Oh, I know! I love the way they market and advertise. There is a whole agency in Kazan' that hires pretty girls for this. Some were recruited from Alla's theatre. They walk around the street in matching attire yelling through bull horns handing out literature. I liked the "Beeline" girls too.

Back in my military days that "official issue TP" was refered to as the "John Wayne" TP. Rough, tough, and didn't take any $#!t off of anyone.

I agree though, it is an "acquired taste" as I've grown quite used to the cheap stuff as well. Throw a little angel soft squeezable quilted stuff back there and I get a memo later asking "what was that, a pampering?"

Although I've got to say the absolute worst TP in the world is the little squares that come in the MREs. (Meals ready to eat. GI Joe food.) They come with these little 4" X 4" pieces of napkins that are passed off as toilet tissue. From what I've been told (I was in the Air Force, remember. We never actually had to use the restroom out there in the woods.) it takes at least a squad-sized collection of them to "get the job done."

Edited: Oh, and by the way, the pictures are great too. Keep 'em coming!

the $hit paper in MREs is horrible. But trust me, you quickly become an artist. Most troops will tell you that its easier to use a few squares at a time, strategically patterned in your hand, so that you finish the job in one crescent-turned swipe. Perhaps that's too much info Haha. Damn MREs. Hope I never see one of those again!

ROTFLMAO!

So...wow! The amazing morphing thread. Wonder what page 5 is going to bring us!

I don't know why but... I am having trouble posting a pic now, every time it shows

<<Select a file
Attachment space used 942.48k of 1000k>>>

says I only have room for 57.54k

it has been like this for a day or two, how do I clear away the 942.48k?
I don't even see any attachment... attached to the browse-upload thing.

Damn, I cant remember. Is this maybe your avatar? Or the profile pic? Something like that. from what I remember its easier to just open an account at photobucket.com and post your photos there. Then simply link them to this thread in your post. Been awhile since I did it, but I think that's how I did it. Guess I'll take some time this afternoon and finally post some pics from Russia that I have.

Our Russian crowd is a crazy bunch! We seem compelled to morph any thread within this forum. Ah, well it keeps it interesting and definitely entertaining. 2 months ago this forum seemed pretty quiet. then a bunch of us started getting our NOA2s and this forum is coming back to life.

At the top of the page click on "My controls" then on the left hand Menu you'll see an "Options" heading. Under that is a link for managing your attachments. You'll have to remove some pics there.

The amount of space they give you on these boards is ridiculously small, which is why I usually use Flickr and then just link to here.

No, this is too much info. (I actually typed it up yesterday and then re-read it saying to myself, "that's too much info.")


One of my supervisors, who was a crusty old guy that was in the military "back when Christ was a corporal" told me the best way to use that MRE $hit paper was to fold it in half diagonally and then tear off a little hole in the middle. "But don't throw that middle piece away, you're going to need it later."

"Ok, Sarge."

"So you've got this little square piece of TP with the hole in the middle. What you do is stick your thumb through the hole and then stick it all way up in your (***CENSORED***) and wiggle it around and then pull it out, kind of like how you you'd clean your rifle with a cleaning patch. Pull the rod and the patch from the bore to the muzzle and it's all clean. Same thing with your thumb and that little square of TP. Works every time."

"Yeah, but why did I save that little middle piece that I ripped off?"

"Oh, that little middle piece. You use that to clean under your thumbnail when you're done. Now you see why it's so important to keep that little piece?"


(The horrible part of all of this is this is actually a true story that was told to me at Thumrait Air Base in the Sultanate of Oman, circa 1998.)

LOL! My dad told me the same story when I was a kid. He did 20 in the Navy, 2 tours on swiftboats in Vietnam. He always made sure to work that one in to the conversation when I'd introduce a new girlfriend to the family.

I'm sure Nadya can't wait to hear this one.

Or, for brownie (no pun intended... well, OK, maybe a little) points, maybe you could have your dad tell her the whole story in Russian!

Yeah, I've just decided he never gets to meet her.

Actually I suspect she's heard and seen worse. She's a nurse, and there's nothing like an emergency room to bring you up to speed on all the different ways human beings like to make jackasses of themselves.

I like this thread, and wish I had better pictures to contribute. But I am not a good photographer, and I don't have anything worth uploading. I have some photos with a story behind them... but that is about it.

Perhaps though, someone can tell me what this is. We took this photo in Moscow near Red Square, close to the WW2 memorial (with the eternal flame thingy). It looks like an old wall or something. Anyone actually know what it is? I didn't know, my wife didn't know, and the people we were with didn't know.

Here's the National Theater of Mari El in Yoshkar-Ola. Had to get the obligitary Lenin statue of course.

It's a grotto called "Ruins." Constructed in 1841 by architect Bove. At different times it used to be an outdoor orchestra pit or an outdoor cafe.

Wow, that was a big help Mox, I was under the impression that once a pic was posted...it was out there for ever but it appears one can delete them when you want, on the downside, like you said 1000k is nothing.
thanks

No prob. I guess I can't complain too loudly about the limited space, VJ being free and all. But it does kinda suck.

In May of 2007 I visited Russia to meet my fiancee. As part of my visit we went on a 13 day Volga River cruise. One of the stops was the city of Nizhniy Novgorod which we visited on May 9th. My favorite picture was taken on that day at the pedestrian mall. I took a picture of a statue on the pedestrian mall and did not really notice the couple that was sitting on the bench next to the statue. Only afterwards did I notice that the old man was wearing all of his military ribbons and medals and that his wife was so short that her feet did not touch the ground while she was sitting on the bench.

Click to view attachment

I probably don't have to tell most here that May 9 is Victory Day, the day Russia celebrates their victory over Germany. He's got a rose in his hand, so they're undoubtedly headed to a memorial. Very touching photo.

We have one of those too. It's kind of a peculiar place but very neat because it's a modern spot mixed in with a very old place. Definitely a good spot for photos.



Amazing what can come of an "accidental" photo. I have a few where I was attempting to photograph one thing and only later did I realize the "money shot" was something in the background, something that I didn't even notice until later. Agreed, very touching photo.

Love the purse Slim, but I think it's a little too much for your outfit!

You beat me to the comment

Hey, I'll come to Slim's defense. Real men carrying those in Russia! Well, wait, not quite that colour. I guess I'm with the other guys!

Heh!

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the moment my girl fell in love with me was when I volunteered to carry her purse and shopping bag. It really impressed her. For some strange reason we have no pictures of that. Hmmmm.

A lot of guys were carrying purses so I thought "when in Rome...."

Actually, I was "momentarily" holding Elena's purse for her (why do women find the need to lug around 12 pounds of unnecessary crap and then complain about it being too heavy?) and my buddy just happened to "accidentally" snap several photos of me with this fabulous bag.

In all actuality, if I were going to lug 12 pounds of crap around all day, there would be some pretty cool $#!T in that bag. Can you imagine if we, as guys, had the freedom to carry a big bag around all day long and get away with it? Women have some make-up a few tampons, maybe some wet-naps and then a few IDs and credit cards. Guys' bags would be like MacGuyver! "Yeah, I've got some cheese poofs, a Leatherman tool, a pocket PC, a flask, a couple of cigars, a Rambo knife, some toilet paper, a bottle of water, some band-aids and some aspirin, sunscreen, chapstick, a sewing kit, and about 38 ft. of rope. Who gives a f--k if my bag's pink?"

Duct tape, pie, swiss army knife, electric screwdriver, GPS, propelyne torch, bailing wire, some blank CD's, wooden stakes (for vampires), shoe laces, more duct tape, more pie, and a can of primer.

Actually I think man purses could be a reality. They just need to make them look like tool belts you sling over your shoulder. And then it's payback time. "Hey honey, can you hold my purse? It's getting a little heavy. Hold on, lemme get my pie out first..."

You two are making me laugh!

My year in Kazan', I went out and bought a black leather "purse". It really was useful. Kept my passport, knife, flashlight, pocket Russian/English book, our three huge house keys that weighted as much as 15 of ours here, some extra bags for groceries, and few other interesting items.

We do. They are called briefcases. I carry one.

The main reason I don't mind wearing a suit to work is that I have so many more pockets to stuff things into.

The laptop bag/backpack combo is useful as well.

Briefcases go with suits. A guy wearing some jogging pants can't really pull off the briefcase unless he's "making a drop." And you also don't see too many guys going out to dinner with their briefcases on Saturday night.

My point is women (can) carry a purse with them whethere they're wearing their business suit or pajamas. Overseas guys do work the "murse" a.k.a. the man purse, and as Jeffery illustrated above, it's really a necessity. We don't do that here.

Russ pointed out the use of all the suit's extra pockets and how a laptop bag/backpack combo is useful but once again, unless you're more dolled-up, it's just not going to work.

So, the only compromise I see is to get our ladies to pack all that extra crap in their bags. After all, we're going to be holding it or carrying it for them anyway, right?

I think the main reason guys don't carry anything here is the fact we all use cars.
When I am "over there" I do have a small canvas back-pack type thing I use to put crap in.
Not to be confused with the semi-gay, one shoulder strap version

In USA I am never all that far from my van or car so I can get what I need from it.

I do notice a lot of collage age guys that carry a small backpack as well with anything from skate boards to laptops inside, as well as crack-pipe and other needed items.

Just think how much cool crap you could haul on your back!

Also Americans don't have dokumenty when they're in America, which i think is the main reason russian guys carry "murses."

Good points!

I guess my Jeep is kind of like a big purse..... I hope it didn't hear me type that. It is always within a mad dash and could be chock-full of the good stuff I need.

And also true that our IDs are a little smaller so they fit in a front pocket or wallet nicely. When I was overseas and had to carry my passport, etc., I did usually have to change pants to accomodate it (cargo pants are awesome!) or carry a bag for it and all my crap. I was going to go with the passport wallet, but it seemed a little too much like the man purse and if you're going to carry a bag at all, as Danno said, it might as well be big enough for your passport and your crack pipe.

Oh, and I almost forgot how much cool stuff you can carry on your back.

While I was in the Air Force, just about every day I went to work I carried: Flak vest, helmet, gas mask, cold weather gear - hat, gloves, scarf, polypropelene shirt/pants, Goretex parka w/hood, Goretex pants; foul weather gear - poncho w/liner, rain jacket, pants, overboots, scarf (yes, two scarves in there) goggles; radio, flashlight (with extra batteries), canteen (with water), camo-netting, camo-paint, duct tape, 550 cord, big rubber bands, zip ties, an intrusion detection alarm, a small FM radio, cigarettes/lighter, a small first aid kit - that included band aids, aspirin, sunscreen, chapstick, bug spray/cream; a wrist-rocket slingshot, shooting/searching gloves, C-wire gloves, wet naps/chewing gum/Tobasco sauce (MRE accesory pack), extra paperwork (range cards, notebooks, statements/forms, weapons manuals, maps, my little Russian slovar!) extra socks, a deck of playing cards, a set of dominoes and depending on where I was working and what I was doing I could usually find room for a few Maxim magazines or even my Gameboy. I know I'm forgetting some stuff as this is just a short list.

Plus, there was still room on my back for a spare barrel to my machine gun and a cleaning kit. Also several hundred rounds of linked 7.62mm ball and tracer. If I was lucky I'd have a few smoke grenades and trip flares as well, those are always fun to carry around.

I'm sure glad I wasn't on the mortar team, now those guys had a lot to carry!

My mom's parents immigrated from Czarist Byelorussia in (grandfather 1910 & grandmother 1913). I have relatives in Belarus (Byelorussia) and in Russia. I took my first trip to Belarus in 1993 to meet my relatives there and since then have been able to travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg to meet my relatives there as well. I met my wife in Belarus on one of my trips there. Here are a few of my many photos taken on my trips.


Peejay's wife at the Palace of the Republic - Minsk, Belarus 2003


Peejay at his cousin's house - Nesvizh, Belarus 2003


Peejay - Minsk, Belarus 2002


Sviato-Mihailovski Russian Orthodox Cathedral - Slutsk, Belarus 2002


The Kremlin - Moscow, Russia 2002


Peterhof - St. Petersburg, Russia 1995


St. Petersburg, Russia 1995


Fortress of Peter & Paul on Neva River - St. Petersburg, Russia 1995


This is the house Peejay's grandmother was born in Nezvizh, Byelorussia (Belarus) in 1894. Photo taken in 1993.

i'm belarusian too, although my family came to the us much later (1950). i want to visit my relatives as well, although i hear getting a belarusian visa in russia is much easier than in the us...

Awesome pics, Peejay, thanks for sharing!

Great photos Peejay! Love 'em!

Loved the pics Peejay! Keep 'em coming if you have more!

Visas to visit Belarus are always a pain in the a$$ due to the registration requirements. My cousin Igor always got me business visas to go to Belarus. He would then get me registration documents at a hostel, but I never stayed there. I would just stay at my relative's homes.

Travel between Russia and Belarus can be tricky for US citizens. Russians and Belarusians do not need visas to travel between their countries. For an American to get all the proper visas, registrations, and insurance to travel back and forth between Belarus and Russia and to stay with relatives in their homes in both countries is impossibly complex. I did it in 1995 and 2002, but cut enough corners to have been in deep sh*t if anyone would have scrutinized me. Travel by train is a lot more lax than going through the international POE terminals in Minsk or Moscow. They didn't even charge me the higher "foreigner" fare because my Belarusian relatives bought the train tickets.

The funny thing is that I always jump through hoops to make sure I have all the proper required documentation (visa stamps, registrations, insurance, customs forms, etc.) when I depart through the Minsk airport, but none of the Belarusian militia ever want to see it. I seem to get more sh*t entering Belarus than leaving to go home to the USA at their airport.

The fact is that Russia and Belarus have a lot of restrictions on foreign travelers. Complex travel itineraries should probably be done by a local Russian or Belarusian travel agency. It would save you a lot of grief and give you peace of mind.

well hopefully by the time i get to go to belarus i will have a multi-entry russian working visa, which should make it easier in terms of crossing the border.

i just have read about how hard it is to get a belarusian visa in the us... i've read horror stories about the consulate stealing passports and etc.

Lots of excellent photos and stories everyone, thanks!

Peejay and wife (Al) - Minsk, Belarus 2003


Cousin Elena's husband (Evgenny) - Baranovichi, Belarus 2003


Wheat Field - Belarus 2002


Peejay with cousins Marina & Natasha - Slutsk, Belarus


Cousin Ann at Peterhof Museum - St. Petersburg, Russia 2002


Savior on the Blood Orthodox Church - St. Petersburg, Russia 2002


St. Petersburg, Russia 2002


Red Square - Moscow, Russia 2002


Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil's Church - Moscow, Russia 2002


Peejay, cousin Oleg and family - Ozeretskoe, Russia 2002

Great pics PeeJay, the colors in the wall rug were kinda unique, those blues.

Anyone know the history of hanging Rugs on the wall?

Not sure about history, but they do serve to provide insulation.

-P

Pretty sure they're just ornamental in nature, plus yeah they probably do a lot to keep out the cold and probably provide a degree of privacy in more cramped quarters.

My wife was shocked when she came here and the rugs were so expensive. I, being a young bachelor guy, had no rugs on my walls so one of the first things she wanted to do to the apartment was hang some rugs. We looked for some and the cheapest ones we could find were around $100 each. Needless to say we don't have any rugs on our walls.

We do, however, have some blankets hanging up.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...ost&id=5975
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I don't know why, but I really enjoyed the photo of you two holding the crossed pool cues in front of the painting. Must be the cool juxtaposition.

Have to agree, I like that one a lot.

Reminds me of when we went to play the crazy Russian version of billiards. Had no idea until 1/2 way through the game that the pockets were smaller. Hadn't sunk a single one, and I was thinking "I mean...I'm drunk, but not *that* drunk!"