Hobbit-Sense at OneFreeGarden.com

So, I’m back… mostly? Kind of? Calling in from another place? If you see an update on this later, chances are I’m just adding in a link to Jen’s.. because even if she does it in the middle of the night, I’m still 9 hours ahead of her now… oh my… I wonder if that makes me the farthest quick-taker? Let’s compare… I’m in Moscow now…

1.  So I’m in Moscow and have been for about two weeks- I’ll be here till next July.  I can’t possibly go into everything that means in one point, so I’ll leave it at that.

2.  No matter whether it’s for a few weeks or months, the minute I go far enough from home is the minute I forget my umbrella and don’t bring a raincoat.  This is why I have an umbrella from Poland… gotten of course the last week of the trip after being rained on intermittently for about 3 weeks.  It’s a lovely umbrella, opens all the way with the push of a button.. Of course, the next day it stopped raining and didn’t rain for the rest of my trip.  On the bright side, the Uber-Brella has come in handy a lot.

3.  Did I remember that umbrella, that handy-dandy, little fold-up for Moscow?  No.  And it’s fall.. which meant that the light drops I encountered going into the metro station tonight after work had turned into rather large raindrops when I got out at my station… I walked out of the metro, I saw the rain, I considered: 1. I could postpone getting an umbrella, and just get wet;  I have gotten wet in heavier rain than that for longer times, to be sure, and payday is next week, but being here for so long, I will need an umbrella; 2. I could go back to that little kiosk in the metro station and pick out a cute umbrella, like the black and white checkered one with the ruffle.  So I bought the cute one.. maybe I’ll take a pic tomorrow.  Here’s how awesome this umbrella is, though: Push the button, and it opens all the way, and this one’s heavy-duty (the Polish one did suffer a bit in the winds).  Push the button again, and the umbrella collapses!

And I got it in RED (to match my winter coat and also because I am bold and cool like that…) AND it made me think of Irish step dancing.. why?  Because, as those of you who know the world of competitive Irish step dancing may be aware, sparkles and glitz are a must- and this has little plastic gems in the polka-dot pattern!  So this, you may say, is the SUPER-DUPER-UBER-BRELLA… I know, “uber” is just “super” in German- but it is Just That Awesome.  (If you have ever been soaked to the skin like I have, you will appreciate a good umbrella.)

4.  I’ve actually been reading again.. I mean, I had been more this last year, but it seemed like college robbed me of all my recreational reading.  Well, take away a TV (and even with internet!) and add in classics on an iPod Touch and a couple of books brought with me (courtesy a great friend and a great sister!) and I’m through 4 in a week and a half.  Plus Stanza assures me I’m about 88% done with Heretics by GKC and I have made excellent progress in the World Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry.. well, the heraldry part, which is why I bought the book (on sale for $10!).  And you know what?  At one point in Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday (the shortest of the 4), he actually used blazonry to describe a shield and I knew what it was… I had a huge moment of geeky triumph.. it was awesome.

5.  Piece of advice: don’t argue with the metro.  Just don’t, esp. if you’re in Russia where trains are usually less than 3 minutes apart.  I don’t know what addled my brain to think that rushing onto the train last minute was a good idea, but I can assure you that if the doors close on you, they do automatically open again.. I’m still trying to figure out how I ended up with a bruise low on my leg in front, high on my calf on the right, and honestly the metro’s the only way I can explain the one on my derrierre… but they don’t really hurt, the just look bad.. Thank goodness for pants, lol.

6.  I miss making the Ukrainian eggs (pysanky).. and I did forget my kit after all…

7.  I am totally Narnia obsessed.  Like, I love it.  I want to write for the movies.  Over the summer, not only did I buy the whole series audiobook from iTunes, when I saw a good deal on the radio plays, I got those, too, and brought all 19 CDs here with me.  I have song lyrics I started inspired by The Silver Chair.  Why do I get into things like this?  Oh well… atleast I enjoy the ride!

thanks and hopefully be up more regularly…

-Rosy