January/February update

To answer the question I proposed in my last blog entry - how hard is it going to be returning to work after nearly one month off? - the answer is it's HARD! I've never had a vacation that long in my life, nor do I want another one for quite a while. It's one thing when you're changing jobs, because then you have a new adventure to look forward to, and the time doesn't seem so long. It's another when you're simply not working for a month and then you have to go back to the usual daily grind... or in my case, a lessened daily grind due to lack of work.
I'm the strange type of person who absolutely despises having nothing to do. Now don't get me wrong - I certainly enjoy it every now and again - but not on a regular basis. Right now, my workload is extremely light, and I'm bored. I have lots and lots of free time, and nothing to do with it. I can't just sit around and read or study, or do something that doesn't require any activity. I blame it on the fact that I was a competitive ice skater for most of my life - I certainly never sat around when I was skating! Top that off with the fact that I used to teach ice skating as well, which is not a job where you sit around. In short, I've never had to just sit around until now. I'm not good at it :)
I know that in a few weeks everything will go back to normal, but that thought isn't really making this time period any easier. It's hard adjusting from life in the US to life in Russia. Even though I was only back in America for two weeks, I hadn't been in Russia long enough to not miss and long for some of my American comforts. This too will pass in a few weeks - but I'm just not enjoying the readjustment period. Stupid visa laws, this is all your fault!

For some good news - it's snowing today. We're certainly not getting snow like everyone was getting back in America - Snowmaggedon, as it was dubbed - but it's still snow nonetheless. It's starting to coat the layer of snow we've had since December, which was starting to get a bit shabby from the dirt and pollution. I must admit, I am very jealous off all the snow my parents and friends got this weekend. The year I'm not in America, it finally snows! Being in Russia, I shouldn't be envying the amount of snow back in America, but there's been more snow there than here!I would certainly enjoy a good snowstorm here.