Happy Birthday to me.

Today is my birthday (woo) and I am 22 years old. Even though this is the first time I haven't seen my family on or within a few hours of my birthday, I refuse to be depressed. I have too many things for which to be thankful.

For starters, Thanksgiving Day turned out a whole lot better than anticipated. Many of the Germans whom I am around routinely poke fun at American culture, but Thanksgiving's feast is one they fully embrace. What started out as suggestions to try and thwart homesickness quickly became expectations of a gourmet meal hosted in mine and Nick's apartment. I've secretly fancied myself a pretty good cook but my only experience with preparing Thanksgiving dinner had been helping my mom snap peas and grate cheddar. Given this, I was excited to test my mettle.

After roughly 12 hours of work, Nick and I stood proudly and patted each other on the back for successfully completing our task.
In other news, despite playing blind for the past 2 weeks, we have picked up 2 more wins and I have been playing well. On November 23, we played our weakest opponents. We were only up by about 10 at the end of the first half, but we stretched it to about 30 by the end of the game. I think I finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
This past Saturday, we traveled to Berlin and played one of our tougher opponents. We raced to an early lead and finished the first half up by 11. During the beginning of the second half, our opponents stormed back to cut the deficit to 3. I hit a buzzer beating, step-back 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to squash their momentum and push our lead to 9 points heading into the final frame.
In the last quarter we outscored them 30-17 and won going away. I think I finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Happy Birthday to me!

Who knew I didn't have to see to shoot well?

The weekend before last, we travelled to Berlin (once again) to play a league game versus a below .500 opponent. We played them once in the preseason in a game that was far from exciting. This game didn't prove itself any different. I think we won by close to 30 points. I played alright, though I didn't get as many shot attempts as I would have liked. I think the "official" record has me down for 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. 

This past Friday, I woke up with my eyes the color of ketchup. I had to wear sunglasses inside because light felt like a hit with a sledgehammer. I called the VP of the basketball club and scheduled an appointment with the doctor. They gave me eye cream, yes cream, that burned and didn't work. I went in for another appointment Saturday morning before our game. The doctor strongly advised me against wearing contacts for a while, so I was resigned to playing blind. 

We travelled 3.5 hours to play the Ascherleben Tigers. The car ride was a special experience because the new medicine they gave me dilated my pupils. The combination of the pitched  blackness of the country night and bright headlights on the autobahn meant lots of squinting and looking away. Thankfully, the lights in the arena didn't bother me. 

We were up after every period, and up 11 with 2:30 to go but still managed to lose. Our starting point guard left the game because he was "dizzy", our back up point guard had 4 straight turnovers that resulted in break away lay-ups, and we missed 6 straight free throws including  the possible game winning ones.  Daggers. I probably played my best game since being over here but it was wasted in a losing effort. The stats aren't official yet, but my coach thinks I had somewhere between 25-32 points and 15 rebounds..

Oh yeah. Amherst plays their first game next week! Let's go Jeff's. Terras Irradient.

like a raisin in the sun?

I think Presidential elections often give valuable insights into the disposition of a country. The notion of an African American being chosen as the candidate for a major political party prophesied that change was on the horizon, that the country was embarking on new journey. But what kind of beginning lie ahead? Would this mark the beginning of finding solutions to various social and economic issues that were typically divided over phenotypic differences or would this just be the final schism during a turbulent time? With last night's results, America authoritatively responded with the former. 

I wish I could have been home to feel the vibrations of triumph that resonated across the land or to take part in the collective sigh of relief when CNN officially declared Obama the victor. I can only imagine the gamut of emotions that must have swirled within different families. I wasn't emotional until I realized how not-so-far removed I was from different times. Times when my Grandparents had to provide for my parents during the Civil Rights Movement. How could they have imagined then, when race was a determining factor for everything, that it would become a cursory detail? And, wow, how amazing is it for my 10 year old sister? She doesn't have to dream about the day someone who looks like her is President. Pause. That's not true, but this must make that vision more than a dream deferred.

Change doesn't usually happen radically and abruptly. Typically, it happens step by step then one day you look back and see how far you've walked. Since its inception, America has been a beacon to other countries. And with this election, it can start to erase some of the stains that marred it over the past eight years. 

What else is changing in America? There is a saying I found on the internet that I kind of like:

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children could fly."

In Harlem during the 1950's, Langston Hughes (famous African American poet, novelist, short story writer, columnist, and playwright) asked, "What happens to a dream deferred"? On November 4, 2008, an entire country finally answered. 

PS-

A dream deferred. (Langston Hughes)

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode? 

PPS- We won our last game and I had a double-double.

Okay, so as requested: 

The Cottbus White Devils are now 3-1. After last weeks disappointing loss, we responded with a decisive 34 point victory over an undefeated team. Since we had been struggling to score points, my coach started me at power forward, moved Nick to center, put in another a shooter at small forward, and benched our former starting center. 

I finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds on a pretty efficient performance. We put in a few new sets on offense that aren't really designed for me to score, so I did not get many looks early; however, I managed to sneak in a few offensive boards and put backs and a few transition post ups to get going. My defender started heading straight for the paint after that so I was able to get some trail three's also. All in all, I feel much better about my/our play than I have in a few games. 

Our team lacks some leadership and dedication, but I think this game did a lot to establish confidence. It's a lot easier to put in the hard work when there is a reward, so hopefully knowing we can win in this fashion will take us to another level.

I did split my lip a little bit, but it's healing quickly.

Wellps..

Our first L

Three games into the season the White Devils of Cottbus picked up their first loss. We were up 10 at half time but ended up losing by about 11. We gave up 72 points, so the problem was definitely more of our offense. I am pretty sure we only had 5 guys out of the 12 who played score.  I played well, but 12 of the 18 points I had came in the first half.  For some reason we were far less disciplined in our offense and the only person to get quality scoring opportunities was our point guard. Hmm. 

Perhaps as frustrating as the loss itself was the way my coach handled the adversity. Every timeout was incessant yelling. Not once did he ask a question; every sentence he uttered was an imperative command in a self-righteous tone. I am quickly developing a deaf ear for 90% of the things he says to me during games. 

The pinnacle of his attitude problem for me was when we were down 9 with 40 seconds to go in the 4th quarter. I asked him if we should foul twice (in an effort to prolong the game and hope we make some shots). Both times he sat with his legs crossed, arms folded, and pouted. He didn't even use his words, all he did was shake his head. 

Next weekend is another game, so we can't dwell on this one. We will also get the chance to play them again... I'll have that day circled on my calendar.

Wie geht es dir?

Here I am! Sorry I am late, I was caught in traffic on route 80. There was an accident. 

So, what's happened since my last blog? Well, let's see:

Two weeks ago, Nick and I started German lessons. Every Friday afternoon between individual workouts and team practice, a team manager comes over with a workbook and we try and gain a new "tool" to use in typical German life. The first week was pretty much about initial interactions with strangers. We went over how to ask what someone's name is, where they are from, their age, what they do for a living, how they are doing (that's the title of this post), etcetera. Our second lesson took us beyond saying "I would like to have..." at a restaurant. I am a picky eater, so asking if I can have something different than what is on the karte will come in handy. 

Lessons have been the only things recently to remind me of the cozy safety bubble of college life. Within the last eight days, I installed my own shower head holder, had to break my bike lock (twice), had a flat tire fixed, and deal with a vice president of a certain basketball club that wasn't forthcoming with important monetary information.

At the beginning of last week, I had to saw through my bike because some stranger broke their key off in my lock. I chose to think that someone got confused and tried to unlock the wrong bike. It helps me sleep at night. I obviously had to go to the store and buy a saw myself because that's what you have to do if you want to get things done. At the end of that week, I got a flat riding to practice and broke my own key off in the lock after practice.   I didn't even break it from side to side , I twisted it broken. Keys shouldn't be that malleable- especially not with finicky locks. 

The crown jewel of dealing with things myself happened yesterday when I received an email saying that I half of the recent phone bill would be deducted from my pay next month. I wrote a harsh email saying that I didn't use the phone equally, and that when I did use it, it was at no cost. So, that a pay deduction was unacceptable. Feeling pretty good about standing up for myself, I continued to keep it funky via email and said that it's unfair to make up some magic number that we have to start paying for when our contract said the club would be responsible for the phone.

She responded with a dagger of a response. Evidently the club is responsible for providing the phone- not the service. Real cool. I wasn't happy, but ultimately it was my fault. Live and learn.

Wellps, we play our second game this weekend in Berlin. I am excited to play another game that counts.  

Big gulps, huh?

Wellps, the first game came and went. It was a real barn burner, too. With 30 seconds to go we were only up 39 points. After the game, our coach expressed his disappointment to the media saying that we "should have won by 100" against our opponent. 

Please excuse my sarcasm, but my coach did actually say that. While on the topic of things my coach did, I feel the urge to make a list- 

My coach said:

When I am open to shoot the three on the ball reversal, to not shoot.  

When I catch the ball against zone defense to try and score.

Don't shoot the wide open three off of one pass against the zone.

Shoot a challenged jump shot, instead. (Mostly because it's about two feet closer despite it still being one pass against the zone.)

Don't throw a skip pass to someone for a wide open shot that wasn't a lay-up.

Don't shoot an open shot because we can get them whenever we want.

There are a host of contradictions that I'd rather not discuss at the moment. Talking about them right now will only put me in the wrong mindset for practice in a couple of hours. 

Tough times pass, tough people last. He can kiss my grits. 

Sorry about the typographical errors earlier. Haste makes waste. 

..game day.

..T - 4.5 hours until game time. I think it is still too early to start playing "lock-in" music.