Jeffrey Harlan

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Tag: Russia

  • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-27

    • There may be a light at the end of this particular tunnel. If everything works out, next week I should be able to pay my rent after all… #
    • RT @StephenTColbert All my life, I’ve identified with strong, military role models. As a child, I ate a lot of Cap’n Crunch. #
    • I think it could use more detail but Star Trek Online has a chart mapping the new timeline here: http://bit.ly/YnprZ (thx @Methos1664) #
    • HOLY CRAP MY NES STILL WORKS!!! #
    • Be nice if I could find my digital camera. Cloud settling on top of a mtn across the valley. Gorgeous sight. #
    • Just listened to “Craigslist” by @alyankovic – LOL Awesome song! Watch the video: http://tinyurl.com/l2ctpp #
    • Oh, so true RT @TheOnion Vaccine Rejectors Put Kids At Risk http://u.mavrev.com/bbuu #
    • I’ve managed to come up with all but $150 of my rent for the month. Will have to pay the rest when I get my GI Bill check in a couple weeks #
    • @dannymcguffin Can’t donate blood cause of my history (time in Germany, vaccines from the military, etc), so I don’t know if I can do plasma #
    • Discovered while doing a random Star Trek search online: apparenlty Penthouse has released a parody called “This Ain’t Star Trek XXX” lol #
    • Well, I’ve got enough coming and in the bank to get me through July. Keeping my fingers crossed for a job to get me through August. #
    • Interview at Knott’s went about as expected. Should hear back in a couple days if they’re going to hire me. #
    • @BrentSpiner Dream: Standing on a pyramid in sort of sun god robes, surrounded by naked women throwing little pickles at you? in reply to BrentSpiner #
    • @Quarksbartender It’s a few years old, but here’s a decent pic: http://tinyurl.com/lscfo6 more at http://tinyurl.com/ntqwsw #trekcollection in reply to Quarksbartender #
    • @Quarksbartender Oh, you might be interested in this one http://tinyurl.com/mmdx7a #
    • @Quarksbartender Yeah, me too. I used to go there a couple times/month before I got transferred from Nellis to Turkey #
    • About halfway done w Monsterpocalypse abilities reference sheet. Looks good so far. Saved the file. Will finish it tomorrow. #
    • @jurinetblade Did a 4-player MonPoc game a couple months ago. It rocked, but the board got really full, really quick w all the units in reply to jurinetblade #
    • Just got a “you’re not hired” postcard from Knott’s #
    • My Monsterpocalypse abilities reference sheet grew to 2 pgs. Pg 1 is finished, pg 2 is nearly done. Looking good so far. #
    • The Monsterpocalypse abilities reference sheet is now finished. Looks good. #
    • How about some stimulus money for jobs for adults? RT @TIME Summer jobs make a comeback, thanks to the stimulus | http://su.pr/1Xa5YP #
    • @wilw Let’s not leave out “Attack of the Takeiju” #
    • @wilw The final book in the series must, of course, be Doohansday #
    • Search @wilw for some awesome Star Trek puns. It started with Shatnerquake, then Tsunimoy and Uhuracane… #
    • Summer classes start in 50 hours… leaving for a Warmachine tournament in about 15 minutes… #
    • This Father’s Day, I’m reminded of the fact that… hey, I’m not a father. (Seriously, though, happy Father’s Day to the dads out there) #
    • @super_spock uncooked ramen AND drinking the Nero Kool Aid? I suppose you’ll be signing on to his crew next… #
    • Listening to paranormal radio show re: UFOs while trying to fall asleep. If even 1/2 is real, we’re in for some serious $#!+ in a few years #
    • 1st class done for today. 2hr lunch but in line for parking permit that rivals Moscow McDonald’s. 1000s of students, 4 people working #
    • Spent an hour in the line. Now off to lunch. Next class starts in an hour #
    • Just heard a guy say “Neva thought I say dat but $#!+ I need dat book so I can do my homework.” LOL #
    • Prof is 10 mins late on 1st day, still hasn’t shown. #
    • 20 mins late prof finally shows up. Not a good way to start off. #
    • Class let out 90 min early. Seems like it’s going to be an ungodly easy A. My English class in the morning doesn’t look to be much harder. #
    • Is it really that hard to wipe off the knife before using it Subway? I’m allergic to fish and I said I didn’t want mayo on my sub. #
    • Prof was only 3 mins late today and let us go 75 mins early. #
    • Library doesn’t have my English 103 book and I don’t have $60 to buy a used copy. Not sure what I’ll do yet. #
    • Group project for Engl 103. Pick topic for next 3 papers. My group picked legalizing pot. So sick of that subj. Overruled 6-1. Bleh. #
    • Finally heard back from Disneyland. Guess I won’t be working there, either. #
    • LOL RT @wilw PRO TIP for fathers: don’t read chapter 4 of Hyperion in public. It will wreck you, and people will stare. #voiceofexperience #
    • If my card didn’t go through, it probably means I don’t have the $$. Calling me at 6:30am demanding $275 isn’t going to help, either. #
    • RT @tymethief This is either a weird joke, or just lack of realization of what some things sound like… http://tinyurl.com/l2lhkl #

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  • Elena

    It was March 1994, and I was a sophomore at Baumholder American High School in Germany. My school was taking part in an exchange program with a school in Russia, hosting several dozen students from Ivanovo for two weeks.

    One of the students was staying with my family, so I took part in the multitude of the “all-American” activities to which our guests were exposed. As fate would have it, almost halfway into the second week I was paired with a girl my age while on a trip to the base bowling alley. Her name was Elena Ivanova, and though it may seem clichéd, it was love at first sight — for both of us.

    That night, I took great pains to compose a love letter to her. In Russian, a language which I had only recently learned a handful of words. I’m certain my grammar was atrocious, but she was visibly touched by the gesture when I gave it to her the next day, particularly because her English was similarly limited. Fortunately, we had German as a common language, but only used it together for spoken communication.

    The following day, after distracting one another from our classes with repeated, longing gazes, one of the other student hosts, a friend of mine named Emily, held a get-together at her house. My sister attended, but being the social butterfly that I was (and in many ways still am) I elected to sit it out. Much to my dismay, I learned upon my sister’s return that Elena was there, and she’d been looking for me.

    Not long thereafter, our guests had to return to Russia. It was a bittersweet parting, as Elena and I had met only days before, but our sadness was tempered with the knowledge that my school would send its own delegation of students later that year. I quickly set to work to raise as much of the money to pay for the trip as I could.

    Ultimately, in late November, after months of fund-raising and a crash course in Russian and Russian history, we departed. After three days in Moscow, we arrived for a three-day stop in Ivanovo. Though it wasn’t the stay I’d hoped for, I did manage to see Elena again on the second day.

    My feelings for her were — and remain — the most intense I’ve ever felt in my life. I knew that we were meant for one another. Using a ring I’d bought in Moscow, I proposed in Russian. She didn’t say anything. At least, not with her voice. Her eyes lit up, and she kissed me. The kiss lasted nearly twenty minutes.

    The next day, the eve of my birthday, we had to leave for St. Petersburg. Elena made it to the train station at the last minute to see me off. We shared one last, deep good-bye kiss, and the others in my group, naturally, pulled out their cameras. Elena and I posed for photos, and I, reluctantly, had to leave. That was the last time I saw her.

    At the end of that school year, I had to move to Iowa while my mom worked on her Ph.D. at Iowa State University, and Elena and I lost touch with one another. Despite several attempts to regain contact, in eight years I haven’t heard from her again. I still think of her often, and my feelings for her remain strong to this day.