Tickets, Money, Passport...

Biglietti, denaro, passaporto... How's my Italian? I've been studying for weeks now. But it will probably be for nothing...it's the Olympics and everything will be in French or English!

I leave for Torino tomorrow afternoon and I feel like I have to get everything done before I leave. Including this introductory blog entry AND the crap I've been putting off since last year. Why I do this to myself? I'll never know.

I thought I was being smart when I made a list of things to do...in Italian. You know, kill two birds with one stone. Yeah. Well that just doubled the time it took to do anything because I had to keep referring to the Italian Dictionary (pictured above, available at Chapters for $9.95) to get anything done! So I translated my list and now I'm getting things done.

While in Italy, the Torino Olympic Broadcasting Organisation(my employer) is going to pay me a per diem. But I thought I should have €150 or so to take with me while I sit at the airport in Frankfurt or my first day there. I went to the bank and that €150 cost me $214. $1.42/Euro...A good exchange rate if you can believe it, go Canadian Dollar! But the bank only had €50 notes. The teller directed me to an exchange house close by that I could break the 50's. When I got there, there was no one and a sign that said, "Back in 30 minutes." So I decided to kill some time and have a bite to eat. But in a place where I could see when the person came back. At one point, I saw someone in the booth and someone exhanging money. I finished eating and ran to the counter and again the "Back in 30 minutes" sign was posted and there was no one around. If that was my exchange house, I would have fired her ass (it was a woman who was working there). So I left and went 6 blocks away to another exchange house where I successfully broke the 50's. But I also learned there that the bank actually HOSED me on the exhange rate. This place sold for $1.38/Euro. She told me that the banks always hose you. Is that true? All that fuss for currency.

As I write this, I've just come home from watching the Superbowl. (Too bad for those Seahawks) Since I'm going to be a Relief Videotape Operator at the games, I couldn't help but notice how quickly those guys working tape at the Superbowl can get a play cued up. I hope I can cut it at the World's biggest sporting event. I'm shaking in my boots. I have to keep reminding myself that the play button is the one with just one triangle on it.