bru directors cut

sorry for the lame post. i can do better. the last post was a decent synopsis on everything overall, but no stories. total bullshit and i apologize for vomiting my self important philosophy and not entertaining with a story. so i left austria...

myself and another middle left austria on the same day. he was going to check out another team in salsburg and i wasn't, but salsburg being north of klagenfurt seemed like a start in the right direction if i was to get back to brussels and see those i missed most in diego as soon as possible. the night before i left i saw a 50 euro flight from klagenfurt to munich and thought that was a good call considering my travel home was going to be self funded and not assisted by the agencey. they did a good job lodging me deep into europe with one way tickets. i would have been forced to stay had i not had any money to get home. good strategy for an agent who makes money on players. so the ticket was cheap the day before, but the next day when i had decided to leave(actually just after midnight that same day) it had jumped to around 199.99 euro. in english that's 300 bucks. still more expensive that a car rental and speeding ticket. not really worth it after several hours of calculation and graph papering. so train it was. 35 euro to salsburg. it was going to be an expensive journey home no matter what. since it was nazi country i tried to watch inglorious bastards subtitled in greek on the way there, but greek is just another language in that movie that i don't speak. i'll try and finish later. speaking of nazi's there was a funny thing that happened with the grand daughter of a nazi and myself that the avis car rental in munich. me and a canadian were talking about death camps and a wager came up that auschwitz wasn't in germany, but poland. having never been there i knew it wasn't in germany so we tried to get the nazi to tell us where it used to be. at first she didn't understand what we were talking about, but then just started laughing. i told her that by laughing she was showing that we knew she was talking about death camps. she confirmed that the camp was in poland, but then denied there was ever a holocaust.

so in salsburg i sat and had multiple beers with the czech republican. interestingly enough we had a mutual czech friend from prague and plenty to talk about. my 16 hour train to brussels didn't leave until 7 that night and it was only about 3 when we got to salsburg. he spoke of gypsies in a serious tone. i thought it was a great to hear how threatening they are to some eastern europeans. i always put gypsies into my fairy tale knights-dragons-wizards category, but apparently they are dirty and threatening. hmmm. so we got pretty buzzed and i almost stayed in salsburg when extended the invitation to crash on the couch and czech out the night life. i declined, used the internet for the last time and boarded the train for munich. not much happened on that trian, but it did suck. i got to munich around midnight bought some things and boarded for an overnighter to koln. i had a bed and was surprised at how nice the room i got on the train was. it was like a tiny hotel room with a shower desk and some chairs. i unpacked some things and was then kicked out for being in the wrong car. i walked to cars to my real room which gave me huge anxiety. it was a closet with 2 triple bunk bed and people sleeping already. i almost threw up cause it was so miserable. at least i had the bottom bunk, but still a slave ship accommodation for a 6 foot slave; and me a 6 and a half foot slave. nobody threw up or shit on me like in roots, but i still didn't sleep well. i was woken in koln at about 530. still dark and the train station was filled with people who had been out clubbing all night. i paid a euro to piss and decided to shit too even though i didn't need to since i spent so much. it was nice to be somewhere warm, but all good things come to an end. i asked myself if there was anything i might need to use the bathroom for before i walked back out the one way turnstyle. was i really done with the bathroom? am i leaving too soon? i knew i couldn't go back once i left but after some mental inventory finally made it out. my train was at 830 so i waited and got colder while my ipod slowly died. i had been enjoying some carrolla podcasts and confirming that i was in the right city and waiting for the right train. oh the anxiety of discovering how public transit works abroad.

made it to brussels at about 1030. i had messed up the first time i was in brussels and knew exactly where i was and what train to take when i got there. the bru intl express. it was about to leave and i considered not getting the 3 euro ticket to save time and money knowing it was only a 15 minute ride. i used judgment and walked down to by a ticket and got on the next train at 1050. i felt good when i was asked to see my ticket and i had one, so i wasn't regretting anything yet. i got to the airport and made my way to the united desk to change flight to san diego at around 1120. at the united counter we spent exactly 3 minutes finding my previous reservation. i told her i wanted the next flight possible. she told me that the last flight closed bording at 1115 the clock read exactly 1123 with its analogue arms. then she said the next flight doesn't leave till tomorrow at noon. over 24 hours away. i did what i could to convince her to let me board, but nothing. i told her i have no money and nowhere to go, but all she could do was give me a carton of orange juice and some oatmeal chewies. it was a full liter of orange juice and the chewies were tasty and i had been given 3 so i remember feeling slightly assuaged then at about 1145 completely fucked. i wandered the 2 levels till the sun went down. i checked out all the rental car desks and thought if i could get something around 20 to 30 euro i might consider seeing some sights and sleeping in the car. no cars available though. then internet. it cost 5 euro for the hour or 30 euro for the day. neither seemed fair so i went and bought some groceries. some chips, two microwave hamburgers a water and a 22 ounce 12% malted beverage. it was terrible, but it matched my condition perfectly. it hit the spot. a very very low spot.

i got pretty buzzed and made some eyes at some attractive people in arrivals for about an hour while i started to wonder if i could finish my drink. it was gross. i went to the only place with outlets on the entire 3rd floor. it was cafe with fixed chairs and tables. i plugged in my computer and played bomberman on my genesis emulator for the next 6 hours till i was sober enough to figure out what a piece of shit i was, but then i thought about my options and started playing college football national championship. i figured i had enough time for a season and picked sdsu with marshal faulk. my quarterback was pretty nimble and i easily gained yards and went 4 and 0. the bathroom was free, but i had to repack every time i used it. at around 530am i went upstairs, sat down with my bag in my lap and passed out by the check in. woke up a few times cheek deep in my own spit, but didn't care who was watching, by then i had tenure and pretty much felt comfortable doing whatever i wanted at bru. eventually my 24 sentence was over and i felt pretty institutionalized by the time i finally boarded. for my troubles i was given a seat with extra leg room. i was too depressed to even take percoset. i was already numb enough. then it was washington, then chicago, then home. gaining steam on every stop. in washington i had a terrible burrito and remembered that san diego makes good burritos cause we have good tortillas. no me gusta store bought tortillas. and that's a wrap.

bru

hey all. long time no post. i've spent the last 3 days traveling from klagenfurt to san diego. i decided it just wasn't a good fit for me in austria and finding a team there isn't what i was looking for. i need to be somewhere mediterranean and spanish speaking. with the economy it's a pretty bad year to make good money playing volleyball in europe. if the money can't be the reason i stay it would have to be location. not being able to speak german in austria would have lessened the experience and i was for sure feeling a small sample of that in small town austria where english is surprisingly rarely spoken. there are other teams to go check out, but not really where i wanted to be. after being there for the last 2 weeks it's clear to me that it's not just about playing volleyball anywhere in europe. for it to work for me i need to be able to feel like i can get into the culture. giving up what i have in san diego has to feel right and in austria it didn't.

so i'm officially back in the states for a while. i learned a ton about the game and how it works over there. on my first leg home on a train to salsburg i had a pretty good chat with a czeck republican that has been playing pro for a few years in a few countries. he represents himself without an agent and i plugged his brain for about three hours and got some good direction. specifically about the spanish league which is one of the most hurting leagues financially. they just aren't buying players this year, but regardless that's always been where i wanted to be for obvious reasons. i know i'd be a good player at least in the 2nd division and have no doubt there would be some interest if i could work something out with a club that didn't have to pay me what i was originally expecting. i'm going to try and market myself personally and not depend on the agency to contact teams. after seeing a little bit how it works it's definitely in my hands to get myself a job overseas. so for now the goal is spain and being creative on how to make it work. i have the confirmation that i am good enough to play pro there with a few references to back me up, so it's all about putting the pieces together now.

mit milder paprika

aboot 6 pm here. i'm catching myself turning all my ou's into oo's. 6 to 1 atvantage canada. we had weights today and that was cool. being the strongest guy on a volleyball team is like being the coolest kid on the little bus. "big whoop" as grama hall would say, then knock back a vodka-fresca (fresky?) and start up the breath machine. after weights we ate schnitzel or something. that's pretty much been my day. i've attempted two naps, 2 pages about continental axis's, and two trips to the only place of interest within walking distance. my left calf is strained and we have practice in a half hour. i'm gonna stretch it out and try to play on it, but it's kinda swollen. again no ice. i've actually been really bored all day. without a car or anyone who cares to show me around town i'm kinda stranded. there is a really nice lake west of here that i want to check out, but it's too far on bike and i'd hate to miss practice because i couldn't figure out the bus system in time. the canadians seem content with watching movies and the canada games all day, but i really want to get out and see somethings. our coach left today on a weekend trip with his wife so i'm guessing there won't be any runs tomorrow. this is good.
it's been a weird last 24 hours here. i have been feeling really uneasy about this place. i'm surrounded by cornfields and have nothing to really do besides put goldbond in my shoes and check facebook. i was told i could get a job to kill some time between practices, but no one else works and i haven't heard back from the team manager. i'm noticing that nobody really speaks english either. i've learned to approach people in spanish if i have a question or need directions. i guess spanish is better than american. it's getting late in the month and i really need to finalize everything here and set everything up. i guess most of my uneasyness comes from not having all my needs met yet.
more later. gotta get ready for practice now...

oops

sorry that last post was supposed to be for yesterday. new events today included a 6 mile cross country run through some hills. oh my. my left calf is done for the year. so sore. it looks like our coach is some fitness nut that loves cross training. i'm in good shape, but mr. erb timed my last official cross country run. been some time, but i still wanted to impress so i took a page out of prefontaines running hand book and picked the strongest runner and just stuck with him. it was cool for like 2 miles, but about halfway through i was really hurting. i kept a game face and if it wasn't for a small break waiting for some stragglers my true endurance would have been exposed and my ass would be passed out in a grassy field in the alps right now. after that i drove around looking for a converter for the outlets here and got aquainted with klagenfurt. i like it a lot, but it feels so small and quiet. the university starts in october and we are required to take german classes. i think that'll be fun.
after the run we practiced again and i felt like i was jumping off of one leg. i'm sitting here now just ready for bed. i've got a lot on my mind and i really wanted to talk to the team manager about contract stuff, but he wasn't around today. tomorrow i really need to sit down with him though. that's all for tonight. ouwy.

fing krouts

hi ya.

just got in to austria tonight. gorgeous place. we left amsterdam this morning and flew to munich. from there we were going to take a train, but it was like a 5 hour ride and would have cost about 70 euro apiece. we decided to check out rental car thinking maybe it'd be cheaper. it was only 90 euro total to get to austria since they had an austrian car in their fleet ready to come back. so we got a peugot diesel wagon and i got to take it for a spin on the autoban. or however it's spelled. come to find out the autoban is only segments of speed limitless fun and there are 80 km/h zones here and there. so the first one we come accross i'm comfortably making time a 135 km/h. not wrecklessly fast at all. i think that's somwhere in the upper 90's is all. i'm in the middle of a good conversation with carter in the passenger side and the i notice there are blue flashing lights right behind me. we had bags stacked up so i couldn't see very well. i don't know how to pull over in germany and wasn't sure what an unmarked bmw with blue lights was so i got over and let him pass. he slowed down and forced me off the road from ahead. then this dude in an unbuttoned shirt, jeans, and a gold necklace gets out and shows me his id and starts some german. i said i didn't speak anything and he gave me his best english and told me he was a cop and asked me if i saw him. i said no and i think he was a little pissed. i tried to explain, but in too many words he didn't know. he took my oregon drivers license and walked back to his car. we made jokes about him until he came back and told me i owed him 180 euro and since i wasn't a german i owed him up front or we could go to an atm or jail. i said i didn't have it and he said ask your friends. i told him there is no way i would be able to come up with that i had a fifty upfront on my money clip and 40 more folded behind it. i said i have 50 and carter and jeff both said they had 20 apiece. then he started to fill out the ticket and told me i'd be billed for the 90 that i didn't have. i then told him to bill me for the whole thing if i was getting invoiced anyway, but he just got angrier. had it been mexico i'd been completely ok with going to jail having been through that before, but considering this was a country with real laws i decided to cut my losses at 50 euro that i couldn't afford to give away. still pissed.

anyway after that we had a practice and there is an older undersized middle already here and they are looking for two more and an opposite. things look good for me. more tomorrow.

10 uur

hey
bout 10 something here in amsterdam today. i'm pretty tired, but the team is playing quarters in the cafeteria right now so i hope i can get in on that in a bit. my agent is getting my flight tonight for either tomorrow or tuesday sometime. i don't remember what i wrote about last time, but for those of you just tuning in i'm going down to austria for a private tryout and contract negotiations. it's a town called klagenfurt. they have an fivb grandslam event every year so beach ball is played too. they also have an american football team, so if volley doesn't work out i'll play tightend or quarterback or something with a bunch of converted rugby players. the austrian league doesn't have a limit on foreign players so there will be like 7 north americans living together in a big house the team owns. kinda fraternal. it's a small town on a lake so from what i can tell it's pretty fotographic, under the alps and not far from the adriatic sea and venice italy. i feel pretty lucky to be going. they needed another middle so today they picked up another one of my favorite guys from the tour. also canadian... ha. it's going to be a fun time.
last night we all went out as a team and watched an improv comedy troop downtown. it was an american comedy show so it was nice to get some jokes in for the week. i like the comedies. today we divided up into four teams for a morning and evening round robin. east usa, west usa, canada, and rest of world. we had a good team, but my only highlights of the day came off two carreer digs playing left back on bombs down the line. both were self defense plays, but both came withing 3 points so it made me look pretty good. i only played this morning and took the evening off to prevent the swelling in my left knee from getting big. last week with all the walking and nowhere to get ice took it's toll on my knee. the two-a-days have me pretty stiff and not jumping all that well. i worked pretty hard and didn't sit out at all the first four days. i'm going to tomorrow completely off so i can get fully recovered before having to play for the team in austria. i was bouncing balls pretty well right off the plane so i want to be able to show the new team what they are getting and maybe be able to add a few chips to my contract by winning warmups. this week has been great for my overall game, but at the same time really taxing. it's been good to play with some really solid players and against some top teams here in holland. i've got an idea of where i am and where i can end up as a player here and that is motivating. i feel like i can do pretty well for myself when i look around and compare myself to what i've played against. so i'm on a high note right now and hoping to keep it going these next couple days.
thats all for now. tomorrow i may be flying to munich and then training down to austria, but maybe i'll be here all day just resting. so there is a chance i may not post tomorrow, but i'll keep everyone informed when i get there.
night

tranze energy

hey. bout 10:30 here. we are now in amterdam. it's just like i remember it. maybe a little more talent in the redlight, but overall pretty much the same. we are sending a team to play a d2 dutch team today. i'm resting after running full time middle yesterday. i ended up sitting out our scrimmage last night because i could barely move and i think i'm going to take this tryout in austria. it's a town called klagenfurt. i don't know anything about it and haven't had time to google it. though i might after i write this. ironicaly there are like four canadians playing on the team already. that's funny. one of my favorite guys on the tour just signed with the team today. so far only 4 other players have signed d1 contracts. 3 outside one opp. i'm the only middle that has had a d1 offer and it's looking like the upcoming matches are for d2 belgium, holland and some scandanavian teams. so after 4 days my austria offer looks a lot better than it did the first day. in tours past, about half the tour will have been signed or on tryout. this year only 7 out of 36. i'll make 8 if i sign. the money is a lot less than i expected, but everything is pretty much paid for. i'm excited to get down and see austria. i'm taking the next two days off from friendlies. just going to do drills in the afternoons until i take off. so klagenfust austria it looks like.

sandwich with the usual amount of lettuce

morning.
6:45 am over here. i went straight to bed after getting off the bus anoche. i was beat. we ended up playing the best team in begium last night at there facility in maaseik. it was an entire sports arena about a year old built just for volleyball. they had vip box seats with a bar. brand new workout facility and even a 10 lane bowling alley. all for the volleyball team. they play in the champions league and had several national team players. we only played their starting setter, middle, liber, and opposite. the outsides were reserves. we were up 18 16 in the first game and then just couldn't keep it together. we slipped and had some heady meltdowns with a few players and the belgians just didn't make mistakes. i'm still a little suprised that we kept it interesting for the most part. they weren't looking to sign anyone and i'm not sure if there were any scouts watching the match. at least i haven't heard about anyone getting interest. i played well. had some big blocks, but couldn't beat the setter at all. he was one of the best in europe so i don't feel too disappointed. i'm hoping someone is watching when we play the junior national team tonight. our coach says i'd be a really strong middle in sweeden, but the money isn't exacly what i'm looking for. everyone talks about the recession affecting contracts this year. so for first year guys it's really tough. i have two opportunities to play so far. on saturday i'm going to consider heading down to austria to see what it's all about. the two a days are good, but come game time it's impossible to be fresh. i'm hoping there will be some coaches watching tonight. i still like my chances. i know i'm in the best shape here and play way more than everyone else. so i'm getting my chances. we'll see how these next couple days play out.

evian yourself every day.

hey all. its around 9:37 give or take a few minutes. we are having our morning practice a little later than usual today. the two-a-days are a grind on everyone and our coaches told us to all go out for some entertainment last night. it was pitchers and bike wrecks all night. i came back early cause i really needed a good sleep, but there are some serious zombies walking around at breakfast. our head coach is an assistant on the swedish national team and has a millitary background. i'm thinking he'll be a pissed about the condition of some of the guys here. good times. we ended up playing two teams against the first divison belian team we scimmaged last night. i won both games i played and so that was good. no upper level scouts last night. second division holland and 2nd division belgium. a good day to be sore i suppose. i feel a lot better and we are sending our best guys to play another top team from the belgian team tonight. the roster hasn't been announced, but i like my chances. friday we play the dutch junior national team so that will be some good exposure. all and all not a ton of free time. about 5 hours of solid ball everyday and some meals in between. i'll get back on either tonight or after lunch, but that's all for now.
take care. and thanks for reading

bump yo ride with these foo.

hey. just after 6 a.m. here. i couldn't sleep anymore so i'm the first one up today. maybe it's the glutamine i'm taking. not sure. i'm gonna go and try to find a gym. i feel pretty good today and just want to work out some of the stiffness i have in my shoulder.
quick update for those keeping score. about 1/3 of the players are from canada. one asian. and two brothers who obviously jump the highest. and a guy from odgen utah who plays the balding 26 year old mormon well. so my expectations have been met as far as what cultures play volleyball. i'm gonna do some exploring right now and kinda get a feel for the neighborhood if i can't find the gym. i'll try and post again tonight.

i miss some of you. others not so much.

zet mens lopen

sorry for the delay. just got done with my first day. ummm. long flight not lots of sleep, but glad to be here. i've been running on adrenaline all day and haven't really felt much fatigue. it's about 1020 right now and the internet is sketchy at the hostel we are staying at. ya a hostel... it's in a sports park and just outside of eindhoven in a place called stayokay. it's ok. the biggest surprise is there is only one other person trying out at middle. i thought i'd be short to play middle, but that's my best position. so i'm fortunate about that. there are like 25 guys trying out for opp and outside positions. i missed practice this morning and arrived at the hostel just after lunch. slept for about 2 hours then went to the evening trainings. it went well and there are some decent players trying out. i already got an offer to play in austria for a club located on the border with italy. austria is a second tier league. comparable to belgium and spain. better than scandanavia and eastern block, but not as good as greece or italy. so i'm excited to have an offer so soon. normally i'd leave to austria tonight to tryout with the club tomorrow, but since i'm a valuable position the agency is making me stay till the end to run practices with full teams and not just a bunch of outsides playing all the positions. i'm glad too, it'll give me more chances to talk to other coaches and see what else is out there. so ya day one is done and i'll write again tomorrow. it looks like we will be scrimmaging a local dutch team tomorrow evening so that will be fun. alright kids. hope that was an ok entry. i hope to have more time tomorrow to write.

nighters

better looking than the next generation

so i'm gonna be holland this week through the 27 trying out to play volleyball over there. if someone likes my moves then they might pay me to do some more moves in a shirt with their name on it. thats the plan and basically how pro sports work. i'm lucky because i'm decent at a sport that black or athletic people don't play, so to be at a professional level in my sport is kind of misleading. let the record show that it probably seems like a bigger deal than it really is. from what i can tell volleyball is played by cultures of nerdy whites. a few examples of volleyball friendly cultures: mormons like volleyball, though wrestling is their clear preference(D & C 72: whatever...). canadians like volleyball. fair enough. homosexuals also like volleyball. you have to be really nerdy to want to ___ of another man. pun intended. asians like volleyball. and since asians typically hate math and technology they don't really qualify as a nerdy culture, but 75% isn't bad, and i think i still have a strong theory.

so ya, i'm gonna be competing with about 30 people to try and play overseas this winter. i'm going to say with full confidence that there will be representatives from each of said groups. i'll keep you updated when i meet them in two days with posted results.

my packing is going well. i'm going with north face bag and SDCC gym bag as my two luggage draft picks. it's hard leaving suitcase and internal frame pack because this is an international trip, but overall i like my choices. also i have my passport. a few recent trips to mexico put that statement into perspective.

lots to say, but i need to be up in about 4 hours to start this thing. i'll have plenty of percocet and a small pad of paper lent to me and a pen i found on my own, so i'll be able to write throughout the days and transcribe to the cold cold b as the opportunities arise.

August 18-21, Training and Matches in Eindhoven, NL
August 21-26, Training and Matches in Amsterdam, NL

good night.

raptor bacon

hi.

i'm brett and this is my heart...

so ya, this should be my blog for the week i'm over in the netherlands. not sure how my updates will turn out. maybe it'll be informative, maybe an outlet for my shit jokes, maybe it'll be what the detectives read to find out about the last days before my bloated corpse turned up in the mighty amstel river. i'm just gonna let it develop itself free form.