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not working

the last couple weeks have been filled with upgrades and installs at work. several all night sessions were involved that i would like to soon forget.  but i'm reaching the end of working on them now and just have a few loose ends to tie up.  unfortunately loose ends usually don't fit into the schedule when there's some other "issue" that is brought through my office door.  i try not to get stressed about it but it's difficult if it's impacting other people.  i'm just hoping monday will be a return to the quiet zen-like days of the past.  this morning was the first time i caught a full uninterrupted night of sleep in weeks. 

nothing else going on besides my studies.  now it's a balancing act between learning russian and how fast can i train a puppy.  the russian classes are still going well.  and the training is being handled with reinforcements that arrive each week to make the task easier.  i.e toys, leashes, etc.  i was finally able to find all the stuff i needed locally to take care of any future fleas, tick or worm problems.  i'm even getting the puppy bath down to a science.

i don't know how i'm going to fit in my IT self study training.  i was planning on starting that this year and it dawn on my it's already august now.  

life is good

over the weekend, i received some more photos.  my friends, "p" & "m", gave me pics from our first visit together.  as you can see from the photo, i did the obligatory tourist shot of sitting on some artillery.  we've been spending a lot of time together since then.  last friday, we got together for a late dinner and then a trip to zabriskie point for dancing and a few drinks. i'd been there before and was looking forward to the company and a night out.  last time i had gone, i was ill prepared for the night in attire and being up too early in the morning.  but this time i was ready to stay out as late as the best of them. 

the dance club was just as i remembered it, classic rock and sofas everywhere. the music group that night was another cover band, with russian, latino, and american songs.  i spent part of the night chatting with my russian friends and dancing with m.  midway through the night i felt a tap on the arm and someone asking what state i was from.  but instead of the normal russian accent this was spoken with none.  it was from a girl at one of our neighboring sofas.  we spoke more and i learned she was not an american but born in vladivostok.  she'd spent a year in the states and had been speaking english for years prior to that.  i complimented her (repeatedly) on how well she spoke english.  the rest of the night was spent dancing with my new aquaintance and trying to balance the conversation between my friends and "k".  the night flew by and we all grabbed the same taxi to get home.  i made sure i took down "k"s number so we could meet again.  after the taxi dropped me off, i glanced at my phone to check the time, it was 4:49 in the morning. i barely remember crawling under my covers.

stepping back in time

it's an old topic but google took over all the archives from the usenet groups years ago. i still find it entertaining to go back and search through all the groups. you can search for topics that happened 20 years ago and see what people were talking about then. it's kind of like a time machine. want to know what the beginnings of microsoft or apple were? just type in a few keywords and start searching. or even better, if you posted to usenet groups back in the day when email wasn't a common house hold word, you can search for your name and find all the posts you typed long ago. here's the link: Google Usenet group search

jeff healey

jeff healey passed away eariler this month from cancer at age 41. he was a mesmerizing musician that i first listened to back in 1990.  i still have some of his earliest blues work on cassette, which always gets play time when i stumble upon it in my collection.  he had a love of classic american jazz also that he explored with albums he released under the name "jeff healey's jazz wizards".  his new blues album is due to come out in april.  i never met him but from what i hear, the guy was a great human being.  another loss that was way before it's time.

www.jeffhealey.com

8 marta

vladivostok loves fireworks.  they are almost as common in my neighborhood as the dogs that bark randomly day and night.

today started out a little differently compared to most mornings. since saturday (8th of march) is a russian holiday, "women's day", all the gentlemen at work got together and organized a way to say thank you to the ladies.  the men all dressed in our sunday best and arrived to work before all our female coworkers. we gathered in the lobby along with flowers and gift baskets, awaiting the first arrivals.  as the ladies arrived we assisted with taking their coats and bags, welcomed them to work with flowers, and then had them pose for a photo with our consulate general.  after which they we're escorted to their office and wished a happy "women's day".  i was surprised by the impact this holiday has on the country and how serious they consider it.  every one of our ladies in the office was surprised, beaming with smiles, and congratulated us on the wonderful way we choose to celebrate the holiday.  some of them told me later they thought that should be done every week.

format error, retry?

there are days... and then there are days.

for anyone that was wondering why my site had took a bizarre formatting turn, i apologize.  after some checking i realized i had a mapping problem with a domain name service so typepad wasn't able to produce the same formating design as i thought it was.  it took some time but after finding the problem, i think i've corrected it.

if anyone is visiting and still sees just a white background with all the text scrolling off to the right and no pictures, let me know.

i've been busy with getting all my clothes and consumables ready for the next tour in vladivostok.  the more i research the more i have to make changes on what to take. right now i'm trying to decide on what vehicle to purchase and how i need to do it overseas.  it's going to be purchased in the states and shipped from there.  i haven't driven my own car since 2004. so i'm looking forward to having a roof over my head again, even though the aprilia i have has been well suited for sydney.

bias upgrade

over the last couple of weeks, i've been the unofficial host to a couple of visiting staff performing a server network upgrade.  after several late nights, i think i set a personal record for five nights in a row where i was catching a mid-night cab.

it also gave our local staff a chance to dispel some of the misconceptions and educate visitors on the common venacular used in a pub or other common meeting place.  phrases such as "give me a schooner of VB, mate" were repeated with delight through out the day even though it was behind a server rack devoid of any alcohol in the immediate vicinity. i did my best to sway tastes to brands like coopers, squires, and other brews but i think carlton won out as a favorite among our guests.

i know what it's like to travel for computer system upgrades, so we made sure everyone occupied their any free time, however brief, to various landmarks ar0und the city.  one of the guys, M, even stayed a few extra days just to hang out in sydney.

after the project was over, i heard from the local staff that it was one of the best upgrades they'd had to do. i'd say it was in part due to both aussie and american cultures coming together and each learning a little more about the other.

they all scream...

these are the usual suspects, most of them by themselves is enough to make a calorie watcher run for the nearest self-help book.  when all are placed together, the end result is definitely evil..  as evil as homemade ice cream.

my plan was simple, make ice cream and bring it to work.  a couple of flavors to start with, chocolate and vanilla. nothing wrong with that. 

that was last week.  now i'm approaching pusher status with co-workers catching me in the hallway.  their queries, range from, "when's the next batch?", "i hear you're the guy...", and "can you make (insert flavor here)?"

now the word has reached the captial of canberra, a few hours outside of sydney.  email and text messaging are my publicists.  today-new south wales, tomorrow-australia.

fudge, i bet he was a cool little guy

hidden out of sight from passersby, i found this tiny grave site with a simple epitaph, some photos and a brick for a marker.  someone loved their cat very much..

green is the new black

tesla motor's roadster - 100% electric

i let myself wander off in the fantasy of owning one, until the harsh, cruel reality of where i'm going next tapped me on the shoulder. ah but you can always dream..