Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to all of you, my dear friends. I was informed that we received quite a few Christmas cards in our home in Minneapolis, and I am glad that you haven't forgotten our house this year, even though I haven't sent any cards out. Sorry, but it's just pretty hard to arrange it all this year all the way from Russia. I am very much looking forward to seeing all your cards in just a couple of days. Matt is bringing them all for me to look at and read your wishes while we are in London.

My husband had his family join him for Christmas this year, and I heard that it was very nice. His parents, brother and sister spent some time together (shoveling in front of the garage), but Matt really enjoyed having his family by his side during that holiday. I got to talk to my mother-in-law via Skype, which was great. She is always cheerful :) Didn't talk to my father-in-law though cause he was busy on the other phone, but I think he is a little grumpy at me because Matt called me the night before and did not prep me that I was going to talk to a room full of people. Well, see, I have issues with my sister. When I get a call from Matt, then she needs to leave the room, and that usually takes some time, I need to kick her out and that involves some yelling (in a good way). Well, Matt's parents did not know that I have such routine and I think Chris took it to heart that I was yelling at my sister and not talking to him. Oh, well. Sorry Chris, did not mean to offend you. But I really blame it all on Matt. He knows I don't like talking on a speaker and he really does need to let me know a day ahead of time that it's not going to be just him on the line. But anyway, it's Christmas, and even though in Russia Christmas does not come till January 6, I still want to wish all of you, my American friends, a very merry Christmas. I sure hope that you enjoyed this holiday with your family and close friends. I hope that you happened to remember what this holiday is all about, hope you had a great day!!!

Family-in-law (there ought to be a word like that), special thank you to you for spending time with Matt so he would not be alone this holiday. Thanks for coming a long way and making this reunion with each other happen!!!

Merry Christmas to all of you!!! Matt and I are blessed to have a great family and all our friends in our lives. It's a true blessing!!! Thank you for your support and friendship. I was thinking of all of you this Christmas day!!!

From Russia with love :)
--RG

Rich Woman

I love being pampered. I really do. I love when I have a good haircut, I like getting good haircuts. When I was in school and college I used to get haircuts for $10-14, however, now that I am older a bit and have disposable income I enjoy a good $80-100 haircut. Sure it might seem a lot, but the difference is obvious. The service is much better, getting a haircut now for me a pleasant experience. I like when my nails are done. I used to do my own manicure when I was in school, however, now I think I can afford to keep my nails in good shape and pay for the service. I recently came to a conclusion that I am going to get a manicure at least every other week. I love when my nails look good, I agree with the fact that nails is a woman's second face. Whenever I meet somebody the first thing I pay attention to is their nails. I enjoy expensive shoes, I am not talking about spending $500 on a pair of shoes, but I can't go into a store and consider shoes for $15 any more (again, used to do that when I was in school and college due to lack of resources). I like well-made clothes, and there are many many other things I like that are not cheap and that I am starting to afford and let myself get into.

I was talking on the phone with my husband the other day and told him all the purchases I have made and all the things I have done (a new haircut, a manicure, etc), and he told me that I would make a great rich woman :) I thought it was funny that he said that. It's not my goal in life to be rich, but I think that my husband will be able to make me a rich woman some day. Plus I think that I have plenty of resources right now to spoil myself a little, so why not? I live only once, and I don't go into debt doing so, therefore I don't see what is wrong with it. But I do agree with Matt, I do love being pampered. I love massages and love been taken care of and love traveling a lot. But he knew all that about me when he proposed, so he can't complain. In fact, I think it's a great motivation for him to move up the ladder in his career :)

Yes I am spoiled. No, I am not rich yet, but yes I will be some day. I am happy that I can afford all these things in my life, I am glad that I no longer have to count every penny that I spend. I am happy about my life right now, I could not ask for more. I have the best husband, I have a great family, I have great friends, an interesting and challenging job and enough money. I truly enjoy my life right now.

My husband is awesome.

"Your husband is awesome. Went to 6 different stores to get you the pants. One of the last in stock in the country I think!" that is the text message I got from my lovely husband at 2:29 am last night :) I really like clothes from Express, but you can't order them online, you have to go to a store. Since I am a bit far from any Express stores, I thought I would ask my husband to pick up a pair of pants that I really liked online. It turns out to be that they are rather popular. I actually thought that my husband will go to a one store, not find them and tell me that I am out of luck. However, I got lucky with the husband. I know exactly what he was thinking after he went to one store and did not find the pants. "Now it's a hunt" He gets into that mood sometimes when we are looking for a road and are lost, he will not turn back and he will not ask for directions, because that situation turned into a game, it's a hunt for him to find the road. I think it was similar with the pants. Actually, I am quite surprised he agreed to look for them in the first place, because they are girl pants. He does not like going into girly stores, although I guess Express does have men's section, but still he was shopping in the girl's section :) Anyway, I am very happy that my husband is determined and loves me enough to go to 6 stores just to get me one pair of pants. I hope that they are the right size and I hope that they will fit well :)

And yes, Matt, you are the most awesome husband in the world. But, baby, you already knew it. For those of you who don't know this, whenever I tell Matt a compliment or something good about him, he always replies with "I know it" :) I have yet to tell him something he did not know about himself, but I don't give up.

If you are sick, you MUST stay home

No, seriously. What is wrong with people? Where did common sense go? My co-worker is very very very sick. She has been sick since Monday. She came to work on Monday and Tuesday and only got worse. So, when she got to work on Wednesday she was feeling so crappy that she asked to leave early. Thursday she stayed home, and today (Friday) we see her bright and early in the office. She is feeling worse than Wednesday, yet she came to work. It was ridiculous. She had a runny nose, she was sneezing and/or coughing every 5 minutes, I am not kidding you. Mind you, we all sit in the same office. Yes it’s not small, but nor it’s huge. I was supposed to work right across from her, because that computer has access to a database that I don’t on my computer, but I chose not to do that part of my job because I did not want to sit right across from her and have her cough and sneeze right on me.

Finally, I got fed up and emailed my boss asking her to let Natasha go home and rest so she would not make us all sick. My boss called her and told her that she can go home, that was at 12pm, yet Natasha stayed in the office till 3pm, when finally my other co-worker turned to her and said that there is no point of going home early because now we are all exposed, at which point Natasha quickly got up and left. What an idiot. I am sorry, but that is so inconsiderable to come to work in that condition. First of all, why do we have to hear her sniff her nose and sneeze her nose and cough, second of all, why do we all have to risk our good health? I have been kind of getting sick in the last week or so, and I am sure this is not going to help. I was sneezing yesterday a lot and my head has been hurting, I am sure that I did not need her extra bit of germs today.

I am so angry right now, at Natasha, because if you ask me it’s just plain dumb to do that, to come to work sick and put others at risk. Next time she is coming like this to work, I am marching straight into my boss’ office and telling her that I am leaving to go home so I would not get sick. If she can’t make Natasha leave work early or not come to work when she is sick, then she can make me leave early. Sorry, but I like my health more than I like my job. As it is I am falling apart, people like Natasha just annoy me when they do stupid things like come to work sick. I sure do hope when you are sick, you just stay home and get better!

Meanwhile, I am off to a weekend when I have to sleep a lot and take care of myself, because I am getting sick :(

Family Talk

I love talking, I can chat your ear off. I feel comfortable talking in front of public (love public speaking, partially because of a great teacher Jim Frankenfeld), I am not shy to express my opinion when majority around me have a different point of view, I can start a conversation with a stranger pretty easily. In most cases I love talking and it cheers me up and energizes in a way. However, lately I have discovered that there is one circumstance under which I don't like talking and don't want to. I don't like having a family talk. No, I love talking to my folks and I love talking to Matt's parents, what I don't like is have Matt and his parents and siblings on the phone at the same time when they are all together in the states while I am in Russia. This has nothing to do with them, I love them all, I really do, and I enjoy talking to them. More so, I ask Matt all the time how they are doing and what is new with them, so how come I shut down in a way when I hear them on the other end? Well, the answer is pretty simple. I know that Matt and I are separated for awhile, and I don't mind the situation most of the time. There is one time I do mind it, that's when I know that they are all together, they are all having fun, they all enjoy the evening with each other, while I am not there. I hate being excluded. Even though many might say that the fact that they call and want to talk means that they want to include me, but that just throws the fact at me that I am not there, and their lives go on just as they have before. That thought makes me sad. My sister gets depressed quite a bit, and I think that I have a tendency to do so too, however, I usually catch things in life that make me sad and eliminate them. I am convinced that it's the only reason I don't get depressed. For example, I know that talking with Matt and his folks when they have a family function makes me sad and I have expressed to Matt that I don't want to talk to people all together. I don't mind talking to them separately, it's been on speaker that makes me realize that I am just an intruder (at least that is how I feel). Matt does not always seem to understand that, and sometimes he does make me do so, but then I feel sad for the evening or even days. Ok, this has happened only once, but it's going to happen again I think. It's a trap really. I do want to talk to them, I don't want them to think that I don't like them. I love them very much, but I just don't want to feel crappy after talking to them because I am not there. Matt said that they all want to call and tell me what they got me for New Years, and that the gift itself will offset my sadness. Well, I don't think he realises why I am sad. Gifts won't make me feel better, really. I will be sad because I will know that they are all together at our house on Christmas day having meal together, sharing laughs and stories, exchanging gifts, yet I will just hear their excitement over the speaker and realise that I am just sitting at home back from work and have nothing to look forward to but the next working day. It's a trap, and I know that it's coming. How do I make everybody happy including myself in this situation? I have a few days to figure it out and suggest the solution to my husband.

Christmas=No gifts

I have had this idea in my mind for a long time, and never really shared it with anybody but my husband (even with him I shared it only after we got married, I believe). In our family we won't have any gifts for Christmas. Our family might not be the most religious on earth, but I do want this holiday to be what it's meant to be about: the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. In our family, we do believe in God, our kids will be taught about God and I hope that they will follow Christ's teachings. However, I think that having Christmas be all about gifts is not a good start on focusing on religion in our family. I mean, yes, adults can understand that Christmas is not all about gifts, but can kids differentiate between gifts and the holiday itself? I don't think so. Plus, I think that in our age, even some adults get so wrapped up in gifts, getting them, buying them, that they forget to think about what this holiday is all about.

I am writing this blog for myself more than for anybody. For me, this blog is a promise I am giving myself that in our family we will never exchange gifts on Christmas. If anything, I want my (future) kids to sacrifice something on that holiday, maybe buy a gift for an orphan with their own money, or maybe just donate their time to some charity, etc. I just want them not to develop a habit that Christmas is the time for exchanging gifts.

Yeah, I know that other families around us will keep giving/receiving gifts at Christmas, and I am not saying that my kids won't get any gifts, but I like Russian way of giving gifts much better. In our family we will exchange gifts on New Years instead of Christmas. I think it makes more sense than Christmas.

So, starting from this year there are no more gifts on Christmas for our family (even though right now it only consists of 2 people). From now on, we are going to celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas and nothing else. We are not going to get wrapped up in our selfishness, we will save it for New Years. Oh, yeah one more promise. I will never buy more than 1 present for my kids for New Years. There is no need for it if you ask me. Please don't take me wrong, I don't judge anybody who does anything according to other traditions, I just don't want to get wrapped up in materialism. I know that I like shopping too much as it is, but start buying more than 1 gift for New Years and start mixing Christian holidays with material things just seem too much for me.

Like I said, this blog is a promise to myself, and I hope that my husband will support me in this, and will remind me about this promise whenever I start forgetting it!

Travel

My life is all about travel. I don't think I can live without it. No, I don't travel all that much, although I am convinced that I travel more than most people (even Americans), although that is all thanks to my husband. If it wasn't for him, I would be going nowhere but Minnesota. But mostly my life is connected with travel because my beloved spends most of his time traveling. I love my husband, and he loves his work, thus I love his work as well. I also want him to be as comfortable while he travels as he is at home. I know that there is almost nothing I can do to make him comfortable on the road, but there is one thing (oh, btw, that is my Christmas present to my husband, one thing I can help with in making his weekly airplane trips more tolerant).

All of us know that airplanes can be pretty loud, well, my beloved spends quite a bit of his lifetime on the plane. He used to have noise cancelling headphones, but they were not very good and during one of his trips to Russia he forgot his headphones on the plane (btw, I am convinced it was just a plan of his, an excuse to get a new, better headphones). He went for a couple of months without any headphones which was quite painfull for him (quite literally).

One day in the last month, my husband emailed to all his family (me, his folks, his brother, his sister) the list. Yes, the list. His annual Christmas wish list. I know that some people think it's silly, but I love the list. I can get him what he really wants, and he does not mind kind of knowing what he will be getting. So, this year I see on his Christmas list a perfect present: Bose QuietComfort 3. Yes, the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market. So, I order them, and have them delivered to Mpls. I wish I was there to see him open the gift, but I did have him call me and open the gift while having me on the phone. I think that he liked it. He said that it was too much, and that I shouldn't have, but I think that it wasn't enough. Not enough to show him how much I appreciate his hard work for our family, not enough to show him how much I love him and how much I want him to be comfortable when he is on the road. This quiet comfort on the plane is the least I could give him this Christmas :) I do hope that he will get to use these headphones a lot. I do hope that he won't forget these ones on the plane :) And I do hope that he likes his gift :) Happy New Year, baby. Enjoy your present!!!

Day off work...

...was uneventful, unproductive, boring and depressing all at the same time. What did I do all that day? Well, I slept in. I have been feeling pretty worn out lately. Not sure what it is, I am thinking that it's my schedule. I get up at 6:30 am each morning, leave work at 6:30pm with blood-shot eyes lately (due to lack of sleep), don't get back home till about 7:30pm, usually don't get to bed till at least 10pm, and that is my routine Monday through Friday. Work has been very busy, we had one co-worker who was on vacation a couple of weeks ago for 2 weeks, so I was doing her work along with mine, and that she is back, we have another co-worker on vacation, so again I am doing 2 people's work. It's not horrible, but the days go by so fast and at the end of the day I realise that I am nowhere near to have everything done. Yesterday night I had every intention of going to work this morning, however, today I woke up and just could not get out of bed. My throat was hurting, so did my head, I felt like I hated everything, so I decided to give myself a little break and called in sick. I slept in, which helped, a lot I think. I woke up with no headache and some energy.

So what did I do today all day long? Well, I did about 5 cycles of laundry, and yes everything is washed now (ok, 2 of them were for bedding and my sister's coat). Took garbage out, washed the dishes, which we had quite a few in the sink, paid for the internet (my sister forgot to do that, so this morning our internet was disconnected), bought some pepsi, watched CSI, talked to my husband.

I am quite confused, really. I do like being home and not feeling like I have to be somewhere and do something that is urgent. On the other hand when I am home, I feel like I am useless, even though I do laundry and other household stuff. I missed Matt today, kept thinking that he is so close (London is only 4 hours away), yet I will not get to see him this week. He will have to go back to the states without seeing me. We are going to be farther apart till New Years. Was thinking about how he will spend Christmas with his whole family while I will be in Moscow, working (since our Christmas is not till January). So, in some aspects I enjoyed my day off work, it gave me an opportunity to rest. But I think that overall, I prefer to be at work, stay busy, but that wears me out too. Maybe I should work part-time, although in my profession it would be pretty hard to do. Hmm, will have to think about it and consult my hubby on that thought. I told Matt today that I stayed home only because I was feeling worn out, and to my surprise he said that I did the right think and that he was glad that I stayed home and took care of myself. What a guy! I love him!!!

Fish

I have always liked fish, it does not matter how it's cooked really, I like eating fish (except for catfish, that was not a good experience). My sister on the other hand was never a big fan of fish, and for a quite weird reason. She did not like the smell of cooking the fish. Actually, she does not like the smell of cooking, period. Anyway, I have brought some salmon fillets home, because I love salmon and it's very easy to make. My sister was a bit annoyed that she had to inhale the smell of fish, but she seemed to be ok with it after she had a few bites. It turns out that my sister does like eating fish after all. She really like salmon that I cook (I fry it in skillet with some pepper olive oil and red wine). There is nothing special to my recipe, but she really likes it. I do have to admit that the fillets that I bought are very very good.

So, we were sitting last weekend at home, I cooked some fish and she was eating it with some rice and she tells me: "I need to eat fish at least 3 times a week. It's very good for you" Hmm, it was very interesting that she said that it was "very good for you" because I was thinking "why does she think that cooking fish for her 3 times a week is all that good for me, I wonder" Anyway, I know what she meant, I agree with her, that fish is very good and usually is much leaner that beef or pork or any other meat. This weekend I am going to cook halibut and need to buy some more salmon. I have been into cooking lately. I don't make anything extravagant, but I cook a few times a week, I would say that is pretty regular. I cook much more here than I did in the states. I am kind of enjoying it. But I am not sure that I can cook fish 3 times a week, that seems to be a bit excessive if you ask me. I don't mean that it's excessive to eat fish, it just means that I would have to cook some other stuff too, and that means that I would be cooking every single day of the week. I am not quite ready for that. After all, I don't have my hubby or kids to feed, so this really should be the time in my life when I don't cook anything at all. We will have to wait and see if I continue developing my cooking skills :)

Wells Fargo Sucks

I hate wells fargo. They suck big times. I have many reasons to feel that way, but they have been driving me nuts lately. First of all, I called their customer service dept. a couple of months ago when I wanted to find out if I can change my name on my account over the phone or if I have to go into the branch. The gentleman on the phone told me that he can't do it over the phone, I need to go to the branch in person and then about a week after that conversation I find out that they charged me $2.00 for that call. I mean, $2.00 is not much, but the fact that I had to pay that for the phone call that was not all that helpful, plus the idea of paying for that kind of customer service seems a bit weird to me.

Then now I find out that even though I am in Russia for the last 3 months, they keep charging me a few for Bill Paying Service. I have not used the Bill Pay service since August, yet they keep charging me $6.95 every month. My question is for what? I have not used that service in well over 3 months and they only charged me that amount in the last 2 months. I am confused. I emailed them a few times asking to explain such charges, yet my emails have been ignored.

This all drives me mad. I am going to spend a few bucks and call them tomorrow and tell them to cancel my account (again, asked them that a couple of months ago, yet my account is not closed yet). I am really hoping that this coming up conversation with them will go fast and well. I am not in the mood to dealing with them, plus I don't want to spend money on the long distance call with Wells Fargo.

So, from now on I am going to see if I can join my hubby's account at Wings Financial, he is yet to have any issues with them.

My co-workers rock!

You all should know that I love my job, even more I enjoy the people I work with. Well, one girl is annoying, but besides that they are all great. I like 2 people very much, because we talk a lot and understand each other. I guess we clicked right away. Anyway, today is Friday. This whole week has been crazy, actually it's been crazy for about 3 weeks in a row, tons of work for everybody (including me). So today (Friday) we are pretty worn out, the whole office pretty much. From the very beginning of the morning we are pretty casual, some of us are looking for different irons and ironing boards online (oh, that is me), some of us are talking with others about how Russian men expect to be fed, cleaned and waited on by Russian women (conversation between Lena and Denis; btw, my 2 favorite co-workers), etc. So, it's 11:00 am and none of us have been very productive (or productive at all, really) :)

So, Denis decides to make us all laugh and sends to all of us an email containing a word document with funny stories in it. In that document there are at least 10 stories that are pretty hilarious. Natasha, Lena and I start reading it right away and at the same time, and we realize that it's too funny. We start laughing and not just laughing, but doing so hysterically. None of us can stop. At this moment Denis' phone rings and he can't talk to the supplier because we are so loud and I guess it does not sound professional for him to talk with us laughing as the background noise. Lena and I walked out and away from each other, because we needed to stop laughing, Denis was laughing just by watching us. It was great really. What a great Friday, a great end to the week. I love my work, did I tell you that? Everybody in our office is young and can be funny. I am glad that Denis always entertains us, girls. My team is wonderful. I have much more fun working here than I ever did in the states :)

A blog about a blog

Yeap, the point of this blog is to discuss another blog that I read on a regular basis. Well, the thing is, I read it almost every day, however, the blogs don't update themselves for weeks at a time. (Hint: I am talking about my husband's blog).

I mean we do talk, but usually the stuff he writes in the blogs is what we don't talk about till I read it in his blog. He is the one who pushed me to have my own blog, and when I don't write for a week or so he always asks "when are you going to post?" Well, I find it funny because obviously he checks my blog rather often and likes reading new stuff, yet he is not all that great and keeping his up. Actually, I bet he has like 3 or 4 entries written, he just does not post them. I know that when I talk to him, he says that he has written a few posts, just needs to post it. Maybe it's just an excuse, because I don't know why he can't post it as soon as he is done writing.

So, I am writing this blog to complain about my husband's lack of commitment to his blog. Well, I hope that this will give him a push to update his blog, but I doubt that this idea will work :)

Anyway, I am glad that Matt made me write blogs, even though I don't always feel like writing, knowing that he checks my blogs and reads them all the time makes me happy :)

Well, I better get to work, so I might add to this later. Just speaking my thoughts here: Matt, get moving on posting new blogs :)

My clothes are migrating

I bet you did not know that clothes can migrate. Well, they can. I was always suspicious of this fact, but never really figured it out. Now, I know that it's real and it's happening. No, I don't mean those clothes that move from the states to Russia, that is understandable. But what I find is that when I am around my sister my clothes seem to migrate from my suitcase over to her dresser :) I find it quite amusing. I don't mind, really. I actually am pretty proud that half of her wardrobe is my clothes that decided to migrate over to her closet :) I mean that is a sign that my taste is pretty good for an art-director to borrow my clothes :)

Anyway, I just find it amusing, that is all. You know what else I find amusing? Sometimes my money migrates too :) All my classmates remember my sister by one phrase (we all went to school together, and although my sister is 3 years older than me, we still studied in the sames school and saw each other almost every day in the hallway). The phrase what "Hey little one, do you have any money?" Well, the other day we went to the store to ge some pepsi and my sister went to buy it after I gave her some Russian money :) On the way from the store, I said "hey, where is the change?" to which she replied: "well, I have no Russian money and I need to get something to drink tomorrow morning". I just laughed. Don't take me wrong, she pays it all back and then some, but still, I find it amusing that I am still a good source of money for her :) Yesterday, she took a taxi home and did not have any cash, yet she knew very comfortably that I am home and I have some money :) She called me and said: "come downstairs and bring 350 rubles with you for my taxi" I like the fact that my relationship with my sister is so close that we can just do that to each other and laugh about it :) I think she is going to buy me a new hair dryer today for all that (see, told you she always is willing to pay more than she borrows, so I am always more than happy to loan her some money :))

Well, gotta go get some pepsi, we are all out :(

Visa Situation

... is resolved. My sister and I got our visas today. So, England, here we come. I am so excited. I have a 6 months multiple entry visa to UK. Since Matt will be there in February, which is only a couple of months away, I will be able to visit him virtually right away. This visa news is the best news I have received in a quite a few weeks, because it means that I will be able to see my husband more often :)

So, now that we go the visas, Matt got hit pretty hard. Not only did he buy me a ticket from Moscow to London with his miles, but he also ended up buying my sister a ticket with miles as well. Don't take me wrong, she can afford it, but she was going to use her own miles, and the day before we got our visas all the seats that could be purchased with miles through her company were sold out, and she did not want to pay $650 per ticket just to get to London (not that I blame her). So, Matt was very generous and sacrificed some of his miles to ensure that 2 (out of 4) my mostly loved people are with me during New Years. My husband rocks!!! I keep telling him that, but he says that he knows that already :) So, I figured I would tell that to others, you (my dear readers) just might now how much my husband rocks, but he is absolutely wonderful. I lucked out!!! I don't say that he rocks only because he forked up some miles for my sister, but also when my sister told him that she would get him a present for such a gesture and asked what he would like, you know what he replied? Well, I am going to quote here "I don't need any presents beyond my wifes company :) and maybe her happiness" Not many guys would behave the same. I got a good guy on my side, what can I tell. My happiness and presence to him is much more important than anything material you have to offer.

Yeah, we are going to be in London, Dec. 27 through January 5 (Matt will be leaving on Jan. 2), Jan 2 through Jan 5 my sister, our mutual friend and I will be in Manchaster, and then Jan 5 we will be back home in Moscow to recoop and get ready for work on January 9 :) I have a feeling this is going to be the best trip ever!!! Sorry, not ever. Miami trip was a bit better :) Not only Matt took me to Miami in the middle of the winter, which is a real treat, but he also surprised me there with a marriage proposal.


I am counting days till London, so does Matt. He informed me this early evening that we have 27 days left. I am so excited!!! My first trip to Europe and with my loved ones :)

Some things just never change

Lots have changed in my life so far, but some things never change. Well, there are very few things that stayed the same, but still they do exist. First of all, I am still drinking wine on a regular basis. I wasn't for about a month. I think it's because work was slow and I was low on money. Now, work is crazy busy, I can hardly keep up, and money is no longer an issue, so hello wine :) You know, I am a much happier person in the evening when I have some wine at home (go figure). I mean I only have a glass (at most two), but that makes a world of difference, I just feel like all these changes in life are temporary (me being in Russia, missing Matt, etc)

But besides wine there are other things. First, my relationship with Matt hasn't changed, not that I expected it to, but I was worried a little bit in the beginning. I mean, yeah we are apart and all, but we still talk every day, and we are still the same, at least it does not feel like we are growing apart at all.

One more thing: Matt gives me just as much grief for me being stubborn, difficult and loud as he has before :) I have a feeling that this will never change :) But don't take me wrong, I don't want it to change either. He is a challenger, by that I mean that he challenges me and can also be challenging :)

Oh, I know, one more: I still like to sleep. What a shocker huh? And I still drink lots of pepsi :) And spend lots of money that I can't figure out what I spend it on. Ok, I think this list is complete now :) Although I am sure that I will come up with lots more things that never seem to change as soon as I post this blog. And, no I will not add to this blog, I hate editting to blogs after posting them. Absolutely against such actions!!!

PS: I am in a great mood, have no clue why, just am (and there was no wine involved this evening, yet :))

PPS: Oh, one last thing, even though I am all the way in Russia, I still manage to find reasons to take advantage of my husband's frequent flyer's miles. He is a great sport when it comes to that, he lets me use quite a few of those. I am glad he works for Deloitte, I have yet to pay for a ticket (ok, the ticket to Russia was bought by Matt, but besides that it's all been ff miles)

Keep your fingers crossed

My sister and I had a plan for this morning. We were going to get up at 7 am get ready and be at the British Visa Application Center (BVAC) by 9 am as soon as it opens. Well, our plan did not work quite as we had planned it. I did not get up till shortly before 8 am, and we did not get to the BVAC till about 10 am, but that is ok. The BVAC actually is pretty nice inside. You don't have to wait outside which is great. They have a very comfy area inside the building where you can wait your turn to give them your application, passport and a bit of your money :) We were there for only 20 minutes really. Tomorrow we have to go to a different place, an actually British Embassy and have to get our digital pictures taken there and they need our fignerprints. After that we are supposed to call them after a couple of days to check on our visa application status. The calls to the BVAC are not free, it costs us $3.00/minute to talk to them and see if our visa application is processed. I just hope that they are not going to put us on hold when we call :) That would be a very easy way for them to make some decent money. They also don't tell you on the phone if you are granted a visa or not. They just politely tell you to come and get your documents. So, after that we will have to make a third trip back to pick up our documents. At that point we will open the passport and see if we have a visa or not.

So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will get a visa to go to England, because that would be great. It would be my first visit to Europe and I will get to spend some time with Matt the Hat :)

England

Most of you might know by now that Matt and I are planning to meet up in London for New Years. Well, it's still just a plan, because I have yet to get a visa. I am going to the UK embassy on Monday and hope they will grant me a visa so I can see my husband for New Years.

Well, it looks like I will be visiting England quite often this coming year. First off, I will start my year there, then Matt just recently found out that he is going to be on a different project. His project is going to be in England, about an hour away from London. He will have a corporate apartment and a car, which will make my visits very cheap on my side :)

Of course I am super happy that I will be much closer to Matt. The flight is only 3.5 hours away from Moscow, and the tickets are much less expensive than those to the US. I am hoping that I will get to see Matt at least once a month when he is in England, and possibly more often :)

I am sure we will end up traveling quite a bit around Europe during his 10 months in England. I mean we might as well, I am sure we will get sick of being in England every time I come to visit.

I am excited for Matt to be on a project in England, I think he is excited too :)

Classmates

I have had 30 classmates from 1 through 11 grade in Russia. All the same people, throughout all those years. Some people/kids did move out of the city/went to a different school, some came into our class, but there were very few of them. So, I know my classmates pretty well. Some of them I could not stand and vice versa, we all knew about it. Some of them were my close friends for awhile. Well, my class certainly left me many memories of school and my classmates.

We all know that in the states there is a website where the classmates can find each other: classmates.com. Well, in Russian classmates are called odnoklassniki. So, you guessed it. We have a website: www.odnoklassniki.ru

I accidentally found 1 of my classmate in the US. He happens to work at Deloitte as well (just like Matt). Actually, he found me, he found out my address at the class reunion (he lives in Chicago, but was in Russia for class reunion last year) and found out my address from one of the teachers I correspond with. So, when he wrote me a letter, he gave me his email and then in his email letters he told me to about this odnoklassniki.ru I registered there and found quite a few of my old classmates. It's really weird. I haven't talked to them in at least 7 years. And here I find like 13 of them. It does not seem like a lot, but it's over a third of my class that I haven't talked to in ages.

Anyway, some of them live in Moscow, so 4 of us are meeting this Friday for sushi (I think, unless we change our mind and pick some other restaurant). So, I am super excited. It's funny that one of the girls that is going to be there, well, she and I really did not get along. But now that we got older a little it does not seem to bother either of us that we were nasty to each other.

I find it cool that I will get to see people I spent so many years of my life, so many days of my life sitting in the same room with them and listening to the same teachers. I am looking forward to this Friday night. I think I will have fun. I just have to make sure I don't drink too much :) I haven't been the most disciplined person about that lately. Oops.

Who knew?

That you need to reformat your digital camera memory card? Well, apparently just about everybody but me :) Anyway, my card has been acting funny lately. I would take pictures, and then when I would turn the camera into the view mode, I could not see many pictures, the stupid camera told me that the picture is not readable or something silly like that. But when I hooked the camera to a computer and downloaded all the photos, they were all just fine.

Well, I guess you are supposed to clean out the card and reformat it about once every couple of months, I guess it's very good for the card (that is what I have been told). So, today I finally got to that stage, where I downloaded all the pictures off the card, and reformatted. Can't really tell you that it's all better. Won't know until I take about 100 pictures or so, but I am hoping that it is all fixed. I learn something new everyday :) Had my camera for almost 2 years (in December) and this is my first time I reformat my card :)

Taganrog

Last weekend I got to go to my hometown, Taganrog. I got to see my folks, eat my mom's yummy food and sleep till 12pm. It was great. I need to go visit them more often. My sister, Kara, flew in with me, although my folks did not know that she was coming. We decided to surprise them. They were surprised all right. My sister's best friend, Vitya, came with us too. My parents know him very well, in fact he is kind of like a brother to us.

Kara and I had another surprise in store for my folks. We bought them a laptop. Well, we ordered it through Matt, he hauled it to Russia all the way from the states (it's much cheaper to get a laptop in the US than it is here). My mom was super happy. Now she will be able to write emails to me and my sister, look at pictures in the Internet (mostly Matt's site or Kara's), watch DVDs (they don't have a DVD player, so it would be a nice bonus). Vitya took that laptop to install a Russian version of Windows so my mom can read everything in Russian.

My sister, Vitya and I went out one night, drank a lot of wine, some beer and then champagne, Kara's friends were with us. That night was great. It was nice to relax and just have fun.

Well, the last weekend was interesting. I had lots of feelings/emotions left over from it. It was memorable to say the least :) I need to relax more (that does not mean drinking necessarily, I just need to get away with friends more often).

So, that was my weekend. I enjoyed it very much. Now I am back to reality and lots and lots of work. Oh, well, such is life.

I feel sorry for my husband...

...because he gets to put up with me. No, really, I don't know where he gets all the patience and love for me. I can be quite a witch sometimes. He just does not stop to amaze me with his love and dedication.

Even though I feel sorry for him, on the other hand I know that he is happy with me, which is the best feeling a woman can ever have!!! At least it's the best feeling I can have, because knowing that I am loved and that my love changes his life (for the better I hope :)) means the world to me.

So, baby, thanks for putting up with me. Thanks for flying half the world to spend 50 hours with me. Thanks for all your non-stop attention and understanding. You are one treasure I will never let go of :)

You rock my world!!!

Maroon 5

I love that band. Lots of people ask me what kind of music I like, and honestly I don't have a particular style I like, I just listen to whatever happens to be on the radio and then I decide whether I like it or not. Well, Maroon 5 I like a lot. That is one band that I like the majority of their songs. Usually, I like a few songs of singers'/bands' albums. Maroon 5 is a totally different story. I can listen to them for a long time before I get tired of them, and I like 90% of their songs.

You know how sometimes when you listen to a song you all of a sudden relive what happened in your life when you first heard the song or listened to that particular album. I don't get that very often, but it happens every time I listen to Maroon 5. If I am in a bad mood, listening to their songs usually cheers me up. Weird huh? Anyway, I particularly like their last album (not that they had many of the albums, but still the last one is my favorite).

I am not a big fan of music. I can live without it. I don't have an iPod or MP3 player, not because I can't afford it, but because I don't like listening to music when I am walking anywhere. But I do like listening to music at home after work, and for that I have a stereo that I turn up pretty loud when I am all alone in my apartment.

If you can't tell, I am very happy right now. Don't know why. Had a great day at work, having a great day at home, just love my life :)

68

Hmm, there should be a show on TV that is called 68. You know, like the one that is 24. My show would be 68. Why 68? Why am I thinking of this number? Well, that's easy. My husband lands in Moscow airport in 68 hours. I am super excited. He is flying in on Friday night at 5:25pm. I work till 6 pm, but I am going to leave a little bit earlier so I can be there as soon as I can.

I haven't seen Matt in about 6 weeks, the longest we have gone without seeing each other. Sure we talk every day, sometimes we talk in the morning and then chat at night again, but still it's not the same as being close to each other. It's going to be our six months anniversary when he will be here. We get to celebrate. We are going to a restaurant "Lubyanka" that during Soviet Union was open only to members of KGB. Now, it's opened for public, but it kept the same atmosphere as it had back in the Soviet era. It's a bit expensive, but I know that my husband will like it and I am positive it will be the most romantic evening we have had in a while (even though we will be dining in the former KGB restaurant).

Meanwhile, Matt and I are both counting hours :) I have a feeling I won't be writing any blogs this coming weekend. Sorry journal (and its readers) I will be pre-occupied with pinching my hubby, cuddling with him and just being difficult (he likes when I am difficult and high maintenance, even though sometimes he denies it :))

PS: If there was a show 68, have no clue what it would be about, but still think that there ought to be a show 68, it's way more mysterious than 24. After all, what is 68? It's not 12 or 24 or 365 (all know what these numbers represent), but 68? Hmm, might be a good mystery show :)

Subway...familiar faces

Yes, Moscow is HUGE. The population here is about 15 million people, those that are here officially, registered that is. Unofficially there is another 10 here, those are people like me who live and work in Moscow, but don't own an apartment, and therefore registered in another city (in my case I am registered in Taganrog, although I haven't been there in at least 3 years). So, you get the picture, in Moscow it's virtually impossible to meet a familiar face on the street. Yet, subway is a totally different story. I see familiar faces every day. No, I don't know these people, but I ride subway with them, and I am starting to recognize some of them. Every morning at 7:30 am when I get on the subway I notice at least 2 similar faces. I find it a little weird that these people and I most likely have nothing in common, we don't know each other and our lives have very different paths, yet every morning we have one thing in common for about 40 minutes--a ride on the same subway, in the same train car.

We are all the same. People are all the same, really. Some are old, some are unhappy, others angry, yet we all have something in common. It might be a small thing that does not mean much, but we all have something in common. I was just sitting on the subway this morning and thinking: strange, I might not know these people, but if something happens in the subway these strangers just might be the last people I see in my life (there were a few incidents of explosions/bombs in the subway a few years back when we were at war with Chechneya). No, I wasn't sad, just thinking that's all. Anyway, the point of this blog is that I find it amazing that with so many people in Moscow and trains that go every 40 seconds in the subway that I still find familiar faces early in the morning.

LOST

No, I did not get lost today. And no, I don't feel lost in life or anything like that. Actually the title of this blog has something to do with the show on TV. I always thought that it was lame to watch all the new shows that come out on TV, and actually always considered it lame to watch much TV at all. But honestly, lately I have had a very different social life in Russia, so I have started watching Heroes and now I am onto LOST. I love hearing English in the shows, and that is part of the reason why I have been trying to watch anything that has English in it (movies, shows). So, this week my roommate brought 5 discs of LOST home. I was a little skeptical about this show, but I thought I would give it a shot.

I guess I like it, but honestly I don't think it's anything super special. Between Heroes, Lost and House (about the only shows I have seen) I like House the best. I did not mind Heroes, and LOST is ok, but honestly I don't feel like I have to watch it. In fact, I stop the shows sometimes in the middle of the episode because I get bored and lose the interest. I get like that with watching TV, the reason I can't watch too much of it is because after awhile it bores me. Anyway, now I am moved onto LOST. It does keep me busy during the day when I don't have any plans, but I am anxious to find another show like House. That is the only show that I have watched till 3 am just to finish the disc and that I could rewatch a couple of times :)

I sad :(

I don't know why, just for some reason all of a sudden I feel sadness. Maybe because it's not that late and I realize that I have to go to bed already or tomorrow I will be sleepy and tired. Maybe because Matt is far away, we did not talk this morning; actually we talked for about a minute, which is almost worse than not talking at all, just makes me miss him when I just hear his voice yet don't have a chance to know what is going on in his life that day :( Maybe it's because I know that my sister is leaving for a week. It's great for her, really. She gets to go to New York with a guy who is the best thing that ever happened to her so far (as far as boyfriends go). I will be here alone while she is in New York. I think I will miss her. I want to listen to some sad music, but I am not sure what my sister has on her iTunes, nor am I in any mood to look and try to figure it out. Maybe it's becasue I have noticed some of Kara's friends change after spending some time in Moscow and that makes me wonder if I will be different, more pessimistic, more harsh, less human after being here for a year and a half. This city is not that horrible, yet some people have changed for the worse after moving here (no, I am not talking about my sister here, just want to make that clear, rather about a friend of hers whom I was a very high opinion of before). Maybe it's because we are having some difficulties with paper work for UK visas for New Years, and that is the only time I will have a chance to see Matt between November and February. I have many reasons to be sad, but usually I don't let them get to me.

When I was younger, my moods changed pretty quickly for no reason really. But I haven't had it in the last couple of years. Now, I am back to being my old self :( I don't like mood swings. I liked being happy when I was with Matt in the US. Now that I think about it, it was Matt who changed my moods for the better. He always cheered me up, and gave me a reason to be happy. I just wish I had his support, kind words when I feel sad in Russia. I think today is the first time since I have come back that I really miss Matt and it affects my mood. Today was a good day really, but it ends on the sad note for me.

Paid Vacation...Lots of them :)

Here is a list of days in November 2007- November 2008 that our office will be closed for holidays.

5 November (Monday) - holiday

30 December 2007 - 8 January 2008 New Year holidays

25 Feb (Monday) - Defender’s Day

10 Mar (Monday) - Women’s Day

1-2 May (Thursday - Saturday) - Spring Fest

9 May (Friday) - Victory Day

12 June (Thursday) - Day of Russia

Total Paid Holidays: 17 days

As you can tell we have quite a few holidays in Russia. All working people in Russia are also entitled to 1 month of paid vacation. This is so different from what US has to offer. When I worked at Graco we had 2 weeks of paid vacation and a hand-full of Days off. Russia is a whole different story. I have 1 month of paid vacation, plus another 17 days that fall under paid holidays. I am thinking that I am liking it here :)

Some of the days mentioned above fall on the weekends, like Women’s Day is actually March 8, but since March 8 is Saturday (non-working day), then the holiday transfers to Monday :)

I have told most people that Russia has more paid holidays than US, but I did not know what they all were. Now, I do (I took these dates from the list that HR distributed to all the employees).

The ring

I miss my ring today. I left home this morning and forgot to put it on, and when I sat down in the subway, I found myself thinking that something is missing. I took off my gloves and realized what it was that I missed so much.

I used to take off my ring every night when I was in Minneapolis. Don't know why, just did. And there were quite a few days when I went to work without it, some weekends I did not wear it either. Well, since I got to Russia, I only take my ring off when I shower. I wear it all the time, except for last night. I got home very tired last night and figure I did not want any jewelry on me, and this morning I was not quite myself at 6:30 am, so I left without my ring.

I am quite used to having it on my finger, I like my wedding ring. I like looking at it and playing with it during the day. I like to feel it on my finger, it's a bit heavy, and for awhile I could not get used to it, but now I feel like my finger is missing something :(

Matt used to have a Monday morning list, a list of all the things he needed to check he had before he left out of town each Monday. I think I just need a morning list, to make sure I take all the important things with me for the day :)

Anyway, I am a bit sad that I left my ring at home today. Can't wait to get home and put it on :)

I can run, but I CAN'T HIDE

... from Pepsi. In the last 2 years I have been addicted to Pepsi in the US, I drank it on a daily basis. There have been a few weeks here and there when I went without it, but once I was done with those weeks, I made up for not drinking any soda by drinking 3-4-5 cans of Pepsi a day. I used to drink "Diet Pepsi" when I was in the states.

Well, it turns out that when I came to Russia, I had a bit of a pepsi withdrawal (aka headaches). I did not want to spend money on Pepsi, plus I knew that it was not all that good for me anyways. I did pretty good the first month of me being in Russia. Then, my sister agreed on getting some "Pepsi Light" for me at the store. Yes, there is no diet pepsi, it's all lights here. We have "Coca Cola Light", "Pepsi Light" and that is about it. You can't find "Sprite Light" or "Fanta Light" or anything like that. If you want light, you are stuck to Coke and Pepsi. So, the last couple of weeks we have been having a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi in our fridge at any given day at any given time. If we run out, then my sister buys another bottle on the way home. I think she is getting just as addicted to it as me.

You have noticed it right, it's not Pepsi Light that we have in our fridge, it's Pepsi. Well, see, there is a store by our apartment building, it's about 2 minutes of walking. So, naturally when we run out of water or Pepsi, that's the store we use to get some more. For some unknown to me reason they don't sell Pepsi Light in there, it's just regular pepsi. Even though I don't like getting calories from drinks, I justify drinking regular Pepsi because my sister or I are just too tired to walk too far to get this drink, plus I walk much more now than I ever did in the states. I am convinced that so I burn all the Pepsi calories, I just doubt I burn any more :)

So, I tried running from Pepsi. Geeze, ran all the way to Moscow, Russia. But I guess I can't hide. We are destined to be in each other's life. I'll just try not to run away from it any farther than Moscow, hiding from this drink is virtually impossible :)

Discovery

I have made a new discovery today. Every day between 12 pm and 2:30 pm I usually go to lunch at work. Today during my lunch I suddently figured something out: Russians don't know how to make a decent lasagna. Why am I thinking about this all of a sudden? Well, because I ordered lasagna today for lunch and a salad (salad was great by the way). Lasagna was quite disappointing. I mean, it was kinda flat, not very tall, did not taste the same as what I am used to. (Have to admit, I am used to Macaroni Grill Lasagna; but still I have eaten plenty others in the states that were better). It did not have cottage cheese (it also did not have too much spaghetti sauce which was a plus :)), I am actually not quite sure what it had. I just know that it did not taste right.

So, while I was eating I thought I needed to come up with a solution to this problem. (No, I am not going to learn how to cook good lasagna). I thought that in the last 2 years or so of my life the only places I have had lasagna were at the Italian restaurants. Matt and I got a little spoiled going out the last couple of years, so I haven't had any other exposure. So, naturally I remember my most recent experiences (the ones in the Italian Restaurants). I figured I need a solution to fixing a problem of eating a not very tasty lasagna. My solution is simple: I need to go to Italy to try a real Italian lasagna. Matt, this hint is for you, baby. I want a trip to Italy, after all, this problem has to be fixed :)

My goal

Well, all of us have goals. Most people have pretty challenging goals ahead of them. I have a goal too, it might not sound challenging to most, but it's pretty difficult. My goal is to learn how to type in Russian. Not just type, but speed type. Just like most goals, mine has a deadline as well. My deadline is New Years. I don't have that much time, but I am going to try to learn how to speed type in Russian by New Years.

I am not even sure how to approach this goal. I might look around the internet and see if there are any free software there, otherwise I will go to a bookstore and get CD or something to help me along. I can type in Russian, I am just super turtle slow. However, those who know me well know that I don't like slow very much. I like being fast and efficient. Typing 2 lines in Russian and spending 5 minutes to do so is not very efficient.

Again, to most it seems like an easy task, but really it's rather challenging. I know how to type in English and I need to make sure I don't mix the letters, which happens quite a bit. I am trying to remember even now where all the Russian keys are located, but when I try to type without looking at Russian keys, sometimes my fingers pick up English "M" instead of Russian, because I know where English letter is located and my fingers just go there on their own.

Plus, I need to do this at home, and I don't spend that much time at home. So, that is another struggle. The only time I will be able to learn is the weekends, but who wants to learn how to type during their weekends?

Well, I have a goal, and I know how to achieve it. I just need to stay motivated to achieve it. I have one very strong motivator: my co-worker Elena. She types in Russian as fast as I type in English, and it bothers me that she is so fast and I am so slow in Russian. Yes, my Enlgish is much faster, but still. I need to be able to type in my own language as fast as in my second language.

So, there. I will update you around New Years if my goal has been accomplished :) Till then I am going to try to find time to acquire a new skill :)

Data Warehouse

I had training on Data Warehouse in my company (data warehouse: a computer system that collects, stores, and manages large amounts of data for a company, to be used for business analysis and strategy). I will get to use this tool quite a bit for creating reports, measuring performance of our supplier, making sure we have "the right product at the right place at the right time" (I am getting sick of this phrase), analyzing trends, etc. Well, I have worked with Data Warehouse quite a bit when I was at Graco. I understand the concept and at Graco we have used Cognos Impromptu as a tool to pull together reports, organize needed information from DW in a from of a report (I became quite good at using that tool too).

MCC (Metro Cash and Carry) has it's own datawarehouse as well. It's fairly new in Russia, they have been working on it for only a couple of years. Needless to say, I was not very impressed with it after my training. Many fields are missing from MDW (METRO Data Warehouse), they are still working on expanding it. MDW does not include any information about DC, we can only pull info related directly to stores or suppliers that deliver directly to stores. Note, that most of our suppliers (about 80%) deliver to our DC, so we have to use Access to create reports to measure those suppliers, and rely on data provided by our partners Schenker (we don't have our own DC, don't own it; we partner with Schenker to use their DC facility).

We have to create reports in Data Warehouse itself, not using any tools such as Cognos, but that is ok. It's just that it's a bit challenging. MDW has many terms abbreviated and nobody really knows what they mean. We were given a link to a brochure that explains all the abbreviations used in MDW and what they mean. Now, the brochure is over 1000 pages long. Yes, over 1000 pages. Tell me, who the hell is going to read it so they understand all the abbreviations, huh? It's sad really, I am sure we can get some useful info from MDW if we know how, but not knowing what all abbreviations mean we sure will miss some important measurements/data.

I just went to an introduction training in MDW, I still have to attend advanced/intermediate level. I need to learn how to make my own reports. I have a feeling that working with MDW is going to be a pain. They are struggling with it right now, it does not always work, some data is corrupted/wrong, so IT group is throwing a lot of effort/resources to ensure data integrity. I like to have MDW handy, it's so much easier to use than Access and other programs. I all for having all the information in one source, but it's going to be awhile till I feel totally comfortable with our MDW, right now I don't trust it. But I am glad that they are working on this tool, it will be a great advantage to have it fully and well functioning. Hope I will be here (at MCC) to enjoy the benefits of fully developed MDW.

Heroes

I love heroes. No, not SuperMan, SpiderMan or Batman. I love the show Heroes. I never watched it in the US, just was not interested. The only show I was interested in the US was House, MD. However, my sister likes different shows. She was obsessed with Lost and now she heard of Heroes. I asked Matt to bring us first season, but then we found out that iTunes has Heroes for us to download. Well, my credit card came in handy. I guess iTunes does not accept any credit cards other than US based, so my sister could not use hers, but mine passed the test and we downloaded half of the first season so far. We watched about 10 shows (all between Saturday and Sunday), and it's pretty interesting. I think that there could be a little more action, sometimes it seems a bit slow, but it's ok. I still like it so far. As long as it does not get ridiculous on me :)

So, now I have another show I am passionate about, not nearly as much as I am passionate about House, but still. I crave watching movies in English. I like them so much more. Dubbed movies drive me nuts, and the ones that are translated from English to Russian are not fun either. I want to hear actor's real voices and I am just used to watching movies in English. So, I am grateful that I have iTunes and my husband who is going to bring quite a few movies for me to watch (all in English) when he comes in November.

I am not very good...

... at keeping up with my blogs. I knew this was going to happen eventually. I don't like writing all that much, and up until I had a job, I was bored at times and had nothing to do. Therefore, a bunch of blogs were created.

I have a job now, and I spend very little time at home. I get up at 6 am, and I don't get home till 8pm that is if I don't go out. On the nights I do go out, I get home closer to midnight and trust me I am in no mood to write a blog knowing I have 6 hours of sleep left. Weekends are a bit different, I usually spend a lot of time sleeping and relaxing, again writing a blog is not my priority.

There is a lot going on really at work and at home, but I don't have time to write about it. I am bored today at work, so I will try to write a couple of blogs, but I have a feeling this blog writing is going to become a bit difficult for me.

Oh, well. All my blogs are there for my husband's sake anyway. He wanted me to write them as much as I could when we are apart. So, for him I will do my best to keep them going :)

Kids

I am crazy about kids. I have always wanted them, and in the last year or so I have wanted to have my own more than anything else. But, now that I am in Russia, my views have changed a little. I still adore kids, and still look at all the kids I pass by, but I no longer want to have my own right away. I still want to have a big family, but I don't want to start it right now. I think I am happy with Matt on our own and I would like to enjoy that.

I don't know why I have started thinking like that, maybe because my sister is telling me that I am crazy to want to have kids while I am in Russia or even be pregnant when I am here. Maybe it has something to do with my job, I have a higher position here than I did in the US, and I am loving the idea of me traveling a little and going up in the company. Maybe it's because I am closer to my immidiate family (parents and sister) so I don't have as strong of a desire to start my own family with kids.

My in-laws will be happy to hear that I am moving further and further away from the idea of having a kid in Russia. Matt will be a bit relieved as well, I never used to leave him alone about having a kid while he wanted to wait awhile. The only people who will not like my idea is my folks. And honestly, they are the only reason why I am trying to consider to have a kid in Russia. I don't think it will happen, but like I told Matt many times before, I would never forgive myself if my kids wouldn't get to know my parents (they are going to be the best grandparents on earth; I might be biased, but it is true).

Most of people who know me really well will be surprised to read this blog. I must confess I was surprised to have these thoughts in my mind as well. However, I want to enjoy my kids and I want to be successful professionally first, especially now that I have some great opportunities in front of me and am gaining a priceless experience. Maybe I am too shallow, but I think it would be irresponsible for me to deny having these thoughts. It's better I recognize I have these thoughts. I want to make sure I have the kids at the right time of my life, when I want them more than anything else in the world.

October 14 - First snow

http://ruzanka.livejournal.com/1401.html

Not sure if you can view the video or not, but this morning we woke up to a bunch of snow (ok, we did not get up this morning, more likely in the afternoon). I think October 14 is a little early for the snow, but it looks beautiful. I tried video taping it, it's more magical to see it in person. I love snow, I love being at home and being able to watch it falling from the inside of a cozy and warm apartment. I am not sure if I will like it tomorrow when I have to walk in it, but today I am in love with the falling snow. I just wish that it could be snowy and not cold at the same time, then it would be perfect, warm and beautiful (i can dream, right?)

Well, I am not really in the mood of writing a blog. I have been having hard time keeping up with it, so I am going to make this one short.

Hope your first snow falling is going to be as beautiful as it was in Moscow :))

Am I in Seattle?

I started wondering this yesterday. The reason is: it's been raining in Moscow for 9 days in a row. I thought that I would rather have rain than snow, but I am starting to change my opinion on that. The rain is more difficult to survive. I can't wear nice pants, because I get to walk everywhere, and then my pants are all dirty from walking in the rain. I get to bring an umbrella everywhere and that's a pain. I can't wear my suede shoes, because I am afraid they will get all wet and dirty. Everything is gloomy and dirty, there is no sun, and people seem to smile less. So, life is more difficult in the rain than in the snow I think.

Some of you know that my in-laws live in Seattle, and for awhile I was thinking that maybe some day Matt and I should move to Seattle. Well, even though I love living close to the family, I don't think I could handle the weather. It's very gloomy here during the rain, and I am assuming it's the same in Seattle. Anyway, I came to a conclusion that I don't want any more rain. I wan sun or snow, but enough of this pouring water out of the sky already that makes everything dark and depressing.

I am counting hours...

...till the day is over. Up until today I had some sort of things to do at work, today however, I ran out of things for me to do. I am sick of reading, I want to be trained by somebody into my new job. I have no clue why they are paying me money. I guess if they want to pay me a salary to sit and write my blogs, more power to them.

I am looking forward to next week though, I am going to have training all next week, I doubt I will be bored then. Meanwhile, 7 hours and 45 minutes until this day is over. I get 1 hour for lunch, today I am going to use up the whole hour. Meanwhile, I am researching Siberia. I have heard that I am going to be put in charge of Siberian project. After that, who knows, I might post another blog :)

Living on $2 a day

It is actually true, I do live on $2 a day during the week. No, it is not because I have a budget, it is because I spend most of the day at work and then after work I go directly home. The reason why I live on 2 dollars a day is because my work pays for a good portion of my meals while I am at work. So, since I have been here I have spent anywhere from $1 to $3 per day on food in our cafeteria or restaurant in the building. So, I averaged it out and came to a conclusion that I live on $2 a day. BTW, the food is great, the cooks are wonderful, reminds me of home cooked meals every time I eat in our restaurant (haven't been to cafeteria yet, but it's on the list of places for me to visit in the building, maybe next week.) Actually, I eat only $2 a day (during the work day). I make up for it in the evening at home, don't worry.

This job actually is saving me money. Not only do I not waste money on food ($2 a day is hardly a waste), but the company also provide a corporate bus from the metro stations right to the office; so, I no longer have to spend money on public buses. Plus, our corporate buses are very nice and comfy. So, I spend about $1.20 on transportation and $2 on food a day. Not too bad if you ask me. I am hoping to save some money by the time I get back to the states, can you tell? My husband keeps telling me that I need to start saving like crazy. He is crazy about saving money, which is probably very good for me, because I am not all that great at it.

Sleep Problems...NO MORE

Work is good for me. Not only am I no longer going out of my mind sitting at home and finding stuff for me to do (like washing dishes, doing laundry, etc.), my sleeping issues have resolved. The last couple of days I have been going to bed somewhere between 10:15 and 11:30. I fall asleep right away and don't wake up during the night at all. It's great. I appreciate a good night sleep so much more now that I have struggle with it for a month. I hear that my husband is having a hard time with his sleep. Hope he will adjust soon and start sleeping, because when he does not have enough sleep, he (just like me) turns into a crabby person. So, a month after I have moved to Russia my sleep schedule finally adjusted to the time difference. Life is good!!!

Information Overload

Most people when they start a new job have some sort of information overload. When they are trying to learn a new system or processes. Well, so far I don't have that condition :) I have a feeling that my job is going to be very busy and somewhat complicated, however, right now I ma just taking it easy. There are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, my boss is having a baby, so she won't be in the office until November (she is due in a week, and then spending some time with the kid I guess) so she was not here to coordinate my training. My co-workers are great, and one of them, Georgii, is kind of in charge of keeping me busy; however, he is terribly busy himself, so there are plenty of times during the day when I don't really have much to do but explore presentations, tables, etc. Yesterday, I was pretty busy, I was loading some data into our database and analyzing it afterwards. I guess we give many presentations to the directors, so it's crucial that we have all the information. Anyway, so far my job kind of keeps me busy. I am looking forward to the day when I am so busy I forget it's past lunch time, I am sure this day will come sooner than I think. Meanwhile, I am enjoying this time when I am just getting acquanted with the systems, etc. I am going to go visit a person who is in charge of training and see what she has in mind for me since my boss is gone. I am sure most people have to go through some sort of general training in the beginning, I might start with that. Meanwhile, HOORAY to no information overload (my head does not hurt at all from learning new things :))

My second day at work...

... I overslept. I know, I know. Believe me, I did not do that on purpose, I set up an alarm, and was planning on getting up just on time to get there before 9 am. But, I must have heard my alarm, turn it off and did not even wake up enough to remember turning it off. I am planning on buying a real alarm this week, so far I am using a cell phone. Although, tomorrow my mom will call me in the morning to make sure I am awake. It just happens that she wakes up at the same time to go to her job, so that will be nice. I trust my mom more than an alarm anyway. I called my co-worker on the way to work and told him I would be a little late and he told me not to worry, it's ok. He was super nice, and nobody even bothered to notice that I was late, pretty much. I like that attitude. And I came to a conclusion that I urgentlly need an alarm the sooner the better, because most of those who know me know that unless it's kids waking me up, I am impossible to wake up :), cell phone alarms are not to be trusted to accomplish such a task.

My first day of work...

... was ok. I spent half a day filling out paperwork, insurance, opening bank account, etc., etc. The other half of the day I spent at my work area. It is pretty nice, big room with glass walls (well, just really big tall windows, might as well be glass walls, pretty cool affect though). One of the walls is just windows, so that is nice too. I don't have my computer yet, so I am using the one that is on the desk from the previous girl who used to work there. I was told that my computer is on order and they should bring it up within a week. I just got to know a bit about the company and our department really. I spent most of the afternoon just searching info on my own. I was a little disappointed a little that there was no training for me set up right away, but later on I found plenty of material for myself to get acquanted with. I like my work so far. One of my co-worker and I go to lunch together. He eats a little later than everybody, and it works for me because there is virtually nobody in the restaurant downstairs. We have 2 places to eat: cafeteria and a restaurant, pretty nice actually. And we get discounts for food, yesterday I only spent 1 dollar on a meal because my company pays a big portion of our meals, today I got a little spoiled and spent almost 3 dollars on a food :) Anyway, my first day was good. I did get tired from the lack of sleep the night before, but other than that it was not stressful at all, which is exactly how I like it :)

3:10 am

I am still awake. I have got to do something with my sleeping schedule. I have a feeling that this week I will be very tired and super cranky. I am starting my new job tomorrow. I have to be awake in less than 4 hours. My alarm is set for 7 am. I just hope that I will wake up to it. I was planning on writing a blog about my new job sometime this week, but if my sleeping schedule keeps up as it is, I am afraid I might not make it this week. So, thought I would write this blog. I am a bit frustrated and annoyed. I wish I had some vodka at home. Then maybe after a few shots I could fall asleep no problem. Although I would much rather be tired than hung over tomorrow. Well, wish me luck, cause tomorrow is going to be tough (technically, it's already today). Hate laying in bed trying to fall asleep, such a waste of time. Well, I guess I better go and waste some more time, because I do need to fall asleep. I am putting Tyleno PM on the list of things for Matt to bring next time he comes over, although by then I am sure I will be on a normal schedule. Oh, God help me this week. Inna and Kara, bare with me, you might have to find out the other side of Zana, the cranky, annoying, never satisfied with anything side of Zana (it does not show much, but with the lack of sleep, it won't be hard for this side to surface).

Saturday Night

... was great. I had another outing with Inna (our friend) and Kara's old classmate (Pasha Evdokimov). We went to see opera. "Carmen", a very famous French opera that was sung in French. It was beautiful. The theater was spectacular, no it was not Bolshoi Theater due to the fact that it's under reconstruction for the next 5 years. The theater we went to was very beautiful, clearly recently redone. The opera was great. I loved it. It was my first time at the opera, it was Inna's birthday gift for me. Thanks Inna, you could not have given me a better gift. The opera started at 7, and did not get finished until well after 10 pm, it had 2 breaks between the acts. The thing though is, it did not seem like opera was that long. I am not saying that it felt like 10 minutes, but it certainly did not feel like 3 and a half hours either. It was very interesting and very entertaining. After the opera, Pasha, Inna and I stopped by the coffee shop. I had a big bowl of my favorite strawberry baskin robbins ice cream and a very elegant small glass bottle of Coca-Cola light. Kara's classmate paid for our coffee shop visit, which was very nice and gentlemen like of him, and we headed home. So, we left the house at 6:30 to get to the opera, we ended up hurrying a bit from the metro, but we got there on time. We did not head home till 12:20 am, we walked into our apartment at 1:00 am. Great evening. Inna and I ate some watermelon, talked with my sister, watched a few episodes of "House, MD" that I brought from the states for my sister, and finally all got to bed at 3 am. If you ask me, it was a very productive and entertaining evening. Very satisfying. I have a feeling that I will have a few more visits to the theater in the months to come. I want to see a few plays and definitely a ballet. I love watching ballet. So, that was my Saturday night here in Moscow!!!

Sergey Leonovich aka my daddy

My dad has a very different personality from my mom. He is very loud and demanding. Hmm, sounds like me right? Well, I do take after him. I am just as social as he is; I tend to look on the bright side of the matter (my dad is an optimist as well). I tend to be straightforward, if you have met my dad you know that he does not keep his opinions to himself and is very bold. I consider it a great quality, strength really. Life is too short to be hiding under pretences; it takes too much energy to be fake. My dad does not hide anything, what you see is what you get.
If my mom was very strict with us when my sister and I were kids, my dad was just the opposite. He was a huge teddy bear, he still is. He loves kids, and if mom refused us in something, dad would always give in. Guess whom we went to when we wanted something? Well, my sister and I were not stupid. It was a smart choice for us to go to dad, he loved spoiling us, so we would weigh our chances of getting something by going to mom or dad, and almost always picked dad.
My dad is an extravert, my mom is an introvert. He loves being at a party. During my wedding, he really enjoyed being among young people. Well, he still thinks he is young. Actually, even though he is getting bald and grey-haired, he is very young at heart, and rather frequently behaves like a young adult. If my dad is at the party, he will challenge younger kids to a dance. Ok, those of you that were at my wedding, I will tell you one thing: remember the air guitar? Most men in their 50's worry about their status, they feel the need to behave mature, etc., my dad just likes to have fun in his life. If my dad wants to dance, he will dance. If he wants to sing, he will sing. If he wants to be a rock star, he will play an air guitar and have a blast. My dad loves life, and I think that is what it comes down to. He loves having a good time. He loves his kids (me and my sister). He is very proud of both of us. He loves my mom and respects her very much.
My dad is very macho. He is very handy and insists on the fact that men never show their real feelings. It's not manly to do so. Not sure how true that is, but that's what my dad thinks. He also is a strong believer that men need to know how to fix a car and how to build a home. Needless to say, he is very handy around the house, and knows how to fix anything in his car. His car is his hobby (fixing it I mean). The thing is his car is never broken. Not once did it actually break down on him, any of his cars, and he has had many. My dad always says: "You have to keep the car in good condition and catch the problem before it arises". He does, he replaces all kinds of stuff in his car, and the result, the guy has never been stranded on the side of the road.

If my mom helped me achieve everything I have academically, my dad helped me achieve everything I have socially. All my social skills come from my dad. My kindness, sympathy - learned from my dad. Me being so talkative and extraverted-my dad in me. You can never be bored if my dad is around. His laugh is contagious and so is his good mood all the time. I love my dad. I am a daddy's girl actually. I was always closer to my dad than my mom. I think I tend to hide some of my feelings too just like my dad (sadness, loneliness at times), maybe it's from me listening to him saying how people need to toughen up, not cry upon any chance they get. Be tough, get through hard situations, laugh afterwards and move on. His teachings helped me get through college, when I was working 2 jobs and going to school full time. Be tough, get through it, don't cry, face the challenges. Now I laugh at some situations, treasure my education and move on in life.

My parents have been married for nearly 30 years. I wish that my marriage will last that long. I wish I have kids who would love and respect me just as much as I love and respect my parents.

Oh, you know how I am going to name my daughter after my mom. Well, no I am not going to name my son after my dad. I am going to name my son: Leon. It's my dad's dad. My dad loved his dad (my grandpa died when my dad was 18). Everybody who knew my grandpa says that my dad looks very much like him. I think my dad would be flattered if I named my kid like his dad.

I once made a speech about my dad. It was in my public speaking class, it was our last final speech and we were supposed to give it on our idol. Well, my idol, my hero is my dad. Everybody has a father, but not everybody has a daddy. I do, and I am extremely lucky to have my dad in my life. He rocks in every way possible!!!

METRO

That is where I am trying to pursue a job. No, not the subway system "metro". A store, an organization that is called "Metro Cash and Carry" It's pretty similar to Sam's Club or Costco if you ask me. The only difference is that it's for small businesses who buy in bulk. They are growing super fast. They had 32 stores at the beginning of this year and are shooting to have 40 by the end of the year. They are not present in the US; however, are very known through Europe and now Russia. I am going to be a part of the Project Management team (that is if I get hired). We get to be the ones who look into the market, make business plans, and finally follow up on all the logistics that need to be done to open a new store, implement new systems, whatever needs to be done in the company really. I am not sure exactly what part I would be doing, but if I get a job there, it would be neat. They pay pretty decent, the team seems fun. I just had my 3rd interview with them today and it sounds like they really like me. But I am not hoping for anything until I get a call that tells me that they are ready to make me an offer. I will have to spend about an hour and 20 minutes on getting there, but it's not out of ordinary for Moscow. I was just so spoiled in MN, living within 5 minutes from Graco. But, that is ok, it's good for me. I will get to walk more. The only time it might be a pain is in the summer, our 'metro' subway system has no air conditioning and lots (by lots, I meant MILLIONS) of people. But my office does (that is if I get hired of course :)) have an air condition. Anyway, the company is pretty big. In 2005 their sales in Russia alone were 1.4 billion euros, that's much bigger than Graco, that I will give it :) MetroGroup however in 2006 had sales of 60 billion euros. (Metro Cash and Carry belongs to MetroGroup) If I get hired, I will be hired by MetroGroup. Metro has opened their first store in Russia in 2000. So, 40 stores in 7 years is not bad at all, according to my standards. Now I am just keeping my fingers crossed that I will get hired :)

PS: Ok, I have written the above part about a week ago, did not post it because I did not want everybody to read it until I knew whether I had an offer or not. Well, today, was my last and final interview (interview number 4). I met with administrative director, very nice gentlemen who speaks no Russian. It was fun speaking English with him. Anyway, I am hired. I have a job. I will be a Project Manager. Start on Monday. So, ready or not Metro, here I come :) I think I will be successful there. The company is huge, there is a ton of work, everything is very fast-paced, right up my alley. I will keep you posted of what's new. I believe I will be in charge of the project on opening 3 new stores in Siberia, but I am not certain. I might have to travel to Siberia this coming year :) Fun, fun, fun. I am glad I am done searching for a job, and I am glad that I a found a good one ;) They did not post for a position of Project Manager, they basically created one after they interviewed me and offered it to me instead of the one I actually applied to which was not as high up (don't take me wrong, they have a ton of projects and not enough staff), but I am flattered nonetheless.

Natalya Mihailovna aka my mom

Most people call her Natasha, some used to call her Natalya Mihailovna, I always called her mom. She is super cool. Some of you have met her, those of you who haven't are unfortunate. She is the best woman one can meet. I did not always get along with her, when I was little I used to think that she loved my sister more than me. Now, I look back and find it silly and stupid, but she still put up with my attitude. Actually, if it was not for my mom, I would not be nearly as successful as I am right now. When I was in about 5th grade, I had a learning disability. I would read textbooks, but I would not retain information I have read. My mom always kept a close eye on my sister's and my school work, she talked to teachers almost weekly and she picked up this struggle of mine right away. She spent hours every day with me doing my school work. She let me do my math, Russian, chemistry, physics and English on my own, but biology, history, geography and other subject that require reading in order to understand them she had to do with me. Every night she would be cooking and I would be sitting at the table and reading out loud a chapter, paragraph by paragraph. She would stop me every paragraph, have me close the book and I had to retell her what I just read. She helped me make an outline of what were the important points in the chapter so it would help me remember what I needed to focus on. It would take her hours each day to do this with me. I never liked doing it, it took too long. She never gave up and never let me off the hook. She did this with me for about a year. Every night for 9 months my mom would do my homework with me. We could spend 2 hours on just one chapter of one subject. I can only imagine how patient she had to be with me. I am sure there were days where she just did not want to do anything but relax at night, but she never forgot about me.
It is only because of her I overcame my disability, it is only because of my mom I was able to learn new things, to focus on new subject, eventually do my homework on my own. By the way, that year planted some really good habits into me. Every night afterwards I would dedicate a few hours for homework. Even in the years when mom did not have to do homework with me, she always checked me to make sure I did it. She would randomly pick a subject and tell me "Tell me about your homework in biology" She would then take the textbook and see to make sure I got it right. She never made me memorize anything, she was against memorization, she insisted on my understanding the concepts, so I could retell them in my own words. If my mom would have ignored this problem of mine in the childhood, I would never be able to graduate with good grades from high school, I would have never won the contest to come to the states, never could have gone to colleges in MN and would have never met my husband. So, everything that happened in my life is thanks to my mom. If it wasn't for her, who knows where I would have ended up.
She used to be very strict before, but she also spoiled me and my sister with attention and love. She loved having kids, she loved my sister and me more than anybody in the world, and lived for us. She still does. Oh, when I was little (and even now) when I am in bed and my covers are by my feet and I am too lazy to get up and pull them up, my mom would be happy to come and help me out. Or when I am in bed and the light is still on, she would get up herself in the other room if I would call her and turn off the light for me and would give me a kiss goodnight. She loves doing things for me and my sister, whatever they are. Her personality has changed a little because of her health, she is much quieter now and much less strict, but she is still as caring, loving and just as cool as she was before. I love being in the same country with her and talk to her every day. I missed her care when I was in the states. She is fun to be around, and I always feel loved unconditionally when I have her by my side. Mom, you are super, I don't know how I got so blessed to have you as my mom. I am the luckiest girl on Earth (ok, my sister is just as lucky, but that is about it).

If I ever have a daughter, her name will be Natalya, just like my mom :) I think my mom would like that.

A Dinner And A Movie

Sounds like a date, huh? Well, it was an outting that is for sure. My sister got back from Germany yesterday. Today was her first day back at work. I slept in and we started chatting later in the day with her. There is one restaurant here I like "Grabli" to translate it would be "A Rake", like the one you use to rake up the leaves in the fall. It's kind of like a cafeteria in a way that you have to tell the person behind the counter the menu item you want and they give it to you. You can see all the menu items, they are also all marked in English as well as Russian. The food is way better than cafeteria food, and most of it is pretty Russian :) Oh, another bonus is that it's pretty inexpensive. So, I mentioned to my sister that I want "Grabli" for dinner, and we decided to meet up and go out to dinner. Then a couple of my sister's friends were going to a movie afterwards and invited us two along. The movie was all right, French "Hors de Prix" dubbed in Russian of course. I would not recommend it if you don't want to just look at pretty actors :) It was a bit long and I did not like the plot. However, the actors were beautiful and so was their wardrobes. So, we started heading home (it was after midnight, kinda a late date :)). My sister and I laugh a ton when we are together. In fact, our roommate Inna can tell our laugh apart. She was on the train before us in the metro and when she was heading to the escalator she heard us laughing and waited for us. What a coinsidence :) We all three walked home and had a great time doing so. Laughed some more, got home, talked a couple of hours, then bedtime. For them that is, it's 3 am here and I am writing this blog because I can't sleep, but it's ok. I am sitting by the open window and getting pretty cold, so I am about ready to go to bed and snuggle under my blanket :) I enjoyed my evening, it was great. I love going into town and spending time with my sister and her friends whom I know from childhood really :) They all treat me like their own little sister, it's quite amusing, and I love the attention (can you believe that? :))

A small lie

You know in the last message I told you that I don't have an alarm that wakes me up every day. Well, I lied a little. I actually do have an alarm. Every morning at 9 am. Why? Well, I just love the hour, the morning is beautiful, the sun is out, the birds are signing, I welcome a new day. Right. Anybody who knows me, knows that 9 am is an ungodly hour for me to wake up and feel good :) But I do wake up at 9 am every day and most of the time I am really looking forward to it (the times I don't is when I had wine the night before and did not go to bed till 3 or 4 am, then it's a bit tough to look forward to waking up in just a few hours). The reason why I love waking up at 9 am is because that is when I talk to my hubby. I talk to him every day. It's kind of late for him, midnight, but he calls me anyway, and we talk usually for about 30 minutes or so. When my sister was in Germany, we were talking on the phone, which was easier for me. I would wake up when the phone rang and we would talk. Now that my sister is here in Moscow, and I have access to the Internet, we talk through Skype (it's free :)) The only challenging thing about that is I have to wake up and be online in order for us to talk. If I am not online, then Matt can't call me via Skype. So, that's a bummer. But it's ok. I prefer talk through skype, cause there is no money involved, we can talk as long as we want to and as many times a day as we wish. We will have to change the time a little if I start working, because most jobs here in Moscow start at 9 am, I won't be able to talk to him at 9. We would have to talk earlier, which Matt would probably like better, since he would not have to stay up till midnight to wait to talk to me. So, now you know that I do have an alarm and have to wak up early every day, what you don't know yet is that I do go back to sleep right after I talk to Matt (I am sure most of you are not surprised). Although sometimes I can't fall asleep right away, and think about our conversation for an hour or so. But no worries, I do fall asleep eventually.

Laundry, Dishes, Making the Bed

These are my chores around the house here. Actually, they were never assigned to me or even asked of me. But Inna (a friend and roommate) works a lot, most of the time she leave before 8 am and does not get home till after 10pm. My sister does not work as much, but she is a bit spoiled, she does not like doing chores such as washing the dishes, although she is very good at making the bed. I don't work at all right now, so I fgured taking garbage out, washing dishes and doing laundry is the least I can do to help them, since I am at home all the time :) Well, I do go out, don't take me wrong, I am not under a house arrest, but most of the morning and a good chunk of the afternoon I usually spend at home. I actually am starting to enjoy this luxury, I am always relaxed. Don't have an alarm that wakes me up all the time. I haven't had enough motivation to actually clean in this apartment, but I think me helping with dishes and laundry for awhile will suffice :) So, now to making the bed. Well, my sister is very strict about that, the bed has to be made! I usually make the bed, but to tell you the truth that is not always done right after I get up. Sometimes, it's done right before she gets home, so no yelling will be involved from her side. She is usually pretty irritable after a day of work :) I know she will read this and will find this out, but hey as long as the bed is made by the time she is home, who cares if it's not when she does not even see it. The real reason why I don't make the bed right away is because throughout the day I do go back and lay on it and read a book or listen to the radio (ok, occasionally, I do take a nap as well, it's so tempting at times). Yes, I am turning to be pretty lazy these days, but it's ok if you ask me. No harm to me at all. Now, Matt on the other hand has a different ideas on making the bed back at home in Minneapolis. I used to have a few decorative pillows on our bed, so it would look nice, and every time I would make the bed (which was almost every day), I would put them on, right? Well, my husband has informed me that he put the pillows in the closet till I come back. To my question why, he answered: "First, I am not going to make the bed. Second, when I do, I am certainly not putting a bunch of pillows on it so it would look pretty". What could I say? Men :) I actually, expected something like that would be done. At least he realises his weaknesses, although he does not consider those his weaknesses, hmmm. Well, time to go lounge on the bed and maybe read a book (sometimes, that's a cover for me to take a nap, not telling you what I am actually going to do though :))

24

24 hours in a day. There is a show 24. But that is not why 24 is the title of my blog this week. This week I turned 24. Sept. 29 was my birthday, I got older on that day :) but I am still just as loud and demanding. I thought that it would be a sad and depressing birthday for me because Matt was gone, my sister was in Germany, I am not at home in Minneapolis, my American friends won't be around me. But, actually this birthday was one of the best I have had. Matt called me on that day at 9 am and we talked for over half an hour, then my parents called me (a couple of times) to tell me their wishes. My sister was in Germany at the time, but she send me a few text messages (and brought me a very nice gift, very stylish leather purse), the friend with whom my sister was staying send me a text message and wished me happy birthday. My roommate gave me a gift, another really close friend of my sister's sent me a poem: Happy Birthday! I wish you so much fun as you can place in your soul, walk on water, walk on wall, be very healthy first of all! Have nice time, have nice day, spend your birthday as you may! Many dancing, many drinks, fly all night with your own wings! I love that poem, it's so cheerful. My aunt called me and so did my godparents. It was a great day. To finish it off, my roommate and a very close friend Inna, took me to her friends house, they have 7 kids, and they are super cool. We stopped at the store, got some sweets for tea and marched over there. We did not leave until after 10 pm, it was great. We just showed up, they did not know that we were coming, but were oh so happy to see Inna and meet me (they know my sister). Lida and Semen (mom and dad of the household) were super friendly and wished me happy birthday as well, and one of the kids made me a happy birthday card. Now, what else can one wish for their birthday? I was super happy that day. Yes, my folks were away, my sistere was not by me and Matt was far, but I was the happiest person on that day. I felt happy. Later on, I found out that the Clarks sent me a birthday wish via email, I did not get it till the day after my birthday because my sister had her computer with her in Germany (thus, no access to the Internet). Some people felt sorry for me on this birthday because I was far from Matt, but really, this was the happiest birthday I have had since childhood. I felt loved, what else does a person need to feel joy in their heart? Well, I don't need anything else at all :) Thank you to all of those who made my birthday such a happy day for me, and for remembering my special day this year. Those who forgot, well, thank you for being in my life anyway. I know that life is busy and you can't remember everybody's birthday all the time, but I am thankful that I have so many friends and family both in the US and Russia. I am the luckiest person on the planet. At least that is how I feel in the last 2 days :)