Videos of My Apartment!

It's been a long time coming! You can finally see what life is like at my place...

Bienvenue!



Sorry! this one's a bit Blair Witch-esque (ie. pretty shaky)...




The Loft



The make-shift coffee table

Cheers,
J

Race 6: Françières

Well, nothing much to write home about this one...the result I expected after taking three weeks off to focus on baseball - I finished! But it was by myself and by that I don't mean a solo victory...

Taken from trekearth.com

Cheers,
J

ASC: Mix Match Mexican Night

Well, the Anglophone Social Committee, as we are calling it, (us native English speaking folks - except Michaël and Jean Daniel who are just good sports) decided to have a Mexican party and my apartment was volunteered for it...so here are the resulting videos of the evening full of Mexican food (my specialty), games, and anglo-fun...

note: the "Mix Match" refers to the type of clothes that were worn...

I feel like I should also gives some names and nationalities to faces on the video:
Michaël Meillerais - Angers, France
Amy Meillerais - American (Near Bubba's Used Tire, Tennesee)
Vicky Toole - English
Alex Simpkin - Australian/English
Andre Sternberg - American (Berkley, California)

The Bean Ball and Other Fine Points of the Game

Yes, I've played the American national pastime for most of life. But growing up there was always one aspect of the game that scared me - getting hit by the ball in the batters box. And I'm sure "wearing one" is a fear that is shared by many a young ball player. When you think about it, it makes a bit sense: growing up your mother always told you to play with balls outside and away from windows and other people. That is fairly logical. Baseballs have some mass and are quite hard, and kids tend to lack the motor skills necessary to have pinpoint control. So at what point does stepping 12 inches away from the hopeful target of the "Big Bobby's" errant fastball sound like a good idea? And considering the size of a typical little league umpire's strikezone (it isn't too inside unless it hits you), and that shots from the doctor still made me cry, I don't think this fear was unjustified.

Somewhere between these early years and late high school, the fear of stepping into the batters box began to fade for various reasons. But for me, I began to turn into a bean ball magnet. I consistently got hit more than anyone else on the high school team. And this trend didn't end in college where even though I didn't start every game, I led the team in the HBP category and could practically wear a jersey with a target on it during batting practice. During a summer league game, I still hold the "honor" of getting hit twice in the same at bat and still striking out (you don't get to take first base when you purposefully "lean into one" - well, most of the time :) ).

Well, just to confirm to those faithful fans back home that things still haven't changed, follow the pictures below.





So French Nationale 1 pitchers beware: if its a tight game and we need base runners, don't throw that weak-sauce 60 mile an hour "spinner" inside cause I'll gratefully lean over the plate to "wear one" for the sake of the team.

Cheers

Just Because...

I recently went on a leisurely bike ride with Thad, Zac, and Wes through the Compiègne forests. During a brief repose I commandeered the 6-year-old's bike and Thad has his camera ready. It's just me being goofy (imagine that!), but I thought it was a cool shot.

In the press!!

A reporter stopped by our games last weekend to interview the team and specifically the two new Americans that have joined the Compiègne Marlins. Le Courrier Picard is a fairly predominant publication in the region with a diffusion of nearly 70,000 daily. Its the regional newspaper which would be similar to a state-wide newspaper in the US. For our team, this was a pretty big deal. So for the interview itself, Andre spoke through a translator and I did my best on my own - not too bad for my first French interview...

Here's the link to the newspaper's website: http://www.courrier-picard.fr/courrier/Sports/Sport-en-Picardie/Compiegne-c-est-l-Amerique-!/

Here's the translation:

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

BASEBALL (N1) Compiègne, it's America!

Photo caption: The two American recruits of Compiègne, Andre Sternberg and James Skyrm, dominate partners and opponents in National 1 (photo R & D).

Placing first in their pre-season tournament, and agaist PUC in the upcoming home match next weekend at the Parc des Sports Mercières, the Marlins of Compiègne have been strengthened this season by bringing two Americans, Andrew Sternberg and James Skyrm, thus giving a cosmopolitan connotation to a workforce already flavored with two players of Cuban origin, Luis Gomez (coach-player) and Juan Coca. Americans on a baseball club, nothing better! "It's always a plus for the team. We have good players but it is true that without them it is a little more difficult," agrees the Compiègne vice-president, Jean-Claude Clettes.

Faced against Boé last Sunday, Andre Sternberg showed the extent of his capabilities, striking out 16 batters through 7 innings and scoring three of the ten runs in the first game. "These are some monster stats!" says Pascal Maitrot, the treasurer of the club.

Sternberg is an essential, "The weakness of the teams today is the pitcher. It is he who does about 60-70% of the team's work. But against Boé today, André has done 90% of work! "Said the coach-player of the Marlins, Luis Gomez.

It must also be mentioned that James Skyrm also scored three runs in the second game.

The performance of the Americans is valued by their teammates. "They help us a lot in the field. Where we make mistakes, they explain, calmly and simply how to fix and avoid it the next time. And it's rather nice to speak three different languages in the dugout," said the younger Giordano Makholm. Luis Gomez adds: "It's the best recruitment we've ever done!"

Sternberg, who came straight from California, is a globe-trotter. He arrived at Compiègne in offering his services two months ago, after playing in England, Germany and Israel, in order to discover new leagues.

Skyrm came to the Marlins for professional reasons, as a hydraulic engineer at Poclain.

"They are very motivated but sometimes I think they might be a little disappointed with the level of play because they surely know better," says Juan Coca.

Skyrm admits in short: "We (Andre and I) both have many years of experience behind us. André has played for nearly twenty years, and I for 16. The game here is a bit different from what we know in the US; there isn't quite the arm strength here."

With these strengths in their game, Compiègne is well-equipped to advance to the Elite league by winning the championship. Sternberg sees it, by adding a small personal note concerning his season goals: "Advance the team to the Elite level and ... become MVP of the league! "

From DEZEQUE ROMAN