Yeah, Okay, I'm a Sh*tty Blogger

It's been nearly a year since I last wrote.
But in my defense, it was a busy year.

In September I got a brand new always-has-water flat in the Yugo Zapadnaya neighborhood, renting from an amazing client. For the first time since I got to Moscow, I can really stretch out. I have three rooms to myself. Myshka has a whole room just for his litter box. No joke.

In October I got very sick, got a Russian specialist, and learned all about paid healthcare. Yep--it's just as horrible and elitist as you imagine. Luckily the Limey was there to take care of me.

But in December the Limey had to go back to England, where I visited him for the New Year's holidays. England twice in six months, and no home for two years...I know, I know...

It was worth the visit, because in February the Limey moved again, this time all the way to Japan (follow him here). He'd always had a yen for all things Japanese (God I hate myself) so off he went, but not before popping into Moscow for a visit. On this particular visit he and I got into a massive row about the directions to a Japanese restaurant. This argument was quite quickly ended when the Limey proposed. Marriage, that is. We're planning a wedding for next summer in Gimli Manitoba. Pardon me for not using exclamation points, but I don't do that.

At the beginning of, March I spent two boring weeks in gorgeous Kiev, admiring the friendliness and Slavic good-looks of the locals, and waiting for my workvisa to get processed. Seeing as how I spent most of that two weeks on a bottom bunk with a computer and a German almost constantly snoring one bed over, you'd think that would have been an excellent time to start blogging again, but there you totally underestimate my laziness.

At the end of March, you no doubt heard about the rush-hour metro bombings. I don't know what to say but that that was a quiet, quiet day in Moscow. The sadness was so palpable in the streets, you felt you were breathing it. Piles of roses in the stations were chest high for weeks. But apart from that, you wouldn't know anything had happened. Russians are not people to be shaken easily, or scared into their homes. Life in Moscow carried on, undisturbed by those who wanted nothing more than to disturb everyone.

In May, my dear Katie came for a visit, and she enjoyed all that a world class city like Moscow has to offer:


It was an amazing time though, and a chance to do all the touristy stuff I forget to do. If you know her, ask her to tell you the story about being forced into line to see Lenin's mummy. It's a good one.

Then In June, I managed to finally get home, where I am now. So seeing as how I'm in my mother's basement right now, all Moscow news I have to offer is second hand.

And apparently, I picked a good summer to be gone. Moscow is blisteringly hot and blanketed in smog.It started with and insane heat wave, which led to drought, and tragedy and now there are fires, leading to more tragedy.

So if there was ever a time to take off, this is it.


I'll leave you with a somewhat disturbing video of an all-too common fire in the Russian countryside: