There is something a little strange with calendars in Ukraine. I may have mentioned this before, but we are in 2012 right now and because of that, most of the calendars we see are 2012 calendars. I say “most” because it is striking how many outdated calendars are around. I am not talking about the one 2011 calendar that someone hasn’t upgraded, or the desk calendar that was bought last year, and is still flipped to January 8 and has collected dust since then. No. The sheer number of visible calendars from 2000-2010 is remarkable. I have no idea what the significance is for hanging on to these reminders of days gone by…except in one case. The 2008 calendar in my kitchen. It is a particularly generic calendar with some dogs (that aren’t particularly cute, I might add) that hangs crookedly between my sink and cooktop. The ensuing years of kitchen grime, coupled with the curling edges attached with less-than-strong adhesive, make it more of an eyesore than some piece of art that someone decided to keep regardless of the fact there is a calendar on the bottom. At some point, I don’t remember who, someone came to my apartment and actually lifted the poster to see if it served a purpose- like covering up a hole in the wall (you know, Shawshank Redemption style). What we discovered, was something quite novel…someone had actually wallpapered the kitchen around the poster! Yep, a cement wall (without a hole) with an almost perfect rectangular shaped spot. This was no coincidence. Somebody intended to leave this spot unwallpapered! Why? I am certain I will never know- or understand if I was ever to get an explanation. I am finding it impossible to believe they looked at this visual monstrosity of a poster and said, “no one will ever find this calendar visually unappealing to the point that they would ever want to remove it from this very spot”. Opting to save the three foot stretch of wallpaper for other, surely more important areas of the wall. Fast-forward to today. I have received in the mail a wonderful surprise. My brother, Damon, has sent me a new calendar! The Howard and Beth Stern calendar supporting the North Shore Animal Shelter in NY. My own version of a Rita Hayworth poster, not to cover up a hole, or even the wallpaper deficient area, but to cover the actual 2008, ugly dog calendar that I used to look at every day. This marks a day of improvement that I will look at every day for the rest of the year. And who knows, I might leave the outdated Beth O. calendar for future tenants…who will probably cover it over with another ugly dog calendar. Thus starting the cycle over again. Then again, maybe they will leave it as everyone does with old calendars in this country.
Where the wallpaper stops and the calendar begins.
The crooked, grimey, unattractive, outdated and several other adjectived calendar.
My new Beth O. calendar in it's rightful place...covering the eyesore!
One more thing, quasi-weather related. Because it is so cold, the library has begun offering free hot tea in the lobby every day from 8am-noon. Really, it amounts to an electric kettle, a stack of plastic cups, one with some sugar in it, and a box of tea bags. It’s a meager display, but people are encouraged to stop and warm up before heading back out into the elements. By the end of the week, somehow, the tea offerings had been augmented by my bread-making friend Farik, who delivers a tray of baked goods every morning. I was asked, as I often am, to bring my camera to the lobby when someone came to enjoy the goods. I assumed Farik wanted some photos as PR for his bakery, and I had no problem with it. Oleg went into stealth mode and waited for some unsuspecting tea indulger to arrive like a mouse to a cheese filled trap. When he thought we had a bite, he came running into the office to tell me he needed the camera right away, before the person left! I offered him my camera, but he refused, preferring my photography skills to his. We went running downstairs, camera in hand, only to find a single teenager enjoying a cup of tea and roll. I felt like a store detective arriving to make a stolen merchandise bust on the unsuspecting boy. Oleg and I confronted him silently while onlookers mentally questioned what this boy had done wrong, not to mention the boy himself. Oleg explains we need to take some pictures and the boy agrees. Although, after a few seconds, it was a little sad that there are more people here for the photo op than there are for the tea and rolls. To try to blend in and make it a little less weird, Oleg and I each grabbed a cup and roll. We got another person or two to stop. One of them was my friend Sergey. I gave him the camera and asked him to take a few pics including me to show my support of the presentation. The whole process took about 10 minutes. After I had returned to the office a woman (who turned out to be Farik’s sister-in-law) came in to ask for some of the pictures. She had a flash drive and I obliged. Well, wouldn’t you know it, a picture of me, Oleg, and the boy winds up in the paper next to an article of how the library offers free hot tea along with rolls from Farik’s bakery. I am glad that I can be seen supporting the program.
Yeah, taking pictures of a newspaper is a little difficult in my apartment. The lighting is not quite right.
The original photo of me, Oleg, and the boy.
Of course, I heard about this calandar, and knew yours was a little outdated... I thought what a perfect match. if you are interested all of the animals pictured were avaiable for adoption at the time the photos were taken, with the exception of Bianca Romaijn-Stamos. hope the weather breaks soon... Wilderness Survival, who know "wilderness" was synonymous with "Ukranian apartment"??
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