Milestones

Cross Country Skiing

2012-02-25T03:31:00.000-06:00

So with the winter upon us and hopefully on the downward side, I've taken up cross country skiing. It was a little rough at first. It's amazing how hard the ground is even covered with snow. But with a few trips out I can usually manage to stay upright. Once I figured out the correct way to ski, (thanks youtube.com) it is quite enjoyable. I can cover a lot of ground, take in the scenery and still get a decent workout. I must say after the first couple times out, I had muscles hurting that hadn't been sore since I was in the Army.

Well this most recent trip out I thought I would go ski the canal. There are paths along the side and well the canal is frozen about 6" down with another 6 inches of snow on top. Plenty solid for skiing or sledding or ice fishing as you can see in these pictures.

Here is the canal not frozen

River Cruise

2012-02-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

So recently Jolene and I went of a river cruise on the Moscow River. Yes it is the middle of winter so yep we were on an ice breaker ship. It was pretty cool, no pun intend.. okay well maybe it was. Anyway we had a good time.

This was the type of boat we were on.

The cruise was about two hours long, substantially shorter than the summer cruises, but breaking ice takes a bit more time so the trip isn't as far as the others. As the boats break the ice, the water starts to freeze again and a low fog also forms above the river. The effect is pretty cool.

The beer selection was not all that great so I went with a local Russian beer. Kinda reminded me of Budweiser. Oh well I was there for the experience, not the beer. The experience was pretty cool We plan on taking the cruise again at night when it's warmer. Looking forward to getting some pictures of the city then.

Is it me or is she looking more Russian?

As we approached Gorky Park, we turned around and headed back. You can see how thick the fog had gotten. If you look close you can see the Russian Buran (shuttle). This is in Gorky Park. I still need to make it there, but we're going to wait till it gets warmer and nicer out.

We actually went with a group of other first or second tour diplomats, some from other embassies.

And as the cruise headed back you can see the sun trying to peak through the heavy cloud cover. Just another winter wonderland weekend in Moscow.

Freezing in Russia

2012-02-06T11:58:00.000-06:00

Okay the last few weeks have been pretty darn cold, like -20° C cold. They say it's been a mild winter, but I thing the weather gods are trying to play catch up. So how do you cope with cold weather well you could go for a walk by some old Russian equipment...

Or you could continue to walk along by a huge cask, of course you want to make sure there is a sign that says it is okay to do this...

But when it's all said and done, nothing helps handle the cold like a large bottle of beer...

Well you've probably guess where I went. Yep the Ochakova Пива (Beer) factory. A nice tour around the factory then off to do a little sampling before heading to their outlet store for some some beer and wine.

The rest of the pictures from the tour are HERE at our Picasa site. It was just me and about 20 others from the Embassy. We all had a really good time. I gotta say the fish jerky was a little too salty but other than that it was all good.

So this was one way to beat the Russian Winter... Another way is to just leave.

So that's what I did. I actually had official travel to go on. I needed a week long training course and it just happened to be in Budapest, Hungry. So off I went. Like the trip to the brewery, it was just me. Jolene and Crystal held down the fort and enjoyed the chilly weather in Moscow.

Okay off to Budapest. Almost literally a trip back in time. My flight left Moscow at 10:45 am and I arrived at 10:30 am. After a short ride to the hotel, a friend and I went to get some lunch and some restaurant called Makko Cafe and Restaurant . Here's a peak inside.

I had a great bowl of goulash and then some suckling pig with three types of potatoes mashed and fried into these little patty like things, it was all covered in sauteed onions and some light gravy. Yes I added a few pounds from this trip. Everywhere we ate the food was amazing.

I kept the bulk of the weight off I think from all of the walking we did. Budapest is a good sized city but you can walk around many of the historical districts. The metro system there isn't to bad. One thing I noticed is unlike Moscow where everyone gets on and off the cars at the exact same time, it is much more orderly in Budapest. People waiting to get on the train stand to the side of the doors to let everyone off then in an orderly way, everyone gets on. ... Just say'n...

So Ronald Reagan was an important figure to the Hungarians and they have a statue of him. It's funny that the statue to Reagan, thanking him for the support during the fall of the Soviet Union is right next to the monument commemorating the Soviet Army. Talk about mixed signals.

So there were many things to see in Budapest, oh and my training was pretty good too. There was only a dozen of us in class, half of which had flown in on Malev Airlines. Friday morning, the last day of training the hotel staff informed us that the airline had gone bankrupt and had cancelled all flights. Kinda glad I flew on the Russian carrier Aeroflot.

Well here are the rest of my Budapest pictures.

Thanks for reading!
Do svidaniya!

Our First Visitors

2012-01-12T06:03:00.001-06:00

Well we have had our first family visit, Jolene's sister Nickie and her husband Scott came and spent a week with us. We were able to hit the major touristy sites like Red Square, the Kremlin and the Armory. We also saw the changing of the guard at the WWII memorial, which was pretty cool...

Right before the changing of the guard a local woman went up to the Leningrad Marker and dusted off the snow.

Here they come down the path

Not sure why they cocked their heads, but it was a precision movement, if I had to guess it represents passing on orders or something. If anyone knows please comment and share.

and away the go . . .

We finished off at Izmaylovo where they were able to get all their souvenirs. Nickie actually came in under budget, which is a major accomplishment. The weather has been great too. For two coming from the Midwest, our mild Russian winter was nothing to them.

Now after a 4am drop off at the airport, I'm back awake and enjoying my day off. Crystal is back in school and Jolene went back to work today so it's just me and the cats hanging out. So I took this opportunity to upload a post and check in with those few that follow this blog.

So if any of you reading this would like to know something, see pics of anything in particular or want me to try to pick you up a souvenir, post a comment and we'll see what we can do. And if you want to come see it all for yourself, send me an email (link in the top right) and we'll get things rolling. Outside of family, we've got one daring lady getting set up to come this summer.

Playing in the Snow

2011-12-29T12:07:00.003-06:00

Ummm who grabbed the tree?

There's ice in that snow ball

Yeah the swing almost smacked us in the face

Ooops

He winds up...

Like dust... snow on a .... I got nothing

Nap time

Time to get up

Oooops

Thats better

You can't see me

Ahhh That's just cute

Exit stage left.

Ooops Crystal fell ... again.

Daddy Daughter Day

2011-12-24T09:39:00.000-06:00

So on Friday the 23, I took the day off and spent it with Crystal. We spent the morning touring the Red October Chocolate Factory. I had been once before with Jolene, but since Crystal didn't make it, I figured I would make the sacrifice and go again.

So we donned our lab coats, hair nets, and booty shoe covers and made our way up and around the plant. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed on the production floor. But we did taste some delicious chocolates freshly made. From dark 75% cocoa to to filled truffle like candies. So rich and yummy.

The tour starts in a welcome area where there are chocolate sculptures such as this 150 pounds of chocolate brown bear.

We also learned about the Russian ethnologist, Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov, who deciphered the Mayan hieroglyphs. Though many thought he was wrong, he was eventually proven correct. This was an interesting feat since he had never traveled to see the ruins.

And this is where chocolate comes from the Cocoa Tree, found in warm tropical climates. It's said that cocoa from the Central American area is the best in the world. Our lecturer also said that because the shrinking plantations, they believe the cost of cocoa will climb to be just as expensive as black caviar.

After getting a nice sugar buzz, Crystal and I decided to head to Red square and see how they decorated it for the holidays. We did a lot of walking but took the opportunity to stroll the Gum (pronounced "GUME") mall. I think Crystal really enjoyed that. Guess what she likes the best...

Yeah she's a shoe girl. We browsed some of the shops in the mall and took some pictures in Read Square. After that we walked back to the embassy to pick up mom, who worked all day. All and all it was a great time out with my Boo. Here are a few more pictures we too, and you can find all of them on our picasa web album. Just click on the picture of St. Basil's in the upper right corner.

New Look and Snow

2011-12-22T11:16:00.000-06:00

So first of all we've changed the theme for the blog. Let us know what you think. We wanted to get more color and brighten it up a bit. We also added AdSense. So if your so inclined go ahead and check out some of the adds. This will help offset some of the costs of hosting our own domain (wallsplace.com). Okay enough of the administrative stuff.

We've finally got snow! About 8 inches so far on the ground. It's going to be a White Christmas in Russia! And today was the Winter Solstice so the days are going to start getting longer from here so that's a bonus too!

Tomorrow Crystal and I are going to the Red October Chocolate factory to sample some wares and tour the production area. Then I think we'll head off and go get a light lunch somewhere, providing we don't completely spoil it.

Well that's enough for tonight...

Good Night and Merry Christmas!

False Start

2011-12-16T22:02:00.000-06:00

Okay a couple weeks ago, the skies were grey and snow was falling, everything was white with a light coating of snow. I though this was the beginning of those cold snowy Russian winters everyone teased me about when I told them we were going to Russia for two years. But we've lived in Iowa for the last eight years and in upstate New York for a few years before that. Cold snowy winters were nothing new to us. We made sure we had all our scarfs, gloves, snow pants, etc. We were ready as we could be. Jolene was waiting on a long coat, but that's another story... It really is beautiful here and when the virgin snow is on everything it's doubly so. We were told that they really didn't get big snow storms here but more of a constant accumulation of snow from day after day snow showers.

BUT what we got was snow showers at night and mid 30's during the day. So needless to say, the snow was there in the morning, but after work, it had melted away. And now the last two days have been nothing but rain. Needless to say the beauty of the white snow was replaced by grey/black water that makes all cars filthy and gets tracked in when you come home. Anyway, we're still waiting for winter to come. We are still officially in autumn so we'll see what winter actually brings.

As grey and dismal it is and the lack of sunlight can be a bit depressing, but it still is very awesome to experience this new land. I'm really looking forward to getting pictures of Red Square covered in snow. Hope I get the chance.

Let see, I started this blog talking about the trials and tribulations of applying to the Foreign Service. So I'm sure an update on work is long over due. Let see I love my job and my co-workers are pretty cool too. Now that we've been in country for just over 3 months you may wonder if I have any regrets. Well just one, I wish I did this 10 years ago! The work is challenging at times and there are some long hours. But working at the embassy is pretty cool. And to be in a country when historic event happen are kinda humbling. The election protests here are peaceful enough but to be so close to everything is awesome.

Well till next time. До свидания!

Starting to feel like Christmas

2011-12-10T23:43:00.001-06:00

Okay we spent Saturday getting all the decorations out and decorating our tree. I must say there is nothing like the smell of a fresh Christmas Tree. The whole living room smells so good. Just need some good baking smells coming from the kitchen and I'll be set!

A shorter tree this year, Crystal picked it out herself and I must say she did a great job. Jolene bought some glass ornaments at the glass factory she toured a few weeks ago. These are the gold ones here and there. She also found her grandmothers nativity and we got that all set up too.

Jolene has a nice little village collection here too. So I took a few pictures of that.

And finally, we have a couple shots out our back balcony. We got a little snow last night. These pictures were taken about 9:00am. Not quite a sunrise and the days are still getting shorter. But only for a couple more weeks.

More Tours

2011-12-07T11:12:00.001-06:00

Okay I've got a couple of tours to report on. On Thanksgiving day, Crystal had school, so Jolene and I took the opportunity to visit a chocolate factory. Here we got to see a bit about the history of chocolate, some chocolate works of art, and more importantly we got to visit the production area and sample warm chocolates right off the line.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in the production area, but needless to say it was pretty cool and the samples were Oh So Good!

So you can see we had to wear lab coats and hair nets and the nice yellow slippers over our shoes. Speaking of those yellow slippers, you find those all over the place here. They like to keep their floors clean so the have slippers you slip on over your shoes as you enter the building.

A sample of the chocolate sculptures around. You can see the rest of our pics from the tour here: ChocolateFactory Pics

The most recent tour we took was of a bunker Joseph Stalin had made in WWII. Here is a view from Google Maps. The stadium was only built to cover the fact that a bunker was being built. The bunker is about 1,000,000 square feet so a construction project that big requires a big cover story. The entrance to the bunker that we used was added after the bunker, well part of it was turned into a museum. Before this area was connected to the Kremlin through a 17km tunnel.

The architecture inside the bunker was really cool, and all of it was built by prisoners. Stalin didn't want his secret bunker known so he had prisoners build it and once the construction was done, work on the stadium stopped and the prisoners were sent to another project in some other part of the country.

From the center of the tables, the ceiling is arched similar to that of a satellite dish. The effect of this made the speaker in the middle much louder without the use of microphones. It also focused sound from around the table to the middle. Joseph Stalin was a very soft spoken man and wanted the acoustics to make himself sound louder and avoid the use of electronics.

Stalin's desk was simple, but he had 3 phones, one to call the Kremlin, one to call the Generals in the field and one his Aids could call him on. In the top left corner is a replica of his pipe. Stalin also smoke very heavily. After our tour of the bunker, we headed to an outdoor bazaar in Izmaylovo. Then a short 30 minute metro ride home. Here are the rest of our pictures.

Crystall Vodka Factory Tour

2011-11-20T00:56:00.000-06:00

This weekend, Jolene and I went on a tour of the Crystall Vodka factory. This factory has been in business since 1901. There is a small museum with lots of different glasses, bottles and other trinkets related to Vodka, its production and consumption :)

Inside this bottle is a devil, to remind you of the effects of drinking. There were several other bottles with objects in them. There was one with a rooster in it and another with a swan.

During WWII, the company was bombed by the Germans because of the production of Molotov Cocktails. The bomb was not a direct hit and the company continued to produce them. The dark bottle in the middle is an actual Molotov Cocktail produced in WWII, with the instructions printed on the label.

Below is the couch that Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov got the news that the government was taking over all vodka production, putting him out of business. The story goes that he had a heart attack and died upon receiving the news.

After the tour, we sat down and participated in a Vodka sampling. With the table spread with different kinds of snacks from pickled herring to salami. We sampled 10 different types of vodka and 3 different liqueurs. We finished our tour with a stop by the gift shop where we picked up a few bottles for ourselves. You can see the rest of the pictures at our online web album. https://picasaweb.google.com/mwalls88

Marine Ball

2011-11-10T02:19:00.000-06:00

Today marks the 236th anniversary of the US Marine Corps. Last weekend Jolene and I went to the ball here in Moscow. We had a great time. First of all Spaso House is just awesome. You can see the photo's we took at https://picasaweb.google.com/113369402327770116567/MarineBall2011#. It was nice to be able to finally wear my tuxedo. The ceremony was very nice. I'd like to thank all the fine service members out there, but especially the Marines on their birthday.

Staying in touch

2011-10-16T01:35:00.000-05:00

I gotta say it's great being able to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Last night I was able to Skype with my mom for an hour and a half. Video chat brings a bit more "closeness" than just talking on the phone. After that I was able to talk with my grandparents and aunt in California. Again it's so awesome to be able to stay in touch that way. I think it's good to use different mediums to keep in touch, but you have to find a balance. Right now we have this blog, Facebook, telephone, and Skype. Those are our main methods of keeping in touch with friends and family. Oh and now I'm using Picasa to post my pictures to the web. (By the way here is the link to my Web Albums https://picasaweb.google.com/mwalls88). I think I'll add it to the margin area to make it easier to get to.

So whats new? Tomorrow we should receive our HHE (House Hold Effects) This is all the crap... I mean our belongings we shipped here from Iowa. It's not everything, we put a lot in storage, but it is the rest of our stuff we planned on having here. It will be nice to have all our pots and pans and sheets and blankets and our Bed! We haven't been going without, the Embassy actually furnishes the houses and we have what's called a welcome kit. In the kit there is towels, sheets, dishes, pots and pans and a lot of the items you need. It's almost like all the belonging you had in your very first apartment, you have pots and pans, but the quality is not quite the same. So I get to take Monday off and show the movers where to put all the boxes, then we get to start the arduous process of unpacking. It's gonna be a little like Christmas, because I don't remember everything we shipped here. Once we figure out what we have we'll venture out to get what we forgot. I do know we need to get a TV, our old ones went to storage. Now we need to get a Multi-System TV that will work in the different parts of the world we could wind up in. Right now we are using a borrowed TV, but we watch most of the shows we like online.

Well enough chattering for now, I'll post some unboxing pix so you can share in the fun and excitement of unpacking.... I wish it was easier to convey sarcasm in writing.....

До свидания!

Finally getting out and about

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well, first off we finally have Internet access at home! Only a month long process to get all the I's crossed and the T's dotted... So now we have no excuse for slacking on the blog postings, unless we're just slacking. Lets see last week we took a tour of interesting sights within walking distance of the Embassy. Our tour guide was awesome and showed us a lot of great places and told us a lot about the local history and about famous Russians that lived in the area. Considering that the city of Moscow is over 700 years old, and I suck at history I'm not even going to try to recount the Who's and When. But I will just leave you with the photo's of the beautiful buildings, and oddities that we came across while trotting around. I will put a few pictures in the blog here, but the bulk (and I mean BULK) of the pictures are on our Picasa web album and I'll throw a link here at the end.

This is one of the Seven Sisters. There were supposed to be 8 but the last one has not even broken ground. This is Stalin era building, and the picture does not do it justice. The sheer size and detail of the building is amazing.

This is a shrine to Michael Jackson. There's even a Star in the sidewalk for him.

This is one of my favorite pictures and it's an example of, "If you don't like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk!" Many Moscovites didn't have cars 25 years ago. Driving was for the well to do and important. So the roads were not designed for the volume of traffic that exists today. And parking well the sidewalks are very wide so they've become the parking lot for many buildings.

The album has lots of pictures from this tour. We did tour a museum of some famous Russian, but I have not idea of who he was. The craftsmanship of the house is just awesome.
PICASA Album "Around the Embassy".

Well enjoy and we'll be writing soon.

Long Time No Update... Sorry....

2011-09-28T06:59:00.000-05:00

Well we are still working on getting Internet access at home so that is why. I do have a new Android phone that I can make a Hot Spot, so that's what I'm using now. Slower than I'd like but it does the trick. Now my phone is pay as you go, I pay 500 Rubles a month and I get 300 minutes talk time and unlimited data and SMS. Work is good and Jolene is liking her job. Crystal is doing good in school and has started playing soccer. We've taken some pictures and will get a few up here and there. The weather is getting cooler, leaves are changing and falling and winter is right around the corner. Lets see, cost of living is higher here but sometimes it's hard to see the difference when dealing with rubles. Bottle of soda might be 55 - 60 rubles and I've got 1100, 1200 rubles in my wallet so I get a soda and then I realize I just paid about $2 for a bottle of pop. Electronics are much higher, a 300 dollar flat screen could be as much as 700 here.

Well time to chat with friends... looks like one in the states and one in China are on right now...

In Moscow

2011-09-04T23:38:00.000-05:00

Well things are settling down a bit. We've been here for 4 days at the time I'm writing this. Not sure when I will get to post it. The flight was about 10 hours and the cats didn't like it a bit. They are flying as cargo next time, and in hard cases. Both the cats started chewing through their kenels. Let's see, next one of our suitcases was lost, after a brief chat with lost and found "suitcase not here." I handed the lady my baggage claim ticket and she breezed off. 5 minutes later she was back with the missing luggage. Yay! So, since it took sooo long to get our luggage, there was no line at customs and we were through customs like it wasn't even there.
The ride home on on the MKAD (freeway that circles Moscow) was like sitting in a parking lot. It took almost 2 hours to get to our new home. Our sponsor had stocked our fridge with odds and ends that we needed to make it through our fist few days and our social sponsors brought over some yummy chicken and rice for dinner.
My first couple of days at work have been good. Learning my duties and standard procedures and checking in. Jolene will be starting work soon too, so that will be nice. The cost of living is much higher here. Crystal is in school and I think she will be challenged this year. The cats are settling in too and making themselves at home.
Yesterday Crystal went out to a mall with a couple of her new friends from school and today we are heading off to get some groceries. Hopefully I can get this posted tomorrow when I go to the high school to get my parent ID.

Send Off From the States

2011-08-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

Well we've got about a week left before we head out to Moscow. But we are planning a get-to-gether with two classes after mine. So that will be a nice send off for us.

But wait there's more...

Today we had a 5.8 earthquake. Things shook a bit, it was a little nerve racking, it's been a very long time since my last quake, and this was the first for the wife and daughter. Since it's not a common event, the news has had LOTS of coverage of all the little pockets of damage in the area. So we are watching Harry Potter now :)

But wait there's more...

Now they are calling for huricaine Irene to move up the coast and give us a little wind and rain before we head out... Something is telling me it's gonna be long cold snowy winter.
Well guess I'll get back to Potter.... Dumbldore dies soon...

Adventure begins

2011-08-16T17:05:00.007-05:00

Let the adventure begin, we will start with Washington D.C. where Crystal and I got out to do some site seeing on the mall. We went to see the first lady ball gowns and the ruby red slippers. Very Cool! So I thought I would share a couple pictures with you. Now things start to get more busy for us as we prepare to leave in a couple weeks. The next time you see a posting we should be in Russia. We're getting really excited. I will let you know how it all goes. Take care till then.

No Longer the Other Side

2011-08-13T09:37:00.002-05:00

I am not longer on the other side; as Mike said we are all in the same location now. The movers came and got us all packed up. It was a bit challenging at times; the movers didn’t always know completely what they were supposed to be doing. When I say that they didn’t know they were to pack and load, so there was some miscommunication there. For furfure travelers it does help if you have your stuff somewhat sorted out. This goes international and this goes into storage. Even then you have to watch them and make sure it gets packed right. It helps to be available also so if they have questions you are right there to answer them. We did get all done. Once we get to the other end and receive our house hold goods I will let you know result. So now we (Crystal and I) are taking it easy for a while and really I think I deserve it. We are working to make sure all the little stuff is done before we leave soon. It’s been awhile since we’ve moved (too long for me). I like move frequently, then I get to see more. Hang in there we will keep you updated; time really does get away from us.

Time goes by fast...

2011-08-01T07:25:00.001-05:00

Time really does get away from you when you are at training... I've had a few requests asking what type of training I am actually doing. Well to be on the safe side, its mostly IT realated with a dash of other courses teaching the ins and outs of what I'll be doing at post. I'd say its kinda like college. It's not gonna teach you everything you need to know when you get a job, but you get a broad base and understanding of how things are done.

I know there is a new class starting in a couple of weeks if any readers are in that class feel free to drop me a line and I'll answer any questions you got.

So back to me and the family... Oh yeah the family is finally here! Since my last posting I have had my wife visit me here, I've flown home and had a nice going away BBQ (Thanks for everyone that came). We packed out our house and the family, as I said, has moved out here. I moved from my studio appartment to a larger one and my mom is out visiting for the weekend. This past weekend we did a whirl-wind tour of the Mall and some of the Smithsonian museums, lots of walking in the heat, so feeling kinda worn out now. I'm starting to look forward to the 10 hour flight to Moscow so I can get a good nap in.

Training is coming to an end only a few weeks left. I've applied for all our Visas for Russia. I've heard some horror stories about the time it takes for those to come back, some it the several months time frame. So hopefully we will be on the shorter end of a week or two.

Well class is about to start, better pay attention.

Do svidaniya!

Nice Break!

2011-07-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

Okay it's been a while since my last post. I seem to be saying that a lot lately, but I have a really good excuse this time. The wife has been out here for a while. It was really awesome to have her out here, but as busy as she's been, I think the break has been better for her. I cooked for her, grilled some awesome T bones one night... It was nice for her to meet some of the other geeks I work with. We made it out to a couple of happy hours and...
Jolene made it out to a few shops, and I think the picture says it all...

And we had a good time walking around Old Town, Alexandria...

And we found this guy playing crystal glasses...

But alas, she had to head home today. 4am cab to the airport but she left a little something behind to keep me company...

Awhile from the other side

2011-06-10T13:38:00.002-05:00

So it’s funny that my husband mentioned me in his blog, I was just thinking it has been awhile since you have heard from the other side. What Mike says is true, I didn’t know you could cram so much stuff in a day and still have time to sleep. Well usually that’s all I have time to do. I am still working and as he said doing all the running. I too have been working on my Russia some, it is a difficult language. I hear our daughter complain sometimes, but she keeps at it. What my husband left out was the paper work and planning that I been doing to get ready to go. I got all the documents submitted so now our daughter can go to school in the fall. I did apply for the passports. Just a word of advice if you are in this situation the area we live in Iowa, well they have never done diplomatic passports so they have no idea what to do. Make sure you allow for extra time at the passport office, it will not be a quick drop off. Also make sure you take all the documentation and then some. You never know when you might have to complete a new form. I have also begun my job hunt in Russia, working with the HR office in Moscow. I have to say Brandon has been very nice and helpful. Corse there is forms for everything; getting access to this and that. You learn to be patient. Now if I can just hang in there until my week off, when I go see my husband. SSSHHH! Don’t tell him I will sneak up on him. What I am doing this weekend is having a garage sale (a lot of work) and trying to clean a bunch of things out of the house that we don’t want, can’t take with us and/or don’t want to store. What a project that is huh? In between all the events and running are the appointments, doctor, dentist, vet. Everyone wants to see you before you go and make sure you’re well. I too have been a pin cushion and since I do not have shot record, well you can just imagine. Luckily for our daughter she had about all of her shots as a baby; she only needs a couple. Well I will continue to hang in there and work on collecting all things they tell you that you should bring with you. I know I will forget something it’s inevitable. Until next time and who knows when that will be, spare time is a limited supply. Oh P.S. You know I mentioned mowing the lawn before, well now I have a mowing fairy and he just shows up and mows, I come home to nice mowed lawn. And who says fairies aren’t real. Yeah me!

Another week down and a welcome to the 121st Specialist Class

2011-06-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

Well I'd like to welcome those new comers of the 121^st, especially the new IMers. It's funny to see you all having the same questions and apprehensions that we had coming in. Two more weeks of orientation and things will slow down for you. I promise.

Okay so on to what I've been up to. I've got three weeks of training down; I've learned more about the jobs of my trade, this week was telephones and PBX. The course was mostly an introductory concepts and now I know enough to be dangerous; next week a new course with a test on Friday. Tonight is poker night so I'll be giving my money away to someone I'm sure. This week I also applied for my diplomatic passport, so I should be getting that in a couple of weeks then it's time to apply for my Russian Visa. And, I suppose I should start scheduling my vaccines. They recommend a Rabies pre-exposure series, which is 3 shots. Should I get infected with rabies in Russia, then I will need one additional shot. With no pre-exposure series, if you get infected its 7 shots. I really wish I had my shot records from the army, oh well guess its pin cushion time for me. Let’s see I’m slowly working on my Russian using Rosetta stone. It is a little slow going because I am also studying for Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Administrator. I need to take two more exams to get my certification upgraded.

So, the wife hasn't been posting anything on here for a while, but that's because she's a lot busier than me. She's still taking care of the house, running Crystal around to gymnastics, working on getting the house sold or if need be working with the property management company to get it rented out, trading in our two cars for one more suited for Moscow. Oh yeah she got her and Crystals applications for passports submitted. And she has more than that going on, and she is still working full time. Basically, "She Rocks!

What would you do for an iPad2?

2011-06-04T06:58:00.000-05:00

Would you sell a kidney so you could buy an iPad and iPhone? This seventeen year old Chineese boy did. Me I'll stick to the old fassion way:
1. Get a job
2. Work
3. Get a pay check and then
4. Convince wife I "Need" one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13647438

This says it all

2011-05-30T08:07:00.001-05:00

Source NPR