I have been waiting for this moment for such a long time. Today Nokia announced to the world the Lumia 720, the phone I have been working on since I started in the company last year. I was lucky that I was assigned to work on it and I realized from the beginning I was working on a really cool project. And I am not a guy who is afraid to take his stand, I was one of the few Nokians who, in the beginning, used go to work using an iPhone 4. It took courage. I always thought that if that if I could be convinced that I had a better product in my hand, I wouldn’t have any problems switching to a Windows Phone’s based device. And it’s not just that, I took my job very seriously and put all my effort and passion into it because I wanted Nokia to be successful.
Indeed the Nokia 720 is a cool phone, I love this review which says it all: “It’s what the 920 should’ve been”. I totally agree with that. The 720 is very slick and can take really amazing pictures, much better then my iPhone 4 which I don’t use anymore. I am really proud, not only to have been part of this team, a bunch of great people, but I am proud of what this company is accomplishing. I have to admit, I love Stephen Elop our CEO, his energy is always inspiring to me. I don’t understand why Wall Street, particularly guys like Jim Cramer, always throws shit at him for being a rookie. Mr. Elop has got talent, he is solid and he is delivering. In spite of all the headwinds, Nokia IS coming back and it’s great to be part of it. It is a hard battle everyday because this market is changing so quickly, but that’s why I love this job. I love challenges…
A special thanks goes to my mom and her support because when I was in Italy two weeks ago she organized an evening in a restaurant with some friends and family. She knew that February 25th was going to be an important day for me because of the Nokia 720 announcement in Barcelona. So for the event she ordered a special cake on which the chef created a cellphone made of marzipan… Lovely, as you can see in the picture. It touched my heart and my thoughts goes to her today for being so supportive… La Mamma e’ sempre la Mamma… as we Italians say…
Today the good news is also that I signed a contract with my landlord and I will move into my new house tomorrow. It is all so exciting… “New year, new start…” as Lin Lin said…
It’s a fantastic day…

As long as I can remember she was for everybody Zia Dina. In reality she is not my aunt but my grandmother’s older sister. She was born in 1921 but few people knew her age because she wouldn’t tell anyone. But in the family I was one of the few that knew because as a child I used to spend a lot of time with her mom, my great grandma Nonna Maria, and she told me Zia Dina’s secret year of birth. I’ve always told Zia Dina that she is going to reach 100 years old. She is getting closer to that and we will see if I am right.

She has never worked in her life. Her family was poor but she married a rich man, liutenant Gianni Garino who then became head of treasury office for the city of Genova. Zia Dina’s father was against their marriage because he thought it couldn’t last. “I didn’t listen to him” she told me, in those times it was brave not to listen but that’s in her DNA. Last summer I accompanied her to her husband’s grave which is in cimitery of Chiavari. He died about 20 years ago of cancer, but she still loves him and misses him. It was so emotional to watch her under the hot beating sun cleaning her husband’s tomb and talking to him like he still alive. I will never forget that moment. He wasn’t the perfect husband, he gave her so much troubles, he had a crazy lifestyle, indeed he also cheated on her, but they survived a war and stayed together a lifetime. Zia Dina’s memories are becoming more nostalgic and her strength are quickly dissipating. During my last visit, before I left for China I brought her some tiramisu. She usually has some Prosecco wine to offer me but this time I was in for a treat. “Take the bottle from the corner drawer” she said. I opened the door and there it was, a bottle of French champagne, a 1988 vintage reserve of Veuve Clicqout, a gift from Zio Gianni. I was so surprised: “Its probably worth a fortune, you should keep it for a good occasion” I said. “What’s a better occasion than this?” she replied. She really touched my heart. They carried around that bottle for years, saving it for a special moment. I felt privileged and honored to share that special bottle with her. Zia Dina always regrets now refusing to have a child when she was younger and often warns me not to do the same mistake. But like her I never listen to anybody either… It must run in the family… “It is so difficult to find a good woman these days, a woman I can trust”. But she doesn’t insists because she understands me. In today’s society love and marriages that last for a lifetime are becoming more and more rare. It’s a pity..