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The rest of the prop load went well yesterday, and we even got back to the Fili about half an hour earlier than had been predicted at breakfast. I managed to get a nice shot of the prop load process, with the added feature of having Alexei P., the manager of the facility, turn around to look at me just as I depressed the shutter.
Despite having put in a 13-hour work day (granted, not exactly swinging a pick for my daily bread, but still...), there was some talk over a quick dinner of going into town to grab a pizza and some beer at the Palermo Pizzeria, and maybe even stopping by the Luna Club with open minds to see what it is about the place that acts like the Sirens' song to draw the French to the joint time after time. We found out, and I brought back photographic proof!
As is probably true in other such places, the young women who frequent the Luna are almost uniformly much better dressed than their male companions (or any of the group of young men that - if memory serves - once went by the name of "the stag line" in American parlance). The young lady in the photo to the left, however, was the only customer I could see who went the extra mile and wore an outfit that didn't include jeans, hot pants, or a miniskirt. As I looked around the place, I could not help but notice either steady gazes (from the single guys) or surreptitious glances (from the guys with dates) when "the lady in white" was on the dance floor.
Our small band left the Luna at 1 am and was back at the Fili at a little past 2. As I am on "standby" for the day - just one step below "on call" with no place to go, really - I decided to force myself to oversleep this morning.
It's a pity I did, because it rained here last night, enough to form puddles outside.
The director of the hotel, Anna Alexseevna, was all smiles when I came downstairs after rising, as rain is fairly uncommon around here and the morning's storm apparently dumped about half the annual expected rainfall on the grounds of the Fili, which she and her staff try hard to keep green in an otherwise dry, brown world.
After seeing the results of last night's rainstorm on the ground, I went upstairs to get my camera, only to find the sun shining brightly when I got back downstairs. As I took in the fresh air, I looked around and noticed that the hotel's cats has come out to enjoy the sun, too.
There are at least two cats at the Fili, a mother and a kitten, who appear to live under a crate, in the space formed under the bottom of the container portion to allow forklifts to manipulate the unit. This crate lies next to a barbeque grill that, to date in this campaign, has not been used (and the tires of which are flat) but which offers a marvelous grated "porch" about 6 inches from the ground, which is where I often see both cats "hanging out" when I pass by on my way to or from work. Here, the youngster embraces "mom":
Russians tolerate such cats and dogs well (unless there is a specific reason to address the issue with traps or what have you). The cats that inhabit various outside nooks and crannies at the Fili and other hotels, and which prowl the grounds at the полтинник, are a good example. These animals live their lives both with and separate from the human population, which feeds scraps to the animals but otherwise are not allowed to get too close.
Here, a curious kitten regards yours truly, who has been trying to become a familiar part of the environment by advancing in baby steps, squatting down, and barely moving for about 5 minutes (a technique I call "Become The Landscape"™):
I think I will take it easy until lunch, and then turn to on some things that have been piling up.
Cheers...
Despite having put in a 13-hour work day (granted, not exactly swinging a pick for my daily bread, but still...), there was some talk over a quick dinner of going into town to grab a pizza and some beer at the Palermo Pizzeria, and maybe even stopping by the Luna Club with open minds to see what it is about the place that acts like the Sirens' song to draw the French to the joint time after time. We found out, and I brought back photographic proof!
As is probably true in other such places, the young women who frequent the Luna are almost uniformly much better dressed than their male companions (or any of the group of young men that - if memory serves - once went by the name of "the stag line" in American parlance). The young lady in the photo to the left, however, was the only customer I could see who went the extra mile and wore an outfit that didn't include jeans, hot pants, or a miniskirt. As I looked around the place, I could not help but notice either steady gazes (from the single guys) or surreptitious glances (from the guys with dates) when "the lady in white" was on the dance floor.Our small band left the Luna at 1 am and was back at the Fili at a little past 2. As I am on "standby" for the day - just one step below "on call" with no place to go, really - I decided to force myself to oversleep this morning.
It's a pity I did, because it rained here last night, enough to form puddles outside.
The director of the hotel, Anna Alexseevna, was all smiles when I came downstairs after rising, as rain is fairly uncommon around here and the morning's storm apparently dumped about half the annual expected rainfall on the grounds of the Fili, which she and her staff try hard to keep green in an otherwise dry, brown world.
After seeing the results of last night's rainstorm on the ground, I went upstairs to get my camera, only to find the sun shining brightly when I got back downstairs. As I took in the fresh air, I looked around and noticed that the hotel's cats has come out to enjoy the sun, too.
There are at least two cats at the Fili, a mother and a kitten, who appear to live under a crate, in the space formed under the bottom of the container portion to allow forklifts to manipulate the unit. This crate lies next to a barbeque grill that, to date in this campaign, has not been used (and the tires of which are flat) but which offers a marvelous grated "porch" about 6 inches from the ground, which is where I often see both cats "hanging out" when I pass by on my way to or from work. Here, the youngster embraces "mom":
Russians tolerate such cats and dogs well (unless there is a specific reason to address the issue with traps or what have you). The cats that inhabit various outside nooks and crannies at the Fili and other hotels, and which prowl the grounds at the полтинник, are a good example. These animals live their lives both with and separate from the human population, which feeds scraps to the animals but otherwise are not allowed to get too close.
Here, a curious kitten regards yours truly, who has been trying to become a familiar part of the environment by advancing in baby steps, squatting down, and barely moving for about 5 minutes (a technique I call "Become The Landscape"™):
I think I will take it easy until lunch, and then turn to on some things that have been piling up.
Cheers...
