Another fishing trip with Lady Pamella folks. Once again we sailed past Steven Spielberg’s awesome yacht.
I caught one and only fish. It was very small but it was real tuna!
Captain Joe filleted it for us.
We stopped at a Publix and grabbed some Wasabi and a piece of salmon to add to our home “Sushi Bar”.
The tuna tasted better than anything you can buy in stores, even at $25.00 per pound – the so called “sashimi grade tuna”.
Originally, I thought half of the catch will be enough for dinner but we ended up finishing the whole fish off. Yummy!
Today, for the first time I saw the gorgeous Tesla Model S. It was parked next to my Jeep. Very impressive!!!
Father and daughter came out of the bank and drove off in it. Silently. It looked cool and weird… I talked to the girl briefly. They had it for a couple of months and were extremely happy with it. I asked what it cost but she had no clue how much her dad paid for it.
I saw another interesting car the day before – in Key West, where I went with Sergey, my Russian friend and colleague. Pictures from his brief visit to Florida are coming later.
Подруга поздравила «С Днем защитника Отечества» и я подумал: «А являлся ли я таковым? Хоть когда-нибудь”. Сейчас, оказавшись в логове мирового империализма, и не с целью глубокого бурения-внедрения, а, можно сказать, случайно, я точно не защитник, а враг Отечества.
Поздравительная открытка от Сережи Удова, моего единственного сокурсника в ВИИЯ, который не чурается дружбы со мной, несмотря на наши многочисленные расхождения во взглядах.
Мне кажется, что более-менее защитником я был лишь, когда служил срочную службу в 1-й Армии ПВО особого назначения. Но и там, будучи сержантом и числясь каким-то начальником чего-то, на самом деле я был художником-оформителем, редактором стенгазеты и боевого листка. Моя главная «боевая» задача заключалась в том, чтобы Ленинская комната моей части понравилась начальнику политотдела. Апофеозом моего «творчества» было мозаичное панно в крытом бассейне штаба армии в Балашихе. Насколько я помню, я даже принимал участие в планировке прилегающего к бассейну парка…
Во время учебы в ВИИЯ, когда летал бортпереводчиком, я опять же никакое отечество не защищал. Если только под защитой не понимать проводимую СССР политику мировой экспансии и экспорта коммунизма. Год в Египте и два года в Судане – та же самая экспансия в глобальном плане и возможность легального обогащения в личном. За год работы в Судане можно было накопить достаточно денег, чтобы купить «жигули» последней модели. Причем без очереди. Простому инженеру нужно было для этого откладывать деньги лет 10-15, экономя на еде и т.д.
Во фрунзенской ссылке после Судана, переводя лекции для авиаторов Нигерии, Эфиопии, Индии и т.д., я также проводил политику партии и правительства. Пил спирт с преподавателями в подсобке, пока нигерийцы перерисовывали к себе в тетради какую-нибудь замысловатую схему устаревшего навигационного оборудования от «подаренных» их стране Советским правительством МИГов.
Одним словом, спасибо, конечно всем, кто меня поздравил, но ко мне это не относится.
Today, I finally met my new oral surgeon, and now I know what my life is going to be the next couple of years.
Thursday – Feb 21st: 10:30 – dental appointment with Dr. Robert Marx, Junior to fix top left problem
Friday – Feb 22nd: 13:00 – removal of lower right tooth in preparation for bone graft
+90 days – major surgery (graft top and bottom, removal of titanium plate, taking out the thick bulge, etc.) One day in hospital, maybe two. Swelling? Dr. Robert Marx said it will be the same size as the first time in 2011. Only the operation is a lot easier (his words).
+ 6 months – 2-3 implants on each side. The ones on the bottom are covered by Medicare because cancer treatment was involved. Topside – out of pocket. 🙁
+ 6 months – finishing up (abutments, crowns, etc.)
Between these milestones I have to squeeze in the following:
– meet a Russian friend at MIA on Saturday (comes to visit me for a week)
– obtain a mortgage loan (paid taxes, have 1040s for last years)
– find and buy a condo or home (needs to be done by April 15, 2013)
– finish my Realtor license studies, pass the State exam
– use my Groupon for Scuba training. A short course and three (3) dives: night dives-deep dives-compass orienting
– use my 3 Groupons for boat fishing
Кино про нашу контору, точнее про самое начало истории ВИИЯ КА и первых слушателей, участников Великой Отечественной войны. Качество, конечно, поразительно убогое. Хуже любительских фильмов. Но слушать живых свидетелей той поры все равно очень интересно. Поражает, насколько многие из них сохранили ясность сознания и четкость мысли, несмотря на очень преклонные годы.
Mariya asked me about my army life. She might as well asked me ABOUT MY LIFE. Here are some illustrations. Based on my readers’ comments, I might continue with this story…
I joined the Army in November 1966, and after graduating from a Sergeant School this is what I looked like in 1967. I spent my first two years in the famous Anti-Aircraft Defense Army #1 – defending USSR’s capital – the city of Moscow. Which was convenient: we could get out of our ‘secret’ woods and visit the city sometimes.
When I asked one of the officers, how come the missiles used for defending the Kremlin were more than twenty years old and still secret, he said: “The fact that we are still using them, and didn’t come-up with anything better IS THE SECRET!” After that he probably made a note in his log about my curious mind… 🙂
One of my best friends at that time was this guy. Also Vadim.
Best memories of my army life were related to flying all over the world as a linguist crewmember.
In 1971 I was sent to Egypt for a whole year. I served in several places. First in Air Defense units, and then in a TU-16 Air Force Training Center in Asuan.
Training Ethiopians to become… communists. Really, we trained 250 select officers from the Ethi0pian armed forces so that they can form a communist party when they go back to Ethiopia. One of the examples of Soviet expansion.
This was taken near Leningrad, where for several months I was involved in training Ethipians Artillery specialists and officers. ЦАОК – Центральные артиллерийские офицерские курсы. All the training was conducted in the summer camp and it was fun!
This picture was taken near the end of my military service in Frunze (now Bishkek), Kyrghyzstan. I quit the Soviet Air Force in July 1987, reaching by that time the rank of Captain.
A friend of mine just released a commercial, in which he’s even cooler than my Al Capone rendition. This and the fact that he’s going on a High End Kosher Cruise for free (because he was invited to give a Real Estate Seminar) devastated me, poor goy boy.
By the way, the guy is really talented and really good. If you need buy or sell property in South Florida, I highly recommend him. Check his website.
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