Published June 29th, 2007
in Interesting / Other.
Ukrainians on average are slimmer than Americans
There might be a lot of cars on the streets of Kharkiv city but most Ukrainians still use public transportation. I am noticing that I walk much more over here than I do back in the US. I love it and I hate it. I get tired at the end of the day but I feel it is good for my health and once I adjust to the new life style my overall condition should get to normal.
Girls dress up in style
Another thing that stands out compared to the US is how girls dress up out on the streets. They wear a kind of cloth Americans will only see at a party or a TV show. High heels and makeup is the norm even if you go grocery shopping. I find this especially appealing combined with the fact that girls here on average are skinnier than in the US.
As a side effect an average Ukrainian girl spends a much bigger share of her budget on dress than a girl in the US. This probably goes deep into cultural traditions and realities of last several decades of life under Soviet regime.
“Bargain hunting” and utility bills
I visited one of my friends last week and as we talked about life he complained about high costs associated with utilities. Then he went on explaining that many homeowners in Ukraine are not ashamed to steal from the government by tampering with electricity, water and gas meters. To prove his point he opened Yandex.ru, a search engine popular in Ukraine, and pulled out schematics and detailed descriptions showing how to do it. Then he confessed he himself is doing it as well.
Ukrainians are very welcoming and well natured people as it goes to personal relations. In fact it is a must for Ukrainians to bring a gift when you visit someone’s home and for the hosts to provide guests better accommodations than they have for themselves. However long years under Soviet regime left people with skewed understanding of what the purpose of government is and how it should work. Steal before the government steals from you is the norm, and according to what I hear, the Ukrainian government does live up to these expectations. :-(
Pirate music, movies and software openly for sale
Do you feel unsettled about continuing existence of services like AllOfMp3? Now grasp this. It is possible to buy pirate movies and music openly on the streets of Kharkiv at practically any subway station and street corner. The movies are packed in collections of up to 11 movies per DVD and sold for 20 Gryvnas ($4) a DVD. Music collections are mostly in MP3 format and have titles like “All of Pink Floid”, “All of Beatles”, etc. I have yet to see pirate software for sale but I was told it is just easily available.
Published June 28th, 2007
in Shopping Promotion.
Costco.com and American Express jointly run a promotion which lets non-members shop at Costco.com without incurring the usual 5% surcharge. To participate, go to Costco.com and enter 111775758538 member id at My Account page before registering (you will be prompted to register after you add an item to your shopping cart).
The offer is valid online only at Costco.com (will not work in store) and you have to pay with an American Express card. The promotion expires August 26, 2007. Click on the image below for more details.
Source: discussion thread at FatWallet forums (via WiredDeals)
Published June 28th, 2007
in Popular Sites Series.
This is June 2007 revision of the Popular Deal Sites list. You can find the last month revision of the list here.
The change in rating shows the difference compared to May results. The list has a total of 35 web sites. There are 39 more in my database that didn’t meet the Alexa Rank < 100,000 requirement.
There is little movement at the top 10 positions and all the action happens in the middle and towards the end of the list. daddyodeals.com is off the list and mrcheapstuff.com is back after a record gain of 7.74% this month.
The worst loss in June comes from fishingfordeals.com (-33.24%) which brings them down by 3 positions. Another troublesome event is cheapstingybargains.com loosing ground by 4 positions after -9.72% drop in Alexa rank. This highlights the tight competition taking place close to the end of the list.
Published June 26th, 2007
in Interesting / Other.
As I mentioned earlier I was invited to a wedding party over the weekend. In fact one of the reasons we came to Ukraine this summer is this wedding party. The wedding is of my wife’s sister and it has been meant to happen long time ago (we were planning a trip last year as well) but life makes its own corrections.
Ukrainian weddings don’t usually take place in Church like in the US. During Soviet times the government assigned a special official body (abbreviated ZAGS) to register marriages and little changed ever since. I have heard that lately couples do go to the Church after official part is over but this is still not very common.
The wedding palace (ZAGS building) we went to is the central one in Kharkiv and it is very pretty. I took a picture of the front (above). The place is very busy during summer time. When we came we had to wait in line for two more couples in front of us. The whole ceremony in the palace is taking just 10-15 minutes (w/o the wait time) after which the couple usually goes to the World War II Memorial.
Here is a short story of the place which was built in memory of soldiers who fought Germans in and around Kharkiv during the World War II. It is a tradition for the couple to bring flowers and spend some time in the park. To the right, you can see them go with flowers to the eternal light burning by the Stella. That little girl behind the bride is my daughter.
From the Memorial the couple and friends go to the restaurant where they spend the rest of the day. Despite the fact that religion is not a significant part of a wedding in Ukraine, the entire event is full of rituals and culturally very distinct. Every little detail has certain meaning. For example before the couple do the “I do” part they together step on a towel and whoever touches the towel first is believed to become the head of the new family.
At the restaurant parents and guests (who didn’t go to Memorial and the Wedding Palace) meet the young couple with bread and salt and then the party begins. The entire restaurant was reserved to the wedding. Music, funny competitions, jokes, and a lot of toasts and alcohol.
Some of the close friends and relatives come to spend time with the young couple during the second day at their parents house. The entire day is spent at the table full of food and drinks. The “grand finale” was groom carrying his new parents in a small cart outside the house. I don’t know the exact meaning of this ritual but I was told the groom is supposed to overturn the cart in a puddle. ;-)
I would call this a middle-to-upper class wedding. My father-in-law runs a small manufacture in Ukraine which helps him to pay the bills (traditionally parents pay for their children wedding in Ukraine). I am sure there are more modest weddings in Ukraine but there is no question they all are a lot of fun!
Published June 26th, 2007
in Shopping Promotion.
Update: this American Express promotion has expired, click here for a similar offer from Citibank ($100 gift card after your first purchase)
I had a very rewarding week in the US before I left for Ukraine. The $250 check arrived from the Chase Freedom card promotion I participated in March. Same week I received 25,000 points (worth $250) for signing up to American Express small business credit card offer I participated in December. $500 in one week felt very rewarding! ;-)
I recently received a tip from one of my readers about another limited time promotion American Express is running this month. This time just like in December they offer 25,000 points for signing up to a Business Gold Rewards Card. This card usually has $125 annual membership fee which is waved for one year with this offer. You will need to make one purchase before the end of 2007 and the bonus will be credited to your rewards account within 6-8 weeks.
To participate, click on the image below and fill out the online application. According to the offer description the bonus 25,000 points may be redeemed for one domestic round–trip airline ticket however as I understand these are regular reward points and you can do with them whatever you like (I converted my last bonus into a $250 Home Depot gift certificate). If you participate in this offer, please write about it in the comments.
1)
1)