March 2008


Weekend

This Friday was less than memorable. I was a work a “full” day and did nothing of circumstance that evening. Saturday and Sunday were equally banal. I did a couple things around the house, watched a couple movies and made some additions to my MP3 collection with a “free” trial to emusic.com. The service doesn’t have much “popular” music although that hardly bothers me. The trouble with eMusic is the MP3 files they sell, while DRM free, are only 128kbps, far inferior to CD quality. I added enough music to my collection to keep my Zune interesting for a few weeks.

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Rumba

Dad and I arrived at the office shortly after 11 this morning. I spent the afternoon working on record copies and discharge reports. We left the office at 4:30 this afternoon. Dad dropped me off on campus after making a stop downtown.I was planning on attending a TUCP event but it didn’t start on time and I wouldn’t have been able to see the whole thing anyway. I saw Patrick in the LBC and handed off a disc he asked for. We ended up walking to PJs for a little while before I went to class this evening.Tonight’s small group communications class was the second week of the second in-class discussions. Unlike past classes I was not a participant in any of the discussions this evening.Ballroom dancing tonight was the first week of Rumba. There were similarities to waltz but not so much that there was any great benefit to having just learned some of it. For a first session, there was a lot of material but I think I did alright. The review at the start of next week’s class will certainly help though. Afterward I caught a cab home. I can’t remember what, if anything, I did later that evening.

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Poor Clock

I believe Dad and I arrived at work sometime around noon today. He was no particular hurry to get to the office this morning. I think I worked on discharge reports this afternoon for the short time I was there. Dad took e to the shuttle stop to catch the 3:40 shuttle to campus.This afternoon’s weather and climate class was about hurricanes with some limited discussion on Katrina. After class we got back our tests from a couple weeks ago I did very badly. Dad had just arrived to pick me up when class was dismissed.Later this evening I worked on setting up rsync via Deltacopy to sync my remote backup drive and my home PC. I couldn’t get it to work so I talked to my old roommate John who was only able to replicate my error message but he had some good ideas for things I can try when I’m at the office tomorrow which should get things running. I also took home a flip clock which I had at the office that stopped working this afternoon. I found that the motor does not start when you plug it in but if you flick the flywheel it will start running fine on its own.

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Back to School

With ‘spring break’ over it was back to the grind this evening. After work, Dad took me to class for pirate societies class this evening. Tonight’s class was mostly about women in piracy, which overall was quite rare as it’s a male dominated ‘profession.’ At the end of class we got our mid term exams back. I did as badly as I thought I did. I called a cab home afterward. The external hard drive enclosure I ordered arrived today, a Rosewill RX81-MP-SC-BLK. I spent the evening watching TV and getting things copied to the drive which I will be keeping at work. In the event of a house fire or some other catastrophe I’ll still have a copy of all my data.

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"Spring Break"

Recent events and preoccupations have again kept me from making my regular updates. I intended to write individual posts for the weekend as there was enough going on.Last weekend, I went to all three Tulane baseball games versus Oakland University. Friday’s game was a bit tight, but we did win 3-0. The Saturday and Sunday matches looked like t-ball games with 19-0 and 16-0 wins respectively. This was the first series shutout for Tulane in a few years. On Saturday I left the game early to see Bill Clinton speak at Fogelman Arena on the Clinton Global Initiative. I’m not a fan of his but I’d never seen a president in person before and figured I’d enjoy it. I had my camera with me and took a couple respectable photos.Before heading to the baseball game on Sunday, Dad and I stopped at East Jefferson Hospital to visit grandma Janet. Dionne was already there and informed us grandma’s condition had significantly worsened of late. She passed away Monday night.On Tuesday I was home from work as Mom and Dad were out for the afternoon making funeral arrangement for Dad’s mom. I presume Dionne was with them. Wednesday was a reasonably normal work day as far as I can remember.The family including myself was out the door early Thursday morning for the visitation and funeral services at Lake Lawn Metairie. Much of grandma’s family and a handful of friends were there. I’d seen many of them somewhat recently at Uncle Joe’s service. Shortly after 12 there was a funeral service held in an adjacent chapel. The priest who officiated it the Priest at grandma’s church so he seemed to be somewhat acquainted with her. Following that there was a procession to a cemetery in the 9th ward where she was laid to rest.I can’t remember if I worked or not on Friday, it would have been a short day if I did. That evening I went out with Patrick and David to Club 300 on Decatur Street. Earlier in the day I looked at the music listing and didn’t see much of anything familiar but I did see that Astral Project’s sax player Toni Degradi was behind jazz vocalist Mary Jane Ewing, which I figured would probably be a decent show. I caught a cab there and arrived shortly before 8. David and Patrick followed not long after. The music started not long after 8:30. We ordered some drinks, an appetizer and later dessert to hold our table. This was my first time to this particular club. It’s a nice place to hear music but I wouldn’t equate it with Snug Harbor. We left there shortly after nine and walked to Melange for a while and saw Jeremy Davenport. After a round there we drove out to The Frat House where Patrick wanted to meet three high school friends of his. I think Nick, Steve and Claire were their names. We had some drinks there too and I lost a round of pool to David. After perhaps another hour there we all piled into Patrick’s little VW beetle and went to Friar Tucks, an equally splendid drinking establishment. I was there until 1:45 when I decided I’d had enough fun for the night and caught a cab home.The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. I didn’t catch any of the Tulane baseball games this weekend. I did get out of the house to go to Loew’s with Mom to buy some mundane things for the house.

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Final Waltz

Dad and I left the house at about 10:45 this morning. There was an issue with Mom’s car that tied him up this morning. I worked on a few discharge reports at the office this afternoon. Dad had things to do this evening so he took me down Canal Street to catch the 4:10 shuttle to campus. I spent my time before class this evening in the LBC. I picked up my ticket for the upcoming Clinton speech when I arrived.This evening’s slam group communications class featured the first of the second round of class discussions. They followed the same format as last time but they were 12 minutes in length and Ms. Ebel did not interject during the discussion. I participated in three of the five this evening. They were on homelessness, identity theft and recycling. After class I walked to the Willow lab to wait until nine.This evening’s ballroom dancing session was the fourth and final lesson of waltz. I think mid terms kept some people away tonight but attendance was even between guys and girls. There was only one new dance step which was simple enough. The main goal tonight was to recap everything once more and tie it all together. I had a little trouble this evening but overall I think I danced pretty well. Of all the dances I’ve done in the ballroom club I think this waltz was the easiest. I left to head home after the beginner lesson. It was raining and I shared my umbrella with Ivana as far as her dorm. I caught a cab home in front of the LBC.

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Two Wins Versus the Demons

Dad and I left the office at about 2:30 this afternoon. Dad went to the baseball game this afternoon but I wanted to study for a test this afternoon so I went to the LBC for a while. While I was there I saw Patrick who finally returned the spare cell phone battery I lent him a couple weeks ago.I didn’t feel that the studying helped my weather and climate test this afternoon, I might have bombed it, even though it’s a multiple choice test. I guess I’ll find out how good of a guesser I am. After I finished I walked over to Turchin to catch the rest of the ball game. On the way I ran into Patrick again who obviously wasn’t busy and came to the baseball game with me. When we arrived about halfway through the game the score was 10-8 or something ridiculous. Apparently today’s match closely resembled a tee-ball game. Tulane pulled ahead in later innings and won the game 18-11.Later that evening after getting home I got some clothes put away, finished watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s and caught up on my log before bed.

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Pirate’s Midterm

I spent the “work day” studying for an upcoming midterm. We left the office not long after five this evening. The pirate societies midterm this evening consisted of ten identifications and three essay questions. Studying really helped me with the IDs but I had a lot of trouble with the essays. I was able to get stuff down for two of them but I was completely lost on the first one which will do me no favors.I finished the exam in just under an hour. I walked to Turchin Stadium where the baseball game versus the Northwestern State Demons was well underway. It was about the fifth inning and the game was Tulane had a 1-0 lead. Northwestern scored a run of their own in the seventh. Tulane answered in the bottom of the eighth with two more runs to take the lead.In the top of the ninth, Tulane got two of the three outs needed to win the game before Northwestern’s Mike Jaworski hit a two run homer to tie the game. Tulane failed to score a run in the bottom half and the game went to extra innings. Dad wanted to get home so we left after nine. We listened to the rest of the game on the way home. Tulane managed to come away with a win in the 11th inning.

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Monday

Dad had things to do this afternoon so he had me work alone at the Mid City office this afternoon. Among other things I got the hydrocollator cleaned before leaving for school at about 3:30. I had to wait a little while for the streetcar but I managed to catch the 4:10 shuttle to campus.This evening’s history in everyday life class was dull as is becoming the norm. It was about museums and historical sites. I’m hard pressed to immediately recall any information of circumstance from class this evening. After class ended “early” at 8:10, I called Dad who was still on the east bank. He agreed to pick me up and I waited at the LBC.

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Weekend

On Saturday, Dad, Andrew and I went to Turchin to see Tulane play Irvine again. The weather was considerably better. It was still cold but the sun was shining. The game itself was not an improvement. Tulane’s starting pitcher didn’t fool anybody this afternoon and allowed four earned runs in the second inning before he was pulled. In addition to the early setback, Tulane missed a lot of opportunities, leaving 10 men on the bases. The final score was 7-3.On Sunday I stayed home from the game to clean my room and get some things done. Inevitably I didn’t accomplish as much as I would have liked. Sunday evening I watched the series finale of The Wire, a show well deserving of the “best show on television” claim often mentioned. The last episode was really good but of course it’s a shame there won’t be any more episodes.

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Ice Cold Baseball

After an uneventful day of work, Dad and I headed uptown to pick up Andrew and get something to eat before the baseball game this evening. We went to Felipe’s across Claiborne from the stadium. Dad had a burrito. Andrew and I ordered quesadillas.It was already pretty cold and wet when we got to the stadium at about quarter to six. The start of the game was delayed about 15 minutes. The artificial surface at Turchin stadium has excellent drainage so rain is not a serious problem. All the seats were still wet though.Tonight was the first of three games versus the University of California, Irvine. They have a great team this year, largely due to their unbelievable pitching. Tulane’s Shooter Hunt pitched an excellent game as well. He pitched seven innings, struck out 11 and allowed only one hit. Although the game was tense throughout, the only scoring came in the bottom of the third. Scelfo walked after racking up a full count and the stole second. McFadden doubled to shallow left and then Josh Price hit a two-run giving Tulane a 2-0 lead. Irvine had chances to tie the game in later innings including two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth but Tulane managed to pitch their way out of it. In spite of the worst cold I’ve ever endured at a baseball game, it was still an awesome thing to see.

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BBall x 2

Dad and I left the office at 2:30 this afternoon to catch the Tulane baseball game. They played Southern University this afternoon at 3. I brought my camera with me but didn’t get many shots. Not long after I arrived at spotted my old high school history teacher Mr. Bryant and went to speak with him and his wife for a while. He seems to be thoroughly enjoying retirement. Tulane took a commanding lead early with three runs in the 2nd and three more in the 3rd. I had to leave at the fourth inning to get to class this afternoon. Tulane went on to win the game 14-6.This afternoon’s weather and climate class was about thunderstorms. Before the usual PowerPoint lecture, the professor had us watch a number of videos on YouTube with hail, lightning and tornadoes.After class this afternoon I walked over to Fogelman Arena for this evening Tulane basketball game versus Marshall. This was the second to last home game of the season, but attendance tonight was rather sparse. Tulane looked good in the first half with a reasonable lead. The built on thaty lead at the start of the second half but it diminished as the half progressed and Marshall took the lead late in the game. Tulane had opportunities to catch up but failed to capitalize. They ultimately lost 68-70, which was exceptionally disappointing.After class I caught a cab home which arrived rather quickly. The driver was pleasant and talkative. That evening I finished watching Stargate: The Ark of Truth.

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Tulane vs. UNO

Dad dropped me off on campus this evening as he was already in the area to go to the Baseball game this evening versus UNO. I had class at 5:45 so I missed a good portion of the game. Pirate societies class this evening was about the backgrounds of some of the more famous pirates. The general point was that they call from a wide variety of backgrounds. While many were from poor circumstances, others were from well-to-do families or had law degrees.I walked to Turchin stadium after class. I think I showed up around the 4th inning. UNO had a 2-0 lead. Generally speaking, Tulane looked pretty lousy. On the radio, Graff equated their performance to a “coma.” As it was rather cold outside, Dad and I left at the start of the 8th inning. As we listened to the rest of the game on the way home, Tulane rallied. The loaded the bases and got two runs in. With two outs and the bases loaded, Andrew Rogers hit a line drive right to the wall under the scoreboard. Had there been any wind it would certainly have been a grand slam but it was caught at the wall to end the game 4-2.

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Anthropogeography

Generally speaking, the weekend was pretty quiet although I did get out of the house at least once. Friday was pretty quiet. On Saturday, the family including myself went out to dinner at the cheesecake bistro. This was their first time here since the storm. I ordered the jambalaya pasta. Jeff and Andrew split a BBQ shrimp linguine, which I had at my last visit. Dad had the crawfish ravioli and Mom ordered the shrimp St. Charles. For desert everyone had the bananas foster cheesecake except myself. I had the bananas foster sundae which was good but not exactly what I was expecting. Later that evening I watched Live Free or Die Hard. It was entertaining enough but it requires substantial suspension of disbelief.After church on Sunday, we went to EJ hospital to visit grandma Janet who has been back in ICU since a recent mild heart attack. Later that evening I watched 3:10 to Yuma, the recent remake. Having seen the original 1957 movie a couple weeks ago, my view of the new film was severely tainted. Compared to the original which had a singular and coherent theme, the new film is littered with unnecessary action and plot threads.Dad had to take Jeff to the airport today so he left me at the Mid City office by myself for the afternoon. When Dad made it to the Metairie office at about 2:30, I left for the day and took the streetcar down Canal and then took the shuttle to campus. I arrived on campus at about 3:45. I sat in the LBC for almost a couple hours while I waited for class this evening. I saw Patrick for a little while who met me to return a cell phone battery I lent him but he still needed it.We had a guest speaker in History in Everyday Life class this evening, Dr. William Fagen. He spoke about historical anthropogeography as it related to his research of Rockland, Maine. It’s a small coastal town that evolved over the past 150 years from various industrial economies to tourism. Following Mr. Fagen’s presentation, Professor Lyon proceeded to lecture for about an hour on historical memory or something like that. I met Dad after class, he had been waiting for me after working late this evening.

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