N .O. part III

You want ME to play washboard for the next song, Oh random cajun band at unknown bar?
I'm so there.

And I rocked it, thanks much.

home safely from my night in the quarter.

Thanks to Zazoo's for 3 for 1 Dos Equis.
which turned into 6 for 2 by the time we left.
one of them ended up on my shirt.
thanks to my boss for that.

Thanks to work for a lovely meal before hand.

Thanks to Daisy Dukes for being open 24 hours for cheap breakfast, and for being right next door to the hotel. Darn convenient, when your travel companion demands food before going to sleep, and waited to do so until you were blocks away from where all restaurants are.

Good night, serbian test tube shot vendor - remember my advice, and get a new job back in Myrtle Beach before summer arrives in N.O.
Be happy in your endeavors.

Good night barbie and kimmie, hometown girls who pretended to be with my boss and I long enough to shrug off some skeezie guys. Be careful out there.
Good night, Steve, MSU alumni and Fed. great hanging with you. I can't wait to get home, but props to you for waitinng 'til sunday to go home, so you can watch the MSU game down here.

Hope you and your brother did well for yourselves. Hope your presentation goes well in....7 hours. You were hilarious.

Good night moon, good night mush, good night old lady whispering "hush".

New Orleans Part II

a woman came up to us and asked to sit at our table, first thing this morning.
Before even introducing herself, she told us that she had met up with friends last night, and next thing she knew, she woke up to find herself still in last night clothes, with all the lights on.
And was relieved to find her purse and credit cards.

I would have settled for a "Good morning, I'm ______"

Found out the conference is moving to L.A. next year. won't be as crazy, that's for sure.
And I doubt there will be gumbo.

Hoping to go out sans vendor tonite, and enjoy the quarter with the knowledge that we don't have to be up early tomorrow.

Cafe Du Monde for coffee, maybe a spot of shopping, and then a cab to the airport shortly after noon.
nice.

New Orleans, LA, 3/31 - 4/3 part one

part one he says, assuming there will be a part two. Pretty optimistic for a guy who's been catching up on work, and studying, and attending a conference, all at the same time.

In the very neighborhood, in the very city, that is LEAST designed for that kind of nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic.

I've a vendor who's attending this conference as well. He's a very nice guy, one with whom, as it turns out, has familial roots in the same sad city in OH that I do. A huge "No shit?!?!?" moment we shared over dinner.
He latched on to my boss and I this morning, and then wanted to buy us lunch. Only we picked possibly the only restaurant in N.O. that's cash only. So he had to borrow money from us to pay for our lunch.
He paid us back when we met him in the lobby to go out to dinner.

Crescent City BrewHouse. limited menu, but you can't choose wrong, cuz everything on there is good. Five kinds of beer, brewed right on the premises, and a location right across the street from the old Jax beer building, and the riverwalk. Fantastic seared Tuna salad and a bowl of gumbo. I was a happy man.

Weather was too nice, after dinner, to NOT take advantage of, three guys from the north like we are. So I played tour guide a bit, we walked off dinner, and our new friend started joking about getting thirsty, about the time we wandered past Bourbon street.

to back track a few hours, after meeting him for the first time, he mentioned his church in the second sentence of our acquaintance. Grammatically, the previous sentence is probably a mess, but I assume it conveys what it needs to.
"Oh, geez, another person I know from small town central PA, who's a little too into their church for my comfort zone."

So, after three tall beers at dinner, and a stroll around the quarter, he comes upon groups of revelers on Bourbon street, and starts making the comments.
Drunk-ish guy sees women type comments.
Seemed kinda stereotypical, really. Religious wholesome guy, turning lecherous after a couple of beers....

There are a lot of gent. clubs on Bourbon street, and each of them had a couple of the dancers hanging out in the doorways of the clubs, while guys stand in the middle of the street handing out discount admission tickets, drink coupons, etc.
Last trip down, one of them told me that if I came into his club, it would change my life.
I was.... dubious.

Anyhow, my boss and I kept walking( been there, done that) as these guys came up to us with their coupons and their vague promises of... I'm not sure what exactly.

Our new friend kept stopping, pointing to the young women in the doorways, making vaguely inappropriate comments.
Finally, he turned to us and said:

"You guys have amazing willpower!"

Not really. We just didn't want to be his excuse to misbehave; and didn't want to spend our limited funds on frustrating ourselves. Perhaps it was 'cuz we were still sober...

We kept walking right back to the hotel lobby, even though another beer and a bathroom sounded pretty good.
"so, you guys calling it a night?" our friend asked us.
as we were standing in the hotel lobby, after passing every excuse to NOT call it a night that you can imagine.
"Uh, yup."
We say our goodbyes, and get on an elevator.
"He's gonna be miserable tomorrow." we laugh to one another, with a certain air of superiority.