Sick alert

No one who knows me would be the slightest bit surprised to learn that I have succumbed to whatever the twins had. I fought bravely, but tonight the oral thermometer showed 37.6C and that was it: I'm officially sick. I have the worst luck ever. Whenever anyone walks past me with a little bit of something respiratory, I end up sick. I've had years where I've had pneumonia two or three times in a season. My internist once told me that she suspects there is some defect in my immune system, that one day when we have presto DNA tests, would show up as some freakish mutation. In the meantime, pass the Kleenex and the Vicks Vap-O-Rub. But wait. I'm in Russia. Scratch that. I'll end up loading up on ibuprofen, sudafed and taking the metro down to Shuka mall to plead my case at the local apetka. "Ya gavaru panglisky. Ya Amerikanka. Minye bilayet kashlya. Oo vast yest soorup kashlya?" If they don't get my bad Russian, I will cough. Very loud. I am spending the night sitting up on the couch (it helps breathing). I'll go to the European Medical Center office tomorrow to plead for some kind of hard core cough medicine (preferably something with promethezine) and forget any hope of working on William the Conqueror essays. I really do want to get my homework done. I'm watching Discovery Travel and Living because it is the closest thing to TLC we have. I caught an episode of "Little People, Big World," a show that makes me insane, and it made me weepy. They were having a Beaverton parade, I saw the locals in their orange and black (Beaverton High colors) and it made me homesick. I don't think Westview would make me homesick. It might make me more sick. Twins have ACT on Saturday. Talk about a crap shoot. They've been sick for days and will still be recovering when the take the test. We'll be sending up big prayers that they'll make it through successfully. I may have to go all Jane D. on the BYU Admissions people if it doesn't work out ;) (You know I love you Jane!) In the meantime, LA Ink is on. Trashy, but doesn't make me homesick. Supposedly "What Not To Wear" is now on Discovery Travel and Living International. I can watch Stacey and Clinton and pretend I'm not in Russia, taking swigs of random cough medicines, hoping one of them works.

Random Thoughts

I miss...driving, Thai food, sleeping without waking up at 3AM, dryers that don't shrink your clothes to Barbie size, the big soft sugar cookies with pink frosting you buy at gas stations, Maverick refills, Costco pharmacy, bread pudding from the Nordstrom cafe, walking Peter Jarman's Newfoundlands through Federal Heights, jogging by the Salt Lake City cemetary, going to Bees games with my dad, how a freshly mowed lawn smells on a summer evening, queen size beds, wearing flip flops 24/7, not having to carry my passport around, the Euro at 1.25 I don't miss...American news media, mindless consumption and consumerism, did I say American news media? Let me repeat that AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA, David Letterman, the US Congress, reality TV stars (who are the Kardashians anyway???), Kanye West, American yogurt and dairy products, meaningless social obligations, malfunctioning air conditioning, driving 1800 South in Bountiful, the radio black hole between Snowville, Utah and Boise, Idaho, American Idol and talk radio I gave myself a Le Creuset casserole for my birthday. It is sapphire blue and it will provide me the means to conquer beouf bourguignon. Happy Friday!

Detour, or Sniveling Neville

Today I'm taking a detour. I don't typically blog about politics because I find that the ensuing contention isn't pretty. I'm willing to rant to Lindsey or talk with my daughter Sara but spending half my life living in one of the most conservative states in the US (Utah) and 12 years living in one of the most liberal (Oregon) has prompted me to walk gingerly in public when it comes to politics. Two factors came to light in the preceding few days that have prompted me to abandon that rule. First, the current administration refused to meet with Tibet's Dali Lama. Second, the current administration's state department elected to discontinue funding for the Iranian Human Rights Documentation Center, an entity tasked with compiling the human rights violations committed by the the Iranian government against their own people since the contested election several months ago. This is an apolitical organization--neither left nor right--that seeks to protect the rights of those seeking basic liberties in Iran. What essentially this amounts to is the Obama administration toadying to dictators and tyrants. This is capitulation to the Chinese and the Iranians. This is appeasement. This is not a right or left issue. This is a humanity issue. I was appalled by the adminstration's move to shaft the Czech and the Poles to placate Russia just a month ago. Not entirely a surprise that Secretary Clinton believes you can make nice nice with the Kremlin, but still--there's a principle that you watch your friend's backs and we sold them out for the criminals that run Moscow. But come on. The Dalai Lama? Does anyone in the world except the Chinese believe that Tibet isn't an example of repression and human rights violations? And since when are we, the "shining light of democracy" kowtowing to Adminijad who is flagrantly flaunting his nuclear potential and justifiably worrying most governments in Europe and elsewhere? The Green revolution in Iran is about freedom and democracy. It is about self-determination. Instead of taking their side, our government is trying to placate crazy Islamic radicals who would love nothing more than to wipe Western civilization from the face of the earth. Do they think that muting the protests of people demanding rights will prevent Adminijad from sending warheads to Tel Aviv? It is often said that history repeats itself. It depresses me that my country appears to be playing the role of Britain in the 1930's. Welcome back Neville Chamberlain. Who is going to be Hitler? And where oh where is our Winston Churchill?

(image courtesty of fhashemi from the post "Friday Protests in Tehran")

Goodbye 102

(When I have my camera working, I'll update these last posts with pictures. For now, I'm going count myself as fortunate to be updating!) Today is our last day in Rosinka 102. This is the home that provided us an escape route from the armpit apartment on Tverskaya. Those early days of 800 square feet, 1 bathroom, 2 bedrooms, suitcases everywhere and huddling around the computer to watch "Everwood" are still not the happiest memories. I remember that first night in Rosinka, sleeping on mattresses on the floor with borrowed sheets and blankets feeling so relieved to be away from the cigarette smoke fumes, malfunctioning air conditioning and matchbox sized kitchen. This has been a great home for my family. In this house, I figured out how to cook using what I could buy at my Russian grocery store, we've had friends visit from the US--Wells Brimhall, the Densleys, Allison Packham--and had our dear friends the Coxes camp out at various junctures. This has been a happy place for us and I was prepared to spend our 3-4 years in Russia here. However, the changing real estate market and the shrinking expat population opened up an opportunity for us to move to a larger home at a significantly lower price. We will spend our next two years in Russia in Rosinka 1105. Would it have been easier to move near the school and avoid the nightmare of traffic on Volokolmoskoe Schosse? Yes. But there were about 500 complications that are too annoying and too Russian to explain. Suffice it to say, we feel like this is the right place for our family to spend the next two years. Today is not going to be easy. It is about 40 degrees outside, windy and rainy. I have a houseful of boxes that need to be moved to 1105 before the movers come tomorrow to move the furniture. A lot of our friends are traveling for the Anglo-American School holiday so we are going to be putting in a lot of sweat equity today with a little help, but not as much as we would on another weekend. I'm looking forward to coming out on the other side. We'll get through it. We always do. We have done much harder, more complicated moves than this. I am a little sentimental about leaving our first "home" in Moscow, but I'm eager to take on a new stage of life too. See you in another life, Brother.