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May242007
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Evening Out |
I went to work as usual and generally did usual work this afternoon. I left work early today to meet some friends downtown. At about three, I left the office for the day and took the streetcar and headed down to the quarter. Bianca was in town for a week or so. Toni, whom I haven’t seen in quite some time, recently graduated from Northwestern and is back home in New Orleans.I got off the streetcar in front of Canal Place. We previously agreed to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie and I went to buy tickets in advance on the off chance the pre-release screening would sell out. Eventually, I met Bianca and Toni in front of the mall. We found a parking spot on Chartres Street. We walked down to the gem and lapidary shop that Bianca is so fond of. She visits the place whenever she has the chance. We were in the shop for about a half hour before Bianca made her selection. I was actually expecting it to take longer. After leaving the shop we walked through the French Market, as we had some time to spare before dinner.I made 5:00 reservations for Tujague’s Restaurant. After we got there and seated, I felt rather silly going to the trouble to make and confirm reservations. The place was empty. This wasn’t very worrying as I already knew this was a very nice establishment, and we arrived right when the place opened. Our waiter said things pick up around seven. I got a call from Andrey as we were starting the beef brisket course. I invited him to join us for the rest of dinner and the movie later and he accepted. He arrived in time for the entre.As for the food, it was quite good. Tujague’s menu is fixed so the offerings are somewhat widely known. You only choose the entre. Toni and I had the shrimp pasta and Bianca and Andrey had the filet mignon. Overall, it was a nice experience, inspite of the cost. I would have been better had the dining room been populated though.After dinner, we all walked down to canal place. We had plenty of time before the movie so we just wandered a while, eventually walking outside to the riverfront. Toni recognized a fellow Karr student that I didn’t know. After speaking with her for a bit, we walked back to Canal Place.We took our seats in the theater a few minutes before the movie started. Although this was technically a pre-release screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the show did not sell out. To be honest, I did not much care for this movie at all. Although it certainly had some entertaining moments, they were few and far between the nearly three hour movie. For such a long movie, it was confusing and rather short on plot. I really didn’t like it at all and it was a chore to watch at least I saw it in good company, which made it a lot better.After the movie, we walked across the quarter, down Frenchman St. a bit and then back to our respective cars and then home.
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May192007
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23 |
Today marks my 23rd birthday. It wasn’t the best, but it was certainly a step up from some recent ones which really sucked. I went to work today but I wasn’t there all that long. I had plans to meet Andrey downtown later this evening and was downtown myself by about four. With a few hours to kill, I spent a lot of time wandering the quarter. I considered going to the Aquarium but they close at five. I stopped at Caf Du Monde for beignets, something I haven’t done in a while. After that, I spent a lot of time walking around the streets of the French Quarter.By and large, I walked the residential half of the quarter which I haven’t seen nearly as much of. I was surprised how much real estate is for sale in the area, but it does make fantasies about living in the quarter a bit more realistic. One house I was a bit curious to see was the one at 913 Gov. Nicholls. I read this was the oldest surviving building in the city, dating back to 178? And I was curious to see it. As the building has some historical significance, I was disappointed to find in a degree of disrepair, although it is inhabited.Not long after that, I walked to Frenchman St. and sat n d.b.a. for a while before walking next door to Snug Harbor. I was to meet Andrey here at 7:30. After I arrived, I learned that the show we were going to see, Ellis Marsalis, was sold out. Not only that, but the show was starting at eight, not nine as I thought it was. We still ate there after he arrived. I think we both had fish. I hadn’t really talked to Andrey in a good while so a lot of the conversation was catch-up about recent goings-on.After dinner, we wandered around a bit. We stopped in this nearly invisible place on Esplanade called the Dragon’s Den. There wasn’t anything going on at the time but we came back later when a band was supposed to start. When we did return, there was no band but the previous act, the N.O.madic Tribal Belly Dancers performed for a little while so we got a drink and watched a bit of that. Afterward, we walked back down Frenchman St. to the Spotted Cat where the New Orleans Jazz Vipers were playing their usual Friday night set. Andrey ran into an old teacher from Karr whom we spoke with for a while as best we could over the music. This wasn’t a teacher I was familiar with but I wish I had been, as she seemed like a fascinating and well-rounded person. We left there around 11 and Andrey gave me a ride home. I went to bed not long after I got there maybe all that walking wore me out.
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May162007
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School’s Out |
So here’s another catch-up post. I finished up the semester last week. I did fine in my IT ethics class as those exams were easy. My two history classes weren’t so fantastic though. I wasn’t worried about passing the final on my cold war history class and did ok. The final exam for my colonial Louisiana history class was rather tough and I’d be surprised if I passed it. I do have the other test and a final paper to get e a passing grade though. Overall, however, this has been a rather disappointing semester for me as far as grades though.This weekend, the family and I went over to Aunt Doris’s house. They had a little gathering for Uncle Joe’s 83rd birthday. All the usual suspects and some other family I see less often were there.The only other ‘event’ of circumstance was getting a new cell phone, a Motorola RAZR V3xx and a new carrier, AT&T. I spent the weekend fooling with the phone, performing some rudimentary modifications like removing the carrier name from the home screen.Aside from that, I’ve just been working, although I was off last Wednesday to wait for the A/C repair man, who fixed a blown capacitor, not a big problem.
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May062007
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The Rest of Jazz Fest |
A couple weeks have passed since Jazz Fest ended. I intended to write detailed entries about each day, but that’s a lot of work and I didn’t have the motivation for it. With all the time that’s passed, it might be hard for me to remember everything anyway. However, I know all the acts I saw and I took over 6,100 pictures so I won’t have much trouble recalling the gist of events. Like last year, the weather was largely pretty decent with the exception of heavy rain on the first Friday, which didn’t really dampen things. As always, the music and the food were awesome and I had a great time. Jazz Fest is my favorite time of year, even better than Mardi Gras.
More often than not, I was walking around by myself at the fairgrounds, although I always saw a big closing act with my parents. Aunt Lauren and some friends of hers I’d met previously were in town for the first weekend and I saw them late in the day on the first Saturday and Sunday. That Saturday after the festival, Andrew, my parents, Aunt Lauren, two of her friends and I had dinner together at Cafe Degas.
As I mentioned in the last entry, I had my “new” camera with me and took thousands of pictures. I rented a 24-70mm F2.8 L lens for the second weekend, a lovely, but heavy piece of glass. I took some decent pictures but was dissatisfied with most of them. Many of the acts I saw were in the tents and the glass I had just wasn’t fast enough. Beyond that, I have a lot to learn about technique. I’m still going though my photos and will eventually post the good ones.
For the purposes of documentation, listed below are all the acts I saw at Jazz Fest this year. They are listed in chronological order.
Saturday, April 28:
N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble
Jesse McBride & the Next Generation
New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra
Gregg Stafford’s Young Tuxedo Brass Band
Alligator Sauce Piquante demonstration at Zatarain’s demo stage
[browsed crafts section in Folk Village]
George French & the New Orleans Storyville Jazz Band
Dartmouth College Gospel Choir
Rod Stewart
Sunday, April 29:
Julliard Jazz Ensemble
Vivaz!
Bruce Flett & the Bluebirds (there for the shade while eating)
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio
Ba Cissoko of the Republic of Guinea
Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band
Pete Fountain
Bonnie Raitt
Friday, May 4:
June Gardner
Mt. Herman Baptist Church Choir
Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band
Lusher Charter Jazz Ensemble
Mark Braud
Ellis Marsalis
John Boutte
Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys
ZZ Top
Saturday, May 5:
Loyola University Jazz Band
Pow Wow at the Native American Village (dance demonstration)
Leah Chase
Treme Brass Band
John Maher
Sunday, May 6:
Washboard Chaz Blues Trio
Louis Ford & his New Orleans Dixie Flairs with Barbara Shorts
Tim Laughlin
Greater Antioch Full Gospel Choir
Steely Dan
Harry Connick, Jr.
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Apr272007
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Jazz Fest 2007 |
This weekend, I attended all three days of The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Dad was good enough to give me the day off of work to go. He dropped me off at the Fairgrounds on his way to work at about ten this morning, about an hour before the games opened. I walked past Liuzza’s and down to the Gentilly Street entrance, where a line was already formed of people waiting to get in when the gates opened at eleven.When the gates did open, I walked straight to the Fais Do Do Stage where the Tulane University Jazz Combo. I decided to see them mostly because of the namesake. To put it generously, I wasn’t impressed with their performance. As Tulane’s music program is barely two years old, however, I have no reason to be harsh.I walked ‘next door’ to Congo Square to see Xavier’s Jazz Ensemble, which wasn’t bad but the group was too hard to photograph so I decided to just wander around a while. I did stop briefly to see the Leviticus Gospel Singers.By 12:20 I was at the Music Heritage stage in the grandstands. One of my professors, Kevin Fontenot interviewed some Cajun musicians, Randy Vidrine and Kristi Guillory of the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. I had no prior knowledge of the musicians but the interview was still interesting.After the interview I wandered a bit more, stopping back in the gospel tent where I caught some of Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel. After shooting some pictures, I decided it was time to eat. I decided to start with something familiar. I got some jambalaya and the famous crawfish bread. I walked with food in hand to the jazz tent to eat. Michael Ward was playing. Mr. Ward is a fine talent, although I was really just there for a seat to eat my lunch, which was quite good. The crawfish bread is a favorite at Jazz Fest. I also wanted a seat there for the next act at the Jazz Tent, Astral Project.Astral Project, as I have lauded here previously, is my most favorite local band and I see them whenever I get the chance. Bass player James Singleton was in town for the performance. There was a sizable crowd there, as there has been during the other Astral Project sets at the Festival. As always, they put on a great show. I can’t remember the first some they played, but it wasn’t “Big Shot,” which usually opened their sets. “Cowboy Bill” with the bass solo was a real treat,After they were finished, I wandered around for a little while, seeing some of the Heritage Hall Band and Dr. John.Later on, I claimed a small patch of real estate on the right fringe of the Acura Stage by bridge four. With some space reserved, I walked the track a bit to get something to eat this evening. I walked back with crawfish monica and some white chocolate bread pudding. The crawfish monica is probably the most popular item at Jazz Fest, and it is quite good. If I remember right, I was finished eating before the last act of the opening Friday started, Van Morrison. His was not a name I was familiar with but I didn’t hear anything bad about the guy so I decided to spend the rest of the evening seeing him. He put on a pretty decent show, but I decided to leave early so I wouldn’t have much trouble getting home.I left the fairgrounds not long after six. I didn’t have much trouble getting a cab home. I don’t quite remember what I did later that evening. It probably involved my computer and my TV.Posts on the remaining five days of Jazz Fest are forthcoming, remember any typing all of this is just time-consuming.
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Apr232007
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Week of April 23 |
I was a little busy this week, or at least felt that was, even though I only worked one day this week, Tuesday, which was a normal day of work and class. I took Monday, Wednesday and Thursday off to work on school projects at Tulane’s libraries.On Monday, I basically started the day waiting in line at the recently reopened Camellia Grill, a story which was published in Newspapers nation-wide. I think I can spare a detailed description of this eating establishment and how awesome it is. I only had the pleasure to patronize the diner a few times before Katrina, including meals during Vacation trips when I was younger, but this place was always a favorite of mine and I, like so many others, was very happy to learn it was reopening.The line looked short when I took my place in line at about one in the afternoon. It got a good deal longer as I waited. So far as I could tell, there was a healthy mix of tourists and locals. Being alone allowed me to jump ahead of several people and I only waited about a half hour. Aside from the fresh pain, marble countertop and credit-card-friendly cash register, everything appeared as I remembered it, down to the Mickey Mouse clock high on the wall.After lunch I walked to Jones Hall at Tulane to the Louisiana Special Collections to work on my Louisiana history paper. I was there through the afternoon, reading some books on my topic, the geographical evolution of the city of New Orleans. I got a little writing done but I spent most of my time reading the book, which cannot be checked out. Later that evening I went to IT ethics class that evening, which was standard fare.If I remember right, Tuesday was a normal day. On Wednesday I took the day off again to work on my paper. That day, I had lunch at Vincent’s Italian Cuisine, a little place on St. Charles I’d never been to before, mostly because the place always looks closed, although they had outdoor furniture out on this day. It’s a classy place with decent food. I saw my Mom at a table there, which was quite a coincidence. After lunch I went back to Special Collections where I worked on my paper again. I largely finished it, with the exception of cleanup I performed that evening. After I left Tulane, I went to see The Subdudes at Wednesday at the Square. They put on a good show and I took pictures.I took the day off work on Thursday as well to work on a paper for my IT ethics class, but I really didn’t make any progress. I had my last Colonial Louisiana history class that evening.
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Apr182007
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French Quarter Festival 2007 |
This weekend, I attended all three days of the French Quarter Festival.Friday:I left work early and took the streetcar down to the quarter. I got off on Bourbon Street and wandered around for a while, sampling a number of bands at the several different stages. I eventually made my way to the river front stages and got something to eat. I think I had some jambalaya. While I was eating I listened to the Michael Foster Project.Later on, I walked over to the U.S. Mint to see Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys. Her name has been dropped in our house on a few occasions but I’d never seen her play so I decided to watch the set. She’s a pretty impressive talent for someone so young. At about 4:30 I arranged a ride home with Dad and he picked my up in front of the Hilton downtown.Later that evening, I was on the computer for a while and I started watching Judgment at Nuremburg, but I only got about a third of the way in before going to bed.Saturday:The weather was more than somewhat disagreeable on Saturday. It was overcast all day and it rained sporadically, especially in the morning and early afternoon. I got up to late to ride downtown with Mom and Dad, who went to the festival this morning. I took my time getting ready and got a cab downtown around noon. I borrowed an umbrella from Andrew, which served me well for a good while.When I got downtown I walked over to Jackson Square, where I presumed my parents were, seeing the Dukes of Dixieland. When I got a call from them after I arrived I figured they spotted me but they were elsewhere, apparently on the way out, leaving because of the rain.I can’t remember much about what I did between the end of the Dukes and two o’clock, although I do remember getting some lunch, a turkey leg just felt like it. I probably heard some of the Pin Stripe Brass Band while I was eating.The main reason I didn’t care about the rain today was because I wanted to see Astral Project. They played on the riverfront at two this afternoon. Although it was raining before they started, the rain stopped when their set began and it didn’t rain again the rest of the day the sun even almost showed itself. My favorite local band never disappoints and they didn’t start today. They always put on a great show with great music. The audience was also treated to one of Johnny’s amusing monologues.After Astral Project’s set, I wandered around the quarter for a couple hours, sampling a number of bands. After wandering around for a couple hours, Mom and Dad picked me up at the Hilton again. Sunday:On Easter Sunday, Dad and I went straight from church out to the Quarter. The weather was much better today. The sun was shining but there was a rather stiff breeze. The main motivation for going out to day was Otra, an awesome local, afro-cuban band that doesn’t play very often. I didn’t want to miss what is a sadly rare opportunity. I think their set had already started when we arrived. As expected, the performance was awesome and quite enjoyable. I’m not a music critic so I don’t have any five dollar words to describe them. I would say, however, their music has a very clean and rich sound to it, like most Cuban music untainted by the pop shit that comes out of America.After Otra, I believe we stayed around the mint and saw some of Ricardo Crespo and Bayou Deville. I would have figured we’d go see Tim Laughlin but we’ll see him at Jazz Fest. We eventually walked over to Jackson Square, where Al Belletto Big Jazz Band was playing. Like just about everyone that plays the FQF, they were pretty decent. I walked around and took a bunch of pictures, none of any particular merit I’d guess.Dad and I then walked back to the mint where Freddy Omar con su Banda played at 5:30. This local band is a reasonably popular latin jazz band. They play Frenchman Street weekly and I’ve seen them at a couple school functions. Although they didn’t have a large stage to play, they drew an impressive crowd, and Freddy Omar is a pretty decent vocalist and he had a strong band behind him. At about 6:30, we made our way back to the car and home. Later that evening, I watched another hour or so of the Nuremburg movie. Before getting to bed I talked to Krystle on the phone for about an hour and a half.
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Apr122007
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Cowboy Mouth… and Everything Else Last Week |
Another week, more or less, gone by and no posts. It’s a damn shame, I know. A few things have happened since last Tuesday, but not much. There was just work on Wednesday. Thursday’s colonial Louisiana history class seemed to conclude the curriculum as the professor made it to the Louisiana Purchase.After work on Friday, Dad and I went to see Tulane play the first game of the Memphis series. I don’t remember the game well enough for a detailed recap of the game, but I do remember it went badly. By the end of the sixth, it was 10-2. It was cold and we’d seen enough so we left early. The final was 14-5. It was too cold and windy for the Saturday game, which they also lost. I spent Easter Sunday at home with the exception of church. Tulane won the game that day though.There was no class on Monday with Easter break. Tuesday’s cold war history lecture was about country music related to the cold war, which was an interesting diversion from the usual material.I left work a little early on Wednesday. I took the streetcar downtown to go to Wednesday at the Square, a free concert series in Lafayette Square. Dad joined me there later. In addition to the music, there’s also decent food and craft vendors. It’s a great event for people working in the city as it gets going around five. Cowboy Mouth was the main event today. I’ve seen them play before. I’m sure the post detailing the last time I saw them discusses how they put on a great show and how Fred LeBlanc’s ego barely fits on stage. Suffice it to say, it was a very enjoyable set and I think the 9,000 other people there had a good time too. I had my big camera with me and I took some pictures, none of which were outstanding, unfortunately. The concert was good practice though. Looking at the photos told me I should consider setting my auto focus points manually. I was also reminded that Fred moves around very fast.Today was just a quiet day at the office with some dictation for company. I didn’t have class this evening because the professor had a speaking engagement. This evening, I watched one of Hitchcock’s early films, The Lady Vanishes.
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Apr032007
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8-3, 16-9: Argument Over |
Another late post ands Monday is already a distant memory. I worked in Metairie as usual and went to IT ethics class this evening. I had a case study to discuss this evening. It was mostly about CompuServe Germany getting pounced back in ’97 for hosting kiddie porn on Usenet servers. I can’t immediately recall what the lecture was about.On to Tuesday. After a work day in Mid City in which Dad was out of the office half the time, we went out to Zephyr Field for the ‘rematch’ of Tulane and LSU’s baseball teams. Earlier in the season, Tulane beat LSU in Baton Rouge 8-3.Although a comparatively small crowd was expected, attendance was 9,318, which filled out the park quite nicely. By the fifth inning, however, LSU fans started to leave and the audience thinned out a bit.There was a lot of scoring in this game, which I have no desire to recap, but I’ve included an accompanying news story [ext] to cover the details. Generally speaking, it was a slugfest and nearly a blowout for Tulane. By the end of the third inning, it was 10-0 Tulane. To LSU’s credit, they did mount a bit of a come back to keep the game interesting. They scored three in the fourth and six in the seventh, getting as close as 13-9. Tulane pulled further ahead in the bottom of the eighth with three more runs. The final score was 16-9.Although Tulane made some mistakes, the game was still very entertaining. Tulane got 22 hits. Each started had at least two, including 4 of 6 for Warren McFadden. It’s always sweet to beat LSU and this was no different. It was well after ten when the 3:40 game ended. Dad and I got home around 11.The EF 70-200mm F/4L lens I ordered came in the mail today so I played around with that a bit before bed. It does overwhelm the camera a bit so I’ll be getting the vertical grip.
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Apr012007
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Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad |
This post covers last Thursday through the weekend. This week’s colonial Louisiana history class was about Louisiana’s early economy which shifted from tobacco to cotton and sugar. We finally got our mid-terms back. I got a C, which was what I was expecting.After work on Friday, Dad and I went to the mall before heading out to Zephyr Field. I bought a few items of clothing and went to a camera shop to look for a camera bag. Id didn’t find anything I liked though. While I was there I tried out the EF 100-400mm f/4-5.6 IS lens on my camera, which I had with me. It’s a great piece of glass, surprisingly light, but I don’t have $1,500 burning a hole in my pocket.Tulane played the first game of the series against East Carolina tonight. It was another pitcher’s duel. Sean Morgan played a good game getting ten strikeouts, although he didn’t have his best stuff this evening. Even so, East Carolina was held to six hits and only one run in the second. In the bottom of the forth, Tulane scored two runs on three hits. At the time I wouldn’t have guessed that one run lead would hold out the rest of the game, but it did. The final was 2-1.Saturday’s game was much less of an ordeal. After Carolina scored a leadoff run, Tulane answered with three in the bottom of the third. Tulane scored two more in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh. The final score was 8-2.Tulane didn’t fare so well on Sunday. They managed to get a 7-2 lead but ECU scored six runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to come back and win. It was rather hard to watch. It was like Tulane was on cruise control after two relatively easy wins against a good, conference team.
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Mar272007
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My Lai |
I worked at the mid city office from about 11 to five this afternoon. There was a little dictation to work on but I depended on petty tasks to keep me occupied most of the day. Dad took me to class after we left the office.This evening’s “cold war history” class concerned the My Lai Massacre and America’s entry to the Vietnam War. Class started with a quiz on a book about My Lai, which the class was to read last week. Luckily the quiz was multiple-choice which made things quite easy as I’m not very good with names. Professor Fontenot lectured for an hour about our entry into the Vietnam War. He only got as far as the Kennedy assassination as the topic is obviously complicated.At the end of class, we got our mid-term exams back. I got a C-, which was quite a relief as I thought I bombed the test. I did quite poorly on the main essay which the instructor graded rather generously.Dad picked me up after class. Had it ended earlier we might have gone to the baseball game this evening but it was a bit late for that. Later this evening, I watched The Exorcist, a rather draining experience.
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Mar262007
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Weekend + Monday |
On Saturday Morning, Andrey and I drove back to New Orleans, or rather he drove. Before we left, Bianca cooked us a nice breakfast. She was a wonderful host during our stay. I only worry she preoccupies herself with the satisfaction of others and forgets to enjoy herself. The ride back was fine. We did hit a delay on the Bonnie Carrie Spillway. The only reason we had to be back so soon is because Andrey had to be for work at four o’clock. It must have sucked for him as he’s a delivery driver, so he was still in his car after the five hour trip home. The rest of that day was pretty uneventful.I went to church on Sunday, the first time in a few weeks. Dad and I have been going to the Sunday afternoon baseball games. They were away at Marshall this weekend, where they won all three games. That evening, I watched the series finale of Rome and the season finale of Battlestar Galactica.Today, Monday, I went to work with dad around 11 this morning. We stopped at Mid City before making our way to Metairie. I did a little dictation this afternoon and showed Darnisha how to do discharge reports, or started anyway. Dad and I left the office shortly before five this evening. The lecture of tonight’s sparsely attended IT ethics class was about privacy, or the lack thereof. The lecture was mercifully short and we were dismissed just after 7:30. Dad had just pulled up to take me home and we arrived just after eight. I watched 24 this evening and later saw Finding Neverland while working on last Friday’s entry.
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Mar242007
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Ruston |
This entry skips Monday through Thursday. I just worked and went home each day of the week, nothing worth detailing. The only remotely consequential event was me watching my 900th movie, A Christmas Story.I took the day off of work today go drive up to Ruston to visit Bianca and Khadijah at Louisiana Tech. I packed some things for an overnight stay yesterday evening. Andrey arrived at my house to pick me up around 10 this morning.We took the most simple and probably fastest route; I-55 up to Jackson, Mississippi and then west on I-20 until we reached Ruston. The trip up really wasn’t bad at all, even though it was some five hours. I didn’t have to drive and no pestering immediate family members were present. I brought a book to read but I was largely preoccupied with conversation so I didn’t really get to it. We talked about several things, but my memory says mostly cars.We pulled in to Ruston sometime around three. We parked a little further than needed from Bianca’s apartment. Bianca greeted us when we arrived at her apartment. After talking for a while, we called Khadijah and Andrey and I went over to her house to pick her up. The directions she gave me were complicated to I just printed a map. With that in hand we didn’t have any trouble finding her house, although it didn’t have a number on it. It’s been several months since I last saw Kali, although we do speak regularly. Andrey hasn’t seen her in at least a couple years, though. Khadijah wanted Andrey to meet his boyfriend so we drove over to the red tables where Gerard was with some friends. I’ve met him before on a couple previous occasions. We sat and talked for a little while before leaving to head back to Bianca’s place. We stopped at a gas station on the way to pick up some beverages for the ‘picnic’ later. Not long after we got back, we loaded Andrey’s car with the food and people and went over to Hideaway Park where some of Bianca’s friends were waiting. In addition to us four, Bianca’s friends Quentin, Matt, Laura and her roommate Krystle were there. I’d met all of them before with the exception of Krystle I think.We didn’t waste any time partaking of the food. There was nothing overwhelmingly unusual about the ‘picnic,’ or whatever you might call it. There was food, drink, conversation, laughter and the occasional “game.” We were there for an hour or two before we headed back to Bianca’s place. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store for ice cream to go with the cake she already had. Bianca doesn’t have a freezer so she couldn’t have bought it ahead of time.I couldn’t easily describe the rest of the evening in any great detail. We had the dessert and generally spent the rest of the time sitting around and talking. On occasion I went outside. Bianca’s apartment has a great view of Tech’s baseball field. Their team was playing Fresno State tonight. Later on, Gerard showed up as well as two more of Bianca’s friends: Steve, whom I’d met, and Jeremy, who I had not. Kali and Andrey disappeared from the party a couple times. I’m sure they had a lot to talk about. I hardly felt deprived of company, however. As the late evening wore on, things quieted down, guests departed. I think the last holdouts left around midnight.Andrey and I stayed the night at Bianca’s place. I made some calls yesterday for a hotel room but the whole town was booked solid for some convention and a Grambling football game. So, we just slept on her floor. Andrey was pretty tired and was practically unconscious when he hit the pillow. Bianca and I were up a bit longer, talking while she picked out clothes for the next day and painted her nails. I finally got to sleep around two.
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Mar182007
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Siena Swept |
This post covers Wednesday through Sunday well it actually ignores Wednesday and Thursday because my memory isn’t that good. There’s no loss though, as the only events of remote circumstance were the baseball games I went to this weekend.Dad and I went to all three games versus Siena College of New York, all of which were shutouts. Sean Morgan pitched a great game on Friday, breaking the strikeout record he tied last week with 14 strikeouts in a single game. On Friday, Tulane scored six runs, two in the 4th and 4 in the fifth on four hits and three Siena errors. It was cold and windy this Friday evening so Dad and I left the game early after the fifth, confident that the match was decided, which it was.Shooter hunt pitched on Saturday and also had a good showing, allowing only three hits. The final score of this game was just 2-0. It was a remarkably quick game clocking in at 2:05.Tulane broke out of their hitting slump during today’s 19-0 game. It was all goose eggs until the bottom of the fifth when Tulane scored nine runs on seven hits started off by a hit to center field wall by McFadden. It looked like a T-ball game.Jared Dyer homered to score one run in the sixth. In the seventh, Seth Henry hit a home run as well, scoring three more runs. In the bottom of the either, Tulane scored six more runs on five hits. The final score was 19-0. The only ‘bad news’ was that Tulane stranded 16 baserunners on the pads, a recurring theme at Tulane games.There’s one more little thing worth having in the log. I bought a “new” digital camera on eBay this week, which I took to the baseball games, a Canon 10D, a four year-old digital SLR. I’ve wanted one of these for quite some time but they’re prohibitively expensive, especially for a kid who just takes pictures as a casual hobby. Assuming the shutter on this camera doesn’t break within the year, I got a great deal on this camera, which actually came with a 24-85mm lens. It’s a fun camera to shoot as you can snap away to you hearts content with the burst mode and memory buffer. Even though you could consider the 10D obsolete, it still takes pretty good pictures. However I’ve found the included lens isn’t remarkably sharp on the far end. I also scored a 50mm f/1.4 so I’ll soon have a good idea of what this camera is capable of without dropping two grand on glass. With Jazz Fest coming up I wanted something better than the Sony point and shoot I have now. I really wanted to like and buy the Sony F828, which has a design I love, but this camera has inferior image quality and is going for about the same price as the 10D so purchasing it didn’t make much sense to me.
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