Good Lord! It's 7:30 AM. I don't get up at 7:30! I don't go to bed until two most nights, so this is definitely not enough sleep. I must be restless because of my impending exit from Baku. I am terrified of forgetting to do something for the dog, and I am worried about an eleven year old dog on a 27 hour trip. I know I am. I know I woke up thinking about the moving crew boss trying to finger my Science degree out of its tube before he let it passed muster. That might have been my first withering look delivered that day. It worked and he let it be....whew! now I can get the Mona Lisa, which is rolled up with it, safely out of the country. I'll show him.
Doesn't look like sunshine today, but it's early. Maybe the sun isn't that much of an early riser in Baku, either. Nice blue skies would be nice for picture taking today....if we get everything else done that is. We're joining some friends for dinner, so if I want night shots of the Turkish mosque and martyr's alley, it will have to be tomorrow.
Yesterday, things got a little testy when John and Ali didn't show up for our day on the town until 7:00 PM....I'm not sure if it was the time or the cheery Where do you need to go? that got me the most. By this point what I really needed the most (and got) was a latte. I know workaholics never call when they're going to be late, but still....it's not like he doesn't have people.
The rest of the night was a total waste. Well, not a total waste....I got my highest score ever on one of those Facebook word games. That's almost as good as a set of crystal tea glasses. Oh, and I also learned that Ali is more afraid of his boss's wife than he is of his boss.
Last night while John was in Baku Roasting waiting our lattes, Ali (probably sensing my mood at being stood up) volunteered to spend all of today driving me where ever I wanted to go. He elaborated..take pictures, get tea set, certificates, Nards board, etc etc etc. All day, just you and me. He made a slip. He said while John was at the office, we could go every where. Whoa! Back up there, Jack! Where's John going to be tomorrow? John who couldn't take Easter Monday off because he was taking Thursday and Friday off for the move? The John who was dressed in his work clothes and tip-toeing out of the room when I peeked out from beneath the covers yesterday morning? Are you telling me he's going to work in the morning? He never goes in on Saturday. Jack backed way up and said no more.
Over dinner, I poised my evil eyebrow and asked John if it was true he was going to work the next day. Well, um....yeah, it was true. And......he said, Ali has something to finish, too.
Well, said I, Ali told me he was spending the whole day with me tomorrow. He thought it was funny and said that Ali was a really smart guy. I thought it was a perfect example of the Azeri way of telling you exactly what you want to hear, whether they can deliver or not. He even made it a promise. Cracks me up!
By the time the instant coffee was served after dinner, John had decided he was shipping equipment to the UK and not to Russia, which is a fraction of the work and they could get it done on Monday. Whew! We have today for shopping.
I can't believe we are going back to the Airport Bazaar this morning! Half of it is closed but the carpet guy we last purchased from is still there. He really wants us to by the smaller version of the one we bought the other day....and he needs to give us the receipt for the one we just bought. If I could just get to one of the shops deeper into the bazaar without getting run over by a Lada or choking on fumes, I could get my crystal glass tea set, and my pashminas.
I can't believe Ali set this meeting up with the carpet guy for the Airport Bazaar. The last time we were there on a weekend (necessitated by the fact that John couldn't take Easter Monday off), Ali told us how he and his brother offer to pay their mother not to go to the Airport Bazaar when the subject comes up. No one in the family will take her, her says. And, honestly, it is an absolute zoo on the weekend. To break out of traffic stalls, cars drive up on the sidewalk. The wind embeds dirt in your eyeballs and the car exhaust takes years off your life.
But, there are thousands and thousands of pairs of ten dollar shoes, and enough five dollar pashminas for every girl in New York. There is everything you can imagine in this place from house dresses to lawn furniture to building supplies. I think there are a million flip flops and no exit signs.
So much polypropylene, including the roof in some places. Is that a cigarette, I see in that man's mouth.
Maybe it is safer dodging Lada's on the sidewalk.
But...but....but....
I need a frock!
Or two....
And John needs a new suit...
Doesn't look like sunshine today, but it's early. Maybe the sun isn't that much of an early riser in Baku, either. Nice blue skies would be nice for picture taking today....if we get everything else done that is. We're joining some friends for dinner, so if I want night shots of the Turkish mosque and martyr's alley, it will have to be tomorrow.
Yesterday, things got a little testy when John and Ali didn't show up for our day on the town until 7:00 PM....I'm not sure if it was the time or the cheery Where do you need to go? that got me the most. By this point what I really needed the most (and got) was a latte. I know workaholics never call when they're going to be late, but still....it's not like he doesn't have people.
The rest of the night was a total waste. Well, not a total waste....I got my highest score ever on one of those Facebook word games. That's almost as good as a set of crystal tea glasses. Oh, and I also learned that Ali is more afraid of his boss's wife than he is of his boss.
Last night while John was in Baku Roasting waiting our lattes, Ali (probably sensing my mood at being stood up) volunteered to spend all of today driving me where ever I wanted to go. He elaborated..take pictures, get tea set, certificates, Nards board, etc etc etc. All day, just you and me. He made a slip. He said while John was at the office, we could go every where. Whoa! Back up there, Jack! Where's John going to be tomorrow? John who couldn't take Easter Monday off because he was taking Thursday and Friday off for the move? The John who was dressed in his work clothes and tip-toeing out of the room when I peeked out from beneath the covers yesterday morning? Are you telling me he's going to work in the morning? He never goes in on Saturday. Jack backed way up and said no more.
Over dinner, I poised my evil eyebrow and asked John if it was true he was going to work the next day. Well, um....yeah, it was true. And......he said, Ali has something to finish, too.
Well, said I, Ali told me he was spending the whole day with me tomorrow. He thought it was funny and said that Ali was a really smart guy. I thought it was a perfect example of the Azeri way of telling you exactly what you want to hear, whether they can deliver or not. He even made it a promise. Cracks me up!
By the time the instant coffee was served after dinner, John had decided he was shipping equipment to the UK and not to Russia, which is a fraction of the work and they could get it done on Monday. Whew! We have today for shopping.
I can't believe we are going back to the Airport Bazaar this morning! Half of it is closed but the carpet guy we last purchased from is still there. He really wants us to by the smaller version of the one we bought the other day....and he needs to give us the receipt for the one we just bought. If I could just get to one of the shops deeper into the bazaar without getting run over by a Lada or choking on fumes, I could get my crystal glass tea set, and my pashminas.
I can't believe Ali set this meeting up with the carpet guy for the Airport Bazaar. The last time we were there on a weekend (necessitated by the fact that John couldn't take Easter Monday off), Ali told us how he and his brother offer to pay their mother not to go to the Airport Bazaar when the subject comes up. No one in the family will take her, her says. And, honestly, it is an absolute zoo on the weekend. To break out of traffic stalls, cars drive up on the sidewalk. The wind embeds dirt in your eyeballs and the car exhaust takes years off your life.
But, there are thousands and thousands of pairs of ten dollar shoes, and enough five dollar pashminas for every girl in New York. There is everything you can imagine in this place from house dresses to lawn furniture to building supplies. I think there are a million flip flops and no exit signs.
So much polypropylene, including the roof in some places. Is that a cigarette, I see in that man's mouth.
Maybe it is safer dodging Lada's on the sidewalk.But...but....but....
I need a frock!
Or two....
And John needs a new suit...
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