France: Parlez-vous Anglais???

YO.

That's right, friends. I'm in Strasbourg, France (technically Robertsau) and it's simply wonderful. Ok, it's raining so maybe wonderful is strong, but it's very nice. My dad and I just took a walk around town and swung by the bank to change some dollars.

Last night, right when we got in from Heidelberg we went to a pizza place. This was no normal pizza place, mind you. The "pizzas" were called tarte flambee. They had paper-thin crusts and were covered in cheese, bacon, and white sauce. One of them also had mushrooms and another had muenster cheese on it. These were apparently an Alsacian favorite and soon became an Eric favorite. Along with them, we had a stunning Pinot Grigio and tap water (crazy!). After dinner we came back to Christine's flat and had desert and looked at pictures from Germany.

This morning I rose around 10 and we had a most elegant break

fast (pictured here). When was the last time you had breakfast like that? Coffee from the press, baguettes, butter, and rose-hip jam. I feel like a chapter from an old French novel.

Anyways, after breakfast, my mom and Chr

istine went to the Supermache (Supermarket) and my dad and I went for a stroll to the bank and around town. I'm now back here working on the last few bars of my computer's battery and looking forward to the rest of the day. I hope everyone back in the states (and where ever you are) is having a lovely morning so far and I've got to get downstairs and see what's going on with lunch and so on.

Ciao!

Germany: Ein Apfelschorle, bitte.

Apfelschorle (apple soda) is probably my favorite German drink. The Heidelberger Hefeweizen is good, but this stuff is...I mean it's uniquely German as far as I know. You can get a Harpoon Hefeweizen and be doing pretty well for yourself, but even my favorite Boston brewery doesn't carbonate apple juice and sell it. What a great idea.

Sorry it's been so long. It's definitely not "tomorrow" as pseudo-promised in the last entry but in my defense, this is the first time I've had internet access since that entry. There's way too much to share.

The rest of my family arrived safely this past monday and tuesday and now that we're all here, things have gotten better (as they were a little rough for a few days). I've been bounced around in terms of accommodations and have stayed here with my sister and at another apartment with my other sister + cousin and finally last night I stayed with Travis.

Travis is an interesting character to put it mildly. He's one of Katie's co-workers at the University. A ripe 32-years-old and a St. Louis, MO native. That sounds fairly normal, but he doesn't sound at all normal. He's been in Europe 6 years and his voice reflects it. It's lost all nasal quality (the kind us Americans are known for) and he speaks English in German and French now if that makes sense. His words are English, but his sentence structures and such are foreign. He lives right near the buzz of Heidelberg which is sort of cool. His apartment could literally be construed as a hole in the wall. It's right off the street, so when the garbage trucks come by Monday morning, he sleeps on the kitchen floor because it's farther from the window (where the loud noises come in). Craziness.

This morning, I'm working on music for the wedding reception while Katie, Janah, Renatta(Janah's Polish bff), and Clara get their nails done. Frank and I are holding it down here at the apartment. Later today, I'll be eating Turkish kabobs with my brother, Ellie, Boris + Betina (my brother's host + hostess), and whoever else decides to join. Then the rehearsal is tonight, followed by a dinner in the aforementioned abandoned restaurant. Good fun.

I hope to be able to update again soon. If I can't though, have a great weekend and I'll be back in Virginia before you know it. So you can all come see me. Yes.

Germany: Dazed + Confused

Good Morning!

Looks to be about 5:30am EST but a ripe 11:30am here in Mannheim, Germany.

Consequently, my internal clock is all out of whack. My body thinks it's 5:30, my brain thinks it's 11:30. Strange and a little disorienting.

Besides the chrono-shock though, things have been great. I made it from Frankfurt to Mannheim in one piece (thanks to my cousin, Clara) and I'm now in my sister's apartment. This morning I had cereal, yogurt, and coffee for breakfast and then we made our way into Heidelberg on the tandem bike to pick up a power adapter for my computer. For those of you who don't know, Europeans have different plugs than Americans so when coming over here it's good to be prepared for that sort of thing.

Tonight is the week-before-the-wedding party. Frank has access to this abandoned restaurant downstairs and that's where we'll be doing that. I've been put in charge of music and that's finally coming together as well (and that's why we needed the adapter). Everything from Michael Jackson to Tracy Chapman and back.

The weather is gorgeous. Relatively cool (70s). Later on today I may be helping Frank with party food and drinks and then it's only hours until the fun begins (around 4pm)!

No awkward language situations to report so far, however it's only been about 24 hours.

I hope everyone is having a lovely sleep and I'll be back tomorrow!

Don't Write Yourself Off Yet

Hey,

Don't write yourself off yet.

It's only in your head you feel left out,

Or looked down on.

Just try your best,

Try everything you can.

And don't you worry what they tell themselves

When you're away.

It just takes some time,

little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.

Everything, everything will be just fine,

Everything, everything will be alright. (alright)

Hey,

You know they're all the same.

You know you're doing better on your own, (on your own)

So don't buy in.

Live right now.

Yeah, just be yourself.

It doesn't matter if it's good enough (good enough)

For someone else.

[Chorus x2]

Hey, don't write yourself off yet.

It's only in your head you feel left out, (feel left out)

Or looked down on.

Just do your best, (just do your best)

Do everything you can. (do everything you can)

And don't you worry what their bitter hearts (bitter hearts)

Are gonna say.

[Chorus x2]

Rule #3: [Lesson] Of The Flies

Earlier this morning I was doing dishes and staring out the window into my neighbor's yard. I'm helping him clear out the jungle it has become and I was admiring our handy work when all of the sudden, some stupid fly crashes directly into the window. Then again. Again. Again. Happening in quicker succession then you can read it, probably. Anyways, you know how that goes. The fly keeps on banging into the window, perhaps relying on that infinitesimal chance that the molecules will align themselves in such a way that he will be able to go right on through. So, the question is:

Stupid insect or genius creature?

My answer is neither. He's certainly not stupid but I wouldn't say he's a genius either. Instead, I would say that he's been given a gift. Call me an idealist, but I would argue, for the sake of the human spirit and a little encouragement, that the fly is not being stupid but persistent. He knows that the odds are against him, he knows what happened last time he tried to get out of a closed window, but he keeps on doing it with the mindset that one day he will indeed make it outdoors and back to his family. If he even has a family. Who knows how a fly's social system is arranged...

A stretch? Perhaps. Maybe the fly really doesn't have any trace of a short-term memory and is just mindlessly throwing himself at the window because he doesn't know any better. Let me remind you, however, that perception is everything and we have no idea what the fly is actually thinking. I implore you to go along with this because I think we can learn something from this fly. Especially in the case of not smoking, no matter how daunting it seems or how awful it feels to curb that craving, you must have faith that one day it's going to be better. Science tells us that after two weeks the cravings will begin to ease up significantly and it won't be so awful. Not only will it not be so bad, but it will be better, too. Your health is constantly improving by you doing nothing about the craving. That's right, by you NOT doing anything, you're improving your quality of life. How awesome is that? Exactly.

So, be strong, friends. Be persistent. Be a fly. Like the fly hitting the window repeatedly, resisting cigarettes may hurt your head and may seem stupid, but soon you will make it outdoors and back to a better life. Trust me.

Keeping The Pace (Second Post In One Day)

First and foremost, pardon me for smothering you.

Arlington has always been my home, but never in the way it has been these past few months. Needless to say, life is much different once you're responsible for your own. Among the many recreational opportunities in our fair town/county, I chose to explore the Pacers' bi-weekly evening fun run.

Fun is an understatement.

I met several characters when I got there and before we set out.

Fiona: Not to be confused with Ms. Fiona Apple, though I did devise a rather unusual way to remember her name involving Norman Rockwell and apple pie. She's one of the leaders of the group.

Janet: The next face I met bore no resemblance to my great aunt but that's not surprising since they are in no way related. She mentioned someone named Justin in passing. Perhaps a significant other?

Ellen: Another leader of the evening fun runs. I didn't learn much about her, besides that she's very nice.

Jeff: A lawyer and ultra runner. I'm not sure any more needs to be said.

Mark: Another lawyer, but I think he's also in the Army. We talked a little more at length after the run. His aunt and uncle live near my parents and he's very social.

Brad: The man. A 54-year-old Navy chaplain. He and I led the pack for the evening. Yes, it was a fun run but we were in front and I'd be denying my human nature if I didn't say I enjoyed that at least a little. Brad is from Minnesota and has a daughter and a son. He kept telling everyone I gave him a run for his money, but it was really the other way around. I was hurting afterwards.

We did a 4.25 mile loop around town and ended up right back where we started for some cold water and socializing. I think I'm going to enjoy doing these runs. I have my brother to thank for encouraging me to get out and try one.

Test Taker. Heartbreaker?

Sorry it's been so long! I'll bet you thought I was dead!

I'd probably lose a lot of money on that but just to make sure, I'm writing this blog entry. I just happen to be staring the beast right in the face. I've been craving a cigarette for most of the afternoon and I have a choice, as we often do. I can walk two blocks to the 7-11 and grab a pack, smoke enough to get me through then toss the rest trying to live down the shame and the setback, or I can stay here and resolve to do something about it. I've decided to take one step towards the latter by exposing my struggle on here.

I could have kept this to myself and my journal, but all too often I feel like we give into urges because we tell ourselves we have no choice. Perhaps there are rare cases where we are somehow mystically relieved of free-will, but it's my belief that reality kills 99.9% of one way streets. What is an impulse, then? It's no absolute power, that's for sure. No matter how much you want to believe it, you have a choice. Why are these choices so hard to make, even decipher? Is it because we have a natural appetite for self-destruction? Is it merely because it's so hard to choose between good choices (real or perceived)?

Or is it because of instant gratification? Just as an impulse is a quick decision, it's often related to a quick fix. A cigarette would have made me feel better for a time, but perhaps not even until I'm done with one. Eating makes people feel better for a time, until their stomachs complain, they start to gain weight and their teeth rot. Porn makes lots of people feel better for a few seconds, until they realize that they're still alone in the room and their new best friend only exists behind the screen.

Maybe when we're fighting these urges, it would be good of us to consider the long term, even the medium term. Not only that, but trust ourselves to make the right decision. We almost always fall into doubt that we won't feel as bad this time, or that the next bud light really is going to fix all our problems, but we know that's not true and we have to trust that knowledge. We have to say no, no matter how much I want this, I know exactly where it leads and I'm going to trust myself. Then, we have to take the road less traveled. Even one measly step, lifting your weak foot in that direction will make you see that you've made the right decision. You're stronger now and you're no longer a slave to what you thought you had no power over.