Summah Summah time

I started my day by petting and shaking hands with a monkey outside of my metro, where I met Steve to go to GUM because they were handing out free ice cream to celebrate their 120th anniversary.  There were also a lot of cool photo displays on the first floor, so we walked around looking at them and getting seconds on ice cream.  I also bought something for one of you, but I won't say who.  I like to keep you in suspense.

After we were done with GUM and Steve had to go to work (I didn't.  I win.), I had my own mini adventure wandering the streets of Moscow.  First I stopped in the Alexandrovskii Sad and laid on the grass reading some of my book (On the Road, if you must know) before heading off in no particular direction.  I passed by the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Pushkin Museum before landing on a bus stop for a little while - I figure if I'm paying all this extra money for an all-forms-of-transport metro card (not by choice), I might as well get some tram action.  And it was nice out.  So a tram FINALLY comes, takes me down to Oktyabrskaya near Gorky Park, and I get off not wanting to go any further south.  Then I get on another tram going in the opposite direction, taking me exactly where I had come from.  Almost.  It stopped while saying "This is the end of the line," but as I got off I heard it announce the next stop as other passengers boarded.  I don't know.  I walked and walked in some weird artsyish hipstery place by the Bolotnaya Embankment and enjoyed the view before once again passing the Cathedral, buying a cream soda, sitting by lion statues, and looking at the entrance to an exhibition of sand sculptures depicting ancient Russia before deciding to head home.  So that was my day.

The summer has been sort of a blur since it's going by so quickly.  I finished working at Mayakovskaya on June 1st and switched to Marino June 3rd (which equals 3 day weekends, yesssss).  I had some friends here for about a week, then I took off to Petersburg again (White Nights + Jackie was heading back to the US soon), then I had a friend visiting for a few days, and now I'm toying with a trip to Turkey next weekend.  Almost forgot to mention, it's been sweltering here.  We're talking +30C/86F and humid pretty consistently.  The kinds of days where you're glad to work from 1230-1010 because at least it's air conditioned there.  Oh also, random aside, the airport where Snowden is currently hiding out is the one nearest my apartment.  We're talking like 30 mins away at most.  I'll send him your best.

Stateside in less than a month! Now that is crazy.

Slacking

You know you're slacking too much when several people (including but not limited to my mom) call you out on your lack of blog posts.  Anyway, a lot has been going on around here:  -28C weather jumping up to +2C and then back down again to -17C; Christmas stuff; New Year's stuff; VACATION in St. Petersburg; realizing I have to be a real person and return to working for a living. At least I've got all of this youthful energy or whatever it's called to help me handle all of it.

The cold finally got to me, and after walking around for almost an hr in -28 weather which caused me to get a little sick, I broke down and bought a coat.  A real, puffy, long, behooded, Russian winter coat.  My life improved immediately and I can't believe I was that stubborn for that long.  Actually, I can believe it.    

So, Christmas holidays have come and gone...I'm going to give you the Reader's Digest version because I'm still busy (again, read:lazy).  I like Christmas a whole lot, and since I was away from home I decided to go with the flow by celebrating it 3 times.  Once at the EF Christmas party on the 22nd, which was catered with Georgian food and included way too much wine/vodka...yes, still in Russia.  Once on Christmas Eve, when I went to a potluck that some friends were hosting (this is where the walking around in the cold came from...I struggle with directions pretty hard & therefore couldn't find the apt to save my life) to eat, drink, be merry, and get home on the last metro because I still had work the next day. And once more on Christmas day, which I spent working (by "working" I mean "doing Christmas worksheets and watching movies), going to (and being disappointed by) the Strausburg Christmas fair on Manege Square with Uliana and Vanessa, eating Chinese food like a Jew, and meeting some friends for a drink at the bar.  There was snow EVERYWHERE and I hadn't bought the coat yet, so that was...fun. 

Our holidays from EF started on December 29th, so there was a fair amount of chillaxing before the New Year celebrations began.  I planned to go to Red Square (like a crazy person. Every single Russian I know said DON'T DO IT and I was like BUT I WANT TO DO IT) and then go somewhere else, but I ended up staying at Nick's place with him, Lyuba, and Martin to celebrate and be comfy. This is the Russian tradition: watch the Irony of Fate (we did), cook olivier salad, eat way too much of everything (olivier, caviar sandwiches, potatoes, chicken, regular sandwiches, pickles, tangerines, chocolate...I feel like I'm forgetting something), drink champagne, and watch fireworks.  Not a bad way to bring in 2013!

On Jan. 2nd, I threw some things into a suitcase & boarded the Sapsan (fast train) to St. Petersburg to see my other half, Jackie.  Our vacation together basically consisted of eating, sleeping, and partying, as any proper holiday should.  Especially when it's the two of us, and especially about the eating part.  I parted from Piter on Jan. 5th at 645am (we didn't sleep that night.  Life is hard sometimes) and got back home around 1130am to be united with the roomie since he & Uliana had been in Riga for a few days before I left.  We started work again on the 9th, and I got a surprise day off today (1 student is on holiday in Malaysia, the other called and cancelled.  Happy late new year gift). I think that's everything important, so I hope this keeps you busy for now.