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It’s that time of year, Christams which in New Orleans means that Mardi Gras is right around the corner. I’m having trouble getting too excited about any of it. I’m not going to be a scrooge, at the same time I just don’t have that happy holiday feeling.

I haven’t posted in a while I just can’t get interested in what is going on around me. THe city is broke, the mayor is an idiot, and there is a pending election that gives everyone hope that things in New Orleans will change for the better. Cynical is my normal stance and it hasn’t changed. The great opportunity of rebuilding a better city after the flood has passed us by. We have the same city that we had before only less of it.

The Saints continue to be a ray of hope that good things can happen to us. I wish them the best on their quest to become champions. Although thier success can make us feel better about our city it does not change the nuts and bolts of what is wrong with New Orleans.

Four years ago before the disaster I was thinking of leaving, after the disaster I was determined to stay. Once again I find myself considering a move. What I used to find special about this town seems to have disapeared.

What: Blogging 101 Class: An Introduction to Blogging for the Utter Novice

When: Thursday, Nov. 12; 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Where: The Bridge Lounge, 1201 Magazine St

Why: To Learn About Blogging and for Free Beer.
Who: Rising Tide

This class will be taught by two local bloggers and will focus on blogging platforms, hosting, getting started, a walk-through of basic blog software, posting, adding media, blogrolls, linking, commenting and more. Laptops are encouraged.

DeLesseps Story “Chep” Morrison, Sr., (January 18, 1912 — May 22, 1964) was the mayor of New Orleans from 1946-1961

Ain’t der’ no mo. La. State Office Building

I remember when I took this shot in the spring of 06 a man told me better take that picture now these buildings are coming down soon. Of course that was three years ago, I guess his idea of soon and my idea of soon are two different things. Anyway it is just about completely demolished.

I took the bus to work for the first time in quite some time. I think the last time I rode the bus to work was last Mardi Gras. That trip was not such a pleasant experience. It was an attempt to avoid excessive Mardi Gras traffic, the problem was that on the way home the bus dropeed me off a couple of miles from my stop. This morning’s ride was pleasant, I caught the magazine street bus. It was one of the newer smaller buses, it took me a second to figure out where to put my money, the boxes aren’t the same. Magazine street is very scenic on the top deck at the rear of the bus you get a pretty good view of the street. The eight block walk from the bus stop to my office was good for me I have not been getting enough exercise lately. This could be a trend, to save money I am thinking of catching the bus a couple of times a week, weather permitting. Not only does it save money but the half hour trip with the newspaper and the ipod is relaxing. Add the half mile walk to the stop and it has health benifits too.

Yesterday at the grocery store I bought candy for any possible trick or treaters. This is my second Halloween in this location and I couldn’t remember if I had any trick or treaters last year. I picked up a few bags of ;individually wrapped candy bars and a bag of little Peanut butter cups. I didn’t btoher to look at the price so I got quite a sticker shock when they rang up the candy. I could have bought a steak.

No trick or treaters so I guess I need to make a mental note not to buy a lot of candy next year. I don’t keep candy in the house for a good reason, Once I start eating it I can’t stop. I have had a chocolate buzz since last night. I have a collection of classic Dracula movies put one in the DVD player last night and fell asleep before the first bite. Growing up Halloween was always a kids holiday I have never been a big halloweener as an adult.

I will be catching the bus to work tomorrow, I am afraid getting out of the CDB will be a problem on Monday, I work across from the Dome so I will use public transit. Since the weather has gotten cooler I might try catching the bus more often. Between parking and buying lunch downtown I can spend twenty to twenty five dollars just going to work. Taking my lunch has been saving a lot of money, If I catch the bus tomorrow I might get away with only spending two fifty out of my wallet tomorrow.

Good thing I will be saving money, I have a feeling they are going to raise the garbage tax on our water bills to help fill the gap in the city’s budget deficit. To have a budget that is so out of wack leads me to beleive that the jokers at city hall don’t know what they are doing. To miscalculate how much you are going to spend compared to what they collect by that much leads me to beleive that they are asleep at the wheel. Maybe the City council was counting on that 10 million stash they had. Ooops the mayor spent it when no one was looking. I find it hard to beleive that he is not a crook supreme. Maybe he will move to Cuba when he finishes his term, after all he seems to like the way they operate down there.

Aug 24 2006

I have been extremely busy at work and haven’t played much in the evenings lately. I have fully recovered from whatever crud I had that kept me down for almost a full three weeks.

Once the illness broke, I took in the Magazine street festival last Saturday. I wanted to have fun so I left the car at home and walked down Magazine street towards the festival doing a bar crawl. The music was good the crowds were bearable, as I spent my saturday listeneing to music and visiting in my old neigborhood I loved were I lived “New Orleans”. For me living in New Orleans is one of those love, hate relationships. I seem to either really love it or really hate it. I didn’t take the camera with me I just wanted to go out, have some fun, and get a buzz, I suceeded on all three counts.

I watched the story about the marquee at the Saenger being relit and the big deal that was being made of the event. Somehow after four plus years my gut feeling was pissed off. Something to celebrate would have been the opening of the theater after four plus years not the lighting of the marqee. I have come to realize that the pace of recovery of the city isn’t a big concern for most, after all we have brought back our culture of drugs, crime and poverty, everything else can wait.

Second on my hit list is the FDA, leave my fucking oysters alone you fuckmooks. No one is shoving raw Louisiana Oysters down anyone’s throat. If you are afraid you are going to die by eating a raw oyster then don’t eat them but don’t screw it up for the rest of us who love the local delicacy. You are going to die a lot faster eating a Big Mac every day than you will eating a dozen raw oysters every day.

Last but not least what drives a man to set his apartment on fire and hold police at bay for the better part of a day. I don’t know the guy, maybe he’s been an asshole all his life or maybe he is just a guy who needed a couple of friends to pull him back from the brink. As I found an alternate route home from work yesterday I kept wondering what drives a person to the brink and makes them snap. Maybe it’s just my perception but it seems like we have a lot of very tightly wound people in our community. I wish I could help them all just relax, go with the flow, take a chill pill. Life is too short to spend it being angry and depressed.