Jon is now in St. Petersburg with me, and we're already set on making our stamp on the town, reclaiming it from last year's memories and forming new ones. For the first little bit, it was weird being back here on my own, without familiar faces. Shops have been closed or moved, and I'm living in a whole different dorm, which made it a little bit better, and a little bit more surreal, as I'm down the hall from the room in which my friend Scott used to live. It's a good city for wandering about and people-watching, but the unfortunate side of it is the school environment made me feel guilty about taking the time I needed to stop and think before really being able to throw myself back into the whole social thing (though don't get me wrong, I definitely have met people here, and have been doing things with them. Just not a group of people to which I feel like I want to commit myself, like I did last year.) Having Jon here firstly gives me the excuse to not have to worry about that, and then is just an utter pleasure in itself. It's nice being able to rediscover the city while showing it to him, and it's also just nice to have an excuse to lounge around doing nothing without having to make guilty-feeling justifications to my roommate as to why I'm still in my pajamas if it's 5 pm. Aren't Sundays MADE for all-day pajama lounging? Particularly if you're reading a good book? And have jet lag (yes, 2 hours. But still, quite a legitimate complaint, I think.)

Regardless, I need to run, as I'm wasting a valuable computer at this internet cafe, and the woman is giving me the Russian Evil Eye (which, if I don't take care, might upgrade to potential doom by Eye-Laser.) This place seems to cater mainly to drunk nerds playing online games, which is apparently a wonderful social pastime in these parts. Go figure.