New Year, New Me

It's that time again. The new year, and a new decade, loom ominously on the horizon. Looking back on the Aughts, I can think of a lot of things I should have and could have done better. But it was not all for naught, as I have accomplished many things that your average bear probably hasn't even dreamt up in his hibernation. But enough about the great things I've done, what is more important is the great things I have yet to do.

I've always said, somewhat jokingly but secretly seriously, that my purpose in life is to be remembered. I want to leave my mark on the world. I know I have a niche somewhere, but I am still searching for it. One day, however, I will find a way to leave this mark. Whether there is a building named after me, a street, a foundation, or a small blurb in a history book, I want my life to mean something long after I'm gone. And I want it to mean something to people who never met me and who were not related to me.

How am I going to do that, you ask? I wish I knew. But that is the point of ambition: you pick a goal, and you work hard, and you hit forks in the road, you climb obstacles, but you keep moving, you choose your paths, and eventually you reach your destination, a little battered, a little worn, but extremely accomplished and proud, with a list of achievements in your foot prints.

So as this decade comes to a close, I find myself way behind on my path. I envisioned myself doing much more at this point in my life. So this decade is a new beginning. I have a laundry list of goals, many of which I probably won't meet. But what I want to change about myself is the effort I put towards them. Anyone who knows me as more than a casual acquaintance knows that my life has more or less fallen together despite my lack of involvement in it. It has always been my way to put more effort in to putting less effort, when I should be putting that effort in to actually doing things the right way. But as I get older, I realize I'm only cheating myself. No one else really cares what I learn in class, what sense of accomplishment I feel on the inside. What people want from me is results. It's what we want from all of the company we keep. It's not the nature of people to want to be dragged down by those around them. We want to be achievers, and we want to surround ourselves with people of like minds. I've hidden my underachieving self deep beneath a calm, cool, and collected illusion of who I really want to be.

This year, I become a go-getter.

Gone are the days of taking short cuts and cutting corners.

Here are the days of motivation, aspiration, ambition, and achievement.

I wish you all the best in all of your endeavors, and I encourage you to check in on mine. Hold me to my word. A life like the one I want for myself cannot exist without the support of everyone around me.

So Happy New Year to all, and I look forward to walking down the right path with each of you by my side.

And now, for the fun part, a look back at a decade to remember. Some people weren't around for many of these experiences, but that doesn't matter. In staggered chronological order, the highs and lows of the Aughts, with some purposefully excluded for the sake of myself and others:

It was 2001, and high school graduation seemed like the biggest day of my life. A distant memory, the Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro was packed with a raucous Annapolis High crowd. Three months later, and my new home in Blacksburg, Virginia comes calling. Pritchard Hall, and what would turn out to be "The Worst Roommate Ever." This kid was a nightmare: a cultural abomination, he was born to Koreans, adopted by Jews, educated in the ghetto, and associated with the upper middle class whites. His lack of identity made him stranger than fiction, and his quirks alienated him from the rest of our hall. That, and he made weird noises and stared at me through a conveniently placed mirror while I laid in bed.

Virginia Tech gets credit for my identity. I was an awkward high school kid who never really fit in to any group, but I had plenty of friends. I was athletic, but not a star. I was shy with some kids and a social leader with others. I didn't have a clique, and I was never satisfied with what I was doing. I was smart, but shockingly lazy, which embittered the dumb, hard-working kids and frustrated the smart, hard-working kids. All the while I found myself somewhere in between those genres of people, never sure with whom I belonged. But college was a new beginning and a fresh start. I made friends quickly. I was around people of similar minds, similar intelligence, similar work ethic. I had people to play sports with, people to study with, people to socialize with, others to play video games with. It was a perfect storm of all of my strangely unrelated interests.

And then I joined a fraternity. This opened up the doors. I was on MTV for a show that featured colleges across America (I Bet You Will..., created by Morgan Spurlock of Super-Size Me fame). And then we took the fraternity to new levels. We got it an official house. We established a reputation on campus. I started a charity event that now occurs every year and raises thousands of dollars for various organizations. I found a cultural identity that was missing in the religiously non-diverse schools I had attended in Annapolis, and I quickly decided it was not for me. I got my first job interning with the athletic department. I became a ridiculously passionate VT football and basketball fan. It was my first passion, and it will probably cut years off of my life.

As college drew closer to an end, I made friends that have lasted through the years, and who I expect will still be around until the day I die. I learned to keep in touch with people a little bit better (thank you, Facebook). I moved in to my own house for the first time with a couple other guys. Windswept, on Pheasant Run Ct., will never be forgotten. It is still the greatest estate in AEPi history.

Senior year was a blur. We traveled to all the away football games. And then graduation hit, and I was lost. I had a degree with no direction. I slipped in to the black hole that is the restaurant industry (though I do thank Liz for getting me the job, as I needed an income). I made more friends, but fell further and further from anything resembling pride and self-respect. I knew this was not the place for me.

I started writing sports for the newspaper - another in a long list of accomplishments that fell in to my lap. I worked hard and impressed my bosses, but never gave it the commitment it deserved. It didn't pay well enough to quit the restaurant job. Then Jay comes calling and offers me my first break. Again, a job that didn't require an interview. This is the 6th job of my life now, and still no official interviews. DVSport, Inc. was a great gig. Lots of travel, lots of sports, and a good amount of money. I lived in college football. It was stressful being gone all the time, but I loved what I was doing. I eventually got fed up with upper management, though, and decided my time was coming to an end.

Changes needed to be made. So on a whim, I chose law school and the LSATs. With little effort, I managed to score quite high and began applying to schools all over the country. Unfortunately, my laziness during college held my GPA a bit lower than law school likes, and my LSAT score alone could not get me in to my first choice schools.

It was back to another restaurant in the meantime, where once again I got in with a connection and had to do almost nothing to earn the employment. Money was great there, and I maintained my stint with the newspaper. Law school acceptances and rejections came pouring in, and Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law became my new home.

It was another fresh start where I could begin anew. This trend is one that I enjoy, as I get tired of the same thing all the time. I easily slip in to routine ruts.

So here we are, half way through law school. I have quickly risen to the top of a a few student organizations and am leaving my mark there. My goals, if accomplished, will improve the law program at ASU for years and years to come.

This is the decade, in brief, that has passed. I hope to be able to include much, much more in the decade to come. Someone's first job is to name this one. The Tens? The Teens? Both are boring. Find me a catchy name and I'll celebrate it.

Back from Vacation

So much has been going on since we last spoke.

I've been home. My sister got married. Christmas happened. New Year's, too, back in Tempe. Virginia Tech finally won the Orange Bowl. I finally made it to Sedona and beyond.

Melissa and I decided last week to take a quasi-spontaneous road trip through northern Arizona. We packed up and left on Monday with a hotel room for Monday night in Page, AZ. The rest of the trip was going by the seat of our pants.

I'll chronicle this trip in a three entry series with pictures.

In the meantime, a few quips about everything else that's happening.

I passed all my classes. It wasn't pretty, but I'm officially a 1.5L (my own term...I don't know if that's the accepted legal terminology). I dropped over $700 on text books for the spring.

Liz is married. The wedding was a blast. She had it at St. John's College in Annapolis. The reception was beautiful. Beautiful bride. I'm glad to have Zach in the family.


My two weeks at home were way too busy. I tried to squeeze everyone in at least once. I know I missed some people. But I did my best. It was great seeing the people I did see.

We (me, Melissa, her aunt and grandfather, and my mom) took a trip into DC to do a little museum-ing. It was a very nice last day in Maryland. Melissa's parents took us to a Maryland basketball game (a win over American). I got all sorts of fun things for Christmas. No complaints at all.

Back in Tempe for New Years, we went to the Insight Bowl (Kansas over Minnesota), then to Tempe Town Lake for a block party and rang in the New Year's with Styx. I met Elvis.


A McDaniel/Haik family trip to Sedona after that was a blast, too, except that I was really sick. Came down with a vicious cold/fever combo that knocked me out for a few days. I'm still recovering.

Moving on to post-road trip things...I have little to say. The rest I'll cover in my Great American Northern Arizona Road Trip 2009 series.

Dreading classes starting again on Tuesday. I was just getting used to all this free time.

Grizzly Adams...?

...did have a beard.

I decided almost two weeks ago to grow a finals beard. I've never had a beard before. And at the ripe old age of 25, I still can't grow a full beard (the force is strong, but it's a little sparse and patchy in random spots). But it's...growing on me. Get it?

It goes through phases. The first couple days were fine. That slightly overgrown stubble works for most people. But the severely awkward in between stages that come after stubble, but before it's clear that you are trying to grow a beard...that's when it's embarrassing to leave the house.

I made sure my intentions were clear to everyone that saw me. Before they could think to themselves, "Yikes, he should shave until he can actually grow a full man's beard," I pointed out my superstitious ploy not to shave until after finals. Now that it's become a part of me, I'm wondering if I'm going to be okay with shaving it on Tuesday. It was a rough week of itchy awkwardness that I don't expect to want to repeat.

Then again, my sister is getting married in less than a week, and she would probably appreciate me looking a little cleaner since I'm standing up in the wedding. And no one in my family likes facial hair (my paternal grandmother particularly hated it). My brother has experimented with it, but is, as far as I know, clean-shaven these days.

Melissa was against it at first, but has begun to come around.

I even recruited the other two guys I've been studying with to grow beards with me. Fun times. I may even post a picture Tuesday before shaving it off so that everyone can see what I look like with the best beard I have to offer. Who knows, if I do well on my finals, I may make this a semesterly tradition.

Retro-active happy birthday wishes to my mom, who celebrated her day on Saturday (theoretically for me, it's still Saturday since I haven't yet gone to bed, so I'm not late in publicly wishing you well).

Sports, Briefly

I know most of you hate when I blog about sports, but I have to throw a couple comments in about the things that happened this weekend.

First of all, huge amount of pride in VT for winning the ACC Championship. We're heading to the Orange Bowl for the second consecutive year (very big deal, to those of you who aren't familiar with the process). With the way this team played for most of the season, it's a miracle we made a bowl game. But we won when it counted most, which is more than you can say about every other team in the ACC. We survived one of the most bizarre conference seasons in history, but it turned out to be somewhat historic. A conference record 10 teams are going to bowl games. We have a league-best .771 win percentage over out of conference teams. The only problem with the league is that it doesn't have any stars.

As for the Redskins, I can't begin to describe my disappointment. I wish the Redskins brass would realize Jason Campbell is not the answer. He's awful. He doesn't belong in the NFL. I was against the team drafting him in the first round. I've been against him starting ever since he took over for Mark Brunell. While they're getting rid of him, they could ship Carlos Rogers off, too. The two of them were first round picks out of Auburn. Their senior year, the Tigers went undefeated in the SEC and didn't get an opportunity to play in the National Championship. I think they've had a loser's mentality ever since.

Virginia Tech basketball is showing signs of life. Sure, we trailed Navy at the half, but we scored 51 points in the second half to pull out a big W on the road. Yay, Hokies.

T-minus 2 days until Civil Procedure exam.

CityScape

The apartment. It's not really new anymore...but it's new in terms of your perceptions. None of you have seen pictures, beyond what I showed in the Thanksgiving chronicles.

So, here are some shots of the new place. It has really come together nicely. We need more on the walls to get rid of all the negative space. It will feel much more homey and cozy with some calming artwork on the walls. Too much white space is a little...discomforting I guess.


The bed and night stands. Hard to get a good shot of the whole room. If you're standing behind the camera looking at the bed, the window is to your left. There is a set of drawers and a hutch to the right, the door to the room is over your left shoulder, and the hallway/closets to the bathroom are over your right shoulder. another pine cabinet is to your left, between the door and the window.


The first southwest style purchase that we made: a shower curtain. The hand towel is southwest themed as well, but you can't really see it. The black towel has a kokopelli towel draped over it.


The kokopelli towel, in a close-up.


A better view of the bathroom. I'm standing in the door on the kitchen side, just in front of the laundry closet.


A shot of the kitchen, through to the bathroom, standing in the dining room. Between the kitchen and the bathroom, there is a laundry closet to the right. To the left is a sort of foyer with coat closets on each side of the hallway.


Here, I am standing just inside the front door, looking to the right at the living room, our Craigslist TV that was unspeakably difficult to get into the house (it took three different vehicles before we found one that could fit the TV for the 15 minute drive from Gilbert. The Taliesin photos are on the wall there. The sliding door leads to the patio (below). The dining room is pictured as well. The third window that would be pictured all the way on the right is the one I almost fell out of.


The living room set. The couch and the table are from the Gulleys. The table, which matches the night stands in the bedroom, is from Ikea.


The patio furniture that Melissa bought and I put together. We haven't gotten a ton of use out of it yet. Just too busy. We'll get there I'm sure. The plant is a majesty palm. It is our first attempt at "landscaping," and is clearly a feeble effort at that. Once we have a yard, the "garden" will expand.

So...welcome to our home. Come visit if you want a better view.

Handy

If I had only known I was a handy man all along. Living on my own, I've forced myself to take on projects that only a certified jack-of-all-trades could complete. What's that you say? What did I do? Well, let me tell you.

First, I installed my first shower head. I know what you're thinking. That sounds easy, right? But there is so much involved. First, you have to pick the shower head that's going to make you happier than the shower head you are replacing. It has to be sleek, attention-grabbing, effective, eco-friendly, and more. It's the first thing you experience on the average day.

So you've picked the perfect shower head. We opted for the hand-shower with a long hose on it so that you can take if off the wall mount and move it around. If there's a more official term for that, feel free to let me know.

Then, you have to figure out how to get the original shower head off. Maybe that's easy when it's a good quality shower head and mount to begin with. But when you're in an apartment that has had who-knows-how-many previous tenants who probably didn't care too much about it, you have to assume the shower head is old and cheap and is the victim of prior abuse. So I took a slow approach. I tried loosening it up here and there, not trying to bring an all out attack from the beginning. Eventually, after several failed attempts with my bare hands to unscrew the original shower head, Melissa discovered that the nozzle detached without removing the screw-on mount. That gave me an easier grip, so I returned with a renewed aggression.

Failure!

Eventually, against the instructions on the side of the new shower head, I used a wrench. I got it off with no problem. Thanks to my brother's advice, I knew what the spool of not-quite-tape, not-quite-paper, but not-quite-plastic was, and what its purpose was. Plumber's tape, apparently, goes around the threads of the wall mount before you screw on the new shower head. (Interjection: I'm making up terms for all of these apparatus-es...apparati?).

So I wrapped the threading with plumber's tape and attached the new shower head. It is phenomenal. I should have used more tape, 'cause we have a very, very minor leak at the attachment. We may or may not detach and remedy it.

Shortly after my sense of accomplishment began to fade, we came across another problem. The can opener was on the fritz. In order to open a simple can of tuna for a late-night study break snack of tuna melts on crackers with Muenster cheese, we couldn't get the two rotors on the can opener to turn in 'sync. We had to spread the device and squeeze it closed over and over again to cut the can open one bit at a time. Very tedious. So after I opened the tuna the hard way, I went to work on fixing the opener.

I dismantled it and sought out a lubricant. The only thing available was olive oil (cringe!). WD40 would have been ideal, but we have none. In fact, many other types of oils would have been more ideal than olive oil. But you have to work with what you have. So, I lubed the faulty portion of the device with olive oil and re-assembled. Success! Another handy job.

I've also hung some pictures around the house. But I didn't just hang them. I measured out distances, leveled them, made sure they matched their counterparts across the room. I made an art out of hanging art.

This independence thing is starting to be quite the learning experience. It appears that my biggest motivator to get things done in life and around the house is wanting to procrastinate on studying and learning the law.

First final in t-minus 5 days. Tuesday morning, Civil Procedure. Yikes.

One Year Anniversary...Plus a Day

I missed my blog's official one year anniversary, which also signifies the (not quite the same date) one year anniversary of Sean Taylor's death.

You've all heard about my Thanksgiving, so I won't talk about that.

Most of you don't care about my sports entries, so I'll be brief on that, too.

Arizona State finally won a game again. They tied an NCAA record with four defensive touchdowns (zero offensive touchdowns) in a Beamerball-esque win over UCLA (jerks didn't accept me to law school). Then, immediately after, ASU basketball (undefeated and ranked 15th in the nation) lost to unranked Baylor in a preseason tournament. Losing teams follow me everywhere.

Virginia Tech played in one of the more significant games we've had in recent history today. Not only was it our final regular season game, but it was senior day for a great class of guys. It was against in-state and now conference rival Virginia. Virginia needed the win to become bowl eligible. Virginia Tech needed the win to return to the ACC Championship game (despite three conference losses...the stars aligned for us this year) for the 3rd time in 4 years. If we win the ACC, it will be the first time a 4-loss team earns a BCS bid. A win today gave us our first undefeated season at home in about 6 years. Our offense was pretty good until it got into the red zone. The endless frustration there continued. But I like what I saw from Tyrod Taylor for the first time all season. Defense was not as good as last week, but still great.

Lots of crazy wins in college football otherwise today. The ACC went 3-1 against the SEC (very very unexpected), with the only loss being FSU to Florida (very expected). Georgia Tech surprised Georgia, Clemson routed South Carolina, and Wake Forest handled Vanderbilt.

Redskins host a Plaxico-less Giants tomorrow. Pleeeaaaaassseee win it, Skins. I hate the Giants and their strong chance for repeating as Super Bowl champions.

Brighten Your Day

This has to cheer you up, no matter what might be bothering you.

Live Puppy Cam

Camelback Mountain: Conquered by Day

In the words of Ice Cube, today was a good day.

First of all, it was Veterans Day, so thank you to all who fight for our country. And thanks for the day off, and making sure it landed on my worst day of the week (on campus from 8:30-3:30).

So, to celebrate the day off, I--along with Melissa--conquered my first mountain. I've hiked before. I've even hiked on, around, and up mountains. But never have I 'climbed' to the summit of a mountain. Especially not in the desert. But on this day, we conquered Camelback Mountain. (Don't let the photos fool you, the path we took did not have handrails. In fact, I'm a little annoyed we were unaware of such a path, though I would feel like I cheated if we had found it and used it.)

Our plan was to take the Summit Trail all the way up, but accidentally found ourselves on the Cholla Trail (any Spanish/Native American speakers who want to pronounce this for me?). It is 1.5 miles. Sounds laughably easy. But it is also 1,200 feet up. A little harder. Then the description says "This trail is recommended only for experienced hikers. There are steep, rocky sections with drop-offs on both sides. Difficulty: Strenuous and difficult."

You're probably thinking what I'm thinking. You can't use a word in its own description! Difficulty=difficult? C'mon. That's like wearing a Jordan Knight shirt to the NKOTB reunion tour. Really?

Anyhow...

This hike started off pretty easy. It was a winding, beaten path with man-made steps in the rock. We had a leisurely stroll up the side of the hill for a bit. Then, once crotchety old Camelback lulled us in to a false sense of ease, the steep, craggy rock faces struck! We were on hands and knees, literally climbing sheer rock walls. Ravines on either side of us screamed imminent death (no, not imminent enough to get me that life flashing before my eyes experience I was robbed of last week). The constant danger of scorpions, rattlesnakes, desert tortoises, and chuckwalla lizards stalked us as we endured the climb. We came across a ferocious, fanged ground squirrel, who quickly scurried away to warn the others of our approach.

I took a video of the panoramic view at the summit. But apparently, my camera doesn't save videos once pictures are taken after it is recorded. Twice now, I have lost videos (one of Willie "Big Eyes", and now one of this view) as a result of this camera that I was rushed into purchasing. I'm not saying I want a video camera (digital? HD? sure!), I'm just pointing out that Christmas is around the corner.

But the views were spectacular. Tomorrow, I imagine muscles we didn't know existed will be sore beyond belief. I can't wait to sit through four hours of class in indescribable pain. Yay, exercise!

Dear Health Care,

This is an open letter to health care.

Over the years, I have been stricken with--and suffered from--more injuries and illnesses than I can count on all my digits. I generally avoid the doctor whenever possible. I'm not saying I don't trust doctors as a rule, I'm only saying that I've never had a doctor fix me properly.

I had chronic ear infections as a kid. I was treated locally, and on a case-by-case basis, each time. No consideration for the reason I kept getting them ever came up. Now, I have poor hearing.

I had nosebleeds as a kid. One doctor suggested I have my blood vessels in my nose cauterized. It sounded fun. I assure you, it's not. Imagine someone striking a match, blowing it out, and then--quick as they possibly can--sticking it up your nose. That's what it feels like. And I still get them all the time.

I have bad knees, and have had them for as long as I can remember. It took visits with (I want to say dozens) probably five different specialists. It took at least that many before the first one said I had a legitimate, diagnosable problem. He called it chondromalatia, which means 'soft cartilage' in some stretch of Latin. No cure. Chronic pain persists to this day in both knees.

If that wasn't enough, I blew out my right knee on a touchdown scoring play in football (it got called back on a horrible decision by the official, who claimed I stepped out of bounds when I was about 3 yards inside the line), tearing my meniscus and MCL. The first specialist I saw misdiagnosed me, so I walked around in pain for about 3 months (the time he said it would take to heal on its own). The second guy suggested surgery, and I jumped at the idea. Better than another three months of pain. Little did I know that surgery was really painful. I had my knee scoped and then went through a couple months of physical therapy. Range of motion is almost back to 100%, and chronic daily pain persists in both knees (I favor one or the other, and the one getting the extra pressure hurts as a result).

Then, the genetic sinus problems. My first sinus infection was misdiagnosed as mono, then a common cold, then allergies (great work, Schiffert Health Center). The allergist poked me with 42 different needles containing common allergens before announcing I had zero allergies. None. In a family where three people are allergic to cats, one person to almost everything, one almost deathly allergic to many types of nuts, I managed to escape with no allergies whatsoever. Nice. So, five years and 7-10 sinus infections later, I lost hearing in both ears. Imagine being under water...that's how my hearing made everything sound. So, I went to an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist) and it turned out the only part of my sinuses that was not clogged with anti-infection muck was my nostrils. My Eustachian tubes were so clogged that water from my ears couldn't drain and I lost hearing. My ear drums had too much pressure on them to vibrate. More surgery! The doc promised this would reduce all my sinus problems forever. They went in through my nose and drilled open all 6 sinus openings in my skull, widening them for better drainage, and sucked out all the mucus and goo that had accumulated with some sort of sinus vacuum. Then, they put tubes in my ears (no swimming or showering without ear plugs), which stayed in for about a year, until they became partially dislodged and disrupted my hearing again. The surgery itself was awful. I will avoid the nitty gritty of the recovery, but the bottom line is - avoid at all costs.

And now, two years later, I have my fourth sinus infection since the surgery. If it's possible, I'd say my sinuses got worse after the surgery, which cost me (and my parents, who were generous enough to help out) thousands of dollars because the health insurance policy I had was a scam (maybe not really a 'scam,' but I was sure surprised that I owed about $8,000 for surgery).

And the ASU health center is far worse than Virginia Tech's, if that's possible. One hour, two paper forms, three nurses and doctors who each asked all the same questions I answered on the forms, and a pharmacy wait later, I have a sample pack of antibiotics and a generic nasal spray that was prescribed "forever."

So, modern health care, I appreciate everything you have done for me. Thank you for putting so much of my time and money to good use.

Sincerely,
Sam

What we're really learning here

ASU law student fights off burglar, holds him until the police arrive.

This kid is a 1L. I don't know him personally, but he is a friend of friends. I heard about this last night and found the news article. Pretty crazy stuff. From what I hear, the student is about 270 lbs, and the poor burglar was maybe half that.

Good for him though. That's the kind of thing all guys hope they'll have the cojones to do if the situation arises. Under similar circumstances, I like to think I'd have the same success. Hope we never find out.

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith

I went with a couple other law students, some siblings, and some significant others (mine included) to a jazz club in Phoenix called Rhythm Room to watch a performance last night. My contracts professor, along with his wife, three other top attorneys in the Phoenix area, and six random musicians, are all part of a 10-person rhythm and blues band called the Repeat Offenders. They do cover songs, mostly. But they were very good. My professor plays the drums. I think he was happy to see that a couple of his students came.

After their show, however, we were treated to a little old-school jazz magic. Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, who has toured with the likes of Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones, among many others, was the headliner. He has been nominated for several Grammys. We got to hear him play for a $4 cover at the door. Nice little surprise.

We bought one of his albums on the way out. I'm listening to it as I write this. It's sort of inspiring, I guess. It's called "Born in Arkansas," and his son told me it is his best compilation. I had him sign it to Melissa, but I think we struggled a little with a language barrier. I don't speak jive, and he doesn't get yankee. So it's signed, "To Merissa; from Willie Smith," and he drew a cartoon caricature of a circle with two huge eyes.

Sadly, his eyes aren't really all that big. But he plays a mean harmonica.

Cheated

I had a near-death experience the other night. Melissa's apartment is on the third floor of the building, overlooking a courtyard with some concrete dividers between the mulch 'gardens' and the grass, and more concrete walkways spiderwebbing throughout. She had just gotten new screens in her dining room windows (three windows wrapping around a corner). We had them open, opting for fresh air instead of running electricity, since the weather has been perfect since she got here. I was walking by her, squeezing between the dining room table and the window when I got bumped (accidentally) into the window. My entire upper body went through, knocking the screen out in the process. Mel managed to grab hold of me just enough so that I could regain my balance in time to watch the screen plummet to the ground and smack the concrete garden divider.

But I got cheated. My life didn't flash before my eyes. I didn't see any lights. I didn't get a flood of happy memories. I just sort of blacked out for a minute. I hear all these wonderful stories of visions before death. I didn't get a single one. It almost makes me want to go out and intentionally defy death again so that I can see what it's all about. Maybe when I go skydiving or something.

Until then, take my advice. Avoid near-death experiences until I can report a little more fully on what they are like. Don't try this at home.

Steve Fossett

Symptom #128 indicating a lack of motivation to study: Today I learned all about Steve Fossett. I don't know if any of you have heard of him, but the little bit ("all about him" is a vast overstatement) that I know is incredible.

I'll just paste the tidbits that ESPN offered first:

Fossett was an accomplished balloonist, pilot and outdoorsman. Among the things he did:

• September 1985: Swims the English Channel from France to England in 22 hours, 15 minutes.

• March 1992: Finishes the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska, covering the 1,165 miles in 14 days, 11 hours, 58 minutes and 18 seconds (47th-place).

• February 1995: Sets the world distance ballooning record with a nonstop flight of 5,435.82 miles from South Korea to Canada. It was the first solo balloon flight across the Pacific.

• June 18-July 2, 2002: Becomes first person to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon, taking off from Australia, and crossing the finish line 13 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes and 13 seconds later, covering an estimated 19,428.6 miles. Made five previous attempts between 1996 and 2001, including an August 1998 attempt in which he went 14,235 miles in eight days and 13 hours before crashing in the Coral Sea.

• April 2004: With crew of 12, breaks the round-the-world sailing record by six days (58 days, nine hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds).

• March 2005: Becomes the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without stopping or refueling, covering 23,000 miles in 67 hours.

• February 2006: Completes the longest nonstop plane flight in aviation history, flying 26,389 miles in about 76 hours.

• August 2006: With a co-pilot, claims a world glider altitude record of 50,671 feet during a flight over the Andes Mountains.

Think about the amount of worldly knowledge he would have to have in order to accomplish these things. A vast knowledge of geography, survival, mechanics, aviation, and boating, and that probably just scratches the surface. There are people who get lost trying to find a bank near their house. But Fossett circumnavigated the entire globe in a balloon. He completed the Iditarod (longest dog-sled race in the world). Sailed around the world in record time.

I'm astounded and envious at such accomplishments. Just thought I'd share.

The reason he is in the news is much more unfortunate. He went missing in early September after taking off in his plane from Barron Hilton's house. He was not heard from again. A hiker found some cash and a few IDs belonging to Fossett in the woods. Shortly after, the wreckage of his plane was found crashed in to the side of a mountain. It's a shame the world has to lose someone with such genius, who was able to channel his talents in to something that truly made him happy.

Fortunately, he died doing what he loved. I think a person couldn't ask for much more.

Dinner at The 'Do

Location: The 'Do (my first attempt at a nickname for the condo has clearly failed, but no one stepped up with a better suggestion).

Time: One hour and thirty minutes ago.

Reason: Combination effect of hunger + dinner time.

Event: I cooked dinner.

Method: This is where the story gets complicated. Bear in mind, resources at The 'Do are limited at best. Week one, you may recall a household trip to CostCo for foods and (Oregon Trail allusion in 3...2...1...) other goods. We filled the wagon with packaged goods, caulked the wagon wheels and forded the Lakeshore River home. Among said goods was a large package of frozen chicken breasts, separated in twos, and a huge bag of organic wheat spaghetti, along with two giant bottles of Ragu pasta sauce.

After some lengthy conversations with Melissa about the methods for combining these ingredients, I settled on a simplistic approach to making dinner. The only seasonings and culinary accoutrements we have in the house are salt, pepper, garlic, Old Bay (thank you, Mel), butter, some Wendy's packets of bbq sauce and honey sauce (yea, honey sauce...ew), thousand island dressing, and real honey.

So, I had previously defrosted one packet of two chicken breasts. I sliced them in to manageable pieces, threw some butter in a frying pan and dropped in the chicken to grill it (possibly a little too much). In the meantime, I began boiling water with some salt (learned from Darrell) for the spaghetti. The coordination of timing was impeccable, and I patted myself on the back several times in the midst of cooking.

As the chicken approached bone white, I tossed in the noodles so that they could begin to soften up while I finished the chicken. Once I deemed the chicken "cooked", I poured out the grease and other unknown liquids via strainer and put the chicken back in the pan. Then, I added the Ragu (decent amount, but not the usual 'too much' I am known to use), a healthy portion of garlic and black pepper, and set the range top to medium so the sauce could simmer while the noodles cooked.

In one final, magical moment, everything was finished. I grabbed a piece of sourdough bread (not the best bread, nor is it a good flavor combination, nor do we have a toaster) and scooped out half of the pasta and half of the sauce and chicken on to my plate. I poured a tall glass of cold milk (not my usual, but again, limited offerings) and settled in to watch some TV. The other half went in some Tupperware for tomorrow's lunch. Much to my dismay, I discovered that Carl was watching Project Runway. Seriously. And giggling. I was appalled. So I ate quickly, cleaned up every pot, cutting board, knife, serving utensil, glass, plate, etc. and went upstairs. I make that cleaning point for one reason and one reason only: no one else in the house cleans.

I had to clean around all the other dishes in the sink. I now appreciate more than ever before what my parents went through in raising us. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Uncle Sam

I got the big text this evening in the midst of cooking dinner (blog on that to follow this).

Congratulations are in order for my brother and his wife. Barb is going in to labor. For the sake of avoiding a freedom baby (9/11 birthday), they decided to go to sleep for a bit before heading over to the birthing center.

Still no word on the sex of the baby. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out. They expect the birth to happen sometime Friday (today for east coasters, tomorrow for me).

So, I'm finally going to be an uncle! And...they're going to be parents, yeah yeah.

The Weekend

I had to put the blog down for a bit. Melissa was here all weekend (Thur-Mon), so I didn't spend much time on the computer.

We had a great weekend. Couldn't have asked for anything more, except maybe an extra few Saturdays, another couple Sundays, and a much longer Monday morning.

Thursday, we met some of the 1L's at Four Peaks Brewing Co. for the weekly ASU Bar Review Happy Hour. We got there kind of late, 'cause her flight didn't get in until a little later in the evening. But there were still 10 or so law kids there, so we all mingled. Mel got to meet some of the people I've been suffering through law school with. We went to Mill Ave. after Four Peaks, to a club called Zuma. It was really crowded, but it was fun. The DJ was playing good music, and there were lot more law kids there.

Friday, I had class, so I left Melissa near a bus stop (her choice) and let her fend for herself in Tempe. She made it to Tempe Marketplace and spent a couple hours shopping while I was in class. I met her there, and we ran in to Diane (family we stayed with over the summer) and several of her family members at Target. We spent the next few hours shopping around the Marketplace, relatively unproductively, before leaving to get cleaned up for dinner.

Lyn recommended a restaurant in Tempe, calling it the best kept secret of the city. It is called House of Tricks, and it deserves its title as the best date restaurant in Tempe. It is a bit off the beaten path and sort of hard to find. We made it in time for our 7:30 reservation and were seated immediately. We opted to sit outside under the water misters. It was a bit hot, but we managed well enough. We ordered a ton of food and finished all of it. For appetizers, we got the fire roasted poblano stuffed with sweet corn, Monterey Jack, cilantro, and sweet red pepper coulis, as well as a fruit and cheese plate with grapes, apples, strawberries, toasted French bread, crackers, and all sorts of cheeses that I can't name. I know it had brie, parmesan, and blue cheese, but there were maybe three others we liked but didn't recognize.

For dinner, Mel got the the seared duck breast with goat cheese gnocchi, watercress, and blackberry vinaigrette. I had the Australian grass-fed filet mignon (asked for medium rare, but it was closer to medium) with asiago mashed potatoes, oyster mushroom demi, and pepita aioli. Mine was phenomenal, hers was decent. The duck was a little fattier than we would have liked (I know duck is generally fattier).

Dessert was a tough decision, so we went with two. I don't remember their names, and the dessert menu isn't on the web site to check. The one we didn't like was an angel food cake with berries and a berry glaze reduction on it. The cake was not the right consistency, and the glaze was a little too sweet and processed. We also got a cappuccino torte with whip cream and caramel that was very good. It had a strong enough flavor, but it wasn't overwhelmingly rich.

All in all, the restaurant was a great spot, and we definitely plan on coming back sometime.

After dinner, I took her to the Big Bang, a local piano bar that I have grown quite fond of. There are dueling pianos, and the regular entertainers are very talented (as piano players, as singers, and as entertainers). We met some law kids there for a bit, then retired, exhausted, for the night.

Saturday, we did lots more shopping at Arizona Mills, which was incredible. I got all sorts of shorts, shirts, boxers, and ties from designer names, and the most expensive thing we got was a $30 pair of sandals. The deals at Arizona Mills are outrageously good. I will be going back there any time I need clothes.

ASU football hosted Stanford Saturday night, and after shopping we went home to be picked up by the Haiks for tailgating. That was a good time, but the game was too hot and muggy. We didn't make it through the third quarter. Exhausted again (the heat drains you here), I was falling asleep in the stands. Poor form, I know, but it's no Lane Stadium, and it doesn't keep my attention. We went home and went to bed after the game.

Sunday, we got a late start before getting lunch at Tempe Marketplace. We wandered around there for awhile before coming home. I bought a new TV for my room (very excited, 32" LCD HDTV) that has no cable (faulty cable outlet) until hopefully tomorrow when Cox comes back for the third time to fix it.

We did a late dinner at Ra and stayed there talking for awhile. We got lots of different sushi rolls and a very good dessert: it was a chocolate stuffed fried banana with Kahlua caramel sauce and chocolate ice cream.

We enjoyed a relaxing night of drinks there and then wandered around Mill Ave. before a night cap at Mill Cue Club (not so classy, but fun). We went home around midnight, despite needing to get up at 4am to get Melissa to the airport. Poor planning, maybe, but we wanted to maximize our time. No regrets.

I can't wait until fall break when she comes back and we get lots of free time to explore, maybe camp in Sedona, and relax.

My girlfriend is a swimsuit model

I've always wanted to say that. Now I can. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful (and lucrative) thing...as long as that's okay with her.



Photography by Nina K. Going to be used by Conexion, which is a tanning salon, but I'm not sure what rights are reserved and all that. So this photo is not for distribution. Private use only, but really not even that. Please don't sue. Don't even save it to your computer, if you feel so compelled. It is for my personal blog use only.

Life in Tempe, as requested

I've been getting several requests to stop writing about sports and start writing about life in general. People want to hear about Tempe.

I guess everything here seems really ordinary to me. I don't want to disappoint anyone with boring anecdotes about the hours I spend in class and at home studying. On the other hand, I feel guilty that I don't have more work to do. I see all these people around me complaining endlessly about the amount of reading they have. Even people in my group are tired of the work load. But it's not getting to me. There is plenty of reading, but it's not nearly to the extent that I expected law school to assault me with.

As I write this, I am finished with all my reading through Monday, and most of Tuesday's reading as well. I have about 20 pages of Civil Procedure due Tuesday, but we are so far behind the syllabus that I am actually about 30 pages ahead of class. I have 16 pages of Legal Method and Writing to read for Tuesday, and I will probably at least read over the material for our first office memo assignment that is due in two weeks. I have briefed every single case that I have come across, so I'm not slacking there. I don't feel like I'm a genius, leaving everyone behind me, either. I have not been participating in class much, feeling a little lost at times. It's an unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling, so this week I vowed to change that. Yesterday, I felt confident that I could have participated, but did not for whatever reason raise my hand. Today, however, I raised my hand, was called on, and engaged in a discussion with my Torts teacher. A classmate told me after class they appreciated a comment that was actually relevant and intelligent. So that was a good start. I will press onwards to more participation. Healthy discussion leads to a better understanding of the material, without a doubt.

As for the non-law school related happenings in Tempe, I'm afraid I don't have much to say. Melissa is coming tomorrow night through early Monday morning. We are both very excited about the visit.

I am getting cable and internet installed (fiiiiiinalllllyy) just in time for the Redskins NFL opener tomorrow afternoon (night, for you poor Eastern Time saps).

ASU football hosts Stanford this weekend, so we will most likely go to at least part of the game. Melissa has never experienced a big time college football game. I'd much rather bring her to Blacksburg for this experience, but you have to take what you can get. As for football and Blacksburg, I am looking forward to the start of the season this Saturday against Furman. Yep, start of the season. First game. No other games have been played yet, as far as I can recollect.

Settling in has sort of plateaued. I don't feel at home yet. It's the tiniest things that make me feel like a stranger in a new place still. I couldn't find a legitimate post office today to get stamps. I found one that was so ghetto it didn't have a stamp vending machine, and the 20-person queue looked like an unemployment office line. I don't know where to go to buy stamps. How sad is that?

I'm heading to the gym, which has been one great thing I started here. Feels really good to be working out. It's the only real activity we get here, what with each class being 2 hours long, and having hours of reading to do every day.

Hope this satisfied your curiosities. I will try to be more broad in my range of topics in the future.

Still a Bit Tempe-orary

It's a play on words...get it? Temporary...in Tempe.

So I bought season tickets for football and basketball yesterday after we (the roommates and I) had put it off for awhile. It was $104 for football and men's basketball combo. Lots of people had talked about getting them. My roommates, as with most other things, forgot to call and now the ticket office is sold out.

So, I spent $104 and have no other friends with tickets. I guess I'll try to find people who got them, but for now I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

I still don't feel like I live here for good. It's a sad feeling to think it, but I guess exciting, too. I miss so many things back home, but I'm really enjoying what Tempe has to offer so far. It's all new and exciting.

We got a gym membership last night at LA Fitness and plan on using it for the first time tonight. The sales guy that gave us the tour, etc., was very explicit in telling us that, unlike other gyms, LA Fitness had the lowest possible prices and could not negotiate under any circumstances. We finished the tour and sat down at his desk to talk pricing. It was $200 to enroll and $40 a month per person, which was significantly more than any other gym we looked at. By the time we left, he had waived the registration fee entirely and knocked our monthly fee down to $25, so we bought it. It's a month-to-month, so if we don't like the gym we can leave any time (with 30 days notice).

I am finished with all of my reading and homework until Tuesday, and I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with myself. I want to get really far ahead in my reading, but just don't feel like it. Unfortunately, I don't have any friends here to distract me, and we don't have a TV with cable. I'm going to go to the gym in a bit, once Carl finishes his reading for Torts (civil wrongs, committed by one individual--the tortfeasor--against another individual).

When we get back, maybe I'll feel like reading a little to get ahead. We might do Dos Gringos again tomorrow night for 50 cent Coronas. Then, the ASU Bar Review (clever name for the group that organizes weekly law student happy hours) is having the weekly meeting at RA, where we went last Friday. If I didn't talk about it already, it was great. Half price sushi and appetizers, and it's really good quality food. Drinks, as they are in every other bar we have been to, were criminally cheap.

ASU opens the season this Saturday at home against Northern Arizona. Virginia Tech opens in Charlotte against ECU at 9am Arizona time. ASU should be a walk through. The Hokies may struggle some, but should come out on top, barring some horrible play on our part, or fantastic play on the Pirates' part.