And now for an update. I actually kept a psuedo-log for the time I was away. That should tell you how bored I was :)

12-28-02
Well, I finally made it to Maine. First Danville, then Long Island, then Manhattan, and now Brunswick. At some point during all that driving I started to get sick of myself ;) Interesting fact: A van’s skid plate will make a funny squeak when pressed against the wall of the Queens Midtown Tunnel wall at 50 mph. Just thought I would let you all know that. Anywho….

Christmas was fun this year. It was the first Christmas I had ever spent away from my family. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that before. However, I did get to have dinner with a friend from college. She and her family were nice enough to take me in. Her grandmother was a character. During dinner she would watch my plate and when I had “run out” of something she would immediately say, “Jason is out of [whatever food], give him some more.” It’s nice to know that every family has their own little quirks.

T-minus one week till my Europe adventure. I am now flying out on Friday. I should return the following week, Saturday I think. I’ll try to keep a log of what happens and then report back to all of you.

12-31-02
It’s New Year’s Eve. Hmmmm. This may be the first New Year’s in my recent history that I am asleep for. I can’t really go anywhere due to the freezing rain Maine got today. Plus I don’t know anyone up here so even if I went out I’d be alone. I’d rather just stay in and watch TV rather than be that lone, sad gut at the end of the bar. So, I intend on doing all the things that I usually do this time of year, just by myself (minds out of the gutters please). I’ve been alone plenty of times before but this is one of the few times I can honestly say that I fell lonely. The house I am staying in is empty and I miss my dog. Add the crummy weather and you’ve got all the makings for a depressing situation. The trip to Europe isn’t even helping since all I really want is to be back in PA (I know, that sounds crazy). I have my reasons and they will stay mine for now ;)

So, for those of you who are with a group of people that you know drink a drink for me and have a great evening. I think I’ll crawl into bed and hope to dream of things and people more pleasant than an icy, solitary evening away from home.

1-4-03
Hey look, it's me in France! I'm tired but I can't fall asleep since I can't reconcile what time it really is. Uggg, time shift. Time to try and fall asleep again.

1-5-03
Still in France. And keeping with the Jason travel manual I ate at McDonalds today. French McD's are much nicer than our version. The only snag is that here I have to point and pray when I order. Next trip I must remember to bring along a translator program ;) Tomorrow (Monday) will start my official search for a nice French nurse to show me around town. We will see how this one goes.

1-7-03
We are now on the road to Germany. Good beer here I come ;p Our meeting in France on Monday took up the entire day. Also, I didn't meet any nurses :( Life will go on. My boss and I met up with the people who are running the Europe branch of the company yesterday. They are great! Nice young German couple. She will be traveling with us the rest of the way. It will be nice to have someone who can speak the language with us. Now if we get lost we won't have to revert to an odd version of "guess the gesture" with people. Side note: Speaking louder in English won't help people understand you. It only annoys them. I know this and I've never done it. Some people....

Ok so here is where the log ended. Reason? Well, from here on out I didn't really have all the much time to write. Lots of driving, hotels, and visits. The plane ride home was AWFUL. I believe that every baby on board screamed the entire way home. All 7 hours or so. There was a pair of twins that took turns rehearsing their "someone is ripping off my arm" wail. It didn't help my opinion of anyone under 3 years old :)

So, now I am home and ready to relax for a few hours and get ready for office life again. Ahhhhhh