Second Fourth

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July 5th 2009

Published: July 5th 2009

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Grybaziggy

footpath

Perm in Summer.

Sveta and I spent my second fourth of July in Perm much like we spent the first: wandering around town. We found a side road that led to an unknown green valley. It was the usual Perm summer scene: industry and village. Ponies, razor wire, and pipes intermixed amid all that green. The overgrowth was the first thing that really struck on the ride home from the airport last year. Perm was covered in weeds, grasses and trees. The city was often hidden, and wooden houses and footpaths nestled in the valleys between apartment blocks. We eventually wandered down to the great new Perm Museum of Contemporary Art. Here's a link to the UK's Daily Telegraph article. The Boris Mikhailov photo series "Salt Lake" really struck me. The link includes three photos, but the series is considerably larger.

I was in Louisville last month, reading AP US History exams. It was my third consecutive AP tour, and it was great fun. Not the reading, which was tedious and sometimes even painful. It was the downtime afterwards when my friend Dave Nesheim, Budweisers, and an executive suite combined to make reading all those 16-year-olds' essays on the rise of the Republican party seem worthwhile. Rather heroically, Dave also

Happiness is not behind the mountains

attempted to complete his dissertation. My parents made the trip to Louisville and entertained themselves, usually outside of their hotel room. Like me, they too stayed in the Galt House, but not in an executive suite, which unfortnunately meant that their room often smelled like a sewer. My mom ran with me, knitted, and navigated Louisville, exploring by rental car that historic city's interesting and unusual neighborhoods at night.

There were over 1,000 AP US History readers and 3000 readers of other subject areas reading for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) behemoth. ETS sequestered the History readers in the hangar-like Louisville Convention Center. At the top of every hour the voice from above would boom BEGIN STRETCH BREAK. And 1,000 AP US History readers -- mostly high school teachers and some college instructors -- stretched. A minute or two later we would, on cue END STRETCH BREAK. Dave once complained that too many stretch breaks were breaking up his reading rhythm. I respectfully disagreed. They stuffed us with food. During the real, full 15-minute breaks we readers found donuts, ice cream sandwiches, and nachos waiting for us outside our hangar in what the head reader called the "blue mile."

Parents in Louisville

The parents had huge balcony that led to the swimming pool. Unfortunatley the room was quite so inviting. It was great to see them

Buffet-style lunch and dinner --when it was good -- provided most of our Salisbury steak needs. The free-food conveyer belt was the most tangible reminder that I was back in the USA. Readers were easily identifiable by their uniform: T-shirt (often an official AP Reader shirt with a historical quote from the Data Based Question -- DBQ to those in the know -- on the back), shorts, sneakers/sandals. They also wear their official AP US History reader badges, often even when not on duty.

Now that I'm back, Sveta and I find ourselves caught up in a battle with the PSU International Office over my visa, but thankfully it looks like the tide has turned in our favor on that and I'll have my visa renewed without any further hassles. Rosie the cat is once again in heat. All of her aggression has transformed into misplaced affection. When patted, she gurgles and assumes the position. This docile behavior makes brushing her a whole lot easier. When left alone, she writhes around on the floor, or sits on the balcony ledge and stares longingly at the yard below, where, undoubtedly a кот on the prowl is rambling about. Next week