Blue Skies and Ballet at the Bolshoi

I woke up this morning feeling something was slightly out of place. It was oddly light. Had I drastically overslept?!? Normally in these parts time of day doesn't significantly impact our lighting...could it possibly be???

SUN!!! It may have been short-lived, but seeing blue skies made for a magical moment. Not knowing when such an event may occur again, I seized the opportunity to document it. Please enjoy the picturesque power/trolleybus cables.

The darkness in the lower half of this picture is NOT overstated! So despite the Bolshoi Theater to the left, our new stage to the right, and Red Square straight ahead, the best sight of the day was the patch of blue!

This was not the only sight of the day worth photographing, but I do believe I would have been shunned for breaking out my flash mid-performance at the Bolshoi. And I have to say, I don't think any camera or photographer could adequately capture the show. It was my first time seeing a ballet at the Bolshoi...I live in Opera-land. And Иван Грозный (Ivan the Terrible) to music by Prokofiev was stunning. One of my favorite things about my job is working with words: I love languages and I love literature, so a libretto makes for a good combination. But watching a story unfold and considering the characters and their emotions based solely on their expressive and MIND-BLOWING gift for movement was creatively refreshing.

It also made me want to go to the gym. Not for some sudden weight-loss routine, but rather because I felt as if there most be something more my body is capable of doing if other individuals can do something THAT amazing. Like being able to touch my toes on a consistent basis. Or do a push up. I'm not going to get crazy here (obviously), but these people running around my work place might be a good source of inspiration.

If you are in Moscow now or EVER, I will say this: Do not miss seeing a ballet at the Bolshoi. It will take your breath away. And after you catch it? Head back in for an opera!!!

Dear America: An Election-Day Letter from Moscow

Dear America,

While I may be thousands of miles away, my heart's with you today. You're far from flawless, but you're a part of who I am, and I love you.

Tonight I've had my eyes on a map, painted with your familiar Red and Blue. And it's beautiful. It's voices. It's passion. It's individuals. It's democracy.

But I have to say: I've been wishing for a little more white. Remember, that other random color that helps make up our Stars and Stripes? I don't believe we need passivity, but maybe a slightly larger dose of amity. Politics will never be associated with purity, but as I sit here in my beauty pageant crown contemplating world peace...(not really friends)...I'd like to blissfully believe that things could be a bit cleaner. Not just from the candidates. Or even the media. I'm not that crazy.

But maybe from "We the People."

I'm under a different Red, White, and Blue flag at the moment. And it's not one that's renowned for its upbeat relations with Old Glory. But it too holds a special place in my heart. I often find myself contemplating the differences between my two current homes and, while said differences clearly exist, more often than not I'm struck by the similarities which surface. But how can two countries with different national languages, political structures, occasionally conflicting agendas and sometimes strained relations possibly be similar? It's simple.

We are People.

I can't help but believe that around the world, at the core of our beings we are united by a common thread of humanity. And here in Moscow, exploring the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of an ever-so-foreign country, I've managed to see myself in those surrounding me. And somewhere (maybe deep, deep, deep down) I like to think they can find a part of themselves reflected in me as well.

I believe we can all own our Red or Blue with passion. Maybe pieces of both. And I believe we can do so without degrading others for differences of race, religion, political persuasion, sexual orientation, language, culture, country...the list that describes humanity is unending. Honoring ourselves and others with the basic respect and civility that all People warrant.

So---from one set of Red, White, and Blue to another---here's to America on Election Day! When the votes are cast and the results determined, I hope we can find it in ourselves to celebrate our individual Reds and Blues while standing on the middle-ground of White.

Translations: Your Turn!

Every now and again I wonder, "how could anyone possibly survive in Russia if they didn't speak any Russian?!?"

Answer: Money.
Second answer: With a much better sense of humor.

I received an email from one of my favorite partners in crime a few days ago...our evening of "Moscow in Manhattan" was one for the books...which contained some insight to Russian translation that needed to be shared. So, with her permission, please consider the following rules and regulations posted on a sign found in St. Petersburg (you may need to click for a close-up!):

Ms. Mezzo and her cohort came up with the following translations, based entirely on the images presented. I am including my interpretation, derived from the actual Russian translation in italics.

1) No heil-ing
No holding public demonstrations or meetings. We already drove Hitler out once.

2) No weighing
No organizing trade without direct permission. Or without a balance scale. Amateurs...

3) No walking of toy horses
No walking dogs or other animals. Which would obvs include toy horses. Slithering dogs, on the other hand, acceptable.

4) No jumping
No walking on the roofs. We have no room for Mary Poppins types in this culture people!

5) No saxophone playing
No musical instrument playing PERIOD! Keep that tuba in your pocket.

6) No pregnant people
You can't walk around in a bathing suit. We don't want to see that gut.

7) No skiing or ice skating. I especially love that this immediately follows restrictions on wearing your bathing suit...can we combine these rules please??? :)

8) No littering

9) No fires

10) No making out by poles
No pouring of alcoholic beverages. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that includes drinking them. But I, too, prefer looking at the bottle as a pinheaded individual. A much more attractive picture.

11) No biking

12) No witches.
No spoiling the greenery. We don't care if you're strong enough to break a tree in two with your bare hands. Save it for the circus.

Now...it's YOUR turn! I am well aware that I have a handful of highly humorous readers out there, and would love your input for this "translation" segment! Please comment with your favorite description of one of the pictures above. Prize for the best response: a trip to Moscow! False. Complete and total lie. But I have no doubt you'll feel yourself nearer to mastering the Russian language via participation. I did.

xoxo,

SR

Happening across Happiness

“Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don’t set any condition.” — Arthur Rubinstein

His attitude towards music also seemed to be embodied in his general approach to life. A legendary pianist, he believed each performance should be something new, a process of discovery in and of itself, and often discouraged younger pianists from over-practicing. You don't want something to sound prepared and artificial after all.

To that I say: Fine. And you're a genius. Talk to me when you're a normal person and then we can have a conversation.

I do like the concept, however. For music and for life. Do your work, prepare the best you can, and then live and enjoy the moment.

Liking and applying a concept are very different things, however. Here in Russia I find myself constantly planning: for next season, for next month, for next week...heck, for my next SENTENCE! While this is not a Russia-exclusive behavior, I've decided that here it interferes more directly with my immediate happiness. Because it is SO not a part of the culture!!! They've clearly found their system that "works," but it's so far removed from my version that it often seems completely non-functional. (Which might not be totally invalid, but that is OFF topic.) But that system involves a lot of unknowns, requires extreme flexibility, and not always the product you expected.

Today, however, just happened. And quite happily. Which was a welcome breath of fresh air. Accidental happiness. No conditions set. And I wouldn't say anything extraordinary occurred. Just that the ordinary somehow had a different light about it.

I want more of that. So I'm going to continue to prepare, but I'm going to try to do so Russian-style. Which requires an immense variety of milk products, superstitions, warm beverages, and chocolate. (The latter may not have anything to do with Russia itself, but as it has everything to do with my experience here, it makes the cut.) And maybe a great deal more flexibly.

Here's hoping your week is filled with happening across Happiness!

What the NaBloPoMO???

So, on October 31st I read a post from one of my new blog best friends (this making friends via blog is an entirely new concept for me--loving it!) who participates in the NaBloPoMo. Don't worry, I had to look it up too...the only thing it brought to my mind was the string of substitute expletives I like to use when dealing with UPS. As it turns out, it stands for National Blog Posting Month, which is apparently going on as we speak! The NaBloPoMo challenge: pronunciation. I dare you to try and pronounce that string of letters. It almost brings Russian to mind. But not quite. Second (and actual) challenge: write a blog post every day for the month of November.

I'm not a quick one to jump on the commitment bandwagon, so I was a bit reticent to declare any intentions of participation. I decided to try blogging for two days in a row and see how it went.

Answer: I did NOT want to write anything tonight.

I've always loved writing. When I was in the 4th grade I was selected to attend a writing conference at the nearby university and promptly came home, convinced I would be a great author, and set up a writing station where I could get allow my creativity to really flow. This "station" happened to be in our basement storage room on a TV tray. I emptied out my neon green Kindergarten binder...I was so over that child's play...and filled it with empty sheets of paper. After writing one horror story for a competition sponsored by the Goosebumps series author, and NOT winning, I moved along in my ambitions. Like I said, commitment isn't always my forte.

Despite the fact that I did not pursue said career as renowned author, my fascination with words never went away. But where I like to write varies. Occasionally that might be for the masses. Meaning my 8 followers...thank you family! But in my life I have also found that writing often equivocates to cheap therapy. Translation: journal. Somehow putting thoughts onto paper frees my mind up enough to see them in a different light. But even when I write for myself I'm inconsistent. And that's something I'd like to change.

So I'll start by declaring my intentions and commitment here in the public arena. Here with Day 3 of NaBloPoMo. Committing myself to write, to clutter up your feeds, and to see if somewhere along the way forcing myself to use my words helps me rediscover them.

A Girl Named Candy

All relationships require effort. End of story. (Not really). But some are more complicated than others. While I believe that working in the opera business has trained me to quickly recognize high-maintenance behaviors, I am nonetheless mortal and, in so being, occasionally fall victim to relationships that are less-than-desirable.

Meet Candy.

At first glance, she seems so simple. Even familiar. But on closer acquaintance, things get complicated.

I try not to ask too much of her, but pushing her buttons even lightly tends to send her into nonfunctional disarray. It would seem I can't find the right combination to induce a proper response.

Originally, I thought she was just a washing machine. But she actually comes complete with weather forecast...primarily clouds and rain. With occasional snow and...leaves???

She thinks she's world class...

...but is often too smart for her own good.

Take, for example, our Halloween Holiday celebration. That afternoon I decided we should spend some quality time together. So I gave her some dirty clothes...always makes for a nice time...pushed a few of her buttons, and waited. But apparently she wasn't in the mood. I tried to coax her out of her sulking, non-responsive state, but after 20 minutes found no success. I checked back in an hour later to see if I could get her going. No luck. I gave up. I'm only willing to work so hard for Candy on Halloween...

About three in the morning, I woke up with a start. Apparently Candy had decided it was time for the party. And gave me a mini-heart attack.

The next day, I decided it was time for Round 2: I put in a load, pushed some buttons, and walked away, waiting for a response. And I got one...about 2 hours later. Apparently there's more than one temperamental lady in the house.

So, I guess you could say we're still working on our relationship. But for the time being it seems we've come to a mutual understanding: when laundry needs to happen, it should not be done with any type of time frame. This machine's got a mind of her own.

Talk about high maintenance. Now you know what to expect the next time you run into a girl named Candy.

When's the Best TIme to Start Over?

When you think about living in a foreign country, the first things that come to mind are the glaring differences: location, language, culture, traditions...some days the list seems longer than others.

But beyond the apparent contrasts lies a realm of subtle differences, perhaps less noticeable but equally noteworthy. The daily details.

I was working late one night and glanced over at my phone to check the time. And the beauty of the numbers almost took my breath away. 00:00.

Military time.

There was something in seeing those numbers that reaffirmed the newness of each day. No matter how the 23 hours 59 minutes passed before it, you still arrive at 00:00. You wake up to a clean slate, a fresh start.

And I can't tell you how often I need those. Definitely more than every 24 hours!

The reminder to shake off the past, forget negativity, redouble your efforts, and LIVE is always invaluable. And while I don't care to witness the moment every evening...this lady needs her beauty sleep!...I'm happy to know that 00:00 exists.

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Stop practicing what you’re going to do and just go do it. In one bold stroke you can transform today.
~Marilyn Grey