Monday, August 30, 2010

Happy Birthday Megan!!

We woke up very early this morning to some strange loud high-pitched chirping noises which we identified as the CO sensor indicating dead batteries; oh joy.  So we got up and noticed with some alarm and shivering that it was 44 degrees outside.  I felt like I should check the calendar again to make sure it was still August! We are told that nothing this summer has been normal and we can certainly accept the fact that August has been a month of extremes. A sixty-degree differential from high to low in one summer month seems a bit excessive.  When we were packing to come here we never in a million years thought we would need to have raincoats and sweaters in August.

Today is the big moving day, if it all goes as scheduled. We are looking forward to several hours of trying to figure out where to put things. This apartment is smaller than we remembered as we were packing up in WV and we already suspect that our two small closets will not be able to handle the clothes we sent on hangers.  Time will tell and we can always improvise if necessary.

I certainly hope that last night was the last night I had to improvise in the kitchen.  I knew we would not be up for cooking tonight or tomorrow since everything will be in chaos for a few days, so I decided to cook a few meals ahead that we can eat cold.  I had purchased a big chicken on Saturday, along with a package of fresh chicken livers.  I jury rigged a roasting pan out of heavy-duty foil on a cookie sheet and cut up the chicken and coated half with BBQ sauce and the other with Jamaican Jerk sauce.  I then arranged the all the livers on the same pan and coated them with the same ratio of sauces.  While they were cooking I cut up some onions, carrots and potatoes and started to slow cook them in the frying pan.  Once the livers were done, I removed them to a plate and rearranged the chicken to give each piece more room to cook.  We each had a piece of chicken, a couple of livers, and the caramelized veggies, with a fresh tomato as a token to salad. The rest I have ready to use as necessary for the next two days.  I’m planning on making a nice pâté out of the livers, if I can find a bowl big enough to make the pâté.

I think I’ve mentioned how I’ve used many of the empty six-liter water jugs. I cut them into various sizes and some have become ice cube storage devices, others are used for watering plants and today I cut one to use to pre-soak whites in hot water and bleach before tossing them into the washing machine.  Works like a charm and I’m sure my whites will be whiter than white! It being a Monday I’ve got lots of laundry to do and we want to have everything done and organized before the shipment comes later this afternoon.

When I’m in WV and I need to go to the store, I simply put some money in one pocket and a credit card and driver’s license in the other and I’m off to shop.  Living in Moscow as an expat requires that you carry a bit more than you would need in WV.  Here is a photo of the basic minimum that you need to have with you at all times.  As Karl Malden used to say, “Don’t Leave Home Without Them”

Tools of the Trade

Starting at the twelve o’clock position is the document case, which contains all the numbers you need in an emergency, a phrase card to help you communicate, directions in Russian and English to get to the school and to your apartment, medical emergency information, addresses and numbers, Metro signs and information translated into English, and a Metro Map.  All thoughtfully provided by AAS.  Next is a change purse since Russians love it if you have exact change for purchases. Everyone is very patient as someone counts out endless coins. Below that is the most important card we have and it is called a Kartochka.  It must be carried at all times and it identifies you as a diplomat with the USA Mission in Moscow. It is basically your get out of jail free card. You can use it to go through the diplomatic line at immigration in Russia, if they ask you to open your luggage you show them the card and they wave you though, if you are stopped in your car, you show them the card and off you go.  Clearly something you want to keep safe!

Below that is a WV driver’s license that you need to carry along with your international driver’s permit, which is kept in the car. Next is a medical card, just in case.  Below that is a card that has a chip in it that allows you to get in and out of the apartment complex gate. Credit cards are used by some of the larger stores but they are mostly used at ATMs to get rubles or dollars.  Above that is the Metro Pass; always have to have one of those with you. To the left are car keys, keys to the house and the black thing is a chip that opens the door to our apartment unit.  Above that is cash, rubles and dollars for use in stores or at the embassy. Next to that are the ID cards that get us into the Embassy and allow us to use the shops.  They scan the orange one with every purchase to make sure we are eligible. A pen is handy to write down stuff like directions, or to draw something that you can’t say. The cell phone is a lifesaver and I always carry it here, something I don’t do in the USA.  Kleenex, because my mother always said I should have Kleenex and a handkerchief. 

I sent all of my shoulder bags in the shipment so I’ll be happy to have them here to replace the cheap little bag I’ve been stuffing with all of the above. It will make organizing everything ever so much easier. (Cindy has to carry even more stuff for access to classrooms, offices and parking at AAS.)

We rearranged some of the bedroom furniture yesterday and last night we noticed that the headboard kept banging against the wall; NO not because of that - we were just reading - but every time we moved in bed the headboard would smack the wall.  I was up in a jiffy and came back with duct tape and a piece of Styrofoam from an appliance we unpacked and in minutes had the situation under control.  Praise the inventors of duct tape!

We luckily didn’t hear much about Glenn Becks little ego rally in DC but I did note with amusement that Fox continues to be Fair and Unbalanced:

Park Service officials have stopped giving crowd counts after previous controversies. But an estimate commissioned by CBS News, using aerial photography, put attendance at between 78,000 and 96,000. ABC News reported more than 100,000, while Fox – and Beck -- estimated it at above half a million.

Imagine that CBS and ABC can almost agree on the number of people at the rally and then for them to realize that they were 400,000 short. Certainly Fox would have had no reason to inflate their numbers yet again. Does anyone know what King’s niece and Sarah P got for appearing at the rally??

From CC: Today was the open house for all parents and students, not just the new families, so the school was jumping.  I mostly stayed out of the way of the families and spent my time helping teachers with technology, some of whom spot me in the hall or email me to ask for advice or help (sometimes I don’t have a clue but at least I know how to find the right person).  That presentation had a down side – everyone knows who I am now!  I also had an hour-long meeting with my Titans of Technology, as Wm calls my Russian tech team members.  They are warming up to me but they remain wary of everything I say to them and probably will stay that way for quite some time. I’m trying not to rock the boat and let them keep most of their routines, but I’m going to have to put my foot down and change the way they respond to support calls so that they are more specific to the problem (not just a general “we got your message”).  All in all it was a very good day. 

Ciao for now,  Cindy and Wm