Wow...Check this out!

First of all, people complain that sometimes Niko's entries on his blog are too long. They are typically at least half the length of mine. So, what to do? But I can't help it. I have noone to talk to most of the day and so this is my communications outlet. If you don't like it, scroll down until you see something that holds your attention!

THIS OUGHT TO HOLD YOUR ATTENTION
Check this out...This is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. As soon as I can locate our apartment, I am going to post the picture of it. Wow...those people at Google may be assholes but they sure are inventive!

Ohm
Okay, back to matters at hand. I went to yoga last night. I read about it on an expat Web site. "Yoga in English" was the promise, and it was especially for expats. So imagine my surprise and, I am not going to lie, disappointment when I arrived at the studio to find that the other yogis in the class were three Hungarians. Don't get me wrong...I have nothing against them. And clearly these folks understand English, since the promise is "Yoga in English." But I was definitely hoping for some of my countrywomen. Well, it was good anyway (though I am in incredibly poor yoga shape, along with any other kind of shape...in fact, the best way to describe the kind of shape I am in right now is round). We chanted some Ohms, which should make Vanessa happy. I haven't chanted Ohm since 2002 when Rocky and I did yoga with Vanessa before the NYC Marathon and when she tried to get us to chant Ohms, we broke down into immature gigglefits! As I was Ohming in Budapest (what a sentence, eh?), a smile cracked across my lips but without Rocky or Vanessa there to appreciate it, I managed to suppress it.

And in keeping with the relaxing spirit of things, I am getting a massage on Saturday! Woohoo! I am really excited for it. It has been way too long.

I LIKE THE SUPERMARKET HERE
One of the things I have grown to like about the Hungarian supermarket is the produce section. Yes, of course I like the produce section of most markets. But in Hungary, you weigh your own fruit and vegetables on the scale, press a button and the price sticker comes out! I love it! I don't know why but for some reason it's really fun. And a bit of a puzzle, since I have to figure out what things are called before I can enter the code and then weigh them! Last night, the big challenge was cherries. But I figured it out (okay, it wasn't that hard because they were labeled on the shelf. But they aren't always!). This achievement made up for the humiliation I suffered when standing in a newly discovered aisle, "Vegan Oazis, while the manager of the market was trying to tell me it was closing time. In Budapest, when they are closing, they are closing. None of that, "You have 10 more minutes, start making your way to the register." No, it's, "We're closed. Get out." So, this pretty scraggly looking guy is barking at me in Hungarian and I am mostly ignoring him because he looks kind of sketchy and anyway I have no clue what he is saying. But, I happened to be on the phone with Peter telling him of my suspicion that I have discovered veggie dogs when the man was haranguing me so Peter understood that the guy was telling me it was time to go! But, I had to be an American about it. I still needed one more thing. So I ran to the bakery section and did a bunch of sign language to get what I needed while scraggly, barking man stood behind me the whole time, waiting to escort me to the register! Oh, the humiliation!

I HAVE BEEN READING A LOT. NO, REALLY...A LOT.
Since May, I have read the following books:
The Island at the Center of the World by Richard Shorto - about the origins of the Manhattan colony, the supposed true story of how NYC became the NYC we know and love today. Recommended by Roy. Any New Yorker would really appreciate this book.
The Bookseller of Kabul by some Swedish woman whose name I can't remember - a truly disturbing picture of life in Afghanistan just after the fall of the Taliban. Recommended by Chris Becherer or Adam Goutierre (I can't remember). Worth reading but beware - it's pretty unsettling.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie - one of his earlier books, takes place in India and Pakistan during India's early years of Independence and through the reign of Indira Gandhi. Recommended by Arielle. A MUST READ! This guy is a master story-teller.
A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela - this is Mandela's autobiography. It's LONG (though not as long as Che Guevara's biography, which I read last summer nad LOVED). It's amazing to read the story not only of this man's life but of what was really going in South Africa all those years. I have to admit, Mr. Mandela becomes somewhat less god-like after reading this book. And part of me wonders why the hell he got all the attention when there were many many people doing exactly what he did, some doing more, to lead that struggle. But I guess that's proof of his leadership - that in the midst of many heroes, he emerged as the symbol of them all. Recommended by Robyn. I say if you have some time, you should read it. It looks longer than it is (I read it in about four days).
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell - everyone has heard of this book. I tried reading it a couple of years ago but, to tell you the truth, I was bored to tears. I usually love his writing in the New Yorker (which is why I bought the book in the first place) but couldn't get into it. Well, I decided to try again because since I have nobody to talk to here (other than Peter who I love but...come on), I may as well read. I found this book incredibly interesting and worthwhile and I swear I am going to refer back to it again and again. Some of his conclusions are a bit of a stretch but the overall messages of the book are pretty potent, in my opinion.