Tulane vs. UCF – Game 1

I didn’t have class today because of the holiday. Dad had the office closed for Good Friday so I didn’t work either. Dad and I went to the Tulane baseball game this evening versus the University of Central Florida. If I remember right, there wasn’t all that much of a crowd this evening. There wasn’t a lot of scoring or hitting going on in this game. No runs were scored until the bottom of the fourth when Tulane got one run in on three hits. In the bottom of the eighth, Tulane scored four runs when Matt Riser hit a grand slam home run after three walks, bringing the score to 5-0. UCF made the ninth interesting, getting one run in, but not enough to win. The final was 5-1. I don’t remember doing anything in particular this evening.

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Apr132006

Ray Nagin Speaks at Tulane

I didn’t go to work today. Dad had some errands to run so I guess it wouldn’t have been practical for me to go to the office. I do have enough work waiting for me though. Dad dropped me off downtown sometime around two in front of Canal Place. It reopened a while ago and I was curious to see how many stores were open. Most of the shops were open but the anchor store, Saks, was closed, as was Kenneth Cole. I walked up Canal Street, stopping at a camera shop on the way. I bought an SD card reader, only because it has a USB extension cord, which I’ve been unable to find recently. I took the 3:10 shuttle downtown. I decided to peek into the bookstore to say hi to Larry, but he was out sick. There wasn’t really time for me to stop at the library this afternoon so I just went to the Richardson 107 and waited with my laptop for a little over a half hour for class to start. This afternoon’s psychology class was a continuation of the lecture about personality that began last Friday. Class was dismissed just after 5:30. This evening’s Consumer behavior class had something to do with situational influences on purchasing decisions. There were eight students in attendance tonight, if I remember right. We got out of that class at about 7:30. Rather than go home after class this evening, I went to a college democrats meeting in Jones Hall. I saw on a posted flyer that Mayor Ray Nagin was speaking this evening so I decided to check it out as I’m not entirely decided on who I’ll be voting for in the upcoming election on the 22nd. Either there was a slight scheduling mix up or the mayor was a few minutes late, as were a lot of students. The mayor started out by asking the audience what they thought his opening statement should cover. A couple students raised some issues regarding the rebuilding of the city and how illegal immigrants fit into the situation. After speaking for a bit, Mr. Nagin took questions from the audience for a while. I don’t remember any of them being especially unusual in nature. I was lucky enough to get the last question of the night. I asked the mayor about the circumstances surrounding a story that made the national news a while back. A company apparently offered the city some five million dollars to remove all the flooded cars from New Orleans. City hall turned it down and now have a contract with a firm that is charging something like $20 million to do the work. The Mayor said they were unable to pursue the former contract because of a FEMA regulation, a satisfactory, although slightly disenchanting answer. Before I left I said hello to Juan Lafonta, a state representative that my Dad knows through business. I took a late shuttle home and Dad picked me up downtown.

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Apr122006

Business Man’s Special

Rather than going to work this morning, Dad and I went to see Tulane’s baseball team play Nicholls State this afternoon. Things didn’t look great early in the game. Tulane wasn’t hitting the ball. Nicholls State scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings. Tulane finally answered in the bottom of the sixth with six runs, partially possible by a couple of errors by the opposing team. Each team scored one more run in the eighth, bringing the final score to 7-4. Although it was certainly a nice Tulane win, they certainly could have looked better against such mediocre opposition. While we were at the game, Dad was approached by a WWL TV reporter, who asked to interview him, mostly regarding the fact that we were at a baseball game in the middle of the work day. He returned later between innings and conducted the interview, which didn’t take long. We stopped at McDonalds after the game because Dad wanted some lunch. I had something to eat at the game so I wasn’t hungry. After he finished we went to the office for a little while. Although I had some work I could have been doing, I never got around to it. We left around five, having accomplished nothing really. We went to Lakeside mall afterwards. AT the time I thought there was a Journey’s there, but it’s actually at the Esplanade. Dad and I stopped in a number of stores. I ran into Don Aperwhite, a former classmate from Karr at one of them, where he was working. Sadly, I didn’t know his name until I looked it up in the yearbook so wouldn’t have to leave a blank space here. I only bought a few t-shirts from Gap. We saw the news when we got home, channel four used a couple sound bites from Dad’s interview, most notably: “A bad day at the ball park beats a good day at the office�” This evening, I finally got a shipping tracking number for the Viliv P1 I ordered almost a month ago. Beyond that, I don’t remember anything of circumstance happening tonight.

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Apr112006

Affirmative Action

Grandma and Uncle Larry left early this morning to fly back to Georgia. I didn’t work today again as Dad would have been unable to get me to my class this evening. I left the house shortly after two to catch a bus downtown. While I’m not intimately aware of the bus schedule but I do know it runs every half hour. Something must have been up because I waited over an hour for the bus, eventually with a handful of people. As I arrived downtown later than I wanted, I didn’t really have the time to mosey around downtown. The timing did work out well in that I caught the 3:40 shuttle with just a little time to spare. I went to the library for a while after I arrived on campus. I left around 5:30 to make my way to Newman for class this evening. This evening’s speech class knocked out the rest of the debates. I think myself and a classmate I debated with went second or third, I’m not sure. Topics other than ours were gay marriage, capital punishment, and the local upcoming election. The gay marriage one was especially entertaining. Myself and Kirsten debated the instructor as there was a shortage of debate partners. We were arguing against affirmative action. Professor Hanemann was a formidable opponent, even though he apparently made no prior preparations though. I think we did pretty well. I didn’t have any trouble getting my words out. The audience appeared to be largely on our side, although they’re majority white. I was hoping to get out of class early this evening to see the mayoral debate that took place at McAlister auditorium this evening, but I didn’t get out nearly in time for that. I did get out in time to catch the 7:50 shuttle uptown. Dad picked me up in front to Tidewater to take me home. We had red beans for dinner and watched yet another jaw-dropping episode of 24 afterward. Later that evening I ‘participated’ in Star Trek 2.0, an ‘interactive’ TOS airing on G4. It involves an on-screen chat of sorts and a “Spock Market.”

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Apr102006

Sunday?

I only remember two ‘events’ taking place today. I went to Wal-Mart with Dad this afternoon. There were a couple things I had in mind that I wanted, although I didn’t necessarily need anything. It was rather crowded, especially at the check out lines. I walked out with a bed sheet and some hangars. Later this evening, I went with Uncle Larry and Andrew to Caf Du Monde in the French Quarter. There was a surprisingly sparse crowd there this evening. There were plenty of employees though. Even so, we waited a good while before we were served. After leaving there we walked through the quarter for a short while before heading back home. Uncle Larry took some pictures of the cathedral before we made it all the way back to the car.

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Apr082006

Wake

Grandma Laughlin and Uncle Larry came to town this afternoon. They were here for the wake and funeral of Vincent Panepinto, my grandmother’s sister’s husband I think. Dad took me to class this afternoon as usual. Afterward, Dad picked me up and we both went to a funeral home on Lapalco where the wake was held, starting at seven this evening. We arrived a good deal earlier than the rest of my family, and we waited in the car. I don’t suppose the wake was especially unusual, although I don’t think I’ve been to one before this evening. Basically the event consisted of a not big enough room which was occupied by the deceased, some of his personal effects, and lots of people, none of which I was acquainted with. I was introduced to a number of people. I’m not sure if how many of them were technically related to me. Before tonight, I had no idea why they called it a ‘wake,’ but I now think that perhaps there was a time when people though the noise of the crowd and conversation might raise the dead. I think we left sometime between seven and eight. I rode home with Larry, Grandma and Andrew. Aside from the fact that we had house guests, nothing unusual happened this evening.

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Apr062006

Good Night, and Good Luck

I worked from one to five this afternoon. Dad got me to class this evening with plenty of time to spare. During this evening’s media and the law class, we watched Good Night, and Good Luck. It was a pretty good movie that I’d wanted to see for a good while. I took the shuttle downtown after class this evening. I did have to wait a bit for it though. I was the only one on the 7:50 this evening. I walked to the Sheraton when I arrived downtown. I was there a lot longer than usual as Dad was already on his way home when I got out of class and presumably had some things to do. I intended to get a drink when I got there but the bar was closed, apparently because they’re doing work on the floor. While I was waiting, I continued to work on my log a bit. I happened to be sitting next to a couple of other Tulane students, named Patricia and Tenicia, and I talked to them for a while. Dad arrived shortly after nine. I was a little more tired than usual that evening. I was going to get to bed around midnight but Ami called right before I got the lights out and we spoke for about an hour and half, largely about her recent trip across the border.

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Apr052006

Too Long Work Day

Dad and I went to work for noon. I had enough work to keep me occupied for a few hours this afternoon. The office was rather busy today and Bianca was out sick so Dad was rather busy dealing with patients. That being the case, he wasn’t able to take me to class today so we called a cab at 3:45. Unfortunately the cab never came and I missed both classes this evening. We were at the office late ordered a pizza. We finally left the office around seven. Dad had to stop at Doc’s apartment to help him in. I waited in the car, for a while, and worked on my log while I waited. I don’t remember anything in particular happening that evening.

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Apr042006

Tulane Hands It To UNO

For some reason, Dad and I didn’t go to work late this afternoon. Having the morning free allowed me to get a haircut though, something I’ve needed to do for a good while. The place I’ve been going to for years closed down recently, so Dad took me to this hair salon nearby. It was a mildly unsettling experience as this place was much less like a barber shop and a lot more like an emergency room of hair. Dad and I arrived at the Metairie office at 4:30 this afternoon. I think I had some sort of work to do but I no longer recall. Dad and I left at six to go to Zypher Field. Dad and I saw Tulane play UNO this evening for the third and last time this season. UNO had absolutely no pitching to speak of tonight. The pitching was so bad there weren’t ‘that’ many hits, but there were plenty of walks and a few hit batters. Tulane just had their way with UNO, getting some 20 hits and two home runs. The final score was 19-5. I think Dad and I left just before the eighth inning. On the way home, we needed to stop at the west bank office to pick up some dictation I would be working on tomorrow. We also stopped at Walgreen’s because Dad needed something. I picked up a 24×36 poster frame, something I’ve been unable to find. I lost a framed poster on the way home from Ruston. It fell off a trailer. I bought another poster a while back and I was finally able to it back on the wall this evening. After I got home I cut the poster to size with an x-acto knife while I watched a repeat of Boston Legal.

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Apr032006

Dubai Ports Controversy

I didn’t go to work today because Dad was going to be too busy at the office this afternoon to take me to school after. When I got up he said he had to leave early and wouldn’t be able to just take me to school. He didn’t leave early at all but I put off getting ready because of what he said so I had to get to school myself this afternoon. I left the house around 12:30 and caught the bus downtown. It was over 80 degrees today. Although not unpleasant, it’s clear the last vestiges of spring are fading fast. Since I was on the east bank five hours before class I had plenty of time to fill. I was curious as to the state of the Riverwalk so when I got off the bus I hopped on a street car to go to the end of Canal Street as I wasn’t in a walking mood. This was my first time in the Riverwalk since the hurricane. A majority of the stores within were closed. When I first entered the mall I had to walk a good ways before I saw the first open shop. It was a bit depressing to see a once thriving tourist attraction so dead. Some of the big stores like the Gap and Banana Republic were open though. I mainly went because I wanted to go to the Gap and add a short-sleeved collared shirt to my meager wardrobe. As is so often the case, they only had six shits that fit the description, but I picked out one that wasn’t bad. The girl at the cash register said business wasn’t great, which was hardly surprising seeing as how many vacant ships I had to walk past to get to this store. With my new $35 shirt in hand, I continued up stairs to see the rest of the mall and to get something to eat at the food court. There was more of the same. EB Games was open, but most things weren’t. Most of the food court was unoccupied. A Pizza/Pasta kiosk was open, as was Haagen-Dazs and the Mexican place. Everything else was closed though. I got a slice of pizza and a salad before heading out. As I was leaving a Zippo lighter case at caught my eye at this pen store. I’ve never smoked or had any need for a lighter, but I’ve always wanted one for some reason. Maybe it’s the neat, familiar clicking sound they make. I went ahead and bought one, it wasn’t expensive. I walked up Canal to the Tidewater building to wait for a shuttle to go uptown for class this evening. I must have arrived uptown sometime around four. I went to the library for a good while before class this evening. I left an hour before class to go to the class room because I wanted to go over my speech in my head. There were two debates in class this evening. I was absent when the instructor went over how that would go. There were two teams of two for each debate. The first one was on abortion. It ended badly as the professor seemed outright mad at the lack of preparation undertaken by the ‘pro’ side. He threw them out of class when they seemed dumbfounded when I asked a question during the audience Q &A portion of the debate. Class was dismissed after the two debates, except for those who still had to give our persuasive speeches. There were five of us. Although there was plenty of passion and knowledge behind the topic of my speech, the dubai port deal controversy, I still screwed up the delivery. I skipped over two important paragraphs of the speech and it threw me off pretty good. I still got an ‘A’ though. Dad picked me up near the library a short while after class. We watched 24 that evening. There was a rather ‘interesting’ twist at the end of the episode.

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Apr012006

Uncle Larry’s Surprise Birthday Party

As Tulane was unable to have proper homecoming festivities during the football season due to the hurricane, they were held today during the Tulane/Rice baseball game this afternoon. Mom, Dad, Andrew and I went out to Zephyr Field this afternoon for the game. We packed some food to take along. The weather was warmer today than it’s been previously, but still very pleasant. The presentation of the court took place on a stage in front of the field before the game. President Cowen was there. The game today was very much like the one last night. It was a pitchers duel without much hitting going on, lots of missed chances. Tulane scored a run in the first. That lead held for the better part of the game. It wasn’t until the eighth inning that Rice answered with three runs, taking the lead. We had to leave the game early as we were going to Uncle Larry’s surprise birthday party this evening. As these things go, the party-goers are supposed to arrive before the guest of honor. That was regretful as we missed some impressive drama at the end of the baseball game, of course we still lost. We listened as Tulane managed to get one run in at the bottom. Although they managed to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth, they failed to get any runs in, and Tulane lost, rather disappointingly, with a final of 3-2. Several familiar faces from Dad’s family were in attendance, but I didn’t know most of the people, friends of Larry, including the owner of the house the party was held at. It was a pretty decent party. There were lots of people, 300 pounds of boiled crawfish and lots of other food. Larry was sort of surprised. Beyond that I don’t feel like describing it further. Dionne’s cousin had me ‘film’ Larry’s arrival and the opening of gifts. We left the party sometime after nine.

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April 2006

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