As the cop said ,"Ticket 500 krona" I cringed knowing I only had 300 Krona with me. The day started off normal. Then I woke up. The phone was mysteriously ringing and it wasn't my wakeup call. I could only hope that it was Marco, my German counterpart who was there for the same job I was. I actually got out of bed and ran to the phone to answer it. Unfortunately when I answered it the phone got hung up. I then knew that I would have to go it alone. I would have to find the office on my own. All I had was Marco's cell phone number, which didn't work, and the vague address of where I was to be. I even tried to dial Marco's cell and it didn't work. I didn't even get a signal. Later I was to realize that to dial out required 00 and a country code. Well, I had an address. I figured that would be enough. I then went down to the front desk and had them look up the address on the map. I had full intention of taking the underground(the local subway system) because I had supposedly mastered it from the night before. Unfortunately the address was not listed on the map. The address itself was to be found outside of the limits of my little city map. So I had 2 problems: which trams to take and which direction to go. The guys at the front desk gave me a general direction to where the street it was on was and an idea of what tram to take. I then got a day pass for the subway(of which I forgot to get stamped). So I was off, knowing generally where I was to be but not exactly. I suppose I could've taken a cab but I heard they rip you off so off I went. I found the right tram and got on the tram that headed out of the city across the river. That part was easy. The part where I exited the tram was the hardest. I then realized that having a "general" idea of where to go does not mean anything. I was dropped off near a school that was littered with graffiti. I was sure I was in gangland terroritory. I quickly walked on the sidewalk thanking God it was 9am in the morning. I then saw a bunch of people walking and figured where there is people there is work. So I decided to follow them up the road I was supposed to be on. In the end the people started to go into their respective workhouses and I was left trailing one person down a dirt country road surrounded by trees. He ran off and I was left alone. Well, I figured if I went on I might end up in some desolate farmhouse with a farmer and his daughter so I decided to turn around. I stopped in at the last company, Ford Motors, and asked for directions. I walk in there all sweating and trying to find the address I had written down. The receptionist looked at me and all I could do was get out "English". Luckily they found a guy who spoke English and I went into his office. I told him I was lost and gave him the address. He took it and then called his girlfriend and got on some map site on his computer and proceeded to figure it out. After about a half an hour he printed out some bus maps and showed me that I was way off on where I was on the street. So I took the map and his bus numbers and proceeded to walk back to where I came from and get on a bus. My bus was arriving as I was walking to it so I had to run the rest of the way to get on it. I got on the bus and thought - this is all I need, I should be there in no time. Unfortunately at the last stop the bus driver looks at me and says something that I haven't a clue. I then say the name of the stop and he said,"change bus" which I then realized that the bus I wanted was right in front of us. I get off of the bus only to see my next bus leave and I couldn't do anything about it. This time I was really in the projects and had to wait 30 minutes for the right bus to come back. By now it was nearing 11:00 and I knew they would be worried but my cell didn't work. A guy standing next to me started to do karate kicks in the air as we were waiting. I was thankful to have some old ladies there to protect me. I finally get on the bus and it takes me to about 5 stops before the end of the line, which was were I got off. Luckily the map I now had showed that it was in a building across the street. I managed to find the right building on the first time, thankful to be alive. My coworkers were glad to see me and I even helped them solve some performance problems the first day. So now it was time to go home. I then learned that there was an underground subway that went directly from my hotel to that station. So my traveling companions and I get on the subway to go to dinner. I bought another subway ticket just in case. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. My coworkers did the same thing. We arrive at our destination get off the subway and a "polize" officer wanted to see our subway tickets. I guess that's what happens when you carry your suitcase with you. He said we had the wrong ticket and it would be a 500 Krona fine for each of us. I didn't have the money and had to borrow from one of my coworkers. I thought to myself, I road the subway for the past couple of days and no one said a word. Now he does. Sheesh. Anyway, we now have a co-worker story to tell. I was a little amused and actually thought about running, they were old guys. Then I realized I am old too. We finished the night having Italian that still has my stomach gurgling. Anyway, that was another adventure brought to you by Brian's stupidy. Now coming to theatres near you.

Thought of the Day
"We're like rats in some experiment."
- George, in "The Parking Garage"