PinnedMember-onlyMy journey to a sub-3-hour marathonA friend told me that breaking the 3-hour marathon mark can be underwhelming. It’s just a number, he said and once you get there, it’s possible to feel empty. Bullshit! Yesterday, at 41 years of age, I ran a 2.57.04 marathon in Southern California and it felt like an achievement…Running8 min read
PinnedMember-onlyA decade ago I had the biggest standoff I’ve ever had with my wife. She demanded we leave Russia.I spent most of my teen years away from Russia but Moscow was my home. I was studying abroad — first in the US, then England — but would be back In Moscow for every school break. I missed Moscow during my boarding school years and missed it even more…Life5 min read
PinnedMember-onlyMy son and I have been playing this silly game and it’s hilariousI don’t know if this game has a name. We started last night and it escalated quickly. I arrived in Florida from California, my wife met me at the airport Fort in Lauderdale, we drove home and went straight to dinner — it was my Mom’s sixty third birthday. On…Humor3 min read
1 day agoMember-onlyI’m done pursuing “tech” endeavors. No more damn apps!This is not a rant against the tech industry. Well, I could rant. I think metaverse is as interesting as the trace that my poo sometimes leaves in the toilet. Sorry, got carried away providing my opinion on metaverse. So most things tech — just not my thing. Six years…Entrepreneurship2 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyMy favorite U2 songsI’m probably a bit too young to be considered a diehard U2 fan. I was only seven when Joshua Tree came out. I didn’t listen to Joshua Tree. I couldn’t. I was a kid in Soviet Moscow. They didn’t play Where the Street Have no Name on the radio. …Pop Culture3 min read
3 days agoMember-onlyBeds are overrated. They’re scam.Many years ago, when I was doing better financially, we bought a king-size bed at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It cost around two or three thousand dollars. For a couple of years, it lived in our condo in downtown Miami that we rented out. Then we sold the apartment and…Life2 min read
3 days agoMember-onlyI had a dream today I was conscripted. Then I had the most peaceful morning with my son.I dreamt I was in Moscow. I don’t miss Russia at all. I’m not nostalgic, nor sentimental. I haven’t been back in almost a decade. But I have this recurring dream. I’m in Moscow. It’s the summer season. Sometimes I’m walking, sometimes riding in a car, and sometimes travelling by…News3 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyMy family, my exercise, my work. Oh, and California. Staying sane. Staying positive.I’ve not written on Medium for three days. That’s quite a hiatus! I started writing about a year ago after I ran my marathon. And then I never stopped. I kept writing every day, often twice a day. This week though I stopped. I stopped running too! It’s an exceptional…Mental Health3 min read
Sep 27Member-onlyAm I forever destined to think (and write) about Russia that once was, no longer is?There was so much hope in the nineties. The irony: the darkest decade in modern Russia’s history, full of crime and turbulence, yet there was so much hope. The country was loved by the world: young, broke, and often troubled, yet there was so much hope. It was like an…History2 min read
Sep 27Member-onlyMaintaining a healthy weight is so hard that I don’t understand how others do it.I went from this: To this:Running3 min read
