From Russia, With Love (aka We Were Russian Once ... and Young)

(NOTE: The passage forthwith was written on June 21.)

Russia has been cool so far. It's been raining for the past 48+ hours (or 2+ days), so it's been really gloomy and gross, but before that it had been pretty sunny and warm. The apartment I'm staying in is nice. It's 2 floors, and I have a bedroom with my own bathroom in it. It's right in a park (called Patriarch's Pond) that's famous because a classic Russian novel (The Master and Margarita) took place largely in it.

Friday 6/16
The flight wasn't as bad as I had expected and I got through the airport and customs without a problem. A guy named Zhenya who works for my cousin Bernard's bank picked me up at the airport, but he doesn't speak any English, so it was a slightly awkward hour-long car ride into the city with him on the first day (even though we did communicate a little with the help of my Berlitz phrasebook). He took me to meet Bernard for lunch at a good Italian place. We ate with a writer from the Wall Street Journal and they talked business and politics and Russia. I was pretty tired and listened to some of it and spaced out for the rest. Then Bernard took me up to his office to show me the place ("Man, it was nice! They called it the Radisson." --Willie Williams). After that, he dropped me off at the apartment and went back to work.

By the way, Bernard and his wife Fatima have two full-time drivers, one for each of them. Zhenya drives for Bernard in a metallic white/beigish Lexus LS430, and Alexei drives for Fatima in a black Toyota Land Cruiser. So these guys pick them up whenever they need to go anywhere, and they never have to use public transportation or drive themselves (public transportation, by the way, consists of either taking a trolley bus, the Metro -- apparently very nice and efficient, 9 million passengers a day -- or a taxi -- which there are very few of. So most people just basically hitchhike, and Bernard has told me I should if I want to, also. Seems very shady, I know. You just hold your hand out, any random person stops, you get in and give them 100 Rubles (about $3.50), and they take you wherever you need to go in the city. Moscow has 11 million people (editor's note: I have recently been told Moscow and its environs is home to as many as 17 million people, which makes it more populous than Greece, the Czech Republic, and any number of other considerably large countries), and it's the biggest city (and maybe also the most expensive) in Europe. I guess it's good that Bernard has paid for so many meals thus far.

Anyway, so I got to the apartment, and Fatima was there to show me around. I hung out for a while and got settled in, and when Bernard got home from work, I went with him and Fatima to meet some people for drinks at a bar. There was a guy (Richard Sobel) who is a partner in Bernard's office, Alfa Capital. He went to Stanford undergrad and got his MBA from Harvard. Pretty nice credentials, very nice guy. We talked about stuff. There was also a Russian woman who spoke English. I think she was a real estate broker and they were discussing work-related things. So we had a couple beers and then walked to a couple outdoor restaurants that were full, eventually ending up at the Starlite Diner in another park (Bernard owns 15% of the restaurant and controls the decision-making for people who own another 45% combined, so he's basically the majority owner). I had a Reuben. It was good. Fries too, I think. I was pretty tired. After that, we walked back home and I went to sleep.

Damn it all to hell

Well, it happened again. I just can't explain it. How do I keep falling asleep in strange places with my clothes on? There's not a worse feeling than waking up sometime between 4 and 6 a.m. to find yourself wearing jeans, either on the floor or a couch, wondering why you couldn't make it to the bed. At this point, even if you do get in bed, your night's sleep is completely ruined. You probably had a few hours of terrible shut-eye, and any effort to get good sleep once you get in bed will either fail (because you have to get up and do something or you just can't fall back asleep) or you'll waste the entire day in a valiant attempt to rest. Face it. You're screwed. This happened to me again last night. I figured I'd watch the last five minutes of the Spurs-Sonics game on TV before I went to bed. After all, a Spurs win would have eliminated the Sonics and put San Antonio into the Western Conference Finals. And it was a close game. So of course I fell asleep with a couple minutes left, missed Tim Duncan's game-winner with half a second left, and woke up at 6:30 in the morning with the TV, the lights, and all of my clothes on. Needless to say, after I hopped in bed, I got up after about 2 minutes when I determined that it was pointless to try to sleep more. So that was that. Have a nice day.

Quick Predictions for Round 2...

East
No. 1 Miami vs. No. 5 Washington: Heat in 5
No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 6 Indiana: Pistons in 5

West
No. 1 Phoenix vs. No. 4 Dallas: Suns in 6
No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 3 Seattle: Spurs in 7

Additional news: I found out today I will be contributing to the Detroit Free Press' "Preps" section. I'll get paid to watch high school sports and write little blurbs about the games. Plus I can keep my (temporary) day job. Pretty neat. Also, some NGO in Moscow that's fighting AIDS can use me for 10-15 hours a week editing their website language and researching on the web. Things are shaping up quite nicely compared to my last entry. Hi Ho.

The Quest Continues

Still looking for a job. And things aren't exactly encouraging. Slept through an interview this morning for a job with less-than-ideal hours. Found out my former employer, Borders, doesn't have any hours available right now (even though my application has been "flagged" for high priority -- sounds important, I know). Come on, people. This kid needs some money! Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

Hopefully I can get some work at my mom's clinic in Birmingham while I keep looking for a real job. At least that will "stanch the bleeding," as they say. Any ideas? I'd be willing to do just about anything these days for some cash.

The debut post ... NBA Playoff first impressions

Some first impressions on the NBA Playoff matchups:

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Miami vs. No. 8 New Jersey

Look for a banged-up Heat squad (read: Shaq is not at full strength) to have some early trouble with the Nets, who will most probably welcome back Richard Jefferson for the postseason. Will Dwyane Wade be too much for Jason Kidd and the New Jersey backcourt to handle? Probably. Especially if the Diesel shows up for this series.

Prediction: Heat in 5



No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 7 Philadelphia

The Pistons are hot. Very hot. When Darko can score 16 in a win, you know something's working. The Pistons, despite the early doubters, finished with a bang and will look to defend their title with the hard-nosed defense Detroit fans have come to know and love. The bench's production has been suspect, but it won't be a major factor against a fairly shallow Sixers team that hasn't been able to successfully integrate the injury-prone Chris Webber. Allen Iverson won't be able to do this all himself.

Prediction: Pistons in 5



No. 3 Boston vs. No. 6 Indiana

This one has the makings of a quality series. The Celtics have flourished since the return of Antoine Walker, and they have a stable of young horses who can really run. The Pacers were all but left for dead after the Artest incident and the subsequent suspensions, but Rick Carlisle was able to guide his depleted roster to the playoffs. Both teams are deep, but Indiana will really miss Artest's defense and hustle in this best-of-seven. Boston's rotation will prove to be too deep to overcome.

Prediction: Celtics in 7



No. 4 Chicago vs. No. 5 Washington

If the Bulls were healthy, this would be an easy choice. But with Eddy Curry out indefinitely with a heart problem, Chicago will have trouble with the former Bullets. You know Golden State fans will be cringing as they basically watch their team from a few years ago, now transplanted in D.C., in the playoffs, while the current Warriors will head to the lottery. Oh well. Antawn Jamison will outplay an overwhelmed Tyson Chandler and casual fans will meet Larry Hughes in this series, the only "upset" in the Eastern first round.

Prediction: Wizards in 6