Sean is here! He arrived on Tuesday, which was, naturally, a national holiday. He arrived at the Academy gates at 8am, just as I was coming out to wait for him, and we had everything pretty much squared away by 11am! Our winter stuff is all in our suitcases, and the extra rack I acquired from an outgoing fellow is carrying Sean's (many) sports coats and his suit in my office, but otherwise we seem to have fitted everything in fairly neatly. That is not to say that there will not be endless squabbles over organization, etc (cf the 'affair of the drenched bathmat'), but it's so good to finally have him here with me at last.
This is a pretty crazy week here, actually; it's Trustees Week, when fifty or so trustees (some intellectuals/artists, some wealthy donors) and their families come to the Academy to meet the fellows, soak up some sun, and enjoy the general splendor. Last night there was a huge gala at the Villa Aurelia down the street, at the tune of $1200 a plate, to support the Italian affiliated fellows (the gala that helps fund us, which is held in NYC, is even more expensive). Obviously we were not invited, but we feasted on some of the best meatballs I've ever had while the kitchen focused most of their efforts on executing Alice Waters' menu for 475 people. The head chef said he finished up in the kitchen at 3am, slept upstairs in the common room, and was back down in the kitchen by 8am to start today's lunch.
Although the crowds have been kind of intense, on the plus side almost all of the six-month fellows have come back for the week! It was such a pleasure to walk into the kitchen and see Adam making breakfast, and to have Carin staying once again in the same hallway. Tonight we have readings by the novelists and open studios for the artists; tomorrow the musicians will give a concert, followed by the 'rosette ceremony', in which everyone but me and Nathan will be officially inducted into the Society of Fellows of the AAR. We have to wait until we're super-seniors to get our pins, haha. Last night Stefania told us she refuses to have a pin put on her clothes (most of which are weird-yet-insanely-expensive Commes des Garcons), so we'll have to see whether she tries to doge.
I also went to Lakshmi's show at a bar/club in Pigneto, being very surprised with myself for heading out to a 10:30 show on the other side of the city. A big group of us went, actually--me, Corin, Cynthia, Liz, Mack, Adam, and even Anna--who went straight to the venue from the airport, flying in from Sicily! I can't remember the last time I was at an actual club. Live music there has been aplenty, in the concert series Paula has held in her studio in Casa Rustica for musicians, mostly experimental/electronic who are passing through, and the more traditional performances John and Denise have done with a rotating cast of accompaniment. Apparently we aren't that musical compared to last year, though.
Sean leaves Sunday for a week in France for a concert, so on Saturday night we're meeting Carla for dinner. Carla, who told me she confided in her mom her worries that she wouldn't see much of me once Sean arrived, only for Claudia to reply 'honey, that's not how marriage works.' Ha! Truth...