monteNEGRO again

Montenegro again

So since everyone had a great time in Montenegro, CE decided to go back there. I think Montenegro really wants to become a part of NATO as well, so they are more than happy to host. Our trip was pushed ahead a week which was nice because I got to leave the country one week earlier than I thought. Due to whatever we now get to the country we are going to with only one day advance instead of two.

Friday

Nothing special about the flights really. I was upgraded which was nice and because of the Icelandic Volcano ash we were diverted south which added about 45 more minutes to our flight. Not bad Ill just kick it here and sleep.

Saturday

We landed in Frankfurt about 8 in the morning and we were leaving around 4 so there was a whole heck of a lot of waiting and I forget my effing DS. So I was forced to listen to music, but music is not enough to take my mind off my sleepiness, so I was kind of cranky. I went for a walk but there really wasn’t much to do except sit. Everyone was doing their own thing, reading a book, doing work, playing games, drinking beer, or whatever else. Around 2 oclock we went down to Montenegro Airlines to wait for check in. It was a mad dash when they opened the gates. Its always tough that we get 2 fifty pound bags with American but we only get 1 23 kilo bag in Europe. So you have to do some careful packing and or smiling nicely or just hope for the best. Not all gate agents are created equal and depending on who you get and how you greet them and maybe if you are 6’4 and smile you may get better treatment. I was given my ticket and all was well in the world. Not everyone in my group was so lucky and they had to go pay overweight baggage fees. So we went up to the boarding area and just hung out there for another hour or so until we got on the plane. Montenegro Airlines is okay, it was only about a 2 hour flight and we were there in no time. When we landed our van was waiting for us, which was better than last year, it was still a 1 hour drive to Budva. It was a long and winding road through the black mountains, which is what Montenegro translates too; I was starting to get a little car sick. We got there, got settled, took a shower to get the airplane off me, and we went down to the beach to get some food. Since we were there before the first of June, which is the start of the summer season, there weren’t many options for food. The menu was pretty sparse. The food was okay and I was pretty tired from the flights so I went up to my room and crashed out about 10.

Sunday

I slept pretty well considering my balcony faced the rising sun, I think I made it to about 530. Not bad, usually I wake up at 3 or 4 on those first nights. The CE staff did a pretty good job of setting up the rooms so there wasn’t too much setup needed on Sunday. Other people had more work to do so I just chilled and helped out when I was asked. That night we went down to old town and had some pretty good seafood. The fish was a little boney, but still pretty good. I was able to get the local dark beer, that was pretty tasty. We walked around a little bit after dinner, saw a local concert band perform. Then made 2 different gelato stops. Mmmmmm gelato is so good. Another chill night, went back to room watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday

This was the start of the pre conference. Got the network up and running and everything went pretty well. For this conference my roles changed and I was now the trouble ticket software guy as well as network validation guy. I gave a brief rundown on the functionality and how we would use it. People were pleased, some voiced their concerns, but all of those were addressed or I worked on them during the rest of the week. Monday evening I stayed around the hotel waiting for my guest. We are working with a commercial vendor to help us to the network assessment so I was going to be there to greet him. I didn’t get to meet him until the morning, but that’s not because I didn’t try, I just couldn’t connect. The front office gave me his room, which is not exactly safe, but cool, I slipped him a note telling him where and when to meet me in the morning.

Tuesday

Met the dude and he seemed pretty cool. I made a few quick introductions and then we sat down with some of the key players, the organizers involved with the network, and we hashed out the scenarios for the network assessment. We did it in about 50 minutes and everyone was happy. Even the chair of networking, who is usually pretty hard to deal with and can be kind of stubborn, was very impressed with the vendor. We settled on all of the situations and started working. We weren’t told until about 25 minutes in advance that we would need to brief this to everyone. So the vendor and I quickly made a 60 slide presentation. Yeah death by power point but this guy only hits homeruns. Everyone was super impressed with what he had to say and what he had to offer. My bosses, the CE bosses, even the foreign national bosses. I got many accolades, attaboys, and high fives from people for our work. Well it was like 99% the vendor and maybe 1% for me, because I helped steer him in the right direction. But I guess I am ultimately responsible for its success or failure. So I get the rewards or I get the slap down. Tuesday night was also our ice breaker. So we went down to this pizzeria, had some pizza and then had some free drinks. Had some pretty good conversations. We were right on the water and since it was just barely June it was still pretty cold. I had to run up and get my jacket, baby got cold. I stayed for awhile had a few drinks and then called it a night.

Wednesday

Another regular work day and I really can’t remember what we did. We got out early for some reason. So I headed down to the beach with my vendor. He was kind of bundled up, jeans and a sweatshirt. I was rocking shorts and flipflops. I was underdressed it was really cold. We drank some beer and talked. Hes a very successful dude, works hard and parties hard. Takes vacations in Brazil and the Maldives. Not bad, not bad, not bad. That night we again just chilled around the hotel, had some more pizza.

Thursday

Another day of working. I was mostly working on my report and trying to get every details hammered out that I could. I wrote about a 13 page paper detailing what were going to do and why. My vendor took off as soon as work was done he went to eat with the French delegation. We headed down to old town that night. Thursday is usually the cultural tour, I had to skip it; luckily it was the same thing as last year, so I didn’t miss too much. We had a really good dinner, drank lots of beer, and had some ice cream. Not a bad evening.

Friday

Tidied up all the loose ends had a quick meeting with the Polish guys about their network setup and topology, so many green lights, life is good. The conference ended and we cleaned up. It was off again on again rain. Headed back down to the beach, it went from cold to hot to sunny to cloudy to raining to not. But it was nice, hung out with my symbiotic better half D-money. Hes the man‼ Afterwards, D-money and I went to make a phone call with the Fins. It was the Finnish Army Birthday. We had this mint alcohol mouthwash. Very good, lots of breathe in ahhh sensations. Went back up to our room and got ready for the party. Suit up and bow tie up. Im still the only one who is rocking a bow tie to the traditional dinner. The dinner was buffet, which I don’t like, I prefer to be served. I got seconds, I was very hungry that day. The party ended early in my opinion. I would have gone out that night but we had to get up really early for an hour bus drive to the airport.

Saturday

Slept most of the way. Then we had about a 3 hour wait in the airport. Its tough in those airports because you cant go through security until the plane is ready to board. So we had to sit out in the lobby. Flight to Frankfurt was pretty easy. We were staying at the Sheraton at the airport where I have some clout, so I was upgraded to a nicer tower and a nicer room. We went out for a walk around Frankfurt. It was super hot that day, I had fumunda juice like a sonofa. There were some river side topless bathing beauties, mhhm mhhm. We stopped at a restaurant and had some really good schnitzel. Then we went and got some gelato. OMG gelato should be one of the food groups. I had dark chocolate brownie batter. Ohh boy did I feel it in my thighs the next few weeks. Just kidding I didn’t. But that’s what the headline in a Seventeen magazine said. Just kidding it didn’t. What Im saying is you can eat whatever youd like in moderation and its not going to create saddle bags. A lot of the other crew went home after dinner, but me and two other guys stayed out. We were looking for the red light district. Not to partake but to just say I had seen it. I think it was too early out. It was 10pm and the sun was just barely going down. We walked around and saw a lot of sex shops, strip clubs, adult stores, arcades, but there were no chicks in the windows. I don’t know if they don’t come out until after dark or what. But it was marginally satisfying; don’t know when Ill be back in Frankfurt. So you never know.

Sunday

Flight back home was pretty normal. My coworker took the liberty of changing all my seats unbeknownst to me. She just wanted to sit next to me and everything worked out, but I was like ¿come que?, shes like youre an awesome seat mate. Ahh well schucks, lady! I wasn’t tired of drinking but I wasn’t in the mood for AAs selection of alcohol. She recommended an Amaretto and Coke. Shit is delicious it tastes like Dr Pepper. Go get some right now, its really tasty.

Well I think that’s about it for adventures in the Balkans. Hope you enjoyed and hope you keep coming back for more.

Piece, luv, and sole

jacob