Symmetry

Today is 02/01/02, a nice symmetric day, the only one this year.

Today is a day of beginnings and an end.

Beginnings:

• I started my new classes today, Microeconomics and Organizational Behavior. Seeing A Beautiful Mind the other night interested me in game theory, which is in my Micro textbook (chapter 13). It might help me better understand how the bar scene works - non-cooperative games.


• We moved into our new New Orleans swankienda today. A new beginning in a new city. Josh in enjoying the guest bedroom immensely, you might want to know.


• It's the beginning of Super Bowl weekend.


• And then it's the beginning of Mardi Gras - parades, boys, and hangovers!

And, sadly, there was an ending today. Our good friend Setchie passed away today. He was a unique person with a tremendous artistic talent. Thankfully, he was surrounded by family and friends when he left us.

Heard an elderly lady say this at the local Sav-a-Center today while we were in the express checkout line.

"What is a Condoleezza Rice?"

She was looking at the cover of the current O Magazine, in which Oprah interviews Condo.

Neither her friend nor the lady behind her knew that Condo is W's National Security Advisor. Ever the know it all, I told her who Condo is.

"Oh, I thought it was something you ate."

And you know, in New Orleans I can understand why someone would say that.

Now that the weather here has warmed up significantly, I've been able to wear shorts again. They were in a long period of hibernation while were in SF. I'm happy to say that not only do they still fit, they're actually looser now that I've dropped 20 lbs. in the past year. I'll probably drop 2" on the waist size when I replace them!

Ever the fashion maven, when he saw me after I'd dressed D told me to untuck the T-shirt I was wearing. I asked why and he said it wasn't fashionable, especially with the pleated shorts I was wearing. As he put it: "You're showing your age when you wear your T-shirt like that."

To which I said, "Yeah, but I'm still a sex bomb, aren't I?"

It's been an eventful few days since we arrived in New Orleans.

• On Friday, I put BeBe in the kennel again; the friend we're staying with in Maryetairie is allergic to cats, so BeBe has to go away for a few days. Happily, everybody at the kennel fell instantly in love with her. And why not? We ended the day by visiting D's brother and sister-in-law in their French Quarter apartment and then off to the Bourbon Pub for a few smart vodka sevens. BTW, why do all the gay New Orleans websites add a cheesy music soundtrack to the site?


• Saturday was the day of our first Mardi Gras 2002 parade, the Krewe of Shangri-La. Prior to the parade, we slogged our way through I-10 traffic to attend a pre-parade party at the home of our friends Larry and Donnie, who live a few blocks from the St. Charles portion of the parade route. I caught a few beads. That evening we went to a party at the House of Blues thrown by one of Mae-Z's vendors. Had a great time, had my very first tarot reading. Interesting insights! However, the drinks were really bad.


• Sunday, the aforementioned Krewe of Barkus. I neglected to mention that feline lovers on Saturday held their parade, the Krewe of Endymeow. For those not familiar with Mardi Gras parades, these two play on the names of the Saturday and Sunday night Mardi Gras parades, the Krewe of Endymion and the Krewe of Bacchus. Although the canine krewe members behaved well during the parade, one had to watch his step on the FQ's sidewalks after Barkus. More beads.


• By Sunday evening, in less than three days in New Orleans I'd collected two parking tickets while parked in the French Quarter. I think there's an inverse relationship between the level of incompetence of a city's government and the effectiveness of that city's parking enforcement team.


• Monday, pretty dull as I finished my readings for the next round of classes.


• Tuesday, I took pictures in the FQ while D had his hair cut. Once I re-establish a hosting service, I think I'm going to start a new contest: Where am I in the French Quarter? Don't know about the prize, but locals (and you know who you are) are ineligible to participate.

Hopefully, we move into our new place this coming Friday. Today was not a good day - we saw the place after the previous tenant had moved out and before the landlord had had a chance to finish his touch-up work. D's depressed and I get the blame.

And did I mention we're well along in putting together this year's costume?

A helpful tome for all you June brides.