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.

a very Good Friday

Last night was awesome. Nicole, her friend Brenna, David, and I started off in their friend Travis' "modular housing." (She told us to go to the trailer with all the booze in it and the Christmas lights. I thought it sounded very similar to Snake & Jake's and thus awesome.) I'll say at this point that Lauren, Storey, Becca, her friend Jamie, Whitney, Jordan, Mike, and Matilda all showed up at some point. And Brenna, Nicole and Travis disappeared eventually. Anyway, we went to Pat O'Brien's, where I bought Nicole and Brenna shots and... reaped the rewards even though no one else except our jack-ass waiter was paying attention. Then some of us went to 80s Night at One Eyed Jacks which was intense and as good or better than pre-hurricane. The line extended forever, but the place was packed and jumping inside. I guess since no one had work or school the next day. We like a prayed, killed the radio star, thrilled, 99 red ballooned, didn't stop believing, spun round like records, and tainted love. Michelle, one of Chad's most favorite Latinas, was there. We "crazy-danced" the way he would and internationally drunk-texted him. At night's end, Whitney and I went to Big Easy for food.

David and I began today by going to lunch at Franky & Johnny's. (In Louisiana, when Catholics can't have meat on Friday, they have crawfish boils.) We each polished off a batch of crawfish, his accompanied by french fries and mine by pepper rings.

Whitney, Tully, and I went to Creole Creamery. Their "skyscraper" (a very tall sundae with layers of chocolate, vanilla, and cookies and cream ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, crushed Oreos, whipped cream, and a cherry) is fantastic.

Lauren's felt "left out" for a while because she's never... partook in an experience almost every "real" college student has. So we, a group of ten or so, commenced this mission at Columns happy hour. After that, some of us moved on to Taqueria Corona for dinner. Sangria, cebollitos (grilled green onions), chips, pico de gallo... and their "numero tres" (tacos, flauta, burrito, beans, rice). I made sure to get everything made of shrimp and a little fish to avoid the meat.

After that, Lauren, Storey, Nicole and I went to Creole Creamery. Yes, again. Nicole took a picture of my plaque and me. I got a "I scream fudge" ice cream soda this time. With chocolate soda. Storey and I agree: No such thing as too much chocolate.

Back here, Becca rejoined our little party, and with Steph, Sarah, and her friends watching, we recommenced the mission... armed with everclear and mixers. We played "Presidents and Assholes," and Lauren was The Asshole most of the time. Mission accomplished!

spring break part 1: NOLA

Two thirds of my break were spent here in my beloved New Orleans.

SATURDAY

Saturday I missed ALL the St. Patrick's Day parade, which is quite different from last year. I thought I slept through the first two, but I was wrong since they ran so late. Tully drove Whitney, her friend Brittany (heretoafter referred to as "The -Ittaney's") to Babylon for dinner. Chicken tecka. Yum.

Adrian came over to use the kitchen to flex his culinary muscles. Whit, Keenan, and I went down to The Quarter to close out St. Patty's. We went to Pat O'Brien's, where we celebrated with carbombs, hurricanes, and Bailey's. Whitney and I danced to Flashdance's "What A Feeling," which I guess is "our song" now. When that died down, we went to The Palms, which was dead. Whtiney passed out, but I woke her up with the smell of sirloin steak quesadillas. Adrian and Monica were very finished with dinner by then, so I went with them to The Boot for a little bit.

SUNDAY

Tully, The -Ittaneys, and I took a Sunday Drive around the city, which may have lasted a little longer than we planned. We showed her uptown, the quarter, the marigny, and some of the destruction in mid-city. We grabbed a late lunch (mmm, chirashi sushi, salmon, yellowtail, tuna, crab, shrimp, mackerel, octopus, etc) at Mikimoto. We stopped by Blockbuster to pick up DVDs for break. I borrowed three that I forgot about and almost didn't watch.

Later that night, I went with Shannon to pick up her friend Ihita, visiting from Maryland, from the airport. Those two will be hereafter referred to as "Shanita." We met up at Port O Call with The -Ittaneys and Tony for monsoons and burgers.

Shanita was tired and frustrated with the loss of luggage, so they went home. The -Ittaneys and I went to The Pub, which rocks on "Sing-A-Long Sunday" because they play old music video, particularly from the '90s. We bought several rounds and David (my favorite bartender in the world because even though I'm never there he always remembers) gave us free shots. One was an Absolut Pear Kamikaze, which Whitney loved because its main ingredient is her favorite liquor. Then she and I chased whiskey with beer 'cause Garth said so.

After that, we went to Harrah's to play slots and Blackjack. Chad and I texted a bit. He would've been proud since it was an economically productive night.

MONDAY

Monday began with the Harrah's breakfast buffet. (bacon, andouille, smoked salmon, eggs/omelets made to order, fresh fruit, etc) We all ate too much.

After a nap, I went with Shanita to The Daiq Shack to get daiqiris (Starbucks Mudslide to wake me up) and Hana to get lunch (seaweed salad and spicy tuna, crawfish, and California rolls). We took our drinks and food to The Levy for a picnic.

The -Ittaneys and Tully met up with us, armed with daiquiris, and we played Circle-of-Death/Kings until the sun went down.

Shanita and I picked up Wes and Steve and then met up with Sam at Saltwater Grill. I love that place, but be prepared to WAIT if you order oysters. But we felt Ihita needed to try them raw. She approved. The owner gave us a baker's dozen to make up for the wait.

We met up with Josh, The -Ittaneys, and Tully and went to both old and new Bruno's for more drinks and C-o-D/K. I forgot my waterproof cards, but the bartender lent us some. Good times.

TUESDAY

Tuesday I mostly recuperated before a French Quarter afternoon with Shanita. We got dinner at Arnaud's Remoulade, which doesn't serve the largest portions, but they're tasty and filling. I recommend a Taste of Nola: Seafood gumbo, stuffed crab, and red beans and rice.

We got our palms read by Jerrik and tarot done by his daughter. He was amazing. I really do think palmistry can reveal a lot about a person. Her predictions were good to; the forecast is cloudy, with an occasional storm, but beautiful real soon.

We walked down to Frenchmen, which was chill, to grab a few rounds at DBA, and we gave part of the Brangelina Tour by showing Ihita their street, Whirling Dervish, and Angeli.

Then we hit up Tropical Isle and Pat O'Brien's so she could try hand grenades and hurricanes. She prefers the grenades. I (stupidly) combined hand grenade leftovers with hurricane leftovers and chugged it. We were all drunk, so we barhopped some more. We stopped by The Pub, where it was apparently lesbian night, so that was kind of funny, and then went to Cat's Meow. I was supposed to sing "Get Ready" with Shannon on back-up vocals, but they played "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" instead. All the drunk people told me I was "the best," but consider the source. Ihitia bought a little pizza (8 inches in diameter?), and we drove home.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday we took Shannon's RAV4 to the Toyota dealership to get it checked out. We cruised the mall, like teenagers. Ihita and I hiked over (gasp) grass, her nemesis, to the Aveda Institute. She got a facial and, since it was the first day of spring, I chopped my hair off.

We went to Vietnamese lunch at Tastea Caffé. We all got bubble tea and beef. Grilled, vermicelli, and pho.

We stopped by the quarter again so Ihita could get some souvenirs.

We met up with Sam at Dick and Jenny's for dinner. I had an "escargot-boy" (a garlicky snail po-boy with creamy mushroom sauce) for an appetizer and a sampler entree (pain perdue, fried oysters, and crawfish alligator sausage cheesecake). We split a Nolamisu (tiramisu with local ingredients, Mom) and creme brulee for dessert. It's really good, but it's similarities to Jacques-Imo's invite comparison. My heart (aka stomach) still belongs to Jacques.

Back here, I went over to Whitney's to watch LOST and Saw 3, which we'd borrowed from blockbuster.

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.

my week so far

MONDAY

My parents were still in town, so between classes, Adrian and I went to lunch with them at Hana. I ordered a Hana Special Roll to share and the combo lunch (tempura, katsu, and shumai) for myself. I had my long calc midterm and after that we went (Adrian-less) to The Columns for happy hour again before hitting up Saltwater Grill for the aforementioned (in the Friday part) 25¢ oysters and red beans and rice with grilled andouille. We hung out at the hotel for a while before grabbing a very late dinner at K-Paul's.

Mom and I both started off with a cup of champagne cream of shiitake soup with sundried tomatoes. We all split a plate of fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade. My entree was a plate of duck tenders and shrimp in creole pork sauce over basmati rice. So good. K-Paul's makes their creme brulee with buried sugar pecans. Nice crunch and texture.

Then I took my parents to Harrah's since neither of them had been there yet. Mom doubled her money - at Money To Burn, Chad! - and we called it a night.

TUESDAY

No terrorism, no lunch with Tara, no screenwriting, no dinner with ben. (Canceled by Dad, canceled by her, canceled by professor, canceled by him.)

My father asked me to skip class in favor of family lunch at Felix's Uptown. Fried alligator. Sampler of red beans, jambalaya, and crawfish ettouffee.

Ben un-canceled dinner because he stopped caring about his midterm (at least for an hour), so we had dinner and caught up on each other's weekends before saying "have a good break." Just in case we don't meet up again before he leaves for Spain on Thursday.

WEDNESDAY

Adolescent Psych. Debate. No paper due, luckily. I actually took up Dining Services on their "Take-A-Professor-To-Lunch" program. So after lunch Cunningham and I went to Bruff, for free. It was fried chicken day. Awesome.

Calc. Music. Blah. Phone Calls. Fun. Nap. Great.

Lauren, David, and I went to get cannolis at Spumone in Mid-City. It was probably her best idea ever. We got cannolis, half chocolate, dusted with powdered sugar and crushed pistachios. I also sampled two flavors of gelato. (Both were so good, I couldn't pick just one.) "St. Joseph's Chocolate Almond," which was the daily special and tastes exactly like it sounds (minus the holiness), and Baci (which some of you know is Italian for "kiss"), which must be made of pure Nutella. They probably changed the name so they wouldn't get sued.

Lauren and I had dessert and then dinner. Kind of backwards. While on this Italian kick, we asked Whitney to pick us up a foot-long when she went to Subway. She was sooo nice about it, even checking exactly what we wanted. Parmesan-oregano bread, provolone or mozzarella bread. She asked if we wanted vegetables, and I replied "Are you kidding? It's LAUREN. No vegetables."

I've decided my favorite new show is "The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll." It's like America's Next Top Model but with singing, dancing, and non-clothing. I guess they want a seventh girl so that Nicole can stand in the middle.

At least it was what I watched while waiting for LOST with Whitney.

Closer to midnight, Lauren and I decided to go out. We didn't want to have to drive, so we walked to - unbelievable - TJ Quills for swiller night. We were the oldest people there. All freshmen. We saw one junior (Teddy) and one sophomore (Shivani)we knew. We played a great game of "I Never..." which is really hard when you play with someone you know well, and I managed to screw it up.

We decided to go somewhere more appropriate and wound up at Uptown Cajun. We enjoyed the Flogging Molly playlist and pitcher special for Abita. We decided to call Ted (H) since we missed him. Speaking of whom, here's my new favorite music video for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, the "group project" from last Wednesday.

"Loyola" Family Weekend 2007

I put the quotations because "Loyola," both school and student, made fewer appearances than "Tulane." Pictures coming soon.

FRIDAY

Adolescent psych. Debates. Skipped calc in favor of lunch at Franky & Johnny's with my just-arrived family and Gatto. Mom finally got boiled crawfish since she's never been here when they're in season.

We went to Columns happy hour with David and Simon in tow and when he and Adrian left, the rest of us went on a quest for my father's oysters-on-the-half-shell. Saltwater Grill apparently only serves them on Monday now (for 25¢ each!) so had to look elsewhere. We wound up at Felix's Uptown. Oysters... on-the-half-shell, Rockefeller, and chargrilled. I showed Mom my plaque at Creole Creamery next door, but we were too full of crawfish/booze/oyster and anticipating dinner, so we didn't get any ice cream.

My parents had dinner at Jacques-Imo's for the first time. We brought along David and Simon again and Whitney, who was totally hit on by Justin Long, who's better-looking in person. Or at least that's what we're going to say happened. More drinks. We split coconut shrimp, Eggplant Jacques-Imo, a few slices of shrimp and alligator sausage cheesecake for appetizers. Then we got the usual cornbread, salads, sides, and our entrees. Jacques himself came over at one point and what might be the greatest picture ever with the non-smokers and our waitress. Then, since they were impressed by the magnificence of our food consumption, she brought us ALL the desserts they were offering: a huge creme brulee, raspberry-almond cake, chocolate truffle something, and, everyone's favorite, the amazing lemon meringue cheesecake. And she gave them to us for a free as a gift from her and Jacques.

We were supposed to meet a few people for Trombone Shorty's concert at Maple Leaf Bar next door, but the wedding party there ran late and postponed the concert. Parents were tired and went back to their hotel, and we (meaning Whit, David, and I) didn't want to wait. So we went to St. Joe's (since she'd never been) for blueberry mojitos courtesy of my parents.

After that we made a wise decision and coming hom while someone could still drive. (Thanks, David.) We hung out with Claire and Ryanne at her apartment. Then I went over to Becca's to watch her blow-out all 22 of her candles (and one for good luck?). I was amazed by how beautiful the cake Amelia decorated was.


SATURDAY

Dad picked Adrian and I up and we took him to Perlis to pick up a shirt for him as a belated birthday present. We met Mom at the hotel and went to Desire: An Oyster Bar for lunch. Mom and Adrian tried boudin for the first time. I had crawfish ettoufee since the waitress said the jambalaya was too red.

We walked around The Quarter for a little bit. I showed them what Pat O'Brien's looks like in the daytime. Adrian went back to campus, and I hung out with my parents. Eventually the Benedicto Family, who live in Baton Rouge, arrived: My mom's cousin Coco, her husband Ryan, and my beautiful 10-month-old cousin Antonia.

We went with them to my father's belated (by choice) brthday dinner was at Emeril's. For our amuse-bouche, they served wonton-wrapped crawfish remoulade. I tried out their four-course tasting menu for the evening: Gulf wahoo ceviche with avocado and crispy yucca; basil-rubbed yellowtail snapper over creamy polenta with rapini, roasted garlic cloves and tomato confit; grilled North Atlantic sturgeon with red-wine-whipped potatoes and shallot bacon veal sauce; and, raspberry rice pudding with half a honey-roasted peach.

I met up with my friends for Becca's birthday at Pat O'Brien's. And I took my mom out too! Partly because I wanted to show her Pat O's and the fire fountain at night but mostly because a lot of my friends have been dying to meet her for years. We ran into Ben and his Frenchies first and then the birthday fest, hidden behind yet another wedding party. I'm not sure whether she impressed or scared my friends by knowing some of their names (from my pictures and stories). A lot of people thought she was my friend or sister. Luckily no one thought she was my date (like that woman at her office whom I punched in the face, or at least wanted to). She was worried they'd think she was some crazy "old lady," but I assured her everyone told me they were jealous what a cool mom I had. We gave Becca the requisite birthday kisses and then I got us hurricanes and gave my mommy the souvenir glasses.

The incomparable moment of the night was the present Becca got. The groom was about to give Becca a lap dance when his wife stepped in and was like "no fucking way" and told him to have his best man do it. So the best man gave Becca a pretty elaborate lab dance. Not that his wife was all too please with it after the firwt minute.

Walking down Bourbon St with my mother reminded me of the first time I walked down it, which was also with her when I visited Tulane as a skeptical prospective around this time in senior year of high school. Except back then I was sober. And so was she. She took pictures of balconies (to compare to the ones of them she took of them empty and somber in daylight), and we did the booty call with about twenty people in the street at one point. After I walked her back to the hotel, I went back to Harrah's with everyone before going to Boot O'Clock to close out the night. Claire had her first Boot pizza, another Tulane visit necessity, and then I hugged her bye since I wouldn't see her before her noon flight.


SUNDAY

We went to Commander's Palace for Jazz Brunch, which was better than I remember. The parents invited the Benedicto Family, Adrian invited Simon, and I invited Ben. The Jazz was good. The frontman had unbelievable energy, an incredibly wide smile, and what Ben noted was "a very Louisiana accent." Thicker than gumbo. All the courses were delicious, but everyone agreed the Bread Pudding Soufflé with Bourbon Sauce was the most amazing thing served and more than worth the wait.

Then the Benedictos left for BR. Everyone else intensely wanted afternoon naps/hibernations from weekend antics and overeating, so we went our separate ways. I ended up missing 6 o'clock mass with my family because I forgot to spring my alarm clock forward. By the way, I HATE SPRING FORWARD. We should just fall back until everything is even again. We were a little hungry (not that much considering brunch) so went and grabbed some oysters and other finger-foods at Felix's. This time we definitely got a few scoops at Creole Creamery, Mom and I split some chocolate amaretto cheesecake and the pink peppermint pie Rachel recommended.

We went back to the hotel suite and eventually I met up with Mike, visiting from Chicago, for a late dinner at Red Fish Grill. We had a few cocktails and shared some 1-1-1 soup (samples of crawfish bisque, turtle soup, and gumbo) and southwest salad. He had the blackened redfish and I the crawfish crusted black drum. And naturally after dinner we had a few more drinks...

Having that comfy queen size hotel bed all to myself at the end of the night was amazing.

P.S. trois more Mardi Gras pictures

All of these photos are courtesy of Evian White via Lauren Mitchell.

with Evian, Lauren, and Peter at Bruno's on Sunday Gras

Lundi Gras: waitin' line at Cafe du Monde

Steph's not actually lonely, and we're not actually judging her.

Mardi Gras '07: part three

Krewe of Thoth float and riders

this Bacchus float looks delicious.

this was prompted by my "I like girls that like girls" t-shirt.

bead balcony on Bourbon

Trojan horse float in the Proteus parade

tippin' the flambeaux man

Krewe of Orpheus' locomotive

with Ben after parades on Lundi Gras

some guy decorating the tree outside our apartment at 4a.m.

H.R.M. King Zulu '07

at the end of a fantastic, last, Mardi Gras morning

Mardi Gras '07: part two

liftin' Lindsay to get more beads

with Ben between parades

with Carter and boas

piano man at Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar

apparently it'll be a huge party. see y'all there!

H.R.M. King Okeanos '07

Stephanie, Peter, and their sunglasses

happy 22nd, Ben!

Hmmm, since my last update: Classes, LOST, sleep, classes, lunch with Tara but this time on the sunny beautiful quad, errands, and laundry. Then Shannon and I went to a screening of Amazing Grace, which was pretty good for a PG movie. She and I were most excited, respectively, about the chick from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and Mr. Fantastic playing the romantic leads.

Ioan Gruffudd and Romola Garai pre-Amazing Grace

After that I went out with Ben and Katy&Co for his birthday and spent the moments we were not drinking trying to cheer him and convince him that 22 is not that old. (Especially considering that I'll be the same age in less than two weeks.). Pub, free champagne, expensive champagne, Clover Grill for special club sandwiches and french fries.

from last Friday but pretendin' it's from yesterday

Lundi Gras

My day began with wakeup by Peter and a phone call with Ben. All our newly awakened, hoarse-from-too-much-partying-and-drinking, Tara Reid voices sounded exactly the same. A shower fixed that.

Lauren, her friend Evian, Stephanie, and I went to Mother's Restaurant downtown for lunch. It was amazing. Evian doesn't eat red meat or seafood so she got a chicken poboy, but the rest of us formulated a plan of attack that would get us what I consider the best stuff Mother's Menu has to offer: Ferdi's Po-Boy, a dressed po-boy of roast beef, ham, debris, and cheese; the combination plate (Jerry's Jambalaya, crawfish ettoufee, red beans and rice); a fried oyster plate; and an absolute overload of potato salad. Then we split some delicious peach bread pudding for dessert.

After that we walked down bourbon so Evian could see it, showed her Pat O'Brien's, bought drinks. and had a sang the afternoon away at their Piano Bar before walking to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and by the river.

We went back uptown to Ben's place for Proteus and Orpheus where David and OMG Sylvia(!!!), with Jack in tow, joined us. We went out to dinner at Nacho Mama's after and pretty much dove headfirst into some guac. I highly recommend the shrimp and bacon quesadilla.

We left dinner at eleven to finalized plans for our last Mardi Gras.

Satur(ated )day

So I woke up around four in the afternoon, I think. I returned a few phone calls and considered having the remainder of Marney's chocolate chip cookies for breakfast when Carter called. He came over to pick me up and apologize for the night before. (And I'm cool with everyone now even though I went to bed cursing everyone who was part of my night from 3AM to 9AM.) We went to "brunch" (really dinner) at Port of Call. Huge burgers, extremely loaded baked potatoes, and their signature "monsoon" drinks.

We watched Endymion from downtown. Some 13 year old girl with a mother nowhere in sight had taken off her shirt and was jumping up and down demanding beads from all the floats. She lots of them and lots of disapproving looks from riders and passersby alike. After the parade we hit up Handsome Willy's in the Central Business District. It's undoubtedly the coolest bar in the CBD because they had a television set dedicated to a SUPER NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. So we played Mortal Kombat 3 and Mario Kart. (I forgot how much the 90s liked spelling C-words with Ks.) Good times.

After that, we showed Alex the craziness of Bourbon and got him the signature drinks. Pat O'Brien's hurricane, Tropical Isle hand grenade, etc. The crazy Christians told us we were all going to hell, but I met my new hero... a sane Christian holding up a huge sign saying "I'm sorry" to apologize for all the nut jobs who misrepresent us.

We left Carter and Will to Napoleon's Itch and went to the dance club next to Napoleon's Itch, where some girl offered to give me head for the huge beads I had on and I was sure it wasn't worth it 'cause she was gross. We then started heading back to Esplanade and Bourbon where we parked. (We had fantastic luck with parking spots this weekend, even better than Ryanne Clarke's.) Carter and Will went to Cafe Lafitte in Exile (gay bar) while Alex and I hit up Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar (oldest bar in the quarter).

We finished off the night in the piano bar of Lafitte's before heading home to crash so we could get up on Sunday for the big camp out!

F-ed Up Friday

It was... in both the good way and the bad way.

First class: Canceled after we turned in our discussion topics. Second class: Short. Third class: First exam. SERIOUSLY WHO GIVES AN EXAM THAT'S NOT ON THE SYLLABUS AT THE START OF THE YEAR ON THE LAST FRIDAY BEFORE MARDI GRAS SAYING THE ONLY OTHER DAY WE COULD HAVE HAD IT IS THE FIRST DAY AFTER MARDI GRAS AND DOESN'T OFFER MAKE-UPS? Joyce. That's who.

After that, I checked mail and found I'd gotten a package of homemade chocolate chip cookies from Marney, mother of my brother's best friend, lovely woman that she is. Makes me wonder what she send Adrian or her own actual son. That was a nice pick-me-up after the exam

Carter & Co came over to meet up with Peter and me, and we went to happy hour at the boot for a quick round before some shopping on Magazine St. (Apparently Carter missed certain stores and me as a "shopping buddy.") We picked up some new duds at the style lab and found exact replacements of ruined clothing at buffalo exchange.

Ben was nice enough to put us on the guest list for watching the Krewes of Hermes, D'Etat, and Morpehus at his St. Charles condo, so we stopped by The A&P to pick up some ice, Jim Beam, and a bottle of Grey Goose as a present for our gracious host. (We later found out that during the parades I ended up drinking half the bottle of Beam by myself; no mixers for it and no one else wanted it straight up.)

After the parades, we went to Sake Cafe and had a sushi feast and then went to Bruno's for a few rounds. Ben and Peter went their separate ways, but I went to Frenchmen Street with Carter & Co. Cafe Negril had an amazing live reggae band playing, and James Gandolfini was hanging out there too. We made eye contact and I mouthed "Tony Soprano." He responded with a smile and handshake and told me Happy Mardi Gras. Awesome

The rest of the night (or morning since it was 3AM at that point) went downhill from there. We should have followed Tony Soprano's lead and gone home and crashed, but we didn't.

A few highlights of the short version are:

• loud, sloppy Bourbon St
• tired and drunk and annoyed at the bar
• Carter&Co, aka my ride home, wanted to stay
• quest for a cab with Ben
• We became the drunk guys with dead cell phones and no rides.
• minor bitchfest with Ben
• almost fist fight with cab driver
• loud altercation at my front door with Carter

The story ends with me going to bed at 9AM.

All's well that ends well.

And this weekend definitely did.

I started post-Bruno's today by showing Steven and Katie around the new UC. They recognize a lot of it. When we left, a pair of drunk girls stumbled up the stairs. (Katie's sorority memories came flooding back. Chi O, for those of you who care.)

The two girls were like "Are you prospies??? You should totally come to Tulane!" (I guess they were still observant enough to notice that I was, in a way, giving a tour.)

And I told them that they were actually graduates, and I was a senior.

"Really. Come to Tulane!"

Whatever.

As we were walking out, another pair of drunk girls (perhaps the same) stumbled out after us.
They were yelling, so we could hear them get into a fight about which had the other's cell phone and who loved the other more, culmating in one calling the other a "smelly butt-whore."

Next time I get shitfaced, I know what I'm going to call someone.

After a couple of hours of sleep, I met up with Steven and Katie again for lunch. I also got to meet Steven's brother Matt for the first time, so now I can proudly say I've met the entire Brooksher family.

Fiesta Bistro, for those of who haven't been, is a restaurant on Carrolton that serves Spanish tapas (for appetizers or to combine into a meal) and Mexican entrees. They also have $2 mimosas all-day on Sunday. We got patatas bravas, manchego flambe, taco salads, and steak quesadillas.

As I was coming back to my room, I saw Ryanne, Steve, and Tully. They invited me to go see Krewe of Barkus (the dog parade) in the French Quarter. So I went.

As we were walking to the route after parking, we came across a peculiar creature... a mix of a poodle and a dalmation. Use your imagination. I christened it a "poomation," which sounds like something disgusting used for winter holiday television programming. Ryanne came up with a better title, "dalmadoodle."

Two other choice conversation excerpts were:

Steve: "Balls aren't funny, but blue balls are."
Ryanne: "Blue balls are funny? I'll have to remind you that next time."

Ryanne: "And when it's $5 per box..."
Tully: "Oh, is that what you regularly charge?"

After Barkus, we stopped by The Creole Creamery on the way home.

Shannon and I went to Target to get a few things, grabbed some Chinese food for dinner (some kind of chicken each and white rice) and then saw Pan's Labyrinth, which was awesome. A beautifully macabre fairytale. After watching, I took issue with something, but after thinking about it, the issue disappeared. Just be aware if you don't understand Spanish, you'll have to do some subtitle reading.

It should win at least half of its six Oscar nominations.

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.

weekend/month over???

I don't know where time goes. Stephanie is finally 21. We all trekked down to Harrah's and then Pat O's for some festive celebrating.

Other notable moments of the weekend were cooking dinner with Adrian and the Tulane return to the Superdome. We students returned too, armed with daiquiris and beer. Close game but we lost.

photo courtesy of Stephanie Choy and her blog

a pic I took: cheerleaders encouragin' the green wave to roll.

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, so all the Gentiles wanted to go to lunch. I got like three phone calls at noon. I'd already made plans with Rachel to go to Nirvana but unfortunately forgot it's closed on Monday, so we went to Theo's. I'd never been. It was pretty good.

Adrian tried to do an international conference call to our parents in Bali the other night, and it didn't work. (I assume they were still sleeping 'cause it was like eight in the morning, and they were on vacation.) But they conference-called us both last night and were back in the continental states. And that's great because now I can more often quote the funny things they say.

And for you fellow youtube and Disney freaks, here's a live performance from a few weeks ago to commemorate the release of a certain double-disc dvd today.

blah blah, whatever whatever

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

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

But I digress from my life.

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

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

"The Volcano" or fountain, whichever you prefer

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

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