Wow, two days in a row!

Okay, so I'm actually back again. I was surprised to look out the window this morning and see some snow on the ground outside. It's a half-day at work, being that today is New Year's Eve. Today at work I only have a couple of complaints (divorce and support) to file at the Clerk and then make a couple phone calls.

Last night was nice. Ileana and I wanted to go out to eat. So we first walked to Erawan, where I was hoping my friend Laddie would be working. But since she wasn't there, we left and walked to Grace Tavern. But there weren't any open seats there. So we walked a block down South Street and decided to give L2 a try. We walked to the dining room in the back, which had sofa benches with dark red satin all along the walls. There was swing music and other 1940s-sounding music playing. The room was dimly-lit and there were large framed paintings of portraits of women on each wall. The vibe was somewhat Eastern European or perhaps Parisian. So we had hopes that it would be a good meal. Things became a bit disappointing right off the bat when the waiter said that they didn't have many wines to choose from. Of course I wanted malbec, which they didn't have. So we had to settle for two glasses of merlot. Then when Ileana ordered a pasta dish, the guy came back and said they didn't have pasta! and that she would have to order something else. Despite his explanation that they had been closed for five days for the holidays, the idea of such a sparse menu seemed preposterous and shoddy. To top things off, when I got my chicken parmesan, the red sauce was so thin that I think they must have bought the sauce on sale at Shoprite. We really enjoyed the atmosphere (music and ambience) and the appetizers (pita with hummus and shrimp wrapped in bacon) were good enough for us to enjoy our time there. But everything else was disappointing enough that we decided that we're never going back there.

After wrapping up the check, we decided it was still too early to go home. So we walked another block down South Street to Ten Stone. We had a couple rounds of beers: two Palm Belgian Ambers for Ileana, and one Palm Belgian Amber and one Hoegaarden for me. I watched the Sixers-Kings basketball game while we talked.

Well, I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve tonight. Be safe. And may the new year bring you good health and happiness!

Did you miss me?

It's been over three months since I last wrote anything here. I give credit to Wagner for reminding me about the blog and, in turn, for reviving my interest in preserving my very weak memory. So the question: where do I begin?

Well, things have come full circle, at least professionally speaking. Before going to law school, I worked for nearly four years as a family law paralegal at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. Back in mid-October, there was word that one of the attorneys was suddenly going out on maternity leave, after finally being approved to adopt a baby girl. I was asked to interview for the temporary, six-month position. I did so, and was hired to begin working on Monday, November 2nd. Since then, I've enjoyed being back with a group of people that I truly consider to be my second family. And I've really enjoyed practicing law in the way that I believe I was meant to practice: client-based, client-centered, and in the courtroom.

Now, some highlights from the past three months that I will simply list for the benefit of my own memory:

• throwing a birthday party at the double-deuce and Spruce, to which my sister and a bunch of my friends came, and even my mom made a surprise appearance
• watching the Temple basketball team upset #3-ranked Villanova at the Liacouras Center, to the dismay of Wagner who was there with me to witness history
• going to a live music performance by Sara Tavares at the Kimmel Center, then going to dinner at Valanni's and then drinks at El Vez
• going bowling at Strikes in University City, and even playing a little ping-pong afterwards
• being snowed-in by the 23.2 inches of snow on Saturday, December 19th, and staying in the apartment that day to watch "The Hangover" and then "Up", then venturing out later in the afternoon to have a late lunch at Continental Midtown
• going out to West Philly a lot, including a pleasant afternoon lounging in the grass at Clark Park and nights at Local 44
• speaking of going out to West Philly, having to walk Walnut Street all the way out to 44th Street, because the buses weren't running as a result of the SEPTA strike back in late October
• taking a stroll arm-in-arm from the double-deuce and Spruce all the way down to Mixto for a first date

. . . and other stuff I can't remember right now. I'm gonna start writing here more regularly, so that way I can actually keep track of everything that I'm doing. In spite of the bigger picture (e.g., the economy), 2009 was a pretty good year. And I feel that things are on an upswing as we head into 2010. I hope that the new year brings you good health and happiness. And, if it's not too much to ask, I hope the same thing for myself. Let's see if I can write again tomorrow . . .

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