Vehicle Break-In Report Card (or: why there is a paper allowance on law students)

I walked out of class yesterday and found this postcard (image cropped to avoid distinguishing marks) on my windshield. So, okay I guess it's nice that they try and make sure we aren't setting ourselves up for theft, but let me (as an ex-office supply store employee) nerd out on you for a moment. SUNY is cutting costs and we law students have a paper budget and blahblahblah...but these cards are printed on high quality card stock in color. Shit ain't cheap, folks. Neither is paying someone to check every goddamn car in the parking lots two days in a row.

Anyway, I came out today and this card was on my windshield. See that? Yesterday my vehicle passed the vehicle break in test, but today it failed. NOTHING changed in my vehicle from yesterday to today, so I'll kick this out to you, dear readers, to decide what it was that qualified as "valuable" in my vehicle. I narrowed it down to three items. And yes, these are the most "valuable" items in my car. Please cast your vote on the top right hand side of the homepage (or leave a comment here if you need more options).

A)Toby's mom's Dunder Mifflin cup.

B) These lottery tickets (worth around $5).

C) This empty (but hey, they don't know that) box of beer.

School Randomness

Saw this today and it made me smile. Also, I noticed that the "no cell phone" signs in the law library picture flip phones circa 1989. It occurred to me that many of classmates probably never even saw one of those in real life. 

Week One of Law School

That image up there is how this okapi feels after the first week of law school. I used to say "I don't have time for...", but I was lying. I just realized this fact because I really don't have time now. Going from leisurely blogging and surfing the net all day to week one of law school is like getting hit by a mack truck. That being said I met a lot of cool folks and am still managing to update this, so I'll survive :) 

Law School and Reincarnated Dogs

This week marks the start of law school for this okapi. That means I will be spending a lot of time in that room pictures above and will be posting slightly less. I will now be doing posts five days per week instead of seven, so still check back often! 

The coolest thing I've seen in law school so far is this pooch. She looks exactly like a good doggy friend of mine who passed away this past year. 

I chased the lady down and she let me snap a pic of the adorable doggy. If you knew the late, great, Boo-Dog, you know that the resemblance is uncanny.

Tractor Pull: Druncle Edition

This past weekend we went to the tractor pulls. That picture up there is the preparation of the tractor pull field area. This exhibition area is in Pike, NY and only used for tractor pulls.

In case you're not sure what a tractor pull is, it's when a tractor like this neat green one above pulls a weight and sees how far they can pull it. Like vehicles compete against each other in pulling the weight.

This is the weight that they pull and that mound of dirt at the end is the goal. The screen there puts up the distance pulled and is perched on the back of a 4 wheeler.

While all of this was going on, Fancy's Druncle was there. He goes every year and a couple years back fell down the bleachers. This year he nearly got in a fight which was fun to watch. Best part is you can't even understand that he's saying most of the time.

See? Isn't he awesome. We love the tractor pulls.

Dirty Dave's Review

Dirty Dave's or D&D's as it is often called is a little hole in the wall bar and grill right outside the village of Scottsville. My parents live 10 minutes from the place and we've always had great pub grub there, so yesterday we decided to pay a visit with the folks.

We goddamn love their hot buffalo wing sauce; it's hot, but sweet at the same time and usually the wings are swimming in the stuff. We ordered them extra crispy, but they were barely cooked for some reason. I've never had wings this ugly (soft, watery, barely any sauce) from D&D's before and was very disappointed.

Dad ordered the nachos with cheese and jalapenos and felt that he was short changed on the jalapenos. There was plenty of cheese, but these were more like fair nachos (liquid nacho cheese) than restaurant nachos (melted shredded cheese), so if that's what you're expecting they're pretty good.

These are the D&D's version of "loaded fries" which is something that lots of Rochester places like to put their own spin on. These have nacho cheese, meat hot sauce, and bacon served with sour cream for dipping. I didn't expect nacho cheese, I expected a melted cheddar or some other type of "real" melted cheese, so I was a little let down. I will say though, that they were not skimpy on toppings and they tasted pretty damn good.

My dad ordered the beer battered jumbo clam strips which he reports as being very tasty, although a bit thick on breading. They were only $4.50 which is a good price for the amount of clam given.

I ordered the classic clam strip dinner which for $6.25 got me fried clams, french fries (double order in place of coleslaw-okapis goddamn hate coleslaw), and a dinner roll. Everything was cooked perfectly and very tasty. The price can't be beat and there was more than enough food.

Mom ordered the fried shrimp dinner which came with the same stuff as the clam strip dinner and cost just over 7 bucks. She was very satisfied with the portion and taste. Nothing was over or under cooked and the fries did not have a residual "fishy" taste from over use or cross contamination from the fried fish items. 

Fancy had the turkey club with mayo on the side because Fancy goddamn hates condiments applied to her food by restaurants. This was a large sandwich served with a small bag of Lay's chips. She enjoyed it thoroughly.

The atmosphere at D&D's is total dive bar. It's not well lit or large and everyone crowded around the bar know each other. I personally dig that atmosphere, but if you don't like the neighborhood bar vibe, this isn't the place for you. I feel a bit silly (and cursed) by having to say once again that this reviewed experience is the worst I've had at this location. I have often gone out of my way to get chicken wings from D&D's because I believe that they have the best wing sauce in Rochester (seriously, it's that good), but this experience was awful with the wings. Overall, however they are still a good place for cheap pub grub. I would say that their biggest issue is consistency, so based on this experience I would give D&D's 3 stars. If you're ever in the neighborhood, it's worth a stop in for sure.

Post-Apocalyptic Tennis Courts

This okapi loves to play tennis, but no one else does that I know, so today I went to hit some balls against a wall. The only place in my immediate area that has some tennis walls is Greece Athena High School.

Last year it was hard to find a good time to play because the tennis team practiced a lot, but this year there isn't even a net up.

In fact, there were four other courts (and two walls) where this field is now. I understand that other sports are more popular, but they could at least maintain the courts that they didn't tear down.

I mean, weeding isn't all that hard. Last year there were a bunch of kids on the tennis team, where did they all go?! 

Now, there isn't even really a place to sign up to play. I'm a little annoyed that the one thing that I actually used which is supported by my (ridiculous) Greece school taxes isn't even taken care of any more. Also, I know other sports are more popular, but they should still have a tennis team. Right?

The whole place has fallen into disrepair and I don't buy the budget crunch argument because they could afford to tear down four courts and make that new, fancy field. Come on, Greece, fix the damn tennis courts!

Texas Bar-B-Q Joint Review

This place used to be called "Taste of Texas," but recently changed names, not owners. Why? Who knows. Anyway, Fancy and I continued our anniversary weekend celebration by hitting this old favorite of ours for dinner. 

They are located in Spencerport and are a tiny hole in the wall place where seating is usually pretty full. They take your order at the front counter where you pay for your meal, and they yell your name when it's ready, so you can come grab it and sit down.

They offer complimentary soup, but have a donation bucket. Half of the donations to the local soccer club, so drop in a buck or two when you try their delightful homemade soup of the day. That up there is bean soup which this okapi doesn't like, but Fancy loves. 

We each ordered the "cattle drive" which is an option of two meats (not ribs, those are $5.99 for 1/3 rack added on), two sides, and a corn muffin. Fancy grabbed a half chicken, beef brisket, baked beans, and mac and cheese. All of these items are made from scratch and she reports that the beans were amazing, the chicken delicious, the mac and cheese pretty good, and the beef brisket over cooked/chewy. This is the first time we've had an issue with anything from this place, but Fancy didn't like that brisket at all (the mastiff on the other hand was glad to take it off our hands when we got home).

I also got a $9.99 "cattle drive." I had pulled pork, pulled chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and mac and cheese. The pulled pork was the best part of my meal: nice and sweet while juicy and not over cooked; the pulled chicken was good, too, but I'd go all pork next time. The real mashed potatoes and chicken gravy were delicious and I really enjoyed the mac and cheese. Also of note: the BBQ sauce itself is some of the best I've had in the area.

The difference in opinion on the mac and cheese has a lot to do with personal preference in the okapi family. Fancy likes hers extra cheesy with a little something else thrown in like jalapenos or a really sharp cheese whereas I like a plainer mac and cheese with a light, not over-powering cheesy flavor. This particular mac and cheese fell in line with my preference perfectly and I would recommend it (unless you're like Fancy, because then you'll just cry). 

I also got an order of fried green tomatoes. This okapi goddamn loves fried green tomatoes! This order only cost me $1.85 and was more than worth the cost. I'd actually say that this place has the best fried green tomatoes in Rochester. You should go order some, because damn they're good.

This is a locally owned place where folks are real friendly, food comes out fast, the atmosphere is inviting, and like Fancy says "We've never gotten a bad meal from that place." People around here tend to talk up places like "The Dinosaur" or "Sticky Lips," but I think Texas Bar-B-Q has them easily beat from taste, to atmosphere to price: all across the board. I would have to rate it 4 and a quarter stars because of the brisket, but I will mention that last time Fancy had it, she loved it, so maybe on my next visit we'll see a redemption and a re-review? Anyway, if you have a hankering for BBQ, make the drive to Spencerport, it's worth it.

Wyoming County Carnival: Outhouse Edition

The Wyoming County parade is tomorrow, but last night we headed to Pike, NY for a little party at the Carter Commune. I managed to pull Fancy away for a brief walk over to the fair so that we could score some fried dough. It was delightful. If you like carnivals, Pike is having one all week.

Back at the Carter Commune, they rented a portable toilet for the fair. You read that right, they rented a toilet for their friends and family to use when they park at their house to pre-game/party/hang out during fair week. Oh, and don't even think that you're special enough to get to use the house crapper.

Unless of course you have the key, then by all means go right ahead.

Pok-A-Dot Review

Fancy and I have our 6 year anniversary on Sunday and so, we're celebrating...all damn weekend! We started our celebration yesterday by heading to The Batavia Downs Casino to drop a few bucks and decided to finally check out the (nearly) famous Pok-A-Dot lunch counter. 

There's a sign on the door letting folks know that they're famous for their Beef on Wecks, so we sure got one of those. It was nice and juicy with a fresh roll that did not fall apart. They also gave us a small saucer of horseradish to apply as needed. I would definitely recommend it, and $4.10 just isn't a bad price for this thick, tasty, beef sandwich.

We also ordered the Pok-A-Dot Special: double cheeseburger with fries and a large drink for just under $7. This burger was juicy and thinly pressed which I love. It fit in my mouth and you could still taste all the great toppings. It's served on a fresh, grilled hard roll which is goddamn awesome.

The order of fries was super generous and I get the feeling that she hooked us up because we were splitting the order. Every single person who walked through the door knew the lady behind the counter by name and they were busy on a Friday at 3PM, so yeah, I'm guessing she used her judgement and gave the okapi family a few extra fries. I love her.

My soda was served in a frosted mug and I got mountain dew. Everyone else who ordered anything to drink got the root beer, so maybe they're know for that, too? I don't know because okapis don't goddamn like root beer. Or root beer floats. Or cream soda for that matter...

Our food was fantastic and the bill came to under $12. Everything on the menu is very reasonably priced and the food is cooked quickly while you watch, just on the other side of that counter there. The lady behind the counter was very friendly, and the atmosphere was fantastic: it's a 50s style hole in the wall that hasn't changed much since it opened over 50 years ago. It gets 5 stars, so if you're ever in Batavia, check it out, but bring cash, because like most places with this vibe it's a CASH ONLY establishment.

Tiffany Stories FINAL

So, Tiffany tells me that Nick is in the hospital. Next day she tells me that he's home because he just had some torn ligaments in his knee. He's been home for two days. I point out that the day before she said he was in the hospital. Well...it turns out that he was home from the accident with the torn ligament when he went roller skating down the stairs. Huh. This is like the 12th time he's torn that ligament, you know. He does it ALL THE TIME.

So, then she tells me that Nick is going to be moving away for a month. He's going to Africa. Then he is going to Australia. Oh, no. What is Tiffany going to do? He was set to leave the very next day. (I guess his ligament healed again...) So, a few days later she tells me that he is in Australia and there is an issue. He knows someone in Australia. His one true love, Shiela lives there! She moved away when they were eight years old and  he has loved her ever since.

So, Tif said that everything would be ok as long as he didn't see her. Well, guess who picked him up from the airport? That's right! And guess who he's staying with? Right again!! So, Tiffany dumped him. The next day, she came into work and told me that they were getting married and it gets worse. Shiela is pregnant. It turns out that she had come to the US to visit Nick a few weeks ago and of course, Tif wasn't told. Three days after that, Nick called and wanted to call off the wedding with Shiela because he realized Tiffany was the one for him! He asked her to marry him instead, she had to say no and vowed to never see or speak to him again.

Well, this concludes the Tiffany stories. Shortly after this installment I stopped working with her. I saw her a couple of months later walking through a parking lot and pulled up next to her in my car:

Me: Hey, Tiffany!

Tiffany: Oh, goddamn it.

I feel this exchange was a fitting ending/description of our interaction with one another. I will be putting these posts in their entirety on a separate page on this blog in case anyone ever wants to read it all in one place. Thanks for reading them!

Awesome Stuff That Happens in Rochester: Buffalo Bills Practice

This okapi goddamn loves the Buffalo Bills. The off season practices for the Bills are held here in Rochester (so  far, the contract is up this year and we're unsure if they'll renew), so this okapi headed out to watch last night. 

I asked the Ewok to go with me and she agreed although she isn't a football fan. Thanks, Ewok!! We had a really good time although people kept standing in front of us. It really irked me because some jerk wearing loafers and a Jaguar hat looked right at us and stood in front of us. I hate people like that who think their money makes them better than everyone else.

Other than that, the practice was awesome!! Ewok kept getting afraid people were going to get hurt which was kind of funny seeing as we were watching football. It's sort of weird watching a team practice because everyone secretly roots for the offense, cheering when a big play is made and "Oooooooooh"ing when the defense makes a big play.

I unfortunately couldn't get pictures of the big plays of the night, but I'll share them anyway. Smith who is technically our 3rd string quarterback, but can do pretty much anything offensively making him awesome, threw a perfect 50 yard pass to Stevie Johnson who jumped up and narrowly snagged it with great coverage from Drayton Florence.

Florence, however had the second best play of the night when he ended the night by intercepting a throw meant for Lee Evans. This okapi sure loved seeing the Bills practice!

At the end of practice, I lined up and tried to get some autographs from our awesome team members. Now, this okapi is usually not a big autograph person and in fact has not asked for one since the 90s (and that was from Ani Difranco), but I really love the Bills. So, I managed to get my football signed by CJ Spiller, Josh Nesbitt, Fredie Jackson, Bryan Scott, and Jehuu Caulcrick.

The one that I wanted most, however, was for Freddie Jackson to sign this official photo that I have of him. So, while I waited in line for other players to walk by, I asked the Ewok if she would go get it for me and she did. Goddamn sweet. He's my favorite player, so I felt kind of bad for him when he was signing my football and heard these huge cheers coming from fans at the other side of the field. He looked over and said, "Oh, it's Stevie Johnson". He didn't sound upset or anything, but it kind of sucks that someone so much more consistent who really busted their ass to play in the NFL doesn't get that kind of fan response. 

Anyway, I shot Freddie Jackson a tweet later thanking him for the autograph and he responded right away (accidentally not hitting the "reply" button, but then correcting it to this). What an awesome guy who really appreciates his fans. I'm really glad that he plays for our team and can't wait to watch him on Sundays.