Greetings from Rome! After a grueling 14 hours of travel, we finally made it. All I have to say is that this city is simply amazing. Something about the cobble stone streets and the old massive cathedrals makes me want to slow my life down, have a cup of coffee, and watch people stroll by. In our first day we already got to check out some core attractions… but instead of boring you with all the details, I will post my pictures when I get home.

Here are a few things I have already learned so far:
1. Kids are clever. Laurie almost got picked by these little girls on the subway (granted, there wasn’t anything to steal besides her Lonely Planet book…). Luckily, a nice local woman tipped us off on what was happening.
2. Italian buildings blow my mind. If you are into architecture at all.. you have to come here.
3. Eggplant pizza is extremely awesome. Do I need to say more?

Time for breakfast and another action packed day. Ciao!

Notice anything different about the blog? Look to your immediate left and you should see a cool little Google chat widget they are calling a “chatback badge.” You maybe thinking.. “man there goes Charles again, that Google sucker…” but seriously, this thing is pretty cool. Here is what it does from Google Bruce…

We call it “chatback” because instead of you doing all the talking on your blog, your visitors can talk back to you. Sure, they could leave comments, but those are public and hard to use for a real conversation. With chatback, it’s a real instant message session.

Want one too? They are giving them away for free!

My v-day was relatively uneventful but my roomies got some love… as in some pillows to the face. Here are some great shots of the annual valentines day pillow fight taken by lij’s iphone. Enjoy!

Lijen and Amy getting geared up for the big fight. Lij apparently was a pretty popular target with his helmet. Haha, this picture is hillarious!

The masses… beautiful night in SF to have a pillow fight. Sad I missed out.

There is always next year…

Always could cheer me up.

I have more evidence that my mom thinks I’m completely lousy with the ladies… For those that have followed my blog, you know this isn’t the first time my mom has given me romantic advice.

I came home to hang out in Cupertino for a low key weekend, and on my bed I found the following book: The Five Love Languages (website). Apparently the book is a New York Times Bestseller. The whole book is about “How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.” I’m starting to think my mom finds me a cold hearted bastard…

If you are having issues “speaking the same language” with the opposite sex, let me know. You are more than welcome to borrow my book.

Now that 2008 is underway… here is some random R8 action. Also if you didn’t sign up for VDream yet… you should. Shameless plug for my roommates who are working their tails off.