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.

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.

I spoke with two professors yesterday and I was relatively convinced that I was going to transition to academia… but then I came in and talked it over with my boss. After that conversation, I had an epiphany… this situation is very similar to the time I broke up with Eriko, slept on it, and woke up to realize that no - I didn’t want to break up… I just needed to be patient, figure out a way to get through our troubles, and learn to love her - because it was what I wanted.