Category Archives: Essays

On Shelving Books

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Oleg K.

There is something spiritual about shelving books at the library. Spending hours organizing and straightening in relative quiet is not for everybody, but for those who find solace in silence, the experience is meditative. Fortunately for me, I relished the … Continue reading →

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On Stones That Build Me

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Oleg K.

     Ever since I’ve been driving regularly to my girlfriend Ashley’s charming apartment in Redondo Beach, I have been passing a little house facing the Pacific Coast Highway with a sign in bold black letters, all caps, shouting Mojo’s Coffee and … Continue reading →

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The Library Fire

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Oleg K.

I delivered a slightly modified version of this essay as a speech to my Toastmasters Club on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009.      What took seven-and-a-half hours to extinguish with the aid of three-hundred fire fighters, eight rescue ambulances, and three helicopters? … Continue reading →

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The Morning Bar

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Oleg K.

     There are places in the world where all men are equal. The public toilet, for example, barring the golden pots of the wealthy is one of those places, another is this diner. Opening with the sun, this diner can be … Continue reading →

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Leviathan, or, Whale of a Boy

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Oleg K.

     In high school, I overheard a physical education teacher say “These guys are in good shape now but watch, a few years out of high school, when their metabolism starts to slow down and nobody forces them to go to … Continue reading →

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SFPL’s Realia Exhibition and the “Aura” of Objects

Posted on June 25, 2008 by Oleg K.

realia is “Three-dimensional objects from real life, whether man-made (artifacts, tools, utensils, etc.) or naturally occurring (specimens, samples, etc.), usually borrowed, purchased, or received as gifts by a library for use in classroom instruction or in exhibits. Archival and manuscript … Continue reading →

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Violation of Drinking Rule #1

Posted on September 9, 2007 by Oleg K.

The shows have opened and I’ve been drinking. At the opening night gala (of cheap wine and cookies) I drank and felt my face turn numb after a while and saw myself being a fool to friends of others in … Continue reading →

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Theatre is Hard Work!

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Oleg K.

This weekend, and by that I mean Saturday and Sunday I, along with a few members of the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble worked a total of 21 hours for no pay, with few breaks, in the steaming hot, smelly and … Continue reading →

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The Simple Life – Is Ignorance Bliss?

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Oleg K.

I was feeling a bit down last weekend at work. I work at a library and I was returning some books and I noticed a book called Fruits and its sequel Fresh Fruits. These books are pictures of Japanese teens … Continue reading →

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