Oh, the Weather Outside is…..crap.

Good Evening Minions,

First let me begin by saying that I failed horribly at getting a new post up within a week of my last one. It has almost been one month. I recognize the fact that I am lazy, the 7 of you are aware of this. However, I have not felt lazy in the last month. I feel like I have actually been very busy. In reality, I have not been that busy. In reality, my mind and body move at a rate similar to that of a three-toed sloth. I mean to say that I am both slow and dumb:)

All is well here in Moscow. Old Man Winter has really been taking a dump on this city the last two days. It hasn’t been too cold, but that should change tomorrow. The forecast calls for -25 C tomorrow and the best part is that these temperatures should last for the next 2 weeks.

My mood over the last month has been good for one reason: sports. The Jayhawks are looking pretty amazing, again. We just finished embarrassing our enemy to the East. I did not get to watch the game because it was on at the ass-crack of dawn. Now you are probably saying something to yourself like, “A dedicated fan would have inconvienced himself to get up and watch his beloved Jayhawks kick the living crap out of the inferior neighbor across the border.” Well, I am a dedicated fan, but my laziness and Diva-type attitude require at least 6 hours of beauty rest a night. So, there. Anyway, the Hawks are rolling and Liverpool is looking good. Therefore, my sanity is still intact.

Anyway, back to telling you about my holidays (since they are only 2 months ago). I had the most interesting Christmas Eve of my life: First, my friends and I went to the church service at the Anglican Church near Red Square. It was a very nice service; the interesting part came after. When the service finished; a couple of friends and I went to the Irish pub around the corner to have a couple of Christmas pints of Guinness. About halfway through the first glass some commotion came through the entrance: 4 neo-nazi  skinheads came in with their heads gashed open and they were bleeding all over the pub. I found out later that these refined or esteemed gentlemen of Moscow society had picked a fight with some Turkish guys in the bar next door. The Turkish men came out on the winning side of things, which is nice.

Christmas Day was an entirely different story: A lovely English couple who have been very kind friends to many people in the expat community invited us to their home to celebrate Christmas. It was an absolutely wonderful day. We exchanged presents, ate way too much, and I fell asleep after opening the presents, way before the children did. All in all, it was a pretty amazing day. Thank you to the Fisher’s! And thank you to Daniel. More importantly than being a gracious host, he was a very gracious loser. He lost a little wager with yours truly regarding the United States/England match in the World Cup. His penance: wearing my woman’s Christmas sweater. Please see pictures below:

Now, onto New Year’s Eve. It was a pretty low-key night. My friend’s had a party at their flat, and it was nice. We celebrated it in the traditional Russian manner: ate, drank, and watched the President address the nation right before midnight. Then at midnight, we watched fireworks shoot off over Park Kultury.

A couple of days after the New Year, 3 of my Dutch friends and I embarked on a mini journey to the city of Kursk. Kursk is the the site of the largest tank battle in the history of humanity. But you still might be asking yourselves, “Why would one choose to go to Kursk?” Well, that is an excellent question. I still have no idea how we came to the conclusion that Kursk would be a fantastic destination. I’m very happy I went, it was not a bad city, there just wasn’t much there. The first McDonald’s had literally opened 5 days before our arrival. This meant that lines in the Micky D’s were spanning half of the entire restaurant. However, this did not phase my friend Herbert. He was craving McDonald’s like Charlie Sheen craving and 8-ball of smack. Each day we were in Kursk we ate at the Golden Arches at least once. It was awful.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas/New Year’s/Kursk:

Hanging out in the restaurant cart so we did not have to smell the baby craping in our compartment

On the train to Kursk

bigger jackass

jackass

Not a turban. Feel free to guess…

Fireworks after midnight

Even though I have lived in Moscow for a year and a half, I’m still doing the jackass thing and signing the guestbook

Well, that is all for now. Speak soon.

Ta Ta

?’s