I’ve explored on foot in my area, but there’s a lot more to
see. However, winter hit here, or at least what I’d call winter hit here. Last
weekend, it was in the high 40s but on Friday it went down to 20. And that was
an all-day 20, not a low.
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| The baby in babysitting. |
The walk into work isn’t bad; it’s about a mile and I have
varying routes I can take. There are several big roads, so the alternate routes
vary in which road I cross, go over or under, how many staircases I go up and
down and on which side of the road I cross the river.
Although Belarus is a
pretty flat country – cross-country skiing is apparently the thing to do once
the white stuff is on the ground – I feel like I walk up and down a lot of
stairs on the way to and from work. Now, that’s not so bad but once ice gets on
the ground it’s going to freak me out.
All of my shipments came already and in the process of
unpacking everything, I found the “Breaking Bad’ DVDs and binged. It’s my third
viewing, and I think it was worse the second time but better the third. You
just have to accept that Walt is the most abusive boss ever and you’re fine. I
also liked Marie a lot more this time around – her character is about the only
one with pure intentions. I also went down the bunny holes on color as it
relates to BB and wow, the writers were absolutely diligent in how they presented
the show, to the point of people’s names adding up to numbers that translated
to whatever colors. That show is truly a study in many different topics.
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| On the Isle of Tears |
Right when my big shipment came, I also got custody of a sweet
dog. Shelby’s owner had to work over the weekend so I got to babysit a sweet
pup. Shelby, who was, in her youth, a Ukrainian street dog, is now a collie-ish
sweetheart who knows how to shake hands and dance and howls in her sleep. (She
woke herself up with that one.) We had a lot of fun and I really miss having a
dog, but keeping her – and walking her in the 40something-degree weather –
reinforced the fact I am not ready for my own. Hopefully, though, I will get to
babysit Shelby again. She will leave in spring.
In settling in, someone gave me a TV, for which I am
thankful. It’s an older one but seems to do everything I need it to, but I
haven’t figured out all the right combinations. I get cable TV but I have no
earthly idea of how to get that to the TV. There’s only one reliable channel in
English, but I had been watching “Bones,” now and then so I’d like to figure
out how to get that back. But in the meantime. I’m still good with AFN and my DVDs.
At some point, they’re going to come and take the “welcome
kit” back, which includes the old TV as well as the vacuum, so I spent this
cold weekend vacuuming and trying to get the rugs laid out. If I counted
correctly, I have nine, but not all are large, and none of them are room-sized.
Some are lying on top of the pre-existing rugs that came in the apartment.
I love the apartment; there are some quirks, of course.
Every kitchen should have a drawer for junk and mine doesn’t. I also think I
have about three heating zones through the house. The extra bedroom I’ve marked
as my study/gym is super cold, but the bathroom is nice and toasty. I’m not
sure I have control over the temperatures; I think the city regulates the heat.
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| Yes I do. |
I’ve been to a couple restaurants nearby, but not TGI Friday’s.
I will at some point just to be geeky but I’ll be here two years so no rush. I
discovered My Thai, which has amazing dumplings, and there is doner place that
will likely be my go-to. A decent-size schwarma is about $1.50.
Also started on Russian lessons, and man, it’s a tough
language. I really want to learn a language, though, and a head start on this
one would not only help me communicate (duh) but maybe give me a leg up down
the road.
God knows I don’t think I am going to be venturing out much
this winter, so I am glad to have something productive to do. I feel like I did
in North Dakota; I am rooting for December 21 to get here more so than Christmas.
The sun is coming up around 9 a.m. now and setting before 5 p.m., and we’re still
about a month off from the shortest day of the year. I leave for work in the
morning and it’s still dark, then I walk home in the dark. Today I went into
work to run on the treadmill and it was sunny, nice and 21. It makes such a
difference when it’s sunny out! But I won’t see that for a couple months.
It’s supposed to snow this week, which probably means it’ll
be here to stay until March. I am not looking forward to it. I have lots of
winter clothes, but I’m never going to be ready for it.
To get into the winter mood, I got “Game of Thrones” in audio
book. I didn’t see the HBO series and the book was over 30 hours long. I listened
to the entire thing but only have the vaguest notion of what was going on.
Fantasy aloud is hard, but I am going to plug along. It gives me something to
listen to on the half-hour walk to and from work.
So yeah, winter is coming. I hope I make it.
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