INSOMNIA IN MOSCOW: I tried to fall asleep since I need to be at the Starlite Diner early to meet one of my first bosses in Moscow. Things have been working out in various ways. I managed to make it to one of the oldest farmer's markets this morning. It is being renovated and very few vendors were there. However, I enjoyed tasting several traditional sauces and had a nice conversation with this woman from Dagistan. I bought a few jars of "adjika" a spicy Georgian marinade, some mountain honey and a 1/4 kilo of suluguni cheese. I resisted the temptation to buy pickled garlic, but I might chance it on Thursday morning on the way to the airport. The worst they can do is take it away from me at JFK.

I reached out to a Wharton alumnus who lives in Canada and is Russian. It turned out he was in Moscow and we ended up grabbing lunch together. He's building a wealth management company.

As I wandered around the city, I found my mind reaching back to memories from different eras of my life. I managed to finally visit the new cathedral at Kropotkinsky. It's amazing! IT cost a fortune to build, but it was actually free to visit. It's a true replica of what existed a century ago before Stalin destroyed the original church. I am awed by it's sheer size.

I visited the Lenin Library this afternoon. As often I have passed by, I had never stepped foot inside it's doors. I needed to fill out a form and give them my passport to receive an entry pass. I had a rather large bag with me and the woman asked me what was in it. I said, oh, not much, just a wallet and a journal. She flipped out and said a journal! All the more reason to check your bag at the bag check! Hmm, I wonder what she thought I was planning to do. I checked my bag, but kept my wallet, cell phone and camera with me. She asked if I had a camera and I said no.

The library is enormous and the rows upon rows of card catalog boxes would make a researcher cringe. I went inside the reading hall - a massive room the size of a COSTCO about 3 stories high. Long windows on either side gave natural light to add to the rows of large wooden tables with small green reading lamps and green velvet wooden chairs. The air was stale, hot and muggy and the sweat dripped down my face. Dozens of people sat at tables taking copious notes of various books that were spread upon their individual desks. No photocopying, I guess. A larger than life size stature of a seated Lenin reading a book sat upon a platform at the end of the large hall, an enormous painting of Soviet era propoganda on the wall behind him.

I browsed the numerous shelves along the walls and found a few collectiossn of ENcyclopedia Brittanica - 1 from 1952 the other from 1994. As I read the various titles along the shelves, I thought about the people who may have had access to such books back in tghe Soviet Era and what it must have been like to get access back then.

I looked up my grandparents last names in the card catalogue, wondering what kinds of literature the library held. Some cards were hand written, others typed on an obviously old typewriter. The studious readers endured the lack of airconditioning and rather stiff conditions.

I entered another smaller room where statistical and scientific journals were housed. I almost got physically dizzy as I thought about how different my life could have been had I pursued a Masters or PhD in Soviet Studies or Russian literature! I thought of all those PhD candidates applying for permits and dealing with all the red tape to get access to the enormous collections housed in the Lenin Library.

Off to the Manezh where the former home to the Tsar's collection of carraiges and horses now plays host to modern exhibits. This month, it's "back to school and education!" I picked up a few brochures about various institutes for business. It was a rather eclectic "trade show".

I ended the evening drinking beer with former colleagues from Denview. It was really great to catch up with everyone. The memories flowed freerer than the beer and the hugs and kisses at the end of the evening were heartfelt. I do hope to see people in less than 3 years this time!