Epilogue—Day 366: June 1, 2013

The Last One.
We have finally made it. On the first day of the new year after the last day of the Connecting the Dots 365 Project, we visit the National Mall viewing one of my favorite spots in D.C., the Lincoln Memorial, from the reflecting pool, where I have literally connected the dots (they are supposed to be lined up into a checkmark to signal the completion of the project, but it may be hard to see).

After finishing this long project, I have a couple notes and thoughts about what I have learned from the project and some of the things I encountered while pursuing it. First of all, it is surprisingly challenging to come up with one photo for every day. Of course it is difficult to remember to find a photo when the days get very busy, but surprisingly the most challenging aspect of the project was finding photos on the days that were unusually boring, or where I did not really do anything special or have anything to do (which came up quite often during the semester thanks to the dreadfulness of 2L year). I will admit to have taken some shortcuts and some liberties in finishing the project, as certainly not every photo was taken on the day it was supposed to represent. While generally most photos were, I often took photos in advance and posted them for a day a couple days later. I never took them too far in advance, but this generally happened when for example I knew what I was planning to do one day and wanted to take a photo to represent it early, when I had more time or could set up a better looking shot. I also utilized this tactic when I did not have a chance to take a photo on the day of an event I wanted to represent, so I doubled back the following day to use the photo, or when I wanted to post some generic photos (i.e., seasonal photos) that I took mostly on one photo shoot but used selections of for two or maybe three days. I also had the rare but occasional throwback photo, or borrowed an external photo that I did not take. These tactics helped me maintain a good finished product, and I think were generally in line with the concept, as I did manage to complete one photo for each day of the year.

Another big thing I was able to take from this product is that I guess I kind of learned how to blog. With something to focus on (the one photo a day), it was a good motivation to come up with something to write about and present a finished product. While I have no idea where I will take this blog from here, I imagine I have some experience now to work with. I think after taking a decent break from updating CTD, I will likely just continue to use it to discuss fun events and post some photos, outside of the general use of Facebook, etc. I do not think it will have any kind of unifying theme, but just as more of a free-write or photo sharing platform. We will have to see though. Not only did I learn how to blog, I also improved my photography skills a bit, whether it be by utilizing different features on the camera or by trying out different styles of shots and trying to be fun and artistic. Not a professional by any means, but maybe I can use the phrase "skilled amateur?" You guys can be the judge. It was also a useful motivation to develop an ability to see potential photos out in the world and know when the appropriate moment is to take out the camera to try to seize that moment in picture form.

Speaking of you guys, I am aware that there may only be two or three of you (if that). But regardless of the number of readers, it was fun keeping this thing going not only just to keep track of it for myself, but also knowing that at least a couple people may be reading it and get to share in the experience. I try to keep in mind that I have potential readers while drafting these writing accompaniments, and hopefully can provide some minimal entertainment value. It has also served as a useful tool for me personally to keep track of several experiences and life events, whether they be more big picture, or even just daily nuances that may be easily forgotten without this daily recordation.

To finalize this epilogue, I will conclude with one of the most important things I have learned (well, really confirmed more than learned), that you truly cannot connect the dots ahead, but it is important to remember that they can be visualized. Although you cannot see where they are going, you can see where they may connect. And occasionally one may jump out that completely throws you off course. But by looking at these past dots in context, you can then see how they actually do connect, and by recalling this fact and appreciating the past connections, you may be able to better visualize how the dots are connecting in the future, or at least how you want them to connect and whether this can be achieved, or whether you will just have to follow the dots where they are going and see where you end up. As you may have learned if you have been a regular follower, one of the reasons my dots even connected to Indiana and made me a Hoosier began with a Mash drink I had while working at the SEC in Washington, D.C. And although I left Washington, D.C. with no strong belief that I would be coming back, events that transpired during the course of this project and that have been chronicled therein have now brought me right back to where I started, back to the SEC in Washington, D.C., but with a much crisper vision moving forward. Thought I would get all deep and philosophical to close out for you all (I was almost a philosophy minor in college). The next question is how long I will be here and whether I will be making a return to the nation's capital after I finish my final year in the Hoosier State. It only ends once. Anything that happens before that, is just progress. We will have to wait and see in the next chapter of Connecting the Dots!

Day 365: May 31, 2013

As the sun sets on this long 365 Project that I embarked upon exactly one year ago, we close with a beautiful view of the sunset over the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. This project took place over a lengthy 365 days, each commemorated by one photo (well, sometimes there were a few bonus photos). The World War II Memorial is an apt recognition for the final photo in this project, as many of the states that were transversed in the making of this set of photos are represented on the monuments. From Virginia and D.C., before the project began, to Indiana, traveling to Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and others in between, and then finishing back in Washington, D.C., this project has made it through quite a bit. But now we must finally come to an end, as the goal has been accomplished and we have seen one photo a day, or one dot to be connected. I will formally conclude tomorrow with one final epilogue, Connecting all the Dots, before it is determined what direction this project should take moving forward. For now however, the sun sets on this project and we come to rest remembering that, to paraphrase Steve Jobs, although we cannot connect the dots looking forward, we certainly can looking backward, and this project has provided me with many dots to take a look back on as the new ones continue to pop up. Thank you to all of my loyal (albeit few) followers out there who have (hopefully) enjoyed the journey!

Days 355-357: May 21-23, 2013

Today I got my new Fitbit, which is supposed to track your exercise and physical activity. Counts all steps, floors climbed, miles traveled, and calories burned over a day, and also tracks your sleep at night to determine how much sleep time you are actually getting. Should be a fun complement to my Sleep Cycle and Nike+ apps to track and collect data over time. I had been thinking about getting the Nike Fuel Band for a while, because it seemed like a fun way to track activity and collect more data, but was not too excited about having to wear it on the wrist all the time. The Fitbit is much more compact, seems easier to carry, and seems to both have more functionality and get better reviews online, so we'll see how it goes!

Wednesday we took a day trip to Charlottesville and I had an opportunity to walk around grounds and see some of my old university. Here is the Thomas Jefferson statue at the back of the Rotunda with the Seven Society stamp in front, one of the secret societies at UVA. I had a chance to walk through some old classrooms and take a look, but there is a ton of construction going on right now, so they seem to be updating and changing a lot of things. It will be much nicer to talk another walk through when they are finally finished.

Took a stop by Tropical Smoothie Cafe to grab a smoothie following a good evening run. Tropical Smoothie has some great smoothies, plenty of flavors, and also has a decent selection of sandwiches as well. Usually I stop by just for the smoothies, but it was nice to take another swing by as I have not had it in quite a while. They have two new smoothies that I enjoyed quite a bit, the Island Green Smoothie (spinach, kale, mango, pineapple, and banana) and the Caribbean Carrot (carrot, mango, banana, goji, and orange juice). Also got my oil changed again this week, making the next time up at 102,000 miles.

Day 354: May 20, 2013

As the history of Team Slurpee recently made an appearance on CTD, I decided to make a commemorative post honoring the teams, with an actual Slurpee mixing the colors of traditional Team Slurpee and the rumored Black Slurpee project. Below, you will find the official team logos for Team Slurpee and The Black Slurpees, including the mystery picture that was released to tease the unveiling of The Black Slurpees team, that unfortunately never came to fruition. Finally, a very old photo of the original Team Slurpee scavenger hunt team, also known as "the tripod." This photo was actually submitted as our entry for "get a photo of your team in an elevator." Never made a better use of a mirror in an elevator before. For a little bit of the history of Team Slurpee, it actually developed as a Guesstures team following a Friday night football game. After a close defeat to the rival team, a rematch was held in which Team Slurpee dominated, including one perfect 16-point play, on the night of Bryce and Mike's Lawn Care's end-of-season party. Team Slurpee's core stayed together for the scavenger hunt, ranking highly among the competitors (I'm not sure the winning scores were entirely conclusive, so no one knows who really won), but definitively came through with a resounding victory over the rival team from Guesstures. These two arch-rival teams were actually both part of the planned merger into The Black Slurpees. Apparently the rivalry was just too strong, and the fates would fail to allow these eternal competitors to merge into one. . .  (I may have been watching a bit too much Game of Thrones recently.)

Days 347-349: May 13-15, 2013

Went to the Potomac Winery on Monday, which is the new winery that is near Stafford. The winery was nice, but the wine was not that great. It was a bit too watery. I will have to check out some of the other Virginia wineries to see if that is the winery in particular or just Virginia wines in general. I did meet some cool new friends there though, as these two dogs came running out of one of the rooms and decided they wanted to hang out for a bit!

Tuesday was a pretty uneventful day. Took a trip to the doctor's office to pick up a new prescription for allergy medicine, and didn't do much else the rest of the day. My allergies have not really been that prevalent the last couple of years, and I'm not sure if it is just because I am not really allergic to whatever is in the air in Bloomington. But I figured it would be safe to stock up on my meds in case I am still allergic to the spring air on the east coast.

Because my umbrellas are always really bad and do a very poor job in heavy rain or wind, I decided it was time to upgrade in the umbrella department, both in size and quality. I had a couple umbrellas primed to me, including one that is just like the How I Met Your Mother yellow umbrella! Sadly though, the yellow umbrella ended up being wayyy too big, so I will have to send it back and go with the boring black umbrella. But it was still perfect timing for the yellow umbrella to make an appearance on Connecting the Dots, since we just met the mother this week!

Days 337-339: May 3-5, 2013

Took a nice walk through Dunn Woods on Friday afternoon, which was as relaxing as having absolutely nothing to do following the end of 2L year. I settled down in the Union for a bit to work on dropping some footnotes, and then went over to Nick's for Hockey Night in Bloomington Part 1. Unfortunately, both the Penguins and the Wild lost, so David and I did not have a very good opening of the Hockey Night in Bloomington series.

Saturday was graduation day at Indiana University, for both the law school and the general University community. Best of luck to all the 3Ls graduating this year, and to all of the other students finishing up their undergraduate careers. You are now all Hoosiers and always will be—Indiana we're all for you!

Last week I got this cool new app on my phone, SleepCycle, and I have been using it for just about a full week now. You are supposed to leave it at the corner of your bed and it tracks your movements to tell when you are awake, in regular sleep, and in deep sleep. It not only monitors your sleep quality over the course of the night this way, but also has a special alarm function that is supposed to wake you up at the most optimal time in the morning. You tell it when you want to be up by, and it monitors your movements to attempt to wake you up within the 30-minute window prior to your alarm time at a time during which you are not in deep sleep, so that you will feel more awake and alert when you actually wake up. So far, I think it has been working pretty well, and is a pretty cool app!

Days 323-324: April 19-20, 2013

I picked up this new Redd's Apple Ale this week. It is actually pretty fantastic. It tastes kind of cidery, but not really like a cider, much smoother, like an ale compared to other beer. It certainly makes for a good treat to finish off a long day studying!

Just a cool photo I took this week when I noticed that someone had left a flower in the Herman Wells statue's hand. Since most of the next two weeks will be spent studying up for finals, I imagine many of the next several photos of the day will just be simple things that I felt like taking a photo of.

Days 317-322: April 13-18, 2013

On Saturday we held our first ever class Bar Crawl, with these fantastic shirts designed to perfectly approximate the 2L year. Our Bar Crawl coincided with the 3L Bar Crawl, and we ended up meeting up at the final bar in the trip. It was a fun night to get out and see some people before we will all start to buckle down for Spring Semester finals!

Sunday it was back to the law school to start to get ready for our last week of classes. It was a beautiful day outside, but I had to lock myself inside the library to finish up all of my cite-checking and reading for the week so that as the week began I could get a head start on some of my exam studying. This semester is going to be a tough one, so time to get cracking!

Monday was a brief break to enjoy our long-awaited student-faculty basketball game at Assembly Hall. It was an amazing experience and exhilirating to walk down the stands and onto the court level to lace up the shoes and take the court. We were thoroughly dominated by the stacked faculty team, but it was a fun experience and a great game nonetheless. I managed to knock down a three from the corner, hit a Watshot in warm-ups, take one unbelievably long three-point attempt, deliver some good passes and a nice save out of bounds into an assist, and get to the foul line. I was mostly neutralized by the size of our opponent (it was like playing in a Big Ten game), which mitigated my ability to really play at the 3 where I'm best, but it was a fun time. One thing to note for the future: college courts are MUCH longer than gym ones....getting back on D and taking the ball up on offense gets tiring real quick!

On Tuesday we had a couple of storms come in the afternoon and again in the evening, so it was a rainy night. There were even more storms overnight, with plenty of thunder and lightning. I do enjoy some spring and summer thunderstorms, and since we had such a long drought last summer, it is nice to finally get some rain again.

This spot by the Courthouse stood out to me this week as I was thinking about what happened in Boston. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected, and I am thankful for the people of Boston who bravely stepped up to help those affected and helped ensure that the people behind this were doomed to fail in their attempt to make us lose faith in humanity. Evil can only prevail when good people do nothing, and the people of Boston showed us this week how we can heroically respond to tragedy, fighting out evil and ensuring that in spite of terror, we as humanity can continue to seek our own Freedom from Fear, through the bravery exemplified by the best of us.

There were storms brewing in Bloomington on Thursday evening, and while none of the strong storms came in during the day, the hard rain came earlier than expected. I ended up getting caught during my evening run in two strong downpours. It ended up being worth it though, as it made for quite an enjoyable run, and I really picked up my pace, which had been slacking lately. It was a good distraction from prepping for exams, which I returned to following my brief time outdoors.

Days 301-303: March 28-30, 2013

This is one of the reasons I love Bloomington. Even the local hardware stores do what they can to support IU's tournament run. Literally everything in Bloomington revolves around basketball, and during the tournament, that is all that matters. I am so proud to be part of such a loyal and stable fan base that is motivated by the desire to win every year, with the goal set at the highest prize. Unfortunately, this year's dream season ended short of its ultimate goal. But nothing comes easy, and Hoosier Nation will recover and keep going on that quest for banner number six.

It was Fingerprinting Friday for me, as I had to take my fingerprinting cards to the police station to get my prints done for my summer internship as there is no GSA office anywhere close to Bloomington that does not only do Treasury and IRS printing. Otherwise, it was a gloomy day as Bloomington depressingly trudged through its post-tournament hangover and even the sun refused to show through on this afternoon.

SQUARE IS FINALLY HERE! This is one of the most amazing inventions ever—I can now take credit card as payment via my iPhone and my new Square device. The Square itself is entirely free, and for only a 2.75% surcharge on every purchase, I can accept credit cards whenever anyone needs to pay me, in addition to being able to keep track of all my payments. While I will probably rarely use this, it is still amazing and I imagine it will be a super fun way to collect payments whenever I need to run point on a fundraising venture.

Day 300: March 27, 2013

On the 300th day of Connecting the Dots, I have chosen to commemorate the fight for equality that is now at a critical juncture as the consideration of both Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act has reached the doors of the Supreme Court. Regardless of the Court's decision in this matter, it is important that we recognize as citizens our power to effectuate social, if not political, change. One of the reasons that this is such an important issue to me is because I too was once willing to sit back and allow the status quo to persist. Because I was not personally impacted by the issue, I never felt the need to get involved, educate myself, or take a specific stance. But it has been too long that individuals have allowed others to hold an improper and backward-thinking view on this matter. We have the power to change established belief by attacking it through reason, by challenging discriminatory views on the issues, and by not allowing these beliefs to persist simply because they are not motivated by malice. It is in this way that we can provide future generations an increased opportunity to become more accepting and prevent ancient fears and misconceptions from persisting down generational lines. That does not mean that someone who holds an opposing view on this matter is a bad person, because negative feelings and beliefs have persisted throughout our society over the course of history, and many have merely fallen victim to this persistence and are not motivated to oppose equality in rights because of malice. However, the only way these fears and misconceptions will persist is if well-informed, forward-thinking, and good people sit back and do nothing.

As we move on to consider the issues before the Court, it amazes me how some of the same people that will complain about the government telling them what kinds of guns they can own and in what ways they can use them are the ones so forcefully advocating telling people who they can and cannot love and in what ways they should be permitted to express this affection. Hopefully the Court can step up and prevent us from standing on the wrong side of history today. We need a strong group of people on the Court, along the likes of Earl Warren, who are willing to step up and do what is right—effectuating true justice in a manner within their personal, social, and constitutional prerogative to promote an increased level of equality and fair treatment for everyone, regardless of their nature, beliefs, or how they choose to live their lives. It is a basic human right for one to be able to live the way they were born without fear, and it is one of the reasons our ancestors left the tyranny of their past in search of a new world where they could be free to avoid this sense of disdain from their society and their governments. Even an originalist such as Justice Scalia should be able to appreciate that. Hopefully the Court makes the important decision to take this matter on and solve it in the right way, rather than attempting to dodge or avoid the critical issues. Now the time has come to decide to do what is right, not what is easy.

Days 291-293: March 18-20, 2013

In case anyone has not tried them yet, I should say that Birthday Cake Oreos are the best invention ever. They came out as a limited edition and it took me forever to find one, and then as soon as I got them they were off the shelves. This year they surprisingly came back so of course I snatched them up. There is nothing more I can really say—just try them. They are amazing.

So I don't really play that many video games anymore, but when I do it is all about Lego games. My first Lego experience, Lego Star Wars, was what I spent during the entire exam season in Fall of 2008. Lego Harry Potter 1-4 got me through my post-undergraduate summer and job search. And now I have Lego Harry Potter 5-7, Lego Star Wars III, and Lego Lord of the Rings thanks to Lexis points and Amazon Prime. It is safe to say I will not need a new video game for at least one to two years.

The NCAA Tournament is finally here and will begin as Indiana takes on James Madison in the first round! On the final day before the tournament, my bracket is complete and ready to go. It is no surprise who I have picked to win it all, though I should note that I picked them to do it against Ohio State. This is relevant because the only time I have ever gotten a champion right before, I picked Florida (my favorite team until I came to IU) to beat Ohio State (I also do not pick my favorite teams every year—that was also the only other time I have ever done that). That year, Florida entered the season as the preseason number one, but slipped a bit towards the end of the season, to around #5 (sound a bit like IU?), whereas Ohio State went on a late run and entered as the undisputed favorite to win it all (sound somewhat like Louisville this year?). So I am hoping the similarities in these two tournaments can play it out in my title game pick, and for the second time ever have me pick a correct national championship game, and winner, so that Indiana can add another banner to my mug up there–and to the wall in Assembly Hall.

Days 281-283: March 8-10, 2013

I spent a little bit of time Friday at the Union trying to get a head start on my journal work for the week so that I could enjoy more of the break that is spring break coming up. I tried to get into the secret room of the Union, but it was closed yet again! This is a mysterious secret room in the Union that is apparently amazing to study in and has some of the greatest views of campus, but it is always closed when I try to stop by. It is hard to find because it is in a hidden spot inaccessible to elevators and also does not show up on the Marauder's Map. It is basically the Union's Room of Requirement, so I guess I will have to do my best Harry Potter impression and only show up when I absolutely need to use it in order to get in.

With Bloomington becoming a spring break ghost town, I decided to take advantage of the quiet atmosphere to do some spring cleaning, which became my annual clean everything in the apartment time. I spent most of the day as I went well beyond my normal cleaning regimen to get everything in order for the remainder of the semester heading into the long summer break. Afterwards, it was nice to enjoy the fresh and clean apartment! Although, I was quite disappointed to learn that it was apparently daylight savings time today? Did not see that one coming. As I was ready to go to sleep at 2:30 and then get an early start to the day, I noticed while setting my alarm that it was 3:30 and was taken by surprise. Oops. I will have to say that is the first time I have ever been surprised by DST. But, the surprise factor did allow me to almost ignore it, and it ended up being my best ever observance of my least favorite DST of the two, which usually sets me back and messes up my whole Sunday.

On Sunday I was able to enjoy the freshly cleaned apartment to watch the Hoosiers take on Michigan in the regular season finale. Mumble the Basketball Penguin even got a new shirt (courtesy of David) to celebrate the Hoosiers' trip to Ann Arbor to take down the Wolverines. Indiana won in dramatic last-second fashion, coming back from a weak first half to win the outright Big Ten Regular Season Championship! One banner down and two more to go this season. Now it's time to head to Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament! Go Hoosiers!

Days 254-260: February 9-15, 2013

It's official: I have finally found a new and replacement pair of basketball shoes. After almost nine years playing in the old and battle-worn Shox Status', I found a very similar style replacement pair of Shox. I picked these up in the fall and have been skeptical about the change, electing instead to wear these with my candystripes. After giving them another go tonight, I decided to retire them from outdoor use for good (after only four outdoor wears) and keep them as the replacement basketball shoes. It is amazingly easier to keep your footing on shoes that are not nine years old. Tonight they helped me put on a fun performance more in line with my games of old: 3+ steals, 8-10 deflections, lockdown man defense giving up just 2 points in 3 games, and scoring from inside, mid-range, and on the fast break. It was fun to run the floor and play hard again, the only thing missing from my game today was the three-point shot. Hopefully with more hours on the floor I will be able to keep up the status quo, and if so, I might have a shot to avoid feeling like an old law student playing on Assembly Hall and put up a decent game instead.

Following my own personal basketball resurgence, Indiana had a huge road game on Sunday to follow up the upset loss at Illinois. Again, I am kicking myself for making Illinois my preseason pick to take IU's #1 ranking—I did not expect the Butler and Wisconsin losses, but we got #1 back just in time to make my prediction come through. Fortunately, the trio of Oladipo, Zeller, and Watford were HUGE and the defense tightened up to hold a solid lead in a hostile environment, giving Indiana their first road win against a ranked opponent in Tom Crean's tenure. This win was especially huge following the "mulligan" the rest of the top-5 teams gave us this week, and we should be able to maintain a solid position as long as we keep winning. My new IUBB GameDay mug got off to a good start in its first use, and will hopefully be enjoying many more victories in the weeks to come!

This was an interesting promotion I stumbled across. They are giving out giant paper bags when you buy something at Hallmark, and then if you bring the bag back in two weeks you get 20% off everything you can fit inside. Unfortunately, I do not really ever have to go to Hallmark enough to actually buy enough to utilize this promotion, but it does seem like it would almost be fun enough to participate just to stuff up the bag like it was a shopping spree or something. If you did enjoy collecting various greeting cards, you could sure fit a huge amount of them in this bag to get your sale!

The Moot Court bracket is officially up and Moot Court Madness begins in approximately one week. Unlike March Madness, where I hope Indiana makes it all the way to the end of the bracket, I am hoping to put up my best D.C. Sports impression and go one-and-done. I am going to attempt to have fun doing it however, as I have set up Mike's Moot Court Scavenger Hunt, where I make my best attempt to sneak in as many famous quotes and/or phrases into my argument while still maintaining a proper and professional argument style. This is my attempt at making additional work more entertaining and productive (and sadly may actually improve my overall performance). Hopefully this does not put the Karma Gods against me and give me an unwanted victory, as Karma is already stacking the deck against me by setting me up for a second-round argument on my birthday, one year after I had to finish an LRW memo on my birthday, should I pull through with the "double-upset" victory (that is referring to an upset for both sides, because I am sure neither of the two competitors in this match will want me to win).

Girl Scout Cookies! I came across these at College Mall this week and had to pick up a couple boxes since I haven't had my own in forever. Naturally, I picked up my two favorites, the Trefoils (old fashioned shortbread), and the #1 Cookies of All Time: Thin Mints. I finally broke into them and they were as good as ever, and even better than I remembered (particularly the Thin Mints). Thanks Girl Scouts for your awesome cookies! They are the perfect way to end the week and head into another long weekend.

On Thursday night it was back to Nick's for the first repeat performance in Bar Review history. Because Bar Review has been lackluster lately, with the bar selection waning as we have made it through most of Bloomington's marquee establishments, and others are being saved for Spring when we can best make use of their outdoor amenities, Nick's was selected for its second go-round in an attempt to reinvigorate the brand. After the recently renamed Team Avalon completed their first match as The Vegas Bombers, it was off to Nick's to celebrate the unique "Valentine's Day Style Bar Review," which basically means, Thursday Night at Nick's playing Have You Met Tim?

On Friday I begun work on my poster to bring to the Purdue game tomorrow, our general admission game of the season. We will get to line up before the game tomorrow to get good seats, and I am going to make an exciting poster to display from my prime Crimson Guard vantage point. What will it be? You will have to watch at 2:00 PM on ESPN2 to find out! And additionally, this photo finally completes the first ever week-long version of Connecting the Dots' "Photos of the Day[s]!"

Days 238-239: January 24-25, 2013

Woke up to some light snowfall both Thursday and Friday morning! A bit more on Friday than on Thursday, and since I was a bit under the weather on Thursday I missed taking a photo of it before it all melted, so here's on from Friday morning. Unfortunately it was much too little snow to stay on the ground very long, but hopefully next time we will get more! Also, new best thing about four-day weekends: when you have to take your first sick day in four years, you feel better just in time to enjoy a full weekend instead of having to go right back to school. Woot!

But now for the exciting news of the (Fri)day. So this is quite possibly one of the coolest things that has (at least recently) happened to myself. I go to have a cup of tea, and decide to grab one of my Yogi green teas. I like the Yogi teas because not only are they good herbal teas with a huge variety of flavors, but they have cool sayings on the tea bags that are fun to read (now you are beginning to realize why I like Magic Hat so much right?). Well, after half-tearing open a bag of green tea, I decide that I would rather have a ReVitalize tea. So I make that tea instead, and see the saying on the bag, "Feel great, act great, and approve of yourself." Pretty solid, positive thinking sort of thing I guess, your typical Yogi saying. After that mug of tea, I felt great so I thought I would have another cup since it was so good. I was about to have one of the same kind, but then I saw my half-opened green tea pouch and figured I should have that once since I was going to the last time. So I open the rest of that one, put it in the mug, and what does it say on the bag? BOOM! The SAME thing! Now, I have been drinking Yogi tea for a couple of years now and have only gotten the same tea saying maybe 4 or 5 times. But this was back-to-back and not even from the same box of teas! (Actually, they did come from the same "box," but only because I combined those boxes when they got halfway empty.) And not only that, it was immediately after I had pulled up on a bag of tea (basketball reference) and then decided to take a different shot/bag of tea. When, really, whichever shot I took would lead to the same result. Now here is where you philosophy majors and/or Lost fans can insert a compelling argument over whether our choices actually change our outcomes or if we are instead compelled to "choose" the outcome that leads down our inevitable path. As this blog's namesake identifies, we only connect our dots backwards anyways. While you have fun debating all of this, I'm going to enjoy my (second) cup of tea.

Days 233-235: January 19-21, 2013

Went out to play a much-needed round of basketball at the HPER this weekend. It had been so long since I last played, and it definitely showed. I'm playing as bad as Will Sheehey recently (when you correct for the pre-existing difference in our relative talent levels). Hopefully if we are able to get everybody to come out every weekend I'll have a chance to get my touch back. I am back to my trusted pair of Shox Status shoes after my last attempt at turning to a new pair. If you can tell that these shoes are slightly worn, it is because I have been playing in them since 2004. I have tried to switch to a new pair at least four times since then, but still can't find a pair I like playing in as much as these! (And to answer the obvious question, they no longer sell these shoes and have not been since the year after I bought them.) In early 2008 I ran into another guy at the AFC in Charlottesville who had the same exact shoes (also looked quite worn) and we noticed the fact that we both had the same shoes, because come to find out, we both had them for the same reason. He knew before asking that I had been wearing them for '04, just like him, and he also had tried several times to use a new pair of shoes but always went back. Hint: Nike, your new shoes are awful. MAKE SHOX STATUS AGAIN. I wonder if that kid is still out there playing in 9 year old basketball shoes...? You may think that would be crazy but trust me—unless his shoes have fallen apart and are no longer functional, I can almost guarantee you that he is.

The sunset outside my apartment was pretty cool-looking Sunday evening so I decided to take a shot of it. The colors are crazy, its almost like some red mixed in and blending with purple. Wait...you don't think someone knew who was going to win the AFC/NFC Championship games and play in the Super Bowl do you? (Hint: Ray Lewis does.) I guess maybe the clouds in Bloomington are premonitionary.* A major part of the Harbaugh-Crean family does reside in Bloomington after all...

*Yes, this is a real word. If you don't believe me, see generally Orin S. Kerr, A Theory of Law, 16 Green Bag 2d. 111 (2012), available at http://www.greenbag.org/v16n1/v16n1_ex_post_kerr.pdf.

While celebrating the conclusion of my five-day weekend, I fired up the Vitamix to make a delicious smoothie. This is the most amazing blender ever, which makes fantastic smoothies easily (even I can make things with it!). It is also easy to clean; you just put water and soap in it and fire it up on high speed for 30 seconds. It's been quite a while since I made smoothies in the morning, so after recalibrating my recipe, I think I will start it back up for breakfast now that I have a more regular schedule, where I still don't have to leave super early. Today was a simple strawberry banana smoothie, complemented by my secret nutrient-boosting ingredients (which are not really that secret: Greek yogurt, organic spinach leaves, organic golden flax seeds, and a scoop or two of protein powder).

Day 218: January 4, 2013

Finally making one of the CoCo Sala Hot CoCo pops I picked up to make some fresh hot chocolate after going to the movies to see Skyfall. I was pleased with Skyfall, it had some great action scenes and a good storyline from beginning to end. Also loved Bond's venture into my beloved Scotland. And that mansion scene was pretty much the most intense version of Home Alone I've ever seen. The hot cocoa was delicious as well. These are the coco pops I had mentioned before that you just stir in a mug of boiled milk and the chocolate melts into the milk to make hot chocolate. This set also included one of the fresh marshmallow sticks that you can use to top off the hot chocolate. I may have to make another trip up to CoCo Sala to pick up a few more CoCo Pops to bring back to Bloomington!

Day 215: January 1, 2013

Happy New Year! 2012 was a fun year that began for me on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, and ended in my hometown of Stafford, Virginia, on only the 20th day I spent in Virginia this year, by far the fewest of any year since I originally moved there in 2000. In between, the year included my first trip to Chicago, baseball games in Cincinnati and Detroit, and a summer trip to London, Munich, and Salzburg. Early in 2012, I dropped my glasses and contacts for good, as I underwent Lasik surgery and can now see perfectly without correction. 2012 also accounted for the most days I've ever spent in jail in my life. Don't worry, those visits were voluntary—a necessity of spending a summer working in a public defender's office in Lawrence County, Indiana. After going through the strenuous summer job search process again, 2012 also brought the news that next summer I will be returning to Washington, D.C. to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (where I will presumably be spending far fewer days in jail). Also of note in 2012 was Indiana's exciting run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, followed by opening the following season as the preseason #1 ranked team in the country. Some of the things I am looking forward to in 2013 are having a great summer in DC that will hopefully shed some light on my future career prospects post-graduation, and continuing to be apart of Hoosier Nation and Indiana's quest to hang that sixth banner at Assembly Hall. Hopefully 2013 will be an even better year than 2012, and will bring some of these wishes and goals to light!

Day 201: December 18, 2012

Celebrated my first day back in Virginia with a trip to the dentist. Yay. Afterwards, I guess it is time to start finishing this seminar paper. But then again, I've been saying that for days...

Day 199: December 16, 2012

Today was quite a busy day, one that included finishing laundry and cleaning the apartment, taking a brief break to go to the gym, and packing to head home for Winter Break. I finally had a relaxing end to the evening by finishing off a growler of Red Amber Ale from Upland with my Nick's mason jar while watching the season finale of Dexter. All I have to say about Dexter is...wow. And I can't wait for the series finale next year. Interestingly, both Lost and 24, the two shows I had been watching the longest, ended the year I graduated college, and now Dexter, the show that took their place, will be ending as I finish law school. But as of right now, I'm looking forward to getting on a flight tomorrow afternoon and spending a nice winter break back home in Virginia!