April 25 - Advice for People Who Have Accidentally Traveled Back in Time

You wake up, look around yourself, and everything is out of whack. Everyone is wearing weird retro fashions, the cars are all from another era, and the language is loaded with a bunch of slang you don't recognize. Guess what. You've accidentally gone back in time! Now what?
First and most importantly, don't panic. So you've gone back in time. It's not the end of the world. Take a deep breath and try to assess the situation, but keep a low profile. Don't attract attention.
One way to help yourself avoid unwanted attention is to stay away from making any era-specific references. Something all accidental time travelers from the movies have in common is that they make absolute tools out of themselves by trying to get a product that hasn't been invented yet. I'm thinking Marty McFly ordering a Tab and then a Pepsi Free in the 50s, or the guy from Life on Mars trying to get a mobile (phone) in the 70s. And it's like, look around, idiots. You're obviously not where/when you were yesterday. Act accordingly. If you have to have something to drink, order water or better yet, coffee. No matter where you are in time, they're bound to have coffee, so you won't look like a freak if you ask for it. Plus the caffeine will help sharpen your wits, and you're going to need them if you're trying to extricate yourself from the wrong end of a time/space wormhole.
Speaking of which, as soon as possible, you should try to figure out what year it is. Don't ask anybody this question directly, especially not a cop. On some level you've got to realize that you're going to give people the wrong idea if you're acting all panicked and asking what year it is, because who the hell does that? (Seriously, when has anyone ever asked you what freaking year it was?) Calm down. Take a look around. There should be clues everywhere to get you in the right ball park: Cars, clothing styles, technologies. But the big giveaway? Newspapers. Chances are you'll be able to get your hands on one pretty easily. Just keep a low profile and check around for a discarded newspaper, and for the God's sake, don't ask someone where you can find an Internet cafe or an iPhone or something else that will make you look like a freak because it doesn't exist yet/anymore.
Next up, change clothes. For whatever reason, with the exception of terminators, people in movies tend to go back in time wearing clothes from their era--clothes that mark them as being from someplace else. If this applies to you too, you're probably going to want to find something to wear that lets you fit in a bit more easily. (And of course if you've traveled back in the nude, get your ass in some clothes!) Just make sure you have cash before you go shopping, and don't try to use credit cards, because you're just begging for trouble.
Now that you've figured out what year it is, you've avoided making people think you're psychotic, and you've gotten yourself some clothes, you're probably feeling more at ease, but not so much that you're not going to want to figure out how to get back to where you're from. My advice? Don't bother. It was something beyond your control that landed you here (electrical storm, a nasty blow to the head, or some other plot device) and whatever gets you back home will also largely be beyond your control, so don't worry about it too much. Instead, make the most of your time back in the past. If you can right some wrongs and prevent some bad stuff from happening, great. But don't make spreading good a priority. In fact, forget ethics altogether. Invest. Bet on any sporting events you remember the outcome of. Get credit for creating new genres of music. Predict the future with alarming accuracy. Get in good with future business and entertainment moguls before they're rich and famous. Mess with people. Get some ass. Enjoy yourself. Soon enough you'll be back in the present. Enjoy the past while you can.