Public to Private

You know, when I began to do this assignment I really didn't know where to begin. But then I began thinking about what is private in my own public display of life and vice versa. Though not exactly a space, I believe this is best illustrated through the iPod and its uncanny ability to complete block out the outside world, allowing each and every user thier own unique experience completely tailored to thier own wants and needs. Never before in history has their ever been a device so capable of alienizing the entire world into complete isolation and silence. Take this one man on the Metro in Rome: plugged in to his iPod he is completely shut out from the world, his own music kept private from the public sphere of the Metro. Through two small little white ear buds, the transition between the public arena with all its noises and chatter is completely privitized.
In a similar respect, the Police station on the busy corner street does the same thing. Among the chaos and traffic of the every day hustle, four little walls transform this space in to a completely different place. It is as if on the public sidewalk, this little station serves as an embassy on foreign soil.

Within the payphone, the customer is promised reclusivity from the outside world allowing him to disclose secretes and private information to someone on the other line while the public world continues to shuffle about on the outside. Once the door is pressed shut, the box becomes a privite space for only the paying customer, reducing the outside world to sheer background noise to the central conversation.
The secret is perhaps the most common transition between the public sphere and private sphere in that it is - by definition - just that. Whether we whisper romances in the other person's ear or merely gossip about another, a secret is the transition between information meant to be heard by a limited number rather than for the masses. I think in my own life just how many times I have whispered something so quietly the other person could barely hear, sometimes not quiet enough like when we discussed our roomates here in Rome while they were in the room next door.
Yet, more blatent than anything else, these signs clearly distinguish the transition from public to private and private to public. Though I can't read what the signs say, they clearly are not inviting and make clear that no one should enter the private property.

Invisible City

Unique Technology

What I Carry With Me

This roll of cash is dead to me. Though Mr. Washington and the gang make up an impressive 89 dollars back in the states, they are nothing more than a collection of old white American's printed on a soft green paper. Yet for some reason, I stil carry them in my wallet and in my bag. And there they stay, without substantial worth, while I parade around the city shuffling around Euro's, sentencing my dollars to my back pocket. It's funny how when you go to another country, your money suddenly becomes a different value than you've always believed it to hold. Take one instance I encountered during my first few nights going out: while at Campo Di Fiori, after a gypsy had given me "free" flowers at the end of the night, I had tried to pay him in American money just to get a reaction. I most certainly got one - sheer rejection. Having pulled out two of my closest friend, George Washington, the gypsy man pushed them away pleading with me that he wanted "Oros" only. A homeless man back in Philly would kill for a whole $2 but here in Rome they weren't even worth his time let alone his flowers.

My Jansport bag also contains my eye drops because I refuse to leave home without them. Its become my signature with my friends at home but even in Rome I refuse to kick the habbit. It's not so much that even need the drops but I have to have them with me. The sheer refreshment they provide me with makes them a necessity in my life as they seem to give me the boost I need. Plus, my eyes always feel dry and itchy. Whether it's my allergies or not, my eyes always seem to be craving just a little bit of help, a little bit of relief, a little drop of treatment.

And I always have to have my pens. A sincere thanks to the Bic company for my Bic Ultra Roud Stic Grip's (preferably black) pens that I can not do school without. During the school year these pens are always with me, usually one in my pants pocket and one in my school bag. All too often the one in my pants will explode causing a massive ink stain in my jeans. Having happened over 5 times you would think I would give up on the pens but they are too perfect to simply neglect. Not to mention it is usually my fault that the pens break in the first place because I insist on chewing the caps of the pens leaving the ink fully exposed. My pen bitting habbit has acutally gotten so bad that I've moved on to chewing the ends of the actual pen when the cap is through. I can acknowledge the fact that it's completely disgusting but it seems to offer a bit of relieft in such a stressfull, busy and hectic day. In many ways, my school bag and pockets seem to reflect my very physical attributes that I am concerned with most.

Then there's my bottled water - another obsession of mine that I simply can not go a day without. Bottled water is also something that is a lot harder to come by in Rome than in the U.S. but I manage to always have with me some sort of bottled water. This stems from two things: 1) the headaches I constantly get and try to avoid by staying hydrated and 2) my concern about my health and well being overall. This habbit started way back in 11th grade in highschool when I really began to be concerned with both my health, body , and mind. For me, water represents the panacea of sorts to all my ailments and despite the fact that I am constantly peeing because of it, water allows me to go through the day guilt free. I also love my water because it keeps my mouth from gettin dry - something I hate because it gives you bad breath.

Which leads me to my light blue Orbit pack of gum. If there is one thing I never leave home without, it's this gum. More of a priority than my wallet, cellphone, or any other seemingly important item in my bag, it is my Orbit pack of gum that I need most to get through my day. Not that I have bad breath, but the minty freshness of the gum gives me the crisp clean feeling I need in order to feel comfortably even openning my mouth. Without it, I stay silent, unable to be conversationalist that I innately am. In this regard, the Orbit gum is the most important thing to me because it allows me to be who I am at heart.