23 February 2006

its still warm here. warm as in 1 degree C. but now its really messy, reminds me of winters in the carolinas (well not from what i heard this year), that i do not miss at all. cold and rainy is a lot more of a downer than colder and snowy. the only real difference in the temperatures is one layer of clothes. all the snow is about melted, but i dont think it is over yet. temps are suppose to start dropping here soon. i guess it doesn't really matter i am going to the crimea next weekend to hang out. it is in the middle of the black sea so it is a lot warmer, and wetter. so i bet you didn't think you would hear this but bring back the cold! can we skip from -10C to 20C! we are planning trips to romania and budapest, hungary, and also russia. russia is such a pain in the ass, you have to have so much documentation plus you have to pay everyone for it. under or over the table, its still paying one way or the other. but that is the way the "tax" system works here. noone pays taxes, therefore gov't people don't get paid, therefore they are really willing to take bribes. if someone ever gets caught, i have actually heard them state publicly that they need this money cause they don't get paid otherwise. besides the person that receives the bribes rarely get in trouble period. when everyone is doing it, it is okay right? just another social ethic that is different. brainspill end.

20 February 2006

this weekend we went to the river for plans to cross it and we got this. lyala stepped on the river and it all broke apart!so we are in a little thaw right now. it has been in the positive temps celsius for the past couple of days and is suppose to continue for a week. after that it may freeze again, and i might get my chance to cross the river.
here is another kinda cool pic of the ice.
on other notes. lyala got a deferral at yale for a year! this is really good for us, we can delay going to school for a year to get settled back in the states and raise the baby a little. we still haven't heard from duke on this subject. there is not much reply from duke about it and it is starting to make their program look bad.

i guess i need to start looking for a job in the states. i am going to look in both areas to see what is out there. if anyone reading this has any leads in the research triangle, NC or the New Haven, CT area, let me know!

18 February 2006

the writing of the blog has been stalled for the winter months a little. mostly for lack of material, but i figured i owed it to the readers, if there are any left after the long break, to write something and put up some pics.

here the snow has been on the ground ever since ashley left pretty much. today was our first day above freezing since that time too. it has been the coldest winter they have had here since 1978. it has been around -30C at night and -10C during the day. my southern ass has gotten used to it though, key: lots of cloths. plus it helps i stole a pair of wool lined pants from jim before i left! sorry jim it was not a conscious steal, either got mixed up or a blind case of cleptomania. hell, you don't need them for yall's winter anyways. tomorrow, we do have a day planned, it includes walking across the river! i will get back to you on that one. seeing how the weather is the way it is, we don't get out much, but if we do then we go and hangout on a frozen lake nearby and watch meeshka play or watch the kids play hockey or slide down the hills of ice.

wow look at her belly!(that's our niece paulina)
about lyala: she is doing real good, except for the constant begging me for sweets(we have had to ration them, doctors orders). we are going to one of the best doctors in the city, he is the guy that the other doctors go to. everything is healthy, but we still don't know the sex. but we have picked names for both genders. i will withhold them for copyright purposes, for when we do have that gender.

about me: work is going well, i am liking it. but not much to say there. civ iv came out so i am happy. the language is coming along. and that's about it. i am sure i will think of something to say as soon as i sign off. i call this "flying bird through dirty window"