August 26, 2004
Sverdlovsk - total net worth
Here we are in Ekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk, and enjoying every minute, thank you very much. Mostly because we're with family and for myself personally - I’assumed responsibility for a highly intensive intense technical project: to fix up the balcony. I bought a Russian circular saw today for 2200 Rubbles which at 29 rubble a dollar Am. is 75 bucks American or 105 Canadian dollars. Not bad eh? Solid Russian technology for 105 Ca-bucks. I’ll take one please.
"Mom, he's a Taurus" explained my wife to my M.I.L.: “he will make everything very accurately.”Much as I condemn the very idea of astrology as sophisticated snake oil, I cannot help but live up to that assessment, it is my nature to get things done right - so much so that I get bogged down with one small detail of a project and I won't let it go til it's "perfect". The goal of staying on the good side of mom2 by preforming a revamping miracle on her balcony shouldn't be too much of a leap. Why am I fixing up the balcony, you may ask? Well, we’re going to put her flat up for sale. It's actually my wife's flat but it's in her mom's name for legal reasons regarding an ex husband with a vengance. Also mom2 wants very much to be near her daughter and grandson (soon to be two grandsons!) now in her latter years, so she's decided to move down to the Emirates with us. The house will come in handy to pay for upcoming university education, saving for the future, etc.
July 11th, Sunday
Two words: not cold. This Siberian city of two million lies in the same parallel with my home town. Hence the summer is much the same as a home town summer. That is, extremely pleasant, temperatures averaging 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. Of course, summer is only three and a half months long in my home town. Here too summer is much shorter than winter – about three and a half months.
July 12th, Monday
So now after five days I am finished my honey-given project: the balcony. I used left over Wood laminate siding from Ioulia’s previous apartment repair in 2001, plus one packet of 11 boards from Germany bought at “Bakjevanagee” supermarket for all your renovating needs for 380 rubbles. For a mere 1000, or so, rubbles, all together, (glue, corner pieces, what not), for the fixing up of mom2's balcony – that’s 30 bucks American - lets say fifty american to account for unsaid costs.
Turned out not too bad if I may say so myself. The floor was extremely out of level because the concrete balcony base is sagging. So we took care of that too by building a frame and levelling the floor. The floor boards consist of some of Ioulia’s old furniture. It looks really great nailed to the balcony floor.
"Mom, he's a Taurus" explained my wife to my M.I.L.: “he will make everything very accurately.”Much as I condemn the very idea of astrology as sophisticated snake oil, I cannot help but live up to that assessment, it is my nature to get things done right - so much so that I get bogged down with one small detail of a project and I won't let it go til it's "perfect". The goal of staying on the good side of mom2 by preforming a revamping miracle on her balcony shouldn't be too much of a leap. Why am I fixing up the balcony, you may ask? Well, we’re going to put her flat up for sale. It's actually my wife's flat but it's in her mom's name for legal reasons regarding an ex husband with a vengance. Also mom2 wants very much to be near her daughter and grandson (soon to be two grandsons!) now in her latter years, so she's decided to move down to the Emirates with us. The house will come in handy to pay for upcoming university education, saving for the future, etc.
July 11th, Sunday
Two words: not cold. This Siberian city of two million lies in the same parallel with my home town. Hence the summer is much the same as a home town summer. That is, extremely pleasant, temperatures averaging 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. Of course, summer is only three and a half months long in my home town. Here too summer is much shorter than winter – about three and a half months.
July 12th, Monday
So now after five days I am finished my honey-given project: the balcony. I used left over Wood laminate siding from Ioulia’s previous apartment repair in 2001, plus one packet of 11 boards from Germany bought at “Bakjevanagee” supermarket for all your renovating needs for 380 rubbles. For a mere 1000, or so, rubbles, all together, (glue, corner pieces, what not), for the fixing up of mom2's balcony – that’s 30 bucks American - lets say fifty american to account for unsaid costs.
Turned out not too bad if I may say so myself. The floor was extremely out of level because the concrete balcony base is sagging. So we took care of that too by building a frame and levelling the floor. The floor boards consist of some of Ioulia’s old furniture. It looks really great nailed to the balcony floor.
