Had another nice day.... this makes two in a row! Let's see how long the luck lasts....

Got a lot done at work, making more progress on these files. The cafe I regularly frequent for lunch closed today, so I had a nice last lunch there with some friends. Did some dishes after I came home, chatted w/S a while, then prepared things to mail and went out. Spent a couple hours in Traffic.... and discovered their HUGE basement full of CDs and videos! Must go back there. Had a nice, relaxing dinner in a new Italian restaurant. The entire conversation with the waitress was in Polish.. only realized that after I left. Listened to a large group of computer and gamer geeks talking at the next table over. One of them went on for a while about how he was developing some game for the Wii. Made me a little nostalgic for home. ^_^

Took a bunch of stuff to the post office, and again, had a very successful transaction all in Polish. I love the post office late at night, when no one's around and the staff are a lot less irritable. The two women I talked to this evening were very nice and helpful, actually!

Managed to update my bus pass, then took the metro home. Felt genuinely happy to be here. I like Warsaw, and my neighborhood, and the post office, and little things, and all the parks and dogs and funny cars and the fact that the pharmacies are open 7 days a week for decent hours.

Life is good.

Miłego weekendu!

Had a really nice day today. Got a good night's rest. Had a nice lunch with a short walk in the sun afterward. A friend who had gone to Provence brought me a small bottle of concentrated lavender oil- soooo yummy! Another friend gave me a stack of new books to read and a bouquet of flowers that she'd received. But since she's going out of town in the next day for about a week, she didn't want them to just wither away in her apartment, so I got them- sunflowers, chrysanthemums and Queen Anne's lace. Met with a colleague for about an hour, got lots of good feedback on file organization- I may be able to get a couple units organized by early next week! Polish class went well and it's my mom's birthday, so I had a nice, short chat w/her. Found out that the NHL is playing a few games in Europe this October, might try to go to one. Went out to dinner at a tapas restaurant with several friends, had a good time just relaxing and chatting. And made it home about 15 minutes before another huge storm started. Talked to S about life in general and a book project and school... and now it's time for bed.

The weekend was nice. I randomly took a train to Białystok, a small-ish city in the northeast, by the Belarussian border. Nice town- most everything was in the center, so it was easy to get around. I had a good breakfast both mornings in the hotel. There was a film event going on, so the hotel was full of artsy types and guys that looked like they could be roadies for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Saturday morning, I wandered around and looked at the shops and at a large WWII monument. Then I wandered down one of the main roads and found myself in front of the university library (of course!) Bought some cherries at a stand near there, crossed the road, walked down a shady path with more war statues, past the Odeon Jazz club, and arrived at a little park. These parks are great for walking, and peaceful places to read.

Wandered through the Branicki Palace for a while. Amazing gardens, complete with a forest area, pruned decorative gardens, a small river, and grassy banks. The house itself was a pretty Baroque mansion with a nice interior- mostly sage green with white accents, not as much gold as I've seen in other Baroque houses. It was nice to just walk around through the gardens for a bit.

After that, I walked out the front gates and through another park, where the film group was setting up for some event later that night. I tried to sit on a bench and enjoy the cherries, but there were huge ants and other bugs all over the place, so I gave up.

Walked back to the center of town, stopping in a bookstore, and found a bench in the town square to eat and read for a bit. Watched kids play in the large fountain there for a while, then walked up the main street to the town hall, which is now an art museum. Enjoyed looking at the paintings, then took a bus out to another part of town to explore a bit more. It's kind of industrial on the outskirts, but there are some HUGE Orthodox churches! Must visit them next time.

Stopped at the train station to check return times for the next day and managed to successfully give someone directions to the palace.

Dropped things off at the hotel, wandered around a bit more in search of dinner, finally ended up at an ODD restaurant called Hokus Pokus. Turquoise walls with mirrors and chrome on them and fur-covered seats.... yeah. But the apple crepe was good.

Had some espresso after that, then went to sleep.

Sunday after breakfast, I went back to the town hall to hear a free piano concert. The young pianist was excellent and played a nice selection of Romantic and Mondern pieces. After the concert, I had some iced espresso and a chocolate milkshake at a cute cafe. The waiter asked where I was from, and we chatted a bit about where we'd lived and traveled. He seemed surprised that I'd just *visit* Białystok without having family or work here. He gave me two books about the city to look at, and time just flew by. Several hours later.... I finished the books, thanked him for bringing them out, collected my luggage from the hotel, then caught a 4pm train back to Warsaw.

It was a nice weekend and a cute town- definitely worth another visit sometime.

So for some reason this morning, my alarm clock decided to have an Amelie moment and set itself a couple hours ahead. It said 8:55 when I left the house, but when I got to work, everything was dark and the lights were all off. Wondering why, I glanced at the clock there.... which said 7:10. *sigh*. So it's been a long, sleepy day and I'm desperately in need of a nap. Was going to go out tonight, but I think I'm going to stay home instead. I have laundry and cleaning to do, Polish homework, and I'm just too tired to be social right now.

Been a pretty good week. Went out on Sunday with a bunch of friends to see the Dropkick Murphys. Great show, and long! Two bands opened- a Polish band called The Black Tapes (really good, actually) and an all-girl band from L.A. called Civet. They were having audio problems so it was hard to hear the lyrics. I had a great time, though, and met a few new people, always a good thing.

Went out on Tuesday night for sushi and wine w/ M. Such a relaxing time, just sitting on Nowy Swiat for hours, chatting, people-watching...

There have been lots of thunderstorms this week. One of them kept me up all night with constantly flashing lightning- felt like I was in a techno club for three hours. Not fun.

Also... I *hate* mosquitoes. They've been after me all week. Ugggh. Must find good insect repellent.

I felt like not being in Warsaw this weekend, so after work, I threw stuff into a bag and went to the train station. Looked at the departures, thought about it, and randomly decided to go to a town called Białystok. It's in the northeast, right on the border of Poland and Belarus. Gorgeous scenery on the train ride there, lots of open fields with HUGE houses. They're all several stories tall and they look absolutely sprawling. Shared a quiet compartment with 6 other people who didn't smoke and who all read books or listened to music. Pretty uneventful.

Arrived around 10pm, managed to find the center of town, and looked around for lodgings. I found a nifty-looking center run by the Orthodox Church that wasn't too expensive, but its doors closed at 8pm. Oh, well- next time. After a bit of looking around, I settled on the normal but convenient Best Western. Not my usual eccentric little hotel, but close to everything with free breakfast and internet, and they'll hold onto my luggage after checkout on Sunday so I can explore some more. I figured it was worth it.

Now to relax a bit, have a snack, and get a good night's rest!

Been a pretty good week. Had a great time catching up with a friend at a book cafe in the university area called The Gentle Barbarian. Great little spot, full of interesting books and comfy chairs. And they make *the* best mocha I've ever had, very melty, with a hint of hazelnut. We just chatted for several hours, and when we left, I picked up a Bibliography of Gdańsk in Literature, 1945-1979. It looked like a good book, and it gives me an idea for a project of my own.

Had beer with a group of friends on Tuesday, nice evening. Talked a lot about languages and linguistics.

Polish class on Thursday, followed by a soccer game. One of my friends is leaving here soon, so I wanted to take her to a game before she left. Unfortunately, Polonia was NOT playing well- no strategy, position, enthusiasm... I think they ended up winning, but it was not one of their best matches, to say the least. We had fun, though.

Warsaw is having a film festival this week, showing nifty films from all over the world at several of their art theaters. Last night, I went with another friend and her family to see "Brick Lane". Good film- raised some interesting questions about women, migration, national identity. The cinematography was gorgeous, and the soundtrack was exquisite. I had a great night and really enjoyed the film.

Today has started with sleeping in and doing some laundry. But I think it's time to get outside and do something- no more wasting the days inside on the computer.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I guess writing about the good weather jinxed it... woke up today to rain, and it's been steadily storming ever since, thunder and lightning as well. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to wait until I go home to have a real summer.

In other news, I finalized all the details for a trip to the UK in August. I'm going to a fun Japanese anime convention with some friends over there- really looking forward to it! It'll be nice to have a weekend of fangirl squeee!

A long week of icky weather has finally come to an end, I think. Last night was wonderful- nice and warm, no rain, nice moon. I just stayed home and vegged, enjoyed quiet time. Stayed up late, enjoying the warm weather, and woke up at 10 to hear the phone ringing. Had an *epic* conversation with a friend back home, our longest in one stretch, I think. But it was really nice to chat again, and I learned some new things about bases and math and computers.

Ate breakfast after that, got dressed, and went to the mall to return a fan. I'd purchased it last Wed, but after bringing it home, I discovered that it required assembly. Since I lack the skills and tools to do this, I took it back and asked if they had one that was pre-assembled. They didn't, but the nice guy at the service desk put it together for me. I now have a small household fan, which will really improve air circulation in here!

So it's now early evening, and still sunny and warm. What to do? I think I'll finish some dishes, then just head out for coffee and a walk or something. Don't want to waste any sunshine!

The weather today *was* looking better. Woke up to sunshine and blue skies, and it was hot (if a bit humid) all day. I was really enjoying that. Until about 10 minutes ago. Then, all of a sudden, there's the most torrential downpour, lightning and the loudest thunder I've ever heard. One clap just set off a couple car alarms. This place officially has crazy weather. >_<

Good grief! So, now there's massive hail... and the really odd thing is that I think there are pipes that run from the outside of the house through my walls, because I can hear the hail and rain trickling through the walls, and several hailstones just came out of a vent into my living room, and a couple more came out of a vent into the bathroom! *sigh* As if I didn't have enough to worry about already...!

I think one of the main causes of recent mood swings is the weather. When I arrived, it was February- cold, windy, snowing. Okay, that's winter. Everyone said Spring would arrive soon and be beautiful. Well, there were about 3 weeks of decent, sort of sunny weather in April... and that was it. From May on, every day has been cold, windy, wet, rainy, thunderstorming and gray. It's like winter all over again. But it's June, *summer*. Everyone told me that Polish winters were brutal but that the summers were really hot. I was looking forward to that! I know everyone else in the world hates heat and bright sun, but I love it, thrive on it- back home, a good friend and I would go out and sort of "bask" at lunchtime. I have full appreciation for lizards and snakes who enjoy sunning themselves. But there's really been no sunshine since April. It's literally depressing, especially when I have this "brutal winter" to look forward to, as well.

In weather like this, I'm disinclined to go outside for anything- socializing, walking, exercise, fresh air, etc. So I have to stay at work, then race home to my apartment and stay there the rest of the night, making me feel trapped and cooped up. I'm starting to understand how friends in the Pacific Northwest might feel. And next time I select a job, it *will* be somewhere with reliable sunshine! This is just too much to deal with.