I woke up this morning very much hung over. Naturally, I wandered up and down Bourbon Street all night. From about 8pm to 2:30am. Didn’t really have any coherent conversation with anyone to report, but I did dance with a few very cute girls, two of which were there with their boyfriends. Fun stuff.
So, right now I’m in Atlanta and totally freaked out. I can’t get ahold of Petro. I’m having visions of sleeping in my car. I guess I shouldn’t have taken it for granted that he’d be here. I mean he said he would two weeks ago. Gulp…
Addendum: So, I ended up sleeping at this Brent guy’s house. Brent is the friend of a roommate (Alicia) of my friend Natalie. I had met Brent when I was in Nashville, and was trying all day to get in touch with Natalie. Eventually I broke down and called Alicia directly and she gave me Brent’s phone number. All’s well that ends well, huh?
Last night was scary as hell, man. I don’t think I’m cut out for camping, at least all by myself. I heard some utterly bizzare noises, and only fell asleep from sheer fatigue.
I’m in the Big Easy. I’m interested to see how things go, being by myself. My saving grace: The womens NCAA volleyball tournament is here. Sweet! I wish I was taller, I wish I was a baller…
Petro doesn’t know it, but I’m dropping in on him tomorrow. I’d call him but my cell phone only works 20% of the time. I’ll try again tomorrow, before I set out on the 8 hour drive.
Today I was beset by weather that would make nothern Ireland proud: wet, cold and gross. Didn’t do alot. Natalie was nice enough to take me out to lunch during a break in her day. We went to this place called Bosco’s.
Seinfeld moment: “For god’s sake George, tell him your code! Shout out your code!”
Later this evening, we all went to the EMT Holiday party. It was a good time. Apparently, 99% of people in Natalie’s program are women. Schwing! Later tonight I’m going to be crashing at my buddy Jim’s place. He owes me, considering all the money I forked playing poker with him.
I slept in today. Got up around 9:30am or so. It’s funny, you’d think I’d want to sleep in while I’m on vacation. But when I do, I feel like I’m sleeping my vacation away.
I felt it was time to explore Nashville. Nat was in class and her roommate Alicia works, so I was left to my own devices. I drove downtown and parked near Broadway and 2nd Ave. I could see the Titan’s stadium across the Cumberland River. I walked up 2nd Ave, which was filled with bars, restaurants and shops. I bummed around, took some pictures, did some light Christmas shopping and headed “home”.
I relaxed a bit, and then headed out on my bike to find a coffee shop and do some reading. Naturally, there was a Starbucks across the street from the Vanderbilt campus. Afterwards, I explored the campus. Nice place. I loved the signs that said “PKA members parking only”. Like these frats were country clubs or something.
That night I made dinner (garlic chicken, black beans and rice) for Natalie and Alicia. After that, Natalie took me out to the Opry Hotel. Very cool (very huge) place. Only pictures (which will be up when I get back) can do it justice.
I’m staying with my friend Natalie in Nashville. Her roommate’s name is Alicia, and she’s a total sweetheart. I awoke this morning at around 9am to the soothing sounds of Alicia making cereal. I felt like starting the day off right and going for a little bike ride. You know, get the blood pumping, diminish my gargantuan hangover, etc. I asked her if she could point me in a good direction, we started to talk about biking, and next thing I know she’s throwing some sweats on and we’re driving out to a park with some nice trails.
We biked for a good 30-45 minutes on some very hilly trails. I thought about staying longer, but football starts at noon (!) out here in the central time zone. I was especially keen on today’s games because my post-season fantasy football fate hung in the balance. I’ll spare you the suspense. My team sucks ass, and I’m already looking ahead to next year.
I just got back from watching the season finale of the Sopranos at this kid Adam’s place. He lives right below Natalie and has a big-screen TV and HBO. Nice guy to know. Anyway, it was under-whelming. Too many loose ends, not enough resolution. Not mention zero nudity and not enough gun play. I guess we’ll have to wait to next season. Bleh.
Itineary update: I’m thinking I might hit Dallas on the way to Austin. Anyone have anything good or bad to say about the city?
For those of you who don’t know, I have embarked on a two week road trip. The tentative plan is to hit Nashville, Austin, New Orleans and Atlanta. I left yesterday, a little bit later than I had hoped. I was still pretty hung over from Liz’s holiday party, and didn’t end up leaving until 9:30am.
The drive was nice, as far as endless, identical, rolling hills goes. It took about 9 1/2 hours, with a couple of stops for food and gas.
Minor rant: My cell phone is a piece of shit. I have trouble recieving calls, I often can’t make calls, and connections get dropped all the time. I went to an AT&T store to see what the problem might be, and I was told that my antenna was broken. Um, you mean the antenna that’s embedded in the phone? The one that doesn’t stick out whatsoever? How the hell did it break? If you try to call me, just plan on leaving a voice mail. I’ll check it from a pay phone when I get a chance.
I got in to Nashville at around 7:30pm. My friend Natalie is letting me crash with her, so I drove over to her place and we ran out to get some food. Where did we go, you ask? Why, Baja Fresh of course. So much for variety in my life.
We went to a couple of bars that night. I was stunned. I had expected a plethora of cowboy hats and mullets. In that respect, I was disappointed. Both places were obviously college hang-outs, and people were more or less normal. It was me and about, oh, 7 or 8 girls. I had no complaints. I got hammered, grooved to a live country band that was playing at the Tin Roof, and came back to Natalie’s place around 3am. Excellent start to my trip.
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Sweet! I wish I was taller, I wish I was a baller…
