b.rox

My day started off with a bang. I’d just changed the inner tube on my bike because I ran over a screw the other day. First flat I’ve had in over a year, seems like. I pumped it back up, went to the sink to wash my hands and BANG. Really loud. Scared me. At [...]

The Ciprofloxacin is so effective it’s scary. Within an hour or two of taking the first dose, I felt worlds better. As my friend MF noted, you can feel it at work in your body. Rumbling throughout the digestive tract. I feel like I’ve dropped a nuclear bomb in my colon. And I can literally [...]

I’ve been off the caffeine for over a month now. I wanted to see if this would help with my intermittent insomnia. So far it seems to be doing just that. I’m having an easier time getting to sleep and staying asleep, without raiding Xy’s Xanax.

I see Slashdot is celebrating its tenth anniversary. That gave me pause to reflect on an artifact from my life ten years ago, which for various reasons I’ve been re-reading recently.
It’s called Stone Cold 97, and I suppose you could say it was my first foray into blogging. Actually it was a collaboration between my [...]

Upon our return to New Orleans, we had a bit of laundry to do, so I made my way to a nearby laundromat. This place was flooded, but it finally re-opened during our absence. The proprietor was hanging out in front, listening to Earth, Wind & Fire with his dog. I congratulated him on his [...]

It’s April, so that means my annual coffee reduction ritual is in full swing. I stepped down to three cups per day last week. Now I’m at two cups per day. Next week, one cup per day. By the end of the month, I’ll be caffeine free for at least a little while.
Of course, I’ve [...]

If I’d tried to post yesterday, It would have looked something like this:
Worst. Hangover. Ever. Can’t. Barely. Type.
This one took me by surprise. I correlate hangovers with drinking too much, plain and simple. But this time around, I wasn’t really that drunk. Not so’s anyone would notice. I might have expected a mild headache, but [...]

I’ve heard of the 9th Ward hipster scene, but I never checked it out until this past Saturday night, when Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat re-opened the Spellcaster Lodge. I’d never been there before, but I’ve been a fan of Quintron ever since I heard his Satanic croaking organ cover of Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about crime and violence lately, because it’s clear that it’s coming back to New Orleans. This point was made in dramatic fashion Saturday morning, when five teenage boys were murdered. The story is making international news but it’s indicative of a problem that’s been plaguing urban America for decades. It’s [...]

Ahhh… tea, just the way I like it.

(Back on the caffeine again after almost a month.)

Nice to have a holiday. I have Maundy Thursday and Good Friday off — an advantage of working at a Catholic institution. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on how close to “normal” our lives have become, despite the devastation that surrounds us.
We planned to meet some friends at the recently reopened Finn [...]

I haven’t consumed an alcoholic beverage since Mardi Gras. A number of my friends “kinda sorta” gave up alcohol for Lent, but they all gave up on giving up some weeks ago, and they look at me with a mixture of amazement and annoyance.
Instead of alcohol, I’ve mostly been drinking mineral water. After sampling a [...]

They say people are drinking more in New Orleans these days, and I believe it. I’ve certainly been doing my part. I’ve been drinking plenty. I justify this by telling myself I’m stressed out, and that a drink or three will help me relax and temporarily alleviate the anxieties associated with living in a disaster [...]

Last night I dreamed that my father was building a grow room in his house. Seems he’d become a marijuana enthusiast. Anyone who knows my dad knows this is about as likely as Lucifer ice-skating across the Lake of Fire.

Woke up yesterday morning feeling much better. I don’t know how to put my finger on it exactly, because many of my symptoms persist, but somehow it seemed the worst had passed. Since then I’ve had the feeling that I’m getting better rather than I’m so sick.
I went to the doctor yesterday morning, and her [...]

It’s rare enough for me to pull an all-nighter anymore, but this one took be totally by surprise.
See, Xy’s cousin Rusty is in town this weekend with a bunch of buddies from Bloomington, including Dylan, who’s getting married soon — a roving bachelor party.
And then there’s this guy Avocado Tom. I’d never met him before [...]

I’m in my annual coffee-reduction mode. Starting in the middle of last week, I’ve cut down to two cups of coffee a day. Come this Wednesday I’ll cut down to one. Then after a week I’ll cut down to none, and see how that goes for a week or two.
Then I’ll start guzzling iced tea [...]

No, I didn’t have beer for breakfast this morning. But last Friday, I broke my beer fast. I haven’t really had any alcoholic beverages since Mardi Gras; I gave ‘em up for Lent and just kept going past Easter. So Friday was my first drink in about two months. I had a couple beers with [...]

Friday night Xy and I had mushrooms for dinner. Just a handful, split between the two of us.
We went for a long walk. It was a strange and wonderful night. The relative sizes of things kept changing. This made it difficult to cross certain streets without being hit by cars. We sat on the edge [...]

I went to get a check-up with a new doctor today. My old doctor moved out to the suburbs years ago, and I don’t like riding my bike out to Jefferson when there are perfectly good doctors in my neighborhood.
Her office is in a completely unfriendly giant box attached to a big hospital, just a [...]