I don't see dead people. I hear crickets.

The time difference between Europe and the States sure makes for a quiet social mediasphere in the middle of my day. In Scandinavia, I'm 7 hours ahead of those in the Mid-west. Now that I've been here for a week (from Oslo to Stockholm to Oslo and back to Stockholm again), I'm missing the quick hits that I normally get in my workday that give my mind a second to reset while I reply to a tweet on Twitter or a comment on Facebook.

Image by Jonatan Ortega via FlickrAnd, I just don't understand why a few of you fools aren't staying up all night to entertain me and make me more productive. #Weaksauce.

Last night, Pia and I realized that I can tether (use her iPhone as a wifi hotspot) with her phone. In the States we can't tether our iPhones, but it's all good in Sweden. This makes me feel better about our coming trip to the islands on the west coast of the country. You know... a freelancer doesn't get any paid vacation, yo!

Notes:

• I think I had the most expensive beer I've ever had in my life while in Norway: $92 NOK, or about USD $15.
• ICEBAR at the ICEHOTEL is cold, but the drinks are terrible.
• Being in Scandinavia isn't "in your face" foreign like many other countries that I've been in: nice cars, hardly see poverty, you can even buy Doritos.
• I suck at posting pictures and I know that when I'm out of memory and must post pictures of my South America trip earlier this year that I will confuse the crap out of everyone and you'll all ask, "I thought you went to Europe?"
• Deal with it.
• Norwegian Airlines has been the least expensive carrier... strike that, "cheapest" carrier. When you select your seat, you pay extra. If you want a drink, you pay extra. #Weaksauce. However, a brand new 737 sure looks pretty... pretty obvious that you have to charge for everything to pay it off.
• After one week, leaning more toward the blondes of Scandinavia than the brunettes of South America--same beauty/less attitude, more outdoorsy/less clubby. Now, about whether I prefer Norwegian women or Swedish women? Hmmm.
  

Skol!