Hans' Birthday

Hello people. I am busy being worthless. Hans and I just watched an hour of handball and soccer goals, sports bloopers and hard fouls. I was supposed to spend the afternoon looking for jobs. It’s only funny until Jen gets home and I get in big trouble. Regardless, I should get a few plus points for writing a blog. So here goes.

Last weekend was not only the start of the NFL season, stupid Broncos, but it also marked the start of the season for Jen and I. Jen saw a lot of time during her game, in fact she played the whole game on defense and was a part of many fast breaks. She didn’t score but did impress her coach with her defense, especially her speed and strength. Unfortunately, TV Mainzlar started the year with a mark in Loss column. Jen said that despite the good team defense, the offense was at times stagnant and hesitant to fire shots. As in most sports, if you don’t shoot, you can’t score and that proved to be the downfall for Jen’s squad.

SG Bruchkobel got off to a rousing start in their first game. We were leading 7-0 ten minutes into the game before the other team settled down. We would remain ahead or tied for the entire game, never relinquishing the lead, even though we tried our best at times to give the game away. Our offense also became a bit stagnant in the second half but we pulled through for the win. I did not see much time on the court, only the last five minutes of the game when it was pretty much locked away. Our coach apparently likes to stick with the people he knows and trusts early in the season until the newbies have proved themselves. I was disappointed but you can’t argue with a win. Coach did let me take a pity 7-meter with a minute to go in the game so I did score my first goal for SGB and my first ever 7-meter in Germany. I also managed to garner a yellow card and a 2-minute in my short stay on the court so my name would appear in all statistical categories.

The best part of the first weekend, other than finally playing, had to be the bus ride home. We played 2.5 hours from home and consistent with German tradition, we partied hard on the bus ride back. 2 cases of beer and 3 bottles of Jager were not enough to fulfill our needs but it was enough to encourage ignorant singing, chants and jokes at everybodies expense. Our goalie seems to have unlimited knowledge of songs that include taking a teammates name and than inserting it into the song, where as everybody sings along and the teammate is left to smile and laugh or sulk and shout obscenities, or both. It was a very interesting and, I must say, enjoyable ride home. It was impossible to remain in my “bitter from seeing limited time and given a pity 7-meter” funk.

Monday was Hans’ birthday and gave us another excuse to party. Something that Germans apparently never need and for that matter, neither do I. Hans mother cooked bunches and bunches of the Most Amazing Chili Ever (Apart from my mother’s, obviously, love you Mom), Hans invited some of his German buddies and some of the Americans from the Heidleberg area came up and joined in the festivities. We ate almost all 15 pounds of the chili, enjoyed a few pilsners and some Maker’s Mark and than those who live in the real world and have jobs went to bed and the rest of us went to a club in Frankfurt called Velvet. For a Monday night the club was pretty rocking. I am pretty sure everybody there enjoyed themselves, by the end of the night I’m pretty sure the rest of the people in the club thought we were some big time American team of some sort, which was kinda funny. I must report, that even though it was a night club, and never opens before 9 PM, it has the best scotch selection I have ever seen. Better than the nicest places in Boston or New York, this club that entertains 18 to young twenty somethings had over 150 bottles of scotch. Incredible.

On Wednesday Jen and I received a wonderful surprise. A very good family friend of ours had a layover in Frankfurt and offered to take us to dinner. So we drove to his hotel and picked him up. The man, Mr. Greg Acone, expressed interest in seeing Jen’s practice Wednesday night so we drove in the direction of her practice (45 minutes north of Frankfurt) and found a place to stop and have dinner on the way. Greg and I enjoyed a few German pilsners and he enjoyed some Schnitzel. We than went to Jen’s practice and watched one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Jen’s coach played classical music for the first half hour and made the girls do plyo’s in step to the tune. Pretty funny to watch. Apparently Jen’s coach is a well known women’s coach throughout Germany, who is known for being a little eccentric. However, nobody disputes that he is a genius, both as a handball coach and as a doctor. Jen is excited to continue to work with him. They than proceeded to have a regular handball practice. Greg enjoyed it enough that he promised to be in the stands against Canada screaming and yelling. It never fails to amaze me that every American who watches the sport immediately falls in love with it. It was great for us to be able to see an old friend and spend some time with him. Greg, thanks so much dinner and spending time with us. Let us know the next time your gonna be in Frankfurt.

Jen’s work has continued to go well. She isn’t tired of the little kids yet and seems to still enjoy going to work. Practicing every night has made it tough for her to get enough sleep but she catches up on the weekends. The car has been a God send but with it comes new problems, such as a paying for gas (crazy expensive) and the fact that Jen has gotten lost a few times. Without GPS or a cell phone, it can be very difficult to get around in Germany and Jen has had the unfortunate luck of having no idea where she is going with no way to contact anybody. Jen managed to get lost for 2 hours yesterday, completely missing her team’s film session and almost missing the beginning of practice. As you can imagine, this is very frightening and a bit stressful. Jen’s uncle (he is a lifesaver) has been kind enough to get us a GPS as a late wedding gift and the day it comes will be wonderful, because I can stop worrying about Jen driving in circles somewhere in the middle of Germany alone.

We do finally have a working bank account and Jen received a letter in the mail yesterday saying she has insurance. She can now go the hospital if she gets hurt. At least one of us is covered. We are looking for apartments in the area that would make Jen’s commute to work and practice shorter. She is currently driving an average of 30 minutes to work one way and 45 to practice. That’s well over 2 hours on the road a day, which is tiring and wasteful (gas, again, is expensive). I am still actively looking for a job (see 1st paragraph), although I am pretty sure my club has a job for me that will start in October. As Jen constantly reminds me, it doesn’t hurt to look and apply for other jobs. Especially considering the job my team has found is packing meat everyday for 10 hours, starting at 5 in the morning. As much fun as that sounds like, I would imagine sitting at a desk working for a finance company may be a bit more enjoyable. But a paycheck is a paycheck.

This weekend includes round 2 in both of our leagues. Jen plays away on Saturday and Hans and I play our first home game on Sunday. I am excited because Jen and I will be able to watch each other play. Some of my teammates and some of the American guys are going to go as well so Jen will have quite a following on Saturday. Tonight we are having a locker room party, where all the new players must bring something to eat and drink and we apparently just hang out in the locker room. Sounds like a good time to me. Since I scored my first goal for the team last weekend, I must also bring a case a beer. I must say I love the little subtleties’ involved in German sports but it can be tough to fulfill these requirements when one has no cash flow. Regardless, this weekend should be full of good times.

Sunday night could bring some fireworks in the Self’s house. The Bronco’s play the Seahawks and Mr. Ken Self is a big time Seahawks and yours truly loves the Broncos. Depending on the outcome of that game, Jen and I may have to find a new place to live sooner than we imagined.

That’s whats up with us here in the D-Land. Hope all is well back home. Beat Canada! Twice!