Woke up bright and early; made pancakes for Margaux and myself while she got ready for workMade some revisions to an earlier programming project and republished itRead 'Hunger Games'Ate some delicious sandwiches for lunchWent on a fun run-jog-hike with Margaux and her delightfully furry dog, MilesShowered & ate leftoversWatched 'The Rock'

Woke up; read for a bitAte a lovely and hearty mushroom and sausage eggs made by MargauxDid a whole bunch of dishes and prepared dinner - Wild rice cakes with a port sauce, served with cauliflower and greensWent for a hike near Empire Mine State ParkWent to Nevada city and had a delectable flat bread pizza Headed up to Grass Valley for some more wine tasting and trufflesSped home to a dinner party; met some of Margaux's family's friends; ate dinner; ate amazing raspberry cheesecakeWatched 'Face Off'

Woke up and had more banana-pecan-blueberry pancakesWent wine tasting with Margaux and her parents; hit up no less than SEVEN wineriesCame home exhausted

Slept in lateHad a breakfast of banana-pecan-blueberry pancakesHiked the No-Hands-Bridge quarry trailMade some delicious sandwiches and sat in the sunWent wine tasting at NaggiarsTimed at Margaux's school's swim meetWent for a delicious local craft beer at the Ale House Restaurant in Auburn and ate some sweet potato fries

Woke up; Marguax still very very sickToured Auburn with Margaux's mom MoStopped by Costco (again, mind blowing - I would wager that one Costco holds more inventory than all of the stores in my region combinedAte some good sushiCame home and made Margaux watch some ArcherDinner - Amazing pizza and leftover ravioli Played poker with Margaux's dad's friends - and won Came home and watched the end of Pride and PrejudiceRead 'Hunger Games'

Woke up to a very sick Margaux; relaxed while she convalescedDrove to Target (which is mind blowing when you haven't been in a real store in two years) & Taco Tree (also mind blowing)Got some groceries and craft beer (Sierra Nevada IPA)Dinner - Stuffed butter nut squash raviolis and carrot cream sauce

Woke up; had some coffee and worked on my last big PC projectMargaux came down with a cold and came home earlyDinner - Fennel soup & smoked salmon Caesar saladWatched 'Thor'

Started leaving San Fran; Headed through ChinatownStopped by the Ferry Building and the EmbarcaderoDrove out to Berkley and walked aroundAte an early lunch at Bette's Diner - Spicy chicken salad and a lox wrapWent to the Vivarium and saw some monstrous reptilesDetoured to the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour and some free candy, only to be let down by a super touristy / lots of kids; made up for it by taking an ironic picture next to the Jelly Belly commemoration to ReaganWent to the In & Out Burger for some animal-style goodnessArrived in AuburnDinner - Corn Beef ReubenWatched 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

Woke up totally fine, due to the roach-like constitution I've acquired in ArmeniaHeaded out to the House of Bagels for some fine morning diningWet my whistle with some whiskey gingers (whiskey and ginger beer - try it if you never have!)Winded through the San Fran Marina areaPerused the Palace of Fine Arts with a bottle of wine, some Cheetos, and a cameraStopped by Kara's Cupcakes for some gourmet single-serving dessertsSampled 4 1/4 burgers at Umami Burger, home of some damn fine burgersDrove down Lombard StreetWent to Treasure Island (yes, this is apparently a real place)Wine Tasting at the Fat GrapeWine Tasting at another winery where they had this adorable basset hound named Bently; much petting and drooling followedTook an astounding amount of fantastic pictures before leaving the islandToured Golden Gate ParkPlayed a variation of Settlers of Katan called Cities and Nights - very fun + I got super luckyWatched a high def movie for the first time and was slightly awed at the too-realness of the picture, which make up for the movie itself (Easy A)

Woke up and got some different delicious breakfast bagelsWalked to Baker Beach near the Golden Gate BridgeHit up a fancy liquor store for St. Patties DayDrank from a scandalous rapid consumption devicePlayed Taboo Went to Twin Peaks (a hill above San Fran) and saw Sutro Tower / the rest of the cityHad a superb burrito at "The Mission"Drank some fine craft brews at Speakeasy's BreweryStopped by Jerry Garcia's old warehouse pad in downtown SFTraveled to Margaux's friend Franks place where some St. Patties day celebrations ensuedWalked on down to the Buckshot Bar and did some dancingLeft to go home, but stopped by the Would You Believe bar for a last drinkFinally arrived home and ate some mac and cheese, then washed it down with some homemade vodka from Armenia

Arrive in San Francisco from New York from Paris from YerevanGet to Margaux's sister's house in San Francisco; take a much needed shower; fall asleep on a real bed

went to the Museum deYoung with Margaux and the fam and saw an exhibit of floral arrangements inspired by the collectionReturned back to Margaux's sister's place and had a delicious dinner of palenta and saladPlayed Settlers of Katan (a board game that's a mix of Risk and Monopoly)

I stopped writing this blog about four months ago. Mostly because I spent early December raging and having an amazing time with my special lady friend Margaux before she was medically separated by the Peace Corps and had to go back to America for good. Since then, life has mostly been a mix of excessive working and trying to forget where I was, so I didn't really feel like there was much point in documenting my life in detail.

Now I've returned to America for a one month vacation. I'm managing to use up almost all my vacation days, and going up to the time when Peace Corps won't let us use them. If my last three months in Armenia are examples of what I don't want to remember, than this trip is an example of what I do want to remember.

So, this blog has become...

The Daily Log | Life Not in Armenia

Not much, really. Margaux and I made some amazing food and played a lot of rummy. One of my cats may have run away (sad face).

9.00 - Awoke; immediately turned on heater and stood in front of it for 15 minutes; made a large bowl of oatmeal and drank some coffee; ate mandarins and read the news; 10.50 - Showered and shaved; hard boiled eggs; worked for a bit2.00 - Lunch - Xinkali, apples and toast; 2.75 - Read4.50 - Friend came over12.00 - Sleep

8.00 - Woke up; made some coffee and read the news; eventually showered and went to work10.50 - Did the user interface design for the next program (miniERP) I'm making;2.00 - Got a confirmation from our Country Directory that it was OK to release my programs under the condition that I explicitly disclaim the copyright and state that the program is part of the public domain; 4.50 - Went home; worked out6.00 - Perused the internets and listened to music7.00 - Made dinner and watched a movie9.50 - Read12.00 - Sleep

8.00 - Awoke; oatmeal; tea; news; shower9.75 - Head to the office to finalize some final things on miniPOS; work;2.00 - Get a call from our Country Director about copyright privileges (or lack thereof) for things I create - as Peace Corps is funded by Federal dollars, anything I make that is not for a specific organization cannot be copyrighted and is part of the Public Domain; Make some hasty changes to the program's documentation to reflect PC policy3.50 - Finish up; head home; make a large lunch and watch more of the PBS documentary on the Islamic Empire5.00 - Stretch; listen to music and peruse the internets7.00 - Get hungry again; make dinner and finish up the documentary; clean up the kitchen9.50 - Read12.50 - Sleep

I have returned.

7.50 - Awoke after a night of mostly not sleeping and stomach cramps; called my parents to figure out some money stuff; 8.25 - In lieu of breakfast, started working - I added a backup feature to my miniPOS program and am trying to include printable reports and receipts, though Windows is making it very difficult. 11.75 - Sprinted across town to meet my friend and give her her debit card; Returned home and had a late breakfast of eggs and grapefruit;

12.25 - Back to work2.00 - Went to the office to eat kabab and fiddle in vain on a Windows computer3.00 - Took the marshutni to Malishka to meet up with Chad and Meag (my extended site-mates)3.30 - Watched as Chad finished up his English club, which was 25 kids singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs; headed to Chad's new village abode; watched the Hangover 2 and ate some surprising good soup;7.50 - Returned home; hydrated8.00 - Worked out9.00 - Made dinner (khinkali, bread and apple) and started watching a documentary on Islam10.50 - Did the dishes and cleaned up11.00 - Read12.00 - Sleep

8.50 - Finally got a good night's rest by locking the cats out of my room; gchatted with my oldest brother; ate cold oatmeal and worked1.00 - Showered / shaved; at a rushed lunch3.00 - Taught my second to last Excel class for this round4.25 - Went to check in at my office to get a status update on the website my counterpart was supposed to have done last Friday; not done; dialog is as follows:

me - 'Why isn't this done?'cp - 'Well my mother is out of the country now, so I can't finish.'me - 'But I gave you a week and a half heads up in front of them. They knew about this project.'cp - 'I guess I'm just lazy.'me - 'Yes. Yes you are very lazy.'

4.50 - Talk to some Australian guys who are motorcycle touring through the caucasus4.75 - Go home and work some more6.50 - Work out7.50 - Decide I'm long overdue for some potato burritos; head to the stores for fixings8.25 - Prep everything and put it in the oven; relax9.50 - Potatoes finish while I'm video chatting; rush to eat quickly; my hand slips as I'm grating cheese and I nick my thumb; 9.52 - Realize that the 'nick' is bleeding EVERYWHERE; have to sit down and wrap my thumb in tissue paper until the bleeding slows down;9.60 - Eat two potato burritos that have some of my blood in and on them9.70 - Proceed to smear blood on things as the cut isn't in a good place for a bandage;10.00 - Talk more with America12.50 - Sleep

7.00 - Woke up; still hyper; showered / shaved; oatmeal / coffee9.00 - Started working / IMing with my brother2.00 - Very quick lunch2.50 - Worked some more7.50 - Landlord came over; shot the bull; he - I think graciously - didn't mention the cats8.25 - Went for a run12.00 - Sleep

8.50 - Awake; showered; oatmeal and coffee; read9.50 - Kept reading12.00 - Went and got some money / food12.50 - Started working on my project2.00 - Decided to make some peanut butter and bread while I worked; got to it3.50 - Had some amazing all-homemade peanut butter and honey sandwiches4.00 - Got a lot of stuff done, which was surprising because I had been feeling unusually energetic and very ADD8.50 - Worked out9.50 - Had a dinner of ramen noodles, a PB & honey sandwich, and a bunch of grapes; relaxed11.50 - Sleep

9.00 - Woke up feeling not so hot; made some tea with village honey in it and read11.00 - Decided to just get on with my day; showered / shaved; made a good breakfast12.00 - Did some Project Euler problems4.00 - Read some more5.00 - Got some ice cream5.50 - Relaxed / read 8.50 - Had dinner / read some more11.50 - Talked to America for a while1.00 - Sleep

8.00 - Awoke; showered; coffee / news10:00 - Worked on the scaled version of my program2.00 - Had a quick lunch2.50 - Back to work4.50 - Taught a class on public speaking. I just gave some basic tips and then had each of the women get up in front of the group and give a speech on what they would do if they had a million dollars. This is one of my favorite activities, because it gives you unique insights into the people and culture. People here can't imagine having that much money. Most of them talked about how they would get a house, maybe travel or have their kids travel, and then use the money to help their families and communities. 5.25 - Went back to work7.00 - Was going to work out, but my landlord's brother and family came over to work in the garden. I feel super weird working out with Armenians around, so I just kept working.8.25 - Decided to eat dinner; made some fried rice; relaxed9.30 - Talked to America12.50 - Sleep

7.25 - Awoke; showered/shaved; eggs/juice; coffee/news9.00 - Started looking at database designs for inventory / retail management9.50 - Talked to America10.50 - Back to looking at database stuff; eventually came up with a preliminary database and user interface design;2.00 - Had a very large lunch2.75 - Reviewed SQL and SQLite peculiarities; started designing a scaled program to test things out7.2 - Went running; worked out8.25 - Made some pizza dough; showered; went and got some beers9.25 - baked one pizza, put one in the fridge for tomorrow10.00 - Ate pizza, drank beer, watched tv, and talked to America12.00 - Sleep

7.50 - Awoke; called the parents; eggs and juice; coffee and news9.25 - Started studying; Today I finished making a programs that manages your contacts in a database, and can do dynamic searches for information. This will be one of the main components of the POS program I will start this week.2.00 - Ran to the ATM and the store; thought of a lesson plan on the way2.50 - Cooked and ate lunch3.00 - Taught my Excel class; Today we learned about how to make pie charts. Every class I try and add one small thing, and plan an activity that incorporates as many previously introduced ideas as possible. The classes I teach at the Job Club are one of my favorite things here, and the women who come have a lot of enthusiasm.4.25 - Go back to studying; finish up the contacts program7.00 - Clean up the house a bit; go talk to my neighbor lady to tell her that her kid lost my frisbee - and not just any frisbee: a light-up frisbee7.50 - Work out9.00 - Make dinner and listen to music9.50 - Watch an episode of Human Planet 10.50 - Get a call from my supervisor asking me why I didn't come to a training - I totally forgot, which I don't feel too bad about because I'm positive it would not have been productive; she also asked me to review and edit some report - tonight. This type of last minute request is normal here; I've never been given more than 12 hours notice that something needs to get done; 11.50 - Sleep

8.00 - Awoke with stomach pains somewhat abated; shower; light breakfast and tea9.00 - Start studying Python; I've identified most of the tools and mechanics I'll need to create the larger programs I eventually will build. Right now I am building progressively larger and more complex test programs that integrate more and more of those key parts. 1.00 - Talk to America2.25 - Have lunch3.05 - Am washing dishes when I get a call telling me I'm late for the class I'm supposed to teach, which apparently changed days3.10 - Improvise extensively4.00 - Check in at the office to find absolutely nothing going on; get ice cream and put money on my phone4.75 - Go back to studying Python7.00 - Go for a run8.25 - Put dinner in the oven; shower; go get a couple of beers9.00 - Impromptu Skype chat with my Brother / Sister in law / their almost 2 month old baby9.25 - Finish making dinner; eat while watching another good episode of BBC's Human Planet11.00 - Read11.50 - Sleep

8.00 - Awake; shave/shower; coffee/breakfast; news and email9.00 - Look into Thermal Interface Materials12.00 - Fold laundry; clean up house; go and get groceries1.50 - Have a lunch of ramen noodles and a peach; finish cleaning house2.50 - Go and check in with my counterpart to see if he's working on the website; he's sort of working on the website3.00 - Study how to make a Python script into a program you can distribute; proceed to be confused6.50 - Do a quick work out; the tendinitis in my arms and hands has been acting up, so I've been taking it easy7.50 - Continue to mess around on my computer9.00 - Finally get around to making dinner (spaghetti)10.00 - watch another Human Planet episode11.50 - Go to sleep12.50 - Awake with horrible stomach pains; have a very, very unpleasant hour1.00 - Slept the sleep of the completely empty

9.50 - Woke up; sort of showered (quickly rinsed), had some breakfast and read the news11.50 - Started dusting, sweeping and mopping my house to Jim Gaffigan2.50 - Run to the store for my quick go-to meal: xincali; eat some3.00 - Do several loads of laundrey5.00 - Relax; read; play with kittens; watch BBC's Human Planet; eat more xincali9.00 - Figure out a way to help my computer so I don't have to bake the system board for a third time12.00 - Sleep

I've apparently fallen off the blogging band-wagon, but fortunately it has been a pretty uneventful couple of weeks. A quick overview of my typical day:

5.00 - 7.25 - Am awoken by kittens; shower / shave; put on coffee and eat some breakfast8.00 - 9.00 - Read emails and the news9.00 - 2.00 - Study Python2.00 - 2.75 - Make and eat lunch; do dishes and clean the kitchen2.75 - 5.00 - Prep for and teach a class, if I have one that day; otherwise I just go back to studying5.00 - Take care of any errands that need to be done6.00 - Work out7.50 - Read and relax8.00 - Make dinner9.00 - Hang out with kittens; read; watch TV

For the most part, I've been studying Python and learning how to write GUI (normal looking) programs. I actually just finished what I would call a 'complete' program. It's a game similar to catchphrase. Anyway, my goal is to get good enough to write the fisher price of Point of Sale/Inventory management software. A lot of people have computers here, but the lack of programs in Armenian is a huge barrier. If I can actually make something that is useful, has a low (almost non-existent) learning curve, and can be used after I leave, I would feel pretty good about my time here.

My classes are going mostly well. We're in semi-limbo because my translator has started school again, so we're figuring out a new schedule for everything. I teach two classes a week on Excel, and one class a week on Professional Skills. The Excel class is pretty basic, but I try to make it useful and interesting. Professional Skills has mostly been trying to get people to stop interrupting one another, and trying to get them to solve challenges as a group. Most of the time is spent doing games and activities, and I think the women find it to be interesting.

I had been working with a guy from a government center that is supposed to support small business, who wanted me to write a grant for a dairy cooperative. He originally wanted $30,000. When I sat down with him to do a basic financial analysis, he started pulling numbers out of... well, who knows. After a couple of weeks of working with him, I came to the conclusion that he was telling me what he thought I wanted to hear. This perception that PCVs are grant writing machines is pretty pervasive, and I don't agree with it. In this particular instance, I felt that the guy was thinking that I was his golden ticket, and he was blatantly trying to use me. Suffice to say I am not writing the grant, and have grouped him and, to a certain extent, his organization into the 'useless/corrupt' category.

So far the two kittens I picked up at the beginning of the month have been good. I had successfully kept them a secret from my landlord until this week. After being extremely weirded out and asking about the cats in a roundabout way, he suggested that 'my cats should be outdoor cats, because there is fresh air, and mice, and birds, and they will not be dirty inside' and so on and so forth. Most people here don't really get American (by which I mean 20th century) attitudes towards domestic animals. My plan is just to avoid the subject, and placate him to the best of my ability if it ever comes up.

I spent most of August in Vayk, with the exception of a quick trip down south to see some friends. Our summer this year has been relatively cool, and right now the weather's perfect. I've been enjoying running in actual running shoes. The next town over just opened a nice swimming pool, so I'll hopefully be taking advantage of that on a semi regular basis. As my language has regressed from my self imposed hermit-hood this summer (not a great time for Greg/Armenia relations), I'm going to start tutoring again.

At this point, I have about 11 months left. For the most part I like my life here. While there are a lot of frustrating things and stupid situations, I feel that I'm happy to be where I am.

8.00 - Awoke; Showered; Decided against shaving (take that, Society); breakfast of grechka (buckwheat) and yogurt; the news9.00 - Studied12.00 - Noon video GChatted; video handstands12.50 - Studied2.00 - Lunch => Khinkali sandwich; prepped for my class3.00 - Taught an Excel class on using the auto-population feature - absolutely riviting3.90 - Stopped in at work to give marshutni fair to the maid. Her niece had agreed to be a counselor and bring four kids from Vayk out for a day long green camp at Norovank. We had talked about the logistics the previous evening. I had even started the conversation with "You're still going, right?". Apparently, after that phone call she decided she would rather go to Yerevan, and didn't bother to call me. When I tried to give her aunt money she just said, 'No, Anahit isn't going.' AMOT (shameful)4.00 - Went to Yeghegnadzor and swam in their new swimming pool6.50 - Returned to Vayk; did very little8.00 - Ate about a weeks worth of potatoes for dinner9.00 - Started 'Mad Men', season 312.00 - Sleep

7.80 - Awoke; showered / shaved; breakfast / coffee / the news9.00 - Studied10.00 - IM'd while studying1.00 - Lunch2.00 - Lesson planned for my class and studied some more3.00 - Taught my Excel class3.75 - Came home; went on a run - still amazed at how much better it feels to run in actual running shoes5.00 - Read on the internets; played with kittens6.00 - Went and got groceries8.00 - Dinner 9.00 - Alien 312.00 - Sleep

7.50 - Awoke; fed kittens; showered; breakfast; coffee / the news9.00 - Went and put some dram on my phone9.50 - Called America10.00 - Studied1.00 - Lunch2.00 - Go back to studying; extreme lethargy from heat (mid-90s) in my living room; proceed to get through the day7.00 - Decide to work out late because it's still hot; Eat and early dinner (for me) and watch Alien 10.50 - Work out12.00 - Sleep

9.00 - Awoke - It's a holiday or something here, so I'm not lazy; showered, breakfast; read the news; played with kittens10.50 - Studied / Read2.00 - Having trouble concentrating; pass the time4.00 - Decide to go on a run - in actual running shoes - to break my malaise; 5.25 - Feel much better; have dinner part 18.00 - Dinner part 2 / Aliens12.00 - Sleep

7.50 - Awoke; breakfast / coffee; read11.00 - Finished watching a movie while sowing up the massive tear in my only pair of shorts; 12.00 - Ate an entire pizza12.50 - Went and got ice cream1.00 - Visited with the neighbors and got some of my wrenches and camera back2.00 - Read4.00 - Messed around on the internets7.25 - Made soba noodles with pesto sauce and smoked salmon; relaxed8.50 - Did dishes and went on a walk9.00 - Will probably watch something and then read; possibly opt for second dinner11.50 - Sleep

7.25 - Awoken by kittens; shower / make coffee; eat breakfast and read9.00 - Do laundry; take rug outside and beat the dust off of it10.00 - Go to the post office to pick up a wonderful package from America that included running shoes - very thankful that I don't have to run in my hiking shoes anymore! Thanks Mom and Dad.11.00 - Decided to move my wardrobe out of the kitty litter room, just to be careful; found out that Armenian furniture is heavy, and poorly made1.00 - Had lunch and relaxed for a bit1.50 - Swept and mopped my house from top to bottom; 3.50 - Went to chat with my host family and grab some sand for the litter box; get fed and drink some coffee; 4.00 - Return home; put my house back together and clean the back room; 5.50 - Clean bathroom6.00 - Go to store to buy groceries7.00 - Totally wiped out; make some pizza and relax; read10.00 - Start watching '3:10 to Yuma'; get tired11.50 - Fall asleep

7.50 - Awoke; showered; breakfast and coffee; the news8.50 - Studied12.00 - Lunch12.50 - Studied some more2.75 - Frantically started preparing for my professional skills class at the Job Club; relaxed when I remembered that no one here ever expects things to start on time3.30 - Had a good class; taught some stuff4.50 - Ate some ice cream; returned home; studied7.00 - Started making dinner; worked out8.00 - Baked dinner; read 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'; 9.00 - Ate dinner; relaxed11.50 - Sleep

I guess since I missed an entire month, I might as well do a normal blog post, though it goes against everything this blog is about.

The bulk of this past month was spent traveling, mostly to Tsakhadzor for our mid-service training and to Yerevan to help out with the new volunteers' training. Mid service training was uneventful, aside from my having to get treated for giardhia for the second time. My program manager asked me to help out with the end of Pre Service Training, and as he's been very helpful to me I couldn't refuse. The downside was I had to go to Yerevan, which is bad because:Yerevan is very hot. Obnoxiously hot, even, and the hostel I stayed at didn't have AC or decent air flow.Yerevan is expensive, and I'm very cheap.Going to Yerevan require traveling on a marshutni, which is one of my least favorite things in life. Practicum was fine, though I did lose out on the A-18 phantom challenge as I opted to introduce myself to the new volunteers rather than silently and creepily watch them for three hours a day. Anyway, going to Yerevan let me take care of my medical checkups and get two kittens.

Otherwise, things are mostly back to normal. All of my sitemates are currently out of site or are going to/already in America. I've started two new classes at my job club, and am working on finally building a basic informational website for the Tourism Information Center. I have talked with one of the 'experts' from the local Small/Medium Enterprise Development National Center (a government funded resource for small businesses) about writing a grant for a dairy cooperative. Unfortunately, he's yet to apply any of his 'expertise' to the project, so I'm wary of spending the time to write a grant for something that will never pan out.

Oh, and my computer broke, but I pulled it apart and baked my system board. Now it works. If you look here it's not all that crazy.

8.50 - Awake; hang out10.00 - Make some breakfast; do stuff; plan to go down to the river to swim11.00 - Watch the sky become increasingly overcast and dark; make peanut butter12.00 - Help make some granola; make some raspberry jam1.00 - Raspberry smoothies; bail on going to the river2.00 - EPIC water fight with neighborhood kids; start by water balooning them over my house; things escalate to water baloon / bucket assaults; things continue to escalate to throwing plastic bags filled with water and a hose; the entryway to my house gets totally soaked; 2.75 - Shower; mop up; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches3.00 - Rain; take a nap6.00 - Harder rain; wrath-of-God thunder and lightning; start Harry Potter VII8.00 - Fancy rice dinner12.00 - Sleep

10.00 - Awoke; shower / shave / other hygiene; breakfast11.00 - Read12.50 - Am interrupted by landlord and family; am obliged to converse about standing water disputed, allegations of water theft; take a shot in honor of my new nephew1.00 - Continue reading3.00 - Pick a bunch of raspberries3.50 - Roast some peanuts and prep some dough4.00 - House guest arrives; get into a water battle with neighborhood kids4.50 - Hang my clothes up to dry; have a rest6.50 - Make some delicious chicken fajitas9.50 - Do stuff12.00 - Sleep

9.50 - Awoke; quick breakfast10.00 - Worked out11.50 - Showered12.00 - Went out and bought some food; made a quick lunch of lavash PB&J's and palomini2.00 - Studied5.00 - Relaxed7.00 - Made a roast chicken seasoned with lemon juice, onion and rosemary with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy8.00 - Called to wish my brother happy birthday and found out his wife was in labor9.00 - Help set up a Skype date for my host mom and the A-16 who was here before me9.50 - Watched both of the new Batman movies2.50 - Sleep

8.50 - Awoke; swamped by excessive early morning heat; shower; make eggs10.00 - Study, or, rather, attempt to as my computer has another freak out2.50 - Lunch3.25 - Study5.00 - It's 95F and super muggy in my house; lie down with a cold compress on my face and listen to pod-casts, trying not to have heat stroke8.00 - Have an unusually early dinner; Family Guy9.00 - Read12.00 - Talk on the phone; relax1.00 - Sleep

8.50 - Awoke; shower; breakfast; reading12.00 - Studied Visual Basic1.50 - Saw the largest bee I've ever seen in my life2.00 - Lunch2.25 - Back to work5.00 - Read "Middlesex"8.00 - Went on the longest run I've gone on in years9.25 - Scandalized the neighborhood girls by walking up from my shower shirtless9.45 - Was asked by neighborhood girls to show them something on their computer9.60 - Went and got some ice cream9.75 - Made dinner10.00 - Ate dinner10.50 - Talked on the phone; called my Mom to wish her a happy 61st birthday12.00 - Sleep

8.50 - Awoke; felt less than crisp; shaved; cleaned up my house a bit10.00 - Breakfast; news; work - made a test for my computer class, which will be pretty easy given they've had over two weeks to forget everything they learned; studied Visual Basic1.50 - Lunch; more cleaning2.75 - Go to office to get stuff translated; reaffirm my expectations of having no real work from my primary organization - they're wonderful people, though3.50 - Have a meeting at the job club - communicate effectively and establish expectations LIKE A BOSS4.00 - shoot the bull with my landlord while he talks about absolutely random things, which, honestly, has done wonders for my Armenian4.50 - study some more8.00 - work out9.50 - Walk out of my house with a 1L bottle of Avshar vodka for my host family (as a gift for lending me their giant pot) and a flat of empty beer bottles from July 4; try very hard not to shame myself walking through town; buy some yogurt10.00 - Eat a gigantic dinner; relax12.00 - Sleep

9.00 - Awake; pick raspberries in the morning sunshine; make some granola10.00 - Say goodbye to guests; read10.50 - Begin what will become a very frustrating / minimally productive day as my computer starts crashing all over the place; attempt various fixes; spend most of this time reading with intermittent periods of rage and frustration as my computer mysteriously freezes over and over again; finally end up buying a program to fix Window's registry, which appears to have helped8.75 - Go for a run10.00 - Dinner12.00 - Sleep

... - Awake; search for various medicines; drain 1.5L of Jermuk; breakfast burrito; sleep

... - Reawake; start cleaning my house

4.50 - Go to meet people on the river, only to find them leaving as we arrive; decide to stay and are treated to some xorovats by some inebriated local color

5.50 - Things get weird and we decide to bail; head to the Prostitute's Spring; eat some delicious homemade bratwurst while being eaten alive by a hoard of mosquitoes; have my counterpart and his brother come out to help us barbecue

10.00 - Return to Vayk; relax

12.50 - Sleep

10.00 - Awake; morning stretches; breakfast

11.00 - Do some laundry

2.00 - Head to Yeghegnadzor to go swimming in the river

3.00 - Attempt to 'float' in the river on an undersized inner-tube; proceed to get bludgeoned on a bunch of rocks for 100m; decide not to float the 15km from Vayk to Yegh

6.00 - Escape a rainstorm and return to Vayk to make some chicken fajitas for a bunch of people

7.00 - Party in Vayk

... - Eventually fall asleep

9.00 - Awoke; morning stretches

10.50 - Guests start arriving

1.00 - Home made PB&J's for everyone

2.50 - Head to Jermuk

3.50 - See the sights of Jermuk; play on an inflatable slide while attracting an embarrassingly large crowd of onlookers; go for a paddle-boat ride; see an epic/very unique waterfall; get a free ride back on a party bus

6.00 - Make some pizzas and hang out

1.00 - Sleep

8.50 - Awoke; shower; breakfast and coffee

9.50 - Start studying

12.00 - Get a bucket of raspberries from my landlord's brother; make raspberry jam for the first time

1.00 - Back to studying

3.50 - Relax; play guitar

5.00 - Read; finish 'The People of Paper'; start Reich's 'Aftershock'

7.75 - Work out

9.00 - Cook dinner

10.00 - Try and fix my computer (again)

11.50 - Do the dishes

11.75 - Read

12.50 - Sleep

8.50 - Awake; shower / shave; breakfast - yogurt and granola

10.00 - Call program manager to get an update on the water situation - my landlord was facing a 126,000 AMD fine because he neglected to install a properly sealed water meter. I'm just trying to keep my water from getting shut off; pleasantly surprised to find my PM already on the problem => +1 for Armenia after a long streak of negatives

10.50 - work on some Project Euler problems

3.50 - have lunch

4.25 - back to work

7.75 - Go for a run

9.00 - Buy some groceries

10.00 - talk on the phone

10.50 - make some more granola

11.00 - read

12.50 - sleep

8.15 - Awake; shower; eat granola and yogurt; make coffee; read the news

10.00 - Start studying Visual Basic

11.75 - Power goes out; finish "Guns, Germs and Steel"; start "The People Of Paper" - immediately get hooked

3.75 - Go and visit my neighbor to figure out what's going on with the lights

4.25 - Lights come back on; continue to read

5.25 - Go run some errands; buy some internets

5.75 - Back to studying

8.00 - Work out

9.25 - Finish making dinner / talk on the phone

10.00 - Watch South Park; try to fix computer again

11.00 - Wash dishes; read

12.00 - Sleep

8.00 - Awoke; coffee; shower; breakfast

9.50 - studied visual basic with Project Euler

2.00 - Ate lunch; cleaned up my house

3.00 - Headed down to Kapan

5.00 - Had a late lunch and several toasts with some random Armenian guy

8.00 - Finally made it to Kapan; relaxed

1.00 - Sleep