Being on a 16.8K dial-up connection really makes you appreciate those people who have full posts in their RSS feeds. It seems that most of the WordPress sites don't have full posts. Anyone have a good template that I can point these folks at? :)
Well, I got a few hours of sleep, but my body isn't cooperating with a 9-hour time zone difference, so I decided to log on and read about the Presidential debate I missed. I at least got a 16.8K connection this time. I wonder if there's a video version I could download somewhere on the net. If so, I could run over to the internet cafe nearby, and load it on my USB memory key, so I could watch it. I should also mention that my sister-in-law Karen is getting married right about now, back in the USA. I was supposed to be an usher, but I managed to weasel out of that by fleeing the country.
I've arrived in Moscow at last. We sailed through customs without any problems, though we almost missed an important stamp on our documents going through Passport Control, I caught it, and the clerk told us that we hadn't completed the form properly. The cruel thing is, she was just going to let us go in to Russia without this stamp, which we'd need to leave the country, and the fine for not having it starts at $150, plus graft. We met our driver and host, got our gear loaded in a van, and began a harrowing half-hour journey from the airport to the institution where we're staying. Driving in Moscow is...well...different. I know the cars run the same way that ours do, but people drive them like they have to choose between accelerating, or slamming on the brakes. No coasting, no gentle braking, it's like NASCAR. We survived, and the frequent stops kept us from falling asleep.
We got checked in, after which I promptly took a shower, which was nearly as good as sleep for rejuvenating me. Alexey, our guide/translator, was supposed to meet us at 4:00 p.m., but in Russia, that means 5:00, so I squeezed in a nap while we waited for his arrival.
After meeting Alexey, we converted some dollars to rubles, bought a SIM chip for the Russian cell phone I have, and got some internet access cards (using it to post this, at 14.4K(!) from my hotel room). We then set out in search of dinner. We walked about 2 miles down one of the main streets, and found nothing that both interested us and was affordable. I can see why Russians don't eat out at restaurants much, Moscow is expensive to dine in. We wound up at a TGI Friday's, of all places, simply because we were tired of walking, and it was one of the first things we passed near the Institute. I had some of the worst chicken fingers of my life, but the fries were good. We finished off the meal, which was 1000 rubles for the 3 of us, and headed back to our rooms, buying some bottled water along the way.
And now it's time for me to go to bed, I've had about 3 hours of sleep in the last 40 hours, and I'm beat. Tomorrow we're planning on seeing the Kremlin and Red Square, and eating at some place called Mu-Mu's. I'm not sure what that is, but I'll be sure to report back here.
Nope, no wireless here in Frankfurt either. The Lufthansa flight was cramped, my femur is exactly as long as the space between the seats, and no amount of geometry would let me get comfortable. On the plus side, Chuck & I wound up sitting with four NFL Europe cheerleaders, who'd been hired to work a trade show in Chicago, so at least we had someone to talk to. We just bid them auf weidersein and are now awaiting our flight to Moscow, which leaves in a little over an hour. I managed to scam an exit row seat for this flight, and the plane is supposed to be half-empty, so hopefully I'll have a chance to get some shut-eye before having to deal with customs. Local time is 7:10 a.m., Iowa time/My Body's Time is 12:10 a.m. Only two more time zones to go!
Update: Found wireless 5 min before we had to leave, but it wasn't free, so we didn't bother.
It's pretty sad that O'Hare doesn't have wireless access either. Isn't this the nation's busiest airport? You'd think a wi-fi provider could make a killing here. There's a little kiosk shop where you can use one of their PCs for 65 cents/minute. That seems ridiculously high. Maybe I can find a pay-phone with a modem port...
