The Scorecard - 1/2/05

From JC - The Scorecard - 1/2/05

This is actually relevant to now, as well. I think I'll do a new Scorecard after this one.

Since this is a new diary site, I decided I'd better give a rundown of the "players" in my game o' Life.

Destiny: Cabbie. My best friend in NOLA. Originally from Buffalo, NY. She's older than me by just a few years. She likes to talk, write, and people-watch. She drives her cab at nite in the French Quarter area.

Lucky's: The bar I hang out in. On St. Charles Avenue. It's a 24-hour place. It's got a bar, food, a laundromat, 2 pool tables, a dart board, a small stage for bands, and a quiet "reading" nook with books. You can buy the books for $1.00, which goes to a battered women's shelter. I often donate books there. There's another corner where you can donate clothes or baby goods or foodstuffs, for the women's shelter, but also for the psych ward at Charity Hospital. It also has a porch, so you can sit outside and drink and watch the streetcars go by. It's part of a chain of bars owned by Igor. There's Lucky's, Checkpoint Charlie's, Igor's, and the Buddha Belly.

Boo LaCrosse: The manager of Lucky's. Originally from Wisconsin. He used to work at Buffa's. He dates Meg, who works at the St. Charles Tavern. He's a musician, as well...has played with lots of "big name" people, including the Violent Femmes, the Neville Brothers, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.

Debbie: Weekend dayshift bartender at Lucky's. Also a Notary Public. She's...errr...not quite all there. She's not a really good bartender at all. It's not that she's not nice...she's just...not there. I don't know a better way to put it.

Becca: The weekday dayshift (and Wed nite) bartender. She's a very cool littl riotgrrrl. Originally from Detroit. Very level-headed. Good bartender. Good listener. We often call her "Mama" Becca. Younger than most of us by several years. She dates Don.

Don: Dates Becca. He runs Cafe Reconcile, and is a chef. A big bear of a guy (compared to Becca's 5-ft nothing frame), very genial. Our own local celeb, as he's always appearing in newscasts and in the papers for things related to Cafe Reconcile.

Cafe Reconcile: A restaurant only open for breakfast and lunch. On Oretha Castle Haley Drive...about 2 blocks behind Lucky's. It's basically a halfway house, with a twist. The ppl that work there are all street kids that are in the process of being rehabilitated...ex-gangbangers, dealers, druggies/alcoholics, battered/homeless kids, etc. CR takes these kids and teaches them job skills...everything from cooking to waiting tables to working a cash register. When they are done with the program, restaurants all over New Orleans line up to hire these kids, because they know the kids are good at what they do. Don runs the Cafe.

Buffa's: Bar/restaurant on Esplanade. Destiny and I hang there. Boo used to work there, and used to date Sarah, who is a bartender there. JD bartends there.

Sandy: Thursday day shift and fill-in bartender at Lucky's. Relatively new to the Lucky's scene. She's very cool. Also an "exotic dancer". She dates JD.

JD: Bartender for Buffa's and Checkpoint Charlie's. Dates Sandy. Originally from Washington, D.C. Lots of piercings and ink. Fire-eater. Very cool, intelligent, mellow guy.

Karen: Bartender at Lucky's. 3rd shift weekends. Intelligent. Writes poetry. Most guys love her. She dated (dated? Well, ok...slept with) Jack for a while. She dated Travis and Angelo at the same time, then chose Travis over Angelo.

Travis: Dates Karen. Lives upstairs from Lucky's. Very young, but thinks he has the entire world figured out, and everyone is stupid except him. Knows Karate and Judo. Looks like the typical renderings of Jesus. Alcoholic.

Angelo: Boo's best friend. Divorced. Has 2 sons. Greek. Originally from New York. Used to date Karen. Very nice, very mellow guy. Dangerous, too, but you'd never know it. Was Special Forces in the military, and a bouncer in New York and New Orleans. Could prolly kill someone 20 different ways with a single finger. Good thing he's so mellow.

JT: 3rd shift bartender at Lucky's. Musician. I don't see him much anymore. Married to J. She's from the Netherlands, originally, and her name's hard to spell and pronounce. So "J" will do.

J: Married to JT. She's an OT in the psych ward at Charity Hospital. Likes to sew and do crafts. Originally from the Netherlands. Keeps her hair in blonde dreads.

OTEL: Saturday nite band at Lucky's. They play elsewhere, as well. Nominated for "Best Emerging Band in New Orleans". Paul is the lead singer, lead guitar, and keyboards. Al plays bass and sings backup. Hiero plays second guitar and sings backup. He's from Japan, and barely speaks any English, but is absolutely amazing on a guitar. I forget the drummer's name, but he's not there all that often. I think they're trying to replace him.

Jack: My ex-boyfriend of one month. He used to "date" Karen, too. He's 34. Long hair. Drifter. Couch-Surfer. Talks non-stop. Thinks he's smart...and there may be some intelligence there, but acts more stupid than anything else. Gets his information about women from "Maxim" magazine. Racist. Homophobe. Cheerfully proclaims to be a Redneck Asshole. Nothing is EVER his fault.
What did I see in him? No clue. I was lonely, and he paid attention to me. I've learned my lesson quite well, thank you.

Sean: Lives upstairs from Lucky's with his g/f Arienne and Arienne's son (when her son is not w/his father in FL). Big guy, well over 6' tall. Looks scary but is a teddybear. I love him, he loves me, but he loves Arienne more. Hates most ppl. Wants to go back to Arizona and live in the desert. I think he'll actually do that this year. Prolly right after Mardi Gras.

Dockside: Dockide is a restaurant in River Ridge, where I used to live when I first moved to LA. The owners, Ms. Rebecca and Dan, basically adopted me. I used to eat there 2 or 3 times a week. They (or the waitstaff) taught me how to eat boiled crab, fix Turtle Soup, and the proper way to eat Crawfish. Rogie is a waitress there.

The rest of the scorecard is my family, and lesser players in New Orleans and Milwaukee and elsewhere. People I don't see as often as I should, or some that I know only as "acquaintance"...the barflys and so on.

2005 is Odd, So Far - 1/2/05

From JC - 1/2/05 - 2005 Is Odd, So Far...

You know how, sometimes, when you're sick, everything around you seems TOO bright, and TOO real....but at the same time, you have a feeling that if you blink one too many times, it'll all disappear?
I have that right now.
I woke up yesterday not hung over, but sick. Most likely a sinus infection. I can't breathe without gagging. I haven't eaten since New Year's Eve. I haven't smoked since then, either.
The only meds I've taken are the horrid-sounding "Mucinex", and some hot tea.
Oh, and I took some Excederin, too....kinda hoping that this was all just hangover-related.
Nothing changed, so I guess not.

I was supposed to go to Lucky's last nite to see OTEL play.
Also, Angelo bought me a Christmas prezzie, and said he would bring it last nite to give it to me.
I'm very touched, and now feeling guilty, because I have nothing for him.
I told him he didn't have to get me anything, and he said "I wanted to." He said he gave everyone a prezzie except bartender Debbie...'cause nobody really likes Debbie. I felt guilty leaving her out, tho', and I got her something small, anyway.
Then he said, "I hope you like it", to which my response was, "Well, of course I will", and he said, "No, I mean I really do hope you'll like it", with a touch of anxiety. Well, as anxious as Angelo can get, anyway....he's way mellow.
This makes me think that (unlike a lot of guys) he actually gave thought to what to get me.
I'm touched.
Destiny is, too. She said she's more anxious than I am to see what he got me now. Heh.
I'm s'posed to go to Grits on Lyons to watch the football games today. They have many TV's, so we can watch the Saints, the Packers, and the Jets all at once. I've never been to this bar before, but apparently, the rest of the Lucky's crowd goes there quite often.
Besides not being able to breathe, I guess I feel OK. Just spacey.
I don't work tomorrow, so I could stay out late if I really wanted to.
Do I really want to?
Being sick means rest and tea and meds.
But I really want to watch the games. I'll only get the Saints game if I watch at home.
And I want see what Angelo got me.

I think I'll take a shower. I always think (and feel) better after a shower, sick nor not.

I'm kinda worried about my parents. They went to Greece for New Year's Eve. I usually talk to them every Sunday morning at 8 AM (my time), regardless of what time zone they happen to be in.
I tried all of their numbers there, and nobody answered any of them.
And...it's now 8.30 AM (my time), and they haven't called me, either.
It's evening in Greece. They could be headed out to dinner somewhere. If they're in the mountains, they don't get phone reception.
If I don't hear from them in about an hour, I'll start calling my sisters for news.

The start of 2005 continues to remain....odd.