Life is Good.

I got up Sunday morning and walked the grounds at M&D's, where I saw this open before my eyes in one of the ponds.
Life is good.

OMG!!! Give him "Taxman", please!!!

This guy, a TAX ATTORNEY, is allegedly the most successful contestant on the Fox version of "The Singing Bee." Here he is doing a soulful rendition of Aerosmith's "Don't Want to Miss a Thing".
Seriously, Paul Caron, what's the deal with this guy!?!

Rhymes With Tickle...

Are you a licensed attorney in the State of New Jersey?
If so, have you had the fun of attending the infamous, and required, Skills & Methods course (a.k.a, "ICLE")?
If not (and if you are planning on attending a taped session at Seton Hall Law School), let me provide a few tips:

1. Do the homework ahead of time and bring it with you. This is for two reasons: 1. most of the people will be sitting in the auditorium actually doing the exercises while the tape is playing, and if you have any questions, you can either ask them, or; 2. get the answers to any of your questions from the tapes. You *could* bring the materials and do the homework while the tape is playing, but I don't think that the seats are space-condusive for doing so and the lighting stinks. If you do opt for the latter, try to snag a seat under a light in the very back row.

2. If you do hang out in the back, be considerate of your neighbors. First, even though it's not a work week, please remember to shower. Also, that BarBri rule about stinky food should be reinstated by the NJICLE. Lastly, if you do engage in a full-out sleep, do not, gentlemen: 1. sleep on one's back and; 2. develop a clearly obvious protuberance. [Dude, some guy actually creeped up on you and took a cell-phone picture... eew!]

3. Bring a variety of reading materials.

4. Arrange to have friends call you with "urgent" news.

5. Bring caffeine. While the folks at Seton Hall couldn't be nicer, it's dead there and you'll have to trek over to some sketchy, Newark-hole-in-the-wall to get coffee.

That is all.

Ya Down With OCD?

So, I was away taking mandatory CLE all week... It occurred after checking into the hotel that I have two predilections. The first is that I am particularly oc when it comes to setting up a hotel room to accord with my sense of cleanliness and orderliness. This process involves home-brought disinfectant, scenters, drawer liners, pillows, etc. I know, I know... The second issue is that I tend to reduntantly collect technology (see fig. above). Yep, three iPods + iPhone (took the photo). Not to mention the pink cases. I am truly pathetic...

Power Blog! Power Blog!

So, I went to this very prissy all-girls high school where sports were required but the regular athletics period was pretty much a joke (thanks to a teacher who spent a great deal of the time regaling us with stories of her dating life). However, twice-a-term the head of school would pop around to observe classes, at which point said teacher would impose upon us an activity called Power Jog! Power Jog(!) consisted of our basically jogging at a normal pace around the gym and then every so often being regaled with her shouting "Power Jog!" I should mention that the soundtrack to this activity was Marky Mark Wahlberg's bustin' hit "Good Vibrations."

Power Jog(!) was akin to getting our whole "gym" for a term in like, a week. It was major catch up...

For my faithful readers (yes, a couple hundred a week, thank you very much), I'm makin' up for a week right now.

Hence, Power Blog! (you get it...)

"Who Needs The Kwik E Mart?.... I Do..."

While I don't think that my experience out at our local 7-11-turned-Kwik-E-Mart was as neat as SJ's, here are some photos from yesterday's chamber field trip!

I purchased the Krusty Os (cereal), a six-pack of Buzz cola, the donuts, and, of course, a Squishee ($15 total). For the most part, it was pretty neat. Every sign has been changed to reflect the show; even the ATM is labeled "Bank of Springfield." As an added bonus, the franchisee (Amir) was in the store, decked out in a full Kwik E Mart uniform, and generally acting the part of "Apu."

Amir informed me that while all of 7-11 stores will be carrying the Simpsons merchandise, only the "renovated" stores feature the altered exterior and interior decor . His store will turn back into a regular 7-11 next Friday.

How-To Headnote: Pepper Burns

Tis the season for making yummy, fresh salsas, or clarified jalapeno butter for corn-on-the-cob! De-lish! Last weekend I was making another dish requiring just a bit of diced jalapeno—Crab Avocado Tostadas with Chipolte Crema (so good…). Anywho, smarty-pants C here was all careful-like about avoiding the seeds after cutting the pepper. After all, the seeds carry the heat, right?!

Yeah, not so much… Turns out that I committed the worse error when I scraped out the innards of the pepper, parsing down the white, fleshy center before dicing away. You see, as I soon learned after my hand had turned bright red and started to swell as if I had just put on a boxing glove, it’s that white part that packs the punch, so to speak.

So, after throwing my hand into a Ziploc bag of ice, I called the “Ask a Nurse” line at my local hospital, and consulted the great Internet.

Here is their advice, which I followed (in order), and that did not work:

1. Ice, intermittently, for 10-minute periods.
2. Soak affected area in milk.
3. Soak affected area in lukewarm water.
4. Soak affected area in ice water.

Finally, I called the National Poison Control Center. At first, I felt sort of stupid, I mean, it’s bad enough that I brought the excruciating pain on myself, but it’s not like a took too much Nyquil.

Anywho, here is what the NPCC recommends in case of a pepper burn (and IT WORKS):

1. Go to pantry and get a large bottle of Vegetable or Corn Oil.
2. Place enough oil in bowl to cover affected area completely.
3. Soak hand in bowl for 15 minutes.
4. Go back to pantry and get a bottle of DAWN dishwashing soap.
5. Scrub affected area vigorously with a generous amount of the soap and water.
6. Rinse and repeat.
7. Repeat steps 3-7 until pain subsides.

It turns out that the oil draws the oil from the pepper (the source of the burn) out of your skin and the washing with Dawn (designed to ‘fight grease’) will break up the oil and wash it off the skin.

Works brilliantly. Hope I never need it again!

That is all.