PHOTOS

Some pictures from Moscow. My friend went especially to the place where we grew up and took these photos.

I used to live in this building. If you look close enough, you'll see the green benches by the doors. The gossip-hungry ladies used to sit there and avidly discussed every tenant, who came through their gauntlet. When I worked in theater, there were many rumors going on about, what I was up to on my job. Every time I had to pass by the ladies on the bench, I began to, for some reason, swerve, as if I was drunk! I was always starving, so that could be the reason for that phenomena, or it was in my character to challenge the small-minded burgers.

 

This is the St. George's Church 

                          

built near my old neighborhood. 

I don't know, whose sculpture this is, but I like it!

                                                                                   

  We often went to the woods and spent time there, 

talking about the things which inspired us.

Whether due to a teenager's angst, or because I really felt that, something was missing from my life: a love, a purpose, - every moment was filled with the longing. 

THE RACE AND THE DISCIPLINE

     I looked at Mr. P. in embarrassment. For two weeks we talked about the ways for me to organize and improve my life, but, even though I gave it a thought and tried to find a template for a daily planner, I invariably switched my attention to something else and forgot all about it the very next minute. There is no explanation for this kind of fickle mind!
     We sat in Mr. P.'s small, canary carpeted living room, discussed my progress, punctuated in regular intervals by his cat's snorting and snoring. The poor thing adores my counselor and doesn't want to be away from him. 
     It was very hot. The thermometer will get up to 92 degrees F, before it'll decide to go down for the night. I didn't mind the heat. 

     "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"  Heb. 12:1.

     These are the words with which apostle Paul encouraged the Christians to focus on their tasks and find ways to be successful. Further on, he talked about the route of the said "race" being cleared of all obstacles and the runner picking up his garment and tucking it in the rope which held his robe together, so that nothing would be in the way of finishing the race. 

     Am I making any sense? No?

     

     "And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the LORD disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”  Heb. 12-5,6.

     I was so inspired by these words because after all the times, when I failed at some task or venture, God still wants me to succeed, and He provides guidance to people like me, reminding me of the necessity to be focused, organized and disciplined. 

     I Want To Succeed! I want to lose weight and keep it off. I want my writing to be published. Most of all, I want my children and family to be successful in everything that they do, and, if I am the one, who drags them down by my laissez-faire, then I want to do better, so my children will see that, it is more beneficial to be disciplined and organized.

     

AUTUMN IN MOSCOW

PICTURES OF AUTUMN IN MOSCOW

Pictures were taken by my friend, who lives in Moscow. 

WOOD

     A conversation with Taka:

He: "Did you get Reina's e-mail with her flight information, which I forwarded to you a month ago?"
Me: "No, I didn't see anything. Can you send it again?"
He: "Why didn't you find it? I sent it!"

     In a few minutes I checked my e-mail and found this:

お疲れ様です。

　礼奈の　出発の日　お知らせします。

　

１０月１６日（木）　成田空港　出発　　１３時５５分　（ソウル　仁川　経由）　　ソウル出発　１７時３０分

＊＊１０月１６日（木）　サンフランシスコ時間　到着　　１２時００分　　KE　０２３便　　　ターミナル１

　日本　帰国

＊＊１２月２９日（月）　サンフランシスコ時間　出発　　１１時２５分　KE ０２４便　　ターミナル１　　　　　　

１２月３０日（火）　　ソウル到着時間　　１７時３５分

１２月３０日（火）　東京羽田　到着　　２３時３０分

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　よろしく　お願いします。

　さて　ご心配かけている　書類の件ですが、

　

アルバイトで疲れていて　なかなか礼奈が　連絡せず申し訳ありません。

良く聞いてみたところ・・・

日本で　学生ビザを取るとき　全ての書類と一緒に　その保険のコピーを窓口に出しているので　

書類は　すべて通っている。

　しかし　原本は携帯している必要があるので、　その原本は数週間後に　日本に（？）送られてくるらしい　と言う事です。

でも　３週間は経ったので　最近　チョと心配になって来ました。

保険の支払いも済んでいるし　コピーは持っているので　大丈夫だと思うが、提示を求められたら（原本）を見せなければならない・・との事です。

　　礼奈がその書類をタカさん（アンティー）に添付メールして　見てもらうように話しているので

今日あたり　送信出来るのでは　ないかと思います。

すみません　よろしくお願いします。

     He did send it a month ago, but didn't translate it. I, probably, decided that, it was just a copy of his correspondence with Reina'S mother and happily ignored it. I can't understand, what could be his reason for letting me deal with a flight itinerary written in Japanese!

     Me (trying to catch him by the pants, as he walks away in complete confidence that,his job is now done from me and the laptop): 

- "Wait a minute, wait a minute, what does it say?!"

     He: "Wha - a-at?"

     I had no words, so I just gestured at the screen, making sputtering sounds.

     Taka used a computer program to translate the page for me and left. 

     As I looked the itinerary over, I noticed that, next to the date of travel there was typed a word "wood" in parentheses. Hmm... What does wood have to do with the international travel?

     I'm afraid, Taka's pants suffered some more of the rough treatment from me, as I tried to get back his attention: 

- "What does the word "wood" mean in the itinerary?"

- "Wh-a-at?"

     He read and smiled. Whether it was a rueful smile at his not translating everything properly to me or a smile of superiority for understanding the language which I dodn't know (since I have to many times correct his English), I don't know.

     Did you know that, in Japan each day of the week corresponds to a thing in nature, like: Sunday is the Sun, Monday is the Moon, Tuesday - fire, Wednesday - water, Thursday - wood, Friday -gold, and Saturday - earth? 

Therefore, instead of writing that, the flight will arrive on Thursday, Oct. 12, the japanese write: Arrive Oct. 12 (wood).

     

ELF, THE COWARDLY DOG - RE-POST

     Once you have a dog, you'll always wish for that kind of companionship. When I was in High School, mom, who worked in a medical research institute, brought home a Doberman Pinscher puppy. He was born to a female, whom they had at the lab. 
     I knew that he'll be coming, so I ran home from school during the recess. A little dog sat in a basket, hanging his nose gloomily. When he saw me, he climbed out of the basket, ambled to me, and I noticed his head and paws, way too big for such a small body! 
     Elf imprinted on me from that moment and never wanted to be apart from me. 
     We never had such hard time toilet training Juli, our first dog, as we did with Elf! Our whole apartment was covered in plastic, which collected odorous deposits from Elf.               
     When he grew, and his ears stood up, it was time to clip them. Mother found a vet who would come to our home and do it cheaper than at the clinic. We-e-ll, here is a piece of advice: never deal with a cheap doctor! 

The way ears should look

The way Elf's ears looked.

     He was drunk! He cut too little off Elf's ears (usually, the Doberman's ears look like little horns: there's not much left after the clipping). For better or for worse, when Elf grew up, he looked like a doe - "a deer,  a female de-e-e-r" -  so big his ears turned out to be. We put the clipped pieces on the balcony and they froze there. Elf would sniff at them and, for some reason, get all scared. He soon outgrew his ungainliness and became a sleek, beautiful animal, maybe, a little too small for his breed.  
      Elf proved to be a hopeless coward. I think, I know a reason for it: when he was still a puppy, I saw two big German Shepherds take a run at him. They picked him up together with their noses and flipped him over their backs! Since then, he was scared of everything, and, especially, of the German Shepherds! 
     When Juli, still a puppy, saw a horse in the woods, he sat down, lifted his tiny nose to the sky and barked his head off, warning the horse not to come any closer to his humans. In contrast to that courageous, poodle-sized dog, when Elf took a first look at the horse, he ran so fast that, in a few seconds I couldn't see him anymore! He might've gotten an idea that, a horse was a huge Doberman Pinscher and not another kind of animal! 
     Not only was Elf a coward, he also had too much energy and too little good sense. That dog would grab a huge tree branch, at least five feet long and very thick, and run with it across a busy highway! When he got excited (usually, scared) he'd start snapping at one of us instead of the thing that scared him! 

     One time, I took him for a walk late at night. He was roaming somewhere around, when I noticed a man following me. The man ran up from behind and grabbed my hair. From sheer fright, I called Elf's name. When the guy saw a Doberman running towards us, he let go of me. Elf made a show of aggression; he barked thunderously and lunged at the attacker, never actually, coming close to him. Never mind, the sight of those huge fangs was enough to make the man run away. So, I shouldn't complain: Elf did save my life - and virtue! 

Having a large dog in an apartment was not a simple matter. We were a busy family: at times there was no one to take Elf for a walk. Often we'd just let him run out of the door and take care of the business by himself! One day, my sister, Lera, who was constantly trying to make her thin hair look better, came home with a new dye job. Her hair turned out looking like orange, lifeless brass. That evening, Elf went out by himself. In a few minutes, he came back and excitedly deposited a dead kitten at my sister's feet. The kitten's pelt was the same hue as Lera's hair! 

Another time, it was the morning. Dad was suppose to take Elf out for a walk, but he kept delaying, talking to mom about something. Elf was becoming more and more desperate. He ran back and forward with a leash in his mouth, jumped on my father's back - nothing helped. What happened next, occurred right in front of my nose (I still laid on my sofa in the living room). Elf trotted to dad's suit jacket, hanging on the chair, and gracefully lifted his leg. He aimed well: dad never wore that jacket again. 

He was impossible at the dogs' training place! Obeying the command, other dogs would sit and wait. He would invariably jump up, with his tongue lolling happily, and follow me. He drove the trainer crazy, but then, when it was time to jump over an obstacle, he would sail over it, never touching his feet to a small fence, leaving the trainer speechless with wonder. 
In the winter, Elf would run out of the apartment building's door and dive right into a snow pile, although at home he needed a blanket to keep the cold away. He chewed holes in his cover and, while he slept, his ear would stick out of one of those holes and follow the conversation in the room. 

He chewed our shoes and left huge, evil-smelling puddles of urine in the hallway, if we left him alone for too long. He snapped at our feet, when we tried to jog with him in the woods. He ran away from a little poodle, because he was afraid of it. We loved him still. 

 In more ways than one, our time in Russia was running out. The approach of our departure, though, broke my heart. Giving up Elf seemed absolutely impossible. I'm an idiot. A pet is just a pet, right? But for me, adopting an animal means that we give it a hope that we'll be together always. 
Unfortunately, leaving Elf was not going to be a problem. 

He became sick. He bled out and we didn't know what to do. The vets didn't help. We spent hundreds of rubles, but there was no hope. 

On the night when he died, Elf was lying on his "holy" blanket. We saw him fighting for breath and couldn’t do anything to help him. 

As I passed by him, he rose on shaking legs, still determined to follow me. We lost him soon after that.

I'm an idiot. A pet is just a pet, right? A few nights later, I got up to go to the bathroom, which I rarely did in those youthful years.  As I came out into the hallway, I stopped short. Elf stood there, sadly looking at me! In a second, he was gone. 

Was it a figment of my imagination? I honestly can't say. I just know that, the memory of him is still poignant  in my heart, and, in that fashion, he never left me.