I actually worked today… after a couple of days off in a row, I begrudgingly dragged myself into work. I think I am getting myself spoiled. I had to work 6 hours today… 12 to 6. That is a half day where I used to work! Hopefully I can remember this fact for a while… I should be more thankful for my current situation.
After work, I got to go out to dinner with Ron, Debbie, Chris, and Laura… the five of us enjoyed Five Guys Burgers. We had a great time and laughed a lot. It was pretty wonderful. We ended the night with a little ice cream at Oberweis.
I know that the story of today isn’t thrilling… but it was a really good day. And at least I am managing to post a blog… that’s more than Alisha can say!! Snap, yo.
Today was a beautiful day… a perfect day for a day alone at Castlewood State Park. I spent several hours of quality time there reading and hiking. I hadn’t been there in several years, which makes me sad because it is a wonderful place to mountain bike. I should do that more often (if only Joe would get a chain put back on his bike). Anyways, it was a really peaceful day… a great choice for me!
After a few minutes spent at church, I grabbed a sandwich at Jimmy Johns and hung out and enjoyed some more quality time with some coffee at Borders for a while. You might be surprised to hear this, but I love Seattle’s Best Coffee… it’s delicious (and owned by S’bucks, so it’s kosher).
I topped off the great day with backing up my computer and hanging out with Senior Harry Walls. It was quite a productive day… do I really have to go back to work tomorrow??
Days off- I enjoy you so much!
Today I was able to sleep in and take a long nap… beautiful! Alisha and I hung out in the afternoon enjoying the park and some soup at the Olive Garden (which is a bargain at less than $13 for the two of us).
And tonight I went to the Cardinals game with Brian, Luke (the model), and Joe… what a great crew to hang with! It wasn’t a pretty game, but the Cardinals managed to win by a run thanks to the Braves leaving 10 runners on base.
Afterwards, I got to drive Joe back home after the game and it was real good to spend that time with him.
Ok, time to go to bed… I’ve got a big day off tomorrow!!
So, I nearly bought a new car tonight.
I wasn’t really in the market for one, but it almost happened. A strange alignment of Ford employee pricing, 0% financing, and a family favor became a rare reality. We test drove a brand new 2010 Mercury Milan (brother of the Ford Fusion)… it was really nice. I really liked it. I really wanted it.
The numbers looked like it was going to work out to have a very small impact financially compared to where we sit now with our current car. But it didn’t quite work out. Too bad… the sync technology would have been cool. We just really didn’t have the need to make the change. Alisha’s mom, Pookie, did have the need and was able to get a brand new Fusion.
On an unrelated note, have you noticed that I haven’t been highlighting my good o’ parts of the blog in orange over the last few weeks? That was laziness… which isn’t good. Orange is back!
Man, the evening blogs have just been impossible for me since I have been back. Someone told me that it takes one day for every hour time zone difference to readjust. I think today is my day… I don’t care what anyone says.
So, Saturday’s work was ok… I got through it with much less snot.
Last night we had a family dinner to celebrate my nephew Chris’ birthday (which was actually on the 22nd). We went to Outback… it was a ton of fun. The meal was great, but it was good to be with family. I was worried that I wouldn’t be back for this.
Then to cap off the night, we had ice cream with Jeremiah and Steph. Jere is headed back up to Minnesota this morning to get back to work. There is really no telling when he will be back. He’s got a long drive in front of him… I mean that literally and figuratively. I am praying that he can hear God’s direction for how he needs to lead his family, his first son will be here in August and it would sure be great to have employment where his wife and kid is.
So that’s pretty much all I’ve got. I need to get ready for church.. hopefully I remember my camera!
Well, work was rough. Fortunately, I spent most of the day doing bookwork and not interacting with people… my tiredness and grumbly voice would have been a bad combination.
The voice is starting to come back though (are you jealous Ron?). I broke down and got some American drugs last night. It was nice to be able to read the label and see what it actually does, other than trusting a German girl to translate my ailments. I am setting up an appointment with a doctor, a real doctor… because I have probably gone to urgent care 4 or 5 times in the last 6 months or so with sinus infection symptoms. I think there might be something going on causing this… maybe I contracted the new zebra flu. That doesn’t exist, but I could be the first one!
Ok, I need to get going… I need to get ready for work. I have finished all of my modules, so it looks like I am going to have to be on the floor today. Here’s to a snot-free day!!!
I am finally back home! And boy, I am tired.
Here is the surprising thing about yesterday’s travels… I had an empty seat next to me! Thousands of people stranded in Europe for up to a week, and I’ve got an empty seat!! That doesn’t really make sense. Kevin and Rick had empty seats too. I am sure that the American friends that we made over there, and are still there, would not be happy to hear about that.
I fell asleep pretty early, maybe 730pm, probably the 30 minutes of sleep on the plane didn’t help. And now I am awake attempting to go to work. I don’t know how well this is going to work, but I’ve got to try.
Could it be true?? Am I going to sleep in my own bed (with a matching box spring- european beds are weird) tomorrow??!!??
We are scheduled for an 810am flight out of Berlin to Dusseldorf, connecting then on a flight through the previously determined no-fly zone headed to Chicago. It doesn’t seem real that we are actually going home… especially considering that I don’t think the ash cloud has completely lifted. Here is a map from the BBC showing the most current condition.
There is a little bit of controversy here of why the airspace wasn’t opened sooner since it is apparently safe to fly through anyways. I suppose that they just weren’t sure how dangerous it really was and didn’t want to take any risk. It sounds like they have done enough test flights to ensure safety.
I am looking forward to being home, so if they feel good… I feel good. Let’s get on this thing!
Today we mainly worked on ensuring travel arrangements including alternate transportation to Dusseldorf if the first part of the trip was cancelled. We also took some time to rest up a little, which was much appreciated by me since I still don’t have a voice! Hopefully getting away from the ash cloud will change my fortune there.
Diane- I tried going to the apotheke… they told me that I needed to go to the hospital to get a script. If it isn’t better when I get back, I will go!!
Ok… time for bed! Bis bald!!
There is some hope for coming home!! Flights have started leaving again from Germany (and a few other parts of Europe) today for the US. I am a little confused because the volcano is still going and the ash cloud is supposedly still over Germany. To the best of my knowledge, no planes have gone down… so I guess it isn’t a problem.
Thursday morning will be here before I know it. I am not looking forward to the uber long flight, but it will be good to go home. Although, the bonus days here have been nice.
Today we went to the Stasi Museum- it is dedicated to the German/Soviet KGB of East Germany. It was kind of interesting to see all of their modern for the time spy tools. It was also a great history lesson of the vast and complicated history of Berlin. Hard to believe that any city could endure all that this city has!
Then in the afternoon, we hung out at Mike’s flat again for a while, playing even more Rock Band to kill the time. And then we went out to dinner with a few church planters (who all happen to be brothers). We are very encouraged about what they are trying to accomplish with their plant and with the passion they have for doing it. It was really nice to have had the opportunity to engage with them more tonight. The night flew by because the conversation was so easy, fun, and interesting.
The most limiting part of the conversation was that I still don’t have my voice back. It is really frustrating. I’ve got 2 languages to choose from, but I can’t use either of them!
Oh well… gute nacht!
It is really hard to be here in Berlin and not be confronted with the realities of history… namely the holocaust. Yesterday we went to the Jewish Holocaust Museum which was hard enough, but then we decided to go to Sachsenhausen concentration camp just north of Berlin. I have been there once before, and it was tough to handle then. Even worse the second time. I think it is good to come once and get an understanding of what happened… the other guys hadn’t been there before so it was good to go.
Tonight we went over to one of our missionary’s (Mike) apartments, he lives here in Berlin (until next month when he moves to STL).
Ok, I have 3 minutes left of my hour of internet… I am going to have Alisha log on to finish the post… we’ve been skyping most of the hour!
So…here I am finishing. Basically they ate pizza with Mike and played Rock Band…good times! Tomorrow night they get to meet and have dinner with one of the church planters and his family…Jim is really excited. God is really using this time…(He works through and uses Volcanic Ash for his Glory!) So…that it is it for now from Berlin and Missouri!
