(no subject)
Hello World!
OMG - I am on vacation!
I don't have to get up early and go to work!
I don't have to catch an airplane anywhere!
I can sit around around, eat cake for breakfast, and update LJ in peace.
life is grand.
My trip to CA last week was wonderful. That's the thing about visiting the Bay Area. As soon as I land, I feel this overwhelming love inside for me for all the people who either are family, or even better than family who I am about to see. Not to mention all my favorite places and spaces and shops and views and drives and smells. Even though I only visited for four days and most of my time was totally occupied with family activities revolving around my brother's engagement party (which actually turned out to be very nice), I got to see a few of my wonderful friends, and for that, I am very grateful.
I spent most of the rest of time with my grandmother, which was actually incredibly difficult. I had no energy to be patient or understanding, and even though I wasn't horrible or snotty to her, I definitely was not as kind or warm as I should have been. So I feel guilty now. My grandmother, she is very special. At 99 she is still just as sharp and as intelligent as she has ever been, but a little softer and wiser as well, but also a lot more miserable because of the physical constraints of loosing balance and eyesight, as well as the regular aches and pains. She is bored out of her mind because she does not get enough intellectual stimulation, though she more than makes up for it through being a sort of an unofficial social coordinator of other russians in her apt. building. She gave a magnificent speech at the party to the soon to be newlyweds, full of wisdom and practical kindness, which she preempted by a side lecture addressed to the bride's side of the family about etiquette. Last time she was at the house of my brother's bride-to-be was the time when my brother proposed, and the whole crowd gathered there for an unrelated event exploded in loud screams. This sound wave really shocked my grandmother, so she used this opportunity to remind them that civilized and well-brought up people should be able to control their noise levels during social events. And when some slightly drunk uncle made a little remark during her speech this time, she took him aside after she was done, and gave him a whole another personal lecture on proper behavior. After that, he spend the rest of party making sure she was happy and comfortable bringing her food and champagne. All in all many lessons were learned, both of my parents behaved shockingly well, and seeing them together for the first time in god knows how many years made me all kinds of emotional, but I blamed it all on the zygote, so no one knew the truth except my very perceptive sister.
I came back monday morning, not having slept a minute on the airplane, caught a taxi to work, and to my great surprise survived the four days of alleged teaching, and even more surprisingly, my students survived. Though one six foot tall football player did leave my room in tears after I lost it, and the rest of the kids blamed my agitation on the zygote and were still very nice to me. I love my kids.
Speaking of the Zygote, a kind friend with a sophisticated machine had me come by during his lunch break and we found out that it is a girl! A whole week before my official appointment. So I am very excited, though I feel a little bit like when I was a teenager and insisting on only being a counselor for boy bunks in summer camp, not wanting to deal with "girl" things like gossip and whining. And then I got a girl bunk, and learned that girls are way more awesome and badass than boys, and there are a few, from that very first group of girls, I am still in touch with, almost twenty years later. Deep inside I am still more of a "boy" person, but I tend to love girls very much as well. So that's all good, and now we just need to come up with a name.
What else? Oh yes. time to go. be well, dear friends.
Those of you who celebrate Christmas, happy, sparkly pine trees and presents!!
OMG - I am on vacation!
I don't have to get up early and go to work!
I don't have to catch an airplane anywhere!
I can sit around around, eat cake for breakfast, and update LJ in peace.
life is grand.
My trip to CA last week was wonderful. That's the thing about visiting the Bay Area. As soon as I land, I feel this overwhelming love inside for me for all the people who either are family, or even better than family who I am about to see. Not to mention all my favorite places and spaces and shops and views and drives and smells. Even though I only visited for four days and most of my time was totally occupied with family activities revolving around my brother's engagement party (which actually turned out to be very nice), I got to see a few of my wonderful friends, and for that, I am very grateful.
I spent most of the rest of time with my grandmother, which was actually incredibly difficult. I had no energy to be patient or understanding, and even though I wasn't horrible or snotty to her, I definitely was not as kind or warm as I should have been. So I feel guilty now. My grandmother, she is very special. At 99 she is still just as sharp and as intelligent as she has ever been, but a little softer and wiser as well, but also a lot more miserable because of the physical constraints of loosing balance and eyesight, as well as the regular aches and pains. She is bored out of her mind because she does not get enough intellectual stimulation, though she more than makes up for it through being a sort of an unofficial social coordinator of other russians in her apt. building. She gave a magnificent speech at the party to the soon to be newlyweds, full of wisdom and practical kindness, which she preempted by a side lecture addressed to the bride's side of the family about etiquette. Last time she was at the house of my brother's bride-to-be was the time when my brother proposed, and the whole crowd gathered there for an unrelated event exploded in loud screams. This sound wave really shocked my grandmother, so she used this opportunity to remind them that civilized and well-brought up people should be able to control their noise levels during social events. And when some slightly drunk uncle made a little remark during her speech this time, she took him aside after she was done, and gave him a whole another personal lecture on proper behavior. After that, he spend the rest of party making sure she was happy and comfortable bringing her food and champagne. All in all many lessons were learned, both of my parents behaved shockingly well, and seeing them together for the first time in god knows how many years made me all kinds of emotional, but I blamed it all on the zygote, so no one knew the truth except my very perceptive sister.
I came back monday morning, not having slept a minute on the airplane, caught a taxi to work, and to my great surprise survived the four days of alleged teaching, and even more surprisingly, my students survived. Though one six foot tall football player did leave my room in tears after I lost it, and the rest of the kids blamed my agitation on the zygote and were still very nice to me. I love my kids.
Speaking of the Zygote, a kind friend with a sophisticated machine had me come by during his lunch break and we found out that it is a girl! A whole week before my official appointment. So I am very excited, though I feel a little bit like when I was a teenager and insisting on only being a counselor for boy bunks in summer camp, not wanting to deal with "girl" things like gossip and whining. And then I got a girl bunk, and learned that girls are way more awesome and badass than boys, and there are a few, from that very first group of girls, I am still in touch with, almost twenty years later. Deep inside I am still more of a "boy" person, but I tend to love girls very much as well. So that's all good, and now we just need to come up with a name.
What else? Oh yes. time to go. be well, dear friends.
Those of you who celebrate Christmas, happy, sparkly pine trees and presents!!