Michigan Update!

[zaichikarky]

I've been here a week. I am enjoying it so far. It is nice and snowy here and it's been snowing about half the time I'm here. One day it was snowing very heavily. I didn't expect that! I thought it'd stop now that it's nearly spring.

I was picked up at the airport which is 2 and a half hours away by my boss and her 3 year old. It was really nice of her to come down and pick me up. It was a long time in a car for the 3 year old so she whined the entire way back, but other than that it was good.

I haven't been doing much outside of work. Mostly work involves scanning a lot of these old programs and ephemera related to the arts academy I work at. One day we put together files, but other than that, it's been mostly scanning. That is mostly what goes on with digitization projects. She's using the faster sheet-fed scanner, and I'm using this slow scanner for bigger documents.

My partner is nice and we go to lunch/dinner together every day. She has her two dogs up here. She's from the area. I live in this cabin and it's kinda dirty, but I like it : ). The next door neighbor also has dogs but his are very obnoxious and bark a lot.

The one day I had off this week, I went walking around up to the frozen lake and walking around the area. I've never been to a frozen lake before so it was really exciting. I took some pics of it so you can check it out. I've also been getting lost a lot. I tried to walk up to the grocery store one day and ended up going on the wrong road. My coworker ended up driving me there later that night.

My back and neck has been bothering me a lot lately, but my coworker pointed out these massage places within walking distance of here so once I get my money deposited, I will go to one of them and maybe they can help me out.

After work, I'm tired because it's hard for me to be accustomed to the 40 hr work week for the first time in my life so mainly I crash in front of the tv or read my book. I have cable and that's awesome, but my internet connection has been really horrible, unusable lately : (.

That's about it, so check out my pictures here- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2389895&id=6702534&l=5d2765f14f

Comments

[vedomir-s.livejournal.com]

How familiar - full work week very hard, do not want anything in the evening. Even read lj etc. )) And of course snow. ))

But i stil had good internet and now had ipad to surf from the bed. ))

[majesticzaichik.livejournal.com]

Yeah you work harder than me, though. At least with your former job you had to do all this overtime every week. I just have a normal work week and I'm tired from it D:.

[vedomir-s.livejournal.com]

On former work i have two holidays after two workdays. )) There are always bad and good sides. For last 3-4 monthes i am getting very tired on my current work. Too many new things to learn. And winter, i hate winter and cold but it hard to move to warmer regions here, it much more hard to move to another town in russia than in us and eu.

[majesticzaichik.livejournal.com]

Why is that? Can't you just move to Moscow if you wanted to? Not that it would be much warmer there. hehe.

[vedomir-s.livejournal.com]

It would not. Moscow is not warmer it sometimes colder. It is more continental climate.

It will be meaningful to move to

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It would not. Moscow is not warmer it sometimes colder. It is more <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_climate> continental climate.</a>

It will be meaningful to move to <a hrefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiysk>Novorossisk</a> etc.

But the biggest problem of moving here is housing - it is very expensove comparet to usial salary. Now I still had apatment given to my family by soviet government (for free, housing were free in USSR).

If i want to rent the same apartment it will cost from 70% до 100% of my current income. Take a loand and by flat will be even more expensive.

There is a deficit of houses becouse very small amount were built after death of USSR.

And even after that there is a second problem - difference in income betweet two major cityes - StPetersburg and Moscow and all other Russia. For the same work in province one will get only half of Moscow income and even smaller money.

And aster tha I had some health broblem but thay are small in comparsion two first two. ))

[majesticzaichik.livejournal.com]

Oh I see yeah it's really rare to have free housing. That's a big investment. I think that the different outcome is the same problem in most countries. I live (well not currently but generally) in the most expensive state of California. If I was to move to Oklahoma, the housing and living cost would be at a great reduction, however my income would also be reduced. So it's all comparative. Most people would still rather pay high living costs to live in California because it's a populated state with good weather and there are supposedly better, and higher-paying jobs here. But if you can get away with a job that pays kind of similar and move to a more rural area, I think that would be worth it. I would not want to live in Oklahoma though :|.

[vedomir-s.livejournal.com]

There was socialism in USSR - free housing, medicine and education for everyone. You just cannot became housless or lose health insurance, no need to worry. Special kind of freedom.

This strong sides of socialism are often fogotten, people remember only weak sides - especially ones who fight with it. )

And now there is just too big gap between income and housing costs, much-much bigger then in USA or Europe.

But we still living much better than third world.

[vedomir-s.livejournal.com]

Feel myself like bear in winter sleep. ))