the picture of Dorian... Pitt?

the highlight of today's "intro to novel" class, where we're halfway through Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

professor: "“People don’t get all ugly because of their sins. Just look at Brad Pitt!”"

Not a real picture obviously

broker than the ten commandments

I know I haven't posted in forever. I've been busy being a "student."

So news I forgot to mention last week: H.R.H. Camille called me out of the blue, so I guess the princess got her cell phone back. She asked me to be her confirmation sponsor next year!!! I was very honored and proud to say yes. How could I ever refuse my dearest Camiltoe? I guess now I'll have to be a good person (or whatever) until June.

Last Wednesday after writing I went to Stephanie's room at midnight with some of the chicks to hang out and greet her happy birthday, and we celebrated Thursday with a cake and penis balloons. (Yeah, my friends are resourceful.) I went to 80s night with some of the girls and Bryan & Co afterwards.

Friday was the real celebration of Steph's turning 21. She, Lauren, Peter, and I went to POPEYES and it was delicious. After that, Lauren and I went to Kory and Mike's show at Jay's Bubble Tea. It was incredible... some classics from previous performances and new numbers like an audience participation one and covers of "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" and Eve's "Gangsta Loving."

After that, it was off to Matt's "anything but clothes" birthday party, the concept of which was kind of purloined from Steph.

Becca and I at the party's start, and we
just can't take a bad picture together.

comments on what I was wearing:

• "Your 'belt' makes the outfit."
• "I'm surprised you didn't make a polo shirt."
• "There's a crocodile on your penis."
• "You're wearing Lacoste but no pants???"

"That girl with the fantastic boobs" showed up wearing a political statement about ending racism, and I assure you all the guys at the party felt driven to her cause... or something.

Lauren and I at night's end and just a bit drunk.

cfter changing into actual clothing, we went with Ted to St. Charles Tavern for breakfast. (I got chicken and andouille sausage hash (like corned beef hash but not) with eggs, and it was awesome.) It was four A.M. and kind of looked like...

Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942

Saturday night Ben and I were supposed to go drinkin' uptown, but I acquiesed to his asking go down to the pub. It was fun enough, and I got a free drinky or two out of it. Always nice. And David who very well may be my favorite bartender ever showed me you could make hurricanes with Bacardi 151. So I got drunk obviously.

All I remember from Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday was studying and test-taking and being slightly miserable but not enough to deserve pity. (David infected both Peter and I with whatever congestion he had last week, so if you stand between our rooms you can hear the sniffling and coughing in stereo. But apparently Nate gave it to David, so it's his fault. Let's hand it off to some non-roommates.)

Tuesday afternoon I did take a looong study break. I had sushi lunch with Rachel at the bubble, spent the afternoon with lots of "reading" at the park with Tara, and then grabbed a delicious Vietnamese dinner and bubble tea at Jazmine Leaf on Carrolton St.

Like I said, lots of "reading"

I had my last test today, so I'm semi-free for a while. I watched the hour-long "previously on..." LOST episode with Whitney and then project runway with Skye and her boys. I borrowed All Dogs Go To Heaven from Whit! Was I retarded as a child because that movie was blatantly set in New Orleans and I only realized it tonight???

no grass on the field, no grass will they yield

Had lunch with Adrian yesterday, finally opened his Whitney bank account, lent him some DVDs. Actually went to bed at a semi-reasonable time but got up hours later and checked who was online/awake. Ended up meeting up and hanging out with Adrian and Arthur and his hot girlfriend Shisha. Then finally saw an episode of Weeds, which is really twisted but really hilarious.

lost weekend / found food

This was a ridiculously amazing weekend. I sat a lot and ate even more. Don't read this on an empty stomach. It might make you hungry. It's all about food.

So early Friday morning (e.g. 2:00 a.m.) while at Big Easy Cafe with Whitney and Tully, I found out that Whit-Walk has a penchant for LOST much like some of my other friends. And she hadn't seen the second season at all because she was in Australia. So we got all excited and talked about it.

Friday for lunch David had the brilliant idea of going to New-Dunbar's on Loyola's campus. Delicious. Fried chicken and jambalaya and seafood gumbo. For dinner I went with the girls to La Crepe Nanou. Pate and cheese plate, French onion soup, and a ridiculous amount of leg of lamb.

Then we went to the Daiq-Shack (the daiquiri place on riverbend) and bought a gallon of "push-up" and watched Clue.

Saturday I went with Rachel to her friend Adam's Mexican independence day party. I didn't stargaze at the premiere. Instead I was eating chips with unfinishable amounts of pico de gallo and guacamole along with grilled pork and jalapeno poppers. (All of this made from scratch, mind you.) Then downing it all with Dos Equis and Negro Modelo beers .

Then for dinner, Whitney and I ordered chicken and sausage gumbo, house salad, and grilled shrimp po-boys from Uptown Cajun.

Sunday Whitney, Tully, and I tried to go to Kyoto. (It's the only uptown Japanese restaurant I haven't frequented.) But it was closed, so we went to Hana instead. Oshi zushi box and Hana special roll.

Then for dinner I went with Whitney and the Brittanys to her family's for dinner. Roasted turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, vegetables, mushroom rice, lots of wine and beer, and a huge red velvet cake and ice cream in honor of her 21st birthday which I think by now has lasted longer than both Becca's and mine combined.

No going out or eating out for a while... with a few exceptions I already have in mind.

Oh, and Whitney and I watched the entire second season of LOST in one weekend... in between meals... while drinking daiquiris and beer.

So yeah, I think this is the first "best" weekend of senior year and in the running for one of the best weekends I've ever had.

the highlight of my (academic) day

“…and now [Jane Eyre] is rich.” - professor

“She’s not that rich.” - girl

“She started with nothing, and now she’ll never have to work again.” – professor

“Oh, like Anna Nicole Smith.” – girl

P.S. R.I.P. Daniel Smith 1986-2006

Phillin' is the new swillin'

So now that my roommates and I have cupboards overflowing with free bulldog pint glasses, I think it's time to return attention to Phillips $5 pizza and pasta buffet, $3 martinis, and happy hour prices until midnight.

That's exactly what I did after project runway with two guys, a girl, and Skye at her place.

Rachel initiated tonight, and Alifun showed up and even almost went out more afterwards. There were lots of familiar faces there. Conrad went to swiller night, so I walked back together with him and some of his friends only to run into Adrian & Company headin' out just in time for boot o'clock.

Syyylvia will be glad to know that Jason, former owner of Press Menswear, is not only alive and well but is now the general manager of Phillips.

Apparently I'm the only (non-comm, non-polisci) student at Tulane who's not scavenging for a ticket to All The King's Men this Saturday. For those of you not in-the-know, the movie (filmed two years ago here) is having its world premiere right here on Tulane's campus. McAlister Auditorium, red carpet, celebrities, media circus, afterparty tent, etc. To drop a few names: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo and Patricia Clarkson. No Anthony Hopkins. (Otherwise I'd be way more excited.) So... does anyone want to go drinking on Saturday night instead?

I doubt she'll wear this outfit to the premiere. Too bad.

so darling, save the last dance for me...

Tulane Dance Marathon (and thus the children's hospital) gets a cent for every search you do.

1. Go to goodsearch.com
2. Search for "Tulane University Dance Marathon"
3. Verify "Tulane University Dance Marathon"
4. Use daily as your internet search engine
5. Make money for the kids!

The picture was purely to get your attention. Apparently it worked.

catchin' up

Saturday night we celebrated "the end of Lauren being 21" and at midnight celebrated her 22nd birthday. We went out to Harrah's to gamble a bit and then went to Pat O'Brien's. (Yeah, I wish I had an endorsement deal or something.)

We drank hurricanes and mixed drinks before downing a couple of blowjob/muffdiver shots. Lauren is AMAZING at them. Ask anyone who was there.

Sunday was laidback. Sleeping in and churchgoing, etc. Oh yeah and Lauren's delicious cookie/birthday cake.

Monday Adrian and I stayed up all night keepin' Shannon company in the printmaking studio. A familiar guy (and former architect) named Kyle was there. Around sunrise, #2 and I went to Big Easy for a breakfast of sorts.

Yesterday was Whitney's birthday, so we took her to Superior Grill and got her really drunk off margaritas before bringing her back to blow out imaginary candles.

T.G.I.F.

Hmmm. Last night was the dwell magazine launch party at "the periscope house" to celebrate its feature in the publication.

keg of amber + architecture students = pretty amusing

I thought of my mom, so I sent drunk text messages over to her in the Philippines.

Shannon and I spent most of the night dominatin' the second floor since downstairs was crowded and loud and the balcony was crowded and hot. After devouring a few handfuls of chips, we realized we were hungry so went for a “second dinner” at Fresco's (ran into Tara and Alison and then Ted and Kunal inside) before returning for more fun. Lots of dancing and playing with Tony's souvenir hats from Vietnam.

Decidedly my new favorite picture of us

Today for lunch we brought Adrian to voodoo BBQ, which was delicious because I've been craving brisket for a few days now.

I was on the phone with Chad for a while today. He's in DC, and I am here, and we both miss those places and each other. That kind of sucks, I guess. Haha. He saw a bunch of kids on the 'tro covered in purple paint and wearing Gonzaga t-shirts, so he thought of me.

Lauren's birthday celebration is tonight. It should be fuuun.

"Maybe all the alcohol and going out kept you healthy."

So everyone and their mother roommate was at The Bulldog on Wednesday night. David, Peter, and I collected at least ten new pint glasses for our apartment. I lost count. I just know I had five to add to my collection. Adrian and I went to Big Easy Cafe afterwards.

Thursday sucked. I was in bed all day sick, and apparently everyone went out that night... or at least it just seemed that way from everyone calling and texting. Even Alifun wanted to go out. At least it wasn't as debilitating as last spring, the first time I got sick at college. But bad enough to make me not want to trek over to Dinwiddie. I spent the evening catching up with G-Unit.

Gisela: back to school cold?
Me: worse. back to school stomach bug
Gisela: did you eat at Bruff?

I feel infinitely better today. I had lunch at el buble with Shannon and got mail. The weekend is off to a good start.

blah blah, whatever whatever

Sometimes celebrities do things for publicity to coincide with a new release. (Jessica Simpson is dating John Mayer? Whatever.) Sometimes they don't. LOST's Adewale "Mr. Eko" Akinnuoye-Agbaje was arrested on the Hawaiian road this weekend. (This clearly has nothing to do with the season two dvd release today.) At least he wasn't drunk like Cynthia "Libby" Watros and Michelle "Could probably kick my ass" Rodriguez. Stop getting arrested! I want to watch LOST with you on it! Hell, even I can drive in Hawaii. USA Today

But he should be fine. I never watched Oz on HBO, but it's my understanding that Adewale's character on it made just about everyone his bitch. I wouldn't start shit with him if I was a cellmate.

But I digress from my life.

Last night I went out with Ted and some of his friends for his birthday. Curry was kind enough to let me hitchhike down to the quarter with him and back again. Flaming fountain, sing-alongs, and a Ted roast with everyone's favorite "warm and fuzzy" (or possibly embarassing) memories. Good times. Oh yeah, and lots of hand grenades hurricanes.

Never let me get drunk and order "a hand grenade" at Pat O'Brien's again, but always allow Curry to get drunk and threaten Kunal with the words "Stop talking. I will kill you. I will throw you into the volcano."

"The Volcano" or fountain, whichever you prefer

Maybe I should start calling Pat O'Brien's my favorite bar since I think I've been there more times since turning 21 than any other bar... except Bruno's.

Speaking of Bruno's... People don't like The New Bruno's or The New Facebook so let's hope The New Rat puts an end to this "Which New Thing Can Suck The Most?" Contest... by not sucking.

Shakira and Wyclef at the VMAs on Thursday

I didn't watch this live, but I love "Hips Don't Lie."

Becca's "birthday" lasted longer than even mine.

So Adrian and I were all excited to go to mass together yesterday, and Becca and Matt were coming too. Becca and I were about a minute walk away from the church when Matt called and said they were closed. Very closed. Under renovations. So I called Adrian and told him to just stay in and finish his laundry. Well, now the lovebirds and I had an hour and a half to kill before Becca's belated birthday dinner at Superior Grill. So we just decided to go the restaurant early and have margaritas, a huge bowl of queso, a huge bowl of guac, multiple salsas, and five baskets of chips.

At the time, we didn't have that exact quantity of beverage and food figured out, but it was a good idea nonetheless. Matt and I decided it was intensive training for our new Tchoupitoulas challenges. (Matt and I have both eaten huge sundaes at the Creole Creamery ice cream parlor; they constitute of eight fist-size scoops of ice cream, eight toppings, whipped cream, and cherries.) We're going to research other challenging amounts of food in the city and conquer them together.

My mom called. She was not so amused by the church story even though the three of us thought it was "like the best mass ever." Soon after, the other five girls, Peter, David, and Ryanne and Becca's new roommate Tully arrived soon and we started dinner. I could only eat half of my brisket quesadilla, which was delicious and what the waitress recommended and Sylvia ordered also.

We came back here to the apartment to surprise Becca with her cookies and cream cake... topped with oreos of course. I could barely eat a slice, but it was delicious. And then we hung around for a few hours, seemingly shocking Tully with our I suppose offensive collective sense of humor. She's fine though, I'm sure. I decided I liked her when I met her pre-mass, and she was pouring a glass of wine in the afternoon.

Accomplishments for the evening: Matt learned sarcasm, and Stephanie learned the proper use of "po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"What are you up to, honey britches?"

So Rachel called me soon after my last post and was all "Do you want to get snowballs at Hansen's now? Like RIGHT NOW?" So we went. I'd never been before. The line/wait was half an hour long but completely worth it. Real apple cider over a (collectible) cup of snow churned by the machine Old Man Hansen made and patented. Delicious. Too bad the place closes today until next summer. They might open for Thanksgiving, but I won't be here.

I got back here and went to the Catholic Center's 485^th Annual (Root Beer) Kegger, where there were a lot of new faces and even some familiar ones. Craig and Stina (with child!!!) are back in town, which was a doubly pleasant surprise. I hung around an extra hour because I heard Maureen (whose non-move-away this summer was an even better surprise) would show up after girlifying.

girlify [gurl-uh-fay] verb: to make presentable and feminine in appearance by use of shower/bath, clothing, hairstyling, and/or make-up [Origin: Maureen McDonough]

For those of you not aware, my end of lagniappe "seeya" to Mo was a possibly preemptive one in case she moved away. She didn't. Yay.

When we got back here, it seemed practically everyone (Lauren, Ryanne, Steve, Peter, David, Becca, Matt, Lizzie, Stephanie, and her freshmen girls) except Syyylvia was up for going downtown to Southern Decadence.

Southern Decadence: Gay Mardi Gras; a week-long, predominantly gay-male event marked by widespread public nudity, parades, bead tossing and street parties, held in The French Quarter; the first weekend sans parents after freshman orientation when all the wide-eyed, innocents go to the quarter and are scarred for life.

So we all went and armed ourselves with hand grenades. There were a few flattering-yet-displeasing incidents of flirtation/hitting on/molestation. ("Why hello, naked man in the Tropical Isle bathroom!") But generally a good time was had by all. Many Tulanians (girls dressed like hookers and their significant others shirtless to match the crowd) converged on Bourbon and St. Ann Sts, the infamous crossroads of homosexuality. No one wanted to pay the $20 cover to get into the gay bars though.

Back uptown around 2:30 in the morning Ben and I went out to New Bruno's, Old Bruno's, and The Palms. (How ironic is it that this weekend I was downtown and he was uptown all night?) We got the mandatory Big Easy chicken tenders we've been since munching on since freshman year and thought maybe we need a new late night order. Maybe.

back in the habit like sister act 2

Let's see. First weekend back at school. What happened to summer? After Hawaii, cool people like Katie and Harry Potter Patrick turned 21, Adrian and I returned to New Orleans, our dad helped us move in and took us out to eat a lot, and classes started. I've been goin' out with the brother and friends and contemplating senior year. Ludacris played an awesome show here at Tulane last night, and it's a three-day weekend. Future entries will be more detailed, I promise. And I'm sure I'll re-cap a few missed memories in them when relevant.

I'm still getting used to this new layout and learning ways to customize it, so bear with me. Oh, and at long last, you can comment if you want. People have been telling me to figure out how to add that feature since 2003.

Yeah, I know this update sucks, but I'm settling in. If you really want to help, make my life exciting.