happy birthday to everyone whose birthdays I have been bad about shouting out about this semester in my blog.....
a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fashionable roommate, Lee "Lungy" Ung, who turned 21 on February 20th.
a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to infamous King George of Norway, who turned the big seven five (only five more years until you can take up smokin', drinkin' and foolin' around!) the day after Lee.
a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to the one, the only Ms. Rosie Rosebrock, who turned 21 sometime between February 28th and March 1st.
and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to my dear Auntie Christine, who celebrated her 47th birthday in style this Sunday, March 22nd.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Смоленское Cemetery, FINALLY.
So, there is this beautiful, old, fucking enormous cemetery smack in the middle of Vasilevsky Island -- seriously, if you look at a map, it is this huge green square --
-- that is the Smolenskoye Cemetery. I had heard a lot about it last semester from kids who lived in Primorskaya in host families or at the dorm and had been meaning to walk through there the whole time, but never made it. I was still fully planning on doing this walk this semester as well, but then time passed, time passed, and when I realized that almost all of the new kids living in Primorskaya had already discovered this cemetery and had walked through it, I knew I severely needed to get on this.
Unfortunately the weather prevented me the three times I tried earlier this week (the mornings would start sunny and promising but it would be snowing in the afternoon by the time I was out of class or just cold and windy and wet), but Louis and I finally went yesterday in the sharply clear afternoon. I shot a whole roll of black and white film in the snow and the low, flirtatious late afternoon sun. (Though! Can you believe it! it is already starting to stay light out so much later, we noticed the other night it was almost 8pm and it was still not fully dark, still dusky. and this Saturday is Daylight Savings Time here finally, so then we'll have even MORE light during my waking hours! Beautiful!)
We went to one of the older parts of the cemetery, the Lutheran cemetery, mostly full of German ex-pats and a couple of Italians, the small strip that is up and to the right of the main green square (see blue arrow). Apparently the main part of the cemetery is newer, with tall trees, more spacious, more like a park. The Lutheran cemetery is older and much more like the Pere Lechaise cemetery in Paris I loved so much in January, except, of course, as this is Russia, it is falling to shit, which is part of what makes it so beautiful, especially in the snow which is white and pristine unlike the snow in the rest of the city.... but it was just kind of ridiculous to be looking at a grave where an old coffin had been removed or something, and to go and peer down into the bottom of the whole and see it full of Baltika 7 and Jaguar alcoholic energy drink cans.
Here is one of the few digital pictures I took:
A lot more photos will follow once I get the black and white film back on Thursday.
I am glad I finally went though and fully plan on going back, especially when the sun is higher and brighter and it is a tad warmer so my hands won't numb as much when I am taking pictures.
-- that is the Smolenskoye Cemetery. I had heard a lot about it last semester from kids who lived in Primorskaya in host families or at the dorm and had been meaning to walk through there the whole time, but never made it. I was still fully planning on doing this walk this semester as well, but then time passed, time passed, and when I realized that almost all of the new kids living in Primorskaya had already discovered this cemetery and had walked through it, I knew I severely needed to get on this.Unfortunately the weather prevented me the three times I tried earlier this week (the mornings would start sunny and promising but it would be snowing in the afternoon by the time I was out of class or just cold and windy and wet), but Louis and I finally went yesterday in the sharply clear afternoon. I shot a whole roll of black and white film in the snow and the low, flirtatious late afternoon sun. (Though! Can you believe it! it is already starting to stay light out so much later, we noticed the other night it was almost 8pm and it was still not fully dark, still dusky. and this Saturday is Daylight Savings Time here finally, so then we'll have even MORE light during my waking hours! Beautiful!)
We went to one of the older parts of the cemetery, the Lutheran cemetery, mostly full of German ex-pats and a couple of Italians, the small strip that is up and to the right of the main green square (see blue arrow). Apparently the main part of the cemetery is newer, with tall trees, more spacious, more like a park. The Lutheran cemetery is older and much more like the Pere Lechaise cemetery in Paris I loved so much in January, except, of course, as this is Russia, it is falling to shit, which is part of what makes it so beautiful, especially in the snow which is white and pristine unlike the snow in the rest of the city.... but it was just kind of ridiculous to be looking at a grave where an old coffin had been removed or something, and to go and peer down into the bottom of the whole and see it full of Baltika 7 and Jaguar alcoholic energy drink cans.
Here is one of the few digital pictures I took:
A lot more photos will follow once I get the black and white film back on Thursday.I am glad I finally went though and fully plan on going back, especially when the sun is higher and brighter and it is a tad warmer so my hands won't numb as much when I am taking pictures.
Monday, March 23, 2009
I leaned back on my radio, oh, oh.
This weekend Lauren and I finally had the "house warming" party we'd been discussing having for almost two months now. The theme was GLAM ROCK and it was fabulous as hell. David Bowie, T. Rex, body glitter... eyeliner, rose hips, and lip gloss, such fun. Check out Lauren in her get up in our kitchen, she's a slick little girl:
More pictures from the event are up on my site.
The party was deemed a success for the following reasons:
1. no one got vomit-sick from an excess of alcohol,
2. no one stole anything,
3. the neighbors never asked us to quiet down, let alone call the police on us,
4. and the only people who broke anything at the party were..... the people who live in the apartment. Lauren broke a plate trying to put it on a counter out of the way so it would be "safe" and just, well, missed the counter, and I broke a glass when trying to clean up a little bit so the morning after would be less disastrous. It fell out of the drying rack when I opened the cabinet, and I stood very still while a certain someone cleaned up the little bits of glass on the floor around my bare feet.
I was also impressed by how much people got into the theme. Of course, this isn't Wellesley College, so everyone wasn't all out in their weirdo costumes like my friends get into our themed parties. We had some people in street clothes, but we also had a fabulous bouncer, Radhika, from Smith College, who helped implement the NO EYELINER, NO ADMITTANCE policy. Some radicals crept in past her, but she got all the major slackers. What was the best part is apparently some people the next morning who are not used to wearing eyeliner regularly forgot to remove it and showed up for the excursion to the Dostoevsky Museum (I didn't go, as I went this summer) still looking pretty glamorous....
The most successful aspect of the party was though that it wasn't just all "Smolny assholes" (to use Lauren's phrase). We had a really nice mix of kids from my program, other ex-pats Lauren has collected in her year, and Russian friends that both Lauren and I have accumulated. I mean, it's pretty easy to convince everyone to come to a party when David Bowie is involved. Who doesn't love David Bowie?
More pictures from the event are up on my site.The party was deemed a success for the following reasons:
1. no one got vomit-sick from an excess of alcohol,
2. no one stole anything,
3. the neighbors never asked us to quiet down, let alone call the police on us,
4. and the only people who broke anything at the party were..... the people who live in the apartment. Lauren broke a plate trying to put it on a counter out of the way so it would be "safe" and just, well, missed the counter, and I broke a glass when trying to clean up a little bit so the morning after would be less disastrous. It fell out of the drying rack when I opened the cabinet, and I stood very still while a certain someone cleaned up the little bits of glass on the floor around my bare feet.
I was also impressed by how much people got into the theme. Of course, this isn't Wellesley College, so everyone wasn't all out in their weirdo costumes like my friends get into our themed parties. We had some people in street clothes, but we also had a fabulous bouncer, Radhika, from Smith College, who helped implement the NO EYELINER, NO ADMITTANCE policy. Some radicals crept in past her, but she got all the major slackers. What was the best part is apparently some people the next morning who are not used to wearing eyeliner regularly forgot to remove it and showed up for the excursion to the Dostoevsky Museum (I didn't go, as I went this summer) still looking pretty glamorous....
The most successful aspect of the party was though that it wasn't just all "Smolny assholes" (to use Lauren's phrase). We had a really nice mix of kids from my program, other ex-pats Lauren has collected in her year, and Russian friends that both Lauren and I have accumulated. I mean, it's pretty easy to convince everyone to come to a party when David Bowie is involved. Who doesn't love David Bowie?
I'm becoming a fan of these little updates.
You know, these ones that are event-specific with photos and themes.
Send questions, comments, feedback, complaints to my gmail.
Send questions, comments, feedback, complaints to my gmail.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Happy (slightly belated) St. Patrick's Day!
Hope you all had fun enjoying the holiday of my people in areas more heavily populated with Irish immigrants.
This was the extent of my celebrating:
This was the extent of my celebrating:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
"Will you be starting a cooking blog next?"
At least for this entry, yes, yes Dad, I will be.
Tonight Cathy and Carrie came over to make some dinner, and we attempted our own version of the frittata that Mom made for me many nights in high school for dinner. We approximately followed the recipe that Dad sent me in an email, altering it ever so slightly. This was the final ingredient tally:
-- 9 eggs (though 11 were broken, a slight tragedy occurring)
-- half a cup of milk
-- about half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables
-- about a quarter of a fresh yellow pepper
-- some chopped fresh onion
-- some chopped fresh mushrooms
-- about half a cup of grated cheese of the Russian variety
-- butter to grease the pan
-- salt and pepper added afterward, at the table, because we forgot beforehand
And voila! After about twenty minutes in our oven on the "half-way between the big flame and the little flame" temperature, we had this:
AND, it actually tasted good.
Pictured here with bread, cheese, and grated carrot/radish salad prepared by Carrie.
Moral of the story: maybe cooking isn't all that atrociously difficult.
Tonight Cathy and Carrie came over to make some dinner, and we attempted our own version of the frittata that Mom made for me many nights in high school for dinner. We approximately followed the recipe that Dad sent me in an email, altering it ever so slightly. This was the final ingredient tally:
-- 9 eggs (though 11 were broken, a slight tragedy occurring)
-- half a cup of milk
-- about half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables
-- about a quarter of a fresh yellow pepper
-- some chopped fresh onion
-- some chopped fresh mushrooms
-- about half a cup of grated cheese of the Russian variety
-- butter to grease the pan
-- salt and pepper added afterward, at the table, because we forgot beforehand
And voila! After about twenty minutes in our oven on the "half-way between the big flame and the little flame" temperature, we had this:
AND, it actually tasted good.
Pictured here with bread, cheese, and grated carrot/radish salad prepared by Carrie.Moral of the story: maybe cooking isn't all that atrociously difficult.
Udelnaya never lets you down.
Well, this is actually not true at all.
I've had some days at Udelnaya where I have found absolutely nothing and just gotten frost bitten feet and exhausted. But this Sunday, Lauren and I went for our first Udelnaya-outing of the semester and had luck like I have never had before. The sun was shining like crazy, and both Lauren and I agreed we had never seen more people out with blankets on the icy, frozen mud. It was crowded as hell, and we both made some great purchases including, but not limited to, the items in the still lifes below.
Dress #1. I've never had luck with clothes at Udelnaya before, but I did well this Sunday. It's flowery and vintagey and reminds me of something my friend Grace from this summer would wear. Looking at the label it looks like some collaboration between an Asian and Russian clothing company, especially as it is called "Дружба" ("Friendship").
Dress #2. You only get a tiny little look at this one, as the full effect of the dress remains to be a surprise for our "Glam Rock" themed party coming up this weekend. I'm certain you can see just how special this dress is though judging by the fabric exactly like that dress Nunni had in the 80s that I cut up and made that tank top out of and wore to the Halloween dance in 9th grade, and, of course, by the label deeming it "HIGH FASHION."
Little tin sports car #1. What a great color, plus my favorite number, look at that. Plus a good old St. Petersburg metro station for sentimentality next year.
Tins #1 and #2. The first tin I got, on the left, was the most expensive as it's the oldest. It featured a little drawing of good Russian pioneer school children. The second tin, with the dog, was also clearly necessary. I also got me some guitar strings for my breaking old guitar that I have yet to learn how to play and a snazzy ten ruble coin in my change from purchasing the flowery dress. Someone told me once that ten ruble coins aren't legal currency anymore, but it's ok, I was planning on keeping it anyway.
Old photographs #1 - #5, plus an old postcard. You know I can't resist this shit.
Hand-knitted slippers, pairs #1 & #2. AMI LI and KAREN BARTELS LOOK! LOOK! I found that same woman as last time by some miracle amongst the blankets and blankets of people and she had three more pairs of slippers for sale! Lauren and I bought all three between the two of us, Lauren keeping one pair, and me just stocking up because I love them and this woman so much. I talked to her more this time and she told me she makes three pairs every week and sells them every weekend, so clearly Lauren and I are going back to find her again and again and again..... maybe we'll be able to commission her to make us more in specific colors if we get to know her well enough! She's amazing.
Tins #3 - #10. Ok, so I went a little nuts here. First it started with the roundish little tin (upper left) that I found for 10r and got so excited about because it reminded me of the "Геркулес" ("Gerkules" = "Hercules" in Russian) tin and sugar pot in our kitchen that's part of the apartment that I love to photograph and was sad already to have to leave in June.... so I bought that and was all happy with myself and then. I found. The motherload. A woman was selling a set of seven of these very tins for the bargain price of 120r. Well..... I had to buy all of them. Mom and Dad, I bet you guys just can't WAIT to carry all this shit home for me when you come in May, right?!
And here we are for my Sunday 3/15/09 self portrait, Lauren is wearing her awesome green rain boots she got for 70r. Fabulous, no?
Moral of the story: we are two savvy bargain shoppers.
I've had some days at Udelnaya where I have found absolutely nothing and just gotten frost bitten feet and exhausted. But this Sunday, Lauren and I went for our first Udelnaya-outing of the semester and had luck like I have never had before. The sun was shining like crazy, and both Lauren and I agreed we had never seen more people out with blankets on the icy, frozen mud. It was crowded as hell, and we both made some great purchases including, but not limited to, the items in the still lifes below.
Dress #1. I've never had luck with clothes at Udelnaya before, but I did well this Sunday. It's flowery and vintagey and reminds me of something my friend Grace from this summer would wear. Looking at the label it looks like some collaboration between an Asian and Russian clothing company, especially as it is called "Дружба" ("Friendship").
Dress #2. You only get a tiny little look at this one, as the full effect of the dress remains to be a surprise for our "Glam Rock" themed party coming up this weekend. I'm certain you can see just how special this dress is though judging by the fabric exactly like that dress Nunni had in the 80s that I cut up and made that tank top out of and wore to the Halloween dance in 9th grade, and, of course, by the label deeming it "HIGH FASHION."
Little tin sports car #1. What a great color, plus my favorite number, look at that. Plus a good old St. Petersburg metro station for sentimentality next year.
Tins #1 and #2. The first tin I got, on the left, was the most expensive as it's the oldest. It featured a little drawing of good Russian pioneer school children. The second tin, with the dog, was also clearly necessary. I also got me some guitar strings for my breaking old guitar that I have yet to learn how to play and a snazzy ten ruble coin in my change from purchasing the flowery dress. Someone told me once that ten ruble coins aren't legal currency anymore, but it's ok, I was planning on keeping it anyway.
Old photographs #1 - #5, plus an old postcard. You know I can't resist this shit.
Hand-knitted slippers, pairs #1 & #2. AMI LI and KAREN BARTELS LOOK! LOOK! I found that same woman as last time by some miracle amongst the blankets and blankets of people and she had three more pairs of slippers for sale! Lauren and I bought all three between the two of us, Lauren keeping one pair, and me just stocking up because I love them and this woman so much. I talked to her more this time and she told me she makes three pairs every week and sells them every weekend, so clearly Lauren and I are going back to find her again and again and again..... maybe we'll be able to commission her to make us more in specific colors if we get to know her well enough! She's amazing.
Tins #3 - #10. Ok, so I went a little nuts here. First it started with the roundish little tin (upper left) that I found for 10r and got so excited about because it reminded me of the "Геркулес" ("Gerkules" = "Hercules" in Russian) tin and sugar pot in our kitchen that's part of the apartment that I love to photograph and was sad already to have to leave in June.... so I bought that and was all happy with myself and then. I found. The motherload. A woman was selling a set of seven of these very tins for the bargain price of 120r. Well..... I had to buy all of them. Mom and Dad, I bet you guys just can't WAIT to carry all this shit home for me when you come in May, right?!
And here we are for my Sunday 3/15/09 self portrait, Lauren is wearing her awesome green rain boots she got for 70r. Fabulous, no?Moral of the story: we are two savvy bargain shoppers.
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