So, the Red Sox won the World Series again. The next 86 years of the life of the Nation turned into just 3. Somebody, please, curse that team again, quick! My dislike for the Sox stems not only from the fact that I support the Yankees, but also from the…
For the first word, take our Ruslish-fied family name. You know, the one that appears in the URL between “www” and “com”. For the second word, take a three-letter word that describes every adult’s favorite thought. You know, the one that starts with an “s” and ends with an “x”.…
From the ship – on to the ball! (those of you more apt linguistically, is there another English equivalent for с корабля на бал?) Ok, not exactly a ball, but for my taste, a good circus performance suffices… At any given time, there are a couple of travelling circus troupes…
Our last long trip of the year has come to its end, leaving us not exactly looking forward to the cold and drab months ahead. It was already quite cold in the Loire Valley (although, thankfully, no rain). It has long became clear to us that one of the biggest…
Continuing with the driving license thread, Natasha finally has scheduled her practical test for sometime in November, and in the meantime, decided to take a lesson or two. The rationale is obviously not to practice driving, but to practice passing the test. At the first lesson, as soon as she…
We celebrated Becky’s birthday on Thursday with a family dinner, which was regularly interrupted by congratulatory phone calls. Thank you all who called or wrote, we appreciate all of the attention more than ever, and Becky certainly enjoyed being continuously congratulated. We love you all! The second part of the…
Man oh man, I am so not ready to be a father yet! How is it that I have a teenage daughter? She is tall and graceful, often mistaken for her mother’s younger sister. She is smart (that’s Natasha’s genes) and beautiful (that’s clearly mine). She is athletic (um… Natasha…
I wrote in the past about tax situation that a humble expat family is stuck in. Now, there is a little twist to ours. As explained in that post, there are several tax brackets in the UK with very straightforward progressive taxation amounts applied to them. Calculating your tax liability…
Why can’t the weather always be like today? Pleasantly cool air. Pleasantly warm sun. Clear blue skies. The type of weather that literally demands that you put aside whichever chores you saddled yourself with for the day, get up from in front of the TV (or the PC, for more…
Socialism in action! The Royal Mail has been on strike on and off for the last couple of weeks, throwing all mail delivery into chaos. Ok, ok, strike actions are not a socialist phenomena, but rather an attribute of a healthy and democratic industrial society. Yet, it is in those…
Another first in my blogging career – three unrelated posts in one day. As I was sitting in my home office, typing away, I glanced out of the window and saw skies so beautiful that I had to take a picture and post it here.
Now that the Yankees have ignominiously exited the stage yet again, I cannot understand all of the hubbub surrounding potential firing of Joe Torre. While he is certainly a great person, who holds especially dear place in Natasha’s heart as the keynote speaker at her college graduation (not really! –…
Natasha posted my Bath travelog entry on Fodors and the traffic to my website immediately shot up. A little marketing never hurt anybody, I guess. What’s rather weird, though, is that the most frequent internet search that led people to my website in the past month has been one for…
Becky complained that she spent twice as much time on the bus during her class trip to France than actually touring. While I suspect that she is exaggerating, there is certainly a bit of a shortcoming with the whole day-trip to France concept: Getting to Calais takes at least two…
It’s all about your mind-set. A couple of days ago, having to slalom through the obstacle course of the cars blocking my way on a roundabout, I caught myself thinking, “This is kind of fun!”… Seriously, a car that handles well gets a workout on British roads like nowhere else.…
The historic town of Bath, in Southwestern England, was for quite some time on our list of prospective destinations. We finally found our way over there last weekend. The weather was as typical English weather goes: Overcast skies, intermittent rain, short periods of sunshine. But the town and its charms…
Another day, another momentous anniversary to celebrate! Yes, exactly a year ago, I landed for good in this country that I currently call home. Has it really been this long? Actually, it feels even longer. Which likely is a function of many events and adventures squeezed together into a space…
Just like the old times – a work week from hell. Unreliable vendor, spotty testing, can’t-miss regulatory deadlines, all-hands-on-deck firefight – many of you would easily recognize a basic run-of-the-mill software release… As a result, I have been coming home after 9pm every day this week. Mind you, I am…
Exactly one year ago, I wrote my very first post in this space. In certain sense, I am amazed that I lasted this long. But I did, and it is time to raise a pint to being a seasoned writer. Or, at least, to being stubborn and dedicated, even if…
Some bloke knocked on our door a couple of days ago and offered Natasha to wash our car. And wash he did, inside and out, stopping just short of waxing. The car is disgustingly clean. The job cost quite a lot compared to what we’d pay at a car-wash in…