day of national mourning which means no tv, tons of places are closed and it's dark and gloomy out...although i'm not sure the russian government had control over that. still...it's a monday and the metro was so crowded that it took me three tries to get onto a train...and when i did it was only because i shoved my way in like the russians were doing.

meanwhile back at home...i've lost my tuition waiver thanks to departmental budget cuts and i'm really looking forward to figuring out how that's all going to work out when i get back. so no time to rest up after this! ooohh...i hate how thoughts of crap back home starts coming back into your consciousness as a trip winds down.