Three Days in NOLA

I spent a few days in New Orleans. Most of that time I was stuck in a hotel conference room where one of the speakers punctuated every mildly interesting statement with the catch phrase "We'll put it on the wiki." So I didn't get to see much of the storied town. My hotel was next to the French Quarter, and except for a few blue roofing tarps and some sidewalk repair, the physical neighborhood appeared to be in good shape. However, there weren't a lot of people around. Looking at the sparcely peopled city, I felt like I was on the wrong end of the Mississippi River. Mid week in New Orleans was like St. Paul on a Sunday.

Here are a few impressions of New Orleans:
It's weird.
It makes you want a cigarette.
You can see why pirates liked it.
Even if you don't like coffee, you'll like it at Cafe Du Monde.
Some people there have cool tatoos and bikes.
There are many homeless people.
There are 3 kinds of jambalaya.
Zapp's Crawtators are tasty.
People call you "baby", not "hon" like we do in the mid-Atlantic.
The men seemed extremely friendly.
Bourbon Street is the sleaziest street I've ever seen.
I hope to return real soon.

Plant Vegetables

I feel that my blog is a strange place to mention the death of my grandmother. This public pseudoanonymous place doesn't seem to fit the very specific details surrounding such a great loss.

I was just beginning to feel close to grandma, not that she was ever cold or distant. It's just that I grew up so many miles away from her and I saw her so infrequently that it took extra effort to make a connection. After I visited her last Thanksgiving, she and I would talk over the phone every other week or so. And although she was hardly the kind to spill her guts over the phone or in any manner, I felt that each short and honest exchange of words was enough to build a real bond between us.

It was obvious that she wouldn't be around much longer, but since she'd managed to stay so healthy, independent and clear-headed well into her senior years, it was easy to take her presence for granted. It was so easy to believe that we could always see her next year, next time, whenever, since unlike a child in the family who is constantly growing, it was as if she would never change.

But everything changes. And Grandma's body finally stopped working. Several days before they took her to the hospital, during one of our last phone talks, I mentioned that people here were hoping for more rain. She said people are always asking God for more. I'd love to be able to talk to Grandma more and see more of her knowing looks, but I suppose that the world was more than lucky enough that she was here for so long. Here are a few thoughts Grandma shared during that phone call.

People are building houses everywhere, covering up the farms and leaving no place for the animals* to go.
We should all treat each other as human beings.
Plant vegetables.


*Grandma thought deer were delicious.

Away Down South

Work and family call me south of the Mason-Dixon this week. I'll do my best not to rub it in that our side won...or did it?

It'll be an interesting trip by the mighty Mississip'.

Better Noises Above

At around 3 am yesterday morning, my shallow sleep was ended by more upstairs action. Things had improved markedly. Their new score: 8.5 out of 10. Here's what pulled them out of the doldrums:

-evidence of some kind of foreplay
-increased and believable female noises
-more variety
-signs of patience and endurance

Sure, the neighbors did the same old "drum solo" finale, but I suppose they'd have to be a pretty spectacular couple to move above and beyond that action.

The Noises Above

Rather than tell my vocally frisky neighbors to pipe down, I've decided to exploit them by judging their nightly performances here in my blog.

I give last night's concert a 6 out of 10. I sensed a slight improvement. The woman gave her most believable performance to date. What could bump up the team's scoring score? I'll move them up to a 7 if they incorporate one of the following into their routine:

-use of language. Right now it's just grunts, moans, and ohs. Too inarticulate for my taste.
-anything that sounds remotely kinky. These guys are way too vanilla.
-greater endurance (I will keep my stop watch at the ready)

Shaky Knees and the Core.

Appearently, I have a tootsie roll center.

I started seeing a physical therapist a couple of weeks ago for help with knee and back pain. My therapist said that my knee pain is caused by a weak core. My therapist now has me on a regimine of core strengthing excercises that burn like molten lava. The pelvic tilts aren't so bad, but the hip adductor moves are from hell.

I like my physical therapist because she's good and mean. She never says "please" or "would you...?" or even "try." She just issues commands.

Me: I don't think I can do any mo...
Therapist: Do three more.

Today she started me on some weight machine. I had no idea my legs were so wimpy. I'm no Pat Robertson.

Since I've been doing these excercises and I purchased some arch supports, my back doesn't hurt and I can play ultimate with barely any knee discomfort.