Bringing the Drama

I posted this picture of myself Sunday night, which I will now explain.

(I uploaded more pictures on my Flickr)

I am not sure how many of my readers even will understand this, but I will type about it anyway. As mentioned previously, CZ’s dad is in Endymion. When CZ and I arrived at our hotel on Friday afternoon, her dad called her, and asked her to ask me if I wanted to ride in Endymion if the parade was rained out Saturday night. I’d have to pay $550, but that was it. I told her yes, without really thinking about it. How often do these kinds of opportunities come around? Besides, at that point I figured the parade would not be rained out so I wouldn’t ride anyway.

That night at Herbsaint, he told me everyone had gotten an email that the parade was in fact rained out, I was riding. Also, I had this AMAZING duck and andouille gumbo that ruined me for eating gumbo the rest of the weekend. Dinner was fabulous, watching the parades roll by on St Charles was great, and ending the night at the Carousel Bar was excellent.

The next morning, I went over to the Hilton to meet her dad and go with him to a traditional pre-parade luncheon for members of a few floats. It was pretty cool; they had a live band, open bar, and buffet. The gumbo made me miss the Herbsaint gumbo. The rain came about an hour after we got there and was POURING. The lights even went off a couple of times. We left after doing everything they normally do before Endymion rolls, including second lining and doing Kamikaze shots. I ended up taking home some bananas and grapes. After a trip back to the Hilton that took a few detours, I was able to trade the tux I had rented for the costume I would wear. The guy who was originally going to fill in was going to wear my tux for the ball and luckily he’s the same size as me.

That night at the Endymion ball, we were supposed to get on the floats in costume and ride through the Convention Center. I had never been on a float, much less thrown anything from a float, and now I was about to ride through a massive throng of nicely dressed people on a float with Elvis on the front. All of my throws were already on the float, so all I had to do was organize them on the racks. We rolled through the ball and I threw a ton of stuff. I realized pretty quickly that I was terrible at aiming. I’m trying to throw a football from a moving float with an overhang, and the first few I airmailed over my targets’ heads. After the inside parade was over, I met up with CZ at the table and watched the concert.

The next day was the big day. I put on my costume and walked over to the Convention Center to board the float about 4:30. I had found out where Jacob would be, and where my parents would be. I had put together a bag of stuff for Jacob to get, and set aside things for my parents. We loaded stuff onto the racks and waited. The anticipation was crazy. Once everyone seemed to have their stuff ready, it was cool to look around at the other people without having to say “this is going to be incredible!” You could just feel it. The first few floats rolled out and it was happening.

Rolling down Tchoupitoulas was slow and go. We’d stop for a few minutes, then go, then stop, then go. It seemed like it took forever. The coolest part of the whole night was seeing the shadow of the float on one of the warehouses. You could cleanly depict Elvis on the front, then the people on the top of the float. I checked my phone and saw we were 3 blocks from Napoleon and texted my mom. When we got near Tipitina’s, I saw them. I threw them stuff, and thankfully the crowd wasn’t CRAZY INSANE, so they caught everything I threw them. I was going to throw them beads but they were loaded down so I said “y’all have enough beads!”

We turned the corner to Napoleon and it was like nothing I had ever done. The people were so loud and all over the place. I threw the stuffed animals CZ’s dad gave me to the little kids I saw. I threw the bigger beads I had and tried to get them to people who didn’t seem like they had very many beads. The glow sticks I had to throw were very popular. I have no idea why. People LOVED them. I would throw a bunch at once and people would scramble.

The most awkward thing was when the float would stop. CZ’s dad told me not to throw anything when the float stopped, because the crowd would just expect more. If you threw one thing to someone, then someone else would ask if they could get the same thing. The guy next to me threw when we were stopped, and every time he threw, people would want more. I made myself busy with unpacking more beads while we were stopped, but that did not make the situation any less uncomfortable. The highlight of the ride down Napoleon was the guy who asked for a blinky bead that was “a collectible”. As if I would throw some random dude on the street a collectible pair of beads even if I had any.

We turned onto St Charles, and I knew Jacob was going to be one block off Napoleon. Sure enough, I hear him yelling and saw him. I threw a bunch of glow sticks and had the crowd scatter and was able to hand him the bag. It was a successful handoff!

The farther we got down St Charles, the more the crowd changed. Less little kids, less families, more drunk frat boys. I knew CZ and her mom were going to be near Herbsaint, but I had to cross over to get to the other side of the float. The crossing over was not a problem, and I thought they’d be up near the barricade, but they were kind of far back. Then when we got in front of where they were, we couldn’t see them. I spotted CZ as the float pulled away and tried to toss a football, but I don’t think it made it.

The crowd was noticeably different on Canal. By that time I had gotten rid of my good stuff and was chunking everything I had left. CZ’s dad told me to throw everything because anything I did not throw I’d have to carry off the float. That was not happening, so I was throwing everything. I finally ran out after we had turned on Loyola, so only a couple blocks from the end. The float stopped, and all I had to take off was the stuff I was going to hand to CZ and CZ’s dad canvas bag. I had met a couple of new members at the open house a couple of weeks ago, and those guys did not throw all of their stuff. They had a lot leftover, so they were going to have to take it all off the float. I was glad I did not have anything more to take off than what I had. I said my goodbyes to the guys around me and got off the float.

I met up with CZ’s dad and we ended up walking up Poydras back to the Hilton. We caught up with his friends, and then ended up hitching a ride back when a guy in a black pick up stopped and offered us a ride. That was a blessing, because my legs hurt. After hours of balancing myself from the float starting and stopping, my left leg was really sore. We made it back to the Hilton where we met up with the women. We ate cheeseburgers at 1 am. It was the first food I had eaten since lunch. CZ and I made it back to our hotel about 2 am and I made it to sleep shortly after that. My first time riding on a float in Endymion was over, and now I’m thinking I may want to do it again.

Look, I know Mardi Gras can make things crazy. However, I had no idea exactly how crazy until I tried to book a room for this weekend. CZ’s dad’s in one of the super krewes, so it’s a tradition for her family and friends to spend the weekend downtown. Last year she had booked us into the Sheraton. The insanity of Canal St during Mardi Gras was a first for me. People EVERYWHERE! The hotel was just okay though, so this year I thought we could Priceline a room. We started trying to bid in December. I tried off and on until a couple of weeks ago. Things were getting serious. Obviously for major events, PL is a failure. I was trying multiple websites, Kayak, PL, Expedia, to no avail. The only places available were on the wrong side of St Charles or too expensive. I would try day after day and check multiple times a day. Finally, after getting home from a cooking class where I learned how to make gumbo, I tried kayak and found success. We got a hotel in the warehouse district, for roughly the same price as staying at the Sheraton (WAY MORE than I wanted to spend but at least it’s not $400/night), but this place has free breakfast. WIN! It is across the street from a club that’s going to have free shows all weekend. WIN WIN! We can also walk to everything and the WH has more places with cheap drinks. WIN WIN WIN! Sure, maybe I’m paying the same amount as 4 star hotel to stay at a 2.5/3 star place, but I’m saving on parking, drinks, taking a taxi, and worrying about breakfast in the morning. The free concerts across the street won’t hurt either.

The last company I worked for is a pretty big deal in the world. You would think someone like that would have suites at the Dome or the Arena, but no, they don’t. In fact, I don’t think they have a local presence AT ALL outside of the work location. My new company has a suite at the Arena though, because they are awesome.

During the Hornets’ mini slump, we got an email asking if we wanted tickets to the suite for the Spurs game in January. It was a week or two after I had gone to the first home game against the Spurs, and the Hornets blew a big lead in the 2nd half and lost by double digits. However, I like free tickets to things, and I like suite tickets, so I requested tickets. I had never been in a suite before, all I knew about going to Hornets games was sitting in the upper deck or being lucky enough to sit in the lower bowl on occasion. Suites were for people other than me. I was excited.

Then disaster struck. A wedding shower was scheduled for that night. At the time I did not realize it, but then two weeks before the game we got an email reminder at work. Awful. I emailed and said I had to give up my tickets because of the shower. I get home that evening and find out the shower has been postponed for a 3 year old’s birthday party. They scheduled then rescheduled the shower without talking to the guests of honor. Not that they knew I had tickets to the company suite at a Hornets game, but still. Luckily I was able to get the tickets back since the guest list had not really changed, so things were back to normal.

We went to the game and parked. We walked to the Arena and entered. We got to go behind some velvet rope to an elevator that brought us to the suite level. The suite had closets for our coats, a private bathroom, and was catered. It was like a mini apartment, with a giant opening to the court. I was able to look down on the non suite people and revel in my good fortune. We even had plastic cups with the company name on them. Take that old company! Then the game was awesome because the Hornets destroyed the Spurs. My favorite part was when Okafor blocked 3 shots on one possession, or at least it felt like 3. I have been amazed by his play this year after watching him all last year. Anyway, the suite, they had hamburgers, chili, stuff to make super nachos, salad, and fruit. Unfortunately the alcohol did not include bloody marys, which is like a thing for CZ and I at Hornets games. Crown and Diet Rite worked for me though. It was definitely the best way I’ve seen a game, similar to seeing Jazz Fest from the Shell Tent.

(another old story seeing the light of day)

Back in September, I had the great luck of having my friend Ryan call me and invite me to the Saints-Falcons game. I did not hesitate to accept. He even comp’d my ticket when I told him I was unemployed at the time. We left right after I finished up with SS, and went down to the game. We had a parking pass, so we had to wait in a bunch of traffic, but we made it inside in plenty of time. We got to take part in the new WHO DAT chant, which was AWESOME! Then the game started. Ugh.

The Saints did not have one of their best games, but somehow found a way to actually have a chance to win in regulation. After the defense let ATL keep the ball 90% of the game, and Tony Gonzalez to catch 30 passes, the Saints were in a position to steal a win. ATL called timeout to ice the Saints kicker, and over the PA the BEP song “I Gotta Feeling”, or whatever they call it, starts playing. The kicker was warming up on the sideline, they had not kicked yet. When I heard that song, I thought to myself “if he misses, it’s because of this song, it’s a jinx!” I even told my friend Ryan that as we waited for the timeout to conclude. The kick was a short FG, so what could go wrong, right? From where we were sitting, it looked like he made it. Then we realized he missed the kick, and I shook my fist in disgust screaming “it was that song, THAT SONG! I hate the BEP!” The Saints then went on to lose in OT. It wasn’t just that they lost, but how they lost. My buddy Sean called a timeout right before the ball was snapped for the ATL kicker in OT, but the kick went off anyway, and the guy missed. They waved it off for the timeout, and then the guy drilled it on his 2nd try. Of course he did.

Maybe the universe is getting payback for me having gone to the Dome re-opening game.

So the commute to my new job has taken some getting used to. One afternoon there was a truck that stalled at the top of the High Rise. I thought the smart thing to do would be to go out by UNO and get on the interstate further down. It was the worst driving idea I’ve ever made. As soon as I got near UNO, it was bumper to bumper traffic, and thanks to the Corps of Engineers doing work out by the lake, all the traffic was funneling down to one lane. It was horrible and it took me 2 hours to get home.

The sad commuting story does have a flip side though. The next Monday morning there was an accident before the High Rise that shut the interstate down. My mom had given me the phone number to the people in NOLA who supply traffic reports to the radio stations, so I called them instead of waiting to hear a traffic report. The usual talk radio station I listen to (WWL) is not very dependable when it comes to traffic reports, in fact, the every 30 minutes reports are useless when there’s a problem. When they first mentioned the accident, it was mentioned in an “oh, BTW” manner that the INTERSTATE WAS SHUT DOWN. So I made the call, and talked to a nice lady who suggested another route, which I took, and the morning commute drama only delayed me by about 7 minutes. It was so much better than the first time I faced morning commute drama that delayed me 20 minutes.

Driving in around 6 is nice because there’s very little traffic. Driving home is nice most of the time, there are some typical slowdowns, but unless there’s some crazy problem, I still get home in a little less than an hour. Now that I’ve started to carpool with someone, it’s even easier.

To my faithful reader(s), in the eternal words of Michael Jordan….I’m back. It’s been a while since I even started to type an entry. I’ve been keeping the good things posts and all, but over the summer was not very interested in blogging. Most of the stuff that would happen was because I was unemployed, and that was not very fun to talk about. It was embarrassing, and I know it should not have been, but I hated talking about it. HATED IT. So I didn’t type posts, because I felt everything that happened was somehow related.

The anger I had towards my old job has mostly subsided. I really hated working there the last few months. Nothing made sense, managers were clueless, and program directors had no idea of what actually went on. I think I was axed because I was truthful about looking for another job rotation because of the grim program outlook. I even buffered what I said with “I’m just trying to find out all my options.” When it came down to it, none of my managers were helpful trying to find me another job. I’ve learned in recent grad school classes how managers should behave, and none of my old managers did any of that. No wonder the program is on shaky footing.

I went on an interview to ATL (with the same company) over the summer and eventually was offered the job. The job seemed interesting enough, and the guys I interviewed with were cool, but the pay increase was peanuts. I had always felt underpaid, so to move to ATL for a 5% pay increase was not worth my time. I was in touch with a recruiter for that job, and when I showed doubt about the offer, he made me feel like the company was doing me a favor because of all the layoffs in NOLA. Thing was, I was the one who found the job and I was the one who applied. No HR person helped me, even though I had heard people were supposedly doing that. When I turned it down, he asked me what I was going to do, as if I did not have any other options. Of course, that’s his job, to get me in that position, but I just felt most of the people I dealt with whether it be the recruiter, or the worthless people who worked in the ‘transition center’, did not know how to deal with an educated person who knew his options. I explained to the guy that I was dating a girl at the time, and engagement was imminent, also that I did not think the salary was worth me moving away from her and all my friends for a job that was not THAT great. I even told him “it’s not like I’m taking a pay cut because I’m signing with the Yankees.”

I eventually found a new job thanks to a friend at a job fair. The interview went well, and I weighed the pros and cons. The only con was the commute. I grew up at my grandparents’ in Metairie during the day while my parents worked downtown until I went to 1st grade. I remember those long drives in the evenings. I never thought I’d be doing that. I needed a job though, and this one seemed to be giving me a good opportunity I had never had before. I had grown tired of sitting at home and reading books. Not that there’s anything wrong with reading books, but I wanted something to do. (Incidentally, I reached my goal of reading every HP book before the first movie) The commute has not been as bad as I thought. I wake up by 4:30 am, leave by 5:30 am and get home around 5:30 pm. I’ve gotten used to the drive, and the times I am traveling on most days it has only added 15 minutes to my commute. The job has been awesome. So far so good.

I’ve been unintentionally avoiding writing this post. Not that I didn’t want to write it, I just never got around to it. See, the last month or so has been CRAZY. I’m talking working till 7 pm almost every night for two weeks straight, including one night till 10:30 pm. I’m talking re-writing papers for my grad school team. I’m talking making plans for my birthday via Priceline, running two road races, and somehow not losing my freaking mind because everyday I have a list of things to do and yet try as I might cannot possibly get each thing done each day. This blog has been neglected except to update the good things post. I will try to correct that soon.

Here’s the big thing, about three weeks ago I got a layoff letter at work. Happy 8 days before my birthday to me. Some of you already know about this, but if you didn’t, there it is. My last day will be 5/28 (Greek Fest Run!).

More easy going posts to return later this week, including one about how Emeril gave me a food coma, and about how Sally finally got awarded a long awaited prize from the Buddy D Dress Parade.

About a week and a half ago, I went and saw David Gray. I had heard of DG before, and remember him breaking with Babylon, and over the years have heard a couple of other songs I liked but that was about it. I really did not follow him to know he had 8 albums released now. That’s a bit Ryan Adamsian IMO. Right? How many singer-songwriters release that many albums in a decade? Anyway, the show was at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in NOLA, a theatre they made a big deal about renovating and re-opening last year.

The plan involved dinner and since it was a Friday during Lent which sent us in search of seafood, we ended up at Sun Ray Grill. That place was awesome, I would definitely eat there again. I got the fish tacos, but the highlight was the appetizers we got that were these Sailfish Tostadas. DELICIOUS! The lighting could have been better though, because it seemed dark. The food was great though, which is the main thing.

We made it to DG in the middle of the opener. I’m at the point where I’ll get to a show late to save myself the time and miss an opener. I don’t really know Phosphorescent, and after seeing them, I don’t really want to get to know them any better. The singer actually referred to the band in 3rd person during a couple of songs, which was strange. There were also song names that were too long. Just because I like Wilco doesn’t mean I don’t think “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” is not an awkward song title. For an opener to intro a song with a long title, by the time they get to the end of it, I don’t care anymore. Opening band elitism!

We were sitting up near the top of the balcony (trying to save money considering there were other shows to pay for). I noticed pretty early on that the renovations of the theatre apparently did not include the ceiling up at the top of the balcony. Around each of the A/C vents (those big circle ones) were huge water stains. Really? Yes, really. I did not take a picture, but will be going back next week for Wicked, so I might get one then. The seats were not that bad in the end, the sound was fantastic from there.

DG came out and I was just mesmerized. I do not remember the titles of many of the songs, but I just was taken by the intensity and passion of each song. I have since gotten the latest album, and he led off with Fugitive (I’m almost certain). It was great. The lights he had going were also amazing. The song Nemesis (the one ‘new’ song that I was not going to forget the name of) was incredible. I could not get over how intense the song was, then when the lights had a light going on the mirror ball with light shooting out to every part of the theatre, and the spotlight was only on him as he sang. Incredible. Incredible. I almost did not want the song to end. I had brought my new camera, and tried to get a picture of that moment but it did not come out very well, DG’s head looks like a jack-o-lantern. Trust me when I tell you it was one of the most amazing concert moments I have ever seen. There was also a song where the intro and outro were just him with a hauntingly played harmonica, but I have not figured out what song that was yet. It was also very good.

The whole show was great. I did not expect to like it that much. I had no idea. I told friends afterward that DG may fill the Ryan Adams shaped hole in my music pantheon. He went from acoustic and electric guitar, to piano and back multiple times. Sound familiar? Plus I dig the way he talks, I mean, he’s from England after all. I wonder if he’s a United or City fan.

In 2007, a couple of friends and I went to the 1st and 2nd round NCAA games at the Arena. There are four games on Thursday. Two in the afternoon, and then two at night, with a 2 hour break in between. In 2007, we left our car parked near the Arena and wandered down to the Warehouse district where we ate an early dinner. Last Thursday, I thought the same plan would work again. I was with different people this year, but the overall goal would be the same; leave the car parked and walk to the WH district to eat.

After the 2nd game ended on Thursday, we left the Arena and walked down Girod St. I suggested Lucy’s to have the people with me see the place where Drew Brees led people in the pregame chant after the SUPER BOWL VICTORY PARADE. We walked and got to Lucy’s, and got our table. Our service was AWFUL. Our first waitress took our drink orders, then a few minutes later another waitress came and told us she was now going to be our waitress, and needed our drink orders. We basically had 10 minutes of our time wasted by this ridiculous waitress handoff. Why not go put the drink orders in at the bar, THEN hand off? So the new waitress takes our drink orders, then our food orders. A few minutes later, the same waitress comes back and says she lost our order and she needs it again. She had no idea what we had ordered just a few minutes earlier. Then the appetizer we ordered was still not at the table after 20 minutes, to which our waitress said “it’s not an appetizer, it’s a meal.” What? We talked about splitting it as an appetizer, she was there for the conversation. Everything happening caused tensions to run high at the table.

In the midst of this, I spotted who I thought was Mickey Loomis check out the tables in the dining area, then walk back to the bar. I did not get a really good look, so I couldn’t confirm. Then a few minutes later, Sean Payton, some other guys, and then Mickey Loomis walk past our table and sit down at a table in the back of the room. SEAN “I just coached the Saints to a Super Bowl Victory and am completely awesome” PAYTON! I was able to manage a feeble “Hey Coach” as he walked past, but I don’t think he heard me.

Sitting there was one of those moral dilemmas. I did not want to go bother them as they enjoyed their afternoon, but on the other hand, how many times do you get to have your picture taken with someone that awesome? The service disaster ended up having our entire table’s meals and drinks comp’d (first time that has ever happened for me). We learned this right when the actual food arrived, and I could hardly eat. All the waitress drama and we’re also in the room with Loomis and Payton. It may have helped that I had already had a bloody mary.

People were going over to the table with the famous dudes and getting their pictures taken, or saying “thank you” or whatever. I even saw some people bring their baby over. I didn’t see if they got Payton to kiss it or anything. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to have it happen more natural than that. I didn’t want to disturb them, I mean, they’re just there to drink some beer and talk. We were making plans to leave, but I wanted to finish my High Life before I left. I was kind of delaying leaving, so that maybe by some chance I had an opening to get a picture. If not, I thought I’d cross that bridge when I came to it, which probably meant interrupting them. As I’m staring at my beer having two or three swallows left, I hear Payton tell the other guys at the table he was having to go. I got my camera set, and as he came back by our table, I said “Coach, can I get a quick picture?” He replied “yeah, real quick”. BOOM!

I’ve been told I was blushing, and I probably was. I don’t remember if I shook his hand, or if he knew when I said “thanks” it was for more than the picture. I would have loved to have recounted how I felt when Tracy Porter made the game clinching INT, or how I appreciated him calling for the onsides kick in the SB, or how he let people touch the Lombardi. All I remember is I got my picture taken with Sean Payton, and it was awesome. WHO DAT!

(BTW, I don’t want to make Lucy’s out to be this horribly serviced place, it’s not. We just had some really bad waitresses. That was not my first time eating there, and won’t be my last.)

Last Wednesday I went to see John Mayer. I’ve seen JM a few times over the past 8 years. I was not really impressed with the latest album, but the main reason I still care about him is that he can still play the guitar live and make me forget that he has stupid songs like “Say”. Maybe he’s gone over the top with this heart throb image he’s trying to project now, and maybe his stage looks like a curtain draped bed, but he can still impress me with the guitar playing.

After having seen Jay-Z at the same arena a couple of weeks before, I noticed and mentioned to friends at the JM show “if Jay-Z was the show where black people get dressed up, John Mayer is the show where white people get dressed up”. It was striking how true that statement was. More tight clothes, more of it all. On the way to get a bloody mary, I stopped off in the restroom. I’m standing at the urinal when I hear a liquid hit the floor behind me, and the cleaning guy on the other side of the room say “what are you doing man? get IN the bathroom!” I completed my task, and turned around to see some dude had thrown up in the doorway of the restroom. He made it all the way from his seat to the doorway and couldn’t make it the extra 10 feet. Pathetic. I went and got my bloody mary thinking “this may be my last John Mayer show, this crowd has changed over the years to something I’m not a part of anymore.”

I took my seat on the front of the upper deck. Michael Franti was still playing, so we watched him. All his songs sounded the same, and I guess I’ve had less patience for opening acts lately. He came out into the crowd to perform a couple of times, including one time where he started playing in the aisle right below us on the lower level, but sadly I lost that picture in the transfer from camera to computer.

John Mayer finally hit the stage and led off with Heartbreak Warfare. It is one of the few songs I like off the new album, partly because of the cool video he did to go along with it. No Such Thing came 2nd, which I thought was weird. They rolled through some good songs, including I Don’t Trust Myself With Loving You. One of the things I liked so much about Continuum, was the guitar solos. They are amazing to hear live. They’re the reason I go to the live shows. This solo did not disappoint. Before the next song stared, there was an electric guitar malfunction, so he called an audible and did two songs acoustic, by himself. The first was Comfortable, which was the favorite song of my friend TH way back when he was telling me about this new guy John Mayer in 2001 or 2002. I had never heard it live, so it was cool to finally hear it. After Neon (another golden oldie), the technical problem was fixed so the band came back out.

Even the songs that I think were stupid before sounded and looked good live, including Who Says. He finished up with his cover version of Crossroads, so he ended up playing the 3 songs on the new album that I think are the only good ones. It was one of the better shows I’ve seen him play. I would go see him again, despite the immature crowds and the stupid marketing. I get it, I get the big production and the fancy band, but at the heart of it is still that guy who I admire playing smooth guitar solos, and that’s enough for me.