Time for a F$%*&@'n Vacation

The first time I say "Those f'n people," I know its time to go. Get out and get away. Find a nice place to visit, a good hotel, and a cheap flight and turn in my leave slip. It's time for a vacation. And I've been saying it lot lately, so I'm overdue. I figured this out a while ago. I like my job, I like the people I work with, and I like living overseas. But if there are two things that separate the U.S., Europe, and the rest of developed world from the developing world, it's efficiency and convenience. Stuff works. The store shelves are full. Nothing is unavailable. There are lot of places that are still trying to figure out how the system ought to work. Simple things can be frustrating, and over time that frustration builds up. Add to that the cultural differences that exist -- everyone is not, and does not want to be, just like us although it can be hard not to think that given the spread of American culture -- and our own government bureaucracy and the result is that patience wears thin. I realized about a year after I began living abroad, that these frustrations were all condensed into that one three-word phrase. And when I heard it, I knew. Go on vacation. I made it one of the few rules I live by. By comparison, Russia is not that bad. Contrary to what people remember as suffering Soviet citizens standing in line for hours for bread and toilet paper, Moscow is a capitalist city, with a growing middle class, displays of excess, and ridiculous prices. The summers here are glorious. Russians can be wonderful hosts if they invite you into their homes. But there are enough other things to get ticked off about. Traffic is worse than anywhere at home. The cold temperatures are bearable, but the darkness that goes with them is not. Moscovites, like the majority of the world, don't keep an "American distance" and can be rude and aggressive. Except right now, it's not the Russians and Moscow that are bothering me. I see too many reminders around my office of what made Office Space the biting satire that it was. Except I'm not laughing. I'm using language not appropriate for polite company. Time to get the f out. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av164b1rHYc[/youtube]