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Everything's Not Lost
A mere three days after thinking my European adventure was over, I find a reprieve - the shoddy software I wrote breaks (well, breaks more than it was previously broken), and I am invited back post-haste, regardless of legal wrangling. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - my physical place of employment has never been a bastion of efficiency or logic. However, I did not expect such a reversal so quickly. I am not complaining, though - it's good to be back at work, and after a hectic week or so, things are shaping up rather nicely. It may not turn back into the hell that drove me away in the first place. Of course, now I'm probably being optimistic. Even if it's not a hell, I'm sure I'll whinge about it anyway.Flatmates, Past and Present
I'm generally not a big name-googler (other than occasionally GoogleStalking women), but for some reason I fired up the ol' browser tonight and started searchin' away. And to my immense pleasure, found excellent Instant Messenger photos for both my past and present flatmates. Of course, these pictures don't do them justice for how cute they are in real life. No, seriously.Can you have a flatmate without a flat?
Bringing me to my next topic - flat-hunting. I hear the question flying about now - "Whyever would someone with such a great flat be flat-hunting?" The two-word answer? Stumpy Troglodyte. Actually, that is a harsh and unfair statement. A more precise answer would be stubbornness and inflexibility by various parties, myself more than any other. But, them's the breaks, and we be moving, though not fully by our choice.Picture Drought
I feel as though my social life has not been lacking the last few weeks. However, simultaneously, my camera has gone missing (or rather, neglected in the closet). As a result, I have photos from a mere one event, Benj and Buzz's Summer Birthday Social. All around, an excellent crop, if I do say so myself. For the first time ever, I may have made up for lack of quantity with quality. Well, except for the lightsaber ones.Bazza may live, but his website is dead (31/07/05)
You'd think that 2 weeks of sitting at home would mean dozens of bazza lives updates. However, the simple fact is, I only have two modes - Working way too hard, or not doing anything at all. Sitting at home all day, every day has led me to enter the latter one. It's taken me two weeks to get to the point of labeling pictures I'd uploaded and writing this short explanation of my patheticness.Speaking of work, having some would be nice
The curious may wonder as to my work situation. Right now, I'm not sure myself. Late friday afternoon it was discovered that, at least currently, the job I had counted on for the last 6-8 weeks may not happen (due to various legal issues I prefer to avoid whinging about further). This puts a small fly in my ointment - if indeed everything falls through, I fall back on my old plan of searching for a job for a bit, and if nothing turns up, calling it a loss, and retreating back to the US with my spoils in tow (thanks to the good, through previously much better, exchange rate). However, I must say, I liked that plan a lot better when I didn't think about the fact I needed to give 1 month notice on the flat. As it stands now, I need to find definite work within 2 weeks to keep the flat. If that doesn't happen, I have another month to find work. At that point, well, it's bye bye Bazza. Having a bit of an issue coming to terms with it, unfortunately.Hordes of Pictures
3 weeks of almost non stop traveling does at least mean a good picture harvest. Here's what I can offer, in chronological order:- London Homecoming
- Summer in Colorado (hiking and other activities)
- Las Vegas with the fam
- Grand Canyon Helicopter Ride (while in Vegas)
- Fourth of July in Portland
- Climbing Mount Quandry
- Paris with Tanja
America, F*CK YEAH! (? - added 1 month after it was authored)
That's right, I'm "home". Well, for a day and a half, at which point my family shall be sojourning to Vegas. And then I'm off to Portland.I've discovered something that almost scares me - I'm apparently getting old. I love traveling, but apparently my body can't keep up with me anymore. This is my fourth country in the matter of a week or so, and I am absolutely wrecked. At this exact moment in time, it's probably because I'm on a plane with two and a half hours of flight time left, and it's already 3:30 AM UK time. But more than that, my body has been very confused (and rather unhappy with me) for the last week and a half. I suspect it has something to do with lack of consistent sleeping arrangements, multiple nights where I came home after 6 am, and various other mistreatments having to do with leaving parties. But still, I feel like generally I should be able to keep up. I guess this is my wake up call. Time to throw in the towel and start going to bed at 10 pm.
Incidentally, if anyone thinks I'm just being rude with the title of this post, I would direct you to the most excellent film Team America: World Police. Not that it's out of the realm of possibility that I'd be rude just for the size of being rude. That does generally tend to be the case. But not in this instance. Go watch the film.
The Final Countdown
Wow, I can't believe I've only got 2.5 days left. On the one hand, I'm pretty sad - despite the troubles I've had, I really do like Russia, and I'm actually rather frustrated with leaving when I don't speak as well as I'd like (the old competitive streak). However, on the other hand, I'm also very excited to be back in London and the US. And it's really hard to not look forward to about 3 weeks of seeing family and friends and traveling.So, what to do with the rest of my time? I don't really feel like I've done everything, so I'm trotting around the city, trying to finish up. However, I know I'll be back sometime, and there is really only so much sight-seeing you can do before you get a bit bored. So I think I'll do one or two things a day, but not stress too much.
I also feel like I need to pick up a few more gifts for friends and family. But I'm torn about this, as well - I can go to the more convenient souvenir shops, pay through the nose, and get high-quality, authentic goods. Or I can go to the market (which is rather inconvenient), pay next to nothing, and get something that is probably crap, and may very well look like it (I'm no expert on Russian crafts). This has already happened once (I bought something, then took a closer look at home, and found it sadly lacking), and I don't fancy doing it again. Oh, the tough life of a tourist in Russia.
Some New Pics
In addition to my recent jaunt to St. Petersburg, I've been making a mad dash around the city, trying to see everything I haven't seen. About a week ago, I saw Pushkin Square, and its general surroundings. Then, today I went to the Novodevichy Convent, a pretty convent set right in the middle of the city.Hostel, Sweet, Hostel
Well, have returned home after a 3 day/4 night journey to St. Petersburg. The only thing more fun than taking 130 pictures is uploading them....for about 2 hours or more. As such, I will include this link to them. But for now, will remain silent with my stupid blog commentary, as I want to go home and do exciting stuff like sleep.2 Months Down, 3 Weeks Left...
That's right, folks, I officially passed the 2 month mark yesterday. To celebrate the momentous occassion, I will be taking exams next week. Yes, that's right, after a 5 year hiatus from examy type things, I will have to return the my test taking days. Luckily one of them is a multiple choice history test. The mere idea makes me laugh, except for the slight issue that it's all in Russian, and on material that I haven't read. Minor details, I'm sure.More on Winning the War
Last sunday, I ventured out the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. As with most things, pictures are available. My diagnosis? The outside was rather impressive, but the interior left a lot to be desired. The biggest let down was the dioramas. They chose 6 battles and made dioramas of them. I don't know, call me old fashioned, but dioramas are usually something you see in a Natural History Museum. Maybe I'm inexperienced in war memorials, but I just don't think its the proper medium to convey the loss they suffered. But hey, I should shut up, it's their memorial.Various Things (28/05/05)
First, A Long Overdue Correction
In my first Russia post, I stated that the Russians call World War II the "Great Patriotic War". However, this isn't really true. Upon further investigation, they recgonize them as two different things. They call World War II by the same name, and use the same dates that we do. However, they consider that the main part of World War II was the Great Patriotic War, which started on 22 June 1941 (when the Germans invaded) and ended on May 8, 1945 (when the Germans surrendered). So I was wrong on that one.New Sights
Didn't get around to posting it till now, but last weekend I slipped back into tourist mode and saw a few things around the city. Mainly, I went to the Kremlin and lurked around Red Square some more. The Red Square pics are with my previous efforts, found in the section Moscow Sights I.Also, this morning (Saturday), I waited in line to confirm that, in fact, Lenin is still dead. Not only is he dead, he also looks rather odd. But I guess being dead for more than 80 years will that to someone. I was actually in there alone for a bit (with the 8 or so guards), so we even got some alone time. It was actually a really interesting (albeit slightly creepy) experience, and I'd definitely recommend it to everyone. In addition to seeing Lenin, you also get to see graves of other Commie notables like Stalin, Brezhnev, Dzherzhinsky (the father of the secret police), and Yuri Gagarin. Well worth the 1-2 hour wait surrounded by tourists and Russian school kids. Unfortunately no cameras allowed, so no cool (or creepy) pics.
I am a social leper
On the social front, attended a lovely joint birthday party on Thursday night. Of course, I will probably love any party that has sushi as a main course. During the course of the party, I managed to take this snapshot that I call the Shazza Special. That's right, even 2000 or so miles away, still looking out for my flatmate. Oh, and of course, birthday regards go out to Su Yan and Anne Gaelle.Less Older Crap
Well, I'm now approaching the 2 month mark, so figured I'd post again. Well, really, I'm bored and at the internet cafe. So there you go.No real news here. My language skills are improving, I guess, but not at the rapid rate they were previously. But on the bright side, it means my German skills aren't sinking as quickly, either.
Oh, one quick note. Various people have asked me when I'm returning to London. Currently, I plan on being in London for 2 days, from the 25th of June to the 27th of June. Then, I fly to my native land to celebrate our wonderful victory over the Lobsterbacks. I return to London on the 13th of July. Although then I may be going to Budapest for a weekend or something. So, the short answer is, if I like you, I'll see you around the 25th (a Saturday). If not, it'll be mid-July. Consider yourself warned.
Instead of news, thought I'd reflect on aspects of life in Russia. There are two main things people ask about:
- Are things cheap?
- What's the drinking situation like?
Bazza on Prices...
The short answer about whether things are cheap here is...Yes. Generally things are cheaper. But some things are much much cheaper. And some things are actually the same price.One thing that is absurdly cheap is the lodging, but I think that's because I live in a university dorm. I currently pay $140/month (yes, dollars) for my lodging. Its a good location, and rather nice. Of course, I do have my roommate to contend with, but hey, if I was lucky enough to get a single, it would still only be twice the price.
However, there are things that aren't much cheaper at all, like clothing. First off, if you go to a clothing store, its going to be upscale (cheap clothing stores haven't caught on here), and its going to be the same price as in London, or in expensive parts of America. Mostly cause it'll only be Benetton or Tommy Hilfiger, or some of that nonsense. Alternatively, you can try and get clothes at the market. There, you get to have people yell at you, call you "Buddy" (hey, its English), and bargain the price. Of course, I paid $35 for a coat there that is of the brand "Euro-Asia" and crap. Incidentally, I bought a coat that's rather nicer and is Gap when I was in Denver last summer and it was....$35. But of course, I got the foreigner price, not the Russian price.
Food is generally a bit cheaper, but it depends where you buy it. Usually, its pretty cheap at the shop. However, if you eat out, its going to cost as much as the US, if not the UK. Like clothing, restaurants still aren't a big thing. Unlike London, where every block has at least 3 or 4 restaurants, you can actually walk for blocks without seeing a single one here. When you do find one, it will be one of two things: 1) A Fast Food place (McDonalds being rather popular here) or 2) A non-chain, expensive cafe. Fast Food is pretty cheap, but I didn't come to Russia to eat Burgers. Anyway, the point of that explanation is that because there aren't many restaurants, the ones that are out there are expensive. Well, normal for me, but if you are Russian, spending 500 rubles (10 pounds) is a ton.
To sum up, yes, things are cheaper. As it stands, I eat out about 2/3 of the time here, and I think I probably still spend less than I did in London. So it facilitates my laziness. But its not nearly as cheap as I expected it to be when I saw that lodging would be $140/month.
Bazza on Drinking....
This is a tough one. I've had multiple discussions with my flatmate (from England) about this. Because it's tough, and I'm lazy and don't want to sit at the cafe anymore, I shall defer it till...I don't know, when I'm in London again?Oh, alright, one fun fact. You can buy a half-liter bottle of Vodka for about $4. I bought the most expensive one at the store as thank-you gift for my flatmate, and it cost me a whopping $10.
That said, people generally don't walk around drinking bottles of vodka here. You do see a lot of people walking around drinking beer at 9 am on Monday, but you don't see many Winos or drunk hooligans. Honestly, i think I saw more of those in London (at least of the hooligan variety). That's half of the story.... the rest shall wait for another time...
Old, but not Oldest, Crap
Ack, how exciting. To celebrate my 1 month anniversary in russia, I have managed to update bazza lives. Not only do I get to add exciting, witty commentary, but I even have some pictures. You'll have to excuse my poor writing, as my English skills are declining markedly, due to generally only ever conversing in Russian.First off, here are photos of Moscow Sights, Moscow Nights, and Moscow Living. I hope to label all the pictures, but like with everything on this website, I promise (and deliver) nothing.
For those that peruse the photos in detail, you may see many posters/signs with the word победа (pobeda in the latin alphabet). In part, this is intentional, as I wanted to show how many of them there are around, so I often framed my shots to include them. The word победа means victory, and the posters all refer to the 60th anniversary of winning World war II (or the "Great Patriotic War" for them). It's a national holiday, and the build up here is absolutely stunning. I feel like there are signs every block, and people have started wearing pins to commemorate the occasion. In short, its an absolutely huge deal. At first I was a bit surprised, but upon reflection, I guess I shouldn't be. They did lose something like 30 million people during the war (more than all other countries combined, if I recall correctly). But enough of the historical bollocks - suffice it say, it's rather impressive, and I wanted to try and capture it a bit.
Other than that, not sure what to say about my experience here so far. My russian has improved markedly, though not as much as I'd like. I speak pretty much exclusively in Russian (except for when I ask for someone to translate a word). I do occasionally even think in Russian, although probably like a 5 year old. That may not sound like a huge deal, seeing as I am in Russia, but everyone in the program here speaks English to some extent, so it's easy to get by speaking English outside of class (and many do). I'm a bit stubborn about it, though, and I think I've even angered a few people by speaking Russian to them, even though they speak to me in English.
Old Crap
Urgh....finally. That's right, bazza lives finally exists, and isn't some crap looking page. Or rather, its as close as I'll ever get to a non-crap looking page.I'm assuming you are a reasonable person, in which case you are probably here to look at Pictures. Unfortunately, I'm still in the middle of uploading/indexing them. Please bear with me as I get everything back up and running. I believe I've now got about 75% uploaded and indexed, but the categorization is far from done.
If, on the other hand, you are completely unreasonable, there are a few other sections in the site. Feel free to explore, though I don't promise much, especially at this early stage.