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.