Welcome back.

Were you just unplugging for awhile, or did you do somewhere that didn't have internet?

Thank you for your post. As an American who has stayed most of my life on the west coast, your story gives me some perspective about how things are/were in Russia that I probably would not otherwise gain.

I've been waiting for pictures of Pluto that were wider than 20 pixels square for about 25 years now. This is beautiful.

I'm sorry to hear that you are going through a divorce right now. Just get through it, don't push yourself too hard to 'connect' with someone, just out of lonliness. That being said, when you are really ready to date, I would suggest something online. After my divorce, a move out of town, and about a year to simmer and be awkward - I tried online dating. Try the different sites out, and see which one(s) fit what you are looking for.

The best advice I can give to you about online dating is to:

1) Consider it to be like an interview ( Is this woman crazy? How many children does she have? e.t.c. )

2) Go grab coffee/lunch - not dinner ( dinner is for second meetings ) ASAP - it may feel like there is some 'chemistry' on chats and texts - many will flop when you meet them and try to actually talk with them. ( Remember, this is like an interview for the first few meetings )

3) Have fun - I considered it a relatively inexpensive way to meet new people and get out of the house, where I would have been just being a home-body otherwise.

I hope your pain is short, and that your darkest days are already in your past...

BTW - I met my fiancee on Tinder, of all places. I was tired of all of the forms and crafting messages to interest her. I was not into hookups - I had just heard of that app mentioned on many different talk shows and such... You find what you are looking for.

Good luck, brother.

I like to cut rocks. I mine them whenever I have the time for a trip into the wild. Polish up some book ends, cut and polish some cabachons for jewelry, I tried my hand at faceting - but didn't care for it much. I've been playing with rocks for 20+ years now. An old boss of mine took me to a rock shop in the town that I grew up in, and this little old lady that ran the store enticed me to join their "rock club", with annual fees of $12.00 to start. I just wanted to carve soap stone, but it turned out to be a much deeper rabbit hole than that. As soon as I cut a large quartz crystal into slabs, then polished them up, I was absolutely hooked.

I wish! Are you? Are there any speakers or subjects that you would care to check out from this year's line up?

What part of the SJ valley are you from? I'm from Fresno, but currently living in Reno. I love it here, much closer to the mountains, and the weather is so much cooler.