A few years ago, Pete’s tragically closed down. Despite many attempts, I have been unable to find a place that comes close to the calibur of Pete’s on the Calzone front. I have found a few tasty pizza places, but have had many more disappointments. And though I can find a few places with great pizza, I found not ONE place with what I would even describe as “good” Calzone.

I think I’ll make this a personal mission – to find the best *existing* Calzone in Seattle (because Pete’s was the best, and will forever hold the title of all-time best, but no longer exists). Please let me know if you think you’ve found a contender.

Here’s a review what I’ve found so far:

– Italian Spaghetti House and Pizzaria (Lake City Way) – excellent pizza for a very reasonable price. If you like meat, try the Large 15. I’ve been going there for 26 years, and my family for close to 55 years! Don’t even know if they have Calzones…

– Palermo (Ballard) – Very tasty pizza; haven’t tried the Calzones.

– Snoose Junction (Ballard) – Did not care for the Calzone. Not much flavor and too bread-y. Haven’t tried the pizza.

– Varlamos (U-District) – Did not care for the Calzone. Again, too bready, not enough deliciosity packed inside.

– Madame K’s (Ballard) – Good pizza; haven’t tried the calzone. Pizza a bit pricey, though. The atmosphere is really fun; it’s a brothel-turned-italian-restaurant.

To be continued… In the meantime, do you know if one I’m really missing out on?

I realize this split work/social life is the life of many young lawyers, but who would have known? In the first week of work, there was an associate get-together for an all night party starting at Venom and ending in an Indian Casino at 7 AM – who woulda thunk it?

Anyway, life in the working world is great! So much better than I anticipated. Of course, it may be as awesome as it is since I’m comparing to the world’s most NOT awesome summer last year. Anyway, it turns out work can be FUN when you enjoy the people you’re working with, and they give you REAL assignments (*gasp*), and then spend time showing you how to do things (*double gasp*). Being healthy and having loved ones around to have fun with doesn’t hurt either.

Meanwhile, you get a paycheck AND evenings and weekends free – not a bad deal at all. This has given me more time to spend with friends and family, and a more flexible sleep schedule on the weekends. A couple weekends ago we got to celebrate John’s 24th (our little boy’s all grown up! see proof in photos below) at Marrakesh, a stop at Scott’s, then on to Amber, and Del Mar. It was a great time, and so fun to be able to go out and about without worrying about not having enough time for homework the next day. A girl could get used to this!

Then the family went down to see my Uncle Dave (Brauer-Rieke) get installed as the new Bishop of the Oregon Synod – I’m so proud! photos to follow – and then we did a tour of downtown Seattle’s Condos on Sunday. It’s almost like this is still summer vacation (since most jobs I’ve had haven’t ever been able to last more than about 3 months due to school) and soon I’ll have to go back to the 80 hr/wk grind I’m used to…But NO! The fun continues!! Next weekend is our firm retreat, and I’m going to learn how to fly fish – it should be awesome. One of the attorneys I do a lot of work for brought me a beer yesterday morning in honor of my going on that activitity with him and a group of mostly “the guys” – it’s called “Trout Slayer” – brewed by Big Sky in Montana. Hilarious. I’m sure I’ll have lots of good photos to share of the retreat in a couple weeks

Finally, in other news, Rebekah had her baby on Thursday – Olivia Rosemary Starr. She’s BEAUTFUL and wonderful and the only downside is that she’s not here in Seattle. They’ll be coming up to visit in December, though, so all the Seattle aunties and uncles will just have to wait for then.

We have something that belongs to you. You’ll go along if you know what’s good for you. We want $314,159 in small, unmarked bills. In exchange, your beloved glasses will be returned unharmed.

This is what happens when you miss Culinary Club. You have been warned.

Here’s what I mean: This girl, plus this pirate = permanent emotional scarring.

Note: Photos from the Seattle PI, July 9, 2007.

My goodness!! If I had see this when I was a kid I would be absolutely terrified and I’m sure the fear would have generalized into some crippling terror toward everyone wearing beads, or all men with facial hair. Thank you, mom and dad, for keeping me distant from this part of Seafair!!! Yikes! And most of all, you really have to wonder: Who IS this guy the other 340 days of the year that he’s not a Seafair Pirate???

You know how when you’re falling asleep you always have the best ideas? Or you’ve had a problem that’s been plaguing you for weeks, and just as you’re waking up you solve it, only to lose that brilliant solution before you can get up and write it down?

I think I’ve cracked the case on this one…but the news isn’t all good.

Last night, I sadly discovered the reason behind this drastic increase in my perceived IQ during the middle-of-the-night-hours: It’s the only time when my ideas are able to break free from the bounds of reality. When no longer constrained by the laws of physics or logical reasoning, I can come up with some pretty ground-breaking ideas.

For example, last night I came up with the perfect weight loss plan, and was ready to solve America’s problems of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc… Ready? Here it is: Just make it so food doesn’t have any calories, and then we can inject ourselves with the number of calories (liquid form, of course) we want to consume on any given day! It would have the right mix of vitamins and nutrients, and everything we would need to be the pictures of health. Ta da! Genius, right? Oh yeah, I have a million more right where that came from.

Tell me your great nighttime ideas so I don’t feel so all alone on this one

In my last post about the Bar Exam, I was feeling relatively confident and upbeat. Now we’re halfway through the lectures, and almost halfway to the Bar itself, and the confidence is, well…waning at times.

The outlines we make every day are getting longer, and the stack is piling high – and we still have 10 more subjects to learn. The exceptionally helpful advice to just “memorize it all and you’ll be fine” is true but useless. But we’re holding together. In the periods where my mind is so full of information that it starts to zone out, I’ve been trying to liken this experience to something more corporeal that everyone could relate to, and I’ve come up with a couple of ideas.

First, I thought it was kind of like a giant trust fall from a really high platform – only you start falling on June 11, and you don’t stop until October when scores come out. Everything in between is the panicky feeling that you’ll land on your head, and that half the people will laugh and the other half will pity you. But that metaphor doesn’t quite work, because I’m not sure who the people are who are supposed to be catching – the Bar Examiners?? Not likely…

So then I thought, maybe it’s like a cruel game of “Would You Rather” where your choices are between: (1) getting locked in a room by yourself for 6 weeks and forced to memorize minutia, then you get to come out and if you haven’t memorized it you keep getting sent back in, or (2) never being able to do a job you’ve paid tens of thousands of dollars and put years of your life into achieving. Hmm.

But I think one that works the best is a comparison to a game my cousin got for Christmas a year or so ago: We (heart) Katamari. As he describes it, you roll this little thing around a small area, like a living room, and everything it touches it picks up (lint, then lamps, then end tables…). As it gets bigger, you can pick up bigger and bigger stuff, until it’s picking up cars, and then buildings, mountain ranges, etc. It becomes a huge ball of stuff – that’s the Katamari. So that’s what BarBri is doing. It’s rolling us around in a bunch of law and trying to get as much as possible to stick to us. And as a result, we’re ending up a huge out of control Katamari.

Well, I can’t pick up any cars yet, but I’m getting a cat here and there. I’ll keep in mind a quote from one of my favorites, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: “Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout…Do your worst, for I will do mine!” That’s right, Bar Exam, bring it on!

Well you’re all in luck because since this is the first trial balloon on this one, I’m throwing not one, not two, but THREE of my guilty pleasures your way. And if you call now, I’ll throw in this extra water-whipping attachment for free. So get ready, put down that Butterfingers, and get out a pencil and paper (no scraps because you don’t want to be losing it) to take notes.

In the category of best summer TV show series: So You Think You Can Dance? Wednesday nights on Fox. Plus, since it’s two hours right now, I can tape it and stretch it out for days while I eat between Bar Review class and essay writing. After my salsa lessons I have a special appreciation for these people. If I could choose a Super Power to have, it would be to dance like they do!

Favorite low-guilt dessert: Hershey’s Special Dark. You can go pick one up at your favorite Safeway location (or anywhere, but I just really like Safeway). Just 1/4 of the bar is satisfying, filling, tasty, and has only 55 calories!

Favorite DVD Series, soon to be back to Primetime: LOST. I take personal responsibility for getting four people hooked on this show, and we all couldn’t be happier. Now it’s going to be LOST parties all next season every Wednesday night, and I’m so excited! Totally check it out. You don’t even have to give me credit for how much you’ll like it. (Seasons 1 and 2 available on DVD, and Season 3 coming soon – then you’ll be up to date!) Season 4 begins in January 2008, so you have lots of time to catch up. Warning: Avoid spoilers at any cost!

So, as you know, I’m now in the process of getting ready for the Washington State Bar Exam. 1.5 days down, and…lots to go – which is not entirely a bad thing! You’ve all been so supportive and I want to give you each an update, but time is of the essence, so this will have to suffice.

The experience so far reminds me a lot of first year, but without the blind panic. They tell me at BarBri that if I do the work they assign, I will pass. I’m signed up for the deal where they check to make sure I’m doing everything. People who are signed up for this have a 95% pass rate, so that works for me! Of course, it’s been about 12 hours of work a day (including class), but I’m willing to do it to pass. Plus, if I don’t pass, they’ll let me take the class again for free, instead of the $2,000 it’s costing me this time around.

It’s nicely structured, which is right up my alley. Wake up early, work out, shower, eat, class, eat, review notes, create outline, dinner, write 3 essays, bed, rinse, repeat. I can do this. Meanwhile, other things have improved – since I had so much time to relax, hang out, vacation, etc., I have quickly switched into time-conservation, super-human, efficiency mode. I’m taking this ten minute break to make tea, write my shopping list, write this post, listen to music, and generally get ready for the next couple hour push. I’m most surprised at how NOT crazy-stressed I am. I’m happy with myself, and I feel like it’s a good sign of growth from 1L year. Good things came out of law school!

So that’s all for now. Things are going smoothly! It’s only day 2, of course, but at least so far so good! Even if I don’t write to you individually, please let me know what’s happening with you in the outside world! I miss you guys (except Jeremy ) already!

PS: Graduation Pics still coming in – stay tuned on that.