That's a wrap!

So here are some random last pics from Moscow, including the culprit of my newly oil painted shirt...

Wet paint...

Karen, Natalie, and me at American Bar and Grill (my last night)

One of Stalin's Seven Sisters (this one is going on the Wall)

Day off...

So today we had the day off...we haven't been officially told that there will be no BCC (Backup Control Center) due to Hurrican Dean, so I definitely took advantage of the respite. I woke up early (way too early...my poor body is still on the evening shift schedule, which means I didn't fall asleep until after 3am).

ВДНХ- (it's a park with a lot of gardens and fountains (which were actually on!))

The gardens have a space theme, at least the ones in the center garden section...look a UFO!

Recognize the botanical Sputnik?

Makes me want to see the Russian national anthem...

Lenin

The Kremlin

Hmm, what's that black stuff all over my arm and shirt..oh...yeah...that would be black paint. So in an attempt to get a really cool shot, Kevin had me go on the bridge in front of the church below, while he took the shot from the road level (the bridge crosses over the Moscow River). Well, I leaned against the railing and when I moved away, I noticed some resistance. At first I was like "oh eww, what did I put my hand in?" and then I look and lo and behold there were numerous hand and elbow prints in the paint. I had joined the ranks as well. What is up with the lack of "Wet Paint" signs? And, it wasn't like fresh paint, it was tacky paint. It took about 10 minutes of scrubbing my arm and hands with soap and Wet Wipes to get most of the paint off. I think my shirt (and it was new!) is a lost cause. It's soaking right now...although, it is kinda funny :)

I didn't mean to take this in black and white, but these two little girls were playing tag and I thought it was cute.

One of my favorite 'храм' (or 'cathedral'): Christ Our Savior church.

Undocking Celebration

Endeavor succesfully undocked yesterday, a day early than originally planned, due to the questionable track of Hurricane Dean. Per tradition, we celebrated with our Russian counterparts.

Wow! Look at that spread! MMC and SUDN definitely spoil us.

Alexander, Natasha, me, and Kevin (Grigory showed up right after the picture...I think he planned it that way ;-) )

Natasha in the middle of telling a funny story. We ended up chatting for an hour and half! Our interpreter was gracious to hang in there for that long, although we were definitely using our Russian!

Shopping time!

So I woke up early so I could head to Izmalova for some shopping. Izmalova is a huge, well, crafts fair, swap meet (flea market for you non-Arizonans), souvenir extravaganza. I actually got everything I was looking for, plus this awesome piece of artwork. It's made out of different pieces of birch bark. Birch bark has been used in Russia for centuries (if not longer!) for decorations, household items, gifts, and there are even Russian documents from the Middle Ages that were written on birch bark.

I can't post pics of the rest of my loot, 'cause most of it is gifts and that would just ruin the surprise! Oh and I bought the cheapest popsicle ever, 8 roubles! That's about 35 cents.

Just What the Doctor Ordered...

Chicken noodle soup, toast, tea, and Powerade...yep that would be a recipe for sickness recuperation. (oh and blue Powerade is really really disgusting...really)

I had to leave work early yesterday due to a sudden onset of some strange bug that the doctors (yes plural, Dr. Flores was baffled- pulled in another doc) still can't figure out. So normal WBC count is 4-10, mine was 20 yesterday! Lauri, I'd gladly donate my WBCs to you!

So after some fluid loading and a round of antibiotics, my WBC count was 7 today, much better, but still pretty high for me (mine's usually in the 2 range, due to some meds I take for other reasons). But, I am feeling much better than I was yesterday.

My diagnosis- high WBC count and sore throat... yet another chalk mark on the board of "Melissa baffles doctors". Oh well.

Tibet Kitchen

Okay, it really isn't called 'Tibet Kitchen' anymore, it's just "Tibet' with 'restaurant' written really small underneath. But, it is one of my favorite places to eat. They have this amazing vegetable dish with almonds that I have gotten every time. And really good "dangzhi' chicken. Yummy! Here are some of my fellow HSRers (Karen and Michael). I convinced them to take a picture (although not everyone was thrilled with the idea :) ).

Christina, Karen said she would take me to the cheap sandwich shop! I'm excited! Except she said the smoothies can be warm...that sounds kinda icky...

Houston Support Room

The Houston Support room is where NASA folks sit to support ISS. There are some people over here (HSG-Houston Support Group) who support on 3-6 month rotations, acting as liasions between US and Russia (and they do a lot of other stuff...they always seem really busy!).

Me at the designated ADCO console

Ops Planners (they are the scheduling gurus for shuttle and station), a Russian Systems Specialist, and the ever busy HSG

For those of you who have been in Mission Control, you'll recognize the plaques. They also hang one out here in the HSR.