So, the trip was amazing -we (WE= myself and Raffaella- a hot Italian girl that works here on base-I’ll tell you about her later) left here Sunday morning and drove down … a nice drive along the West coast of Italy, only 3.5 hours…we got to the hotel-it was in the GHETTTTTOOOOOO… of course, the ghetto here is just trashy and not really a “dangerous” place….the hotel was decent, 50Euro a night-which is a great price for hotels in Roma…it is located very close to two different train stations …so, we got some train tickets at the hotel-1 Euro per ticket, we got 2 tickets each…one ticket for the ride into Roma and one for the ride back…we got on the ghetto train-something like the NY subway…hard plastic seats, graffiti all over the walls, smelled like foot and trash…anyhoo, it was interesting… there were some younger Italian guys on the train with tattoos on their necks and they were looking all my tattoos in awe…some of the guys around here look like tough guys or maybe gangsters or something, but it’s all looks…they are pretty calm and non-confrontational people-well, they like to argue and yell a lot, but they are hardly ever physical in their disputes…anyhoo… we got a little map from the hotel and it had all the popular tourist spots marked out very clearly…we walked from the train station to the Colosseo and saw some “famous” other things along the way – one of the main streets where all the high-fashion stores are-Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, things like that…a few Ferraris and Lamborghinis drove past us as we walked…it wasn’t extremely crowded anywhere, but there were a lot of people out and about…saw some cool fountains and old marble buildings, statues, monuments, and other things that have been hand carved and standing for a couple thousand years…it was unbelievable…the passion and the time and the skill and talent it took to build and create all of these things seems incomprehensible…like I told Raffa at one point, it would take me my entire lifetime to complete just one of those statues, and there are hundreds and hundreds of them in each city I have been to so far-Pisa, Florence, Livorno, Aviano-and others that I don’t remember the name of…so, we got to the Colloseo and it was just surreal to me-I still can’t believe I live in Italy and it’s even more mind-blowing that I was standing right there at the Colosseo where the gladiators fought lions and Cesar ruled the earth and modern civilization was born…not to mention I was standing there with my own personal tour guide who just happens to be a super hot Italian woman…so, we started to walk towards the entrance to go inside and we were approached by a guy speaking English asking if we wanted to avoid the lines and go on a guided tour with him…well, of course, I looked at him with a smirk, looked at Raffa, and said “No, grazie”…we got to the entrance gates and noticed the metal detectors and cops…I then remembered that I had a knife in my pocket-a very important knife that Kara gave me as a Christmas gift…well, I couldn’t just throw it away, so Raffa said she would talk to them… yeah, they said it was illegal for me to even be carrying that knife anywhere in Italy and I damn sure wasn’t getting into the Colosseo with it…Raffa explained that I was US military and not some jackass off the street with a knife, so they let me keep it without any problems, but we couldn’t go in…oh well, next time…so, we walked around this giant stone wall and went into Palatine, which is basically the original settled city that became Roma…it is also the place in Roman mythology where Remus and Romulus were said to be found after being raised be the female wolf…that was awesome…the buildings that were still standing are so old, yet the architecture and the artistic beauty, the aesthetics and the detail are something that you wouldn’t find in the most beautiful mansions in the world…these things are close to two THOUSAND years old and you can still see the details in the sculptures and carvings down to the veins in top of the hands, or toenails on the feet-I can only imagine when these things were brand new, they must have been hard to tell from a real person or animal or plant…we walked around the ancient city for a while-it is a very large area with lots to see…it is also the center hill of the 7 hills of Roma so you can see all over the current modern city from atop…there are breathtaking views of where the Roman Empire began…and I still can’t believe I was there…so, anyway, we headed out from there and went to Fontana di Trevi…a famous fountain with a few different legends about throwing coins into it… the fountain has giant sculptures and statues and is about 85 feet tall and 65 feet wide… it is absolutely beautiful…there were hundreds of people gathered around to throw coins…one tale says if you throw a coin in you are sure to return to Roma, another says if you throw 2 coins in you will encounter a new romance, 3 coins will ensure a marriage or divorce, another says if you throw 3 coins over your left shoulder using your right hand you will be very lucky-whatever… I threw 3 coins over my shoulder because Raffa told me that I was supposed to stand with my back to the fountain and throw a coin in and make a wish….by the way, my wish came true so maybe the fountain really works…they say around 3,000 Euro (roughly $5000.00) are thrown into the fountain EVERY DAY-the city clears the money out each night and uses it to subsidize a supermarket for the needy…of course, people try to steal the money at night too…anyhoo… it was getting later in the afternoon by this time and we were freakin tired…we headed back towards the train station-well, we discussed which station would be the best to go to and which was closest and all that…we started walking … we had to stop a couple times for cappuccino and café on the way…it wasn’t really a long walk, but being tired made it seem like a long walk…we finally got to the train station and got on the train…it wasn’t packed but I ended up standing-Raffa got the only open seat…it ended up getting packed after the first or second stop and didn’t empty until one or two stops before our stop… it was pretty stank on that train…I’m sure I wasn’t smelling wonderful, but at least I use deodorant…we made it back to the hotel on the ghetto train and it was around 8pm…we each got showered and thought about going to get something to eat-well, instead we ended up passing out while watching tv …around 11pm it was time for some food…of course, it was Sunday night in a little tiny village/suburb of Rome and we had no idea if anything would be open…we asked the hotel desk guy and he told up there were a couple of pizzerias right down the street…we decided to drive and we got all kinds of turned around…the area where this hotel is has a lot of twisted, one-way roads…we drove in a couple circles before we figured out how to get on the other side of the highway and then the other side of the train tracks…it was the same when we first got to the hotel-we ended up parking in back and going in thru the service area -it was quite the adventure…anyhoo… we got to a little pizza joint and had a pizza each and a beer…good pizza-of course, she was a little picky about her pizza-being Italian and having the knowledge of what real good Italian pizza is, vs. my knowledge of American pizza, so I think ALL pizza here in Italy is good…also, she saw the guy making the pizza and said he looked at something on the cheese, pulled it back down behind the counter and looked like he pulled something off, then put it back up for the waiter to bring over….she says she hoped it wasn’t a bug or something…I thought the pizza was great, and the Guinness I had with it was outstanding-after a long day of hiking thru Rome, a pizza and a Guinness were perfect…I know Guinness isn’t exactly Italian, but whatever, it was good…so we hit the sack to get some rest for the next round of hiking thru the streets…we got up and got ready for the day, ate some breakfast, with the obligatory cappuccino, and headed out for the day…this time, we checked out of the hotel and drove her car into the city…driving in Roma is crazy…it’s even a pain in the ass for Italians that aren’t from there…we parked on the street outside the Vatican walls…it is surrounded by walls that I guess to be about 100 feet and it is probably the only wall in Rome without graffiti all over it…we walked around to the entrance of the Vatican museum-the only place you can actually go inside the walls-and the line was about a mile long to get in….we followed the wall past that around to the back side of Vatican City where St. Peter’s Basillica is located….it opened up to a huge square surrounded by giant pillars in an arc shape extending from both sides wrapping around the square….it’s called the “Embrace of the Church” or something like that…but it was awesome…we waited in line to go inside the cathedral and this time I made sure to leave my knife in the car….again, someone came up trying to get us to pay him so we didn’t have to wait in line-entry to the cathedral is FREE…and this time I used some of my limited Italian speaking skills …the person asked if we were American-of course, I was wearing shorts and all of my tattoos were exposed and probably looked like the typical American tourist-but, I said “Non sono Americano, sono Italiano, Di Pisa”…=”I am not American, I am Italian, from Pisa”, and the woman actually believed me…. She spoke Italian and said she was sorry, she thought we were Americans…it was great … then another guy offered his services and I told him the same thing….that works much better than saying, “No thanks”….if you do that, they keep trying…anyhoo… we went in and walked around and saw all the giant statues and monuments and I was in complete awe…I cannot describe it in words and do it justice-also, pictures do not even come close to seeing it person…first, the place is gigantic…the ceilings are 100 feet high, the doors are 3 feet thick and 50 feet tall….it is very impressive, to say the least…you just have to come over here and see it for yourself…we spent a long time inside looking at everything….there are monuments to every Pope that has ever been and, of course, many monuments to Jesus and Mary and most people in the Bible….ok, so we made it thru there and headed out to the streets…I picked up a few souvenirs that I will be sending you soon…we walked all around the city and saw a lot of other sights and historic places… then we stopped for pizza, and I had a gelato…it was time to roll out …we walked back around the Vatican to the car and headed back to our neck of the woods…the ride back sucked … we got out of Rome and hit the highway, but for some reason it seemed to take forever…the ride there was 3.5 hours, the ride back was about 4.5 hours, but it felt like 10 hours…I drove for the last hour or so because even after a couple café stops she was still really tired….I got home about 10 o’clock and I was completely depleted of all energy….I washed up in my cold water-still no gas at the house, and jumped in bed…I slept really well last night… ok, I am done for the day and it’s time to head home …love you and miss you all … talk to you soon

OOL
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I guess I’ll start with Friday …it was the annual Run to the Tower…it’s a local event where we start at the base and run the the Leaning Tower of Pisa–10km…there are all kinds of Italians that participate along with most of the military people here on base…for us Air Force folk it was a choice of running, walking, riding a bicycle, volunteering to be a safety road guard, work at a water station, or go to work all day at your shop/office…well, everyone knows the run starts at 0930 and as soon as you get the the tower, you are done for the day and can start your weekend…one of my guys-Zandro-volunteered to work at a water station and the rest of us, and the AGE mechanics chose to ride bicycles…it was a fun ride getting there…there were quite a few Italians and there were some organized running teams, complete with matching track uniforms and head bands and shoes and all…we just kinda cruised along taking it easy and chatting with some of the runners as we passed them…we got to Zandro’s water station and stopped to have a cup of water and a smoke…we chilled for a couple minutes and hit the road again…it took us a little under an hour to get to the tower and we headed straight for the little cafe across from the tower where I know they serve beer…we all grabbed some beer and stood outside next to the finish line and watched all the runners coming in…a couple of them came straight over to us and said “where’d you get the beer?”   we took turns buying a few people beers–I figured they deserved one after running 10km…we hung out for about an hour and then we had to jump on the bikes and ride back to base–nobody was around to give us, and our bikes, a ride…as we started heading back Rudy’s handlebars came loose–he borrowed the bike from an Army dude…so, he had to stop every 5 minutes to reposition the bars so he could control the bike…after getting out of the main business area of Pisa I put it in the highest gear and pushed as hard as I could on those pedals… made it back to the base in about 28 minutes… I was wore out and my ass hurt from that damn seat…whatever, it was over and it was about noon-ish…Rudy had planned a trip to Aviano to pick up some uniform items that we can’t get down here…I decided to roll with him…we were to ride up Friday after the run and come back Saturday afternoon…it’s about a 4 and a half hour ride up there… I have a couple friends up there …Mike, who was my boss in Utah back in ‘00-’02…he was also in Hawaii with me…Michelle who I first met in Saudi Arabia in ‘99 and she was stationed in Utah when I was there…and I recently found out that Wig is up there too–he was stationed in Honduras with me…I figured I would go up there for the night and hang out with my peeps…I asked Michelle if we could crash at her house and she said that would be cool…the ride was cool…just enjoyed the scenery and Rudy bitched about the shitty conditions of the roads here in Italy…for some reason the birth-place of modern engineering has some of the worst engineering I have ever seen…the bridges have huge bumps between the main sections, the tunnels are about 2 feet narrower than the main roadway, there are potholes and other damaged sections, and this is all on the AutoStrada which is the toll road that is supposed to be the best road to travel…anyhoo, we get up to the area where Aviano is and I call Mike–he was at the club getting ready to get on a bus to Naples for his step-son’s football game, so we headed over there to have a beer with him before he took off…that was the extent of our visiting for the weekend…then we headed to Michelle’s… she got some ribs and cooked them up before we even got there…they were awesome after that drive…I was starving…Michelle called Wig and told him I would be at her house so he came over…we sat out in the backyard BSing about where he’s been and where I’ve been and all that …I haven’t seen Wig since 2004 and I have only talked to him on the email a couple times since then…so, we drank and ate ribs and caught up and had a good time…Michelle crashed early because she started drinking vodka-tonic when she got off work and was pretty lit but 11pm…so, me, Wig and Rudy hung out for a while longer and Bailey-Michelle’s daughter-came out to hang with us-she’s 15 yrs old…around midnight Wig decided to call it a night and went home…I convinced Bailey to take us out to the local bar–The Witch’s Bar…it was about a 10 minute walk down the road from the house…it wasn’t really “happening” but there were a few poeple hanging out…we got a beer and sat outside…we just chilled and sipped our beer…Rudy asked about food and they ordered some fries and a burger…me and Bailey ate the fries and Rudy chowed down that burger…it was kinda boring and Rudy was about to fall asleep so we headed back to the house …Rudy laid on the floor and he was snorring in about 2 minutes…I talked with Bailey for a little bit and then I laid down and was probably snoring in about 2 minutes too…it was a good night… catching up with friends from the past is always cool…so, this morning Michelle woke me up asking if we wanted breakfast…I declined so as to enjoy more sleep…I finally woke up at around 0930 and jumped in the shower and got ready for the day… Michelle and the girls headed out to a hair appointment or whatever and Rudy and I went out to the military clothing store to get his shopping done… we also planned to hit the furniture store up there…there is nowhere on base down here to get any kind of furniture and shopping on the Italian economy for large items like that is way expensive–probably about double what anyone would pay in the US…I am in the market for a king-size bed and Rudy is looking for a whole bedroom set… yeah, we didn’t find anything we liked…we had some cappucino and headed back to the main base area…he wanted to get some Taco Bell while we were availed to such luxuries as American fast food…so, I gave in and ate there too…we hit the road and hauled ass back…it was about a 4 hour ride and I got home around 5pm tonight… I just came home and chilled on the couch watching the boob-tube…I am kinda worn out…so, now it is midnight and I am heading to bed… love you and miss you all

OOL
B

well, I am finally in my house –although I still don’t have any gas-so no hot water, still showering at the barracks…whatever…I’ll just tough it out until the gas company does whatever it is they have to do…over the past couple weeks we have started getting things straightened out in the shop, vehicles are being fixed, the bosses are leaving us alone for the most part…I also completed my motorcycle safety course…the class was just me and our finance person, and it was taught by our education NCO…the finance girl ended up not finishing the class…she was borrowing her boyfriend’s bike–which was a little too much bike for her to handle …she ended up dropping it 3 different times…scratched that bad boy up and broke one of the foot peg brackets…I would have been pissed, but he kinda expected her to drop it once or twice…he had taken her out in a big mall parking lot a couple times and taught her the very basics–throttle, clutch, shift, brake…and then she thought she was ready for the class… that didn’t work out too well…she was doing ok with starting and stopping in a straight line, but when we started throwing in the weaving and braking hard before a turn, she lost it…she just needs more time on the bike …I did pretty good–of course I was using a friend’s bike and I was a little nervous about doing something wrong and dropping his bike…he’s the kind of guy that LOVES his bike and takes care of it like I take care of my Harley…plus, it’s a crotch rocket, racer bike–lots of get up and go…I didn’t have a chance to cruise it around and get used to the throttle response and the cornering and the brakes…but, I did alright and didn’t drop it or anything…the classroom stuff was pretty easy…there were a few new things for me, plus there are a lot of differences between riding here and riding in the states–the roads are a lot more beat up and the asphalt is made with marble in it and it gets a lot more slick in the rain…and of course the Italian people drive a lot more aggressively…so after all the classroom learning I got a 100% on the written test…the riding skills were pretty easy since I have some experience riding dirt bikes and street bikes…but we went over some new things and different techniques for avoiding potholes or tree branches or whatever obstacle might be in my path…we did some hard braking to simulate stopping when a vehicle pulls out in front of you, or slams on the brakes or whatever…good stuff … overall I did well, but there were a couple things I got marked off for–one of them was doing a figure-8 inside a painted white rectangle…I did it a couple times in practice but when it came time for the test I may have just thought about it too much and that threw me off…and, I was a little scared to hit the throttle while leaning the bike over because I might have hit the throttle a little too much and spun it out…whatever the case, I didn’t make it inside the white lines…another thing I got marked off for was not using both the front and rear brakes before going into a turn…I didn’t use either of the brakes because the bike slowed down enough when I let off the throttle…I knew I could make the turn at the speed I was going so I didn’t even try to hit the brakes…and the last thing was after coming to a quick stop the test says to make sure you are in first gear when you stop–I hit the shifter but it went from second gear into neutral instead of first–oh well, I passed and got my card and didn’t wreck homeboy’s bike…also, it rained on us throughout both days of the class… the weather was just crappy–not too cold or hot, just cloudy and drizzling the whole time…so, I sent off the paperwork to the Florida DMV for them to add the motorcycle endorsement to my license, then send it back, I have to get that added to my military/Italy license, show the registration office, pick up my plates, get a safety inspection, and go on 2 “mentorship rides”, then I can finally go out riding my bike any time I want…it’s such a pain in the ass, but it’s what we have to do to ride bikes overseas in the military…and it’s all because people are idiots and drive carelessly and get tickets or into accidents, or even worse, get killed while riding motorcycles…most military leaders would rather just ban motorcycles altogether because people don’t follow the rules or have the sense to be responsible…anyhoo…I should be riding next weekend…so, other than that I have been enjoying Italy…I have been out to a few new restaurants, some new coffee bars, drove around to some new areas, checked out the grocery stores around my neighborhood…it’s awesome here…last weekend I went over to Jeff’s (Jeff is the guy that let me use his bike for the class) and we had a party for Jason’s birthday–Jason is a guy who works for me…it was just another weekend BBQ party with the drinking and socializing and kids running around and all that normal American backyard BBQ stuff…so over this week, Zandro-another guy that works for me-kept talking about hitting this night club that some of his Italian neighbors told him about…so, a few of us made plans to meet at my house, have some pre-game drinks and then hit the night club…it was me, Davis and Rudy, who are also mechanics, but on light carts and high power air compressors and other Aerospace Ground Equipment…and of course, Zandro…Zandro said he went to the club before and they wouldn’t let him in because he was under-dressed…so, we all had to get prettied up for this adventure…we all met at my place, had some drinks, BSed for a while and headed out around 12:45–the club didn’t even open until 11pm and they stay open until 5am or something…anyhoo…we got there, strolled right in with no problem and hit the bar…the place was PACKED–and this place was huge…there were 3 or 4 different clubs within one club…complete with their own bar, dance floor, different music and door guys–not really sure what the door guy thing was about–when you go into the nicer clubs here you get a card on your way in–kinda like a room key card at a hotel and one card was good at all the different bars…they just add the drinks to your card all night and then you get the card scanned at the end of the night and pay whatever is on it-drinks and admission fee are all on this card…anyhoo…we hit the bar, handed them the card and got some drinks…the crowd was hyper and everyone was in full party mode…the Italian women were unbelievably HOT…the guys on the other hand are a little different…sure, there are the normal, average, every day, good looking Italian men, but most of them either have the super-machismo look–too much hair gel, body odor and cologne mixed, lots of chest hair showing from the half buttoned black dress shirt, and the obligatory thin gold chain…or, they are the most Euro-Metro guys in the world…super tight jeans, gold tennis shoes, their little brother’s (or sister’s) v-neck shirt, some eye-liner/mascara/both, and the hairstyle of the latest boy-band, complete with frosted tips or highlights…it was very interesting…anyhoo, we had a great time…talked to some ladies with our limited Italian vocabulary, got snubbed by some of the hottest women I’ve ever seen, drank more and just partied like rock stars…well, it was around 4am and the bars stopped serving alcohol so we decided to call it a night…we headed out to the parking lot and Rudy-the DD-got in the car and we heard a “clink”…me and Zandro, the two vehicle mechanics, looked at each other with perplexed expressions–we know that sound…yes, his battery was dead…we don’t know how–we think one of the doors must have been left cracked or something–the headlights weren’t left on…at any rate, the car was dead…we spent 30 minutes asking passers-by for jumper cables and calling everyone on the recall roster with no luck…Zandro was getting pissed off…he finally said he was gonna walk to my house, get his car-with jumper cables in the trunk-and come back… I told him not to go by himself–mainly because he was kinda drunk and he also had no idea exactly how to get to my house…after a minute of arguing, Rudy decided to go with him…they thought it was gonna be a 30-45 minute walk–I told them about my Jeep being stolen in Hawaii and how 9 miles took me a few hours to walk….I knew we were further than 9 miles from my house and I told them it was gonna take forever and by the time they walk that far we could wait for people to wake up and come get us…anyway..of they went…me and Davis sat in the car, reclined the seats and passed out…I woke up to daylight, stepped out of the car to have a smoke and stretch out…people were milling around and I asked a lady where the coffee bar was, she pointed me in the direction, I grabbed Davis and we got some coffee and a donut…then, we saw the gas station dude open up…we went over and asked for some jumper cables…he hooked us up, gave us a battery to use and we had the car started in about 5.3 seconds…we gave the stuff back to the gas station guy and I also gave him 10 Euro for helping us out…we jumped in-I drove-hauled ass down the road heading to my house, keeping an eye out for Zandro and Rudy along the way…no sign of them…Davis was calling their cell phones the whole time we were driving…we got back to my house and I called Rudy one more time…he answered and I told him the deal and he was freakin pissed…he couldn’t believe it–he said they were freezing cold and their feet were killing them (on account of wearing the nice dress-up shoes)…he explained where they were, we got back in the car and explored the area…they had no idea where they were but we narrowed it down by the giant windmills in the farms behind my house…we finally found them and figured that they were still another 45 minute walk from getting to my house…it was hilarious after all was said and done…I finally hit the bed around 0830 this morning…so, I have been sleeping all day and I think I am gonna call Zandro to hit the little coffee bar/beer bar/ice cream joint/karaoke bar that is down the road from both of our houses…it’s a chill place with lots of people in and out and just a nice place to sit and have a beer-or a cup of coffee, ice cream, sing karaoke, get some appetizers, etc…also, some more news–I found out that I will be going to Germany in December for a class…that should be some good fun…I have a couple friends up there…and, I got a phone call from one of the AMMO guys saying he heard I used to be a snowboard instructor…I said, “yeah, why?”…they are planning a squadron ski/snowboard trip in January and he asked me if I would be willing to teach a few people to get a little more interest and get more people willing to go on the trip…that should be cool…so, I’m gonna have to start shopping for all new snowboard gear now…it’s been 6 years since I have been on the snow–hope I can still ride, and teach people…we’ll see… maybe I’ll get a chance to hit the slopes before that trip so I can get myself back in the swing of things…ok…I think my fingers are about to seize up from typing…I love you and miss you all…oh, start planning your trips to Italy soon…1-16 May is already taken, so work your schedules around that.

OOL
B

Ciao everyone…well, I finally got my stuff from Hawaii–they delivered it Friday…a lot of people around here were telling me it was gonna be a really big hassle to get my Harley thru customs…apparently nobody at stateside bases know about the customs requirements for motorcycles coming to Italy…but, lucky for me, there was absolutely no problem getting my bike to my house…also, I got a bill of some kind about my gas–I can’t really ready it, but it looks like my gas is finally turned on…I have to talk to the people here on base to figure it all out…so now the next step is to go to the Furniture Management Office to get a fridge, stove, and all the other furniture items they will let me borrow, and I can finally completely move into my house and get settled…in a couple weeks I am going to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and I will be able to cruise the bike all over–unfortunately, the weather is starting cool off quite a bit and my riding will only last a couple more weeks, maybe a month, before it gets too cold and rainy for cruising…I plan on riding as long as I can take the weather tho…last week was our big inspection…they waited until the last day of the thing to come to our shop…we were all sitting there waiting and worrying and kept cleaning and preparing, even tho we were ready for them Monday…it was kinda like hearing “wait till your father gets home”…we knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when…finally, Wednesday afternoon, my boss told me they would be at my shop Thursday morning….every day of the week we would all gather in the flight chief’s office and discuss all the findings from the shops the inspectors visited that day…Monday was all about checking the stock-pile–that’s all the bombs stored in the buildings…the inspectors were really impressed with everythin they saw–the inspection team chief said it’s the best stuff he had seen in the past 3 years–and they inspect every munitions storage area in Europe…our Chief and commander were happy the whole week…we had a few findings that were considered “Major write ups” but overall the whole place did great…they only inspected one area of our shop–Hazardous Waste Management…obviously this is something that all Air Force leadership is concerned with…this is the operation/program to dispose of used oil, antifreeze, batteries, aerosol cans, grease, fuel, and anything else having to do with hazardous chemicals…there are 456,326,498,120,453 rules we have to follow to ensure this stuff is disposed of properly–in accordance with military, Italian, EPA, and a host of other laws…our shop is the main accumulation point for all the waste from the entire Air Force operation on this base…so, we are responsible for getting rid of a lot of waste products…our only finding was a documentation error that was corrected on the spot…and, it just so happened-and maybe helped a little, the guy inspecting us was stationed in Korea the same time as me…we used to party together back in 1994-1995…definitely a small world…so, Friday I had my stuff delivered to my house, then headed back to base for a BBQ–a “victory” party I guess you could say…the senior leadership met with the inspectors and went over all the findings and write ups and got a draft of the final report…they came to the BBQ and told us we kicked ass and they were proud of all the hard work and they appreciated everything we did and all that stuff…so, this week we can finally start working on trucks like we should have been doing for the past 3 months…I told my guys we were gonna bust our asses to get all the trucks out so we can relax at the shop and cut out early every Friday…this will probably take a couple weeks, but we WILL NOT be working overtime at all…ok, so for the weekends–a couple weekends ago a few of us went out to a town called Carara to hit up a “September Fest”…it was an Italian version of Oktoberfest but it had all the German touches to it…the food, the giant steins of beer, the Polka band…it was great…it was a much needed weekend of letting loose…me and a couple other guys parted with the crowd of married/dating people and cruised around the fairgrounds looking for small groups of single women…we talked to a few nice young ladies, got a few phone numbers, shared a few shots of whatever they were drinking…it was some good fun socializing and trying to practice the Italian that none of know how to speak…one of the girls I talked to is a tour guide around the Pisa area–so obviously she spoke great English…she translated for the rest of the girls and whatever we said so the other girls would understand the conversation…we hung out there until around midnight and hit the road to get back to our area –it was about an hour drive…we got back close to the base and hit another club here on the beach…it was a cool club, but it was crazy expensive…I had 2 drinks and my bill at the end of the night was $32…it was a good weekend and it helped relax us a little before the inspection…this past Friday we had the BBQ here on base until about 4pm, then we headed out to Livorno to an AMMO guy’s house for a Friday night of grillin and drinkin…basically we just hang out, grill some meat, drink some beers, and talk about whatever…my friend Jeff lives a couple doors down from an Army dude that likes to be a bartender…he mixes all kinds of whatever and lets us taste and we all discuss names for this improvised, possibly something to put in the book of new drinks, concoction…it’s a good time and it’s usually pretty chill and mellow…this was no different than the other few times I have been over there–all the married people and their kids and a couple of us single guys…it was a good weekend…Saturday I got up and headed out to my house to striaghten things up, trying to organize whatever I can without furniture or closets or even a couch…around 9pm I was having a glass of wine, went outside to have a smoke and my feline friend came around–I have decided to call her Lucy–since I don’t know her name and I live in St. Lucia…at first I called her Popolo after the street name, but then I figured out she’s a girl, and Popolo seems to be more of a male name…seems to be a theme with the animals I have been around lately–naming them after streets or neighborhoods they are found in…anyhoo, she came rubbing up against my legs begging for some attention, so I pet her and gave her a little bit of cheese…she ended up following me inside the house and running upstairs exploring or whatever…well, there are a lot of insects around my house at night so I closed all the doors and the cat ended up staying in the house all night…I was about to fall asleep and she decided to jump in bed with me and rub up under my hands begging to be pet…she ended up sleeping in my bed all night and every couple hours she would nuzzle her head up in my face and I had to push her back to the other side of the bed…apparently she doesn’t get enough attention at home…anyhoo, she stayed all night and didn’t really want to leave in the morning either…I put her outside and she was still hanging out after I showered and got ready and packed the car with laundry…she hung out till I drove away…so, now, I got my computer working, will set up furniture delivery for this week, starting the motorcycle class next week, got my house ready to move in to…everything here is awesome and great and wonderful… I guess that’s enough rambling for one session…I love you and miss you all…also, this week I will buy a big wall calendar and schedule everyone starting next spring so start working on passports…Ciao for now

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Well, I got the hub/bearing assy in yesterday afternoon… I put it in the car and now she rides like a dream … so, I hauled ass out the gate to get some gas before the ESSO closed, then I cruised out to my house …I checked the place out thoroughly and went thru every square inch of the place…there is a fresh coat of paint inside the whole thing …it is so nice—4 bedroom, 3 bathrooms with bidets in them(well, I guess, 1 full bathroom, ¾ of a bathroom, and ½ of a bathroom—the ¾ bathroom just has a toilet, shower, and sink, and the ½-bathroom downstairs just a toilet and sink), the kitchen is nice and roomy with a couple doors that open up into the yard, the dining room is big enough to be another living room, the garage is perfect for the Harley—it is way too small for a normal sized car, all the rooms have floor-to-ceiling, large-pane, glass doors with wooden shutters on the outside, the master BR has a small balcony, with the large glass doors, that overlooks the sunflower and grape farms in back of the house, the yard is pretty much privately enclosed by tall, thick bushes… the two smaller, upstairs rooms share a large balcony looking over the front yard, the side yard of the house looks directly at a small farm/garden with tomatoes, pear trees, small rows of some green leafy stuff, a few grape vines, and some other vegetables I can’t quite make out … I can’t wait to get moved in … right now the problem is with the gas company –the last guy moved out and the gas company decided to take the freakin gas meter off the house …I have no idea why they would do this but I guess it has something to do with the fact that we US personnel have been trying to all use the same gas company to make things easier, so the previous gas company said “screw you, I’m taking my meter back” …whatever … I am waiting for the liaison here on base to figure out what the deal is…electric and water are on, so gas is the only hold up – and I wouldn’t mind so much about the gas, but the FMO people won’t deliver a stove until the gas is hooked up so they can test the stove—plus, they will only make one delivery –that means I have to wait for gas before I can get a bed, furniture, fridge, or anything else …anyhoo…I will take some pics in the next few days so you can see the place …I cruised around the “neighborhood” too …the whole village is about as big as the Satellite High and DeLaura Jr. High area surrounded by sunflower and grape farms….literally a “no-stop-light town”—I don’t think there is even a stop SIGN….ok… well, thank you so very much for getting that part to me …I love you and miss you all…

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!!!
So, this weekend was pretty good … I spent some time chillin on the beach, hit a couple new little Italian restaurants, helped a friend work on his truck—even tho we didn’t really get anything accomplished…that’s what happens when you drink beer and work on cars…you tear the car apart, tear up the case of beer, and end up with the car torn apart and having to put it back together the next day with a hangover…went over to Jeff’s place again for another BBQ, and some heavy drinkin and some crazy shots from his Army neighbor…this guy a couple houses down just shows up every hour or so with some new crazy shots that he makes up …I have no idea what the hell we were drinking but they were good and they kicked our asses…I ended up passing out on Jeff’s couch for the night—well, morning—it was 5am before I went to sleep…somehow a Cabbage Patch Kid ended up dangling by it’s feet from my car trunk lid—so I just left it there…the Italians driving behind me all weekend thought it was funny too…the housing area where Jeff lives is gated and the only way to open the gate is with a remote control button thing, like the car alarm deal…well, his wife passed out pretty early and somehow lost the controller—so, everyone that left after she passed out had to climb the fence—it’s a good 8 feet tall…a couple had to climb over with their 2 yr old kid, the baby crib, stroller, and a little bike…that was quite a humorous sight…they found the controller in the morning in her shoe—no idea why or how, but that’s where it was…I also programmed some addresses in my GPS and found a few houses that I was interested in looking at…all that driving around was kinda a waste of time…this morning I went out with a guy from the housing office and he actually had the keys and we went inside a few houses…one house was absolutely amazing…high ceilings, log/wood rafters, large open rooms, a loft above one of the rooms…it was AWESOME, but it was the 3rd place in a 4-plex…surrounded by families with a few kids each…not that that’s a bad thing, but I am a single 30-something guy that wants to have late night parties and BBQs and all that…anyhoo…I thought that was gonna be the place …I looked a couple more—nothing special, nothing too impressive…until, we pulled up to a place surrounded by high, thick hedges, a little concrete wall, out in the country, next to a grape vineyard area…we walked thru the gate and had to kinda duck thru the heavy brush…then it opened up to a fair-sized front yard, and a nice little marble tile patio in front of an old style stucco concrete house, with arched entry ways, red, Spanish tile roof, balcony over the front patio…this place is an end unit of a 4-plex, but it is totally separated by thick bushes and trees—basically you can’t even see the adjoining house…it has a little driveway in the back that goes into a garage—which was one of my prerequisites, so I can have a nice place to keep Black Betty…the whole house is floored with large marble tile, the staircase is hard, cold, black marble…there is a cool looking, old style fire place that kinda sticks out into the living room, with a triangular shaped platform—with the wide edge out to the front…downstairs is huge, lots of room, large kitchen, dining area, and a bathroom…the upstairs is three large bedrooms…the front side rooms have swinging shutters and glass doors that open to the balcony, and the master-bedroom has a smaller balcony that faces out the back of the house—over some farm land of sunflowers and grape vineyards…I immediately told the housing guy that was the house I wanted…he asked if I wanted to look at another one in the area, so I went ahead and looked…as soon as I saw the outside I told him we didn’t have to waste our time going inside…I had found the house and I was ready to close the deal…we headed back to the base and I started everything needed to get me in that house…I can’t wait to get in this house–sorry mom, it’s not on the beach, but I think you’ll enjoy it just the same … I have to get all the utilities turned on and schedule an appointment with the landlord—who just happens to be a wine maker with a large operation just down the road from the house—which means fresh wine ALL the time…so, after getting things set up with the house, I headed back into work…that’s when the shit hit the fan…I had to go straight to a meeting with my boss and some of the other shop chiefs…we are now working 12 hour shifts—until the inspection happens…7am to 7pm 5 days a week…well, almost 5 days a week…this Friday is another beach party and then next Friday is another softball tournament thing, so we’ll most likely be off at least a little early for that…so, it ain’t too bad…but, this inspection thing is killing us…whatever… only a few more weeks of this crap, then after the inspection everything will go back to a normal chill shop…so, that was my weekend and Monday…love you and miss you all…start planning your trip to Italy so you can hang out in my new beautiful house
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So work has been crazy busy … inspection after inspection tearing our shop apart finding little things here and there, and it all adds up to a lot of shit we have to fix in the next two weeks…oh well, all part of the job, right ??  of course, with only 3 people it’s a pain in the ass…but, I ain’t complainin…Italy is still wonderful, although after work I have been beat, so I have only been out to dinner a couple times and haven’t been really cruising around too much…I spent the weekend at the beach…all day Saturday and Sunday, I was out in the sun, checkin out the scenery…this weekend we have a 3-day weekend…it’s an Italian holiday tomorrow…one AWESOME bit of news to report…I was microwaving some crap for dinner when I got a knock on the door—which is the first time anyone has knocked on my door since I have been here—it was the housing manager-a guy that was in my “Welcome to Italy” class…he stopped by to tell me that I have been approved by the Army commander to get a house off base…KICKASS…it’s a bout freakin time …so, he said he will be in the office from 8-11 tomorrow morning so I am gonna swing by to look at their list of available houses and get some addresses so I can go find them this weekend and check out some possible places to live…that means I should be in a house sometime in the next week…I can’t wait to get the hell outta these barracks…finally I can start buying some furniture, put all my stuff away where it will be for at least the next couple years and stop living out of my suitcases –it’s been almost 6 months that I have been in “travel-mode”…I have literally been living out of my suitcases for that long…wow, I didn’t even realize that until just now…that’s a whole, full-on Air Force desert deployment…anyhoo, should be a good long weekend …I will most likely just cruise around looking at houses and chillin on the beach…talk to you all soon
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the past couple days have been pretty interesting … I made a road trip up to Aviano AB–up in the north-eastern area of Italy…I went up there for a class to learn how to use and manage a Government Purchase Card…since Will left I have to be the one with the credit card to buy parts and equipment–it really sucks, because it’s just a big pain to keep all the records perfect -according to AF regulations- and an added responsibility that I just don’t need right now…the trip up there took about 5 hours…I rode with 2 young guys from AMMO…one guy had to go to the same class as me and another had to drop off/pick up some equipment that was up there being calibrated and tested…the ride was pretty much like any other long ass ride across a foreign country…the roads are not patrolled by police…they don’t have cops sitting out there with a radar gun trying to catch people speeding…there are speed detection cameras along the side of the road and there are signs warning drivers about 100 meters before the camera…if you are speeding past the camera, it takes a picture of your license plate and you get a ticket in the mail…that’s it, simple…and the signs to warn people are big and plainly marked and all that…so, basically we haul ass as fast as the Mercedes van would take us until we see a big blue sign with the police symbol and slow down to the speed limit, pass the camera, and haul ass again…the countryside here is very different every 50km or so…mountains, prairies, farms, crowded cities, open rolling hills, etc…it was a nice, interesting ride, but very long…anyhoo… we got up there around noon and hit the big BX–I was doing everything I could to avoid American fast food, but it was the first place we hit and we were all starving…so, I broke down and had some Taco Bell…I called my friend Mike and told him I was in town, and as we were driving around to a couple places we had to stop, I swung by vehicle maintenance and went into my friend’s office–Michelle, a friend from Saudi back in 99 and we were also stationed in Utah together from 2000-2002…she jumped up and gave me a hug and all that stuff…she walked with me back out to the van and we made plans to hook up after she got off work…she and Mike live just around the block from each other in Govt leased housing…so, I went to lodging on base and got a room…the room was awesome…it was pretty much a one-bedroom apartment…big living room, full kitchen, washer/dryer, queen size bed, not your typical lodging room on a military base…so, I talked with Mike and he was up by the BX-next to lodging-picking up his son John from work–Mike is the one who got me started with the dirt-biking in Hawaii and his son went with us all the time too…I walked over to the BX and we rode to Mike’s house…we sat around BSing for a while and he showed me all his motorcycles and sweet ass house…game room, pool table, garage full of dirt bikes…so, of course, we cracked open some brewskies and chilled for a little while…after a few beers I told John to take me over to Michelle’s house…we walked between some houses and across the little street and we were there…Michelle has two daughters that I knew very well in Utah…I used to hang out at their house quite a bit back then…I was dating Connie and her daughter is the same age as Michelle’s oldest…the girls always played together while us adults hung out…so, I haven’t seen these girls in more than 6 years…that’s a LONG time when you’re talking about kids…these girls are all so grown up now, I couldn’t believe it…they both looked exactly the same, but older, taller, and like young women…it was really cool to see them…I was always the cool Uncle B and had a lot of fun with the kids–I am kinda like a big kid myself…so, we kinda caught up and said our hellos and all that stuff…the girls seemed really shy and quiet…so, Michelle, John and I went outside–so we could smoke our cigarettes…we got some more cold beers and basically sat on the back patio all night drinking and BSing and swapping war stories–Michelle spent a year in Kabul before she came to Italy too…she left Afghanistan in May 07…after a while the girls came out and sat with us and joined in the conversation, then Bailey(the youngest daughter) wanted to show me her artwork…I went up to her room to take a look…she has some really awesome art work…paintings, drawings, sketches and whatnot…some of it is Japanese style anime, that I am not really a huge fan of, but she is very talented with it…some other things were more abstract and realism type things that I really liked a lot… I told her she has to draw me up something with a koi fish design so I can get it tattooed…she is really really talented…and Paige (the oldest daughter) came in, so I asked where her art work was…she explained that she doesn’t draw or paint anything–she designs girls clothes…so I asked to see some sketches or whatever and she wouldn’t let me in her room because she said it was a wreck…oh well, I guess maybe next time….so I went back outside and we continued to enjoy our drinks…I think we ran out of beer, because at some point we all had vodka-tonics(with lime) in front of us…after a couple of those John was hammered–talking loud, slurring, making absolutely no sense…he eventually started just puking over his shoulder into the grass…we made him get up and go to the bushes…he said something about not telling his dad or something like that and I told him not to worry because I saw his dad doing the same thing a couple weekends ago when he was down at my base…after his stomach was empty we decided to walk him home…he made it home ok and passed out on the couch …we went back over to Michelle’s and drank a little more…Michelle got hammered and went to bed…so, I sat outside talking with Bailey talking about random whatever with her…Bailey is a great kid but she is dark and gothic and a kid that doesn’t think being cool is cool…to her, being a freak is the right thing to do…I think she plays it up a little more than necessary to make people think she a witch or whatever….she’s just a kid that needs some love and attention….anyhoo, we had a great talk…Bailey and I called it a night around 2am…Michelle woke me up around 0630 asking where I needed a ride to…I had to go back to lodging to get in my uniform and get ready for my 0800 class…she took me back there and then took me to the building where the class was …the class sucked…it is death by powerpoint and I was hung over pretty good…so, after 4 hours we were finally done…we headed back to the main base area…I met up with Mike at the BX area–where John works…I saw John and he was lookin rough…he was inside the air conditioned BX and he was still sweating …he had to be hurtin pretty bad…it was funny…I wasn’t feeling at my best, but I was doing way better than him…Mike and I went over to the shop and he introduced me to a few people up there…Mike is the big boss man of vehicle maintenance at Aviano and they are kinda sorta our functional manager–at least as far as the vehicles go…Aviano actually owns our vehicles down here…so, we talked about some of the problems I am having in my shop…paperwork, vehicles down forever, trying to ship out some of the old trucks…anyhoo…we discussed a lot of different things and I told them I would straighten out the shop down here…so, we headed back around 2pm…I slept the entire ride home…every once in a while I would wake up rolling off the seat because the driver was slamming on the brakes…when we got back to the base I headed into my room and passed out for the night…so, this morning, first thing at work, I was told that we were mandated to strictly work on training and programs that needed to be fixed for our upcoming inspection–we were NOT ALLOWED to touch any of the broken vehicles in our shop and nobody on base was to bring any broken trucks to our shop…great…so, I spent all day looking at regs, AF Instructions, supplements, standards, etc. trying to make sure all of our books and equipment accounts, and tool boxes and hazardous chemicals and all the other crap that we have in our shop to fix trucks that we can’t fix because we have to straighten out all the stuff it takes to fix trucks…RIDICULOUS…tomorrow is PT in the morning, then a meeting at 1000, then my boss is coming in to do a feedback session at 1330, then he wants to go over my traiing records and input them into a computer based system–it’s gonna take FOREVER to do all that–then, I have to put the training records of all my guys in the same system…then, I looked at a schedule or things coming up in the next few weeks–we have next Friday off, then there is another beach party and some other softball stuff–and they want volunteers for all these events too…it’s crazy…I can’t wait to get all this paperwork/office crap done so we can start turning wrenches again…anyhoo…I will probably be working at least an hour or so extra every day for the next few weeks…but, whatever, I ain’t gettin shot at and I live in Italy and the beach is here and I got beer and I got a car to get the hell away from the base when I want…there are many more positive things than negative things so I am happy…like I said before–I will never ever complain about anything in the Air Force again….at least it ain’t the Army…ok…that’s all for now … I love you and miss you all… talk to you soon

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well, Italy is just getting better and better the more I see and learn …I have been driving around in my little red convertible BMW and checking out the surrounding area …there is a problem with the wheel bearings in the car right now, so I am not traveling out too far because I don’t want to get stranded and have to call someone way out there to pick me up and tow me back–if you leave your car out there it will get towed and you will end up paying many many Euros to get it back …a few things I have learned about Italy and specifically the Tuscany area–or as they call it here “Toscana”…first, this is a largely communist area –the government is, of course, a democratic republic, but the majority of the population still follows the communist way of life …there are a few signs and symbols that show the communist influence–there are many shirts and other fashion accessories with the old Russian star, the sickle and hammer, old flags with CCCP on them, Che Gueverra posters, and other things commonly associated with communism…also, I have seen a few walls with anti-American sayings spray painted on them–GO HOME YANKEES was in a couple places…also, everything here is about paying the gov’t …all the tobacco is completely owned by the state–that’s all over Italy, and salt used to be that way when it was a hot commodity…almost every single place to park costs money that goes straight to the gov’t…even tho there is a large communist belief here, most people are very nice and friendly to us Americans…and even the ones that don’t like us are not a problem–most Italians around here are very non-confrontational–I don’t know about the mafia people, but the normal, average Joe–or Mario, as it were–are just plain ol people that like to take care of their family, enjoy the beach, eat wonderful food, socialize with friends, and all the same stuff that most people around the world do to live life happily…the night life here is awesome, and a little different here too…most people don’t even hit the bars or night clubs until around 11-12 at night…people go to dinner around 8-9pm and they usually spend about 2-3 hours at dinner …eating at an authentic, local Italian restaurant is more of a social gathering than something to fill your belly …most places serve no less than 3 courses for dinner–and if you order one course and leave, they get offended…also, the house wine is some of the best wine I have ever had in my life …of course, I am not –or WAS not–a big wine drinker –I am allergic to sulfites…sulfites are a type of natural preservative that is in many bottled wines…it seems that fresh, from-the-farm(or vinyard) wine does not contain these sulfite preservatives…most people and restaurants just go to the vinyard and pay a nominal fee for about 5 gallons–or about 20 liters–and just take it home in their own vats or jugs or decanters or whatever storage vessel they have…bottled wine is mainly something to take to another person’s house as a gift or something of a “treat”…I’ll stick with the fresh stuff with no label…anyhoo…you sit at a table and get a drink and then you have to actually call over the waiter/waitress to order your first course….anti-pasto–appetizer…I guess you can order everything at once, but most people only order whatever they are eating for that course…it’s like this throughout the meal…the people at the restaurant will not bother you unless you call them over …I love it– you can literally sit at the table for hours and hours and take as much time as you want…NONE of the food is pre-made…if you order any kind of pasta you will wait for the water to start boiling…I think it is awesome… I love it …I have eaten an entire five course meal and had a half liter of wine and didn’t feel bloated or over-full or drunk or anything …it was just an awesome meal and great drink…if I ate like that at some American chain I would have to pass out from food coma…speaking of American chains– there are not any around this entire area–except, of course, Mickey D’s…which I will do everything to avoid for my entire tour in Italy…some people here like to go up north to the bigger AF base to get some Taco Bell or BK or something like that …NO THANK YOU…don’t get me wrong–I LOVE America, but I will be fully immersed into the Italian culture as much as possible…sorry — got side tracked …after dinner it’s off to the bar …the bar I have been to a couple times now is very close to the base and near the beach …we call it “The Monkey Bar” but it’s really called “La Scimme”–which is “the monkey” … the actual bar where you order drinks is outside on the sidewalk…there is another bar inside, along with a dance floor, tables and chairs, etc…the same as any other bar in the US…but, the outside its where all the action is…you literally sit outside on the street and party it up…all the while there are families walking thru with strollers, tourists cruising by on bikes, and whatever else happens of the street in a beach town…but this all happens at 12-1-2 at night…like I said, people don’t even finish dinner until 11-12 at night…it’s great … I love it …the music at this place is pretty funny…they place a lot of 80’s and 90’s top 40 type stuff…and A LOT of Michael Jackson and Madonna…it’s a cool place to hang out and drink for the night ….this past weekend a few of us hung out all night and around 3am we walked to the beach and went skinny dipping …a few Army, a few Air Force, a few enlisted, a few officers, and a couple Italians–it was a big mix of all us party people …the water was a little chilly, but, whatever … we were kinda intoxicated and it was pretty warm outside…after swimming around for a little while, I sat out in the sand butt nekkid–as did a few other people–and we just chilled for a bit while some “couples” made out and did whatever in the cover of the ocean …apparently this a common thing, because there were other people out there too–people that weren’t with us, just other people out partying …ok…that’s the partying and night life stuff…work here is a lot different too…as I said a couple days ago, this squadron operates a little different than other places I have been …we have more meetings and inspections than anywhere I have ever been…but, one good thing is that we have a lot more parties and cookouts and “get-togethers” than anywhere else too…there was a beach BBQ thing last Friday, there will be another on this coming Saturday and other couple at the end of the month–one on Thursday and another on Friday…I have learned over my years that AMMO troops like to drink…I gues that makes sense–they work with giant bombs every day so they need something to unwind…but it seems like they step it up a notch around here…if they aren’t working it’s all about beer and softball…cool with me…I am going to enjoy this place a lot…I like to drink beer and I can watch softball all day long–as long as I have a beer in my hand…well, that’s about it for now …I have rambled on long enough…I will continue to write every few days or so and keep everyone filled in on all the culture and partying and whatever else happens in my life ….I miss you all and love you very much…can’t wait for you all to visit so I can show you everything I am enjoying here…talk to you soon

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