Today started out cold but ended up sunny and even a tiny bit warm, which meant a much better mood for my commute home than to campus. I pedaled slowly, still working on catching my breath from this stupid cold. As I rode, I thought about the past week and a half or so of the Patois Film Fest. Continue reading
Ghost of an Old Building at Oretha Castle Haley and Terpsichore
Yep, still under the weather, but I’ve decided to pretend I’m not sick so I can go back outside and play. I know, I know…that’s no way to get genuinely better, I’m just prolonging the sickness, etc. etc. etc. What can I say–I’m a terrible patient. So after a day spent reading rather devastating legal cases about transexuals in prison, I hopped on Maxx EFX and rode down to Zeitgeist to catch another film in the Patois Film Fest. Continue reading
Broken Toilet at 6th and Lasalle
Ok, so I probably should have staying in tonight, but I am constitutionally unable to sit on my couch and stare at the TV. I used to be able to do that just fine, but no more; I blame bikes and New Orleans weather. So I took the speedy new bike–currently know around the house as “Maxx EFX”–down to Zeitgeist for a screening of the great movie Salt of This Sea as part of the Patois Film Festival. Continue reading
Debris at an Empty Lot at St. Charles and Louisiana
I’m totally sick. I hate being sick. I will fight admitting it to the end. But my throat hurts and I’m achy and a simple ride to campus left me out of breath. So after class I rode straight home and got on the couch and promised myself I’d stay here until I actually feel better, not just until I wish I felt better. (I’m a terrible patient.) Continue reading
Jessica Halem and Blanche Debris at Le Chat Noir
My internet connection was down last night and most of today, so I was sadly unable to blog when I got home from my ride. Gasp! But I”m back online, and I’ve just got to type a few words about what I saw riding my bike around yesterday. After a leisurely ride home from work and a day taking care of all the daily stuff I’m always putting off in favor of bike rides, I hopped on the Surly to catch a fundraiser for The Social Project at Le Chat Noir featuring Jessica Halem. Jessica is hilarious. Continue reading
Amy Hempel, Sally Kenney, and Lemonade at Tulane
Short story writer Amy Hempel is on Tulane’s campus this week as the Zale-Kimmerling Writer in Residence, and today she came to my class to chat with my students and answer questions ranging from the writerly (How do I keep my own voice and also write for an audience?) to the mundane (Where have you eaten so far?). When asked what it takes to be a writer, she said she doesn’t really think it’s about talent–it’s about obsession and nerve. Continue reading
The Vagina Monologues Closing Night at Tulane U.
I have to admit to a giant bonk today after a long weekend of excessive riding the new bike and the attendant excitement. Man, I was ti-red today, feeling hungover even though I haven’t (im)properly tied one on in quite a long time. The answer seemed to me to be water, lots and lots of water, so I spent my day sipping steadily out of my fancy new water bottle. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I stayed off the bike. Continue reading
St. Patrick’s Day Walking Club at St. Charles and 7th
I love a parade. No, really. I love a parade. This means, of course, that I’m meant to live in New Orleans, a town that will throw a parade for just about anything. Today was the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Uptown version. Because of course there are parades all over the metro area for a good week before the actual day. Continue reading
Greyhound Bus Station at Loyola and Pontchartrain Expressway
I was pretty tired from yesterday’s bike ride, but after taking Rhoda up to campus for some work this morning, I got excited to get back on the new bike for another zippy ride, this time downtown to meet D. to head over to Warren Easton High School for opening night of the Patois Film Fest and the documentary film Freedom Riders. I thought I was racing D. on my bike, her in her Mini Cooper, but she informed me that I was the only one racing–not the first time I’ve heard that one. Continue reading
Abandoned Piano at Beauregard and Wisner
I met up with S., an old friend from college yesterday for beer, chatter, some of her homebaked pecan sticky buns (positively ridiculously delicious–if you are in Memphis, hit that farmer’s market for sure!), and, surprise, surprise, bike gossip. You see, she has this bike that an ex gave her, and it has been living in a basement in New Orleans while she’s off grinding her own wheat flour in Memphis. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 
