Some signs of progress:

-I am now "registered" to borrow books from the library

-I can receive mail (my address is on the left sidebar)

-Moscow Times seems happy to interact with me and consider my stories

-I have a travel mug, a desk mug, and a water-boiler

-I am pleasantly busy

Things that still need sorting out:

-VKontakte (Russian facebook) is still giving me trouble

-I have not yet figured out a way to clean my nice shirts without using the rust-water from my faucet

-my fridge still smells funky after a thorough search and cleaning

-my sheets are not long enough (this one might be a lost cause)

-my pronunciation of the Russian R is in a volatile process of development