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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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.