Unemployment

The house is so clean you could eat off the floors. The furniture is glowing with lemon Pledge. All windows are without cat-nose smudges. I’m a master at baking. My Nonna’s donated curtains are ironed and smell like her laundry detergent. The bed is made. The bathroom is sparkling and all of the towels are clean. The bills are paid, the picket fence is painted, the cd’s are in alphabetical order. We have plenty of ice, the newly planted herbs are growing. I’m knitting scarves and cell phone cozies for everyone one I know, in bizarre colors from leftover yarn. Papers are filed and I can find anything in the house in 30 seconds. All of our clothes are folded and put away, winter clothes in storage. Reservations are made for vacation in Jersey. There are no pens in this house that don’t write, all pencils are sharpened. I finished all of the Washington Post crossword puzzles in their online archives; I have answered every possible clue about Napoleon’s exile in Elba. There is nothing under the bed except a rarely-used suitcase. I have discarded all old makeup according to Style magazine’s chart. I take extremely long showers. I know every stray cat in a 3 block radius. I have taught my cats to come to me when called. I have seen every Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode at least twice. I have written multiple versions of a cover letter all saved under a different file name for easy access. I’ve tried every exercise program on the Comcast On Demand channel. My personal favorite is Pilates. The Yoga instructor is a lunatic, no one can get in those positions. The woodwork is clean and there are no dust bunnies in this house. The dry goods are stored according to the Joy of Cooking’s ‘Pantry Tips’. I know exactly how many tablespoons of butter equal a third of a cup.

Martha Stewart would be proud.

I am going mad.

How do you get out of a rut?

Ruts suck, and I’m in a big one. Each day is very similar to its predecessor, and neither stimulates me fully. Not to mention smile without forcing myself. But without significant savings, how does one bust loose from the man?
Clearing out your desk and bursting out of the office sounds fun, but it’s probably not the best technique for a successful ressurection of one’s career and social life. My mom says that when you’re unhappy or bored, you should something for someone else. So if anybody needs something done that can be accomplished from New Orleans, please feel free to ask. I mean anyone. There has to be a way for the little folk. Help me.

Paul’s birthday is Sunday. Everyone, whether you know him or not, should call 917-673-7313.

Kent, please add spell check to this thing ….
Leslie, please take your top off ….

Thanks … DP

Music Midtown 2005

Music Midtown 2005
Please note: re-entry will be permitted provided that patrons obtain a wristband before leaving the festival and present a valid ticket w/wristband when returning. DO NOT LOSE YOUR TICKET even if you have a wristband.

hmmm. That wristband thing makes me think that selling tickets might be difficult. This is the first year that they have done the 3 days 1 price thing, so no one really knows how it will work.

The man who saved the Saints

Saints’ owner not about to return sweet steal from Louisiana
May 2, 2005
Commentary: Glenn Guilbeau


Those checks started at $12.5 million in 2001, went up to $15 million in 2002, will rise to $20 million in 2006 and to $23.5 million in 2008 and remain there through 2010. The checks, which will add up to over $180 million by 2010, keep coming regardless of what the Saints do on or off the field.

Should the Red Sea part and the Saints go 12-4 this season and make more money on ticket sales, game-day sales, merchandise sales and the like, they would still get $20 million from the state in 2006. It won’t matter what kind of season the state has.

It’s clearly the sweetest deal in the history of the NFL, which is known for having the most lucrative and competitively balanced financial blueprint in all of sports.

Thank you, former Gov. Mike Foster. You always said you weren’t much of a sports fan, but you made NFL history. And it could well be your legacy.

Stop with the talk of New Orleans being a poor market. All NFL markets make money because of the TV contracts and shared revenue. The Saints had the highest payroll in the NFL in 2003 and still went 8-8.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why the Saints suck. It doesn’t matter if they win or lose. All they have to do is show up. This is why Aaron Brooks is still pitching the ball back to his imaginary friends in the backfield. This is why it doesn’t matter that Donte Stallworth should have had his “breakout season” by now. This is why it doesn’t matter that we had the worst defense in the NFL last year and we took an OT in the first round of the draft.

Dave’s right. All businessman, no NFL fan. And who suffers because of it. The fans. The people of the City of New Orleans have been so loyal to this team. The Saints are regarded as a joke across the NFL. Commonly known as the worst team in NFL history. And yet every season, we dont give up. We keep supporting this team, even though they will only break our hearts. And now Benson is trying to use fear tactics on the fans talking to San Antonio. Disgusting.

There is no other deal out there for you that is better, Tom. Bite the bullet, be a hero to the city. The man who saved the Saints.

Lunch w/ Brent Joseph

On Wednesday, Tom Benson played his relocation trump card by having his lawyer in San Antonio tell the S.A. newspaper about the offers the Saints have received from other cities.
He has absolutely no loyality to this city. He’s all business man and 0 football fan.
Albuquerque, New Mexico? Bullshit. (Is it OK to curse and does this thing have spell check?)
The NFL in New Mexico, great …
Meanwhile, Brent Joseph and I are on our way to eat catfish from the Sav-A-Center buffet. To the shower I go … la, la, la, lllllaaaaa …

Party like it’s 1999

Happy Birthday Beth! She has reached a new age bracket and sadly, the American advertisers are no longer clammoring for her money – she has moved to the Adult bracket – a real job, 401k’s, health insurance, a savings account. Poor Beth, no longer a kid. But don’t worry, everyone will still treat you like one and the family will still ask you a million questions about every aspect of your life.

It’s now time for Mom to take you to an expensive lunch with snow crab legs and cosmopolitans.

Welcome to the big time.

Love,
Leslie

First place

So after many weeks, our team finally took first placeat trivia night at the Prince of Wales. It wasn’t that big of a feat as there were only 6 teams playing, but we did dominate the few who were playing.

Our total winnings in house cash on the season stands at $150. The plan is to win first place (a $50 prize) twice and then spend a Saturday afternoon drinking our winnings in the form of shots with fruity/sexy/witty/lame names out on the patio of the bar. I imagine we will get greedy and thirsty and want to wait for three or four first place finishes, especially if the past two weeks are an indication of our luck.

WR Lyman has torn ACL

WR Lyman has torn ACL
Wide receiver Chase Lyman was injured before he ever made his first play as a college football player, and now he has suffered the same fate as a pro.

In his first workout as an NFL player Friday, Lyman, the Saints’ fourth-round pick in last month’s NFL draft, again tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Nice going. This will be the best Saints season ever. Being the Glass Bus myself, I can feel for these guys who are perpetually injured.

At least we don’t have Kellan Winslow, Jr. Although I’m sure we are looking to trade someone for him.

NFL says Nolan cannot ‘suit’ up

49ERS NOTEBOOK / NFL says Nolan cannot ‘suit’ up
Coach Mike Nolan recently petitioned the NFL to allow him to wear a suit on the sidelines during game days.

“To me, it’s professional. I think it’s respectful,” Nolan said. “There was certainly no deal, no one came to me, there was nothing to gain. I wasn’t trying to put the spotlight on me. But what I was trying to say, there’s somebody in charge and this is what they look like.”

The league turned Nolan down. Head coaches must wear the NFL-sanctioned team garb.

That’s total bullshit. Brian Billick gets away with wearing his lame-ass leather jacket over in Baltimore. Let the man wear a suit and make him wear a 49ers tie-tack or socks or something.

It makes me sad

I had a nice hour and a half long conversation with Koster last night at 4am. It was a great time. We talked about terrible things we’ve done, Peter, our dads, living in New Orleans, living away from New Orleans, love, marriage, girls, debts, taxes, you name it. I so miss having him accessible.

Unfortunately, he also told me that he is not coming to Atlanta in June for Music Midtown. He’s going to Chicago, where the music festival is $10 a day (Music Midtown is $75 for 3 days). A quick search on the internet didn’t reveal anything more about this mysterious Chicago festival. Taste of Chicago is free, so that’s not it.

Anyway, this is the third person who has balked at the steep ticket prices, or at least at the “one ticket for all three days” policy for Music Midtown. I will be curious to see if the attendance is up or down from last year, where apparently you bought a separate ticket for each day, allowing a little more flexibility for out-of-towners and in-town folks who might have jobs.