Out with the Old

I woke up on Thursday morning and my Blackberry, in a fit of self-destructive behavior, had complete erased the Contacts portion of its memory. While I believe my phone is good at heart and typically means well, her actions in this case were clearly unacceptable and she will be punished---I'm finally taking the opportunity to look into getting a new phone. 2.5 years old in technological years may as well be 200 hundred, so it really is her time (lest you think my judgment overly harsh).

Really, the only relevant bit of that story to this post is this: Overload. Which is what my blogging brain has been experiencing as of late. BB couldn't handle the Contacts. Too much info. I can't blog. Too much info to get out. Rather than delete all the proposed entries in my brain, however, you're just going to get random bits of them now. So that you don't consider getting a new "phone"/friend/family member/pen pal. Enjoy!

PLANES, TRAINS and AUTOMOBILES:

I was pretty sure Christmas had come early when I got to take a day trip to St. Petersburg. Not just because it's a beautiful city that anyone should be thrilled to see. It was the method of transport: Krasnaya Strela. An overnight sleeper train. It's ridiculous, but my 5-year-old self surfaced (Sveta, travel companion and host, seriously thought I was crazy) and I was slightly giddy trying to sleep. Christmas Eve anyone?

I went ahead and took a picture of the dashboard of the Volvo I drove while in Moscow. Yes, I drove in Moscow. DON'T EVER DO IT! Unless you're crazy. Judge me as you see fit. The points to take away from this picture: A) The temperature. Don't worry, it got colder. B) The kilometer reading. I don't believe I ever really knew how fast I was going. Lastly, you may not be able to tell from this picture, but the vehicle I was driving was a MANUAL! There is an exclamation point after the sentence because that has never before happened in my life. Thanks to two fantastic driving lessons with LMB before leaving Houston, I was quasi-ready to take on the Moscow roads. The quasi is only because no one can ever really be prepared for the mess that is Moscow traffic.

This picture has nothing to do with Moscow. It is/was my high school brother's car. I borrowed it my first day home for a week-long Christmas vacation. Needless to say, his vehicle is no more. And neither is a large chunk of fence just off the road in Alpine, UT. Look closely and you might be able to see the tree embedded in between the doors...

2010 ended before I knew what was happening. A whirlwind week at home, catchup with family and friends, the annual winter plague which I generously spread to family and friends in the 3 weeks I managed to be a carrier, the beginning of rehearsals for our upcoming production of Lucia di Lammermoor, and the next thing I knew I found myself surrounded by friends and complete strangers, counting down to a New Year. Fireworks, a few Modern Family episodes, and 2011 was officially begun. It'll be one for the books my friends. But I won't pontificate on that subject at the moment. I'll let my Blackberry gauge when we're ready to handle that.


The Severed Arm. Which I will not attempt to explain. You only wish you could celebrate Christmas with my family...

Out with the Old. Check...