Things have been looking good. I’ve been going to physical therapy for my hamstring and I can already fell the improvements. It will be some time before I get the go ahead to put my running shoes back on, so in the meantime, I’ve beefed up my weight training and added yoga to my regiment. Yeah, yoga. Let’s talk about yoga for a minute. If you asked a year ago if I would ever consider trying yoga, I would have said “no way”. Here I am one year later all twisted up like a pretzel. And I’ll tell you another thing, I really like it. I honestly can say I feel incredible after a yoga session. Not only that, this particular routine I’m doing focuses heavily on meditation. Multiple positive anyone? Then again, all yoga may focus heavily on meditation for all I know.

My Russian has been improving steadily too. Not only have I been doing my lessons on a regular basis, but I’ve been finding ways to incorporate the language throughout my day. For example, I often answer my co-workers questions in Russian. It only pisses them off a little. I also only count in Russian. I’ll do this a lot when I’m working out, counting reps or tracking time. It’s a great way to keep my mind thinking Russian.

I may be getting a new Camera too. My 10D has had quite a bit of dust on the mirror for the last year and every attempt I’ve made to remedy this problem has failed. This includes spending $75 to send it to Canon directly. Well, I’ve decided to cut my losses and buy the new Rebel XSi (12.2mp) when it comes out in April. It’s about time I upgraded anyways. I’ll keep you posted, but hopefully I’ll start taking significantly more photos after I make the plunge.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing too. Actually, I never really stopped. I write in my journal at least once a week, but more often several times a week. These entries can range anywhere from day to day activities, thoughts and ideas, character development, random lists, just about anything that pops into my mind. It’s oddly liberating to get all your ideas out of you head and into written form. I highly recommend it.

Python and music are next on my list. I plan to do some coding tomorrow morning when I get up. In all fairness, a lot of my time has been spent reading lately. Currently I’m in the middle of two great books; The Victorian Internet and Ben Franklin: An American Life. Both are really fascinating.

I’ve also been watching some of the open courses Yale is offering. Specifically, Professor Kagan’s Philosophy course on death. This is what makes the Internet great, free knowledge. I’m not watching online courses made specifically for the net, but an actual Yale course, taught at Yale, by an actual Yale professor, in front of a real Yale class. Life is good. I even have homework. I have to read Plato’s Phaedo before the next class.

Coincidentally enough, that link to Plato’s Phaedo takes you to M.I.T.’s site, another incredible organization that promotes free knowledge for everyone.

But now I’m just rambling, and I’m hungry, so it’s time to wrap this up.

It’s funny, the subject that I’m having the most fun with, is also the one I’ve written about the least. Well hopefully that’s about to change. I’ve finally received my Cyrillic stickers for my keyboard and have set up all my computers to allow me to switch from English to Russian on the fly. I thought I’d start with the basics, the Russian Alphabet. It will also give me a chance to learn the keyboard layout as well.

Though it may look confusing, once you memorize the alphabet it is surprisingly easy to sound out Russian words. There are obviously exceptions to the rules, but so far they seem few and far between.

Two examples are:

что - which is pronounced “shtoh” instead of “chtoh”.

and

сегодня - which is pronounced “sehvoydnia” instead of “sehgoydnia”.

I haven’t come across too many of these, but just be aware that they do exist.

So far so good. I’ve been steadily working my way through the Pimsleur Russian courses. I’m happy to say that I have a vocabulary of well over 100 Russian words and phrases. The people over on the Master Russian forums have been a great help too. They are very beginner friendly.

I’ve been trying to determine how best to use this blog to help me with my day to day Russian lessons. I’ve considered uploading recordings of myself speaking Russian, but I’m kind of bashful. I haven’t ruled it out yet though. I’d have to look into the most effective way of doing it first.

The next and most obvious way for me to use this blog is to actually write in Russian. This is easier said then done. The Russian keyboard layout doesn’t even come close to resembling the QWERTY style keyboard. Fortunately, there is a practical solution. I just ordered a set of Cyrillic keyboard stickers that can be put on any standard keyboard for the whopping price of $1.99. They should be here within 10 to 20 business days. Once I get them, I’ll slap them on one of my keyboards and start typing away. Until then, good old fashioned pen and paper will have to do.

When I hear a word or a phrase that I would like to know how to spell, I usually go to one of these two sites for translation.

http://www.rustran.com

or more recently I’ve discovered

http://translation2.paralink.com

Both are great, and a lot of times I will compare the results of each site to insure accuracy.

I’ve always been intrigued by Russia’s vast history and diverse culture. Out of all the countries in the world, I couldn’t tell you why it’s Russia that I’ve always felt so drawn to. Perhaps it’s the Russian people. They’ve always struck me as a strong and proud people who have stood resilient in the face of adversity, century after century. Perhaps it’s their culture and rich heritage that I connect with so easily. What ever the reason may be, Russia has been a topic of interest for me for years now. The same goes for the Russian language. Like its people, the language resonates strength and pride, yet at the same time is altogether beautiful. Even Russia’s Cyrillic alphabet evokes a sense of lore and charisma.

Couple this with the fact that I’ve always wanted to learn a second language and it’s like a match made in heaven.

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