Just got back from my morning Mountain Dew run to Jack’s. As I walked back I noticed a new sign on the Lincoln-American Tower/Court Square Center:
Something called Ceriello is going in the space that used to be occupied by the Yellow Rose Cafe. Anyone have any idea what this place is? My guess would be either a clothing boutique or an Italian restaurant. Hmmm, could Downtown handle another Italian place? We already three good Italian restaurants in the 38103 zip code – Roma (for take-out), Pa Pa Pia’s (for sit-down dining), and Capriccio (Italian steakhouse). Clothing boutiques, on the other hand, are something we can always use more of. What’s the scoop on this place? I know the developers of Court Square Center read this blog.
Last night someone handed me a flyer about Earnestine & Hazel’s new lunch hours. Looks like lunch will be a permanent fixture there, rather than just for the home show. Here’s a copy of the flyer:
Slaw dog??? Whoa! Earnestine & Hazel’s menu just DOUBLED IN SIZE!!!
When I was at Itta Bena Wednesday night, one of the bartenders showed up drinking a new energy drink called Cocaine. No kidding, that was its name. It’s supposed to give you some of the same sensations as the real thing. People who tried it said it made their teeth feel numb, which apparently one of the things cocaine the drug does.
Wonder if bars will start selling it… that could cause problems. If you walked into a bar that doesn’t carry the drink and asked, “Can I get some Cocaine?”, you might find yourself in handcuffs. Or you might get more than you bargained for and get a tiny bag of white powder. There’s a bar on Beale Street that has to post “No illegal drugs allowed” signs because they got in trouble for that in the past.
There’s a convention for the blind going on Downtown this weekend. That’s why, if you walk around down here, you’ll notice a lot of people with white canes.
The last semester I taught, I had a blind student with a seeing eye dog. It was a Computer Literacy class and for her web page project, she built a page explaining how to interact with a person, how to interact with the dog, etc. It was probably the best project out of all my 250 students. One of my other students built a porn site.
Thanks to those of you who e-mailed with birthday gift suggestions for my BFF. I now have a pretty good idea what I’m going to get her… the winning idea started with the VP of Marketing at work, who is my BFF’s former boss, and was improved upon by the Nuh-Uh Girl. I’ll go purchase it today.
I also had a few people respond, “Wait, I thought you were going to kick your BFF to the curb.” I nearly did. When I polled my readers on the matter a couple of weeks ago, about 90% thought I should kick her, and I actually started a post announcing my intention to kick her, but never finished it. She’s been a little nicer since I threatened to kick her, but that’s not the main reason I decided against it. I watch people, observe them, observe the energy they give off. So for a while I watched not her, but her friends. And without exception they seemed to be really cool, interesting, unique people (although her mini-me can be a pain in the ass at times). Usually when you see a person with a large number of cool friends, it’s a sign that there has to be something about them worth knowing. So I decided to give her a second chance. She’s still on probation, though.
Last night when I was at the Saucer for my plate party, one of the managers told me that Friday, May 9 will be a special day there. It’s the Saucer’s 11th birthday, and they’re going to have a “Pajama Jam-a-Thon” to celebrate. More details to come. So the waitresses are going to have pajamas on? I’m liking this idea already!
Still thinking I’m going to hit Raiford’s tonight, but I’m going to do it a little bit differently than usual. The last time I went to Raiford’s, I did it the way going to Raiford’s is traditionally done: I was at another bar (in this case, Hoop’s Bar) about 2 in the morning, ran into three people I knew, and we all decided, “Hey, let’s go to Raiford’s!” and we called King and the limo took us there.
Every now and then, however, I like to experience Raiford’s from a different angle. I get there about 10:30 PM, which is only 30 minutes after opening and is normally considered WAY too early to go there. But that allows me to watch the story of the night unfold. I get to watch people come in who have never been to Raiford’s before, and I get to see that “oh my God” look on their faces. It gives me time to just relax for a while and think how lucky I am to be one of the few people who lives close enough to walk to the greatest nightclub on the planet. It gives me time to talk to the owners, get my butt grabbed by Paula, and drink a 40 or two without being bumped by dozens of people. It may not be “cool” to get there at that hour, but I do what makes me happy, not what’s “cool.”
Planning to go there in advance will also allow me to step into my “Disco Paul” persona tonight, a persona that hasn’t been seen since a very drunken Thanksgiving night at Earnestine & Hazel’s. I ended up slapping the Saucer waitress who called me “Paulie Pocket” on the ass multiple times on the dance floor. It was great.
And just because I get there early does not mean I’ll be leaving early. I intend to be there until closing time or very close to it. Yeah I’ve said that in the past and haven’t made it. But this time I went and purchased an insurance policy:
They sell those little “5-hour energy” bottles at Jack’s and I’ve always wanted to try one. I have friends who swear by them. Whatever’s in there, it’s not cheap. Usually I buy 2 one-liter Mountain Dews at Jack’s and my total is $3.22. Today I added the 5-hour energy drink and my total was $7.55. I paid over four bucks for a 2-ounce bottle. This stuff better work.
That’s all for now… later today I’ll get the plate party pics out of the camera and run them through Picasa and put them online.