I want a dog

Photo: Dogs in Venice, Italy 2008

I grew up with dogs. My grandparents and parents always had dogs around our house. My grandmother is especially great at training dogs. Once, she told her german shepard to "sit and stay" and this dog sat there for hours! Unfortunately, I can't have pets at my current apartment. In fact, a few months ago I got a fine for having hamsters and a bird in my apartment. If I get caught with pets again they will probably evict me. 

I think later this year I will have be in a perfect place to get a nice dog. I have been doing research on breeds for a few months now and instead of narrowing down my search I have just discovered new possibilities. I don't have very specific needs other than a dog that can go on a run with me. I plan on being in the midwest for a while too, so preferably the dog would be able to handle the weather.

HELP

Locked in love

Photo: Padua, Italy 2008

A couple of weeks ago I made a pretty spontaneous decision to buy a plane ticket to Italy for spring break. I haven't been able to blog from here but today I had some free time for a quick note.

So far I have seen so much beauty and I can't wait to get my film developed. I have loved walking around and getting lost in the narrow Italian streets. On many bridges I noticed locks like these. Lovers put a lock on the third light post of bridges and throw away the key as a symbol of eternal love. I read that this tradition started when a novelist, Federico Moccia wrote a novel called "Ho Voglio di te". A part of the story mentions putting a padlock on a bridge and tossing the key to locks the couples in love forever.

Now there are locks on most of these bridges.