…was held in my living room today. Apparently. I’ll get to that in a minute, we’ve got to do things in order around these parts.
First things first: Urgent questions. For all my MSP girlies out there, I got the new Larabars at the St. Paul Whole Foods. I think there was a mad tussle or something, because they PBJ box was empty! I took the very last one! But hopefully they have restocked and you guys can get your hands on them. Good luck!
Second, a lot of people (my dad included!) asked me where I found bison meat to make my lasagna on Thursday. I got that at Whole Foods, too. The meat department sort of intimidated me a bit, but after looking through the tons of stuff they have, I found the bison in next to the ground beef.
And now, friends, some food pictures… Let’s look at Saturday first, ‘k?
I got up bright and early to tutor my young Russophile, so I had quick and easy cereal yet again.
After our lesson (I taught her the vocab for parts of the body), I zipped off to do a little shopping. I’m trying to build my “young professional” wardrobe before going off and starting my new job in Mother Russia. The problem is, I am not quite sure what that would look like in Russia… When I did study abroad, my teachers looked sharp, but seemed to wear nice everyday clothes, and nothing too fancy or “professional.” Hmm. I bought 3 turtlenecks, a couple sweaters (one of which is really wild and loud… might have to return that…), a blouse, a skirt, and a suit! And that just about emptied my bank account 😦 Luckily my mom promised to play stylist with me when she comes, and will be able to tell me if I made good choices. I hate doing stuff like this on my own!
All the shopping worked up quite an appetite, however, so I returned and had a ginormous piece (and the last piece) of lasagna!
With a champagne flute of milk and a side of our neighbors house. Classssssy.
The rest of the afternoon was boring, but passed quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to skedaddle off to job #2. I fueled up with my PBJ LARABAR! Holla!
I’m gonna be totally honest here. I was disappointed at the first bite. I think that with all the hullabaloo around this bar I was literally expecting Nirvana or something utterly life changing. I thought maybe I would swoon, or scream in ecstasy, or meet angels. I’m serious, I don’t know what got into me with all those crazy expectations, but I was like, “huh, tastes like a Larabar.” Then I rememered that it was a snack bar. And then I fell in love. It is, actually, really, really, good. I tastes exactly like a (crustless!) peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I just had to remember that it was supposed to taste that way. I will definitely be buying this again, provided I can find it. Took me long enough! (Angharad, please don’t buy out WF!)
My last night at job #2 was a doozy. I was the early shift, which usually gets out around 8 or so. However, there was a big high school reunion party and I didn’t leave until after 1 a.m. Bummer! It was crazy to be trying to cocktail in a crowded room of drunken 45-year-olds reminiscing about high school cliques. Then again, I am sure that might be me someday, too 🙂
I had a cup of navy bean soup a little after I got there, and a cup of chicken wild rice soup several hours later because I was starvin’ like a Marvin. I really wasn’t expecting to be there so long, or else I would have eaten properly at home! I was still a little hungry around 11:30, so I ordered a chicken Caesar wrap.
I was sooo tired after that crazy shift that I came home and slept for 10 hours! Whew. Must have needed it though, right?
Brunch today (Sunday) was yet another yogurt bowl. I am starting to branch out with new fruit combos! This little guy had peach, blueberries, walnuts, coconut, and chocolate chips in my favorite Greek Gods honey Greek yogurt.
Mm’mm, good! I also had “breakfast dessert,” a Genji Pie. These are little Japanese tea cakes (?) that taste like an elephant ear/ Palmier. I freakin’ love ’em.
The packaging is super cute, too. I will have to take a picture (!) to show you…
The boys spent the entire night and day playing computer games together. I kid you not, they played for about 16 hours straight. Uhhh…. Certainly not my cup of tea, but it was cute to see and hear them playing together:
Meanwhile, I hosted my very own, private screening International Film Festival today. I started it by watching The Host with Christina and Jack. It is a Korean horror/comedy (?!) film that is about a giant sewer monster that is taking the people of Seoul hostage and infecting them with a deadly virus–or eating them. One dysfunctional family must band together and fight the quarantines in order to save Hyun-seo, the main character’s daughter, who has been taken captive by the monster. I actually really liked this movie a lot. It proably isn’t one I would have chosen on my own, but I thought it was really enjoyable, and I liked how the scary movie was lightened with a lot of comedic moments.
I needed a little break and got a treat from Starbucks. This is a light coffee frappuccino.
I promptly followed that with Slave of Love, a Russian movie from 1976. In it, a young actress named Olga is filming a drama during the Russian Civil War and falls in love with one of the film’s cameramen. However, he is using the position to steal film and capture footage of White atrocities against the Bolsheviks and promote the Bolshevik message. When Olga learns more about her paramour’s interests she finds political meaning in her life. A good Soviet message, eh?
Here the boys broke for pizza and shared a slice with me. I doused it with Frank’s Hot Sauce.
Finally, I rounded out my little Film Fest with Shaun of the Dead. This is a pretty popular flick, so I am guessing that you already know that in it, England is plagued by zombies, and a bloke named Shaun must fight them off. If he survives, he might impress his ex-girlfriend enough to win her back.
The boysies finally gave up their computer games to watch Shaun of the Dead with me. But it didn’t last long. They were out like lights in 5 minutes, tops.
It’s rough work, playing those computer games all night and all day long…. Hee hee hee.
I had a lovely little sammie for dins. I cooked an egg over-hard and put it on ww bread with melted cheddar, 1/2 a sliced tomato, and some mashed avocado. Pretty good, but it needed salt and/or hot sauce… Live and learn, I guess.
For the Russian tidbit of the day I’m going to stick with the movie theme. Here are, in my opinion, 5 contemporary Russian movies you should see. Russia has a very rich film history, and I could give you a list with a gazillion recommendations, but these are all movies you might actually be able to find easily should you wish to view them.
1. The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! This movie is just about the Russian equivalent to It’s a Wonderful Life, and is extremely popular around New Year’s. In it, Zhenya plans to propose to his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve. Earlier in the day, however, he gets drunk with his friends at a bath-house, and as a joke they put him on a flight to St. Petersburg. The big joke is that all Soviet streets were named the same, buildings looked the same, and even keys worked in the wrong door–or so we discover when Zhenya goes to “his” apartment (on the same street!) in St. Petersburg. When Nadya finds a drunk young man in her home she has to find a way to get rid of him without enraging her own fiance. But, of course, Nadya and Zhenya fall in love. It is a really cute movie with a fun, popular soundtrack. There was a sequel made a few years back that was one of the top-grossing films in Russia because the original is so beloved. (See the scenes with some of the most popular songs. 10:21. The first is my favorite!)
2. Burnt by the Sun This is a fantastic movie. It won the 1995 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes. During the 1930s, Russia suffered the elimination of the intelligentsia and a liquidation of the military under Stalin’s purges. General Kotov was one of Stalin’s most reliable commanders and is a major war hero. While spending his summer at the dacha with his extended (quirky!) family, he learns that he is to be arrested by none other than his cousin Dmitri–his wife’s former flame. It is really beautiful, and might make you cry. The star and director, Nikita Mikhalov, was the director of the movie I watched this afternoon, Slave of Love. (Watch a clip! 4:27)
3. Brother and Brother 2 I love these movies. The first is pretty critically acclaimed–the other, not so much–but they are fun romps no matter what. The films are gangster movies starring Sergei Bodrov, Jr., perhaps the Russian version of Heath Ledger (handsome, beloved, died an untimely death, achieved cult-figure status). In the first, a young man named Danila goes to St. Petersburg to meet up with his “successful” older brother. However, he learns that his brother is a gangster who unscrupulously drags Danila into the Criminal underworld of St. Petersburg when he needs help in a hit. Danila struggles with the notions of right and wrong, loyalty, and family, and his position as a philosophical young hitman is very interesting. The sequel, Brother 2, has kind of a convoluted story line that involves coming to America to wrestle with the Ukrainian mafia and shoot a lot of guns. There are a lot of classic one-liners in the sequel, and parts of it are so ridiculous it is hard not to love it. And I’m going to be a braggart: Columbia published a version of my paper about these films and their meaning in contemporary Russian society! (Watch the most-quoted scene from Brat 2 here. 2:01)
4. Night Watch Full disclosure, here: I haven’t watched this movie the whole way through! But I’m pretty sure it is worth your time–especially if you are into vampires 🙂 A Muscovite named Anton encounters the supernatural Others, the enemy forces of Light and Dark that must live in harmony or face destruction. Anton becomes a member of the Light force’s Night Watch, but gets tangled up in trouble with the Dark Others when he kills one of the Dark vampires. The film is based off a trilogy of books (Night Watch, Day Watch, and Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko), and the second book has already been made into a film; Twilight Watch is actually being filmed in English in the United States (!) and is slated to come out sometime this year. The movies are notable for their really artistic subtitles–instead of the traditional white or yellow words at the bottom of the screen, the subtitles become a part of the movie, and words are formed out of flowing blood or appear as part of the action of the film. This movie is also the record-holder for highest-grossing film in Russia. (Watch the trailer. 2:35)
5. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears Another Oscar winner (1981, Best Foreign Language)! This is one lonnng movie, but it is quite enjoyable nonetheless. The plot revolves around 3 young women who all come to Moscow to find work, and maybe also love. The story follows the 3 of them, but focuses on Yekaterina who becomes pregnant and must raise the child on her own when she is abandoned by the baby’s father. She turns into a very successful woman (manager of a factory) and meets the father of her child 20 years after the story starts. Even though Yekaterina already has a boyfriend, she is intrigued by the reappearance of her former lover. Of course, that sets off all sorts of probelms among Yekaterina and the two men, and she must decide who she truly loves. (You can view an excerpt here. 6:35)
It was hard to pick just 5 contemporary movies, I feel like I gave some classics the shaft… But if I listed them all out, we’d be here for days. If you’re particularly interested, I might post more movies at a later time (but if you’re really, really interested, shoot me an email at sarahsbalance@gmail.com!)
Finding My Balance... 