Tuesday morning, I didn’t have to go into the office. I went to the Superior Court here in Philly as an observer alongside my coworker and a bunch of other lawyers-to-be from across the area. Space in the courtroom itself was at a premium, and accordingly many of us were shuffled off into a spillover room across from the courtroom itself, a small office converted for the duration. The air was slightly warm, but it was dry and stuffy; my bosses told me to dress as I would for work, but the Solicitor’s Office has a business casual dress code, and I overdressed a little expecting the other departments and whatnot to be in professional attire.
My hunch was spot on, and most of the people in professional dress ended up taking their jackets off, so I was ahead of the curve in that I didn’t wear one. Regardless, it was an enlightening experience watching oral arguments in practice.
One notable character still stands out in my head. He was a young lawyer in a light grey suit, tall and slim with dark hair and a face almost, but not quite like Jacob Elordi’s. Temu Jacob Elordi had two cases to argue for the Defender’s Association, and frankly he flubbed his first case despite the Fifth Amendment being 100% on his (wholly unsympathetic, editorializing) client’s side. One hopes that his face card and solid argument makes up for his woeful lack of public speaking experience.
Afterwards, I undid my tie, rolled up my sleeves, and sat in Washington Square for a while debating what to do for lunch. I decided on P.J. Clarke’s, mainly because it was right there. Lunch on Tuesday was two courses. First was tomato soup with a single tiny grilled cheese (really, a quarter of a grilled cheese, diagonally cut) on what I think was wheat bread. After that was my main course, chicken pot pie (more chicken soup, really) with onion thins mixed in. To drink, I had plenty of water and a glass of champagne; it was fairly good. The service was the best part, and the waitress complemented my glasses (if I had a nickel for every stranger who complemented my sunglasses Tuesday, I’d have two nickels) so I made sure to tip extra. Afterwards, I decided to walk back to Anova, and it was fun: I went through the Diamond District.
Wednesday was spent in the office; I decided to work overtime on account of a specific project for one of my bosses, and I ended up getting home about two hours later than usual. When I left the 34th Street station, I smelled burgers, and I took that as a sign to grill some, so I stopped at the store before making my way back to Anova. I ended up making a plate of them, and I had two then and there. Satisfied, I saved the rest for later.
Later proved to be Thursday, as I finished the remainder for brunch (pictured above) and a late supper. Dinner, meanwhile, was a pile of sunny side up eggs with shredded parmesan and pepper, and a pile of pancakes cooked rare (as taught to me by an old friend) and drenched in butter and maple syrup. Although as the eggs cooked, the residual heat within the stack of pancakes not only melted the butter but cooked them to more of a medium-rare consistency. Still excellent.
It’s been raining on and off (but mostly on) for the past few days. Every few hours or so thunder rolls overhead, and there have been somewhat frequent flash flood warnings (more of an annoyance than anything, with how loud they are). I ran 5.5 last night at the usual time with the usual players. Nefiel’s player likely can’t make Thursday or Friday sessions because of work, and I’m considering running an additional session earlier in the week so that people who can’t make one can still play in the other. Afterwards, my friends and I watched something that wasn’t slop for a change, the 1971 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Scottish Play: an excellent film that’s aged like a fine wine, unfortunately directed and produced by two figures whose reputations have aged like a tub of sour cream forgotten in the back of a fridge.
Since the end of the Zoom hearings; I got groceries and worked my way through my chore backlog. My bedsheets are fresh and clean, my kitchen is better organized, I’ve even started making room for my excess books. It’s been a good day.
Sierpinski Tetrahedron 