Airshow

Yesterday afternoon, my coworker and I were lazily staring at our computer screens when we heard the unmistakable sound of a fighter jet flying low in the sky. As this is unusual in Belgium, we stuck our heads outside. Two more F-16's followed, flying slowly, maybe 1000 feet off the ground. 10 seconds later an entire parade of aircraft followed, including 3 helicopters, 2 C-130 cargo planes and a passenger jet. At the tail end, another pair of F-16's followed.

Honestly, I thought it was some kind of airshow. But later on the news they showed the French state funeral of 7 soldiers killed in Afghanistan the previous week. Sarkozy was there, and they had the ceremony in a large cathedral in Paris. What we had seen earlier that day was a sort of aerial funeral procession.

I caught myself thinking that it was all a bit overdone; that it was only seven soldiers, that the US loses that many in a week quite often, that all they needed to do was flash their names across the scrolling news bar on the headline news show. And then I thought about how long it's been, how long we've been seeing those names on the scrolling news bar, and how maybe we're becoming desentized to the thought of soldiers' caskets flying home. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to see the flag-draped coffins and the grandmother crying on national TV once in awhile.

Poverty

I just realized that I haven't written on this thing in awhile, probably because it's just been business as usual. I'm broke as a joke, but just made 100 Euros proofreading the English for another grad student's dissertation. It's a hard way to make a euro. I miss the days when I would go to the bar across the street from work and not even read the check when it was given to me. It seems like poverty was more glamorous in my early twenties.

My clothing budget is extremely small. Clothes are expensive here, like food, rent and absolutely everything else in Belgium. The clothing I brought over has served me well, but is gradually wearing out. I have three pairs of jeans, all with holes in them. The location of the hole designates its ranking. The lowest ranked pair has a hole in the crotch and has been relegated to 'at-home' use. Another has a hole in the knee, making it acceptable for school or low-light situations. My 'best' pair has a hole developing in the pocket where I keep my wallet. While in New York, I noticed that my cousin and Fashion Icon/Sex Symbol Cullen had a similar hole in the same pocket. I'd be willing to bet that his was more intentional in nature, but I can at least be grateful that some of my clothing is dissolving stylishly.

Grocery shopping has become easier. The chain store I go to has a generic brand that has the old familiar white label. If it doesn't have a white label, it doesn't go in the basket, although I do make exceptions for various meat products that are half-off since they are expiring.  The good news is that I've been cooking more, and have learned that the entire stalk of broccoli is edible if you cook it in soy sauce long enough. However, I get the majority of my nutrition from the Costco sized bottle of "One a Day Women's" vitamins that Holly left at our house. As a type this I am preparing the first Ramen noodles I've had in years, ever since my undergrad combination Ramen / Hot Pockets diet left me with the triglycerides of a 60 year-old bowling enthusiast (no lie).

Speaking of healthy things, I'm getting some exercise once or twice a week in a basketball game with other students. It's nice to be the first one picked for no other reason than that I am the tallest person there. As I stuff their shots gleefully (and with excessive war cries and celebration), I can remind the Socialists I play with that "life isn't fair, comrade." Basketball is an ideal past time because it's free, however the injury rate is quite high. I was limping for a week when I got hit hard in the leg driving to the hoop, and I badly sprained one of my fingers a month ago, which is just now healing. On Wednesday, one player got his finger smashed and another had his knee swell up. At any given time, of the 8 of us that regularly play, one or two are on the "injured reserve" list. It must be entertaining for the bystanders to watch a bunch of poorly-coordinated grad students injure themselves, but it's a fun way to spend an evening.

Oh yeah, on Thursday I got an email from NATO saying that I've been short-listed to intern in their Emerging Security Challenges division in the Cyber Security Department, which is ironic because the top guy in the division is "General" Iklody. So I'm not sure what the next step is; I don't think there is an interview but I will know by September if I am chosen.