Note: This is a journal entry — it was written on paper or on my computer, then transferred to my website, maybe years later.

I’m so stressed out, and pissed off at the people who booked our tour.  We’re about to leave Rome for five shows, and won’t be back here until the show at Sonica on the 10th.  We don’t have a van, we have a car, and because of that, we can’t bring our suitcases or even our guitar cases.  We’re going to be strolling into these clubs with our guitars in our hands.  We don’t get hotels because we have to save money to pay off the exorbitantly-priced airline tickets.  Which we were forced to buy at the last minute because we were waiting to find out when U.S. Maple was going to be done with the van we were going to use… which we can’t even use anymore.  Because the guy doesn’t feel it’s necessary, because we don’t have a drummer.  But… we don’t have room for our fucking suitcases or guitar cases.  If we have a place to stay, we have to bring our stuff in multiple miniature bags… one for the music cables/guitar tuner/stand/etc., one for 5 days worth of my clothes, one for Ryan’s clothes, one for my bathroom junk and makeup, one for my electronics junk so I can use my computer, another one for the T-shirts which we STILL haven’t sold, etc. etc.  Hopefully all these little bags will fit in the car better than our suitcases would have.

I’m worried about our guitars traveling for 5 days without cases.  I’m worried about my health, about our ability to get good sleep and stay clean without using hotel rooms.  I’m worried that we won’t have room to fit the two amps into the car.  I’m worried about just everything.  And the booking person only seems to want to wash her hands of us.  To send us off saying, "I don’t know what the problem is!" The problem is, we can’t travel this way.  It’s unprofessional and it could fuck up our instruments.  It’s going to be rough on our minds and our bodies. All she wants to do is deny any fault on the booking agency’s end.  She hasn’t given me one word of encouragement, only a lot of negativity.  I’m upset, and at this point I never want to come back to Italy again.  Thank god we were able to stay with such cool people in Rome, with Sara and Carol and Giacomo.

Anyway… at least yesterday was fun.  Sara and Giacomo drove us to the center of town and dropped us off, and we spent the day walking around looking at all the sights.  We went to the Coliseum (but didn’t go inside), walked around the Forum, walked over to the Trevi Fountain and saw the Pantheon (the inside too).  Had a not-half-bad lunch in a little snack bar and then walked to the train station (Termino?) to catch a bus back to Sara’s.  Ryan led the way, he’s the best pilot on earth.  If it were just me I would’ve gotten lost immediately.