Note #1: Look, the important thing is not how Reggie Bush undertook his contract negotiations or how he attempted to blackmail the team, what really matters is that the Saints are now 2-0. And right now I’m going to take any good news from New Orleans that I can get. Seriously, someone asked me recently what it was like in New Orleans and I replied, “It’s kind of like Bagdhad” and given the destruction and the continual flow of military vehicles I’m not that far off the mark.
Note #2: Dear God, did Notre Dame look bad on Saturday. When your third play results in an interception return for a touchdown you know it’s going to be a long day. I just didn’t think it would turn out to be that long. Sights you never want to see in a football game: your cornerback shaking his head after the receiver has him beat by ten yards. As I emailed a few people, it was good that I didn’t try to get tickets to the game since they were asking for an arm and a liver and I need both of my livers.
Because of the football game (and the fact that I am recovering from the last bit of jet lag/travel induced cold) I took Saturday night off to hang out at Borders, listen to Beth Orton CDs and watch Garden State over and over again. (Side note: I’ve been arguing with myself what the best album of 2006 has been. Beth’s “Comfort of Strangers” is in the lead, mainly because it has grown on me a lot). But there was another reason to take a night off, the previous night just wasn’t that fun of a night out at the bars.
I’ve come to the conclusion that my enjoyment level in bars is highly dependent on the number of people there. I am probably one of the few people who can enjoy myself in an empty bar. Literally, it’s been just me and the bartenders and I can have fun just joking with them, hanging out and reading the paper. A predominantly empty bar where the only people there are my friends (the fabled Wednesday nights at the Backer) was the location for some of the best moments of my life. Even an incredibly packed bar where you can barely move can be fun, if just for the sheer insanity of the moment.
But there is an inbetween point, where the bar is crowded but not packed, that for me is the least fun place on earth. And that’s what Friday night was like. It was a beautiful night so people were out but it’s not summer anymore so the crowds were slightly smaller. This meant I was able to get a seat at the bar but would be constantly jostled while sitting there. And this doesn’t happen when the bar is packed because in those situations no one can move. Here there was just enough space for everyone to drunkenly wander into each other and spill their drinks. It’s like there aren’t enough people to get a rush off of the crowd but too many people to have it just be a relaxing hang out time. So I ended up at a patio bar, mainly because it allowed me to get fresh air. Still crowded but at least I felt like I could relax. As Jamie the Bartender said to me, “You can’t complain about getting to have a drink under a clear night sky.” It was the nicest thing that anyone said to me all weekend.
The five random CDs of the week (featuring all female singers this time around…)
1) Cat Power “Myra Lee”
2) Laura Cantrell “Humming by the Flowered Vine”
3) Shannon McNally “Geronimo”
4) The Mollys “Only a Story”
5) Sleater-Kinney “The Hot Rock”
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