yeah Jesus, it's okay. sometimes i feel that way too.

the sacred heart of Jesus, loyola university, uptown, new orleans.











i've got a plethora of things to comment upon. here goes...

went to lunch with the lab group last friday (6.22) at zea rotisserie on st. charles. i broke my vegetarian rule and ordered barbecue ribs with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted corn grits. ::insert little party for the taste buds here:: since opening their original restaurant in harahan, louisiana, zea has become a burgeoning southern chain. i'd never had grits before, having heard not-so-rave reviews, but my grad student insisted these were The Best Grits Ever....and she was right. they taste like corn and look like mashed potatoes and they're wonderful.

saturday (6.23) i woke up early to go swimming at the audubon park pool which is located, of course, in the Nicest Park Ever. and, it was....free! yay for free swimming :o) i spent most of the afternoon finishing up an excellent book (which i would comment upon, but it's just that much better if you read it yourself) then went to mass at 4:30. i always have a hard time focusing in church for Some Reason. this time it was a lady with two children, i'd say the littler one was about seven and the older one about eleven or twelve. the children were full out laying, shoes and all, on the pews. maybe it's because i would have gotten smacked had i done that in church, but is it acceptable to let your kids do that anywhere but in the confines of their own dwelling? i don't care if they pay attention to mass---as long as they're quiet and reasonably still for their age--i don't care what they do. ::sighs and tries to sing hallelujah::

sunday (6.24) was spent wandering around the quarter [#12 bus down st. charles since the streetcar is still out of service :o/] i bought another dress ($35), a super neat chemistry antique that i won't tell you about so just bug me to see it ($18 @ david's found objects), 'curious george goes to the hospital' ($3/used--a great book, by the way), some beignets and an iced mocha at cafe beignet. some shops of note:

• the quarter stitch--beautiful yarn and other sewing sundries
• dalili's mask gallery--handmade mardi gras masks from both local and venetian artists

helped a homeless man not get run over by a train. granted, the train had paused on its journey, but climbing under a paused train with an old bike and a bag of cans isn't the Wisest Decision Ever. whew. polished off the evening by sitting on the banks of the mississippi reading 'curious george' and talking with david from santa monica who was going to college in nola. had dessert, served by a waiter from france (!), at cafe du monde with roommate and company :o)

{before i forget...the real world new orleans house (the 'belfort mansion') has been redone, i don't know where brangelina lives, nicholas cage's house is relatively non-descript on the exterior, and no i haven't dined at any of emeril's restaurants. no more requests for fancy-pants celebrity updates, please.}

this week was slow in the lab with our grad student out taking qualifying exams for her phd and just generally having no analyses except flow cytometry to run. flow is awesome in theory, suuuuper boring in real life. fiddling with knobs and lasers to get the results to fit correctly. changing test tubes every 45 seconds. snore.

monday was the roommate's 21st birthday at le bon temps roule. i was a little sleepy at work on tuesday. heehee.

wednesday (6.27) was So Medically Excellent. i spent the day shadowing the infectious disease staff: clinic from 9a-12p and inpatient rounds after lunch. i have to watch what i make public cause of all the hipaa hoopla, but everyone should watch this. it was a case for dr. gregory house. no joke. take home message for the meddies: be sure to get a THOROUGH HISTORY or else you'll be treating acute mercury poisoning with antibiotics. what a learning opportunity though. i'd be glad to share tidbits from the case, but not on here.

friday (6.28) was dinner with the roommate at babylon cafe. fabulous falafel sandwich + feta and olives + baclava for under $10. later that night we waltzed over to tipitina's on tchoup (say 'chop') and napoleon for a free (!) concert by troy 'trombone shorty' andrews and orleans avenue band. you should just fly your ass down here and see them live. anything i write up on here will not do the show justice. he's 21. he's amazing. the whole ensemble is....wow.

i have to write more later. i've spent about three hours on this post and i'm not anywhere near finished.

more tomorrow after work. promise.

-sleighpy