Monday, 27
MAR
06
(link
removed)
Mogwai
- 'Travel is Dangerous' - Mr. Beast (Matador)
It's been another one of our 'whirlwind weekend' trips
away. This time it was Birmingham, Alabama. Yee-haw! We left a little
later than expected Friday afternoon because Kelly had a meeting, but
we were still able to hit the road by 3.30. The good thing is that
Birmingham really isn't that far of a drive, or it doesn't seem like
it. We stopped in Hattiesburg for coffee, then headed onwards. It
wasn't looking good at first after we had crossed the border from
Mississippi into Alabama when traffic in both lanes heading east came
to a dead stop. We were sitting in the car, listening to music, and
waiting to see what was going on. A few people (in pick-ups of course)
somewhere in front of us had actually turned around and were heading
back to the last exit (presumably) along the shoulder. It wasn't too
much longer though (maybe 5-10 minutes) before we were going again.
About a mile or so in front of us we passed a still-smoking, charred
car and a police car near it with the officer probably writing a
report, but that was it. Pretty crazy. I made the comment when we were
stopped that it was too bad we had forgotten to bring the digital
camera along with us, and Kelly asked if it was to photograph death and
dismemberment. But of course.
We arrived in downtown Birmingham around 8.30pm. Not bad time at all
considering that there were stops along the way to get coffee, use the
rest area, and fill the gas tank. We went to eat at Surin of Thailand,
a combination Thai/Japanese restaurant that we had eaten at previously.
It was a short wait, but worth it. We were pretty hungry. Kelly
selected a 'Thai spaghetti' dish with shrimp, chicken, vegetables, and
a spicy sauce. I had sushi, seaweed salad, and soup (plus a few bites
of Kelly's meal). It was good food. We then headed to the hotel and I
geeked on the laptop while Kelly watched a movie on tv. We had
considered going to the movie originally, but didn't feel up to it at
this point. The next morning we slept in some, but got up in time to
catch the continental breakfast before they shut down. After eating we
headed to Oak
Mountain State Park. This is the park where I finished with a
horrible time on my first mountain bike race. On the way though, we
stopped at Penzey's
Spices to stock up on some different spices for our kitchen
(vanilla beans, a few chili powders, Vietnamese cinnamon, and more). We
get the catalog and were excited that there was an outlet in
Birmingham. When we arrived at the park Kelly was going to hike around
some while I hit the trails on my bike. Not racing and having less
riders on the trail made the ride a little more enjoyable. I was doing
pretty well and had made it to the top of the highest climb and going
down the other side on the fire road when I realized that my rear tire
was flat. I was pretty annoyed. One, because I didn't have the tools
(or the skill) to replace my rear tire, but that we had come all this
way and I was riding on some of the best trails, and I get a fucking
flat tire. What a drag. The worst part was that it was about 11 miles
into the 17 mile trail, so I had to carry my bike on my shoulder and
back down 2-3 miles to the parking lot. I didn't even get a chance to
test myself again on 'Blood Rock' which is where I had flipped over
completely during the race last summer. I guess it will have to wait
for another time.
After I made it back to the car we headed out and went back to the
hotel to shower and get dressed. Kelly was going to the SEC gymnastics
championship that evening (the main reason for the trip, at least for
her). We ate dinner at the yuppie Summit Mall nearby at the Cheesecake
Factory. It was good, but too large of portions, plus getting an
appetizer that was bigger than we thought should have clued us in that
it would be too much food. We ended up taking most of our main dishes
to go, so while I drove back to put the food in the refrigerator at the
hotel Kelly did some shopping in J. Jill and Coldwater Creek. She
didn't find what she was looking for at J. Jill because it was a
catalog-only item, so she was going to order when we came home the next
day. I only had to wait in the car for a little bit before I drove her
down to the coliseum downtown where the meet was being held. I came
back to the Barnes and Noble and emailed a long reply letter to my
friend Shannon in Australia as well as sent messages to a few other
friends on myspace.com, then I looked at some of the travel books about
Tokyo before Kelly called me to let me know there was one more round
and she'd be ready to go soon. I got another coffee and drove down to
meet her in front of a church which was a few blocks away from the
coliseum, but away from where I expected most of the traffic to be and
listened to some of the third period of the Colorado/St. Louis hockey
game on the satellite radio. Kelly enjoyed the meet and we drove back
to Barnes and Noble to get her a coffee and go see a movie. I found out
that one of the movies we were going to try and see was at the theatre
we didn't know about further back at the Summit. We went and saw 'The World's Fastest Indian'
which starred Sir Anthony Hopkins portraying New Zealander, Burt Munro,
and his quest in the sixties to perfect his Indian motorcycle and get
from his hometown in New Zealand to Bonneville Flats, Utah to break the
speed record during 'speed week'. What a great film! Burt Munro was a
crazy old coot (and Anthony Hopkins was the perfect person to be cast
for this role), and it told of his adventures of building his cycle
while bothering the neigbors in the process, travelling by ship to
America, staying at a dive hotel in Hollywood, and purchasing a car to
transport his cycle (on a 'trailer' he welded together) to Utah then
get his chance to fulfill his dream. There were some humorous bits that
had us cracking up (which was okay since only one other couple was in
the theatre), and it was a truly entertaining movie. Two thumbs up from
both of us. We headed back to the hotel after the movie and went to bed
(after I checked some of the hockey scores on espn.com).
Sunday we had breakfast, went to get coffee and a book for Kelly at
Barnes and Noble, then hit the road. Driving back was pretty uneventful
and we were home by 4.30, after stopping in Picayune at Walmart to get
some groceries for the week. We did laundry, watched some of our
programs from last week, and then the Avs/Oilers game before Kelly went
to bed. I stayed up to watch the end of the game, a 4-3 loss in the
shootout, which was kind of a bummer, but that finished off a pretty
decent weekend overall. It's almost playoffs time, so every point in
each game is critical and it's fun to watch the NHL playoff
race which changes on a daily basis, especially in the west, as to
who's in and who's out. The Avs should be able to make it in, but with
about 12 games left nothing is certain. We'll be posting more about
this in the next couple of weeks.
-posted by Chris
Thursday, 23
MAR
06
(link
removed)
Neko
Case - 'Hold on Hold on' - Fox
Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
Urgent Message to Sea Wolves
hockey fans:
It's entirely possible that our ECHL team, the Mississippi Sea Wolves, will be
unable to start their 10th season later this year. The problem is that
the Coast
Coliseum can not guarantee that all necessary repairs will be done on
time...sounds like they're getting yanked around by their insurance
company too. So this is a call for hockey fans of the world to
unite and takeover...or just get off your duff and write a letter like
we did:
Dear
(Governor/Senator/Mayor/Congressman),
We are
writing to express our concerns with the very real
possibility that the Mississippi Sea Wolves, East Coast Hockey League
(ECHL)
team, will be unable to return for their 10th season later
this
year. We have read on the Sea Wolves’ website and in the Sun Herald
that the MS
Coast Coliseum may not have the repairs necessary in time to allow the
Sea
Wolves to finally start their 10th season. We have been avid
Sea
Wolves fans ever since we moved to the coast ten years ago. This past
season
was going to be our first as season ticket holders, but of course the
hurricane
prevented the season from going forward. We would be heart-broken if
the team
was forced to miss two seasons due to Katrina rather than just one, or
even
worse to leave the coast altogether.
The
Texas Wildcatters in Beaumont, who did not suffer
nearly the physical losses that the Sea Wolves organization sustained,
were
given incentives in the form of financial assistance to keep playing in
Texas.
We don’t understand why the Sea Wolves are not given a similar
incentive
package. Isn’t there some sort of legislative or executive help, city,
state
and/or federal, that could be given to the Coast Coliseum and the Sea
Wolves to
ensure that we continue to have a professional sports team on the MS
Gulf
Coast?
I
understand that hockey may not be a large concern,
especially compared to the many pressing issues that Katrina has left
our
state. However, we believe that having the MS Sea Wolves back for their
10th
season will not only help further restore our sense of community but
provide
local residents with much needed stress relief. It would be nice to
have
something back to normal and something to cheer about. Please consider
backing
financial assistance to ensure that the MS Sea Wolves remain on the
Coast where
they belong and begin their 10th season later this year.
Sincerely, Kelly & Chris
Ok...I said
my peace on that. Now it's just a wait and see.
I read this
column by Ruth Marcus the other day from the Washington Post. It's
commentary on a new book by Harvard professor Harvey C. Mansfield
called "Manliness". It's kind of funny & I tend to agree with much
of what she says:
" "The problem of manliness is
not that it does not exist," Mansfield
concludes. "It does exist, but it is unemployed." Well, um, excuse me,
but I think -- it's just my opinion, now, maybe you disagree, and
I'm sure we could work it out
-- Mansfield has it exactly backward. Manliness does exist. The problem
is that it's overemployed -- nowhere more than in this administration."
Here's
another nugget from the Post. It would be funny except that it hurts to
laugh...
I've only listened to the new Neko Case album a couple of times. It
doesn't immediately grab me like Blacklisted
did. But I think it will grow on me. I mean...what an amazing voice!
Hope you like the song.
-posted by Kelly
Sunday, 19
MAR
06
Strange weather outside
today. It's overcast and a bit breezy, but doesn't seem like it's going
to rain anytime soon. Maybe later today. The temperature isn't too bad
either. Might be good to go for a bike ride in a little bit. We slept
in until 10am this morning after a late night last night in New Orleans
(more on that below). We went to Slidell to get coffee and grocery
shop, and were home before 1pm. Not too bad considering shopping on
Sunday usually takes a few hours. My left shoulder blade is really
sore, although I can't figure out why. I think I must have slept on it
wrong or something. In addition, for the past few days my left ear
feels like there is water or some other fluid in it. That's kind of
unnerving. I can still hear, but there is this strange pressure. I
think I'll call the doctor about it tomorrow and see if I can get an
appointment later this week. I'm really stumped as to what it could be.
Friday was our off day, so Thursday night Kelly went to go see
'Transamerica'. I wasn't feeling up to going, and stayed home to watch
some hockey and 'Porco Rosso', one of the Miyazaki films they showed on
AMC in January. It's set in Italy about a WWI fighter pilot who has
been turned into a pig and is kind of a bounty hunter who fends off
some of the local air pirates. An entertaining film. Kelly came home
and said she really enjoyed 'Transamerica'.
During the day on Friday we went out shopping in the morning and looked
at some bamboo flooring and also picked up some pepper plants for our
herb garden. We ate lunch and went to get our haircuts. Afterwards, we
went to see the newly released 'V for Vendetta' movie. What a great
film. Both of us really enjoyed it a lot. It had a good story that was
timed well and I didn't think it dragged at all during the movie, plus
it gave some background info on the characters tied in with present
events going on in the film. The acting was great, although I have to
say I'm kind of biased because I really like Natalie Portman, but she
carried off her character well. There was also a balanced amount of
action that kept the interest, but wasn't totally over the top. I'd
highly recommend it for one of the 'big studio' films to check out. A
bonus was seeing trailers for 'X3 (X-Men 3)', 'Pirates of the Carribean
2', and 'Poseidon'. After the movie we went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday
which was good, and not too crowded for a Friday night. I guess we went
early enough and they have hired more employees since the last time we
tried to eat there. After eating we came home and watched something we
had recorded on Tivo earlier in the week.
Saturday we slept in a bit, but not too much, then got dressed and
headed to New Orleans. We were going to Lenscrafters and have our eyes
examined as well as get some new glasses since it's been a few years
for both of us. My prescription really hadn't changed that much at all,
but my lenses were scratched so I ordered some new Scotchguard lenses
along with a pair of new groovy sunglasses. Both had to be ordered and
should arrive back in a couple of weeks. Kelly did have a new
prescription and picked out some nice new pink-framed glasses and
replaced the lenses of her sunglasses. This took most of the afternoon,
but while we were waiting for Kelly's glasses to be made we drove down
from the Esplanade Mall to the Whole Foods in Metairie (full store now
open) for a few items as well as Dorignac's for some 'unusual' beer for
Jason and Ellen. We picked out a specialty Sierra Nevada Bigfoot six
pack and a few bottles of the Brazilian beer we used for our chicken
marinade that turned out so well. After going back to get Kelly's
glasses we headed to the Sake Cafe on Magazine Street to meet Neal. We
were going to try to go to the one in Metairie, but Neal kind of got
misguided driving over on the interstate and went to secure us a table
at the Magazine location. We finally arrived after fighting heavy
traffic all the way over from Metairie. It was 7pm, but still plenty of
time before the show we were all going to later. We ended up ordering
many different appetizers and sushi and sharing all of it. The good
thing is that we really didn't stuff ourselves sick and even though we
had a little leftover sushi, we had brought along the cooler to take it
home with us. It was all really good, and despite the abrupt server, we
had a fun time. It was entertaining to watch Neal look over at the
group of girls at the booth on the other side of the partition from us
when they were giggling to themselves. After eating we got coffee at
the Starbucks across the street, then drove down to the French Quarter.
We parked in a different lot from Neal, but met him at the Cigar
Factory where our friend Alex was working. We chatted with Alex for
awhile before heading up to One Eyed Jacks.
Tonight's show was Of Montreal, who hail from Athens, Georgia. It was
pretty crowded outside when we walked up at 9.30pm, so we went inside
to pay and get our wristbands, then hung out front with some other
people Neal knew from the coast. It was fun talking and watching all
the hipsters. We went in a little later when we thought a band was
starting. A rumour had been going around that the opening act (local),
White Bitch had cancelled, but to our dismay, this was not the case as
we found out when we walked inside the club. We listened to the first
song which was instrumental, then a small bit of the second song, and
proceeded to go back outside where we found a table and chairs inside
the bar near the club entrance where we could watch the hipsters go
back and forth up the stairs into the club area. I really hate White
Bitch. Annoying, egotistical, and just plain bad music. Neal showed up
a bit later and found us and sat down while White Bitch finished. We
went into the club which was now pretty packed and quite warm, although
not as smoky as I thought it would be. We didn't have to wait long
because Of Montreal came out at midnight, as I predicted. The band were
all dressed up in hipster garb- the bassist had some big Russian hat
on, and the main singer/guitarist came out wearing a wedding dress
saying he wanted to marry New Orleans, but then he took it off (he had
pants underneath) and put on a shirt/jacket thing. Damn skinny hipster
rock stars. It was a great show (well, the 45 minutes we stayed for).
They play indie twee power pop that the crowd totally loved. People
were dancing around and having a really good time. The band were really
fun as well and seemed to be enjoying themselves, including their
roadie standing on the stage behind them totally getting into it. We
were kind of surprised they were that popular, but maybe people in New
Orleans are just so eager for shows to come back now that most bands
will draw a decent crowd on a Saturday night. A fun evening, although
our age is catching up with us, hence leaving before 1am to drive home.
I feel like I'm breaking down (physically) now that I've hit 35.
Sigh....pretty sad.
-posted
by Chris
Wednesday, 15
MAR
06
(link
removed)
Elliott
Smith- 'Trouble' - Thumbsucker soundtrack (Hollywood/Good
Records)
Random Thoughts pt. 2:
Not much to say...but I thought we ought to post something
since it's been awhile. I'm not really sick anymore...though they're
roofing at work and it feels/sounds like they're dropping boulders on
the ceiling - which is kicking up dust and who knows what kind of toxic
mold. Was I just imagining that it was getting harder to breathe this
afternoon or am I just looking for excuses to leave early? Work is
annoying...what else is new.
New Neko Case came out last week. Chris ordered that and the new
Mogwai. I am looking forward to hearing Neko's vocals belting out those
soulful tunes.
Rickey's opened back up last week. I went there with Allison last
Thursday for lunch. It was a 20 minute wait for a table...but it sure
was nice seeing the place back in business (though it's moved to Bay
St. Louis now). I don't think I'll be heading east for lunch very often
- with so few places open in BSL/Waveland they really pack out
for lunch. I may be a slacker...but I don't want to take that long of a lunch. Trapani's is
opening soon and Bay City Grill is supposed to start serving food again
soon. Good to see signs of life in that area.
I saw that Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker movie last
weekend - Failure to Launch.
It was actually really entertaining - pure romantic comedy fluff...and
forgetting the implausibility of those mountain biking and rock
climbing scenes supposedly taking place near New Orleans, a decent
film. My friend, Bobbie, said before the film "If he doesn't take his
shirt off, I'm asking for my money back." Not a problem...yee haw!
Zooey Deschanel's character was pretty crazy, which really helped make
the film.
We played poker Saturday night and were both pretty disappointed with
the game. Besides the fact that we both went out relatively early - it
just wasn't a good night for poker. Next time we'll miss out on the
game, but a short break might do the trick.
I dreamt last night that I went out to sea and forgot to pack any
underwear. Hmmm...I wonder what that means? I guess I ought to start
making my packing list just in case.
It was a beautiful day today. Hopefully it'll be nice this weekend and
I can do some more gardening. I planted some herbs on Monday (after a
lawn guy dug up a garden for me). He saved our parsley and I added
rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, lavendar, mint and sage. I noticed
somebody had been digging in the dirt today. I suspect it's child #1
(Tura)...she has been awfully dirty lately. If it happens to be the
neighbor's ugly grey poodle with pink ribbons in its hair - I shall
kick it's behind. Damn dog!
We watched the movie Thumbsucker
the other night. It's about a high school kid who sucks his thumb and
is pretty insecure about it...until his orthodontist (the best role
I've seen Keanu Reeves play in a long time) tries hypnosis on him and
then a school counselor diagnoses him with ADD and puts him on Ritalin.
It was pretty decent - some interesting characters and a great
soundtrack. Actually...Elliott Smith was supposed to do the soundtrack
and did add a couple of songs before being stabbed to death. Polyphonic
Spree picked up the rest of the soundtrack and their chorus-style fit
well. Still...if Elliott had done all the songs, I wonder if the movie
would have impacted me more. Like the way Good Will Hunting did the first
time I saw it. How often I wish he was still alive...
-posted by Kelly
Saturday, 11
MAR
06
(link
removed)
Zen
Withstanding- 'A Quiet Afternoon' - A
Tribute to Elliott Smith (Double
D)
Random Thoughts:
I've been sick this whole week. Actually it started last week...turned
into bronchitis this week. I went to the Dr's on Monday & got some
meds (antibiotic & cough syrup w/ codeine) so I'm feeling better.
Though yesterday I woke up w/ a migraine. If it's not one thing it's
another, right? I was having a strange dream that morning: I was in a car w/ some others and we were
about to head over a long bridge (like the Causeway but shorter)...then
a series of large waves started washing over the bridge & I
immediately knew it was a tsunami. Even though the bridge was filled
with water & waves we were still able to drive and were going to
try to make it across when we noticed a half dozen Coast Guard cutters
racing towards the bridge. So we decided to start backing up and
that's when I woke up with a migraine. So I took an imitrex sample that
my Dr gave me a few weeks back and waited for the pain to subside...but
the pain didn't go away and instead I was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I
ended up taking 2 excedrin, putting a hot pack on my head and neck and
trying to go back to sleep. Actually went to work for more that half
the day, but finally decided to come home 'cause the imitrex still had
me pretty whacked out.
The other day I was talking w/ a friend about Post Traumatic Stress and
how it is effecting a lot of people (due to Hurricane Katrina). Here's
a list of syptoms from the National
Center for PTSD:
Most disaster survivors (children
and adults as well as disaster rescue or relief workers) experience
normal stress reactions after a traumatic
event. These reactions may last for
several days or even a few weeks and may include:
- Emotional reactions: shock;
fear; grief; anger; guilt; shame; feeling helpless or hopeless; feeling
numb; feeling empty; diminished ability to feel interest, pleasure, or
love
- Cognitive reactions: confusion,
disorientation, indecisiveness, worry, shortened attention span,
difficulty concentrating, memory loss, unwanted memories, self-blame
- Physical reactions: tension,
fatigue, edginess, insomnia, bodily aches or pain, startling easily,
racing heartbeat, nausea, change in appetite, change in sex drive
- Interpersonal reactions:
distrust, conflict, withdrawal, work problems, school problems,
irritability, loss of intimacy, being over-controlling, feeling
rejected or abandoned
Notice that it says may last up to a few weeks. I think that timescale
has been extended into the months and probably years in our case. One
of the things I read on that website spoke about trying not to
constantly remind yourself of the trauma...but that is damn near
impossible in our case as there are daily reminders (even worse for
those living on the coast). I've definitely notived the indecisiveness
& edginess in friends & co-workers.
Speaking of work...all of the people at my office experienced trauma
due to the hurricane in some form or another. In fact, on Thursday
there was a strong storm system moving across the state. One division
was sent home early because of the coming storm & I made the
mistake of getting our secretary all riled up asking if we were going
to be sent home early too (no such luck). The storm actually ended up
being not too bad - high winds, but at least in my neighborhood there
was no new damage. The next day, one of my co-workers told me that he
got all panicked and went home early anyway. Imagine how bad it is
going to be come hurricane season when the first storm shows up in the
Gulf. Talk about re-living your trauma. Anyway...also about
work...things management-wise have been screwier than normal. Usually I
chalk this up to a bunch of scientists who aren't really managers. But
now I'm wondering if the indecisiveness and general lack of leadership
isn't due in some part to post traumatic stress? I'll bet it's at least
compounding the issue.
Which brings me to the next item...at what point do we stop using
Katrina as an excuse for bad behavior? Poor service (contractors),
general irritability & rudeness, thinking that the govt. still owes
you - all those people who were living in hotels for 6 months &
think that the govt. should keep paying...I have sympathy for those who
lost everything, but the govt. did not create the storm. At some point
people have to take responsibility for their situations, etc... OK,
that last one might get me in some trouble. I'm torn because I've got a
good mix of liberalism and conservatism on this issue. But enough of
the "me, me, me" crap already. I'm sure Chris could tell you stories...
So to completely switch gears...I shall just say a quick something on
some political things in the news lately. First off the Dubai
ports deal. Again I'm conflicted. I'm not all that happy about foreign
companies running cargo in our ports...but apparently the majority of
ports are foreign-run. So why single out the United Arab Emirates?
They're actually an ally. I hate that it's an Arab thing. Frankly I'm
just as alarmed that Chinese companies are running port operations. So
for once I agreed with the President (and Bill Clinton) on this issue.
Sounds like it's old news now, as the Dubai company has agreed to
transfer US port operations to a US company...though there are still
some questions as to whether Dubai Ports World will still be the owners
of the operations (as they are still going ahead w/ buying the British
company that sparked the whole uproar in the first place). Anyway...I
just think this whole mess sends the wrong
signals to the Arab world in general and is another sad commentary
on American politics.
Cartoon from Washington Post's website
One more quickie...AT&T is buying BellSouth? How sucky will my
phone serive be now? I wish I lived somewhere with a choice on local
service. Chris & I both despise BellSouth! (and previously despised
AT&T with our long distance...left them many years ago)
Washington Post cartoon
Ok...enough for today. It's time for me to get moving. I leave you
listening to Zen Withstanding's beautiful rendition of an Elliott Smith
song.
-posted by Kelly
Tuesday, 7
MAR
06
(Link
removed)
Michael
Andrews- 'Mad World (alternate mix)' - Donnie Darko Soundtrack (Sanctuary)
Happy birthday to me. I find it hard to believe that I am now 35 years
old. Well, not really. It wasn't that much different than being 34
yesterday. I woke up this morning and went for a 12.5 mile bike ride
around Diamondhead then came home to shower and get dressed before
going to a supervisor's meeting in Picayune. After coming home this
afternoon I watched this week's episode of 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand
Alone Complex' I had recorded on Tivo. Man, what a great series. The
current storyline arc is really interesting and the graphics for the
show are really amazing. Kelly came home and we left again to pick up
Jason and Ellen to head up to Hattiesburg for dinner at our favorite
Thai restaurant, Suwana's. Yum! We stuffed ourselves pretty well, but
it was definitely worth the drive, especially since Suwanna was cooking
tonight. We came home and it's almost time to head for bed.
It has been a week since the last post and we went on another one of
our 'whirlwind weekend' trips. We left for Dallas on Friday morning and
it only took us 8 hours to drive up there. Not too bad. We met our
friends Jen, Jeff, and their son Sam for dinner at a decent Mexican
restaurant. After dinner we went back to the hotel room and just vegged
out. We didn't really feel like doing anything after driving all day,
but did consider going to the movie. Didn't happen. Saturday morning we
got up and drove out to the REI in Plano. Kelly was shopping for a new
rolling duffle bag/suitcase. They had some nice ones at REI, but we
wanted to do some comparison shopping at the outlet shops nearby. We
went to Jen and Jeff's a few miles away then Jen drove us to shop at
the outlet stores. There was a Samsonite luggage store where Kelly made
up her mind that we would go back to REI to get her new bag. We looked
in a few other stores, then went to get lunch. There were a couple of
Japanese places that Jen said were good, but the first few turned out
to not be open for lunch on the weekend. Weird. We ended up at this
place that was kind of a sushi buffet on one side, then hot dishes,
made to order stir fry, and ingredients for shabu shabu. It wasn't too
bad overall. We had a fun time with Jen. After getting back to their
place we said goodbye and went back to REI. Kelly found the rolling
duffle she wanted and we headed downtown to the American Airlines
Center. This was the main reason for coming to Dallas, hockey with
Colorado in town to play the Stars. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like
the Avs came to play. They looked really sad in the first period and
began down 2-0, and barely made it 2-1 at the end of the period. In the
second they still were scrambling, although there was a bit more
action, but it was 4-1 at the end of the second. They did try to rally
in the third, which was the most exciting period, and they pulled
within one making it 4-3, but then Dallas scored another power play
goal to finish them off 5-3. Pretty disappointing to come all that way
for a loss, but it was still fun to see them play. After dinner we went
to this eclectic place called Cafe Brazil that had a varied menu and
was open 24 hours. We had contacted our other friend in the Dallas
area, Travis (who Kelly did Zine with before Spongey Monkey), and
agreed to meet him there after the game. I joked with Kelly before he
showed up that he'd probably be wearing his 'farmer overalls' and sure
enough, Converse and striped overalls. Good ol' Mr. Day. He's a high
school science teacher and he always has some good stories for us. It's
been a few years since we've seen him, and it was really nice to sit
and chat. One of the reasons we travel is to visit people we know, and
since we already have other plans for travel the rest of this year,
maybe next year we'll be able to get out and travel to the northwest
and visit the many friends we have living in that area.
Anyway, Sunday we drove home after picking up some bagels at Einstein
Brothers and coffee (Starbucks, of course) on the way out of town. We
stopped in Baton Rouge at Whole Foods to pick up a few groceries and
something for dinner, then were home by 7.30pm. Kelly was able to watch
the Red Carpet show she recorded which precedes the Oscars, then I
watched Jon Stewart's monologue with her before she watched the Academy
Awards. I'm not really into the awards programs, so I watched the Avs
lose the second game in two nights. This time against Minnesota. We
listened to the first half of the game on the satellite radio in the
car, then I watched the dismal end. What killed them was the
short-handed goal Minnesota scored in the third period to break the
tie, then they scored an empty net goal to make it another 5-3 loss for
the Avs. Sad. Kelly will have to tell what she thought of the awards
show. I know the main winners, and I'm not really disappointed or
excited either way. Yeah, big deal.
-posted by Chris
Wednesday, 1
MAR
06
Happy
day
after Mardi
Gras!! (aka hangover recovery day) Actually...I wasn't hungover today -
just tired and not quite right in the head. Yesterday I spent the whole
day with some friends from work in the French Quarter. We got there
early, found parking, found a Starbucks & a bathroom and then
secured a spot along St. Charles Ave. Then we waited and waited and
waited until signs of a parade started happening. Zulu was the first
parade that morning...and it was nearly 11 before they made it to the
spot on St. Charles where we stood (right before Canal). The parade was
slow and there were long gaps in between floats. Plus the few marching
bands they had were very small...which sucked, 'cause the New Orleans
marching bands are always my favorite part of the parades! Oh well...so
it goes in our Post-Katrina world. We stuck around for Deuce
McAllister's float before heading into the Quarter towards the Bombay
Club.
Some of the revelers before
Zulu
A Zulu priestess shakes her thang
The Bombay Club was
having an "all-day" party pass with an open bar, buffet and bathroom
access. A handy thing to have just off Bourbon St. The pass was for
11am to 5pm...we got there just after noon. Ate some food (lots of New
Orleans faves like jambalaya, red beans & rice, shrimp etoufee) and
drank some cocktails. We stayed there for a couple of hours before
heading out to Bourbon St. Along the way down Bourbon, we stopped off
at the Cigar Factory so I could say "Hi" to Alex and get a cigar to
share amongst friends (bad idea, my throat still hurts). We watched
some of the action on Bourbon and was amazed to be able to walk easily
down the street without being shoulder to shoulder with people. The
usual bead bartering was going on, but we were able to get several just
by shouting at the people on the balcony (no indecent exposure
necessary). We ended up at some country bar where several of my friends
attempted to ride a mechanical bull. Hell no was I going to try that -
I'm relatively unbalanced even while completely sober. None of my
friends will be joining the rodeo circuit anytime soon.
Bead bartering on
Bourbon St. - It's simple economics, supply and demand
Wouldn't you buy a cigar from this
guy?
Cops having a good time with the "ladies"
We went back to the Bombay Club a little after 4pm for once last
snack/drink (we paid $72 per person - so we needed to get our money's
worth). I stopped drinking alcohol by then, since I had to drive home
(and was planning to do so by 7pm). We hung out for awhile...realized
that one person failed to re-connect with us and another person was
taking an awfully long time in the bathroom. This is when the day
started to turn for the worse. We finally got the person puking in the
bathroom back to a hotel room (where Bobbie & Jay were
staying)...so that he could continue puking in their bathroom. I kept
getting intermittent phone calls from the lost person - trying to get a
drunk person who doesn't know his way around the Quarter very well to a
certain location is extremely difficult. So the 4 relatively sober
people (myself probably being the most sober by this point) decided to
go get dinner down at Gordon Biercsh's. We hiked our way down there
only to find that it was an hour wait. So we ended up at Harrah's
casino getting burgers at Fuddruckers. By this time it was 8pm and I
was beyond anxious to get home. I still needed to find the lost guy
first. Luckily he found a cop who told him where he was & we went
and got him. Then I had to listen to him drunkely tell me the same
story over and over again while we hiked to the car. I was going to
drive to the hotel to pick up the other drunk person...but couldn't get
through (street was closed off). So I pulled along Rampart and made
them come to me. So it's about 9pm before we're heading out of the
city. I've got a massive headache & am in a pretty foul mood. I
have one drunk person puking in the backseat (luckily he had a plastic
bag) and another one yelling in my ear the same story 10 more times.
Ugh! Needless to say...my day of fun turned into not so fun. I will not
repeat that adventure again. If I do Mardi Gras - it'll either be a)
completely sober & with my husband or b) drunk and with a hotel
room nearby. C'est la vie.
So that was Mardi Gras 2006. And today is the 6-month anniversary of
the Hurricane. But that will be a topic for tomorrow (and the next day
and the one after that, ...)
-posted by Kelly
