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Some days you get the bear...
Jul. 6th, 2005 01:20 pm...some days you stand in line for a long time.
Everything was going well yesterday, to the point where I really didn't mind the persistent feeling of fatigue that had set in as a result of having slept only 2-3 hours during the transatlantic leg of the trip. Once we landed in Moscow, we were expeditiously offloaded from the plane, at a gate that is near the staircase leading down to passport control and the baggage/customs area.
Despite the fact there weren't many people in the lines at all, the lines stubbornly refused to move for the better part of an hour (I guess I moved my bag once - a total of about 20 cm - during that time). I finally switched lines, and after about 90 minutes (and most of one of the science fiction novels I brought along to kill time like this), I was through to my baggage.
While I waited, I turned on my Moscow cell phone and it was a good thing I did, as I soon got a call from Aleksei, my "driver," who was calling to day he had just broken free of the mother of all traffic jams, which was why he was late picking me up, and that he would be at the airport in about 20 minutes. In the end, had the passport control formalities gone smoothly, I probably would have cooled my heels on the other side of customs, brushing off offers of "taxi?" like mosquitos during rainy season in the jungle.
As I had nothing to declare (typical case), I passed through the "green" corridor and noticed that the staff was not x-raying everyone's luggage, as was the case last time I passed through there. This means either (a) policy has changed, (b) the x-raying occurs only for particular flights or circumstances, of (c) the equipment is busted. I wouldn't bet which is the case.
On the drive from the airport to Alla's, I got to musing which was further: the drive from Sheremetevo to where Alla lives, or from JFK in New York to my parents' place on Long Island? My money is on the Moscow drive.
I got to sleep around 11 pm or so last night and woke, predictably, at a little after 4 am (about 6 pm Mountain time). I don't know if that's enough; I've been out and about since 8:30 am, and don't feel tired yet.
I had forgotten about the contents of the bag I had left with Alla in February (I was pleased to see there's shampoo, and a little dismayed that the Mars bars are intact).
I tried to fetch a weather report via my phone's SMS feature this morning and got two messages: the first was the weather report; the second, a message to the effect that I'm not authorized to get messages such as the one I had requested. I'm thinking computer glitch, since my current balance is positive - which explains why I got a weather report - but I had received a message in February to the effect that my balance would expire within 8 days - which ought to mean I have a zero balance.
In any event, I need to find one of those vending machines that accepts bills and refills one's cell account. There's one not far from the hotel I'll be checking into tomorrow (I've been told the rate there has tripled to over $700 per night, which will be a first for me!), but it's a far piece to walk from the internet cafe here at Okhotniy Ryad.
(That reminds me: I ought to see if I can figure out how to send an SMS to the folks back home.)
Plans are in place for some kind of public demonstration (celebration?) on the occasion of the Olympic Committee's forthcoming decision today to decide which city will host the 2012 Olympic Games (I presume these are the summer games). The contestants include New York, Paris, Moscow, and cities in the U.K. and Spain, and perhaps other locales as well. The news coverage this morning was pretty heavy, but I was more interested in channel surfing than keeping up with current affairs.
Time to move along.
Cheers...
Everything was going well yesterday, to the point where I really didn't mind the persistent feeling of fatigue that had set in as a result of having slept only 2-3 hours during the transatlantic leg of the trip. Once we landed in Moscow, we were expeditiously offloaded from the plane, at a gate that is near the staircase leading down to passport control and the baggage/customs area.
Despite the fact there weren't many people in the lines at all, the lines stubbornly refused to move for the better part of an hour (I guess I moved my bag once - a total of about 20 cm - during that time). I finally switched lines, and after about 90 minutes (and most of one of the science fiction novels I brought along to kill time like this), I was through to my baggage.
While I waited, I turned on my Moscow cell phone and it was a good thing I did, as I soon got a call from Aleksei, my "driver," who was calling to day he had just broken free of the mother of all traffic jams, which was why he was late picking me up, and that he would be at the airport in about 20 minutes. In the end, had the passport control formalities gone smoothly, I probably would have cooled my heels on the other side of customs, brushing off offers of "taxi?" like mosquitos during rainy season in the jungle.
As I had nothing to declare (typical case), I passed through the "green" corridor and noticed that the staff was not x-raying everyone's luggage, as was the case last time I passed through there. This means either (a) policy has changed, (b) the x-raying occurs only for particular flights or circumstances, of (c) the equipment is busted. I wouldn't bet which is the case.
On the drive from the airport to Alla's, I got to musing which was further: the drive from Sheremetevo to where Alla lives, or from JFK in New York to my parents' place on Long Island? My money is on the Moscow drive.
I got to sleep around 11 pm or so last night and woke, predictably, at a little after 4 am (about 6 pm Mountain time). I don't know if that's enough; I've been out and about since 8:30 am, and don't feel tired yet.
I had forgotten about the contents of the bag I had left with Alla in February (I was pleased to see there's shampoo, and a little dismayed that the Mars bars are intact).
I tried to fetch a weather report via my phone's SMS feature this morning and got two messages: the first was the weather report; the second, a message to the effect that I'm not authorized to get messages such as the one I had requested. I'm thinking computer glitch, since my current balance is positive - which explains why I got a weather report - but I had received a message in February to the effect that my balance would expire within 8 days - which ought to mean I have a zero balance.
In any event, I need to find one of those vending machines that accepts bills and refills one's cell account. There's one not far from the hotel I'll be checking into tomorrow (I've been told the rate there has tripled to over $700 per night, which will be a first for me!), but it's a far piece to walk from the internet cafe here at Okhotniy Ryad.
(That reminds me: I ought to see if I can figure out how to send an SMS to the folks back home.)
Plans are in place for some kind of public demonstration (celebration?) on the occasion of the Olympic Committee's forthcoming decision today to decide which city will host the 2012 Olympic Games (I presume these are the summer games). The contestants include New York, Paris, Moscow, and cities in the U.K. and Spain, and perhaps other locales as well. The news coverage this morning was pretty heavy, but I was more interested in channel surfing than keeping up with current affairs.
Time to move along.
Cheers...
