I’ve got a lot of thoughts swirling in my head, so I thought I’d get the most simplistic ones out.

I made a pie yesterday. I’ve always been a baker… I’d even say that I’m a pretty good baker.  Although, never before this weekend had I baked a pie.  I guess I never wanted to.  I grew up in a family that didn’t eat pies.  We made cakes and cookies.  Occasionally something like lemon squares.

After seeing enough Thanksgiving images, I decided that I wanted a pumpkin pie.  I guess I was most amazed by how easy the process was.  I followed Meg’s recipe and made an excellent pie with no problem.  There are some things that I would do to improve it on a second try, but I’m quite happy. The only problem is that I’m the only one who wants to eat it.  I told my mom that I made it and asked if she wanted to try a piece.  Her response was, “Nope… Oh good! Now I won’t have to buy you a pumkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.”

So I met the biggest asshole ever tonight.  I met my friends at Columns for a couple drinks and a girl came up and talked to us.  Honestly, she was a little cute, but not too much.  Although she was the youngest cute person in the bar on a Wedsday night — whatever that means.  We were just hanging out and being nice.  This guy sat next to her and grabbed her and we didn’t really even notice.  A few minutes later she started talking to us and he said “don’t talk to them” and pulled her away from us.  At this point, I shared with my friends that I know a lot of assholes, but he has amazingly moved towards the top of the list.  Note that never during this night did I ever meet him, as he wasn’t interested in such things.

My friends and I had our own conversation for a while and didn’t really notice them.  Then they got up and started moving away from the bar.  She stuck around for a little bit and we said goodbye, nice to meet you, etc.  I guess they only moved away from the bar because he was threatened by other guys.  He then came back and singled me out saying, “Let me give you some advice as a guy.  Don’t try to pick up a girl who’s making out with another guy.”  I started laughing.  Everyone around me was trying to contain themselves, including the waitress who stopped serving drinks.  Then Pete, who I had just met that night, started quizzing the guy about his ‘relationship’.  He asked if he was dating her – no.  If he came here with her – no. If he knew her – yes, he was protecting her for her boyfriend.  Rockstar! The girl behind the bar lost it. Apparently the guy on the other side of them from before had overheard some of his conversation which consisted of him telling her that she had small tits so she should flaunt them more.  He was a winner.

I’ve had a lot of memorable nights at columns.  In fact, too many.  I love New Orleans, but who invited {insert suburb name} to the columns?

Thank you Time.  I HATE this commercial so much.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1860403,00.html

I hardly slept last night and I’m pretty sure that I know why.  Saturday night I met my friends at Pete’s bar before going out because there was a shooting there a couple hours before.  I saw my first dead body with bullets in him.  It wasn’t terribly gruesome as he was 100 feet away and obscured by police and coroners.  It was completely a drug related killing, so it didn’t seem extremely scary.  I think I fell asleep Saturday night without even one thought of what I had seen.  I guess last night was a little different.  The part that scares me is how everyone in that neighborhood wasn’t outraged and surprised.  No one likes a killing in their neighborhood, but I know that not a single person woke up the next day determined to do anything to change that.

I guess it makes me happy and lucky that I live in the neighborhood where I live.  Clearly it was a conscious choice, but not everyone is given such choices. Â I love that my neighborhood doesn’t have that kind of crime.  I love that if a killing occurred, all of my neighbors (including me) would be out making sure that it never happened again the very next day.  I’m extremely lucky.