October 2006 Archives

I just spent a week in Moscow, Russia.

I don't like that a majority of the Moscovites smoke - it makes everything
smell and all the restaurants bother my nose and eyes. I don't like that I
can't understand very much - it can be very frustrating. I don't like how
crowded the subways are and how pushy the people are. I don't like where the
office is; it's a 30 minute commute and the compound is very tightly secured. I
don't like the fact that the Internet connection to Seattle is slow and I have
to use my laptop; my wrists hurt quickly. I don't like that Moscovites don't
tend to smile. I don't like the coffee at the office. I didn't like how much
free time I had during the day (too much). I don't like the way people drive -
I get car-sick.

I enjoyed spending time with Paul and Mark - since they're higher-ups, this was
the first time I've ever eaten lunch or dinner with them. I enjoyed spending
time with Dmitry and Lingle and talking about politics, life, evolution, etc. I
liked that I was able to read the subway stops in Cyrillic, enabling us to reach
the office. I liked to watch the people; they look and act different.

I hated being away from Eriko and Jerry. I tried very hard to enjoy myself, but
if I wasn't busy to the point of distraction, I was thinking about them.

Jerry has two perfect little teeth protruding from his bottom gums. Wow!

Until our beloved Jerry can find a sleeping schedule, I'm finding it very hard
to have any kind of routine. Some nights he's in bed by midnight, other nights
he's in bed by 9 (and in all cases, he'll certainly wake up several times.) My evenings are completely uncertain - I'm essentially at Eriko and Jerry's disposal. Couple that with my own lack of internal discipline (i.e. 30 mins of TV vs 30 mins of reading) and I'm losing ground on Japanese and CS GRE study... and let's not enough mention the complete and utter lack of exercise, especially since (in an effort to have more time at home) I drove to work every day last week.