Super Commuter
Yup, that's me.
On Monday I had a frantic archive day because the city archive was open on Monday for the last time all month because they decided they need to repair the floors. There are SO many documents there I could look at and I've read maybe 25 files in the 2 months I've been here. This summer I'm going to have to make DAY trips up to St. Petes just to try and read some more. I'm already thinking of coming back to Russia for a few months next spring if I can find the money. So Monday was one of those days where I was all over the city. I walked to the Metro and then took it up to Lomonosovskaia which is where my evil archive is located - generally speaking the boondocks. From the Metro its a 20 minute walk. I did what I needed to do in 2 hours, so then I walked to the bus stop and took a commuter van to the Metro Elizarovskaia where I rode back to the city center and took the #7 bus down Suvorov Street until I got to my stop where I walked a few blocks to the local archive of the Leningrad communist party (where half of the folders I ordered had pages clipped together and closed so that I couldn't read them! No Freedom of Information Act here!). Then I walked back up to Nevskii where I caught the 147 bus home.
Later that night I went back out into the world because I had to catch my train. Train? you ask. Where did you go? I went to Moscow for the day on Tuesday. Why? Because I needed my checkbook. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I was told I have to write a check to pay my taxes (yes, I'm talking about my taxes again) and where was my checkbook? Moscow. I travelled 500+ miles each direction for my stupid checkbook. Okay, so I also looked for an apartment while I was there and I think I found one, so it wasn't a totally absurd trip. Still, that's like going to Indianapolis and back from D.C. for something like that. Of course here the train trip takes no more than 8 hours overnight each way, while the train trip between Indy and D.C. has been known to take 24 hours (god that sucked).
Looked at 2 rooms, one was nice the other was terrible. I will take the nice one. Bit pricey, but hey, a roof over one's head is priceless, really. Good location too, not as central as the old one this fall, but central nonetheless. The I got back on the train last night and arrived in Piter at 5:30 this morning, stumbled home and slept. It was soooooo hot on the train last night that I just couldn't sleep. And I hadn't bathed in awhile and was starting to feel gross. (and right now Sarah is asking herself "I want to come to this country why?")
Otherwise all is well. Monday and Tuesday were BEAUTIFUL. Upper 50s, sunny sunny sunny. Unfortunately while I was in Moscow yesterday I miss the "Ledokhod" on the Neva where the ice finally breaks up and moves out to the gulf of Finland. It had started on Sunday and finished up yesterday. Today is cloudy cold and grey.
This morning the bird dive bombed my head and I screamed quite loudly. The cat doesn't like it when people scream so he came and attacked my foot, which of course made me scream again. I need to live a pet-free life for a little while, I think. To let the scars heal.
