Fischberg Flashback 48: Moving Out

Original date of post: August 27, 2014 

So it finally ends…my summer of independence.

On Sunday, August 24, I finally made the move.  My father and roommate had helped me transfer everything from my storage locker to my current dorm room, so the move wasn’t quite as arduous as it could have been (Before my parents left for good, I made sure to see Guardians of the Galaxy with my father.  Second time’s the charm!).  It required a lot of lifting, and unpacking, but thanks to an old friend, it all got done in a matter of three mere hours.  As for how successful it was, behold my current room (at least, the part I felt like photographing)!

 

So, I am currently in the process of settling down.  I’ve had my first day of classes, I’ve met of with a few of my college friends (I saw Guardians of the Galaxy with some of them.  Third time’s the charm!), and thanks to the Wii U in my room, I’m becoming a most popular neighbor.  However, I get the feeling that work will intensify soon, and the cycle will repeat…

Goodbye, Alpha House.  Hello, Willamette!

Reflections: 

I don't have much to add here, other than observing that I've had to do a lot of packing, unpacking, and solving storage issues in Salem over the past fourteen years.

Fischberg Flashback 47: Portlandia

Note: this was originally posted to Ben Around the Block on August 19, 2014.  I have made minor edits. 

 

If the title and surreal photographs didn’t make it clear, I’ve just come back from a relaxing weekend vacation in that center of institutionalized weird: Portland, Oregon!

Last Thursday, the first work-free weekday I had had in a while, was smooth yet busy.  Between quickly packing up for my trip and the continuing trickle of housemates, life at Alpha House is no longer the marathon of peace and splendid isolation it was in June and most of July.  That’s fine by me--I like the company and I won’t be around for long anyway.  Packing went well and the trip went perfectly smoothly (aside from a late bus).  Wandering the streets of Portland and snapping up dinner, I found the rendezvous hotel and finally got to see my loving parents for the first time in three months!  After this beast of a summer, it was nice to see such friendly and familiar faces, a pattern that was kept up all across the weekend.  This meeting in Portland was actually a family reunion, so I got to see plenty of my aunts, uncles, and cousins over the next few days.

Friday was very relaxing and mostly consisted of various shopping trips, restaurant hopping, and drinking.  Saturday consisted of shopping trips at various markets, eating at delicious restaurants, and more drinking.  Finally, Sunday brought us various degrees of shopping, some great restaurants, and yet more drinking.  Are you noticing a pattern here?  I jest--every day wasn’t exactly the same.  Friday was one of my aunts’ birthday and was spent properly in a quirky wine bar, following trips to Deschutes and Powell’s City of Books, the two mandatory Portland stops for my family every time we visit.  Saturday had several market trips and was finished with a touching memorial service to my Grandpa Bruce, a wonderful man who passed away last year (this service was the first time since his death that the entire family was gathered together).  On Sunday, we visited a tranquil Chinese-style garden (pictured above) and finished it all up with a wonderful final dinner all together.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen most of my family, let alone spent time with them.  I owe a lot in my life to them, ranging from support in my childhood to always being there in my adulthood.  The fact that I got to see them all together in Portland, a city that features prominently in my recent life, felt like a perfect milestone in my young adult life.

(I know that this all seemed kind of concise, even for me, but to be fair, I’m still in relaxation mode, meaning that my writing mind is kind of on an informal hiatus.)

After a weekend with extended family, I was privileged enough to spend Monday with my immediate family in the sleepy little town of Hood River.  Here, we did the natural thing for three adults in an area full of breweries would do: more drinking (responsibly)!  On Tuesday, we finally headed back to Salem, passing by the Western Antique Aeroplanes & Automobile Museum (WAAAM, a fun acronym, if I say so myself).  All in all, it was an outstanding outing and a great reward for finishing the summer!

…Well, the time will soon be upon me.  Whether it’s tomorrow or in a week, I’ll be moving into Baxter Hall, away from Alpha House, thereby terminating my summer and this blog with it.  I’ve got some stressful planning and packing to do (sound familiar?).  May Fortune favor me!…as long as I don’t get too distracted by computer games.

Reflections:

Portland's always a fun city to visit, so I'm glad I was able to work it into this hectic summer.  It's a good thing my family likes visiting Portland as much as I do, as it was awesome to see them again.

I originally posted photos of my trip to WAAAM, but (stop me if you've heard this one) I no longer have those pictures.

At the tail end of this trip, I fell back into the thrall of Star Wars: Empire at War, which is why I refer to computer games at the end of this entry.  Eleven years later, I'm still hooked on that game, though I've also gotten more knowledgeable to the point of developing my own mod for it.

Fischberg Flashback 46: Toils, Trials, and Tribulations

Original date of post: August 13, 2014. 

The day has finally come: as of seven hours ago, my internship at the Marion County Public Defender’s Office has come to an end.  It’s been a long and wild ride, complete with sweat, stress, thrill, and experience, but it now has come to a close.  On the bright side, this means no more scanning, mail sorting, or wandering through dungeonlike basements for a while.  On the other hand, this means no more court appointments for a while.  Glum Ben is glum.

Fortunately, in the waning weeks leading up to my resignation, I took the time to go to court as frequently as possible.  Two such opportunities presented themselves last week, much to my delight.  On Monday, I headed down to the courthouse to watch a driving while suspended (DWS) case.  The case was interesting enough and was refreshing change of pace from the usual assault or DUII.  All the testimony and examinations had the usual cerebral thrills that I’ve come to expect from my days in court.  Personally, the crowning moment of awesome was when the prosecutor tried to malign the testimony of a witness by claiming that he was a convicted felon.  The witness responded awesomely by candidly admitting it and correcting the prosecutor regarding the exact nature of his crimes.  Because of instances like this, the prosecution was unable to build a strong case, resulting in the expected verdict of:

NOT GUILTY

I guess I got my lucky mojo back!

After that blast of awesome, it was back to work in the office as usual, complete with scanning, mailing, and moving boxes.  Most of the week went by as usual (although it was MY LAST FULL WEEK), but I got a nice treat in the form of a four-day weekend, as my supervisor gave me Friday off.  It was on this Friday that I embarked on my last court appointment for the summer: a trip to veteran’s court!  For those unaware, veteran’s court is a court-sponsored program to help veterans convicted of crimes rehabilitate without going to jail or prison.  The whole affair looks like a therapy session, as the judge orders rounds of applause for successful participants and hugs are rather common.  Add in the fact that everyone says the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning, and you have a VERY unique court experience.  Still, it’s not all fun and games: if you don’t do what the judge says, you will be handcuffed and hauled off to jail (which I actually saw that day), followed by a written apology.  After two hours of status updates and occasional chewing out by the judge, veteran’s court came to a satisfying close, marking the end of my adventures in jurisprudence.

One last little note: while waiting for court to convene in both of last weeks, I played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (the latest installment of one of my favourite video games series-which stars a defense attorney, in case you’ve forgotten that I’m a civic-minded nerd).  So in a crazy twist of events, I found myself in court, both in the fictional world and in the real world!…Aren’t you going to miss these mind-blowing observations of mine when my blog finishes?

This brings us to our current day, after this four-day weekend and one other day of work, the day of my retirement.  I wasn’t sure what to expect on my last day, so I worked as usual, scanning and updating the database.  However, I was teased with cake by my supervisor during my break (which I spent playing more Dual Destinies, what a shock) and was a little excited for what the afternoon would hold.  Sure enough, at 2pm, there was a staff meeting in the conference room…specifically to see me off!  It was so touching!  I was presented with a card signed by everyone in the office, which made me feel incredibly proud about the work I had done for the office and grateful for everyone’s kindness.  To top it off, I was rewarded with two cakes, gift cards for GameStop and The Ram, and a box full of 3 Musketeers, my favourite candy bar.  I guess at the end of the day, I was working quid pro quo after all!

 

The rest of the day went by quite well (I was energetic from the cake, so I tackled my work with gusto) and when I finally left, saying my goodbyes, my heart was soaring and everything felt right.

And so, this exciting chapter in my life comes to an end, opening many others in the future.  What lies in store in my future?  A family reunion, of course!  It’s off to Portland with me tomorrow!  ¡Adios!

Reflections: 

Reading my original impressions of veteran's court is a little surreal now.  While I stand by everything positive I said about the experience, there's a bit of sordid follow-up: the primary judge in charge of veteran's court, Vance Day, went through a whirlwind of scandal starting the following year.  From 2015 on, Judge Day got in trouble for refusing to legally marry same-sex couples, allegedly threatening a kid's soccer league referee, hanging a picture of Adolph Hitler in veteran's court, refusing to take down aforementioned Hitler picture when employees complained, and allegedly giving a gun to a convicted felon whose case he oversaw (resulting in criminal charges that were dismissed at the last second due to the main witness disappearing).  The last alleged action led to his suspension from the bench and a failed run for the Oregon Court of Appeals.  As of 2025, he is a senior administrator for the federal Department of Justice, which says a lot about the current Department of Justice and federal government as a whole.

For those wondering about the box, "Candyman" was a nickname I had in college due to my habit of bringing candy every week to the Improv Club.  As soon as some PDMC staff found out about that, they couldn't help but use that nickname whenever suitable. Appropriately enough, I used this very box to transport candy to Improv throughout my last year of college.  Also on an appropriate note, I later used the GameStop gift card to buy Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Attorney (thereby completing the cycle of using rewards from a real law job to play as a fictional lawyer). 

It's a small detail, but reading about The Ram gift card (which I'm sure was used up within a month) gives me a little melancholy, as The Ram in Salem closed its doors for good last year.  I believe there are other locations in Oregon, but that particular bar/grill was there for me all throughout college and law school and has quite a few memories (mostly good) attached.  Nonetheless, life goes on, and new discoveries (which I'm seeking out due to being back in Salem) lead to new habits and memories.

Fischberg Flashback 45: The Cake Is a Lie

Note: this was originally posted to Ben Around the Block on August 9, 2014.  I have made minor edits since. 

(Gratuitous Portal meme reference is gratuitous.)

As I’ve made abundantly clear in the last few blog entries, my summer is winding down.  As such, it’s only natural that I would try to squeeze as much as possible into these final few weeks.  This week, I’ve taken up every possible opportunity to go to court…but I’m saving that for a later entry!  This is all about cake!

Although I’ve already achieved my New Year’s resolution, my newfound love of cooking/baking has encouraged me to keep going and try new things for science.  As such, I felt like making one last proverbial score before moving out.  As an avid Portal fan, I developed an unusual ambition to bake a Black Forest cake (and therefore have an excuse to use the title of this post).  Therefore, I did some research and found a fairly simplistic recipe online (http://www.cooks.com/recipe/1x5oo681/easy-black-forest-cake.html).  There was no end of preparation involved (including a few last-minute shopping trips), but I finally got down to bake it all tonight!  Was it to be a success, or would I need grief counseling afterwards? 

This was a triumph!  Huge success!  The cake was delicious, and the icing that went with it was icing on the…you know.  Not only was it tasty, but it’s large enough to last me for days.  No more Safeway cakes for a while!  It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction with this experiment, but the cleanup was quite the hassle.

With that, my experiments in the kitchen will come to a close for now (so no, no combustible lemons this summer).  In a matter of days, so will my time at work.  By the end of the August, my independent summer will be over and I’ll have a whole new batch of tests to tackle.  I don’t know what the rest of the year has in store for me, but at least one thing’s for certain:

I’m still alive.

Reflections: 

I consider the grey grove cake to by my cooking magnum opus for the summer.  I made this recipe on multiple occasions during my senior year in college, though I haven't made it in a while (something to try in my new place?).  The URL is still good if you want to try it yourself.

How many Portal series references can you count in this blog entry?  I challenged myself to stick in as many as possible.

Convoy

Dear readers, it’s finally happened: I’ve moved to Salem, Oregon!  Technically, the main move took place on July 29, but it’s taken a while for me to catch my breath.  There’s still a lot of things to do, but the biggest steps have been taken.

I knew that it was going to be an ordeal to finish moving up to Salem, so I took a few precautions.  I reached out, pulled some strings, and got some friends to help me out.  Namely, Cthulhu (my perennial partner) and Carson (whom eagle-eyed readers might remember from last year’s Rose City Comic Con) agreed to make some time on July 29 so that they could volunteer their vehicles.  As such, I had the month of July to get everything prepared.  This meant moving everything.  Ev.  Er.  Ee.  Thing.  Clearing out my office was plenty difficult (especially with my computer and printer), but this was going to a massive undertaking.  Fortunately, I had some cardboard boxes and a whole lot of time (my office has stopped taking new cases, and my court hearings are far and few between).  July therefore became a month of travel for me: about 2 or 3 times a week, I transported a full carload of things to my new Salem house.  Clothes, cooking implements, electronics—everything got transported, piece by piece.  All the while, I had a clear goal I was working toward: getting everything I needed moved contained enough that it could fit in 3 cars.

Finally, the big day arrived.  I had one last court appearance the morning of July 29, and then it was moving time.  Cthulhu and Carson brought their cars to my Tillamook residence, we loaded everything up, we had a nice sushi lunch, and then we set out in a nice little convoy.  True to my wishes, I had just enough things to fit in our cars.  Closing the book on 6 years of cheese-filled, dung-scented residence, I finally left Tillamook.

 

The evening of July 29 and the following days were less intense but still very busy.  Unpacking everything is quite the enlightening chore (you never realize how much toothpaste, deodorant, salt, and tea you have until you have to pack, unpack, and store them all), and it’s one I’m still trying to finish.  My clothes are all put away, and I generally have a sense of where everything is going to fit.  I’ve started cooking at my new residence, and I’m figuring out how to plan and schedule day-to-day life.  Most importantly, I got myself a bed and bedside table to make sure I really feel at home.  When I fell asleep in that new bed after assembling it and waiting for the mattress to finish expanding, I woke up feeling like a full Salemander.

I may still be settling in and restructuring my business, but I’ve gone through the biggest change in years.  I’ve officially changed cities (see the updated subtitle of this blog), and there’s a lot that comes with that.  Be it personal or business-related, I expect that the rest of this year will be seeing more transitions, more ventures, and a whole lot of frustrations.  Thankfully, at least the big move is complete!

Fischberg Flashback 44: All You Knead is Loaf

Original date of publication: August 3, 2014. 

Well, it’s August.  There’s less than a month left in this summer, and I have no plans on letting up (though I’m falling behind on my anticipated LSAT studies…).

As part of my adventurous endeavors, I’ve continued to immerse myself in fictional media.  I recently started the cult classic show Firefly, which I greatly dig, despite only seeing one episode so far.  I also saw the newest Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, yesterday and greatly enjoyed it.  If you haven’t seen it yet, Dear Reader, get off your @$$ and see it!…I’d say more about how mind-blowingly awesome it is, but I’d probably geek out excessively and get distracted.

Anyway, the titular event for this blog post is my most recent experiment in the kitchen: learning to make bread.  Using a recipe I dug up online, I dedicated the better part of this afternoon to getting acquainted with yeast, dough rising, and the truly heavenly smell that the prior items create in your kitchen.  I wasn’t quite on top of the process as I would of liked (I didn’t put in enough water at first, I initially forgot to flour the surface before kneading, and I forgot to coat the pan with cooking spray), but everything worked out in the end…just like one of my papers! *rimshot*

…Seriously though, here’s some food porn:

 

The bread was absolutely delicious and went wonderfully with the salted butter I keep in the fridge!  It was also surprisingly filling-even though I ate very little today, I only needed three slices to fill me up.  I look forward to finishing the rest of this loaf in the near future.

Having successfully crafted another new dish, I have now officially fulfilled one of my New Year’s resolutions (to learn to cook five new dishes).  For me, this year has been particularly challenging, between personal loss, mounting academic intensity, and the various difficulties that arise when one lives alone.  As such, it’s very satisfying to succeed at something this empowering (and delicious).

Work is winding down, as I have a mere week and a half left of nothing but office labor…hahahahahahaha!  Just kidding!  I’ll be spending at least one day this week in court watching yet another trial.  That day…is tomorrow!  Good night, everyone!  I'm off to get some much-needed sleep!

Reflections:

I unfortunately no longer have the recipe that I used to make this bread, as the webpage it was from no longer works.  

On a more positive note, I have since watched all of Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy is still in my top 15 favourite movies.