juli

guess it's time to come back to confession... lol

germany was great. i did a lot of stuff. having andy there with me really opened me up to a lot of stuff.

i tried lots of different beers. and finally found some i really like drinking. it's a type of beer called 'radler', which translates into bicyclist. i dunno why. anyways, it's got lemonade mixed into it. it tastes better to me atleast, though i know many people think that just makes it wuss beer. whatever. lol

andy and i saw a lot. we biked to frankfurt, which is about a 20 mile bike ride. it was a nice ride along the river, and it kept me in shape.

we also went mountain biking with my aunt and her boyfriend. he used to be a pro mountain biker, so it was pretty kick butt. not gonna lie, i got freaked out doing some of the stuff, but it was fun. we rode about like 50 miles that day. just crazy. lol.

a few days before the july 16-19 weeked, andy and i were deciding whether to go to bavaria (south germany) or to the loveparade in berlin (which is where the pic is from). we finally decided to go to berlin for the loveparade. it was 3 or 4 trains to get up there. the first one was fine. after that, every train was packed to 200% capacity. lets just say we were traveling to the loveparade, along with 1.2 million of our new best friends. lol. we met two chicks we hung out with for the loveparade, johanna and sarah. they kinda just walked through with us, they had been to berlin before, so they kinda became our tourguides when we left the parade. we had dinner with them, then they went home. it was about midnight at that time, so we hopped on the subway and started touring the town till about 3 am. we took some packed trains back on the way home, and then just crashed. lol.

we had a good time seeing lots of things in germany. we also chilled with my friend/soon-to-be-cousin (my aunt's boyfriend's daughter) simone and her friends and cousins. they took us clubbing and to parties. i really had a good time with them. they loooooooved andy. lol.

the last week we were in germany we worked for the ironman germany. they worked us to the bone, but i think it helped get me in shape, plus it gave me a nice tan. i've been enjoying taking a lil better care of myself.
i hope you enjoy it too, hun;)
getting back to the states was cool. kat picked me up and we hung out for a while. david had band camp from 9-9 all week, so we saw each other at night.

i hung out with just about everyone this week. i even hung out with elisa. crazy stuff. i really enjoyed all the time with friends. which brings up one of my latest things that's been rambling through my mind.

i always find songs in germany to download when i get back. this year i found a good few, one of which really hit a string on me. i didn't understand why till this past week in fort mill. it's by a band named juli called 'geile zeit' (good time). the chorus goes 'ja ich weiss, es war 'ne geile zeit, aber es ist vorbei, es ist vorbei'. yes i know, it was an amazing time, but it's gone now, it's gone now.

i come back to fort mill twice a year usually, for xmas and summer. ofcourse i try to be with as many of my friends as possible in that time, they usually accompany me shopping. these friends are the ones that i will never forget, with friendships forged in memories ranging from elementary school on. many of us had our greatest summer together in the summer that i moved. a summer that i can never forget. one that i seem to try to relive every time i come to fort mill. this song is a close song to me now because it is giving me a perspective. i had a great time with my friends this week, only jess is able to bring those kinds of smiles i've been having this week to my face. i look back on everything now and it's amazing to have those memories to hold on to. everything. i was at elisa's house the other day. for those who don't know, elisa was my first serious girlfriend. anyways, we hadn't really talked in over a year, but we saw each other a few days ago and started hanging out again. we wound up at her house, where we hung out with her sister and her sister's boyfriend. we were joking around and then elisa pulled out a box that she said contained all the notes that i had written her. crazy. we started reading through them, trying to piece these memories together. it was a fun process. then we talked with her sister and boy about some memories and reminisced. not longily or like we were still in love with each other in the least, but with a smile on our face and laughing. it was a lot of fun. a way to look back at the memories without second-guessing yourself or wondering what you were thinking. my friends are always there for me in fort mill to remind me that i always have a home there and in their hearts. you can't ask for better friends. you can't. i invite them to come see me all the time. some try to plan and run out of money, others never get past the 'it sounds like a cool idea' phase. lol. i try. for some of them, this might be the last time i see them in fort mill. scary. but something that happens to all of us. all of you gave me the time of life, once again. and once again, i'll be able to leave again with memories of the times of my life. thank you. 'ja, es war 'ne geile zeit, aber es ist vorbei, es ist vorbei.'

my dad and i started talking as soon as i got back. he wanted me to come see him for a week, my mom said it was fine, so here i am. but not under the same circumstances as last time. last time i was here, my dad and i were going nuts because of him wanting me to move here. this time there's no talk of that. very nice. but it's not all roses.

three weeks ago in germany, i recieved an email from angie:

We got a call around 11 a.m. today that Henry's best friend, in the Apache
unit in Tennessee, Tim Flanigan, was killed in a crash Sunday in
Afghanistan. Please pray for his family.
Angie

tim was one of my dad's closest friends. he went up to funeral to be a pall bearer so my dad 'would make sure i was with him for the last moments above earth'. it's left a very big aftershock on my dad. i didn't really know tim othre than from many of my father's numerous stories, so i can't even imagine how hard the loss is on my dad. rest in peace tim. by going up to the funeral, he lost his job. but he's ready for a new one. for the past few years, he's been wanting to go back to iraq or afghanistan. thoughts of his family (angie and i) have kept him at home going from one job to the next: paramedic, swat cop, ems helicopter pilot, fire helicopter pilot, fireman, and even a stint as a truck driver. my dad has dcecided he's had enough of the civilian jobs. my dad is now actively pursuing a job as a pilot in either afghanistan or iraq. this week might be the last time i see him for a long while. maybe longer. this week is some time for my father and i to get to see each other before he goes. and that's why this week will go so much better than the last time.

in a week i'll be back in STX. i'll be able to see jess again. i can't wait. i've missed her a lot, but i'm happy both our vacations have gone as well as they have, with little hitches along the way. can't wait to see ya hun, i love you.

things come, things go. life flows on. it's not always pleasant. but sometimes it is. i have cherished this summer. and i'm sure i'll continue to cherish it when i'm back with jess and mom and jeff.

i'm scared of change like i was before, but i'm trying my best. there are some things i'm just not ready to let go of yet. who dares, wins.