Blind Sided!!!

Last night Aimee & I watched, "Blind Side". What a great movie & it really spoke to me as to why Aimee & I do what we do-regardless of the set backs, chaos, changes & cost. The most interesting & enjoyable aspect of the movie, for me, were the parental characters; their behaviors, relationship & how they interacted with each other were almost identical to Aimee & I. To be sure, there were some subtle differences, but Aimee IS almost exactly like the mother character! The passion & determination are traits not only to admire, but survive, embrace & then set out to provide a solid, reliable platform upon which to launch & execute those dreams.

This being the 2nd time here for me, I did notice that, "Premium", or, "V.I.P." parking in downtown Kiev consists of putting blue, plastic milk carton carriers in the spot on the sidewalk you want or intend on occupying. It's always the little things...

It's frickin' cold here & I learned last night on the way to Independence Square that I can, indeed, snowboard...& wearing shoes on a slight down hill grade, along with the huge holes & bumps in the sidewalks that double as moguls is really all the elements you need...& it didn't come with a hefty lift-ticket price.

I also discovered that if you tell no one from the time you go through security in the states 'til the moment you walk through customs in Kiev, that you have approximately $20,000.00 on you, NO ONE CARES!! I also walked right through DIA security with a bazooka duct-taped to my ass and didn't even get patted down! It wasn't until I couldn't get it to fit in the over-head compartment on the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt that I was even questioned-& then that was only to tell me I should have checked it along with the bags. Fortunately, the row behind us was empty & it fit nicely across all four seats.

Aimee has brought her, "Snuggie", she received as a Christmas gift. She's actually wearing it. She loves it. When I see her in it, it gives me a permanent "softy"! It's like a giant, "fuzzy-prophylactic". It could actually be used as a foundation for providing an alternative to, "Roe v. Wade".

Our apartment is totally cool! 7th floor views of surrounding Kiev skyline with a spectacular shot of St. Sofiya's-not even 2 blocks away. We had some concerns when the elevator almost chopped off our facilitators arm, twice, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a full, frontal body assault. Even better was when I hooked up a power strip to the one outlet and switched it on and every light went out. Thank God for the light on my cell phone that allowed me to find the breaker box. All I was trying to plug in was an electric toothpick-how much power could it draw?

We saw the Roge's last night & ate at (that's right) McDonald's. Feeding off each other's, "Man-Humor", Felix & I apparently became unbearable as time went by. Oh, really??

I was informed by a reliable source, that some find my writing, positions, opinions or humor to be somewhat offensive-get over it or don't read it. It's a coping mechanism. I've often been told that when you pass judgment, you assume a position you're not qualified to fill. If I were to write on a blog about other things, issues, other countries, my own country, etc., I would find the same absurdities that life throws at you and poke fun at them as well. If you're that uptight, maybe try an international adoption to loosen things up. It'll humble you and open your eyes...maybe even give you an appreciation for where you're at and what you have.

Oh, we had our SDA appointment today. We were told they had misinformed us about the availability date. We're flying home in the next day or two only to have to turn around and come back for a February 21st SDA appointment, $4500.00 down the drain.........blind sided!!! :)