I'm a little jumpy, but an excited jumpy (Updated with links)

I've been meaning to update, but have been uninspired/lazy up until this very moment. Why, you may ask, would I update now? Well, it all started when I decided to send an email to the Podcheck Weekly Review podcast, one of my favorite that I've been catching every week since its inception. I just wanted to inform the host, Scott Fletcher, that every week his podcast would show up in iTunes with the song title going something like "Podcheck Weekly Review (the date for that day, such as 6/20/05, or something like that)" and that it doesn't fit on the iPod's playlist screen. I suggested writing it like "PCWR 2005-6-20" because if it were around 16 letters/numbers, than it would fit perfectly. Why in the world would this make me want to post? Well, he just read my email on the podcast AND my name, and he even implemented my suggestion! I feel almost... famous. Or infamous. Whatever. Anyway, when I can (this is from my phone), I'll post the link to the podcast and at what time it was said because it would be pretty bad of me to butcher his podcast and cut out the piece with my email only to post on my blog. (Update: A link to the specific show is here. He starts my email at 36 minutes, 49 seconds into the podcast.) If you aren't into podcasts, try it. If you have iTunes 4.9 than it's built right in and you can subscribe to Scott's show in one click. I'm still shivering from excitement. I literally did a Jon Stewart-esque 'Whaaa???' when I heard my name. (Have you seen the Daily Show's new studio, by the way? I think it's pretty sweet with all those big screens. (Update: I do kinda miss the couch though.))

Alright, back to normal stuff. I've been back in Italy since the 1st of July and it's been great. Of course I miss Japan and of course I miss my friends and of course I miss my host family. Not an hour goes by when I don't think of them. Who knew I'd get so attached? Being in Italy has been such a big contrast. I went to Pisa and reclined on the grass during sunset under the leaning tower on a day when the sky was bluest, I went to Rome to see all the major monuments (Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, and others), and I even made a really good friend in Rome who also likes anime and manga, and even translates english scanned manga into italian! I think he may have a bigger manga collection than me, it really is huge. He took me to an amazing italian comic book store, the biggest in Rome, and I got to see firsthand how many comics and manga are translated into italian, and I can tell you one thing for sure: they've got a lot more stuff than we do in the U.S.

One of the biggest differences is the food. Don't get me wrong, my two favorite foods are Japanese and Italian, but what a difference. I lost 10 pounds while in Japan, and in 2 weeks exactly, I gained 5 pounds back. You know what? I don't regret an ounce.

Sadly, I have to leave soon. I leave Italy on the 18th and head over to New York to catch a ride to New Jersey to see my new niece. I'm an uncle! Just like in Spiderman, now I'm Uncle Ben. Then after 2 nights and 1 day I leave for LAX. I know I didn't want to go home all that much before, but now I can't wait! Screw jetlag, I'm gonna see my friends A.S.A.P.! Second only to friends, is constant, reliable internet. Oh, how I've missed you.

If you've made it this far, pat yourself on the back. I'm not the type to write this much on a daily basis, but when I'm inspired...

Email me whenever you like, and I'm on AIM almost 24/7. Hopefully I'll get some links up and working to go along with this post the next time I have internet on my iBook.

Ja ne,
Ben