A funny thing happened on the way to the Conservatory...

No really, it did. I was stopping home after work yesterday, before Meeting. My land lady neglected to inform me that she was going out to the dacha for the day and therefore arming the alarm to the apartment. So I stop home to get the ticked and throw slightly nicer clothes on for the show, and about two minutes later there is a knock on the door. I go to the door and look at the video camera security screen Irina has installed. Standing there are two angry security guards with semi-automatic hand guns. I almost had to change my pants again at this point in the story.

Now these security guards aren't exactly pleasantly standing outside the door patiently waiting for an answer, they are banging and screaming like hell that someone better open the door before they have too. I call Irina, she calls security for the building, life should be ok. It wasn't. Because I didn't answer the door, and Irina didn't get a hold of security quickly enough, they called the police. I hear a bull horn out side the door letting me know that they are planning on breaking the door down if I don't come out. I am literally a criminal who has locked himself up in an apartment and won't come out at this point, they are planning on bringing up the SWAT team....this is bad.

Passport in one hand, residential registration in the other, both hands in the air I slowly open the door. They stare blankly at the frightened American, I stare blankly at the armed Russian guards and police. They ask me what I'm doing I slowly explain I live here, about then the call came in from the security office that I do in fact live here and that they do not need to take me down to the station. The Russians all laugh.... I do not. I survive to see another day not involving a Russian prison (incidentally, the rate of drug resistant Tuberculosis in Russian prisons is well over 90 percent).

I post stories like that because they are fun to read. But all in all, life here is very normal. I have a routine and more or less the days are similar. Get up in the mornings, go running, go to work, go home, go out. I don't go out every night, but between Euro 2008, the Richter Competition, and going out with my Russian friends, there has been a lot to do recently.

I spent all of Saturday looking at souvenirs and shopping. I only bought one thing because I wound up on an epic search for the perfect gift for my friend Peter Williams. I found a perfect gift, which I can neither reveal to the public, nor find anywhere in Moscow. I can't bring myself to give up the search though because this gift is worth a life time of jokes.

While searching for said gift on Old Arbat (sweet street for souvenir shopping) I stumbled upon an impromptu concert of Russian rap/rock group Noize MC. It was really sweet and I got some awesome video of the concert and of an old drunk guy trying to take the mic from the band. I guess Noize MC is really political and the man wasn't a huge fan. Its being able to see random stuff like this that makes me love being in a big foreign city.

This may come as a shock to many of you, but I am often somewhat oblivious to what is going on around me. Needless to say adding in a foreign language doesn't help. I'm fairly certain I've agreed to go to a three day religious festival on the outskirts of Moscow later this week, to help Sergei present on the work of DD/FHM and Quakerism in general. This isn't to say I wouldn't have wanted to do this if I had known what was going on, but not being sure what I'm doing only adds to the suspense of the joys that I'm sure Russian camping has in store for me. This gives me something to look forward to towards the end of the week.

Some Links to Check Out:
Evgeni Bozhanov- My Favorite Pianist and Winner of the Richter Competition

Live timing of U.S. Olympic Trials (Eric Ress is swimming in the morning on July 3rd)

Wimbledon? (All of the American med are already out)


(Photos are, from Top: Red Square, the Sky over the Bolshoi Theater, the Kremlin walls, Noize MC concert, Tverskaya St.)

-Craig