Productivity
I have to pat myself on the back for today. For the first time in a very long time, I was rather productive, both in terms of getting mundane chores finished, and in embarking on projects of personal enrichment.
On the first front, I did my laundry, having delayed the chore until the last day possible. This is, of course, no mean feat, given that our apartment lacks in-building facilities and we lack a vehicle. So whenever we do laundry, it turns into an ordeal involving us hauling loads of dirty clothes a couple of blocks or so to The SaGa Launder Bar and Cafe. I know, poor baby, having to carry the clothes all the way to the laundromat. But two weeks' worth of dirty laundry weighs more than you'd think. I'd estimate it at anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds, which isn't all that much in and of itself, but it takes its toll rapidly when you have to carry it over any distance. Especially when later you have to turn around and carry it back. For this reason, and reasons of the laundromat being unreasonable in its pricing (I think $1.50 for one washer load is excessive, especially when it costs the same amount to get 54 minutes of dry time, though at least the dryers are large enough to accommodate two loads of wash), Joe and I have taken to doing laundry at the widest intervals possible. For me at least, that's a shade over two weeks.
Second, and much more impressive, I began learning Russian today. Perhaps that doesn't sound all that special, though I think it inherently remarkable. But when you consider that I'm learning a whole new alphabet (Cyrillic) with letters that look familiar and sound the same, letters that look familiar but sound like other letters, and letters I've never seen with sounds I've never produced, it's nothing to sneer at. I found a really cool and useful online Russian tutorial that teaches the Cyrillic alphabet along with some rudimentary Russian. I can ask where something is, who that person is and -- most important, of course -- how to say beer (peeva), wine (veeno) and vodka (Stolichnaya). It definitely helped that the vocabulary, being Slavic, is pretty similar to the Czech I know, so I could more or less anticipate words, with the only trouble being slight variations in spelling and pronunciation.
Really, I'm just infinitely pleased with myself at the moment. After all, it's not everyday you teach yourself the Cyrillic alphabet. At least now if I ever find myself in Russia (hopefully someday in the not-too-distant future), I'll distinguish myself from other English-speaking tourists when encountering a sign that reads "PecKTopaH." While they scratch their heads and wonder what in the heck a "peck-toe-paw" is, I'll head inside the "ris-to-rahn" and grab some grub ("yeh-dah").
Eat your heart out, slaves to the Roman alphabet! The legacy of saints Cyril and Methodius lives in the spirit of this Slavophile.
On the first front, I did my laundry, having delayed the chore until the last day possible. This is, of course, no mean feat, given that our apartment lacks in-building facilities and we lack a vehicle. So whenever we do laundry, it turns into an ordeal involving us hauling loads of dirty clothes a couple of blocks or so to The SaGa Launder Bar and Cafe. I know, poor baby, having to carry the clothes all the way to the laundromat. But two weeks' worth of dirty laundry weighs more than you'd think. I'd estimate it at anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds, which isn't all that much in and of itself, but it takes its toll rapidly when you have to carry it over any distance. Especially when later you have to turn around and carry it back. For this reason, and reasons of the laundromat being unreasonable in its pricing (I think $1.50 for one washer load is excessive, especially when it costs the same amount to get 54 minutes of dry time, though at least the dryers are large enough to accommodate two loads of wash), Joe and I have taken to doing laundry at the widest intervals possible. For me at least, that's a shade over two weeks.
Second, and much more impressive, I began learning Russian today. Perhaps that doesn't sound all that special, though I think it inherently remarkable. But when you consider that I'm learning a whole new alphabet (Cyrillic) with letters that look familiar and sound the same, letters that look familiar but sound like other letters, and letters I've never seen with sounds I've never produced, it's nothing to sneer at. I found a really cool and useful online Russian tutorial that teaches the Cyrillic alphabet along with some rudimentary Russian. I can ask where something is, who that person is and -- most important, of course -- how to say beer (peeva), wine (veeno) and vodka (Stolichnaya). It definitely helped that the vocabulary, being Slavic, is pretty similar to the Czech I know, so I could more or less anticipate words, with the only trouble being slight variations in spelling and pronunciation.
Really, I'm just infinitely pleased with myself at the moment. After all, it's not everyday you teach yourself the Cyrillic alphabet. At least now if I ever find myself in Russia (hopefully someday in the not-too-distant future), I'll distinguish myself from other English-speaking tourists when encountering a sign that reads "PecKTopaH." While they scratch their heads and wonder what in the heck a "peck-toe-paw" is, I'll head inside the "ris-to-rahn" and grab some grub ("yeh-dah").
Eat your heart out, slaves to the Roman alphabet! The legacy of saints Cyril and Methodius lives in the spirit of this Slavophile.
posted by Alexander Dubcek | 22:52
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