The Weekend

Hello all. More photos added to my October posts - a few to 'A Viennese Affair', a few to 'Auf Wiedershen, Vienna', a couple to 'TGIF' and a couple to 'Cesky Krumlov etc.' - click on the archives for October and you'll find them. More to follow soon.

Anyway, on Friday I went in pursuit of a phantom exhibit of Soviet propaganda posters. That would have been hella cool, but it was not to be - alas, all enquiries at the Russian Contemporary History Museum came to naught. I did, however, look around the museum, which was moderately interesting. All the labels etc. were in Russian, but they did at least provide a printed info sheet for each room, so I sort of knew what I was looking at. The most interesting incident was when I went the wrong way around a circular layout of rooms - going back in history, as it were. I realised my error and just decided to walk back to the first room in the sequence (Russia under Krushchev) and then proceed towards Russia under Putin in the correct order. However, when I had found my starting-point, I ran up against the babushka-y guard. "Devushka!" ("Young lady!") - "you've already been that way!" (this is all in Russian, btw). Me: "I know, but I didn't see it." Babs: "No, you need to go this way!" (pointing back to the rooms I had viewed before I went astray). Me: "No, I've seen them." Babs: Frustrated, takes me by the elbow and escorts me back to where she wants me to go. Me: Waits a few minutes then tries to sneak back to the part of the museum I actually haven't seen yet. Ah, but the babushka has foreseen this cunning manouevre and is has elected to lie in wait for me, rather than return to her post. Me: "I've seen those rooms." Babs: "But you've seen the other rooms too." Me: "No, I was in those rooms, but I don't see [bad russian alert]" Babs: "Ah, you haven't seen everything." Me: "Yes!" Finally, the light has dawned and she lets me through (the way where I have to view them in the wrong order, but I'll settle for that at this stage). So I walk back into the rooms and encounter the next babushka - "Devushka! You've been this way already!"...

Saturday I hung out with Melani and a teacher who's even newer than me, Nigel - made me feel like I actually knew a thing or two about Moscow, which was nice. Walked around the outside of St Basil's for like the 5th time, but it's all good. Sat night we 'crashed' a party given by another teacher (who I'd never actually met, but it's all good). It was nice to actually talk to some people and make some friends. Plus they had a lethal punch made up of juice, wine, and vodka - yummy! We played some drunken badminton on the street at about 2 in the morning, while irate Russians yelled at us from their balconies. I'm surprised the militsia didn't get called in! Ended up crashing on their couch (stupid last metro leaves at 1 am) - good time had by all.

Unsurprisingly, Sunday was a wash...

Today (birthday!) not going well. Had to get up ridiculously early for reasons I can't be bothered going into, after possibly the worst night's sleep ever. Now hanging around at work all day :( Won't be off until 10 tonight. Grrr! Ah well, happy birthday to me...