• On Life and Love

    A Light at the End of the Tunnel

    Almost three weeks ago, I attended a beginner’s yoga class. I’d attended that one a couple times before, along with some more advanced classes. As always, I only did a few chatarangas and planks, backing off before shoulder pain set in. I took full wheel, which went smoothly (as usual). Later that evening, my shoulder was in agony. The agony persisted to the next day. And the next. For almost two weeks. The standard muscular soreness lasted a couple of days, as I’d expect. It was a workout for my shoulder, so I expected the tightness. But the rest was weird. My shoulder kept clicking and thunking in the socket,…

  • On Life and Love

    Buying Russian Train Tickets: A Tale of Language and Gaming

    Goal Get from Moscow to Saint Petersburg on a particular day, starting at a particular time, and on a particular train. Trouble I don’t read Russian! Nor do I have a grasp on the phonetics of the alphabet, although I can now successfully remember/guess the sounds of some letters and thus near-cognates (e.g., “ДOKУMEHTA” is probably something about a document, although Google Translate throws up its hands). Things in My Favor I’m using Google Chrome, which seamlessly lets me toggle back and forth between the original Russian and translated English. I have a precise train number, car number, and set of seat options to book. (Hoo, boy, if this had…