A Nice Round Number

Into the "what a great idea" category comes Michael Wolf and his photographic essay on a special group of apartment dwellers and their drastically confined lives.

Camera in hand, Wolf headed into a housing project in Hong Kong (the oldest of many public housing "big boxes") and photographed the residents in all their glory... 100 residents, 100 diverse, 10 by 10 foot.. uh, apartments.

The point not to be missed is that people have a real ability to adapt to their environment even given what you and I might consider to be very significant constraints.

Sometimes it's ethnic or educational constraints, sometimes monetary or other factors. But even when 100 square feet is all you have to work with, many people just do the best they can to make it work.

Browsing the pictures has forced me more than once to take a good look around my very own 2500 sq. feet and feel pretty damn fortunate. I'd be remiss not to point out that it feels pretty good to walk into another room yet still remain within my own personal living space.

Hmmm, wonder if that was Wolf's point?

Week One Down

Fourteen more to go.

Points of interest: the students at UNM are a bit older (average age 28) than their peers at Wisconsin (average age 24). Also, my average class size is about 12 students.

Makes for a different dynamic in terms of life experience, but don't worry, these students enjoy hearing themselves talk just as much as any I've yet to encounter.

And in the good eats department, the snack bar is not only open until 3 p.m. but also has fresh sushi trays in addition to the various and sundry bagels/sandwiches and/or junk food.

But no "Little Man". Ah well, one can't have everything.

Happy Birthday... Sir!

A good friend is celebrating the anniversary of his birth today. While I can't be there to hoist a beer with him or finish off a particularly good cigar in his presence, I did manage to call and wish him well.

Sometime last year he send me a collection of, shall we say motivational posters. I still take a look at them every so often when I need a good laugh. I think that's one of the definitions of a friend; someone who can make you laugh about the absurdity that is so often life, even when they're not around to tell the joke in person.


So, Happy Birthday Tucker!

Books and Baggage

I'm presently smarting from the cost of purchasing my textbooks for this, my final semester. I stopped by the bookstore and picked up what I thought were my books, paying just over $220 for the privilege of reading someone else's uh, wisdom.

That was then.

I've now been back two more times to get the additional, required books that coincidentally were not on the shelves during my first visit.

Current total: $478.

I remember meeting this 3L during my first semester in law school and being confidently told that you never need to buy books after your first year. All you have to do is to check them out of the law library. Well Mr. Know-it-all, what do you do when you go to the law library the week before classes begin and find that the professor has put the only copy of the text book on RESERVE?

(Hint, this could be considered an ethical conundrum for all you aspiring lawyers out therel You know who you are.)

Well, I didn't check out the reserve now did I? Of course not. As Oscar Madison would say, "we'll bring our lunches and won't wash our socks for a week to make up the financial shortfall."

Of course, I hear there's one more book to go that has yet to arrive. List price $110.

You do the math.

Fall's Line-up

Monday morning... bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...

A new semester. The final semester.

A new school. New classes.

Did I mention this is the final semester of law school?
(No excitement here.. uh.. right!)

Classes for my fall semester at the University of New Mexico School of Law:

Oil and Gas Law, Transboundary Water Law, Administrative Law
Federal Estate and Tax, and Natural Resources on Indian Lands

Can you tell I'm focusing on New Mexico issues? Did I mention the grading Scale?

Gasp! Credit/No-Credit for all of 'em.

Sigh.... sweet.

Recovery Awaits

Per a 6:30 a.m. flight this morning, my god daughter's winging her way 'back East' as I write. I'm suspecting that the house will be a bit quieter in the coming days, weeks and months (years?)...

As I mentioned in a previous post, we found that a lack of energy accompanied the week. No matter. Sleep is now an option.

Of course I'm still wired from all the sugar I've consumed over the past seven days. For example:

We ended up celebrating her 10th birthday early and make a wickedly chocolate cake that give me a cavity from just sitting there on its plate. I don't have much of a sweet tooth as it is, but this monster had three layers of the aforementioned chocolate, with marshmellow centers and chocolate chips mixed in the devil's food frosting.... wow.. just recalling it leads me to a celery-craving...

Insulin charge aside, we had a great time having Sarah visit and getting to know her now that she's growing up.

Exhaustion or a Similar Feeling

Monday, Tuesday, almost Wednesday.... and still going strong.

A 10-year old child is visiting for the week and while I'm not yet exhausted, I am beginning to notice a certain lack of um, shall we say... energy.

My cousin (and god daughter) from North Carolina is here on her first solo visit to New Mexico. She's spending a week with "CHRIS and TRISH".... starring, yep, yours truely.

Seriously, she's great. We love having her here and trying out someone else's kid. It was a big deal to have her come visit (flying by herself) and we appreciate her parent's willingness to share her with us and more importantly, to recognize the value of sending her off on a grand adventure.

We've made special breakfasts and dinners, seen the Sky City at Akoma and ridden the Sandia tram, and eaten a boatload of sushi... and done math problems and watched Harry Potter and the Princess Bride, and... .and... .and....

(10 year olds tend to talk in terms of... and we did this... and we did that.... and we did this.... well, you get the idea).

Oh there's more to come between now and Sunday. It's only the end of the second day after all...

and I can sleep next week.

New Mexican Restaurant Update

New Mexican restaurants that have been sampled thus far in ABQ:
Rankings: (low to high) Not Worth It, Not Bad, Nice, Mui Bueno

WHERE: Taco Cabana
(8830 Montgomery, NE and 6500 San Mateo, NE)
WHAT: Carne Adovada Tacos (3 visits)
HOW: Mui Bueno, excellent seasoning w/oh so tender meat and tortillas plus a 'fix'ns' bar with plenty of pico de gallo, and red and green salsas.

WHERE: Garcia's Kitchen
(Indian School and Wyoming, NE)
WHAT: Carne Adovada Platter
HOW: Not bad, but too lightly seasoned and without tortillas.

WHERE: Chilacas
(11225 Montgomery, NE)
WHAT: Big Carne Adovada Burrito
HOW: Not bad, light seasoning; corporate feel ala Chipotle, slow service.

WHERE: Garduno's
(5400 Academy, NE)
WHAT: Carne Adovada Platter
HOW: Nice, topped with melted cheddar cheese, served with table tortillas.

WHERE: Bandito Hideout
(2128 Central Avenue, SE)
WHAT: Fish Tacos (Visit 1), Chicken Enchilladas with Green(Visit 2)
HOW: Visit 1, Not bad, fried fish but live music on Sunday afternoons.
HOW: Visit 2, Nice, well-seasoned with excellent green chile filling.

WHERE: Monica's Cafe
(5331 Menaul, NE)
WHAT: Beef Enchilladas w/Green and Red
HOW: Not Worth It, little flavor and overpriced. Good sopopillas.

I'd write more but now I'm hungry and thinking of carne adovada... mmmmmmm...

Apple... Jack...

Those two words bring me back to an Ozzy Osborne concert in Frankfurt, oh, about April, 1986.

What also comes to mind is the fact that after seeing a great show and drinking a bottle and a half of the stuff, I fell asleep/passed out on the train, missed my stop in Ansbach and woke up in Munich with no cash, no prospect of getting any and a 180 kilometer trip home.

My two travel companions, Chuck Stover and Steve LaPrad decided to get on the northbound train sans ticket. I chose to avoid the prospect of a call to my commanding officer and thumbed a ride back to the barracks. Six hours, and four very nice German drivers later, I arrived back with nothing more than a wicked hangover and the Beatle's "Shout" (in German) playing over and over in my head (ala, driver no. 3).

The lesson was learned, i.e. never drink Apple Jack at 2 a.m. on a train after seeing Ozzy.

That having been said, we've got an apple tree that is just bursting with newly ripened apples and we need to do something with them. Too many to eat and too many to throw out; if we don't pick them the bears will come down out of the mountains and eat them.


Apple Jack, bad... bears, worse.

It takes a year to make good apple jack, but only a couple of hours to chop up some apples and put them in a carbouy.



Let the fermentation begin!!!

Hiking in the Backyard

Saturday afternoon with no rain in sight and we took a walk out of our front door, down the street and up into the Sandias. No driving required, the Sandia mountains are right there waiting for us to climb them.



Off in the distance, a storm cloud was doing its thing (and yes, that's what it looked like - no photoshop here!).



But, after about 500-750 feet or so of steady upward travel, we decided that a particular flat rock was too tempting an alternative.



Heading back after lunch, the storm rolled in.



We just made it back before the rain started pouring. Ah, the fringe benefits of living in ABQ.

Standing at the Pump...

... and watching my dollars grow (via American Express direct to Shell), I was wondering how New Mexico compared to other areas in the country, gas price-wise.

And here it seems someone else has been asking the same question and putting the internet to good use with a very impressive color-coded map.

New Mexico ranks 12th most expensive this week, with an average of $3.079. (Wisconsin ranks 2nd at $3.156, gasp!)

There are listings of local gas stations and their recent prices on this site as well, but fiscal conservatism aside I don't think I'll be driving all the way over to Coors Blvd., just to save eight cents a gallon.

I like paying full price at the pump. It's a small price to pay for the glory of hearing that V-8 purr....

Head on down the highway...looking for adventure... in whatever comes my way...

Ah, Victory is Mine!

Finally.

The University of New Mexico School of Law has finally accepted me as a visiting student.

Note to self: Never apply in March for something that won't be decided until August.

I was beginning to think I'd never hear from them. To that end, I'd started shopping for sublets back up in the Great White North.

Must click my heels together, however. Madison is not for me this fall.

I'm permitted to remain in the land of the red and green.

Nice People

I have to mention just how nice the people I'm working with this summer seem to be.

They are all attorneys and paralegals with decades of experience (much of which took place before joining the office), and they are just... so... very... friendly.

I think I was expecting a more aloof atmosphere. Last summer was a blast in part because everyone was so laid back. I guess I expected people to be more uptight, given that they work for the US Government. (I have a bit of experience working in a government office myself - believe me, people are very uptight at the US State Department, my previous gig).

I get assignments from various attorneys all of whom seem actually grateful to have me working there and contributing. I've taken a few road trips with individual lawyers (to interview witnesses and go to court in Santa Fe), and the one-on-one interaction reinforces that these are people to spend time with.

Truth is, I'm just really impressed by the caliber of people I'm spending the summer with.

Experiencing the law away from law school is really quite a good thing. Quality-wise, however, I think 90 percent of it has to do with the people you encounter day in and day out.