lights out

...charlie brown. yesterday was a me day and today was definitely a company day. i spent the morning at a vendor's showroom in the fashion quarter, learning about their brand, image, design concept, etc. and then at lunch we drove to the brianza region to visit the headquarters and the factories. wearing 3-inch heels was necessary but not pleasant. it was bad enough that i wasn't in a suit, but i think everyone got over that.

just got back from a lovely dinner and lots of wine with the vendor, and a long ride back to milan. well, not that long. the driver was obsessed with 70s disco and 80s music, so he blasted culture club and ABBA and sang for me 'just an illusion' by imagination, all the while lecturing me on how music now doesn't exist and that everything is just a re-make of disco. i managed a wan smile and nod before completely losing consciousness, owing to complete exhaustion from the day and a bottle of locally-produced wine.

tomorrow i get another me day before heading back to the pollution that is shanghai. unbelievably, my eyes have been incredibly irritated this whole time in europe, which is inarguably much less polluted than china, but i have a theory that my eyes are so used to the airborne crap in china that clean air is actually resulting in the said irritation. wouldn't that be fucked up?!

i have a huge headache - likely from the wine - and have developed a theory (another one, i'm full of them) that italians are severely dehydrated. the whole day and only at 5 pm did someone think to offer some water. that mentality coupled with the espresso intake and the sun exposure... i can only imagine italian insides that are parched and desperate for hydration. i have taken to carrying around this enormous bottle of water with me, but left it behind today believing that italians - like the dutch - would be offering me beverages every 5 minutes. not so. fend for yourself in this country!

tomorrow, the duomo and some gift-buying. per usual, i have worshipped at the church of prada and the temple of armani, but even i feel pangs of guilt over having not seen something old and steeped in history. plus, i can't come back from italy without gifts, although the euro is mean to us RMB-ers. very very mean.

off to bed in my high threadcount sheets on my king-sized bed. yes, i am unapologetically materialistic. wouldn't be doing what i am doing if i wasn't.