Rounding Third...

Well, this week sort of got out of hand. It's funny; I was so bored at the beginning of the week, I was considering posting on the blog despite having nothing to say. But as the week went along, I got busier, got less mired in my own sloth, and now, well, here we are. So let's begin from the beginning, so to speak.

The start to the week was pretty inauspicious. Monday yielded nothing of substance to do, other than try and sort out HR paperwork messes. Not exactly my idea of a good time. That evening I went to a local Ukrainian restaurant with Christine, and then we went and got our traditional after-dinner drinks. It was bittersweet, as that was the last time I would see her before she left for the states, meaning that now all of my friends have left town. Already feeling a little ready to get back myself, being socially isolated did not help that sentiment.

In order to avoid making any disastrous, career-ruining posts, let me just say that there was nothing to report for most of the beginning of the week, and it was really putting a drag on my energy. But things started looking up when I was assigned to rewrite the universal briefing memo, a small fact sheet distributed to officials who visit the city to let them know about the history, politics, economics, culture, and social issues of the city. Believe it or not, that's the kind of work that really gets me motivated, and I finished it in a day and I think the CG and deputy really liked it. I was pleased with the way it turned out, I have to admit.

On Thursday evening after work, I went to a nearby cafe to talk to a few youth leaders about...things. Mostly they confirmed things I already thought or knew, but they certainly gave me some interesting insights. Also, it was just nice to get out of the apartment. The next day I went to an international conference hosted by the regional government that I wish I could have bottled and taken home with me for when I am suffering from insomnia. I cannot remember the last time I was so bored. Not helping the fact was that the speeches were so stupid, but would get repeated, sometimes twice. For example, you'd have some Pole from Silesia talking about youth programs in his region, then someone would translate into Russian, THEN someone would translate the Russian into English (not very well, I might add). It was delightful, as you might imagine. There were two redeeming factors, however: I got to walk there and the weather was beautiful, and I got a whole bunch of free swag, including a crappy t-shirt that says (in Russian) "Youth: A World without Borders". Whatever.

Last night, I went over to a coworker's apartment with several other guys from the consulate for a social event. Little did I know, this meant playing Risk. Risk...Risk is really long. Really. Long. And we didn't start until 10 pm. And thanks to some bad luck, I lost very early. It was fine, no one was taking it too seriously, but after a few hours, I was tired and just was like "well, I don't mean to break things up, but I'm tired and heading out". I guess others felt likewise, as that pretty much ended things. Then I came home and slept for several hours. Today is lazy until this evening, when I am going to an American-rules football game played by two local clubs. If the baseball game was any indication, I could get pulled out of the stands to play wideout. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

C