Don't cry for me Subiaco

Good news comes in small packages. When I went to the shop Friday morning, Clara had a surprise for me. She went to the back, pulled out this envelope, and handed me my bag that I bought a few days ago. I was surprised that it came so quickly. It is a little bigger than I imagined, but I think it's better this way. I now don't have to carry all of my camera and all of my books in my hand when I move back and forth through the monastery. It will get a lot of use before I head home.

How could my Friday even be complete without giving another surprise visit. Well this time it was a smaller group of about 15 people. I went through the normal tour that I give and at the end a woman pulled me aside and told me that during the entire tour, she was actually paying attention. SHe went on further to say that I am not boring as some other tour guides are. She said with my descriptions of the frescoes was excellent, because I made it seem like they were actually there. Truth is I didn't even really feel like giving this tour and feel that this one was one of my worst I have given here. Looks like I need to start taking a different approach when giving tours, because when I am not in the tour-giving mood I am not boring. Who would have thought.

It was a pretty quiet lunch today, since Don Ignazio was still giving his tour to a Spanish group and Don Antonio was waiting in the shop for him to finish so the group could buy their souvenirs. Well Don Ignazio didn't finish with his group until 1:30, which is when we had already finished lunch. Don Ignazio showed up right after we took our dishes into the kitchen, leaving Don Antonio the only one who would not be able to eat this afternoon. All he had for lunch was some potato chips from the vending machines. I tried to get him to go eat something after I went back to the shop, but he insisted that he was fine. 

What is the fascination with touching black hair? Friday afternoon I was helping this woman with her purchase and when I was packing the bags, she put her hand on my hair to touch it. I heard he say something before that like, "I cannot resist it". At the time I had no idea what she was referring to until it was too late. What gives you the nerve to touch some guy's hair when you don't know him or know if he would allow it to happen? And here I thought I was done with stuff like this coming from Minnesota. I cannot tell you how many times I had people ask me questions about my hair and wanting to touch it. Just imagine if I had my dreadlocks from a few years back. I think I would be forced to cut them, because everyone would want to touch them when they came into the shop, making me feel really dirty. I have no idea where their hands have been.

I witnessed something that I thought I would never see Saturday afternoon, Don Carlo giving a tour. I knew he said something about greeting a group from Florence, but failed to mention that he would their tour guide. I found it a little strange that Cecilia was back in the shop just after a few minutes of talking with the group, so I went into the Sacrestia to see where the group was. And that's when I saw Don Carlo explaining the frescoes. I pointed it out to Don Heriberto who then started to laugh. I guess the thought of Don Carlo giving a tour is funny. 

Well there's a first time for everything. Pinnucia and Italia are both not here for the weekend, so that means Don Carlo will be our cook for two days. Italia had already prepared things for Don Carlo to make on certain days, so I don't think it will be too bad. But the thing is that Italia always makes enough for us to have leftovers that night. Don Carlo only makes enough for us to eat during that meal, so I cannot get my fill of food like I usually do. So I think I might just go hungry for a little while.

I finally succeeded in stumping Clara with a question about plants. While cleaning outside Tuesday morning, I pulled this mysterious plant from the ground that had a little bulb on the bottom of it. I didn't know what kind of plant it was, but thought Clara would like to see it. I thought that she might be able to use it in her cooking, since every time we cleaned weeds she always picked asparagus. Well she had no idea what it was forcing her to look it up on the internet. I finally spotted a picture of it and will tell you that it doesn't look at all something that I would try. 

Our little outdoor dog returns this morning with a group of adults. I was surprised to see the little stray dog with a group of adults. He usually prefers to tag along with groups of kids. I am guessing some adult did some bad things to him when he was younger, so he always runs away from them, but I guess today he had a change of heart. I finally got close enough to pet him, because he came inside the shop looking for Cecilia. He only seems to respond to her when she calls. She gives him water and tries to feed him whenever she sees him, which is pretty much everyday. I can tell you that Miciotto is a little jealous, since he made that weird growl when he saw the dog today. Seems like Cecilia's attention is worth fighting for, because he usually runs whenever there's a dog present.

Pinnucia returned last night from Sardegna with Bill, Barbara, and their newborn Sara. I only saw Sara for a few minutes, because she was sleeping from the long trip, but they promised to bring her by Tuesday so we could see her when she's fully awake. Well they showed up in front of the shop today and we all gathered around to see Sara. Apparently Sara was more interested in me than anyone else, because her eyes were focused on me. Cecilia even tried to stand in front of me, but Sara just tilted her head to see behind her. They were all pretty envious of me being able to draw her attention so easily. I don't even know what to say; maybe it's a gift of mine.

You are never too old to play hide-and-seek. That is something I learned Tuesday afternoon when the dog returned with a group of kids. While I was waiting for the group to enter the church, I noticed something dart past my feet and run quickly inside. I tried to grab him, but he kept running away, so one of the kids snuck up behind him, picked him up, and handed him to me. I carried the dog outside to the from of the shop and placed him on the ground. I think you can guess what happened next. As soon as I was out of his way, he darted past me and went running back inside the church. The dog must be some kind of magician, because I looked up and down in the church for him but couldn't find him. I gave up thinking he must have ran out when I had my back turned, but then I spotted him on the monitor making his way outside. I cannot figure out where exactly he hid, because I checked all of the small places and corners where I would think he would hide. A few minutes later he tried to return inside, but this time I was prepared. I spotted him at the entrance and made a leap for the door before he could run past me. My fast action must have scared him, because he quickly ran outside. I think he likes to toy with me, because he waited to see if I was still behind him before he made his way outside. 

I think Don Ignazio has to be one of the funniest monks I have ever met. He is always so animated when he describes things, which always makes me laugh. Today we were talking about movies in the Sacrestia and he mentioned Lord of the Rings. Since he didn't know the title in English, he had to act out the creatures and scenes from the movie. It was one of the funniest sights I have ever seen. Just imagine a monk making these weird noises, facial expressions, and actions. It was luck that no one walked past the Sacrestia door, because they would have thought something was wrong with him. 

Italy brings new meaning to the phrase "April showers bring May flowers". I don't have to tell you that it is no longer April, but apparently Italy doesn't know that. Everyday we have serious rainfall in the afternoon. I cannot remember an afternoon when it didn't rain. It doesn't matter how the morning was, because at 3 pm the weather changes to dark and rainy. Tuesday afternoon it rained so hard that there was a tiny waterfall that formed down some stairs in the garden of crows. I just happened to pass by and saw it. I can only imagine what the other stairs leading to the monastery looked like. I will be happy when I don't have to deal with crazy weather.

Looks like this stray dog is going to cause us lots of problems. Wednesday morning I heard from Don Ignazio that when him and Don Heriberto went to open the doors leading down to the lower church, the dog just sprinted out and made his way to the exit. That means that this dog was hiding inside the church without anyone knowing. So now every day before we close the church doors, we have to do a complete walkthrough of the church checking every corner and small space. 

My shift came up Wednesday morning. I had already seen the dog run inside once before, but luckily I was able to chase him back out. I now decided that I would start closing the door leading to the upper church, but since he is a small dog, he can easily squeeze through the closed gate leading down to the lower church. So this morning Clara and I went on a little dog hunt through the church just to make sure that he wasn't there. While walking through Clara decided to show me an area that is closed off. I was able to see the rooms above the alter and facing the garden of crows. She also took me into this room with all of these wooden sculptures. These sculptures used to be inside the dinning room, but apparently the monks thought they did not fit the room, so they moved them. Some of the sculptures I think should be left there in that room, but some others I think are not too bad to look at. I would have never known about these rooms, so I guess I should be somewhat grateful to that stray dog.

Another slow start Thursday morning. It was completely calm without one single visitor. I felt like time had just stopped and just one hour felt like an entire morning shift. I decided to ask Clara if I could take a trip up to San Biagio, where the group of sisters live, because I have never seen it before. So around 10:30 or so I started to make my way to the top of the mountain to do some exploring. It only took me about 15 minutes to reach San Biagio, but I felt like pressing on, so I started to climb higher. I was hoping to reach the top of the mountain to see everything near by, but looked at my phone and saw it was almost 11:30. I was very close to making it to the top with just a few more turns on the road, but didn't want to be locked outside of the monastery, since I don't have a key for the front door. I figured since it took almost an hour to walk all the way up that I should be able to make it back in 35 to 40 minutes walking back down. I made it back to the shop at 12:25 with time still to spare. Looking back I probably should have gone the extra distance considering that there were at least two groups still inside the church. Just my luck right. 

I think Subiaco might have heard my little comment about the weather and decided to teach me a lesson. Thursday afternoon had to be one of the most powerful storms that I have seen here. It started with a tiny bit of wind, which picked up fairly quickly. It was so strong that it was tossing things off the roof from where the workers were. Luckily their scaffolds caught the tools and no one was hurt. I just heard loud thunder from inside the shop. The power went out on us a few times as well. The wind started to die down, but thats when the lightening and thunder started to pick up. I actually managed to take a photo of the lightening striking. I always wanted to do something like that. All the groups that were inside the church waited for the storm to pass, which only lasted for about 30 minutes or so. But I will tell you it was a very stormy 30 minutes. I almost thought I would see a tornado forming close by, just to give you an idea of powerful the winds were. Also is it weird if I said that I like storms, but am not a big fan of rain?

Winding down

Why do children treat the monastery as their own personal playground? Saturday morning a group of kids showed up with two balls and decided to play some form of volleyball outside the shop. I already knew where this would end up and either outcome would not be good for the kids. I was more afraid of them hitting the bad into one of the windows of the shop, but they wound up hitting right over the edge of the mountain. Well it was only a matter of time before it happened and all I could do was laugh. All I heard was their screams of disappointment as they watched the ball fly over and roll down the mountain. That should teach kids that this monastery is a special place, not a playground. 

If kids aren't throwing rocks outside or playing with balls, they are beating on the machine. Having to run back and forth when I hear kids beating on the machine instead of asking for help just frustrates me. And to top it off, I noticed one of the teachers doing the same thing. What kind of example are you setting for your students when you are ready to break a machine just for some candy? People these days, I tell you. Just lack common sense and patience. And that's a terrible combination. 

The kids already put me in a bad mood when I had to deal with the Korean group. See the thing is about Koreans, when the enter the shop and grab their things, they don't understand the concept of a line. They just start handing things to you as if you can just give them their receipt and change so they can be on their way. Well sorry to say, but it doesn't work that way; you just have to wait your turn. They also tend to buy things in bulk, so that when I look back in 2 minutes or so, the baskets are empty and I have to refill them. The store is always cleaned out when they leave, leaving us to restock almost everything. It's even worse when it's just me and Don Antonio. Since he cant move around as quickly as me, I have to rush around grabbing everything before another wave of people comes into the shop.

Later that night I went to Tivoli with Cecilia, Matt, and Don Paolo to Villa D' Este. This is one of the few nights that it is open this late, so she wanted us to take advantage of the opportunity. I did manage to take some very nice photos, but to be honest I was not too impressed with the fountains. I thought from what everyone was telling me that it would be the greatest sight I have ever seen. Well I will let you be the judge of that.

Something else has also been on my mind. While walking back to the car I noticed in one of the shop windows some black mannequins. Someone tell me why these mannequins some "gangsta-lookin" facial expressions, like mean looks and tongues sticking out? Is this how black people are portrayed in Italy? What's even more disappointing is that this has not been the first time I saw something like this.

Started my Sunday morning waiting for a group of 100 German girls. Matt and I had to split the tour in half and try to figure out how we would do the tour. The chaperone told me before I started the tour that I would have to speak slowly, since they could only understand a little. Well that would make things eve more difficult since the group was so large. 

Even though I was talking slow and explaining things in detail, I still got blank stares from the group. I am used to this, because giving tours to teenagers at SJU I got the same stares. It just doesn't bother me anymore; I just continue on with the tour and if there are any questions I will answer them individually. Even with the awkward silence from the group, I must have done a great job because the chaperone tipped me 30 euros. At least someone enjoyed the tour.

After the tour I went to the Sacrestia and Cecilia pointed out that something was wrong with the candle in the cave. The fire was too big and she sent us down to check it out. Turns out that the entire candle was on fire. Someone dropped the entire wick inside the glass cylinder, causing the entire thing to catch on fire. Well with my quick thinking, I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a metal bucket, and threw it over the candle. While I was trying to put out the fire, there were groups just standing in my way. People come on now. When something is burning and you see people frantically trying to put it out, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!! Just call me firefighter John. Also this is apparently a frequent occurrence, because this is the second candle that burned out of control.

Don Heriberto's really quick today with the response to Don Antonio's question. Everyday when Don Antonio arrives for the meals, he always asks Don Heriberto how his life is. Well today Don Heriberto was prepared. Before Don Antonio even got to ask the question, he just responded, "My life is hard". It is the simple things that Don Heriberto does that just crack me up. Since Don Antonio didn't get to describe how Don Heriberto's life was today and noticed there was a flower next to his plate, he decided to add another condition to his life. He told Don Heriberto that his life was beautiful, then hard, and now smells of flowers. Pour Don Heriberto, no matter what he does Don Antonio will continue to pick on him.

You know it's nice outside when you start to see ants everywhere inside the kitchen. I went to grab the honey from the cabinet and noticed them crawling all over the jar. Luckily they couldnt get inside the jar, because that would have been a terrible waste; I love that kind of honey. And so the ants continue to march in at every possible entrance they see fit to use. I hope they are prepared to face off against Italia, because she has something in store for them.

If there is one thing I loathe more than doing a surprise visit for a group that shows up is when someone in the group decides to add this and that to the tour. If you want to provide more information about the frescoes, then why don't you give the tour yourself. You should realize that I have more important things to do than to stop and wait for you while you provide your version of the tour. If you want to throw in your two cents, do it after I am done with the tour instead of wasting my time. It's simple, either let me do the tour or you give it.

Chef Don Ignazio is in the house. He had to prepare the soup Monday night for us, since Pinnucia is still in Sardegna and Don Carlo hasn't returned yet from his trip. It was kind of funny watching everyone stand over the pot saying how to do this and that. I think out all the monks here I believe I have the most cooking experience, which isn't saying much. I can say that the soup turned out pretty well, so I don't mind Don Ignazio cooking in the kitchen.

May 23 my bag will arrive. I caved on Tuesday and just couldn't wait for Clara to go to the shop. I ordered it online, and even though it is not the one I wanted originally, I am excited to see it. I just have to be patient, but I know I will love it. I don't know what it is, but once I saw Clara's tiny backpack, I knew I had to have one. All this week Clara has been pointing out different bags that kids had when they came into the store, but I still didn't see my original choice. I think if I did, I would try and switch with the bag I bought. But something tells me that it will grow on me.

Surprise, surprise; I had to do more cleaning outside. But at least this time I would not be alone. Clara and I set out Wednesday morning to the lower parking lot to clean the stairs leading to the monastery. It actually went a lot smoother than I originally thought, even though we had to sweep up the leaves. She told me that we didn't have to collect every single leaf, since it would take the entire morning, but to have it clean enough. So we finished cleaning everything in about an hour, just enough time for us to rush back to the shop and help Don Antonio with the group of kids that arrived. 

It was a showdown here during lunch today between Don Ignazio and Don Heriberto. Somehow the discussion of who speaks the best Spanish came up and Don Ignazio was the first to say that it was obviously his hometown in Spain. Well this didn't sit right with Don Heriberto, because he suggested that Columbia had the best speakers of Spanish. Well it seems like there is no way to actually prove this, so they just have to agree to disagree. From what I have heard, I would side with Don Ignazio, since I have heard him actually speak Spanish several times and from what I can understand, it sounds pretty good. But what do I know right?

What is with these tiny groups of people asking for a tour in English? Thursday morning I had to give a tour to two people traveling from Australia. Normally I am not supposed to give tours to such small groups on the chance that a larger tour group wants a tour in English, but Thursday morning was completely quiet and I didn't have any work to do in the shop. I found myself repeating descriptions over and over again, because the woman would forget something I just mentioned. I think the husband was getting frustrated with that, since he could follow everything I was saying and could remember the information. I admit I was also getting a little annoyed by the fact that I had to basically give the tour twice. I really don't like repeating myself more than once.

Don Antonio had to deal with a group that arrived late while we were having lunch, so he didn't get to poke fun at Don Heriberto like he usually does everyday. He arrived as we were about to leave the table. He popped in, wished us good digestion, told Don Heriberto that his life is hard, and went into the kitchen to grab his food. It was just priceless, because he didn't it all in one smooth motion. He just couldn't get through the day without letting Don Heriberto know what he thought his life was like today.

And there's the bell for round two between Don Ignazio and Don Heriberto. This time Don Heriberto was a little more prepared. While we were cleaning the dishes, Don Ignazio said that out of all the other Spanish speaking countries, Columbia is the best. But as far as who can speak Spanish the best, it is of course Spain. Don Heriberto just simply replied, "If you want to believe something that's not true, then that is fine". Nice comeback Don Heriberto.

Me and my big mouth

Just when I thought the weather was done with its nasty tricks, the wind came in to ruin my day. Don Ignazio asked me to clean the Garden of Crows, where St. Benedict stopped a falling rock from crushing one of his followers. I thought I only had to clean up the leaves that were on the ground, but Don Carlo also asked me to sweep up the dust that collected over the times. Well there was enough dust to cause me some problems. 

At first I didn't feel any different from earlier when I started, but as soon as I was done cleaning, the dust started to affect my breathing. It also didn't help that I had to rush, since groups were starting to come through and mess up my flow of cleaning. Clara promised to get me a mask for when I have to clean so that I don't have to breathe in all of that hazardous stuff. No matter which way I tried, the wind seemed to know exactly when and in which direction to blow. To make matters even worse, Clara asked me to clean the stairs of one of the entrances of the monastery. Of course the wind picked up even more from before, causing more problems when we were cleaning. Every time we tried to dump the dust and dirt, the wind would blow it right back onto the ground we just cleaned. 

I think I have to stop making promises, because they always seem to backfire on me. Tonight at dinner I noticed we were going to eat one of my favorite bowls of soup, so I told Pinnucia that there would be nothing left tonight, thinking that everyone else would help me finish it. Well Don Antonio was not eating with us tonight and everyone else only had one bowl, which left me eating the entire thing by myself. I had to eat FIVE bowls of soup, the most I have every eaten in one setting. My stomach was completely empty before dinner, but felt like I would explode after the fourth. I couldn't even eat anything else, because I had to focus all of my strength on finishing. Next time I will just keep my mouth shut. 

Pinnucia leaves Wednesday to see her granddaughter Sara in Sardegna. She came to say bye to everyone before she left and her first stop was the shop. I guess I was too focused in my work to notice that she was standing behind me. When she spoke she nearly made me jump across the room, scaring me out of my seat. She said that she will be back in about two weeks, so before I leave, with Sara to show everyone. I can't wait to she her even though I already saw the photos from when Pinnucia went to she her in Kenya.

In the afternoon I played to role of a bouncer again. This time I had to keep this stray dog out of the monastery. Apparently he followed this group of teenagers hoping to sneak past me. I just happened to look up at the right moment when I noticed him standing at the entrance. As soon as I got up and walked to the door, he started to run away. I guess you can say that I chased him outside, where he began to whimper. I don't make the rules here, but no dogs allowed little guy; sorry. 

What are parents teaching their children nowadays? Why is that when the machine doesn't work, instead of asking for help they start beating on it. I know it's terrible to say, but I am waiting for the day when the machine tips over and crushes someone. 

There were a lot of people in the shop on Thursday and I had to help move the line along when I heard the kids beating on the machine. I dropped everything and had to rush over before they did something really stupid. I opened it, gave the kid his kit-kat, and went back to the register. Not even one minute later did I hear another kid beating on the machine. Did you really not just see me open the machine and get the candy? Think children. It's causing using your brain, you know that thing in your thick skull a few inches above your shoulders. I even saw one trying to tip the machine. I am telling you it's only a matter of time before someone gets crushed by the machine. What's more important; a few minutes of waiting or your life? 

Some people just can't take a hint. It was well past the time when we normally close when this group of teenagers showed up hoping to do a tour and mass. Cecilia told them that they had to be quick, but of course that's not how things went. The guide took his time explaining the frescoes and hadn't even done the mass yet. They finally finished around 7 pm with everything, but continued to wander through the church. Cecilia had already turned off the lights suggesting that we were closed, but that still didn't stop them. I had to go and start dragging people out; well not dragging, but pushing them closer and closer to the exit. Some people just need that much help.

Our little stray dog returns again this afternoon. Cecilia apparently made friends with it, because it only stays still for her. Miciotto was actually a little jealous, since he was forced to stay on the roof while Cecilia gave the dog water. Miciotto was staring at the dog almost like he was trying to burn a hole through him. 

Felt like I had my hand in everything Friday morning. I was running around doing this and that for everyone again. I had to change all of the trash bags outside, then sit in the Sacrestia for about thirty minutes, and then run back to the shop and package postcards. Clara stopped me from doing that and made me unload a truck of water, juice, and soda for our machines. Even though the morning started off slow, it sure did pick up for me. And here I thought it would be a nice quiet relaxing day.

Today for lunch we had another guest visiting from another monastery. His name is Francesco and will be staying with us until Sunday. Once again Sacro Speco is acting like a revolving door, because Don Luigi left two days ago and we now have another monk staying with us here. As soon as someone leaves, another person comes to fill the empty seat. We were talking about how long the hallways are at Montecassino today. It just keeps coming up in our discussions for some reason. I guess it's because the length is so unbelievable; 180 meters. Don Carlo suggested that it would be better to use a bike to get to and from your room instead of walking. I don't think it would be such a bad idea. 

Tourists are completely hopeless

I finally got to fix the eyesore in front of the store on Wednesday. Instead of having solid ground outside the shop, we have these white pebbles placed there, which makes it easy for them to be tossed all over the place. Well sometimes there are patches that form when people or cars run over them everyday. There was a bare spot in front of the store that Clara asked me to fix, so I spent my morning raking the rocks back to even out the ground. 

I think I might have done this in vain, since several groups came to visit in the morning, including two cars that drove over my recent work. It's just as bad as pulling weeds knowing that they will sprout back in a day. 

In the afternoon I was surprised by a group of Americans waiting to celebrate mass and have a tour. Well their travel guide told me after the mass that it would be impossible to give a full tour, since they had to back and head back home today. So that left me with a decision to make; what should I show them? I told her that I would just explain the cave, since it was the closet thing and probably on everyone's thing to see list. Of course as soon as I come out of the chapel, Cecilia's group goes inside the cave, not to mention the fact that my group started to wonder around. I think half of the group tried to return back to the shop and got lost somehow. I told them what set of stairs to take, which only go in one direction, but somehow people still got lost. Then there was mass confusion in the shop once again, because some were trying to pay in dollars while others were trying to use credit cards, both of which were not possible. When there is a storm, the machines start to act up, and wouldn't you know it, the storm started right as the group made their way to the shop. Someone in the group said that Santa Scholastica didn't want them to leave Sacro Speco yet and they were probably right.

So this next little section needs a little backstory to it. Every day when Don Antonio walks in for lunch or dinner, he asks Don Heriberto how his life is. Don Antonio then says either his life is beautiful today or hard. Well today for dinner when he walked in and asked the question, Don Heriberto simply replied, "Don't you already know?" I laughed so hard, because this is just unexpected from Don Heriberto. He is typically a quiet guy who is fixed on his food rather than the conversation.

The weather finally decides to cooperate with me Thursday. Since there were few people in the morning, and after sitting in the shop with nothing to do, I decided I would take advantage of the opportunity to do some much needed cleaning. I made my way to the fist parking lot where we have the panoramic view, because I knew there would be tons of garbage lying around. You would be surprised how much trash I found in just that one area. The sad thing is that there is a trash can just a few feet away. Have people gotten that lazy and refuse to walk 10 feet or so? I guess they just love to live in trash. 

I felt like my job would be on half finished if I didn't also clean the larger parking lot, so in the afternoon I went down there. It took my two hours just to clean that one section, since once again people have no respect for places they visit. Every two steps I had to pick up something that had been smushed by some car driving over it, of course making my work harder. Once I returned to the shop, Don Antonio told me not too work too hard. I guess I had been gone longer that he expected, but there were no people in the shop, so it was pretty manageable. 

Seems like everyone is getting the opportunity to see wild boars roaming around the grounds. I have not had the pleasure of actually seeing one up close. Only the time that Matt and I went outside to take photos did I hear one. Don Ignazio told me that he saw a little baby one that darted away from him, because its mother was calling. Maybe I need to do more cleaning outside so I can just run into one. I think I can take it if it decides to charge me.

Well wedding season is back in full swing. Saturday morning we had our first wedding which went off without any problems, if you don't count the tourist trying to enter the upper church. Some people just don't understand the meaning of private and are too curious. Well folks, curiosity killed the cat. Remember that. So I had to play bouncer for a little while until Matt showed up and took my place so that I could go back to the shop and help Don Antonio.  I took some photos for those of you who are interested in how they set up weddings here and are looking for a great spot to have a wedding. 

I am really starting to lose hope for humanity when people cannot follow simple rules. If something is blocked off, it probably means that you shouldn't got there. Well the rope in front of the alter didn't stop people from crossing under it and the fact that I would open a door with a key didn't give people the suggestion that maybe they shouldn't go in there. I had to keep asking people to move out of my way and don't got here or there. Are people just that dense and blind? How many times do I have to pass by you before you realize I am cleaning things up and you are in the way? Move so I can finish! That's what I wanted to say, but just dealt with the stupidity of tourists. 

Just when I thought people couldn't be any dumber, I was proven wrong once again. In the afternoon there was a Baptism in the upper part of the church in one of the chapels. Well the group left the open slightly open so that those with children could leave if they needed some fresh air. Well a group of Germans thought it would fun to open the door and walk through, since other people were inside. So once again I had to play the role of bouncer and make sure that they were disturbed. People just have no respect for boundaries anymore; come on, use some common sense. 

I think some people are beginning to miss Mattia at Sacro Speco, because Sunday during lunch there was lots of talk about Mattia. They talked mostly about how much he eats and that sort of thing. Usually when someone is sick they would eat very little, but Mattia is the complete opposite. He would say things like, "I am so sick", but would have a huge pile of food on his plate. He is just a very peculiar person.

Don Luigi said that we would be open all day today during lunch. I tried to figure out why, since this morning there weren't a ton of people, but decided that I would return to the shop after lunch. Of course once I got there, Don Antonio and the Abbot told me to relax and go back to my room. So I decided that I would just return in an hour or so. Well to my surprise there was a huge mob standing at the entrance, blocking both the only entrance and exit. I had no possible way of getting back to the shop, until of course Cecilia told them to either go in or leave. As to why people stand in the middle of the way is beyond me. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. Do people honestly think that you can just walk right through them or what? I don't get it and will have to get someone to explain it to me.

Once I got to the shop I got a call from Cecilia to do crowd control. Well there were a ton of people still inside the shop trying to buy things so I had to quickly disperse the crowd and run back to the shop. I could tell that Cecilia was also very frustrated with these people just standing around not moving. It's hard to give a tour when people don't move anywhere.

After dealing people foolishly blocking the way, I had to put up with people who could not figure how a vending machine works. They would call me over saying there was some problem with the machine and I needed to fix it, only to find out that they wanted me to put in the money and get their snack. ARE YOU SERIOUS? How hard is it to put money inside the machine, put the numbers, and grab whatever you just bought from the machine. But that's not the worst of it. Half the time people would put in money and select a empty number after having seen that it was empty and then tell me that there is something wrong with the machine. I even watched this happen a few times. And then they would beat on the machine expecting it to cough up something. Well I hate to break it to you, but there's nothing wrong with the machine, only you brain. Half the time I felt like just slapping these people in the back of the head for doing something so stupid. Some people are just hopeless I guess.

I thought I have seen everything, until I see people just blindly selecting things from the shop, only to find out that it is a different language. Do people just give up on reading things before buying them? I guess they say, "Oh, this looks interesting so I will just buy it". I cannot tell you how many times I had to run and change things for people, because they picked the wrong language. It's worst when they don't speak either Italian or English, because I would have to point. This one Korean woman decides to pick these little cards for several different baskets that clearly have flags on them indicating what language it is. I tried to explain to here that they were not Korean, not even one. What is wrong with the world? I can only just shake my head in disappointment.

The Abbot can sneak up on someone if he tries hard enough. You can usually hear the Abbot from down the hall when he is coming, because he is a very animated person, but this morning was a little different.  Monday is Don Luigi's birthday and he turned 49 today. The Abbot wanted to surprise him this morning, so he snuck into the kitchen and covered his eyes until he was able to guess who it was. He bought him some pasta and sauce, which I guess was his favorite. It was for his dinner that he would be having Monday night with some special guests, but we would be having a small party for him during lunch. 

Today was a busy day for me as far as tours go. I gave two tours, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. My first group was a group of Germans. What was strange was that the one woman could speak German, English, and Italian, but I had to switch back and forth from Italian to English when I wanted to answer a question. It was actually good practice for me, even though I will be leaving in about three weeks or so. At the beginning of the tour, some people from Bismark gave tour today with German group - some people from Bismarck decided to tag along with my tour, so it went from 6 people to about 15. I honestly didn't even notice them until one person said thanks halfway through the tour. 

In the afternoon I gave a tour to a group of one (a little inside joke). It was a woman from Australia. The story behind a group of one is that one day Don Heriberto told us that there were 3 groups in the morning. What he meant was that there were actually 3 groups of two people. So everyday we talk about how there was a group of two or one visiting the monastery. Ah simple pleasures.

Call me Mr. Popular

Apparently Friday was a very special day. Clara said that there was going to be a wedding this afternoon and she had to see it. I thought she was talking about a wedding here at Sacro Speco that we had to set up for, but that's how little I know. She was talking about the royal wedding between Kate and William. She turned on the computer and began to steam the video on line. The only part she was interested in was seeing Kate walk into the church, but the video would pause every few minutes, which made her upset. She kept coming back to the computer asking if she had entered yet. And here I thought no one would care about such things like this. 

While the video was loading, a group of teenagers decided to pay us a little visit. These teenagers had a severe cause of the sticky fingers. Whenever Clara would run into the back room and come back out, a few would look around and pretend that they weren't up to no good. Trying to whistle suggesting that they were just looking and not stuffing their pockets. Some people have no respect no matter where they are. Well the world is a vicious cycle and they will get what's coming to them soon enough.

I think the weather has it out for me. The mornings start off very beautiful with lots of sunshine, but the afternoons turn out to be cold, rainy, and just plain miserable. Everyday this week I have wanted to go outside in the afternoon to clear the parking lot, but it just keeps raining here. I would do it in the morning, but Clara likes for me to help her with certain things, so that only leaves me the afternoon when Don Antonio prefers to run the shop solo. I can only wait until the weather clears up so I can finally do some cleaning. I can only imagine how bad it is now.

Welcome chaos, I missed you so much. Saturday was just complete chaos with so many groups coming to visit the monastery at once. I already had some idea that today would be a little hectic, but throw in mix-ups and misunderstandings and you will have a pretty rough morning. Everything was going fine in the shop until I got a call from the Sacrestia telling me that I had to give a tour in English. It was actually two girls from Cecilia's group who could not understand everything said while Cecilia spoke. It's hard for me sometimes too, because she tends to speak very fast when giving a tour. Well I was in the middle of explaining a fresco when some Polish kid came up to me asking me to translate for him. I looked at him and was about to say, "You know I am speaking English now and have no clue how to speak Polish, right?", but he said that the monk in the Sacrestia doesn't understand him. So I went to try and translate his broken English to Don Heriberto, who couldn't help me or him. I had to scramble around looking for Don Luigi, because this group wanted to celebrate a mass. I finally found him only to find out that this group had scheduled the mass. I was on my way to take them to the chapel, when I ran into Matt. He told me that there was a Portuguese group celebrating now. That group didn't schedule anything, but Don Heriberto thought it would be a great idea if they would take the chapel that I prepared for the Polish group. Meanwhile the two girls in my English tour was starting to get a little frustrated, but what can I do when everyone comes to me asking for things. Matt took the group to the other chapel and set it up while I finished my tour.

I should say that I tried to finish the tour. Every 10 minutes or so I had to stop and tell someone not to do this or that. Why can't people just follow simple rules? Like if something is blocked off, don't got behind it. People would just cross under the rope we put up in the morning so people don't wander behind the alter. Well that didn't stop one group from going under and exploring. I told them not to do that and continued with my tour. I thought my job was done until I went outside and saw two people sitting next to the statue of St. Benedict behind the rose bushes. Now the thing is that the gate is always locked and no one would open it so someone could explore back there. I guess they got it in their minds that it would be a good idea if they jumped the gate and do a confession next to the statue. You know we do have priests as well as chapels where you can do that. Why do people do the dumbest things and think it's ok? Just because your a priest doesn't mean that you have different rules than everyone else. In my mind, if you don't work here or I don't know you, follow the rules and there shouldn't be any problems.

Sunday was a day filled with memories. Well memories of the other two volunteers from last year, Andy and Eli. We were all sitting around the table enjoying lunch when someone was remembering Eli's crazy adventures. He did a lot of traveling when he was here, but most of the time it was a short visit. Up until this point most of the stories I have heard have been about Andy, but I guess getting closer to the end of the year Eli started to come out of his shell, or do crazier things. 

While talking about Eli, Cecilia brought up how Eli would approach ever single girl he saw. That's when everyone's attention focused on me. Since I am not dating anyone currently, they have now decided to try and set me up with someone. It was hilarious watching them try and figure out who I am interested in and they started going down a list of potential ladies. Don Antonio was sure that he had it figured out and he said some name that I did not even know. I looked at him and had to ask who in the world that person was and if I ever met her before. I just said that I'm not interested in starting anything here right now since I will be leaving in a month or so. I wish I didn't have that break in between, but what can you do?

Seems like the rain and storms are just gearing up. This afternoon when I was resting in my room, I saw this quick flash of light. I thought it was one of my lightbulbs in my room that just flickered and paid it no attention. The next thing I know, there is a loud boom outside and it begins to pour heavily. Five minutes later the sunny pops out like nothing happened. Some crazy weather we are avenge here nowadays.

I was feeling pretty wiped out Monday for some odd reason, but luckily I didn't have any torus scheduled and would be taking a trip with Don Luigi at 4. That's when my whole day turned around, because to my surprise there was a group from New Jersey waiting for me in the afternoon. Don Luigi stressed that I should finish by 4, but that all of course depends on the group. 

They first wanted to do some shopping, but I had to urge them to save it for later. When I introduced myself to the group and mentioned I was from Jersey, they all let out a loud cheer. That's of course when I had to go into detail about how I wound up here, lengthening my tour. Throughout the entire tour I had to reexplain frescoes, because someone wasn't paying attention. It was a little frustrating, since I was on a time limit. The priest in the group had to stop me for one minute to emphasize the importance of not using flash. I always mention it to my group before we even enter the church, but of course older people seem to always have trouble with their technology. They just don't know how to work a camera. The priest made up some story about how each flash takes away 5 years of life off a fresco and said I was kind enough to let them take photos. I am glad someone understands how important it is to preserve history. Well I didn't finish the tour until almost 4:45, since there were tons of questions. Don Luigi kept checking on my progress hoping I would be done soon. After I was done, some of the group members gave me tips. I got 10 dollars and 20 euros. All-in-all not a bad group of people.

As soon as I was done saying my goodbyes to the group, I sprinted to Don Luigi's car. We were on our way to Aielli, a small town about an hour or so away. We showed up just right before the mass was supposed to start, so it was my fault that we were so late. We finished the mass and the priest was kind enough to show us around the church, along with the other larger church. Don Luigi said that I have to show him all of my photos before I leave, since I always have my camera with me and seem to always take pictures of everything. Well its mostly for you readers that I take so many photos. Lets be honest, not everyone is interested in my day to day activities; just beautiful photos.

Once we were done touring the churches, we made our way to dinner. It was actually this place overlooking a castle. I wish I had gotten there sooner, because the pictures I have are a little hard to make out. The food was fantastic and very filling. On the way back I was so tired that I dozed off from time to time. I always seemed to be awake when Don Luigi was speaking or telling us something about the areas we were driving through. That's why I didn't post anything for awhile. Lack of sleep will do that to you.

My job in the morning was to do a little house cleaning. Tuesday morning I had to clean all of the spiderwebs collected near and around the stairs. I thought I was just going to use a broom, but Pinnucia pulled out the vacuum cleaner and told to vacuum everything. I knew this would take awhile, since the vacuum cleaner has a short reach. Well I can say that the stairs look immaculate, because there isn't one single web left. I already know that this will have to be done again in about another week or so, considering its a dark and cool place for spiders to make a home. 

I arrived in the shop thinking that today would be a normal day, but found Clara frantically working. I asked why and she told me that there were many people here today. I guess I must have missed them, because I didn't see many people on my way through the church. After only 30 minutes of me being in the shop a group arrived wanting an English tour guide.

It was a group of sisters from England. Of course I was the one who had to give the tour, due mostly to the fact that I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The sisters kept asking me during the tour when I would be coming to London to visit them. I had to assure them that it would be in the next few years, once I get enough money to travel around some more. They said that they would have a place for me to stay and everything. So looks like my next adventure will be to London, hopefully in the near future. They were pleased with the job I did and tipped me 5 euros and 10 pounds. Lucky me right. 

One thing that did annoy me while doing the tour was that fact that people were taking flash photos. I cannot tell you how many times I had to scream and yell not to take photos. Once again people have no idea what they are doing. They are just destroying wonderful pieces of art that have lasts centuries. Some may say that ignorance is bliss, but I say ignorance is just ignorance. Don't try to sugarcoat it.

I thought I would be done with tours for the day, but apparently groups had something else in mind for me. After sitting int the Sacrestia n the afternoon, I went to the shop and found out that I would be giving a tour in English to a group of Vietnamese. This was of course not before they would clean out our shop. There was a total of 65 people in the group and each one bought at least 10 different things. And to top it off, there was also a school of children in the shop as well. So I had to switch from English to Italian and back and forth. It just got to the point where I started mixing up who was Italian and who spoke English. Once the crowd moved outside, I took a quick glimpse at what was left over and saw many empty spots where souvenirs used to be at one point. You can say that they cleaned us out.

This had to be my quickest translated tour I have ever given. I literally show only three things in total. They were on a tight schedule so I had to rush through a lot of things. I will be sorry when I leave knowing that this is their busiest time of the year. I can only imagine the chaos that they will have to deal with.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired

I guess everyone has their own passion or their own world where they can drift into to find their own peace. For me I love to watch TV. Whenever my shows come on, no matter how terrible the day or how I feel right before watching, I can drift off into TV land and laugh until I can't breath anymore. For Don Carlo, it's his plants.

Don Carlo has a thing with plants; it's almost like an obsession. You should see how many plants are placed outside in the garden of St. Benedict. There are just too many to count. I think there shouldn't even be anymore plants in that area, since it is outside and nature takes care of itself, but I guess I don't know anything about gardening. Well Wednesday afternoon I noticed Don Carlo preparing more plants for the garden. Little did he know that whatever he decided to use for fertilizer would attract some visitors.

Thursday morning after morning prayer, we noticed that all the plants Don Carlo planted yesterday in pots had been dug up. All the dirt was scattered all over the ground. When Don Carlo saw this, he threatened to kill that cat by swinging it by its tail. Poor Piccolo. I don't even think it was him who even did it, but I guess it would be a relief for Miciotto if Piccolo weren't around anymore. He then would be able to eat in peace without having to quickly scarfing down the food and look over his shoulder before Piccolo shows up.

Since we did not have mass at Sacro Speco this morning, we went down to Santa Scholastica to participate in their mass. We apparently had a special guest serving the mass this morning, but I have no clue who it was. Once again we have so many visitors everyday that it is hard to keep track of who is who. After the mass we had to wait at Santa Scholastica until 1 pm to have lunch and we finished mass around 11:30. That was a long time to kill, but luckily Francesco showed us around the unseen parts of Santa Scholastica. We got to see the old Foresteria (guest rooms), a chapel where they brought in this huge glass chandelier blown in Venice and brought there, and finally the oil trees, chickens, and bees. I knew about the oild trees, because I could see them from Sacro Speco, but had no idea that Santa Scholastica also had eggs made here. We are just that efficient. 

In the afternoon Matt's parents decided to pay us a visit. They would only be staying with us for one night, so we had to make the most of it. We had a drink of "Sardegna's Gold" and said our farewells. 

I think it was my lucky day Thursday. I found out that at dinner we would be having all of my favorite all-time meals: potato wedges, my favorite kind of soup, and of course to top it all off some delicious cookies. My eyes lit up when I took a sneak peek. Pinnucia knows me too well.

I am sad to report that I have nothing to share for pretty much most of the weekend. I came down with a terrible cold which basically incapacitated me for two days. I felt it coming on Friday and tried to prevent it with what I had in my room, butit was just too determined. I was to be confined to my room in order not to spread my cold to anyone else, but you know what the weird thing is; I got this cold from Don Antonio. And he was the one who told me to go to my room. Of course he is still sick and is spreading his germs all over the place potentially risking everyone else's health, but he refuses to go to his room. Most times older people are just too stubborn and stuck in their own ways. Even when I started to feel better and tried to work, he kept kicking me out and sending me to my room, while he was coughing up a lung, or so it seemed. So someone explain to me why I have to be in my room while he is still spreading his flu around? It doesn't make sense to me, but as long as I keep my distance, I should be able to recover.

I am happy to share that I am now back into action as of Sunday. I feel so much better and my fever has almost gone away completely. It worked out perfectly considering today is Easter Sunday, probably one of the busier days we would have here. 

I found out after mass that we would be having lunch down at Santa Scholastica. It feels like this entire month I have spent more time down at Santa Scholastica than I have here. Don't get me wrong or anything, I do like Santa Scholastica, but going there in the middle of the day always ruins my plans. I typically like to write, clean, or sleep during the little 2 hour break and going down there always means that I have to skip my ritual. Not to mention that fact that I miss out on Italia and Pinnucia's cooking. Santa Scholastica can't even compare and everyone here at Sacro Speco agrees with me as well.

Once Matt and I returned with Don Antonio to Sacro Speco, he opened the shop, handed me the keys to the door, and told me not to come back to the shop. I tried convincing him that I was better and could work, but he threatened to hit me with his cane if I were to come back. Whatever he says goes around here, so I knew not to come back and to rest in my room. To tell you the truth, I haven't been sleeping during those times. A man can only sleep so much before he is tired of sleeping, as weird as that may sound. I would just stay up and play around with my computer, trying to kill time.

Pinnucia bought Matt and I a little Easter present, one of those chocolate things wrapped in foil. Matt broke it open and that's where I found my gift: a boat shaped pencil. It was exactly what I needed to brighten my day. On a little side note, today was apparently Pinnucia's birthday and no one even told me. So I am glad I did find out and was able to wish her a happy birthday. 

Ok so you remember how I said I was back into action yesterday, well Monday it was official. My fever was completely gone thanks to the help of Pinnucia and Italia taking care of me. They still even ask if I am ok to work because they are worried it might come back. As long as I keep my distance from Don Antonio I think I will be fine. It was too late for Matt though, because he woke up this morning with a fever. The same exact fever I just recovered from. Don Antonio strikes again. I wonder who will be his next victim? And it wasn't a moment too soon that I was able to work, because apparently today was a little different than or regular days. Today the shop would be open all day along with the church. 

I didn't know if we were going to be taking shifts or something, but all I knew was that someone had to be in the Sacrestia and the shop the entire time. Well we all know who took the shop duty. Clara tried to get Don Antonio to leave and eat lunch, but he refused. While I was eating he finally showed up, ate really quickly, and then told me now to come to the shop until 5, which was about 3 and a half hours away. I asked him if he were sure and then went to my room to rest. I need to find another job quickly or I think I might just waste away here being sent to my room everyday. I am just waiting for the weather to get better and I will finally be able to work outside.

I felt it was time for an adventure somewhere new and luckily Don Luigi offered to take me, Don Ignazio, and Rafa, Don Ignazio's friend around to see some churches. So we set out Tuesday morning on a little adventure, which I didn't realize would take all morning and night. We didn't get back until sometime around 11:30 pm. 

While we were on our way, I finally got some use out of my phone. Cecilia called me wanting to speak to Don Luigi. Apparently there was a group coming today that needed a tour guide who could speak French. Well Don Luigi and Cecilia both forgot about the group. Luckily there is another monk who knows several languages down at Santa Scholastica and could fill in for Don Luigi. 

Our first stop on our journey was the monastery Casamari. This monastery had such simple beauty to it. I think Don Ignazio, Rafa, and I all agreed that with just its simple architecture it was very beautiful. I do like the frescoes we have at Sacro Speco, but I also do like just simple things, nothing too fancy. I got one little souvenir that Don Luigi bought for me, a beer. He refused to let me leave without picking something out to either eat or drink. He bought chocolates for everyone else and since I do not eat chocolate, he wanted to get me a beer. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently it is supposed to be really good. 

After we had finished touring around Casamari, we made our way towards Montecassino. We were going to have lunch at some restaurant just below the monastery. It was mixture of languages at the table, since Rafa can speak English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It seemed like every few minutes we switched from Italian to French to English. I noticed some of the other people around us were staring at us to figure us out. I think they were trying to place where we were from, but considering we all speak different languages, it would be a little difficult. The food was amazing, but still nothing compared to Pinnucia and Italia's cooking. It was just enough for me to regain my energy from walking all through Casamari. 

Once we arrived at Montecassino, we got he special treatment. We were allowed to park in the special parking lot and given a private tour of the monastery. We got to see parts that regular visitors don't have the chance to see. It is always great to travel with someone from Sacro Speco, especially the prior. It was my first time to Montecassino, but I can say that out of all the churches I have seen, it is by far the largest. A little too big for my taste. I also wasn't a big fan of the decorations of the church. It was too busy to me and lacked the simpleness that I enjoy so much. You can take a look for yourself in my photos and decide wether or not I am right. I wasn't the only one who thought this. Don Ignazio and Rafa both agreed with me about the monastery. 

We had to wait for Don Luigi to catch some sleep since he had been driving all day and would be taking Rafa to the airport. It was going to be a two hour ride, but we of course encountered major traffic on the way. It turned out to be about three hours until we finally were able to drop Rafa off and say our goodbyes. To my surprise we ran into the Abbot, Francesco, and Diego at the airport. I guess they came to give Don Luigi a break from driving for awhile. 

We drove around for a little bit trying to find somewhere to eat. We finally settled on this restaurant near the river called Bastianelli al Molo. Well of course their specialty was fish, so we would be having fish for dinner tonight. It was my first time actually trying raw fish. It was very fresh and had an interesting taste, but was delicious to me. Don Ignazio was the only one who couldn't eat it. As soon as he saw it, he shook his head and said that he would wait for the pasta, which also had fish in it. It was a very long and exhausting day, so on the way back I got so rest in the back. I am glad that for once I don't have to drive and struggle to stay awake when it has been a long day. By the way, Francesco is an awesome driver. I have never been in a smoother riding car before. I slept very comfortably while he was driving.

It was your typical slow Wednesday with few people coming to the monastery. I think it had a lot to do with the weather today. The morning wasn't so bad, but the afternoon felt like winter all over again. I was planning on doing some cleaning of the grounds, mainly the parking lots, but couldn't because it started to pour heavily. I think Italy needs to get it together. It's now spring, which means shorts and sunshine, not freezing rain. I will be happy when I can finally find somewhere that actually makes sense when it comes to weather. As I said before, I think crazy weather just follows me wherever I go. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today and I can finally work outside. I get bored working in the shop, since Don Antonio does everything. The only thing I ever do is restock the shelves and vending machines. There isn't much more for me to do other than that, which I only to at most 3 or 4 times a day. All the other times I am in the back or walking around outside. I look forward to the day when I will finally be able to work outside or change my location.

I finally got my tour legs back into action Thursday morning. Two Canadians decided to pay us a visit in the shop and wanted to celebrate mass here. Since it was a pretty little schedule today, I decided to also throw in a tour as well. It was just their lucky day they said, because not only could they have a mass here but also a guided tour with yours truly, one of the best tour guides that has ever lived. That's just me tooting my own horn as they say, but I have gotten several compliments about how well I give tours. 

I think this was one of the longest tours I gave here at Sacro Speco, considering I never stopped talking the entire time. We had to start the tour backwards, because there was another group of teenagers doing a tour with Cecilia, and you already know how much I love that. We still wound up waiting for the group to move past the lower part of the church in order for me to continue the tour. I thought I was past all the hectic and craziness, but Anna-Lisa's group of Germans showed up just as I made my way upstairs. Just my luck right, that the group that was supposed to show up like 2 hours ago would show up when I am giving my tour. Even with all the confusion I stilled managed to do a pretty good job considering I received a 20 euro tip for the tour.

This afternoon I was on Sacrestia duty. I had to sit there while preparing chocolates for the shop. Clara had asked me before I left for lunch to do it for her so we could do more things tomorrow morning. I tried to explain that I needed to study my words, but she insisted that it could be my study break. Some study break right; pealing labels and placing them on my least favorite thing in the world. As soon as I finished the phone lines went out. I don't know if that was some sort of sign, but it was just eerie. It had to of course been the rain. Almost every time it rains here, something goes wrong. Well when it started to thunder, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the power went out. Sure enough, as soon as I thought about it, the power went right out. Some guy came to the Sacrestia looking for an explanation as to why the lights were all off in the church, almost like he was blaming me. I told him there is nothing I can do, since the weather has a mind of its own and the church is pretty old. As much as I would love to, I cannot control the power here at the monastery. I told him that I have no clue as to when the power would decide to turn back on and he just stormed out. Somethings are just out of our control and you just have to deal with it.