we are back from the carpathians and it was awesome! lyala and i (the other two went back after the first day, "they had something come up") hiked across ukraine's tallest ridge. we actually ended up doing 4 days of hiking and three nights camping. the first day we left from the village where we stayed to a 'base camp'. it was really a farming community that you could rent a place to stay. we hiked up about 2km and about 600m in elevation. pretty steep hike. we made it that night to a shepherds house, which is where we slept. it was pretty cool, it had a fire
pit inside the house. the next morning we got up and saw this. (pics taken by Bone)




the clouds all in the valley. so we started out that day heading to black mountain, 8km away. we stopped to have lunch at dzembronya, another mountain top.


this is where Bone and Ala headed back, so we have no more pictures until we get ours developed. it should be in a couple of days. so i will wait to tell the rest of the story then. it is very interesting.

besides to the trip, i have found some work. i am starting to work with cooperativeresearch.org
it is a very interesting website and job so far. i just started but i am doing some research on some newer 'technology' that is out there. very interesting to me.

well i will post the rest of the trip and more pictures very soon. stayed tuned!

today we got lyala's applications sent off to yale and duke! she has been working on them, including the 3 essays she had to write for each, for over a month now. this weekend we are going backpacking for three days in the carpathian mountains. i am leading a trip of three newbies. should be fun, i hope they can hack it. we might hike up a 2 kilometer high mountain if the weather is good! i have been getting gear together for days now, i cant wait! here's a picture of the newbies(lyala, ola, and sergey):


well it is officially fall here, as far as the weather goes. we are in a drought, which is uncommon for this area from what i hear, but it is getting pretty cold at night, like down to around 5C.

lyala's birthday is also coming up soon. oct 16 and she will be a quarter of a century. we are thinking of having a halloween party here, in the US fashion, since they don't really celebrate it here.

i am planning to start an artsey picture blog, for my art fag/faghag friends to critique what i think is my stab at art. but this is not it, just some random pics.
this is kiev's "golden gate" it is a reproduction built on original pieces of the 10th century gate to the city. it has been under renovation for about a decade now, you know government work.

some ukrainian wh-- er -- women