson, Timmy Hansen and others. Me, a 21-and-a-half year old who's never driven anything faster than a Toyota Prius. Can't be real.
A couple of corners into the race, while trying to defend my fourth place, I spin. Sixth place out of six. But I keep pushing. By the end of the race, I manage to get to P3, behind Solberg and Hansen. And there I stay, till the chequered flag.
I repeat, once for all, that it all was A DREAM. I would also like to specify that I hadn't drunk anything else than water before going to bed.
But still, I wouldn't mind if anyone ever gave me a chance to drive in there...
One for the closing photos,  the one with the sunset, is mine. The other isn't, and therefore belongs to its rightful owner.

A new week begins

Today is the last Monday in November. A new week begins. Today is going to be a pretty normal day: university right now, then lunch, a little rest, training for an hour, dinner, family time, sleep, and repeat. Still waiting for videos from the Nismo Festival to be uploaded. Speaking of racing, yesterday marked the end of the World Rallycross championship season, with Robin Larsson winning in Argentina, and Petter Solberg being declared world champion for the second time; the title was to be decided in this race, as Timmy Hansen of Sweden was a definite contender, but he still got a honourable second place as well as the Teams' Championship title. Unlike in F1, where Lewis Hamilton's domination became clear a few races back (and, in case you were wondering, he is NOT my favourite driver).
That said, I wish you all a pleasant week! Stay tuned for more contents coming in the next days!
I'm closing this post with a picture of the sky, last night at sunset. I loved those colours.

A happy weekend

Okay, it might seem like a pretty average weekend, but it isn't.
I am pleased because last Friday, after my usual training, followed by a good dinner, I spent most of my evening on Skype, talking to my dear friend Katie from England! We first met last spring in Salzburg, during the Erasmus, and we have quickly become friends! It's always nice to hear from each other. She is a languages student, and since one of the three languages she studies is Italian...she often asks me for help, and being helpful to a good friend is a thing that makes me really, really happy! We've spent more than two hours talking, which means...we had so much to say!
She also recommended me, as I am on a diet, to have a treat day every week: mine was yesterday in the evening. I treated myself to some mixed fried fish with baked potatoes (delicious! but I'm not going to have another one for at least ten days...), and an amazing, three-layer chocolate cake! I'm staying low-fat for today. I promise.
Other nice things? Well, if I were in Japan, I could have been to the Nismo Festival at Fuji Speedway. I'm not, so...I must be thankful to the people who invented live streaming. And social networking sites. And hope that, someday, I'll be there. Probably.

Public transport

Every Italian commuter knows the struggle, especially if they use trains. Delays. Cancellations. Heating systems gone mad (completely off in winter and on full power in spring). And, today, was no exception.
I arrive at the station. My train is 40 minutes behind schedule. But, even in that case, I'd have had all the time to get to university. Then it is cancelled. Having used them pretty much every day for about eight years, I was prepared to such events. So I had to call my father who picked me up and drove me to a nearby village, where I could catch a bus. Which, luckily, was on time. And heated. Even though the man sitting in front of me reeked disgustingly. But that's another story...
Then I found out, the train I was waiting for was stopped by a breakdown, so they had to send an engine to tow it. Which means...It hasn't been cancelled at all!!!
ARE YOU JOKING, OR WHAT?
This, then, is the everyday life of an Italian commuter. If you are reading from abroad, I sincerely hope that railway services in your country are not this rubbish. Ours aren't even cheap...
As EVERY CLOUD HAS ITS SILVER LINING, last night I watched Fjällbackamorden. And that's nice.

Calm after the storm

Yes, really! Calm after the storm. Winter has been in the air for quite a few days, but last night...It showed up! There has been a big rainstorm, a couple of months after the last one, with strong winds too. And, up on the hills, it even snowed! Nothing to be worried about, but here, the first snow usually falls in mid-December! This afternoon I treated myself to a 100 or so kilometres drive in the countryside, going up the hills to see that snow. The roads were fairly clear, but in some spots, which aren't exposed to sunlight, the tarmac was wet and slippery, as the snow on it didn't melt properly. Result? If it was a bend, and it usually was, the car started to slip and slide. And, well, I'm not a skilled rally driver, so I was a bit frightened, and slowed down. But no crashes!!! :D
Speaking of rallying, today also marks the 20th anniversary of an important championship win: to be specific, on this day in 1995, legendary Scottish driver Colin McRae was declared, for the first and only time, World Champion. Whereas his story is well known, and his premature death in 2007 saddened a huge number of fans all over the world, I must say that my interest in rallying is in some way linked to him; precisely, around the age of ten, I started playing with a video game, belonging to an extremely successful series that carried his name. I therefore thought it was right to pay him a tribute on this day. Which I did, by means of this Instagram post.

Just another Friday

Friday, or: the worst day of the week in university.
Just one lecture today: Media professions. Boring as hell. Doesn't seem to make much sense either. But here I am. I luckily have with me a good read for the breaks, and once again, it's Camilla Läckberg.
Last night, boredom was taking over. I watched some Top Gear. Being in a brace yourselves, winter is coming mood (as it's already rather cold, here, but not freezing or snowy! 😁), my choice went for the Winter Olympics special. Speaking of winter, it's definitely the most boring season of the year, or at least, it is here. But, elsewhere in the world, things are surely different...just look at the photo below! (Picture belongs to its rightful owner)

Friendship

The time has come, for me, to have my say on friendship. First of all, I must admit that, in my childhood, I have never had quite as many friends as everyone else. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, the only other children I was in touch with were my schoolmates, and as you might have read on these very pages, there has never been much attachment between me and them. Briefly, many of them didn't really like me, and if I'm honest, I couldn't find anything likable in them either. This is the reason why I never really got along with the boys and girls I basically grew up with.
Then came the teenage years; and with that, my spectrum started to widen, as my age allowed me to attend summer camps with other teenagers, not necessarily from here. Nice, isn't it? Very nice indeed! That's where my first true friendships started! Really nice people, with most of whom I am still in touch today! Another important experience, as far as friendship is concerned, has been my Erasmus last spring! And also, there are a few people, with whom I have gotten in touch by means of social networking sites (Facebook, mostly) without having ever actually met in person. But still, I consider them as friends. Very good friends. Some of the best I have ever had. Physically very distant indeed, but technology makes us feel as though we were face to face! ☺
So, what is my definition of friendship? I will start with a quote from my favourite novel of all time, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson:

Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble.

That sums it up perfectly. You may respect many people, but needn't necessarily be friends with them to do so. Trust, then, is the real glue that joins two or more people in a relationship of every kind: a friendship, a professional relationship, a love story...
And, when all is said and done, it's fair to say that, many times, you get along better with people you barely ever met, or you haven't even met once, than you do with others you've known for decades. This is what happens to me. They trust me. I trust them. And we are happy with our friendship. And in some cases, we are definitely looking forward to that day when we'll finally meet...

PS: in case the aforementioned book has sparked any strange ideas in you...Please be aware that its female protagonist, who goes by the name of Lisbeth Salander, is THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what I would call my ideal woman. I loathe violence. I hate tattoos. I don't like girls covered in tattoos. And I wouldn't be exactly proud of being friends with someone like her...

Business as usual

Today has been...A pretty normal Monday. University in the morning, then lunch, some free time, training late in the afternoon, and so on. Unremarkable, in one word. But not boring! Once again, my training efforts are paying off, having lost a further 2 kg over the last fortnight. I started doing that without expecting great results...but I was wrong! Sometimes I just tend to underestimate myself...
I'm sure I will achieve some of my goals by Christmas...but then, I'll have to be careful with the typical lunches and dinners! 😃
Other than that, I'm enjoying a cosy evening, and tomorrow, in the evening...it's Fjällbackamorden time!
What will be shown next? One of the many series based on Wallander? Hopefully it will be!
Hope your week has begun in the best possible way. And wish you it will keep on being nice!
See you soon! ☺

Great racing news!

Yes, even in this weekend of bloodshed and violence there is space for some good news.
More specifically, I am talking about the Japanese Grand Touring car championship, now called Super GT, as this year, for the fourth time, Italian racing driver Ronnie Quintarelli has been crowned champion, together with his teammate, Tsugio Matsuda of Japan. Both drivers shared a factory-backed Nissan GT-R, competing in the series' GT500 class. With four championship wins (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015), all of which obtained at the wheel of a Nissan GT-R, Quintarelli has now become the most successful foreign driver to ever compete in the Super GT, formerly known as JGTC. I would like, then, to congratulate with him, and wish him all the best luck for all the years to come. As well as I wish I could ever have a chance to meet him!
There is, however, a problem. If you live in Italy, you will never see these news on any sports newspaper. They are all too busy covering that nasty shit called football! An Italian driver who wins in Japan is, in my opinion, a lot more deserving of coverage than a stupid twat of a footballer moving from one team to another for the sake of money! But here we are. The average Italian bloke thinks it's so interesting to watch 22 others chasing a ball for one and a half hour...
Sometimes they might show a modicum of interest in Formula One, but only if Ferrari scores any points, and also in motorcycling, especially when their idol (that one with number 46, I know his name but won't name him because he is extremely far from my idea of a good sportsman) has a clash with someone else, they must defend him, even if he is clearly, and undeniably, wrong. But a true Italian excellence in international motorsports? No thanks, and he even drives a Japanese car! (Needless to say, this last sentence is not my thought, I just want you to see how stupid people can be!)
Yes, of course we do have magazines which specialise in motorsports, and they luckily provide good coverage of these stories. But, as I said some time ago on this blog, who is interested in racing anymore? We are not many, but we are still passionate. And every time I meet another racing enthusiast, I realise we are actually a lot more than I was expecting.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent

Yesterday, I took a voluntary break from posting. I was shocked and horrified by the events that happened in Paris. I couldn't really find appropriate words to discuss the situation.

Every cloud has its silver lining

It all seemed very nice, when every single day in early November was sunny and warm. But now...The enchantment is over! It's all foggy and chilly again. As it should be, here, in this season. Not yet freezing cold, luckily!
But, as we Italians say, not all the evil comes to harm you, so even though the weather has changed (worsened, to be honest), it brought some nice things, too.
First of all, I just started reading The Preacher by Camilla Läckberg, and it's really, really nice! Thinking about the places where it's set always puts me in a good mood!
Second thing: after a few weeks I have learned how to use Snapchat. And on there, I think I am making a new friend: her name is Katya, she is roughly 18 years old, lives somewhere in the UK (where, I suppose, she was also born) and her father is a famous personality. Whom I hold in great esteem.

Fjällbackamorden - a series worth watching

Last night, I found myself craving for something nice to watch. I haven't considered streaming, mostly because it takes, to me at least, more time to decide what to watch than the episode actually lasts! So I resorted to the TV set in the living room. And things weren't promising well...
First of all, my dad was keeping on watching idiotic documentaries on how household objects like brooms, chopping boards, even toilet seats, are made. I can't find anything interesting in that. No one else does, I suppose. Adding insult to injury, he thinks that all the crime thrillers that me and my mum like watching so much are crap and only an idiot can watch them. Said the man who thinks it's interesting to see how a toilet seat is made...
The alternative appeared to be a stupid (Yes, for real!) comedy show...that isn't funny at all!
But, luckily, I remembered that a channel belonging to an important and famous publisher, every Tuesday evening, is broadcasting Swedish thrillers! So I tuned on that. And, for the first time in my life, I saw an episode of Fjällbackamorden! The series is based on the novels written by Camilla Läckberg, which I liked very much! 

What makes, then, this series so nice to me? Well, the stories are fine, but the setting, the landscapes...those are simply amazing! 
As the name itself suggests, it is set in Fjällbacka, a small town on the western coast of Sweden, north of Gothenburg. The author was born there...such a lucky woman you are, Camilla!
It reminds me of another series I loved, Morden i Sandhamn, set on the island of Sandon, Stockholm archipelago, also based on a series of novels by Viveca Sten.
Next step? Going there and visiting those places, of course!

A warm, sunny November?

Yes, you have read it right! A couple of weeks ago I was telling you about the typical autumn weather in this part of Italy, that is: cold and foggy! Now that the month of November has begun, things seem to have changed. Dramatically. Early in the morning, it's chilly as usual. But later in the day (not much later, around 11)...Thanks to the shining sun, it settles on a lovely 20°C! Nice, for sure, but as soon as you realise you've gone out wearing warm clothes, it starts to be a little too warm! It feels a lot like early spring. But with the beautiful colours of autumn. And that's not bad at all!

A little ride in the afternoon

A warm, sunny afternoon on a Sunday in November? Seize the moment!
It feels a bit strange to find such a nice day in this season, but it's been a good opportunity to do some open-air activities, like cycling! That's exactly what I do in the sunny months to keep myself fit, 20 kilometres every day, in the sun, on country roads! Sunday, of course, has the worst traffic of the whole week, but the back roads remain enjoyable, so I rode for 30.29km, in one hour and 49 minutes. I reckon I could do better, but I admit my pace was a bit...leisurely! It's been nice, though, and that made me happy! I definitely needed it! ☺

A couple of photos are always welcome, so...here they are! By the way, the sign on the second one indicates dangerous potholes: a common sight on Italian roads! even though I didn't really want to capture it!

How I fell in love with reading...and why, once again, we'll live happily ever after

My dear readers and friends,
I am now pretty sure you know that my favourite hobby is, and has been for quite some time, reading. For the second time, I would like to say this is more than an interest; it's more of a love story, just like the one with the English language I described last week. And however strange it might seem, this one started even earlier!
To be honest, I don't remember how, but at the age of three and a half years, I was already able to read. What I clearly remember, though, is that this fact caused mixed reactions among the people around me: schoolmates made me unpopular; teachers were half impressed, half shocked; but the worst of them all were some parents who started pressing on my parents with stupid theories on my mental health. Twats. Just like the children they gave birth to. And with whom I never became friends, and rightly so. But that's another story...
In my childhood, then, I spent most of my time reading, instead of playing with the others. But not reading comic books, children's magazines and stuff like that: no, I was a lot more interested in science, nature and technology! Very nerdy, then!
In primary and middle school, my reading skills were, as a matter of fact, better than my mates', and I was extremely proud of being able to read long and complex words without slowing down and reading them syllable by syllable, as they did. There has even been a time when I developed a passion for...medicine data sheets!
During the secondary school years I started reading novels, in addition to everything else, but at that time, there wasn't much to improve anymore...
Having attended a technical school, I clearly was the only one in my class with such an interest, and that made my literature and history teacher very happy!
Not much has changed since then; every day, on my journey to university and back, I always read a few pages, just like I do in the breaks between a lecture and the following one. And, if I'm not too tired...before going to bed!
Reading, then, has been more than a passion, to me. It's an important part of my life. Something I love.
And don't forget that...

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies... The man who never reads lives only one. George R.R. Martin

P.S. I know, you will be wondering: oh, you talk about love stories with a language and with reading, don't you have time for a girlfriend?
Well, at the moment I am happily single, and yes, I have never had any love stories with girls. Is it because of my personality? Who knows? All I know is that my soulmate is hiding somewhere among seven billion other people, maybe we have already met and known, maybe we are still ignoring each other's existence...only time will tell.

Little Things that made my day

My dear readers and friends, 

I can finally say that all of my flu is gone!!! No more fever, no more headache, everything is going as well as it should! 

And...to add a pinch of extra happiness...What's better than a good book? Actually, I got myself three of them! I went to my local library and borrowed Camilla Läckberg's "The preacher" and " the Stone cutter", together with "The White Lioness" by Henning Mankell. You were expecting that, weren't you? 

The librarian couldn't help but notice my fondness for Scandinavian thrillers (almost exclusively Swedish, but also a few Norwegian ones), and promised me I won't be disappointed by the suggestions she'll make me as soon as I bring these ones back! I'm hopeful! 

I also cooked dinner tonight. Everyone liked it. Including my sister's boyfriend. 

Feeling better

I can now say that I have already started feeling better! My day has been cosy, warm and a bit sleepy, to be honest, but thanks to my personal nurse (my mum, who has been doing just that for a lifetime)...everything is going well!
I need something nice to end this post. What's better than a selection of photos from my early childhood?

Not a nice day

No, today's not been a nice day for me! I woke up with some kind of intestinal virus, which is taking me to the toilet every few hours! But that's not the end of it: it is also accompanied by a temperature around 38,5°C (that means fever) and a headache too! Bloody hell!
So, tomorrow I will stay at home. Where I would have stayed anyway, because tomorrow is the day of the Freeing. What does it consist of? It's an old tradition from Pavia: on the first Tuesday of November, members of university students' societies known as Goliardia go around town, wearing garishly coloured cloaks and hats, entering the various secondary schools around town, as well as the university itself, blowing whistles, trumpets and horns, and shouting things like We've set you free! Now go away!
And every secondary school or university student's day of lectures and classes ends there. Usually, no later than 9 in the morning.
In secondary schools, it is one of the most eagerly awaited moments throughout the school year. But once you have grown up? It all starts to feel a tad...childish, isn't it?

Looking for something to think about

Quite a boring day, today. Nothing exciting to do, no interesting places to go, and I'm even slightly angry. I went to the train station in Pavia to buy a new monthly ticket, as I commute every day from home to university and back. Last month, weekly and monthly tickets had a 30% discount, as there have been many delays and inconveniences during September. The same happened all over October. But for November, I had to pay the regular full price. That's what makes me angry.
Apart from that, I have found a nice way to distract myself: strangely, it's not reading! I was listening to music, in fact; to be specific, to my favourite song: Right here, right now, by Fatboy Slim. You can listen to it here.
Also, thinking about nice places helps me a lot. I have chosen a photo of a village named Fjällbacka, in Western Sweden, where Camilla Läckberg set many of her novels.
And on that bombshell... (sorry for quoting Clarkson!) it's time to close. Wishing you all a good night and a nice new week!
See you tomorrow!

Sad news from the world of motorsports

No, I am not going to write a post about the infamous Rossi-Marquez clash during last Sunday's race in Malaysia, for the simple fact that I really have no interest in motorcycling and everything related to it.

DARREN COX LEAVES NISSAN
The first thing I would like to talk about brings us to Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. Darren Cox, head of Nissan Motor Corporation's global Marketing and motorsports operations, has resigned after having worked there for eighteen years. Cox is the man behind the company's most recent racing efforts: global relaunch of the Nismo (Nissan Motorsports) brand; the ZEOD RC racing car that took part in the 2014 Le Mans 24 hours as a Garage 56 project; this year's World Endurance Championship LMP1-class entry; development of the GT3-spec version of the Nissan GT-R; and, last but not least, the GT Academy.
It must be said, to be objective, that their efforts in the WEC haven't exactly paid off: the GT-R LM Nismo only entered one race in the whole season, and of the three cars that took part, only one managed to cross the finish line.
Coming to the GT Academy, though, we can truly talk about a hugely successful initiative, that would turn gamers into professional racing drivers; as this is my blog, I would like to admit that I tried myself entering such competition, without getting astonishing results, which I wasn't expecting either; this is not a matter of low self-esteem, but rather of being aware of my own limits. This is not stopping me, though, from trying harder as soon as the next edition starts.
It must be said that, in a world where top-level competition has become so expensive that no one but extremely wealthy people can afford to race, this can be seen as a great opportunity to enter a high-level, factory-backed racing team, without requiring to pay such enormous fees as in, say, Formula One.
Darren Cox, to sum up, has made Nismo great. And all of us enthusiasts can only be grateful to him. And hope for a successor as good as him.

NO MORE WORLD RALLYCROSS IN ITALY?
In 2014, the FIA launched the first ever World Rallycross championship. The season also included a race at Franciacorta International Circuit near Brescia, the first race of such kind to be held in my country in at least 25 years. It proved rather successful, even though rallycross isn't exactly popular, here in Italy. I had watched a few races on TV before that, and the short, action-packed races immediately caught my interest! After seeing them live for the first time, I realised how amazing it is to see those 600bhp, four-wheel-drive hatchbacks battling sideways on half-dirt, half-tarmac tracks and decided, if there will ever be another championship round here next year, I'll be happily there! So...It happened. This year, though, for a variety of reasons, but mostly for the foggy, cold, rainy weather, it had been much less successful with the audience. But, as I had noticed a few years ago, if sideways action is what you want, then rain is one of the best allies you can possibly have. And so it was.
The problem, though, is that the 2016 WorldRX season calendar has been released a couple of days ago. And next year, there's going to be no World RX of Italy. It's been replaced by a new race in Riga, the capital city of Latvia, surely because the sport is a lot more popular up there, than it is here. Understandable, for sure. But it's making me sad. Because, if I ever wanted to meet my favourite drivers again, the nearest race is in Hockenheim. Which is in Baden-Württemberg. Which is in Germany. Anyway, if anybody ever offered me to attend the Norwegian or Swedish rounds of the championship...I simply wouldn't say no! :)
You might wonder: who are your favourite drivers? Here they are:

Andreas Bakkerud, from Norway;
Johan Kristoffersson, from Sweden;
Also from Sweden, my very favourite one, even though she hasn't had yet all the luck she deserves; the stunningly beautiful Ramona Karlsson. I've met her last year, was looking forward to meeting her again this year, but she hasn't raced due to health problems. Would be nice if I could meet her again. Lycka till! ♥

Do I really look older than I actually am?

It happened again. Last night, another person, after seeing me for the first time, was struggling to believe that my actual age is, in fact, 21. So, how old are you? More than 25, I guess, she said. WHAT??????
NO, I AM JUST 21, was my answer. You're lying, was her reaction. Struggling myself not to eff her off, I closed the argument with a Need further proof? Here is my ID!
She refused.
CASE CLOSED.
Frankly, it's not uncommon to hear from strangers that I actually look older than my 21 years of age. In terms of personality, many people have always considered me quite a bit more mature than most of my classmates and people of my same age; I have, in fact, been kind of very serious and not very playful since my childhood (to make an example, I have always hated cartoons and watched documentaries and action films instead), but as far as looks are concerned, I looked exactly like a child of that age.
Now, though, in my early twenties...my seriousness is partly lost (but mostly, it's still there!), but why should one think I am at least 25 just by looking at me? Maybe I should stop worrying about that and look at the positive side of the thing: if I look older than 21, I probably also look wiser and more mature than the average 21-year old. And, considering what some people of my acquaintance have become, I wouldn't really mind if it were so! :D

In photo, me at the age of 9 months vs. 20 years old. Not that I have changed so much...

How I fell in love with the English language

So...here we come to the long-awaited moment in which I explain how I fell in love with English, and why we will live happily ever after!
In order to thoroughly understand my situation, we must go back to when it all started, that is pretty early in my life, around 5-6 years of age: back then, I remember that I had learned a couple of very simple words and their meaning, and repeated them in front of everyone who, in my opinion, might have been interested. That, if I'm honest, was really uncommon among children of my age, and it made me feel - how can I say? - cool and awesome (can't think of more fitting words than those!) in front of the adults (who clearly appreciated it) and my classmates who, instead, considered me as the usual annoying nerdy and asocial boy - but that's another story.
Then I arrived to the second year of primary school (7 years of age), when, finally, English became a regular subject of my studies.
Back then, my curiosity was simply unbelievable, and that gave me a lot of motivation to take that language seriously, helped by the fact that my teacher was very good, and she even wanted us to call her teacher instead of maestra (the Italian equivalent), thus giving us a taste of what a serious language class should be: trying to communicate as much as possible in the language that's the subject of the lesson.
An even deeper immersion came with the middle school, thanks to another excellent teacher (who also held the German classes I liked so much): starting with the second year, we even had a few lessons with native speakers, namely Janet from the UK and Dritan, an American of Albanian descent. That left me with a good knowledge level, after the final exam; there has even been a time when my English grades were substantially higher than those in Italian! (Seriously! That was because of my Italian teacher, it's not making me a bad Italian speaker!)
Then came the secondary school years; we can basically divide this period in two parts, the first two years and the other three.
In my first and second year, I had been so unlucky that I had had quite possibly the worst English teacher in the world: a woman who was more interested in treating a class of teenagers as if we were Kindergarten children, which is bloody annoying, and also wasn't doing much in terms of favouring the use of English during her classes; in fact, she was speaking Italian all the time, and even when she decided to watch a movie with us, her choice went for Pirates of the Caribbean. DUBBED IN ITALIAN. How pointless is that?????
On the other hand, she acknowledged that my level was much higher than my classmates', which left her wondering whether I had any English teachers or native speakers in my family. Which I don't. In fact, I think I am the only one in my family who can speak English on a good level; my sister has been studying that for years too, but I never had a chance to have a chat with her! (And we still live together with mum and dad. Whose English begins at coffee and ends at thank you.)
From third year onwards, things improved. Dramatically.
My new teacher was really doing everything that was in her power to make us realise how important it is for us to speak English, especially as I was specialising in information technology and EVERYTHING related to computers is in English. She was also giving us motivation, pushing us to do our best. And while most of us understood her efforts and paid her off, others were simply too closed in their mentality and too careless (but that's not my cup of tea, neither is it my teacher's fault). We also had a mother-tongue lecturer, a Scotsman named Alasdair, who simply...wasn't as serious as he ought to be, but that wasn't stopping me from doing my best and getting equally good results.
At the end of the fourth year, I got the PET language certificate (92% was my final score), whereas at the beginning of the fifth and final year, I spent a week with school in Winchester, Hampshire, with a host family.
My host family was a mid-aged couple, both of whom are retired teachers. On the day I'd arrived, something really surprised them: my English, of course!
We've had a long chat, talking about various topics, from education to cars to taxation in Italy, and they were pleased to hear that an 18-year old had interest in such a wide range of topics! In that occasion, I also started building one of the pillars upon which my continuous improvement of English is based: watching a certain TV show that goes by the name of Top Gear. Yes, you might have already spotted the fact that I am a great fan of Jeremy Clarkson, but really, when I began watching that show with such interest and good will to improve, my motivation really got a massive boost! I have learned more by watching TV shows and films in a few months than many other people have in several years, but that's another story...
Having scored 15 points out of 15 in my final English test, I confidently entered university and, on my very first semester...guess what was one of my core subjects?
The English course was divided into three modules, of which the grammar module was held by a native speaker from Australia. Needless to say, the Aussie was also impressed, and when came the time to take the grammar exam, I completed my test in less than 19 minutes. Out of 45 available. Scoring 30 points out of 30. With a classmate who even asked me to help him cheating on the test by saying I know who you are and I am close friends with your sister (I can only think of one fitting word for this kind of person. Except it is the C-word and it is extremely rude to use it.)
30/30 also was the average score of the other two English tests, as well as, predictably, my final score.
More recently, my Erasmus experience gave me a lot of satisfaction: many people were so impressed with my accent, they even struggled to believe that I was an Italian! (Not one thing that could be said of the other Italian students I met in Salzburg. And they were simply too many.) That was just the beginning of a series of amazing friendships which I want to last for many years to come.
At this point, how could I possibly forget to mention that, when I first entered into contact with a young racing enthusiast (and regular reader of this blog) from Sweden, she immediately pointed out that my English is very good for an Italian? I do realise that, unfortunately, we are widely acknowledged as generally bad English speakers all around Europe (the exact opposite of the Scandinavians, to be brutally honest), but so many people who acknowledge me as the opposite...well, that's a big personal pride!
Now, it's fair to say that this is not just a chronicle of my relationship with my favourite school subject ever; I'd rather call it a love story. A story that I want to last. Forever.
And, if I may, I can't think of a language that sounds more attractive than British English.

Being in an in-love-with-Great-Britain sort of mood, how could I not choose my usual closing photos accordingly?
From above: a typical Cotswolds village, the Goodwood House near Chichester, West Sussex, the town of Oban, in Scotland, Suzanne Stoddart's birthplace, and the Black Mountain Pass in Wales.

My relationship with foreign languages

My dear friends,
I am now here writing about foreign languages. Don't you think, however, that this is going to be some sort of linguistics lesson! I'm absolutely not qualified for that kind of things!
What I am qualified to talk about, however, is my personal experience with languages other than my native Italian. In my opinion, it is very important, for a young person at least, to embrace a global-minded philosophy which, predictably, implies the knowledge of at least one language other than their own native one. At the moment, I can speak two of them: English, which I have been studying for many years, and German, which I encountered later with much enthusiasm; and honestly, I am so enthusiastic about speaking German that I have chosen to do my Erasmus in Austria!
Of course, my nature says three languages aren't enough for you! You should do more!
Don't worry, I have already started to try learning some Swedish (coincidence? I think not!), which may or may not be useful in my future (I'm hoping for the former, by the way!), and my dream would be to learn Japanese as well, always for the sake of being a great fan of Japanese sports cars and visiting related events.
Of all the above mentioned languages, though, only one is worthy of a special mention, a mention as special as the relationship between me and that idiom; but that will be revealed tomorrow!
Pictured below: the Hohensalzburg fortress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dedicated to my readers

My dear readers and friends,
My first week of blogging is now over. Of course, this has been just the first week of a long adventure, in which you will all get to know me better than you already do, even if you think you know me well enough, there will always be some traits and shades of my personality that you weren't even suspecting! :) (all of which are nice things, don't worry!)
I have already started planning some of the topics I will treat in my next posts, but I don't like spoilers, so...stay tuned, it's just matter of a few days!
Looking at the stats, the top five countries by number of contacts are Italy, the USA, Russia, Sweden and Britain, and I'm more than satisfied with the number of contacts, which has been more or less steady during the week.
What makes me happy, most of all, is the fact that I already started receiving compliments from my regular readers, and that's exactly the kind of thing that gives you motivation, that persuades you to do more and better; thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
All things considered, I promise that I won't disappoint you with my upcoming contents, and if there's something you didn't really like, just let me know; a little criticism never killed nobody! :D
To close this post, I have chosen this picture of a bridge at sunset; I don't remember where it has been taken exactly, as it's not my work, but it puts me in a good mood. And that's exactly why my choice went for it.

A happy weekend

Time to make a little balance. Yesterday, as I have told you, I visited one of Europe's largest classic car exhibitions, and, honestly...couldn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Not that it has been a complete disappointment, but still, it's a bit far from what I would call exciting. I have been to several other similar exhibitions before, and after reading a lot about this one and its previous editions, I wasn't really expecting to see that most of the exhibitors (at least, the Italian ones) were pretty much the same as anywhere else; there were lots of cars on sale: cars of every kind (small family saloons, hot hatches, convertibles, sports coupes, big luxury cars...) and price range (from a few grand to a million euros and more), but there were so many things you couldn't see them all in just one day! And of all the cars on show, which were considerably less than those on sale, none of them really caught my eye, as I had already had the opportunity to see them in other occasions (and not just on static display!).
Today, though, I woke up after a good sleep, happy and healthy, and the second thing I did was...helping mum with making some kind of cake! It's one thing that always puts me in a good mood, just like cooking anything else! And, hopefully, it's going to taste as good as it looks!
But I must not forget that, however good it's going to be, I shall not eat too much of that or my fitness efforts will be pointless :D (and as you know, I'm very happy with my fitness efforts as they are starting to pay off!)
That said, I wish you all a happy and pleasant Sunday and...catch you up tomorrow! New week, new contents!

Week goals and weekend plans

Another week is coming to its end. A week full of satisfaction, indeed! At university, nothing special happened, except that the trains were late every single morning...but in eight years of commuting I realised that it's pretty normal; enormously annoying, but normal, down here!
My fitness plans are also going quite well: this week I achieved my goal of training for five days in a row, and also found out that I have lost 3,7kg in ten days! That boosted my motivation!
Now, my weekend plans: the local historic motoring club, of which dad is a member, has organised a trip to Padova, where we will visit one of Europe's largest classic motoring shows: in the past few years, there have been some pretty awesome cars on show, like the Audi Sport quattro (pictured below on a frozen lake in Sweden with 1984 World Rally champion, Stig Blomqvist; please note, in case you didn't know, that I am an Audi hater, when it comes to the new ones, but like very much those rally cars from the '80s!)
I am pretty sure that I won't be able to post anything tomorrow; updates will probably come on Sunday. Speaking of which, I think I will go for my usual drive in the afternoon; in the evening, Skype chat with a dear friend from England!
I'm leaving very early tomorrow, so, my dear readers, have a good Friday night and enjoy your weekend! :)

The pleasure of driving

As you might have spotted from yesterday's post, I am extremely proud of being one of the few remaining young people who still enjoy the pleasure of driving a car. According to my parents, as well as many other people who are at least a decade older than me, back in the olden days, the most eagerly awaited moment in a teenager's life was their eighteenth birthday, for the simple fact that it meant becoming an adult and, therefore, being able to apply for the driving licence.
Throughout the years, I've had the opportunity to see many sports and racing cars, but sadly, never had the opportunity to drive one. Clearly, I wouldn't miss it if anyone ever let me do so! What I can tell for sure, is that one of my favourite leisure activities, if not my very favourite one, is taking my car on a Sunday afternoon and going for a drive on the hills! I like that kind of roads, twisty, narrow, where all you need to have fun is a car that handles well, even without having much power! (Mine has less than 85hp, and it's a small hatchback, which is absolutely not meant to be a performance car in the first place!) That said, I can confirm that if I ever had the opportunity to attack a mountain road (pictured, Black Mountain Pass in Wales, UK) in my favourite rally car ever (early model Subaru Impreza WRC), even if it has quite a lot of power (around 300bhp, more than three times as much as I'm used to and with two more driven wheels)...It would really feel like heaven!!!

Foggy weather (and its implications)

So...here we are, on a typical autumn day in Pavia! Many people joke about this fact, by saying that this town, as well as its surroundings, in this season, feel more like they are in England, rather than Italy! I must say that I have been to England twice: the first one in 2012, as part of a project endorsed by my secondary school, that involved spending a week of late September in the beautiful town of Winchester, Hampshire, attending language lessons and brief internships at local businesses: I had been placed in an estate agency, and liked it! Considering the season, the weather wasn't much worse than it usually is down here: rather cold, foggy, rainy; business as usual! The second time was in 2014: to attend the amazing Festival of Speed in Goodwood, West Sussex; an event I still fondly remember for a variety of reasons and I hope I'll be able to attend it again! It was the last week of June...but I wasn't really expecting to mostly have sun on the four days of the event! (A small sprinkle of rain came in the last day...While I was on my way to the hotel, so...)

Anyway, back to the lousy weather concerns: the thing I hate the most, when the weather's not good (and it happens often, down here...) is that EVERYONE WHO'S DRIVING LOSES THEIR MIND AND EVEN IF THEY HAVE HAD THEIR BLOODY LICENCE FOR THIRTY YEARS THEY STILL START DRIVING AS IF THEY WERE LEARNERS. And that annoys me.

It may be needless to say, but I am one of the few young people who still enjoy the pleasure of driving, regardless of the weather. Of course, I do realise that it is safe to reduce your speed if you drive under a downpour (and I always do so), but doing 60km/h on a road with a limit of 90, just because it's starting to pour? It's a bit excessive, don't you think?

That said, I have never experienced road rage incidents and always drive as safe as possible. 

Closing, here are a couple of photos of Pavia in the fog: quite a common sight to me, but if that's stopping you from visiting it...be aware that in my opinion, it's part of its charm (on the other hand, has anybody ever thought that London is an uninteresting place just because of its weather?)