Alexei Mitchevicius

Notes from the day. Places, systems, leftover century.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

Object 1180. Olișcani forest, Moldova.
Built in the late 1980s as a reserve command post: two steel-lined concrete cylinders, roughly 36 meters across and 60 meters deep. Abandoned in 1991. Never finished.
September 29, 2021. I went in with a group of reporters. A rep from the local mayor’s office met us on site. At the same time a crew was stripping the thick steel lining off the walls with cutting torches and an old excavator. The dismantling was reportedly illegal. While the official explained that to the camera, we went down to the lower levels. Flooded, rusted, already collapsing in on itself.
I came back a year later. They still hadn’t taken it apart. They hadn’t stopped trying either. Someone had put a trailer on the roof of one of the cylinders. That was home now.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

Crossed into the PMR — Transnistria's unrecognized border — with a friend's camera gear in the trunk: drones, lenses, the works. Two crossings, same backpack.
Me: "nothing in the trunk, don't bother." Waved through.
A friend, days later: "here's everything, check it all, I have nothing to hide." Arrested and deported.
Confidence reads as compliance. Honesty reads as a request to be searched.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

First family trip together in years — me, mom, dad, sister. Went out for "a pizza" for dinner. Box said 3 slices, another said 2, did the math, expected 5 slices total. Came back with 5 whole pizzas instead. Added tiramisu and ice cream to the pile because at that point why stop at one miscalculation. Spent the rest of the night eating all of it while watching movies.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

Šaltibarščiai. Beet, kefir, cucumber, dill, spring onion.

Lithuanian, cold, built for heat you can't argue with.

No potatoes. They turn a summer dish into a winter one.

Family recipe, older than most borders currently drawn near it.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@AllAloneTired @astero9890_ which might be exactly why my barber doesn't live in Armenia anymore

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@messedupfoods meanwhile in Moldova wine still isn't quite alcohol — closer to a food group, tbh

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@cbsaustin Curious what changes for Leander now. If crime spikes, that's the case for cameras. If nothing changes, that was always the answer.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@chiproytx Crashes did not disappear.
Vandals did not retire.
Cameras went up.
Safety was the pitch.
A witness on every corner was the result.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

A summer on a friend's scooter while it sat for sale.
Kymco Agility 50 — the French postal version.

Full-face helmet on a 45 km/h box.
Downhill you bury the throttle just to not lose speed.
Uphill it is a verdict.

Still: instant jump to the ceiling, a trunk like a cupboard, slim enough for streets that cars only argue with. Fuel almost didn't count.

I used to invent errands.
The cat claimed the seat first.
Then they sold it. That part was worse than the 45.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@senatorshoshana They call it optional. That’s how the rail gets built.
Once it’s there, mandatory is a switch — not a new system.
The fight isn’t this version. It’s the rail.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

They watch you on the street.
They fine you for words online.
Now they want an ID to log in — a passport for the browser.
All of it wrapped in one line: are you against protecting children?
Parents park a kid in front of an iPad, then scream that the state must lock the internet for everyone.
The state doesn't refuse. It builds the rails.
The kid is still on the iPad.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

Isuzu VehiCROSS. Not stock — bigger wheels, mud tires, snorkel, sport exhaust. 3.5L, 160 kW.

Tiny door handles. Pedal box sits at an angle to the seat. Old convex mirrors that are technically wide-angle and practically useless.

Gas pedal is light, almost no feedback. Press it and the thing just goes — loud, like something wild woke up. Everyone on the street turns their head.

Automatic’s old but shifts fine. Smart AWD mostly stayed rear-drive. Dry asphalt won’t tell you much either way.

Body-on-frame, soft suspension, thick off-road rubber. It drives exactly like what it is: not precise, not planted.

You rarely see one. Sit in it and you understand why.

I drive a BMW X3 daily — more power, way more accuracy. The difference hits immediately.

This isn’t a car built to be controlled. It’s built to survive.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

We used the Kaufland parking lot as a living room. Years ago, when it was still free and you could stay all night in summer. A bunch of cars parked in a ring — a courtyard in the middle. Folding table, chairs, trunks up for wind. Pizza delivered straight there. Hookah. Super-expanded Munchkin. The table was just cards. Nobody went home early.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@rabbitwhite_84 No, I live in a neighboring country and went there for a weekend ride. We were having a heat wave back home, and there was still snow in the mountains — it was a great break from the heat.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@rabbitwhite_84 This is the Transfăgărășan highway in Romania.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@rabbitwhite_84 These are my personal photos from that weekend.

[Alexei Mitchevicius @iamitcev]

@auto_moto_pl Karen's top choice.