Favorite Pictures in Russia

[slim 1,514]

Really cool photos, everyone.

I guess I'm going to have to create a flicker account since my VJ pictures are filled up. (Or I could just delete that White Castle photo that I've had on here for the past three years.)

I'm thinking a trip to Russia soon to gather some new fodder for this forum is in order.

[mox 298]

Kirk, you are making me second home sick!

It's why I posted 'em!

Would you believe Alla & I have never had a photo taken together on that carriage? Probably becasue we walked by it, seriously, over 100 times!

Really?!?! It's just such a cool photo prop, we couldn't pass the opportunity up.

Hey, love Nadya's jacket and matching shoes!

Aren't those cute? She bought the shoes about a year after she bought the jacket, and they're both the exact same color. Strange. I can't find two sets of black socks the exact same color.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Meanie!

I've had my photo taken alone on the carriage (there is actually a funny story why) and we've taken a photo of Alla's son on it. But never us together.

You have to love our girls matching ensembles. Alla did the same thing once. One or two years later finds a perfect colour match.

I think I'll leave you alone about the two unmatched black socks.

Maybe, I'll have to post some more photos in the near future...

Kirk, you are making me second home sick!

It's why I posted 'em!

Would you believe Alla & I have never had a photo taken together on that carriage? Probably becasue we walked by it, seriously, over 100 times!

Really?!?! It's just such a cool photo prop, we couldn't pass the opportunity up.

Hey, love Nadya's jacket and matching shoes!

Aren't those cute? She bought the shoes about a year after she bought the jacket, and they're both the exact same color. Strange. I can't find two sets of black socks the exact same color.

[peejay 327]

Really cool photos, everyone.

I guess I'm going to have to create a flicker account since my VJ pictures are filled up. (Or I could just delete that White Castle photo that I've had on here for the past three years.)

I'm thinking a trip to Russia soon to gather some new fodder for this forum is in order.

Looking at all the photos was interesting. Flickr or Photobucket works well for posting photos. I have the $19 / year Flickr Pro account. I like it because it automatically sizes the photos correctly for posting and there is no limit to the photos you can store on your account. You can give friends and family links so they can view your photo sets from their computers.

My wife has been wanting us to take a trip to meet my inlaws in Russia. I've never met them. The problem is that they live so far away in the middle of nowhere. I really doubt the 3 weeks vacation time I can take from work would be sufficient to make the trip worthwhile.

My wife was born and raised in the small village of Maleta in southern Russian Siberia. The closest landmarks that most maps show of the general area is that it is east of Lake Baikal and southwest of the city of Chita. My wife lived in Byelorussia (Belarus) for 17 years and is a Belarusian citizen.

I have no idea how many days it would take to get to and from there from Houston, TX or even the best route to take. From what I see it would be a major journey. Lots of plane, train, and bus travel to get to and from there.

Anyway, it probably won't happen this year. My wife's Belarusian passport is expired and we have her US citizenship application pending. Those two items need to be taken care of first. It would be best for her to travel with both passports.

[Bobalouie 0]

Really cool photos, everyone.

I guess I'm going to have to create a flicker account since my VJ pictures are filled up. (Or I could just delete that White Castle photo that I've had on here for the past three years.)

I'm thinking a trip to Russia soon to gather some new fodder for this forum is in order.

Looking at all the photos was interesting. Flickr or Photobucket works well for posting photos. I have the $19 / year Flickr Pro account. I like it because it automatically sizes the photos correctly for posting and there is no limit to the photos you can store on your account. You can give friends and family links so they can view your photo sets from their computers.

My wife has been wanting us to take a trip to meet my inlaws in Russia. I've never met them. The problem is that they live so far away in the middle of nowhere. I really doubt the 3 weeks vacation time I can take from work would be sufficient to make the trip worthwhile.

My wife was born and raised in the small village of Maleta in southern Russian Siberia. The closest landmarks that most maps show of the general area is that it is east of Lake Baikal and southwest of the city of Chita. My wife lived in Byelorussia (Belarus) for 17 years and is a Belarusian citizen.

I have no idea how many days it would take to get to and from there from Houston, TX or even the best route to take. From what I see it would be a major journey. Lots of plane, train, and bus travel to get to and from there.

Anyway, it probably won't happen this year. My wife's Belarusian passport is expired and we have her US citizenship application pending. Those two items need to be taken care of first. It would be best for her to travel with both passports.

It shouldnt be bad, from houston to atlanta 1.5 hours on Delta, atlanta to moscow 10.5 hours on Delta arriving at Sheremetyevo, Moscow to Irkutsk on Aeroflot 6 hours then bus to final destination (about 325 miles or 10 hours). it would probably take you about 2 days worth of travel.

I didnt see any better route than that, you could fly into Chita, but that makes for a longer bus ride. Maleta is much closer to Irkutsk than it is to Chita.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Bobalouie

[Bobalouie 0]

I cant see the picture mox!!!

Hmm...maybe Flickr was down for maintenance this morning? Can you see it now?

No, I cant, but it may be some kinda firewall bs that my computer has when I am at work. I will check when I am at home and let you know. But right now, I cant see a link or a photo or nutin! I wanna see this matching ensemble! I have problems finding colors that match too. I wore a pair of "brown" socks for about 3 years when I got gussied up. I "Thought" they matched my "brown" pants perfectly. Turns out the pants were an olive green and the socks were hunter green. So, not only did I clash remarkably, the colors were not even what I thought they were. Color blindness strikes again!

Now when people tell me I clash or that I am wearing a pink shirt that I thought was white, I tell them I only see "what the doctors describe as" black and white. It tends to deflect the discussion away from my ineptitude at dressing myself while at the same time garnering me the sympathy "oh my god, are you kidding?" which makes them feel like an a$$ for bringing up my handicap I am handy capable damnit!!

Edited January 29, 2008 by Bobalouie

[mox 298]

LOL.

Okay, I might as well just post the link to my collection of many of the photos I took in August. For reasons I don't want to fully get into, I need to break the link up so as not to be googled. (sorry...mean people suck. It's why we can't have nice things.)

The url is http:// blog [dot] rafferty [dot] org / xyzzy /

Just remove all the spaces and change the [dot]'s to real dots. Enjoy!

[Bobalouie 0]

LOL.

Okay, I might as well just post the link to my collection of many of the photos I took in August. For reasons I don't want to fully get into, I need to break the link up so as not to be googled. (sorry...mean people suck. It's why we can't have nice things.)

The url is http:// blog [dot] rafferty [dot] org / xyzzy /

Just remove all the spaces and change the [dot]'s to real dots. Enjoy!

I tried that too, and I think it is a firewall thing. The page comes up but none of the preview photos show up, and when I click on the space where a photo should be, it just comes up blank. I will try at home.

[mox 298]

Bah. Dangit, sorry. Corporate fun-limiting firewalls suck.

[Bobalouie 0]

Bah. Dangit, sorry. Corporate fun-limiting firewalls suck.

Tell me about it, they blocked our youtube and streaming audio Jan 1st and we are all going crazy now.

[Buck and Natalia 0]

Thank you for the compliments everybody. Cool thread......... seeing all the photos is an enjoyable break from waiting. Billiards was a lot fun and I learned a few things.

Buck

[Bobalouie 0]

Great photos mox, I finally got it to work!

[slim 1,514]

Now when people tell me I clash or that I am wearing a pink shirt that I thought was white, I tell them I only see "what the doctors describe as" black and white. It tends to deflect the discussion away from my ineptitude at dressing myself while at the same time garnering me the sympathy "oh my god, are you kidding?" which makes them feel like an a$$ for bringing up my handicap I am handy capable damnit!!

I like to tell them I'm dressing "Euro" today. "Yeah, all the guys over in Moscow were wearing $#!t like this when I was over there. I can't sport the man purse, but I'll rock the green shirt with the orange shorts all day. The ladies really like that look, it's very fashionable. All the guys are doing it. I can't believe it hasn't really caught on here yet. But I don't care because the ladies know what's up."

Luckily now I have a fashion filter, "You look like bumzh. You not will be walk together whis me if you looks like this. You must change this horrible ugly foo... Here. Wear this shirt together whis this pants and yes of course you must wear fashionable shoes." (I get all dolled-up...) "YOU EVEN NOT IRON THIS $#!T??? You are original bumzh! Primitive man and not fashionable guy." (She irons and tosses it back to me... I get dressed and then we head out....) All the ladies, "OOOhhh. You look really nice tonight." The wife, "Yes, he look nice only because I must make for him fashionable costume and so he not looks like original bumzh."

At least I can match my colors, right? Everyone knows green is green, regardless of what shade it is. Right?

It's actually been really fun trying to win the "fashion fight." She's burned a pair of my slippers already because they were too old and my favorite T-shirt isn't too far behind. I try to tell her that as long as it still fits and works for it's intended purpose it's still fashionable. She's not buying it. But, I have more old clothes than bonfires, so as long as we stay away from the fire pit, we should be good. We'll see what happens this spring. There are several boxes out in the garage marked, "Old clothes."

[Neonred 3,461]

I know what you mean, Slim. When my wife arrived, the clothes KGB cleaned out all my good work clothes. You know, the jeans and shirts with holes, grease stains, and paint. I don't know what she expects me to wear working on the car or painting the house. The clothes I now consider "work clothes" are immediately taken from me after every days project and are hidden somewhere and laundered much later......or destroyed.

[mox 298]

I know what you mean, Slim. When my wife arrived, the clothes KGB cleaned out all my good work clothes. You know, the jeans and shirts with holes, grease stains, and paint. I don't know what she expects me to wear working on the car or painting the house. The clothes I now consider "work clothes" are immediately taken from me after every days project and are hidden somewhere and laundered much later......or destroyed.

Hehe.

In other news today, Amnesty International filed a complaint with the United Nations alleging mass "disappearances" of numerous items of clothing. The Domestic Politburo has sternly denied all allegations of mass clothing destruction. Secretary General Svetlana said in a brief press conference that "situation is 'nee-armal.' We have no record of a pair of 'favorite Levi's,' a 'green work shirt,' and 'that Hawaiian shirt I got from that one place that one time.' This is yet another fabrication of Capitalist Western media."