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animals never need a passport

it difficult to find the right mix of what to do with free time overseas.  whenever i devote too much time to one pursuit, the others start to make me feel guilty.  if i spent time with friends over the weekend, then i  think about work.  if i work, then i'm thinking about studying.  if i study, i crave time with friends.  and then there are the hobbies that patiently wait for me until i tired of all of the above.  i can see it in other people that i work with also.  they have their desires, goals and needs.  when someone breaks off and does something new, you admire them for their adventuresome spirit, but also envy them for doing it and not getting to join in.  it seems like everyday there's an invitation to some function, activity or get together.  i tend to join when i can, but there are times when i'm just to exhausted to participate.  this may fall on deaf ears for someone that envys the life abroad.  but it's not all ballroom dancing and dinner parties as one might suspect for the diplomatic corps.  even as i write this, i received an invite by a russian friend for chinese food and a nightclub afterwards. but this is why i joined the foreign service.  i wanted to experience life in other countries and learn more about people that live in them.  the more i learn the more questions i tend to have.  what similarities we have and don't have.  it's not just my age group either, i've learned alot about those that are older and those that are younger.  more often than not, i've learned people are the same where ever i go.  they all want security in their jobs, someone to love, and the pursuit of happiness.  all of them complain about their politicians, love their families, wish they were making more money, and want to have fun. 

its really a gamble on finding a post that you will enjoy.  i've been fortunate enough to find pleasure in all my tours. i've made friends, experienced the culture and have hopefully represented myself well enough to change some of the sterotypes americans have overseas.  i've talked to friends that have ended up in a post where they thought it would be their last one.  mainly due to the fact they couldn't stand some of their co-workers.  the best thing i've learned in the short span of three tours is that working with people that gets along with is not worth spending any time dwelling on.  address the problem, move on and try not to let it bother you.  you feel better taking the high road in the long run and a few years later you can barely remember their name. 

it seems like every summer that approaches brings with it a changing of the guard.  you quickly make friends upon your arrival and then start counting the days until those friends have to move on to their next assignment or back to the states.  this post is no different.  and i'm going to miss everyone that's leaving like i usually do.  but one thing is strikingly different.  this time, i'm going to slowly become the one that's been here the longest while everyone else will be fresh off the plane.  there's a certain solice in that, with being comfortably settled.  but there also the constant reminder of friends that have left you.

troubleshooting

"i've never had a work day similar to jason bourne running through the u.s. embassy in munich, but i've had my moments.."  d.sweet

the longer you live somewhere, the more you forget you're overseas.  don't misunderstand, i still call the u.s. my home, but my current residence is my home away from home.  even during work, job routines become more comfortable and familiar.  what suddenly jar me back to reality is when i can't fix a problem the same day it appears.  it will stay with me all night to make sure i wake up in a foul mood.  yesterday, i had one of those problems crop up, but 24 hours later i was able to resolve it.  that's when i'm reminded of where i'm at and what the limits of my resources really are.  but the reward is knowing you were able to handle it without admitting defeat.

the snow started falling here early monday morning, by 9am it had covered the ground in a thick blanket.  by mid day the sun starts to break through and you can hear the constant drizzle of water coming from the roof tops.  by 5pm, the snow and rain appear again as if hiding out until the sun turns away. i can see now how quickly the weather changes here in march.

talking head

in vladivostok, there's a group of russians that meet for discussions on all things american.  no, it's not a govt think tank or secret intelligence society.  it's called the american corner.  it consists of professionals, students and also visitors that come to the american corner library for a variety of american english media and resources.  the corner also has english guest speakers come to present topics and i was invited to give a talk recently.  i was pondering what i should talk about and originally thought it should be about how computers have changed america in the last couple decades.  yawn...  so instead i went with juggling.  not that technology is boring to me, its just dry material for some people in what would be a diverse group. 

tatiana and a driver escorted me to the library where i met the staff.  i was surprised to see the number of english publications, media and reference material stacked on the bookshelves. i learned that several of the visitors request books regarding economics and course preparation material.  there was also a large selection of vhs and dvd documentaries to pick from.  it became increasing difficult to break away from the racks to give my talk.

i had an hour roughly to talk and i hoped my midwestern accent would hold up under translation as i began. but right off the mark, my previous street performing experience kicked in and i was off and running.  i spent the first 15 minutes talking about learning how to juggle growing up, and how it progress from childhood, to my days in college, and then as an adult performing for shows ranging from farmers markets to a lalapolooza concert.   after a few laughs, i was warmed up enough to break out the visual aids.  more for myself, i forced the material away from the normal routines i usually do for audiences and made sure i  focused on getting the audience involved.  it didn't take long to get volunteers to help demonstrate how to juggle. as the hour was winding down, i finished up with answering questions.  which turned out to be just as fun for me as i hoped it was for them.  i still get the same questions whereever i go, like "have you ever juggled fire?" or "how many can you juggle?" are always at the top.  i think its basic human nature to find out what the limits are of anything.

at the end of the discussion, some of the audience came up to ask more questions and also to see what the juggling equipment up close.  the staff thanked me for coming and also commented on how well the evening had gone. they were already asking when i'd be back.  hmm, computers?

doesn't feel like xmas

for some reason it just doesn't feel like christmas is right around the corner.  i had every intention of putting up a tree and some lights but now it's so close to the holidays that i'd just have to take them down again.  i don't even have my pictures up yet.  citizens of vlad celebrate the new year and recognize january as more of the  month of holidays, so that's probably why.

this afternoon, i joined friends for bowling. it was a mixed group of japanese, americans and russians. a few games of friendly competition later, we then headed out for pizza down by the harbor.  i guess the pizza parlor had changed recently and was now offering exotic dancers friday and saturday nights.  more on that another time. tomorrow i'm heading off to a reserve up north to see some siberian tigers. should be an interesting trip and a chance to see more of the country side.  the trip is about 4 hours by car so i'll get plenty of time to work on my russian. 

it's an early xmas

after having the largest gap between posts today, i can say with certainty, being without your household effects is the worst, aside from being away from family.  it was almost 3 months to the day when i did my packout until most of my stuff arrived in russia.  but now that its all here, i'm feeling better about having things handy when i need them instead of making due with whats available.  it does give one a chance to sort through whats important to have and what are the luxuries.  now the only things i'm waiting on are my car, scooter and consumables.  the latter i've been getting by without, but it can get expensive buying locally some of the common things you need.  so when they arrive, i'll be spending less time running back and forth to the store and more time out and about.  the car is on time for arrival and i should be looking at it in my driveway by december.  and lastly the scooter.  i had to come up with some paperwork at the last minute that i had overlooked.  in the process, i discovered what i thought was a title was actually just registration paperwork i had received in australia.  i had assumed every country has a title of some sort, but australia basically takes your title from you when you turn in your plates.  i still have no idea how they claim a vehicle is theirs. if it's sitting in storage without plates for example.  i ended up getting a document from the australian rta that basically said i'm the last registered owner of the scooter and no one else has registered it.  so by default i'm the owner.  i hope it's good enough for russian customs official, we'll see.

after a couple tours in non-english speaking posts, i've come to the conclusion you learn the same words first no matter what country you're in.  for me the words in the following order were:

• hello
• goodbye
• yes
• no
• thank you
• your welcome
• good morning
• good day
• good night
• how much
• which way to the industrial park  (j/k)

the wait continues

in the foreign service, there's a certain amount of waiting for your belongings to catch up with you or watching them all disappear.  i've prepared myself for what has almost become a 3 month gap since packing up all my stuff back in august.  this week i learned my possessions had arrived into the city but there was a problem with one item that would delay the release of all my goods.  if you're wondering if it was my scooter, then you're correct.  after all the double checking and followups, a ball was dropped along the way and custom s here in russia stopped it from being reunited with it's owner.  i don't take any offense to this against customs.  they're just doing their job.  i'm more upset with the shipping company since they were the ones we've been telling all along there's a badass scooter in the crates you're hauling over the far east.  anyway, i'll have to wait and see what happens now as all parties are in discussion over it like it was an endangered species illegally brought into the country.  hopefully, i'll be able to see it in a week or so.

speaking of wheels, my car is on a cargo ship as we speak. i've tracked it down on-line and can tell it's out in the middle of the ocean.  i may be get it before the scoot, who knows.  here's a pic of the ship.  don't be alarmed by the shifting containers.  no, that's not the new method for increasing space, the ship had gone through a storm and as we all know contents may shift during transport.

apec

after months of planning and a rush of supporting activity up to the final days of apec, i was able to catch a photo op with the president. good thing i waxed my head that morning.

long break

no, i'm not in a coma.  the last couple months have gone by with a flurry of activity and I kick myself for not jotting down a couple notes about what's going on.

i've been busying finishing up all the final details for my departure from sydney.  Some of the highlights.

• bought a new toyota fj cruiser
• packed up and shipped out all my stuff, including the scooter
• helped a friend by letting "s" crash at my place while she looked for a new place in sydney
• purchased some exercise equipment for my new place in russia
• got my russian visa
• finished ordering all my consumables
• joined the rest of my co-workers for the ensuing apec (epic?) conference (ending this week)
• to do yet - spend the last three days before i leave hanging out with friends i hope to see again down the road.

no pics right now, but i've been busying snapping some whenever i can. should have more to post soon.

another week and i'll be back in the states visiting family and friends.  by mid october i'll be in a new country and trying to catch up on learning the language.

running low on virtual memory

nothing to mention of any significance. but i thought i post anyway. just a couple months to go before i fly out of australia and spend some time back home in the states. 

with the asian pacific economic conference coming to sydney, we're already busy at the consulate supporting various visitors that will be arriving.  well, actually i'm not. but that's giving me time to followup on my arrangements for my departure.

some of the things i'm working on:

• getting my russian visa
• buying a new car
• buying consumables
• buying new clothes
• booster shots for immunizations
• canceling all services for my home
• major cleaning for home after 2 years of wear and tear
• donating, trashing or selling anything i don't need
• sorting what goes back to storage, what goes to russia and what never leaves my side

the first one, i thought would take the longest but i'm learning it's even more difficult than i imagined. and i haven't even applied for it yet.

buying a car, sounds easy and it would be normally but i only have a month in the states and i'd rather use the time for something else. so i'm looking into buying it with the help of family back home.

vaccinations- another surprise. i discovered one of the immunizations i had for africa never actually took. when i asked the dr. if that happens a lot for that type of shot, she said "not really, only about 2% of the people taking it reject it." so i get to try again and see if it sticks.

when you begin to prepare for the next tour,  you unconsciously shift from priorities at work to what do i have to follow up on for moving. no matter what you hear about the foreign service, it's up to you to check on tickets, packing, training, home leave, etc. there's no one there to give you daily reminders on what to do next.  it can shred an ADD person to pieces.

talking to coworkers turns into speaking in different languages. when they mention a project that's going to happen after i leave, i mentally file it in the "make sure to tell my replacement" folder. and my "get-done-before-i-go" projects are "we'll-get-to-it-eventually" ideas.

did i mention the lists? no matter how many times i do this, i'm realizing i have too many to-do lists. my best advice for someone doing this, get one pda or one notebook or one scribe to keep everything written down.  because the list you just made at home, is going to be the one with the note on it that you need that day at work..

shoemany

another recent discovery for me; collecting too many of a particular something and then realizing it after the fact. 

it's easy to do when you pack up, store boxes, forget what you have and then end up buying new ones.  in this case it's shoes.  i've decided to give 1/2 of all my shoes away to donation centers.  after lining up the suspects, all 22 pairs, it was easy to see which ones i favored and the ones that were true fashion victims or just past their prime.

a small mountain of clothing has also started to appear in one corner of my house.  like a cotton/polyester/wool version of devil's tower.

the problem now, replacing what i donate with new stuff..