last week 4/23 - 4/28

I realize I'm behind on the updates. My apologies. Time seems to be flying by more swiftly than ever.

Monday

I don't even remember. Sorry.

Tuesday

Lunch with Tara. The Pussycat Dolls found their new Doll, and I'm never watching The CW again. At least until next season. "Why is it every time I come home to you actually watching TV, there's some half naked chick dancing on screen?" I don't know, Nate. I don't know.

Wednesday

Wednesday night Shannon and I went to the best idea she ever had. "So Sinfully Sweet" at Morton's Steakhouse downtown. Blue Frog Chocolates decided to a chocolate tasting (with a different wine accompanying each), had Morton's serve hors d'ouevres (chicken tenders, bruschetta, mushroom caps stuffed with lump crabmeat, chicken tenders, and steak tenderloin sandwiches), and had masseuses from Aveda giving rubdowns. It was quite possibly the best two hours of my life. And I got drunk because there was a different wine for each of the five chocolates and Shannon would take one sip and insist I finish the rest for her, besides my own. Watching LOST drunk really isn't as hard as one would think.

Thursday

I had lunch with Tara and then went over to my professor's house for our final class (since she cancelled the Tuesday one). I presented my screenplay. It seemed to go over well. We all brought beer since she said "no hard liquor" after "certain behavior" last time we all drank together at Juan's Flying Burrito. She made us dinner (soft tacos, pico, guac, beans, rice). Good times.

Friday

Last Friday of classes. Ever. Shannon and I decided to turn our last Friday class ever into a drinking game. (We're good at this sort of drinking-in-what-may-seem-an-unlikely-situation. Just like the end of lagniappe's Bruff Happy Hour.) That was fun. TGIOver. A little more happy hour. We went to dinner at 5 Happiness, which was sort-of-good Chinese food. Asian Cajun still reigns supreme even though it's not traditionally Chinese.

Nicole and I met up to go to Erin's Cocktail Party, which was one of the best parties I've ever been to. Almost all the guys had shirts and ties on and the girls wore cocktail (duh) dresses. She had two bars (with bartenders), all the liquors, mixers, extras (cherries, lemons, limes, olives), one could want. And kegs. And the backyard was lit up with paper lanterns. Gorgeous. I was telling Nicole that if it weren't for the ice luges and beer pong table, I could have mistaken it for, like, a "grown-up" party. Tons of fun.

When we got there, we jumped immediately into the Cupid Shuffle. Nicole has a little trouble when the directions aren't given, but it was fun. A few hours later, after splitting up and mingling with different friends, we did another Cupid Shuffle. This time Nicole had trouble even with directions. "No, Nicole. Left. Left. Your other left!"

And then we left to go to another party at the "Calhoun Castle of Craziness." Nicole doesn't remember anything past this point, but I distinctly recall her verbally abusing two drunk boys walking near us. (Not as bad as Eileen in the Mardi Gras flashback though.) When we got to the house, she went to the bathroom, and I talked to Jose, whom I'd just met. By the time she came back out, I had realized we were at the completely wrong party. It was a Latin one. And the ladies of the castle are six white chicks. so we left.

When we finally made it to the correct party a block or so further, we saw more beer pong and nurses walking around giving people "shots" to cure senioritis. Good times.
We ended up at Dillon's house in his kitchen. The two of them had what may have been the most circular of drunk debates ever. But I was amused.

Saturday

Saturday was full of delicious food. Lizzie, Wes, and I went to Domilise's for po-boys. (Another restaurant crossed off the list.) We took them to the levee and had a little picnic with them and Abita. I got the Wednesday/Saturday special of barbecued beef. Awesome. The best part of the levee layout was when the ice cream truck pulled up, and all the half-naked college kids ran for it like a bunch of children. I was part of the bunch. It was worth it. We had a potluck that night that was pie themed. Pizza pie, chicken pot pie, spinach and mushroom pie, quiche, chocolate cream pie. Awesome. I was going to make Emeril's banana cream pie with caramel and chocolate drizzles (all from scratch like at the restaurant, but seeing how the grocery was out of ripe bananas... that didn't work. I brought apple instead. Then Lizzie convinced me out to Madigan's because Maureen (among others) were there. Adrian and his new Sig Ep brothers stumbled in soon after, so that was a pleasant surprise.

birthweek pictures

Here's just a sampling of pics from last week I got to transfer when Getaway was cooperating this morning. I'll load all the photos from last week/end as soon as I finish my last papers and screenplay and no longer have to worry about losing stuff if my laptop decides to have another aneurysm.

Puja, Whit, and I pregaming my birthday at Las Palmas

Monica and Adrian on the Uptown Cajun porch

Josh the pool shark. He might remember this.

about 50% of the writing on my arms at the end of the night

Miss Mule and Louisiana Strawberry Queen pageant winners after dinner

sexy seniors! Chi 'O7

"walk of shame" & "stride of pride"

the rest of birthweek 2.0

Tuesday

Unless I’m forgetting something other than visiting Alison for strawberry birthday cake, Tuesday was pretty typical. Terrorism. Lunch with Tara. Screenwriting. Dinner with Ben. If I forgot something significant that you were a part of, please let me know!

Wednesday

Classes. As a belated birthday present, LauRu treated me to the gelateria, the name of which escapes me, on Oak. While staring at the paninis and talking about food, we realized we wanted non-dessert food. (Apparently we were both busy and had gelato as our breakfast.) So we went to Philip Chan’s Asian Cajun Bistro for dinner. We split a seafood tempura trio appetizer of shrimp, crawfish, and squid (family members: very much like the baked squid Dad likes) with a chili dipping sauce. Lauren ordered the pineapple prawns, and I got the soft shell crab, which like the other seafood was lightly beer-battered. It was quite the late lunch.

Back on campus, I went to a meeting for the terrorism debate we had Thursday. (More on this later, believe me.)

Then Tara treated Alison, Rachel, and I out for our birthdays to Côté Sud, a charming little French restaurant. That might have been the best birthday present ever. Thank you, darling.

We split escargots and garlic bread with mozzarella for appetizers. I had the saumon crème d’epinard (salmon with spinach cream over rice and vegetables) for my entrée. And we split a chocolate mousse layer cake and Poire Belle Hélène (poached pears, vanilla ice cream, melted chocolate, and Poire D’Anjou liquor) for dessert.

When I was returning home, I saw a bunch of familiar faces walking around in black. Lauren and I ended up back at our apartments at the same time, and while discussing our plans (or lack thereof) for the week, I realized what the somber occasion was: Fun Lauren’s funeral. I missed the service because I would have cried too much. She was buried next to the late Fun David, who passed away about a month ago, but whom I plan on resurrecting come May.

Thursday

Worst technological morning of my life. My computer malfunctioned, so I couldn’t even open my “domestic spying program” position paper for the terrorism debate. After two hours of messing with Getaway, I called my professor. He told me to just focus on the debate. So I went to the computer lab and started typing up notes and talking points, but when I went to the printer, the printer queue was about 23 names long. So I e-mailed my notes to (myself at) the other lab.

When I tried to print there, the computers told me no printer was installed. Great. I bypassed the busy library since I was already late to class and made a last attempt at Cudd Hall. Printers not available there either. Thank God the debate went well anyway because at that point I’d memorized almost everything from having to look at it so much.

Tara had a meeting so no lunch. David and I went to the grocery and Wendy’s. That night I missed Alifun’s (and slightly my) birthday celebration since my ride bailed due to sickness. I went with Ryanne et al to the bird flu BLew birthday bash.

Friday

So I skipped out on 80s Night with Whit and Puje because of my morning class, but when my classmates and I got there, we found it had been cancelled. I wished I had stayed in bed. Calc.

Pop. Bank with Ben. Shower and shave. 543@1.

That sounds like a strange countdown. It means dinner at five (o’clock) for three (people) at ONE (restaurant and lounge).

Shannon, Jenna, and I celebrated her long-awaited return. (It’s been about a week, but the girl called me last weekend to ask – "don’t get excited but" – if I would be her date to formal if she drove back for it.) Clearly I said yes, and she drove back.

I had a fried soft shell crab & escargots (atop herbed risotto with a leek & bacon meuniere sauce) for my entrée and a flourless Swiss chocolate cake (with real whipped cream and Louisiana strawberries) for dessert since someone wouldn't share even though she didn't finish hers. (Nothin’ but love, Shanizzle.)

Jenna and I did a quick-change into our formal dress clothing and then went to The Boot a little overdressed. Then we got on the drunk bus to the Board of Trade Plaza, which was a beautiful venue.

Chi Omega Formal was fun. All the Chi Hos looked gorgeous, especially the seniors. There was just a little bit of drama but Jenna and I just drank it away laughed it off. It’s only natural after four years of grudges and drama that a little alcohol would bring it out at the end. But it was still a fantastic night.

Saturday

David and I got up to go to Crawfest bright and early to have three pounds each (of the three tons) of crawfish for breakfast. The bands were good. The food was great. There should have been beer, Cynthia. I slept most of the afternoon away before going to Ralph & Kacoo’s with Shannon for (Gabby’s) Mikey’s birthday dinner.

Besides the bottles of Pinot Grigio the birthday boy ordered that prompted Gab to swear he’d be sorry on her birthday, seafood was the highlight. Shan and I split a she-crab soup (which was not authentic Maryland but still very good), and we all split gator bites (blackened and fried), and crab-stuffed mushrooms for appetizers. I had the Shrimp Charles: Gulf shrimp stuffed with lump crabmeat and topped with hollandaise sauce and more lump crabmeat. Then Shan and I split a huge slice of key lime pie (with real key limes).

I showed up a little late to the "Party of Shame," the Phi Sigma Pi date party. Lizzie, my lovely date was still sober and glowering, but we remedied that problem with drinking and dancing. Lots of that. It was F&M's. That’s what F&M's is for.

There aren't many significant stories. (Okay, there are a few about Stephanie, but ask me in person. She shot me a Lizzie-Shame-Glare-Minus-The-Squawk when Max, our knight in shining armor who drove us home, asked if she was a Hot Mess.)

Sunday

...was pretty much sleep and recuperation. Mass. Sunday night supper. Molly (who I met at a previous F&M's date party, on the pool table, and was present last night) mused and reminisced(?) on the fun. You can reminisce without remembering!

I was wrong, 21 was not the last good birthday. Like last year, some people couldn’t make it to the real day, so they insisted on celebrating later in the week. Except unlike my last "birthweek," food replaced drinks this time.

Thank you everyone who took me out to eat, bought me drinks, greeted me, etc. I have amazing friends and am grateful for y'all.

Oh yeah, pray for Adrian. It’s hell week.

here's the kick-off

Sunday

The festivities began Sunday night at Madigan's. Stephanie and I were the first ones there, so we played the world’s greatest game of pool. We're sharks. Watch out. Josh, Rachael, and Brian soon showed up. After impressing them with the last few minutes of our mad pool skills, we did a quick round then went to Walgreens. Rachael bought Josh a beard clipper as a birthday present, and we looked at birthday cards for a while. Then we went to Baskin Robbins, but only a few of us actually bought ice cream. The rest saved room in our stomachs.

We moved on to Uptown Cajun, where the majority of people showed up. Lauren, Lizzie, Becca, Nicole, Leah, Courteney, Whitney, Puja, Ben, Katy, and last but certainly not least Adrian and Monica. My parents called around eleven and then again at midnight. Good times. I think it was also around this time that people started marking the drinks they bought me off on my arm and writing signatures and birthday messages on it.

We also stopped by Bruno's, both old and new, where one of the bartenders jokingly asked Adrian and me if we were twins. I think it was here that I saw Laura and Helen. Sylvia(!) and Lizzie showed up too. Moira was there maybe? Or maybe I'm just so used to seeing her there that I just imagine her when she’s not. A bunch of Adrian’s friends were there too. Rachael and Josh played an amazing game of pool, which he totally remembers, but before that I had the honor of buying him his first legal drink first drink ever. We called G.Ho a few times. She didn't answer.

We went to The Rat, where we ran into even more people, for food and beer. I vaguely remember buying ice cream from the vending machines. And then we called it a night.

other people's pictures

Krewe du Vieux with Shan - photo courtesy of Gabriela Molina Schleusz

Miss Molly's after-party for Sparta and Pegasus - photo courtesy of Katie Austin

girls on shoulders get more stuff - photo courtesy of Brooke Hansen

with a perhaps (yet unlikely) sober Lizzie - photo courtesy of Meredith Robinson

Peter, Cosmin, and I lookin' tough - photo courtesy of Paul Murphy

Carter's departure - photo courtesy of Will Southerland

5:48 a.m. on Mardi Gras - photo courtesy of Reshelle Smith

Sundi Gras

Sunday started off with a trip to Popeyes, so it was a good day by default. David and I picked up the chicken he bought for the day long camp out on the neutral ground that our group of friends planned for the Krewes of Okeanos, Thoth, Mid-City, and Bacchus. It was amazingly successful. I'd say about fifty people were there at one point. Besides the Popeyes (and requisite biscuits and sides), we had king cakes, chips, crawfish, burgers, hot/corn dogs, random food items people bought from nearby places all day, and gallons of beer and liquor. (There was a creation of a controversial new drink called "The Peter," which is cranberry juice, vodka, and champagne.)

I got kicked in the stomach! Looking back, it was pretty hilarious. I'll be nice and not say who the culprit was. I was upstairs with some other people in the apartment of our friend Brooks, who was nice enough to let us use his bathroom. I went back down the stairs to head out to St. Charles when I saw a girl coming in, looking madder than a wet hen and soaking wet. I said "____, what happened to you???" And I admit I was chuckling a bit because it was a funny sight. "I HATE YOU. DON'T TALK TO ME OR TAKE A PICTURE. I'LLFUCKINGKILLYOU!" Then she kicked me in the gut and ran away.

Explanation? Apparently Drunk Cosmin, who was watching the parade from a window upstairs spilled his beer... and it landed on poor _____. She thought I had decided to throw alcohol on her then run downstairs to laugh at her. Pretty funny. Well, maybe not to her.

At the end of the parades, ______ and I rode back with another fun Drunk Girl and got caught in traffic. _____ took a nap on me, and we cuddled and she said "we should sleep together more often." At the end of the ride - luckily Sober Peter was driving - she told me it was the best nap she ever had and napping on me was "like sleeping on a cloud!" I guess that kick softened me up?

Carter&Co, Nicole, and I went out to dinner but wound up at New Bruno's because everywhere else was already closed or extremely busy. Everyone else got the usual cheese fries and sandwiches, but Will and I decided to accompany our Black 'N Bleus Burgers (dressed 1/2 pounders with bacon and blue cheese) with Debris Fries, which are amazing waffle fries topped generously with roast beef debris, green onion, and a little horseradish sauce.

After a pitcher of beer, we walked back to Nicole's place for the travelers to crash and for me to say seeya to 'em. And somewhere in that ten minutes, the world fell apart.

When I got back to Bruno's, Car Ride Drunk Girl had apparently left due to a personal crisis of sorts. And members of the baseball team that had been bickering in Bruno's had been exiled to the street where they were openly brawling now. Bouncers from both of the Bruno's had to pull them apart and eventually N.O.P.D. showed up. At the end of this, I was about to walk back in and some bitch tried to shove me out of the way. Then I realized the bitch was Kicking-Cloud Drunk _____. She said she was so happy to see me, and then she hugged me and went to stand in the corner and looked upset. She called me over, and I asked what was wrong and if I'd seen Someone, and I told her I hadn't, and she told me to leave her alone. Emphasis added for irony's sake. Then Lauren came rushing out to save the day.

Eventually Lauren came back, and life was fun again. Lots of other people were there too. Sometime after as-yet-unmentioned Drunk Girls had made out (apparently prompted by my t-shirt) another new Drunk Girl grinded with Jordan to Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love To You." They were grinding in front of the dartboards to the chagrin of all the players. I wouldn't want to piss off people holding darts but whatever. Last Drunk Girl of the Evening decided to throw up in her drink, set it back down on the table, and pick up a new one. (That's when Lauren and I decided it was time to leave.)

On the way out, those two tried to convince me that New Orleans is "pretty tame" and that Gainesville is the party capital of the country. They asked what time our bars closed. Ours don't! Shut up, bitches.

I like [drunk] girls that like [drunk] girls.

Valentine's (VVednes)day

Happy VD, everyone.

A cell phone went off during adolescent psych today spawned this:

"Oh, someone's drug dealer is calling. Or someone's calling to wish you Happy Thanksgiving. or Valentine's Day. See what I associate today with? Eating." - Professor Cunningham

That is exactly why I'm inviting him to the "Take a Professor to Lunch" program even though Lizzie and I have had a long-standing arrangement to take Norbert to it.

Classes. "Breakfast"/Lunch. Review session. UC. Mail.

Mail Room Worker Frustrated By 50 Package-Delay:
"I need some Tylenol and at least two shots of everclear."

As I walked home, I saw United Parcel Service and Federal Express trucks going head-to-head for the spot in the mail room driveway.

UPS and Fed-Ex

This evening I just studied, made dinner, and watched LOST with Dalia. All the other regular cast members couldn't make it apparently.

Desmond David Hume and Penny Ellen Pompeo

Mardi Gras Update: Due to weather conditions (Chicago's not New Orleans') 'Sela and Mikey both aren't coming down, but the former will be here for graduation and the latter for another upcoming weekend. But Carty just called, and he's about to get on the road to drive down!

week's goin' well

Sunday was Lizzie's birthday dinner at Lebanon's Cafe, and then we took her back to Steph's apartment to "surprise" her with the cake that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! T'was fun.

I don't remember what I did on Monday besides go to classes, so I guess it couldn't have been all that exciting?

I love my Tuesday schedule: Terrorism class, lunch with Tara, my awesome screenwriting class, and dinner with Ben. I went with him and Katy to a late showing of Children of Men, which was awesome.

I still want to see other Academy Award nominated films like Pan's Labyrinth, to see what everyone loves about it so much, and Babel, to see what everyone except for The Academy hates about it so much.

Helen Mirren deserves to win for best actress.

Children of Men deserves to win for cinematography.

the freakin' weekend

I don't know how I did everything I did this Friday: I went to all four of my classes, went to the gym, helped Wes move (and thus saw the trailer park modular housing for the first and last time), went to happy hour with Lizzie et al, got crepes for "dinner" with Becca and Leah, went to our spring break vacation planning meeting, went with the Pitt St. Pretties to Ian's improv comedy show, watched a little Almost Famous with the girls, and then passed out.

Saturday was laidback. I went to the grocery with Leah and Becca. I don't know what I did the four hours between that and my nap. I had dinner and then saw The Queen, which was better than I expected, with Rachel and Tara. Then a bunch of Lizzie's dearest friends went barhopping for her birthday. St. Joe's, Monkey Hill, F&M's... The Boot and The Palms were both too packed.

Everyone's favorite MILF is 22!

weekend antics

So last night I went to dinner with Shannon "Who Wants Me? Everybody." Will and some of her friends. We went to Byblos because we'd both never been before. While waiting for her friends, I tried a bowl of the crab and corn bisque while she opted for some of what I call Shan-Nectar (Malibu and pineapple juice). Delicious. The two of us split a lightly fried crab and eggplant cake topped with parmesan sauce and lump crab meat for an appetizer and then for entrees the Byblos Pasta and a plate of baba ghanoush, lebna, mujadarah, and maybe the best moussaka I've ever had.

(Someone complained about lack of food detail in previous entries?)

Also kind of funny was I saw Katie (who lived on Butler 3 freshman year and whom I hadn't seen in ages) at Byblos and then saw her boyfriend RJ (Butler 2 and also hadn't seen in ages) at the party later. RJ told me a funny story. Ask about it if you want.

David, the six chicks, and what seemed like a thousand familiar faces, most of them drunk, went to the Tulane Ornithological Society's "Bird Flu Party" to get our "vaccinations." Good times. This following photo is courtesy of Lauren Mitchell:

Lauren, Whitney, David, and I were literally the last to leave. We stopped by The Boot for pizza, where we Adrian and company and where Whit apparently gave herself third-degree burns from eating too-hot pizza too-fast?

Today was pretty laidback. I studied for a bit, and Lizzie and I motivated each other to go to the gym. (I met a Gonzaga '01 grad named Chris who's here for med school. Recognition by athletic shorts.) Tonight we finally watched Showgirls for the half of us who haven't seen it and the other half who wanted to subject others to the experience. This following photo is courtesy of The Artist Formerly Known As Jesse Spano and was a moment we found controversial:

no classes = awesome

Lauren and I closed out Sunday night by goin' to Cooter Brown's, which I think qualifies as our regular haunt now. Lizzie came too and was nice enough to drive. We played pool, split a pitcher, and (of course) ate cheese fries.

Yesterday was entirely laidback and chill. It was great. I spent my day cooking, eating, going to the gym, watching television with Peter, seeing Blood Diamond with Shannon and Lizzie "Blood" Diamond, chatting online with Lauren, and going out with Josh, Joe, and some of their friends.

We went to Dragon's Den on Frenchmen, where Jody eventually met up with us because apparently Tucks wasn't that fun last night.

Apparently "the alley pic" is a tradition.

Then we went to F&M's for a quick round and snacks.

You know F&M's is dead when people actually play pool.

After quick stops at both Bruno's (old and new) and seeing The Boot closed at only three in the morning, we decided to call it a night.

Peter left for home a few hours ago.

And then there was one...

'tis the season

This is by far the longest entry I've written a while. Mad props and a little extra holiday cheer if you get through it all.

Wednesday night Rachel (Kinks/Prudence Rachel) and Wes convinced me to take a study break from my last final and go to Celebration Under The Oaks in City Park with them, Tara, Alison, and some other friends.

It put me in the holiday spirit! We roamed around Storyland with all the fairy tales, bedtime stories, and nursery rhymes and took pictures like we were little kids.

They had all sorts of fun including Christmas trees decorated with ornaments schoolchildren made, a Cajun night before Christmas, a living nativity scene (that we missed), rides, Santa, and a laser light show. And if you like little light-up villages, you'd love the miniature New Orleans city, with distinct neighborhoods and streetcars even.

Thursday morning I took my last exam of the semester. Freedom!

To celebrate, Rachel, Tara, Becky and I went to Nirvana and over-ate as usual. Well, Becky didn't but whatever.

That night I got to see Alifun for the second night in the row! (But not in her actual home of course.) Since her boyfriend Frazer was getting kicked out by his landlord for no good reason, she decided to host her graduation shindig there... aka "The Loudest Party EVER" and give that landlord a good reason. Alison... always stickin' it to the man.

After that I met up with Shannon AND Jenna to celebrate J's last Thurs before she graduates college. We hit up Bruno's and Miss Mae's. I'm glad Jenna takes the "calcium" - She must have meant vitamin C. - in her screwdrivers so seriously.

Then those two decided to go home and talk to/about their long-distance boyfriends or something, so I stayed out and hit up Grits (ugh, very briefly) and then F&M's with Audrey, Aurell, and Dalia. A blast from the past, Jason "Delt" Talley, was kind enough to give me a lift home. (We ran into each other outside F&M's.)

Friday I got up by sheer will power alone (and David surely would've woken me had I not) to go with him to Dunbar's for some serious artery clogging. We both got gumbo, red beans and rice, and their perfected fried chicken. That was entirely too much. We went to Winn-Dixie right after, so he could pick up the applesauce and sour cream for Lizzie's Christmakkuh Party. It was hard to walk.

Back on campus, while David entered cholesterol-induced-hibernation, I went to wish Tara happy holidays since she was leaving early the next morning. I miss my JigglyJuggs already. It was SO hard to walk the two blocks to her office.

That evening was the Christmakkuh party! Lizzie decorated her apartment with lights, two-dimensional-tree, faux-fire, and blue stockings. She also served her guests latkes and kugel. Delicious. There were also several kinds of holiday cookies, chocolate coins, and a butter/cheese/caramel popcorn tub.

Drinks were not lacking either. My contribution was hot apple cider, and Chris' was eggnog. And... there was Manischewitz. Then for some reason Rachel (Virginia Rachel) suggested we play Drinking Dreidel. (I abbreviated it to "Drinkel.") And for some other reason, David and I thought it would be a great idea! The three of us (with just a little help from Jon and Graham, who each played 5-10 minutes of the game) finished two battles of Mani.

Drink(ing Dreid)el was not a good idea. And neither was the rum that followed when I decided to meet up with Conrad, Ben, and Katy. But hey, I had to see them before they left for Christmas.

Saturday I was actually productive and cleaned my room and some of the apartment. Miss Molly called me in the afternoon to tell me about her Catholic Center Christmas Party at her house and how I HAD "to bring Whitney!" It made my afternoon.

Too bad Whitney left the other day. The party was still fun. Lots of friends and some friendly, familiar faces. A million kinds of cheese with crackers, jellies, and vegetables. Bottle beers and fine wines. Some amazing chili with sides of rice, corn, salad, coleslaw, and rolls. And too many desserts (if there is such a thing).

I love family parties because meeting people's parents, children, siblings, and other relatives is one of my favorite things.

An assortment of pastors, both past and present, were there too. As I was leaving, Fr. John said "God bless you," Fr. Jose said "Be good," and Fr. Carl said "You must be going to another party with maybe food but surely drink." Which do you think knows me best?

I went to "Welcome back Dooner, Cya Later Brandi" (in reality spelled "Brandie" with an E) at the Nashville House to celebrate Dooner's homecoming and Brandie's departure.

And besides those two parties I managed to go to Snake & Jake's Christmas Club Lounge with Lauren and Sarah. (Decorated for Yule all year but Lauren had never been and Sarah and I thought it a perfect time to go.) And somehow some of the Nashville House die-hards and I went to Bruno's before calling it a night an hour or so ago.

Sunday. It is SO time for bed.

examenes

I started Tuesday by seeing Chad off, so the fun stopped there.

I roofied my English final, slept with her, and made her take a walk of shame home. But I did NOT rape her. (I take issue with usage of that as slang.)

I got out early and ran into Ben on the quad, so we we caught up for a bit, recapping our (rather drunken) weekends for each other.

And I've been saying for a while I was going to be "double-teamed by my Stats Final and my Calc Final." But I didn't realize until the afternoon before that those bitches would be simultaneous from eight to twelve. Seriously. I hate math.

So I E-mailed my teachers but got no response, so I trekked over to Gibson. I ran into Riedel first, and Norbert told me I should take his exam by virture of the fact that he was the one with whom I spoke.

Just to be nice, I went over to Dupre before he proctored his stats final, and Maurice (some call him "Diamond") told me he'd just sent me an E-mail (from the exam room) and wanted to meet at one for me to take his final. Thank God.

If I had less integrity, I would've sent Adrian to take my calc final and handled the stats myself. But I'm a good person.

So Dupre told me I could "take it in the library." (We were in Gibson, across campus.) And I was like, that's a walk. And then he told me I could take it in the math library, only a flight of stairs away.

If I had less integrity, I would've utilized my books and notes since he was gone and I was in that room by myself. Oh, not to mention it's the MATH LIBRARY, and I could've utilized those resources too.

After surviving mathematical Scylla and Charybdis, I studied all afternoon and most evening for my last final, animal behavior.

fun weekend

Thursday was great. I got to see three live musical performances.

Jonathan sang us a song he wrote for our English class as a review / "closing remarks" to end the semester.

Better Than Ezra played their awesome free show at McAlister in celebration of the new LBC UC.

Kermit Ruffins' live set at Vaughan's which, to Rachel's, Tara's, Ian's, and my collective dismay, he didn't finish because he got high even though he played through the blackouts.

Friday night was the pub crawl that Lauren and Becca had planned since they couldn't get drunk at the date party.

It seemed like so many of my favorite people (including CHAD!) were at Boot happy hour. Then a bunch of us (people kept comin' and goin') hit up Phillips, New Bruno's, Old Bruno's (where "Team Cleavage" stopped to dominate Photo Hunt), even TJ Quills for quick shots, Uptown Cajun, The Palms, and then The Boot again. Lauren, Lizzie, Leah, Becca, and I were the only five to "survive" the night.

And I tried to piggyback Lauren and Lizzie home (one at a time) but neither would last long before the other would yank her off.

Back at Lauren's, the two of us chilled with Sarah, ate honey nut cheerios, and then watched as Lauren lit a napkin on fire while labeling it "worst idea ever."

Saturday I had lunch at Babylon's Cafe with Adrian and Chad. I studied all afternoon then went to dinner and margaritas at Felipe's with Shannon. We were impressed by their full bar and then realized the owner also owns the liquor store across the street. After that it was Cooter Brown's with Lauren. Mission unaccomplished.

Sunday afternoon, Chad and I went down to the French Quarter to spend the afternoon at Harrah's drinking Johnnie Walker Black and playing blackjack. We were successful enough to buy a nice dinner at Cafe Giovanni on Decatur afterwards. We split prosciutto pinwheels as appetizers and a bottle of pinot noir, he had the shellfish stuffed shells in cream sauce over spinach, and I had duck breast in truffle sauce with crawfish and eggplant stuffing. After stuffing ourselves, we quickly walked down Bourbon Street for convention's sake and stopped real quick at Tropical Isle before heading back uptown to The Boot to play pool.

Today Lauren and I had to postpone the buffet lunch we were so excited about last night, so I went to the bubble for sushi with Chad and his Latinas. After a brief visit to Newcomb, Michelle, he, and I took the Tulane shuttle downtown to Riverwalk Mall so she could buy presents at The Body Shop while he felt the need to interact with everything labeled "Try Me!"

We went to Harrah's after since it was on the way back or whatever, and it wasn't as successful as yesterday but still fun and "free" drinks.

I studied for my English final with two classmates for about two hours and then went to Cram Jam with David, Lauren, and Stephanie.

Tomorrow when Chad leaves, my fun ends. I'm going to disconnect my internet and silence my phone...

...because now I have to deal with those pesky finals.

December?

I suppose it's time for an update.

The rest of Thanksgiving break I spent with my mom since my dad left on a well-planned trip the day after Thanksgiving and Adrian was seeing all his friends back from college for the first time. We shopped, cooked, played with our dog, saw The Prestige, saw The Departed (again), and ate a lot.

Since coming back here it's been the usual weekly stuff... grocery shopping, visiting Tara at Cafe Luna, going with Lauren to Cooter Brown's, having Bubble lunches with Rachel, going to classes, and studying. Ugh. But the semester's almost over anyway. And I saw Casino Royale, and, very minor nitpicking aside, it was awesome.

The Phi Sigma Pi "pick your poison" party was this past weekend, and the lovely Lizzie asked me to be her date. She was a Bahama Mama, I was an Irish Car Bomb, and everyone else was costumed as another alcoholic beverage. After the party at Grits officially ended some of us wound up at F&M's and then utilized Tulane's wonderful Safe Ride back to The Big Easy for late night food.

Mixed Drinks: Screwdriver, White Russian, Long Island
Iced Tea, Irish Car Bomb, Dirty Girl Scout, and Muff Diver

Last night Becca made chili and of course served it with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. AND she made brownies with frosting. Dinner was awesome, and the lucky group she served sat around watching (critiquing) Wife Swap and Supernanny... mostly because I think everyone was too busy talking to get up and change the channel.

the week's off to a good start.

Okay, so I'm behind again but not as badly as before. Sunday the internet wasn't cooperating, and yesterday I kind of got drunk randomly. Bygones.

David's birthday celebration was on Saturday night at Cooter Brown's. Several of his friends, several beers, several orders of cheese fries, and several shots. Fun David came back for the night, and it was good times. Even though he refused to do a body shot off of Peter, who was even conveniently sitting next to him, Fun David gave us a rendition of the power ballad "The Power of Love" on the car ride which segued into "Get Low" when Lizzie changed the station. And then he kind of got pushed fell into the bushes.

Any night that involves David looking like this halfway through...

...and looking like this by the end...

...is a good night.

Last night was supposed to be serious studying, but leave it to David to give me a present (screening passes) on his birthday, so Guy, Whitney, and I drove out to Elmwood but found out the Babel screening was already full. So we went to Applebee's Neighborhood Bar and Grill – Hello, Jewelyn "Humpy" Wellborn – and got dinner and more importantly drinks. We had the nicest, most patient waitress ever. The major question of the night was which TV show had the theme song "Closer to Free" which was playing at the restaurant.

Everybody wants to live
How they wanna live
And everybody wants to love
Like they wanna love
And everybody wants to be
Closer to Free

All three of us wondered independently before discussing it, and everyone immediately thought of "Friends" and then immediately knew that was wrong. I actually guessed correctly but wasn’t assertive enough, so we kept guessing and eventually called Tully who provided us with the answer.

After that, Whitney and I came back here and put a serious dent into a handle of Bacardi and watched The Rules of Attraction with Carrot Top's commentary. Hilarious even though neither of us is actually a fan of Carrot Top. Nate came home from his latest interview with news of a conquest to that, so we did a shot to it.

Then Whit-Walk and I decided to go to The Palms and drink some more and then The Big Easy.

Yeah, I’m nuts. What else is new?

And this is the TV show for those of you who care:

quick poll [Steph won by three.]

David's birthday celebration at Cooter Brown's was fun. Lots of beer, lots of cheese fries, and even lots of Fun David! I guarantee a few more pictures and a few more details soon, but first I'm taking a quick poll:

Which hot babe should be my new desktop background?

Lizzie (above) or Stephanie (below)?

Readers: Feel free to set one as your desktop background and to respond by comment, IM, E-mail, text message, messenger pigeon, any mode of communication...

Mom: Peter's candid portrait skills put mine to shame.

pictures worth 861 words

"Virginia" and I completely sober - ha - at Boot happy hour

Tara and I at Uptown Cajun during her birthday celebration

the end of the pub crawl

Lizzie doesn't remember this picture at Phillips.

Matt, the newest member of Cowboy Mouth

after a night of drinkin' and dancin' at Vaughan's

seemed mandatory at the time

a women of Walmsley weunion:
Tara as matador, Alison as Kelly Kapowski, Jacque as Jacque, and Rachel as bellydancer

how we dressed for Rocky Horror

Wes on Frenchmen St. = Andre Agassi

Stephanie the Roller Girl found someone else wheelin' down Frenchmen St.,
Joe, a Mighty Duck CAPTAIN even

"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.