We had a rather typical Russian experience last night. Cindy’s consultant wanted to go and see the rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade, which was to start at six pm. Two of the other guests for dinner volunteered to take him to the viewing area, which was rather close to where we were going to have dinner. We met them there at about 6:45 and of course the rehearsal hadn’t started. We passed lots of irate drivers as we walked to the meeting area. They were stuck in traffic having either not heard that the major roads were to be blocked off for five hours during the rush hour or because the area was just in gridlock. Whatever the reason there were lots of horns blaring and no one was moving.
We waited for about thirty minutes, admiring the water trucks that were cleaning the street prior to the tanks and trucks coming, but that was the only sign of activity. Finally someone told us that it would not start until eight so we all agreed it would be best to go and eat and then come back for the show. We got to the restaurant and had a nice table that Cindy had reserved. We ordered some wine and looked at the menus and asked them is there was anything that they didn’t have tonight. The last time we ate there they were out of lots of menu items. We ordered three appetizers to share, a goat cheese and sundried tomato pizza, hummus and pita, and roasted eggplant, all of which was very good. The five of us then ordered our main courses. Ten minutes later the embarrassed waiter came back to inform us that four of the five dinners were not available tonight. Back to the menus, a bit of discussion before we ordered and then we waited. Mine came right away and since it was just a cold antipasto plate I was happy to wait. Next came another meal, not the right one of course. The guest had ordered the steak, but instead they brought her a cold plate of sliced beef and salad. She tried to tell them that it wasn’t what she ordered but they knew that and felt that beef was beef. The rest of the orders came out over the next ten to fifteen minutes and all we could do was just laugh it off.
Somewhere about twenty minutes into the meal, another AAS person came over to the table to say hi and told us she had just been to watch the rehearsal. It was only about 7:45 and it was over! So much for our after-dinner walk to watch it for ourselves. This all goes to show that things aren’t always as advertised in Moscow. We think we are going to a concert tonight at a nearby church; stay tuned for further announcements.
Now here is an idea from Kyrgyzstan as to why the US Congress hasn’t done anything positive in so many years. The joint is filled with ‘evil spirits’ and the Kyrgyz lawmakers know just what to do to correct this problem.
I’m pleased to say that the forsythia is finally out and the infusion of all that yellow is doing wonders for those that notice. I saw lots of tulips yesterday at the embassy and there were more today in some of the little pocket parks around the neighborhood. We certainly need rain and we need it soon, but the days are warm and bright and I’ll take whatever nature throws at me this spring. It is infinitely better than winter.
If someone were to say to me, ‘William, what’s the most interesting thing you did today?’ I wouldn’t have to hesitate for a moment. It certainly wasn’t the two loads of laundry, or the waiting until 2:30pm for a delivery that was to have happened at 11. Nope, I can say without fear of contradiction that it was the changing of the vacuum bag and filter! I had noticed that the vacuum cleaner was covered with dust, not a good sign for something that had a lot of use yesterday. I found that the filter was filthy and the bag full. Changing the bag was easy, but the filter was one of two stenciled onto the filter material and I had to cut along the lines. I’ve never been good at staying within boundaries so this took quite a bit of time and taxed my limited talent. However, it was the first time I’ve had to do that and anything that isn’t repetitious is most welcome. Don’t tell me I’ve nothing to do!
Peace, Love and Tie-Dye, Cindy and Wm.
No comments:
Post a Comment