Bucknell-Mount Carmel Connection

I feel extremely fortunate to have some really great friends, who like me, were raised in Mount Carmel and able to attend Bucknell for college. While at Bucknell, it was always comforting to have a few friends who could understand how I was trying to navigate my way through the Bucknell world while holding onto my coal region roots. This could be a whole dissertation by itself, but the point here is that I'm glad I had people in my life who crossed worlds.

Huge shout out to my friend Laraine who falls into this category in my life. Laraine and I were involved in a lot of the same things in high school and in college. We even earned the same type of master's degree so we could pursue working in student affairs at the college level. You could say that our roots were influential in the paths we chose as we grew older and approached "the real world."

I invited Laraine to Lewisburg last night for dinner and a Bucknell basketball game as a way for us to catch up while she's visiting family over the holidays. She lives on the west coast so I don't often see her very much. In the car ride to Lewisburg we discovered that our professional lives had similar trajectories over the past three years. While I won't rehash the gory details of some of the drama-ridden and tragic moments of our very first careers, I will say that I think we were both comforted by the fact that the other "understood" in a way that perhaps others in our lives can't really relate to. I don't use the word empathize often because it really is hard to sometimes walk in another person's shoes, but I think in this case, empathy applies.

Spending time with a friend who crosses over two worlds allows for two very special circumstances. Obviously, we get to discuss our personal lives, provide updates, ponder future endeavors, etc. But just as important, we get to discuss the other people in our lives. Laraine always gives me some good updates on friends from home and college who she keeps in touch with, people that I still do care about but who aren't part of my daily network, and I get to do the same. The point here isn't to gossip, but to generally know about how others are doing.

And once we pass through all of that insight, we often fall back into serious reminiscing about some of the really great times we had. This is also helped when we run into Bucknell staff members that we used to work with, who remind us of some very special moments in our lives.

We rehashed many memories. Many enjoyable, laughter-driven memories. I'm still smiling, thinking about how often we shared such great moments. I'm still smiling, knowing how truly blessed we were to share such an amazing college experience. I'm still smiling, feeling empowered by my Bucknell years. It is such a phenomenal place. Seriously. I'm so glad to have the opportunity to go back there and feel these feelings and share them with people who mean a great deal to me. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Bargain $hopping

One of my favorite things about Pennsylvania (I know, there are a lot of things to choose from) is the fact that there is no sales tax on clothing. I repeat, no sales tax on clothing. Some people find this hard to believe so I wanted to make my point clear.

I absolutely love this. Seriously. It's incredible, especially when things are on sale.

Today, Mom and I went to the outlets in Hershey, PA (home of Chocolate World... magical place). I'm not the biggest fan of these outlets, but they are Mom's hot spot and I had to give in a little since I gave her such a hard time about the bright fuschia puffy vest. I returned the vest today. Thank Jesus. That debacle is in the past.

The great thing about clothing sales in PA is that if something is on sale for say $9.99 and you give the cashier a $10 bill, the cashier will actually give you one penny as change. Phenomenal. Not like in other states where you have to whip out $11.00 to accomodate for some ridiculous tax and then deal with random amounts of change that just weigh down your tiny wallet. Just a penny. Just a penny.

It's the small things really.

I know, I know. You're probably thinking: "Carol, how are unemployed people able to spend a day outlet shopping?" Good question. I'm not really sure I even understand how I pulled it off, but I did. I got some great deals. I'm also proud to report that I stayed true to myself and bought mostly clothes in shades of earth tones. No flashy 80s-style colors for this gal. I feel pretty good about myself actually.

Family Ties

Dad: "Your mother and I are leaving now. Your grandmother will probably call at some point for a ride home from Aunt Flo's, in case you're home."
Carol: "OK."

Gram did in fact call for a ride. Thankfully, I anticipated this family request due to my dad's anticipation so I was ready in case the call came in.

When Gram did call, I eagerly told her I could pick up her and my aunt and bring them home. No problemo, really. Only, I couldn't find the keys to mom's car. I couldn't find the keys because my parents so kindly took my mom's car with them. Sadly, my car is too high for my gram and aunt to climb into - little Italian women have little legs. I needed a Plan B.

I drove out to Aunt Flo's, parked my car, got the keys to Aunt Flo's car, drove my gram and aunt home in Aunt Flo's car, drove back to Aunt Flo's, dropped off her car and keys, got back in my car, and drove myself home.

No, seriously. This is what I did. This is what people do apparently when their father anticipates a grandmother calling for a ride home and then taking the only car able to sucessfully complete this family transaction. That's some high quality family improv if you ask me.

A tug at the gut...

Sometimes, I hear something or read something that really strikes a chord with how I am feeling at a particular moment. Friends tell me that I am sometimes really good with finding the words to capture what I'm thinking or how I'm feeling, but the truth is, I often feel that musicians and screenwriters are able to do that much better than I am. Maybe that's why I like quotes so much and like to share quotes with others.

Tonight, I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Towards the end of the film, Brad Pitt's character Benjamin spoke these words in a voice over:

“...What I think is, it’s never too late...or, in my case, too early, to be whoever you want to be...There’s no time limit, start anytime you want...change or stay the same...there aren’t any rules...We can make the best or worst of it...I hope you make the best...I hope you see things that startle you. Feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you challenge yourself. I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to...and if you haven’t, I hope you start all over again.”

These words hit me right in the gut as I watched the film, and I couldn't help but feel moved by them. Obviously, I just took the time to find the actual quote online so I wouldn't have to resort to paraphrasing. It's amazing to me how much these words sum up how I've been feeling over the past eight weeks or so.

Trying to decide who it is I want to be in the next stage of my life. Thinking about what I like about myself that I want to hold on to, while at the same time figuring out what is it I want to let go of in order to grow. Deciphering how to enjoy each moment and not get aggravated or annoyed by meaningless moments. Looking for new opportunities to spend time with people I typically wouldn't or to do things I normally wouldn't want to partake in. Taking chances with people and situations I would have avoided in the past for fear of how things would turn out. Feeling like I made a mistake one moment but realizing I didn't the next.

It's all so poetic really. Trying to find the life I want, the life I need, to finally feel the contentment I so strongly desire.

To Lie or Not To Lie?

I'm a big believer of honesty. Brutal honesty in fact. Why lie? I can only think of a few situations in which lying is acceptable behavior. Christmas is not a time for lies.

When you open a Christmas gift that you really don't like, how do you react? Do you pretend to like it? Do you lie about how nice it is or how much you will enjoy it? Or do you just lay it out there that you don't like it and you wouldn't be caught dead keeping it?

As you can imagine, I received a gift that I did not like. God bless my mom, she sure does try hard. She thought I would like a new puffy vest. As you may know, I have four of them and I am a big fan of this attire, so she was on the right track. However, she opted for the bright fuschia puffy vest. Um, hell no, I believe was my reaction. So obviously, I went for brutal honesty here and I hurt her feelings. No one wants their feelings hurt during the holidays but I just couldn't bring myself to lie about liking this vest. I honestly wouldn't be caught dead in it.

I've taken a lot of grief for this reaction and for my honesty. I've also taken a lot of grief for the fact that I am a big fan of earth tones in my clothing. I'm sorry if I don't like 80s-colored shirts and vests; I'd rather be in shades of gray, brown and black. Sue me. I don't tell other people how to dress and I know what I like, so why apologize for who I am?

Midnight isn't always midnight.

Coleman: "I'm gonna go to Midnight Mass."
Carol: "Is it at midnight?"
Colemam: "Well, yeah, by definition."
Carol: "Ours is at 9pm."

Christmas Eve for my family is pretty low key. We usually got to Midnight Mass, though in recent years, this has occurred at 9pm. I haven't been big on Mass in the past few years, which most of my friends and family know. I'm still wrestling with some fundamental issues with my faith and so I chose not to attend Mass on a regular basis.

I do like Christmas Mass though, especially at my parents' church because the priest usually cracks a joke to begin his homily and he actually gives a good talk on something that I can usually relate to. Sometimes, though, my mind wanders during the homily and I find myself thinking of strange things. Like this time, I was trying to figure out how many times my dad has sat through the same Catholic Mass. He's going to be 60 next year and he has generally never missed a Mass. So you can guesstimate that he's attended Mass about 60 times a year (each week plus holy days) for 60 years, that's roughly 3600 Masses. But then he'll tell you that as a child growing up he went to Mass every day, so that's even more. That's a pretty serious number. That's some pretty serious faith. I can't imagine doing anything that many times.

... and I'm Way Way Tired.

We landed in Mount Carmel around 1:30pm. Thankfully, we made it safely without any issues. Traffic was heavy for the entire ride, and I'll be happy if I don't have to do much interstate driving for a while. It gets pretty boring after 16 hours in the same position. I really don't know how truckers do that day in and day out.

My friend Brandon also gets to be recognized as Friend of the Month because he so graciously helped my dad and I unpack all of my crap. This was in some ways more daunting because it was roughly 19 degrees and windy, which made for absolutely freezing conditions for this endeavor. It didn't take very long, though, to drop most of my stuff at my grandmother's garage.

I've been convinced since I made this decision that I would be home living with the family and sleeping on a twin-sized bed. A nice kick to the ego, if you ask me, since I have one of the greatest beds ever made. My dad, however, seemed convinced that my queen-sized bed would fit into my brother's old room. After looking around, I was convinced too that the bed would fit in the room.... that is, if you can get it up the stairs.

As you can guess, my ego remains deflated, as the box spring and mattress were too big to make the turn to get up the stairs. My wonderful bed is back at my grandmother's, sitting in a cold
lonely garage. Very sad moment for me, I must tell you. I had my hopes up to sleep in a real bed, now I must succomb to sleeping in the fetal position on a twin. Depressing.

As appropriate for one's first night back in Mount Carmel, I joined my brother and some friends for a round of trivia at a local dive bar, located one block from my parents' house. We tied for second, which is really just annoying. I mean, let's be honest, I could have used the prize money to assist in my current unemployment. But more importantly, I don't think anyone else in the bar had near the intelligence of my group, so that fact that we lost was just another small blow to my ego.

I came home and slept on the couch. I wasn't ready for the twin-sized bed. That would have just been too much for one day.

It's A Long Long Drive...

It's a long, long drive from Memphis to Mount Carmel.

Dad and I set out earlier today at 7:00am, and we drove until about 6:00pm. For our first stop, we halted 80 miles into the trip in Jackson, TN, for a Dunkin Donuts breakfast. That's a good way to start any day, in my opinion, but an even better way to start a day full of staring at asphalt.

Generally speaking, interstate driving is boring. However, there is sometimes the occassional Bible Belt bumper sticker to entertain me or the occassional confederate flag-bearer with gun rack to scare me. This drive proved a bit more challenging because my dad was following in the moving truck, which can only cruise around 70 miles per hour.

My friend Bridget hooked me up with some high quality mixed CDs. Luckily, Bridget was a teenager in the 80s so "mixed tapes" are somewhat her speciality. This kept me interested in the drive because I never knew what song was coming next.

About 420 miles into the trip, I was starting to feel a bit tired. So I thought eating some trail mix one peanut or m&m at a time would keep me energized or at least awake. It's nice of Planters to make bags of food with the easy tear off strips. It's not nice of Planters when you tear off the strip and the bag still doesn't open. I wrestled with this stupid bag of trail mix for 10 minutes, trying aimlessly to rip the bag apart at the fancy resealable opening while trying not to wreck the car. After this struggle, I was about to lose my mind so I found a pen and stabbed a giant hole in the bag right near the Mr. Peanut. Take that, trail mix! That made me feel better. Then I proceeded to eat 4 of the 5 servings in the next 30 minutes. That didn't make me feel better.

We stopped for gas when we finally crossed into Virginia, and then proceeded to Roanoke where we settled in for the night. Thankfully, we were able to get a good dinner at a Cracker Barrell and stay in a Holiday Inn Express, where they have free internet and breakfast. Always a plus. And in case you're really tired from your travels, they even tell you which pillow you might want to use. You know, in case you weren't functional enough to figure this out on your own.

Pack It Up

Saturday was packing day, and I don't mean packing things into boxes; rather, I mean packing the moving truck and my car. From previous posts, you should know by now that I have a lot of stuff and this was a dauting ordeal.

My dad is probably sick of moving my stuff up and down stairs at this point in my life, but luckily he was up for the challange. Thankfully, he had the help of my friend Sebastian who gets the award for Friend of the Month. Seriously, Sebastian's put up with a lot of my personal crap over the two years that we've been friends, so the fact that he masterfully skilled the packing operation with my dad is a huge deal to me. This is a photo of us in the van after he made me climb like a monkey onto the stuff behind us so we could tie down some things with a rope.

Sebastian takes a lot of pride in doing things well, and moving heavy furniture and throwing boxes in crazy places in a truck are two more things he obviously takes a lot of pride in. My dad says he should work part time as a mover. Women would probably tip him well because of his sexy accent.

The packing went smoothly and much quicker than we originally anticipated. I'd like to think the ease of this operation had something to do with my great box-packing skills, but I don't really think that's the case. I'm just glad I had the help I did. I mean, this is the truck with 95% of my stuff in it. That's a pretty serious operation.

The amount of boxes grew three sizes that day

New adventures are never dull.

I've never made a move with furniture, probably because I didn't own any until I moved to Memphis. So this move home requires a moving truck, and Budget offered me a pretty good deal. Dad and I went to pick up the moving truck earlier today. To our amazement, the office for Budget was located inside a SuperLo grocery store, which is just sketchy. It would have been nice to know that rather than wandering aimlessly around a parking lot trying to find the building.

The shoe-box sized Budget office was staffed by two women. The first was a 30-something typical American (whatever that means). The second was a 60-something crazy person. For starters, she had a wacked out accent I couldn't place which frustates me. It was some combination of southern and something, and it was pretty odd. She was also wearing a turtleneck under a green Christmas sweater over a pair of leggings. She had 80s-style frizzy big hair. She had no make up on her forehead, which was the color of my skin in December, but from her eyes down, she had on plenty of make up, so much that the color of this skin was like mine in August. Basically, she had two different faces. Creepy!

After all the hullabaloo over liability, insurance, paperwork, vehicle damage, etc., crazy face woman told us that Homeland Security requires anyone driving a van to stop at the first weigh station in every state. I've never stopped at a weigh station. This will be interesting. I guess we can't horde any illegal items across the state border. Crap. Now what am I going to do with all of my...???

After a few hours of finishing up at work, I came home to finish packing with my dad. I really do have a shit-ton of stuff, as I alluded to a few days ago. I guess I am more materialistic than I realized. Pretty crazy. I am 99% packed. My dad, who's amazing, took apart my furniture and helped me finish packing my valuables. I did the last load of laundry I will do for a while. The amount of boxes tripled today and my legs are already burning thinking about the numerous trips to the truck I'll have to make with my various possessions. Tomorrow is moving day. Very exciting stuff.

Unemployment

It's official. I am unemployed!

And we're in a recession, and jobs are being cut, and holy smokes, I'm unemployed!

It is actually amazing, but I'll resist from more exclamation points. The truth is people have mixed reactions when I tell them I decided to resign from my job without having a new one lined up and I am looking forward to being unemployed.

Skeptics:
"In this economy?"
"What do you mean you don't have a new job?"
"Why would you quit your job if you didn't have a new one?"

Envious:
"You're going to do whatever you want for however long you want. I wish I could do that."
"I wish I didn't have to work."
"I hate my job, but I need the money."

Dreamers:
"Wow."
"Good for you."
"I hope you find what you're looking for."

I like currently being a dreamer. I honestly think I've put in more than enough time lately and I deserve to do this for myself. I'm taking a sabbatical. My friend Coleman doesn't believe I can appropriately call this life phase a sabbatical; "You haven't worked for seven years," he says. I beg to differ. The way I see it, I've been working my ass off since September 1999, when I started college and haven't stopped since. Sometimes, a break is necessary. Some people take a mental health day once a month. I'm taking an open-ended break from the working world.

I'm going to use this time to dream, explore, reflect, and regroup.

Unemployment might be scary to some people, and I recognize my fortune in having a family who is willing to support me so I can take the time to grow and "figure it all out." It's only scary if you let it be scary, and I don't plan to let that happen. I plan to take each day one day at a time and see what happens.

Embrace the question mark. It is your friend.

This is what counts.

Tomorrow is my last day of work as an Athletic Academic Counselor, and I do feel that I gave the position a pretty good run. 3.5 years. 7 semesters. 250 nights of study hall. 200 students I directly worked with in some fashion. That's a pretty serious inventory, estimations of course, but pretty serious nonetheless.

The funny thing about this chapter of my life coming to a close is that the numbers don't really mean much. It doesn't mean much that I often worked 55-hour weeks. It doesn't mean much that I created multiple spreadsheets to be an organized freak. It doesn't mean much that I created 25 lesson plans for a course to teach. These "countables" aren't what matters or what I take away from this experience.

What I've come to appreciate is that there ARE students, a pretty special group, that really have meant a lot to my life, and I do think they would say the same about me. A good deal of them took time in the past few weeks to spend time with me and actually talk to me about my life and my future and my next step. It's usually the other way around, so it was nice to see this reciprocity. That means something. It means there was a give-and-take in the relationship for both sides, mutually beneficial in a variety of ways.

Work in education is often thankless. There's not a great deal of understanding or appreciation from the larger world of the energy educators invest in other people. Educators don't go to work on a daily basis so people can say to them "Hey, I appreciate you" or "Thanks so much for what you did." But in the small instances when you do hear those words or read those words, the feeling is absolutely enjoyable. It's hard not to feel good.

One of the teams I work with has really treated me as one of their own over the past few years, appreciating me for who I am and allowing me to be an integral role in their program. The fact is I didn't always feel that what I did was integral; rather, I always felt that I was just trying to do for them what I would have wanted someone to do for me. Basically, I just tried to care about who they were as individuals and who they were trying to be as a collective. I just tried to be understanding and supportive in any way I could, and I was blessed to have that same understanding and support from them. It means a lot to me to have received the following written words: our program "is better for the time you spent with us."

That's truly remarkable to me, to have someone think this highly of the energy I invested, the time I spent, and the effort I gave. This is what will live on with me when I think back on this experience and this chapter of my life. This is what matters. This is what counts.

Loud Clapper and Rubber Boy

Last Friday, two of my students invited me to watch the Bulls play the Grizzlies. Knowing this was probably my last chance to spend time with them and my last chance to see an NBA game, I decided to join in for the adventure. I am so glad I did.

For starters, we sat next to this crazy 60-year-old woman who could be considered a die-hard Grizzlies fan. I didn't even know there could be such a thing as the Grizzlies tend to suck, but she was pretty intense. About 5 minutes into the game, she said to us, "Are you going to talk the whole time or are you actually going to watch the game?" Excuse me, lady, I didn't know anyone actually cared what happened at a Grizzlies game. I mean, they used to be the worst team in the nation, how intense could it be?

This was the moment I noticed her bright maroon velour pants. Obviously, this was humorous. You can kinda see them in this photo, behind my hair.

We also noticed she was a loud clapper. Seriously. She clapped so loud, she could have been heard over the drilling I hear in my office every day. It was obnoxious. Loud, booming clapping. Again, I never knew there could be such a thing. One of the students noted, "I think she has mental problems." I think he was on to something there.

The second great part of this experience was the halftime entertainment, Rubber Boy. A man who is double jointed throughout his whole body is just plain creepy. Dude came out in a box and then widdled his body into strange concoctions. The best is shown in this photo, where his feet are over his head. I was lucky to get this photo before dude kissed his own ass. It's true. It was disgusting. Or maybe it was unbelievable. I dunno.

The whole experience was pretty wacko, but I am so glad to have shared in it. Honestly, you can't plan for these things to happen. Life is better when other people do weird shit and you get to be an observer. Reminds me of college, actually.

Packages, boxes, and bags

Today I began the arduous task of packing my life into boxes. It's finally my last week in Memphis so it's time to get everything sorted and packed. I began my packing focus today with the items I tend not to use on a regular basis or things that I wouldn't need throughout the week. As evident in this photo, I have a shit-ton of stuff.

In essence, every item put in these boxes is an item that I don't actually "need" in the truest sense of the word. Books, movies, photo frames, crock pots, food processors, fake flowers... not one of these items is a critical component to my health or well-being or daily existence. Yet, I find reasons to keep each item because of sentimental value or for help in the kitchen. These are items that I have convinced myself I "need" in order to make my life better, but in actuality, I could live a healthy and happy life without them.

The bigger task will come in a few days when my dad and I have to drag all of this stuff into a moving van and then drive it home to PA. Most of this stuff includes items I have accumulated in the past 4 years, but some of it dates back to college and grad school. It makes me wonder how much of this will be with me five years from now. Will I still need all of these things in the future to have the life I want?

Law of Averages

In the last few weeks, there has been a few moments at work where I consciously think to myself, "This is just one of the many reasons I don't want to do my job anymore."

Today's moment came when a graduating senior, who has created his own degree in construction management through a variety of math, physics, and engineering technology courses, said to me:

"Carol, I don't understand how I got a B+ in my communication class. My test scores were 90, 85, and 75, and I got a B on my paper."

Hmmmmmmmmm... really?

You really think this averages out to be 90 or higher?!?! Honestly?!?

Even after I showed him the math and explained to him how averages work in two different ways, he still didn't get it. Still not convinced. The math does not lie, my friend.

God help us if this individual is actually going to construct buildings in the future. I mean, honestly. But he's graduating in two days and that is pretty amazing. Really. A-mazing.

Christmas Sweaters

My friend Tia and I also talked about Christmas sweaters today because we were at a holiday party and there was some Christmas attire being worn.

We decided that holiday ties are appropriate for men as long as they are not too flashy and over the top, i.e., they don't light up or play music. And they are also appropriate when worn with a long-sleeve button down. No tie is appropriate when worn with a short-sleeve button down on a man. It's just as bad a look as inappropriately short khaki shorts that men in the south seem to love.

We decided that sweaters dawned in Christmas elements are really just plain tacky. We vowed to never wear them. We also decided that Christmas sweaters worn over a Christmas turtleneck is even more tacky than either item by itself.

In essence, Christmas sweaters are generally inappropriate and we don't like them. We sure do like to make fun of them, though, and they will always serve this purpose.

Awkward Hugs

My friend Tia today said, "I love to watch awkward hugs."

This was in response to an awkward hug I received at a work function today. This person I know at work, who I believe to be one of the most uncaring, cold, and bitter individuals I have ever met, felt it necessary to give me a hug to say goodbye. This wasn't just any hug, mind you. See I went in for the casual one arm "gee, thanks" type of hug that usually lasts about 1.8 seconds. This person went in the for full two-arm sucking-the-life-out-of-you hug and it lasted an unbearable 8 full seconds. All the time I was thinking, "Oh God, help me. This is so fake. Oh God, make it end. Please now." It was brutally awkward. I still feel kind of weird about the whole thing. Really, I do.

And by the way, the word "awkward" is really awkward.

Meet Me in St. Louis

I spent some time this weekend in St. Louis with my friend, Kate, and I had an absolute blast! Kate and I had a great time catching up on life's happenings while enjoying the city. I have been to St. Louis a few times, but only really experienced the Budweiser tour, Cardinals vs. Phillies games, the Arch, and the riverfront. This time, I saw an entirely new area of the city, thanks to Kate, and it was great fun.

We spent some time exploring Wash U (Kate's alma mater and current employer), wandering the shops in the Loop, eating Ted Drewes custard, touring Schlafly Bottleworks, and enjoying the night life in Blueberry Hill. In essence, I got to experience an entirely new St. Louis. I absolutely love this. I love playing tourist and seeing the sites that everyone knows about, but I also love touring a friend's city, and seeing his or her favorite places - Kate was a great tour guide and I really enjoyed everything we saw and experienced.

The trip also helps give me some reference on what I am looking for in a future home, after my upcoming stop with my family. Each new place I see or hear about via a friend gives me more to consider in terms of what I am looking for in a new city or town and what that might mean for my quality of life. This information is certainly valuable.

Each experience I have, though, usually has some unpredictable moment. For Kate and I, this came during our taste-testing after our tour at Schafly Bottleworks. One of the other tourists asked the guide to sample only the foam of the beer. Honestly, he said, "I'd like just the foam" and the guide kindly complied with his request. Twice. I may not be a beer conossieur, but I've been around enough alcohol in my day to know this is behavior that can be considered quite odd.

Makes for an interesting story in an excellent weekend. Thanks, Kate!

Christmas Tradition

I am not a person who gets all crazy over Christmas. Mostly, I feel overwhelmed by the madness, chaos, and overcommercialization that many people have allowed Christmas to become. My family has tried to keep things simple in recent years and I do appreciate that. I do tend to like some Christmas traditions, like baking/eating certain types of cookies that only come around once a year. Some traditions, like my family's use of "the pink chair" for gift opening, are slightly odd. There remains one tradition, though, that does hold a special meaning for me.



My mom has this calendar, which she purchased from Avon at some point in the 80s. We kindly refer to it as "the mouse calendar" because there is a little mouse that you move from day to day as you count down to Christmas. You can see the mouse on today's date. Yes, the mouse has a bowtie, it's fantastic.

Every year since I can remember, my brother and I battled to be the first one down the stairs in the morning to "change the mouse"; only when both Joe and I were in college did my mom and dad ever actually participate in this activity.

Some mornings, Joe and I would race each other down the stairs, push each other if necessary, so we could have the chance to move the mouse. For the past twenty-some years, including last year, we kept this tradition alive in our parents' house. It's just too much fun so we keep doing it.

At some point last year there was some debate between Joe, my mom, and I about the mouse calendar; I honestly don't remember, but I'm assuming there was some discussion about who would get the mouse calendar in the future - one of us should have it I guess was the thought.

My savvy mom, who is learning the ways of technology, to my utter shock and surprise, was able to successfully get on eBay and bid on two of these calendars. My brother and I each received our very own mouse calendar on the day after Thanksgiving. I think Joe was embarrassed to be giddy about this small, yet appropriately thoughtful gesture by our mother, but I was absolutely ecstatic. Sure, there's no one to battle in the morning to be the one to move the mouse like there was in previous years, but each morning for the 24 days before Christmas, I get to wake up, move the mouse myself, and think about my brother and my family and how blessed I am. You see, that's what the mouse calendar represents for me - the safety and security of the familiar and the sense of family that I absolutely adore.

Thanksgiving Feast

I must say, my first Thanksgiving away from Mount Carmel, PA, was quite successful. I was able to time perfectly a feast fit for a king, which the four of us greatly enjoyed. Kelly was most impressed, I think, by my ability to time everything correctly and keep dishes clean throughout the day, making clean up a cinch.


I am pretty proud of myself. I know it's simple for some people to pull off the coordination of a meal like this, but this was my first true attempt. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, and homemade gravy... all cooked and served to perfection... followed by brownies, pumpkin roll and apple pie. Everything (minus the rolls) was made from scratch, and that makes it even more enjoyable. It really couldn't have been any better.

This experience also reaffirmed how much I love being in the kitchen and how I seriously need to consider and explore this option for my future.

Time for some leftovers!

Best Day of the Year

In a few hours, my brother and friends will arrive in Memphis for what is shaping up to be one excellent weekend. Thanksgiving is by far the best day of the entire year. It's absolutely enjoyable - an excuse to eat like the meal will be your last and sit around watching football, drinking, and hanging out.

This year is uniquely special for me for two reasons. First, this is the first Thanksgiving that I won't be in PA, and second, this is the first Thanksgiving dinner that I am responsible for pulling off. While I am saddened to not be in the coal region drinking like an idiot until 4am, I am just as excited about hanging out in Memphis with brother and friends and making my own Thanksgiving meal. It's definitely the largest meal I've taken on at this point in my life and I am excited for the challenge.

I have prepared desserts already - first time for an apple pie - and I am quite pleased with myself. I have a good feeling that tomorrow's kitchen adventures will prove successful as well. I'm also feeling that this can be the start of a three-week bender of heavy eating, drinking, and laughing as my time in Memphis comes to a close. I can't think of a better time to kick this off than with Thanksgiving!

Love, peace and turkey grease!

Improve your social life...

If you're looking to improve your social life, tell people you are moving in a month.

Instantly, everyone wants a piece of you.

Dinner, drinks, a movie, a broadway show, more dinner, more drinks... seriously, the fun doesn't end. Every night lately, there has been a hundred options of who to see and where to go and what to do. It's incredible.

Where was this for the past three years of my life?!?

In all seriousness, it's actually been a great few weeks. Living life to the fullest. Reliving old memories with some great people. Making a few more memories with those same great people. I feel pretty fortunate to have these experiences. I'm savoring every moment, especially the surprising ones - the unexpected, purely blissful moments.

Quote of the day...

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - E. M. Forester

The First Goodbye

As my time in Memphis dwindles to a few short remaining weeks, I find myself walking a tightrope of emotions. Some days I experience extreme jubilation about the excitement the future holds. Some days I experience extreme sadness about leaving a place with so many people who mean a great deal to me. It's an endless balance between real, deep emotions.

On Friday, I said my first goodbye to a friend in Memphis. He too has left the city and is searching for his next step. Like me, he's experiencing the same emotional pulls - the longing for family in a familiar place versus leaving a place where people touched his life in a short period of time - the balance between hello to the future and goodbye to the present.

Goodbyes come in many forms.

A casual hand shake, a simple thank you, a short hug... these aren't often too emotional because the relationship was probably casual.

But the gut-wrenching hug, the tears, the emotions so deep you can't even find the words to capture all you want to say... these are the tough goodbyes because the person means so much to you or has touched your life in a special way.

The hard reality for me is that I'll be saying goodbye to a great deal of people over the next few weeks, and some goodbyes will be more difficult than others. I feel truly blessed by the number of people who have been part of my life in Memphis. Whether I've known people for a few years or even just a few months, each person has taught me something or reminded me of something important in my life, and I am extremely thankful for those opportunities.

Yes, the goodbyes will be difficult, but they are also a testament to the life I lived here, one touched by many unique individuals and enjoyable moments. I am humbled to be able to walk away with this realization, that hopefully I have touched so many lives in Memphis in the same ways so many others have touched my life. It truly is a blessing.

"When you come to a fork in the road..."

Some people describe the "fork in the road" as "being at a crossroads". When I think of "crossroads" I think of a four-stop intersection, a pause to consider the following:
1. Do I continue straight along the same path?
2. Do I turn left and consider this new path?
3. Do I turn right and consider yet an alternative path?
4. Do I just sit idle, not doing anything.

For quite some time, I was sitting idle in my life, going through the motions of an endless cycle of work and not work, more work and less not work. I had my proverbial car in park and sat around waiting for things to change and waiting for things to happen. The reality is not much changes on its own and things don't just happen because you hope they might or want them to. I realized the only way for change to come and for things to happen was for me to put my foot to the pedal, push the gas, and set myself back in motion.

I pushed the pedal and decided to turn.

Goodbye, current job. Goodbye, Memphis. Goodbye, financial security, health care, stability.

Hello.... ?????

The bottom line is that sometimes I find myself uncertain about the paths in my life. The path I have been on over the past few years does have rewarding and worthwhile moments. But there's something and (possibly somethings) missing. The only way to find those other things is to change paths and take a new course. Is it scary? Sometimes. Is it overwhelming? Definitely. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

I may be uncertain about the paths of my future, but I am certain I made the best decision for myself at this moment in my life. I'm near ready to step off the path in Memphis, and onto a temporary path back home in PA. I'm ready for turns. I'm ready to push the gas and see where life takes me.

And if nothing else, I can always fall back on the fork in the road, the place where feeling uncertain and scared mixes with feeling excited and exhilarated.

The roads are open, and that means the possibilities are endless.

Czech Republic: Prague, May 16

After our tour of Berlin on speed, we headed out Friday morning to Prague in the Czech Republic. I was excited this time about the drive in the hot, sweaty car because we were going to physically drive across the border between Germany and the Czech Republic, which was once part of the Iron Curtain. I figured we would definitely have to stop at Border Patrol, and I was kind of intrigued by the process, since I've only crossed borders previously in airports. Sadly, we zipped right across the border - there was no patrol, no stopping, just a regular drive, like crossing from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Oh well.

The drive into Prague was the second time on the trip in which Brandon annoyed me but it was really just a foolish moment and there's no need to recount it here. We found our hotel near an outdoor market, dropped off our belongings, and headed into Old Town Square to begin our four-hour tour of Prague. Our tour group consisted of Brandon, myself, and a couple from Australia, who were seriously lame. Our tour guide was a nice man, native to Prague, who introduced himself by his Czech name, but insisted we call him George.

Our tour began in the Old Town Square, which is one of the most architectually magnificent places I have ever seen in person. Generally speaking, Prague's architecture in every corner is magnificent and fascinating. Thankfully, George was well-versed in architecture and pointed out many of the highlights. In this area, we were able to see Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, the Jan Hus memorial (of who founded Prague, now Charles, University), Church of St. Nicholas, and the Old Town Hall, which houses the Astronomical Clock. I am still quite amazed by the clock, which began functioning in 1572, and has a solar clock, lunar clock, zodiac features, tells current time - this thing is just amazing.

It started to downpour on the next part of our tour when we headed into the Jewish Quarter, where we learned about the Old Jewish Cemetery (where roughly 200,000 Jews are buried in layers) and the Old-New Synagogue.

From there, we headed to Charles Bridge, which crosses Vltava River. Charles Bridge has the Old Town Bridge Tower, from which I took some amazing photos later in the day. The Bridge is also home to 30 different statues of saints and religious figures. Apparently, the statues today are replicas, but the originals can be found in local museums.

After crossing Charles Bridge, we hopped on some public transportation up the hilltop to Prague Castle , which was built in the 16th Century. Today, the President of the Czech Republic works here on a daily basis, amidst a sea of tourists lurking around grounds at every corner. We spent a lot of time in and around St. Vitus's Cathedral which was built over 500 years. George taught us a great deal about the intricacies within the cathedral, and I captured many of these images in photos. At the castle is also the Royal Palace, from which defenestrations occurred in the 1400s. Defenestration means "death by being thrown out of a window" in case you were unsure.

Our tour ended at the Castle, so Brandon and I spent the next few hours back-tracking, taking photos, and more closely exploring the sights that George showed us. We also had a great meal near the Old Town Square. I had beef goulash, which is a typical Prague meal, and it was quite delicious. Like Berlin, we covered a lot of ground in Prague in a short period of time. However, I can honestly say I was able to take in some amazing sights in just a few hours. If you ever have the chance, Prague is worth every penny.

Germany: Berlin, May 15

After Weird Wednesday, we drove back to Brandon's house for a night of mid-week rest. We also thought it would be funny to eat at the "American" restaurant near his house, so we chomped down some huge, nasty burgers and french fries. It was definitely amazing.

On Thursday, we loaded the hot, sweaty car for our last road trip, and headed off to Berlin. We arrived in time for a four-hour afternoon tour, led by a young woman from Lock Haven, PA. No joke, I spotted her accent immediately, and she was quite humored by the fact that Brandon and I were part of her tour. It's a small world, afterall.

Touring Berlin is an overwhelming experience because it has such a unique history and is filled with so many important historical pieces of information. Obviously, I can't remember everything I learned - Brandon probably does since he loves history and found all of this information extremely fascinating. Again, I was overwhelmed. We basically spent a good 10 hours either on tour, in a museum, or exploring on our own, and there was just so much to see. I will try to list the main points of interest:

1. Dunkin Donuts by the train station (hahaha. dead serious)

2. Telespargel or TV Station - largest tower in the city (spargel means asparagus)

3. Berliner Dom, or Protestant Cathedral

4. River Spree

5. Art Museums (we only looked at the exterior to see bullet holes from WW2)

6. Zeughaus, pink building that housed artillery (yes, pink)

7. Book burning memorial (across from Humbolt University)

8. Alexanderplatz (historic core of old Berlin)

9. Unter der Linden (once a famous mall, site of French and Russian Embassy)

10. Brandenburger Tor, or Brandenburg Gate (symbol of Germany's division and symbol of Nazi Germany)

11. Museum The Kennedys (JFK spent less than a day in Berlin, but gave a famous speech - "We are all Berliners")

12. New US Embassy on Pariser Platz (near The Gate and Kennedy Museum)

13. Reichstag, or the Parliament Building

14. Holocaust Memorial for Jewish victims (abstract in design)

15. Spot where Hitler committed suicide (now a parking lot at apartment complex)

16. June 17 1953 Memorial (in front of only standing Nazi building)

17. Berlin Wall

18. Checkpoint Charlie

19. Potsdamer Platz (where we saw two Memphis student-athletes by complete randomness)

Like I said, lots to see. Lots to do. Lots to learn. All fascinating, all insightful, all historical.

Germany: Dachau, May 14 Part 2

Wednesday's second stop was the small town of Dachau, just outside of Munich. Dachau is known as the site of the Third Reich's first concentration camp, established in 1933. We spent roughly two hours visiting the site, which is now a memorial museum. We were able to utilize a head-set in order to listen to various portrayals of what actually transpired at this site for the duration from 1933 to 1945.

Visiting a concentration camp is not something easily put to words so it is rather difficult for me to explain the experience. I can tell you some things addressed while listening to the head-set:

1. It is illegal in Germany to deny the Holocaust.

2. It is illegal in Germany to portray a swastika.

3. It is illegal in Germany to demonstrate the former Nazi salute.

4. All school children in Germany are required to visit a concentration camp as an educational experience.

5. Prisoners brought to Dachua were led to believe that "work brings freedom" so they were convinced to obey all rules. These words in German are still on the gate's entrance.

6. Dachau was not an extermination camp, but a place for prisoners and those who opposed the Nazi regime.

7. People from various backgrounds were brought to Dachau as prisoners including German Communists, Social Democrats, trade unionists, other political opponents of the Nazi regime, Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, Gay Men, Asocials, repeat prisoners and Jews. The different colored-triangles that prisoners were sometimes forced to wear were memorialized in an exhibit.

8. Something like 180,000 prisoners were held in Dachau over 12 years.

9. Something like 28,000 prisoners died while in Dachau.

10. Doctors often used prisoners as subjects in experiments, trying to test things like torture techniques.

11. Prisoners occassionally committed suicide rather than continue to be forced to succomb to the ways of life at Dachau. One method was throwing oneself into a chain-wire fence. This act was memorialized in one of the exhibits.

Visiting a concentration camp is just a bizarre experience. Like I said, it is hard to put to words so I guess that's why I settled on reporting some facts.

Germany: Eagle's Nest, May 14 Part 1

After a great night's sleep, we loaded the car again for our next adventure. The plan for the day was to head to Eagle's Nest first, which is located in the Alps above the town of Berchtesgadener. This drive provided another scenic tour of southern Germany, with amazing snow-capped moutains in the distance.

Today, Berchtesgadener is predominately a tourist stop, where people come to stay near mountains for hiking and biking and even skiing. Nestled throughout the local mountains are various salt mines, where tourists can don miners' clothes, hop in a mine wagon, and learn the salt-extraction process. Sadly, we didn't have enough time for this, despite our interest as children of the (coal) mining industry.




Berchtesgadener is known to historians as one of Hitler's spots during the Third Reich. The town served as a retreat for Hitler and his party leaders, namely Martin Bormann. They lived at times in small villas nestled in the hills at the base of the mountain. For Hitler's birthday, Bormann decided to honor him by building Eagle's Nest, also known as Kehlsteinhaus. It's referred to as Eagle's Nest because the house was built nearly 2500 ft into the summit of a mountain.

There are some strange elements about this, in my opinion.

First, the road to the top to actually go into Eagle's Nest is unbelievable. The road is an insanely winding road stretching higher and higher to the summit. The views are absolutely spectacular. In fact, in my opinion, the views are the ultimate "thing" to experience here. It was truly the most amazing part of the whole trip. What is strange about this is that Hitler was afraid of heights. The story is told that as he was driven to the house, the window's views were obstructed so he could only see within the car. Odd.

Second, the house today contains an outdoor patio that is a restaurant. Hitler never ate food prepared IN the house. The story here is that all of the food Hitler ate while here was cooked at his villa down in the town and driven to the top. He was afraid of being poisoned. Maybe not as odd, considering Hitler for Hitler.

Third, being in this house in general is just strange. I mean, you walk throughout the house and you are able to stand in the room with a fireplace that was a former meeting place for Hitler and his top officials. He plotted some sick, nasty, immoral acts here. It was downright creepy to think about and experience.

Eagle's Nest was an interesting experience, and we were fortunate to even have it. The day we visited was only the third day it was open to tourists; even though it was mid-May, a great deal of snow had just cleared away enough of the path to make this stop accessible. All in all, this was a thought-provoking experience, and the start to a very strange day of tourism - weird Wednesday, as I'm referring to it now.

Austria: Salzburg, May 13

We had another amazing European breakfast (sarcasm noted) before checking out of our hotel room in Munich. We then loaded up the car, prepared Mr. T, and continued our adventure south to Austria. This was perhaps one of the most beatifully scenic drives I will ever take. Despite the hot sweaty car, the drive was extremely enjoyable as we approached the Alps more and more with each kilometer.

Salzburg is famous for Mozart and The Sound of Music, so it was only fitting that we decided to have lunch in Mozartplatz. This lunch was noteworthy for me because the bread that accompanied our meals contained anise seeds, which you just don't get everyday. My family would have gone crazy for this bread so I made sure to make the most of it. After taking a stop to see Mozart's statue, we headed for Hohensalzburg Fortress.





The Fortress sits atop the mountain and overlooks the city. Perhaps one of its most fascinating characteristics is the fact that it was bult over 900 years ago. That's a seriously old landmark. Another fascinating charactertistic is the ride to the top of the mountain, via furnicular, which I happened to greatly enjoy. It's not every day you get to ride one, you know? We spent some time exploring the Fortress and enjoying amazing views of the city.

Salzburg is honestly a beautiful city, with lots of great sights. We spent time exploring Salzburg's Cathedral, St. Peter's Cathedral and Cemetery, Mozart's birthplace and residence, and Mirabellgarten (or Mirabell Garden). Throughout much of the afternoon, we enjoyed great weather as we explored each of these sights. Each was unique in its own way.

The highlight of the trip to Salzburg was our evening at St. Peter's. Since no trip to Salzburg is complete without experiencing classical music, we decided to attend a Mozart Dinner Concert at St. Peter's. We were seated with two couples from Australia. Between courses, a four-string qaurtet, a male singer, and a female singer performed pieces of Mozart's music in this intimate setting. There were only at most forty people seated for dinner, so it was quite an elegant experience. Even the dessert had a Mozart twist. All in all, it was a fabulous evening, not to mention a great relaxing and rewarding day.

Germany: Neuschwanstein, May 12 Part 2

After our morning tour of Munich, we headed south of the city in route to Neuschwanstein via Brandon's hot sweaty car. Views of the Alps in the distance, as seen in this photo, highlighted the drive along back rural roads. Honestly, it was such a beautiful afternoon, and the views were quite spectacular. This is one of my favorite photo because it almost seems like the clouds touch the moutains.

Neuschwanstein is another fairly large tourist attraction, as it is the name of a castle, not actually the name of a town. This fairy tale castle was built by Ludwig II, former Bavarian ruler, between 1869 and 1886. The King only spent a few months here - apparently, he was declared insane and later found dead in a river. Suicide or murder? No one really knows.

There were only two points during the entire trip where I wanted to smack Brandon, and this afternoon brought the first. Brandon told me that we'd have to "walk up a small hill" in order to get to the castle itself. Brandon is, at times, a liar! Small hill, my ass. After a heavy lunch, he was so kind to leave us with just enough time for a brisk speed walk up this rather steep mountain. As you may recall from my departure retelling, I am clearly in no shape to be walking up steep mountainsides; by the time we reached the top, my calf muscles felt as if someone took a 40-pound mallet and smashed them repeatedly. Needless to say, it took me a while to appreciate being at the top of the mountain.

Once I was over my pain and misery, we were able to take a tour of Neuschwanstein. Most of the castle was never finished inside, but we were able to tour a bedroom, a living room, a chapel and a concert hall, all of which were fairly elaborately painted and decorated. As you can see in the photo, it is quite an amazing castle. I mean, I still don't understand how an insane person can think this up - seems pretty spectacular to me! Walt Disney seemed to agree, as it is believed this castle was his inspiration for the famous Cinderella's castle. That's some good random trivia knowledge; I hope it helps you someday.

Another interesting stop here is Marienbrucke, or Mary's Bridge, which is where I took the photo of the castle. You can freak yourself out on this bridge, standing over a huge gorge between the mountains. It's seriously insane - little wooden boards fastened on some tiny metal. I didn't think heights freaked me out, but with all of the tourists trying to take photos, it was all very dramatic. Still, pretty amazing.

In this area is another castle called Hohenschwangau, which is much older. Apparently, Napolean destroyed it, but it was later restored (as is most of Germany for some reason or another). We didn't tour this one but we could see it very well from the bridge and from many stops along the treacherous mountain walk. So I was able to get a pretty great photo of this as well. These castles provided some seriously amazing sightseeing. We had an adventurous day near the castles, and as previously noted, I got in a pretty serious leg workout as well.

Germany: Munich, May 12 Part 1

We started our day on Monday with a small breakfast in the hotel, which was managed by a woman with a lazy eye. I only remember this because Brandon said it about 15 times from the time we arrived on Sunday until the time we left. Breakfast in Europe has always fascinated me - I just don't understand the desire to eat salmon and cheese or salami and cheese on bread or crackers at 8am. I usually settled for nutella on whatever is available because, well, why not? It is nutella, you know?

We set out early to do a walking tour of downtown Munich, which was led by a very nice British man - again, love the accent. Munich is the country's third largest city, and despite utter devastation during World War II, much of the downtown has been rebuilt to resemble former facades and the buildings are quite beautiful.

Perhaps the most striking building in Munich is the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus, located in Marienplatz. The building's tower houses a famous glockenspiel, which is basically a moving clock. The glockenspiel consists of 43 bells and 32 life size figures, which move and dance to tell two particular stories. The top half tells the marriage story of Duke Wilhelm V and Renata - you can see them in the center. There is a joust with knights on horseback that move around them. The bottom half tells the story of the Schäfflerstanz or the coopers' dance. Apparently in the 16th century, there was a plague in Munich - people were afraid to leave their homes, but the coopers (or barrell makers) were the first to risk it - so this shows their dance. At the end, the little yellow bird at the top chirps. I thought this was pretty fascinating, considering it has been around for over one hundred years.

Two interesting tour stops were churches. The first is called Frauenkirche, which means Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady. This is a Gothic style church. There is a footprint in the back, said to be the devil's footprint from when the devil protested the building of the church - apparently, the devil believed there would be no windows, but the builder tricked the devil so he left this footprint when he stomped the ground in fury. Good story for tourism. The Pope, prior to being The Pope, used to have Mass here as well.

The second interesting church was St. Michael's Church, which is Renaissance in style and has two onion-shaped domes. It honestly looks like churches you would see in Italy, not in Germany. This is where I discovered the museum feature on my digital camera - it takes some seriously amazing photos, like this one. No blur - spectacular!

Another fun tour stop included the English Garden in the middle of the city, which is the largest public garden in Europe. This is a seriously huge green space, where people run, walk, and bike. Not to mention on nice days, like the day we spent, it's also a place where the locals sunbathe naked. Sadly, most of the nakedness was seen in older, larger, hairy men, so it wasn't much for looking. The stream that runs through the Garden even has a wave break, which is always filled with locals and their surfboards. Who knews Germans had a place to catch a wave every once and a while!

The tour covered some history of Bavaria, since Munich was the former capital, including its

former rulers and their buildings, which was interesting at the time, but now I just can't seem to recall a whole lot of it. We did also get some more World War II information, since Hitler spent a decent amount of time here. Brandon could probably give you those details, but I just can't seem to recall much of it at this point.

We ended the tour in Viktualienmarkt, which is a pretty solid outdoor food market. The plaza was also home to this maypole, which depicts for visitors all of the local sites to see.

Germany: Hofbrauhaus, May 11 Part 3

No trip to Munich is complete without a visit to the Hofbrauhaus, one of the world's oldest and most famous beer gardens. This place has been brewing beer since 1589, the time when Wilhelm V was the duke of Bavaria - he played a role in this place's creation. (I didn't know this at the time, but I learned it the next day when we toured Munich.)

The Hofbrauhaus remains famous today because it is the site of the yearly Oktoberfest when thousands of beer lovers flock here to get rowdy for hours upon hours.

Because it is such a famous place, it was fitting that this was our choice for dinner on Sunday night, after our adventures at Olympic Park. We settled down at a table in the outdoor portion of the beer garden, which was filled with tourists from all over the world - it was an excellent place to overhear conversations flooded with people's accents, which I definitely do love.

Brandon won out on the choice of dinner. He had the authentic meal of pork schnitzel; I know this because my sample of it was quite delicious. My dinner choice, on the other hand, was not as savory. I chose the meatloaf because I wanted a hearty meal. Instead, my meal could best be described as "a slab of hot dog" or "hot dog loaf". Now, I do love hot dogs typically, but this loaf wasn't the greatest thing in the world. The potato salad, however, was authentic and delicious.

Just about every tourist who drinks and dines here has some version of this photo, so here's my memory of beer-drinking at the Hofbrauhaus. Brandon would title this picture "The Poser" because the only beer I drank at this famous beer garden was the amount necessary to take the photo. These steins are gigantic, and I'm just not enough of a beer fan to give this the true go. I did sample, though, and I can tell you, this beer is definitely worth its Euro. Thank you, beer wench!

Germany: Olympic Park, May 11 Part 2

After a great afternoon in Rothenburg, we hit the road again, and with the help of Mr. T, easily found our way into Munich. I was excited about visiting Munich because I wanted to see Olympic Park, among other things, so we felt this would be a good place to start.

We found a hotel, checked in, and then headed to the train station. We hopped a train across town to Olympic Park. As we departed the train, I noticed a great deal of people walking toward the park who looked like they were attending a rock concert. Just as I was saying to Brandon, "Um, I think there might be a concert here tonight," a large line of serious fans wearing KISS ARMY shirts were walking toward us. Brandon was immediately intrigued, and we did in fact confirm a KISS concert was on schedule in just a few hours. In fact, it was KISSMANIA, and had we known, we could have painted our faces and got into the concert free. Too funny, I tell you.

We also caught the very extreme end of a Nissan-sponsored dirt bike competition. Olympic Park is a rockin' place.

Anyway, since I didn't feel like spending 70 Euro on scalped tickets (I think Brandon is still upset about this), we played tourist and checked out the Olympic Park sites. Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, which are sadly remembered for the fact that 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, which is referred to as the Munich Massacre. Sadly, it's history, and as Germany well knows, we can't forget the past.



Olympic Park is pretty amazing. There is an awesome tower, which we took to the top for outstanding views of the Olympic facilities, the city of Munich, the BMW headquarters, and the Alps in the distance. It was pretty frigid at the top of the tower because the sun was setting, but the views were amazing.





This is a photo of Olympic Stadium, where soccer is obviously held. The stadium is still used today for local soccer games. Pretty awesome view of the stadium field.



One of my favorite parts atop the tower was this sign: DANGER TO LIFE. Not just danger, but danger to life. BEWARE TOURISTS.



Olympic Park lived up to the hype, and since I am a huge Summer Olympics fan, it was really a great experience for me to see the facilities. First stop in Munich was definitely a winner!

Germany: Rothenburg, May 11 Part 1

After an invigorating night's sleep, Brandon and I awoke somewhat early on Sunday to pack for our first road trip. We loaded our bags into the hot sweaty car, and Brandon took a few minutes to prepare his Tom-Tom. Generally speaking, this navigation system was quite impressive, most notably for the fact that the voice belonged to Mr. T. That's right, Mr. T joined us for the remainder of the week, telling Brandon "to enter the motorway" or "in 300 meters, turn left" or "slow it down, fool, slow it down!" Seriously, entertainment in the simplest form.

We set off to Rothenburg, a small medieval town that is magical, quaint and peaceful. A wall runs completely around the town. We walked a good part of it in order to see the town from a higher view. This is probably my best photo of the wall itself.


Rothenburg exists solely for tourism, and we somehow picked one of the best days to play tourist here - thank you travel gods and karma! We happened upon the town for Medieval Parade Weekend. The townspeople draped themselves in medieval lederhosen and wandered the streets with the aim to entertain. Numerous townfolk could be found on horseback...







...or walking with dead animals on shovels...















... or firing off cannons. The Medieval Parade element was really a quite fun surprise for our day of tourism.






Some other highlights during the day in Rothenburg included an amazing lunch of a summer salad with fresh fruit and fresh veggies, followed by a gelato dessert. Real authentic gelato is perhaps one of my favorite foods in Europe, and it was definitely enjoyable on this beautiful day. Rothenburg is also famous for Christkindlmarkts - those stores that exist solely for Christmas 365-24-7 (which we all know I don't fully support, but tourism is tourism). These shops and stores were on nearly every corner. The architecture of the buildings here was also quite impressive. All in all, Rothenburg was significantly amazing.

Germany: Wurzburg, May 10 Part 2

After our adventure on the monastery's mountain drinking beer with the aggressively adventurous Germans, we drove to Wurzburg for a late dinner with some of Brandon's co-workers. Having already had a traditional pork meal for my previous two meals, we felt it best to dine on something other than pork. Brandon's friend suggested sushi, which I am not really a fan of, but the restaurant had other Asian meal offerings and that was good enough for me.

I ordered some lo mein, while Brandon and his friends ordered Sushi Boats. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it was quite the site once the boats were brought to the table. Sadly, I don't have a photo of the Sushi Boat, but I can describe for you that the waitresses brought two wooden boats. The boats had wooden planks, masts, etc. and were at least two feet in length. Seriously, I'm not exaggerrating. Spread across the length of each boat's deck were roughly 30 pieces of a variety of sushi. This is not something you see every day, and I'm still upset I didn't capture it on film.

Brandon's friend lives in Wurzburg so he described for me some of the sights. There are only a few things I remember about the city. One of these facts is that Wurzburg is home to a university and often flooded with college age students. I also remember that the River Main runs through the center, and Brandon's friend, who is an engineer by trade, detailed for me the intriguing set up of the city's canal system, which can be seen here. I remember being fascinated by the facts about the canal and thinking "that's some good engineering" but I honestly can't remember what exactly made the canal's set up so intriguing.

Brandon's friend also pointed out the castle as seen here, called Marienberg Fortress. This building is like 500 years old, which is pretty incredible. It looked magnificent at night, and I was able to experiment with my camera's features in order to take this excellent photo. However, this is as close to the fortress as I was able to get. It does look pretty cool, I think. American doesn't have buildings like this, you know?

I didn't spend a ton of time in Wurzburg, but I can tell you that it seems like a pretty unique city and possibly a fairly fun place to live. And I did have two excellent meals there, so that's usually good enough for me. It's not every day you see a Sushi Boat, right?

Germany: Kreuzburg, May 10 Part 1

On Saturday, Brandon was so generous to allow me to sleep off my jet lag; I think he was surprised when I surfaced back to life around noon because I probably could have slept all day. He informed me that we had a small excursion to Kreuzburg planned for the afternoon.

Brandon was generally giddy because the weather was just amazing. Seriously, he spent hours before my arrival saying things like, "Bring rain gear" or "It's probably going to be rainy the whole time you're here." But magically, karma and the travel gods were on my side, and the weather was already proving to be magnifcent.




Kreuzburg is one of Brandon's weekend hot spots, so when the weather is nice, a visit seems appropriate - that's what he told me anyway. Kreuzburg is situated on a mountain. These are the steps we had to climb to get to the top.

This is a view from the top of the mountain, which I think it quite quaint and beautiful.





Germans love this place. It attracts a great deal of locals who come out to hike and bike. There are lots of trails on top of the mountain, and the steps to the top can be a workout themselves. Germans love the outdoors, and they are fairly aggressive about their time spent in the sun. Many of them dawn spandex, some inappropriately short, and gear up to attack these trails via bike. Others grasp their walking poles in both hands in order to attack the trails via foot. It's all quite intense really, and I felt intimidated by their dedication to outodoor adventures.

Tourists also love this place. The mountain also plays home to Kloster Kreuzburg, which is basically a monastery - a monastery that serves beer. Yes, that's correct, a monastery that serves beer. For hundreds of years, the monks brewed beer and sold it atop this mountain. The monks stopped breweing the beer in 1985, but it is still served. So, I guess there's nothing better than to grab your stein and join in, because really, what could be better than drinking beer at a monastery on a Saturday afternoon?




Well, eating a giant fat soft pretzel with your beer makes it a whole lot better.





I think the Germans are on to something, by the way. I wonder how many Americans would work out more aggressively if beer was the reward atop a holy mountain?