I couldn't help myself 021506

Greetings!
Still is Moscow… So, I haven't really eaten in a few days. I know. I am stupid. I agree. I have just been too hard headed as always. Well, today I resigned that I was going to go to Business Lunch and find some food! But, I couldn't resist-- I had to look at the menu. It is like rubbernecking. You know that it is wrong, but you do it anyway. There were definitely some interesting combinations as always (Stewed beef with mushrooms and fruit in cream sauce and Pureed spinach and mushroom soup! YUCK! My two most hated ingredients combined… Ehlk), but I decided I was going anyway… maybe the online menu is wrong, the words I can't translate are really something tasty or they have some other items! Maybe I'll disillusion myself into thinking Russian cuisine is awesome!

So, over to Business Lunch I go. On the way, I saw something that I haven't seen in at least a week… the SUN! Ahh… this made me happy. I also notice that its not as "cold" as before. You know you've been in Moscow too long when you no longer think it is that cold and there is two feet of snow on the ground! Maybe it was just my delight at seeing the sun. You also know that you've been in Moscow too long when you stop smiling and laughing, look at the ground all of the time and carry a plastic bag everywhere you go…. But that is another list for another day...

At business lunch, the menu looks the same… however there is no rice pudding as I was hoping… There was one error to the online menu. I'm looking at the menu… Finally, I go back to my old standby… Kuritsa yest? (Do you have chicken?) Believe it or not, sometimes the answer is no. Today I was in luck though! The lady told me they had some chicken cutlets. Sure I say! So she gives me two round things that kind of look like hush puppies. I also ask for potatoes. I pick up a bread that I think says it is with coconut. I am right. I get a mound of ketchup. Basically, today I had the same lunch that I ate everyday throughout middle school.. Chicken nuggets and some sort of potato. The only reason that middle school lunch is better is because the ketchup is not the consistency of tomato paste and sweet and vinegary. So, you'll be happy to know that I am eating more than gum now.

Yesterday, I had an epiphany. The chair that I had been sitting in for the past few days was horrible. It was extremely low and reclined in the back, hence the source of the back pain that I had been having. I curse Russia for not having Workplace Safety laws (among other things). So, I went to the receptionist (after going through the trouble of looking up the word for borrow in Russian) and ask if I can borrow a chair from one of the conference rooms. You would think this would be easy. We are looking at an empty conference room full of chairs as we speak! But, no, dare I forget that I am in Russia, and NOTHING is easy in here. They tell me that they are not sure and must ask the office manager first. Thankfully, my security guard boyfriend who always stares at me (I now know what zoo animals feel like) brought me a chair from the conference room about an hour later. Finally!! So, I slept last night. Life is getting better in Moscow (just in time for me to leave).

I also have an update on Sergei, whose name is really Alexsei (I must not have heard him right. He mumbled when I asked him the first time. So, I asked Vadim, the other driver his name.). We are talking now. He isn't too bad. He's still not Yuri. Yuri has stopped by to see me a few times. He's looking snazzy. He's been wearing a suit and tie. He told me that they gave him a promotion, and now he is in charge of all of the drivers, housekeepers and security. Go Yuri! He was so proud!

I know what you are waiting for though… More crazy things about Russia… Here goes…
Things seen only in Russia:
-I saw a Lada (the horrible Russian cars still using Soviet designs… You know it is a quality car… They stole the plans from Fiat in the 70's!) with a sectional strapped to the top. It was really unbelievable!! Don't worry I got a picture.

-I have yet to see refrigerated milk. Mmmm…
-Everything looks like it is from another decade… the fashion, the packaging, the commercials…
-Who needs a stroller? We have much better! A toddler sled. It make the parents kind of look like mush dogs, but it makes sense.
-The other day I noticed these things on the counter in my conference room. They look exactly like open tampons (with applicator). Sorry! But seriously they do. They are markers… So, only in Russia.. Tampon Markers.
-One of the Russian painters at the bazaar painted only Japanese style and with Japanese characters. I took enough Japanese to think that he made the characters up.
-There are no lines on some of the roads.
-The traffic lights blink green before they turn yellow.
I'm running out of crazy things about Russia. This means that I've been to long and the craziness is starting to make sense to me. It is time to leave!
Well, work time! I'm counting down the hours until Cyprus (I leave tomorrow around noon), and I have tons to do!
Amanda