27.9.09
I'm typing blind. My computer is on the blink. My screen has turned so dark that I can hardly see the text I'm writing. There was a hope that perhaps the sleep button was stuck, but that has since been excluded from the set of possible problems. My computer knows full wellwhat it should be doing, it just can't display it. I think I'll go to a shop and look for a new computer. I could inquire into about repairing my current one, but I think whether it's an easy fix or not, they'll recommend that I buy a new laptop - who wouldn't after seeing what I'm currently using. It's old, doesn't have wifi, and the screen seems to be busted. If I get a new laptop, there's a good chance it'll come with a wireless internet hookup which I can access from home.
Fridays have been interesting days so far in Rostov. Two weeks ago from last Friday I went into work to find that my only student for that day had canceled. I was a free man! I went back to what looked like a theater, where the bus, after skipping the stop that I wanted to take, had dropped me off that morning. I went inside to discover to my chagrin that the theater hosted ballet and musical performances. I was looking for the drama theater.
There was a woman standing in the middle of the entry hall. I went up to her and asked her if she knew where the drama theater was. She told me it wasn't far further up Bolshaya Sadovaya street, not two bus stops away. I set off on foot.
It didn't take long to get there. There's a big fountain in front of the theater. Statues of four giants are holding up a big dish on their shoulders, out of which a thick stream of water shoots straight up. At the giants' feet there's a circle of alternating turtles and frogs each of which spit water into a wide, shallow pool about them, At the outer edge of this pool thin streams of water shoot up and inward, and then splash into the center of the pool.
There was a crowd of people between the fountain and the theater. It looked like there was going to be a concert. I passed the crowd, climbed the stairs, passed the stage that they were setting up, and tried my best to look like I knew where I was going. There were a bunch of people dressed up very nice outside of an insignificant looking entrance. I wasn't sure if I was an uninvited guest at someone's party. I entered without hesitating.
There was no party inside. I found the main counter, looked at all the advertisements posted nearby and inquired about a showing of Belaya Gvardia - something by Bulgakov that I had attempted to read without much success. The lady behind the desk said it wasn't in the coming program and gave me the schedule for October. Apparently, the theater is closed in the summertime. That makes sense, since there were poeple doing repair on the theater. Here or there paint had been scraped off. People were lugging one thing or another on carts.
I decided to go exploring. On the second floor there were more people dressed very nicely. I asked one of them what was going on. She said something I didn't understand, then explained she worked for the Zags, which is the agency people visit to get married. It was a wedding! I asked if it was OK to go to the third floor (we were on the staircase), and she said she had no say in the matter, or something like that. I continued exploring. The center of the hallway on the third floor is open on one side, so that you can see a lounge on the second floor. The lounge was decorated very nicely. There was someone playing the piano, and a bride and groom standing under an archway lined with flowers and ribbons. I leaned on a pillar at the edge of the opening and watched. A woman behind a desk in between the piano and archway was saying some official words, few of which I understood except the last few, something like, "I pronounce you man and wife." The happy couple kissed and a small crowd of people watching from the floor below me cheered. The party left and the Zags agents started to get ready for the next couple.
On the end of the hallway opposite from where I entered there were men working away at something. I judged correctly that they wouldn't have anything against my presence and continued to walk around unabated. I went down an unexplored hallway, through a few doors and came out on the first balcony of the theater.
There were men working on stage, either testing or preparing something involving a large black curtain which was supposed to hang from above. There were props backstage, including what looked like a trojan horse. The rest of the theater was unlit, but from the light on stage I could see everything. Nothing separates the theater much from others I've seen. The first floor of seating is more or less square while the floors above have seating arranged in circular fashion. Old fashioned lights are found about the entrances into the seating area and around the foundation of the balconies.
I explored some more, going to another floor and seeing the theater from another angle. I didn't leave the darkness of the entranceway because I didn't want anyone on stage to see me. With all the lights on it might have been hard for them, but if I went walking around up there, someone looking in my direction would've noticed the movement.
I left the theater without anyone objecting to my exploration. After exiting the theater, there were a number of policemen about, one of which walked directly towards me. I didn't seriously think that anyone would be after me, so I continued walking. The policeman passed me. I went on my way.

7.10.09
I have a new laptop now. It's the same make as the previous one, just a newer version. I've only had it for a few hours. So far the screen hasn't died, so I'm happy. I don't need much in a computer.
I wrote earlier that Fridays were interesting. But I forget already if it was a Friday or a Wednesday when the secretary informed me that someone had called the office explaining that the water was running in my apartment. It was more disbelief than misunderstanding that I asked the secretary to repeat what she said. She used a verb which I understood as 'to spill', but which in some contexts might be better translated by 'to flood'. I raced home.
Riding the bus home I was thinking of how much a flooded apartment might cost to repair and of the people I knew who had money. Things could be worse; it's not the end of the world; you still have your health - such were the thoughts going through my head. I got home to find the bathroom faucet on full blast and the bathroom floor covered with water. I was pleased to find that the water hadn't gone into the living room - which has a hardwood floor.
I took my dirty shirts from the hamper and dried the bathroom tile as best I could, then raced back to the school since I was late for a lesson. I had explained the situation to the director before I left the school. She said she would explain my tardiness to my student, which happened to be her son. I got back, declared the situation under control, and more or less winged a lesson for 90 minutes. In a way it turned out for the best. I learned how to wing a lesson. I've been doing it ever since.
You might have asked yourself why the faucet was on full blast in my bathroom. Well, that's my fault. I had turned it on before leaving, and had forgotten to turn it off. How could I have possibly forgotten? The thing is, there was no water that morning. A faucet turned on was the same as a turned-off faucet. Evidently, whoever had turned off my apartment's water that morning turned it back on while I was at work.
Welcome back to Russia: That was another thought going through my head while taking the bus home. To be fair, maybe they turn off water in other big cities like San Francisco. I wouldn't know. Maybe it’s more appropriate to say “welcome to the big city.”