NOlag 3/17/05

I’m happy with my job. It’s rowdy and fast and never boring. The people are colorful and I feel like I fit in just fine. It's a very human atmosphere. I’m even beginning to understand a little more about what I’m doing, and what is expected of me, although it’s still a tad tricky to be working for one company but at another. I’m still tired and continue to fight a lingering cold. It didn’t help that I took last Friday off and went to New Orleans to be with my freshman son (#2) for Loyola’s Family Weekend. I left Atlanta with #3 mid-day, amidst the dramatic events unfolding downtown. I confess to loving long drives in the car, even by myself, but particularly with my children. I like the clear objective, the inability to manage other matters for that time. I like moving forward. I like listening to music and talking, captive in the moment. Friday night, after gathering and checking in, we joined our friends for dinner at a place called R & O's on Lake Pontchartrain, in a neighborhood called Buckland (in or near Metarie, I think). We had a big group (13), including me, #2, #3, #2’s roommate, roommate’s parents, his aunt, her daughter and two of aunt's daughter's friends (aunt, et al were stopping to visit family on their way back to Atlanta from a spring break cruise), and one friend from HS who is a freshman at Tulane. As it turned out, #3 knew one of cousin's friends (from camp), and there was much surprised hugging and squealing (did I make those sounds when I was that age???) upon their first encounter. R & O’s was a zoo, and we had a long wait, with drinks and pinball to amuse the adults and not-quite-adults, respectively, and lively conversation for all. We shared crawfish, which, while tasty, I have to think are a great deal of work for a tiny bit of fairly grimy meat, and I, sticking with bottom feeders, had fried catfish dipped in a wonderful garlicy tartar sauce, which was delicious. It was all about the atmosphere and it was crowded and lively and loud and fun. Students and adults went separate ways. I had a nightcap at the hotel with roommate’s parents. I couldn’t talk one person into going to the Loyola-Spring Hill baseball game with me on Saturday. After watching the events in Atlanta unfolding on CNN all morning and enjoying some tranquility amidst the lush courtyards of the Maison St. Charles, a lovely (and reasonable) very “New Orleansy” Quality Inn in the Lower Garden District, I headed down to the campus and took my two boys and two friends to lunch at Frankie & Johnny’s (more delicious catfish), and the obligatory trip to Wal-Mart. I couldn’t talk my son into the jazz concert and dinner our friends were planning, but gave him the choice of what he wanted to do, so we got carryout from Voodoo Bar-b-q and went back to the hotel to watch TV. He was asleep by 9:30 and stayed right there for the night, despite his friends’ (and brother’s) repeated pleadings by phone and text message. It was sweet. He just wanted some peace and quiet, some food and some sleep. We got up Sunday and meandered (by way of the French Quarter for a look-see) back to school to wake up his younger brother, who was sleeping in his bed, for the over-hyped and underwhelming “Jazz Brunch”. We failed, and went without him, then the three of us headed to Café du Monde for beignettes and café au lait and a little touristy shopping for silly gifts to take back home. I had a great time, although I am still suffering from “NOlag” (en-OH-lag). We stayed too long, to watch the heart-stopping ACC Tournament Championship game between Georgia Tech and Duke. There was also a major navigational error leaving New Orleans, which resulted in many extra miles (too many to admit), but which delayed us just enough to allow us to thread the needle between two wicked lines of thunderstorms as we arrived home. I pulled the car to a stop (completely hopped up on coffee) at 1:19 Monday morning. It’s been a long week. I can’t comment on how well the school did Family Weekend, because I barely participated. I’m not sure why they held it when they did, because tomorrow is the last day of classes before spring break. I thoroughly enjoyed accepted students weekend, freshman orientation and the formal sessions of freshman move-in, but this past weekend, I had been missing my son and just wanted to spend time with him. I’m still tired, but it was great.