It was just yesterday that I was hoping that the temperatures would increase. And today, my wish was granted. I love winter; however, I'm getting a little tired of having to wrap a scarf around my neck and keeping my jacket buttoned up to the top before opening my front door. We have had a few sunny days, but the air has been quite chilly nonetheless.

Alessandro told me a few days ago that he heard on the radio that I was eligible to vote in the referendum sulla tramvia (referendum on the tram system) because I'm a legal resident. I was excited about voting in Italy for the first time and couldn't wait. The city has been tearing down trees and building the tramvia for a few years now and they finally called upon the citizens of Florence to vote. I heard that the referendum is only consultivo (advisory), which sounds like it won't change anything.

Today after otto giorni di clausura (eight days of confinement/seclusion), I finally went outside. The weather today was once again amazing. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I walked through Piazza della Signoria and then across Piazza della Repubblica. I was surprised how many tourists were out because just a week ago there seemed to be fewer.

I know of many people who have had packages and letters lost by the Posta (post office), but I seem to always keep the faith that they will eventually arrive. Sometimes things do go missing for a long time, but other times, they miraculously arrive.

It's bad enough to get influenza (the flu), but worse when the weather outside is amazingly beautiful. I know the temperatures aren't that high; however, the clear blue sky and shining sun make me want to go outside anyway. I haven't been out my front door since Thursday when I felt the beginning of a few symptoms.

I was happy when I heard a few months ago that I could vote online instead of sending in an absentee ballot. I heard a representative of the American Consulate in Rome say on the local news today that the overseas Americans are considered to be the 51st state.

It had been raining all day today and I was dreading going to the stadio (stadium) this evening for a partita (soccer match). I talked Alessandro and a friend of his into going to the game tonight. I love calcio (soccer) and went to my first partita back in 1984. I, unfortunately, never went to see the Fiorentina before I met Alessandro. And even though he used to have an abbonamento (season ticket), he didn't get one for this season. He's now wishing he did since I'm always up for going to a partita.

I called FastWeb almost every day begging them to have someone come and look at my problem. My line had been down since Monday and I was surfing the Internet using a neighbor's open WiFi network. I admit I was lucky since I wasn't completely without Internet. Initially, I stood up near our apartment window to get a strong enough signal and eventually, I found a position where I could sit down, but work on a table with my computer on a box up against the window.

I received a letter from the comune (town hall) where I register my residenza (residency) back in September that stated that I needed to show them my new permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) as soon as I renewed it. So, this morning, I decided to make a quick trip to the comune, which is right around the corner from our apartment with my new permesso di soggiorno in hand.

There are times when I sit at my desk and hours pass by so quickly that I forget what day it is. I miss going outside and looking at the monuments and churches at the moment. I'd certainly love to visit a museum as well while there are fewer tourists in town. But because of the rainy weather and my current workload, I've been indoors a lot lately. So, when my friend Bari came back from the US today and called me this evening to meet up for a walk, I was out the door before I knew it.

Having no Internet is probably one of the biggest inconveniences that could happen to me. I am always on the Internet and couldn't even move apartments until it was up and working. It suddenly went off on Monday morning: I was on the Internet and then I was off. At first I didn't call technical support because it has gone off before twice in six months for a few hours and then comes back on. After a few hours, I finally decided to call FastWeb to see if they could look into it.

I like keeping track of dates, and I truly enjoy celebrating certain ones a lot. There are some dates that I do push back in my memory, but when the day comes, I seem to remember everything. Yesterday was our three-month anniversary. And to celebrate we went to dinner at Artegaia in Fiesole.

I'm not a huge Raoul Bova fan, but I have seen him in many films and a TV series and do like him as an actor. In all honesty, my favorite Italian actor is actually Silvio Muccino. A girlfriend of mine told me that Raoul Bova would be at the Edison libreria (bookstore) at 2 p.m. for the opening of his new movie, "Scusa ma ti chiamo amore." At first I wasn't able to go, but then I had to be in centro (downtown) around that time.

Instead of being outside the centro (downtown area) like it was last year, the Fiera del cioccolato artigianale is being held in Piazza Santa Croce. Last year we had to buy tickets to enter and this year, it's free. Because of my limited amount of free time these days, I decided to swing by this evening before it ends on Sunday.

It's been a few days that the sun has been hiding. So, this morning when I saw that the sun was out, I had to go outside as well. I had nothing specific planned, but I just wanted to go out into the sun. I walked out my front door and just headed for the Arno where I could see the sun shining brightly.