After I got laid-off from Adobe, I wanted to run away for awhile. But where to go?
Luckily with hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer points racked up from my days at XANGO and a month's severance from Adobe, I could go just about anywhere in the world. A college friend who now lives in Norway offered some floor space via SMS, so I booked a ticket for the next day.
Her invitation had one caveat: "I'm going to an art show Wednesday night, and a wedding on Saturday, so make sure you bring a suit."
Thirty hours later, we met under the clock of Oslo Central train station and headed out into the city for a brief walk before the show.
"So how is everybody coping in the aftermath of this summer's massacre at the children's camp?" I snapped a photo of the neoclassical National Theater where Em worked a few years back.
Em shot back with a passionate reply:
"We've continued to live the open free life we are used to! We didn't throw up police barricades in front of government buildings or install metal detectors in our elementary schools like you would in the States. Just last week I walked into city hall, smiled and waved to the security guard, and went exploring. I think you saw the pictures on my blog."
We crossed the street and paused on the sidewalk in front of the Hotel Continental for a bit of free wifi.
The art show took place in a shopping center in a reclaimed industrial area reminiscent of London's or Melbourne's docklands, complete with sleek apartment buildings, chic restaurants, and views of the fjord.
We joined 300 or so people crammed into an empty retail space turned gallery for a Q&A. At the front of house stood the artists featured in the show, and the ArchBishop of Norway. I don't remember why he was there exactly other than the fact that the show had a Biblical theme.
A group of well-know photographers were tasked to find a verse in the Bible and then to use it as a springboard for their artistic expression.
The photos, mostly black and white, spun allegorical statements with provocatively posed subjects. Our favorite was of a nude girl standing on a freshly furrowed field wearing an indian headdress.
Pizza for dinner, a stop at the news vendor's on the way back to the Oslo Central, a few cactus-flavored lozenges, and an hour's train ride to my bit of floorspace in Moss.
Once home, I promptly fell asleep under a lavender-scented duvet tucked away between a table and stacks of UK Conde Nast Traveller magazines.
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