Second Time's the Charm

My dissertation has been printed and bound for the second time now, and I am much, much happier with the result. It just looks a lot more professionally done having been printed on a laser printer, and I went ahead and did the University/Judge crest in color, and that adds a nice touch to it also. And all's well that ends well, so considering that the dissertation is still all finished well in advance of the turn in date of next Monday the 6th, the minor headache of dealing with this is really fairly inconsequential. So now I'm off to London this evening for a night of theatre and then heading to New York for what should prove to be an incredible three and a half days.

Too Good to be True

I think I must have focused too much on how happy I felt to be finished. After returning from Staples (on cloud 9 I must say), I spent a bit of time sorting through the cosmetics/toiletries to complete my NYC packing, some time aimlessly surfing the internet, finished my last load of laundry and then had lunch. Then I decided to read through my dissertation again, just for kicks since it looked so nice all officially bound. Good thing I looked through the whole thing. Apparently they didn't realize I wanted the laser printer for my paper and did the printing from the copy machine/ink jet type printer. Which works fine for normal occurences, but when you're printing off a large volume of sheets the print heads start to leave ghost lines in the margins after about 20 pages, and it's a bit smeary and not quite the crisp, polished, professional look. So my morning work was rather undone, as I realized that I'd have to get it printed out on a laser printer since it seemed to cheapen the end result.
So now I have three unbound copies that have been printed out on a laser printer (after buying my own nicer paper and fending off the undergrads who thought that it was for communal use even though I clearly had brought it in my backpack). In the morning I'm going to go to the Graduate Union shop and have those copies bound, and then I will be finished with printing and binding for the second time. At least I did finish with enough time to rectify the problem, so all hope wasn't lost, but it was definitely frustrating and Murphy and his Law seemed ready to laugh in my face today.
On a positive note, since I have nothing but the second go-round of binding to do tomorrow, I decided that I'd go into London and catch the evening show of "The Woman in White." Unfortunately I didn't get in to see it in the fall when Michael Crawford was performing, but I still really wanted to see it, and since no one else seems to be finished yet and all my friends are quite buried under work, I decided that I'd go ahead and go by myself just because. Shoot, I'll consider it my 2 day late "happy one-year West Point graduation anniversary" if i have to come up with some way to legitimize it, but really I just wanted to have something to do tomorrow that will be fun. I am spoiling me, but why not? When's the next time I'll ever live in England:-)

Completely Finished

Printed and bound. My dissertation is completely finished. And boy oh boy, 45 pages is a lot thicker than I really imagined it would be. And now I have nothing to do for the rest of today or tomorrow since I am already packed for NYC. I can't believe I'm finished, and a full week before it is actually due!

Done! (Almost)

Ahhhhhh, I am oh so excited that I could scream. (In a good way, of course.) My dissertation is completely revised, edited - finished! At 15,193 words, and 45 pages (1.5 spaced, not double), this is the longest single piece of work that I have ever completed. Now all I have left to do is have it printed and bound, and then turn it in. But wow, this is such a great feeling (of course I'm hoping I feel this great after finding out results), and I think I will walk around all day tomorrow with a big old grin permanently plastered upon my face.

A Gorgeous Day

Today was amazing, I think it got up to 80 degrees here, I just read an article on the BBC that this is the hottest first day of the May Day weekend since sometime early in the 1950s, and it definitely topped out over 80 degrees in London. Since this is a record I suppose I can't expect too many more days as nice as this one, but I'm not going to think about that and enjoy the good weather as long as it lasts. I seriously found myself questioning whether I was still in England. I wasn't feeling up to doing much of anything because my hayfever of a few days ago turned into a full out head/sinus cold. There's just something wrong about being sick when it's so nice outside, but that was the situation I found myself in today. However, I tried not to let that stop me, and I took a blanket and my laptop out into the back garden (aka back yard, but the Brits call it a garden, even though there's nary a flower in sight), and worked for about an hour revising my thesis. If tomorrow is as nice, I think I'll be back out there again, and maybe even feel brave enough to break out the swim suit to get a bit of a tan. The five minute rain shower that sent me running back inside was enough however, to remind me that I was still in the UK, and the weather can be incredibly unpredictable, since it stayed clear after that brief spot of rain.
I took a bit of time to run to the library, well walk, okay, meander through town and check out the stores on my way over and eventually end up at the library before it closed. There were so many people out and about in town today, the good weather seemed to have kicked everyone outside, and boy, body image must be a lot different over here, based on some of what I saw the different people wearing, I could get away with daisy duke shorts and a tube top, because there were people with figures much worse than mine wearing that. I mean, confidence is good, but I think after today I am definitely of the opinion that there can be such a thing as having too much self-confidence, especially when it crosses the line into bad taste. Oh well, the weather was so nice that I'm inclined to be forgiving, because I found myself wishing I'd worn a tank top because it was HOT!
I am thanking my lucky stars that I bought an electric fan a few weeks ago when it had been semi-warm, because one of the stores that I went into today was out of fans. I miss air conditioning, although I suppose that at least after four years at West Point I'm used to not having the AC, but I am definitely going to keep AC high on my list of things that I want from any apartment that I end up in next year. Although I don't know where I'll end up in Germany, so I may not have much choice about apartments if they make me live on post in a BOQ. But all of that is in the future and I'm not going to worry about that until I have to.
I have one small sectin to add to my dissertation and then I'm finished. I was able to get two of the three suggested corrections accomplished today, and should be able to finish the final correction tomorrow, which means on Sunday I'll print out a last copy to check over for final revisions, and then on Monday I can take the completed dissertation to the local Staples shop and have it printed and bound. I know I've explained all this before, but I'm just so over the top happy about the prospect of having it finished that I can't contain myself. Especially since at this rate I'll have it all completed a week before it's actually due - although that doesn't really count as a full week since I'll be leaving for NYC on Wednesday and won't get back until Sunday afternoon, and it is due next Monday.
So despite the fact that I was sick today, I still was able to enjoy some of the good weather, and that cheered me up considerably. The next thing I have to do is pack for NYC, and anyone who knows me will know how much I hate packing for anything, so I'm putting that one off for as long as I can. At least it should be fairly easy because I won't need anything but my class A's, a ball gown, and an outfit for the plane rides, but I'm sure I'll find some way to make it all turn into a mess and forget something that I need.

Good News!

I've been feeling under the weather the last couple days, and I've been a bit snappish, and I think I realized that part of that was due to waiting to hear back results from my supervisor on my thesis. The deadline is so close, and I think not knowing what he was going to say was really starting to bother me, because if he said it was rubbish there wasn't going to be much else that I could do to improve it with the amount of time that I have left.
However, I finally just got an email from him, and it definitely should relieve some tension since he said he found it an "excellent piece of work." Obviously I've managed to pull the wool over his eyes! He suggested I add in one more theory on decision making, and describe the process by which I categorized the interviews a bit more, but other than that he thought it was ready for submission with the addition of those few things! So at least I have a focused plan of attack for the weekend, since 3 days should be more than enough time to make the suggested changes. And on Monday I should be able to take it to Staples and have it printed and bound. It's going to be quite a relief to not have it hanging over my head when I go to New York on Wednesday for the Achievement Summit.
It's also good news that he liked it, because the dissertation will be graded by two individuals, one of which is my supervisor, so I'm relieved to know that at least one of the markers will like it, and chances are the other one should as well since my supervisor approves. I wish I could go back and reclaim some of those sleepless nights when I panicked about whether I would actually finish or not. It looks like everything is going to work out, and withluck, I'll have my master's degree in July!! Unbelievable!

The Same Conversation... Over & Over

I suppose that I'm really starting to feel like I'm beginning to be an adult, if only because of the number of conversations revolving around marriage that I have had in the past two weeks. I don't know where they all cropped up out of the blue, but it started by hearing that a few people I knew from West Point were now engaged or married, and then it turns out a couple people from my program here are thinking about getting engaged, and WHAM the flood gates opened up.
I went to the Fitzwilliam Museum here in Cambridge after meeting a friend over at the Judge, since its right across the street, and we linked up with one of her friends. Somehow, her friend started commenting on whether or not the male subjects 18th and 19th centurty paintings were attractive - although I quickly pointed out that by now they were mouldering somewhere, which she didn't find too funny. From there, she started talking about how she just wanted to find a husband and have children, and my friend chimed right in agreeing with her. Not that I don't want any of that, I just was hit more by the realization that I was having this conversation with people my age. I mean, I know people from West Point are already married, and everything, but I had never really had this conversation.
And since then, I think I have repeated this conversation at various points in time with at least four or five other people. It just seems like such an adult thing to do (be thinking about marriage and families), and I don't feel old enough (which isn't a problem, since it's not happening any time in the near future).
It's not really anything life shattering, but it's just come up so often that it really got on my mind, and then I was watching Bridget Jones 2, and there's a scene when she's looking at her tombstone saying spinster, and her birth year was 1972, and it made me wonder if I'd be a Bridget Jones type person in 10 years. Well I guess here's hoping I find my Mark Darcy. :-)

A Little Over a Month

Things are really starting to come to a close over here. Dissertations are handed in on 6 June, which is just a week and a half away. I have a date for when the movers will be here to pick up my stuff - 28 June, and have just signed my tenancy termination agreement for leaving on 2 July. Now all I need is my plane ticket and I'm set to go. Amazing.

You Never Know...

I suppose one of the things that I've learned from posting my thoughts on the blog this year, is that you never know who is going to read them. There have been people who have mentioned reading something, and I'm surprised because I would never have imagined that they would have, and there are times that I feel like I'm writing for myself (it's a bit therapeutic to vent), so it doesn't really matter who reads it. I am slightly curious who all reads this, but it might be disappointing to know that hardly anyone does ;-)

I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do with the blog now that I'll be finishing here, "Heather at Cambridge" doesn't quite work, but maybe I'll just keep the same address and change the name, or maybe I'll change the address to something else. So many decisions, and of course none of them are really that pressing or important, but I am at my wits end today from sheer boredom because my supervisor is currently in possession of my first draft of my dissertation, most of my friends here are deeply engrossed in their own papers, and it was pouring down rain for a good part of the day. In short, I found myself cooped up in my room with a grand sum and total of nothing to do. Wasting time is so easy when I have work that needs to be done, but suddenly, when I have all the time in the world, I can't find anything to fill up all the free hours. Which is why I find myself wondering who actually reads this (maybe anyone who does could leave a comment or something to that effect...), whether I'm going to continue once I leave here (thinking yes, just wondering what to do about the name), and why I can't make time go by any faster. Just a little over a month left in England, and then 5 months at Ft. Leonard Wood, then a bit of time at home, then off to Germany (or at least thats the current plan). It's hard to believe in 8 days that I will have been out of West Point for a year. Time flies...unless you have nothing to do, like today :-) At last I used up 15 minutes typing this.

First Draft Finished!

Big round of applause for me, I finished the first draft of my dissertation! I seriously think this is a record for me, I have a complete draft of a paper done over two weeks before it is due. Of course, this paper is far bigger than anything I have every had to do before (the current status of the paper is about 14,500 words and either 43 pages at 1.5 spacing, or 56 pages double spaced. Not sure which I'm going with the final print out, we can have either, and I have to find out if there is a strong preference either way, otherwise, I think I'll go for the 1.5 spacing because those 13 pages per copy will mean about a $1 difference in how much it costs to print them each out, and for $3 I can do... well I can't do much here, since it's really only a pound and a half, but hey, it puts me halfway towards a Boots meal deal for lunch ;-)

I am just quite excited that I am actually going to have a dissertation to turn in. It might seem odd to be excited about that, but I can't even begin to count the number of nights I've woken up since about January wondering if I would actually pull this thing off. I'm not done yet, I still have to do my own revisions, and wait on feedback from my supervisor, but the point is that I have a product that is well on its way to being finished. I think tonight may be the best night's sleep I've had in a long while, and now I can go to Mildenhall on Monday and worry about arranging for shipping my stuff with a clear conscience!

Downright Frustrating

My exuberance over receiving my orders has now turned into frustration as I try and get them to make them right. I don't need much, I'm not asking for anything I'm not allowed, but the people at Student Detachment treat me as if I don't know what I'm talking about. First item up for redo: They didn't authorize me to ship any unaccompanied baggage to Ft. Leonard Wood. It might not sound like a problem, but trying to get everything from here that I'm going to need for OBC into two suitcases is not a good plan. Especially since I will be arriving there in the middle of summer, and leaving for Germany in the middle of winter. Not to mention that I have my dress blues and class A's over here with me, and between those two items and my winter coat, that's practically a suitcase full in and of itself. After an email and a long distance phone call, they finally added the line to my orders that I'm authorized up to 600 lbs of unaccompanied baggage--I really doubt that was difficult to do. And when I called yesterday he told me I didn't know what I was talking about, but at least that's one item off the list.
Behind door number 2: they want me to ship my POV from England. The only problem, I didn't bring my POV with me, I left it at home in storage. I called and talked to the Transpo office here in the UK, and they said that as long as I hadn't gotten the government to pay for it last time, that I was authorized to ship my car from where I would have last time (a.k.a. home). However, even after finding the pertinent regulation from the Joint Federal Travel Regulation book (it's huge and scary to navigate, over 600 pages!), the guy from student detachment wrote back and told me I had to contact the transpo office and find out what to do. Ahhhhhhh!!!!! (Mental image of me ripping hair out) That is exactly what I had done, and they said I needed to reference this regulation and have my home of record listed on my orders. Simple enough one would think. But it still hasn't happened. I even provided him with the regulation and the reference, so he didn't have to look anything up, but he didn't even pay attention to that, he just said I needed to find out what I needed to do elsewhere.
Which leads to point three: I need my home of record listed on my orders so that I can ship stuff that I left at home over to Germany. Again, not a difficult request. All it would take is: Officer's home of record is Batavia, IL 60510. I'm sure that is very difficult to type, but someone should be able to manage. But no, he just ignored that part of it completely.

In case you can't tell from the above rant, I'm a bit frustrated dealing with this whole process. It has been nothing but a nightmare from the start, especially when you factor in the time zone difference and not having access to the transportation office at the AF base readily. What makes it even better is trying to finish my dissertation at the same time. It's not as if I have nothing better to do but run around everywhere and deal with people being incompetent. I have work to do, but I also have to deal with these frustrations. So it's like a slap in the face when I take the time to find out the information and then have them completely ignore what I send. I swear, I could talk to a wall and it would understand me better. I am one frustrated individual tonight, and that doesn't seem to be having a positive impact on my dissertation. So I think tomorrow I'm going to catch the early bus to Newmarket, to catch the bus to Mildenhall (the complications are lovely trying to get there), and hope that I can at least arrange for a shipment date and have one less thing on my plate to worry about.

Things Are Starting to Fall Into Place

Drum roll..... I finally have orders! Amazing as it seems, I am now finally on my way to knowing what I'll be doing when I leave Cambridge. I'm planning on leaving here July 2nd and will be reporting in to OBC on July 8th. I know I'm not leaving a huge gap of time in between, but unfortunately there's this thing called chargeable leave, and I don't have a lot of it since I spent the two weeks at home over Christmas. So since I want to be able to take a month in between finishing OBC and reporting to Germany, I can't use too much up right now. A bit annoying, but what can you do?
My paper is about half finished right now, which is a major step in the right direction, I just need to force myself to hammer out the rest of it so that I give my supervisor enough time to review it and still leave me time to make revisions. Having to bind it makes things a bit frustrating, not like just slapping it in a good old brown bomber. Ah well, things can't always be easy.

Pictures from Buckingham

From L to R: MAJ Gallagher, Dr. Bose, Joe Wells, Me, HRH the Duke of York, Amber Walker, Steven Kreeger, COL Parker

in HRH's office

Inside the Gates at Buckingham Palace

COL Parker, Me and Joe in the Savoy's American Bar... what a fancy, schmancy place!

My Friday the 13th

As I said in my last post, I'm not superstitious, but today was almost enough to change my mind. I woke up in plenty of time to do everything I needed to do before I caught the bus, and even with time for an unexpected trip to my department to turn in a library book after the person who was going to turn it in had way too much to drink the night before and was bed-bound with a hangover. The bus is supposed to be at the Cambridge stop at 0856, and I was there by 0820 or so, so well within enough time to spare. When it turned the corner, right on time, it just blew past the stop and never even looked at me as I tried frantically to wave it down. I suppose there typically isn't anyone at the stop, but the driver didn't even see me, and didn't even slow down. And that bus is the only bus to RAF Lakenheath from Cambridge. I got this awful sinking feeling in my stomach watching it disappear down the street. Luckily the woman at the bus station was able to tell me that if I went to Newmarket I could catch a different bus from there that would get me to Lakenheath. So, at twice the price, I was able to at least make it to Lakenheath, but got there at 1145 instead of 1000, and then had to walk from the "bus stop" (a little 2'x2' square of concrete in the middle of a bunch of weeds) onto post and it was a long way out. Since I ate breakfast at 0600ish I was starving. I had a quick bite of lunch and checked in plenty early for my 1300 appointment.
Except that when they finally called my name (after sitting in the waiting room for half an hour), the NCO told me that they didn't do overseas medical clearances there, and that I would have to go up to the Family Advocacy Clinic to get a appointment. When I got to the other clinic, and the lady at the reception desk told me May 24th was the earliest I could get an appointment, to my shame I started tearing up and couldn't even speak. I think the tears softened her up though, because she offered me a tissue and led me to her office while she went to talk to the officer in charge of the clinic. The major that showed up was my hero for the day, because she had some idea of what I was actually there for, and emphatically said that Family Advocacy was not the right place, that the Family Practice Clinic where I had had the scheduled appointment was the right place. She decided that she'd walk me down there and have a little chat with the people who had decided that they couldn't help me. She didn't listen to their protestations that they didn't know what to do about filling out a Department of the Army form, and I swear almost burst out laughing when the one NCO said that all they could do was refer me to the nearest Army clinic. "Do you realize that's someplace in Germany?" she asked, and he definitely got a tail between the legs kind of look when she asked him why he didn't just get on the phone to Germany or use the internet to look up the relevant information. She stayed there until I found myself being scheduled immediately for the necessary lab tests and they had agreed that they would come up with a solution before I left the hospital. So in the end, I got everything that I needed, but instead of having free time to go to the library and sit and work on my dissertation, I had only about 50 minutes to walk the 25 minutes back out to the bus station, and mentally prepare myself to run down the bus if he decided not to stop this time. Luckily he stopped, and I made it back to Cambridge alright, but wow, what a day. Not one I'd care to ever have to repeat again. Ugh.

A Good Thing I'm Not Superstitious

One of those reality-doesn't-hit-you-right-away kind of things about getting Germany as a first assignment is the need to get a medical clearance for overseas assignments. Now normally I suppose this wouldn't be a problem, or not too much. However, as I've discovered over the course of the past year, the situation of being a 2LT in grad school means that I am far from "normal." As such, I am about 40 minutes away from the nearest military facility by car, and I have no car. There is a bus that runs once a day to Lakenheath from Cambridge and once a day from Lakenheath to Cambridge. Of course, it leaves here at like 9 in the morning and doesn't get back until after 5. So I'm going for what is supposed to be like a 20 minute appointment or something like that, and it's going to take me the whole day.
The reason it's a good thing that I'm not superstitious is because my appointment is for 1300 on Friday the 13th. It really doesn't seem like it would be a good omen, but in this case, that sounds like the best time in the world, because it means that I am able to get my medical exam sometime this week and am not stuck waiting around forever and a day to get my orders. Shoot, I'd even try cycling to Lakenheath if I had to, which wouldn't be a lot of fun, and would probably take at least as long as the bus, but I need my orders. I have been stuck in a rut of "can't make any plans" because I don't have any orders. And the best part... when the guy from Student Detachment sent me this packet I have to fill out (which was 27 pages!), he said he needed to have it by 1 September! The problem is, I've got to leave waaaaayyyy before 1 September, especially considering that I have to start OBC on 14 August. Not to mention, that as it turns out, the packet of 27 pages doesn't all have to be filled out because most of it relates to arrangements and medical screening for family members - thank goodness I don't have any to worry about, that's an awful lot of paperwork. So it all comes down to the two little pages of the medical overseas clearance, which basically asks am I healthy and doesn't seem like it's going to require a lot of effort on the part of the doctor. Just a few little checked boxes and good to go. I will be really, really, really happy when this is all taken care of, and Friday the 13th's will forever be looked upon favorably after this.

On the Bright Side

Re-reading my posts from yesterday, it seems I may have left a negative impression of having Germany for a first assignment. That's not the case, it's simply that I didn't think of the potential drawbacks when I had listed Germany in my preferences, and once something becomes a reality you realize that there are other aspects to it that you might not have thought about. I am extremely excited to be going to Germany, since I should have the opportunity to continue some of the travelling that I've been able to do this year (although without the extreme flexibility of being a student), and it'll give me an incentive to dust off the old German textbooks and brush up on the language. On that end, I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get housing off post next year and live in a regular community, because I definitely want to avoid the feeling of being in an isolated bit of America that has magically (or rather, militarily) transported to Germany. After the two research trips that I've done to Germany this year, it almost seems like it was fate after all, and that I should have realized that something was trying to tell me to get to know the country. It's exciting because as long as I can remember, I've always had to tell people that yes, I was born in Germany, but no, I don't know anything about living over there because I was too young. If I don't remember anything after this time around, then it's definitely my own fault. And if I end up in the unit that it seems likely that I'll end up in, then I'm going to be in southern Germany, which from what I saw driving through the five days last week is an absolutely gorgeous area. It's going to be a unique opportunity, and with the projected base closings overseas, not one that many more Americans may have the same chance in the future. Part of what drew me to the military was the opportunity to get out and see things that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise, and living in Germany will definitely fit in that category. Das ist sehr gut.

A Mix of Emotions

Having done some more research, it does appear that my first assignment is going to be Germany. The thing is, a year ago I would have been absolutely elated to be heading to Europe, and while I'm still quite excited about the opportunity to have a bit more time to see some of the rest of Europe that I didn't get a chance to see this year, I'm also semi-disappointed to know that its another three years or so when I won't be in the U.S. Although at least this time I'll have my car and will be around other people from the military, so I'm sure some of the things that have been frustrating this year about being overseas won't be as noticeable next year.
However, the reality of being this far away from my family, and actually even further next year, plus an extra hour on the time zone difference, means that it'll be even harder to keep in touch than it already is. Don't get me wrong, phone calls and letters work to bridge the distance, but they don't seem to completely fill me, and there's just something about seeing family face to face. After finding out I'd gotten Germany, I was almost half-tempted to write back to branch and ask to switch, but I really couldn't do that. I suppose part of this feeling is that it's almost a bit of let down to finally know, rather than have the feeling of multiple possibilities still before me, as of now I know where I'm going and that kinda shuts some of the other options off. Although at least I didn't end up at Polk or someplace like that, so I really don't have too much to complain about, besides just needing the actual orders cut so I can plan how to get back to get ready for OBC. It does put a different spin on OBC though since that is going to be my little mini-trip back home to the U.S. rather than the end of my time living overseas as I had expected that it would be. All in all, I'm just a bit mixed up and muddled and not quite sure how I feel right now.

Posting Information Finally... I Think

So checking through my records and everything today, I had to gasp with shock, because my ORB (officer record brief) was showing a projected assignment! Meaning that I know where I'm going, or at least I think I do. See, the thing was I looked at location, and it said Campbell, so since Ft. Campbell was among my top choices for CONUS locations, I assumed it meant Ft. Campbell. And I proceeded to tell several people that that was where I was going. However, after sending out emails and IMing people, I re-looked at everything, and realized that it said Campbell and GM... and last time I checked, Kentucky isn't abbreviated GM. After thinking for a couple minutes, I realized that, wait a minute, this meant Campbell Barracks, Germany for inprocessing within 5th Corps (since the unit code is 0005). So I think I made a bit of a fool of myself with telling peopel about Ft. Campbell, since it seems that I'm going to Germany. However, all in all, I can't complain because at least I finally look to have found out my first duty location.

My Interviews in Germany

I left early last Monday morning to head to Germany to conduct interviews for my dissertation. Part of me is honestly still in shock that I actually managed to arrange for interviews (with a lot of help from the Systems Dept. back at good old USMA), and that now all (hahahaha, insert heavy sarcasm here) I have left to do is analyze and write up my results. Still, at least I have a month to do that, and as long as I don't procrastinate too badly, I think I may actually complete everything necessary for my degree! It's amazing to know that the end is in sight, and I'm definitely ready to be done with school for awhile, although I know I'll be doing more classroom work at OBC.
The trip started off alright, I made it to Heathrow on time, had a whole 3 seats to myself on the plane (too bad the armrests couldn't be lifted), and was feeling pretty confidant when I landed in Frankfurt. However, after picking up my luggage and going to the car rental counter, things took a decided turn for the worse. I had reserved an economy-size automatic-transmission car, but when I presented my reservation to the person at the counter she informed me that they did not have any automatics currently in, and she would give me a manual-transmission instead. Big problem - I don't know how to drive manual. I explained to her that booking an automatic was intentional, but she thought I had just put it as preferred. After a frustrating conversation, she finally informed me that they did have an automatic car they could give me instead, but it was a Mercedez-Benz E200, so it was going to cost me almost $130 more for the 4 day rental. Still, I had no choice but to take what was available, since I had to get to both Bamberg and Heidelberg. So I ended up with a pretty stylish ride for the time I was there. It ended up working out fairly well though because at least it did have a built-in navigation system, so all I had to do was enter the address of where I wanted to go, and not only did it have arrows to tell me what direction I needed to be going in, it actually spoke to me and told me when to prepare to turn. I guess you get the quality you pay for, and driving on the Autobahn with that nice of a car was quite an experience, as even at the speed of traffic it didn't rattle or wobble or anything. Maybe someday I'll be rich enough to afford a $50K car, but not anytime soon.
My interviews went well, and I think I got a lot of useful information out of them. It was also reassuring to see how easily I slipped back into the Army mode, and remembered to say Sir and stand for a higher ranking officer, etc. I was afraid I was going to make some awful faux pas that would have them wondering who in the world I was, but I think I managed to pull it off fairly well. Though I will say it was a bit humbling hearing about the actions of junior officers and enlisted soldiers who were younger than I am, but who had already had a year or more in Iraq under their belts.

My high-class ride for the week

Escar-Go!

So I couldn't sleep very well last night for some reason. Probably a combination of worry over my dissertation, worry about my post, and the thunder storm going on outside, plus then the birds starting a veritable symphony outside my window at 4.30. So at 5.30 I gave up trying to sleep and decided that I'd do something productive being up that early and go for a run along the river Cam. It really reminded me that sometimes the best time to go running is the early morning after a rain shower the night before. There's just something about the way everything smells so fresh and new. And at this time of year, so many things are in bloom, the birds are out, and not too many people around here at up at that time of day.While I am used to earthworms being all over the ground when its rained, today there were snails crossing the path! I can't say whether I've honestly actually seen a snail before, and after almost stepping on the first one thinking it was a pebble or an acorn or something, I almost stopped to check it out because I couldn't believe it. That wasn't the only one though, there were 5 or 6 more, and at one point, it looked like something out of a cartoon, because there were two of them going head to head to get to the opposite side of the path (about 4 feet wide). I was going out for an hour run, and passed the snails at about the 20 minute mark, so having turned around at 30 minutes, I got back to the part of the path where they had been at the 40 minute mark, so about 20 minutes later. The funniest thing was that in all the time I had been gone, they had almost managed to make it from one side to the other. It made my whole day.