One of my favorite New Orleans bloggers points out the double-edged sword of having a bartender as a friend.

• A bartending friend can be great because his hand can be a little 'heavier' on your drinks.


• A bartending friend can be great because he knows exactly what you like and mix it up before you've even bellied up to the bar.


• A bartending friend can be great because he can get you into all sorts of parties and events that you might not otherwise be able to attend.


• A bartending friend can be great because he will do things for you that he wouldn't for the tourists, such as stock a brand of liquor that only you order.

So remember all the good things about your bartender friend the next morning when you awake with a pounding headache, blanched skin, extreme dehydration, and no idea of how you got home.

And remember the Golden Rule: NEVER date your bartender friend.

We returned this evening from an event-filled weekend in New Orleans. To follow up on an earlier post, everyone was very cool at the orientation this Saturday. D was quite popular with my classmates' spouses and partners. During one break, he was surrounded by five women as he talked to them, so involved I couldn't even break in to say hello. Varla's show Friday night was great - the 11PM show had been added at the last minute to accomodate popular demand. I enjoyed her "mother's" performance - 17 years in the grave hasn't (haven't?) dulled her singing. I really liked Chat Noir, where she performed: I hope it makes it.

Aside from Tulane orientation stuff (team building, getting student photo IDs, hearing how tough the first week in January is going to be, meeting teammates), we hung out at the Pub and Good Friends om Saturday. We caught the tail end of a benefit drag show at Good Friends; we were there long enough for D to heckle one or two of the 'stars'. We went to Felix's for dinner Sunday and then to Jackson Square for the annual Christmas Carol singalong before we headed back to the Pub.

The highlight of the weekend and probably an appropriate introduction to New Orleans was the report on the Sunday night news about a round of fisticuffs at Morton's Steakhouse between two pillars of the local business community, Al Copeland and Robert Guidry, . I loved Guidry's lawyer's comment: "None of that would have happened if he (Al Copeland) was eating at one of his own restaurants." (Al started Popeye's and owns the Copeland's chain of restaurants). Seeing the TV report was much better than reading the newspaper account. Shots of two old, pot-bellied guys wearing bad black toupees was great, but seeing Al in his Elvis-like wedding suit was priceless.

And did I mention the story about the school superintendant's school janitor father whose income skyrocketed after sonny took over? We're talking about making more than any principal in the district!

It's gonna be fun.