Something's Going On

The title of this post is also the title of one of my favorite songs.  It's by the group "Lambchop" and I can't stop listening to them these days.  You all should check them out (especially that song)

What a day today.  I worked from 10:30 AM to about 8:30, and it felt great.  I'm really getting good at this waiting tables thing (if I do say so myself).  I have to say, I've been very lucky with this job: GREAT coworkers, none of whom I don't get along with, a wonderful boss, very (VERYVERYVERY) good food, and a great environment for patrons and employees alike.  I find my days laced with comedy; jokes right up my alley are commonplace amongst these people, and that is probably the thing that has made me feel most welcome.  I can truly be myself at work.  And not just in a surface sort of way...  I truly feel comfortable reacting to the little things, the little encounters I have every day with utmost genuineness, and for that I am so thankful.  I work with a very passionate feminist from Tennessee, a goofy comic book enthusiast from Southern California, a girl from the ghetto (ghettoist of ghettos) of New Orleans, an extreme sports fan from Boston, an Actor from New York... among others.  It is so rich, in every way.  Rich is a very vague term that I've never been very fond of, but it truly is the word to describe this impossibly diverse group of GOOD people.  Again, very lucky.  And now they have a Seattleite via Walla Walla who can add his 2 cents.

I finished The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald today.  For those who haven't read it, it's known as Fitzgerald's real tragedy.  And tragic it is...  It's about two young folks about my age who come from well-off families and who fall in love with each other.  Their relationship soon turns toxic, and the remainder of the book is essentially about their downfall (though the end is ironically and beautifully about the male end of the relationship falling into 30 million dollars...  the downfall is not softened).  I loved the book because I've been in toxic relationships, and because I've felt as though I was indulging myself too much.  The characters are romantic to the extreme, evading all senses of responsibility, seriousness, morality, etc. in the name of that old "living in the moment" thing.  Yes, they live in the moment, and yes, I think I live "in the moment," but these characters and I are quite different, I think.  Because they find no joy in their own accomplishments, the only find small comforts in the places they end up.  That is to say, their joy is bred of luxury, not of productivity.
I won't lie and say that I don't find joy in luxury, because oh boy, I do.  And I think all of you might be able to attest to that (especially Mom and Dad...)  But I also find joy in earning things.  To truly believe that you've earned a comfort, no matter how small or insignificant that comfort may be, the fact that you've earned it is what matters.  And my appreciation of this, I think, I owe to all of you.  But most of all, again, to Mom and Dad.  And this is something that I am so utterly thankful for.  The characters in The Beautiful and Damned enjoy their luxurious lives to the point of utter decay and dismay.  On the other hand, I feel like I enjoy working hard to achieve a sense of luxury-be it material luxury, emotional luxury, or moral luxury--and I will never lose this essential part of me, and I owe it to my family.  You all are such wonderful examples for me.  Better than any of you will ever know.  ...perhaps I've gone off on too much of a tangent here...  let's put it this way: Thank God I have you all, and that you all exist not only in my mind and memories but in the very essence of who I am, in the very things that make me tick and make me smile.

I've really discovered, since being here, what small things make me happy.  Sitting on the floor of my balcony on my computer after work.  Waking up and moving slowly over to the coffee maker.  Saying good morning to my housemate Jon the same way every morning.  Sitting at my neighborhood bar and just watching people.  Clocking out of my job at the end of a difficult shift.  And let's not forget: RAW OYSTERS!  my new favorite food.  And if you've all got your doubts, just come down here and I will prove to you that these little things are AMAZING.

Tomorrow, I'm going to an art museum with a coworker of mine.  Then, I'm going out for a meal with a friend from home's family.  Then, I'm going to the reading of a new play at 6PM (which I heard about through an actor co-worker).

I will officially be home for Christmas.  And I can't wait to see everyone.  Thanksgiving was nice, but just not the same.  And I can't wait until I get to spend it with all of you again.

Love you all so much, sorry for the rambling blog post...

Kev

Cat Power - The Moon

I'm listening to that song.  It's 9:30 on Sunday evening.  Spent the whole day laying around at Tony and Sam and Eli's house (dudes I went to HS with) watching football and playing their Xbox.  I always feel very conflicted on days like this; it feels so great to SLOTH but it gives me the sense that I'm betraying something fundamental that made me want to move here.  I feel like I've nursed a sort of moral responsibility in myself since being here...  and now it's grown into a self-depricating sense of urgency: "You MUST immerse yourself in the culture here!  You MUST bend / break personal boundaries!  You MUST explore yourself and explore history and explore literature and cooking and music and you MUST and MUST have the greatest time flying up and down streets in this city, because you WON'T be here forever!"

And a small (very small) part of me is very happy that I've at least got something nagging me, lighting a fire under my ass.  Because there have certainly been times when there was nothing under my ass, no sparks--not even a slight heat.  So it's nice to feel compelled to help myself feel new things and to be healthy.  And yet, at the same time, shit man do I love reminding myself / remembering that extinguishing that posterior flame can feel great.  Not just that, it can be necessary.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still lazy as hell, and I'm by no means some energetic freak who wants to organize every hour of his life down to the minute.  When I talk about the conflict between my general sense of urgency and my general sense of lethargy while in New Orleans, I mostly refer to a conflict in my head about who I should be, the way I should be living here.  I don't think I act purely based on impulse, and I think I've got an ok excuse for a rational mind, but I can't deny that my actions in the past have certainly not always occupied the "right" side of my judgment's "right vs. wrong" table.  I think about who I want to be, and who I should be, but it has always been very hard for me to put these dreams of myself into action, into fruition, to finally see myself becoming the person whom I want to become.  This is one of the reasons why I love that I moved down here: it is one of the larger self-inflicted butt-kickings I've ever received.

And it is possible to find an agreeable juncture of the ends of this conflict in me...  more than agreeable; pleasant, excellent, even.  The juncture is harmonious, and in its midst, I am in probably my most ecstatic state.  It is a state of mind and spirit where I feel that I'm simultaneously fulfilling my needs for this sense of urgency as well as for this sense of lethargy.  It is a harmony of my impulses to sculpt, to create, to discover, as well as my desires to be sculpted, to be created, to be found...  It is a place where my existence in my surroundings is least qualified, least complex, and most singular, because the flush of contentment I feel cleanses me of doubts and worries and fears.  I have felt this numerous times since being in New Orleans, and it has been wonderful.  And I think that might just be what having a sense of home is.

Though, of course, my home is in Seattle.  I can't wait to come up to visit for Christmas.

PS: Check out this time-lapse video of photographs taken hundreds of miles above the Earth...  pretty beautiful.  Stunning.     http://vimeo.com/michaelkoenig/earth-timelapse-iss

Love
Kevin

employment.

http://www.cowbell-nola.com/

Above is a link to the restaurant for which I am now a full time server / host.  "Full Time" in New Orleans, I guess, means 32 hours per week or more.  Which is kind of cool, if you consider it a reflection of the city's values...  or if you're someone who wants to pursue other things while working "full time."

Check out the "pictures" section of the website...  the food there is pretty unreal.  Today, during my interview, I had (gratis) the fish tacos.  And they were amazing.

As I ate, I spoke with Krista (!), the manager woman (her husband is the head chef) about stuff.  The interview started out sort of formal, me telling her about my experience and what I was comfortable doing. But it quickly devolved--or evolved, perhaps I should say--into a back-and-forth about what makes a good restaurant, a good eating experience, a good job, etc.  By the end, we were each drinking a beer and talking as colloquially as (and this is as close to verbatim as my memory can manage) :

Krista: You know, I just don't want fucks like that coming into my restaurant.
Me: Well why the hell else would they be here, right?
Krista: Right!  I want this to be a community oriented place, not a spot for someone to waste money and then waste time on wasted food.
Me: Hell yeah (a cheers ensues)

It was a great experience, to say the least.  She was very fond of me, I was very fond of her, I like the way she approaches food / her restaurant / her employees, and she likes something or other about me.  The point is, I'm hired, and I'll now be reeling in dough via warm greetings to restaurant goers while I attempt to shove my foot into one of New Orleans' theatrical doors.

A side note: I told her that one of my top priorities at this point in New Orleans is meeting new people and making friends...  she beamed at this.  She told me that the whole joint is one big family, the are frequently going out together, going to music clubs and bars together, hanging out and genuinely enjoying one another's company.

ANOTHER side note: There are two male employees.  All the rest (over 10 in number) are female.  When I walked into the restaurant, I was struck by how many beautiful women were working there.  It was some weird sort of Greek fantasy, I thought...  but...  well, let's just leave it at that.  I am pleased.

Hope all is well.  I can't wait to come up for Christmas and see y'all.

Love,

Kevin

Some Updates

Ok everyone, I got my headshots back, and I now have to choose which one I want to get printed copies of... but I'm not quite sure which one I want to use.  So please, if you have any input, let me know! 

I've pretty much narrowed it down between THIS ONE 

and THIS one

Ok ... just kidding.   But here's the real link to the headshots: http://www.nolapic.com/kevin/h1a0ebb6c#h1a0ebb6c

if you're interested, check them out and give me your input.  Thanks!

Also, here are pictures of my bedroom and the balcony right outside of it (one of the balconies)

I sent out my acting resume to a number of agencies casting for movies to be filmed in New Orleans right now.  One of which happens to be starring Will Farrell and Zach Galafianakis...  now that would be cool.

Hello from 831 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA. 70130

831 Jackson sits right about where the "Garden District" label is in the SE part of the Crescent.  If you ever wondered why New Orleans is called the Crescent City, it's because the Mississippi winds around the city, sort of cupping it in its muddy hands, forming the crescent shape you see on this map.  We live two blocks away from Magazine Street, which is famous for being very hip, very pretty, and very packed with young college students.

This is a typical commercial sidewalk on Magazine.  Tons of small boutiques and restaurants and delis.  One of the cool things that came from Katrina's aftermath was a BOOM in the antique business.  There are probably ten antique / furniture places within a few blocks of our apartment.  I talked to this guy, 

Simon (pronounced the French way...  dude had the thickest accent I'd ever heard) for a while about why there are so many antique places after I bought a table from him, and he told me that he still gets furniture from houses that were abandoned during Katrina.  Which was six years ago.  He and his wife spend all day on their outdoor patio fixing up old furniture and painting.  They have a beautiful daughter (also French accent, duh) who has been my impetus for returning to their shop without any intention of buying anything.  Probably four times now - "just to look around."  

Something I love about magazine st. is the boardwalk/balcony things that hang over so much of the sidewalk.  They are almost all private residences up there, but they provide a very nice old-timey feeling canopy for those of us who pass by underneath.  

Does it look like everything in this picture is leaning to the right?  ...I'm sure it's an optical illusion, to an extent, but I also should tell you that there are TONS of leaning tower of Piza imitators in this city.  For example, our next door neighbors' place.  It was abandoned during Katrina and left in the hands of the jungle moss / vines / birds who now call it home.  Thank God it will be demolished sometime soon.

Just a block and a half away from out place is Stein's Market and Deli.  It's supposedly world famous.  I was a bit skeptical, but I had to try it.

And this is the magical interior I found.  It looks like some place from Italy or France.  I was actually a bit put off by the extent to which it emanated that rustic feel.  But I'd already been hooked (surprising because I'm not sucker for this kind of place at all) and THIS is what I ended up eating.  

So now I am in love with Stein's Market and Deli.  I'm not even going to describe to you how good this sandwich was.  I'm just going to let you stare at the mountain of pastrami in there.





Ok, enough pictures, for now.  I swear I've taken a bunch of pictures of our place, but they just don't do it justice.  So I'm opting to wait it out until I figure out how to put the best quality pictures up.  I'm pretty sure I realized that Jon's new Iphone takes the best pictures of the place, so I'll hop on that very soon.  My bedroom is certainly the highlight of our apartment.  It has very, very high ceilings, a wooden ceiling fan, off white painted walls / ceiling with very elaborate and darkly stained woodwork throughout.  The floors might be my favorite part - it looks like our landlord (Eddie Talebloo, who offers us a cold Coca Cola every time we step foot in his office) just threw buckets and buckets of stain on the ground and let it soak into the floor for days.  It's gorgeous.  I also mentioned the table I bought from Simon, which functions as my bookshelf, my eating table, my desk, and my this-is-where-I-put-everything-else-I-own table.  It's very large, and very, very beautiful.  Other than that, I have a bed.  There is a balcony out front of my room that faces Jackson Ave.  To get to it, you must lift one of two 8 foot tall windows (they are heavy) and latch both of the latches to the wall.  It's a little bit of effort to get outside, but it's amazing.  In the evenings, I open both windows and let the sunset in, sit at my table with dinner and write some fiction.

I've had a lot of success, so far, writing fiction.  I spend an hour or two every day working on it, sometimes adding onto a longer narrative I've begun, sometimes writing unrelated short stories.  One of the stories I've written is, at least relative to everything else I've written, something I'm very proud of.  In fact, I submitted it to a NOLA online publication called The Rag recently.  It probably won't be accepted, but we'll see!

Yesterday, I got my headshots taken.  Trev, thanks so much for your work on mind, but I think we just didn't have enough time to get it done.  The little Italian man named Pompo who took me around the French Quarter was very good, and he took some great pictures.  They'll be online soon and I'll put a link to them here on the blog so you can all heckle me and make fun of my "glamour shots."

When they're chosen, I can start putting myself out there!  I'm in the process of crafting a very professional looking acting resume (which will need a headshot... so I'm actually waiting right now) which I will start throwing around like confetti on Mardi Gras.  There is also a TON of film happening in New Orleans due to some sort of tax exemption here...  they call it Hollywood South, no joke.  So I'm going to try to get into tv shows, movies, and anything else I can.  It's thrilling to think of being on film.


Ok...  I miss everyone a ton.  Hope everything is going great up in Seattle / Tucson.  Please don't be bashful if you ever want to call or e-mail.  It really is amazing how far away I feel.  But as Mom told me on the phone the other day: come on, we really aren't far away at all, when you think about it.  She was so right.  And this blog will hopefully turn into a way for me to reach out and get even closer to you all.  All of my love.

Kevin

posts in the future:
the French Quarter
Parkway Bakery
Acting updates
Hanging out with old high school friends.

PS: my birthday is in a few days, and I have no idea what I want.  I know I've always been terrible at crafting wishlists...  but I WILL say that the # 1 gift I could receive from any of you is a visit down here so we can hang out and I can show you around!