Blog of the Rising Syrmo: September 2006

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Ol' Dirty Bastards...

Not really a lot to say, school is moving along nicely, the weather has been rainy every other day, and I just got my MPRE admission ticket. None of that is nearly as exciting as the fact that I've gotten a second fantasy football team...

The league HLSS(Hofstra Law School Sucks) is half Hofstra Law grads which is great because I think it gives the league a good chance at longevity. The same way my other league DFFL(Desert Fantasy Football League) has longevity after starting with mostly former Tosco employees...

The total buy in for both leagues will be about $175. If I win nothing this season I will still be up $420 lifetime in fantasy football. My DFFL team, the Hofstra Hooligans, are having a tough year so far(0-2), but I think the strength of my HLSS team, the Ol' Dirty Bastards, almost makes up for it...

Starters
QB: Rex Grossman CHI
RB: Warrick Dunn ATL
RB: LaMont Jordan OAK
W/R: Willie Parker PIT
WR: Chad Johnson CIN
WR: TJ Houshmandzadeh CIN
WR: Terry Glenn DAL
W/T: Amani Toomer NYG
TE: Jeremy Shockey NYG
K: Josh Brown SEA
DEF: Pittsburgh Steelers
DEF: San Diego Chargers
Bench
QB: Drew Bledsoe DAL
RB: Fred Taylor JAC
RB: Jamal Lewis BAL
WR: Chris Henry CIN
WR: Keyshawn Johnson CAR
TE: Chris Cooley WAS
K: Robbie Gould CHI
DEF: Minnesota Vikings
DEF: Buffalo Bills
DEF: Cleveland Browns

This is an updated roster and so is the one below for my other league. The changes are from trades and picking up free agents. The only move I really need to make still is picking up another TE in the DFFL...

Monday, September 11, 2006

AZ for a Minute and Heading Back East...

We look danger in the face and laugh our heads off...

This will be a short post just to bring everyone back to the present. It has been just over a month since I got back to AZ and in that time I've packed, flown, rode, shipped, moved, and more. The most exciting development has been the start of another NFL season...

I spent a little less than two weeks in AZ. I definitely didn't overstay my welcome because when I left I felt like I could have stayed a lot longer. I really enjoyed the time I spent at home and really enjoyed getting to know an old friend a lot better...

I spent just under a week in NH which also was not long enough. From there I got on my motorcycle and rode back to NY. Since it's awfully hard to bring 4 large duffle bags on a motorcycle I shipped them. Of course it turned into a fiasco with my bags arriving over a span of 6 days...

Once my bags got here I was all moved in to my new dorm room. Below is my attempt at a 360° picture of my room. I took the pictures with my camera on my cell phone and pasted them together on my computer. The door on both sides of the picture is the same door...

Fantasy Football season has begun...
School has started again, but we all know that it's not very exciting to write about. I'm more excited about the fact that my fantasy football season has begun. I'm in a couple leagues but the roster in my main league is...

Starters
QB: Rex Grossman CHI
RB: Clinton Portis WAS
RB: Warrick Dunn ATL
WR: Chad Johnson CIN
WR: Terry Glenn DAL
WR: Amani Toomer NYG
TE: Chris Cooley WAS
K: Josh Brown SEA
DEF: Denver Broncos
Bench
QB: Jake Plummer DEN
RB: Ron Dayne HOU
RB: Samkon Gado HOU
RB: Chris Brown TEN
WR: Isaac Bruce STL
WR: Rod Smith DEN
TE: Bubba Franks GB
TE: Jerramy Stevens SEA
K: Sebastian Janikowski OAK
DEF: New Orleans Saints
DEF: New York Jets

This weekend I got waxed(soundly beaten) by Captain Rubber Legs and his Killer Bees. Going into the Monday Night Football game he is up by 30 points with my chances of a comeback being slim to none. It's OK though, it's all just a regression to the mean...

The photos at the top and the bottom of this post are self explanatory. I only got to see them from the air on some of my many flights in and out of the NYC area. Gone but not forgotten...

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Goin' Back to Cali & Deep in the Heart of Texas...

After flying back from Maui I turned around and flew out to Santa Cruz CA two hours later. It is the 3rd year in a row that I have been fortunate enough to spend my birthday with my good friend Eli. It was once again a most rejuvenating experience...

The weather was great and Eli had just returned from a 3 week sailing trip(from Hawaii no less). I spent 5 days there and would have stayed forever if life's responsibilities didn't call. The night of July 29th Eli had a "Land Ho" party but I pretended it was my birthday party...

One of the things I did to pass the time while I was there was refine my coffee making skills. Eli's roommate Jeff has an espresso maker, coffee grinder, and bean roaster. So we started with green coffee beans, we roasted them, ground them, and extracted the espresso...

Sadly my time in Santa Cruz once again came to an end. But that meant it was time to head to Dallas TX for a Phi Alpha Delta convention. I hoped to meet up with Rob's cousin Brad while I was there but never got a chance to see him...

I had a great time while I was there even though I never went more than 1/4mile from the hotel. The entire time I was there I never got more than 3 hours sleep in any given night. This debauchery went on for 5 days but seemed to last forever...

I really enjoyed some of the people I met while I was there. Hopefully I will stay in touch with at least a few of them. Unfortunately my experience was marred by the realization that, as is often the case, the institution had corrupted the ideals of organization. Fortunately I mostly remember the fun that I had while I was there...