The End of a (Very Brief) Era

First of all, not that they read this blog, but I would like to say congratulations to my friends Mary and Stu, who just got married this week. I wish I could have been there to share their day, and from the looks of the first few photos making their way to facebook, the event went smoothly and wonderfully. Best of luck, guys!

Well, tomorrow is my last day as an employee of the US Government (at least for a while). Much of the day will likely be consumed with "housekeeping" details--cancelling my server login, turning in my keys, getting an exit briefing, et cetera. I have trained my replacements to perform the menial yet vital functions I do, and after I give my last cable the go-ahead for transmission, I will be utterly expendable at the consulate. Frankly, it's exciting. I made it, despite the State Department's near-weekly attempts to destroy me. I will give a more thorough wrap-up of my experience after I leave (a week from tomorrow, which also seems shockingly close). For now, let's throw out some amusing tidbits from the last couple of weeks:

-My fan melted. Yes, melted. I can't decide if this is ironically awesome or awesomely ironic.

-I found out this week that I am actually authorized to receive shipments here. Good to know.

-I am moving into the consulate building tomorrow so they can prepare the apartment for the next permanent FSO moving in. Amusing to move into the building the night after my last day working in it.

-I just figured out how to use the air conditioner in my room last night. Again, I move out tomorrow. (In my defense, you have to use a remote control that I just happened upon in an unused drawer. Still, ridiculous.)

-I just got an email from my RA (a position that I still hold is ridiculous to have in grad housing), and he doesn't know the correct name of the building we live in. This does not bode well for the year.

-I just realized that I've been walking too far for my grocery shopping. Oh well. This is what happens when you dismiss everything to the north as "the river".

As I have mentioned previously, on Friday, I will fly to Ukraine, and I am sort of nervous, but mostly stoked. My Ukrainian is meager at best, but I am hoping to give it a bit of a whirl. Everyone there speaks Russian, so it won't be a problem if I flop, and since Ukrainian is a rarely-studied language outside the country, I would imagine Ukrainians are much more receptive to attempts to stumble through a few phrases than Russians generally are. The trip itself doesn't seem like a big deal, although I can't say as I am looking forward to the five-hour layover in Sheremetovo Airport (Moscow). For those keeping score at home: estimated flight time--2 hours 55 minutes, layover time--4 hours 50 minutes. Awesome. I guess I'll bring one of the many books I haven't read this summer.

In 48 hours I will be in Kyiv! Hopefully I will get you a post on Sunday evening or so. And photos, too. Catch you on the flip-side.

C