Привет всем!

Если Вы хотите написать мне личное письмо, пожалуйста пишите сюда. Все комментарии скрыты.

Спасибо,

Катя

http://kotja-shok.livejournal.com/248067.html

Enjoy!!!

Would anyone care to weigh in on whom you expect to win the upcoming NY 23rd Congressional district elections and the NJ governorship race?

When I look at NY's 23rd, I start wondering whether we'll get Sarah Palin as our next president after all... Hoffman, who ran as a conservative third-party candidate against a moderate Republican with extensive local experience, does not live full-time in the district, does not know local issues, cannot hold a credible press conference, but sure stands firm on the (R) side of abortion / gay marriage, and has three million dollars from the national Republican party to prove it. Eh... not my kind of Republican, and I always vote mixed in the booth. So I hope Owens(D) gets it, but I understand it's not too likely.

I don't have a dog in the NJ governorship fight, but it would he curious who comes up on top. I am pretty sure it will be Corzine (when it comes to the election booth, people of NJ as I understand them are more likely to pick a former chairman of Goldman-Sacks over a district attorney), but I don't really know.

Thoughts, bets, reflections?

Like most cities in America, Baltimore has a reverse correlation between school quality and accessibility of public transportation. So when we chose to live in the best school district in Baltimore, I found that there are very few options to get to Hopkins without driving... and I don't consider driving one way for 40 min plus parking in an area where we had a nurse critically injured by a random bullet in September to be such a good idea. The gentleman came out for a smoking break, which is clearly detrimental to one's health. However, we were concerned about bus safety also.

I found an Express Bus that runs from Ellicott City to downtown Baltimore, where I transfer onto a subway for two stops, for a "door-to-door" trip taking the same 45 minutes. My worries about safety were drastically reduced! The bus is its own microcosmos of humanity. Nearly everyone on my bus is a scientist or a doctor or a government official... it's really impressive, and I had many great conversations. There are always seats, people are courteous. The late morning bus which I usually don't take is particularly cosmopolitan.

A couple of times I ran late after school, and missed my Express bus. Instead, I would have to take a regular bus, which does not quite get me home, but at least I find myself in the right county. It runs on the same street as the Express bus, just stops earlier. That bus is packed, and folks riding it are from a different world. Last time, a gentleman in his 60's with half of his teeth missing attempted to flirt with me while a woman two seats down was spanking her three year old because he wanted something to do other than just sit and stare. I remedied both situations successfully by chatting up the little boy. That said, I don't feel safe riding that bus carrying my phone, wallet, and sometimes a camera or an ipod with me.

So, why is there such a difference between these two buses? It's the economy, stupid, as they say.
Hopkins sells us a discounted student pass which covers regular bus fare, but since the bus is Express, I have to add $O.40 for each ride. That's the economically segregating barrier - a more expensive bus fare. People only take the Express if they can afford it, and it's not a huge difference (1.50 vs 1.90), but it's enough.

Since then, I have discovered that I can take yet another Express Bus to get home. It looks like a fancy tour bus. It has large seats, huge glassy windows, smells good, and stops right between the JH Hospital and the School of Nursing, obliviating my subway ride. It goes throught the posh business district of Baltimore, picking up professionals and health workers. The bus driver takes the time to wish us all a good evening individually. The price of exclusivity? $2.00 per ride plus the regular bus fee.

Pleasant commuting, everyone!

On Saturday, I fulfilled one of my important goals for this semester - Valya and I got our swine flu vaccinations. So folks, if you were planning to vaccinate your kids (generally adults are not eligible, I have the vaccine because I have direct patient contact with pregnant women), start calling around. The first shipments of publically distributed injectable vaccines arrived, some doctors are running clinics etc. Good luck!

angerona ,  here is the perfect cartoon to reply to your post .  This is pretty much how it worked out for me:

And you are absolutely right, the only reason it could happen is because I changed my mind before I was making Big Bucks as a chemist.   Also, I worked for 2 years after college, paying off all my debts and saving enough for a downpayment on a Midwestern house, which took away much of my anguish.  Graduate school in the sciences pays a small salary which goes a LOOOOOOONG way in Small Town, Midwest, but yet it's not the kind of money that makes quitting and starting over an impossible idea.

I do not know whether changing a career path in one's late 20's / early 30's is a good idea or not.  It seems to be refreshingly common, and there is strength in numbers - ladies who are changing their profession, we really ought to start a support group in LJ!  I suspect that people who have a stable job they enjoy by the time they are 40 will feel they made a good choice, whether they changed careers or not.  People who will hate their jobs by the time they are 40 will feel that they made a mistake.  Every job will have a couple of years when the motivation is really low, and the going is really tough.  And fundamentally no one really knows the right path for themselves, we just go by feel in a dark labyrinth.  

So I guess I just want to wish everyone best of luck, in whichever choice they have made (or are currently making).  For better or for worse, I feel that I am on the right path right now - we'll see what I say in a few years, but right now this all feels very good and very right.  However, I am not currently making any money, and in fact I am paying Hopkins tuition, so it's a good thing Scott and I were saving like crazy all of our lives - it gives us the freedom to take turns pursuing our dreams while giving our daughter what she needs.   So I guess that would be the only advice I could give anyone - if you are starting to have doubts about your career, start SAVING MONEY, so that if things get really bad mentally, you can stay home for a couple of years, regroup, and start over.  It may or may not involve extra schooling, it is likely to improve your quality of life, it's likely to be a great gift to your children, and it is applicable to both men and women.

There is new data that Chronic Fatigue disorder, considered a psychiatric diagnosis until now, is really a medical problem either caused by XMRV (murine leukemia virus) or by a related factor, such as high susceptibility to the virus.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/health/research/09virus.html

To make it even more special, the lead researcher worked in a small center established by the parents of a young woman suffering from the disease.... we can all get inspired by this story. If they could do it against all odds, we all have to at least try with the battles in our lives!

I don't know anything about that virus, as far as transmission or how common it is, but I suspect we may find out a lot more in the years to come.

A student in Hopkins found a repeat intruder in his garage, and killed him with a Samurai sword, possibly in self-defense...

http://mobile.baltimoresun.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=6CA8FB2522557D80B97B.3695?view=top_stories_item&feed:a=balt_sun_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=49270246&nopaging=1

The School of Nursing classmates were impressed...

NY Times today published a moving and very hopeful account about the blatant discrimination women face all over the world, and how microloans and other Western help is effectively raising families out of poverty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?_r=1&em

I enjoyed reading the success stories. We all know women are killed and neglected all over the developing world, but it's so great to see a glimpse of hope. I would encourage you to look at the slide show for the images also.

Ностальгирую по весне, по маю, по Лонг Айленду... хотя в Мэриленде хорошо, но там я уже прижилась. Обработала фото, это за пару дней до Валиного шестилетия. Цвело на поместье Коу абсолютно все - рододендроны, азалеи, и наверное жимолость (хотя я не очень знаю, как она выглядит, но наверное она тоже цвела за компанию).

From CoeHall - May09

( Заходите посмотреть на всяческие весенние розовости! )

http://mobile.baltimoresun.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=971051CF7A9285600608.3235?view=top_stories_item&feed:a=balt_sun_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=48298690

This, folks, is the neighborhood my hospital is in...

At 3 pm, the water at the beach was very warm, full of seaweed, green, and the tide was high.

At 3 30 pm, the water turned blue, all the seaweed cleared up, and it was noticeably colder. It was as if someone used a vacuum cleaner on the surface. By 6 pm, it was crystal clear, frigid, and the tide became much lower, exposing about 30 feet (10 meters) of the beach.

Water is a mysterious thing.

Valya and I were discussing her elementary school at the end of the school year. Valya asked me how many kindergarten teachers there were. I recalled that there were six, and we were able to name most of them between the two of us.

Then Valya asked me how many 2nd grade teachers there were. I said that I was not sure, but probably fewer as I expect 2nd grade classes to be larger. The character of our area has not changed radically in the last three years, so the number of children in 2nd grade is likely to be similar to the number of children in kindergarten.

Valya considered that information and said something like (I am paraphrasing),

"Mama, we had a day when we got together with a 2nd grade class, and everybody had a choose a partner. There was a 2nd grade partner for every child in my kindergarten class. So I think their class size is the same as our class size. So then there are as many 2nd grade teachers as there are kindergarten teachers."

I believe that would be a proof. ;-) Age - 6 years 1 month.

P.S. More details emerge. "Actually, just in case someone was missing there were three teachers to be their partners. One teacher was Mr. A for the 2nd grade class. And then in my class we had Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. DelValle. There is only one teacher in the 2nd grade"

... but I could follow a man who thinks along these lines anywhere.

"I love those folks who helped get us in this mess, and suddenly they say, "This is Obama's economy." That's fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not stand on the sidelines and carp and gripe." - Barack Obama, speech in Michigan yesterday.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/2009/07/obama-its-my-economy-fine-give-it-to-me.php

May I always live up to that standard of self-accountability in all that I do - or in the important stuff anyway. I don't know if Obama can solve our economic problems - plenty of my lj friends think he is on the wrong track altogether, and I am in no position to judge. But if I can be this strong and dedicated in my own life (the only life I really control), then all is not lost, and all is not in vain.

Give it to me.

Сегодня, пока я спала, на часах было такое знаменательное время;

04;05;06 в 07/08/09

Такое же будет немного позже 4 часов вечера.

А сегодня у меня еще и День Рождения!  Едем с Валей в зоопарк смотреть на жирафов и крокодилов. 

Кто чем полезным занимается, а я решила облагораживать участок. Мы снимаем дом со скидкой так как мы заботимся об участке сами. Муж у меня всем этим глубоко не заинтересован, а мне наоборот нравится, и этим аспектом нашей жизни я занимаюсь сама по возможности. В прошлом году я посадила цветник спереди дома, овощной сад сзади, и папортники вбоку где стоят мусорные баки. Хозяйка была в восторге. В этом году в связи с переездом дальше посадки помидор и периодической стрижки лужайки дело пока не ходило.

Однако, вчера я постригла лужайку, а сегодня с утра воспользовалась хорошей погодой и решила рубить кусты. Кусты нам достались в состоянии крайнего запустения, покрытые ядовитыми лианами poison ivy, которые я удачно выдергала и вытравила в прошлом году. Я также постаралась их подровнять садовыми ножницами, но дало очень кривой результат и стерло мне ладони до ран. В связи с этим, хозяйка выдала мне hedge trimmer, вот такой:
( The Hedge Clipper Adventure... )Когда уборка была почти закончена (Валя помогла мне собрать и убрать лишние ветки), к нам подошел импозантный водитель грузовика по смешиванию цемента.

"Дэвушка, вот метла поудобнее, давайте мне грабли. Вы откуда?"

"Из России. А Вы?"

"Италиано. Какая у Вас дочка молодец, помогает. Мой пострел и собаку погулять не сводит!"

 Valya has been keeping a journal in school, and just brought it home.  Here are some of her thoughts on moving to Baltimore!   For those of you who don't see children writing in English every day, I will attach a "translation", with some added punctuation for clarity:

Valya learned how to use my camera for the first time two weeks ago at Coe Hall - and I am finally processing the photos!  She took this picture of us discussing some article on the news through my  blackberry. 
( It's a litte fuzzy, but I liked it anyway: )

Might be relevant for those on the list who live / work / considering a hospital visit in Brooklyn / Queens:

http://sagefemme11.livejournal.com/318118.html

Sagefemme is a friend and a midwife who works in one of the Brooklyn hospitals that is located on the border of Queens and Brooklyn. This might also be applicable to the rest of the tristate area, but I am not as sure about that - please let me know if you see something about that!

Дорогие мамы на листе - в последний месяц у кого-то дети выдавали резкую температуру 101Ф-102Ф без симптомов корме усталости?  Живот не болит, носик дышит хорошо, горло не болит.   У меня сегодня Валю домой послали с 102, с утра была здорова - сейчас в принципе тоже, только температурит и усталая.

Что это в итоге оказалось - грипп, простуда?  Как долго длилось?  Как долго держалась температура?     

Спасибо, Катя 

В ЖЖ есть замечательный врач, Анна Сергеевна Белозерова. Она работает в туберкулезной больнице города Петрозаводска.   Многие из моих друзей получали у нее виртульные консультации.  Если у меня есть вопрос о медицине, я его задаю именно Анне Сергеевне, так как умнее и проницательнее ее лично я врача не знаю.

В связи с экономическим кризисом, больнице значительно урезали бюджет - и на лекарства, и на проекты которые помогают медперсоналу оставаться в добром здравии ухаживая за больными туберкулезом в открытой форме.

http://belozerova.livejournal.com/187738.html

Американки и американцы, давайте наберем сколько-то денег и переведем туда.  Я переводила туда деньги ранее - Moneygram за каждые $250 переведенных долларов берет $10 как service fee, так что нет смысла переводить много маленьких сумм, а лучше перевести одну большую.  Анна Сергеевна всегда предлагает полную отчетность за истраченные суммы.

Кто со мной пишите комментарии, скрыто.  Я бы сделала группу в ЖЖ из желающих, набрала денег (можно присылать хоть по $1, у меня есть paypal - katyadoula@gmail.com), и потом всю сумму отправила бы в Петрозаводск, с номерами счетов / переводов / квиточков итд.  Да, я  знаю сейчас и у нас кризис, но мы не говорим о заоблачных суммах на экспериментальное лечение, а о реальном небольшом вложении которое поможет спасти жизни здоровых на данный момент медсестер в Петрозаводской больнице.

Я сама дам $100.

Катя

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, and we went to a nearby country estate called Coe Hall to enjoy the flowering trees and warm weather. As we walked among pink and white cherry blossoms, we saw a great number of brides and photographers capturing these gorgeous shots.

Valya said to me, "Katya, is it true that somewhere in the world someone is getting married every minute?"

I said yes, not sure if it's every minute, but basically yes.

Valya followed up, "And someone is born every minute?"

I replied, "Oh yea. And someone dies every minute, too"

"And their family is very sad when it happens?"

"Of course, they are sad, but this is the natural cycle of life - people are born and they eventually die"

So we continued walking for about half and hour talking about this and that. Then we saw a well-positioned wooden bench - it was located under some old tall trees and had flowering shrubs by it. Valya said,

"I like this bench. When I have my own house, I want a bench like that. I will plant a tree next to it, and flowers, and after you die you can be under it. You let me know what you want, and I will do it like that, which flowers and all."

"????. Ummm, sweetie, we generally don't bury people in our backyard. What if you wanted to move to another house?"

"Well, that's ok, I will dig you and papa up and move you, too"

"Hmmm, it's not considered polite to dig people up after they die. It's generally preferable to bury all people in the same special place, a big lawn that we call a cemetary. You can still put the bench and flowers there."

Valya seemed agreeable to that idea, and we continued walking towards the original property gate. Beautiful afternoon, eh. Inspirational!

Today at the Met's performance of Donizzetti's L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love), to which Scott and I grabbed last-minute tickets, the leading tenor singing Nemorino got sick, and we got a substitute.

Let me tell you a bit of the plot. So this movie-star beautiful smart girl named Adina is bored in a small village. She is loved for years by a pathetic little guy named Nemorino. A troop of soldiers stops by the village, and the galant Sargeant Belcore offers marriage to her. After several comic adventures, Adina sees that Nemorino's love is true and marries him instead.

Adina was sung by a beautiful bel canto soprano Angela Gheorghiu, and Belcore was performed by a dramatic baritone Franco Vassallo. I should look for some of her recordings - she is terrific! She sings like a nightingale in the high register, but when she goes low, she sounds like a true woman. Amazing.

Nemorino was sung by some poor fellow whom I will not name, and he fit the character perfectly. Nemorino is shy; the singer's singing was extremely constricted, especially at the top notes. Nemorino is funny looking; the substitute was a full head shorter than Adina. Nemorino is stiff; the singer would only dance is a girl gave him a good strong tug. Nemorino is earnest; the sub sang every single note and tried very, very hard. Nemorino needs a bottle of wine to speak his mind; the substitute sounded notably better when "drunk" onstage. In short, it was not good opera, but I totally bought this little guy who is in love with this impossible woman. It was real.

It all changed during the famous aria "Una furtiva lacrima" (a secret tear). It started out as the rest of the opera - a shy guy trying to come to terms with his emotions and kinda sorta figuring it out in a way maybe. Then came the moment of self-reflection in the aria when the music asks Nemorino to almost whisper a plea, and right then he had the whole Met auditorium in his palm, with his tiny voice and frame not knowing if he dares to hope... and the illusion was complete, this WAS the Nemorino for the evening.

Yea, one of those days I ought to see this with a great tenor, but today was amazing. Unsurprisingly, the applause was thin, and Adina just about fell over during the curtain call, bless her heart, poor woman.

That said, after seeing a Faust where Mephistopheles sang off-stage in between barfing in a pail due to a stomach flu, while the artistic director danced on stage and tried to open his mouth appropriately to keep up the appearances, my bar for really bad opera is sat very low. This Faust probably should have been cancelled altogether in Indianapolis 7 years ago, although it sure provided an unforgettable experience.

I have some big news - we are moving to Baltimore sometime this summer! My husband was offered a job there, and today I got accepted into the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (and hopefully midwifery in good time). If you know folks who live or work there (or plan to have a baby there, I will have time to work as a doula), please introduce me to them! Thank you, Katya
___________
У меня большие новости - мы переезжаем в Балтимор этим летом!  Моему мужу там предложили работу, а меня приняли в Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (ну и со временем возьмут я надеюсь на акушерскую программу туда же).  Если Вы знаете кого-то, кто там живет или работает (или собирается там родить ребенка, я буду продолжать работать доулой), представьте меня пожалуйста! Спасибо, Катя

It's not that I am obcessed with this topic, but after taking my nutrition class this summer I am convinced that obesity is the #1 public health problem in America.   Please folks, let's keep babies the size they were meant to be, this is not an area where bigger is better. Every time that I hear, But my close blood relative's  / friend's baby is bigger, what am I doing wrong", I  take a very, very, very deep breath before answering.

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/scienceblog/3516282.html

(I am not denying that failure to thrive is a real problem, but its incidence is very low compared to overfeeding babies to get that "Gerber" look)

Вы отмечаетесь в комментариях, а я задаю вам 4 каверзных, личных и жутко нескромных вопроса. Вы берете эти 4 вопроса и копируете к себе в журнал вместе со вступительным текстом (обещая всем страждущим задать уже свои вопросы). На вопросы отвечаете! Личные вопросы от elka1 и мои на них ответы:
 
1)why do you hang out with Russians?
Когда родилась дочь, меня неожиданно потянуло к "корням".  До этого у меня не было ни одного русскоговорящего близкого знакомого даже, вся компания была американцы и иммигранты из других стран.

2)how did you meet your husband?
В классе по математике в 19 лет.  Для мужа это был первый день в университете.  Надо бы как-то написать поподробнее.  

3)what's your favorite thing to do together with Valya?
Я очень люблю с ней путешествовать, скажем смотаться в Манхеттан и обратно на день - никаких обязательств, можно говорить о том и о другом, и она хороший компаньон.

4)are you guys planning to have a second child? ;))
Ага, все вечно интересуются.  Не знаю пока - посмотрим!  Нужна комбинация стабильной работы мужа и возможности для меня выбросить год из жизни если надо - в прошлый раз я пролежала 7 месяцев беременности влежку, и в принципе такое может повториться.  Малыша конечно очень хочется.

My kid just beat me in Blokus!

One of the neat things about one's child growing older is the ability to start playing together with really neat toys! A few months ago, I was looking through the clearance isle on Amazon.com after ordering a birthday gift for a friend's little girl, and found this on 75% off:



For $22 (I added the Blokus game to make my order exceed $25 and qualify for free shipping) it seemed like a worthwhile project to tackle. We worked on it on and off, once spending an entire rainy Saturday at the kitchen table, but mostly on weekday evenings after the homework was done. I took a few photos in progress, most of them in Valya's pajamas with her hair all messy shortly before bedtime and with poor lighting, but such is life. Every photo is clickable to take you to the entire album, with the highlights presented here.

( Building the dinosaur! )
The dinosaur has a light sensor and a motion detector. If the dinosaur is turned on and senses movement, he will turn his head back and forth, open his mouth, and roar!

Valya is lucky enough to have a great-grandmother, who just turned 90 years old. Lois lives in Arizona, and she is a mother of 7 children. Her older daughter Carol is my husband's mother (click on any photo to see the full albums in PICASA):

From Party

Lois married Earl when both were around 18 years old. During the party, the placemats were created from the old family photos:

From Party

Lois was a beautiful girl - a real star:

From Party

She and Earl had 7 children - she stayed home while Earl provided for the family by being a general contractor. When the oldest son Earl Jr. was ready to attend college, great-grandma Lois took up a job in Abbott Labs in Chicago and worked there for the next 20 years to provide college education for the children. After Lois retired, they sold their Illinois home and drove all over the country in an RV, eventually settling in Arizona with their younger daughter Betty. Earl died in 2003, the same month that I became pregnant with my daughter... if Valya turned out to be a boy, her middle name would have been chosen in memory of him, but being a girl she received a middle name Anastasia from my family.

Great-grandma Lois tells great stories and she brings her great laugh everywhere with her:

From Brunch

Женщина записала опыт ареста своего сына в Германии за неудачную шутку в школе.

http://amonit.livejournal.com/148862.html


Я бы не сказала, что опыт уникален для Германии.

Ссылка получена от Крохи Енота, у которой в журнале интересное обсуждение данного вопроса (особенно почитайте историю от Твари в Круге);

http://kpoxa-e.livejournal.com/1105265.html

 Stopped by the Dollar Bill store, bought an Egg Decorating kit.  Dissolved food coloring in cups.   Dipped the eggs to achieve a yellow, a pink, a blue, and a purple (pink+blue) egg.  Valya is sitting in the kitchen decorating the eggs, as happy as can be.  We have about 500 stickers left over from a previous Dollar Bill store craft purchase, and this kit came with real little stamps instead of markers, really cool.  



I am enjoying my computer time, hanging out in LJ at 6 PM unexpectedly (I even have left-overs for dinner), processing photos from Arizona on the side, and feeling slightly guilty that instead of being engaged in Intellectual Pursuits my child is affixing 500 stickers onto dyed Easter eggs.  
But not TOO guilty.  

On Sunday mornings, as I am a little groggy and shuffling the clean laundry into appropriate bins, my wonderful daughter dances ballet on my bed to baroque music. She moves her arms in graceful arcs during the adagio, and then jumps around with gusto during the allegro. The sunlight streams in through the windows, adding to the atmosphere, but having predictably disastrous results on picture quality. I am a parent however, so I see a familiar form and my heart rejoices. ( Valentina dancing )And here is me benefiting yet again from the $200 sweater acquisition (I must have bought 20 things for Valya and myself in the stores for that money - I have a turtleneck in this wonderful orange shade also, it's a year of the sweater just as 2008 was the year of the skirt):
( Katya's orange sweater! )

Valya was sharing her vision of a perfect house with me. She wants a huge bedroom with a huge bed for jumping, and a slide connected from the jumping bed to the outside, where a huge outdoor playground is!

Trader Joe's shopping makes creating a salad at home a very fast undertaking. Generally, each item is enough for 4-5 salads, and all the prices are from memory.

1 bag of mixed organic greens --- $1.99
1 bag of shredded carrots --- $1.99
1 box (16 oz) of cherry tomatoes --- $2.25
1 bag broccoli flowerets, organic - $2.99 (ok, I don't always buy that one!!)
1 box fried pea pods --- $1.69

Saying to your child, "yes, little girl, just a minute" to a request for more salad - totally priceless!

P.S. My favorite salad dressing is 50/50 olive oil and Trader Joe's Gyusa Sauce

Я знаю, меня читают многие из тех, кто является модератором различных сообществ. В связи со спамом о похудении (и прочими спамами) - если хотите занести меня модератором, с радостью буду стирать спам из френд-ленты. Я говорю именно о чистом спаме, то, что иногда постится в 20-30 детских сообществах сразу.

Комментарии скрыты.

Over the last two weeks I went to TJ Maxx, Kohls, and a consignment store, spent about $200 on sweaters and turtlenecks mostly for Valya and I, and now feel fully prepared for winter! All the items were in the $5-$15 range, I just bought lots of them. Suddenly I feel like one of those High Maintenance Women... but I guess in the winter I am - I often wear a knitted turtleneck and a thick sweater to stay warm.

It has been experimentally determined that Brownie the Class Guineа Pig can eat an entire carrot or celery longer than his body in a single session.

 
No wonder he is so fat!

I love all stained glass works that came out from the Tiffany workshops right here in New York.  As it happens, the family house and the artisam workshops of the Tiffany family was located right here in Oyster Bay until it burned out in the 1950's.  So when I saw that the Nassau County Art Museum was having a Tiffany Lamp exhibition, I decided to spend out New Year Eve there.  However, the museum closed for a snow day unexpectedly, making for a very frustrating New Year's Eve, and we had to go there instead on Friday January 2nd.



The quality of the photographs is exactly what you would expect from photographing lamps in a darkened room with a tiny digital camera without a flash, but hey - I think they still came out pretty good!
( Click to see the exhibit! )

Так как ЖЖ уволил 20 из 28 сотрудников в Калифорнии из-за экономического кризиса, то я думаю сейчас неплохое время сохранить копию своего журнала на Вашем хард драйве.   Любезная lauerz  дала мне ссылку вот на одну программу.  Она делает архив в стиле HTML, т.е. архивирует веб-странички которые потом открываются в любом browser, а живут на Вашем хард-драйве, не на ЖЖ сервере.    Папки рассортированы по годам и месяцам.

http://wolfgrel.livejournal.com/113015.html

Насколько я понимаю, также есть программы которые сохраняют ЖЖ в стиле PDF, чтобы потом можно было распечатать.  

Да, и если бабахнет - пишите наверное адреса чтобы потом связаться е-мейла, комментарии скрыты!  Вот мои координаты;

Katya Simon, MS, CD (DONA)
www.katyadoula.com
katyadoula@gmail.com
631-942-1429
Birth and postpartum doula
LAMAZE childbirth educator

 

"As we can see, Times Square is completely full of stupid freezing people as of 7 PM today.  WE are glad to know that you are neither freezing nor stupid, as evidenced by you being able to listen to this radio station"

Yes, NY Times radio station can be a somewhat snobby place.  ;-)

Привет всем!

Я начинаю вести первые русскоязычные курсы по подготовке к родам в Нью Йорке. Также впервые предлагается занятие по методике The Happiest Baby on the Block по-русски, предотвращение колик у младенцев.

Пожалуйста, приходите сами (если Вам актуально) и передавайте информацию друзьям!

Went to check Drudgereport.com for latest news, and found that you can now take a poll indicating whether you prefer a shirtless Obama or Putin.

www.drudgereport.com

Have to confess that I voted for Putin.  ;-)

All right, I am off to my last Medical Microbiology exam, have fun voting!

Всвязи с поступлением в NYU accelerated nursing program и полного недостатка продуктов дома, сегодня после Валиного балета мы с ребенком заехали в продуктовый магазин. Она меня уговорила подьехать в магазин подальше, и чутье ребенка не подвело! В рыбном отделе на распродаже были раки, по $5.99 за рака весом в полкило! Обычно их продают где-то по $10. Переминаясь с ноги на ногу, я пошла спрашивать продавца, что с ними делают.

"Как что? На пару варят!", сказал веселый парень.

Раки подумали и начали шевелить хвостами.

"Эээээ....", сказала я.
"Хотите я их прямо тут сейчас?", предложил продавец.
"Да да пожалуйста, мне два рака", благодарно поддакнула я и почувствовала себя трусом который доверяет другим варить своих раков.
"С Вас $12. 40, приходите через 10 минут"

За эти 10 минут мы закупились молоком, яйцами, колбасой, сыром, йогуртом, хлебом, сельдереем, морковью, брокколи, яблоками, грушами, хуммусом, апельсиновым соком, и прочими благами цивилизации. Ну может не за 10. ;-) Но закупились! Колбаса и сыр тоже были на распродаже, так что мой ребенок пошел в меня, распродажи ощущает шестым чувством с другого конца города.

По дороге домой мы позвонили мужу, попросили сделать рис. По приходу домой Валя и муж сели смотреть кино о Больших Мохнатых Коровах (баффало в Уеллоустоуне), а я соорудила салат, растопила масло, и в фарфоровой вазе подала два красивых красных рака по фунту веса каждый на стол.

В процессе оказалось, что трапеза заключалась в том, что мы с мужем чистили по своему раку, а ребенок макал извлеченное мясо в масло и ел. Когда от моего рака осталась часть хвоста, а от мужниного часть клешни, Валя смилостивилась и поделилась, так что нам хватило на попробовать. Нам обоим было очень приятно кормить Валю раками несмотря на то, что нас несколько обделили. Мне это явно показало, что ребенок растет - когда Вале было 3 года, мы ели очень много раков во время подобной распродажи, но тогда она на ужин сьедала половинку от фунтового рака, а сейчас похоже ей и целого рака мало. Но это не страшно, теперь Валя пошла спать, я написала пост в ЖЖ, а мы с мужем сделаем себе по бутерброду с новокупленной колбасой на новокупленном хлебе, доедим салад, выпьем вина, и поговорим про жизнь.

Now I am definitely studying somewhere in 2009!

P.S. Огромное спасибо за поздравления и пожелания удачи! Я еще не уверена, что пойду именно в NYU, но я очень рада поступить!

Our new energy secretary is a Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Chu.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/12/10/steven-chu-new-energy/

Watch the video at the bottom, it's really great.

I am excited! 

Ой, NYU nursing program выслала письма с решениями о приеме...

 По телефону статус заразы не говорят.  

ооооооооооооооооооооой.
(может почтальону взятку дать, чтобы прибегал к нам первым делом с утра, а не к 3 часа дня, у меня нервная система нежная)
________________________

На экзамене в медицинской микробиологии поймали девочку с учебником, при всех профессор буквально за ухо вывел ее из класса. Ей придется drop the class (как это по-русски, бросить класс?), брать его в другой семестр, и пойти (если примут, а то профессор может ей и волчий билет сделать на жизнь если пустит дело в инстанцию - в наш универстит ей уже дорога заказана 100%) учиться на медсестру на год позже. 
_______________________

А вообще грех жаловаться - беру мои подготовительные классы в местном Nassau Community College.  Все профессора люди чрезвычайно эрудированные, знают предмет прекрасно, многие пишут учебники.  Состав замечательный.  Если бы можно было, со всеми бы (кроме статистика) общалась дружески после окончания учебы, такие они классные. 
_______________________

AAAAAAA, сегодня в почте еще ничего нет.  Нежная нервная система пошла лопать бутерброд с колбасой.

 For those of us frantically buyng the X-mas stamps this year, here is a design that may have stood out:



That is a window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1881.  However, the regular visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will also remember the following window, ( displayed beautifully in one of the large open galleries: )

My computer died, so we bought a new computer on Craigslist from a graphic designer who is upgrading.  Now I have about 20 graphing programs (do I need 20 graphing programs?  we'll see), MS Office 2007, and a processor that runs like a dream, all for $150.

All is well except one thing - turns out that the windows is missing some crucial part that allows it to have a Russian layout!  I can put in a Croatian layout, but it's missing about 5 Russian letters.  

Bizarre.  I am using my "strange horse" icon for a reason!

If anyone is any good at seriously messing with windows XP, let me know!  ;-)   I read up, and this is not a trivial fix.  So if you want to chat with me, I am highly available every night after 9 PM as I try to fix this problem, but currently not in my russified form.

We are off to see Nutcracker in the neighborhood's middle school.