Feeling Human Again...

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...

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...

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...

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...