So, how do I actually spend my time here. Let's look at my day.

I'd say it starts at 1am when I go to bed after making my bed check rounds to make sure everyone is home and sober.

8am: up for breakfast and working on my SF job.

2pm: Get out of my room so that the maid can come clean it (i.e. wipe down the poorly-laid linoleum floor with a much-used rag).

2pm – 6pm: Find lunch someplace. Maybe go to a museum or see a movie.

6-7pm: Stop off at the store to figure out what I want to eat for dinner. If I bought food for more than one meal, it might overwhelm my poor dorm fridge.

7-11: Dinner and back to my SF work.

11pm – 1am: Booze and Body rounds and then to bed to start it all over again.

The only exception to this is Thursdays when I teach Russian for 3 hours to one of the groups of students from 9 to noon. I like the classroom time and the variety in the schedule.

By far the most exciting (no, seriously) part of my day (aside from dodging traffic) is the shopping and cooking part.

I love going to the stores and seeing what's there. Museums are fun, but I feel like places that The People go are more authentic.

Just think about the U.S. If you want to get an idea of who Joe Six-Pack is and what's important to him, do you go to The Guggenheim or Safeway/Kroger's? The same is true for Ivan Stolichnaya.

So, here are a few snapshots of things I've encountered in the stores. More to follow, I'm sure. 

Apple-flavored toilet paper. This would not have made it past the focus group at home.

They LOVE canned meat. And what's not to love? It's got a long shelf life and you can use the empty can to store your heart meds. Note that the can has a helpful picture of the meat claimed to be inside.

Considering the significantly lower life expectancy here, this is a much more realistic way to attract the shopper who is approaching middle age.