Blog of the Rising Syrmo

A month's worth of my facebook status

2010-10-07T12:42:00.003-04:00

You can find me at www.facebook.com/syrmo but here has been my statuses over the past month, since in a way that has become a bit of a journal for me and I wanted to see if I could revive my blog...

Aaron Syrmopoulos 希言自然。故飘风不终朝，骤雨不终日。孰为此者。天地。天地尚不能久，而况于人乎。
September 11 at 10:59am

Aaron Syrmopoulos Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end.
September 11 at 9:43pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.
September 13 at 8:52am

Aaron Syrmopoulos To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
September 14 at 3:34pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
September 15 at 7:04am

Aaron Syrmopoulos If you haven't found what you are looking for, you can either lower your standards and settle for less than what you deserve or you can keep looking and enjoy the hunt.
September 15 at 4:04pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos If you can't laugh at yourself, everyone else will.
September 16 at 12:25pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos 知人者智, 自知者明。胜人者有力, 自胜者强。
September 17 at 1:50am

Aaron Syrmopoulos I was nearly brought to tears this evening by a message from an old friend. This reinforces my determination to live life in such a way that I will look back on today with the same feelings I have about those times so many years ago.
September 18 at 1:07am

Aaron Syrmopoulos Just watched my 6 year old nephew Big Nate get on the school bus for the first time today...
...very cool.
September 21 at 7:19am

Aaron Syrmopoulos This too will pass...
September 23 at 4:56pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.
September 25 at 1:24pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos is gonna kick Monday's A$$
September 26 at 9:52pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos is looking for work in the Winona, MN area
September 27 at 9:33pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos I can count my closest friends in this life on 1 hand, and no mater how far they may be they are always with me, whether they know it or not...

...today one of them is having a BIRTHDAY!!!
October 1 at 10:19am

Aaron Syrmopoulos finally got myself a jobby-job...
19 hours ago

From Belgium to AZ to MN

2010-10-07T12:29:00.003-04:00

I've been struggling to find work for a few years. So after some thought I decided that if I am going to struggle I might as well do it somewhere I can watch my nephews and niece grow up. They are all between the ages 2-8 and in that time I've only seen them twice. So as not to become just a face in a photo album I decided to move to Winona, MN...

Aaron Syrmopoulos I'm baaaaaaack!!!
August 19 at 12:54am

Aaron Syrmopoulos time to pack the computer...
August 24 at 2:18pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos on the road again...
August 25 at 10:17am

Aaron Syrmopoulos Tucumcari, NM
August 26 at 12:50am

Aaron Syrmopoulos Kansas City, MO
August 26 at 11:14pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos Winona, MN
August 27 at 9:13pm

Birthday wishes from facebook

2010-10-07T12:03:00.002-04:00

I don't know if this will revive the blog or not, but here is from my facebook wall on my 35th birthday July 29th, 2010

Normally my facebook wall is locked so people can't write on it. However, for 1 day only, in about 8 hours, I will open my wall for anyone who wants to say hi...
July 28 at 6:09pm
Joan Diane Brooks, Barry Chiles, Wendy Hicks and 6 others like this.
Timothy Lee Helton Gee thanks, what a guy!! Someone is a little full of themselves!!
July 28 at 6:19pm
Brooke Lindsay Willmarth Hey Buddy. HI
July 28 at 6:20pm
Aaron Syrmopoulos ‎@Brooke HI!!!
@Timothy It's not that I think highly of myself, it's that I am a control freak and don't like people posting links or other nonsense on my wall. I am opening it up tomorrow because it is what many consider a milestone.
July 28 at 6:36pm
Ale Airoldi I want only to wish you a great birthday! (in Italy is already 29!)
July 28 at 6:40pm
Randy Dunn Wait, your wall is locked? I had no idea!!! Lol
July 28 at 6:46pm
Aaron Syrmopoulos ‎@Ale Thank you.
@Randy It's to keep trouble making hoodlums like you from posting hacker links on my wall.
July 28 at 6:48pm
Mario Yap hello Aaron, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! wish u all the best
July 28 at 7:47pm
Sissy Cook Dorman Can't wait!! {Evil Grin} I know this youtube link a great leader sent me, it should say it all!!! :0)
July 28 at 7:55pm
Adietya Arie happy birthday agent Aaron
July 28 at 9:13pm
Diane Kaste I know your b'day doesn't officially begin for a few more hours.. I wanted to be one of the first to wish you a happy day.
July 28 at 9:18pm
Ronald Jr Masteller Happy Birthday!
July 28 at 11:07pm
KellyLee Eagan Lucas Have a happy birthday boss!
July 28 at 11:19pm
Jim Cooke happy b-day.enjoy and be safe.
July 28 at 11:36pm
Jamshed Kazi Happy Birthday Aaron...have a nice and enjoyable day!!!
July 28 at 11:45pm
Raja Kadri Jamshed- how are you man? where are you these days?
July 29 at 12:56am
Sean P Price Well then let me say hi. I hope your having an incredibly great day. Happy hunting
July 29 at 1:21am
Wendy Hicks Happy birthday from UK
July 29 at 1:32am
Sean P Price Oh, and just so I dont miss out on the chance to say it! Have a Happy Birthday as well. I hope its a great one!!!
July 29 at 1:36am
Poypi Luse happy birthday :)
July 29 at 2:27am
Barry Chiles Aaron, have a good one mate, happy birthday :-D
July 29 at 4:20am
Preman Jakarta happy bdays? wish u all the best in life?...
July 29 at 5:18am
Neal Holland Happy Birthday have a good one!!!
July 29 at 10:17am
Pat Lais HBD Agent Aaron.
July 29 at 11:32am
Patricia Horn Have a very happy birthday!
July 29 at 12:59pm
Laura Elshaw Hi and Happy Birthday xx You stick to your principals hunny and open when and only when you want, just makes saying hello to you all the more special xxxxxxxx
July 29 at 2:37pm
Joan Diane Brooks Ok but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOSS!!!
July 29 at 3:05pm
Marilyn Sissy McCarley Arnold HAPPY B'DAY BOSS, WE LOVE YOU, YOUR [FBI] FAMILY
July 29 at 4:03pm
Jeff Ellis Aaron, happy belated birthday...I wasn't on when it happened but i always thought highly of u when i was a member of the FBI before i left on my on will...I hope you had a good day and a good year.
September 13 at 7:38pm

Aaron Syrmopoulos Thank you all so much for your kind birthday wishes. As my Godfather used to tell me when I was young, congratulations on another trip around the sun. My facebook wall will once again be restricted to post by me alone...
July 30 at 2:08am
Maria Elitis likes this.
Tigre Staneslow been so busy didn't notice .... Happy late Birthday wishes ... hope all your wishes are coming true.
July 30 at 2:37am
Cheryl Heller Hope u had a good one!! Enjoy!!
July 30 at 6:08am
Thu Nguyen Bummer! But I can still comment to your post...hmmm....maybe more of those cheesy heart/smiley quote.
July 30 at 7:18am
Lucas Lovecchio happy d-day buddy..hope you had a great day..!
July 30 at 7:54am
Victoria Waller What? thats ridiculous I didnt know that you had changed the settings so I could wish you a happy birthday! NOT FAIR!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!
July 30 at 8:04am
Jin Ueno Happy Birthday Old man!
July 30 at 1:36pm

Theodore S Syrmos

2009-01-20T14:17:00.003-05:00

Theodore S. Syrmos, 88, of Portsmouth died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009.

Born June 5, 1920, in Somersworth and raised in Lowell, Mass., he was the son of the late Stavros Dimitri Syrmopoulos and Antonia (Happas) Syrmopoulos.

Mr. Syrmos graduated from Lowell High School, class of 1939. He attended and graduated from Burdett College and Suffolk University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corp during World War II in the European Theater.

He was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Alice G. (Scliris) Syrmos, and his brother, Demosthenes S. Syrmopoulos of Cohasset, Mass.

Survivors include his son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Julie Syrmopoulos of Tempe, Az.; his daughter, Toni Syrmopoulos and her partner John Herrmann of Merrimack; two sisters, Georgia Soteropoulos of Athens, Greece, and Fotine Syrmopoulos of Kingston, Mass; six grandchildren, Aaron, Jason, Alisha, Katelyn, Benjamin and Derek; four great-grandchildren, Isaiah, Nathaniel, Damon and Aja; and several nieces and nephews and their children.

WE REMEMBER: Ted was a member of the American Legion and received an Auxiliary for Americanism in Action recognition award from VFW Post #168. He was active in the Alpha Epsilon Phi fraternity, a scholastic society of college graduates of Hellenic-American ancestry. He was a member of the American Hellenic Educational Association since 1952 and served as president of the Portsmouth Chapter 215. He also served as president of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church parish council. Ted joined the Portsmouth Lions Club in 1956 and was an active member for many years. He was the first Lions Club member ever to be elected president for two consecutive terms from 1964 through 1966. He was recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellow Award for dedicated humanitarian services from Lions Clubs International Foundation, awarded in recognition of his ongoing commitment to the global community, and in 1988 Ted received the Lion of the Year Award for outstanding service, loyalty and devotion to Lionism. Ted served with distinction in the Grand People Project in the Portsmouth school system beginning in 1984, working on the Advisory Council for Retired Senior Volunteers Program. In this capacity he assisted in teaching math to fourth-graders at the New Franklin School in Portsmouth for 16 years.

As a former businessman, he owned and operated Ted's Coffee Shop on Congress Street for nine years until 1961. He then joined the Prudential Insurance Company of America in July of 1961 and served as the division manager of Prudential's Dover Ordinary Agency. He was the proud recipient of the Prudential Academy of Honor Award and was also a member of the National Academy of Life Underwriters. Ted retired from Prudential in 1982 after 21 years of service.

Charles P Gaffney Jr

2009-01-20T14:00:00.006-05:00

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Corporal Charles P. Gaffney Jr., 42, of Phoenix, Arizona, died December 24, 2008, in Paktika, Afghanistan, when his combat outpost received enemy rocket fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Before Corporal Charles P. Gaffney Jr. was a soldier bravely holding the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was a Tucsonan who loved riding his motorcycle up and down the Catalina Highway.

He was a mechanic at several Midtown auto shops.

He was a doting father to twin 4-year-old girls.

And he was a man who believed in fighting the good fight, making the world a safer place and helping the oppressed.

It's why the highly decorated soldier signed up again a few years ago, after an earlier tour in Iraq. He was then sent to Afghanistan, where enemy fire took his life on Christmas Eve.

The 42-year-old infantryman was in Paktika, Afghanistan, when his combat outpost came under enemy rocket fire, according to the Department of Defense press release on the attack.

Gaffney was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

He is the 38th service member with ties to Tucson and Southern Arizona to be claimed by the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gaffney was the seventh service member to be killed in 2008.

Gaffney and his family moved to Tucson in the late '70s, his father said Wednesday. Gaffney joined the Army in the mid-'80s. He served about six years, spending most of that time in Germany, and then returned to Tucson. He worked at several auto shops along Speedway that have since closed, his father said, and he moved to Las Vegas after a while and worked for a Porsche dealership there.

Meanwhile, his parents moved to Phoenix and Gaffney moved there, too, several years ago. That's when he decided he needed to serve his country again, Charles P. Gaffney Sr. said.

"I won't say I was upset he was going back, but I didn't want him to," his father said. "He told me it was for people's rights around the world, for them to say what they want to say without other people beating them down. And he said he never wanted anyone to come here to the United States and tell his daughters that they had to do things a certain way.
"And then I couldn't argue with him."

Gaffney went to Iraq in 2006-07 and was part of security forces outside Baghdad, his father said. He joined up again and was sent to Afghanistan in October.

"He said, 'I'm going back again.' He said, 'It has to be taken care of.'"

Hank Savko, a family friend, also remembers the younger man talking about his resolve.

"He had said, 'I'm not doing it for myself. I'm doing it for the women of Afghanistan.' We kind of looked at him and said, 'Why?' He said the women of Afghanistan are so mistreated, they're not really people like we are in this country. He said, 'I'm doing it for them.'"

Gaffney earned numerous accolades for his service, including the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and two Global War on Terrorism Service Medals. He also was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, his father said, for his recent service.

Demosthenes G Kyreages

2009-01-20T04:46:00.000-05:00

Demosthenes G. Kyreages, 88, formerly of Fairview Avenue, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2008, at the Durgin Pines Nursing Home in Kittery, Maine.

Demo was born on June 9, 1920, in Dover, the son of late George and late Anna (Vitsoulis) Kyreages. He owned and operated Demo's barbershop in Dover. He loved his customers and was a kind gentleman.

He is survived by his brothers, Charles Kyreages and his wife, Nellie, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Clarence and his wife, Phyllis, of Dover, Paul and his wife, Doris, of Dover and Elias and his wife, Janet, of York Harbor, Maine; his sister, Angeline Edmunds of New Mexico; and several loving nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Anna, and his sister, Ethel Switzer.

More partial results are in...

2008-09-13T04:15:00.004-04:00

More results are in and they are kind of ambivalent. My MBE score is in and I got a 128.3 the low score was a 103.0 and the high was 182.9. According to my calculations that puts me in the 31.6th percentile, on average over the past 8 years you need to be in the 30.2nd percentile to pass (so far so good). When I took the bar the first time I got a 119.7 which put me in the 24.3rd percentile.

So I guess it will all come down to how I did on the essay portion of the bar. Keep your fingers crossed and pray for me. As a side note, I got my first jury duty summons in 15 years, I guess that's what I get for reregistering to vote. Also if you look at my profile you will see that my occupation is no longer listed as an Attorney. I actually got a letter from the Arizona Supreme Court informing me they saw my profile on blogger.com and requested I correct the information.

OK partial results are in...

2008-09-08T15:46:00.011-04:00

I got an email about an hour ago informing me that my MPRE score report is available, the minimum score requirement for Arizona is 85 scaled. When I took it 7 months ago, a week after my first AZ Bar Exam attempt, I got a 66 (I also didn't pass the Bar Exam)...

In case you can't read the fine print I scored a 109, which is above the average (100) and is WELL above passing. I'm hoping that the foregoing is a foreshadowing of things to come over the next month or so. We shall see...

Fantasy Football Lineup

2008-09-01T11:13:00.004-04:00

Alright we've had the draft and here is the lineup of my $$$ leauge (DFFL)...

Starters
QB: J Kitna DET
RB: A Peterson MIN
RB: W Parker PIT
WR: R Moss NE
WR: P Burress NYG
WR: G Jennings GB
TE: T Heap BAL
K: M Crosby GB
DEF: Denver Broncos

Bench
QB: J Russell OAK
RB: L White TEN
RB: R Mendenhall PIT
RB: A Peterson CHI
WR: A Toomer NYG
WR: S Smith NYG
WR: D Driver GB
WR: J Jones GB
WR: M Clayton BAL
TE: B Watson NE
K: M Stover BAL

...and here is the lineup in my free fun league (Madden 2099).

Starters
QB: J Kitna DET
RB: C Portis WAS
RB: E James AZ
W/R: S Young DEN
WR: T Owens DAL
WR: G Jennings GB
WR: D Mason BAL
TE: J Shockey NO
K: M Crosby GB
DEF: Philadelphia Eagles

Bench
QB: V Young TEN
RB: L White TEN
RB: C Johnson TEN
RB: A Peterson CHI
WR: J Walker OAK
WR: R Curry OAK
WR: I Hilliard TB
WR: M Muhammad CAR
WR: M Clayton BAL
TE: K Boss NYG

As you can see there is a little bit of crossover between my 2 teams, 6 of the 20 players are the same on both teams. It would have been 20 of 20 if I had my way, but I guess other people like the players I've picked too. I have a couple other teams but they don't mean as much to me as these 2 do. This is my 4th year in the DFFL and my brother and 2 good friends are in my free league. Here's to a great fantasy football season.

Letters from TJ Whosyourmama...

2008-08-25T14:33:00.006-04:00

Well I'm here in Holland visiting my grandmother. I spent last week in NH with my Papou(grandfather). I think this post can be filled in with excerpts from emails I have sent home while I've been gone. The title of this post is a reference to the fact that the greatest time of year is here...
FANTASY FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

Aaron Syrmopoulos to riemke Aug 22 (4 days ago)

Had a great time in A'dam yesterday. I walked probably 10K starting at Centraal Station and ending up in Leidesplein the long way. I made it to Naarden-Bussum at about 5:15PM, just a couple minutes after Renee left the station since I had told her I would be there by 5PM. Thankfully her mothering instincts made her send Eduard back up there a little after 6:30PM, which was about 2-3 minutes after I woke up from a very nice nap on the waiting bench outside the station. The timing couldn't have been better, and Eduard had a good time razzing me about showing up without a phone number or address. I told him I knew I could count on them and didn't even think about it. Last night I was in bed by 8:30PM and slept till almost 11AM today.

You will be pleased to know that I showed up with flowers and we had a very nice dinner here. I think we will be going to dinner at Jan en Aleman on the night of the 26th and I will do my best to get Wim to let me, let you pay for dinner. You won't believe what I found in Renee and Eduard's living room... my sabre. Apparently you brought it over figuring that I would be more likely to find it here. I will take it with me to grandma's and make a trip to UPS or the post office one of our outings. It will also give me a chance to let her know how much having it means to me.

Aaron Syrmopoulos to riemke Aug 23 (2 days ago)

Hey Mom-

Just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know I have made it to the B&B and have gone to see Grandma. She looks a lot better than I expected. I got to her place about 3ish and we went to the E10 Hoeve for dinner. I left her place shortly before 8ish. We discussed plans to have David visit tomorrow and the Spaklers on Monday and she seemed just fine with the plans, although she had trouble remembering David even after I showed her a picture. I'm sure she'll remember when she sees him though.

I also showed up at grandma's with a bouquet of flowers from Renee's garden. You will be happy to know I get the same kind of treatment here that Merel gets when she comes to see you.

I thought I got the day off to a bad start when as I was backing out of R&E's driveway I backed into a post. I got out and was worried that I had made a HUGE mistake. Renee on the other hand didn't even bat an eye, she just looked at me and said "What do you think, that you're the first person to do this? Don't forget I have a son named Hidde." I guess she wasn't that worried about a car with over 250K on it.

Anyways I'm off to bed soon (it's 9:30 right now). Not too sure if I'm crazy about the "farm fresh" smell around here, but I probably won't even notice by the time I leave.

Thanks again for helping make this visit possible,
Aaron

Aaron Syrmopoulos to sparknotes 11:30 AM (25 minutes ago)

Hey Aunt Toni-

It seems like when ever I come over here I have some kind of revelation about my dad. This time it an insight into our relationship. I've decided that while it's no longer his responsibility to teach me, it's still my task to learn from him, and not the other way around. The only person I need to worry about learning life lessons is me...

Love you,
Aaron

Aaron Syrmopoulos to riemke
show details 11:50 AM (6 minutes ago)

Hey Ma-

Had a great day with Gma today. I went over to her place around 1130 and the Spaklers had just arrived. We went for lunch the same place that Gma and I went to dinner with David(soft A) the night before. As per your instructions I paid for lunch today using your credit card, At first Hein tried to pay, but when I told him I was under strict instructions he understood. It was great to see the Spaklers and get a chance to express my appreciation for everything they do for Gma.

I am back at my room now and seem to be the only person staying here since it is a Monday night. Tomorrow I am heading back up to Naarden to drop of Merel's car and thank Renee & Eduard for all their help. I think tomorrow night I am going to get a room near Dam Square and have one last night of revelry. I hope you have a wonderful time up in the great NW, and can't wait to see you when you get home.

Love you,
Aaron

____________________________________________________________

OK that's about it for now. I'll try to remeber to post the roster for my $$$ league after our draft at 3AM Amsterdam time. Just ask Captain Rubber Legs he'll tell you I know what time it is in Darwin Australia.

The bar exam is over...

2008-08-14T15:22:00.006-04:00

...now for the important stuff, me and Dave fishing.The bar exam is done and over with. Now I get to spend the next couple months waiting for the results. How nerve wracking can you get?

In the mean time I have been fortunate enough to have both of my living grandparents buy me plane tickets to come see them. There is a high likelihood that this may be the last time I get to see either of them.

They are both on their last legs in their 80's and I am so deep in debt with my student loans that once I start working to pay them off I probably won't come up for air till next decade.

I must enjoy what I have while I have it. I am blessed in so many ways. I extend my thanks to everyone who has shown me their love an support on my journey.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

2008-06-05T20:57:00.005-04:00

OK I know the post have been few and far between for a while. I'l try to do something about that. I don't think I'll spend too much time catching the blog up to speed. My 100th post was the one below of me in front of my bike, it was taken by Mr Dimmick when I stopped to visit on my way from Portsmouth, NH to Santa Cruz, CA. I made a few really good stops along the way. Time well spent...

I am currently studying to take the AZ bar exam a second time (see below). I am getting a lot of help from and attorney here in Tucson. His name is Eric Ollason and he has given me use of an office in the downtown area. It's a great place to study, and has all the amenities of a studio apartment, but since it's downtown parking ain't cheap...

In order to cut back on expenses I have taken to riding my bike or my motorcycle to the office. When I get there I slip off the boots and leather jacket and put on a comfortable pair of shoes. It reminds me of Mr Rogers with his cardigan and house shoes. It struck me as funny...

FYI: My blog's 3 year anniversary is in 2 days (103 posts)

FYMF... ...ASMD

2008-05-09T23:17:00.003-04:00

Sorry sir your name isn't on the list...you can look if you'd like

Still just catch and release...

2008-04-22T23:05:00.004-04:00

The Century Mark!!!

2008-02-14T21:44:00.001-05:00

Deflated but NOT Defeated

2007-07-17T00:32:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately due to a miscommunication the Arizona Bar Committee on Examinations did not receive my evidence of graduation. As a result I am not eligible to sit for the July 24-25 Arizona Bar Examination. I will still be taking the MPRE Aug 10 and will be able to register for the Feb 26-27 Bar Exam shortly thereafter. As I ultimately should have done in the first place I will ensure that my file and application are complete this time around...

This among other things has thrown me for a bit of a loop. However, I continue on undaunted. I will use the intervening time to my advantage by finding gainful and applicable employment. Doing so will put me in a more stable position from which to look for career employment. If done properly I may find that working in the legal profession in any capacity may lead to the aforementioned employment opportunities. It will also keep me from having to worry about defaulting on those mortgage size student loans...

The best bet is to always roll with the punches. So for now I end this 99th post and leave you to read the other 98 below...

It's been the same way for years...

2007-05-27T06:51:00.001-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO ME!!!!!!!

2007-05-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

That's right, I am now know as...

Aaron Theodore Syrmopoulos Esq. J.D.

Spring Break was fun...

2007-04-19T03:11:00.003-04:00

Worthy of note...

2007-04-06T06:55:00.000-04:00

BE IT KNOWN ON THIS DAY IN THE YEAR 1980 WE WERE FIRST GRACED BY THE PRESENCE OF ALISHA MARIE SYRMOPOULOS. MOTHER OF ISAIAH, DAUGHTER OF STEVE&DIANE, GRANDDAUGHTER OF TED&ALICE AND FRANK&MARCY, SISTER OF AARON AND JASON. LOVED BY MANY ADMIRED BY ALL. MAY YOU EXPERIENCE ALL THE JOY THAT YOU SO RICHLY DESERVE IN LIFE.

I know some people have been wondering why there have been no recent posts. Well, frankly I'm on vacation here people. Yes I do have some good stories, ask me in person sometime...

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. You gotta know when to walk away, know when to run. Some things are better kept close to the vest...

THIS GETS ALL BOLD AND CAPS. I RECENTLY INCURRED A CHARGE FROM THE ARIZONA STATE SUPREME COURT. IT WAS A CHARGE I WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO GET. IT WAS THE $695 FEE TO SIT FOR THE ARIZONA BAR EXAM. IT IS NOW OFFICIAL...

Don't expect to hear from me till mid-August. The real celebration won't come till mid-October when I get those passing results. So to answer Blum's incessant question, "No but my application has been accepted"...

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, step right up this may be the one...

RIP Kitty aka You Fat Bastard

2007-03-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

199?-2007 You will be missed...

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib on HBO

2007-02-23T01:56:00.000-05:00

I don't have a lot to say I just wanted to encourage people to watch an HBO documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. I caught a few seconds of it earlier this evening but it was on mute while I was otherwise occupied. I didn't really see enough to catch what they were saying. Well HBO being what it is replayed the show 3 hours later when I was actually watching...

I spent the first 20 minutes saying to myself "These pansy-assed-bleeding-heart liberals don't understand that war is ugly. Like Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men "YOU WANT THE TRUTH??? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!"...

I spent the next hour questioning my stance on the issue. Just because something is done in the name of freedom and justice does't make it right. We must all take responsibility for our actions. All I can do is live the life of a just man and encourage other to do the same by example...

Fuck Hosni Mubarak (That's right I said it)...

2007-02-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

Any leader who allows this kind of stuff is a punk-ass-bitch...

Up and Coming...

2007-02-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to boast a bit. I recently got my grades back from last semester and earned a 3.0. Today they released our class rankings. For the first time, since my first year here, I am NOT in the bottom 10% of my class...

It's not Summa Cum Laude but it was my best semester so far and I'm in freakin' law school for goodness sakes...

Holding January

2007-01-31T22:24:00.000-05:00

OK I think my last meaningful post was some time back in October so I just need to get this out of the way. This may be my worst post ever but it's just to catch up. Like Spencer said "just let it go man..."

I spent Thanksgiving in Milwaukee, WI with Rob and Ashley. They are doing well and as always it was great to see them. Rob is almost half way through med school and Ashley is back in school. Most importantly they are happy together...

I went back to AZ for winter break, which was only 13 days long. I got to see my grandma on my mom's side and my papou(grandpa) on my dad's side. Even though they both live thousands of miles away from AZ they were both there at the same time...

After break I came back to NY for a 10 day Trial Techniques class. Having break cut short was no fun but the class was worth it. Then it was straight into the Spring Semester, but not before getting my grades back from last semester. I got a 3.0 which was my best semester to date...

Which brings me to where I am now which is in the midst of my last semster of law school. I can't believe it's finally here. Now comes the scary part, getting back into the real world...

The Jack Bauer List

2006-12-03T00:20:00.000-05:00

If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.

In chess, Jack Bauer can checkmate you in 1 move.

When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack Bauer found it and put it back.

If everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12".

Jack Bauer removed the "Escape" button from his keyboard. Jack Bauer never needs to escape.

Jack Bauer makes onions cry.

Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.

Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.

Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer arm once wrestled Superman. The stipulations were the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside of his pants.

Don't ask what Jack Bauer would do for a Klondike bar...

Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.

Jack Bauer's gun is actually a water pistol, but the water shoots out in the form of bullets. Why? Because the gun is being held by Jack fucking Bauer.

If you get 7 stars on your wanted level on Grand Theft Auto, Jack Bauer comes after you. You don't want to get 7 stars.

If Jack says "I just want to talk to him/her" and that him/her is you... well amigo, you're fucked.

1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.

Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.

Jack Bauer does not sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he's knocked out or temporarily killed.

When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.

Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.

While being 'put under' in the hospital, Jack Bauer can count backwards from 100 every time. This annoys the doctors.

David Spade always says 'yes' to Jack Bauer when he wants to redeem his credit card miles.

Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.

Jack Bauer has no problem following orders, unless you tell him to do something he doesn't want to.

Everytime Jack Bauer yells "NOW!" at the end of a sentence, a terrorist dies.

As a child, Jack Bauer's first words were "There's no time!"

Jack Bauer isn't hiding from the world, the world is hiding from Jack Bauer.

Children don't believe in Santa anymore because they know Jack Bauer killed him. The few people that believe in Santa know that Jack Bauer is torturing him.

If Jack Bauer had been on Oceanic 815 there would no Lost.

Jack Bauer can sneeze with his eyes open.

Guns dont kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.

Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.

Jack Bauer shouldn't be compared to Jesus. Jack rose from the dead not once, but twice.

When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer fucking hates lemonade.

Jack Bauers calender goes from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Jack Bauer.

Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef. Then it's fucking beef.

Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.

Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.

Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.

Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.

Jack Bauer once double teamed a girl.. by himself.

When Jack Bauer was a child, he made his mother finish his vegetables.

If Rosa Parks was in Jack Bauer's seat, she'd move to the back of the bus.

Jack Bauer won the Tour de France on a unicycle to prove to Lance Armstrong it wasn't a big deal. He thinks yellow wristbands are gay.

Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better fucking do it.

Your attraction to Jack Bauer in no way affects your sexual orientation.

If you can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.

There are no such thing as lesbians, just women who never met Jack Bauer.

When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.

Jesus died and rose from the dead in 3 days. It took Jack Bauer less than an hour. And he's done it twice.

When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer has been to Mars. Thats why theres no life on Mars.

It would only take 1 bullet for Jack Bauer to kill 50 Cent.

If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.

People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.

If you spell Jack Bauer in a Scrabble game, you win. Forever.

"Jack Bauer" is Arabic for "I'm fucked".

What color is Jack Bauer's blood? Trick question. Jack Bauer does not bleed.

Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're fucking dead."

If Jack Bauer was gay, his name would be Chuck Norris.

The bumper sticker on Jesus' car reads, "WWJBD?"

You walk into a bar and Jack Bauer's your wingman, you're gonna get laid.

Strippers tip Jack Bauer.

When President Palmer quit to start doing Allstate commercials, it took him 43 takes before he could stop saying, "You're in good hands with Jack Bauer".

Men are ok with their wives fantasizing about Jack Bauer during sex; because they are doing the same thing.

Finding Nemo would have been vastly more exciting had Jack Bauer been looking for him.

Due to Jack Bauer, no one looks forward to the weekend anymore, they look forward to the weekend being over, and watching 24 on Monday.

It is a known fact that when Time magazine awards "The Man of Year*", there is fine print on the bottom of the cover that says, " *besides Jack Bauer."

When Jack Bauer goes to the airport and the metal detector doesn't go off, security gives him a gun.

Jack Bauer once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.

The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times. They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street. No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.

Passed out, surrounded by terrorists and nerve gas, and handcuffed to a table leg, Jack Bauer laughed to himself and said, "I have them right where I want them."

Jack Bauer set an ordinary flash memory card to self-destruct. Don't ask how he did it, he's fucking Jack Bauer.

In order to control illegal immigration in the United States, the president installed cardboard cutouts of Jack Bauer along the US/Mexico border.

Jack doesn't believe in Murphy's Law, only Bauer's Law: "Whatever CAN go wrong, WILL be resolved in a period of 24 hours."

Jack Bauer once went into a bar, and asked for a 'Jack Bauer'. He received three shots of Jack Daniel's, a shot of kerosene and four shots of tequila mixed. When seeing this, another man approached the bar and asked for a Jack Bauer. He got a 9mm round to the face.

The truth may hurt, but it doesn't hurt as much as Jack Bauer.

The state of California plans to reduce violent crime by changing the method of capital punishment from lethal injection to Jack Bauer.

Never use the phrase, "I feel half dead," around Jack Bauer; he never leaves a job unfinished.

Jack would never have given up the wet list... no one takes potential kills away from Jack Bauer.

Chase Edmunds waited until he was sure Jack Bauer was dead before he dumped Kim.

Jack Bauer doesn't speak any foreign languages, but he can make any foreigner speak English in a matter of minutes.

Quetin Tarantino was asked to direct a biography about Jack Bauer. He passed. It was too violent.

In the 18 months where Jack Bauer was presumed dead, Tony Almeida was put in a coma, Michelle and David Palmer were killed, a major hurricane raveged the Gulf Coast, and Rob Schneider made another movie. See what happens when Bauer isn't around?

Jack Bauer teaches a course at Harvard entitled: "Time Management: Making the Most Out Of Each Day."

Don't beg Jack Bauer to shoot you. He will simply shoot your wife. No man tells Jack Bauer what to do.

Jack Bauer can leave a message before the beep.

During the commercials, Jack Bauer calls the CSI detectives and solves their crimes.

If Jack Bauer saw a terrorist reaching for a bomb to blow himself up, Jack would shoot the bomb first. Nobody steals a kill from Jack Bauer.

My parents told my little brother and I that Jack Bauer was "just a television character". We are now orphans.

If Jack Bauer shot you while quail hunting, it wouldn't be an accident.

If Jack Bauer misspells a word, your dictionary is wrong.

All men are created equal. They are all vastly inferior to Jack Bauer.

One human life lost is too many...

2006-11-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

The US loses 195 American lives every 3 months in Iraq. During that same time frame (3 months) 45,000 Allied soldiers were killed in the Battle of Normandy (started on D-Day)...

Feeling Human Again...

2006-10-19T01:16:00.000-04:00

Not much to say. Feeling better now that I have turned in my first draft of one of the two 20 page papers I have to write this semester. I am going to New Hampshire next week to visit my Papou...

I have been on a Madonna kick lately, enjoying dance music. I'm enjoying the hell out of another fantasy football season. My DFFL team is 1-5 and my HLLS team is 3-2. In order to avoid redundancy I'm just going to update the rosters for the teams in the posts below...

Ol' Dirty Bastards...

2006-09-23T14:52:00.000-04:00

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...

AZ for a Minute and Heading Back East...

2006-09-11T20:02:00.000-04:00

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...

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

2006-09-10T04:25:00.000-04:00

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...This was the best damn cup of coffee I have ever had...

Eli and I have been hangin' out for 31+ years now...

Candygram... Pizza Guy... Mailman... Landshark!!!

Santa Cruz looks almost the same as it did 14 month ago...

My attempt at putting together one of my panoramic shots...

Heather, Usman, Rob and Me in the Convention Hall...

District XXIX at the 56th Biennial PAD Convention...

On the next episode of Blog of the Rising Syrmo AZ for a Minute and Heading Back East...

Maui Bro... aka Rob and Ashley's Wedding

2006-08-31T19:59:00.000-04:00

I know I promised to post every other day or so, but same old same old is that I've been so busy I haven't had the time. Well here I am at the end of the first week of my last year in law school, and I have a few moments so I thought I'd post...

After flying back from New England I spent a few days in Arizona. Only a few days though because it was off to Hawaii for Rob and Ashley's wedding. My flight from Phoenix to Maui was delayed by 7 hours. The flight itself was only 5 1/2 hours. Amazingly everyone maintained a positive disposition. Maybe because we all knew at the end of the flight we would be in Paradise...

Being a poor student I did my trip on the cheap. I stayed at a hostel instead of a hotel or a condo(like some of my working friends did). I rented the cheapest car I could and relied on the kindness of others. I think in the 10 days I was there I only slept at the hostel 3-4 times. I used it mainly as a place to leave my clothes and a place to crash if I felt like I was imposing on anyone...

It was so much fun hanging out with some of my closest friends and almost all of my college buddies. We took over bars and shut places down just like we used to do back in the day. I spent lots of time exploring the island and the beaches. On the second day I was there I went on a snorkeling trip as a guest of a friend's friend. Long story short $185 trip for a $20 tip, like I said a poor student...

One of the most exciting things I did while I was in Maui was go to the top of Haleakala. It is what is left of the volcano that formed the island. It stands over 10,000 ft tall. The drive takes about 2 hours from the base(sea level) to the top(2 miles high). It is a little disconcerting when you are driving along and look over the edge of the mountain to see the clouds below...

I went to the top of Haleakala 3 times. The first was to watch what I had been told was one of the most beautiful sunsets I would ever see. It was beautiful but I didn't listen to the advice I was given and went up there wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It was a little hard to enjoy the sunset when it was 50° outside. So I revised the wardrobe and went up a second time to watch the sunset again, then went up the following morning to see it come up on the other side...

The wedding itself was a blast!!! Everything from the rehearsal dinner to the ceremony and reception was absolutely perfect. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I will just cut this short and post a bunch of pictures...This is what it looks like when we take over a bar...

Ashley gets in on the takeover...

Rob, Blum, Tommy, Chunky, Me, and Rob's Dad at the rehearsal...

The wedding party...

More of the wedding party...

Rob's family...

Rob's sister and nephew...

Rob and Ashley's families...

Ashley's family and friend's families...

Abe and Dorrie and others...

Aaron and Caroline and others...

Uncle Robot(he'll have his own soon enough)...

Tom Selleck eat your heart out...

All I could think of was Old School...

Always the groomsman never the groom...

The reason we were all there...

The entire wedding party...

C'mon admit it you're a little intimidated...

Isn't it romantic...

Lookin' sharp at the reception...

Me, Tommy, and Blum looking good...

My first sunset from the top of Haleakala...

Watching it go down on one side...

And come back up on the other side...

Early morning and thin air, a great combination...

Jaws Fish Tacos really were the best in Maui...

I finally found out where all those annoying people come from...

The best picture I took and my current desktop...

On the next episode of Blog of the Rising Syrmo Goin' Back to Cali & Deep in the Heart of Texas...

Saying goodbye...

2006-08-17T02:26:00.000-04:00

Alright this first post will be kinda short, but I need to put something up to get back in the swing of things. I think the most logical way to approach this is chronologically...

My last real post was of my Yiayia's obituary. She made it through her 85th birthday and passed away about 20 hours after I made it back to see her again. As sad as I was to lose her I was glad that she went with her dignity. She passed at home with family...

As is my habit I try to take as much positive away from an experience as possible. It was so good to see my brother and sister, it had been far too long. We spent much of our time together reminiscing about the good times we've had and making plans for the good times to come...This is a picture of me clapping with glee at the prospect that my Yiayia was making Koulourakia(Greek cookies)...

This is my Jail-House pose. There are at least a dozen photos of me out there somewhere in this classic pose. My Aunt Toni thought it was funny......told you there were more of them.

This last one is a semi-recreation of a picture that has been taken a couple times before. If my Aunt Toni ever gets around to scanning the other 2 pics I'll post those too. As much as things change over the years, there is nothing new under the sun...Thanks Aunt Toni for the above pics. I guess all it took was a little bit of public harrasment...

On the next episode of Blog of the Rising Syrmo Maui Bro...

40 days and 40 nights...

2006-08-15T01:00:00.000-04:00

It has been 40 days since my Yiayia passed away. I thank you all for your kind words and your patience with my lack of new posts here. Especially in light of my hectic schedule over the past month...

Over the next week or so I will post stories and photos of most of the stuff I have done recently. Locations, people, and events include: New England, Arizona, Hawaii, California, Texas, friends, family, lovers, weddings, birthdays, conventions, and much more...

There should be at least a few interesting things in there. I will try to do a post at least every other day until I catch up. Later this week I will head back to the east coast. Those of you who know me well know that the impending event I am most excited about is my fantasy football draft Monday August 21 9PM EDT...

Oh ya, I guess I'm also a little bit excited about starting my final year of law school...

2006-07-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

Alice G. (Scliris) Syrmos
July 4, 1921 - July 5, 2006
(From your mouth to God’s ear...)

Alice G. (Scliris) Syrmos, 85, a native of Portsmouth, died at her home on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 with her family at her side. She was born on July 4, 1921, in Portsmouth, the daughter of the late George and Katherine (Giftakis) Scliris. Alice received her education at Portsmouth High School, Class of 1939 and then graduated from Wilfred Academy in Boston, and went on to open her own beauty salon, Alice’s Beauty Shoppe.

She was an active member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church all of her life and was past president of the Philoptochos Society. Alice joined the choir when she was eight years old and directed the choir for many years. For her dedication and outstanding service in the Church, she received the “Laity Award” from the Metropolitan on behalf of the New England Diocese.

Alice also received a Gubernatorial Commendation for volunteer work that she did for the Rockingham County Knitting Program where she participated in crocheting afghans for the homeless and babies with AIDS. She was a member of RSVP.

She is survived by her loving husband of fifty-five years, Theodore Syrmos of Portsmouth; a brother and sister-in-law, Cmdr. Louis G. Scliris, USN, Ret. and Electra Scliris of New York; a son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Julie Syrmopoulos of Tempe, AZ; daughter, Toni Syrmopoulos of Stratham; six grandchildren, Aaron Syrmopoulos of Arizona and New York City, Jason Syrmopoulos and Alisha Syrmopoulos of Winona, Minnesota, Katelyn Hardy and Benjamin Hardy of Stratham, NH and Derek White of Tempe, AZ; three great-grandchildren, Isaiah Syrmopoulos of Winona, Minnesota, Nathaniel Hruby of Friendship, Wisconsin, and Damon Syrmopoulos of Winona, Minnesota; several nieces and nephews and their children.

Alice was predeceased by her two sisters, Theodora G. Natcho and Anastasia Kyreages.

Services: Visiting hours will be held from 6-8PM on Sunday, at the J. Verne Wood Funeral Home - Buckminster Chapel, 84 Broad Street, Portsmouth with Wake Services by Fr. Angelo Pappas at 7:30PM, followed by a brief family eulogy service. Friends invited. Funeral services will be held at 11:00AM on Monday at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 40 Andrew Jarvis Drive, Portsmouth. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Endowment Fund and/or Rockingham VNA & Hospice, 137 Epping Road, Exeter, NH 03833.

Are you listening to me???

2006-06-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I get the feeling people think I don't listen because I talk so much. I try to follow the maxim that you have 2 ears and 1 mouth, you should use them in proportion...

The other day, as I was rushing to get out the door at a specific time, I was told that the only flowers growing on a particular plant in the back yard were some pretty pink ones around the Buddha. I was listening...

Salsa Fresca(aka Light Your World on Fire)

2006-06-18T01:28:00.000-04:00

OK I've never done a post like this before, but since I took pictures and I love to make it. The last time I made it was at Captain Rubberlegs'(aka Dr Robot) place up in America's Dairyland for Sunday worship at the NFL altar. That day it was right next to the cheese-dip, both of which were just warm-ups for the beer soaked Brats...

2 Bunches Cilantro
3 Habañeras
3 Jalapeños
1 White Onion
4 Tomatoes

Everything Washed and Cleaned...

2 Bunches Chopped Cilantro...

3 Finely Chopped Habañeras...

3 Finely Chopped Jalapeños...

1 Diced White Onion...

3 Diced Tomatoes...

After Mixing and Adding a 4th Tomato...

Has it been a year already???

2006-06-15T16:53:00.000-04:00

Yes, believe it or not it has been just over a year since I started my blog. On average a post every 5 days and 3 pictures a week has been a work of love. I posted 78+ times(the plus is because some posts got merged), and have posted in 10 of the past 13 months. I have posted 129 pictures, and have tried to paint a few of them with my words. I've cried more than once while writing it, and shared some really good times...

A STRONG WORD OF ADVICE(given to me and then later by me): Leave any negativity, directed at individuals you actually know, out of your blog. It can be more hurtful than you know and there is always a good chance something like that will come back to bite you in the ass(life takes lots of funny turns). Burned bridges can be rebuilt, but published words tend to last a long time. Following this advice will also make your memories more pleasant when you read your blog to reminisce in the future...

I have used this blog for those purposes already, and hope to continue to do so. The actual 1 year anniversary fell on June 7th, just a few days before I left for Sydney, Australia. And as it turned out the only pictures I have left from there are the ones I posted on the blog. Nostalgia is just our way of fishing the past out of the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth...

I have been back in AZ for 1 week now and I've been so busy it feels like it's been a couple weeks already. The very first night I was back in town I got picked up at the airport by my friend Dave. We were hanging out playing golf on his PS2 when he asked me when we were going to go fishing. I suggested right then was as good a time as any, so we grabbed our fishing poles, went to the store to get some chicken livers, and walked to the neighborhood lake...

I caught 2 catfish and Dave caught nothing, which is exactly the opposite of how it usually goes with us. Dave took the first picture below with my camera phone, hence the poor quality. He also took the other picture of me with a catfish about 3 years ago one latenight at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. There aren't many things I enjoy more than some quiet time fishing...Latenight Urban Fishing, a nice way to come home...

We were doin' the same stuff 3 years ago...

This past Friday I met with the attorney I am working for this summer. My take was that we hit it off very well, hopefully I'm not too far off base. He is out of town this week, but he gave me some stuff to do while he is gone, and we will get together again next week when he gets back from canyoneering in Utah...

Also on Friday I got an email from Hofstra notifying me that I have been accepted into "The Prosecutors Role" a class where I will prosecute a criminal case from start to finish over the course of a semester. From what I understand it is the other side of what I did in the Criminal Justice Clinic as a public defender...

If you thought my Friday couldn't have gotten any better you'd be wrong. While I was talking on the phone with my dad, after I had talked to my Yiayia, I got a call from a young lady I had been waiting all week to hear from. She was calling to say that she would be free Saturday night...

I had a great weekend up in Phoenix. I went to lunch at Haji-Baba's with my old friend Jess. I also got to visit my good friend Spence and we watched the USA lose 0-3 to the Czech Republic in our World Cup opener. We are down, but not out...

Later I finally tracked down my good friend Jason. It was great to see him, it reminded me that the older we get the more we need the people who knew us when we were young. After visiting with Jason I stopped at "Fake-iberto's"(aka Super Burrito on Scottsdale just south of Thomas) for a Fish Burrito(it was after 1AM). To my delight I discovered they have installed a TV...

This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but I wish I had known it at 6AM Sunday morning so I could have watched the Netherlands game. My dad's house doesn't have cable TV and bars in AZ don't open till 10AM on Sundays. I made sure they watch La Copa Mundial(World Cup) and they are still open 24/7...

So as you can tell life is treating me well. This past couple weeks has been another case of when there is stuff to write about there is no time to write. The last picture below was taken by my mom. It's nothing special just a recent picture of me. My mom says it makes me look like a deer caught in the headlights, I think it's just my usual "I'm about to say something brilliant" look...A Good Lawyer Knows the Law, A Great Lawyer Knows the Judge...

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday...

2006-06-01T10:35:00.000-04:00

OK ladies and gents here it is. I am in New Hampshire to say goodbye to my Yiayia(grandmother). She has been diagnosed with Metastatic Bone Cancer and has been told she has somewhere between 1-6 months to live. Being here is not easy and it's really draining me...
My dad has picked up his life and transplanted himself up here from AZ. If it wasn't for him she would most likely have to go to a nursing home. Certainly not the kind of place I would want to spend my last days. I came up here to provide as much emotional and physical support as I can for the entire family...

I count my blessings that at age 30 this will only be the second time I have had to say goodbye to a grandparent. My mother's father passed away when I was 8 or 9 and I was to young to really understand. This is a lot harder, maybe in part because now I have a much better understanding of my own mortality...

I just want to cry, but it doesn't do any good. Right now the tears are welling up in my eyes and making it a little hard to see the screen. As in life though I must forge on because the only other option is to give up. Sometimes I do feel like giving up, I feel like there is no hope. No matter what we do in life it ends the same for all of us...

For a better part of my life I have wondered if I am dead inside because there really doesn't seem to be much that I really care about. Right now though I really do wish I was a little harder or a little more numb, because then maybe this wouldn't hurt so much. Then I look at my dad and I am having trouble understanding how he is not a blubbering mess. I don't want to do this any more it hurts too much. Life would be a lot easier if I really didn't care...

In addition to my grandmother dying my great-uncle Demo had a Stroke on Sunday night and has not been conscious since. I am immeasurably thankful that he came over to visit on Sunday since I hadn't seen him in several years. His 87th birthday is June 9th and his wife Aunt Anna(my Yiayia's sister) passed away 2 1/2 years ago. He has been one of the strongest most independent people you could ever want to meet...
I think the entire family is in agreement that if he would have to spend the rest of his life in an incapacitated state he would probably rather not have to go on. This raises the issue of whether it is better to go slowly like my Yiayia or quick like uncle Demo...

She has the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone and to contemplate her life now that she has reached it's end. He was able-bodied and self sufficient right up till the end. I'm not sure which is worse, maybe neither one of them is preferable and I can just go on living forever...

That line everyone knows about how parting is such "sweet sorrow" is a bunch of crap. Sorrow is not sweet in any way, it's sour, it's painful, and it hurts. I wish I could say I hate you all because then when our times come it wouldn't bother me so much...

We come into this world crying and alone and we leave this world crying and alone. I am trying hard to make the time in between something that won't make me feel alone and like crying. Maybe since I came into the world naked and screaming I can try to go out the same way...

Right now my Yiayia is sitting in her chair behind me and my Papou(grandfather) is feeding her. The two of them have been together almost 56 years. I don't know who I feel sorrier for, her because she is dying or him because he is loosing his life companion. I am tired of being alone, but since like Descartes said the only thing I can be sure of is my own existence I don't think I have much choice...

Right here I was thinking of doing a roll-call of people that I care about, but I think the list would be far too long and of course there would be someone left off the list. So let me just say I love you all and leave it at that...

Live Free or Die!!!

2006-05-27T02:42:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one who loves that moto? It is the state moto and on all license plates here in New Hampshire. I am here for another week and a half. Some of you know why, the rest of you will just have to wait a little while till I feel like writing about it...

The World's Oldest Profession...

2006-05-20T05:30:00.000-04:00

The legal profession is safe in the hands of the likes of these guys. This was 1:47AM on a Friday night, from left to right we have: David Jensen, Dmitri Smidovich, Brian O'Donnell, and Bobby Mancher. All of them are graduating from Hofstra Law School, except Dmitri. He'll be graduating with me next year...

No words left...

2006-05-19T18:36:00.000-04:00

Well I don't really have anything to say, just that my finals are done and I have handed in my last paper. It feels good but my brain is too scrambled right now to understand it. I think I'm gonna crash for a few hours then get up and head into The City for a shindig at Cali Mike's place. I'll post an update when I can think straight...

Life... ...she's an interesting one eh?

2006-05-01T01:26:00.000-04:00

read the above with an obscure mediterranean accent

One of my better days in a while...
Well it's about time! I finally got my bike out of storage. I took the pictures below right before I went for my first ride of the year. It was 60 miles and I loved every minute of it...On my way back I stopped at a little park on the Sunrise highway. I didn't take any pictures because my cameraphone wouldn't have done it justice. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me give it a shot...

I store my bike out in Westhampton about 60 miles east of where I live. About 45 miles into my ride I pulled off at a little park that I recognized because I stopped there last year at the same time, except back then it was to offer help to a fellow biker who looked to be in need of assistance...

This time I just pulled off to take a rest. After 4 months of no riding the body takes a little time to get used to it. The park had a little lake, more of an oversized pond than anything else. I'd say it was about half the size of a football field...

There were about 3 or 4 dozen geese and ducks. Some of them were in the water, some of them were up on the grass gorging themselves on bread being tossed by gleeful children. I don't know who was enjoying it more, the kids, the geese and ducks, or me recalling childhood memories...

On the other side of the lake there were a couple teenagers relaxing with their fishing poles. It reminded me of my friend Dave who incidentally grew up less than 10 miles from there. Come to think of it I'll bet he's fished there before...

The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was a perfect 70°F(21°C). To complete the picture the lake was surrounded by plum trees in full bloom. For those of you not familiar with plum blossoms they are trees filled with pink flowers(they are all perfect) instead of green leaves...

This was such an idyllic moment that I had to call people and share it with them. I got in touch with my mom, my brother, and my sister. They were all in good spirits when I spoke with them...

Well that was just over 300 words but I hope you still get the picture. After that I came back home, kicked off my gear and jumped on the phone. I called Matthew Green, an attorney in Tucson, in hopes of lining up some legal work in Arizona over the summer. I left a voice mail just like I did the day before...

About 5 minutes later while I was getting cleaned up my phone rang. It was Matthew Green returning my call. We talked for about 15 minutes and it sounds like he is exactly what I am looking for, and I am exactly what he is looking for...

He is a sole practitioner criminal defense lawyer who is almost ready to expand his practice and take on a staff. I am law student who can offer experience and has the flexibility to work with his needs...

He indicated that if he did not have a sufficient amount of work to occupy my time he would gladly introduce me to colleagues who could provide me with more learning opportunities. To me this means more contacts, which is exactly what I need if I hope to move back to Arizona after I graduate...

So to recap my day: I got over my PMS(parked motorcycle syndrome), and I got a summer job. Not bad for a lazy Spring Sunday...This last picture was in my phone. I guess I took it while I was on Spring Break in Amsterdam. I have no idea what it means...

There's no time like right now...

2006-04-27T03:20:00.000-04:00

I'm listening to Nirvana, you tell me how I feel...

Alright folks I gotta make this post otherwise I never will, and I gotta make it a short one. It just after 3AM and I have to get up in about 4 hours to go to court. I was at the Criminal Justice Clinic till almost 3AM finishing up paperwork...

I'll start where I left off, in Amsterdam. I has great times, lots of them. My friend Bobby (seen in the background of the picture below) came with for the first 5 days. In the first 10 hours of our first day we went to 7 different coffeshops. Need I say more...

While I was there I stayed with my cousin Merel in Den Haag. She was a gracious host and it was great to see her. After Bobby left I went down to Belgium to visit my Grandma for a few days. We had a really good time together and I had lots of good stories to tell about my adventures(see Top 10 Posts) over the past year and a half...

It was nice to see she is enjoying her new(1 1/2 years) apartment. Most of her furniture is from her old place which really makes it feel like home. She is getting on in years but still has that fighting spirit. While I was at Grandma's my Aunt Esther came to visit. It was so nice to be able to catch up with her...

I also got to have lunch with her the day after she came to visit. Every time I got together with her time seemed to fly by much too fast. That day we had lunch and went to see where she works. It is the cutest little clothing boutique and I think she really enjoys working there. It's good to see her working on finding her happiness...

Before I knew it my Spring Break in Netherlands was over. As soon as I got back to NY it was back into full swing in crunch time, the final 2 1/2 weeks before finals. Unfortunately the day after I got back I came down with a nasty cold. I spent almost a full week in bed drinking fluids. Hence the delay in updating my blog...

I slept 15 hours last night and finally felt human again today. That was good because today I spent 12 hours at the Criminal Justice Clinic finishing up paperwork for the semester. Lots and lots of paperwork, but its finally done. I still have 2 more court appearances on May 12th and 23rd to take care of. All the paperwork is done, I just need to fill in a few blanks. I've got lots of other stuff to take care of over the next few weeks...

I still have to figure out the logistics of getting back to Arizona after school lets out. I have to figure out if/where to store my jeep, my motorcycle, and all my belongings. I've got to figure out arrangements for Rob and Ashley's wedding in Hawaii this summer, and how to get to Dallas after that. Not to mention the fact I have 2 final exams and a 20 page paper to write before May 18th...

I have to do all this with my rapidly dwindling coffers. In brighter news I have a promising lead on a possible summer job in Tucson. In even better news I have been able to get back in touch with a girl from home that I have been pining after for a while now, but more on that later...

Well so much for a short post huh? I guess when you have the time there's not a lot to write about, but when you've got a lot to write about there's never enough time. I'm off to sleep since I now have to wake up in about 3 1/2 hours to go to court...

Congrats!!!

2006-04-18T12:56:00.000-04:00

Please extend your congratulations to my good friend Spencer Proffitt on his recent acceptance to Arizona State University School of Law...

Keep your eyes open for a post in the next couple weeks with stories from Spring Break in Amsterdam...

Do I know something you don't?

2006-04-09T20:17:00.000-04:00

Fast Times on the Road Paved with Good Intentions...

2006-03-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

It's been 9 days since my last post so I've got quite a bit to say. So I'll probably get halfway through this post and then bail for a minute to go hang out with Diddy. He's pretending not to be there, but I know better...

I got back from New England about an hour ago. I went up to visit my Yiayia and Papou. I flew JetBlue from JFK(NYC) to Logan(Boston) then took the bus up to Portsmouth, NH and got in about 9:15AM on Friday morning...

At about 9:30AM I called my dad to ask him if he was on his way to pick me up. He told me he would be a little late because he was taking Yiayia to the hospital. Not the best way to start out a weekend visit...

It turns out she had an infection related to a recent surgery. Thankfully she went to the hospital when she did because they were able to administer antibiotics to treat the infection. By the time I left earlier today she was doing a lot better...

It was really nice to be there with her. I spent most of my time there telling her stories about my recent activities in court and some of my clients. Mostly about how I went into court twice in the past week all on my own to represent clients...

OK I'm back While I was up there this weekend I went with my dad to a Greek Independence Day party at his cousin Chris' place up in Portland, Maine. I had a great time in part because one of the people I met at the party was a criminal defense attorney...

He helped reassure me that liking the area of law I choose should be an important deciding factor. Regardless of what type of law I practice, as long as I am willing to work long and hard, success will come to me...

I talked to my good friend Captain Rubber Legs tonight. He's doing well and has started to concrete plans for his wedding this summer in Maui, Hawaii. Thankfully I should be able to make it because I just received my winnings from this past years fantasy football season...

I talked to my brother last week for the first time in a few months. It was great to hear from him and hear that he is doing well. He has a good paying job and is living with the mother of his younger son. Most importantly he sounds happy for the first time in a long time...

I miss living close to family sometimes because geographical proximity means we see each other more often. But with family time and distance mean nothing. It goes the same for some of my closest friends too...

This past week I have been handling the caseload for my partner and I at the Criminal Justice Clinic. My partner's father was in the hospital having heart surgery. She spent most of the week at the hospital with her family. It is a decision that I fully support and I am glad to be able to give her one less thing to worry about at such a tough time...

I have been burning the candle at both ends lately, and I am looking forward to Spring Break more than I ever have in my life. I got my ticket last week a roundtrip ticket from NYC to Amsterdam for only $383. I could really use the time to relax and unwind...

As soon as I get back from Spring Break I will get over my PMS
Parked Motorcycle Syndrome

The Madness Has Begun...

2006-03-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

watching Bradley upset Kansas in one of the last games of the day
That's right ladies and gents it's the most wonderful time of the year. It is time once again for the NCAA basketball tournament. For my money it is one of the greatest sporting events in the world. Perhaps only eclipsed by the World Cup...

64 teams get in to the tournament and 63 of them will end their season with a loss. There will be 48 games played this first weekend (Th-Sun) and only 16 teams will be left. It is one on the most fierce competitions you could ever witness. These kids leave everything on the floor...

For most of them this will be the last game of significance they ever play. There are only 2 rounds of the NBA draft and only 30 teams. When you consider international players, underclassmen, and teams that didn't make the tournament there are really only a few dozen places the graduating seniors can go...

You've never seen anyone try so hard for anything in their life. It can be inspirational and it's exciting as hell to watch. I've seen some incredible comebacks and buzzer-beaters over the years. I'm sure there will be many more to see, that's why I watch...

I've been looking back over my blog and I haven't had anything really good to say for almost a month. I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression, I am doing great. Sometime I feel a little overwhelmed, but that's part of taking on a challenge...

I recently told a college student who is starting law school next year that there are 3 things to learn while going through law school. Number 1 is how to take an essay exam, I'm OK at it. Number 2 is how to pass the Bar Exam, which is what I'll learn at Bar-Bri after graduation. Number 3 is how to be a lawyer, which I really feel like I am learning this semester at the Criminal Justice Clinic...

It's a lot to do, and it's a lot of hard work. I am enjoying the whole experience and I really feel like I am learning. One of the most important things I am learning and will probably keep learning till the day I die is how to read people...

In an effort to lighten the content of my blog a little I'm including some pictures I found on The Smoking Gun. Even though I don't do this stuff like I used to, it still cracks me up. The biggest problem is that after the first one the rest would just be a vicious cycle...

3 Rastateers, Twixed, Munchy Way, Rasta Reese's, Keef Kat, Puff-A-Mint Pattie, Double Puff Oeo, Buddahfinger, and Tri-Chrome Crunch

Pot Tarts (talk about wake and bake)

Puffsi and Toka-Cola

Joint and Bongs

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

2006-03-16T12:32:00.000-05:00

Have I told you lately how much I hate Hofstra Public Safety. This is the biggest bunch of police rejects and wannabes ever. I think this entire university may have it's head up it's ass. At least the administration does...

I spent 45 minutes today sitting in the parking lot again today. I would have walked to class, but immediately after class I have to drive to go see a client. Once again there were at least a dozen cars roaming the parking lot looking for a space and the dumb ass security officer was still letting people in...

Wouldn't it make sense that once the lot is full they should stop letting people in. When they let people in even if the lot is full you end up with people like me who patiently wait for a spot getting assed out by someone who got lucky and just pulled in. Worse yet is someone who cuts in front of me and takes a parking spot...

This is where I have to fight hard to hold back my anger. I want to get out and beat the shit out of them. I know that if I do chances are good that I would end up facing assault charges. The other urge I have to fight back is to come back to their car after parking and key their car and kick in their headlights...

The only problem with taking it out on their car is if I did it right I would do my best not to get caught, meaning they would not know who did it or why. So it would not achieve my desired result...

The suggestion I received from the public safety officer was to go to the Public Safety office if I have a complaint about the way they run things. That makes a lot of sense, go complain to people who have no ability to change anything...

There is actually a committee formed by law students that has formalized and delivered their complaints (same as mine) to the administration. They were told that Hofstra is working hard to resolve the situation and they should have it resolved in about 5-6 years...

They won't ever be able to fix it unless they get some brains. There are more students every year. To accommodate the new students they closed a faculty parking lot and put up a building. Because the faculty are the only ones who really matter they changed about 1/4 of south campus parking to a faculty lot...

Then after I finally found a parking spot I went over to the office of student accounts to pay my housing deposit for next year. But my credit card wouldn't work, so I was put in the position of having to call my mom to ask if it was OK to use her credit card. Thank god mom saved me once again...

Afterwards I called BofA to find out why I wasn't able to use my credit card. They informed me that there was suspicious activity on my card. Apparently using a credit card to buy gas is such an unusual transaction that every time I do it I will need to call BofA to let them know it was me or I won't be able to use my card again...

Just another frustrating day. It's all piling up and I need to let loose. When the aggravation gets to be so much that I can physically feel it in my chest, that's just too much. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said "Sit down" I stood up.

One of those days...

2006-03-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

When I just shouldn't have gotten out of bed...
listening to Bad Religion (you tell me how I feel)

Well I'm doing better than I was last week or even earlier this week for that matter. I started the week off by waiting 45 min for a parking spot, only to end up parking on the street because I was 5 min late for class. Guess what I found on my Jeep when I got out of class. That's riiiiiiiiiiiiiight a parking ticket...

Thankfully it was only $20 which is still $280 less than my speeding ticket I got in Texas. Speaking of that ticket I had to call the court the other day to ask why I hadn't received the paperwork needed to keep the ticket off my record. Guess what, it was returned as undeliverable...

This is not the first piece of important mail Hofstra has done this with. Luckily Annette (the court clerk) remembered me and is now sending out 2 copies of the paperwork. One is coming to me and the other is being sent to my dad's house. I'll get it eventually...

On the upside of things it looks like I'm gonna get to go to Holland for Spring Break. Apparently when my Grandma heard that I might not make it due to financial reasons she offered to help buy my ticket. I think it might be the first time since I was little that I can remember my Grandma wanting to see me...

Of course she's always been glad to see me, but it was always during her visits over here to see my mom. I remember being little and her being so proud of her grandson (me) when I would go visit. Maybe I'm something worth being proud of again...

What the hell is going on here...

2006-03-09T13:24:00.000-05:00

OK this is going to be a short post because I am sitting in class. My teacher is telling great stories about real cases that prove truth is stranger than fiction...

I've been having a rough couple of days. Yesterday I was feeling depressed for no discernible reason. I am grateful that my Criminal Justice Clinic supervisor took some time out of her bust day to talk with me. Like I said as leaving her office, this too will pass...

Today I woke up feeling better, but it's been all downhill since then. I had to go to Queens to represent a client whom I had never met in person. His fiance was also supposed to meet me and my partner there...

Not everything went according to plan. My client showed up 1 1/2 hours late, but at least he showed up to the right court. His fiance on the other hand showed up to the wrong court. Which left me standing in front of the judge when our case was called trying to explain why I couldn't produce my client...

When he finally did show up I didn't have time to talk to him because our case got called again less than 2 minutes after he finally walked in. Then when I had to get the case recalled again and I spoke to the court clerk I was told my case would not be recalled. 2 minutes later I asked my female partner to repeat my request for a second call to the clerk. We were in front of the judge again 10 minutes later...

It just hasn't my day. Well maybe it is my day and things aren't going as smoothly as I would like. I guess I'd rather feel irritated like I do today than depressed like I did yesterday...

Spring Fling is tonight. It should be a nice time. Hopefully I will be able to get some R&R this weekend...

Idol chatter...

2006-03-07T01:21:00.000-05:00

I don't have a lot worth talking about right now, so I'll prattle on for a minute about American Idol just to keep the diatribe going. My first introduction to American Idol was during the first season. I used to watch it over at Wendy, April, and Pam's place. I watched more for the car accident factor than anything else...

I have always claimed to be a people watcher. Some of the most interesting people to watch are not the talented or beautiful people. People with talent like dancers, musician, and singers are a pleasure to enjoy, but not as fascinating. Therefore I have always found the first rounds of American Idol to be the best...

For those of you not familiar with the show, I will explain briefly. 3 judges go around the country holding singing auditions. They then invite about 4 dozen of the best to Hollywood and send half of them home the following week. The remaining 24 are voted off in 1s and 2s every week by telephone voting open to the public...

This week will be the last week that I really watch until the end. Once they get down to the last dozen they all have a fair amount of talent but aren't good enough to blow me away and aren't bad enough to have car wreck value...

Still trying to pull things together for a Spring Break in Amsterdam...

Hofstra basketball lost to UNC Willmington in the CAA championship game tonight. This means our current record is 24-6 and we have an RPI ranking of 25. Given all of this we will have to wait till this weekend to see if it earns us an at large bid to the big dance...

Spring Fling is later this week...

Just Another Manic Monday...

2006-02-28T02:17:00.000-05:00

listening to my 80's playlist on iTunes while writing this hence the title
It has been another busy Monday. I feel like a cat trying to bury shit on a cement sidewalk. There is no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any. If that's the case I must be wicked because I am getting no rest and I sure could use some...

But I'm getting sidetracked back to an old post. This past week has been a decent one. The semester is finally starting to get into full swing, mainly thanks to the Criminal Justice Clinic. Today we had arraignments again at the Queens County Courthouse. One of the best things I get out of doing arraignments is getting to interact with other practicing lawyers...

Some cases are easier than others. One client that I have, has been with the clinic for about 3-4 years and will likely be with us after I leave. Some people live for the fight. Then there are cases like today where I had to convince my client to plead guilty. He was concerned about getting a violation (lower than a misdemeanor) added to his long list of felony convictions...

The DA was offering to accept "time served" in exchange for a guilty plea and was willing to consent to ROR (Released on Own Recognizance) if he wanted to fight the charge. If found guilty though he could face up to 10 days in jail and $265 in fines and fees. I still had to convince him to follow the one course of action that would ensure he would be released immediately and not have to return to court over the incident...

Also today we initiated new members into Phi Alpha Delta. Being a chapter Marshal I had to be there and played a part in the proceedings. We also have Spring Fling (a semi-formal) coming up in about a week and a half, so preparations and ticket sales have begun. So when all was said and done it was a long day...

The next 2 weeks are jam packed for me. I have court dates, client meetings, classes, letters to write, and Spring Fling ticket sales to keep me busy. Probably not much worth writing about on the blog but we'll see...

There was a girl, who I was talking to, that I was thinking about asking to Spring Fling. After paying my tuition this week though I was faced with the harsh reality of a finite bank balance. I certainly have enough to live on for the rest of the school year assuming I can stick to a reasonable budget. But I have no real prospects of income till some time in August...

I didn't get much rest this past weekend either. Sunday I had a meeting with a client and had to get ready for court today. Saturday was not that bad with only a minimal amount of reading. Friday was spent running errands and paying tuition, stuff that I can't get to on class days. I also had to recover from Thursday night...

Thursday night I went to the Hofstra basketball game we were 20-5(good) going into the game and playing against the 25th ranked team. It was fun to get out to a live college basketball game, which I hadn't done in a while. The sounds of the game, the energy of the crowd, and the smell of the student section...

We won the game 77-66, which was our first ever win against a ranked team and gave us a realistic shot at getting an "at large" bid for the NCAA tournament (big dance) even if we don't win the CAA tournament(conference tourney). The arena holds about 5,000 people and the fans rushed the court after the game. I showed self restraint and stayed in the stands and snapped off a picture of the action...

The last time I was at a court-rushing after a game was back at ASU. It was January 23rd, 2002 and we beat the UofA 88-72, the only win in our past 23 games against them. The University Activities Center holds almost 15,000 people and I took part in rushing the court that day. At one point I was actually able to pick myself out of the picture below...

The Hofstra Flying Dutchmen rush the court after a big win...

I'm in that crush somewhere...

Random thoughts and old pics...

2006-02-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Friends for long and long...

I just got emailed a link to some pictures that my good friend Brooke took a while back. Two sets as a matter of fact; one from a party 6 months ago when I got back from Australia and another from a year ago when I went home for winter break after my first semester of law school...

Wendelicious, Brooklyn, Yours Truly, and Pam-Pam...

Catchin’ up with my friend Brooke thanks for the pictures...

A handful of friends showed up to celebrate my return...

Blown up on Myspace...

Getting on Myspace again recently has been kinda cool. I have managed to find some old friends that I have been out of touch with for a while. The internet has truly made it a much smaller world...

Internet social networking has created a new cultural phenomenon "Cyber Drama". In the past week a couple of people I know who shall remain nameless have fallen victim to this insipid evil...

The first unfortunate victim had an innocent message they left for someone misinterpreted. Sadly for them it's not the intent of the message that matters, but the meaning each reader takes from it that counts...

Another misfortunate friend of mine made the mistake of misjudging other peoples’ level of discretion. In any small community everyone knows what everyone else doing. This downtrodden soul’s solution was to commit cyber-hari-kari...

I guess there are a few lessons to be learned here about cyberspace and small communities. First don’t believe everything you read/hear or jump to conclusions. Second be careful of what you do and who you do it with. Lastly always beware of the cyber-stalker...

Can I be real son? Be really real son...

This clip Black Bush is from the Chappelle Show, it makes me laugh...

Dimo's birthday bash in The City...

2006-02-19T00:02:00.002-05:00

Празднование дня рождения моего хорошего друга Dmitri

Whoever said women can't be intelligent and beautiful...(Tyng Tsuei, Dmitri Smidovich, Susan Lowe, Tara Dennis, and NAME OMITTED)

...never met the women of Hofstra Law School. (Elene Michaels, Kim Connick, NAME OMITTED again, Amy Scheiner, and Ann Marie Diaz)

The Birthday Boy is having a good time...
("Cali" Mike Castrillo, Dmitri Smidovich, and Will Kang)

Diddy in rare form...
(Brian "B-Diddy" O'Donnell, Cali Mike, Lene, Krissy, and Dave Jensen)

Makin' out in the corner...
(Dimo tries to carry on a conversation while Tara and Ann Marie wrestle behind him and Diddy makes out with Cali Mike in the corner)

Don't let the smooth taste fool you...
(Sue and the Guest of Honor)

Catchin' up with Jess...
(Funny enough she was there the very first time I went into The City)

Dmirti's 26th Birthday Party at 49 Grove St in NYC...

As you may have gathered by now I survived another night of partying in The City. This makes 3 out of the last 4 weekends that I have gone into The City for a friend's birthday. I once again parked at Mineola figuring I'd make it back before the parking meters go back into effect at 6AM. Boy was I wrong on that one...

I caught the 10:11PM LIRR train to Penn Station and hopped the "1" subway line downtown. I made it to the Christopher St/Sheridan Sq subway stop about 11PM and 49 Grove St was literally just around the corner. As I walked up to the club Dimo had just stepped outside to have a smoke, which made it really easy to get in...

I hadn't planned on drinking but birthdays only come once a year, and they had my drink of choice. So a couple handfuls of Patron shots and $100 bar tab later, that plan went out the window. Most of the people who showed up were from Hofstra Law(as the pictures will attest to)...

Law students work hard and party twice as hard. I think in part it's because most of us know we won't have time for it near future. It's good to be able to get out and cut loose, I even got out on the dance floor. Amused by my enthusiasm one sista in tight jeans decided to pop it like its hot. I haven't gotten a treat like that since Fifi back in my ASU days...

I decided early in the night that I was gonna be there to shut the party down. Around 4AM they started to move us along. Determined not to let the revelry end about half a dozen of us decided to head over to Cali Mike's place. In true NYC fashion we stopped at a deli around the corner from his place and picked up delectable grub...

We hung out at Mike's place till well after the sun came up, at which point I decided to head home. Getting home was a breeze thanks to the MTA. The nicest surprise was getting back to my Jeep to find no ticket despite being parked at an expired meter for over 3 1/2 hours. I'll slip in a picture of my Jeep below just for fun...

It is now Sunday and I am just starting to feel fully recovered from the night of debauchery that was Dmitri's birthday bash. Thank goodness it only comes once a year...

I had fun playing in what was left of the snow...

Rules to live by...

2006-02-16T03:05:00.000-05:00

In life I have heard a number of maxims by which people live. Some are humorous, but even in the funny ones there is a kernel of truth. Sometimes there are even lessons to be learned...

The “golden rule”, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is a nice one. It’s pretty general guideline and in most situations it works. A variation on that is “he who has the gold makes the rules”, which is supposed to be funny and has a ring of truth...

One that I really like is about your state of mind when striving to achieve goals. Whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right. It speaks to determination, perseverance, and self confidence. My folks always told me I could do anything I want, so the key is figuring out what I want...

Be careful what you wish for you just might get it. This is kind of a Buddhist thing, it’s about being thankful for what you have. The whole grass is greener on the other side of the fence thing...

Another oft used expression is the “rule of thumb”, which is actually a bad thing. The expression stems from the fact that it used to be acceptable to beat your wife and child as long as the switch you used was not larger around than your thumb...

I have a personal anti-stalking rule regarding phone calls. I won’t call someone more than 3 times without a return phone call. Of course this does not apply to business calls only personal calls. After the 3rd call it's more than just a hint...

One rule that I feel is worthy of living by is Kant’s 2nd moral imperative. Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule and rules were made to be broken...

They're about the same around here...

Before I go to sleep I want to relate a story that was told to me when I was younger. I think the first time I heard it was from my dad. It's a story that's pretty easy to understand...

A farmer was out by the road side working on a piece of equipment one day when a traveling salesman happened by. The salesman stopped to talk to the farmer, after a while the salesman asked how the people are in this town. The farmer replied by asking how were they in the town the salesman just came from. The salesman replied that they were mean, nasty, and generally unpleasant. The farmer said you'll find they're about the same here...

The salesman went on his way, a little later on the farmer saw another salesman coming down the same road on his way from the same town as the first salesman had come from. The conversation which ensued followed pretty much the same direction as the first. In reply to how the people were in the previous town the salesman replied that they were nice, friendly, and fairly pleasant. The farmer said you'll find they're about the same here...

The point(s) of the story is many fold, but I think the main point is that things are what you make of them. Some people might call me a spin doctor but I prefer to look at myself as someone who tries to look on the bright side of life and people...

Happy Valentine's Day (Myspace)...

2006-02-14T01:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. I hope this day finds you in good spirits and with your loved ones in body and/or spirit. I understand the sentiment I have heard that Valentine's Day is a contrived holiday because every day is an opportunity to let your loved ones know how you feel...

Yeah I know it sounds kind of corny, but there is some truth to it. It is nice to have a special day but it doesn't have to be February 14th every year. Unless of course you are like my Aunt Esther and Uncle Wim who got married on February 14th. Happy Anniversary I am glad to hear you are both doing well...

Speaking of getting married on a holiday, my Yiayia and Papou(Greek for grandma and grandpa) got married on November 23rd 1950. That day also happened to be Thanksgiving day(the 4th Thursday in November). For the past 55 years Yiayia has celebrated her anniversary on November 23rd and Papou has celebrated his on Thanksgiving day...

I have added some more links(look to the right>>>) to places on the internet you can find profiles of me. Last year I was on Orkut quite a bit, but I didn't really know a lot of the people in my social network there. Lately you can find me on Myspace, I only have people in my social network there who I actually know...

Some people are what might be classified as "friend whores", one classic example of this is Diddy. This kid has less than a dozen phone numbers in his cell phone because he says there aren't that many people that he need to be able to get ahold of. This same anti-social meathead has over 100 friends on Myspace...

Every person I am connected with on Myspace is someone I actually know(except Tom). I am currently connected to 27 people and will probably be connected to a bunch more really soon. That's because I just figured out how to import my contacts list from my Yahoo and Gmail address books...

I think Eli Sinderson(my oldest friend) did a dissertation about online social networks. So he knows more about them than I do, but in my opinion social networking with people you don't really know is socially limiting. But at the same time an online social network can be a great opportunity to maintain and renew friendships...

I'm not a hard person to find especially on the internet, but don't believe everything you read in cyberspace...

Some pics of last night...

2006-02-13T01:52:00.000-05:00

I got lucky and get to post some pictures of the great time I had last night in The City thanks to Dave Jensen...

I also want to send Happy Birthday wishes out to Dmitri "Dimo" Smidovich my good friend and roommate from last year...

The corridors of NYC durring the blizzard...

Me with the Birthday Boy Twins Andrew and Dave Jensen. Damn that is sooooooo F'ing hot...

Brian O'Donnell(aka B-Diddy), Sandy Jensen, and Me coping a feel. Ya y'all see the smile...

Same as above, thank God I got my tounge out of his ear before the camera went off...

Dave Jensen getting F'ed in the ear and "Cali Mike" Castrillo...

B-Diddy, Sandy, and Brett Bechaz(I couldn't resist giving Diddy "rabbit ears")...

The Jensen Boys and their sisters Sandy and Penny(someone couldn't resist giving Dave "rabbit ears")...

Those Jensens are damn good looking...

Nice lookin' pair huh...

Did I have a good time, you tell me...

Into The City in a blizzard...

2006-02-12T04:48:00.000-05:00

the first part of this was written earlier in the night
I am getting ready to catch the 9:01PM train into the City from Mineola. I am going in to celebrate one of my friend's birthday. I don't really need an excuse to go into NYC, but it's always more fun with friends...

They are predicting a huge Noreaster rolling in tonight. We are supposed to get at least a foot tonight. I'm guessing that more than a few people will be deterred from going out tonight by the weather...

Maybe I'll think to take a few pictures tonight, or maybe I'll be having too much fun to think of it...

These folks don't know from cold...

(Writing this while watching Evil Dead III : Army of Darkness)
Well I made it back alive despite the blizzard. I gotta tell you though the East Coast thinks it knows a blizzard. You wanna see some real cold go visit Minnesota, up there they know what winter looks like...

I thought the snow might keep people away from the Jensen birthday bash, but all the right people showed up. Even thought there was only 6 inches of snow when I got back to Long Island the drive home from the train station was fairly treacherous and fun...

I had a great time tonight. We went to Porky's and while I was there I had a BBQ pork sandwich. It reminded me a lot of Waldo's up on Hayden & Thomas. The bar itself reminded me more of the Library on Mill, well at least the girls dancing on the bar did...

Sorry no pictures, but I forgot to bring my cell phone. I would have been late for the train if I had come back to get it. I might still get some pictures though because everyone else had digital cameras...

Birthday Wishes...

I want to send birthday wishes out to 2 of my favorite people in the whole world, funny enough they were both born on the same day. I am related to both of them, but I'd like to think I would be friends with them even if we weren't because I love them both...

Jason Syrmopoulos My Brother
and
Hidde van Erven Dorens My Cousin

Oops I did it again...

2006-02-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

The second time around isn't nearly as nerve wracking as the first was. Today we went down to the Nassau County Courthouse and did 18B work. 18B is basically the same thing we did in Queens except these were people who are voluntarily showing up to court, as opposed to people who need to go before a judge to get released from custody...

Just like at the Queens Courthouse 90% of the people who work in court were really nice to us. I think it's because they know we are students and they remember being in our shoes not so long ago...

I can't say it enough, but it has been a great learning experience and confidence builder. My partner and I picked up a Spanish speaking client charged with a Class A Misdemeanor. We are building up a case log and a client base, I guess the same way you would in a real practice...

If...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

---Rudyard Kipling

Put the needle on the record...

2006-01-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

Alright ladies and gentlemen, yours truly is now on the record in the state of NY. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Each of us (8) got 1 case today and got to represent a client in court. Confidentiality prevents me from discussing the details of my case, but the DA(District Attorney) offered ACD(Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal). Basically as long as my client doesn't get in trouble in the next 6 months the charges will be dismissed...

Tomorrow I have a meeting with another client, so I better get some sleep tonight. I sure didn't get any last night because I was so excited about today. I laid in bed for about 4 or 5 hours so I could at least rest my body, but at the end of the day my brain was mush. It was a great learning experience and a tremendous confidence builder...

To help reaffirm my street cred, right now I am watching a bootleg copy of Underworld 2. It only came out in theaters about a week ago, but WoW what a great copy...

NYC Saturday Night...

2006-01-29T02:52:00.000-05:00

I went into the city tonight to celebrate a friend's birthday. On the way back from the bar I decided to whip out the phone and start taking some pictures...

This is the down escalator at 53rd and Lex...

Here comes the E train...

Party people going places on the D train...

The A train goes down d'line...

Penn Station the heart of it all...

I could spend days riding around the transit system. I don't think there is a better place in the world to people watch. If you know of one please let me know...

Shiny Black Effa Bee Eye Shoes...

2006-01-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

Took a little trip into The City today to visit with Inspector Hatzoglou. I picked up my Department of Corrections ID so that I will be able to get into the Queens Courthouse on Monday. I also got a new Hofstra ID so I will be able to get into the Nassau County Courthouse on Wednesday. As of Monday...

...Aaron Syrmopoulos S-Y-R-M-O-P-O-U-L-O-S Community Legal Assistant Corporation 108 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549 practicing pursuant to the Student Practice Order of the Appellate Division, Second Department practicing under the supervision of Kathryn Stein...

...will be on the record in the state of New York.

Good morning your honor, the crown will plainly show the prisoner who now stands before you was caught red-handed showing feelings. Showing feelings of an almost human nature. This will not do...

The Tom Wolfe reference is regarding the shoes I'll be wearing Monday. I went out and got myself a new suit and tie (thanks Grandma) so I'll be looking sharp. Hopefully that will help cover up how nervous and excited I will be...

I've got over 48 hours before I go to court and I can already feel the excitement building up inside me. It reminds me of jumping off of a 500 foot bridge or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. I guess the main difference is that there is no real threat of death or bodily injury at least not to me. My clients on the other hand...

Well they're not in any real danger either, since they've only been charged with misdemeanors. I'm still excited because this feels like a real test of whether or not I really made the right decision. The Magic 8 Ball says all signs point to yes...

In answer to my dad's question; making a good school district part of my real estate criteria and seeing the end of my student loan payments rapidly approaching. Like I said earlier though, once I get a little further down the road maybe that part of the path will be clearer...

Arizona's newest practicing attorney...

Beware this man is now a licensed practicing attorney in the state of Arizona!!!

Like an old fashioned family doctor...

2006-01-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

Alright I think I’ve figured out what my long term goal in the legal profession is. I want to be the legal version of a family physician, the kind who handles everything and makes house calls. I want to handle all kinds of cases, for real people…

That’s a long term goal; the short term is a little different. Right in front of my face is the Criminal Justice Clinic which I am delighting in sinking my teeth into. I am starting to get the hang of what is going on, but still a little unsure of myself. I guess that’s the whole idea of participating in the clinic…

This coming Monday we will be doing our first and possibly last arraignments. Because the Student Practice Act, under which I get to act as a Lawyer, must be renewed annually by the New York State Court of Appeals. The order expires next Tuesday, even though the annual request for renewal was submitted at the earliest date the courts backlog has prevented them from exercising their usual annual rubber stamp…

That’s all right in front of me, a little further but still in the short term is this summer. From what I have been told the types of positions I will be looking for usually do their hiring in April and May. So I have a couple months to get my stuff together to sell myself again…

A little further down the road, but still in the short term is graduation in May of 2007. After that, a couple years from now, hopefully I will get to do like my friend Brian Blum did recently and celebrate passing the Bar Exam…

Once I pass the bar I’ll need to find a position that’s main feature will be allowing me to pay off my $200,000 in student loans. I still haven’t figured out exactly what kind of law I want to practice. Then comes into play the 60-70 hour work weeks that I anticipate…

I guess that’s about as far as I can see right now. I have to deal with what right in front of me. Maybe when I get a little further down the road I can fill in that gap between my short and long term goals. Anyways I’ll have fun along the way…

Final grades posted...

2006-01-24T01:05:00.000-05:00

Well I feel a little better now that all of my grades have posted. My cumulative GPA is now 2.67 which is exactly a B- and puts me in the middle of my class. It's nothing to brag about but it is certainly something to be proud of. I know that even the lowest ranked member of our graduating class will be a Lawyer, but it's nice not to be "THAT GUY" if you know what I mean...

My place in my class also reaffirms my thoughts about how beneficial participating in the Criminal Justice Clinic will be. We have our first case rounds tomorrow, which is basically weekly meetings with our Supervising Attorney to go over our cases. Initially each pair of partners is assigned 2 carry-over cases, and we will acquire more cases as the semester proceeds. We are scheduled to do our first arraignments next week...

Good Times...

2006-01-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

The drive from AZ to NY was a fun one. Only got 1 ticket and that was in Colorado City, TX doing 88 in a 70. That was a long haul day, I started out in TX drove all day and was still in TX when I went to sleep that night. The south was something I'm glad I got to see so I never have to go back again. Birmingham, AL was one of the poorest places I have ever seen.

But I had a great time in North Cacalaca. I visited with Emily and Grant whom I originally met in Sydney this past summer. They have 4 wiener-dogs, which are cute but have way too much energy. The road from NC to NYC was the most treacherous part of the drive, with 40-50 mph crosswinds the Jeep acted like a sail. My hands have never been sore after a drive, but they were when I got home.

It's good to be back in school. Most of you have heard my semester will center around the Criminal Justice Clinic that I am in. Essentially I will be working as a public defender for people who can't afford a lawyer.

For those who care my class schedule for this semester is:
Moday 2-3 Con Law
Tues 2-4 COntracts & Torts
Wed 2-4 Con Law
Thurs 12-2 Crim Pro
Thurs 2-4 Crim Justice Clinic

...as you can see no early classes and no class on Fridays. Now keep in mind that while I only have 10 classroom hours I expect to spend 25-35 hours outside of class doing clinic work. The clinic will be like running a law practice except without pay and with fewer clients.

This is a good time in my life...

I forgot to brag...

I forgot to brag about winning my fantasy football league. I went 14-2 and won the championship. I'm using my winnings to pay for a ticket to Hawaii...

Thanks Rob, aka Robot, aka Captain Rubber Legs

Been wanting to post this one for a while. This is the Verazano Bridge, it's the last bridge to cross in order to get to Long Island NY. As with most of my pictures from now on this was taken with my cell phone...

This is maybe the greatest BBQ joint ever in Midlands, TX KD's BBQ. Y'all should stop in and try it sometime...

AC and TV aka "The Good Life..."

2005-09-01T01:52:00.000-04:00

Today I spent the most worthwhile $200 of my life. I bought a 5,200 BTU window unit air conditioner and a 20" TV. I bought them both out of necessity. The AC unit is designed for a room much smaller than mine. However the humidity over the past few days has made every bit of cool air that I can pump into the room precious.

The room I am in is a studio apartment which means that the only truly private area is the bathroom. It is a decent size and has a modest kitchen. The water pressure is OK and everything seems to work. It's not all a bed of roses though...

The downside is there was no AC and the traffic noise from Hempstead Turnpike. The window unit air conditioner solves both of those problems it cools the apartment off and the sound from it drowns out the traffic noise. So it serves a dual purpose. As for the TV being a necessity...

My roommate is moving out and taking his TV with him of course. It seems our differing schedules is a bit too much for him. I am a night owl as many of you may attest to. He goes to bed early(read:pansy) and is a light sleeper on top of that. I suggested he invest in earplugs and a blindfold. Instead he has decided to leave so he can have a private bedroom.

It seems he and I are able to share a parking spot with our motorcycles but not an apartment. My roommate from last year might have had the best idea by getting a place off campus. But I got the next best thing, a room on campus to myself...

I don't wanna jinx myself (cause they could move someone in) but I knew 2 people who had doubles to themselves all year last year after a roommate failed to show up or moved out. I will cross my fingers and hope for the best..

All in all it's good to be back in school. As always the people are the best part of being back. The work is just that "hard work" but it is good for the soul. The classes I took this summer reinvigorated my desire to be a lawyer. It seems they also helped my GPA jump up to a 2.72 and probably 15-20 spots in the rankings.

I just realized tonight that I have a 3 day weekend coming up because of Labor Day. I haven't made any plans but maybe I'll head up to New Hampshire one last time before it gets cold again. Maybe I should stay in town and get some studying done. I'll check the weather and sleep on it...

Back under way...

2005-08-30T16:40:00.000-04:00

School has started again. That explains my lack of recent posts. I'll try to update later tonight with a real post...

Home of Clam Chowdah...

2005-08-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

I have made the 270 mile trip up to New England to visit my Yiayia & Papou (grandparents). They are doing well for being in their 80's. I hope I make it to their age and am doing at least half as well.

It was a long ride broken up by the Cross Sound Ferry which takes 80-90 minutes. The weather couldn't have been better if I had asked for it. The traffic was great, I was doing 85 and still getting passed by cars left and right.

Even bigger news is that my student loans finally got approved. That is nice especially seeing as classes start 1 week from today. The hoops they make me jump through are no fun, but still a small price to pay for getting my education.

I get to relax up here for a few days before heading back to the hustle and bustle. Welcome back to the House of Pain...

If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere...

2005-08-18T01:00:00.000-04:00

I have made it back safe and sound. Tomorrow I get to wake up in the city that never sleeps and find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap, A#1...

I missed the bright lights big city. Dave will be happy to know that I had a Sabrett as soon as I got to Penn Station...

Tomorrow I will be riding my motorcycle up to New Hampshire to see my grandparents. I can't wait to take Yiayia to church on Sunday...

Classes don't start till next Friday. That means I have a little bit of time to get settled in and catch up with my friends...

Goodnight to all and to all a goodnight...

Riding with the folks...

2005-08-16T04:20:00.000-04:00

Well my time in Arizona has come and gone much too quickly. There were too many people that I didn't get to see. Just to name a few Drew, Randy, April, Trish, and Shawn. There are more people that I didn't get to see, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind. My visit was much too short, but I guess that just speaks to how much I love Arizona and all my friends and family there...

I made 2 major trips while I was in the southwest. Both of them were with my parents and both were an absolute blast. The first trip I made was to a horse ranch just across the border in New Mexico. Now some of you may already know about my irrational fear of dying in New Mexico. For those of you who don't know I have avoided New Mexico for the past decade or so because I have this feeling that I can't explain. Keeping that in mind I may have been pushing my luck by riding around on animals there that weigh 5 times what I weigh...

I had a great time there though. My mom, my cousin Merel, River (son of my mom's friend), and I loaded up a couple of my mom's horses and drove out to Glenwood New Mexico. The ranch we stayed on was so nice and we all had a great time. As you can see from the picture above they even managed to get me on a horse for the first time since I was 11 years old. I guess riding on a horse shouldn't bother me too much because over the past 12 years my mom and I have had an equal number of accidents on our respective horses (mine is a steele horse)...

My other big riding trip was with my dad. We rented a couple of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and headed north. I got to ride a "Fatboy" and my dad rode a "Heritage", they are almost identical except I think the "Fatboy" wins on style points. If I can get some pictures I took from my cell phone or from Julie I will post them here...

We went up to Sedona by way of Jerome. It was one of the greatest rides I have been on in a long time, all the switch-backs were exhilarating. For the first time since I was 19 I scraped the footpegs taking a turn. That means I was leaning so hard into the turn that my footpeg was touching the ground...

We spent the night in a Sedona hotel and woke up to some of the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen in your life. We stopped for the breakfast special at the Bee-line Diner in Payson. For a while we weren't sure the trip would come together when it did it sure was worthwhile...

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

2005-08-07T18:35:00.000-04:00

The birthday/welcome home party was outstanding. I would like to thank everyone who showed up. For those of you unable to make it you were dearly missed, and you missed some good times. You know you've invited the right people to a party when they clean up before they leave. I may post pictures if Brook sends them to me.

It has been very nice being home. The only problem that I have run into is that I have run out of money and will likely become a bum on the streets on New York. It will be interesting when the choice comes down to cigarettes or food to see which way I will go...

2005-07-29T18:20:00.000-04:00

Not bad for 30, basking in the California sun...

Made it...

2005-07-29T01:22:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know I made it alive and well...

Just chillin' in Santa Cruz...

Say Goodbye to the Bad Guy…

2005-07-27T12:12:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning I fly out of Sydney to California where I will spend my 30th birthday with my oldest friend Eli (I’ve known him since the day I was born). It will be the longest day of my life, follow my logic here: I leave at 2PM (14 hours into the day), have a 14 hour flight, and arrive at 10AM (14 hours left in the day). All of that means that the 28th of July will 42 hours long. In other words it will be the longest day of my life.

It will just be nice to chill in Santa Cruz and reflect on the past 30 years, and maybe make some plans for the next 30. I have enjoyed my time here in Australia and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I have made some good friends and some great memories. My time here in Australia reminds me of a line Bugs Bunny used to use “It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”

One of the nicest parts about coming to Australia was getting to see my cousin Hidde. He is doing well and passed all of his classes this semester. It seems that no matter where I go in the world Hidde is there. How lucky am I to have such a worldly cousin?

My next post will be from the United States of America...

Flying Solo Once Again… [abridged]

2005-07-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

Well ladies and gents I am operating solo once again. Sadly just like all good summer romances mine has come to an end. Liz and I had a few very nice days up in the Gold Coast... ...I came to grips with the fact that I would only get to spend a [short time] with her right away. This made me determined to enjoy every minute of it as much as I could... ...I told her from the word go that I would never lie to her even if the truth hurt... ...and it ended up hurting me just as much as it hurt her. I tried to explain to her that I still care about her...

...it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all...

Beautiful Byron Bay…

2005-07-25T14:20:00.000-04:00

The vantage point at the end of the beach

A view of the beach

The view across the bay

A southern view

This post is really nothing more than what I saw in Byron Bay. It is just as beautiful as everyone had described. It isn’t really a city just kind of a conglomeration of shops set up for the tourists who can’t stay away from such a beautiful place. Apparently the day before we went to Byron Bay there was an alternative music festival there. When we got to the beach we were knee deep in hippies, it made me feel like I was in Northern California.

The beach itself is really the main attraction. Clean fine white sands for as far as the eye can see. The sand between my toes felt so good. Walking along the waterline reminded me of my time in LA back in 2000. That’s when I used to keep my appointment with the sunset faithfully.

We didn’t stay long enough to catch the sunset but we did walk the entire length of the beach. It took about 45 minutes each way. At the end of the beach there was a lookout that afforded anyone willing to walk up there a magnificent view of the ocean and the beach. That is where most of my pictures were taken because it was such a good vantage point.

I would have loved to stay longer, but that was the beginning of the end…

Good Times in the Gold Coast…

2005-07-25T02:20:00.000-04:00

Well this is an update post, but it won’t be too long. Liz and I flew up here to the Gold Coast. It is a great little vacation spot. We are staying in a quaint little motel called Twin Towns Motel. The people here are very friendly. Yesterday I got to know a wonderful retired couple from next door who are on permanent vacation (lucky them).

Today Liz and I are going to drive to Byron Bay which I hear is absolutely beautiful. The best part is that I get to do all the driving. It’s nice to know that I have the ability to adapt and drive on the wrong (left) side of the road. It’s going to be much too soon that we have to leave, and much too soon after that when I have to head back stateside.

I am looking forward to being back on US soil. I miss the California coast, the Arizona desert, and the streets of NYC. I have one major thing I need to take care of once I get back and that is where I will stay when I first get back to NY. I get back 3 days before the dorms open up and Diddy is going to be out of town so I won’t be able to crash at his folks place.

Hopefully I can get in touch with Uncle Lou and Aunt Elektra or maybe Dmitri will have a place by then and let me crash on his couch for a couple days. Better yet if I can get in touch with Pat maybe I can hop on my bike on the 18th and go visit Yiayia and Papou up in NH. It would be nice since I didn’t get to see them before I left for Australia.

I’m sure everything will work out. Worst case scenario (or maybe best) I will hop on my bike and make my way up to Wisconsin. It would be nice if I could visit Captain Rubber Legs and my nephews. We will see. I’m sure everything will work out exactly the way it is supposed to…

Done and over with…

2005-07-22T02:20:00.000-04:00

And your little dog...

Told you they had fun

The Emerald City

This is a post that should have gone up on Friday of last week, but I simply didn’t have time. Now that I do have some time I don’t have any internet access so I am writing this in Word and will post it ASAP along with the relevant pictures. Chances are also good there will be an update post shortly following this one.

Finals are done and as usual I am just glad to have them over with. It will be a month or so before I get my results back and know how I did. For both classes there is a non-mandatory curve on which the grading will be done. That means that they will curve grades up if everyone did poorly, but they will not curve grades down. The reason for this is the class size was so small (11 people) that curving grades down would be unfair especially since we may have all done well.

Even more interesting than the fact that my finals are done with is what I did after my finals. Finals were over with by noon and by three I was in a bar drinking with about half a dozen people from the program and the hostel. After a handful of drinks I decided to head back to the Hostel to grab a bite to eat at Rockys with Emily and our Italian friend Laurie. As usual the pizza was outstanding and I took a picture of the place to remind me of how good it was.

After the pizza I went back to the hostel to meet up with Liz, Devon (guy from the program), and Peter (works at the hostel). From there we went out to the Imperial Hotel (a gay bar) where we watched a drag show version of the Wizard of Oz. It was a 4 “man” show and I have to say I have never seen 4 people enjoy themselves so much.

The funny part about it, to me, was that if you had told me one week prior that after finals I would be sitting in a gay bar with a beautiful girl watching a bunch of gay guys run around in dresses, I would have told you that you were nuts. Another part that I liked about going to the show was it let me know I am still attractive, because I got hit on more than once. The only question is how am I supposed to respond to a gay man saying “hey cowboy”. I guess it doesn’t really matter since I don’t swing that way.

Halfway through the show we were joined by my cousin Hidde. He enjoyed the show just as much as I did and insisted on taking us up to Kings Cross after the show for more drinks. Kings Cross is the home of the seedy strip bar. We ended up hanging out there till almost 4AM. From there Liz and I went back to the hostel.

I was still up at 6AM to help Emily take her bags upstairs so she could catch her shuttle to the airport. I was also still up at 7AM to say goodbye to Devon when he left for the airport. Thankfully not everyone left so soon after the program ended because it gave me a chance to say goodbye to the handful of people who figured that they should take advantage of the fact that they were here and stay a bit longer.

Also included below are pictures of people from my program. I realized the day before the program was scheduled to end that I hadn’t taken any pictures of the people I had been spending the past month and a half with. They are a great bunch of people who I will definitely try to stay in touch with. It may be made a little easier by the fact that most of them are in North Cacalaca (North Carolina) which is a bike ride away from NYC. I hope to be able to go down and pay them a visit my first free weekend after classes start back up.

My next post will be all about the four days Liz and I are spending up here in the Gold Coast. Until then…

Sydney Peeps...

2005-07-21T02:19:00.000-04:00

Nina, James, and Shannon (told you they love him)

Me and Shannon after finals

Me and Shannon

Judita and Laurie 2 beautiful Italian girls who didn't know eachother till I introduced them

Emily posing like one of CHarlie's Angels

Squire doing his best "jailhouse" pose

Nina

The least goofy picture I have of Devon

The Chazmanian Devil

Kevin and Chaz chillin'

Corey aka Clark Kent

Shawn doing his best Brando

Zach wishing he was Wessia Fa Lia

What is that on Zach's finger?

Sarah and Jay a little later in the day

Sarah and Jay from Boulder, CO

Kevin working hard getting ready for our last final and Greg being lazy

Good Greg

Evil Greg

Me and James (he owns Scoop the store next door)

Me and Janet (she also owns Scoop)

Rob runs the hostel

Me and Sam (a real spot of sunshine on any day)

The Ladies Love Cool James

Racy Stacey on her way out

Aaron and Ian

Greg pointing at Aaron's meat

Rockys the best damn pizza place in Sydney

In my wildest dreams...

2005-07-20T03:30:00.000-04:00

OK I had a weird dream last night. I remember driving into a parking lot in a pimped out Cadillac El Dorado. The parking lot was outside of a busy night club and I was there to rob someone. I went inside and made my way through the packed crowd and spotted my bag o' cash. I grabbed it with little to no trouble at all and made my way swiftly out the door. Once I got outside to my Caddy I was astonished to find that it had been blocked in by my brothers Rolls Royce. That's the point at which I woke up...

Speaking of funny blog stories I got a good one about my blog. As some of you may remember a couple of weeks ago I was complaining about not getting my breakfast in the morning. Well one of the things I said was that I would get my moneys worth one way or another. Then comes last night, I was at the front desk asking Sam for some clips to hold small stacks of paper together. She with her usual cheer obliges me with 4 clips and asks if that is how I plan to get my moneys worth. She had obviously read my blog and I instantly doubled over with laughter. I figure if I can't laugh at myself everyone else will...

This brings me to another point. If she hadn't read my blog she would not have known my angry comment. The lesson here is not that I need to be careful about what I put on my blog (see first paragraph), but that I need to work on the way I react to things that frustrate me. The fact that she only knew because she read my blog means that I have learned to control my outward reaction. Now I must continue to work on my inner reaction...

The very next day after that post I took a much more even keel approach to life. Like the great Kung Fu masters that I love to watch so much I must learn a greater degree of self discipline. Watching all these Kung Fu flicks inspires me to want to learn. Maybe its not too late...

Well I am off to study. One exam done, one to go tomorrow...

Mother Nature does not disappoint...

2005-07-15T12:33:00.000-04:00

Made it to the Royal Botanical Gardens yesterday and as expected it was absolutely beautiful. It is winter time down here so there were not nearly as many flowers in bloom as there could have been. Maybe I'll have to come back when the Rose Garden is in bloom. I had a great time wandering around, it was very relaxing.

Tomorrow I am taking Hidde, Derk, and Belinda out to dinner. It should be very nice especially because Hidde is an outstanding chef and probably knows some great restaurants. Of course the best part of any meal is always the company.

Monday is the last day of class and final exams are on Wednesday and Thursday. How convenient that my last final is on the same day Liz gets back from Darwin Australia. She and I will fly up to Gold Coast on the morning of the 24th (the day after her birthday) and come back the night of the 27th. That leaves me only 18 hours to say goodbye to Sydney.

I leave the next afternoon for California which will be my time traveling flight (departs 7/28 1:45 PM arrives 7/28 10:05 AM). Really it just allows me to stay in my 20's a little bit longer...

King of the Jungle...

Tree climbing is still fun...

The Tropical Kingdom in a Pyramid...

The bats here grow on trees...

Fire Tulips...

It may be winter here but some flowers are bursting with color...

One of those artsy pictures...

I took at least a dozen pictures to get this one good one...

Last but certainly not least is the picture of a bird who got me to take a picture of a sculpture I had no intention of photographing because there is no way a photo could make me feel the way this sculpture entitled Mother Earth made me feel...

The New South Wales "Art" Museum...

2005-07-14T00:05:00.000-04:00

Well last night I went to the art museum and the best thing about it was that it was free. There was some very nice works there. I particularly enjoyed the Asian Art Gallery. There were however some things I found rather disappointing.

The worst of it was the modern art part of the museum. There were two totally separate paintings that were nothing more than canvas painted black. They reminded me very much of one of my dad's favorite pieces of art "Polar bear blinking while eating a marshmallow in a snow storm" in other words a white piece of paper.

This afternoon I am heading over to the botanical gardens. I am sure mother nature will not disappoint me the way that the art gallery did...

2005-07-12T03:03:00.000-04:00

This is Martin Place the train station I ride to when the train is running. It is a pedestrian thoroughfare that is a great place for one of my favorite past times (people watching). I love my laptop. It allows me to do so many things that just a connection doesn't. Today I got to talk to my roommate Dmitri. He got one of his grades changed from a C- to a C+. Maybe I should talk to my Civ Pro teacher, but maybe I should just let it go and move on...

Will miracles never cease?

2005-07-11T02:45:00.000-04:00

Well I made it over to Hidde's and I am on the internet with my laptop (amazing). Below are a handful of pictures from this past weekend. The bulk of them are from Bondi Beach which has some really nice graffiti. It reminds me of Holland where they cover up the gang graffiti and leave the truly artistic pieces. The other pictures are from Darling Harbor.

Today was another worthless day of class. As usual it was just more indoctrination on how evil and stupid the United States is. I get tired of tree hugging environmentalists telling me how things should be done. They criticize industry for polluting but still drive SUVs. It is really hard to criticize an environmentalism who rides a bicycle and is willing to spend more on products that are environmentally friendly. However when they drive a car and buy products based on price they are unequivocally hypocritical.

I still stand by my statement that if they truly believe what they preach the professors who are trying to indoctrinate us would be paying for my law school education. It is the same way they want the US to pay for developing nations to clean up their act. We do more for third world nations than any other country on earth and it's still not enough for them.

Screw it as long as I can regurgitate the crap they have been feeding us...

Well I have only about 20 minutes worth of battery left so it's time to cut this short. I miss you...

You know where to find the pot of gold

When I say I am at the office this is where I want to be

The Bondi Beach Skate Park

I y'am what I y'am (toot toot)

Game (need I say more?)

I think this one was a self portrait

The graffiti version of Andy Capp

In loving memory

In honor of the Australia New Zealand Army Corps

Not sure what this one says but it sure looks cool

This may have been the most impressive piece of all

Felix the Cat

This fortune teller in Darling Harbor reminded me of the movie Big

Last but not least is my favorite Kebab shop on Bathurst St

More precious than gold...

2005-07-10T22:56:00.000-04:00

Today I have been feeling a little bit lost. Not depressed or down, just a little bit lost. I know eventually I will find my way to where I need to be.

I have been trying to figure out how to post more pictures here, but my wireless card is still burned out and won't be fixed till I get back stateside. The computers here at the library and at the hostel won't allow me to install the program I need to post pictures. That means the only way I can post pictures is by going over to Hidde's place. Unfortunately I have been having trouble getting in touch with Hidde. I think he has been busy celebrating the end of exams.

Just now I turned on my laptop and I am once again picking up a wireless signal, but I am unable to connect to the university's network (because as usual Sydney University is shit). That is not so bad because they require me to install software to use their network. Hidde just called me which means I may be able to go over to his place to use the internet. More importantly I should be able to get online to update all my virus protection.

With all the chaos I am feeling one thing has been helping me...

Music is the soul of the man
Music makes a happy day
Music makes a cloud flow by baby
Your music is my tears inside my eyes
Your music makes me want to sing
Girl, music is a joy to bring
Music is my heart and soul, more precious than gold
Happiness for days, justice all the way
I love your music baby

I find it absolutely amazing the power of music to make me feel...

I have nothing to complain about...

2005-07-08T22:05:00.000-04:00

Well taking into consideration the events of the past few days I have reconsidered my complaints. Last night I spent about an hour on the phone with Liz and I am counting my blessings. Liz is from England and has lots of family and friends in London. Her brother and cousin both work in the area that was affected by the recent bombings. Thankfully her brother changed jobs a couple weeks ago and her cousin was late to work. There are still a couple of friends of hers she has been unable to contact. To top it all off she received news that one of her close family members is very ill. It has been made even more difficult for her because of the fact that she is in Alice Springs which is the middle of nowhere. I did my best to try to console her, but it is very difficult to do from hundreds of miles away. Selfishly I want her here with me, but more importantly she needs to do what is best for her piece of mind. I tried to assure her that being there would not change anything that was going to happen, but she astutely pointed out that even if she couldn't fix anything she might be able to make things a little less painful. This is where I hearken back to what I said last week "...I will always carry you with me in my heart, and it makes my journey a little more bearable to know that I am also carried in yours."

No matter how far I am from my loved ones you are always with me...

Frustration is mounting...

2005-07-08T02:20:00.000-04:00

Well I am just about fed up with Australia and this whole damn law program here. The public transportation system here in Sydney is crap. They don't run on time if they run at all. Last night I waited 35 minutes for a bus when the schedule indicated there should have been 4 busses in that time. I called to complain today and was told they would review my complaint and call me back. Their system is such a tangle that they acknowledge a delay on one side of town can mess up the schedule for all busses and trains all over town. They plan to make improvements by 2010, at least they know how worthless they are right now.

They have signs everywhere asking me not to litter or throw my cigarette butts on the ground, but there are no trash cans or ashtrays anywhere around this city. I have been told they removed a lot of trash cans for the Olympics, but that was 5 years ago. Sydney likes to think it is an international city, but that is only because it is the biggest in Australia. It is still smaller than Phoenix.

My next beef is with the hostel I am staying at. Once again this morning there was no one to cook breakfast for me. I paid $1580 for room and board. Last time there was no one there to cook breakfast I left them a note letting them know how unhappy I was with the situation. They apologized profusely and told me to call the night manager if it ever happens again. So this morning I called the night manager and the phone at the front desk started ringing. What good does it do me to call an unmanned front desk?

I have given up on eating dinner there because the food is so bad. The only meal I eat there is breakfast because I need the energy to get me through the day. If I am not going to eat there at all THEY WILL PROVIDE ME WITH THE MONEY to buy breakfast elsewhere. They may not know it yet but I will get my moneys worth one way or another.

Then comes my law classes. My Professional Responsibility class is not so bad because at least we cover useful interesting material, even if we do move slow and get sidetracked. But my class on Australian Perspectives on International Law has turned into a class on political indoctrination. We have had at least 8 different teachers 3 of whom only got asked to teach the night before, and had to ask us what we were learning. It is 90% social opinion and 10% international law.

Most of the class has been dedicated to trying to explain to us how evil it is to be a prosperous country. But I think the key will be remembering to regurgitate the crap they are giving me on the final. It may be complete crap but if that is what the people doing the grading want to hear that is what I will spit. Tell a narrow minded person what they want to hear and they will think you are a genius. Besides since these grades will go on my transcript it is worth trying.

To compound it all Liz is out of town for another 2 weeks. She comes back on the 21st and I can't wait. Timing in life is everything and the 21st is the day of my last final. Even better news is that she wants to come visit me in the states. Hopefully she will make it over to see me in AZ where I already have plans on how to spend my time with her. She may even come visit me in NY, could I ask for much more.

Well that is my way of venting and now I feel a lot better. Thanks for taking the time to listen. It means a lot to me that even when I just need to complain you are there...

Everything is as it should be...

2005-07-05T06:03:00.000-04:00

Well I had one of the greatest 4th of July's that I have ever had in my life. I spent the day with Liz. She is a wonderful English girl that I met here at Bondi Beach House. The night before (Sunday) we watched Casablanca (one of my favorites) and talked till 2AM. Yesterday I managed to drag myself out of bed shortly before noon and after a quick shower/shave Liz and I headed down to Bondi Beach.

After 2 weeks of being here where I can see the ocean from my room I finally made it down to the beach. We walked along the beach and went jumping around on the rocks (large boulders) like a couple of kids. When we finally got to the beach proper we lied down and relaxed a little while to enjoy the sunshine. That lasted until a cloud got in the way at which point we decided to head a little further down the beach to a cafe. We each got a cup of hot chocolate and shared a brownie, how sweet (the brownie that is). As we walked back we stopped at the stairs that lead away from the beach and noticed a guy catching a fish to which I said how cool, but he won't catch another one while we are standing here. Sure enough 30 seconds later he pulled out another fish (Dave would have loved it). We decided to sit down a little while before leaving the beach. We found a nice little bench formation in the rocks surrounding the beach and pulled up a seat. We made a little sand castle and posted a flag (not much bigger than my foot).

Our big plans for the evening were to head into the city and cross the harbor on a ferry so we could watch the city lights come on. Well everything went according to plan. We got there a little before the sun went down so we walked from Circular Quay where the bus dropped us over to the opera house because we had 30 minutes to kill before our ferry took off. By the time our ferry took of the sun had just gone down which provided us with this wonderful view of a golden sky against the city skyline over the water. We got off at Milsons Point/Luna Park (the area I stayed my first week here). Luna Park is an amusement park with a big ferris wheel. I talked Liz into going for a ride with me, after which she told me it was very romantic (desired effect achieved). The top of the ferris wheel afforded us magnificent views of the city lights at night through the harbor bridge.

After that we walked along the water front till we got to a nice spot to gaze at the lit up opera house and the sparkling lights of the Sydney skyline. After a little while Liz mentioned that she was getting hungry so I suggested the Mad Greek (remember from the first week). It was a little bit of a walk up the hill which was rough because Liz had hurt her ankle while we were jumping around on the rocks. We made it though and it was the perfect place for the two of us to share a bit of dinner. Dinner consisted of a small spinach pizza and tomato and basil bruschetta (she is a vegetarian). It couldn't have been more perfect.

After dinner we walked back down to the harbor where we caught the last ferry of the night back to Circular Quay. Lucky us, but as you all know timing in life is everything. From there we caught the bus back to Bondi Beach and came back to the hostel. We snuggled and watched Sin City on my laptop (Diddy was right). I couldn't have asked for a better night even if I wanted to. Liz makes me feel like a teenager again, which is a good thing. Sadly she left today to go on a trip that will take her to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and up to Darwin. It's OK though because she will be back on the 21st, the day of my last final here. So we will have about a week to hang out and play like a couple of kids...

Could this post be any farther from the first few posts I made in Australia when I was feeling so alone? I would like to thank all of you again for reaching out to me to let me know that even thousands of miles away I am still in your hearts. I couldn't be happier right now...

I talked to my brother today which was very good for me. He is doing very well and facing up to life's trials and tribulations like the man he has become. I have always been proud of him, and I continue to be so. I can't wait to meet his 2 beautiful boys. Uncle Aaron (Uncle Monkeybars) is more than just a legend...

Well I am off to try to call Liz then get a little shut eye. Talk to you soon...

...and I'm floating in a most peculiar way...

2005-07-03T03:36:00.000-04:00

Well let me start off with the latest and greatest. Skydiving was the thrill of my life. Let me start off at the beginning. We caught the train from Central Station and it was about an hour and a half ride to North Wollongong. From the train station we were picked up and taken to the drop zone (landing area). When we arrived there were waivers we had to sign about half a million times. But any good lawyer could probably argue that they were unconscionable based on unfair bargaining power and them being a common carrier.

While we were there we got suited up, basically it was just a pullover/jumpsuit that you could find in any garage or paint shop. Then we climbed into our harnesses that were a little too snug in all the wrong places, but that is the least of your concerns when jumping out of an airplane. They also gave us flotation devices like you find in any airplane, after all we were flying over the ocean and jumping right by the coast. After a little basic instruction on how to exit the plane and basic form in freefall we (Emily, Grant, the instructors, and I) took a van over to the airfield which was 15 minutes away. We all packed into a tiny plane, along with the pilot and co-pilot, like a bunch of sardines. Then came the scariest part, the flight up to 14,000 feet.

In all honesty I don't think that plane was designed to carry that much weight, but we made it off the ground. It was a 20-25 minute flight and just as we began to take off my calf began to cram up. Unfortunately since we were packed in so tight there was no way to stretch it out, beside I think it was just my body's way of rebelling against something that would surely kill it. We flew up to the clouds and then twice as high as that, had we gone any higher we would have needed oxygen and I could feel the thin air. Then we banked around and opened the door of the plane.

I was the second out of the plane along with my tandem instructor Jack. I hung my feet over the edge, crossed my arms over my chest, leaned back into my instructor, and slid out of the plane. The first 10 seconds reminded me of bungee jumping. You experience the change in momentum from forward to downward, the air begins to hit you harder and harder, and the wind roars in your ears. In order to do this you have to overcome every life preserving instinct that you are born with and as you begin to fall you truly realize that death is a possible result. All of this makes you question your sanity for having decided to jump in the first place.

After that first 10 seconds the remaining 60 seconds of freefall bears no resemblance to bungee jumping. It is a constant rush of air and the feeling of incredible power. The clouds came rushing up to greet us and then we slipped right into them. Everything got a lot darker inside the cloud but it only lasted a few seconds. On the other side the coastline came into view, I could see the beach and all the little specs that were the homes of North Wollongong. At just under 4,000 feet Jacked pulled the rip-chord and our chute deployed. That was the second scariest part because it is the only truly dangerous part of the jump, but everything came out exactly the way it was supposed to and we spent the next 6-7 minutes drifting down to earth.

While we rode down Jack pointed out the Sydney skyline which was almost 100 miles away (what a sight). He also let me steer on the way down (the others didn't get to). I did a couple of figure 8's that took us out over the ocean and back over the beach. I got to see Emily land below me and Grant's parachute deploy over me. We circled the landing area a few time so we could approach from the right direction. As we got ready to touch down I lifted my legs and we slid in for a perfect soft landing on the grass.

I said it before and I'll say it again, that was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I definitely have to do it again, but next time I want to go solo. That means I'm going to need to take some classes, but they aren't cheap so I'm going to have to put it on the back burner for a while. I'm so glad to have done it because of how scary it was. Conquering our fears is good for us, it helps us grow.

The next day (yesterday) I came over to Hidde's place and hung out at the field where he and his roommate Derk had field hockey games. It was a nice relaxing time and I met a couple of his friends Greg and Melita. Melita invited me to house-sit for her and Greg, at their place in Manley Beach, when they go out of town next weekend. I just keep meeting nice people everywhere I go.

Today was a lazy Sunday, just the kind of day I like. I went to the grocery store in the afternoon and bought the makings for Italian subs. It was a nice change from the Turkish food which is so popular around here. Now I am just hanging out at Hidde's and will head back over to Bondi Beach House later this evening. We have no classes tomorrow being the 4th of July (and Yiayia's birthday) so I am going to hang out, clean my room, take my laundry over to the cleaners (cheaper than doing it myself), get my reading done for next week, and relax a little.

The wireless card on my laptop has burned out so I will probably only post a few more pictures in the remaining 4 weeks that I have here. As I suspected I have to wait till I get back stateside to get service. Today I bought my ticket from AZ to NY, I fly out of Phoenix on the 17th which gives me a couple of days in NY to get my bike and get in touch with Pat (Trish's mom) who has all my stuff (including my bike) in storage for me. It also gives me a couple of days to get ready to move into the dorms on the 20th. After that I have a couple more days before classes start. Everything seems to happen so quickly, in the next couple of days I have to get things started on my student loans for the coming year. Just another step towards $200,000...

I made it back alive...

2005-07-01T09:03:00.000-04:00

Skydiving was absolutely one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had in my life. Tomorrow I will sit down and tell you all about it, when I am not paying for internet by the minute. I just wanted everyone to know I survived...

Mixed blessings...

2005-06-30T03:01:00.000-04:00

It has been a day of ups and downs. It has been raining all day. I am unable to connect to the wireless network here at Sydney Law. This means my antivirus protection is out of date (a Norton pop-up reminds me every hour). I am not sure if it is my computer or their network. Other people have been able to connect but not me, maybe I will stop by Hidde's place to see if I can connect to his wireless network. If that doesn't work Dell will have to fly someone over here and fix my computer (hey I paid good money for that coverage). The whole thing has me a little frustrated and of course since Sydney University is on it's "winterbreak" there is nobody from IT to assist me. It makes me want to figure out a way to blow up the law school and destroy my laptop in the process (just kidding, oh wait here comes the CIA I think they want to deport me).

Last night I went to my first opera. We (Me, Grant, Emily, and Squire) went and saw Nabucco at the Sydney Opera House. What a great experience, my mom would have loved it. They need to fix the AC though cause I couldn't stop sweating (it didn't help that this cold is hanging on). The acoustics were outstanding even in the back row. I was amazed at how small it was on the inside given how big it is on the outside. It was absolutely the most expensive show I have ever been to. Lolapalooza 1995 was cheaper and more entertaining (just ask Jason). I still had a wonderful time because I love to dress up and do cultural stuff like that. Even if I never go to another opera in my life I will have been to at least one good opera. Before that the only opera I had ever seen was with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Tomorrow I jump from 14000 feet. I am going on my first skydive. Hopefully the first of many to come. I will let you know how it goes. Today I got some news that I have been waiting almost 3 years for, I have been invited to join the DFFL. It is a fantasy football league that Captain Rubber Legs has been in for several years. They take it seriously and everyone pays up. I think the buy in is $100+ and 12 people so there is considerable prize money. After all the crap that has been frustrating me today that is exactly what I needed to brighten up my day...

Good times...

Through the worst of it...

2005-06-28T06:27:00.000-04:00

OK folks I am now officially on the mend. The past 2 days I have come home after class and crawled into bed. Juice and Kung Fu movies have been the order of the day. Diddy kept telling me that Aussie girls are impressed by a guy who can download a lot of Kung Fu movies, but so far I have been finding other stuff seems to work better. However for a sickboy like me Kung Fu and fluids are just what the doctor ordered (right mom). It helps not being the only one in the group that is sick. People have been very sympathetic and understanding. I still haven't missed class, I am saving that for when I feel great and the weather is nice. It has been raining the past couple of days and today when I came back to my room I opened the curtains and saw a full rainbow (gorgeous). I may post the picture if the wireless ever comes back on at Sydney Law Library.

If all goes as planned and I still feel good tomorrow I have a trip planned to see an opera at the Sydney Opera House. I will let you know how it goes. I am starting to make plans for my last week in Australia. Tonight an English girl asked me if I wanted to join her for a trip up to Cairns to go Scuba diving. It sounds like a good time and she's cute. So before the end of the trip I may have learned how to Scuba and go skydiving. I am definitely up for some adventures. Besides if skydiving is half as exciting as bungee jumping I will love it. I am enjoying the company I keep immensely. I have met some good people and some interesting people. I have been trying to take my dad's advice and stop pretending to be interested. I guess it shows...

I recently shared a poem with someone very dear to my heart. Many of you may already be familiar with this poem but here it is anyways...

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I Carried You."

...for those of you who know me well you know I am an Agnostic. I have struggled my entire life with faith and trying to better understand life and it's meaning. This is not meant to be a religious revelation, but it does touch me deeply. I cannot carry you through life's hardest times, nor do I expect to be carried through mine. However I will always carry you with me in my heart, and it makes my journey a little more bearable to know that I am also carried in yours.

I love you and I am always with you...

I am dying...

2005-06-27T07:45:00.000-04:00

They say that perfect health is the slowest rate at which you can die. I am going a little faster than that. I have caught the bug that is going around our group. This may be my shortest post yet, I just dont have the energy. These late nights and early mornings aren't helping any either. I am trying to figure a way to get deported so I can come home. If I get woken up at 3AM again, by the kids here at the hostel I may have found a way to solve that problem...

It's been a couple of days...

2005-06-25T22:30:00.000-04:00

...so let me catch you up on life down under. Seeing as my last post was Thursday afternoon I will start with the Route 69 Pub Crawl Thursday night.

The Bus left the hostel around 7PM and I made it back by 3AM. We had an hour at each bar and some extra time in between for transport. On the way to the first bar we stopped at 2 other youth hostels and picked up a bunch more "kids". At the first bar I had 3 beers and talked Grant (Emily's husband) into doing shots of Tequila with me. They don't have Partron silver here, and by the end of the night I was dong shots of Jose Cuervo (god help me never again). By the time we got to the second bar we were mingling with the other groups and I was up to a six pack and 3 shots. At the 3rd bar they had a bikini contest which I think was mainly for our benefit. That was the nastiest floor I have ever seen, sticky carpets and not in just one spot it was all over. At that bar Grant tried to order a snakebite (shot of tequila) and got some fruity drink that's when Jose stepped in. Thankfully at the next bar (The Cock & Bull) there was a great pizza place next door. But after soaking up the alcohol I only had 10 min to down another couple of VB (Victoria Bitter). The 4th bar served up some kind of butterscotch shot way too sweet for what I had going on so it was more VB and anther shot of Jose. By the time we got to the last bar I was being scolded by a 19 year old English girl for getting too close to one of her friends (damn babysitter). By the end of the night I wasn't crawling, but had a nice little stagger going on. I decided to sleep with my window open and only had 3 1/2 hours to sleep. I woke up 2 hours later with rain pouring into my room. All my clothes were wet, the only dry stuff I had to wear to class was the clothes from the previous night and lots of cologne. I did better than some though because I actually made it to class. I realized after doing some math that I sobered up by the time class was over at 1PM.

Friday afternoon a couple of classmates and I went down to the local sports book to watch that 4th quarter of game 7 of the NBA finals (go Spurs). After that I came back to the hostel and got a couple hours sleep. Later that evening I went into the city to go to the Aquarium with a couple people from the program but ended up going to the IMAX instead. 3D movies should not be the first order of business when you have a hangover.

Last night we went to Telestra Stadium at the Olympic Park to watch the Sydney Swans play the Collingwood Magpies. The Swans won 77-76. It was quite and experience especially since we were sitting in the section next to all the Magpie fans. After the game our group went to the Sidebar for a few drinks. I decided to take off a little before everyone else (11:30PM) so I could get a good nights sleep. That didn't quite go as planned. As I was waiting for the train I started talking to a couple of cute girls who unfortunately happened to be out with their boyfriends (Anton & Koleen and Dario & Maria). By the time they were getting off the train Anton invited me to go to a bar with them and Koleen and Maria grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of the train. We went to a bar called Industrie and they bought me drinks till 3AM. I just figured what the hell how often am I in Sydney. They were a great bunch of people and Anton made sure we exchanged phone numbers so I will definitely be going out with them again.

Today I picked up my laundry because it is cheaper to get it washed than to do it myself. Now people are trying to rush me off the computer so we can go to Paddy's market. I am leading the expedition because I have been there before and am already comfortable with directions in the city. If I can survive NY anywhere else is a breeze...

No Signal

2005-06-23T02:20:00.000-04:00

The wireless network is down here at Sydney Uni Law (big surprise). So once again this will be a short post (I am more comfortable writing on my laptop). After class today I went to Paddy's Market in Chinatown. I guess there is a Chinatown in every major city in the world. There are 1 1/2 billion Chinese people so go figure. It was a great little place to bargain shop. Full of knock offs of everything you could ever want (lots of Von Dutch). I picked up a Drizabone (brand name) leather hat made from 100% genuine Kangaroo. It is basically a black leather cowboy hat (most of them are brown but I am the bad guy). I like the look, I'm sure eventually I'll post a picture of me in it so you will all have to tell me what you think.

I am going to try to go back to the hostel and take a quick nap. We are all going out on the Route 69 pub crawl at 7PM. It has been brought to my attention that this may actually be more of a pub ride. A pub crawl would more like Bogarts, Dizzy Lizard, and Bar Illusiones (Strong Island) or Mill Avenue or Old Town Scottsdale (AZ) or The Rocks (Sydney). But I'm not going to let the lack of crawling hold me back from having a good time. I would bring the camera with me but that would likely just create incriminating evidence. One thing I have learned in law school is if they can't prove it happened, it didn't happen.

I have mostly gotten over the whole class rank thing after a good talk with one of the women in my program here. She reminded me that the lowest ranked member of the graduating class is still a lawyer. I am a B- student who is going to play my 2nd and 3rd year for the same reason that these Aussies play game 3 of State of Origin, for PRIDE. One of the things that I am learning from a UNC professor here is that it takes a lot more than good grades to make a good lawyer. It takes a backbone, a conscience, and a lot of hard work. I have all three and the rest will follow.

I may not come back from tonight with pictures but maybe a good story or 2.

AGAIN CONGRATS TO DR ROBOT

PLEASE EXTEND YOUR CONGRATULATIONS

2005-06-22T00:37:00.000-04:00

Mr Robert "Robot" Bohanan has been granted admission to the Medical College of Wisconsin. I am very proud of him and I am sure he will become an outstanding doctor.

This is the view from my room. I wanted to take a shot from the rooftop but they don't open that until 8AM and by that time I am already on my way to school. I am absolutely wiped out, this getting up at 6:30AM stuff is killing me. I would like to say a lot more but my brain is scrambled right now.

I got my class rank today and I am not proud to admit that my 2.6 puts me 236/263. That means I just barely stayed out of the bottom 10%. It is a bit of a shock to my system to think about it and that may be why I am at a loss for words right now. I know a lot of law students would not share that kind of information or would outright lie about it. I don't care about much of anything right now, so you got me wide open. I wish law school was my biggest concern in life. But I have so much more to figure out...

I love you all...

I have all the time in the world now...

2005-06-21T07:28:00.000-04:00

Well today was another interesting day in a long series of such days. I am online here at Bondi Beach House, which means I am paying by the minute. It's OK though because like I said yesterday I have figured out how to connect to the wireless network at the law school. In fact today I showed half a dozen of my colleagues here how to connect themselves to the wireless network. It took me about 45 min to walk them all through it and make sure they were taking the right steps along the way (it's amazing what missing a simple "/" can do to a proxy setting). They were all in awe that if figured it out with no help from the IT department. They couldn't believe that I had the patience to figure it out all on my own. I told them that those of us who go to second tier law schools have to work a little harder to keep up with the likes of a bunch of UNC students.

They were so thankful for my help that they are all chipping in to buy my ticket for the Route 69 Pub Crawl this Thursday night. It should be a good time. I am having so much fun with this group. The pub crawl won't be the first time we've all (almost all) gone out drinking, and most of us have been here less than a week. They are all except for one guy (not me) very positive people. We got into an interesting character showing discussion in class today about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and how it applies to the legal profession. But it didn't even come close to getting ugly because no one is angry or bitter enough to let it get out of hand.

We unlike Australia's parliament know how to control ourselves. Today as a group we sat in on Question Day in parliament. It is a weekly opportunity for members of parliament to question their leadership. It was just as bad as any of the idiotic highlights you may have seen of the English parliament. They embarrass themselves and make a mockery of government. I have seen high school activity groups with more professionalism and self control than these "grown men" displayed. I am amazed that they would let people in to see their little circus. They should be ashamed of themselves. Our politicians may be lying cheats but at least they are polite about it.

There was also a group of high school girls in the gallery with us from a private catholic school (cute little uniforms and all). One of them was having trouble getting her phone to stay turned off so I turned around and suggested she remove the battery. She wondered why she hadn't thought of that to which I replied "Us Yanks come up with a good idea every now and then" to which she began to swoon. She told me how much she loved my accent and tried to get me to keep talking till we had to be quiet for proceedings. Every time I turned around she was making goo-goo eyes at me and made a special point to say goodbye to me as she was leaving. She was of the age of consent but still a little young for me. I don't think she would have gotten me deported but it could have made for a hell of an interesting story. I had never thought of the fact that I may actually have a sexy foreign accent here.

I am still amazed at how law school can ruin a perfectly good vacation. In the past 2 days I have read over 100 pages in one textbook and 50 pages in another. It's only been 2 days, but I don't like the pattern that is starting to develop. I'll have to do something about that tomorrow, maybe I'll finally hit up Chinatown to get that hat I've been looking for. I am so glad that I planned a week after class ends with nothing to do. By the time I get back to the US I want to learn to surf or go skydiving. I am trying to experience as many new things as possible...

Just as short as the last one...

2005-06-20T01:39:00.000-04:00

I can't say much cause my battery is about to die. Wasted 3 hours of my life trying to connect to the internet here at Sydney Law School. Just trying to help out the group. Almost Everyone has a laptop, but no one could figure out how to connect to the internet. The IT dept wasn't much help either. Like I'm some kind of genius who managed to figure it out all on my own (Eli would be proud). Speaking of Elias Paul Sinderson please send him your best wishes and loving thoughts as tomorrow is the big 30.

So far I like my teachers but they expect us to do a lot of reading in a short time. I don't know how realistic it is but I am willing to sacrifice my enjoyment to do well. I just checked and my last grade finally posted. My first year GPA is 2.6 not great but still qualifies me as a B- student. The grades from summer do transfer to Hofstra so I am going to put in a little extra effort to see if I can squeeze out a couple A's. I should kick ass because this Law School doesn't hold a candle to anything we have in the US.

Gotta go. Keep Smilin'...

I know what time it is in Darwin Australia

2005-06-19T06:56:00.000-04:00

Well I have made it to Bondi Beach House. The accommodations are not nearly as nice as at Glenferrie, but I think they will make up for it because there are so many more "kids" here to provide entertainment. I haven't met many of them yet though as I have only been here for a couple hours and I spent most of that time making my room to my liking. I rearranged the bed so I have a place to set up my laptop (yes mom I did check very closely for bedbugs). No wireless access here so I had to buy 5 hours of internet time for $15. I do have wireless at the law school so from here on out most of my blogs will be done after class, and that is also the only way I will be able to upload pictures.

I went out last night with Hidde and the boys and once again had a great time. But this "morning" I woke up on his couch at noon to find out by email that I had to be at the law school at 1:45. So I has time to grab a quick breakfast and hit the road. No shower no clean clothes none of that. Not the best first impression, but what the hell, some of them were "fresh" off of the airplane so I wasn't alone. I got there at 1:55 and thought I was late, but I still got there before everyone else (no worries). The group is a great bunch of people. I was right about being excited to meet them. We went on a dinner cruise around the harbor. It was a great way to get to know a handful of them real quickly.

I am going to cut this short as I have already used 25 min of my time...

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Rocket Man and the Art of Kung Fu Blogging.