One more day...

Tomorrow is my last day of work in Stavanger. I have really been looking forward to getting back to Vancouver, but the closer my departure gets, the more I feel like I don't want to leave. I know the change is what I need, I haven't quite been myself lately, but it doesn't change the fact that I am going to miss my friends and co-workers.

Since I've been here I've met some fantastically interesting people. All of them are well-educated, motivated, and extremely worldly. They speak so many languages that I'm embarassed to reveal that I can only speak english... and some passable french. Sure, we may not always see eye-to-eye on the amount of work that should be done during a standard work week, but there's a lot to be said for someone that can work hard, yet also prioritize their private life.

Living in Norway has been a fantastic experience, primarily due to the great people I have met and with whom I have become great friends. Even though I am looking forward to getting back to Canada, I know that once I leave, I will really miss it here.

I sure won't miss the beer prices though.

Airports, travel, and the complete mess it has become

I really do not like airports. Actually, let me refine that statement: I don't like big airports, especially in Europe. Well, perhaps a little more specificity is required: I don't like Heathrow (and I'm liking Schipol less and less).

At first I accepted the current state of affairs. I was "lucky" enough to be booked on a long-haul flight connecting through Heathrow the day after they broke up the plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic. I was one of the many with only a plastic bag to hold my passport, wallet, and other travel documents. I accepted, I obeyed, and I felt that it was an excusable hassle because it meant that my plane would not fall from the sky unexpectedly. I accepted it until I had the time to think the whole thing through.

I realize that there is a need for increased security, and really, I am glad that I don't get blown up when I fly, but the fact that I have to waste two hours of my life standing in line waiting to be searched so thoroughly that in the end the security guard knows my body better than my doctor is something that really bugs me. That and I hate the fact that I had to throw out my lip balm because I didn't pack it in a zip-lock bag. I completely forgot that lip balm minus a plastic bag equals "able to blow up a plane", whereas lip balm placed in a zip-lock = "unable to blow up a plane". Right, how could I possibly not understand the logic of that one? OK, so I simplified the argument, but you should get the point.

So, with travel being such a mess, who is really winning this situation? Is it me? Not that I can tell; I'm not a big fan of wasting my life waiting to be searched. How about the poor guards that have to feel up every guy or girl that walks by? I really hope not (so, no). Hmm, but what about the terrorists? I bet they're sitting in a room somewhere, watching the TV footage of me walking through security, and laughing at the fact that I just spent two hours waiting in line to have my balls cupped by a stranger, all so that I could get on a two hour flight... only to have the process repeated at the next stop-over. They probably bring popcorn and drinks, and make a night of watching the hilarity. Is it so hard to realize that the terrorists don't win when they simply kill individuals with one act? They win when they succeed in making everyone afraid, in creating a culture and society that is so afraid that it freezes and can't move.

Okay, so maybe I don't get it; perhaps this is "the new reality of travel". Maybe this is how it will always be. If that really is the case, and we can't find a better way to make travel actually work, then I'm going to make a large investment in fractional jet owners, personal aircraft manufacturers, and anything else that will involve skipping the normal travel procedures. Anything to let me avoid the mess that is airline travel as it is today.

As I was going through security, a guard politely asked me how my night was going (as he was patting me down). I answered nicely that things were alright, but it had been a long night (at this point I had been in line for nearly two hours). In return I asked him how his night was going. He replied "you really don't want to know; I just want this day to end".

In case it is not clear, I would like to point out that it is not the security staff at any of the airports I am upset with. In fact, the job that they have to do is something I would never want to have to do based on how much they have to put up with from angry travelers. What I am upset with is the system that is now in place - the policies that dictate how we can/cannot travel. I realize there has to be security - I just wish it didn't come at the price of open society.

Things, and other things.

Wow, time flies. What's happend over the last few months? Well, there was the trip to Vancouver for a month (including Bjarte visiting from Norway, a trip to the Gorge, two weeks in the Okanagan, and many other adventures), a trip to Geneva, my parents in town for a week, a trip to Bergen, and a lot of work, and my acceptance of a new job in Vancouver. Wow, things really do move quickly.

The Vancouver count-down is on. I should be back sometime in December and start in my new role Jan 1. Exciting stuff!

Development Arrested

I finally finished season three. It's so sad to know that a show that was so well produced, written, and acted can get canned in favour of "Skating with the Stars".

I'll cry for years... or at least until season three of Lost comes out on DVD.

I love Vancouver

It's so nice to be back - even if only for a visit.

Oh, Heathrow

What seemed like a great idea at the time, has turned out to be a terrible idea: flying through Heathrow to get frequent flyer points on the airline of my preference.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4778615.stm

No carry-on luggage, except for the bare minimum in a clear plastic bag. No computer, no phone, no ipod (gasp!), no drinks, and no contact lens solution (wtf). How am I supposed to travel for 14 hours with no ipod? I can barely go three hours without my music, and now they expect this of me? What do they think I am? Made of steel?

Oh well, if it means that I can travel without my plane falling from the sky, then I'm all for it.

Why am I so lazy?

I'm getting pretty bad at this whole updating thing. Yikes. I've never really been one with words, whether read or written, but I figured that maybe I would write more with this blog available. Guess not, eh? It's not that I don't have anything to write about - there's a lot going on in my life - it's more that I don't find I like to write about anything particularly introspective or deep. I'd rather keep these thing to myself, even if they make this blog pretty damn boring.

Oh well, you'll just have to make do with one superficial post per month or three. If you're lucky, Saddam just might have to invite Dick Cheney for a friendly game of rock paper scissors. But only if you're lucky.

I've been really boring lately. I've been working a lot this past month, and if it weren't for my three week vacation coming up on Friday (!), I think I'd be about to snap. The investment bankers, junior lawyers, medical interns - I don't know how they do it. I work two 90 hr work weeks and I'm done. Kaput. Finito. I'm used to 50-60 hours, but 90 is something completely different: it borders on the insane.

With so much work to do I've become tired and boring. My usual five workouts per week gets cut to one - and that's if I'm lucky. I don't see anyone for drinks after work, I turn down dinner dates, and when I do make it home, I sit on the couch and wonder how my life got so damn exciting (ha!). Of course, I am terribly short-sighted, and if I were to think back to last month I would remember the trip to Oslo; and the trip to Northern Russia the month before that; and the fact that I party until 4:30 AM with fantastic friends on a regular basis nearly every weekend. Maybe I should stop complaining and just suck it up.

On Friday I leave for a full month in Canada; I can't wait. I haven't been home in over seven months, but it feels a lot longer. I have been on a lot of trips to random places in Europe during that time, but nothing really compares to going back to somewhere where you actually feel at home. First stop is Toronto, then Vancouver for a few days, then up to the Okanagan for two weeks of lying in the sun. After I've burnt to a crisp and am back in waterskiing shape, I'll head back to Vancouver for a few more days before heading down to the Gorge in Washington to see Dave Matthews. Oh yeah, and my friend Bjarte (from Norway) is coming to the Okanagan and Vancouver for vacation. Heck yeah!

Check out OK Go (the band). Their fast stuff is pretty rad. Unfortunately their slow stuff isn't as great, but it's still ok.




Yeah, I said rad.