Wings and Weddings.

The bride and groom
a life together soon
first broken plates they clean
not the last to be seen....

strange man in the back
couldn't get a plate to crack
so he laughs and waits
for the shirtless dancing he creates

For the past couple of weeks now, my kitchen cleaning skills seem to be deteriorating, now that my good friends, the german cockroaches, are all resting in heaven having a martini and cigar with George Burns. The consequences of sloth does not go unnoticed in nature, and other insects have moved into my kitchen. The new roommates go by the name of fruit flies and seem to like the contents of my warm and moist summer garbage. Well, its hard to hate these cute little fruit flies, so I have done to little to deter them, including taking out the garbage. I just open the windows a little more in the apartment so the smell doesn't build up so bad. Like all of life, ignoring one set of problems only brings others to fruit.

So on Wednesday this week, I get home late from a long day and head directly to the kitchen. As I walk in, flip on the kitchen light, I only faintly notice a large brown thing the size of a fist going past my head and out of the kitchen. I'm so tired that I only given some thought about what that could have been about 30 seconds later, as I start to chop some garlic. Hmm, I think, a bit big to be a moth. I better go see what that is. I head to the living room and as soon as I turn on the light, something immediately starts to fly. Oh christ I think, a bat. He must of came in for the plethora of fruit flies.

Have you ever seen Cujo? or even better, read the book by Stephen King? Well I remember watching the movie when I was very young and always being scared a bat was going to bite me and give me rabies. I would turn into a mad kid with foam at the mouth trying to bite everyone. As this mouse sized bat started to fly, I knew the war was on, and it was going to be him or me. So with my garlic chopping knife, it was a duel to the death. So I ran around the room trying to cut off one of his wings, and then once in awhile he would perform some aerial maneuver he probably learned dogfighting in WWII, and start chasing me with his rabies infected teeth. I would then dive for cover and be on the run back to the kitchen where I could gather courage for the next battle. A very worthy opponent this bat. It finally ended in a truce, when he flew out the window. But I have a feeling he will be back..... For now, I think I will take out the garbage.


So last Friday, I did a half-marathon here in Marburg. The marathon here is a bit unusual as it starts at 7pm. My official time was 1:56:29 and I placed 419th. I was only 46 minutes behind the winner. At least I kept my goal of under two hours. The running was great though, and the extrovert inside me loves the crowds and their cheers as I run past. Unfortunetly, I have no good photos of me running along, looking tired, looking like I would rather be drinking beer.

Yesterday, I went to a wedding of a labmate. It contained free beer, a heavy metal band complete with a large angry Russian, and a very plastered Terry. What more could you ask for? The labmate was/is still in this band and played drums for the guests. They band even pulled out a rock ballad for the bride, which the groom sang to her. It was the perfect wedding party. I'm not sure some of the older crowd liked all the head banging, but it sure was entertaining to me. One of the traditions here is the wedding guests smashing plates on the ground for the new couple to clean up, their first chore 'together'. It gets a bit complicated though. As soon as the mess it almost cleaned, the couple is pulled apart if they are not krafty, and the mess spread out in the street again for them to reclean. I like the metaphor. I didn't like the hangover, or the pictures I seen today.