getting the heck out of here

My last 48 hours in Tampa have been a bit interesting. Yesterday was our final scrimmage and roster cuts. So we've had to say goodbye to some good guys who've been in camp with us the last three weeks or so. That's never fun.

On to odd happenings...

Our hotel runs a shuttle, so I took it over to a Border's bookstore last night to pick up some reading materials for our trip over. I got A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, 2005 edition edited by Dave Eggers, and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. They were 3 for the price of 2. I can't go to a bookstore and not buy books. It's a fact.

So, upon my purchase, I called the hotel to send the shuttle back over, which the nice lady said she'd do immediately. Half and hour later, I called back and asked what the deal was. "Oh, you haven't been picked up yet?" Um, no, that'd be the reason for my call. So once the shuttle finally got there, the driver proceeded to go careening down the street (40 MPH limit), hitting 63 at one point. I feared for life and limb.

I made it back to the hotel, watched some basketball and called it a night at about 11:30, but our hotel had other ideas. At 12:22 a.m., I was awakened by a strange noise coming from somewhere. Oh, joy! It was the fire alarm, so I slipped on my flip-flops and headed outside. Standing in the 50-degree night in my tank top and flip flops, I had flashbacks to Crawford Hall fire drills. So after about 20 minutes of shivering, I was able to come back to my room. As I lay falling asleep, the alarm continued to go off every few minutes. So I'd start to drift off and suddenly be awoken again. This continued for another 10-20 minutes. Blasted Doubletree Hotel. Don't stay there if you ever visit Tampa.

So Monday morning sometime we'll set out on our cross-Atlantic trip. I can't wait to get to Berlin.

Keep in touch.