“I’ll start this morning by passing back your exams, to see if we’re still on speaking terms,” the professor started amidst laughter in my Saturday morning class, “no no no, in all seriousness, the exams were very good. I take that as testimony to my excellent teaching.”

A house in the mountains.

I’d like to see Jesse wail on these.

From the Schenk Tank.

Readers! Do you realize how close I am to MBA completion? 20 HRS of class in two weeks time. TWENTY HOURS. AND~!! By the end of this weekend we’ll be down to EIGHT HOURS OF CLASS.

I’m getting really really excited.

Alicia sent me a link to The Day Zero Project. It’s a pretty snazzy idea. It goes a little something like this:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

I think I might put some thought into this and give it a shot.

Stay tuned for a list of 101 things.

Dudes… seriously? Don’t joke about that sort of thing.

from Vivienne.

January 6th, 2009 – Day 9

What an incredible day of sightseeing. At about 9am, Jess, Inna, and I left for Kiev. I wasn’t sure what we were going to see first, but I was pleasantly surprised when we showed up at a totally intense monument.

During WWII Ukraine was a common location for intense battles because Poland borders Ukraine to the west. At this point, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. After the war a huge monument was erected in honor of the soldiers.

We approached the monument via a long path. Snow bordered the wide stairs. It was extremely cold outside and the wind was relentless. On one side of the path were speakers that played patriot Ukrainian hymns. It was awesome. To get to Rodina Mat (“Mother Motherland” or… “Mother Russia”) we traveled through an open concrete structure. On either side of the path were huge statues depicting strong stoic men and women preparing for and engaging in acts of war. Snow had nestled in between the folds of their clothes. Tragically, my camera broke just as we reached the monument. Thankfully Jess agreed to let me use her photos. All the following photos were taken by Jess on a previous trip (hence the lack of snow).

Once through the hall of statues, we reached the main event. There stood the 200ft tall Rodina Mat in all her glory. In her left hand she held a shield and in her right hand she held a sword. She’s made out of metal and was total righteous.

After seeing some tanks and helicopters we continued onward. Next up was a memorial for the Holodomor (the starvation plague, more about this later). This particular monument was very beautifully symbolic. A tall white rectangular pillar reached upwards. Around it were four large crosses made from hundred of vertical and horizontal stakes. The stakes pierced through birds that were at different stages of flight.

The next monument in the row was an obelisk in honor of the Unknown Soldier. At the bottom was a metal wreath with a flame burning in its center. After the monuments we went to the historic street in Kiev. The street was a steep cobble stone street that wound up to a church. Along each side of the road were small vendors selling their goods. I bought a few gifts and we worked our way onward.

The final stop on our day tour were two epic churches. St. Sophia and St…. Peters I think?.

Overall, an amazing day in Ukraine.

“If only evolution had turned out differently…”

From Shaun L.

A manifesto.

Dot Org.

From Mom D.

Here’s a craigslist ad for a car. From Irene.

(more…)

I recently took mouse in hand, as I often do, and opened up MSPaint for some t-shirt designing. I came up with this idea after a chat with Darcy. She told a tale where she was sassed by an unexpecting fool. Friends, you don’t sass Darcy. It’s just not something you want to do.

So I drew a sweet T-shirt design.
Let me know what you think.

Oh man! Can you feel the wrath of that MSPaint chick or what?! I’m very proud of how she came out. I’m thinking about silk screening a bunch of these for the ladies. Especially those ladies who should not be sassed.

A great read.

a la Andrew and Boingboing

There will be a slight delay in posts today as I battle some mammoth homework assignments. Stay tuned.

Nervous Bear

Let’s look at the Ukrainian language. I’ve learned a handful of words while here:

Dyakayoo – Thank you
Tak – Yes
Nee – No
Perushkey – tasty sweet bread with filling
Marushkah – a bus or shuttle that holds about 15-18 people
Borscht – a really great beet stew
Verenikey – a dumpling, usually sweet
Chi – tea
Smachno – It is delicious
Nahmyah – No one is here
Dva – two
Znovvum Rrrokum – Happy New Year!

The alphabet is pretty unusual. Unlike Chinese, where the characters are so unique from the English language that it’s impossible to relate to, the Ukrainians use Cryllic which has an alphabet that, at first glance, looks similar to English. Here are the cryllic letters along with the sounds for each letter bolded. There are 33 letters.

А-ah
Б-bat
Ð’-Vice
Г-hat
Ґ-goat
Д-Dan
Е-fell
Ñ”-yesterday
Ж-dodge
З-zebra
И-e(soft)
I-feet
Ñ—-yeast
Й-e(not soft)
К-cat
Λ-Lion
М-Mom
Н-New
О-home
П-prank
Р-rice
С-salt
Т-tent
У-scoot
Ф-foot
Ð¥-haunt
Ц-cats
Ч-chair
Ш-shout
Щ-freshcheese
Ь-silent
Ю-you
Я-ya

I don’t really know why there’s a letter that’s always silent, but I’m cool with it. Anyway, using the alphabet above the proper spelling of Altynivka is:

АΛТИНІВКА

And the spelling of Kiev is:

КиЇВ

Using this, it should really be pronounced Keeve instead of Key-ev.

Here’s a beautiful print I got in Kiev with the proper spelling of the city. I really love this print.

January 5th, 2009 – Day 8

This morning Jess and I got up at 4:30am and started our trip back to Kiev. We’ll spend most of today traveling. Tonight we stay with Slytvana. Tomorrow we’ll explore Kiev and then I depart on Tuesday.

–

The trip from Altynivka to Kozelets took forever. I have my big roller luggage and OH man was that a terrible idea. Dragging it through the snow has been torturous. The travel went like this. First we walked through the snow for about 30 minutes to get to the train station. There’s a 3-4 hour train ride from Altynivka’s train station into Kiev. Once in Kiev, we navigated the metro (not fun with a roller suitcase) and then walked for about 10 minutes to get to the marushka (bus). The bus ride is about 90 minutes or so. It dropped us in downtown Kozelets and then we had another 30 minute walk through the snow before reaching the house. Especially hilarious is that each transition requires about 50 stairs. And since Ukraine hasn’t discovered ramps yet, my roller suitcase was extra fun.

BUT! Now we’re here at Slytvana’s and Lord knows it smells good. I’m not sure what Slytvana is cooking for dinner but I’m certain it will be delicious. I think we’re just going to hang out here tonight, though I’m not certain. I wouldn’t be opposed to this idea, because lugging around this bag has left me rather sore. If Alicia and Dwane visit Jess I will have to tell them to bring backpacks.

So far for this whole visit I have spent 110 of the local hryvnia. That’s about eighteen US dollars. Tomorrow I’ll spend a lot more because we are going shopping in Kiev. Jess guesses that the local non-city worker earns about 1000 hryvnia a month. That equates to just under two thousand USD a year.

–

The food was totally good. We started with a green borscht. It had some greens, onions, potatoes, egg, and broth in it. That was followed with a rice dish that tasted a lot like the filling in those stuffed cabbage that I love. Then we had tea and chocolates. That was lunch. Dinner was a crazy crepe like something that was served with a chocolate sauce. Then we had pizza which was far far better than any pizza I’ve ever made. The pizza was topped with various kielbasas and vegetables. Finally more tea and compote. What a feast!

Check out the Feature today. It talks a bit about the Ukrainian language.

We’ll take a short break from Ukraine so I can tell you a story of rental cars.

Right now (surprise surprise) I’m in Ohio for work. I had to extend my stay a few days and decided to drop the car off at a different location. I called up my travel agent and they said no problem. Except for the car.

If I were to drop the car off at a new location, Budget rent-a-car would bump up my required payment for every day of my trip. So instead of paying 42 dollars a night for five nights, I’d be paying 75 dollars a night for five nights. That is a mighty difference. If, however, I were to drop my car off and immediately pick up a new car specifying my new drop off location… I’d get the same rate as before.

I called up budget.

Mike D: “This just seems stupid. If I drive for an hour to Cleveland and drop off my car and pick up a new car I can take a better rate.”
Budget rep: “yeah, in fact you can just take that same car with you.”
Mike D: “WHAT!?!? you don’t even need this specific car in Ohio? What?! This is stupid. Couldn’t you just set up a new plan over the phone and not inconvenience me two plus hours of driving?”
Budget rep: “I’m sorry sir, but we have to close the transaction.”
Mike D: “can we not close the transaction over the phone?”
Budget rep: “I can’t do that.”

Dumb.

I thought I’d try and save the trip by also stopping by the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But they close at 5:30pm on Friday nights.

I dislike Ohio.

Kurt sent me this little traffic thingy.

Quite fitting that the traffic is going to Cleveland, OH.

Jesse tells us about his Cat adventures.

I thought our cat was getting fat, or at least eating too much (aka we have to clean the litterbox too often). i suggested we cut back on her food. she would be “healthier”, OR at least she’ll poop less. Alicia thought this was mean and also incorrect (she thought we fed her the right amount), so we looked up what a cat her size should eat. The general consensus for an “inactive adult female” of her approx. weight was 1.7-3.0 oz./day. We have been giving her 1/2 cup per day. So i supposed this was more than the recommended amount, and Alicia disagreed. Naturally, it had to be put to the test of science, and clearly, a mere scale would be too easy (OR we don’t have one…. you decide) AND CLEARLY lego’s, seran wrap, string, and pocket change were involved.

i was wrong. sue me.

January 4th, 2009 – Day 7

Today was a much needed day of relaxation. I spent much of the morning just hanging out and tending the fire to try and warm the house up. It’s now 60 degrees and much more comfortable. In about an hour, the English club will be getting together. I prepared some U.S. trivia questions and Jess has made sugar cookies and more ‘brownies.’ It should be fun, I really like spending time with the kids here, there’s never any pressure to drink and they speak a bit more English than the adults do. Afterwards we may, or may not head to Larissa’s for food. Tonight’s my final night in Altynivka.

–

The English party was totally fun. Six kids showed up: Vira, Julia, Julia, Nastia, another Vira, and a little dude who I hadn’t met before. They seemed to really enjoy the trivia and did a good job coming up with answers. After they answered my trivia, they asked Jess and I to answer Ukrainian trivia.

Here are a few of the questions they asked, how much do you know about Ukraine?

1. Who’s the president of Ukraine? (you might be able to get this, he was in the news something fierce a few years back)
2. What is the biggest holiday in Ukraine?
3. How many oblasts (like provinces) does Ukraine have?
4. What two seas does Ukraine touch?

That night we did indeed head back to Larissa’s for a meal. We had borscht and my favorite stuffed cabbage. Oh heavens… that was a freakishly delicious meal. After the meal, Vira gave me the two necklaces that she’d made for my sisters and Larissa gave me a traditional Ukrainian blanket, and a pillow case that was embroidered by her mother. It’s beautiful. I was really touched, what a fantastically kind family they are.

Here’s the pillow case with embroidery.

I bet you wish you had an… EXTREME EMBROIDERY CLOSE UP!

OH MAN! HERE YOU GO!

Also, click more for the answers to the questions
(more…)

Darn it! I’m out of sweaters again. BUT! Jocelyn and Sarah T. are still going strong. Here are our faithful, furious, and totally reliable sweater persons:

Jocelyn!

Sarah T!

Let’s give it up to the sweater faithful!

A picture description.

From Ryan L.

Warning: A reader has informed me that other parts of this website are NSFW.

January 3rd, 2009 – Skiing

We skied out for about an hour and a half across flat beautiful landscapes.

Gorgeous!

I don’t know how this happened.

Anatoliy led us across these vast landscapes to a giant birch tree forest. Anatoliy continuously encouraged us. As we walked through the forest, a horse drawn cart passed us in the other direction. Shortly thereafter we reached our destination: a little alcove in the woods where a wooden hut had been built. The people with the horse must have been using a fire because the burning embers remained.

Jess, Me, Anatoliy

What luck! Here we were in this most picturesque of places and there was a fire waiting for us. We warmed ourselves and then cooked some meat and bread that Jess had smartly packed. We dined and then, after a short snow ball fight, we started our return.

Warming up.

On the way back, the sun was setting over the vast landscape. It was beautiful. As we concluded our trip, the Moon and Venus were shining brightly above us.

After we got back and ate more food, we went to Larissa’s place for showers. SHOWERS YES! Volodimir installed a pretty luxurious shower in their foyer. This isn’t as strange as it sounds. The houses in Ukraine are all very small, presumably because small houses are a heck of a lot easier to heat. Had the family not put the shower in the foyer it would have had to have gone in the kitchen, dining room, or a bedroom. And the shower was separated from the rest of the foyer with tapestries. Anyway, the shower has a stereo, water jets, and hot water. Volodimir apparently had to install a pump in the well and a hot water heater in order to get this luxury. And I assure you, it was luxurious. After the shower, we had tea and chocolates. All was well.

Unfortunately, when we got back to the house it was freezing. I tried to start the fire and was terribly unsuccessful (it’s much harder than one would expect). After struggling to keep it lit for over an hour Jess came in and worked her magic. The delay however resulted in a frigid 47 degree night of sleeping. That was decidedly my worst night of sleeping. So frigid!! Still though, between the pig, the cross country skiing, and the shower, the day was top notch. Even a 47 degree night couldn’t put a damper on the day.

Special thanks to Anatoliy for this post’s photographs. Awesome!