Remond

I have been a good boy with the remond (remodeling/renovating/rebuilding) of the apartment which should begin soon. Yesterday I scheduled a meeting with my downstairs neighbor again, and he for the second time did not show - nor did he call to say he wouldn't. Today I started on getting the permissions for some of the work to be done. It is going to be another long, hard, drawn out remond. I thought it was going to be very simple. Foolish me, I just don't learn. But it will also be well worth it in the end, as the new plans are much cooler than before (it may even include a little greenhouse/sunroom!). Meanwhile, be prepared for liberal amounts of whining and complaining, as well as neverending remond talk. The last one took a whopping 9 months, this one hopefully won't, but I am just not even going to guess how long it will run...

Arina discovered this page today, so I'll have to stop talking sheet about her - damn! :-) I must say she's been doing a good job of reviving the repatriate logs lately, at this rate they will be alive and well again soon.

So the much delayed brunch was delicious. My peeps did not remember there was a time change, so they were running an hour behind, which turned out to be just as well since the brunch didn't even start till an hour after we were going to meet up there. I found this out the hard way (by getting there waaay too early), but wandered over to the Surp Grigor Luysavorich Cathedral for a couple of minutes (not very busy at all considering it was Easter - but maybe that was because of the time change, too?), and then through Vernissage. Ah yes, so back to the brunch. Most of the ppl I know ended up there it seemed like, and had to pass our table to get to the food. So we judged peoples plates to see how well they were doing, if we approved of their choices, etc. Then I came home and napped for hours before heading to Nicole's goodbye thing.

Alright, I think that pretty much catches you up on all the mundane things in my life. Well actually, not even close, but that's all I feel like typing just now.

URGENT: Tim's b-day party

Oh me, oh my, I am one tired sob. Up till 3 at Tim's birthday party... having completely lost track of time (the copious amounts of drinking may have contributed to this). I woke up before 7am, as usual, and thanks to a time change lost an hour today. I still say perpetual daylight savings is the way to go. For some reason the email Chad sent out announcing the party had URGENT: in the subject, which cracked me up. I suppose that was a reference to the short timing - what with the party being the very next day, but I'm not entirely sure.

This morning I'll have an Easter brunch at the Marriot with friends - but I don't think I'll go through with my plan to take some pictures of the services at the new cathedral... but then again, I might.

Some friends headed down to Goris this morning for a party, and will head to Shushi tomorrow... I couldn't go thanks to work, but that will not be an issue for much longer. Soon I'll be able to shoot down to Syria, or head to Karabakh, do whatever I like. I miss that... for those who don't have a countdown calendar - it's 5 1/2 weeks to go.

Yesterday I got some good stuff done on the new site - now I want to do a proper page on Yerevan. It really is such a great pleasure to work on the site - addictive, really. So easy to edit, such instant gratification. At the risk of sounding repetitive, if only this city had WiFi coverage, I could spend all kinds of time outdoors or at cafes with the laptop, cranking away. Even a roving web cam. For that matter, if I was going to be home a lot, rather than constantly travelling, I'd get one of the low bandwidth DSL lines at home. That would be so much nicer than this sometimes worthless dialup.

Ah, I learned something about the laptop. If it gets too hot, it just instantly turns off. I really need one of those breakfast in bed trays for this thing, and a USB mouse, too. Meanwhile, neither the camera, nor the memory I ordered have turned up. It's been more than long enough for both of them, so I'm beginning to wonder. They would have come in quite handy last night, though I caught some great moments with Jeremy's camera.

I've been thinking a bit of different things I could do here when my contract is finished - some really solid ideas, but just thoughts for now. I've also been trying to figure out how I can work around this winter problem in the long term - ie, not be here when it's freezing. I dunno...

Aaanyway, not much else to say. I'm seriously pooped, and after I gorge at brunch, it seems likely I'll head back for a nap...

I'm gonna live foreeeeever....

So to achieve immortality, people alive today merely need to survive long enough (sometime between 2015 and 2020) to reach the first of these breakthroughs, which will in turn enable them to benefit from the second.

See http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3714070

Meanwhile, tomorrow is Friday, yippee! Today was a cool day at work. Went to a TV studio to watch a show taping. At home I finished the text of Rediscovering Armenia for the reprint. Finally. So now that part can proceed and I'll see what else needs to get done. It should be out before the tourists start flocking to Armenia. I am keeping it a very casual text...

Winter Wonderland

I really didn't think I'd see Yerevan this white again - but it snowed for days and everything is blanketed in a few inches of snow. Paved areas a slushy from the retained heat slowly melting the snow on them.

The cold I got from the trip lingers. I took Monday off, which helped a lot, but it still hasn't fully left.

It's Snowing!

Damn it!

Beer

Though there was quite a decent selection of homemade regional vodka that people had brought in from around the country, I think only one bottle was even tried... I had one shot and that was more than enough since I am still under the weather... otherwise I hadn't even left the house all day. So the big vodka party was more of a beer party it turns out.

Today is grey and cloudy... a brunch has been mentioned and I am starting to get hungry, so I think I'm going to start calling people soon - and hopefully not waking them up.

Cloudy

It's a cloudy morning, and I have a sore throat. I think the three days of being car sick have taken their toll and caught up with me. Crap. There is talk of doing another trip like this one, but to the south. I must remain strong in my conviction to refuse going unless we can go in a car, instead of those god forsaken SUVs. I hate them I hate them I hate them! Ara B. is in the same exact boat as me - he's coming down with something as well.

So I don't know what I can/will do today. So many things I should do, but I just want to stay in bed and eat chicken noodle soup. Uffa. We'll see what comes of the day, and weekend for that matter.

I am still unsure about this log - should I just log on the cilicia life in Armenia log? My entire plan was to be rather prolific, which would overwhelm the other log. On the other hand that log has been rather dead since I left anyway... logging in both places seems a bit silly on the other hand. Any thoughts from the silent audience?

A 3 day tour...

The three day expedition is done - and it is drained me quite thoroughly. The road was extremely long, the suspension of the massive SUV extremenly unpleasant, and the sections of road where it was windy or pot holed made for a nauseating, tiring trip. It was, however a great trip. The landscapes were fantastic, the sites often fascinating and rewarding, certainly interesting, and the food often impressive. The biggest letdown was that the large and beautiful/comfortable hotel in Lori we were looking forward to staying at was fully booked. I was not a popular guy since I was the one who decided we didn't need to book a room in such a big hotel at this time of year - though in the end we wouldn't have gotten a reservation even if we'd called as soon as we'd decided to go, so I was not completely guilty. The main purpose of the trip - to photograph sites that have recieved assistance was definitely a success. The people at the sites - which we showed up at unannounced to photograph them on a normal day, were all very happy to see us, and very helpful. It was cool. I was also able to give some gardeners in Ijevan and Dilijan my Candy Lily seeds, so I look forward to seeing more and more of those all over Armenia :-)

It is so good though to be back in my own home, in my own bed (typing from bed, thanks to the laptop). Still waiting for my tiny camera to arrive - then I should log pictures much more often.

I feel a bit overwhelmed though with all the things need to get done now that I'm back - including the reprint of the Armenia guidebook I am working on, and the remodeling of the apartment which is just not happening until I get some preliminary steps taken care of.

flag vendor at vernissage

light bulbs at vernissage

hit the road, Raff...

So we are off this morning... luckily the departure time is pushed back to 10am, so I can comfortably get my morning going. I am glad I went to bed early last night, I was just wiped out, and now I have an extra early start to the day. I'll shower, head over to dad's place to plant the candy lily (pardancanda) seeds, and then pop in to work where I can perhaps make a couple of calls before we're off. The first night we'll stay in Dilijan, but the second, at a fancy American-Armenian hotel - just beautiful. Hopefully I'll have internet there.

where for art thou, weekend?

It was a whirlwind weekend, but it's Monday morning and already I need to get my butt in gear so that I'll get to work on time. This should be a great week - on Tuesday I am going on a work trip for 3 days to the Armenian hinterlands on a photographic journey. Why haven't I done this sooner?

So let's see, what was I up to this weekend. Friday night was a b-day party (I think I mentioned this but I can't see what I wrote last time just now). Everybody got pleasantly drunk and had a lot of fun. Luckily nobody got injured by the darts. (Who's idea was it to put darts in a drinking establishment?)

Saturday... hmm, I spent much of the day laying around relaxing and recovering. At some point I went to Vernissage to buy a rug I had been eyeing all winter. They were asking too much, and came down finally - so I'm happy. It is a real fun and unique one with great colors. Over a dozen cute little people on it :-) Ara B. had liked it too and came over to see it en situ (sp?). Got some dinner and then we had a huge (read ridiculous) Monopoly game. I think you are not even allowed to play a 10 player game, but we did. Two people never even got to buy a single property, and the house rules were quite strange, but we all had fun nevertheless. There were Barsgahays, Hayastantsis, Americans and Western Armenians. Crazy deals were struck I tell you. After about 6 hours the last survivors declared a draw.

Sunday morning I worked some more on Armeniapedia (as I did this morning). Then I had an extended brunch at Sq1 - where it felt like the old days on the sofa. We all wondered what Rob was up to. Then a really great day at Vernissage, which I had never properly gone in to photograph. It was a perfect day for it, and I got lots of photos I just love. I'd share them but I haven't the time just now. Then an attempted nap, dinner and charagigiutyun with Arlen and then home for a much needed 8-hour sleep.

Medz kef

Last night was a medz kef. B-day for S and a welcome back for a J that I never knew. Met a couple of other new ppl as well. We ate at Lagonid then wen to Cheers where we drank and drank and danced and played darts. One new person was a photojournalist, so I hope there are not embarassing pictures of our drunken exploits :-) Everyone was drinking just the right amount and was well dramat'rvadz...

why?

Why did I wake up so early (I was up at 6)? It was fun last night seeing an old friend who was in town for a few days - I was with Madlene and Raffi N. and Lara, too and we did a full court press trying to recruit a new repatriate :-)

Tonight is a b-day party combined with someone elses welcome back party. We've been doing good-bye partys since November, so it is good to see the welcome back season is starting up again.

Oh, and, um.... are you ppl reading this?

spring cleaning...

There is no sign of an impending return of winter, and every day it becomes less likely. I spent the last 2 mornings doing a serious spring cleaning. I brought an entertainment unit which I had had made for the next remond home - since I realized I needed more storage space. It's perfect, now all the videos I never watch have a home, as do the board games. It also freed up the big storage thing that I had been using under the tv, which made it impossible to access the storage (since who wants to move the tv/vcr/cable box and associated wires in order to access storage?). So aaanyway, everything is nice and clean now. The next stages in getting things in total order will be when I get everything off of my old computer onto my new one and can put that in storage, and then when my contract ends getting rid of loads of clothes I won't need/want anymore. Then finally, as I digitize a bunch of Armenian books on my shelves, I won't need those either. Life will have much less clutter. Life will be good.

Women's day

So Happy Women's day... it is a national holiday in Armenia, and we get the day off. Woohoo!!

Not too much exciting going on. I have been goofing off, relaxing, working on the website, transferring stuff from my old computer to the new (I networked them), organizing, etc. Katy wrote about Armeniapedia in her log which is cool, it will be good to have more Armos using wikis.

I dunno what I am going to be up to today - but sitting in bed with my laptop is definitely a good way to start things off.

I do need to clean up my apt and plant some seeds. It is so warm out some of the cafes are getting the tables and chairs cleaned up and put out. I haven't checked the forcast, but things have been amazing since the cold broke. I haven't used a heater in one week now.

Spring...

More signs that it is spring. I didn't turn on the heater all day today - for the first time since it went on. I spent some time in Dad's garden, which is showing new signs of life. Watering, clearing... all the plants seem to have made it through the winter just fine. Yippeee! I just don't know what I am going to do though if there is construction. All those plants will suddenly be in a construction zone. Meanwhile, I gave some more of the Candy Lily (Pardancanda) seeds I collected from my plants last year, to be planted in Karabakh!

Today again was all about Chemical - Biological attack training, and tomorrow will be too. Fun, fun, fun.

Tonight I go to Narine and Armen's place for what promises to be an amazing Persian dinner. I can't wait! Unfortunately, the reason for the move is that Narine is leaving Armenia for a couple of years to work on a Masters... she was my dart partner against Team Shushi.

Toshig

My baby, Toshig is here. This is my first log from my Toshiba (hence the name) laptop... it was love at first sight...

Meanwhile, another fantastic warm day! March 1 is the first day of Spring in the ex-USSR. I don't know if the weather usually knows this, but this year it (knock on wood) seems to be with the program.

Speaking of the ex-USSR, tonight I had dinner at CCCP Restaurant with some friends, and then headed to the Red Bull. But I called it an early night. I am dead tired, and won't even be able to play with this laptop tonight. In the morning though...

My baby has cometh....

When I go to work this morning, my friend will be bringing my new laptop in... my baby.... what shall I name it? Ahhh, I am going to have mobility... so cool!

The big buzz around town is about the US Ambassador saying that he personally knows the events of WWI were a genocide while he was in the US, and that even though the State Dept doesn't use the "g-word", it certainly doesn't deny the genocide. Then yesterday (his first day back) he officially stated that he shouldn't have said what he said, and that US policy is unchanged. Quite the opposite to the scandal last year, where the British Ambassador said that the British Govt did not consider the events to be a genocide, and never did apologize.

I wish I hadn't woken up so early - I got to bed past 2am last night. Just having a few drinks and conversation with friends - although I was only semi-conscious for the last hour or so. Just too late for a work night. Tonight will probably be a late night too, but then I will have to take things very easy the next couple of nights.