Lazy Saturday morning in bed

I feel so great this morning! I woke up to the sound of an incoming text message only to discover that I had slept through my noisy cell alarm! Again! Well, at least today it’s the week-end, it doesn’t matter if I oversleep :-). I smiled to myself, remembering that I don’t need to go anywhere today, I can just laze about in bed, reading, thinking, updating my blog (of course!).

So I allowed myself another hour, lying in bed, thinking. So much to think about these days! Feelings to cope with, major decisions to be taken, the amazing life itself to come to terms with!

The prospect of a possible move to Moscow sometime in the distant future, scary as it might be, does not, at least, call for a hasty decision. Moscow is the last place on this planet where I would actually consider living and working … Lots of prejudices on my part, of course, but most of them turn out to be solidly grounded. A very recent article in “The Economist” provides the reader with a shattering picture of Russia today. It’s drastic population decline, especially driven by the startling death rate which is more than twice Western Europe’s. Apparently, male life expectancy in some parts of the country is now not higher than 53!! Heart disease rate is probably the highest, everywhere, ever. Murder is 20 times more common that in Western Europe, violent deaths and suicides are higher than ever. The booze is to blame, of course, for these appalling statistics. Other factors are smoking, pollution including radioactivity and a totally inefficient and corrupt health system. Not to mention the mafia related murders which really make you wonder how safe Moscow really is.

Is Moscow the place to live in these days? Do I really want to do this … Do I really want to leave a civilised country to move to Moscow? I love Belgium and my current life … I wonder … Difficult subject for a lovely Saturday morning, eh? I will think about it tomorrow :-). It does require a level of seriousness which I don’t seem to posses today …

PS Lovely picture - courtesy my friend