March 27, 2009 (RUSSIA!)

I go to bed at 9 pm and wake up at 6-7am here for some reason. I woke up, had tea and cake and went back to bed to listen to Atlas Shrugged. "Audiobooking" has its plusses and minuses. Because the tracks are so long when I want to "reread" an excerpt it's hard to get right to it. The book itself is awesome.

Mama and I went swimming yesterday. It was fun. I think I've improved a lot. The first 20 minutes in the water I didn't go up to the wall. I was trying to see if I could pass the scuba test and I definitely can. Thanks to Monique, Beth and Elliot. If money permits I'll do it this summer. Then I came out and cannonballed a few times. I reenacted the whole Anchorman scene: "Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. CANNONBALL!" It was all fun and games until it was over and I got to shower with a bunch of naked old ladies.

Then I got to see Mr. Smirnov who I met last winter. He is the head of the department of Mathematics and Super Computer. Pretty cockass if you ask me. You can read more about him here. He is super nice and was really interested in the work Vova is doing. I guess dad used to work with him when he was a professor. The only thing I didn't like about him last winter was the fact that he drank. He said that he doesn't really drink anymore.

This morning my back hurt. It might have been from swimming.