283- A Night of Firsts

So as 70% of the people who actually read this blog know, I'm embarking on a new road. I've made some personal decisions which are going to suck for a while but are ultimately going to make a difference. I'm not sure how big of a difference it will be but - time will tell.

  So, for now, I'm doing things I don't want to do.

You heard me. According to Mel Robins, author of Stop Saying You're Fine, your brain is wired to just continue doing the safe bet. So, you go to the same places, eat the same food, and avoid issues with people by claiming "I'm fine!"

    If you know me, you know that I say "I'm fine", "Sorry", and "Oh okay" in almost every other sentence. It's some kind of autopilot process that takes over similar to the commute I take to work everyday when I blink and realize it's forty minutes later and the car is in park. Playwright Sarah Ruhl writes "that when people are in transit their souls are not in their bodies" and it's a stunningly true statement.

  So Mel Robins advises to do exactly what that little voice says not to do. I am voluntarily walking away from current behaviors and safety blankets even though the little voice is NOT happy about it. I will go to the gym after work even though all I want to do is go home and curl up in bed. I will not get the chicken fingers at work even though the salad is brown. And I will try new things despite being exhausted and feeling broken.

   
The past two days would have been incredibly difficult if it was not for the support of the people around me. Between my manager letting me talk things out and cry in her office about how confused I am about things and my coworkers hugging me without asking if I was okay, I got through a day at work with no sleep. I left the hotel, drove home, and was met with my first real challenge.

   German food.

   I am an American girl. I like hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and milkshakes. I do not know or want to know what a schnitzel is. Goulash, Spatezal and Sauerkraut do not sound appetizing....however, my Dad served in the military based in Germany and was actually kind of excited to try authentic German food.

....

  So, off we went to Mary's German Restaurant where I stared at a menu of different schnitzels and tried to be brave. The waitress was bubbly and passionate about German food and assured me that I would probably prefer to try a combination platter with my mother so I could try different combination of their offerings.Since I was skeptical, I also asked for a salad to which sheoffered a Super Upgrade for the Combination Platter which also would include two salads and a slice of Black Forest Cake.

Sold.

Now, the salad was pickled....and while I ate it, I kept thinking- oh god, it tastes like pickles. (I hate pickles)

Then the food came out. I had gotten Zigeunerschnitzel aka Bell Pepper Schnitzel which was veal coated with German spices and breadcrumbs with creamy bell peper gravy with red and yellow bell peppers, onions, and pickles. It was...well authentic German schnitzel. And it wasn't terrible. But I really preffered the Brauts. I ate both of them in seconds.

  I then attempted the Spatezel (well something egg fried pasta stuff) and the pan fried potatoes. When I combined the pan fried potatoes with the schnitzel, it got marginally more interesting to my Americanized palette.I saved the Black Forest Cake for later but my Little Shit of a brother ate it.

Afterwards, I got to go see Michelle Garcia- blogger superstar from Toot Sweet- for a night at Memphis Hates You at The Hi Tone. Her brother plays in a band called The Heavy Eyes. I'm going to let them descrbe themselves in their own words:

The Heavy Eyes is psychedelic bluesy rock from the delta that sounds similar to a skeleton driving a speed boat on a flaming Mississippi River headed back to 1969.

  I liked them based on that alone. Now, going to a hipster styled bar where we stuck out like sore thumbs despite us both wearing street clothes and making no real attempt to gussy up, we downed some beers and nodded along to the incredibly LOUD music. As I happily shouted in her ear, "Well, at least I'm losing my hearing while getting to watch people with bad hair headbang!' And I have to tell you, The Heavy Eyes are pretty good. Sure I would have liked to have been able to hear the singing over the bass line but hey, who needs hearing when you have headbangers?

Check Them Out Below: 

He doesn't talk much but he's fun to look at.

We bailed when the band that looked like Deliverance started playing and I'm sure the bartender was relieved to see us go. Sorry we didn't have any more cash but I'm from Germantown, I use my debit card for everything including cheap beer.

 We also attempted the Fox and the Hound off Sanderlin but after getting a waitress who could give a fuck, we decided to call it a night, listen to the radio speed up Rolling in the Deep, and basically discuss other random things.

I then drove home with my sunglasses on because the voice in my head told me that was a stupid thing to do.

(It was but I still had fun singing along to The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs with the windows down)