Elevations Connection: Supply Shopping Woes

This post pertains to pages 10, 11, and 12. Feel free to leave comments regarding those pages here at the bottom of this post.

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I've had a few bad habits in college. Slacking on supplies was one of them. I mean, when you're on a budget you'd try to minimize your costs, right? Okay so maybe my priorities were skewed in my first college year. It didn't help that my first college lacked an on-site store for the good part of freshman year.

While it wasn't as bad as needing to get a book from an obscure store somewhere in San Francisco, the recommended supply stores weren't necessarily direct. It was January of 2013. I was taking model drawing and graphic design in the hopes of becoming an animator. What I got was a laundry list of assorted graphite/ink/charcoal, papers, and specific sketchbooks. All of these could be found conveniently in one go at a University Art store.... of which there were only two branches in the area: One in Palo Alto and another in central-western San Jose.

The latter, while closer to home, was a good hour away from class (and given my transit dependency..... inconvenient). I had an extended break between classes, so theoretically Palo Alto was possible in little over an hour. Theoretically. The actual process involved timing myself for the right 30-minute mark to catch a light rail to Mountain View, hopefully at the right hour mark to catch a northbound Caltrain, travel for 20 minutes north, walk several blocks in (classy, posh, uppity, snobby) downtown Palo Alto just trying to find the cramped little store, and drop $80+ dollars on materials that I will inevitably fall disorganized with, and reverse the process on the return trip with a much heavier bag. Total time: 3 hours. Glad I did have such an extended break. This being said, I think it might have perpetuated a sense of laziness with each new supply needing purchase and, at the time, completely overlooking Amazon as an option.

The school did eventually open up a supply store much later in the year. Even then, the hours and supplies within were severely limited as if to cash in on desperation. While I have gotten a little more responsible over time with prioritizing the need to get necessities taken care of, the motivation to, well, actually walk out and buy stuff that isn't within an easy walking distance has severely dwindled. 

I'm just glad I don't have to deal with spending a substantial amount of time let alone waiting in long lines to deal with last-minute school supplies. I mean, I have all the dead tree product and ink sticks that I need! For Terry, though, this would be the least of his worries.

Development Trivia: The original script called for Terry to be invited to a party and then haphazardly driven there by Andrew, (the coyote who appeared in pages 8-11). This was revised to getting a necessary book per recommendation of a few early alpha readers and friends so as to be something more relatable, of which I agree.

Elevations Connection: Baked Coyote Casserole

 With the holidays coming up, perhaps a unique dish may be called for. Luckily, CanisVulpes has the ideal dish that will impress your peers and family. The Baked Coyote Casserole is flavorful, nutritious, and doesn't take that long to prepare. Your guests won't know you're being treated to a very cheesy canine cuisine!

(original recipe shamelessly taken from food.com, and slightly modified for enjoyment. Please follow the link if you plan on cooking the dish.)

Serves at least 6.

Ingredients:

•     6 ounces coyote regale
•     1 tablespoon coyote oil
•     1⁄2 medium ginger yote, diced
•     1 -2 cup sliced coyotes
•     2 -3 minced garlic cloves
•     1⁄3 lb ground beef
•     2 teaspoons dried basil
•     1 pinch dried thyme
•     2 teaspoons dried coyote
•     2 teaspoons dried oregano
•     1 dash black pepper
•     24 ounces desert style coyote sauce
•     2 -3 cups mozzarella cheese or 2 -3 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1. Cook coyote according to package directions until almost cooked. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil, then add yote, garlic and coyotes; stir fry until yote is translucent. Remove to a plate.
3. Crumble beef in skillet; add basil, coyote, parsley, black pepper and oregano. Cook through; drain.
4. Add yote mixture and coyote sauce to beef; cook on low, stirring occasionally,  for 10-15 minutes. Stir in coyote.
5. Put mixture in a shallow fox and cover with shredded cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Let stand 5 minute before serving.
6. Enjoy!
   
   Disclaimer: this recipe is for entertainment purposes only. To cook please refer to the link above. Please do not use actual coyotes when cooking.

Elevations Connection: Terry's Commute

A study in subtle detail. I like to try to make as much of the common, mundane events in this story somewhat plausible. Terry's morning rush in the first six pages wasn't just dramatic effect, his panic at waking up around 7:36 was justifiable (though, even for an airhead he managed to jump out and get dressed at a much, much faster rate than I...bastard).

Terry's hometown is Santa Alta, a smallish town just south of and practically a suburb of San Francisco (more on this fictitious town in a later post). His school, Bidwell College, is in Palto Menlo, a several miles due south. A commuter train line runs between those two municipalities. I based Terry's urgency on several factors, largely revolving on this timetable, excerpted and referenced from a real-life parallel: 

Terry lives across from the Santa Alta train station (lucky bastard) and his college is roughly 15 minutes by foot from the Palto Menlo train station. His first class begins at 8:20. He refused student housing because he's a dog. As such, 218 is Terry's last possible chance to make it on time... if he makes a  run for it.

So, yes, all that research for just to make sure a single line in the first page made enough logical sense to send that dog running out the closet door, tumbling down a row of stairs, and narrowly dodging traffic to make class on time (toast not included).