lengthy

So, I had my good news/bad news ALL wrong.

The camera...

was actually at school. Odd, since the shopkeeper clearly remembered it...I think angels retrieved it and flew it there. Or I have early-onset Alzheimer's. (I shouldn't joke. That's actually a lingering niggling fear...)

The car, the car...

had a flat tire. You may remember that the last time I had a flat tire (also the first and only time I've had a flat tire) when it was towed I told them that I was only here x more weeks so I didn't want a new spare.

"That nice man in the orange car" came and, with the help of my friend on the other end of the phone, we had a lengthy conversation about what to do. He thought it might be too big to patch. But, he would either take it to a tire shop and see if it could be mended and then return and put it on for us *or* we could go along. It sounded long and tedious (he predicted four hours) so I opted to let him do it on his own. This is not as crazy as it might sound.

He, after talking with my friend at length hung up, told me he'd be back in a minute, and drove away. Without the tire. ???

He came back and told me to open the car. I did. I figured he'd be driving my car (he'd patched the tire already) to get it fixed. Odd, but whatever. I opened it and tried to give him the key. He told me to get in and drive, asked if I wanted him to drive, and told me again to drive.

I conveyed (apt description) that Marina said he would take the tire and take care of this. Ha, ha, ha...no. I should drive.

So I put Lexi in (she was not happy to be in the car with a stranger) and got in to drive.

It was half a block away, inside a courtyard.

Seriously. There's been a mechanic that close all this time. They patched the tire while we ate dinner at home. After dinner we walked back and picked the car up. Then, we drove the half-block home.

The next day we drove to school.

And, on the way home, it went flat again.

The mechanic doesn't have a used tire. (That was a whole 'nother series of phone calls, looking at the car, walking back and forth to and from the shop and finally finding out that he didn't have the tire he said he had. But, how much color can you take in one post? How much "color" can I take in 24 hours?) I don't want to pay $300 for a new tire. I think there is a spare at school. Or the consulate might have one.

Or the Armenian might have to pay $301 instead of $1 for the car. I wonder if he would...

These are the lengths I go to just to be able to get to the grocery store one more time and buy pet carriers. As I told my principal, Russia is going to make me fight every day right up until the end.

brrr...

I am giving blogger the cold shoulder as it lost all our birthday postings!

Okay, but two things:

good news-someone from the Armenian Consulate is going to buy my car for $1. This means I save the 2000 euros it would cost to have it towed to Finland and destroyed.

bad news-my camera is lost/stolen. It's a combination. I put it down while getting a friend some rubles. The shopkeeper says he left with it. He says he didn't. So, either the shopkeeper (a new girl) has it or some other guy who looks enough like my friend to be mistaken for him has it. And all the pictures on it since our trip. Expensive and painful. And a little scary to have pictures of Lexi in someone else's hands.

Birthday party tomorrow. Cold, disgruntled shoulder turned on blogger.

the eyes have it

eta: a more determined search led to the lost glasses! Amazing what a little fear will do. ;> But, will leave this up just for those of you interested. Medical saga is right up there in popularity with car saga here on the blog.

Lexi lost her glasses.

We went to the ophthalmologist (no optometrists here). He examined her. And then told us that to accurately prescribe new glasses she has to have atropin drops for 3 days prior to the exam. While on the drops her pupils will be dilated, she will not be able to read, write or draw and she will be very sensitive to sunlight. Extremely sensitive.

Uncomfortable with this, I contacted the eye doctor we saw in the US. He said he does use drops prior to some exams but not Atropin and never for that long. He mentioned all the side effects. And, he said Atropin will stay in her system for a week following treatment.

Wikipedia concurs.

Another "Western" clinic (are you getting the feeling that these Westerns clinics aren't very Western? Yeah.) said they could do the exam but she'd need drops for a week prior. They are different drops and only dilate the pupils while she's asleep. (??) Of course, they have to see her first. We can't just start the drops.

Lexi is farsighted, has developmentally young eyes, and an astigmatism. It's the astigmatism that is causing all this furor.

Anybody know anything?

cracked

It was bound to happen, I suppose.

After a particularly bad night of boats on the canal--They were non-stop and loud. There wasn't the usual lull after 2 a.m.--some clowns parked across the canal and started drinking at 7 a.m. They turned on the music and blasted it.

Lexi had the window open to blow bubbles. I, tired and sick of the constant, inconsiderate noise, leaned out and shouted, "Would you please just SHUT UP!"

Not my most stellar moment. It was a bit fish-wifey, though not at all shrill. And they didn't. In fact, I would wager that my reactions was exactly what they wanted and made them feel empowered.

But, I was pleased with how the canal acoustics carried my Oxford-trained voice (Um...but...I've never had a problem with projection, so Oxford doesn't really deserve any credit here. It's just a name-dropping adjective. Forgive me.) down the canal. It just boomed. Impressive.

say ahhhh

Lexi has huge tonsils. Huge. Mine are so small that every doctor who examines me asks if I've had them removed. (I haven't.) Lexi's fill up her poor little throat.

I was commenting that I thought she'd have to have them out once we were home. A friend told me that she might just need to have them cleaned. Never having heard of this, I told her so and asked what it entailed.

She said that tonsillectomies are very rare in Russia (I can confirm my Russian ped's reaction to the suggestion--she was horrified at the thought of such a "very risky surgery"). Instead, she is meant to go in yearly and have her tonsils drained and washed. She said she hasn't done it for several years because it's so uncomfortable.

Sounds uncomfortable to me.

things YOU probably know

Food coloring works brilliantly for dying eggs.

We started out using the Russian P@z-equivalent of egg dying tablets. And our eggs turned out like this:


Now, don't go all Sting on me, but I wasn't sure this was the safest of egg dyes. (One box we bought was actual paint. That made me skeptical, too.) And we had some cracked-while-boiling eggs to color. So I pitched that dye, reached for my imported-by-me food coloring...and it even said on the box that it could be used to dye eggs. Who knew? Oh, yeah--you probably did. I didn't. I followed the directions and the eggs came out like this:


(Crafty friends may be interested in these eggs I bought at Ashan. They'd make a nice Easter tree decoration alternated with blown and painted eggs, I think. But, only thought.)

You can make confectioner's sugar in a blender.

We made a carrot cake on Saturday (we did so. much. on Saturday--grocery shopped, colored eggs, made the cake, gave Lexi a haircut, sewed a skirt without a pattern...) and it really needed cream cheese frosting. Because, really, isn't frosting the point of cake?

I couldn't find a recipe online that didn't use confectioner's or powdered sugar. I do have a box of powdered sugar...but Lexi's birthday is written on that. So, ignoring all the online "wisdom" about it not working to powder your sugar in a blender...I put some sugar in the blender. It worked quite well!

WE enjoyed our carrot cake. And frosting. (So maybe the lesson here is that Lexi and I have lower standards for sugar powdering than the internets. Or maybe we just like frosting more.)



Our Easter was nice. The bunny came and left a basket with a new nightgown, bubbles, a baby chicken in a see-through egg, a chicken that had some chocolate eggs in them, and two egg-sized hollow chocolate eggs that had rings inside them! (Yeah, no pix of them, either.) I should have trusted that was plenty, but I added a stuffed lamb, too. There is not a stuffed bunny to be found anywhere!

We found all our eggs in the living room, enjoyed church (Lexi scored two Cadbury eggs--and has forgotten about them...), and had a slow, lazy day at home. We made cream cheese frosting, ate curried chicken and broccoli (used one of my last cans of cream of chicken soup for that...so it's more "special" than it might sound to those of you who have that readily available!), and just relaxed.

Hope you had a happy, peaceful Easter, too.

decimation of the village

I am fortunate to have a very wide, very supportive "virtual village". There are so many people supporting us from afar. And for this, I am grateful.

Our physical village is much smaller. It's primarily limited two of my friends--both of whom teach at our school. These friends are the only people Lexi calls "Tyotya" (auntie). They adore her and would slay dragons for her.

These are the friends she races upstairs to see first thing every morning,

who will clear the classroom to let her dance,

who will make the ENTIRE first grade scoot over
in the middle of the Christmas concert so that Lexi can get
onstage (last minute mind-change) and sing. And then they'll take pictures.

These are the friends who stood up with us for Lexi's baptism.

They're the only grown-up friends whom Lexi is allowed to hug and accept gifts from.

We love these friends. LOVE THEM. One is a new friend this year and the other is a dear friend of many years.

And both of them are leaving next year.

I knew one was leaving. She has simply been here long enough. I know this. I KNOW she is leaving. But I can't imagine our life here without her. She not only slays dragons, she seeks them out and THEN slays them. Just today, she grabbed hold of the tail of what might have been a dragon and might just have been an iguana, whipped it out, spun it around her head a few times, banged it into submission on the floor, and THEN slayed it. She will leave an un-fillable hole.

I only found out that my other friend was leaving about a month ago.

There's not much else to say, really, except I really and truly don't know what we'll do without them. I just feel at a total loss. It's a huge, huge loss. The huts in this village looking mighty empty.

more shopping

Yesterday, we went shopping for rain boots for Lexi. Because soon, winter will be over (stop laughing and ignore the snow falling outside my window) and then it will be mud season. They didn't have the purple ones or the pink fairy ones or the other pink ones in her size. I told her we could wait and keep shopping, but Lexi is still a buy-it-NOW kind of girl--a little afraid, I think, that later will never come. So we got these which I think are cute--and those girls in kindergarten BETTER say nice things about them. One plus I noted in the store--they're lined.

You can see we've established that they will be excellent for jumping in muddy puddles, just like Peppa--her favorite character thanks to a VERY generous friend who sent us two hours of Peppa shorts. I didn't realize there were two hours on there until we were both sick and I popped it in to give Mama a few minutes with her head down on the couch. Alison--you're a STAR!

When we got them home, I discovered THIS is the state of the lining. While the display-and-try-on pair was lined, Apparently the linings come separately. Guess I need some superglue...or just thick socks.

My little overstimulated, highly-distractable-in-kindergarten peanut doesn't need one more piece of clothing to put on before going outside, much less two. I don't even send her snowpants with her anymore, but instead let her play in the -whatever weather in jeans or leggings. Yes, it's that bad. Yes, I've made all sorts of common-sensical suggestions (turn off the lights, give her specific instructions rather than general--get your hat rather than get dressed, give her a place to keep all her things instead of in communal hat (ew), gloves, scarf boxes, I GAVE her a place to keep all her things, etc.)to no avail. So separate linings are NOT what we want.

We also bought some much needed bath toys. See these cute bekerchiefed ducks?

See how they float?

Oi. Lexi doesn't even want them in the tub. I can't say I blame her...

food prices

For the curious, and those who've asked how expensive food is here, I've itemized our two shopping trips (from last weekend) below. As far as cost of living, food is the least expensive, comparatively speaking. It's everything else that's expensive.

Shopping at store in city centre:
1381 roubles (about $46)

• 4 litres 2.5% milk (Finnish & fresh)
• brown sourdough-ish bread
• 4 seeded rolls
• 1 package (4 rolls) loo roll
• 1 box (less than 1 liter) juice
• 4 yogurts
• 7 mandarins
• 1 lemon
• 2 one-liter bottles Coke
• 10 eggs
• 2 cans white beans (brand that we don't like, but that's all they had)
  
• cherry tomatoes
• 6 loose packets instant oatmeal (sold as impulse items along side the chocolate and dried fish) (*Lexi refused to eat it.)
• cheese
• rice (that we don't like, but that's all they had)
  
• 1 package Zara spaghetti
• 1 package Zara small shells

Big grocery store stock-up:
8024 roubles ($268) (We usually spend about $125/week.)

• 3 packages boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 packages turkey "medallions" (which means random chunks, but I'll grind it anyway and it's white meat--fyi, turkey is expensive and about to go "out of season")
• frozen strawberries
• 2 200g packages (French) butter
• 4 packages cheddar cheese (expensive--and no telling if it's mild or sharp until it's open)
• 3 liters skimmed milk (Finnish & fresh)
• 12 yogurts
• 2 bags potatoes (French)
• cherry tomatoes (Argentina)
• strawberries (Argentina--and wrapped in plastic so you can't see that half of them are...fuzzy. But, Lexi loves strawberries, so I got them knowing they'd never all be eatable. I was right.)
• 2 bottles ketchup
• 2 lettuce plants
• 2 containers humus
• 2 cans white beans (Spain--our favorites after the ones that are no longer available)
  
• 2 packages flat bread
• 1 loaf "grandmother's" bread
• 2 peppers, orange and yellow
  
• baby cucumbers
• carrots
• 3 granny smith apples
• beet & fish salad (selected by Lexi--usually she likes this but doesn't this time)
• carrot salad (selected by Lexi--and no surprise she didn't like it as she's still anti-carrot)
• 2 bottles laundry detergent (big--30 loads each) (UK)
• 1 bottle fabric softener (UK)
• 1 bottle dish soap (UK)
• 1 bag cat littler (UK)
• 2 tubes Aquafresh kids
• 3 bottles Colgate Plax
• 5 boxes instant oatmeal (Ukraine--Axa brand, Dawn--and I say Aha! every time we eat it)
• 1 box cereal
• 2 packages rice (that we like)
• 2 packages Barilla fusilli
• 2 packages Barilla spaghetinni
• 4 packages (4 rolls each) loo roll

car talk

Back from Finland. More later on that.

Coming back on the train, we arranged for a taxi to meet us and take us to pick up our car--now clad with license plates and equipped with a new battery.

The conductor came on and said we would be arriving 40 minutes late--at 14.00. Since we were scheduled to arrive at 14.25, I guessed that he meant we were arriving at 15.00--and hadn't bothered to change his watch.

So, we changed our taxi. And, since we'd learned that our car was not working, we changed the destination at the same time. (She says as if this were easy-peasy lemon squeezy. You, discerning reader, know by now that nothing here is easy.)

We arrived at 14. 27. Sigh. No point in changing it now, so we waited. I didn't help someone make a phone call (and felt really guilty that loaning him my phone didn't even occur to me) but did help a babushka down the snow-covered steps (and heard a horrible story about her being attacked by "gypsies" in a similar circumstance). By this time, we had heard that our car was working. So, when the taxi arrived, we went to the consulate and picked up our car.

After minimum three-stooging (they locked my keys in the car with the car running--and low on gas) Lexi and I drove home. It took us 50 minutes. It's a 20 minute WALK for me when I'm on my own.

The next day, we headed out to do some shopping--and it was a good thing. We had eaten through our stores in both 'fridge and pantry, had neither laundry detergent nor Fairy liquid for washing dishes, and were down to a roll and a bit of loo roll.

The car didn't start.

We walked to a nearby store and got some essentials. Then, a four-hour adventure of waiting for roadside assistance, jump-starting car, nail-biting will-we-run-out-of-gas-before-we-get-there drive on a motionless Nevsky Prospeckt, and walk/metro/walk home ensued. Lexi, who loves the metro was "so excited!".

The next day, yesterday, our principal took us shopping. That afternoon we heard that our car was fixed. (The problem was not, as we were originally told, the fact that my car still had "summer gas" in the tank. You can imagine how my confidence soared with that dx. There is something very disquieting about knowing more than the experts do--in a situation where you most certainly should NOT. The cracked battery had left some residue that needed to be cleaned. That was my guess,thank you very much. I'm under strict orders to drive it 30 minutes every day. Sigh. I continue to believe that if it were fine, as they say it is, this is unnecessary--and not a Russia-specific requirement.)

Today we reversed the walk/metro/walk and slow-drive-on-Nevsky and brought our car home. It's parked...but with recent snow and rain I don't know if we'll be able to get it out.

appliances

The car. Let's just, for the sake of titles, call it a large appliance.

Last Monday, after a huge, exhausting, and very typical song and dance involving closed police stations, investigators who were reassigned to cleaning icicles, and a clandestine game of phone tag in which one party would not disclose his phone number so we had to relay all calls through his colleague, we left school for a couple hours and went to the militsia. (Now Lexi thinks we should do this every day. It was a nice break from kindergarten...)We filed a report and got our piece of paper. The report lists last Friday as the date they were stolen as helpful friend said it would be suspicious to have the real date on there. This concerns me a little.

The piece of paper went to the consulate on Friday. (No, the school's driver couldn't be bothered to go before then. Big surprise.) The consulate motorpool head filed the piece of paper that same day--new plates are in process. We might have them by the end of the week. That would be nice because we have the week after next OFF!

My refrigerator smells like bandaids. My friend laughed and thought Lexi had been putting things away. I was sure it was more.

It's more. The top shelf of my 'frige is now a toasty 14C. The bottom shelf is -1C. the produce trays, I'm sure, are even colder. I just haven't put the thermometer in there--but everything was frozen solid.

So I'm just using the middle shelf.

Same thing for the freezer (ice cube trays on the top shelf are all water) except I'm just using the bottom shelf there.

Someone supposedly came and looked at it this week. What they did beyond moving the thermometer I don't know.

any ex-pats?

If there are any ex-pats (or travelers) still reading this (which I'm doubting since it's less and less ex-patty and more and more proud mama) you need this link:

http://www.casttv.com/shows

It's free tv! They have all sorts of US tv shows--current and past. You have to play around to find the best player for you (I like wisevid and mega video--hulu doesn't work here.). But, it's a great resource for those days you're missing pop culture. I'm watching Project Runway, Castle and Heroes there this season. (Lost is already subscribed on iTunes.)

If it had Sesame Street, it would be perfect.

car half-full

The good thing about not having a car all this time is that I haven't had anything to shovel out or scrape.

We went to the militsia today and got the paper we need to proceed to the next step of getting the new plates. It should go smoothly from here...Should.

the day the music died

Today, for some reason, is the day that I am OVER Russia. I'm done. Finished.

Lexi's sick. We have no car. We had rides to and from the doctor kindly provided, but...bleh. We need groceries. I forgot her snowpants so she couldn't go out today. It's bitterly cold. It's dark. I have students absent and had another visiting. I'm tired and probably getting whatever Lexi has. All my sick days are gone.

Kindergarten is stressful. Having my child in a class where I do not agree with the teacher on how children should be taught, disciplined, and treated is incredibly stressful. Having baby steps taken when I want something done is stressful. There is a very easy solution to part of this problem that is not being taken for political reasons. And I think those reasons are ridiculous and entirely without merit.

And the GSO at the consulate called my principal to say that I needed to be taking care of the police report on the car myself.

That, somehow, just did it for me.

Being told, weeks after the fact, that I needed to find a way to the local police station, without a car, with my sick child in tow, to ask for and fill out forms in Russian--which I cannot do--before 1 February when the price will double, just did it.

During my stint here I've gone from Wow! to Interesting. to occasional grumbles to, today, clicking my heels three times. I've been here for 4 1/2 years. When I tell other ex-pats that, their eyes grow big and they either inhale or exhale loudly. It's a long time. I know that there are blog readers who would love to be here that long, or think that they'd love to be here that long. And, I did enjoy the adventure in the beginning. I'm grateful to have been given this opportunity. I've learned so much.

But as of today, I'm finished.

I just have to find a way to be cheerful as I trudge through the time I have left. That's a good way to describe life in Russia. One neither skips nor glides. One doesn't sing and dance along the streets. One trudges. It's just a hard place to live. And, that "hardness" isn't limited to ex-pats. Nothing is easy here. Nothing. I'm just thankful that, although it will be a little while longer, I will be able to leave and come home.

updated 30 January to add: The driver from school didn't make his run to the consulate. Again. Which means all the paperwork that I need to take with me today (colleague from school is very kindly driving and translating) to the militsia to get a piece of paper that says that they haven't/can't do anything about recovering the lost plates so that new ones can be issued is still at the consulate. So, it looks like today is not going to be the day we get things started. And, the prices for new plates "doubles" on 1 February from 3575 r to...they don't know what. It could be 5000r. It could be 7000. It could be more.

It's hard to explain why this is all so taxing. Yes, it's incredibly inconvenient. But, it's the attitude of people around me that is most wearing. There is a sort of general apathy, an expectation that things are and always will be difficult, combined, in some people, with a vague...hostile, jealous resentment. Being the constant target of that, for no reason other than my nationality, is wearing.

And, it's knowing that while a trip to the DMV is never fun, all this would have been easily taken care of in a day in the US. I haven't driven since 21 December.

We need groceries. No car means more frequent trips, higher prices, carrying everything home and poor produce. Making these grocery runs on foot in the snow and ice and slush with my little helper is not fun.

We need medicine. The doctor Rx'd 7 days of @ugmentin for Lexi (shouldn't it be 10-14?) but only gave us 5 days' worth. ???? So I need an apteka within walking-distance-for-a-six-year-old who will give us more.

These two errands--groceries and medicine--will take an entire day.

The school year is half-finished. Only.

And, on top of all this, I've got some big decisions rattling around in my little head. Those will remain personal, but, boy, do they rattle!

Yesterday

Lexi was still sick so we left school at lunchtime (I had a parent observing in the morning) and took a taxi to the doctor. They wouldn't treat her--even with my insurance card and even though I've been seen there myself in the past-- b/c I didn't have a credit card with me. So we took a taxi home. Total cost of 3 taxis that day: 1100r.

The consulate motorpool called and said that 1. my battery had cracked in half due to the cold and 2. they'd take my car to the dmv equivalent next week. I guess that means another week of taxis in the morning and waiting until 4:30 for the bus in the afternoons. Long and expensive days.

A woman persisted in trying to deliver a telegram to me. She eventually gave up after much explaining that I didn't understand, speak Russian, expect a telegram, or know what to do. Curious, though, 'cause telegrams are so romantic, I asked the concierge later what it was all about. It wasn't for me. The persistent woman simply had the wrong address.

further adventures of car

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I didn't blog about the day-long saga that led to the discovery of a failed ignition coil.

Or the trip to pick it up on a late Saturday morning--by foot and metro--in which Lexi and I were charged by barking dogs (leashed and muzzled, fortunately, but still scary) and saw more staggering drunks than I ever have in one place.

That's all sort of old-hat.

But this. THIS.

Setting the scene: Snow is very, very deep. It's been snowing for a week now and it's over two feet deep. (It's not good for playing as it's too deep and doesn't stick. AND there's no where to sled nearby.)

We went out to go shopping and found that the car handle had been messed with, which left the interior light on, which drained the battery. Not fun, but par for the course. We (consulted with the principal) decided to wait until the roads cleared a bit more (Ploughs aren't running for some reason. Monday a week ago, when it all started, we were shopping. A trip that takes 20 minutes with no traffic, and about an hour with traffic, took THREE AND A HALF hours. So we've been content to stay home and let the snow bury the car.) to call the service to have it jumpstarted.

We called today to schedule a time tomorrow morning. Service is not working until after 5 January. Welcome to Russia.

Another service will come, but you can't book ahead. We planned to call tomorrow.

Ever-helpful principal shoveled my car out.

And discovered I have no license plates.

This is a big headache. BIG. I don't even know how big yet. It will involve trips to the consulate and the local police station. Made, of course, without my car. And it takes AGES to sort out new plates. A colleague's plates were stolen this summer and it was months before he had new ones. Groan.

No, there is no such thing as a temporary tag.

And Lexi and I will have to walk to and from school...or take a taxi every day. I'd guess taxi there and walk home.

But it keeps all of you entertained.

Stay tuned.

The best part about visiting Sasha is that I don't have to do anything other than that--visit Sasha. I don't have to think about anything, track down anything, stamp anything.

Today I finished every pre-trip thing that needed doing outside of the house. I started off at the post office. Two days ago I'd gone to my local post office and asked if I had any packages, if they had any "chits" for me. (We used that word in Tennessee to mean the same thing it does here--a little piece of paper.) It's a little like being in college. You hear from the mailroom that you have a package and then you have to collect your package. Same thing here. You get a stamped chit to take with you to claim your package--after you fill in details on the back. The Russian post used to deliver the chits to your address but now, I'm told (and I partly believe--but it's coming from the same people who told me the post office was open unpredictable hours. Well, they are open different hours on different days. But the schedule is posted on the door! And, from what I've seen, it's accurate.) you have to go and ask for them in person.

They gave me four chits. I got all excited because I had four packages. Four! I knew one was full of...foundation garments that Ann Marie had forwarded to me. But I had no idea what the other three could be.

Today I drove to the package post office (the same thing was true when I lived in the UK) and presented my chits. Fortunately for me, the person in line in front of me was very nice and helped me fill them out. It turned out they were four reminders to pick up one package. Ah, well. This was shipped on 30 May and I finally have it! Believe me when I say I needed this package. That's a great start to errands.

I tried to buy printer ink and a video camera at a local store, but they had neither.

I picked up my travel permission from the consulate and my medical reports from the clinic.

I braved a trip to Mega, stopping on the way to purchase a glider (assembled--and the boys loaded it into my car for me). At Mega I got a video camera that is promised to be Mac compatible, dollars and rubles for my trip, cat food and litter, and some bits and bobs that were needed in varying degrees. I even picked up two roasted chicken breasts and a sort of scalloped potatoes for meals over the weekend.

The best part of this is that tomorrow I don't have to go anywhere! I'm going to pleat a jumper to smock on the journey (my first machine pleating--my the force be with me) because last time my mind wouldn't settle enough to read. I might also get a slipcover sewn. And I'll get things tidied up and ready to go. All of which can be done in pajamas. That in itself is the making of a very good day!

Hope your weekend starts as fortuitously! I'll "see" you all at my shower if not before.

Let's see...

I loaded orphanage donations from home and school, drove them to V, and unloaded them there. She looked at a picture of Sasha and cooed, "She looks just like you!"
"Nooo," I told her, laughing. "Do you really think so?"
"No," she sighed. "Dark. Dark eyes, dark hair."
"So not like me. But beautiful!"
"Yes. Beautiful."

A little revealing, no?

Then I had both my eight-doctor and regional medicals done. They can be picked up tomorrow. Piece. of. cake.

I let the clinic know that I was not best pleased over their financial practices (they charged my debit card over $1000 without telling me last May, saying my insurance isn't paying...and then took forever--well, until today--to get me a receipt so that I can file that claim. And, they misquoted my price today. It was only 500r different, but after that last encounter I wasn't happy. AND they asked me to prove what time I called so they could listen to the recording.) and then went to pick up my notarized translation. I went back to school and scanned it to my sw and then went home.

While the clinic was at fault, I could tell that some food (hadn't eaten yet and it was 1.30), sleep and maybe some St. John's Wort were needed.

I ate some tuna/peas/egg/pasta salad and then crashed--one of those dead sleeps where you just.don't.move for hours. Three, this time, before I dragged myself into consciousness. I have sort of a sleep hangover now.

So...productive. Everything that must be done before Sunday has been done. The rest are just non-essential errands.

more adventures of car

I travelled to meet Sasha a month ago today.

I've been meaning to post my latest car adventure for you car fans, but...

I left home to go and meet Sasha a month ago today.

When I came back from meeting her, it was late Friday night. The next day was Scarlet Sails (go look in FAQ on the left if you missed what that was). I knew that cars on my street would be towed, so, I called my principal to arrange to meet up and get my car keys. I'd left them with him so that he could rescue my car if need be. (Foreshadowing or irony?)

I passed my car on the way to his apartment. The street was clearing, but by no means clear. The tow truck was nowhere in sight. By the time I'd walked the block to his apartment, chatted a bit about my trip, heard about the end of school, and walked back...yes, faithful readers, my car was gone.

I wasn't really fussed. I mean, this is par for the course, right? I'd find it.

Well, I didn't. I looked on Sunday in ever-increasing spirals, checking all the places it's been taken before. Nothing.

But, I still wasn't fussed. I knew there was a database on a website somewhere that the secretary at school could access.

So, Monday morning, I walked into school. We joked about my missing car and she started looking online. And making phone calls. Several phone calls. And no one knew where my car was. It wasn't logged as being towed.

We called the consulate. Shortly there was news--my car had been towed and left not far from the consulate. It seemed an odd choice...crossing some busy streets, but within the realm of possibility given my red plates. Oh, and given that this is Russia.

I walked to the metro and rode over to that neck of the woods. I walked up. And down. And around. And up and down again. And again. I was in the background of so many of one couple's wedding photos (The registry office is down the street from the consulate. You're bound to hear shouts of "Bitter!" as the guests encourage the couple to kiss--and make life sweeter--whenever you're nearby.) as I scoured the area. I'd been told that a consulate employee had spotted my car.

I called the consulate and told my friend in the motorpool that my car wasn't there. He was a bit flustered and went to find out what happened. Well, we found out at about the same time. I found a car with a similar license number (one letter different) parked on that street. It was little. And white. Sigh.

So, I walked and metro-ed back to school. The consulate encouraged us to report the car stolen. The school employees wondered if it would be better to wait to see if it turned up (because I would need one of them to go with me to handle the police department). We decided to go that day. I was actually quite curious to see what it was like. And, if my car was stolen, was looking forward to buying a newer, smaller one with the insurance money.

The police station was a tiny little hole-in-the-wall, hidden in a courtyard. We rang the bell and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally they buzzed us in. And we waited. It was just a tiny room, with the damp smell of an old basement and a table with two chairs in the corner. The desk officer was behind a plexiglass partition, dropped down a few steps.

Mostly, we waited. We waited until they would hear our business. (They knew who I was so I suspect the consulate had called.) We waited until an officer came to talk to us. We waited while he sent people out to patrol for my car. We waited for over an hour. People came in--two homeless men, three women who lived up to the bad stereotype of "Gypsies" that St. P has, two young men who seemed to be considering a career in...law enforcement (for lack of a better term)--and were taken to a back room. Officers came and sat at the table and filled out reports (about the homeless men). Other officers came and went, their guns (not handguns or pistols, but guns) apparent. And it was apparent their young owners were quite fond of them. There were wanted posters on the wall--some for runaways.

Then, the first officer (who my companion said was now resigned to actually doing some work) came and took us on patrol. Deciding that his car was too small, we took ours. Then, we just drove around the city looking for my car. WE could've done that! Well, we could've if my companion that day had been willing to do that. So, actually, it was a good thing the officer initiated this ridealong.

We were having a hard time finding my car and started debating whether we should do the paperwork (ah, that was the hesitation!) to report it stolen. The argument against that was if the car turned up, I'd be unable to drive it for months as undoing the paperwork would be difficult. Before we had to make the decision, CAR! We found it parked near the circus.

So there you go. Not much charm in this retelling. Not much emotional investment. I think they're all invested elsewhere at the mo. But it was an experience nonetheless.

saturday nothingness

I went shopping early this morning so as to beat the traffic and be back in time to get a parking space near my flat. Well, early here means I left by 8:00 on a Saturday. That's early for this sleep-in town.

I carefully planned my route so as not to drive by either the militsia guy who stops me for no reason despite my red plates or the one who pulled me over for a valid, though unknown, offense.

I got most of my shopping sorted. But I didn't find denture cleaner. NO! I need it to clean my shower head. I looked in the toothpaste aisle. Wouldn't you think it'd be there? Nothing tablet-y or fizzy or in a box with a picture of teeth.

Do they have dentures in Russia?

(Yes, I'll try hot vinegar on the shower head now. It's next on my list. Denture cleaner just sounded fizzy.)

(btw, one of our Estonian girls at school has the name "Talii" which, apparently, means "dentures" in Korean. It made my little SM giggle everytime she said it last year.)

(I'm finding it very interesting, linguistically speaking, that I wrote "has the name" instead of "is named". Very passive and Russian of me. Linguistically speaking.)