Fun With Lists

Those of you who know me pretty well know that I unconsciously rate things and come up with ridiculous lists. So, in embracing that, here’s the list of things that I’ll be thinking about while I’m gone:

1. Baseball games – I’ll be gone for the entire summer, and won’t be able to get to one single game, not to mention any new stadiums to cross off the list

2. The 4^th of July – No North Avenue Beach, bags games, BBQs or bitching about going downtown to fight the masses to watch fireworks

3. The Cartwright summer lake trip – Hopefully everyone can find a new brown guy to sit on the pontoon with until sunrise, sit in the back of the pickup while Carol drives us to the bar, or to trade shirts with the dude in a tank top.

4. Spring and Summer in Oregon – Nate and I failed in our goal of trying one new thing a week, but it’d be way easier when it’s not raining and gloomy. I put up with the winter; it’s not fair that I don’t get to enjoy the sun for a while.

5. The development of pregnant Seema – I could not be more stoked about the arrival of Baby Awesome, so I’m bummed I don’t get to see and hear about the progression.

6. Spring term at UO – As lame as it sounds, and as nice as it was watching my friends get up to go to class at 8:30 while I got to sleep in, I’m kind of sad I’m missing out on it. The classes, especially the Sponsorship and Conflict in Sport classes, sound awesome. I’m also afraid that some of the momentum we built up on the Movember campaign will die down.

7. Driving – Something about the windows down, sunglasses on, and good music blaring…

8. Wiffle Ball – I don’t think they have it in Germany, but maybe there’ll be some sort of European version, like “wiffle cricket”, or something.

9. Beer league softball and kickball – “Bats What She Said” pretty much died when half the team left St. Louis, and no matter how shitty we were, we always won at having more fun than the other team.

10. The comfort of being completely confident in my surroundings

I’m sure there are German equivalents for a lot of these, and the negative emotions that coming with missing out on doing things you love to do will be replaced by the excitement of new people, exciting surroundings, and general European adventures.

Things that I’m particularly stoked about:

- Being in Europe during the World Cup

- Birgkirchweih – the two week beer festival that has been described as “Oktoberfest without all the annoying tourists”

- Travelling in Europe

- Working for adidas

- New friends

- Completely immersing myself in another culture

- (Maybe) learning a little German

Song of the Day: Lake Michigan – Rogue Wave

Book of the Day: Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell