January 12, 2002 We went to the wild nature (Devils Lake National Park). This park is located in Wisconsin, about 3 hours to the North (if the wind blows in the same direction) from Chicago. Tiring trip wasn’t a big price for huge park, beautiful lake, rocks and pine forest. We decided to make a circle around lake along path. It took about 3-4 hours. Our path was steep so we had to take R&R more often then we had expected. Our doggy Fred rested in my backpack sometime. There are different coasts at Devils Lake. So we had sand beaches and steep rocks height about 250 feet. Pinewood and violet rocks are surround the lake which was fully covered thick layer of transparent ice. Through the ice we saw bottom and small fish. A few children were skating and some men were fishing. Exactly this is a good place for family outdoor activity.
January 7, 2002 This can't be happening! But it's happening. Talking cats and dogs. Everywhere. Cabals, secret agents, a war of worlds, cat and dog worlds. It's pretty cool movie. I mean "Cats and Dogs". We've just seen. It is movie for amateurs of various animals. All animals speak, make funny mugs, fight as humans. There is a lot of computer graphic. As dog owners we think that dogs is particularly cool. Recommend for family viewing :-)
11a.m. January 1, 2002 First out door activity in 2002. Before alcohol odor get out from our bodies we decided to have some fresh air. So we went to Fox lake (it’s about 50 miles from Chicago). The weather was fine. We picked up our friends and drove. It took two hours to get there. Fox Lake isn’t so huge as Michigan and it has already covered with strong ice. We walked on the ice and it was clear and transparent so we could see bottom and garbage on it. I think we’ll come back there with skates. I want it very much. We had been walking already 2 hours when it get dark. On our back way we dropped in the huge sport supermarket and trained with different sport equipment…
Hey, little boring? – Take it easy. Put your smile on! I have to write anything every three days.
December 31, 2001 New Year in Chicago. Happy holyday everybody. Let me tell to you about our New Year celebration. We started activity with cooking VENEGRET (favorite Sveta’s salad). She put it in to the very heavy saucepan and gave it to me to carry (Since this moment I hated VENEGRET more then before). The first stop was at my relative’s home. We had perfect table and worm house conversation there, I poured with wine over my cousin, then we borrowed her car and about 9 p.m. we drove to our friends. We had taste food there(nobody ate VENEGRET but Sveta). Just before 12 a.m. we ran to the downtown to see salute. We had no enough time to get in so we had to see firework right on the highway. Thanks cops! They stopped traffic, everyone got out from their cars right on the middle of highway and we sow firework all together with music from cars, Champaign and chocolate. Some of us began to dance, Sveta and I did too. We had fun enough there and aren’t sorry we chose this way to celebrate.
December 27, 2001 6 cops were at midnight in our apartment. This terrible story happened when Sveta was slipping and I was going to join to her. I'd just stopped watching TV and was smoking at the opened window. Suddenly from different directions I heard sirens and then I saw a few police cabs.
I even had no time to twinkle when 7 police cabs, detective car and prison on the wheels had been standing at our building. They greeted each other shortly and one of the policewomen moved up her head and saw me smoking and watching her. She screamed to me "Open the door!" I thought they needed somebody to open intercom lock at lobby door so, I answered her "Push Star and 41" and I'll open the door".
They didn't call me. Probably they had a key for every lobby door on their district. 1 minute later somebody knocked my door. Those were they. When I opened the door there were 6 officers. They asked me "Did you call the police?" I said, "No, I didn't!" "Did you hear shots" "No, I didn't" "Did you protrude in the window?" I said, "Yes, I did" "Who is in your apartment?" "My wife, our dog and I" "Can we check your apartment?" "Yes, you can of course" "Please, turn on the light" "Sure"… I turned on the light and 6 policemen with flashlights and guns in their hands came in.
Now try to imagine this scene: Sveta usually sleep with hearing protectors. She didn't hear anything! Suddenly she waked up because of bright light and the first she could see were 6 cops with flashlights and guns in their hands. You should've seen her wide opened eyes!
They found nothing in our apartment and asked me "If you didn't call the police and you didn't hear shots, why did you protrude in the window?" I couldn't find anything to answer better then "It is very interesting country"
December 25, 2001 Swordfish for rent… Today the first time we took movie for rent. It was Swordfish with Travolta. Exciting! Hollywood is still the best! I strongly recommend it everyone - good action, it hold you during whole film. Closed capture helped as understand more then we expected HiFi stereo makes us believe that we are in the middle of action. One more time ask you to see this movie. By the way Christmas passed well. Christmas fish was good.
December 24, 2001 Mary Christmas! Today the most of American family are celebrating New Year. So we plan on celebrating this holyday too. But we have some Russian customs and we've little bit changed the order. We've invited our friends and instead traditional Christmas turkey we will have Christmas fish backed with potatoes, cheese, mayonnaise, onion and garlic, borsch, herring with eggs and onion and others fish dishes. Our windows has been already decorated with festoons and we've bought Christmas plant with red flowers
December 21, 2001Finally we've bought a VCR! Now I can record interesting movie and cartoons while we are studying in Truman College. We wanted to buy it a long time ago but Sveta wanted to spend no more then $70 and I wanted HiFi-stereo option. I bought brand new GE VCR for 49,95 + 4,5 (tax) + 5 (enter ticket to exhibition). Total amount is more then 60 bucks. I think it chipper then on the street, but VCR was made in the US. As I've already said I bought it on special discount exhibition. This trade show surprised me very mach. 4 days they had showed AD in prime time on the FOX chanel. They'd promised huge discounts for everything: VCRs from 35$, DVD from 70 $, Levi's jeans from 10 $, Nike's sneakers from 25 $. We were amongst first people who came to grand opening but sellers said they'd already sold everything they'd told about in Ads. Very funny!
December 20, 2001Sveta sprained her ancle ;-( We have everything in the USA but not this! We are sure landlord is guilty. The elevator in our building has been out of order for 7 days. Actually it worked sometimes and it's looked like Spartak (Russian national favorit soccer team) plays - It is coming when you push the button, amiably opening its metal gates and even it's trying to carry you up to your floor, but then it's stopping between sky and ground.
December 17, 2001 We've passed registration for next semester in Truman College. Sveta took Speech, Grammar and Reading on the level 100 and accounting. I took Grammar and Reading on level 099, basic HTML and Introduction in business.