Year Endeth, Year Beginneth...Again

Another great okapi year has come and gone.  First, the blog is officially over one full year old, and I am still writing it!  This is kind of huge for me as okapis are well known to be great starters, but not great continuers.    Also, I am officially half way through law school!  It's true what they say, the second year is WAY better. 

The tiger pup is growing up and hates wearing pajamas.  Hee-hee.  You may remember on last years end of the year post she showed off the zombie dog look in preparation for the 2012 apocalypse.  She was upset she'd never get to use it in real life, but I was super excited NASA put out a video about how dumb people were to think there would actually be a Mayan apocalypse.  Well played, NASA.

Of course we got two new feline companions: Peggy (above) and Billy (below).  Unfortunately, we also lost two awesome feline companions: Steve and Sandra Flea.  I tend to believe pets are reincarnated, so we get the same animal family members throughout life.  Billy is great proof of this as he is like Steve 2.0.

What else happened?  Fancy got me a sweet video camera to interview folks for the blog (awesome).  I started (poorly) drawing a web comic, which I gave its own blog since Fancy correctly pointed out people not having experienced law school do not give a shit about a SPARTAN law school web comic.

Our good buddies got married this year, which was a great time.  Also, Fancy and I passed the seven year mark on our relationship (relatively) unscathed.  Other than that the year has been rather uneventful.  Between school and work, we have been old, boring, and loving it.

As 2012 draws to a close, I would like to thank my faithful readers for sticking with me even when posts dry up for a few weeks.  I hope that all of you keep reading the blog and feel free to hit me with feedback.  You can email me or leave comments (instructions provided on the right sidebar of the homepage) on any post.  I hope everyone had an awesome 2012 and will have an even better 2013!

Spartans and Law Students: Learning to Research

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Spartans and Law Students I

Law Students--------SPARTANS!!

So, I was playing with the idea of doing some short web comics. I fucking love SPARTANS! Also, when I'm under a lot of stress (like, you know, in law school), I start thinking of things in spartan-like terms. So, I thought maybe I'd do some spartanish web comics about law school. Here are some ideas for a first frame. (Sorry the light blue is so...light. I'll know that for future use.) Thoughts?

Sinbad's Mediterranean

My favorite Mediterranean food comes from Sinbad's over on Park Ave.  Mac D had that Shish Plate pictured above.  It typically comes with feta, but Mac D isn't a goat cheese guy, so he swapped in cheddar.

I had the Sfiha plate with a Sinbad salad.  Those toasted pita pieces are delicious.  The Sfiha itself is awesome with its beef and pine nuts in a toasted pitas.

I brought Fancy home the Melintzano pasta.  It was light and delicious with a nice smattering of feta.  I give Sinbad's a solid 4.5 stars, so drop on over and have some delicious Mediterranean!

Update

So, I haven't really had the chance to update this in almost two weeks, which is unusual.  My goal is one post per week, but things got a little busy here.  I guess I should catch all of you out there in okapi land up on what's new.  

Billy has forced everyone to love him.  He started with pig since she runs shit around here.  Pig would be so pissed if she knew I took this pic.  She maintains that she hates Billy.

My good friend, Poodle, won the Ms. Disco Diva crown.  So, you know, that was pretty cool to watch.  Congrats, Poodle!

Oh!  Fancy and I did early gift exchange this year.  We got each other ipads!  I love it...but alas, it is a pain in the ass to make blog posts from.  Oh, well.  By the way, if anyone knows anything cool I should definitely be doing with my ipad, let me know.

Anyway, this is the time of year when school gets really crazy, so my posts may be a bit scarce for a few weeks.  I was lazy all semester, so now I have to buckle down and prepare for finals.  My posts may move into the once every two weeks range, but I haven't given up on blogging just yet, so keep on checkin' in and thanks for reading!

BONES!!

A couple weeks ago Ewok and I decided to go for a walk between dinner and a local wrestling match.  The closest park was Memorial Park near the intersection of Lyell and Howard.  We walked through a bit of woods and arrived onto this stone path

The path went on for as long as the eye could see in both directions.  On one side was the strip of forest and on the other side Trolley Blvd, so I'm guessing these rocks are covering old trolley tracks?

The walk was peaceful, though the ground was super uneven.  So, if you have, say a severely sprained ankle because a tiger puppy leapt into you, perhaps another walking place is better.

As we walked, we stumbled upon these bones strewn about.  It was fascinating.  Where's the skull?? we asked each other excitedly as we walked along.  It was a fun scavenger hunt, really.

Then we found the skull!!  So, what do you thing this is?  Opossum?

Harry G's N.Y. Deli

Today Mac D and I went to Harry G's over in the South Wedge for our tri-weekly lunch.  I usually start with the main meal, but these mini red velvet cakes were delightful, and at only $1, who could go wrong?

I had a half Kasha: grilled chicken with portobello mushrooms, provolone, lettuce, tomato, and pesto mayo.  It was absolutely delicious.  The chicken was extremely flavorful, and everything balanced nicely.  I always say the roll makes the sub, and here the roll is delicious.  

The whole reason we went to Harry G's in the first place was Mac D's craving for this reuben.  He reports it as being delicious.  In fact, it's one of the things this place is known for, so if you like that sort of thing you should definitely check it out.

I ordered the macaroni salad with it, but to be honest I didn't even need it; the sub was that good.  The mac salad was pretty good, but a bit sweet for my taste.  I will note, however, that this is purely a preference thing, and not a quality thing.  The one thing that would have improved it, though, is not overcooking the noodles.  All in all I give Harry G's 4.5 stars, so go have some lunch there!

Where Things are Most Likely to Attack Me (No seriously, they even put in an emergency phone)

So, I was walking through the school dungeon basement this past week when I noticed they had installed security cameras and an emergency phone.  Uh-oh.

I find it as no surprise that the phone is near this little area.  It's recessed, creepy, has a chair for the killer to sit in and await victims...

This is creepy, right?  I mean, seriously.  You have to crawl under the pipe to get in there, so why the chair?  Why just one chair??

So, of course, GG and I crawled underneath to see what's going on in there.  There are these dirty pants, which is extra weird.  

So, here is the nice little area you're walking along before you might be attacked by the (ostensibly) pantless killer.  To the left outside the picture is the emergency phone.  Also of note, you must pass through here to get to class if you take the elevator downstairs.

Billy!!!

We have a new tiny family member, and his name is Billy.  He's named after a cousin of his: a rooster named Billy the Giant Cock.

Anyway, Billy there is a tiny, cute kitty.  Fancy told me for a very long time that she wanted a white kitten with stripes.  I did not believe that such a thing existed, but then one day, BOOM!  

He's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.  For those of you who knew the late, great Steve, I dare say this little fellow is even cuter.  

Actually, speaking of Steve, I have sort of an oddball theory on pets (as will come as zero surprise to those of you who know me).  I believe the pets that we have that we most connect with are reincarnated to be with us again and again throughout our lives.

He is quite boneless like Steve and super sweet.  He seems to be getting along pretty well with the other pets.

Pig-a-woo is nice to him, because she doesn't hate things smaller than her.  In fact, I may have stumbled upon her taking Billy's side in an argument with the Tiger Pup.

The Tiger Pup really wants to play with and/or eat Billy, but that makes us humans awfully mad.  She has no idea why.

As for the feline opinion, Peggy was mistrustful at first, but now the two play a lot.  Actually, she may be "playing" passive aggressively since she's a touch rough, but Billy loves it.  As for Fast Eddie, he hates us.  And Billy.  And you.  So, you know, typical Eddie.