Dom Sweet Dom

I have arrived!  It was a very, very pleasant flight, which I’ll talk about in a moment. Right now I’m very miffed with Mubarak.  He had promised me he would step down and the minute I get on the plane and I’m out of touch, he reneges! Same thing with Medvedev. First he tells me he isn’t going to mess around with the Time Zones or with Daylight Saving Time and again, the minute I get on the plane he reneges!  What’s with these so-called leaders? 

There are airlines and there is Singapore Airlines, period!  Their coach service rivals almost all of the Business Class services in the world.  What you don’t have is a lot of space, but the space you do have has been so thoughtfully designed to maximize your comfort to the point that you almost don’t notice. Each seat in coach has a ten-inch monitor, which offers 60 movies, 70 TV shows and tons of music, all ON DEMAND!  That means you start it and stop it at your convenience.  The seats are so comfortable that you swear you are in business.  When you recline the seat, it also moves forward, giving you a much more relaxed position to sleep. They even have footrests that have infinite adjustments so you can get it just the way you like it.  They even provide you with a big fluffy pillow, in a real linen pillowcase, as well as a big plush blanket so you can get really cozy at night.

When the doors were closed they came around and handed out piping hot towels, then toilet kits and then MENUS, yes, menus in coach.  I’ve attached them since they are so interesting.  They specifically ordered this 777 so that it had two additional toilets in coach, which cut down on the galley space but the flight attendants told me that that had been redesigned also and was very efficient.  Each bathroom is constantly cleaned and restocked with hand and face cream, cologne, after-shave, combs, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream and female hygiene products.  The mirrors have those little lights around them so that you can actually see your face.

When we reached cruising altitude almost everyone was already watching a movie as the flight attendants came by with a cocktail service.  When they were finished with that, they came around and asked if anyone wanted another drink.  Incidentally, all the alcohol is complimentary, unlike all the other carriers now.  I could go on and on but you get the point. These are well-trained people who seem to love what they do.  It is an airline that respects everyone who travels with them, in whatever class of service, and provides a superior product.  Someone asked why I flew all the way to Houston just to fly with Singapore Air; now you know.  Besides that, even with the flight to Houston and the overnight, it was still cheaper to fly Singapore than it would have been to fly United from Dulles, and I can assure you the experience on United would not have been as enjoyable.

Okay, I’m tired and need to clean up for dinner so I’ll end this, happy to be home with my darling Cindy and looking forward to a lovely weekend. Hope you have a good one also.  Ciao, William

Not Bad for Coach

On Leaving America

On Departing America

I’ll be boarding a Singapore Airline flight from Houston to Moscow in a matter of hours, but wanted to get a few impressions on the record.  My eleven days here have been filled with lots of lovely experiences and a few not so pleasant. 

I was home for just a day before I had to leave for a series of meetings in Greensboro, NC.  I had rented a car when I landed since I had decided to drive to Greensboro, partially because it was just too expensive to fly, but mostly because I love to drive and thought this would be a wonderful trip.  I was correct!  I drove down the spine of Virginia on beautiful 81.  I have been on 81 before in the early spring and it was just spectacular, but even in the dead of winter it is a lovely road.  The trip took about five hours and from the minute I arrived at the hotel until the moment I departed, I was constantly bathed in the warm waters of southern hospitality. 

We have all been exposed to ‘faked’ hospitality, like Disney, or grand hotels, but what I experienced was genuine and heartfelt.  It didn’t matter whether they worked for the lovely hotel or for the Quick Stop gas station, everyone was courteous, smiling and soft spoken.  Their greetings were sincere and when they invite you to come back again, they mean it.

In addition to my meetings, I had the great pleasure of dining twice with friends of my host in Greensboro.  Goodness was it fun to be around adults who speak English and have lots of varied interests.  I realized that for most of my time in Moscow, I’m alone, or at best, with young teachers, who while committed and intelligent, have not yet had the life experiences to be as totally interesting as my dinner companions.  It was an unexpected and very much valued part of my trip.

Upon my return to West Virginia I had three days to play, cook, talk and laugh with the family.  Colin and Meagan will soon be heading to New Zealand for a two to three year assignment, so we had a grand time looking at maps, reading about adventure travels, and sorting out all the little things that have to be done before they depart.  Colin and I continued our cooking experiences by preparing fancy dinners and informal lunches.  We watched the Super Bowl with the WV grandkids after cooking up a Super Bowl dinner.  I couldn’t believe how long the spectacle was, especially with that silly half-time show.  By the time it was over, I was exhausted and fell fast asleep until eight the next morning.

I stupidly lost my drivers license on my United flight from Paris.  The plane was a 777 and it only had about 70 people in coach, which meant that there were lots of empty rows of five seats.  I took a three-hour nap in one of those rows and all of my credit cards fell out of my pocket as I moved around trying to get comfortable.  I thought I had picked them all up but obviously I missed the driver’s license.  This meant that I had to drive to the local DMV, which is about fifteen minutes away.  I was dreading the process, but really needed to get my license replaced.  Much to my joy and amazement, the entire process took only about twelve minutes, most of which was spend filling out a short form and waiting for my new license to be laminated.  Everyone there was so friendly and professional and I remembered why I have always enjoyed living in small towns.  Incidentally, the three ladies behind the counter all agreed that the Black Eye Peas were silly.

The dark side of my trip involved what is jokingly called commercial aviation.  I had to fly from Dulles to Houston to pick up my flight to Moscow.  Since it was a one-way trip, I was condemned to a connection in Charlotte, NC.  A non-stop flight on Continental would have cost more than eight hundred dollars, while a connecting flight on US Air was only two hundred.  I had no problem with the service on US Air, they were on time, and safe, which is all you really need.  My problem was with my fellow passengers, all of whom seem to have gotten very, very large.  I read about Michelle Obama’s efforts to fight obesity, about the FDA trying to get folks to eat better, but judging from my experience on just two flights yesterday, these appeals are falling on deaf ears. 

My Fellow Traveler Catching a Nap

The first flight was on one of those Regional Jets, which means small and packed.  It was just a one-hour flight to Charlotte and yet more than half of the people who boarded the flight were carrying enough calories to go transatlantic.  I can assure you that the sights, smells and sounds of these folks consuming their food at nine am was nothing short of disgusting.  I don’t know how they were able to finish everything within the hour.  I had a very long layover, more than four hours, so I had ample time to walk the airport and view the ample bodies of my fellow travelers.  The old joke about how people who used to take the bus now take the airplane has never been truer, but now it is more like the people who used to clean the bathrooms at the bus stations are taking flights.  No more dressing well to fly and certainly bathing has become optional.  It is just depressing.  The last leg of the trip was a three-hour journey on a fully packed 737.  If you have ever been on a bus where they have flip up seats that can be lowered into the aisle when they need more seats, you will understand how I felt when I got up to go to the back of the plane to use the toilet.  I was in row seven (I had to pay $25 for an aisle seat) and when I turned to go back I thought they had these flip up seats since it looked like the aisle was completely filled.  There were no flip up seats, it was just people spilling out of their narrow seats.  Feet were in the aisle, shoulders, and ham hock arms flowing into the free space like so much molten lava taking the path of least resistance.  I had to walk sideways like a crab in order to get to the rear of the plane. 

Getting off of that flight was like getting out of prison and I reveled in the space and relative fresh air.  Since I’m traveling with far too much luggage, I had to check it and it took one hour for the bags to get from the plane to the baggage area.  Wouldn’t you think that when they charge you $25 to check the first bag and $50 for the second, they would be able to get you your bags in record time?  Houston was experiencing record cold and standing outside in the raw wind waiting twenty minutes for the hotel shuttle prepared me for my return to Moscow.

So, I’m off and excited to get back to Cindy and to Moscow.  With luck the Moscow Musings will be start to flow by Saturday.

Best wishes to all, William

Flying High

Monday, January 31, 2011

I’m sitting in the Scandinavian lounge in Arlanda, Stockholm’s airport.  It is a very beautiful place filled with lots of wood, Scandinavian design, of course and very friendly staff. How often do you get to go to an airline lounge that has a fireplace and burning candles on the mantle??

As I feared, security at the Moscow airport was very, very tight.  It took almost eighty minutes to get from the front door of the airport to clearing the final security, customs check.  Normally it takes about twenty.  Everyone gets patted down, even if you don’t set off any alarms.  In keeping with the old classless society, women pat down men as well as women.  Closest thing I’ve come to a massage in years.  I am carrying all my luggage so as not to have to deal with waiting for checked baggage, but my oh my do they do a serious exam of your stuff.  Luckily I’m a very neat packer and didn’t bring anything that would arouse suspicion, like the five music students who were carrying their instruments.  I thought we might get a bit of a quintet but they didn’t make them play.

All of the elementary and middle schools in Moscow are closed for the week, so what do parents do with the kids?  They take them on vacation!  The airport was jammed with families who decided to take vacations since there was no school.  They should have renamed the airport H1N1 what with all the kids coughing and hacking all over everything.  All of the personnel in the passport area were wearing masks.  Makes you feel really wonderful.

What do you get on a plane going from Moscow to Sweden?  You get a planeload of drunks who you can’t understand!  As I was walking around the gate area I saw about fifteen twenty somethings sharing a big bottle of water.  I thought it a bit strange but figured they were on a budget, especially the way they were dressed.  When I went into the bathroom, it all became quite clear.  The wastebasket was filled with discarded duty free bags and empty liters of vodka.  They had obviously transferred the vodka to the water bottles and were killing three liters among them.  The Russians meanwhile had more money and were a bit older and they were drinking at long tables in the bar, at least those that weren’t in the smoking cage were drinking.  I was condemned to the back of the bus and was right in the middle of these two groups of drunks, what a lovely flight!  Fortunately they were all asleep within an hour of taking off.  However we were delayed an hour for deicing and the flight attendants had their hands filled trying to keep these guys in their seats.  They finally figured out what they were doing and confiscated their ‘water’.  Adds new meaning to the term Flying High.

I’ve told you before that Russians are made of sterner stuff.  While thousands of international tourist scramble to try and get out of Egypt, 30,000 Russians tourist are refusing to leave.  Ya gotta love ‘um.

Only three more hours of waiting before my next flight.  Time to take a walk. 

Best wishes, Wm

Dashing Through The Snow

It has snowed all day and it is being whipped around by the strong wind. We took a walk this morning and Cindy convinced me to wear those Stabilicers that we got from LL Bean. Man, what a difference. I walked with confidence the entire way and made sure we took the most treacherous route, all without incident.  (From CC: in case you’re worried, I have my own pair and have been wearing them all along.  They are marvelous.)

Most of the day has been spent doing laundry so that Cindy will have clean sheets while I’m gone and I’ll have clean clothes to wear on the trip. I’m all packed, mostly bringing things home that we no longer need here, as well as bringing some of Cindy’s clothes home to be dry cleaned.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but one pair of slacks cost $20 to dry clean and a skirt and jacket cost the same as the gross national product of Peru. 

We went to a party last night to celebrate the wedding of two of the teachers at AAS. They threw the party and it was a good one. Lots of great food, the best of which was pulled BBQ pork that was just out of this world.  I continue to be impressed with the intellect and commitment of these young teachers. Even at the party I heard bits and pieces of conversations as to how they could improve their teaching and curriculum.

I tried to get my boarding pass online but that is no longer allowed in Moscow, a direct result of the bombing incident I’m sure.  So, I’ll have to go and get in the long lines tomorrow to clear the first hurdles to flight.  Also just found out that even though I’m ticketed on SAS, which is a Star Alliance carrier, it is a code-shared flight on Aeroflot, which is Sky Team.  Oh JOY, Aeroflot; I just don’t get it.

I gave all the plants big gulps of warm water today and it smelled just like springtime in the garden.  Just what I needed while looking at the frozen tundra.  All of the plants have thrived since I salvaged them from the garbage when we moved here in August.  They were a sorry looking bunch, but I felt that they looked so bad due to lack of water so I’ve nursed them back to health and now surround myself in my office with green.

Everyone is rather jumpy in Moscow so now even crank calls about bombs are treated as the real thing triggering the shut down of airports and malls.  Yesterday four large malls were closed because of bomb threats.

What started as a grass roots movement to depose a despised ruler has now turned to chaos in Egypt. Mobs are looting stores, robbing people in the street, freeing hundreds of Muslim militants from jails and thousands of other inmates all across the country.  It is sad to see this turn of events, which of course will give perfect cover to Mubarak to instruct his military to turn up the pressure.  We talked with several people last night who have booked trips to Egypt for the April vacation and they don’t know what to do now. Most embassies, including the USA, have begun the systematic evacuation of non-essential personnel and the airports are clogged with anxious tourists from all over the world wanting to get out as fast as possible. It is all too, too sad.

In all likelihood, I’ll not be doing a daily blog for the next several weeks since I’ll be out of Moscow. I’m sure things will crop up that I think need my attention and analysis and if so, you might receive an email. Otherwise, it will be up to Cindy to discuss Moscow, if her schedule and energy allow.

Ciao, Cindy and Wm

What's Going On? (sorry Marvin)

It has been a lovely, quiet and restful Saturday. We were able to actually sleep in until about 8:15, a record for Cindy.  We took a nice wake-up walk around the neighborhood and ended up at our local café for a macchiato.  We are now able to say a lot more in Russian to our favorite barista and he made us excellent coffee as usual.  We had to wait around for the groceries to be delivered from the Liberty Store and used that time to catch up on housework and emails.

Moscow is a-buzz with the publication of the photo of the suspected ringleader involved with the bombing of Domodedovo.  He is believed to have been based in Stravropol, a Black Sea city much closer to Turkey than Moscow that is a stronghold of radical Islamists.  The paper has begun to detail the new security measures that are to be but in place immediately, and it will involve delays, delays and more delays.  There will be metal screening, baggage screening, profiling and dogs, and this is all before you get into the airport proper.  Can’t wait until Monday!

As I suspected and told you on Tuesday, it has not been confirmed that international passengers were the targets for the bomb attack.  The terrorists, in addition to trying to keep foreigners away from the Olympics and World Cup, are trying to discourage foreign investment in Russia as a way of impacting economic growth here. 

In further discouraging news, Moscow has shut down all of its 1,500 elementary schools due to the H1N1 flu.  That means that 500,000 kids have nowhere to go for the next week. Glad I’m leaving!

Here is the good news, it appears that text messaging can have a positive effect as this article discusses.  A woman was set to blow herself up along with hundreds of others gathers in Red Square for New Year’s celebration.  It is reported that an SMS from her mobile provider wishing her a happy new year triggered the bomb and she was the only one killed.  Keen planning. 

Forget what I said in paragraph two about the identity of the bomber.  Now they say it was a 20 year old from the North Caucasus.  This is such a volatile situation and rumors run rampant, especially when they are published in the Moscow newspapers, as well as at BBC. Com, as fact!

It is a good thing that most of the Middle East is all desert; this enables the tyrannical leaders of the various countries there to dip their collective heads deep into the sand.  The Saudi King labeled the demonstrators as infiltrators! His exact words were, “No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt, to destabilize its security and stability and they have been exploited to spew out their hatred in destruction, intimidation, burning, looting and inciting a malicious sedition.”  How in the world can you portray 10, 000 local citizens coming together against overwhelming armed resistance as infiltrators? Things will be all right however because his highness Mubarak says that the situation is stable.  I guess he doesn’t get BBC.

Well the groceries didn’t get here until four this afternoon, which meant we were condemned to staying in the apartment. Not that we had any pressing plans but it would have been nice to take a long walk since the weather has been quite pleasant. We did go out for a quick walk just as it was getting dark to grab a few things from the local grocery store. Just my luck, they were having a cat fair and the place was filled with people leaving with their cats in carriers. I’m still breathing with difficulty.

I invented a new salad dressing last night. I call it Six Tablespoons because you take one tablespoon each of mayo, olive oil, balsamic, sweet relish, Jamaica Jerk sauce and whole grain mustard.  Mix it all together with some fresh black pepper and you have a really different and lively dressing.  I threw in two chopped tomatoes, a shredded carrot and some old brown bread that was cubed, stirred it up and let it sit for about an hour before tossing with fresh spinach. It was very, very good.

From CC: I can vouch for the deliciousness of Wm’s new dressing.  He made me guess the ingredients but it wasn’t fair because even he doesn’t know what’s in Jamaican Jerk sauce.  I was right on the rest of the ingredients and then guessed curry and cinnamon, either of which could be in the jerk sauce (and since curry can be a mix of up to 40 spices, who can tell?).

Best to all, Cindy and Wm.

Plodding, Planning and Published

Since they aren’t scheduled to deliver the groceries until tomorrow, I took a long walk to the embassy and got some more bulky stuff, like TP, olive oil and more wine.  It was a rather cold and grey walk but it felt good to get off the sidewalks and into the little parks that I know along the way, where I felt much more comfortable walking.

Poor Cindy has another full day of Strategic Planning.  They have a committee of thirty people that is supposed to come up with a new Mission and Vision statement as well as a Strategic Plan. I can’t imagine trying to do that with a group of thirty!  With luck they’ll be done by four and Cindy can take the early bus home so we can get a jump on the weekend.

We had the lasagna and sauce for dinner last night and I swear it got a whole lot better.  We started with a carrot and arugula salad, which hit the spot.  The night before I made Tuna Teriyaki and served it with big wok full of fried rice.  I first made a few cups of turmeric-flavored rice, which I love to do not only for the flavor but also the great yellow color.  I then cut up onion, garlic, red pepper, mushrooms, parsley and green onions and arranged them on a big platter and covered them with plastic wrap.  About fifteen minutes before we wanted to eat I started heating the wok that had about a quarter cup of peanut oil in it.  I also started to heat the griddle that I was to use for the tuna steaks.  Once the wok was hot I added the onions first, stirred them around for a bit and then in went the rest of the vegetables. Just before they were ready, I placed the two tuna steaks on the griddle and let them brown on both sides.  I added the rice to the wok and stirred everything around until the rice was very hot.  I then added one egg to the rice and mixed everything up until the egg was cooked and I turned off the wok and covered it.  I added a bit of teriyaki sauce to the tuna and the juice of a half of lemon and let that sit for a few minutes while I plated the rice. I added the tuna steaks and drizzled them with the pan juices and served it to a most appreciative dinner companion. 

For as many years as he has been publishing it, I’ve been reading it. In plain fact, anyone who travels often should be reading it.  The ‘it’ is Joe Sent Me, a weekly online publication for people who travel put together by Joe Brancatelli, who knows his business.  In today’s edition there is a little piece by a member based in Moscow.  It might look familiar to you: http://joe.biztravelife.com/joe.html

The TSA has announced that it will be doing away with the color coded threat levels since they really didn’t provide that much specific information. Today the Russian government announced that they would soon begin to color code the threat levels!

Enjoy the weekend, I know we shall.  Cindy and Wm

Mindless Housekeeping

Today was filled with so much excitement that there were times when I feared my heart would not be able to take the unbridled joy of the moment.  I had to sit home all morning and most of the afternoon waiting for a delivery of groceries that I had purchased at the commissary.  I wanted to stock up so that Cindy wouldn’t have to worry about shopping and there was far too much for me to carry so I arranged with the boys to have it delivered.  They were supposed to come between 10:30 and noon and they were to call before they departed. Neither of those things happened and so I was condemned by my own weakness to sit and wait.

Having completed all of my reading of the news, my emails and my writing, I cast about for meaningful opportunities to better the apartment.  It is amazing how much you can find to do it you really look long and hard.  First came the showerhead, which has literally been flying off the handle if too much water pressure is applied.  I think I’ve fixed it but we can only be sure when Cindy uses it next since she likes lots of pressure, at least from the shower. 

Next came the most fun.  We have a humidifier in the bedroom to try and keep some moisture in the room when we are sleeping. We also have a fan that is used to move the hot air from the radiator to the cold spots in the room.  I took a close look at both and realized that the blades on the fan and the fan on the humidifier were both filled with thick dust. I broke apart all the pieces and took them to the shower for deep cleaning. While doing that I decided to clean the big wick unit in the humidifier as well.  This occupied a stunning thirty-five minutes of wet labor, but everything is ship shape and in Bristol fashion.

The blame game is in full swing here in Moscow and both Medvedev and Putin via for the position of ‘guy most in charge’.  People have been fired, agencies dismantled and theories laid out and then withdrawn. The latest is that this was an effort by Islamic terrorists to destroy foreign investment in Russia.  This is the third attempt to try to focus on reasons and groups, but thus far real answers are just blowing in the wind.

Okay, what did I tell you about flat roof in Russia?

Grocery Update: After sitting around until 1:30 I was getting stir crazy, especially since the sun was shining. I called the Liberty Store and after a few transfers finally got though to Ismail, my friend and the boss man.  He knew who I was but couldn’t find my order anywhere.  “There is no order for William” he said. I told him to look for Emmans and sure enough there it was.  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I would have delivered that to you yesterday but I didn’t know who Emmans was. I don’t have another driver until Saturday, but I’ll make sure he comes to you early!”  They write the names on the delivery the way it comes up on the computer and when they scan my card it comes up Emmans since she is the sponsor and I’m the attachment. And so it goes.

When I finally got outside I decided it would be good to have some serious exercise so I borrowed one of the green guy’s shovel and dug out Cindy’s car.  I haven’t shoveled snow in quite a while and I remember now that I never liked it. At least for the time being Cindy’s car is clean and ready to roll, and by morning I’ll have new muscle aches to take my mind off my shoulder and knees.

Ciao, Cindy and Wm