Doing things backwards

I've never been one to do things by the book...I moved to Italy back in 2006 just because I wanted to - it was as simple as that (thanks to my dad being born in Italy it was a pain free process legal wise.) About six months into living in Rome I got together with my bel ragazzo and after being friends for a month or so we finally got together and pretty much lived together from day one. I am no hussy mind you! Nothing at all like that. We each had own respective homes (mine by far the nicer as work pays for it) but we just...well...we just decided mine was nicer and there was no point going back and forth so we began to do things backwards.

After being 'officially' together for 6 days...we went to Australia. (Yes...we were a little old school with respects to that awkward time where you are not sure if you are together or not. Well we were living pretty much together, but were still not 'together' if you know what I mean. I had travelled down to his village to meet the family and spend New Years Eve in Calabrian style however apparently we were not boyfriend and girlfriend....Hmmm... I can be a little (ok, a lot) impatient and after a drink or two demanded that the bel ragazzo tell me why he would not say we were together, especially when I am the only girlfriend he has ever introduced to the parents! I was a little embarrassed when my romantic ragazzo told me he was waiting for a nice romantic moment, most probably in Australia to 'ask' me to be his fidanzata. Ok...I said above it was old school so stop with the giggling!)

Getting back to us being backwards - so where were we up to? We got together and lived together straight away (easy done if you are 1. considered a foreigner 2. if you live far away from anyone parents or members of the family as sometimes in Italy - or should I say the south of Italy people can be a little 'traditional.' Bel ragazzo's brother has been with his fidanzata for 14 years and they barely holiday together let alone live together. She is very traditional and would not dream of living together until they are married. Brutta figura and all that - but like I said - I am a foreigner and can do what I like!

So we lived together from day one and then after being together in the real sense for 6 days we travelled literally to the other side of the world to spend 3 months in Australia, meeting my family and seeing a little of my part of the world. (Please note however that we had planned the trip to Australia in that month of us being friends. Honestly, it was before we started seeing each other and living together that we decided to go as FRIENDS. It's true! Why does no one believe us when we say this? I think it was fate talking before we could hear her.) As I was saying we then lived and travelled in Australia spending nearly every second of ever day together for three months.

Then our relationship started to go backwards as normally you take it slow at the start and then speed things up - not us. After living in each others pockets for a while I came back to Italy to start work in Taormina and bel ragazzo came back to start work in Calabria. There was nothing we could do as both of us had accepted work contracts before we had even met. We had no other option then to begin a long (well not so long) but a short distance relationship. It was hard at first from spending every moment together to seeing each other once ever 4 weeks. Then at the end of my contract I went to work in Portugal while bel ragazzo was sent to Rome. Fate was being very cheeky as she seemed to be driving us further and further apart!

We both thought long and hard as to how 2008 could be different. We had to be together, no more of this long distance nonsense. I longed to work back in Sicily but gave it up for Rome as bel ragazzo stood more of a chance finding work here. He gave up his job of many years to try and find something new in Rome...no more summers by the seaside for him either. So we had both made sacrifices and were keeping our fingers crossed. Without really looking for a job he was recommended by someone to work at a hotel in Rome. At first we were worried about our living situation as my new colleague could have said 'no' to bel ragazzo living with us ...but he said yes. Fate was being very reasonable, but was it really asking too much that she deal us a slightly better hand, and let us live properly together - regardless if it was in Rome, Russia or Reno - forever?

Well Fate must be in a good mood lately as she not only got bel ragazzo a job with my company (and I didn't even have to ask. My manager asked me!) but fate has made my manager ask me to look for new apartment for my colleague to live in so we can live here together and ALONE!

Thank you fate, fairy godmother or who ever you are.



Now our backwards relationship can start to go forwards again!