real poetry doesn't rhyme

"Они жили бедно, но мысли у них были богатые" - цитаты из сочинений про СССР

2009-11-06T16:25:57Z

"Ленин - известный человек, который занимался вложением денег в развитие Советского Союза".

"Люди в СССР всегда работали и отказывались отдыхать. Они приходили с работы и ложились сразу спать, потому что очень уставали на работе. Сны люди не смотрели".

"Мне жалко советских детей. У них не было компьютеров, не было игрушек. Взрослые им всегда говорили, что надо много работать. А когда надо было отдыхать, взрослые говорили им сходить погулять. Дети постоянно ходили по улицам. Это было единственное развлечение для детей".

"...Там, в СССР, жили очень цивилизованные люди. У них были хорошие работы (интересные). Они не выражались оскорбительными словами. Они помогали друг другу, не отнимали, не жадничали. Мы отличаемся от них. Они отличались от всех людей на планете..."

"Самыми счастливыми были те, кто жил в деревнях. У них было свое хозяйство, и они всегда могли зарезать и съесть свою свинью. А в городах люди всегда голодали..."

"Когда на нашу страну напали фашисты, Сталин поначалу испугался и спрятался в Кремле. И тогда к Сталину пришел Жуков и сказал: "Чего нам бояться фашиста? Разве мы не русские люди?" "И то правда", - сказал Сталин. Тогда-то и наступил перелом в Великой Отечественной войне".

цитата из американской версии "В мире животных"

2009-11-06T02:57:35Z

The most important thing that mothers can give their children is their time.

krik dushi

2009-11-05T04:32:12Z

In my experience, one cannot get more arrogant and ignorant than unemployment benefits hearing officers at the NJ Department of Labor!

just a cute quote...

2009-10-16T01:24:13Z

my eyes are green because I eat a lot of vegetables...
it has nothing to do with your new friend...

erika badu

disclaimer: even though I am admittedly a jealous girl it has nothing to do with my current feelings

Перемены

2009-08-28T03:00:49Z

Подходит к концу очень особенный год в моей жизни - год, когда я была прежде всего мамой. Я никогда не представляла себя домохозяйкой и думала, что как многие начну жаловаться, что мне скучно и надоело, что моя главная, а иногда и единственная собеседница в течение дня, не умеет говорить. А оказалось не так. Саша - это не просто постоянный прикол, но и очень чуткий арбитр искренности. В отличие от взрослых, которых можно заговорить ничего не значащей болтовней, с ней это не проходит. Когда я играю с ней "всерьез" или действительно заинтересовано показываю что-то, ее реакция совсем другая. Хочешь, не хочешь, учишься быть "in the moment". И иногда в этом моменте хочется потеряться. А сейчас так уже не получится: я начинаю работать, с ней будет няня. Няня хорошая, Саша уже ходит и дает понять, что ей надо. Я работаю близко и не всю неделю, работа интересная, но что-то неуловимое теряется, будто, растворяется в воздухе. Это время, когда она учила меня быть мамой, а я отдавала все свое внимание маленькой девочке, которая во всем рассчитывала на меня.

Child care, elder care

2009-03-05T14:48:55Z

I have been lucky to get some help with my daughter from my grandmother and grandfather recently. I saw them enjoying their great granddaughter's company so much. For the first time my granny was not eager to see every new exhibition in the city and spend every weekend traveling. And I do not think that American grandparents are much different. Think of the "brag-books" they carry around or their excitement about the holidays when they get to see the little ones... So why do so very few of them help raising their grandchildren? Sometimes it is the distance or difficult relations with children-in-law. However, the main reason is that they have been convinced that this is not the right way to enjoy their retirement. They should be traveling, playing golf, and then spending the rest of their savings on services of assisted living facilities and then retirement homes. In the meantime their children are spending a good chunk of their income on childcare. What a fabulous way to put money into the economy and create jobs! Someone pretty smart must have thought of breaking away with the tradition of grandparents helping with grandchildren and children looking after their parents when they grow old. And then it was just a matter of a good campaign to promote the new arrangement in the popular culture. Hello American gray gold! When did you last see a commercial where a happy grandparent was taking an active part in their grandchildren's life? No, God forbid. What you might have seen is "Everybody loves Ray" or something of this sort where nosy grandparents interfere with their children's lives and give a random hug to their grandchildren. Everybody is much better on their own. How practical, how lovely! But I am afraid that we are losing something very precious at the same time.

ailatanie @ 2008-07-31T15:37:00

2008-07-31T19:38:19Z

Хочется... книжку хорошую, светлую, на-русском (не скаченную с интернета, а новую еще пахнушую типографиеи, в жесткой обложке). Как я люблю "разламывать" еще жесткий и непокорный переплeт. Хочу книжку с главами, чтобы вчитываться в их названия и угадывать, как повернется история. А то в последнее время я читаю исключительно и-мейл, книжки по уходу за детьми и Time. A самое главное, уговорить свою совесть, что я могу так просто сесть и почитать.

free like a bird

2008-07-30T17:53:53Z

happiness is when ....3 months after you have discovered that you are missing your SS card AND a green card...and you got used to the fact that you can only travel locally...you get a call from a local store that all this time your docs were in their lost and found :)

how to become a hero in your colleages' eyes

2008-05-02T20:54:52Z

My husband has become a "dad" ... of a baby turtle. He rescued the tiny thing from imminent death by noticing her in the driveway of vacant business center which is next to his office. Turns out a week old water turtle crawled out of the drying pond nearby in search of a better life and got lost. The funny thing is that he brought her into the office where she was given some water and a leaf of lettuce to eat/play with. With the help of e-mail they found a lady who could determine what kind of a turtle it is and suggest the right care for her. Now she has a water tank to live in and plenty of special food. They are even organizing a naming contest/fundraiser in her honor. Dima is now widely known in the company as a turtle rescuer or the "pappi" of the company pet. The whole thing makes me smile :)

VIVA Bolshoi!

2008-04-22T16:14:53Z

I have never felt more patriotic than yesterday. I went to the Gala Concert of the Youth America Grand Prix, which is an international ballet competition. The Gala is also called "The Stars of Tomorrow meet the Stars of Today". The first act featured 10-17 y.o. winners, while the second act featured solos by the most promising or acclaimed principal dancers of international ballet companies, La Scala, Berlin Ballet, Bolshoi, ABT etc. It was CRAZY! I have never seen a stronger performance. BTW, this is not an event to miss for any one even mildly interested in modern and/or classical ballet.

http://www.citycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=3431
But I was genuinely shocked when Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev took the stage. They were the only ones who in addition to amazing technique (a level higher than other dancers) had what is called in Russian - KURAZH! Oh God, they were dancing as if they is no gravity, no routine, no stress whatsoever. They were having fun!!! Which is pretty impressive since they are pretty young and joined Bolshoi only about 4 years ago. They received a standing ovation, and sometimes I could not hear the music because the audience would burst into applause during their performance. I could not help but say, "Viva Bolshoi!" In a second, a group of Italians sitting behind me where shouting VIVA BOLSHOI!

ailatanie @ 2008-03-17T15:54:00

2008-03-17T20:07:25Z

If you ever feel like there is not enough romance in your life or you are disappointed with your spouse(luckily not my case), pay a visit to the family court. I interpreted a divorce proceeding for a russian speaking woman today. I am not supposed to tell you the details of the case. But after the proceeding we chatted while the judge was signed the order. I asked why she did not want to change her last name. Guess what she said :) She wants to save trouble because she ll probabaly get married pretty soon to get legal status here. She thought she would save time by skipping the maiden name and switching straight to the new family name. Practical isn't she?

skiing season opened

2007-11-27T03:40:27Z

it was dreamlike in Killington this weekend. -3-5 C sunny and puuuuurfect snow. It is sad to be back and soak in the rain.

it is time to start learning Chinese

2007-11-16T15:33:01Z

If you have any doubts that about China's and other Asian countries' potential here is a fact for you. This year 64 people only by the name of Kim and 52 Lees passed the New York bar exam. For comparison, it is four times more than the Jones, the Johnsons, the Jacksons, and the Smith combined. Source: http://www.nybarexam.org/july2007.htm

S oblegcheniem!!!!

2007-11-15T15:09:29Z

хочется рассказать всем всем всем. Я сдала оба БАРа (Нью Йорк и Нью Джерси).

Consulates

2007-11-07T18:48:02Z

only mexican consulate provides worse service than the russian consulate. I did not have the privilege of dealing with the unkranian embassy. But it is legendary as well (ukranian passport renewal takes no less than a year). So here is how the russians work. You call a tel. # 1, listen for 5 minutes of recorded information in russian or broken english. Then they suggest that you call tel. # 2 if you wish to speak to an operator. And guess what, that second number is...busy. I cannot remember the last time I ve heard a busy signal. That is not all. Since then I have called tel. # 2 three times. No one is responding. Mozhet skinemsia russkomu konsulkstvu na avtootvetchik. I wonder if it will stay the same till the olympic games. Good luck getting your visas, tourists!

ailatanie @ 2007-11-04T20:57:00

2007-11-05T02:15:55Z

We have just decided to take a road trip over the Thanksgiving weekend. Since we do not have to reach a particular destination and do not have to get anywhere for Thanksgiving dinner, we can avoid crazy airports and busy highways. At some point we ll just take local roads. However, we still have to decide on the direction. I would love to hear your ideas about things to see on our way.
Option 1: South - to Virgina: Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro (I have a friend who lives there), will spend some time on SC beach, also it might be interesting to see what is Delaware like.
Option 2: West - to Chicago (hubby never been)
Option 3: North - New England: NH - I have friends there, RI (hubby never been), maybe check out Hyannis in low season.

ailatanie @ 2007-10-30T15:12:00

2007-10-30T19:25:35Z

This may not be new to many of you but Terem Quartet rocks! We went to their only concert in New York and had so much fun. I wanted to see them because they are well-known in St.Pete. But the description of their concert did not impress me enough to invite anyone else besides Dima (who had no choice:)) After all, four guys playing domras, a balaliaka, and an accordion have to be really good to pull off a full length concert. And they were amazing. They are not only virtuosos and feel the music better than anyone I ve heard, but they have amazing personalities... and terrible English.
And after that we had dinner at Ariana, an Afghan place close to the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, because we were stuck in traffic. Their kofta kebab is to die for. http://newyork.citysearch.com/review/7143648

BAM

2007-09-17T17:31:03Z

I have discovered BAM - Brooklyn Academy of Music this weekend. It was like a breath of fresh air. I saw Sea Gull by the Royal Shakespear Theater. It was ok. What really impressed me was the feel and the look of the theater. It looks like it is undergoing a serious renovation. But it is not. Basically, instead of putting a new coat of paint, they stripped the old layers to reveal the way it looked in 1850's. This is the theatre as I love it. The theatre that has stories to tell. It is not too big, cozy and beautiful. I t reminds me of Dom Kino in St.Petersburg and my University theater studio located in a run-down palace of some duke near Novaia Gollandia.
That is not all. As I have discovered it is only one of the BAM buildings. The other one houses a cinema. And the repertoire is better than Angelica and etc. They show old films from around the world organized around a theme or a movement in cinematography.
I am definitely going there soon. Bam fans unite!
http://www.bam.org/events/bamcinematek.aspx

tree hugger

2007-06-26T20:29:21Z

Hugging a random birch tree in Manhattan.

A mi uzhe god vmeste!

2007-06-06T17:31:51Z

fotografia zamechatelnoi Anni Rozenblat www.annarozenblat.com

a year ago

2007-02-16T16:25:01Z

Somehow, my favorite tea places have always been Moroccan. There was a very cozy place on Sadovaya in St.Peterburg called Marrakesh. It had a huge selection of teas and tobaccos. You could also choose the way you wanted it brewed/smoked. In New York I like Casablanca tea room. In addition to great ambiance and wonderful tea, this is the place we were going to when Dima proposed a year ago. We went there again yesterday and tried to identify the spot in the Village where he proposed. It was not an easy task because he was driving when he popped the question!!! Naturally, instead of yes, I responded that, maybe, we should park first :)
What is curious, is that my athletic husband was temporary "disabled" both times we went to have tea in Casablanca. Last year he injured his back while weight lifting and could hardly get on his knee, and yesterday he was still limping after an incident while skiing. It sort of brought out the memories :)
PS "real poetry does not rhyme", and real romance looks nothing like the conventional romance

Kultur-multur

2007-02-01T17:17:32Z

La Boheme - krasiveishaia opera. The last king of scotland - an Oscar worthy movie.

enjoying the winter without snow

2006-12-28T18:32:44Z

So we went skiing in Hunter, NY on Christmas. It is a commercial resort, so there was a decent amount of artificial snow. The skiers were predominantly Russian, Chinese and Jewish. I enjoyed it and we ll go skiing again even if does not snow. However, I must say that in such weather I feel like hiking rather than skiing. So, the question is what is a good place for long walks/hikes in the Tristate Area in wintertime? We can also drive farther, to Southern Canada for example, if you can suggest a really picturesque place to visit.

легкое дыхание

2006-12-14T03:40:45Z

В суровую экзаменационную пору, особенно ближе к последнему экзамену, хочется красоты, какой-то легкости, получить немножечко свободного времнени, ценного на вес, и просто побездельничать. Пойти в какое то новое место и раствориться в ощущениях, а не мыслях.
Хочеться слушать живую музыку, ловить аромат напитка в руке, одеть что-то неповседневное и иметь возможность приообнять любимого человека рядом. В конце концов, физически хочется просто легко и спокойно дышать, оставив позади тесты, которые должны продемонстировать все то, что было выучено за полгода.

am I homesick?

2006-09-26T15:02:05Z

Мне говорили, что у меня острое чувство справедливости. Наверное, это так. Потому что ничто не ранит меня так как неблагодарность, предательство и нахальство. Эти мысли возникли не из-за личной обиды. А из-за отзывов нескольких людей которые вернулись из России. Мой папа ездил в Питер в отпуск, друг мужа на стажировку в ведущую зарубежную финансовую компанию в Москве, знакомая в Питер и Псков усторить маме surprise party. А мы с мужем почему то много рассказывали друг другу о своем детстве в последнее время. Конечно, детям присущ синдром розовых очков, и за кадром памяти оставалось все неприятное, но то, что я слышу про Россию в последнее время, вызывает у меня боль и возмущение.
Безжалостно вырублены леса под Питером, где мы собирали грибы; несмотря на автостраховку, виноватого или просто более слабого в случае аварии бьют (на глазах папы). Водитель джипа считает, что женщина, идущая по тротуару, это не повод не обогнать другие автомобили по этому тротуару в пятнадцати сантиметров от нее и обозвать ее вслед.
Тут, я всегда привожу мужу аргумент, что есть и законопослушные, нормальные люди с хорошим образованием, которые работают на западные компании в Питере и получают сравнимую с нашей зарплату. Но его друг из MIT Business School отзывается о ведущей финансовой компании Москвы как о болоте, в котором финансовый анализ проводят на самом базовом уровне и больше заботятся о том счете, который они выставляют клиенту. Создается впечатление, что загородившись визитками и репутацией западных компаний, местная публика продолжает вести дело по-своему, со своими и через своих. Свободный рынок... правовое государство... твою мать...

PS disclaimer; такого рода крик души в виртуальное пространство помогает мне на самом деле оставаться патриоткой Россиии и продолжать убеждать себя, что наше место там...