Red October

Yesterday we went up to Denver and attended the European Festival. Was a bit typical with vendors and ethnic food. Was a bit small though. Not enough food or vendors. However the entertainment was outstanding. Their was a lot of Russian kids performing traditional dances and singing Russian songs. All in all, we had a great time. I believe at least 50% of the people there were Russian or with a Russian.

Sorry for the absense everyone. Life has been busy. I am in the process of doing a ‘resto-mod’ project on a 1968 Ford Mustang I purchased recently. It has basically taken over my life, in the short term anyway. Will be extremely happy when I get it running and drivable.

1968 Mustang Project

Yesterday was July 4th and we went to the annual 4th of July picnic that was for the Russian community here in Colorado Springs. Was a good time. Met some old friends and made a few new ones as well. Nothing much happened there except eating, drinking and socializing. Was a nice time though.

A strange occurrence happened this year - Russian Easter has fallen on the same day as Easter everywhere else. This is the first time it has happened since I have been associated with Russians (about 10 years).

Today we are headed to a Russian Easter gathering at a local park. There will be lots of food and drink and socializing, and lots of children running wild. There will be an egg hunt for the children of course. The men, well we’ll probably sit around talking about whatever and wait for our wives to finish their gabbing and gossiping so we can go home.

After this party, we’re heading home to barbeque with some family and friends. Nothing too exciting, just a family get-together - beer, hamburgers, salad, beer, cake, beer and let’s not forget the beer. Hell, maybe we’ll barbeque an Easter Bunny or two while we’re at it. Easter Bunny is pretty tasty after all - tastes like chicken.

Easter Bunny

We went to a Russian birthday party this weekend. As I have said in the past, Russian women know how to have a good time! I shot some video on my iphone.

This pretty typical for a Russian party. Enjoy!

The title says it all. My wife’s friend Olga, went to Russia for the holidays to visit her family. She is a doctor living in St. Petersburg, Florida. She took her roommate/boyfriend - let’s call him John - with her and this where it gets interesting. You see he had never been to Russia and he decided to do some research. He wanted to blend in, not look like the very noticeable American that he really is. One key thing he learned was that Russians don’t smile in public.

Mr. Einstein

Now that was true not so long ago, but times are changing. When I was in Moscow in 2007, I had several women smile at me. And people on the streets were much more friendly than when I was there in 2001. But being the smart guy that John is - he decided not to smile. So he blended into the Russian culture of Yekaterinburg by not smiling and wearing typical Russian style clothing and even a fur hat (been there done that - it helps a little, but us Americans stand out no matter what). So things seemed to working out for him until they decided to go out on the town. Olga and a group of her friends decided they would all go to a nightclub - they wanted to get some drinks, dance and socialize. They took 2 cars as they couldn’t all fit into one. Olga and John got separated and John arrived with the first group. They all decided to go in. Security would not let him in, even though he looked Russian, dressed Russian and acted Russian. What the heck? He called Olga and explained that he could not get in. He waited outside the club for Olga to arrive. So the second car gets there and Olga takes him with her and tells security that he is with her. They decide it’s ok to let him in this time. So they get seated and start to relax and have some fun. When John was busy, Olga decided to go and ask security why they would not let John in. They said he looked dangerous, like mafia or a terrorist and the key thing was that he would not smile… Smart guy not to smile.