Trapped in Teatime

Lets see, monday was a very full day. Highlights: Red Square, The Kremlin, A Russian Church which was covered with guilded religious Ikons on every surface, the Fabrege Eggs, A massive bronze statue of Peter the Great as Colombus, overpriced Cappuchinos at Gum, A bus tour which took us all around moscow including the imposing Moscow University in one of Stalin's seven sisters. I guess monday was also the "Horrors of Stalinism" day as I saw the final resting place of the bloodiest, most psychotic dictator to ever live, the state political apartments where he had 90% of the residents killed, and the Lubyanka, headquarters of the KGB which also contained various rooms for torture and a prison. Its also the location of the KGB museum, which I plan to visit when I return to Moscow. The tour guides are actually former KGB agents and officers, so I shall try hard not to be too revolted.
I've decided that Sartre should have set No Exit in an international flight that never ends. It's just miserable. You're supposed to be like a vegitable: just sit there in the fixed position, dont think, don't move, just eat the stale pretzels as the flight crew periodically waters you. In a kind of coincidal effect of the plane traveling against the earth's rotation at about the same speed, it was about two o'clock for the entire nine hours. Anyway, at least there were no major problems, except we were a little tight on time in our New York connection. At least I slept some on the Utah flight.
Utah is cold, and it was snowing, but it feels warmer than Moscow. Probably because it's drier here, and lacking the frigid wind that chills Moscow streets. Today I went shopping with the family, mailed Jen's Christmas present, and worked out with Uncle David. You know, when I get back to Tempe, I'm going to need a vacation, just some time to unwind.