Disoriented and checking in

 Sitting in a cafe at 9:30 pm. Just submitted a big scholarship application, wish me luck. I feel weird. Going to Jason's tonight and we are leaving tomorrow morning for the Paris trip. Who wants to take a bet that he has an extra pillow and blanket for me? My head is ringing, and my mind's eye sees grainy washes of red and tan-colored static that plays behind my eyelids. I feel distinctly vibrating, ringing, terrible, and floating, all at the same time. I feel like Mao Zedong. And I literally cannot explain that last part at all.

At work, I just finished up a big 50% SD Package. Attached is a slide from that presentation. I always forget to get actual images on my personal computer.

Surprisingly, an employee of seven years got fired. Sad to me because I really liked her but apparently she would go through bad stages and I only got to see the nice side of her. Nonetheless, I wish her the best, and I trust that the others in the office made the right decision.

Writing letters to friends has brought me much joy. There are few things more exciting than receiving a letter in the mail from a dear friend. Last weekend I finally found pickup soccer and played with a very large, very multi-national group, where multiple languages were represented. I am perhaps one of the least skilled there, but athleticism translates, and I guarantee I run harder than 90% of those guys so I end up being a decent player. I even scored once. That's a good takeaway, I told myself. "If you aren't great at something, just run harder. Run until you throw up. Play both sides of the field and own your mistakes." Two of the guys I met there speak French, so I hope to sit down with them and talk some time. One is from Cameroon, and the other from Angola. Given my fascination with Africa, there is a lot I would like to ask them about. 

In other news, it is hard making friends here whom I see more than once a week at whatever weekly event. My prayers go out to anyone else who is also struggling with this.

-Dan Metzger