Part 1: Showdown with Katya and Julia

 

Dear all,

Get ready for this one, because this update is worse than you expected or imagined! It's way beyond horrible. I'm serious! I'm finally rid of Katya now, but it took a very extreme, costly, and poetic lesson that morally speaking was beyond horrible, since I was willing to put up with almost anything for this angel faced broad. You are probably wondering why the extreme subject title for this update, but if you read til the end, you'll know why for sure!!!!! Despite the horrible, humiliating and embarrassing thing that happened, at least I definitely have material for a book or movie now, for sure! Before you read this update to the end though, please have a clean change of underwear ready, because the shock from the ending of this update will make you shit your pants!!!!! The events of this update aren't just shocking, but they unfold slowly like a puzzling detective novel. I will try to describe it all the best I can, and since there are still some unsolved mysteries and details, perhaps some of you can help me piece together the clues to help with the unanswered questions. You'll know what I mean later if you are willing to follow what happened.

 

I should have listened to you all earlier, especially to Brad and Terry, but I just had to continue on to see what would happen for both experimental purposes and curiosity purposes. But I paid a heavy and embarrassing price for it though. I also should have listened to my heart while I was with the St. Petersburg Katya and dropped all association with the Cherepovets Katya.  I know this update will be very long, probably the longest ever.  So if you want, you can skip the prelude below and get right to the nitty gritty part of the story, by scrolling down until you reach part 2, which is entitled:  ******Ok now here is where the mayhem and conspiracy begins*********  Otherwise, you can just start from here.

 

Ok let's begin now and pick up from where we left off in my last update when I was in St. Petersburg.  As you remember, in St. Petersburg I composed an ultimatum letter to Katya because I got a message saying that she would meet me in Moscow after all. I had that translated, along with an earlier letter to her that I wrote in Novgorod which contained many issues I was concerned with that I needed her to know about. I put both letters into my bag but wasn't sure how or when to give them to her. That night, I went back to the hostel, and found an Australian guy who was leaving for Moscow on the same train as me. So we went to our 1:55am train together.

 

Since I got the tickets at such short notice, there was only seating class and high class available. I had picked the cheap seating class, so I was stuck in a wagon with only seats and no bed for 12 hours. It got much worse than that though, because these two young guys in front of me wouldn't leave me alone. They acted drunk and repeated the same things over and over again and wouldn't let me read or write down information I needed. I kept yelling at them to be quiet but they wouldn't stop. So I had to change seats. It was very difficult to sleep on that train in a seat, and I don't think I slept much. The next morning, I kept hitting on the stewardess because she had nice legs and was very pretty. She played a cat and mouse game with me, but eventually she gave in and left me her phone number and home address.

 

When I got off the train, I took the bus to my hostel and settled in again. After taking a nap to catch up on sleep, and then trying to call a few friends, I decided to go to Doug and Marty's again to hang out since I had nothing else to do that day. After I sat down and ordered, I noticed a young girl sitting across the room in a big table by herself. I made eye contact with her and winked and blew her a kiss. She reciprocated and soon I indicated if she would like to come and join me. She motioned that I should go up there and join her. I nodded, grabbed my things, and went up to her table. She spoke completely fluent English, and not surprisingly, she's been all over the world, including the USA. We hung out and talked for almost 3 hours, as the place got packed. Soon, the waitstaff needed our table for the patrons, so we were moved. But this girl got a phone call and had to leave but left me her contact information. Later on, this French guy next to me and I went to mingle with the girls at the bar. But it was a typical bar scene. The hot girls were blowing off every guy who approached them, including me. What happened, I thought, since I heard that this place was supposed to have really loose girls. But perhaps they come later at night. But I could not stay here past 9pm though, since I had to get up early the next day to pick up Katya from the train station. So I left at about 9pm. I hit on this hot blonde girl outside, and she was nice but brushed me off in a seductive tone of voice that left me confused. I walked across to the big mall and looked around a bit before heading back on the metro at Kurskaya station.

 

On the way back, I bought some flowers to give Katya the next morning. I felt a little uneasy as I knew that we were at a critical turning point in our relationship and that anything could happen. I also wondered if we would really go to the ZAGS office to file for marriage or not.

 

The next morning, I went to the train station to pick her up. I had a sneaking suspicion that Julia might come with her. I was right. With Katya was Julia and Julia's boyfriend Igor, who was a "ken doll" type with no brains, personality, or sense of humor, just a tall attractive look. (Only a guy like that would put up with Julia.) We went to the administration office in my hostel, and booked a hotel room for Katya and I. It was very nice and since our bedroom was adjoined to a living room with a fold out couch, Julia and Igor settled in as well. While we were hanging out, Katya hinted numerous times that she would have wild sex with me that night and that she was looking forward to it. Since things seemed to be going well so far, I didn't feel the need to give her my ultimatum letter. It seemed out of context at the moment.

 

When Julia and Igor left for a while to go back to Igor's hostel (probably to screw or something), Katya and I were left alone. Katya took a bath and then came out and put her clothes on to get ready. As she put her makeup on, I was blown away by how hot it made her look. Ouch! She had a surreal starlet face! I wanted her badly now. Since I was in the mood, I asked if she could have sex now in the afternoon, since we were alone and it was a great time to do so. (earlier, she had sat on my lap when Julia was there, and I was turned on a lot after it) She said no because she was hungry, and that we would have sex tonight instead. She also said she couldn't have sex on an empty stomach. I said it would only take 15 minutes, but she wouldn't budge. How mean. So we went to the American restaurant, Doug and Marty's, that we went to last time we were in Moscow. When we got there, she apologized to me for being so abrupt and abrasive along the way. I told her that it was something she needed to change in time.

 

While we were there, we translated some messages between us through the waitstaff. They were embarrassing though, so I wrote them down and Katya took the notes to the waitstaff. One of the messages I translated to her was that I was still extremely disappointed about the situation a few weeks ago when she broke her promises for kissing and sex in exchange for presents I bought her. It sent me very bad signals in more ways than one, and I wanted an explanation for it. All she replied was that "Ok, do you want me to break our relationship then?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that or why she said that, so I continued to push for an explanation for the horrific behavior a few weeks ago. I could not understand any of her answers, but I could tell she was trying to avoid dealing with this. So she just said that later on, we would go to an internet cafe where she would answer my questions through the translator program. I agreed, and then I asked if she wanted to break up or continue on, and she said she wanted to keep the relationship. Afterward, when we walked outside, we looked at the huge shopping center across the street, and she suggested going in for a walk. I said no way, maybe later if we go to the cinema in there (no way did I want to be pressured into buying things again).

 

So we took the metro back to our hotel and when we got there, we were still alone, so I suggested having sex now since she no longer had an empty stomach. But she still refused, claiming now that Julia and Igor were about to come in ten minutes, and that she promised we'd have sex tonight instead. I didn't understand why we couldn't just have it now and then again tonight though (the ex-girlfriend that I lived with before would surely have agreed to that). Plus, if Julia and Igor really were coming over, I now felt a lot of regret that we used our precious private time together to go out and eat rather than satisfying our (or rather my) urges instead, which I haven't had enough of so far in our relationship. What a waste of opportunity, and I despised Katya's sense of judgment. Why couldn't she be my ex-girlfriend who always used every opportunity we had to have sex? This sucked big time. What a waste. Julia and Igor didn't even come in ten minutes. They took a lot longer, but Katya clearly was more interested in waiting for their return than in making any use of our private time together. I didn't feel good about this at all.

 

With time on our hands, we went up to the hostel office on the 10th floor, where there was a computer we could use with a translator program. Using the program, I typed up some of my concerns about her motives and habit of breaking promises and avoiding affection or intimacy with me. Since she was not familiar with the Russian keyboard and would take too long to find them, she said she would give me her answers by a hand letter and have Igor type them into the translator for me later.

 

When Julia and Igor finally came back, I realized that they probably used their time away to screw, while I got nothing out of it. They brought with them some coke and vodka bottles, so we could drink up tonight. Then Katya ordered me to go to the supermarket with her so we could get some food and snacks to go with the coke and vodka. I reluctantly went and grimaced as Katya again overindulged in her buying habits, even at the supermarket. Again, as usual she was more interested in me buying things than in trying to make me happy. When we got back, we had a feast, but since I wasn't looking to be satisfied by food at the moment, I only marginally enjoyed it all. Katya now wanted to get me drunk on vodka (whereas before she didn't) and I kept wondering if she was doing so because she hoped that I would pass out so she wouldn't have to have sex tonight as she promised. The hours got late and soon it was approaching midnight. Earlier, they talked about going to the nightclub "Roxy" but now it looked like they weren't in the mood. The whole night, we made our usual off-color amateurish inside jokes that some find very amusing, but others are turned off by. When it got late, I looked at Katya and asked if she was ready to go to bed now, but she wasn't and didn't give me any indication as to when either. She seemed like she wanted to stay up as long as possible until she could not stay awake anymore. I got the creeping feeling that she was not going to honor her promise again to have sex, even though it's been more than four weeks since we had it. When I commented on how long that is to go without sex, she said it wasn't that long. Bullshit!

 

When it was really late, Katya finally wanted to go to bed, but I could tell on her face that she did not have sex or seduction on her mind at all. She looked passive and evasive. This was not good, especially since she promised it throughout the whole day and brought my hopes up for hours. How could she do this? Even if I'm not physically attractive to her, at least she could play along with it, especially her since she's a sex fiend. Anyone could. Even I have done so in the past. I ain't repulsive, so it shouldn't have been a problem. But she didn't care about my needs, the fact that she built up my hopes throughout the whole day, or that she had a promise to keep to her boyfriend. None of that mattered to her. She had absolutely zero honor or consideration or sensitivity. When she came to our bedroom after changing pajamas, she did not even acknowledge my existence. She just went to her side of the bed, and plopped in without saying a word and went to sleep. I was both stunned with disbelief and bewildered. What the fuck is this bitch thinking?

 

Hoping to cuddle and do some foreplay with her, I snuggled up to her in bed, but while I moved toward her though, I felt her aura pushing me away and shutting me out. But when I touched her, she became agitated and shrugged me off like I was some pest. I was really fucking pissed now, bigtime. Not only did this bitch break her solemn promise throughout the day to have sex tonight, but she wouldn't even let me cuddle her either!!!!! What a worthless, conniving, good-for-nothing bitch! What is she thinking? Pissed as hell, I started cussing and shouting at her, showing her how mad I was and humiliated. I wanted her to know that what she did was totally unacceptable. It was so cold, heartless, and inconsiderate of my feelings. No relationship could tolerate this kind of treatment. This went on for a long time, but all she would do is yell "Ya splu" (meaning "I'm sleeping") and shrug me off. Finally I told her that tomorrow I would not buy her anything, not even a coke, due to her unacceptable behavior. All she said was "Ok, fine."

 

As I lay there not knowing what to do, Katya got up and went into the living room where Julia and Igor were to talk to them a bit. Apparently, she wasn't so sleepy after all. Liar as usual. I also went into their room to voice my complaints at all. Julia had a sympathetic look, but told me that she didn't understand Katya and that there was nothing she could do. When we all went back to sleep, I laid there not knowing what to do. Soon, I heard moans coming from Julia's room. They became louder and louder. Obviously Julia and Igor were satisfying their natural urges. Everyone was, except me of course. I laid there listening to their moans in the next room, feeling like the most humiliated person in the world. This was so insulting and depressing. Every couple in the world at least cuddles or snuggles when they sleep together. None of them have a no touch policy! Except me of course. How unlucky can I be? Sheesh.

 

After the moaning stopped, Julia came out and went to the bathroom for a bit. When she went back in, Katya got up and went into their room. I also stormed in with anger and fury that they were having sex so easily while I wasn't. As I voiced my anger and fury to Julia and Igor with the lights on, I decided it was time to bring out that ultimatum letter to Katya. I went to my bad and brought it out, including the long letter of issues I typed up in Novgorod too. Both Julia and Katya looked at it, but Katya only read half of each of them, tossing them aside with disinterest, not surprisingly. Julia tried to make excuses for Katya, claiming that she has some illness that makes her moody. Then she claimed that Katya had a mental disorder caused by being raped on the street as a child one time. It didn't seem genuine at all, and sounded a lot more like bullshit excuses to me. Other than that, they were both at a loss as to what to say to explain Katya's behavior. I wondered why Katya couldn't just be honest with me and tell me the truth about her behavior. If she dislikes me or is not interested, then she should say so and break off our relationship, instead of making me suffer all the time and wasting my time and money with her. Eventually, we all went back to sleep again, and Katya said that tomorrow she would answer my questions through the internet translator that I usually use.

 

The next morning, I slept in trying to forget my frustration and disappointment about last night. Katya and Julia were up and milling about. When Katya said she was hungry for food, I said I wasn't and that all I wanted was to kiss Katya's siski (tits) and f*** her pizzda (cunt). They both laughed and soon Katya got on top of me and offered to have sex now. She said that all I had to do was go to the shower and wash my genitals first. I did so, but took a full shower as well. I didn't know what to think, especially since the morning was not a good time for sex, but an awkward one. Why couldn't she have been ready yesterday afternoon or evening when I was in the mood? Sheesh. I came out not knowing if I could get aroused now that it was morning. But she was clearly ready, so I had to force arousal at least. Unfortunately, she made me wear a condom again, which took almost all the pleasure and stimulation out of it that I had been imagining all day yesterday. It was difficult to get aroused, and I could only perform minimally. With the condom on, I couldn't really climax, so I had to climax outside of her. The final moment was an intimate one at least though, since she held me tight and kissed me tenderly at the end.

 

Afterward, Katya was more giggly and upbeat toward me. The four of us got ready and then had breakfast at McDonald's. Then we rode the metro to the underground mall at the Kremlin called "Ahot Marriott". Since it was a beautiful sunny day, we did not want to be inside at the internet cafe, so we decided to do something outside. We ascended to the top where the grand Kremlin was. I wanted to go to the Armoury Museum in the Kremlin, since an American man told me that the diamond display inside it was a must see. We went to the ticket office of the Kremlin, but since it was a holiday and a Saturday, the line was way too long and neither Julia nor Katya had the patience for it. So Katya wanted to go to the amusement park again, where we went a few weeks ago. We rode a bus to it and got off. Neither Julia nor Igor was interested in the theme park rides either, only Katya was. But they still made us pay 50 roubles each to go in, which was stupid because once inside you have to pay a lot more for each ride. It made no sense to charge an admission fee when you have to pay per ride anyway. Inside, we all waited as Katya went on two different extreme rides. One of them threw them upside down and then plunged them down. As I watched and video taped her, I felt sorry for her because I would have been terrified and uncomfortable on those rides. At the end of the second ride, Katya wanted a drink now. I put my foot on the ground and said that I already bought her a lot of snacks and drinks throughout the day, and paid for two expensive amusement park rides. If she wanted something else, she should use the 700 roubles I saw in her passport and get something herself. After all, all the other Russian girls I knew here often did that rather than asking me to buy something. She refused and said that she needed the 700 roubles for the train ride home to Cherepovets. When I pointed out to her that the train ride to Cherepovets only cost 250 roubles, and that she had lots of extra spending money for snacks, Katya was at a loss for what to say and looked at Julia to fish for another excuse to use. Finally, Julia looked at me and said that Katya is very poor and needs all the money she has, because her mom gives her no money. I replied "But then who gave her the 700 roubles?" Julia paused for a bit and then said that Katya's sister Sveta gave her that. Yeah right. I smelled lying and deceit all over them. They obviously are so stingy that they can't even buy their own snacks and love to use other people's money for them.

 

Then Julia scolded me and put me on a guilt trip, claiming that it was my job as Katya's boyfriend to buy her what she needs, especially when she is hungry or thirsty. Apparently, I'm never allowed to say no to what Katya wants, no matter how many other times I've said yes that day or no matter how generous I've been that day. One "no" is unacceptable to her and makes me a terrible person. What a load of despicable bullshit. None of the other 98 Russian girls I know ever sink this low. Apparently, these two greedy vulturous girls think that they own my money and that I am their servant and that I never have any choice in what I want to buy and what I'm willing to pay for. These two are the most fucked up sleaziest people I've ever met. Because I said no just once to what Katya wanted, she looked away at me, didn't acknowledge my existence for a while, and gave me the silent treatment. She tried to make me feel like a horrible person for saying no to something, but apparently she forgot that I just spent 200 roubles for her first ride there, and 80 roubles for the second ride. Apparently, that didn't matter and didn't count now, and they were forgotten, all because I said no to something else she wanted now. How unfair can you get?

 

I walked to look at a space shuttle open for tours inside, but changed my mind when I saw the price. Eventually, I bought myself some tea and snacks and got Katya a drink as well, hoping to change her sour face, which it did slightly. When we left the amusement park, we went back to Ahot Marriott and went to the internet cafe inside. There, Katya dictated the letter she wrote by hand to me, while Igor typed it up in Russian into the translator (at <http://translation2.paralink.com/)>. When they were done, I clicked the "Translate" button and this is what appeared (I saved it by copying and pasting it to an email to myself, to show you all later for analysis):

 

"I wanted, that you trusted me completely. Those people which speak about me poorly and speak, that I treat you negatively, they are not right and I envy we. If you think, that do not think of you while I am in Cherepovets it not so. I very much miss on you when you it is far. I have complex(difficult) character. I think, that you can change it(him) in due course. Concerning sex: I want to tell you, that right at the beginning of our attitudes(relations) I not so trusted you. I was afraid, that you use me and, not having married on me, uedite to America. Concerning illness: I have female illness mochevyvodjashchih ways which at some moments causes me inconveniences and discomfort."

 

(When I showed it to Brad, by the way, he said it sounded like bullshit and that just as he predicted, she tried to shift the blame on to me.) I wasn't sure whether to believe any of it though, because it sounded like lame excuses and since Katya has already had a history of lying and breaking promises in the short time I've known her, all of this letter could very well be the same. Even the first sentence sounded deceptive. Why would she expect me to trust her completely, given her pattern of lies and broken promises? Trust is not a free gift. You have to earn it by keeping your promises and commitments, and proving that you can be trusted.  Also, why would she think that after having sex with her, I would run back to America and leave her?  She knows that I have a set flight schedule and that my intentions are serious.  It makes no sense at all.

 

I typed that up to her and a number of messages into the translator as well. Since I was taking too long, Julia said that the three of them wanted to go to Igor's hostel now and that when I finished, I could send it to Julia's email and Katya would read it from there. Then they would meet me back in my hotel room at 11pm. I didn't understand why they or Katya couldn't stay behind with me, but they insisted on going because Katya was curious to see what Igor's hostel looked like. And I couldn't come either since Igor could only have two guests at a time (which I later found out was bullshit). All these girls could do was lie. There is a degrading Russian phrase that Julia taught me that goes like this "Pizzdeesh ish kadish chasta" which means "You lie as much as you breathe..." Well both Julia and Katya obviously are living examples of that phrase. So they left while I typed up the rest of my long letter to Katya. As I did so, I had a sick depressing feeling in my stomach. What kind of a stupid ass damn relationship is this, I thought? No relationship has dumb ass issues as the kind that me and Katya are dealing with. I don't know why, but I just had a sick gut feeling about it all. It felt like nothing but trouble and disaster were on the horizon for us.

 

When I was done, I took the last metro back to my hotel stop at Prospect Mira. Inside, they were already there (who knows if they really went to Igor's hostel or not). We watched some musicals as I video taped them singing and sitting (if you get a chance to see the tape, Katya looks as hot as hell on it and you can clearly see why I would put up with so much from her in a mindless trance). When I brought it up to Julia and Igor that it was not fair that they were sleeping in our hotel without paying a portion of the bill, Julia, the stingy taker from hell, refused to offer anything and said that they didn't need to sleep here, but that Katya wanted them too.

 

Later, Katya asked me to get her some coke and snickers and apple, so I went out in the middle of the night and did. Although Katya had promised that we would have sex again earlier that day, I wasn't going to count on it and get frustrated as well again. I already learned that you can't believe a single thing she says (what a great relationship huh?). So I asked if she would be willing to cuddle with me tonight, but she reluctantly said "maybe". That night, all she would let me do was put my arm around her waist on the OUTSIDE of her blanket, not on the inside of it like normal couples do! This was nothing since my arm could only be extended in such a position for so long. Katya, such a hopeless romantic!

 

The next morning on Sunday, we decided to move hotels. Julia said that the large hotel complex, Izmailove shosse, had good rooms for the same cheap price as this room, and was much closer to Igor's hostel. I knew about that hotel complex before since I found it during my research before when I was looking for hotels for me and Natasha E a few months ago. It is a complex of three hotel buildings, Alpha, Delta, and Gamma, and was reputed to be inexpensive and large. It sounded interesting to me, so I agreed and wanted to try it out. Plus, I was hoping the room would only be enough for Katya and I so that Julia and Igor could leave and let us have our privacy. So we checked out and rode the metro to the Izmailove shosse hotel complex (easily enough, it was located at the Izmailove shosse park metro station).  Along the way in the metro, this guy in a suit with dark hair kept hitting on Katya and whispering in her ear.  I became annoyed but Julia said that he was just trying to help us settle in the new hotel since he lived there too.  Yeah right.  I also saw Katya punch in his phone numbers into the memory of her mobile phone.  When we got off the station, he continued to follow us for a while before he finally left to his hotel.  Afterward, I asked about him and Julia said that Katya won't really call him and that he was a Georgian man and that Georgian men were bad and untrustworthy.

 

First, we went to the Alpha building of the complex, where Julia is familiar with.  They had rooms for 1100 roubles a night, which was cheap for Moscow.  But as I was about to pay for one, Katya asked about something, and then they changed their mind and left.  I asked what the problem was, but as usual, they left me out of the loop of things (thanks a lot).  But I think Katya was complaining because there wasn't a fold out couch in the room for Julia and Igor (how romantic of Katya to require that).  So we headed toward the Delta building.  Along the way, a lady stopped us and told Julia that she worked for the Gamma building and that today there was a special rate of 700 roubles.  So we followed the lady to the Gamma building where she was one of the administrators.  (Incidentally, the Gamma building is connected to the Delta one by a walkway anyway.)  The special Sunday rate required that I pay for a second night at regular price, so I did.  After settling in, Igor left us to go to a class (on a Sunday, I know).  Then we went to eat at the hotel cafe, which had really good food.  After the meal, Julia said that Katya broke one of her contact lens the day before and needed a new one or else she couldn't see very well in one eye, so she needed to go to an Optica to get a replacement and of course, needed me to buy it for her.  So we went down to the reception area and asked the staff where an Optica was that was within walking distance. 

 

After getting instructions, we went outside with our umbrellas since it was raining.  We walked to the Optica, but it was closed.  So we headed back.  On the way back, we stepped through many puddles and got our shoes and pants wet. 

 

(continued in part 2, where the mayhem and conspiracy begins)

 

******Ok now here is where the mayhem and conspiracy begins*********

 

 

Part 2: Conspiracy against Winston

 

When we returned to the hotel lobby, Julia and Katya headed to a clothing store in the lobby plaza.  Inside, Katya had the clerk bring out some pairs of socks.  I tried walking away but Julia told me to go back to the counter because Katya needed new socks.  I asked why and Julia said that out in the rain we had walked through many puddles and Katya's socks were now wet and so she needed new ones in order to go anywhere else today.  I asked if Katya brought any spare socks, but Julia said no. (which was a total lie because later on when I looked through Katya's clothing bag, I saw at least one extra pair of socks!)  The clerk said they were a little over 100 roubles a pair, I think.  I got mad and said that it was a bad habit to make every little excuse possible to get me to buy something for her all the time.  It wasn't just about throwing away another 100 roubles, but this time, it was also about putting a stop to a bad habit.  You don't need to buy something new for every stupid little occurrence.  Therefore, I said no.  The clerk looked insulted and said goodbye to me.  Then she said something that I couldn't understand but I could tell that it was an insult to me.  So whatever it was, I just repeated it back to her.  On the way out, I yelled "You're so fucking rude.  In America, you'd be fired!"  Julia looked at me and said that it wasn't polite to yell at her like that, but I replied that she was totally rude to insult me for not buying something or complying with my girl's demands.  She had no right to do that, and it was totally improper for a customer service person to do that.

 

Back in the hotel room, Katya changed into sandals while we sat around deciding what to do next.  I suggested going to a cinema or disco later.  Julia said that Katya couldn't go anywhere without new socks, and that I had to go down and buy a new pair for her or else we were stuck here.  She gave me Katya's wet socks to examine, but they were only a little wet, not that much.  After being pressured by both of them and being put on a guilt trip, I agreed to go out to the metro tunnel shops to look for some cheap replacement socks.  Julia and Katya followed me down too, so they could walk around the hotel plaza and explore around.  I went outside into the rain and walked around looking for the metro station or any outside shops, but I couldn't find any and it was too cold to browse around and my feet were tired too.  So I started walking back to the hotel plaza to get the new pair at the clothing store inside.  Along the way back, it suddenly hit me.  Katya's problem was easy to solve!  All she had to do was what I always did after hand washing my clothes in my hotel.  What you commonly do is put the wet socks over the heating grate or bathroom heating pipe, and socks usually dry within 30 minutes.  So all Katya had to do was put them there and wait 30 minutes and they would be completely dry!  Bingo!  Why didn't I think of it before?  (obviously because with two beautiful girls pressuring you, you can't really think clearly)  Duh!  And furthermore, if the solution was so easy, why the hell did Julia and Katya make it so mandatory that I buy new socks for Katya?  It didn't make any frickin sense and gave me more bad vibes about them in my gut feeling.

 

So I went up to the hotel room to place Katya's socks on the heating grate or pipe, but I found that they were already hanging over the heating pipe in the bathroom, along with her boots.  So they had already thought of that before me, I realized.  Why the hell then did I need to buy new socks?  These girls have such greedy warped logic, I can't believe it.  I then went back down to the hotel plaza to look for them and tell them that I had the solution to the problem.  When I found them, they were sitting at a coffee table near an espresso stand with a tall older man.  He spoke English so he greeted me and asked me to sit down.  When I did, I told Julia that I had already solved the socks problem, and that there was nothing to worry about, but neither she nor Katya looked impressed.  The man at the table introduced himself as Yanis, a man from Yugoslavia.  He asked me why I was unwilling to buy a new pair of socks for my girlfriend Katya.  I explained that I had already solved the problem to that and that it was a bad habit to look for excuses to make me buy new things anyway.  After all, I don't appreciate feeling like a bank and I do not want every day to be like a forced shopping spree.  And besides, on top of that, it was my money and I had a right to choose how or whether I wanted to spend it.  I then explained the simple solution to Katya's wet socks problem, but neither of the girls looked very thrilled about it.  All they did was try to make me look like a bad person and put me on a guilt trip.

 

Katya and Julia went up to the room and Yanis told me to stay put.  We had a short talk and I mentioned that it perplexed me how some Russian people seem to know nothing about the basic concepts of economics.  I mentioned that some of them think that money has an infinite nominal value that will never reach zero, when in reality, it is always finite and there is always a zero point, even if you're rich.  Yanis acknowledged my point and mentioned that Russians don't tend to think about the future or have any long term planning skills.  They just live for the moment, and if it means spending all their money in one day, then so be it.  What a warped form of logic for an intelligent culture, I thought.  But I wasn't going to follow along with it and lose all my money.  Hell no.  Besides, I mentioned to him, I know about a hundred Russian girls and NONE of them beside Julia and Katya ask me to buy things for them.  And when I offer to buy them things, most of the time they refuse the offer anyway. (Obvious since most Russian women have self-respect while Julia and Katya had absolutely none at all)  Besides, it wasn't fair that no matter how generous I am to Katya or Julia, if I ever say no to anything, then I am treated like a bad stingy person who ought to feel guilty for not complying with their wishes.  Apparently, any "no" that I give invalidates any other generous acts that I have done that day.  Just saying "no" once to any little thing makes them lose all appreciation for any generosity given to them that day.  Not only was that warped logic on their part, but very sick and disgusting of their mentality as well.  Inside, they seemed so depraved and sickening to me now, like inside their beautiful bodies, they were nothing but sewer filth.  They were no better than vultures and leeches, not respecting anyone including themselves, and with a never ending appetite for money and gifts.  I couldn't believe it.  How did I get stuck with people like this, especially since NONE of the many Russian women I know are like this?

 

When the girls returned, Katya was wearing her boots again.  She took them off and showed me her new socks and said that Yanis was generous enough to have bought it for her.  Then Yanis invited us to another table and asked if we wanted anything to drink.  Katya ordered a coffee, while me and Julia shared a coke.  Yanis then invited Katya to a nearby table to smoke together and discuss something.  When we were finished, Julia told me to pay for it.  It turned out to be expensive, 60 roubles (about $2) for the coffee and 40 roubles for the coke.  I was pissed.  What a ripoff, even for American prices.  Yanis invited us here to drink, so why wasn't he paying for it, I thought?  Then Igor came back and Julia said she needed my room for an hour.  So they went to the security man and registered to use my room for a while.  Then they both went up to screw around in my room while Yanis, Katya and I stayed in the lobby sitting around a table.  I was pissed again.  I voiced my frustration in front of Katya and Yanis about why Julia and Igor always wanted to screw each other while Katya never wanted to screw me and instead just make me spend money.  It was so infuriating.  Yanis translated everything I said to Katya and then he said to me "Katya does like sex, just not with you."  Aha, I thought.  Now she admits it.  Now I can pin her real motives and be done with her.  I asked her if she loved me or wanted to get married, and she said no.  She said, "No love.  No marriage.  No ZAGS (marriage registration office)."  Then I asked why she never wanted to have sex with me and if I wasn't beautiful or attractive to her or something.  She admitted that she did not find me beautiful after all (despite her claims to the contrary the last two months; that lying bitch).  That hurt, but finally I could be done with her now and move on and stop wasting time and money on this lying leech with no self-respect.  Then Yanis told me to wait here while he had a private talk with Katya.  He said they would be right back and then he took her somewhere out of view, but I saw them headed for the elevator hall. 

 

While I waited and wandered about the plaza, I soon felt anxious about how long they'd been gone.  What were they doing or talking about, I wondered.  I wondered if he took her into his hotel room and paid her for sex or something.  I asked some people sitting around the huge lobby area where they were, and they pointed toward another elevator hall, but it wasn't the same one that I saw them walk toward before.  This one led to the Delta building.  Perhaps they came back down while I was walking around and went another way, I thought.  The witnesses in the lobby said that it was where they last saw the man with my blonde girlfriend.  They had been gone about 40 minutes now, and I didn't know what the hell they were up to or what to do.  I even went up to my room for a while and told Julia and Igor (who were relaxing after sex) that Katya went off with Yanis and were missing, and what Katya had confessed to me.  Julia looked sympathetic and said that she didn't know what to do.  When I went back down to wait some more.

 

Finally, Yanis came back down and approached me.  I asked him, "Where the hell were you?  Did you pay my girlfriend and have sex with her or something?"  He replied, "No, why would I do that to your girlfriend?"  Then he told me that everything was alright now and that he had some good news for me.  Perplexed, I asked what possibly could be good news for me right now, especially concerning Katya?  He said that everything was ok and that he promised that Katya would sleep with me tonight and have sex with me.  I asked why and what he did or said to her.  He said not to worry about it and that he understood how these kind of girls worked and how to pull their strings, and that if I just trusted and listened to him, everything would work out.  He would help me because he understood Russian mentality while I didn't.  This was the plan he relayed to me. 

 

First, tonight we would all go to a disco together.  I wouldn't have to worry about money because he would pay for everything.  He was a rich man, he said, and owned a firm in Germany where he currently lives, so money was not an issue for him at all.  He had more than he could spend.  After the disco, he would have Katya go to my room to have sex with me, while Julia would go to his room and have sex with him.  He had it all arranged and that all I had to do with trust him and go along and all would happen as he predicted.  He acted very sure of himself and what he said.  Surprised, I then said "Oh no, it's not that easy with Julia.  I know her, especially from last summer.  Unless you are really attractive to her, she will only have sex with you for several hundred dollars."  He replied that he would give her 100 dollars as a present and that all would be ok and happen as planned.  Then I asked "What about Julia's boyfriend Igor?"  He said that after the disco, Igor will go to his home and not to worry about him, and that I shouldn't mention any of this to Igor.  All this sounded great, but since this man had the immorality of planning to have sex with someone else's girlfriend whom he just met, I wondered if I should even trust him myself.  But he gave me hope now after a depressing day, and although I felt skeptical, I wanted to believe him so bad that I was willing to go along in case what he predicted came true.  If it did, then I would be happy and have good news to write about later, and be thankful that we met him.  I wasn't sure if this man was a blessing or a curse.

 

Yanis said that when Katya, Julia and Igor came down, we would all go to the cafe in the hotel and have dinner before going to the disco.  It would all be on him.  I could order anything I want.  He was filthy rich and money was never an issue for him.  But first though, he wanted me to do something and take a leap of faith in trusting him.  He wanted me to withdraw 200 dollars with my ATM card and give it to Katya.  What the hell for, I asked, if I wanted a prostitute I could have one in Russia for 10 or 12 dollars an hour!  Yanis replied that if I gave her 200 dollars, Katya would give it back to me later on.  I didn't believe him and said that a greedy person with zero self-respect like Katya would never give back 200 dollars that was given to her.  He gave me his guarantee on it and said that if she didn't, he would reimburse me personally.  Confused, I asked him how he knew this and why I had to do this.  He said that I didn't understand Russian women, and that for them, it is about control.  He explained that Katya did not really want my money, and that for her it was a control issue.  If I show her that I am willing to give her 200 dollars, then she would be grateful to me for the generosity and leap of faith, and return my money.  It would elevate her impression of me, he said, and she'd finally be willing to sleep with me and have sex with me tonight for taking such a bold leap of faith.  But, I protested, you saw earlier when Katya admitted that she didn't love me and didn't find me attractive and didn't want to marry me anymore.  So why would she sleep with me and have sex with me.  Yanis replied, "Don't worry.  I had a talk with her and she told me that she does really love you, but that she sees you as being too stingy sometimes so it turns her off.  That is why she said those things earlier."  It all sounded fishy to me, but Yanis talked like he was completely confident he knew what he was saying.  You just had to believe him.

 

So when they all came down, we headed for the cafe and had dinner.  During the dinner, Yanis told me that he would go with me and Katya tomorrow to the ZAGS office to register for marriage, and that since he knew people in high places, he could waive the normal 32 day waiting period for the marriage and make it only 6 days.  He married a Russian woman before himself in 6 days since he had these connections.  But he was divorced now and his only explanation for it was that his Russian wife wanted to move to Israel while he didn't.  Furthermore, he said that he could also take me to the OVIR office and extend my Russian visa one more month or for as many months as I wanted.  I wouldn't have to go to Latvia to extend it at the Russian embassy there, he said.  He had connections and could get around it.  I said that my travel agency as well as several hostel staff told me that they tried extending visas at OVIR before but that it was impossible and the only way to do it was to leave the country to get a new visa at a Russian embassy, and then come back.  But Yanis said it was unnecessary and he promised he would extend it for me through his connections.  It would be a piece of cake and he would take care of everything, he said.  Wow, I thought.  This man must be a miracle worker.  First, he fixes things up between me and my girlfriend and gets her to agree to sleep with me.  Then he has the power to waive the marriage waiting period and can extend my visa without me having to leave the country?  I must be very lucky to have met such a man who can do these miracles, I thought.  Perhaps this man is a blessing from God!

 

Near the end of dinner, he said that it was time for me to get the 200 dollars to give to Katya now.  If I just trusted him and do what he said, all would go as planned.  He guaranteed it.  He looked at Katya and said "200 dollars, ok?" and Katya nodded and said ok.  So we both left the table and went to the ATM machine nearby in the hotel plaza.  The machine only let me withdraw 100 dollars at a time, and strangely enough, didn't even ask me how much I wanted to withdraw or tell me how much was coming out.  It just said "Sorry, you can only withdraw .....(blank).... at a time" and then stuck out a one hundred dollar bill.  I have never seen such a strange ATM machine before.  So I did the process twice and had 200 dollars cash in hand.  As we walked back to the cafe, I said "But will Katya have sex with me without a condom this time?  The condom takes all the pleasure out of sex and I can't peform in it."  He said not to worry about it and not to even speak to Katya about it, and that she will have sex with me without a condom tonight for sure.  So we returned to the cafe and sat back down.  Yanis told me to give her the cash now.  Nervously, I took out the 200 dollars cash from my money belt and put it on Katya's lap.  She took it from my hand and put it in her purse.  I wondered if it was gone for good.

 

When we were finished with dinner and the check came, I saw that it was over 1000 roubles (over $30).  Yanis took it and asked if I was paying or if he was paying.  I looked at him and said "I thought you said dinner would be on you?"  He laughed and said "Of course.  I was just joking." (yeah right, that should have been a red flag to me right there)  So he paid the bill and we all left.  Yanis said that we would go to the disco now and that we should go up to our rooms to change.  He waited in the lobby while the four of us went up to the hotel room.  As soon as we got in the room, Katya opened her purse and gave me back the 200 dollars cash, saying "Winston.  No money."  I was stunned.  Yanis was right after all.  How did he know she would give me the 200 dollars back?  Did he tell her to give it back to me?  If so, why?  And how is he able to control what Katya and Julia does?  What powers does he have that I don't have?  Perhaps he is some miracle worker after all?  I was truly stunned, not knowing what to think.

 

We went back down to the lobby to meet up with Yanis again.  Then we all went out in front of the hotel and as we walked in the cold night, Yanis held Katya by the waist and said to me "Why aren't you holding her to keep her warm like this?"  I replied "I usually want to, but Katya often doesn't like it when I touch her." but since it seemed ok, I did so this time.  Yanis hailed a taxi and when it arrived, he got in the front while the four of us all squished in the back.  We were going to some African American disco club, he said.  Along the way, we stopped at a mini-mart as Yanis went in and bought cigarettes for Katya and Igor (the only ones in our group who smoked).  When I asked if Yanis wanted to be reimbursed for Katya's cigarettes, he said no and that it was little money to him.  Then he muttered something to everyone and told me that because I offered to do so, I was looking more beautiful to Katya now.  We arrived and got out but I didn't even see Yanis pay the cab driver.  Inside, after giving out jackets and coats to the usual dressing room staff (common in Russian restaurants, discos, and cafes), we each were scanned with a metal detector by security.  When they got to me, the bouncer pointed to my shoes and said something in Russian.  I couldn't understand him, so Yanis came over.  Yanis took the bouncer aside and whispered something in ear.  Then I think I saw him bribe him, but I wasn't sure.  When he came back, I asked what happened, and he said that the bouncer said that my black tennis shoes were not acceptable in this place, but it was alright now because he bribed him for me.  I felt bad that Yanis was spending money to bribe people to let me in, but to him it seemed like nothing, since he was filthy rich, he claimed.  We went into the African theme disco place but it was sparsely populated with few people.  We all sat down at a table and Yanis spoiled us all with any drink we wanted.  The drinks there were all pricey, but Yanis acted like it was nothing for him and that we should just drink to our heart's content.  He got vodka for me twice, even though I agreed to only drink one glass.  When he tried to make me drink a third glass, I began to wonder if he wanted to get me drunk or impair my judgment or something.  He apologized and said that he wouldn't make me drink so much of it.

 

While we were sitting and drinking, Yanis asked to see my passport so he could check a few things about extending my visa.  After showing it to him, he then fingered around inside my money belt.  I didn't like it and thought it was odd that he was asking about every item in there, but since he was rich and everything he predicted had come true so far, and seemed to have special powers in controlling Katya and Julia, I felt like I could trust him and that he was my friend.  He asked me questions about my ATM card and credit cards, such as how much I had in my bank account and how much I could withdraw at a time.  I told him what he wanted to know to the best of my knowledge, thinking that it was ok as long as he doesn't take my ATM card or asks me for the pin number to it.  But for a rich man, he sure was acting very unusually curious about my finances and what was in my money belt.  I let him poke around, as long as he didn't take anything.  But he was prying his fingers around in my money belt like some awfully curious cat.  At one point, he told me to take Katya's hand.  When I did so, Katya became infuriated and yelled at me with a menacing face.  I asked Yanis what happened and he said that I just startled her, that's all.  Still, for someone who is about to sleep with me tonight, she sure was acting awfully strange for some reason.  All I saw were a few wicked smiles from her.

 

Since there were only a few people dancing tonight, no one felt like hitting the dance floor.  So they decided to relocate to another disco club.  Before we left, Yanis said that he had already splurged almost all the cash in his wallet and asked if he could borrow some from me and that he would pay me back later.  All I had in roubles was about 1500, so I gave it to him, thinking that such a rich man would surely give it back to me.  So we left and Yanis hailed a cab to take us to another nightclub.  Again, I didn't see him pay the driver, but whatever he paid must have been a lot since there were so many people in the car and night prices tend to be higher.  But he was spending like he was rich and I felt so poor compared to him.  We arrived at a nightclub that had an entrance fee, and he quickly paid the fee for all of us.  Inside, he ordered drinks and food for all of us, including Katya and Julia's usual olive plate.  This time, he ordered this drink with coffee beans inside that the waitress light on fire first.  I never saw it before but it smelled good and strong, and I can't describe the taste, but the aroma was fascinating and strong.  Someone there told me that there were coffee beans in it though.  This time, Yanis left for a long time and I wondered where he went or what he was up.  Katya said he might have gone to the ATM machine.  When he came back, he said something to Katya and as she got up, he told me to go dance with her.  I did so, and later Yanis joined us.  He seemed to have a thing for Katya though, since while he danced he put his crotch close to Katya's ass and then to the other side of it.  Normally, I wouldn't have liked that, but I let him do it since he was about to do so many wonderful things for us and was helping me out big time.  Still, for someone who planned to fuck Julia that night since he wanted her badly, he seemed a lot more interested in my girlfriend Katya than in Julia.  I thought that he had to, since Julia's boyfriend was there and he didn't know about our plan.

 

After a while, we went back to the table and Yanis said everyone wanted to call it a night.  When the check came, Yanis gave it to me and said that he was out of cash and that if I could pay with my credit card, he would reimburse me tomorrow on top of the 1500 roubles he already owes me.  I said ok, and he said that he now owed me about 3000 roubles, which was about a hundred dollars.  Before we left, Yanis and I went to the restroom together.  Inside, he hinted to me that he needed the 200 dollars cash that Katya returned to me, to give to Julia as a present for having sex with him tonight.  I understood what he was signaling to me, so since he had already gained my trust, I gave it to him.  He now said he would give me back 100+200=300 dollars tomorrow, when he would meet up with us to take us to ZAGS and OVIR.

 

Outside, he hailed a cab to take us back to the hotel.  Since Julia usually likes to sleep with Igor every night, I wondered how Yanis was going to separate them tonight and get Igor to be ok with allowing Julia to stay at the hotel tonight, without making him suspicious.  But Yanis told me earlier that it would be ok and that he found a way to do it and that Igor would go home tonight.  When we arrived, we all got out except for Igor.  Yanis told the driver to take Igor back to his hostel and Igor gave no problem or protest about it.  I was amazed again.  How did he arrange this so that Igor let Julia stay here without becoming suspicious?  It didn't make sense.  How was Yanis accomplishing this?

 

Inside the hotel lobby, it was quiet and the time was a little past 2:30am now.  Yanis told Julia and Katya to sit down at a table in the lobby, and then took me aside to talk to me.  I was feeling really buzzed from the vodka and open to suggestion.  He told me that Julia now decided that she wanted 500 dollars to screw him, so he needed me to withdraw another 300 dollars for him, so everything could go as planned.  First, I said "I told you so.  Julia usually will only have sex for at least 400 dollars.  That's the price she quoted me last summer.  I told you so."  Then I asked him, "But why don't you use your own ATM card or credit card and take out the money yourself from the machine?"  He took out his wallet and showed me a row of ATM and credit cards.  He said that the German banks are closed now and wouldn't even allow clients to withdraw cash from ATM machines.  I thought that was strange since ATM machines are 24 hours and operate regardless of whether the bank is open or not.  So I protested and asked him to try to withdraw some cash using his own cards.  He reluctantly did so and inserted a card, but selected Russian so that I couldn't understand anything on the screen.  The he entered his pin number and then selected another button.  The machine threw out his card and the screen flashed "Invalid action."  It looked awfully suspicious to me since it didn't say anything about his bank being closed.  But he insisted that that was how German banks operated and that there was no way he could access his money until tomorrow morning.  He said that if I wanted some collateral to guarantee that he will pay me back tomorrow, he would be willing to leave me his passport and he gave me his room number, 1422 Delta building, as well. 

 

Somehow, I didn't believe him, but I still went along with it anyway, since my hormones were anxious to do it with Katya the natural way without a condom finally, and since Yanis was so rich, it wouldn't make sense for him to scam me out of money.  So I tried to withdraw the 300 dollars, but the machine said that since I already withdrew 200 dollars earlier, I had already reached my limit for the day.  Then I tried using some of my credit cards, but I did not have the pin number for them since I never use them to withdraw cash at ATM machines due to the high service charge from the credit card companies.  I kept trying anyway, at Yanis' insistence, but to no avail.  I suggested we try some other ATM machines in the hotel plaza or go to the lobbies in the other two building complexes.  We did so and the result was the same.  Either there was an error message, or it said that my limit for the day had been reached.  There was nothing we could do.  During the ATM mayhem, Julia and Katya watched us at a distance from their table and began to look tired and sleepy.  Oh no, I thought.  I hope their fatigue doesn't ruin our plans for sex tonight.  Eventually, Yanis went to them and when they told him how tired they were, he told them to wait for us in the room upstairs.

 

Yanis looked very frustrated and insisted that I keep trying.  I kept telling him there was nothing else I could do, but he seemed obsessed with getting the 300 dollars now, and I wondered if his hormones were controlling him, or if he just wanted to scam me for money.  (But thanks to the mercy of the Lord, I wasn't able to get another 300 dollars for him that night.)  After a while, Yanis finally gave up in frustration.  He said he would try to bargain with Julia with the 200 dollars to try to get something at least.  He told me that Katya was waiting for me in my room now and to go up there.  I did so and went up to my room, but no one was there.  So I came back down to Yanis again and found him using the phone in the lobby.  I told him that Katya wasn't in my room, and he gave me the phone and said I could speak to her about it.  I asked where the hell she was, and he said she was in Julia's room.  What the hell, I asked.  He said that Igor must have paid for an extra room for Julia earlier and that Katya went to her room now instead of mine.  Frustrated, I took the phone and asked Katya what was going on.  She told me that she was staying in Julia's room and refused to come back to my room.  What the fuck is going on, I wondered.  What about our plan?  Had something gone wrong?  And furthermore, why should I have paid for a hotel room for me and Katya if she's not even going to sleep there?  What a waste of money and what an inconsiderate bitch she is!  Frustrated, I gave the phone back to Yanis and he talked to them and then hung up.  He said they were both crazy and unpredictable and that he didn't know what had gone wrong.  He told me to go up to my room now and he would have Katya come to me in 10 minutes.  How, I asked.  He said not to worry and to just go.  I then asked him where Julia's room was and he said in room 1008, a few doors down from mine on the same floor which was 1014. 

 

So I went up to my floor and went to room 1008.  I knocked on the door and Katya asked who it was, and I said it was me.  Reluctantly, she opened the door and asked what I wanted.  I asked why she didn't come to my room, and she said that she wanted to stay and sleep in Julia's room tonight.  I asked to talk to Julia so she let me in.  When I came in, I found that Julia had pajamas on while Katya was almost naked except for some thin bikini underwear and bra. (keep that detail in mind because it's an important clue for later!)  I asked Julia what the hell was going on, but she just replied that Katya chose to sleep here tonight and that it was her choice, not Julia's.  Then I asked how the hell she got this room, and she said that Igor paid for it earlier.  I asked why he would do that, and she said that he wanted to take advantage of the special rate today and give Julia a place to sleep so he could study tonight.  Then, I wondered, why didn't they use this room to have sex instead of mine earlier?  I was pissed and told Julia that she had no right to take my girlfriend out of my room and ought to order her back home.  Not knowing what to do, I picked up the phone in the room to call Yanis to ask what to do now.  But I couldn't find a way to dial his room number.  I pleaded with Julia to trust Yanis and accept 200 dollars from him now, because he would give her the 300 dollars tomorrow since he was so rich.  But Julia refused, claiming "No.  I love Igor too much to do that."  Then Katya started yelling at me angrily to go back to my room because she wanted to sleep now.  When I refused to go back without her, Katya threatened to call security on me, then went out into the hall almost naked and demanded that I leave now.  Since the hall was monitored by video cameras, I feared that the security staff might see this scene with a naked girl in the hallway and come up.  So I reluctantly went out and went down to the lobby again to try to find Yanis.  When I got back down, Yanis was no longer there, so I tried to call him using the lobby phone.  Following the instructions near the phone, I called Delta room 1422.  A guy who sounded like Yanis answered finally, and didn't acknowledge whether he was Yanis or not, but unveiled his frustration at being woken up by my call.  He seemed to acknowledge that he was Yanis, but did not behave as though we just parted earlier.  And he did not acknowledge that he knew who I was either.  It was strange, but I didn't think it was him.  So I apologized and then tried to call room 1422 in the other two buildings, but no one answered the phone in either one.  Now I began to get a creeping feeling that Yanis lied about his room number, which meant that something fishy was going on and I might not even get the 300 dollars he promised to pay me back tomorrow, and that I might not even see him again tomorrow.  This was not good.  But why would a man who was filthy rich want to deceive me and not pay me back my money, which he said was little money to him?

 

Not having anything else to do, I walked back to my empty room.  Where was Yanis, I wondered.  And what about his claim that Katya would be in my room in ten minutes?  What was he doing to make that happen?  Would he call me?  Eventually, the phone rang and I picked it up.  It was Yanis.  He said he didn't know why Julia and Katya were acting this way and why things were not going according to plan.  He said they were both crazy, but not to worry about it because he would fix everything tomorrow.  He told me to go to sleep now, and that he would meet me tomorrow at 11am to pay me back my money and take me and Katya to ZAGS and OVIR.  Then I asked what his room number was since I tried to call it earlier.  He said 1422 Alpha building.  I exclaimed, "But you told me earlier it was 1422 Delta!"  He apologized and said "Oh, my mistake.  I mean 1422 Delta."  How the hell could he forget which building complex he was in, I wondered.  This was not good and I began to smell something fishy.  I told him that I tried to call earlier but that it was either the wrong number or no one answered the phone.  I asked if I could call him back now to make sure he was in the room number he said.  But he refused, saying that it wasn't necessary and that he would not lie to me and that he was my friend.  I did not like this, but there was nothing I could do since he was safe from me in some room somewhere and there was no way I could verify where he was now.  Once he hung up the phone, he was gone for good.  I reluctantly said goodbye and told him to call me tomorrow at 11am so I could come meet him in the lobby.  He agreed and told me to go to sleep now.  Having nothing else to do, I did so.

 

 

Part 3: Revolting Discovery, “Smoking Gun” found!

 

The next morning, I woke up depressed and disappointed about last night.  Then the door opened and Katya came in with a towel around her torso.  She used our room key to come in without knocking.  She came in and happily said "Winston, hello!  Come next door to Julia's room please!"  What the hell could she want, I wondered, especially after a tense disappointing night yesterday.  I said I'd be there in five minutes after I got dressed.  Then I went to their room and knocked.  Katya opened the door and let me in.  Then she said that they were hungry and that we should go to breakfast soon.  Yeah right, I thought.  First they disappoint the hell out of me last night, then Katya just abandons me to sleep alone in a room I paid for for no purpose, and now they can just use me to buy them breakfast just like that?  No apology or explanation for treating me like total shit last night?  How stupid or insensitive are these girls?!?!?!?!?  Besides, we have much bigger issues to discuss now than food!  So I said no, but before I left, I noticed something peculiar in the room.  I saw an empty box of condoms on the counter.  When I asked Julia about it, she was reluctant to explain how it got there.  When I kept pushing for an explanation, eventually she said that it was her and Igor's box of condoms.  Then I said, "But you both had sex in my room yesterday, not in this room!"  Fishing around for an explanation, Julia said that they used the box of condoms while having sex in my room yesterday, then afterward when they moved to this room, they brought the box with them.  But why would she bring an empty box of condoms from my room to this one, I wondered.  And when exactly did she and Igor move to this room after having sex in my room?  I couldn't see the time frame that this could have happened in.  And furthermore, if they had this room together yesterday, why did they need to use my room?  I knew for certain that this bitch was lying through her teeth.  Then I remembered another inconsistency with something she said a few days ago, so I mentioned it to her too, saying "Also Julia, you told me two days ago (while defending Katya's insistence on using a condom) that you and Igor used condoms for sex during the first month of your relationship, and then stopped using them after that.  So why would you have used a condom last night then?"  Julia sighed and offered no explanation for all these inconsistencies.  Obviously she was hiding something.  I knew for certain that she was a rotten liar now, and that I could never trust her again, for anything.  She had zero credibility to me now.  But I wasn't sure what was going on either, so I just left the issue for now.  I just knew that I had a really bad gut feeling. 

 

I also noticed that on the hotel brochure on their counter, there was written in pencil a mobile telephone number (you know this because in Russia, they all start with a number 8, and this one had a 910 after it which was a standard mobile number code in Russia).  I wasn't sure, but it looked like it was written in Julia or Katya's handwriting.  The number was 89104535018 (for all you detective sleuths or if you just want to call and cuss this man out, but if you do, tell me what happens).  I asked Julia about it and at first she said it was Yanis' mobile number.  Then she quickly retracted it and said it was the number of some guy she met yesterday in the hotel and had sex with him.  "Oh and you give sex to guys you just met for free huh?  Especially after you try to charge me 400 dollars to have sex with you last summer!"  When I tried to question her about it further, she changed her story again and said that she doesn't know who's phone number it was, and that it was written on the hotel brochure here by the prior occupants of this room before them.  Yeah right.  What a stupid dumbass explanation, I thought.  How stupid does she think I am?  Thinking that it was probably Yanis' mobile number, I picked up the phone in the room to try to call him about when we would meet today and when I would get my money back.  A lady answered the phone, and couldn't speak English, but I had the feeling that it was the hotel operator telling me that I couldn't dial a mobile number from the room (Russia is like that, I've been through it many times before, you can't dial a mobile number from a lot of phones, it's stupid I know, but it's a complicated issue there).  Frustrated, I went back to my room to wait for Yanis' call since it was 11am now.  But Julia said that Yanis called them this morning and said he would meet them today at 7pm since he had to work today.

 

I waited in my room but got no call.  So I went down to the hotel lobby to see if he was there, but he wasn't.  Then I came back to my room and waited.  While I waited, Katya and Julia stormed in and told me they were very hungry now and demanded I take them to breakfast at the usual cafe downstairs.  I firmly said no because I was very unhappy about last night, and told them that if they want me to be generous and pay for things for them, they got to make me happy somehow, and last night they did the opposite.  They completely neglected me, forgot about me, treated me like shit, and showed not the slightest consideration for my needs and feelings.  And on top of it, left some suspicious clues this morning that they still wouldn't explain.  I didn't even get an apology from them.  No way was I going to let them use me like a dishrag to serve their needs.  After arguing for a while, they became very angry and Julia claimed that taking them to breakfast was a simple thing that I was obligated to them for their basic survival needs, not a gift they had to earn from me.  I repeated my no, and said they had better do something to make me happy first since I was totally unhappy about last night.  Suddenly, in extreme anger and with strength I never knew she had, Katya grabbed my arm while I was laying on my bed and hurled me across the room to the door.  Shocked by the strength that she mustered (perhaps she got her inhuman strength from Satan. lol) by being able to throw me out of a lying down position, I went back to my bed and laid back down.  Finally, in frustration and anger, they both yelled "Fuck you!" to me and began to storm out the door.  Along the way, Katya kicked my luggage hard like the true bitch she was.  I was glad to see her true colors, but it was scary seeing her violent side as well.  She seemed like a street girl now, who was willing to kick my ass if I pissed her off more.

 

Soon they came back and tried to argue with me some more, pleading with me in frustration.  I told them that Katya could pay for their breakfast with her 700 roubles, but they insisted that it was my obligation and that I had to keep it.  Finally, I agreed but I would only buy Katya breakfast, and not Julia, since she let Katya leave my room to go to her's last night, leaving me alone without sex or company as we all planned.  Reluctantly, they went down with me, but then changed their minds and came back up.  Katya said that she wasn't going to eat breakfast without Julia getting some food too, and since they were close girlfriends, they would stick to each other.  After further arguing and cussing, I finally agreed to order something for Julia, but only cheap soup and that would be it.  After they agreed, since it was almost noon (checkout time), they had to vacate their secret room which was only paid for for one night.  So they went to their room to move their stuff over to my room.  As they did so, I followed them and for some strange reason I still don't understand, I took the empty box of condoms with me as a souvenir.  Somehow, I had the strange inclination to do so (I later found out why, read on).  I also took the brochure with the unknown mobile number written in pencil with me as well.  If it was Yanis' number and he never showed up today, I would try to call him about it, I thought.  I put the empty box of condoms and hotel brochure into my luggage.  Then we headed downstairs for the cafe.

 

Along the way, I got Julia and Katya to admit that they loved money.  They confessed it and said they couldn't help themselves.  When we sat down at the cafe and ordered, Julia and Katya took the comfortable couch on one side of the table, while expecting me to take one of the chairs on the other side.  Instead, I sat down on their couch next to Katya.  She told me to get up and take one of the chairs.  But I refused, claiming that I wanted to sit close and intimate to my girlfriend, since we had no quality time together last night like we were supposed to.  It's the least she could do.  But the three of us crammed together on the couch was not comfortable to Katya so she insisted that I get up.  I refused and insisted that Julia get up and take one of the chairs.  Julia refused and said she was more comfortable on the couch.  So what?  I was more comfortable on the couch too!  I didn't care at this point, since I had absolutely no respect for either of these slimy filthy bitches, so I did not pay attention in the slightest to what they wanted.  They were completely inconsiderate toward me the last few days and therefore deserved no consideration from me either.  After arguing about this for a while, Katya suddenly got up, grabbed my arm again and threw me from the table, with the same inhuman strength again.  She then gave me my camera bag and with my back turned, she shoved me forward out of the cafe.  Two men with dark hair in the table next to us watched in amusement.  I turned around and said goodbye to Katya.  She replied "Goodbye!" 

 

I walked away into the plaza wondering if they would come chasing after me, since without me they would have to pay for their breakfast themselves, and their history has shown that they couldn't and wouldn't ever pay for anything themselves.  Julia was completely broke and Katya would have to use the majority of her 700 roubles that I saw to pay for it.  Surprisingly, they didn't come out after me, so I left them for a while and walked around, trying to figure out what to do and how to handle these two.  After almost an hour, I walked back to the cafe to see what they were up to now.  When I did so, the two dark haired men from the next table had joined them.  "Oh so they swindled these two men into paying for their meal or something" I thought.  But Julia and Katya were only drinking something, not eating, while the two men were finishing their plates.  I had no idea if they had already eaten or not.  The two men looked at me and invited me to sit down.  I did so, and they both introduced themselves as from Italy.  I made quick small talk and then joked that perhaps Julia and Katya want to go to Italy with them. (so I could be rid of these bitches)  Then I left to leave them all at wherever they were.  When I glanced back in a while later, Katya was smoking at the bar and talking to this short blonde haired guy.  I could tell that the blonde guy wsa really into her and trying to impress her.  What a fool, I thought.  If only he knew the real her.  Feeling a tad bit jealous, I went up to them and asked the guy (who was obviously a foreigner too judging from his accent and speaking manner toward her) if he needed some translation help in talking to Katya.  Katya left and went back to the table and the guy was frustrated with me and asked what the problem was.  I replied "Nothing.  I just asked if you needed translation help in talking to her, since she's my girlfriend and I've known her for a long time."  The guy replied "I don't believe she is your girlfriend."  I said "Buddy, look at her right hand.  She has my engagement ring that I bought her.  And if you want, I have many photos of us I can bring down to show you."  He said it was ok and was unnecessary.  Then I left and went to the hotel photo center to pick up the photos I dropped off the day before.  I did so, and sorted them out to give Katya her copy of all the photos we took the last few days.  As I headed to the cafe, I suddenly saw Julia and Katya walk out and head toward the elevator hall.  They were laughing about something and walked like two arrogant stuck up bitches, with a movie star goddess aura around them (it's hard to explain).  I admired them from afar and thought that it was too bad we were enemies now, since they looked as hot as hell.  Every guy sitting in the lobby wanted them.

 

I went back to the cafe and found the blonde guy again.  He told me he was from Poland.  I showed him the photos I just developed of all of us.  When he saw one of Julia showing her sexy ass with Katya bending over her and showing her breasts, he became excited and asked if I could print an extra copy of that one for him.  I agreed and went with his friend to the photo center to drop off the film to print one copy from it.  Before I left, I said to the Polish guy "Hey, maybe you want to take my girlfriend out for a while and feed her so she doesn't come and bother me about it?  That way, I can be rid of her for a while.  She's a real pain in the ass."  When I came back, Katya was back in the cafe and sitting with the Polish guy at the table again.  I went up to Katya and gave her her copy of all our photos the last few days.  They all turned out great.  She took them happily.  Then I asked Katya what her plan was today, and since the Polish guy spoke some Russian, he translated and asked her for me.  She said that she wanted to hang around the hotel until Julia came back at 8pm.  The Polish guy, Steven I think, said he would only talk to Katya for ten minutes longer before she came back to my room.  Yeah right, I thought.

 

(Read on for the solution to the jigsaw puzzle!)

 

I left them and headed back to my room and sat on my bed to think about what to do now.  I was in a messy situation with two depraved bitches, and the longer I hung out with them, the more trouble would happen.  They give me nothing but anger and pain and frustration.  It was all just one disaster after another waiting to happen.  Suddenly, I felt the inclination to open my luggage and look at the empty box of condoms again.  There was something about it that disturbed me subconsciously.  I wasn't sure why, but there was.  I took it out and examined it.  As I did so, I noticed something peculiar.  There were no Russian words anywhere on the box.  It was all in German except at the bottom where it said in English that it was made by a London company.  Well that's odd, I thought.  Usually almost every product bought in Russia has at least some Russian on it, even if it's an American product.  Suddenly it hit me.  The box was all in German.  Yanis told me yesterday that although he was Yugoslav, he lives in Germany now!  Oh my gosh!!!!!!  It all started to make sense now, what happened last night.  All the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle started to fit together now.  I saw the whole picture.  It made sense now.  Now I knew the truth, but it made me disgusted and sick in the stomach.  I couldn't believe it.  What kind of people were they, Julia, Katya, and Yanis???!!!!!  The box of condoms in German obviously belonged to Yanis.  He must have went into Julia and Katya's room last night without my knowledge!  Since they were a box of condoms, he must have screwed one of them.  And since Katya was naked last night when I went into their room while Julia had pajamas on, he probably screwed Katya!!!!!!!!  I knew this because in the two times Katya had sex with me before, she got naked first in preparation for sex.  Otherwise, if she was about to go to sleep, she usually put her pajamas on.  Also, throughout the night, Yanis seemed a lot more interested and focused on Katya than Julia.  Remembering more details, I realized that the reason Yanis called me last night after our planned failed to tell me to go to sleep, was because he was probably about to come up to go to their room and didn't want me to come out and see him in the hall!!!!!  Yanis lied to me about the whole thing.  I WAS SET UP!!!!!!!!!  This man whom I thought was my friend, swindled me out of money so he could use it to have sex with my own girlfriend.  And worse of all, my own girlfriend conspired and cooperated with him in all this!!!!!  HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!  HOLY SHIT!!!!!!  OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

 

Then, after he screwed Katya, he must have left them his mobile phone number on that hotel brochure!  That explained it all!  And when he took Katya away for a while in the afternoon the previous day, he must have arranged and paid for the secret room of theirs during that time, to prepare to use it to screw them later on.  So Yanis must have paid for the mystery room, not Igor!  And to get Katya to have sex with him, he must have used the 200 dollars he borrowed from me to pay her for it! (he did not have an attractive face, but rather a shady look, not normally someone that Katya would be attracted to)  Thank God I wasn't able to give him 300 more dollars like he wanted!  And he must have instructed Katya prior during their secret talk to give me back the 200 dollars I would give her later, so that he could set me up and give her more later, like 500 dollars perhaps!  The 200 dollar return must have been a set up to make me trust anything this guy says since what he predicted came true, so that later I would trust him with 500 dollars!  That must have been the scam or scheme!  The give and return 200 dollar set-up worked and did its job into fooling me into trusting him more later on!  This guy was so clever and despicable at the same time!  I felt so foolish, stupid, and embarrassed at the same time!  And furthermore, how could Katya have cooperated with this?  Surely she knew by being instructed to give me back the 200 dollars that I was being set up for something.  And surely she must have known that something fishy was going on when she saw me and Yanis trying to withdraw my money out of the ATM machine last night.  Why would she let it happen and not warn me about it?  She can't even be my friend if she cooperated with this scheme and let it happen without warning me!  Same goes for Julia too!  No true friend would have let that happen! 

 

How am I going to explain this to people, I thought.  How am I going to explain that MY OWN GIRLFRIEND HELPED A MAN WE JUST MET TO ATTEMPT TO SWINDLE 500 DOLLARS FROM ME, SO HE COULD HAVE SEX WITH HER USING MY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!???????????  How do I explain such a despicable thing?  I never imagined things would ever sink that low.  Never!  I knew that Katya was not a good girl and that she could cause me trouble, but I never expected this!  This was BEYOND HORRIBLE!  It was totally heinous, disgusting, and tasteless, devoid of all decency!  But in a way, I was glad this happened.  This incident showed me what kind of people Katya and Julia really were, and why I should not waste any more precious time or energy with them.  It was better I found this out now than waste more time or money with them.  Therefore, I thanked God for this lesson, and also thanked him that this lesson only costed me 200-300 dollars rather than 500 dollars as they planned.  The Lord must have been merciful, I thought, to not allow them to take 500 dollars as planned.  200 dollars was a bad loss, but not one that would ruin me.  500 dollars on the other hand, would have hurt real bad.

 

Still, how could this have happened?  Normally, it is impossible to fool or scam me out of money!  Why didn't I see this coming?  How could I have been so gullible?  There were several obvious reasons.  First, this guy Yanis was a very clever con artist.  He used tricks I wasn't familiar with and couldn't recognize.  He also played on my frustrated emotions and hopes regarding Katya, and used them to his advantage.  He also played on Katya's greed and probably promised her a sum of money for cooperating, and flattered her by buying her the socks she wanted and expensive drinks at the disco.  He was also a good actor and liar and knew how to say the right things.  I wanted to believe his promises badly, and he promised so many wonderful things.  And furthermore, he behaved and spent like a wealthy person who had no incentive to trick me or not repay my money.  On top of that, his 200 dollar give/return scheme to gain my trust worked too.  Oh and since I had a few glasses of vodka, my judgment was somewhat impaired as well.  His only mistake of course, was in leaving the empty box of condoms on the counter after he left, which led me to discover the whole scheme. (perhaps he did so because as I mentioned before, I was meant to discover this whole thing so that I would learn a hard lesson about what kind of people Katya and Julia were, so I would know not to waste any more time with them.) Therefore, although I may look gullible and foolish from the outside where you're sitting and reading this, you gotta understand that on the inside there were so many forces at work, that all contributed to me getting swindled.

 

Still, there are a few unanswered questions, and those of you who are good detective sleuths might be able to help me figure it out.  What was Yanis' plan exactly?  If he had gotten the 500 dollars he wanted from me, was he going to give both Julia and Katya 250 dollars each to screw both of them?  Was he going to give it all to Julia to screw her, but when the plan failed, only Katya would accept 200 dollars for sex?  Was he going to use half of it to screw Katya and keep the other half to reimburse himself for the expenses he incurred that night?  Or was he planning to keep our plan and his word to me, giving Julia 250 dollars for sex, and Katya the other 250 dollars so that she would go to my room and have sex with me?  Perhaps since he only had 200 dollars on hand, he couldn't make Katya have sex with me, so he got what he could out of it and used it to screw her instead?  Or did he have another plan with them that I didn't figure out?  Perhaps I only scratched the outskirts of his real plan?  I'm not sure.  What do you all think?

 

Also, some of this doesn't make sense anyway.  I mean, what was his motivation here.  If his motivation was to scam money out of me, why do it in such a risky manner?  I mean during the night and the set up phase, he spent a lot of money to make me think that he was rich.  What if he overestimated my trust and I had refused to give him the 200 dollars that I gave him?  Then he would have lost 100-200 dollars for nothing.  It would have been too risky of a plan to depend on.  And if his motivation was to have sex with Julia and Katya, then why didn't he just take them to a secret room somewhere on his own without my knowledge, without all the con games he played with me?  Why involve me as a factor and rely on swindling me?  And finally, why the need to swindle me anyway if he was as rich as he said?  He had a lot of cash on him, and a lot of credit cards in his wallet.  So he didn't seem poor, so why did he need to do that to me?  It doesn't make a lot of sense.  Perhaps he wasn't so rich and needed my money to have sex with them?  I don't know.  What do you all think?  Am I missing anything else that's obvious here?

 

Now let's move on with the story.  In any case, I decided that what Julia and Katya did were unforgivable.  I had already put up with a lot of greediness, lying, and broken promises from them (believe me, you don't know the full list of it!).  But helping another man to steal money from me so he could have sex with them was unforgivable.  No one, not even the kindest person in the world, not even Mother Teresa, would forgive such an act.  These girls can't even be my real friends, because no true friend would do that to each other.  I was willing to tolerate a lot from Katya, including abuse, lies, greediness, even threats of physical harm.  But this was way too much.  It was unpardonable.  No one in the world would forgive such an act of robbery and infidelity in one.  Just thinking about it is grotesque enough to make you sick.  No, I had decided that after I leave them here, I never want to see either of them, Julia or Katya, ever again.  Now, at this point, I had to decide how to deal with them before being rid of them for good.  I suspected that Katya probably had my 200 dollars in her purse, which might explain how she was able to pay for her breakfast on her own.  I wondered how I could even the score.  I thought about it and came up with two strategies:

 

1)  I could try to hang around her and wait for an opportunity when she left her purse unguarded.  Then I could open it and fish around for the 200 dollars.  If I found it, I would pocket it, go up to my room to get my luggage, and escape from the hotel to the train station.  Then I'd get tickets, head for Cherepovets to get the rest of my luggage, and leave from there to Latvia, and never see them again.  However, this strategy was too risky for a number of reasons.  First, Katya almost never left her purse unguarded or unattended.  Second, even if I got away with the plan, Katya and Julia might realize what happened, and Julia could find a way to contact her parents to tell them to not let me have my luggage because I had stolen money from Katya.  Plus, I would also risk physical violence from Katya if caught.

 

2)  The second strategy was to go to the hotel security, tell them this whole story, and hope that they would detain Katya, get my money from her purse and give it to me.  However, without evidence to prove that it was my money, it would be difficult for them to do this based on my word alone.

 

Since she wasn't around and since I had to do something, I thought that I would try the second option for now and see what happens.  So I went down to the hotel security and used my electronic translator to tell them that I had been robbed.  They understood some of my story but not all of it.  So they took me to a room and had different staff members called in to see who could understand English fluently.  Finally, they found a lady who could speak English well and she came in and listened to my story and how I came to my conclusions.  While I was trying to identify Katya by showing the staff video footage from my camcorder, I also took out the declaration of marriage document from my folder, which had her full name on it.  When the security staff looked at it, they chuckled at me, saying "You want to marry this girl?"  I felt embarrassed as I realized they were now thinking "This girl who helped rob you that you want us to arrest, is someone you're supposed to marry?????"

 

During the discussion, I had the staff check the computers in the office to find out who registered and paid for the secret room 1008 last night.  Their records showed that the room was registered under Katya Buchkina.  Darn, I thought.  This Yanis must have covered his bases well, not even registering the room under his name, so there would be no trace of him.  I figured that during the 40-50 minutes that he talked to Katya privately, he must have paid for an extra room under her name.  After hearing the whole story, the English speaking staff lady finally told me that although she believed me, she was sorry but that there was nothing they could do for me.  She explained that even if they detain Katya when they see her and find 200 dollars in her purse, she would just say that it was hers.  Without any proof, it would be my word against hers and they couldn't do anything about it or take anything from her.  These are common principles of justice, she said, and were true all over the world, even in Russia.  Regarding Yanis, she said that without his last name or room number, they could not find him, and even if they could, I had no proof against him either.  She said that since I had willingly given him my money without force, even if they had caught it on camera, it wouldn't do any good since I had voluntarily given him the money.  She said that although she personally believed my story of what happened, there was nothing she could legally do about it.  She said that I made a stupid mistake and should learn from it next time.  Feeling dejected, I walked out of the office slowly.  With nothing else to do, I went to the hair salon to get a haircut.  Afterward, I went to the cafe to see if Katya was there, and sure enough she was with that Polish guy.  They were sitting and talking while he was trying to impress her with some stories about him.  When they saw me, Katya invited me to sit down.  When I did, she asked if I wanted anything to eat, maybe some soup, because she would buy it for me.  (gee I wonder how she is now suddenly able to afford to buy me food?! could it be because she has an extra 200 dollars now?)  All I wanted was coke and fries though.  She went up to order it for me, then when the Polish guy said he had to go to work, she followed him out and said she would be back in a few minutes.  After I finished my coke and fries, she didn't come back for a while, so I left, not knowing if she would come back or not.  I went to the nearby metro station to buy a phone card and use the payphone to make some calls to my other Russian friends and girlfriends.  I felt depressed and wanted to know that there were some good people in this world who cared about me.  I made a few calls at the metro pay phones, letting people know about my status and that I have a huge story to tell them about later.  Before I left, I also called Yanis' supposed mobile number on the hotel brochure I kept.  A man who sounded like him answered the phone in Russian (he did not have a distinct voice, so it was difficult to distinguish his voice).  I immediately said "Yanis?  Is that you?  Why did you steal my money and fuck my girlfriend?"  The man muttered something in Russian in a tone that said "I don't know what you're talking about" and then he hung up the phone.  I headed back to the hotel, bracing myself for whatever shit happens next.  I couldn't wait to get out of this jam and go back to a normal world of nice people again. 

 

When I got back to my hotel room, I was shocked to see Katya's purse and things on the counter.  There was also a red rose, which the Polish guy must have bought for her.  She was taking a bath in the bathroom.  Her purse was sitting on the counter unattended.  Now's my chance, I thought!  Feeling nervous and anxious, I slowly unzipped the side pocket of her purse, where she usually keeps her passport with what money she had in it.  Fearing what I would find, and fearing that Katya would come out of the bathroom at any second, I stopped and closed back the zipper.  I wasn't gutsy enough to risk it.  So I went up to the bathroom door and knocked.  Katya said to wait a second.  Then she opened the door with her hair wrapped in a towel, and said a happy friendly hello to me.  Is this girl psycho, I wondered?  Doesn't she know that we're enemies now?  I played along and said I missed her and that the guy she hung out with all day made me feel jealous.  She sat next to me on the couch and put her arm around my neck, cuddling my face into her neck and shoulders saying "You're such a baby".  Then she said she was hungry and wanted to go eat.  I said ok and she started getting dressed. 

 

Just to see what would happen, I said "I love you" to her.  She repeated it back to me and gave me a quick peck on the mouth.  What is this girl thinking?  I then told her that tomorrow I had to go back to Cherepovets to get my luggage from Julia's home and then go to Latvia before my visa expired. (and so I would never have to see either of them again!)  She said it was a good idea and wanted to go to Cherepovets at the same time as me (oh no!).  She said that tomorrow we should go buy the train tickets together (so I could pay for them for her of course).  Then I asked if she still wanted to file for marriage at ZAGS tomorrow, and she said yes.  I said that we could just file with no obligation, and at the end of the 32 day waiting period, we could decide whether to go through with it or not.  She agreed.  Then, as she got dressed, she danced around to the music video that was on.  It looked sexy so I asked if I could tape it, and she said ok.  Afterward, I wanted to whisper something in her ear, but she misunderstood and came to kiss me on the mouth instead.  I told her to give me her ear again, so she did.  Then I whispered, "Maybe you'll have sex with me without a condom this time, for 100 dollars today?" and she said "Maybe."  I wanted to be the last one during this trip to fuck her, and also to fuck her one last time before I dump her for good, and if this was the only way, then so be it.  She ought to be treated for what she is. 

 

Then, just before we left to go eat, I thanked her for buying me the snack earlier, and said that I was willing to bet 10 dollars that she had 200 dollars in her purse.  She paused a bit, and then asked me what I was talking about.  I said that I theorized that Yanis must have given her my 200 dollars last night to have sex with her, since his box of condoms were in her room and she was naked when I came in.  She paused for a while, looking shocked at what I said.  Then she said that I was crazy, that she had no 200 dollars in her purse, and that she didn't have sex with Yanis yesterday.  I asked her to explain the box of condoms in German in her room then.  She couldn't offer any explanation, just that I was wrong in my conclusions.  So I challenged her and said that I'd bet her 10 dollars right now that she had 200 dollars in her purse.  She opened her purse, took out a few things including her passport, looked through them and said "No 200 dollars!  See?!"  I said "Give me the rest of your purse then so I can look through it myself."  She said no and that I was crazy.  When I insisted, she grabbed my shoulders, looked me squarely in the eye and said "Winston, me and Yanis no sex!"  The least I could say is that she was a convincing liar at least.  After all, why not?  She's probably had a lot of practice at it.

 

We went down to the cafe in the hotel plaza.  There, I showed her the video footage of her on the rides at the amusement park a few days ago, communicating with her through my electronic translator.  We seemed to be getting along well for once.  Then suddenly she got up to go somewhere, and when she returned, she brought Julia and Igor.  Oh no, I thought.  They are nothing but a recipe for trouble.  I was irritated that Julia ruined our romantic moment.  But Katya didn't seem to care.  They sat down and started making their usual tasteless jokes again.  I was annoyed that I couldn't talk to Katya privately without Julia hearing and telling Katya what to say to me.  When I whispered into Katya's ear again about the offer of 100 dollars for sex, Julia heard it and immediately told Katya to demand 200 dollars from me.  As usual, Katya mindlessly parroted everything Julia told her.  I was pissed now.  Julia was supposed to be my close friend, yet everything she did the last few days worked against me.  She was clearly not on my side or helping me in any way, but trying her best to help take as much from my finances as possible, even going so far as using deceit and manipulation.  Why would a friend want me to lose as much money as possible?  And furthermore, I had already lost about 300 dollars due to Yanis' scam.  Had Julia no sympathy to try to ease my loss and suffering?  Also, Yanis probably gave the 200 dollars cash I gave him to Katya anyway, so Katya already had a considerable sum of cash (for her needs anyway) and didn't need much more.  Julia was clearly no friend of mine.  I began to get annoyed with her and treated her like a pest.  Who needed someone like her who's goal was to drain as much money from me as possible?  Why should such an enemy be sitting at my table?  I started scolding Julia for her attempts to make Katya take more money from me. 

 

I argued that since Yanis already gave Katya 200 dollars last night for sex, she doesn't need much more, and besides I ought to get a discount since I'm her boyfriend.  Julia looked a little surprised when I said that, then denied that any of that happened.  So I began summarizing the evidence that led me to this conclusion and discovery, including the empty box of condoms in German, the fact that Katya was naked when I saw her in the second room, and the fact that Yanis called me shortly afterward to tell me to go to sleep.  As expected, Julia denied it all, claiming that Katya was naked because her usual pajamas were "faded" (what the hell, I know) but offered no explanation for the empty box of condoms in German.  I continued to push for an explanation for it, but Julia would offer none (she was nailed by this key piece of evidence and she knew it obviously!).  At one point during the argument, Julia and Katya went out to the ladies room together for a few minutes.  When they returned, the argument and negotiation for sex for money with Katya resumed.  This time though, Katya was willing to let me examine all the contents of her purse.  Yeah right.  She just went to the restroom with Julia a while ago, out of my presence, so she had ample time to pass her 200 dollars (whether in dollars or exchanged for roubles already) to Julia.  I'm not stupid!  Knowing that I would find nothing, I examined the contents of her purse, knowing full well that if she had the 200 dollars, she probably already passed it to Julia when they went to the restroom together.

 

Later, in a moment of poetic truth, one time when I asked Julia, "Look, Yanis was in your room last night, right?" she actually said "Yes" but then quickly retracted it and denied it.  I don't know if the honest side got the best of her for a brief second before she came to her evil senses, or if she accidentally said yes. lol  I also got Julia to admit that she didn't think I was beautiful or attractive, and therefore she felt that without money, I was useless to her and Katya.  Well, you bitch, why didn't you say so before and show your true colors, so that I could have seen you for what you were and been rid of you long ago?  Why have you always told me that I was a beautiful man to you and that you found me attractive?  What was the point of that?

 

Julia continued to tell Katya what to say to me.  She even told her to tell me that Katya's normal rate is 400 dollars, and so 200 dollars was a discount already.  What a shady manipulative bitch!  Soon it got ugly between us.  It became a yelling contest between Julia and I.  And of course, Katya took Julia's side since evil likes to help evil.  Julia continued to claim that I was such a bad person because I was stingy and greedy (for saying no to things), and because I only wanted sex from Katya while never buying her any presents (which she knew was a bald faced lie).  I was so appalled that I did not know whether to laugh or slap this bitch.  After all the taking from me that she and Katya have done, they had absolutely no right at all to call me greedy.  I wasn't the one constantly asking people to buy me things or give me money for stupid favors.  They were, so how could I be greedy?  How could she not call herself greedy too, for having a never ending appetite for taking other people's money and draining their finances to indulge her every appetite?  What a frickin hypocrite, and she knew it too!  So why the hell is she trying to make me out to be bad and greedy, just because I won't let them take all my money?  What fucking moronic logic is this?  Are these girls from another universe or dimension where everything works the opposite of this universe?  I had absolutely no respect for Julia now, not even as a human being.  She was a pest, a leech, and an insect to swap dead.  She had no soul, no dignity, no heart, no nothing inside.  Inside, she was nothing but sewer filth, and deserved to be treated as such.  And I showed it in the way I talked to her.  I even told her harshly that she definitely was on her way to hell and in a way was already there due to the horrific state of her soul.  Then I said that she probably ascended from there, because no human being could be as depraved as she was.  All she did in response to this was laugh wickedly.  At one point, I showed her what I saw in her heart and how greedy she looked to me by imitating a greedy depraved gremlin.  Everyone found the imitation so funny that they broke out laughing, and Julia even laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes. 

 

As I continued telling her the truth about herself, eventually Julia got so angry that she raised her hand to hit me and threatened to throw her drinking glass at me.  Never in my life have I ever met people so devoid of dignity, self-respect, conscience, or basic human feelings.  I couldn't believe it.  These people obviously had no dignity or conscience at all.  After what they did, there was no remorse or regret at all on their faces.  Just wicked laughter.  Totally revolting.

 

Another appalling thing was that Julia's boyfriend Igor was there watching all this.  He knew what kind of person Julia was and the things she was saying and doing.  He even heard me claim that Julia had a plan last night to have sex with Yanis for money, yet he didn't care and wasn't the slightest bit suspicious about it.  He didn't care.  And he showed no expression or emotion about it.  Any normal guy would have been appalled if his girlfriend behaved the way Julia did and said the things she did.  This was obviously no normal guy.  He was stoic most of the time, and when he spoke, he sounded kind of retarded.  He was probably an empty shell inside himself.  Perfect for Julia.  Fortunately for him though, Julia never seemed to try to squeeze money or gifts out of him, at least not in front of me.  It seemed that she loved him and cared about him, so he was exempt from her "leeching behavior".  On the other hand, she must not give a shit about me, since she found it acceptable to drain all the money she could out of me without any consideration for my needs or feelings.  She was clearly my enemy, not friend.

 

And besides all this, she had absolutely no conscience or remorse in lying about everything.  At times, she would lie every minute.  The list of things she and Katya had lied about the last few days was so long and plentiful that it could fill many pages.  I wouldn't even begin to try to list them.  She never saw it as wrong.  Both she and Katya were obviously professionals at it though, since when they lied, they always looked you straight in the eye.  That's what a good liar does to look convincing.  Most people who lie look away from you and fidget, because they know it's wrong inside.  But not these two girls.  To them, lying was a normal function, like breathing.  Although they are both professional liars, the problem was that they lied too often.  When you lie occassionally, you can get away with it if you are careful not to get discovered.  But when you lie 20 to 30 times a day like these girls did, then it doesn't matter how good of a liar you are, because people soon discover many of the lies.  No liar, no matter how good, could get away with lying about so many things.  This is a basic fact, and one that Julia and Katya were too stupid to take into consideration.  Or perhaps they knew it and didn't care, since they already knew that they were just about through with me since they could not control me or squeeze money out of me anymore, so they just wanted to use me for whatever wicked entertainment they could.

 

(On a side note regarding lying, I have noticed a main difference in the way women lie vs. the way men lie.  Women are more likely to lie impulsively about little things.  And they are more convincing liars since they are naturally better actors and can look honest on their face when they lie.  However, the problem is that they are also terrible at keeping the facts in their lies and stories consistent.  That's where you can catch them easily.  They are horrible at covering up their lies after they tell them.  They don't put their fake facts in the proper places to avoid inconsistencies.  I've noticed this about almost every female who's lied to me.  I don't know why.  Men on the other hand, lie less impulsively and are more picky about what they lie about.  They are not naturally as good actors as women are, and often look away from you or fidget nervously when lying.  But they are better at making their stories and lies consistent though, so that discrepancies aren't so apparent.  I've noticed this pattern about women and men throughout all my life.)

 

I now realized that I was dealing with a total sociopath.  I had always heard about them, but never met one until now.  (According to psychology and sociology textbooks, sociopaths are natural manipulators without any conscience or remorse in their actions.  In fact, lab experiments have found that sociopaths do not respond to behavior conditioning with rewards and punishments, simply because they are not influenced by punishment.  Unlike most people, they do not feel any anxiety when they are about to do something wrong or dangerous.  The causes of such sociopathic behavior remain controversial though.  In fact, some textbooks even postulate that most of our US Presidents throughout history have been sociopaths, because they can act in their own self-interest and lobbyist agendas, even by sacrificing other people's lives, without remorse.  And they are able to not be personally affected by what the public says and thinks of them.)  This explained why the manipulation techniques that a guy on my list told me to enact on her didn't work.  (He told me to use her like a dishrag the way she used me, by not buying her things unless she complies with my wishes)  Sociopaths couldn't be manipulated because they don't have the emotions that you can play on or tap.  In fact, they're immune to manipulation.  Katya simply doesn't feel and doesn't care, so she's immune to my counter-manipulation or bargaining.  That is why in a battle of wills against her, which I'm used to winning against others, I seem to be losing.  I had never been involved with a sociopath before, so I wasn't sure how to deal with them.  After all, how do you deal with someone who doesn't even seem human? (It also explains why Katya loves extreme roller coaster rides so much, because they are the only thing that stimulate her low arousal level which sociopaths typically have.)  Likewise, Yanis is likely to be a sociopath as well for obvious reasons, but not Julia because you could at least see in her eyes that she had somewhat of a heart.

 

Eventually, Katya agreed to have unprotected sex for 100 dollars.  But she wanted it now.  I said I didn't have it and would have to get it later at an ATM machine.  But she couldn't wait.  She grabbed my shirt with her hands like she was about to beat me up, and began pulling on it.  She menacingly said "Give me the 100 dollars now!"  You should have been there.  The look on her face was scary.  Her eyes looked monstrous and demonic, despite her surreal angelic face.  Her voice also became more coarse and rough and aggressive.  There was obviously total depravity in her heart.  Her gaze at me reminded me of the scene from the movie "The Exorcist" where the possessed little girl spits at the minister and yells with full venom "F*** you!  F*** you!"  It is considered a scary scene in the movie, and one that I was reminded of now as Katya yelled at me and threatened me with evil eyes and a rough aggressive voice, while pulling on my shirt.  To be honest, it sent a chill down my spine.  How did I get myself into this, I wondered.  At one point, she even grabbed my arm and threw me from the couch again.

 

To test her power over me, she even did the same thing above while she demanded from me a mere 30 roubles to buy a coke.  When I gave it to her, she put it in her purse and didn't even use it to buy the coke.  Then she repeated the process, grabbing my shirt and yelling "Give me 50 roubles now!"  I wasn't sure if she was joking or serious or what.  Who does she think she is?  Is she playing some game or testing her powers over me or something?  I looked at her with pity.  She must be totally depraved and in a state of inner hell.  When it didn't work this time, she gave up.  It was clear now that she didn't care what impression she made on me anymore.  I wanted to withdraw the 100 dollars to give her for one last screw, but I felt uneasy about it because of the way she was threatening me.  It was a total turnoff.  I moved to the ATM machine to get the money, but I felt uneasy and wanted to make sure Julia wasn't around.  I wanted the deal to be between me and Katya (who was willing to accept 100 dollars), without Julia's interference or influence.  However, every time I checked around, I saw Julia and Igor sitting somewhere and waiting.  I think they were waiting for Katya to be finished so they could take her away to Igor's home with them.  But I wanted them to leave for good, so I hesitated.  Eventually, Katya became frustrated and went up to our floor with Julia.

 

When they left, a large group of guys with dark hair in the lobby that had been watching us the last few days looked at me and signaled to me how sexy those two girls were.  I told them that those girls were "ochen ochen ochen suka" which means "big big big bitches!" and that I hated them.  They were amused by it all and began to sympathize with me.  By the way, these guys claimed they were from Israel, but Julia told me earlier that they were Georgian or Armenian, so I don't know what they really are, just that it was nice to have their support in this tense ugly situation.  I went to the ATM, withdrew the 100 dollars, and then went up to my floor.  I found Julia and Katya huddled in the corner of the hallway talking to each other.  Two of the Israeli/Georgian guys were on the floor too.  They recognized me and again I told them what bitches those two girls were.  They acknowledged it and followed me as I approached Julia and Katya.  I now felt a little supported by some fellow "bros".  They said some things to Julia and Katya in Russian, and although I couldn't understand it, I could tell that Julia and Katya were intimidated or insulted.  Poetic justice, I thought.  Soon Julia and Katya went into the elevator to get away from the two guys.  I followed them in and they went to the hotel security.  Julia asked me how long I knew them, and I said that I just met them.  Then she complained that those two guys treated them like they were bitches and prostitutes, and felt threatened by them.  They reported all this to the security staff, and then went to my room to get their things.  It was clear that Katya was vacating my room for the night and going off somewhere else.  I reminded Katya of our deal tonight for 100 dollars, but she seemed to lose interest by now.  They went down and prepared to leave for Igor's hostel.  Before they left, I had a talk with Julia, who continued to lie to me again.  Finally, I hugged her and said goodbye and asked what they were doing tomorrow.  She said to call her on Igor's mobile phone and she would tell me then.

 

When they all left, I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.  Some of the Israeli/Georgian men went up to me and asked what room those two bitches lived in.  They all saw how they treated me, and everyone was on my side.  I told them that one of them was staying with me, but that they had both left to sleep somewhere else.  They had the impression that those two girls were professional prostitutes.  I told them they had prostitute mentalities, but were not professional prostitutes.  Eventually, I bid them all goodnight.  A security staff who saw the whole thing came up to me and made small talk, asking if I wanted him to order a prostitute for me to help me feel better.  I said no thank you because their prostitutes were much more expensive than the standard rate in Russia (which was 10 or 15 dollars an hour, as opposed to the hotel's 50 dollars an hour). 

 

I went back to my room feeling alone and dejected.  I began to regret not capitalizing on the opportunity to screw Katya one more time for 100 dollars.  I may never get the chance again, I thought, especially to do it without protection.  Frustrated and deprived, I masturbated several times to get the lust out of my system.  Yet, psychologically I felt depressed and humiliated.  This was supposed to be a romantic weekend with fun, love, and sex, I thought.  It wasn't supposed to all turn out this way.  I felt so humiliated, foolish, and embarrassed about everything now.  Oh well, I thought.  At least I would have a shocking and amazing story to tell about now.  At least my readers and audience wouldn't be bored.  Wondering what to do next, I thought of taking the metro tonight and going to one of the nightclubs that Brad recommended, either Doug & Marty's or the Hungry Duck.  But I felt too depressed to go, and plus it was a Monday night so it probably wasn't a great night to go.  Besides, I had some contemplation and soul repairing work to do anyway.  I had to try to make sense of all this so that I could move on. 

 

As I pondered over the meaning of everything, I realized that I ought to feel like a wreck, but I didn't.  Part of me was overjoyed that I finally had the courage and the will to finally be rid of these girls and never see them again.  Now I was free of their influence, having seen what they actually were, and I was free to return to the normal world where I could hang out with nice people from now on.  So I pepped myself up psychologically for a few hours, before feeling at peace with myself due to a sense of closure I now had.  I tried my best to be positive and optimistic about it all, making the best out of it, and taking the lessons I learned from it.  At least I could now move on and not waste anymore time with these kind of people.  I just hoped that I would never have to see them again or feel their greedy evil depraved aura around me again.  After sitting up for hours thinking about all this and patching up myself emotionally, I went to bed and slept in peace.

 

(continued in part 4)

 

 

Part 4: Recovery and Escape to Freedom

 

The next morning, I was woken up early by the phone.  The Polish guy was calling and asking about Katya.  He said he needed to ask her something (yeah right, that obsessive freak!)  So I gave her Katya's mobile phone number and warned him that it was probably disabled for now.  Then I went back to catch up on some sleep.  Later, I checked out and put my luggage in the hotel luggage closet.  I felt relieved and hoped to never have to see Katya or Julia again.  I was free from the drama, mayhem, tension, and conflict now.  My plan today was to head to the train station to buy tickets for Cherepovets tonight, then visit the Armoury Museum in the Kremlin (which was highly recommended to me by the American in the St. Petersburg hostel) for a few hours, and then to call Olga who might be free today to do something after her school.  After that, I would head to Cherepovets and get my luggage from Julia's home so I would never have to see them again.  The visit to the Armoury would give me time to myself to relax and psychologically recover from the events of the last few days.  As I was about to descend into the metro, I suddenly remembered that I promised Julia I would call her this morning.  Darn, I thought.  I knew that I shouldn't and that I ought to forget about them completely, but my sense of honor and curiosity about what they were up to got the best of me.  So I did so against my better judgment.  Perhaps, they had their own plans today and I wouldn't have to see them even if I called, I thought.  So I went to the payphone and called Igor's mobile phone.  Julia answered it and told me that Katya needed me to go with her to the train station today to buy tickets for Cherepovets.  Julia told me to go back to the hotel lobby where Katya would meet me in an hour.  I sighed and did so reluctantly.  What trouble would she give me this time?

 

I got some snacks and waited in the hotel lobby.  Katya arrived and brusquely ushered me to depart quickly.  We rode the metro to the Yaroslavsky train station to buy tickets, hardly talking to each other.  She barely even acknowledged my existence.  When I asked her if she wanted to go to the ZAGS office today to file for marriage, she said yes of course but after buying the train tickets.  As usual, after we bought tickets at the station, she broke her promise again and wouldn't go to ZAGS.  Instead, we went back to the hotel.  She said that Julia would meet us there soon.  Along the way, she made me buy her the new sunglasses I was supposed to get her long ago.  Afterward, she pointed to a jeans store and asked me if I could buy a new pair of jeans for her.  This time, I refused and she walked away with a grouchy face.  During the walk to the hotel, I asked Katya again if she would like to have sex for 100 dollars.  I said we could get a room for an hour and do it there.  She said maybe and sounded interested.  When we reached the hotel, she wanted to eat so we went to the usual cafe.  While we were eating, I asked Katya if she still wanted to be my girlfriend.  She shook her head and didn't even look at me.  Good, I thought.  Now she has no more excuse to make me buy her anything.  When I asked her, "Well then why did you want me to buy you the jeans and sunglasses if you're not my girlfriend anymore?" she shrugged and said she didn't know.  (yeah right, the reason that greedy bitch did so was obviously because she still wanted to try to take everything she could from me)  Stil, I wondered.  Did she not intend to marry me all along, and only pretended to so she could hope to get some expensive gifts from me?  If so, why did she say she wanted to get married in Russia right away rather than later?  Or did she want to marry me before and then changed her mind later after she couldn't control me into buying her whatever she wanted?

 

Julia and Igor never showed up though, so Katya wanted to call them.  She didn't seem interested in the sex deal anymore, for some reason.  I don't know why.  After using my card at the metro pay phone to call Igor, she ordered me to give her my metro card.  I asked where we were going, but she wouldn't tell me.  Then she ordered me around like a dog again and told me to give her the metro card.  I went through the gate first before giving the card to her.  When she passed through, she walked on without acknowledging my existence.  She didn't even do her usual looking to check to make sure where I was as she walked forward.  I followed her as she rode just one stop above on the blue line above Izmailove shosse park station.  When we got out, we were on a residential street that was lined with what looked like student dorms.  You could see students everywhere.  I asked if we were going to Igor's hostel.  She said no and wouldn't tell me where we were going.  After a while, we stopped at a building and she went inside and came out with Igor.  Again, what a fucking liar.  This time, she was so stupid that she lied knowing that she would be caught in a few minutes.  What a moron.  As they sat outside talking, I decided that it was obvious that Katya only wanted to hang around Julia and Igor and not me.  I didn't though, and I was only willing to hang around Katya without Julia around.  Without Julia, Katya was a lot more manageable than with Julia. 

 

Not wanting to waste anymore time with them, I told Katya that I wanted to leave now and call my friend Olga and possibly visit her.  I would meet up with her later tonight for the train at 9:15pm (hopefully, she would forget to show up though).  She said ok, but before I left, she asked me to give her 200 roubles for the new contact lens that she needed two days ago.  I laughed and said "Katya, I'm not....." and used my electronic translator to show her the translation for "Santa Claus." (and even if I was Santa Claus, she still wouldn't get any gifts from me since she's been a bad bad girl) She took the translator and tried to type something to me, but it wouldn't translate, though I sensed that it was some insult to me.  As I was about to leave, Katya suddenly held onto my electronic translator.  She asked me if she could keep it as a souvenir.  I looked at her hilariously.  No way, I said.  What for?  You aren't going to America anymore so why would you need to learn English?  I grabbed onto my electronic translator and pryed it from her fingers finally. (seriously, I was prepared to use all my strength and force to get my electronic translator back from that worthless bitch)  I don't know why or how she could even think of taking one last thing from me, especially something I needed.  As I got up and left, Katya followed Igor into his hostel building.  Inside, Katya looked at me through the window and waved a sad goodbye to me.  That was the last I ever saw of her.

 

I walked along the street toward the metro station filled with relief and freedom.  I WAS FREE AT LAST!!!!!!!!  Along the way, I walked around looking to buy a phone card so I could call Olga.  While circling around the metro station, a policeman stopped me and asked to check my passport.  I looked at him and said "You know, after all I've been through the last few days, I really deserve a break.  If only you knew....."  He didn't understand me though, so I just showed him my passport.  Then I asked him about getting a pay phone card and he showed me the way toward another side of the station where I could get it.  I got one and called Olga, but there was no answer.  So I boarded the metro, which at this station was above ground, and headed back to the station at my hotel.  There, I tried calling Olga a few more times, but her phone was out of zone, which usually meant that she was in the underground metro, where mobile phones don't usually work.  With nothing else to do, I headed back to my hotel lobby to hang out for a few hours.  In the internet cafe located in the plaza, a man waved to me.  It was the Polish guy who was infatuated with Katya.  I sat down and talked to him and one of his friends.  He said that Katya's mobile didn't work when he called it, so I gave him her home number instead, along with Igor's mobile number.  I told him if he wanted to speak to her now, he could call Igor's mobile because she was with them now. 

 

Then the three of us sat down at a table and talked about things.  I showed them photos of Katya from my two photo albums, and explained to this Polish guy what a horrible, greedy, and evil person this Katya was, and how he should forget her because she is nothing but trouble in the end.  He understood and believed everything I said, but he still wanted to call Katya and see her.  "Why?" I asked.  "Calling her would be no different than if you were to call Satan.  It's the same thing.  I'm serious."  This man mentally knew what I meant, but he still wanted to pursue her and told me that she had expressed an interest to him of going to Germany someday and wanted his help.  "Really?" I said. "She also told me she wanted to go to America too, you know."  He assured me that he would never let her control him and that he knew what he was doing.  I felt pity for this guy.  If only he knew.  But it was funny because in a way, this man reminded me of myself 7 or 8 months ago last summer when I first met Katya.  You see, the day after I met Katya, I also became obsessed with her and constantly asked about her. (if you remember from the story of my first trip to Russia)  I now realized that this girl obviously does something to you when you meet her.  Her gorgeous angelic face puts you in a trance and impairs your normal judgment.  Even when you know she is lying to you, you still believe her.  You just can't help it.  This girl definitely has powers over men's minds and will, and she has learned to take advantage of it long ago.  Fortunately though, I've already realized this and was now free of her power and influence.  And it took a very hard and humiliating lesson to do so.  But this guy wasn't.  Oh well.  I told him if he really wanted to see her, he could follow me to the train station tonight, where she would be.  He agreed and he and his friend said that they would meet me here at 8pm tonight to go with me.

 

After they left, I wandered around the lobby.  I noticed a tall exotic attractive brunette girl.  She looked at me and winked.  I approached her and she invited me to sit down.  She couldn't speak English, but I was able to communicate with her for the most part.  She was here with a friend.  She seemed curious and interested about me, and I told her that I would love to contact her when I return to Moscow in a few weeks, so she left me her contact numbers.  Her name was Anya.  Then her male friend came back and looked upset that she had been flirting with me.  Next, I had a simple meal of instant noodles, instant potato soup, and bread.  Then I got my luggage and prepared to leave.  I waited around at the appointed place for the Polish guy and his friend at 8pm, but they never showed up.  After waiting until 8:10pm, I decided to head out. 

 

While walking through the courtyard in the middle of the triple hotel complex, I saw a blonde girl in the distance who wore similar clothes as Katya.  I stopped her to say hi and hit on her.  She spoke very good English and was very receptive.  After a while of introducing ourselves, I asked if I could call her when I came back to Moscow and she agreed and gave me her contact information.  Then I headed to the metro and rode to Yaroslavsky station.  When I reached the train station, I braced myself to see Katya, Julia and Igor again.  I wished that they wouldn't be here or that Katya would miss the train, so I wouldn't have to deal with her so I could ride in peace.  They were nowhere in sight, even as I boarded my wagon.  She was not in the seat next to me either.  I wondered if she had booked a seat in another wagon to be away from me.  As the time of departure approached, I realized that Katya probably wasn't going to show up after all.  I wondered why or what happened.  Perhaps the Polish guy called her on through Igor's mobile number, and arranged something so that she wouldn't have to go to Cherepovets tonight.  I don't know.  But who cares.  I was glad to not have to ride the train with her.  In fact, from now on I would never even have to see her again.  So I could put her out of my mind now.  I could rest in peace and put it all behind me.  Whew!  It was a peaceful and noneventful ride to Cherepovets that night.

 

The next morning, I arrived in Cherepovets.  I called Natasha (the only normal girl in Julia's circle of friend) and briefly explained to her what had happened with Julia and Katya.  She sympathized and said it was terrible and that she would help me any way she could.  Then I went to the train station ticket office, and all by myself, I bought the ticket for St. Petersburg tonight.  I knew enough Russian to do it!  It was the first time I bought a train ticket without assistance.  I was proud of myself and felt more independent now.  Then I rode the bus to Julia's home building complex.  Her mom wasn't home, so I went to a neighbor who let me stay in their home until Julia's mom came back.  When she did, she greeted me warmly.  I went in and told her that it was over with Katya and that all her warnings about Katya were right.  She was glad that I learned a lesson from it and that I saw her for what she was.  I also showed her how violent Katya got at times.  However, I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth about her own daughter, how greedy she was, how much money she forced me to lose, and how she helped rob me recently, and how as a result I never wanted to see her again.  It would be pointless because no mother would want to believe such bad things about her own daughter.  Tatiana didn't know her own daughter, I realized.  And besides, I needed their help now so it wouldn't be wise to put any animosity between us, no matter how justified it was.  After giving me some snacks, I took a shower and napped for a few hours.  When I awoke, Julia's sister Olga came home and hugged me.  Her family was so friendly to me, unlike Julia.  How could this family have produced someone like her, I wondered.

 

I left to go to the internet cafe near Sandra's home, where I knew many people and made new friends.  I agreed to meet them back here at 9pm tonight so Olga could accompany me to the train station.  At the internet cafe, I talked a long time to an administrator there, a tall attractive elegant brunette girl named Nastya who I was very infatuated with.  I summarized to her what had happened with Katya in Moscow, and she sympathized, saying that she knew such Russian girls, but that she never associates or makes friends with such people.  After a long talk with her and getting her email address, I went to check my email for a while.  Then I telephoned Lyuba and Tanya, but they weren't available to see me that night.  Before I left the internet cafe, I typed a secret message to Nastya on her computer that read "You are very attractive to me."  When she saw it, she blushed and said thank you.  Man, she's such a sweet intelligent attractive girl.  Why didn't I end up with someone like her rather than Katya?!

 

I rode the bus back to Julia's home and got some pizza along the way.  At the home, Olga and one of her friends was waiting for me.  They helped me carry my two luggage carts down to the street, and then called for a taxi.  It arrived and we all rode together to the train station.  They helped me board the train to St. Petersburg and gave me a warm goodbye.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that Julia and I were no longer friends and that they would probably never see me again. 

 

Onboard the train, I sat around this group of young friends.  One of the guys wanted to trade seats with me so he could be with a girl he knew.  But I refused because I wanted to get acquainted with the girls too.  He got mad and asked why "pacheemoo".  I replied "pacacheenoo" which is a childish joke meaning "don't ask such silly questions" and everyone laughed in surprise that I knew such an expression.  Later that night, one of the girls in my section who had been hanging out in the next section came back.  Her name was Anya.  When we laid down across from each other, she looked at me and gave me her hand to hold.  I held it tenderly while talking to her.  I wondered if she liked me, or if she was drunk.  Since the guy who wanted my seat was now sleeping and cuddling his female friend in the top bunk, I also asked Anya if she would like to cuddle with me in my bunk, but she said no.  So I asked if I could give her a massage instead.  She agreed and I gave her a tender erotic massage from her neck to her legs, which she really liked.  I sensed she was really turned on now, so I tapped her and when she turned her head, I moved in for a kiss.  She reciprocated and started to french kiss me.  It felt really good.  Something like this has never happened to me before.  This went on for a while.  I asked her if she could stay in a hotel with me tomorrow night in St. Petersburg, but she wasn't sure.  Soon I began fingering and stimulating her private parts.  She began getting really aroused and I thought to myself "God, I wish we were in a private room now!!!!!!"  Suddenly, she stopped me and said that she wanted to sleep now.  After cuddling with her for a while, she fell asleep and I had nothing else to do but go back to my bunk.

 

The next morning, I got her number and told her that I would call her next time I went to Cherepovets. (which I planned to do since I knew many other girls there beside Julia and Katya)  She wouldn't let me kiss her again that morning though.  I don't know why.  Maybe she was drunk last night.  When we arrived in St. Petersburg, I took a taxi to the station I needed to go to buy tickets for Riga, Latvia.  There, I put my luggage in their storage area and paid a small fee for it.  By the way, the reason I went to St. Petersburg is that it is a closer ride to my destination at Riga, Latvia from there, and plus after what happened in Moscow, I wanted to be as far away from Katya and Julia as possible.  In Latvia, I would apply for a new Russian visa to come back for one more month.

 

Since my train to Riga wouldn't be until 9pm tonight, I had another day to kill.  So I called a few friends in the area, including the St. Petersburg Katya, who agreed to meet with me that afternoon because she had no class that day.  I was happy to be able to see her again.  Since there was four hours before our meeting though, I went first to the Peter Paul Fortress that we went to before, since I didn't get to see all the exhibits there last time.  When I arrived, the UFO/Alien Abduction museum was finally open this time, so I rushed to visit it first.  I brought my camcorder and video taped most of the exhibition inside.  Although the descriptions were in Russian, I understood most of the exhibit because the photos and drawings were standard UFO themes which most fans are familiar with.  Afterward, I visited the museum of rocket science next door, which was a more "conventional" exhibit obviously.  I knew very little of the exhibits, models and drawings inside, but it was interesting at least.  Inside were a large group of kids on a field trip.  When they heard me speaking English into my camcorder, they became enthused and curious about me.  I suddenly got the attention of the kids there, much more than their museum tour guide did. lol  When one of the kids went up to me and asked "Can you give me some money?" I covered my ears and said "Oh no!  Please don't remind me of Julia and Katya!  God forbid." lol

 

When it came time to head to meet the St. P Katya at the fountain of Kazansky Cathedral, I headed out of the fortress.  Outside, a uniformed band of soliers and girls were practicing for the May 9 victory celebration (a holiday the Russians celebrate to commemorate the victory over Hitler in WWII).  It was a pleasant sight.  In fact, everything was pleasant to me now that I was free of Julia and Katya.  I met up with the St. P Katya at the fountain and was glad to see her again.  We walked a long way to look for a Chinese restaurant I knew, but couldn't find it, so we settled for Pizza Hut instead.  We shared a pizza, while we talked about things.  She wanted to know if I ended the engagement with the girl in Cherepovets after all, so I summarized to her what happened.  She said it was awful to hear and that she has never known anyone as greedy or violent as Julia and Katya.  I replied that perhaps it was better she didn't know and that she was probably happier not knowing that people like that existed. lol (after all, she lived in a happy hokey world of friends and nice people)  Since she was in Moscow for a wedding at the same time I was there, I also asked her about her time there.  It turned out that her time was the opposite of mine.  She met many wonderful people and was around so many wonderful warm caring friends.  Her days there were so happy, she said.  "Oh great" I thought.  "Why couldn't I have joined her?  She got to hang around warm caring loving friends and people, and I had to hang around depraved demons like Julia and Katya.  Nice."

 

After dinner, she had to leave to meet someone to go rollerblading (she even brought her skates with her) so I took her to the metro and said goodbye to her.  She said she hoped to see me again when I came back for the 300th anniversary celebration in St. Petersburg on the week of May 27. (unlike the USA which views holidays as costly, people there will take off a whole week to celebrate, something which would never be permissible for most workers or companies in the USA!)

 

After a warm goodbye with her, I headed toward the internet cafe nearby for a few hours.  Inside, I also called Alina and she agreed to meet with me for a while before I left.  So I waited in front of pizza hut for her.  She finally arrived with a male friend who drove her there.  I gave her the copy of our photos together and then they drove me to my train station (Vidipsky station) and dropped me off.  From there, I got my luggage from the storage area and boarded the train to Riga.  Soon I would be far away in a peaceful city to relax and recuperate after all the mayhem!

 

Onboard the train, we were served snacks and bottled mineral water since this train was owned by Latvia (something you'd never get on a stingy Russian train!).  I met a young American guy (there are very few young Americans in Russia) from Utah in my section who had traveled all over Russia and spoke it fluently and wanted to spend the rest of his life there.  In my section was also a Latvian girl who was a theatre major.  It was a nice ride other than being woken up at 3am in the morning by the customs of both countries, Russia and Latvia! 

 

The next morning, we arrived in the modernized city of Riga.  Unlike before, it was no longer cold and snowy there, but clear and sunny.  It was a beautiful sight, very surreal in colors and architecture.  My friend Vika picked me up there and then took me to my usual hotel that I stayed in last time that was cheap and had a nice breakfast buffet.  It was nice to see this city again.  After Vika took me around the city centre to do some errands, including going to her friend's travel agency to get a new Russian visa, I took a nap for a few hours in my room.  Then I went to the internet cafe down the street and began this long update.  The next day, I took the bus to visit Tallinn, Estonia for two days, at Vika's suggestion since the Russian embassy was closed until Monday and I couldn't apply for a visa until then, so it would be a good use of the weekend (once I applied for a Russian visa at the travel agency, I would lose my passport for a week and therefore could not go to Estonia during that week, so it made sense to go there first before applying).  Tallinn was beautiful, enchanting and surreal, but that's another story which I'll save for the next update.  When I returned to Riga on Monday, I continued this long update again, until I finished it a few days later.  As you can see, it took many hours to write, which explains the long delay.  I hope you've all enjoyed it, and please, don't feel too sorry for me.  Although I have suffered damages both psychologically and financially, none of it was permanent, thank the Lord.  I can honestly say that I feel very relieved now.  But I sometimes still shudder when I remember how evil and demonic Katya and Julia turned out to be, and the look on their faces along with the presence of their auras.  It sends a chill up my spine.

 

When I return to Russia, I am only going to be visiting nice normal girls.  I've already narrowed down the field to a few people I've already met and some new ones I've yet to meet too.  Nothing could be worse than what I've already been through.  Anyway, goodbye for now.  I wish you could all see how beautiful and enchanting the Old Town part of Riga really is.  It has a life and character of its own.

 

Til next time,

Winston