Once again, not original. But worth looking at nonetheless. Some of them are actually awkward... others go above and beyond.
Here's to hoping my family never ends up on this illustrious list.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The People Have Spoken
BK,
The residents of the blogosphere have made their voices heard. Post the pictures that the citizens have demanded. I know you are going to Siberia soon. Post them before you loose contact with the rest of the world.
The consequences for not posting these pictures will be dire.
The residents of the blogosphere have made their voices heard. Post the pictures that the citizens have demanded. I know you are going to Siberia soon. Post them before you loose contact with the rest of the world.
The consequences for not posting these pictures will be dire.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A Dictation on Drunken Blogging in Russia
So Free-Ho requested more drunken blogging from the motherland, which frankly I'm all for, but there are a few issues that I have to get around. Here they are:
-Getting completely shitfaced. Many problems here. Now of course, your reaction is, "BK, you're in Russia, it's what they do there." Exactly. I have seen my fair share of people kung-fu fighting walls and passed out in doorways. However, I have also seen my fair share of fights, and heard more than enough stories about people getting mugged. Which makes wandering home hammered a bit less appealing. Another problem is the cost of alcohol in Moscow. In St. Petersburg it was cheap, because alcohol vendors make bank in Moscow. The cheapest you can get a cocktail in a bar is 7 bucks. And then you're probably getting a rum and coke. A beer, 5 bucks. And let's not even discuss wine. So why not just buy a bottle of vodka and drink it somewhere? Because we all live in homestays with old Russian ladies. Somehow I don't think, "hey I'm having 10 other American college kids over to get completely wasted and then wreak havok on Moscow" will work. And drinking liquor on the street is illegal. So it's either throw down 50 bucks to get hammered, or 20 bucks to get a semi-decent buzz.
-Getting to a computer. So, if I do get hammered, my thoughts are not on getting home to write on the blog, my thoughts are: "Club." The Metro closes at 1. I go to clubs at 12. The metro opens at 6. Drinks at clubs cost much more than at bars. So I usually get one at most. If I decide to leave early, I have to take a cab, which is for the most part sketch city, and one is advised to be fairly sober. So I either come home at 6 and go to bed, or around 3 after I've sobered up enough to say enough Russian to get myself home.
So that's the jist of it: drunken blogging will be difficult. But I will do my best to overcome these obstacles. So far, I think that the drunken blogging from Stadium has been quite sufficient.
-Getting completely shitfaced. Many problems here. Now of course, your reaction is, "BK, you're in Russia, it's what they do there." Exactly. I have seen my fair share of people kung-fu fighting walls and passed out in doorways. However, I have also seen my fair share of fights, and heard more than enough stories about people getting mugged. Which makes wandering home hammered a bit less appealing. Another problem is the cost of alcohol in Moscow. In St. Petersburg it was cheap, because alcohol vendors make bank in Moscow. The cheapest you can get a cocktail in a bar is 7 bucks. And then you're probably getting a rum and coke. A beer, 5 bucks. And let's not even discuss wine. So why not just buy a bottle of vodka and drink it somewhere? Because we all live in homestays with old Russian ladies. Somehow I don't think, "hey I'm having 10 other American college kids over to get completely wasted and then wreak havok on Moscow" will work. And drinking liquor on the street is illegal. So it's either throw down 50 bucks to get hammered, or 20 bucks to get a semi-decent buzz.
-Getting to a computer. So, if I do get hammered, my thoughts are not on getting home to write on the blog, my thoughts are: "Club." The Metro closes at 1. I go to clubs at 12. The metro opens at 6. Drinks at clubs cost much more than at bars. So I usually get one at most. If I decide to leave early, I have to take a cab, which is for the most part sketch city, and one is advised to be fairly sober. So I either come home at 6 and go to bed, or around 3 after I've sobered up enough to say enough Russian to get myself home.
So that's the jist of it: drunken blogging will be difficult. But I will do my best to overcome these obstacles. So far, I think that the drunken blogging from Stadium has been quite sufficient.
Monday, May 11, 2009
To Address Some Issues...
So first, I haven't posted on Petersburg yet. I'll keep it short.
I got drunk every night in Petersburg, except one. But I did drink every night. It was wonderful. I could buy a half liter of Smirnoff quality vodka for 3 bucks, and a bottle of decent wine for 5. Life was good. I also got to see many of the buildings that I've wanted to see since I was first learning about Russia in high school. Most importantly, this one:
This is the Church of Christ on Spilled Blood, and it was built on, you guessed it, spilled blood. But not just any spilled blood, no, that wouldn't be good enough for Jesus. You see, Jesus only accepts churches that are built on the blood of Tsars. Tsars that have been grenaded by anarchists. So when Tsar Alexander II was blown up by anarchists, his son Nicholas I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to build a church. And he did, even leaving the exact stones upon which Alexander II met his demise so that they could be seen by coming generations. So here they are:
I also got to wander around the Winter Palace, the largest palace in Europe, which is now occupied by the Hermitage, which is one of the best art museums in the world. It's got pieces by Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, and countless others. Also wandered around the Summer Palace (in which is the famous Amber Room) and Paul's Palace.
Saw just about every major monument in St. Petersburg. Also ate at Subway, which was actually quite different than in the US. It doesn't have real lettuce, the pepperonis are tiny, and it was just more Russian. Also ate at a Georgian restaurant (the country) and drank Russian wine, which was surprisingly good. Had a very busy but very pleasant weekend.
Saturday was Victory Day. Saw Russian tanks, ICBM launchers, SCUD missiles, etc., plus all of their latest copies of our aircraft (the AWACs was especially funny to see fly overhead).
We go to Siberia in a week. I can't believe I'm so close.
As to posting pics of my Russian friends, we'll see. First I have to take some.
I got drunk every night in Petersburg, except one. But I did drink every night. It was wonderful. I could buy a half liter of Smirnoff quality vodka for 3 bucks, and a bottle of decent wine for 5. Life was good. I also got to see many of the buildings that I've wanted to see since I was first learning about Russia in high school. Most importantly, this one:
This is the Church of Christ on Spilled Blood, and it was built on, you guessed it, spilled blood. But not just any spilled blood, no, that wouldn't be good enough for Jesus. You see, Jesus only accepts churches that are built on the blood of Tsars. Tsars that have been grenaded by anarchists. So when Tsar Alexander II was blown up by anarchists, his son Nicholas I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to build a church. And he did, even leaving the exact stones upon which Alexander II met his demise so that they could be seen by coming generations. So here they are:
I also got to wander around the Winter Palace, the largest palace in Europe, which is now occupied by the Hermitage, which is one of the best art museums in the world. It's got pieces by Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, and countless others. Also wandered around the Summer Palace (in which is the famous Amber Room) and Paul's Palace.
Saw just about every major monument in St. Petersburg. Also ate at Subway, which was actually quite different than in the US. It doesn't have real lettuce, the pepperonis are tiny, and it was just more Russian. Also ate at a Georgian restaurant (the country) and drank Russian wine, which was surprisingly good. Had a very busy but very pleasant weekend.
Saturday was Victory Day. Saw Russian tanks, ICBM launchers, SCUD missiles, etc., plus all of their latest copies of our aircraft (the AWACs was especially funny to see fly overhead).
We go to Siberia in a week. I can't believe I'm so close.
As to posting pics of my Russian friends, we'll see. First I have to take some.
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