TARADISE

Wednesday
I had just gotten out from the shower when the doorbell rang. Tara had arrived! Lots of joy. Lots of catching up. Then off to the wine bar to celebrate with a few glasses of red. Promptly followed by a nap. When we got up, I made curried carrot cous cous (lots of Cs) for dinner, and we had that with a bottle of wine while accompanying The Wives – aka Diedre and Marlene – at the dining table and watching Italian Wheel of Fortune – aka the best show ever. Barhopping then bed.

Thursday
Tara and I went on the mandatory scenic walk. Ponte Vecchio. Uffizi and all its exhibits. School. Santa Croce. We stopped by the cultural association for the Food & Art Aperitivo before going to Baccarossa for a delicious seafood dinner. We hit up the bar for espresso and then back home for a couple of drinking games with the roomies. Then everyone went to karaoke at the usual Irish pub.

Friday
We somehow miraculously slept ALL DAY, probably because the windows and shutters were both closed, locking the room into perpetual dawn. Imagine the opposite effect of when you’re in a basement with no windows at night and suddenly it’s morning. So we took our “morning” walk to Piazza Michelangelo to see it at sunset. Then we had “brunch” (or aperitivo) before going barhopping with Tom and Alex.

Saturday
We went out to get pizza for lunch and then hit up the Mercato Centrale, The Duomo, the archeological crypt underneath, and of course gelato. Followed by shopping for clothes and shoes. Then the wine bar for aperitivo at yet another bar followed by Italian hot chocolate, Tara’s dark with Aztec spices, mine white with raspberries. After a quick stop at the station for train tickets for the next day, we continued barhopping.

Sunday
We actually got up in the morning to go to The Cinque Terre. We stopped in Monterosso and had a long leisurely seafood lunch at Il Belvedere. On to Vernazza for food and wine shopping. Corniglia for a Schiacchetra (dessert wine) tasting. Then we “hiked” from Manarola to Riomaggiore. While waiting for the train transfer at La Spezia, we got McDonalds(!) for dinner and dark chocolate for dessert while waiting.

Monday
The train strike postponed our trip to Lucca, so we went back to Mercato Centrale for the beginning of Tara’s gift-shopping spree. I showed her the culinary school’s campus and then we hit up Amon for a porto-via lunch. We took chicken kebabs with moussaka and falafels with hummus back home to eat with a bottle of white wine. And who could resist the three kinds of dessert Amon offers – semolina cake, rice pudding, and of course baklava. Then it was more gift-shopping spree, cosmetics, perfumes, clothes. We had our daily coffee on a department store rooftop overlooking Piazza della Republica then spent some time admiring the whimsical European houshold objects and trinkets inside. Aperitivo, a catnap, and then a dance club with Aerie, Diedre, Marlene, and Tanjila.

Tuesday
We took our postponed trip to Lucca and after lunch immediately headed to Palazzo Mansi. (Unfortunately we didn’t see the Hot Naked Mansi Countess Ghost who supposedly rides her chariot around at night.) But the Palazzo was beautiful and made us want one someday. Museums, churches, a famous local café all done in dark woods and perfect for rainy afternoon coffee, and Tara buying Tuscan lotions and soaps for gifts. And definitely the highlight of the trip was an amazing, perfect Tuscan dinner at Buca di Sant’Antonio. One art store was selling journals with appropriate quotes embroidered on the cover and this one caught our eyes:

Il mondo è un libro, e chi non viaggia ne legge solo una pagina.
[“The world's a book, and one who doesn't travel only reads a page.”]

Wednesday
I left Tara to her own devices for her last-minute souvenir and gift-shopping while I went to do a photo shoot (!) with my class for a local organic fashion designer. Real cameras, real studio, real on-location shooting in Florence. It was awesome. Tara and I just spent the afternoon chilling and enjoying each other’s company while we still could. We went to the wine bar and split a bottle of wine and then had a splendid dinner at Alle Murate, which was definitely the most expensive meal we’ve ever paid for ourselves but definitely one of the most delicious ever as well. Lots of food. Lots of wine. When we got home, the apartment was a shitshow, to say the least, as everyone else had decided to do the “lots of wine” part also. Great times.

Thursday
Tara left in the early morning, so after seeing her ride away in her taxi, I went back to bed and woke up late. Adrian had left for Prague but left me an impromptu gift, a Florence Moleskine. Meaning its tailored to the city with maps and a great layout for notes, addresses, memories, etc. So awesome. I’ve been using it since. I spent the rest of the “day” (afternoon) online at the wine bar and beginning a post-Tara detox. I stayed there into Swedish aperitivo for the “Mamma Mia” party. Hampus as the DJ. Christian at the bar. (I asked for a Swedish drink and he made me a mandarin daiquiri.) Swedish meatballs on the table. Abba blaring in the bar.

it's the freakin' weekend.

Yeah, I have four day weekends. I don't think this has happened since sophomore year of college, and Lord knows what sort of mischief I got into that year.

Anyway yesterday I was dead to the world, but I made it to Fashion Photography anyway. I need a few more pictures for my first assignment... a six photo spread on Shoes, Hats, & Accessories. (Accessories is open-ended, so let's get creative. Anyone with cool jewelry, expensive purses like those birthday gifts from junior year, or inappropriately small dogs, let me know.) Pairing Food and Wine was entirely about white wines, so my classmate Val and I had fun with that.

We both hung around after for the workshop on Tasting and How We Taste, Etc. It was no new information for me after all my crazy classes in psychology and food but still entertaining. Met up with Kyle, Adrian, Aeri, Tanjila, and Tom for aperitivo at the usual bar. Then we went on a mission to regrop with Aeri who had found her way to the Uffizi. Back home, I made hot chocolate from scratch for Jesse, Tom, Adrian, and myself. Since I finished Rosemary's Baby I started reading another book from our well-stocked shelf. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.

I haven't finished it yet, but it reads so familiar for some reason?

Prologue - Someone dies a mysterious death.
Chapter 1 - The protagonist is having a dream. She (in this case) wakes to a ringing phone with bad news about a mysterious emergency to which she must immediately MYSTERIOUSLY attend to.

(Dan Brown wrote Angels & Demons and its more famous sequel Da Vinci Code, if you're not familiar with popular fiction.)

After that I crashed for several hours.

Today has been very productive. Granted, today began around noon. But I finally sent off my Permesso Siggiorno - I wonder how many exasperated and exhausted student the lady at the post office has dealt with. Then I went to the bookstore and registered to vote with a friendly lady from California who reminds me of a grandmother slash junior high teacher. Then I went and got Gelato from St. Sarah and Southern Anna's favorite gelateria since it was next door. I got my (second) locker here in the arts school and dumped the photo paper in it. Three errands in less than an hour.

Enough productivity. Sergio wants to "party big" tonight, so I think that's the plan. Game on.

Tara, if you're still reading, of course I'm aware you're coming. We can cuddle. It'll be awesome.

back to the big easy

Thursday I was off to New Orleans. I literally grabbed one of my two bags from Italy and brought it with me. Adrian picked me up and we went to lunch at Oki Nago, which was maybe the best idea he ever had. We just chilled at his house for the afternoon and then went to Buddha Belly with Rachel to play pool. I almost forgot to tip the bartender (by way of reverse culture shock!) but remembered to for the second round. Rachel and I picked up Tara, and I took her to dinner at Stella! (The exclamation mark is part of the name.) She treated me to a delicious lunch at Commander’s Palace when I left New Orleans, so I made her promise me she’d let me take her to dinner when I returned. After that, she and I went to the quarter to meet up with Ben for drinks.

Friday, I woke up pretty early. (Combination of multiple jet lags and adrenaline. I hadn’t really slept since the week before leaving Florence. But all the fun was worth it.) Second best idea Adrian ever had: Breakfast at Camellia Grill. Between that and lunch at Bluebird Café with Ben and Katie, I had a nice long phone call with Mikey and got to catch up with him finally. That afternoon, I went with a bunch of my friends to Columns happy hour. Stephanie, Sylvia, Jack, Josh, Nicole, Jody, Taylor, Tara. The names go on and on. It was so great to see everyone and some surprises I realized hadn’t left town yet. Stephanie, Tara, and I went to dinner with Girl-Kory and some of her friends at Five Happiness. After that, I met up with Ben, Katy, Mike, and some of their friends downtown in the quarter. After a little barhopping and a little separation (MiKat and I hurricane-ing at Pat O’Brien’s) we had a little episode outside of Gold Mine:

Ben and Katy had bought lucky dogs, so we couldn’t enter until they finished. Some sketchy looking white-trash-hick guy walked up wearing both a do-rag and a baseball cap. I had no voice by this point, so Ben tried to dismiss him as usual by speaking German and pretending not to speak English. I’m pretty sure our new friend misunderstood the word “Deutsch” (German for “German”) as “Douche.” He decked Ben in the face and then ran off with his two friends. Ben was prone on the ground, so as Mike and I helped him up and made sure he was okay, I just heard Katy screaming “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” and throwing her hot dog at him. Ben didn’t have a concussion but was pretty shook up… and was looking for his hot dog. Of course, the cops never showed up and we never called an ambulance. But ah, sweet New Orleans. The bouncers from Gold Mine brought over a bag of ice and a bunch of local complete strangers (even to each other) went chasing after the hooligans. For us, despite multiple text messages telling us otherwise, the night was over. Ben and I took a cab back to his place and Adrian’s.

Saturday morning, Emerald and I were supposed to meet for coffee and tea but ended up getting iced versions because of the heat. Adrian and I went to Jazmine Leaf for lunch with our cousins from Baton Rouge and spent the day hanging out with them. Coc, Ryan, Antonia, and we did a grand driving and walking tour of New Orleans: Uptown Cool for Blue Bell ice cream, the levee/fly, Community Coffee, Magazine, Decatur, Frenchman, Royal. We had dinner at Café Amelie and then dessert at Café du Monde. Josh and I met up and took the streetcar to meet up with Jody, Taylor, Lizzie, and The Choy Sisters for wine before heading to Madigan’s for a round of beer.

Sunday, Jody and I met up at the Tulane chapel for mass. We had some coffee and fresh bread at The Catholic Center with Miss Molly and some of the other faithful. Then we grabbed brunch at Saucy’s Café Freret. The afternoon was spent on Magazine doing some shopping and gelato-snacking with Sylvia… for old time’s sake. She took me back to her new apartment for a tour and introduction to her dog Stella. She, Jack, and I took the once-poodle to the dog park to drink iced tea, chat with their friends, and watch her frolic with other dogs. After grabbing a bite to eat at Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, we went to Bacchanal to meet up with Rachel and Tara for a few bottles of wine. They all went home after, but I hit up DBA with Stephen and Blue Nile for a bit to meet up with my friend Jenn. (I ran into another familiar face, Chad’s friend Alex, on Frenchman. Small world.)

Monday, my surrogate big brother Steven took me to lunch at Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro. We caught up with each other’s lives and, as per tradition, ate way too much. I love that guy. He drove the hour in from Baton Rouge to hang out with me for an hour before driving the hour back to go back to work. That afternoon I spent with Sylvia, Jack, and their med school friends I’d met at the dog park. They had a Memorial Day barbeque. Lots of good food but my definite favorite was what Jack prepared: Cream cheese and jalapenos wrapped in venison tenderloin wrapped in bacon. Basically deliciousness wrapped in amazing-ness. That was my last night in NOLA, so I spent it at Madigan’s so people could come and go as they pleased. Sylvia, Maureen, Stephanie AND FAMILY, Ben, Josh, Curry, and Jake all stopped by. I love NOLA, I love the people there, even the ones who aren't my friends. I can't wait to go back again.

long but eventful!

Saturday night started off great and didn’t end as well. After the delivery guy dropped off the booze (yeah, seriously) that Jack had ordered from the liquor store owner we’ve buddied up with, Giuseppe and I decided to go to aperitivo (happy hour with snacks) at the bar rather than sit around while waiting for the others to gather. A few rounds of rum and some tasty snacks later, I went over to the apartment of The Girls Next Block to have dinner. Mindy, who is queen of all things vegetable although not a vegetarian, cooked some and tortellini.

We came back to my apartment for cocktails, shots, and cake. And somehow the pre-game became the big game. And we lost. Badly. Some of us were team players but a few rookies handicapped us.

Happy birthday, Jessi shot!

Sunday, regardless of what they did for the weekend, pretty much everyone was recuperating. Spent the afternoon at my bar unsurprisingly. Grabbed dinner from the Cinese place down the block with Giuseppe, Henk, and Juan. Then we had a high-stakes game of poker and met up with Jack at Loch Ness. Pool. Mojitos. Foosball games. (Ghibellina 4 / San Freddiano 2.) Bloody Marys. Jack has been added to the ranks of Stephanie, Laura, and Ben as an official Andrew smoking buddy.

Our apartment is open 24 hours/never sleeps, loves hot moms, and has Brazilian soul.

Monday I thought would be busy, but it was surprisingly relaxed. My friend Jeremy, who also went to Tulane and lived in Butler freshman year (6th floor) had told me he would be in Florence for a few hours. I thought he meant the afternoon, but he called in the morning, so I got to see him before class. We just got coffee, pondered if it was too early for beer, and caught up on each other’s life. He teaches English in Tunisia now and is at the end of a month of vacation traveling. It was surreal to meet up at The Duomo with someone I associate with New Orleans, but it was amazing to talk with someone else who understands and misses that lifestyle. I walked with him to Santa Maria Novella since he wanted to check it out before catching a train to Bologna at the station next door.

the weary traveler

I was photo-finish just-barely in time for my Food Styling class. We had another chef as a substitute teacher today but used our actual teacher’s recipe.

Filet of sole wrapped around steamed mussels and topped with caviar, chives, and shrimp foam; served with a mussel shell stuffed with sole roe and diced zucchini flowers.

Delicious, which is not at all surprising. Our sub came up with the stuffed shell idea on-the-spot. Very cool.

After class Jack and I did a lot of walking. We went to get our new textbooks, made a stop at the chef apparel store, hung out at my apartment for a while, went to the bar, went to a sportswear store, and then went to dinner at the apartment of The Girls Next Block. After I hung out with them for a little while, including a gelato walk with Mindy and a balcony chat with Liane. When I got home, I just sat on the couch and watched Henk paint. It looked like he was starting a mural on our wall in his own blood, but it was cool. After I took the following picture, I noticed how much of our apartment is accented in red. From random papers and books scattered to our beer and wine bottles to the floor and pretty much the entire kitchen.

It looks like he's painting the wall with blood, but that's okay.

Tuesday morning I got up and went straight to our neighborhood market. It’s overwhelming at first, but after a stroll through you can figure out easily what and where you want to buy. Grocery shopping was never this fun. I came back here, cleaned the kitchen and did the basic prep work. Cutting the spinach off the roots, seasoning the meat, checking my frozen veal stock (from the osso bucco a million years ago), folding garlic and butter together, and making rosemary olive oil.

fresh produce at the market

I showed Liz where the gym was, so she could get her membership. We both opted for a quick workout even though it would mean an extra shower each. After said shower back here, I started cooking. Liz couldn’t come to lunch because she had class, but I happily fed my roommates, Jack, Mindy, and Aneet. I sautéed the spinach with olive oil, garlic, onion, veal stock, and lemon zest. And I pan-seared the steak (marinated in sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, and green onion) in the rosemary oil and garlic butter. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

bistecca all'Andrea (as in, "Italian for Andrew") over sauteed spinach

After lunch, people dispersed. The girls went back to their apartments. Giuseppe went to the computer lab, Henk took a nap, and Jack hung out for a while then went home. Now I’m at the bar, drinking a macchiato and trying to decide whether to stay for aperitivo.

By the way, I drink coffee now, but only one small shot a day unless it’s morning cappuccino. It’s so much better here than America... excluding of course any gifts from Tara or Alison when they worked at Café Luna.

as Tara used to say...

Happy VD, everyone!

Once I can walk again, I promise to be less boring / to have more interesting things to write.

worth a few thousand words

The rest of 2007 in pictures:

"her wedding = our vacation"

That's what Tara and I have been saying the past couple of days.

And by the way, Jacque and Jason got married.

Yeah, it's official. I was at the ceremony. I saw it happen with my own two eyes. She was a beautiful bride. Everyone oohed and awed when she walked into the sanctuary. I got a little teary eyed. I only cried a little during the vows but only because she did.

Rachel and I flew to Detroit and then drove the rest of the way last Thursday. Jacque's "bachelorette" party / shower of sorts was at her friend Robin's family's lakehouse. It was awesome. Swimming, rafting, sailing, drinking, swimming beer to the raft, barbecuing, eating, more drinking. We got to meet a bunch of Jacque's good friends, which was also fun... placing faces to the names in the stories... on both sides.

We spent the rest of the weekend as guests of Bob and Patrice, her parents. It was fun. We helped set up some stuff for the reception but spent a good amount of time sitting around doing R&R. Tara and I will particularly miss utilizing their hot tub at the end of every night and going for dips in the pool.

The wedding and reception were elegant and fun. Lots of white and of course lots of purple. I didn't know that many shades of a color were possible. Tara didn't catch the bouquet, and I didn't catch the garter. Jacque will have to wait a bit until she gets to come to our "wedding... to each other."

I'll post a few pictures (and maybe a few anecdotes) once the happy couple returns from their honeymoon and uploads.

last week 4/29 - 5/6

Sunday

Sunday was the TCC crawfish boil. Crawfish are good. So are red beans and rice. Yeah, that's about it. Justin made cookies that afternoon apparently, so he made a special delivery. I know there were two kinds, and they involved some combination of butterscotch chips, peanut butter, white chocolate, and something else. I don't know. Heaven.

Monday

Monday was my last psych class ever. The topic of the day was Health Stress & Coping, so the professor managed to get one last jab in:

"That's my picture of marijuana. I got it from Andrew."

And then:

"We're from the same hometown, so we have the same dealer."

I'm going to miss that course.

Calculus was a sort-of review. Not really. Say your prayers for my final exam.

American Popular Music was... the usual mayhem. Not to be outdone, the professor not only gave us a lecture about how "when you're partying or getting laid, music is in the background, but in this class, [he] want[s] it to be in the foreground!" And then told us an anecdote of how he had to go to court and testify against Juvenile for plagiarizing the lyrics "you's a fine motherfucker won't you back that ass up." I might miss that course too.

I went to Stephen's final review and then went to Kyoto for dinner with him and a few other architects. Japanese beer and wine both made appearances. I got a Stella Roll (a spicy scallop roll enveloped in tuna tataki) and a Hotbox (a rainbow box with eel, avocado, and pepper sauces).

Tuesday

Former Vice President Al Gore delivered his famous "An Inconvenient Truth" lecture. David had the hook-up and provided a few of us with reserved VIP seating, which is especially great because I honestly wouldn't have gone otherwise. But I'm glad I did. Gore was hilarious in-person (and would've surely won the election if his personality was more in attendance back then) and does the world's best impersonation of Bill Clinton. (Figures.) He also went on record to say that he is never running again.

Tara and I skipped lunch because of the lecture and because she forgot her phone, and Ben and I had an early dinner (last one, sob) and caught up on each other's apparently-very-interesting weekends.

God, this was a busy Tuesday. I went to the last 1718 for the year, a gathering which always coincides with Columns Happy Hour. Andrei Codrescu did the author reading and was hilarious. I was sad to find out he was reading from a yet-unpublished book, so I bought his tribute to New Orleans, which spans 20 years. And I relate wholeheartedly to this excerpt from it:

"How did you fall in love with New Orleans? At once, madly. ... Looking back, sometimes I think it was predestined."

As always, the bartenders are great for conversation. We were talking about old age, so one (a woman who shall remain unnamed) asked me how old I was, and then told me "You're not old! I'm over 40!!!" and (the guy, also left anonymous) asked me what my plans were. When I said they were unsure, he suggested "Travel, get drun, have as much sex as possible, and don't be afraid to forget it all." Apparently it's what he did after college. God, I love that bar.

A bunch of us moved on to The Delachaise for wine and food. I don't remember what I got, just that it was the red that paired well with the "beefy bruschetta" I ordered, which is basically bruschetta with grilled flank steak. David met up with me, and we picked up Tara and Alison to go to Balcony Bar for more drinks and more food. I was all about the beef apparently because I got a "balcony burger," which is a half-pounder with tomato, grilled onion, green peppers, mushrooms, bacon, and jalapenos."

Wednesday

Adrian finally had free time to go to the "birthday lunch" my Mom gave us in April. We went to Pascal's Manale. I got the stuffed eggplant for an appetizer, while he opted for a dozen raw oysters. I got their signature Barbeque Shrimp, which are huge and delicious. He got crawfish ettouffee. We topped it all off with bread pudding and pecan pie, respectively.

That night was also interesting. LOST and a trailer party. Then a bunch of us went out to Bruno's and then TJ Quills for a little bit, but the bar crawl ended there... for most of us. Lauren called me about half an hour later wanting to go back out, so we met up at The Rat and then went to The Boot, The Palms, and Snake & Jake's. There was a guy there proving the rule that if you get shot at or get naked at the bar, you drink for free. I'll let you guess which.

Thursday

I think I bummed around all day? Whatever. Shannon, David, and I went to Rock-n-Sake for dinner. Their clear soup is easily the best I've ever had at any Japanese restaurant, and I know that's a strange thing to remember, but it was awesome. We got a portabello tempura appetizer, which was awesome. I got an omakase (chef's choice) plate of sushi, sashimi, and crunchy rolls. Then we met up with more people and went to Spider-Man 3, which wasn't as good as the first two, but every fan should still see it anyway. The main problems with it are it's perhaps too comic-book-y (everything is more extreme; the evil, the jokes, the romance). But I still enjoyed it.

Friday

Storming and flooding. Calc final. Sleep. Dinner with Whitney and Tully at Sake Cafe. TNT. which is tuna stacked with rice, various roes, and a quail egg. And an Uptown Roll, which is a mix of fish, roe, and avocado. We stopped by Creole Creamery after, where I got an I Scream Fudge Sundae. (It's a chocolate overload. A hot fudge coated glass with two scoops of I Scream Fudge, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, whipped cream, and a chocolate covered cherry.) I can now say I've had every delicacy I've ever wanted there.

After that, Tully left and David met up with us. Monkey Hill. Drinks. Shots. St. Joe's Bar. Blueberry mojitos. Storyville. Ms. Mae's/The Club. More drinks. Stephanie's. Hookah. Waiting. Wine. Awesome night.

Saturday

I finished my adolescent psych final in fifteen minutes. I don't remember what I did all afternoon, so I probably wasted it somehow. Shannon and I went to Whole Foods and bought dinner there. Those Xochitl chips we love, guacamole, a surprisingly/insanely spicy mango and pineapple salsa, salads (mine was basically a Cobb), and a "California Club" (a huge sandwich on foccacia with turkey, bacon, avocado, lettuce, and a sun-dried tomato aioli).

David, Nate, and I went out and met up with Whitney, Matt and Paul for Cinco De Mayo. Lots of Corona. Tequila shots. My roommates and I decided to do more bonding by going to Camelia Grill(!) which was as incredible as I remember. I love breakfast at three in the morning. WORD. I got eggs over easy with bacon and fries. And a chocolate cherry freeze. I let it get to my brain.

Now that I'm all caught up, I will do my best to update this reasonably on-time. Besides, what else will I do since there's no more class?

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.

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.

the week

Tuesday

Shannon and I took Mountain Whore Jenna to Fresco for dinner. (We've missed her, but time flies. It seems like just the other week we took her out to a goodbye dinner.) We split a bottle of Shiraz with minimal help from Shannon because she was saving herself for a Columns mojito. We got to the student half of 1718, which was of course entertaining. We had a little roundtable on the word "moist" after because we discovered that Jenna hates it. Her discovery for the night? "Wow, I've never been to a bar where people were, like, smart and not just trying to get on each other." Learn something new everyday. We ended up at Bruno's with a bunch of her other friends playing drinking games, drunk-dialing Jerry, and going around the group and talking about "things we love about Jenna."

Wednesday

Classes. I tried to give blood as usual. They filled out the form with the info from the computer, completed the mini-interview, did the mini-physical, swabbed the area, put a tourniquet on my arm. They put in the needle. Nothing. One minute. Nurse starts fidgeting with needle. Two minutes. Nothing. Another nurse tries. Nothing. The head nurse tried. Still nothing. I've had this thing in my arm for almost five minutes now. She pulls it out. "Scar tissue and rolling vein. You'll never bleed to death, sweetie." I know what scar tissue is but have no clue about "rolling vein," so I ask. Apparently your veins move all the time, especially when you move, and sometimes when you try to get into one, they move out of the way. Mine, despite being large, are apparently very good at rolling.

I offer my other arm. I get off the chair, so they can swivel it around. Swab. Tourniquet. Needle. Nothing. Then the blood starts flowing slowly. It's dark. "High in oxygen, very healthy." Then it stops. "My God," says head nurse. I ask what. "Your platelets are off the charts. The blood just clotted even with the needle inside. Maybe next time, Wolverine."

I apologized for the lack of blood. They said "It's a good thing. Amazing actually. But just not good for giving blood." They told me I probably wouldn't need the bandages but they'd set them up anyway. And I should help myself to snacks and drinks at their canteen. They said I still lost a substantial amount of blood but "with your clear health, you can probably exercise and drink as soon as you want."

So apparently I have superheroic abilities. Super-Selfish-I-Don't-Share-My-Blood-Man.

Jenna and I went to dinner with some of her friends at Miyako. (My first time there. Pretty decent.) I got a sushi box which was a combination of fresh salmon and spicy salmon. We ordered a two-person drink called a "scorpion" which undoubtedly had everclear in it. She made me drink most of it, and it felt pretty good considering the lack of blood/fluid thing.

LOST with Whitney. Great episode.

Thursday

Brunch with Shannon. Then we said "seeya later at graduation" to Jenna, so she could go whore up to the the mountain again and be with her ancient 33-year-old boyfriend. (Seriously though nothing but love for Jenna and Jerry.)

Terrorism class. Crazy ACLU speaker. Lunch with Tara. We texted Jacque about plans for her August wedding and generally missed her, as usual. Brian's art show. Impressive. My favorite part was the sublimation of his love for paper clips (30something thousand of them) into a sculpture/curtain/thing and a 3D portrait of a male head and torso with X,000 cigarette butts.

I went to the Toni Morrison thing in McAlister. "I'm smart and black. Most of you are not." Okay, that's not what she said. She read excerpts from her four latest novels and did some Q&A. Intelligent and somewhat inspiring, pretty much what you'd expect McAlister was packed. I sat next to Jonathan, a former professor of mine.

Friday/Today

This was a question on my adolescent psych exam today:

19. Gino doesn't smoke and has now made friends with Andrew, who does smoke. Which of the following is most likely to occur?"

Har har har, Cunningham. You are so funny.

Had he written "drink" instead of "smoke," it might be valid.

the past two days

Monday. Again. Classes. Bank.

Digression: Last Friday I went to the Whitney trailer, and there were two men outside talking about the deck. Why??? Don't you guys have jobs or something better to do? When I entered, I saw Alex and the other bankers all Casual Friday and packing stuff away.

Digression x2: In January I asked Alex when they'd move into the UC, and he replied "March supposedly, but I'll believe it when it happens."

Digression: So I figured out that they were finally moving, even though it's technically April now, and the guys outside must be the ones in charge of dismantling the trailer. Later on when I went to the ATM, I saw all the Whitney people inside with empty pizza boxes and setting up stuff.

More classes.

Because I was too busy/tired to cook, not sure how to cook Kosher, and not Jewish, I missed Lizzie and Rachel's potluck Passover seder.

Becca, Lauren, and I went to Cane's instead. Delicious.

Not sure what I did Monday night so it couldn't have been that exciting.

Tuesday. Terrorism. Lunch with Tara. Screenwriting. Dinner with Ben. And Steph, and Lauren, and David. I took a copy of Expose (last week's LOST episode that focused on "Nina and Pablo") over to Dalia since she missed it. Quick gym trip. Studying with Stephen but we ended up drinking Negro Modelo.

Now only one exam stands in between me and another break!

the freakin' weekend...

Baby, I'm havin' some fun...

What happened yesterday? Class. Nap. Whole Foods. Dinner with Matt and Becca at Brooks' place. I made a semi-Cobb at the WF salad bar, and Brooks had picked up sushi from Sake Cafe. I ordered my favorites, spicy yellowtail and New Orleans rolls. We played with Trek, his ex's dog, and Matt and Becca helped me completely fill in the blanks from Thursday night.

In the interest of privacy, I'll leave names out, but note that someone is singular and people is very plural. Here are more things that happened which I forgot in my previous update.

• people snuck into bars
• people pretty much made out
• people groped others' breasts, buttocks, and/or crotches
  
• people had nip slips
  
• people told someone they would do them
• people were throwing themselves at inappropriate people
• people fell... often into things or other people
  
• people couldn't drive/walk/read/speak
• people got laughed at by workers at The Rat
  
• people got into arguments over nothing
  
• someone accidentally hit someone else
• someone hid in the art building from someone else
  
• someone seriously danced with a stripper pole
• someone discussed their sex toys
• people passed out, impervious to light and noise
  
• people woke up still drunk
  
• someone woke up on a couch holding melted ice cream
  

Last night was much less Tara Reid. Some friends and I went to Karma. Last one ever. Sob. It was some people's first time ever, and it was also Tara's and my first Jacque-less one. The mix of food, drink, hip-hop, reggaeton, and bhangra was still amazing. Stephanie brought Samantha and Jeanine, just like I brought Adrian last year. Tara, Ian, Alison, Whitney, Lauren, David, Becca, and many others were also in attendance.

Some of us shuffled back and forth between Nirvana and the oh-so-cheap drinks at The Club: Miss Mae's. At the end of the night, Whitney and I went with some people to the only bar that's more of a dive than Mae's... Snake & Jake's.

bringin' freshman back

Terrorism and lunch with Tara. Typical Thursday.

Very atypical Thursday night! Ryanne had the bright idea of us going to Vera Cruz for margaritas and TJQuills for drinks after to relive the fun of freshman year... even though we're now old seniors. I surprised her with a special present: Kathleen "MIA" Fanone. (It would have been a present to Sylvia too, but she didn't come.) She, David and I even dressed up in old freshman year clothing to recreate "the look."

We went with Whitney, David, and Tully to Vera Cruz. Several flavors of margarita pitcher. Sauza shots on me. I knew NONE of the servers at Vera Cruz, which is probably in it's hundredth revision... just to show how long it's been since I've been there.

Kathleen had an emergency and left, but Stephanie, her sister Samantha, their Pinay friend Jeanine, Becca, Matt, and Paul joined us at T.J. Quills. Pretty awesome. I finally got my Choy sandwich to balance out the Marin one Steph got last year when Adrian visited.

Quills was fun. There was popcorn. Ry and I got appletinis to commemorate freshman year. (R.I.P. Kara "Whorkus" Wagner.) My favorite Quills bartender was there and was all "never thought I'd see you again!" My reply: "Old habits die hard." He gave me free shots.

We went to Phillips next. Danielle, my favorite lab partner ever, was bartending! I thought she left after graduation. She gave me more free shots. Good times. So was Jason "press menswear" Warrington. That brings the count of people-Sylvia-loves-with-me-tonight to TWO.

Whit, Tull, and I went to The Palms next to close out the night. It was packed. I LOVE it around that two in the morning time. I missed Chad Michael like whoa though. Dalia&Co were there too. Awesome.

We closed out the night at The Rat splittin' a turkey sub with "everything," a bacon cheddar burger, and a chicken tender combo. Then Whitney and I got ice cream for dessert.

I'd call this a good day.

Debate in terrorism class. Lunch with Tara. We caught up on our spring breaks. Shannon and Shivani joined us for lunch. Screenwriting class. I apparently forgot to attach my screenplay to the E-mail I sent out, but miraculously I was still ahead of the game because the other two presenters either forgot to send out E-mails or just entirely forgot to... write something? We watched a few clips from Goodfellas which is a fantastic movie.

Our class went out to dinner at Juan's Flying Burrito. I took Abie's suggestion to actually try his favorite... the fish tacos. (Yes, literal fish tacos.) They were surprisingly good. We ended up spending about $100 on food and then another $100 on drinks. (This is impressive considering their happy hour special was $1 beers and 2-for-1 margaritas but whatever.) Then we decided to buy a $50 chocolate cake, but that was worth it.

Back here, I took cake over to Lauren and Steph and then invited Whitney over to have some. She brought Ryanne and Tully with her for a study break.

I decided to be "responsible" or whatever and stayed in after instead of going out with the screenwriting people again...

Thursday and Friday

Very early Thursday morning, when Lauren and I left Uptown Cajun, we realized neither of us had an umbrella. I assumed she'd brought hers because mine was broken, and she assumed the rain was over. We were wrong. So wrong.

Well, we bonded with a nice walk in the rain. Only pelagic organisms should be allowed to be as wet we were. We couldn't have been more soaked if we had jumped into a pool. Seriously.

I decided to do late-night laundry and threw my sheets and towel in with my sopping clothes. But a few washing AND drying machines were broken. They wasted my quarters, so what should have been an hour-long laundry process took over two.

After about an hour of sleep, I went to the UC with Shannon to shadow her FBI interview and make her feel more comfortable. The gentleman asked me not to sit with them during it, which isn't surprising, so I hope my presence was of some help to her.

Terrorism, lunch with Tara, studying. I told Lauren I'd make dinner, so I pan-seared filet mignons (marinated with olive oil, garlic, sea salt, and mixed peppers) in butter. Well, I barely pan-seared them because Lauren likes her meat, very rare, mooing at her.

We met up with Steph to go see the Menage A Capella concert. Them, Green Envy, and a group from UT. Pretty awesome.

Friday was an adolescent psych exam (administered by the TA) then two more classes and FREEEEEEEDOM. Really loud. Braveheart-style. Lauren, Steph, Becca and I went to happy hour at The Columns, where I ran into Sonny and the professor who skipped his own exam that morning for a "conference." I hope he remembers the Manhattan I bought him when he grades. We went to the levee afterward to visit Sarah and Maddie, victims of flight cancellation.

thickset Thursday

So my day began with a phone call from Mom to talk about the money we were planning to happily spend on "Gradfest."

I put scallops that were in the freezer in the fridge to defrost before going to pick up the package mentioned in yesterday's entry. I took a shower and got presentable (for my last "senior portrait") and headed off to Gradfest. They really should change the name because it's nowhere near as fun as it sounds. It's basically the university's last chance to get you to spend lots of money on overpriced things.

I was on the phone when I heard a familiar voice that I couldn't place calling out "ANDREW MARIN!" and I ignored it for a little so I could wrap up the conversation. It was Claire "Clourkie" O'Rourke. How very exciting, and I wanted to go to lunch with her and Ryanne but had to go do boring things like class and Gradfest.

My day was a little hectic because I only got half the things done at Gradfest that I wanted to, so I got to class a little late. This was complicated by multiple phone calls trying to finalize things with each parent and with Adrian regarding this upcoming Marin Immediate Family Reunion Weekend and other matters that required immediate tending.

After lunch with Tara and a quick visit from Adrian, I got my pictures taken. Mom told me to relax, so they'd come out well, but the photographer told me I looked "great." (I guess relatively speaking because he noted that some people came in wifebeaters and poorly groomed facial hair.) I picked up some announcements, diploma frame, and cap/tassel and gown. They almost gave me the orange engineering tassel, but Tara pointed it out - thank God - so I got the gold science one.

I remedied all that "fun" from Gradfest by going a late afternoon park trip with Rachel and then a dinner with Ben. Lots of laughs that only the two of us would understand.

I took a nap, which was too short, and then went over to Shannon's to watch The Illusionist, starring my favorite actor of all time. The plot's pretty much Eduard (Edward Norton) trying to save this Duchess chick (Jessica Biel) from marrying the Prince of douche (Rufus Sewell). Eduard and Sophie are childhood sweethearts, etc. In some ways, it's better than The Prestige and some ways not, depends on what kind of movie you're looking for. The Illusionist is more romantic and less self-centered, while The Prestige focuses on upstaging your competition. And of course, Ed Norton has more acting ability than the two male leads in The Prestige combined. It's strange watching Jessica Biel not be all tough, given Stealth, Blade: Trinity, and how every paparazzi photo of her is her working out. It's like watching Sarah Michelle Gellar in a horror movie; she can slay vampires, but masked murderers and ghost children are too much?

I was waiting for her to kick ass, but she didn't.

I got back here and between that and 80s Night remembered to cook my now-forgotten scallops. I was on the phone with Adrian and then Ben while in the kitchen, so I think I seasoned the dish twice twice when I wasn't paying attention. It definitely had too much kick to it, but it was still good. Butter, garlic, ginger, peppers, a little brown sugar, and old bay seasoning... It tasted like something you'd have in DC's Chinatown. I fixed this a little by dumping rice into the boiling liquid to soak up and cook.

After that, Lauren and I went down to our usual Thursday 80s Night at One Eyed Jacks to meet up with Ry Ry, B(ig) B(rains) C(laire), the UNO guys, et al. Fun times as always.

three of my favorite ladies - photo courtesy of Lauren Mitchell

terrific Tuesday

So Tuesday morning I found myself still up (from Monday) at two for no good reason. Then at 2:30 a good reason, namely Chad, showed up... on my buddy list I mean. We haven't had a chance to really catch up (since his move to Australia) except before Mardi Gras. So we talked for like an hour and exchanged our international cell phone numbers. (This might prove dangerous for future drinking nights.)

The unfortunate result was that I slept through my first class because, in my half-awake stupor, I set my alarm for PM instead of AM.

It was okay though. Apparently I didn't miss much. I went to my regular lunch with Tara, and we mused about our future plans... specifically Jacque's wedding. And we missed a third of our triangle.

After that, I went to screenwriting for the three fastest academic hours of my week. Good screenplays and two presentations.

Dinner with Ben as usual. He dropped me off at The Columns after for the 1718 New Orleans Reading Series. It was fantastic. Author Bev Marshall and four seniors from Loyola and Tulane. Excerpts, nonfiction, story, poetry, and prose, respectively. Lots of drinking.

I'm definitely going to future ones if anyone wants to tag along.

• April 10th - John Biguenet
• May 1st - Andrei Codrescu

And if I'm feeling creative and the team likes my work, maybe there will be a short story or a few poems by yours truly.

After that I wound up at Delachaise, which (for anyone else who was there for Jenna's birthday) is so NOT a lesbian bar. Four-cheese plate and duck terrine/foie gras/armanac pate; house white and house red.

I ended up talking on the phone with Gisela for a while. I'm sooo looking forward to her visit for graduation.

Whitney and Tully picked me up on the way back from Billy Joel's sold-out concert. They were too tired to go out more, so I wound up visiting with Stephen (not to be confused with Steven) a while.

Yes, you read correctly. Stephen. But it's all good. What's past is past.

Tuesday

Terrorism midterm wasn't too bad.

I went over to Adrian's, and we caught up for a bit. He brought me some special deliveries from home. He also showed me his new Polo Rugby wardrobe. (Their "skull and crossbones" insignia coincidentally matches with Sig Ep's. How lucky/convenient for Adrian because now he has an excuse to buy all that PR stuff besides just liking it.)

I met for lunch early with Tara (and Rachel today too). I missed Alison and Frazer by just a little because I had to make a deposit at the bank and print screenplays at the lab.

Lots happened in screenwriting class today. We reached a consensus on how we should spend our provost-awarded "entertainment budget." (Dinner and drinks, naturally.) And we had class for the first time in three weeks. And we canceled another upcoming one. This would be exciting, but if I had it my way, I'd have screenwriting every day and my other classes combined into a one week three-hour session. It's my favorite course thus far.

Chick: "Have you guys ever seen that movie Maria Full of Grace? The main character there, this girl who's smuggling drugs, and I can't for the life of me remember her name--"
Me: "Maria."
Chick: "Oh! Yeah. That's it."

The most (horribly) sensational part of the day was when I returned my father's phone call during a break in screenwriting class. (He called during the first half.) He told me my grandfather called to let him know there was a passing in the family. Unfortunately he didn't specify that it wasn't my grandmother but another "Letty" (my great aunt) right away. And then I asked if Adrian knew of and the correct identity of the death, and he said I should double-check.

After the break, we convinced the teacher that for our last assignment we should analyze the screenplay of and have a screening of the great Eddie Murphy film Coming To America.

Ben and I had our weekly dinner and caught each other up on the past few days. And now I should be writing a screenplay or doing other work or sleeping, but I'm going to push to get these other two Mardi Gras photo albums up.

Where'd the weekend go?

Friday was classes then groceries. Then began the back-to-back laser tag nights. Yeah. Apparently when you turn 22 you want to reaffirm your youth, so you decide to play laser tag. Ryanne and Ben, indepedently of each other, both wanted to play laser tag for their birthdays. Friday was Ben's night. We went with Katy&Co. After that I had made a raspberry tiramisu for Tara since she wasn't at Italian Night, so she and Ian came over. They approved. (Personally I prefer the strawberry version, less tart and less sweet. The raspberry version looks better though because it's a burgundy color and the berries require no chopping and distribute more uniformly.)

Shannon came over to have tiramisu also and convinced me to go to Beaux Arts Ball, the architecture party, at the last minute. I didn't have a costume ready. The theme was ConNEXTion. So she wrapped me in packaging tape because tape connects things? Whatever. Beaux Arts was fun. All the architects were drunk as usual.

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur: The Boot, J(ai)L Hall, The W Hotel, and then some French people's party somewhere.

Saturday was pretty chill. Laser tag again that night, Ryanne's "party." We had to split up into two groups of four because there weren't enough slots for all eight of us. Stephanie and I were on the red team and were assigned the code names "Cinderella" and "Aladdin." I had a lot of fun shooting the bitchy old couple who made two kids give up their vests and guns 'cause they accidentally let too many people in.

After that was a quick trip to the Big Easy because Lauren was hungry, and I just hung out at home the rest of the night. Mommie Dearest, which I'd never seen, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is one of my favorites, were both on TV. MD is a fucked up movie.

Sunday I made "macaroni" (really penne) and cheese from scratch to tide me over until Mexican Night. I'm never going to make the orange crap that comes out of the box again.

Mexican Night was a huge success although apparnetly "Mexican" is synonymous with "dip" because we had at least four of them. But one of them was Stephanie's guacamole, so I was automatically satisfied with our menu. We also had chicken and vegetable fajitas, Mexican lasagne, beans and rice, various forms of corn chips, a cake decorated with a Mexican flag, "Dos Amigos" ice cream (Mexican vanilla and Mexican chocolate), and of course, the strawberry tiramisu that we pretended was Mexican.

Just like Thanksgiving and Italian Night, we all said what we were thankful for (but Mexican things this time.) I guess that went succesffuly and unoffensively.

Some of us stayed after to watch The Oscars, but by the end only Becca, Leah, and I were left. I was happy because all of my predictions (Babel, Little Miss Sunshine, Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese, Pan's Labyrinth, and THE DEPARTED) won except one.