Ciao!

We're back!

At long last and after much wrangling, Telecom Italia has finally decided to bless us with the gift of ADSL - painfully slow DSL, but DSL nonetheless. Its an always-on connection that's at least 3 times as fast as dialup, so its definitely better than where we were a week ago (but its twice as slow as most DSL/cable connections are). Its still fast enough to do online videoconferencing with family, which is the biggest benefit for us. We may even be able to get a Vonage phone before too long.

So that our big news for now. There's plenty to blog about since my last update was so long ago, but I'll save that for another time.



So at this point I would normally go ahead and post a few pictures of my beautiful daughter (and let me tell you, she's changed a lot since December), but for those of you who don't already know, there is currently an embargo on displaying all Ella pictures. The gist is this: until my dad gets off his tail and sends me some Mello Yellow (unavailable by retail in Italy), then he - and as a result all "consumers" on this website - are denied all access to everything Ella. For those of you who find this is unfair, simply request dad's phone number and e-mail address, and I will kindly provide it (at the last minute I have decided against posting his e-mail or phone number here for fear of the telemarketer/spammer, although this "nuclear option" remains "on the table").

Just like the helpless Cuban population, you have all been made pawns in a geopolitical standoff of epic proportions: either rise up and overcome your oppressor, or face the unbearable consequences.

Your move, dad.

pac