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a bit of info for spammers

hey, if you haven't figured it out yet. this site does not post comments directly.  they go through me first.  and i delete anything that's objectionable.  

so email me directly with a valid email address if you have a problem instead of posting behind a pseudonym.  

 

mr. nice guy

alice cooper, the scorpions, rasmus and kingdom come stopped in vladivostok during the russian leg of their world tour.  the consulate invited mr. cooper, family and friends to an american bbq in his honor that kicked off last night.  (the scorpians were also invited, but we were frustrated by the miscommunication with the local promoter that never passed the word to them) 

there was a ton of consulate preparation to make it happen.   but of course all the best laid plans were hinging on one thing, ..the weather.  we've had 10 days of non-stop rain falling and expected the worst as the tuesday night event was getting ready to kick off.  and then the gods of rock shined down from the heavens and gave us sun light for the first time in almost 2 weeks. 

our guest of honor, mr. cooper arrived shortly after his entourage of crew and other friends from the tour. after a brief break of appetizers and chit chat, the consulate general kicked off the night with a few words about the tour and how it helps reconnect two diverse cultures with the the common ground of rock n roll.  i was a little too young to remember alice cooper when his band first started.  i think my first experience was blasting "school's out for the summer" on my brother's stereo.  i've always been a fan of his bizarre antics on stage.  It's easy to call him one of the great concert showmen of rock n roll history.

i think everyone had a chance to get a photo, autograph or chat with mr. cooper during the bbq.  crews for the bands and also the drummer from AC were there also to mingle with the consulate staff and invited guests.  in total, close to 100 people attended the event.

i had a few minutes myself to chat with mr. cooper and asked him about his golfing since he started playing the sport late in life, like my dad did.  he said he tried it and the first drive he took, he hit it right down the middle of the fairway.  he knew he was on to something after that. 

the russians were very impressed by the musicians approachable nature.  they were hesitant at first to talk to them, but loosened up pretty quickly.  i explained they are many stars that enjoy the notoriety while some don't like the constant attention they attract.  the guest of honor is an example of the former category.

by the end of the night, everyone had their fill of grilled chicken, shaslik, hot-dogs, pasta salad, taco salad, tons of appetizers, and homemade deserts ranging from brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cakes and more.  a comment to the master-organizer-of-the-event (who was also baker-of-the-brownies) could be heard as Mr. Cooper saying "these are not 1970's brownies, right?"  which the baker said, "Mr. Cooper, i stopped making 70's brownies in the 80's."

the band and crew said their goodbyes, and thanked everyone for the party.  I think they were amazed the event was prepared as well as it was and half expected it to be a handful of american's eating take-away pizza and warm beer.  they must have appreciated it since we received complimentary tickets to the concert the next night. awesomeness..

-Wed night late addition post:

My girlfriend and i walked over to avangard stadium and met up with several other colleagues ready to hear the guitar thrash and drum-set thunder.  we got there about 15 minutes before alice cooper began his set.  he opened up with "no more mr. nice guy", "I'm eighteen" and "under my wheels".  and the we had a sudden downpour of rain.  but that didn't douse the spirits of the crowd.  he continued to play every one of the classic's i remembered, along with a few off his latest release and as the set progressed so did the stage theater he always likes to have as a theme.  his daughter danced and performed in several pieces which made it even more interesting as you watched the staged fight scenes between real life father and daughter. by the end of the explosive set, mr. cooper was put in a straight jacket and hung from a gallows. 

the scorpions were up next and rocked the house with their euro heavy metal sound.  i didn't realize they had so many hits, but started recognizing them as they belted out the vocals. the drummer had a nice solo while the rest of the band had a break midway through.  the night was getting colder by the end of their set, and i started regretting my choice of jeans and a polo with no umbrella or jacket.  but we survived and got to hear the 3 song encore which included, wind of change and rock you like a hurricane. i wish we could have meet the band during the bbq but sometimes things just don't work out they way you wished.  

after the concert some of us stopped by palau fish to get a late night meal and wind down.  i thought about a few differences between concerts here in vlad and in the states.  the biggest in vlad, was no alcohol.  i'm not saying just no alcohol in the stadium, but no alcohol outside the grandstand, none in the near by restaurants, and none in the grocery stores after 6pm.  you couldn't find a beer in a mile radius it seemed.  all of this was due to preventive measures by the police and stadium to ensure fans didn't get carried away with too much drinking and end up with a riot on their hands. another was the appearance of topless men dancing on chairs.  but that can happen occasionally in the states so i can't really say it a difference.  all in all, i'd love to see more events like this in vlad.  there's definitely a demand for it, but i don't know yet how cost prohibitive it is for a group to tour all the way over here.  i'm sure the promoters end up counting every penny and trying to cut every corner to make a buck.  so for now, i'll have to savor the memory of the event while waiting for the next big thing rolls into town.

"that he not busy being born is busy dying"

the way i figure it, i probably fall in the percent of the population that's never really listened to bob dylan.  like most people, i've heard "maggie's farm", "tangled up in blue", "subterrainean homesick blues" and many other popular songs over the years.  recently, someone lent me dylan's "the basement tapes" and i found myself listening to it over and over while working around the house.  the man is a fantastic lyricist.  i'm ashamed it's taken me this long to get around to appreciating his body of work.  so now i'm buying "blonde on blonde", "highway 61 revisited" and "blood on the tracks" to catch up on what others have already discovered.

since i've been living abroad for the last 5 years, i've reconnected with my music collection as strongly as i did when i was out of college.  i believe it's the need to hear the familiarity of music that you grew up listening to.  there's always something about it.  songs take me back to days past, helping me remember who i was 10 or 20 years ago.  iTunes and other resources are a huge help in keeping me going when you start to feel a little bit off center as a minority in a foreign country. 

russian word of the day

"зонт" (pronounced 'zont') - umbrella. 

i like it because the word resembles the sound an umbrella makes when you open it.

(this is my effort to expand my vocabulary besides partaking in my usual my russian lessons.  i'll try to add more words, maybe not every day, but some.  you'll be able to search under the category of "порусски" (russian) if you want to see more in the future.)

mind the gap

so i've been thinking about this blog over the last couple months and often wonder if i'm just rambling on or if there's anything useful people get out of it.  originally, i started it as a way to let my family and friends keep tabs on me.  it morphed into a blog/photo gallery and then i notice it, like other foreign service blogs, gives interested parties a means to see what life is like overseas working for the department of state.

when i started, i found a few bulletin board type forums that helped answer many of my questions.  like what about a tv? will mine work?  what's a consumables post?  what about my car and how do i get insurance.  i spent 6 months, at least, trying to figure out every question I had.  i didn't even know people were blogging about stuff like this 5 years ago.  

every year about this time, i start getting emails from people either considering the foreign service as a career or those that are taking the leap in joining the rest of us working abroad.  my first posting was khartoum, sudan.  when people started asking me about what's available there and what they should bring, i realized i need to make a faq page.  it received more hits than any other page i had at the time.  after that tour, i ended up in sydney, australia.  the idea of a faq for sydney was considered for about 5 seconds before i decided there's already a gazillion sites where you can get info on oz.  but now that i'm in vladivostok, russia, it's time to put together another faq.  i wanted to wait a while since i needed to figure out what life is like here myself.  so hopefully in the next week or so, i'll have one put together.  

finally, i've taken a break from writing for so long since i started to wonder how much info i should expose about my life here.  even though i specifically say in my typepad profile that all comments are mine alone and do not reflect those views of the u.s. government, it's still difficult to speak freely about my opinions without worrying someone will take it as the comments of a diplomat of the u.s.a.  a foreign service officer asked me last year if his having a facebook page was a bad idea due to the not-so-nice folks that like to gather intelligence on diplomats overseas.  i didn't want to sound like a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but like it or not, that stuff does go on.  my answer was, you can have a facebook account, but try not to advertise everything about yourself.  my answer really makes having a facebook page useless if you want everyone to see it.  but there's ways to limit your every move by sharing it only with friends.  (note: i have a facebook page but very, very, very rarely write anything in it.  it's only there to keep track of my friends.)  for me, i'd rather have a blog.  it's simple, it's clean, it functions exactly the way i want it too.  i basically wanted a journal of my life in the foreign service so i could look back on it and remember all the details.  

i actually find facebook to be too invasive.  george k said it best "worlds are colliding!"  people post all kinds of stuff and i don't have the inclination or the time to filter who gets to see what.  once you start letting everyone be your friend the floodgates open and the page becomes a who's who of your past.  

you can see now why i don't write much about work.  which is probably for the best anyway since this blog is more about the cities I'm in than the work i do.  as far as work is concerned, i'm the IT guy that's here to fix anything communications related.  you can actually see who all the key officers are at posts around the world by doing a google search on "key officers foreign service".  which surprised the hell outta me when i discovered that a few years ago.  due to the nature of the job, the list becomes out dated quickly as people rotate from one post to another.  but it's still a bit odd to see my name posted out there for anyone to look up.

on that note, i'll continue to post for all the reasons i said earlier. even if i have to self censor what i post about.  i continue to hope it will be an aid to many looking at traveling and working abroad no matter what the blog's final permutation ends up being.

all's well

it's been a long time since i posted last.  here's what's been happening:

i took some leave and headed back to the states back in may.  spent a few weeks with family, spent a week in washington, d.c., and the final week in san francisco. and finally came back to vladivostok.  got caught up on of american food, cinema, shopping, and visiting friends and family.

• traveling to the states was a 30 hour trip this time. but i was prepared with my mac, a good book and plenty of coffee and dining.  the route was vlad, seoul, new york, washington d.c. (6 hour layover), des moines, 3 hour drive to the folks' place.  in order to keep costs down, the department requires we fly economy during R&R's.  if we want to stop over somewhere, we have to make it part of the round trip ticket.  i.e. you'll fly through the same city both during arrival and departure.  in this case i wanted to hit DC and san francisco.  for some reason i didn't fly through san francisco on my way home, only on my way back to vlad. but i didn't question the logic.

• lied to my parents about my arrival time in des moines so they'd avoid the rush hour traffic.  as i suspected my dad and brother came early so i was only waiting about 15min before they showed up.

• you can never bring home too many souveigners.  this time i planned ahead and brought extras.  i never left a friend empty handed.  everyone seems to love the wooden russian nesting dolls.  my girlfriend helped me gather alot of the items.  my folks really like the 20 doll set that was unfinished.  i got it for them as part of their 50th wedding anniversary.  everyone in the family had to take a doll based on sizes and their position in the family and custom paint it.  i turned mine into a painting of the world.

• fishing trips were cut short due to inclement weather.   but i did play a lot of golf with my dad during the good ones.  

• I gained about 10 pounds. 

• i was able to catch up with every friend i knew in DC and SF for the first time in 5 years. 

• made it to vlad during a 3 day weekend, which still didn't help with the jet lag.  by the end of the first week home, i felt back to normal. 

state side

while my blog has been inactive, i've been busy enjoying time off in the states.  right now i'm in dc visiting friends and will be heading to san francisco in a few day before heading back to vladivostok. it's always nice to reconnect with your roots and see what everyone else has been up to.  my apologies for not posting any photos either, since most of my time has been spent shopping or talking with family and friends.  all would be irrelevant to post for anyone but those involved.

my last day in dc will be spent doing some last minute site seeing with a friends. then its off to sf for a few more days of american living before heading back to work.  i'm looking forward to getting back home and also miss my dog, lucia.  after a year of having her around, it's hard to be away from her.  

reducing homeless dog population, one dog at a time..

i haven't been posting for awhile because i took lucia to the vet about a month ago to be spayed.  i'd rather not live the details over again, but it was tough for both of us to go through.  i'm sure it was more painful for her, but more exhausting for me.  after three weeks of redressing bandages, applying medication and giving her shots, she's finally back to normal.  the scar from the surgery is bigger than normal, so i'm worried what else happened.  she also began whimpering about 2 weeks after the surgery, so i was afraid complications had set in. i'll post a pic of her eventually but i'm still busy getting caught up with other things.  the whimper lasted just a few days over the weekend.  it looks like she was just missing some extra attention.  after a few extra belly rubs and more playtime, she was satisfied.

i'll be heading home soon for vacation, so i wanted to take care of her and make sure she was ok before i left.  a friend of a friend has volunteered to look after her the whole time i'm gone.  while i'm grateful, i'm still gonna miss the little girl.  i would've tried to take her with me but this trip will involve more flying than normal and i didn't want to put her through that misery after her operation.

8th of march

even for a funeral, it's odd for happiness..

i discovered that it's bad to give an even number of flowers to someone unless it's for a sad occasion like a funeral.  the 8th of march is women's day, an international holiday that has an interesting history in russia and several of the former soviet bloc countries. here's a wiki link to photo and more details.

when i gave flowers to my girlfriend, she happily excepted them but kindly asked me why i choosed an even number. she then explained that traditionally an even number of flowers that are given to those suffering a loss, while an odd number is used to celebrate times of happiness.  being the foreigner that i am, she quickly forgave me for my slip up. 

the 8th of march is a big holiday in russia.  i compare it to mother's day and valentine's day combined in the states.  the florists were packed over the weekend as men swarmed the city buying bouquets for the ladies in their lives.  it was also a time for the vendors to mark up the flowers in price. since i was meeting other female friends, i couldn't show up empty handed  so i bought some extra flowers.  i even got to practice my russian through out the day, as i wished good health, success and happiness to all the women i ran into during the day. the phone companies were so busy with sms messages to everyone, that it took a half an hour for one to get through.

even at work, the men stepped up their game as we met and organized for an event to present to the ladies on the friday before the holiday.  this year we dressed in hawaiian shirts and shorts, met all the ladies at the door to adorn them with leis, and performed a song with musical accompaniment.  this was followed by a gift giving ceremony and as a grand finale; a funny indoor fireworks display involving bubble wrap. 

Ignat Solzhenitsyn

if that name sounds familiar, its probably because its the name of a classical pianist and conductor, that's also the son of the russian writer and historian, aleksandr solzhenitsyn.  i got the chance to see ignat play piano last night at a small concert hall here in vladivostok.  although he lives in the u.s with his wife and children, he conducts and performs around the world.  

his performance was magnificent and fascinating to watch.  i attend with some of the other americans.  we all had regrets about not continuing a musical pursuit from our younger years.  i always feel that after watching a captivating performance.

one side note- i've decided russians, at least in vladivostok, are use to starting public events later than what the ticket says.  this concert was the first time i committed to a no-rush policy.  the concert was suppose to start at 6:30pm, the same time i just arrived at the venue's door.  i strolled to the coat check line, waited in line, dropped off the coat, walked to the auditorium to find my seat, sat and waited another 10 minutes, until the announcer finally came out.  i guess shows just like to wait for all us late comers to find our seats.  i normally don't arrive late, but in this case it was right after work and i'd never been to the hall before.  there's something positive to be said for tardiness.