Pieces of Me – Mosaic MeMe (inspired by RaJen’s post)

1. Hangin’ with Nina Simone, 2. Poached Pear With Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta, 3. close to Avtozavodskaya, 4. orange glow, 5. Australia’s Davis Cup team of 1986, 6. Vertex, 7. Roskilde Festival 2007, 8. Eclairs (4438), 9. Genetics, 10. llibreria – bookstore – Amsterdam – HDR, 11. L’été indien, 12. Aniver_nina_ 112
 

Here’s the meme:
If you want to play too, type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows) – I regularly use this one. If you decide to play, leave a comment so I can have a peek.

The questions:

1. What is your first name? (Nina)
2. What is your favorite food? (Poached Pear)
3. What high school did you attend? (Next to Avtozavodskaya subway station in Moscow (believe it or not, my school is just couple of blocks behind that ugly monument. and I was there, with a banner (they made us come there after school)  when the monument was opened on a cold February day probably in 1983-ish)
4. What is your favorite color? (orange)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Pat Cash (on the left )
6. Favorite drink? (tarhun)
7. Dream vacation? (Denmark – Roskilde festival)
8. Favorite dessert? (eclair)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (genetics researcher)
10. What do you love most in life? (reading. And I was indeed in this bookstore in Amsterdam.)
11. One word to describe you. (independent)
12. Your Flickr name. (I don’t have anything uploaded there but my user name is nina..112..)

awesome background, right?

I should be doing it:-)

http://www.wackyarchives.com/offbeat/creative-food-sculptures.html

 

Chimney Park – Asheville – last Sunday

I”m going insane in NYC when it’s muddy, so last Saturday I packed up and schlepped to Asheville (continental had a promotion – $139 round trip…) , and got a drive of my life on mountain roads. 

Biltmore, Myrtle Beach and Charleston

I had such a great trip, although I had to squeeze it all in 5 days…I left NYC in the middle of the storm, arrived to Myrt.le Beach for $19 (!!!) – promotion at spiri.t airlines, stayed a night at ocean front hotel for $40, drove through SC to NC – and it was the most beautiful road I can imagine, especially getting closer to Ashevil.le (pic.1) , spent half a day in B.iltmore (p.2); http://flickr.com/photos/kparrish/134833040/, had an amazing roof top tour, and then drove back to Charleston (Cooper River bridge – pic 3unfortunately I could not find a better view of it, but it’s truly amazing… 

I can’t believe I’m leaving my job in the mid of recession. GOD bless me!

see more cute dogs and puppies

spring cleaning

Doing mental check and looking for excuse to procrastinate:-)

Well, I think I have 3 days left at my old job! and I need to complete so many things, omg…

Then I’ll take a week of vacations, and I’m contemplating going to Myrtl.e Beac*h, with a quick hike to Ashvill*e and Bilt.more – found pretty good trip advice. Since I luv gardening but don’t have a garden, I plant my favorite gladiouluses (sp?) at my friends’ backyards. And most of the bulbs I get are from Biltmore collections – check it out…
http://www.americanmeadows.com/SpringFlowerBulbs/Gladiolus/BiltmoreGladiolusMonAmour.aspx

and the trip -
http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-view-446280-biltmore_and_asheville_1_5_day;_ylt=AhntvM1i2rBtvYTXZuZqDQKcItAF

Got a hint at one of blogs and came across a nice place on vacation rentals for $40/day. Rip-off of course but still better than motel.
Then I have a follow-up mam.mogram on 5/5 (keep my fingers crossed that it’s fine) – and that would end gazillion of tests.
On 5/6 I’m supposed to start a new job. I’m glad to be busy but Dear God, please don’t make me that overwhelmed and stressed out as I was here – I just can’t take it anymore…
Then I have another part of C.PA on 5/10. and I need to squeeze the 3rd one before the end of May. After I had passed the hardest Finan.cial Account.ing in the midst of busyseason, I have a newly discovered self-confidence.
Then I should find a time – AND MAKE IT WORK to go overseas (or to Canada) to see my family.

Which brings me to the dreadful point that I need to slim down. And that’s why I started this post today. I need to have a food diary, I need to keep exercising and maintain at least some regime. In other words need to do what Holly is doing.
http://skinnyonholly.wordpress.com/
As of today, I’m down 6 lbs from last week. Sounds fantastic but I kind of have cheated – I simply had perio.d last week, which always makes me pretty bloated.
So, let’s use a different base. I’m down 4 lbs from the pre-IVF last August. and my current goal is 9 lbs by 5/10, which is 17 days, or approximately 1/2 lb/day. I think it’s doable expecially given that it’s the easiest to loose weight in the beginning. I noticed that have several resistance points – points which I reach easy, but bounce back. So, next one is 2 lbs down. Off I go, wish me luck.

the best time of the year

It’s the first day of spring here, and the beginning of my favorite time of the year – no matter which continent I’m on. That’s it – the last decade of March.

all is well?

In case someone still checks out this blog – HI!:-) and hope all is well. I’m terribly lazy and frustrated with work, but then – what else is new?

In other – more important- news, I got my new insurance, went to Colo.rado last week (got there in car accident, but still it was awsome to leave work and have fun. well, if one considers hystero.scopy (1 day day work-up at RE) as fun:-) well, I do – it’s still better than audi.t

So, it appears that I grew a fresh crop of pollyps, so I’m facing D&C/polypectomy in March (I’ll go back to Colo ’cause I want them to see me “inside”, and do lining the way they want it) then I have to wait 1 cycle, then the clinic will be closed for couple of week, so it could be May or July…I really liked my new RE, I look at his picture on the I-net, and smile:-)

And the trip went great – I started at Stam.ford, took a train to New Have.n (home of Ya.le, my first RE), tansferred to train to Hartf.ord, missed the bus, took a cab to airport, flied to Balti.more, then to Den.ver, bought a great neckl.ace in the airport, came to hote.l downtown, watched super b.owl while doing f-n job in the ba.r downstairs, took a ca.b to clinic at 7 am (the driver did not speak any identifiable language but had a GP.S, in which I inserted the address. well, it did not help all that much ’cause he did not understand the instructions GPS was giving to him:-) So, from time to time I had to bark “left”, “right”, and this was how we got into an accident in the middle of the highway. So, I had to leave the cab, and run to next office building (I fell couple of times on the way there ’cause i had to run through icy slopes:-). I called my RE, saying that I was late for an appointment and they suggested that I re-schedule it. Ah? Yes, I’m 20 minutes late but I’m coming from CT!!!Anyway, 20 minutes later came another car. This time the driver did not have a GPS, AND did not know the location. So, he started circling around, paying no attention to the numbers on the buildings. As a result of my scandal, I got thrown out of the second car:-), ran to the hospital, and got directions to the centre, which was located in 3 minutes walk. On the way back, I had a great conversation with a single dad (former CEO) to 4 kids from Tex.as (he came to Colo to pick up a German sheppard (7 week old) puppy Kaiser for his son, as a secret weapon against son’s fascination with video games. Got some great tips for hiking in Colorado, and I’m DEFINITELY coming there again.) had THE sandwich of my life in the airport’s cafe while doing the f-n job, continued the trip to N.J while doing the f-n job on the plane, then took a cab to NY,C, came home at 1:30am, got up at 6 am, and took subway/tra.in to Westchester (NY upstate) to be at another client. Insane as it sounds, it probably was THE BEST time I had in the last 3 years (I work at my damn job since July 2005.) And I don’t know why.

I’m looking for a new jo.b, and although timing is definitely not the best, I’m positive I’ll find one. I need to leave pub.lic account.ing, so I’m looking for jobs in finance. at the moment, I’m completing the second client, and rolling onto the next one – construction??, jeez – I don’t have a clue about this industry, so it’s gonna be tons of fun and sleepless nights. please, please, please let me find a job prior to that.

For some reasons, I got very sad about Hea.th L.edger. May he R.I.P. …He always seemed like an old soul, and such an interesting person, as cliche as it is…So, gifted and so young. Too sad.

…life is lousy and then you die:-)…

…In keeping up with the Christmas mood, my priest pronounced that  – “life is lousy and then you die”:-)…Ah? I don’t feel entirely like that but objectively my life sucks  need improvement  on many fronts.

A year ago, on December 15th, I made a decision that every day I’ll do something for MYSELF, aside from my 100hrs-week-hell-stressful jobs-that pays-peenuts and sucks life out of me. In retrospect, looks like up until last October, I managed to keep up my promiss – I had tons of doctor’s appointments, had surgery/vaccinations/bridges/unsuccessful IVF, took Reiki II,  found a co-rent in Manhat.tan, finally (after 2 years, and probably for the first time in my 8 yers in America) unpacked the cartons and uncluttered my appartment in CT,  got driving license, and spent an enormous amount of time on CPA, which I still have to pass.  And I managed to see “The coast of Uto.pia”, went to Met, U.S. Op.en Fin.als, and saw a cosmic show at Museum of Natural Science. But starting from October, this job load got unbearable, and I need to run. My visa is expiring in July, and I have another 3 years for the second one, so it’s time to find a FINAL job, which will bring me to greencard. I can’t believe that I’m already 8 years here. OMG, 2 MBAs, 4 jobs, 8 appartments, 3 relationships later, it still feels like I arrived yesterday, and did not achieve anything.

Well, right now I need a job.