Why I didn't like New Orleans or Uneasiness in the Big Easy

So Jen and I went to New Orleans this past weekend for a concert. Before I let you all in on how awesome the show was, I wanted to expound on the title. I have been to New Orleans (NO) only one other time before this weekend. That was after a hurricane last year (I don't remember which one it was) to perform service for the people there who had had their homes destroyed. Then, I didn't really pay all that much attention to my surroundings since I was there to do a job and not sight-see. Plus, I was in some suburb that wasn't all that devistated so I didn't get to see the city. So this time around I was much more in tune to what was going on around me and taking in all the "beauty" of the city. First, when we drove in all we could see were abandoned buildings, shanty towns, and garbage. In fact, we could smell the general funk through the car, even though I had the windows closed, and the recycle inside air was on. Yeah, that bad. It was even worse when we were walking around the city. Maybe I was super sensitive to the smells because I haven't lived in a city for so long, but Charleson, Mobile, or even Albany NEVER smelled that bad. I guess it could have been the swamps surrounding NO on all sides, but I have lived near those most my life and it didn't smell like that either.

So anyway, back to the general appearance of the city. While some parts did look OK (really nice apartments next to a hollowed out shell of a building), the majority was dirty. It looked like they still haven't fully recovered from Katrina 4 years ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I know how long it takes to rebuild after a hurricane. I did live in Florida for most of my life and lived through Andrew in 1992. Maybe I was just acutely aware of the fact that they are still rebuilding and I was looking for things to complain about. But this was all secondary to the general uneasiness I felt there. I don't know why; I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't feel comfortable there. Maybe it was the dirtiness, or maybe the stories of crime, or maybe the smells, or maybe the outlandish drunkenness and depravity and general disregard for human decency on Bourbon St., or maybe the parking ticket I got after being there only 2 hours. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of all these things, but I just didn't feel OK. Don't get me wrong, I slept fine, because our hotel was clean and neat and everything you expect from the Ritz-Carlton's cheaper, sister hotel. Well, except for the spot of fresh blood on the shower curtain. THAT wasn't cool. We even stayed only 1 block away from Bourbon St., but it was still nice. I have been to big cities and not felt this general unease. I am not knocking NO at all, it's just not for me. There didn't seem to be much to do other than drink and gamble. Neither of which I am a fan.

It was really nice to spend time with Jen away from the stress of home. We missed Rebekah, but it was really great to have Jen's parents come and watch her for us. It was good to reconnect and get some us time. The concert was great. We had amazing seats about 100 feet from the stage. Creed rocked the house and really made me remember why I like them so much. They started off with the song Bullets complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. Of course they played all their hits (ending up with Higher as the last song of the encore), but I really enjoyed hearing the B-sides from their earlier albums (Faceless Man, Say I, Ode, Unforgiven). Scott Stapp does look a bit older, but Scott Phillips (drummer) was awesome as usual. Mark Tremonti (guitar) is always impressive, but it was something else to see him live. I have seen Creed a couple of times before and each time they get better. Their new CD isn't out yet, but I will be sure to pick it up when it does hit stores at the end of October. StainD was also really good. I have probably seen them over half a dozen times, and they were just as good now as they were back then. Again, I enjoyed their older stuff more than their singles on the radio, but on the whole it was a great show. The only down side was the people sitting in front of us had obviously been pre-gaming and were completely drunk. They were probably in their early 40's and looked only a little out of place. One lady even passed out completely before Creed even took the stage, then continued to sleep through the rest of the show. Our tickets weren't cheap, so I couldn't understand wasting all that money only to sleep. Like I said though, it was a good time.

Quick update on everything else: Rebekah is doing well and is learning more and more each day. My job and Jen's job are going well. Basically status quo around here.

Here is the disease state of the day: Delusions of parasitosis. Had a patient with that the other day in clinic. I love my job.