Sunday, February 28, 2010

Last Week (if now was a week ago)

As stated above, this is a make up post.

I promise you, if i had been able to do it on time, it would have been great, but with the passage of a week, my memories of good one liners have faded and now you're stuck with this.

so (assuming the tense of presently being in the past) it was Mardi Gras week, a week I used to really like when I was a kid.

I'm fortunate enough to have a great colleague who lives along the parade route, which means we don't have to fight for space, bathrooms, etc, or have much contact with the general public, thus making it worth the trip.


Tuesday started pretty cold, and Riley had his first experience wearing gloves, which he tolerated because of their officially licensed Saints emblems.

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Riley was tolerant of the parade, but his interest was waning until we met up with another colleague and his daughter, Bayley, who is 10 days older than Riley.
Last year she could walk well and he couldn't, so their interaction was limited.
This year though, they seemed to hit it off.

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But we need to teach him that it's not nice to bounce ball off of people's heads.
(unless it is us doing it to him, then it's good family fun)

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Gavin has joined the crew here this week and Riley is trying to help him fit in.
Riley wants to play, but doesn't quite understand that an 8 week old really has no use for a tool set.

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Thursday night, Eli and I headed over to the armpit for a Sevendust show at the Varsity.
As usual, these guys are one of the best live shows around, and as long as they keep touring I will keep buying tickets (despite not really listening to their last three or four albums)

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On Saturday, we headed back to the armpit for a trip to the zoo with Caroline's crew.

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The BR zoo has a pretty nice playground, but it is usually crowded.
We got there right at opening time though, and headed straight to the toys, where we had the place to ourselves for at least a half hour.

Caroline had fun showing us how to half grasp concepts, such as the proper placement of sunglasses, without consideration for size.

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Riley was less than thrilled with the prairie dog tunnels

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and his favorite part of the petting zoo was washing his hands afterward. That boy ain't right.

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Paul played with our long lens (formerly his) and got to satisfy his inner spy.

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Riley, despite being in the darkened reptile/fish house, insisted that his future was so brilliant that sunglasses were necessary.
(that just doesn't have a ring to it)

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To close out the trip, as he gripped the last thread of his awake-ity, we took a spin on the train.

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Back in Lafayette, the kids showed of Paul's really cool, (non-saints) Fleur d'ecrevisse shirt design.

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On random notes, one of the best food deals in town is the Royal Panda buffet to go. Cheaper than dining in, and you can get up to 10 pieces of sushi. Add one roll and you've got a great meal for two for $15.

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and between second hand Rock Band and Celebrity Rehab, Riley has taken an interest in being the Man in the Box.

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That's about all of the fun times for this week. If you only come here for cheery, stop here and we'll see ya next week.


If you're still around, what I left our was part of our Saturday that wasn't fun.

Sadly, some family members lost a daughter this week, a good way into the pregnancy.
Saturday afternoon was the small funeral service, as she was far enough along that arrangements were necessary.
Even though I've seen it a couple of times before, a shoe box size coffin is always heartbreaking.


On a similarly emotional note, Sevendust has a memorial song, written for one of their friends killed in a car accident, entitled Angel's Son. The song took on even more meaning for them when the lead singer's brother was murdered a few years ago.

The song got them their most mainstream success, and they always play it.
I've seen it 3 or 4 times and Lajon always cried, but I never connected with the song.

Given the events of the last couple of months, at this week's show, I heard the song as if for the first time, and it really connected.



(Sorry if you tube is blocked for you. I didn't know where else to post it with that size file.)

if you are interested in the song, check out the two alternate videos on YouTube. I found the hospital one a few days after we lost my dad, and it was damn hard to watch.

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