February 2005

Feb152005

Valentine’s Day

Things were pretty quiet at work today. Dad and I were the only ones in the office today with the exception of a few patients as Deidre wasn’t in the office today. I had a little dictation and some filing to keep me occupied for a while. It was because of this that we needed to be in the office for nine so I had to wake up a lot earlier than usual. We left after five. Dad took me uptown for class this evening. Dr. Houston discussed our online community reviews this evening. She liked my work this time, a nice change. This gave me a chance to relax a little during the ‘writing workshop’ period of the class. There was a short lecture of word usage afterward regarding vocabulary, diction and avoiding clich’s. I walked to Melanie’s house after class to visit for a while. She gave me some cookies she baked and made me a CD, complete with liner notes, which was exceedingly sweet. We talked and such for a while before Dad picked me up after 11. I listened to the CD after I got home and went to bed shortly thereafter.

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Feb142005

Sunday at Home

I remained at home for the rest of the day after church this morning. I napped for a while before dinner. Later in the evening I worked on my message board review while the Grammy’s were on. I continued working on it after everyone else went to bed and finished around 1 AM. I went to bed not long after.

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Feb122005

Hitch

I woke up feeling a bit sickly this morning, likely due to the crappy night’s sleep I had. I wasn’t able to get myself together in time to go with Dad to Tulane’s baseball games today. The house was empty not long after I got up. I watched some TV for a while. Khadijah came by around three. She visited for a couple hours. I made us both some lunch shortly after she arrived. She looked through a box full of old pictures I’d taken. We both played Halo 2 for a little while. We finally heard from Andrey around five. He came by to pick us up after seven to go eat and see a movie. I still wasn’t feeling quite right but I figured I’d be better off out of the house and moving a bit. We went to Chevy’s, which is right in front of The Palace. I wasn’t really hungry but I was convinced it was in my best interest to eat something so I got a plate of quesadillias. I was only able to eat half of it. After dinner we went to the movies. It took a few minutes to decided to see Hitch. We had a bit of a wait before it started seating so we went to the arcade for a little while. We took our seats just a few minutes after they started seating. It was a good things as the theater grew full before the movie started. If nothing else, Hitch was pretty funny, although a bit long. The originality of the premise is also debatable. I can recall no other ‘date doctor’ movie but the ‘cool black guy’ teaches ‘dorky white guy’ has been done more than once. It was certainly enjoyable however, high praise given my disdain for romantic comedies. Andrey took us home after the movie. I was on the computer for a while, catching up on this log before going to bed around three.

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Feb112005

Huey’s Diner and Million Dollar Baby

I had to get up a good deal earlier than usual this morning as Dad wanted me at work around nine. Ami rode along so Dad could take her to the airport after dropping me off. There was enough dictation to keep me busy through most of the work day. We had some trouble with the printer so Dad decided to buy another one as they cost about as much as the drum cartridges anyway and he could use the one we have for the east office. However, he returned with a similar model that was just a fax machine and unable to print from a computer so I had to pack it back up after opening it. We left the office around three. Dad dropped me off downtown as I was seeing Melanie for dinner this evening. I was rather early and I had a couple hours to kill. I sat in the Pelican Bar at the Sheraton with orange juice and a bowl of munchies for company. While I was there, I spoke with Khadijah on the phone, who said she and Andrey would be able to join us later for a movie. Melanie arrived on time at five. We walked around the hotel to a little place called Huey’s Diner for dinner. It’s a small, sharp-looking restaurant. We both had hamburgers, neither of us were able to finish them. We left the diner just before six. We had just over an hour before the movie started so we went the lobby in the Wyndam at Canal Place to sit around and talk for a little while before going to the theater. We heard from Khadijah while there. She said she had not yet heard from Andrey and it looked like they wouldn’t be joining us. We left the lobby at twenty to seven to get our seats in the movie. We went to see Million Dollar Baby, an impressive, if somewhat depressing Clint Eastwood movie. After we left the theater, I returned Dad’s phone call. He had come from Tulane’s first baseball game of the season to Canal Place after the movie to pick us up. He was on the second floor looking for a bathroom so he came up to the third to meet us. The one of that floor was locked so we suggested he try the hotel lobby on the 11th floor. We went up with him. While Melanie and I were waiting I realized I left my watch in the theater. Melanie and I went right back to the theater and I retrieved my watch and then went back to meet dad. He was parked right outside the mall. We took Melanie home and then we went home ourselves. We stopped at the grocery store on the way to get milk and toothpaste. Later in the evening I talked to Khadijah on the phone for a while before going to bed around three. I had trouble getting to sleep though as my waterbed had been unplugged and was quite cold throughout the evening.

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Feb102005

Ami's Last Day in New Orleans

Ami and I left the house after 11, having taken our good old time to get up and about. We walked to the bus stop across Gen. De Gaulle to go downtown. We were pretty unlucky in catching the bus. After waiting for a while I called RTA and found it would be over a half hour before the next bus was to come. She suggested we walk up the street instead of just waiting around, and we did. We eventually made our way to Huntlee Dr. and decided to stop and wait there. Some Karr students joined us in waiting just after we got there. One of the students recognized Ami as Melissa’s sister. We spoke with them briefly before the bus arrived. The bus got pretty crowded as it made it’s way closer to the river. We got off at on Loyola and went into the library where we were to meet Khadijah, who had been there for a little while working on a paper for an art class. We had no trouble finding her on the 2nd floor. We remained at the library until it closed at 6 PM. We all managed to remain occupied throughout that time. While there we saw Mr. Novacov, who was an administrator at Edna Karr for quite a while, including the years we attended. Before leaving I checked out some CDs, including Beethioven’s nine symphonies. After leaving the library we walked down to the Quarter so Ami could pick up a gift for her mother. While we were ‘shopping,’ we spoke with Melanie and invited her to join us this evening at Ms. Belinda’s place to watch a movie or something. Surprisingly, she accepted. With Ami’s purchase out of the way, we walked to Canal St. to stop somewhere to get something to eat. We were gonna go to McDonalds but Kali wanted to go to a Chinese place next door so we did. I wasn’t hungry and didn’t get anything. After Ami and Khadijah had finished, we walked to the bus stop to do to Khadijah’s place. I called Melanie on the way home. She said she’d be unable to come. We got off the bus in front of Tall Timbers. I talked to Dad and he gave us a short ride from there to Ms. Belinda’s house. It’s pretty close but it would have taken 20 minutes to walk. We watched TV and talked for a while. Ami and I took a cab home before two.

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Feb092005

DDR and Cheesecake

After taking our good old time to get up, Ami and I went to visit Andrey this afternoon. He came to pick us up around noon. It was raining rather heavily when he arrived so he just came inside for a little while. We left a few minutes later, the rain let up a little bit, but not too much. Andrey took us to his house to hang out for a while. While there we talked and played DDR for a while. Ami and I intended to go downtown in the evening and meet Khadijah later, as she was coming in town this evening. Andrey was unable to join us this evening but he was willing and able to take us to the ferry. He dropped us off there around four. Ami wanted to do a little shopping so we went to the Riverwalk after getting across. We were there for a little while we walked around a bit. Ami bought some jewelry and a smoothie while there. We eventually left and decided to go eat. We had to wait a few minutes for a train to pass outside the Riverwalk. After it did we walked up N. Peters to the Virgin Megastore so Ami could look for some CDs. We were there for a little while, Ami did buy some things. After leaving there we decided to go eat. I hadn’t really thought about where to go so we just started walking. We soon walked by the Gumbo Shop, a place I had been recently and know is decent so we ate there. I had the crawfish etouffee and Ami had a sandwich she didn’t like. While we were there, Khadijah called and said she was on her way from the airport. We arranged to meet her after Ami and I finished dinner. When we did finish we heard from her again and walked to Canal and St. Charles to meet her. We stood there for a few minutes. She called again and asked us to meet her down the street at a hotel where a friend of hers works. We met her there and spoke briefly before expressing a need to eat something. We walked into the hotel to a restaurant inside called ‘Cobalt,’ an expensive, well-decorated place with a very sparce menu. It didn’t take long for Kali to decide she didn’t want to eat there. It did take a few minutes to convince herself to to get up and leave though. Not long after getting outside she deciced she wanted to go to the Cheesecake Bistro, which was a little ways down St. Charles. We walked there, although it was a longer stroll than I first thought. It must have taken around 20 minutes to get there. We were seated about ten minutes after we arrived. Having just eaten I didn’t really want anything so I just got a drink. I did try some of Khadijah’s crawfish egg rolls though. Ami was the only one who got cheesecake. We were there for a few hours. We sat in the lobby of the adjacent hotel for a few minutes while we waited for our ride to arrive, courtesy of a friend of Khadijah’s, Robert. Before going home, we stopped at Wal-Mart because Khadijah needed some groceries for tomorrow. Ami and I went inside with her while Robert waited in the car. It didn’t take too long but we could have been faster. Ami and I got home around midnight. Instead of going right to bed like a should have, I watched Crimson Tide, which was actually pretty decent. Lights out at three.

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Feb082005

Mardi Gras 2005

I got up around 9:45 this morning and got ready to leave the house for the day. Ami had called the night before and asked to stay at my parent’s place for the remainder of her stay in New Orleans, for reasons I already well understood. She had asked that we pick her up in the morning so Dad and I left the house around 10:30 to pick her up from the place she was staying on Freret St. We were able to get there with little trouble although we had to take Tchoupitoulas to avoid the Rex and Zulu parades which were running this morning. We arrived shortly after 11. Dad dropped off Ami and I on Canal St. and took her bags home with him. Neither of us had eaten yet so we went to get some lunch. We walked to the Olde Nawlins Cookery. I got the crawfish etouffee and Ami got red beans and rice. Although I’m rather fond of the bread pudding there, I didn’t have any room for it. While we were eating, we talked with Bianca. She agreed to meet us a little later. After lunch, we walked around a bit, through Bourbon St. a bit and eventually made our way up Canal St. to where we’d meet Bianca. The Zulu parade was passing down Canal while we were walking so we saw a good portion of the procession. Bianca made it across the river while the parade was still going on. Ami and I were on the opposite side of the street and I thought we’d have to wait for the parade to end before we could cross to get to her. Bianca found a way though and surprised us by finding her way right behind us and yelling. We all stayed for the remainder of the parade and caught a handful of throws. After the parade, Bianca wanted to visit a couple of shop to we wandered through the quarter to one of them and only stayed for a couple minutes. We then took a ‘scenic route’ to the other one and found it was closed. We continued meandering our way through the quarter until we deemed it necessary to sit down somewhere for a while. Bianca hadn’t eaten yet so we eventually found a place and took a table in Angeli on Decatur. Service was rather slow but that didn’t matter much since we wanted chairs more than food. I just got a drink and Bianca got a sandwich. Ami had a piece of cheesecake. While we were there it rained for a bit, setting the tone of the weather for the rest of the evening. Ami wanted to go to the Virgin Megastore afterward. We walked there and found it was closed. We then decided to try the Riverwalk and made our way there. We walked through there for a little while. Ami bought some jewelry while there. We didn’t stay at the Riverwalk very long and eventually made our way out to see if there were any more parades to catch. We walked up Canal and took a spot to see the rest of the Trucks parade. It’s a pretty long procession of some rather generic looking floats pulled by big-rig tractors. Ami and Bianca had a lot of fun collecting throws from the parade. Ami built another weighty collection of beads around her neck. After the parade ended a little before six, we walked a short distance to McDonalds to get something to eat. We just took some seats for a little bit while Bianca tried to sort through and untangle all the beads they got. We eventually did get some food when the crowd in the restaurant died down a bit. Having sorted beads and eaten, we left and made our way to Bourbon St. We walked most of the length of the street in the quarter, treading carefully through the crowds and over the trash, as well as taking in the ‘sights.’ I found things to be reasonably tame as compared to the anecdotal evidence I’ve heard in the past. The crowds were pretty thick but not so bad that you couldn’t move. Having walked down a ways and past most of the circumstance, we walked across to Royal St., where the crowds and the atmosphere were a bit more subdued. We made our way to Caf Du Monde to sit down for a bit and get some beignets. We all split and order. Bianca said she needed to be home a bit early and wanted to take the bus home so walked with her up garbage-laden Canal St. to the bus stop and waited with her for the bus to arrive. It must have been about ten minutes for it to arrive. It did and we said our goodbyes. Ami and I then made our way down Common to the Pelican Bar at the Sheraton for my parents to arrive to pick us up. They went to Aunt Dionne’s this evening to visit and drop off my brothers who were spending the night there. We were there for a little while. We both got something to drink and talked for a bit. Ami called Khadijah and we both spoke with her briefly about her upcoming stay in New Orleans tomorrow night. My parents arrived around ten and we went home. After getting home I cleaned up and got some laundry started. I’ll also need to clean my shoes. Ami and I watched an episode of Carnivale we both missed from Sunday before going to bed. Ami took my room and I slept in my brother’s room as they were both away at present. I typed up this entry before going to bed at two o’clock.

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Feb072005

The End of Fuses

Today was pretty dull as compared to the last few days. I was home all day as I never really heard from anybody about plans to go anywhere. I heard from Bianca in the early afternoon but nothing materialized so I spent the day at home. The only event of circumstance today was some electrical work being done on the house. We had a fuse box in the back of the house which had been a growing source of problems, none of any real seriousness though. A set of outlets in the kitchen went out yesterday and the fuse was not to blame. An electrician replaced the ailing fuse box with a set of circuit breakers, fixing a few problems and putting an end to the repeated hassle of changing fuses. The process seemed rather quick, the power was shut off in the house for only a couple hours. My parents also got a pretty good deal price wise, in spite of having them come on such short notice, and arguably on a holiday around here. Late in the evening I watched a movie while I folded some socks, which I had washed earlier.

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Feb062005

Ami and Bacchus

Later in the afternoon after church, I went to meet Ami and Shani in the Quarter, both of whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I haven’t seen Ami since she moved to Arizona last August. Dad dropped me off at the ferry landing just before five. I met them in front of Caf Du Monde after getting across. We decided to go eat and walked to the Hard Rock Caf down the street. It was crowded but we were seated promptly. I just had the house cheeseburger and fries. Having eaten we stopped in Walgreen’s briefly so Ami could get something. We then walked across the street to the Virgin Megastore and ended up browsing around in there for a good while. After we left there we weren’t really sure what to do. I suggested we walk to the Pelican Bar at the Sheraton. When we got to Canal St. we saw that the Bacchus parade had not yet passed and decided to wait and see it. We stood on Canal and Magazine for a good while before it arrived. It was more than somewhat cold outside, but not unbearable. The parade did finally arrive perhaps an hour after we took out spots. It was a nice parade, but being at the end of the route meant there were substantial gaps in the procession, which kinda killed the mood in my opinion. When the first float arrived where we were, there was some sort of problem with the tractor that was pulling it. Another tractor arrived and the parade resumed 15 minutes later. That delay didn’t do much for the gaps though, although they grew a bit less significant as the parade progressed. The floats were generous with their throws. I don’t really get into catching things but I caught a healthy number of beads that would have otherwise hit me in the face. I got hit a few times anyway, once in the head with a bag of white ones. After the parade passed I called Dad to meet him at the bar he was at nearby. He was no longer there though, as he went to pickup Jeff. I decided to walk with the girls to Shani’s car, parked on Frenchman St. As we were walking, Dad made his way to Frenchman St. to meet me. We stopped on the way a couple times as Shani ran into people she know. I said goodbye to Ami and Shani when I reached Dad’s car. We went home and arrived around 1 AM. I finished watching Soylent Green and went to bed.

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Feb052005

Endymion and the Associated Party

I wasn’t really sure how I was going to spend my day this morning. Ami arrived from Arizona this morning and I was invited to a party this afternoon. I decided over the course of the afternoon to go to the Endymion hosted by a friend of Melanie’s. Dad dropped me off before 4:30 in the afternoon, just before the parade started. I had considerable trouble reaching the house on City Park Avenue where the party was. It took me well over a half hour to reach the house. There was no answer the first and second times I went, and I wasn’t even sure if anyone was there. Making a cell call was diffucult in the area so I was unsure where she was. By about six o’clock I was pretty pissed, feeling I had wasted my time. I went back to the house a third time and someone finally answered. I pounded on the door this time. Melanie had been there since three o’clock, which wasn’t exactly reassuring. After having a warm place to sit for a while with good company I regained my good mood. It was a nice little party with about 30 people I didn’t know. Apparently Melanie was only acquainted with just a few herself. Later in the evening Melanie, myself and a handful of other guests watched Ghostbusters and later Labyrinth. It was an interesting crowd to watch the movies with as many seemed to know all the lines. Later in the evening, Melanie’ father offered to give me a ride home, which was rather nice. I got back sometime after one and went to bed not long after.

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Feb042005

Day at Work – Evening with Melanie

I went to work today, slightly earlier than usual but still late by the world’s standards. I took lunch not terribly long after arriving. I got ham and swiss on toast and cheese fries from the deli across the street and ate there, as there was no space to eat at the office. I worked on reports until we left the office around three, after Dad finished getting some mailing ready to go. I went to visit Melanie at her house this afternoon; Dad took me over there after work. Not too long after I arrived, Melanie decided I had to see The Blues Brothers, one of those classics I haven’t got around to yet. Melanie made tacos for dinner after the movie was over. We decided to watch some TV while eating. We decided to watch A Knight’s Tale. It then occurred to Melanie’s sister, Lauren, that they had it on DVD and there was a certain logic to just watching that, so they found the movie and put it in. Melanie and I talked and such for a while after we finished watching the movie. Dad picked me up after eleven. He had Jeff with him, who he had picked up from Aunt Dionne’s. I think I may have continued watching Red Beard after I got home but I’m not entirely sure.

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Feb032005

Salty White Beans

Marketing class was short this afternoon. Ms. Snell briefly discussed consumer behavior. Dad picked me up after class to take me to work. We remained until six when we went home. We had white beans for dinner, which Dad had prepared before we left this morning.

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Feb022005

Now Quite as Bad Wednesday

I woke up feeling more miserable today than yesterday but hoped I would feel better as I took some Sudafed for my allergy symptoms. I got to work around 11:30. I vacuumed and did a report and then had lunch. I felt a good deal better after lunch and continued working until we left the office around three. Dad dropped me off in front of the school on St. Charles and I walked up to the library. I remained there for a couple hours. I left shortly after five to walk to this evening’s class. We watched Sunset Blvd. in film this evening. It’s a good movie that I’ve seen before. There was some trouble getting started though as the projector wasn’t getting any electricity. Some folks came by with an extension cord to get it working. A fuse must have blown as the outlet near my seat was out too. Class was dismissed immediately after the movie just after eight. I walked up to Freret as I was going to take a bus downtown to meet dad who was at the Hornet’s game this evening with Andrew. The medical school shuttle was there and I just caught it before it left. After the short ride to Tulane Ave., I walked down to Canal St. to go to the Sheraton to have a seat for a while until the game was over. I had forgotten that there were three Mardi Gras parades this evening so I walked right into an nice big crowd. There was a parade going by as just as I was walking down. I had to take a couple detours to get where I was going. I finally took a seat in the Pelican Bar and sat for a while. Dad called around 9:30. I figured he could just pick me up behind the hotel but I didn’t yet know there was another parade right behind the one I saw so roads were still blocked. I walked up to Tulane and University where Dad picked me up. I was up for a while on the computer before going to bed in the evening.

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Feb012005

Not the Best Tuesday

The runny nose and allergy symptoms I’ve been having these last few days became more than a nuisance today. I felt pretty crappy all day. I got through this morning’s marketing class ok. Ms. Snell went through chapter four and I got a copy of the textbook. Dad picked me up after class to take me to work. I did a good number of reports, although I felt rather miserable. I didn’t do much work after doc arrived. I sat in the back for about an hour and tried to rest my eyes a bit. I decided no to go to this evening’s class, although I didn’t leave the office till after seven this evening so there was no great benefit. I ate dinner when we got home, Dad started some slow-cooked white beans before work this morning. I went to bed early not too long after that around nine. I didn’t sleep very well between illness and the loud rain around 3 AM.

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February 2005

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