Imperfective verbs and perfect bows

After experiencing the worst week of Russian classes ever, I managed to end the week on a high note. This afternoon’s report subject was “Moy Brat” (for my non-Russian speaking readers, that translates to “My Brother”).

Besides giving his vital stats, I managed to explain that he enjoys running and other sports. And at the end of my report, I was even able to say that he bought his first house last summer. All of this in Russian! Okay, so it took a little help and prompting from my instructor, but I think this is a great improvement over my report on Portland.

So that was the end of the first part of my day. In quite a shift of focus, I have spent the last 4 hours hand-making bows. For fake Christmas presents. To sit on shelves and in every conceivable nook and cranny you can find at The Container Store. That’s right, Christmas has arrived in Arlington. More specifically, “Gift Wrap Wonderland” has arrived at The Container Store. Nearly half of the first floor of the store is covered in garland, fake trees, gift boxes, and, of course, gift wrap. But do you know what the really sad thing is? I want it all. That’s right - I walked up and down the aisles this evening and found about at least 15 different gift wraps I want to buy. At $8.50 a roll, that’s not going to happen, but I think that it might be an indicator that my Christmas spirit has returned.

(For those of you that may not know this, I spent the past two Christmases working at Trinity Repertory Company, running wardrobe for their production of A Christmas Carol. It was….uh, let’s just say it was enough to beat the Christmas spirit right out of me.)

My only concern is how long my Christmas spirit can last once the they start pumping the carols into the store…