The desk lamp shorted out (I knocked it over again, the bulb broke, I replaced it, something in the base of the lamp lit up (curious), there was an infernal plasticky smell, and that was that) so I'm typing this with a flashlight in my teeth. Five more days until new computer.

Apple leaves tomorrow. I said goodbye to her last night, as she , Kiwi, Stringbean (recently arrived), and Carrot got in a taxi to go to Aubergine's, and Apricot, her boyfriend, and I got in another one to go home (they live near Artichoke, and my place was on the way). It was 2 and I was ready for bed.

We had been drinking in a beer-tent just outside the Kremlin walls. Kiwi had chosen it, as a way to make Apple do something touristy before she left (in the year and a half she's been here, she went to a museum...once...she thinks...) Apple says that to her, going places and teaching is "just a job." She likes the lifestyle of moving around between foreign cities, and has been doing it for about 5 years (first Ireland, then Indonesia, then here). Traveling doesn't excite her any more.

I can't figure out what the draw is. To me, it sounds kind of empty to bounce around indefinitely, make friends and leave, not pay much attention to the language or culture. I think she enjoys teaching, though. And she's good at it. She also feels as though there's not much waiting for her back in New Zealand.

Even though she's only been here 18 months, she's pretty indispensible at the language school. She's consistently sunny, calm, and competent, a personality that's a magnet for responsibility. She was starting to feel taken advantage of, which is part of the reason she left. If she stuck around, come September the school would be expecting her to train interns for 14 hours a day.

I'll miss her. She was fun to be around, not in the keep-me-on-my-toes way of Artichoke and Aubergine (or even Strawberry), but in an easier, less complicated sort of way. She said herself, when Artichoke and I were spiraling into one of our nerd-rants, that she doesn't know a thing about physics but she can tell a good story. I enjoyed relating to her through stories rather than analysis all the time.

She's headed to Austria to be a nanny for her brother's infant son. She's not planning on coming back, but people frequently say that then show up again (just like people say they're leaving, and stay another 3 years), who knows.

My teeth hurt. Can't wait to drive this computer off a cliff.