A Weekly Routine.

Pic Descriptions: 1st Pic = Image from my window. 2nd = Charles and I. 3rd = Field in Paris, 4th = Team photo (From left: Pierre, Romain (can in mouth), Sam, Olivear, Charles, Jean Luc, and Marc (kneeling), 5th = Joan of Arc Cathedral

Bonjour friends and family! It goes without saying that I think about you guys everyday and I miss you guys a lot. Emily, there isn’t going to be anymore references to Mauricio or my sexuality…assholes, Alex, answer your damn phone you prick, and I will throw whatever the hell I want when I am on the mound…nobody can touch this speed baby, Ian, thanks for all the email information you have sent me and FOR ANSWERING MY CALLS, Mom and Dad, thanks for talking to me this past week and seeing how I was, it kept my head on straight, Phyll, glad to finally talk to you the other day. To others who are reading, I appreciate the feedback and thoughts so keep’em comin.
Alrighty, let’s see…hmm. Since last Sunday’s games I am trying to find a routine to get mind off the fact that I am in France so far away from home. Not going to lie, I hit a low point during the week really missing home but things are looking a lot brighter. At the beginning of the week, I was running as usual just trying to pin down everything there is to do Bois-Guillaume. My surroundings are beautiful. The weather….not so much. I would just love the see the extended forecast on a news channel for the Normandy area. I can just picture a French Tom Dye,
“Well, we got a lots of wind and rain, clouds, chilly weather for about…..hmm let’s see…Well shit…I can’t see a sunny day in sight. Well if you are going to commit suicide, you are living in the right weather folks.”
Haha, the weather is really depressing right now. The sights and weather go perfectly with any Radiohead song. Dreary and poetic. I have been taking really good pictures; messing around with a lot of the cool features on the camera Mom and Dad bought me. Thanks Momma ☺. AND I WILL POST PICS WHENEVER I CAN, SO I DON’T WANT TO HEAR SHIT ABOUT IT. I’M WORKING ON IT. Same goes for internet access. Believe me, the more I can talk and share things with you guys, I will. Well, it seems that everyone that I meet in France DO know where Springfield is. It is apparently the birthplace of the Simpsons. Damn that fucking show because I can’t tell you how many times somebody asks me,
“Is Homer your dad?” or “How is Ned Flanders”
Yeah, fuck you.
So it is Sacre Bleu and the Simpsons Theme song for now.
After practice on Wednesday with my team, Chris, the American, drove me home because, yes, it was raining out. He is just the nicest guy. For a house warming gift, he had bought me some of the Normandy Cider. It is like an apple champagne. Just a really nice gesture. The next day, Chris picked me up to go to his house to use his phone and internet and to meet his family. He has two kids, a boy and a girl. Just the cutest things. The little boy reminds me of JoJo and the little girl is adorable. The boy just smiles at me and the girl is kinda scared of me at first. So I talked with Chris for awhile as well as messin around with his kids. I finally got the his little girl to laugh at me and give me a little high five before he took me home. I think Chris and I will be really close all season because he knows the adverse situation I am in. Our game this Sunday is cancelled due to, yes, rain. So I will help Chris make a big Easter Lunch for his family and others. He is Catholic and is having a big meal to celebrate.
The other weeks activities included coaching the other teams. I really love coaching these kids. Every baseball exercise is just so new to them so they are really excited to do the different drills I have them do. Haha, I did a type of conditioning drill with them with lots of running and quick movements. I hated the drill because it made me tired as hell but they just loved it. I think they are just really tired of all the same boring ground balls and any type of fast movement interests them. I have to tell you before every practice I coach, there is twenty minutes of either soccer or other French game. I am always Paul’s first pick, and we just have a ball. I am just yelling at kids in English like
“WHAT THE FUCK PAUL, PASS ME THE BALL!” and “OHHHHH, IN YOUR FACE STEPHANIE!!!”
They just get a kick out of it. But when practice starts, I am not so play full. I kinda put on a serious face and I make sure they are not goofing around. It is usually Paul talking with his friends and I have to snap at him. But I love coaching and things on that front are going really well.
This Monday, The Paturel’s are taking me to the Normandy D-Day beach. I am really looking forward to it. I am going to take my signature picture with my feet in the center of the shot with hopefully the beach in the background. I am thinking of making a huge collage with that pic from the different places I have been. Another, “Ha, look where I have been and where you are probably never going to be.” Yeah, I rule. Love ya and talk to you guys soon. Au revoir.