If you look up Organizational Theory or Organizational Practice, I’m almost certain that you’ll not find an article or book written by a Russian. I don’t get how they beat us into space, because they simply can’t organize a one-car parade. Last night we decided to go to a concert at a large church near the apartment. It was to start at seven thirty and tickets were to be sold at the door. We got there at a bit before seven and tried to get into the main door of the church since the ticket sales were in the basement. They only had one little four-foot wide door open, even though the doors are huge and could be open to more than ten feet. The inside of the church was just packed since they did not open the other little doors into the church until seven fifteen. We had to fight, push and shimmy to get into the door and down the stairs. Once there getting tickets was a piece of cake. They only had tickets for about $18 each, which was fine, but they simply said we could side on the sides of the church and it was open seating.
By the time they opened the doors the best we could get were two seats in a pew that was at the side of and a little behind where the orchestra was to play. This meant that we had to sit sidesaddle to see the band. As we sat waiting for something to happen we noticed that all these people were walking around with folding chairs and just setting them up where ever they pleased. They tried to sit in front of the woman behind us who was having none of it and used language; well I’m almost sure about the language that should not have been used in church. I was proud of her since it worked and she sent them packing.
Finally the music started at five to eight and it was really well done, as you would expect from Russian musicians. They did a Bach piece with oboe and violin soloists and then they did the complete Four Seasons by Vivaldi. No intermission since they knew they would never get everyone seated again. It took almost as long to get out of the church as it did to play the Four Seasons. Again, they only opened one little door and that was it! By the time we got out of there it was nine fifteen and we were ready for a cocktail. I had made us a small salad and tomato surprise for dinner but we didn’t dare drink since toilets are not plentiful in churches in Russia. I think part of your penance is to hold it!
Cindy had a personal day today to catch up on appointments and things. Working ten-hour days makes it difficult to schedule personal things. We were actually able to sleep beyond five thirty, which made all day feel like a weekend. I caught her responding to emails from people at AAS who had written with questions and made her turn off the computer. By the time she was done with everything in the early afternoon, we still had time to walk to the Pushkin Museum where we had promised our granddaughter Emily that we would take a picture and go and see the Chagall paintings, BOTH of them! I somehow had thought that there would be a lot but it really didn’t matter because this is one magnificent museum. Most of the famous French artists are on display thanks to Sergei Shchukin who collected them in the early 1900s. After the revolution the state relieved him of his collection and it is now a part of the Pushkin Museum.
We spent a few hours at the museum and then headed over to the Kremlin to look at the flowers in the park and for a snack at GUM and then headed home. They had closed the Kremlin while we were in GUM, no reason given, so we had to find an alternative way out of that area. I suppose everything is in flux with the upcoming holidays. I pitied the poor tourists just arriving who were not allowed to enter Red Square. We had a nice walk home that was punctuated by a few showers, but nothing heavy. Now the sky is dark and the thunder is rumbling and we are so hoping for lots of rain tonight. I’m happy to be in for the night and able to have a quiet meal with Cindy, our first in several days. Of course I have no idea what we are going to have for dinner, but something will inspire me in the next few minutes.
Ciao, Cindy and Wm.
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