last week was hectic at work. even though i live and work in Ukraine, my place of work is American Chamber of Commerce and hence we celebrate American Independence Day.

the Picnic is actually our biggest event since every year we get a few thousand people gathered together at a stadium in Kyiv, having fun, eating BBQ stuff, enjoying a Grand Raffle, and finally the main hit of the Picnic is, of course, the fireworks.

since we had our fireworks to Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow music, for the full experience, click on the youtube video to accompany the reading.

so... the day before... actually, two days before were crazy. work from 9AM to 12AM is... well... tiring.

but, with our staff (and stuff) you never get bored at the office.

i won the shorts. there were like 15 people who wanted them and only 6 pairs of shorts. i was one of the lucky winners. i don't even know how many people have asked me at the Picnic where have i gotten such great shorts. my answer was simple - Old Navy

don't you love our clean desk policy? this is standard view of one of the rooms in our office when we're preparing for something big

Vlad trying to put coins in his eye sockets...

and succeeding

i had a camera in my hands... always a good thing!

these are the Picnic coins. you could only buy stuff at the Picnic using these.

our lovely administrative manager.

the Picnic has started. can you tell i was in the Kids' Zone?

and of course, when i saw Ronald McDonald, i could not resist to take a picture with him. he was great. the only thing that was weird... i got used to the statue one, and it felt awkward to actually TALK to the guy and hear him talk back. he was goofy.

my two ex-university mates. the blond gal used to work at the Chamber (left this Monday) and the redhead gal works at an English-language newspaper called Kyiv Post.

just me and my friend from Policy team, who was helping me with the kiddos and volunteers.

our awesome boss Jorge and his wife Courtney.  

Independent Lady

and finally, the fireworks!

i love my work. can you tell?

as i was walking to the bus stop after a quite long day at work (7AM till 8PM - 13 hours...), i raised my head to watch the birds that painted invisible intricate ornaments on the blue sky.

the Sun was setting already and the buildings were basking in the golden light. but that wasn't what drew my attention.

as i watched the birds and actually told God that i envy their ability to fly high above everything, i saw a reflection of the dying sunshine on one of the birds' wings! i blinked, not sure that i have seen what i have seen. continuing my leisury walk to the bus stop, i looked at other birds as they flew... and realized that that one-moment reflection was not a trick on my eyes. it was real - the birds were dark-feathered, and so the sunlight was reflected in their wings and sides.

wow...

live and learn, someone smart once said, and i totally agree with him / her. i love noticing new things around me every day. noticing new traits of my friends and aquaintances. learning the quirks of how the nature works. studying html which is still much of a dark forest for me, even though i have learned quite a lot during this year at the Chamber.

live and learn. the saying is almost perfect, but i would still add two things. one is trust. lean on His knowledge, strength, care, love... "give all your troubles to the Lord, for He takes care of you," said Peter-the-apostle once. and although the phrase is about 2,000 years old, it's very true.

and love. love God, love people, love nature, love yourself. this life's all about love (even though we sometimes neglect it or are afraid of it... or stubbornly don't want to show it... and i am guilty of that)...

live, learn, lean, love.