Friday, December 25, 2009

With a little help from my friends.

 I need something to do with my time.

 After almost a month in New Orleans , I feel I've about got my work situation squared away. Being something of a "cat on a hot tin roof" type, I hesitate to say I've rolled a natural seven with this current place of employment but I nevertheless have a good feeling about how it's going to work out, at least for the time being.

 That all being said, I am starting to get bored with the way things are going. Yeah, I know I'm in New Orleans, but I don't blame the city. I am an incredibly easy-to-please individual, requiring little more out of this life than good eats and something to read, which makes Jack an remarkably dull human being. This should come as a surprise to absolutely no body. And frankly, most of the charms of the French Quarter are for tourists looking to spend obnoxious amounts of money on watered-down drinks, shitty beer, cheap trinkets, and table dances.

 So, I'm taking suggestions. If anyone knows of any good eateries, watering holes, music clubs, music stores, book stores, or any other points of interest here in the Big Easy that a growing lad might find diverting on the odd free night and is so inclined to tell me, I would be much obliged. Now, keep in mind, I'd like to keep driving in this city to a minimum, and if you've ever tried to navigate the roads in New Orleans you know what I mean, so I'm looking for stuff either within walking distance of the French Quarter or easily accessible via the street cars.

 Thanks in advance.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Sixteen days

So, two weeks into this new life in New Orleans, and where do we stand?

 Well, first and foremost, I've got a pad I like with a roommate that I like. That may not seem so spectacular, but I have lived either alone or with my brother for the past seven years. Naturally, I was a bit apprehensive about moving in with a total stranger, especially considering how goddamn weird I can be. But Micah seems pretty cool with the situation and her critters seem to be getting used to me. And hey, I live in the French Quarter, you can't beat that with a stick.

 As of this week, I've got two sources of employment and two others that are definite maybes. Again, finding work, even kitchen work, may not seem like a big deal to normal people, but I've worked a grand total of two jobs in the past 10 years. Three if you count a month working the door at Tasty World but - and all love to Murphy - I don't really count that.

I don't want to go into any great detail about any of the jobs just yet because I simply have not spent enough time at any of them to judge. For those that know, the idea of me working more than one job may be a bit hard to swallow, but that's how I'm going to do things for the duration. I want to give myself a chance to figure out whether or not I like a gig before I commit myself. Frankly, friends and neighbors, looking for work is a serious drag, and if I can avoid that little pleasure for a while, I will.

I know I'll probably never find another day gig that suited me as well as prepping at The Grill did, nor will I ever find me a "career" that's anything beyond something to keep a roof over my head and money in my pocket. I tried it and it didn't work out, and sometimes that's just how it goes for some of us. I'll be a vagabond all my life, so I might as well find jobs that don't drive me up the wall.

 Truthfully, the personal side of things is lacking a bit. I've reconnected with some old friends since I've been here. Gretchen and Ezra continue to be awesome, Mike hooked me up with a killer sandwich, and I got to hang out with Benji and Chris last night. Hopefully, I'll get to spend some time with Breonne this week. I've made a couple new ones, too, and both Micah and Louise have been helpful with that.

I'm getting to know some of the locals in the Quarter and the other service industry people in the area, which is always nice. Plus, since starting this Facebook thing, I've reconnected with friends from all over and I feel sort of an ass for not doing it sooner.

 Beyond that, of course, I've no idea what to do next. Making friends has always been tough for me, and as much time as I do spend alone, the honest truth is I only enjoy it maybe 80 percent of the time. I have gone out, either to stomp around the Quarter observing the heatherns or to watch bands, but like in Athens or Gainesville or basically wherever, I spend my time in a corner watching everyone else have fun on a different level than what I'm experiencing. The eternal wallflower as well as vagabond, I suppose.

 One thing's for sure, I need to find folks to play music with and do it quick. I've been playing a lot the past couple years and it's become an integral part of what makes my existence just enjoyable, much less meaningful, more so than writing ever was. I'll get on that when the work situation gets figured out, maybe next week. Put up an ad on Craigslist, "Bass player new in town, looking for a honky-tonk band", something like that. And speaking of writing, I really haven't had the urge to start that back up on any serious scale. Maybe later, but for now randomly scattered blogging will do.

 What else am I missing? All in all, I still feel pretty confident about the move. I do have the occasional anxiety attack when I realize how much more expensive everything is here as compared to Athens and I still wonder just what I was thinking when I walk down Bourbon Street at 2 a.m. feeling completely out of place. Still, the sense of adventure is still fresh and I'm excited to see where tomorrow will take me.

 What do you think?