Routine

The Treme Community Center pool is working out great. I thought that the 8 AM opening time might be limiting, but it seems to work out OK with mid-day coffee shop writing and photo editing, errands, house projects, usually a nap and an evening music performance. A 5:30 wake up might just be too much unless I slept through the afternoons, and the athletic club with a pool is expensive.  I have been running into the regulars at the pools, and it is nice to be accepted there as the guy who swims for an hour or hour and a half. 

I walked to the Royal Street Rouse’s to get some New Orleans Coffee cold brew, a concentrate I use to make iced coffee which is kind of addictive, and a baguette. It was hot-at least for an Alaskan-82 and humid, right on the edge of rain. I stopped at Buffa’s to cool down on my way home and it started pouring. I am not quite used to weather that changes over the course of an hour instead of a week or month. I decided to wait out the storm and had some red beans and rice. Buffa’s has won city-wide awards for its red beans, which is saying a lot, and at least to my taste, mine are very comparable-same style, level of spice and smoke, and amount of pork(lots), with optional andouille sausage on the side. I’m going to have to try their creole sauce for etouffee soon and see if I am close there as well. 

I talked with an old neighborhood guy who retired from Charity Hospital as a maintenance worker. He told stories as long as the rain lasted, and was very excited to find out I was from Alaska and named Claus. He said his house is already decorated for Christmas because it is his favorite time of the year and he wants to make it last. I hope to run into him again, despite the repeated advice to buy index funds.

I cooked a good meal of baked chicken and sautéed vegetables and mushrooms. It is good to have decent bread around, something that is often hard to come by in Craig. I scanned the music calendar, and decided to go to dba to see a band called Dinorchestra, which I assumed would be old-time jazz. I walked into the club and there was one other person in the joint. The band outnumbered us 3 to 1. I guess Tuesday night is the night to come out if you want to hang with the musicians. It was like having a six piece band in your living room. 

I recognized the bass player from John Boutte’s combo and the trombonist from the Catahoulas. I’m thinking that is how the scene works, with combinations of  musicians coming together more or less regularly, but gigging whenever they can. Lisa Caspar sang a few ones, and she headlines a show a couple of nights a week. The band was good, playing pre-bop jazz competently and with a good sense of fun. The crowd filled in a little, but I felt bad for the lean tip jar.

The Bulls are playing the Pelicans tonight, and tickets are cheap. I’m going to the game with first row upper deck tickets for $13. The Pelicans made the playoffs last year, but have lost 6 in a row after a good start to the season. I think this like watching the Cubs in the late 70s/early 80s, paying your dues to be a true fan when they start winning. At least it should be fun.