Valentine's

Last night, to celebrate Valentine's Day, Nicole and I went to Spuntini's, a lovely Italian restaurant. Inside the foyer of the restaurant were a bunch of photos of celebrities who'd dined there, and the one that got a laugh from me was of Fred Thompson. (I was sorry to see him leave the race, just because he was so unintentionally funny.) We ate so much good Italian food, we went into food comas. As a gift, I gave her the DVD of the first season of the "Flight of the Conchords." It was a lovely evening.

Some of you might think a DVD is not the most romantic of gifts, but that's only because you haven't seen the Flight of the Conchords in action. Watch the clip below, and you'll understand they're all about romance in the extreme.



I enjoy surprising people with gifts they'll love. Last night, I had the unusual opportunity to give Nicole a gift I knew she'd love, though she didn't know it existed. That is, Nicole had seen the clip above, loved it, but had no idea about its source. She just attributed it to that guy from "Eagle vs. Shark". So she was happy. And now, it's business time.

Live from Toronto

Last night, Nicole and I spent our first night in the city. Today I actually used the subway as a means of transportation. If you don't hear from me, it's because we're a bit wiped and are still getting the place in order.

Access to Care

The American Red Cross offers anyone affected by Hurricane Katrina $2000 for any kind of mental health treatment. I write this to encourage you (or anyone you know) to avail themselves of this resource. The program is called Access to Care, and you can enroll simply by clicking here or calling 1-866-794-HOPE (4673).

I was seeing a therapist after the hurricane, and it was nice to have this available. By going on-line, I signed up in less than ten minutes. Claiming the benefit was relatively simple, too. The benefit is broad in its application. The subject of your therapy doesn't have to be directly about Katrina, per se. That's not to say you're screwing the Red Cross over; the manifestations of the stress of the hurricane is unique to each individual.

Also, the benefit will pay you for therapy retroactively. Any therapy you've paid for since the hurricane can be refunded, essentially amounting to a windfall. Don't delay, though. The deadline to sign up is the end of March. The deadline to use the benefit is the end of September (I think). The deadline to file your last claim is the end of December.

My Obama Post

Near the conclusion of his Super Tuesday speech, Obama said the following: "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." I found that incredibly empowering, a needed change from the cynicism of most politicians. He went on to refer to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Here's his speech in New Orleans yesterday.

Barack Obama speech

New Orleans, don't let me down tomorrow.

Update: When I posted the speech, I'd only watched the first 40% of it. I watched it all today, and I've got to say, even as someone supporting Obama, I was surprised and encouraged by what he said. That is, he articulated a vision for the city post-Katrina that many of us had immediately afterward--keeping the best parts, losing the worst, creating an example of a just city.

Also, according to Huffington Post, there's a low turn-out expected in Louisiana. Hey--it's Saturday afternoon! Do you know where your ballot box is?

Ash Primary

With the presidential primaries as tight as ever, it looks like it's good that Louisiana's primary is all by itself this Saturday. I hope that it affords the state some much-needed attention from the Presidential candidates.

Get out and vote y'all (for Obama).

I had two ways to vote: through an absentee ballot from Louisiana or through Democrats Abroad. I received an absentee ballot, but went with Democrats abroad just because I'd have to return the absentee ballot by Friday, which would be a hassle. The Democratic party affords 11 delegates to all Democrats living abroad, and they offer two ways to vote in that primary. Vote on-line or in person. Last night, I voted in person. The polling center was a pub, and it was packed. All the TV's were on the election returns, not hockey. I'm glad I voted. But Nicole was really turned on by it. After I voted, I said "That's the way we do it. No pledge to the queen, no nothing!"

In lieu of Mardi Gras

That's the New Orleans Bingo Show! playing with the Edge and Preservation Hall Band.

Update: I've enjoyed Harry Shearer's latest le Show, focusing on Mardi Gras. His quote in describing the costumes on Mardi Gras day, "Even the straight men are creative."

The Inner Ring of Moving

Yesterday was our first day with our new place, and we've both been looking forward to getting there. As I've said, we're ready to establish ourselves in the big city, and we're tired of staying in the home of Nicole's parents. We're ready for our own place. Still, it will take a week or so, before we're ready to take occupancy. Furniture has to be delivered and whatnot. Yesterday, we were just trying to drop off a few of our posessions.

But there was a serious winter storm yesterday. The library was closed. Other places were closed. When I got back from the coffeehouse, I said we shouldn't go, but Nicole said we would be OK if we took surface streets. Not being from here and not having heard a weather report, I deferred to her.

Once on the road, I tuned in the CBC to find news reports about the storm. Over 200 traffic accidents in the city that day. We saw several flashing ambulances out and about. This was no day to be on the road.

An hour and a half later, we arrived only to find the prior tenant had not moved out. He was in the process of moving out. Forunately, Nicole stayed in the van, and I talked to the landlord and the tenant. I told the landlord that the tenant would need to pay for the day's rent, which he did. They offered to let us drop off our stuff, but fortunately, I had the good sense to decline. Undoubtedly, his hired movers would have loaded our stuff into their truck and taken off with it.

I say it's good that Nicole stayed in the van, because once I returned and explained the situation, she was really upset. Very upset. I think our moving into our own nice place represents the first tangible step in moving past the difficulties of the last year. She was looking forward to moving; she's done most of the work to get us ready. At the very least, she was upset that the landlord hadn't called to tell us the situation.

I found myself in the strange position of consoling her after spending the latter part of the drive irritated that we'd come out in the first place. Upon further consideration, I began to understand why our landlord hadn't called and other things that were said at the apartment. I mean, the landlord should have called us, but I beieve I understand why she didn't. Two hours later, we returned to Oakville, four hours I'll never get back. I told Nicole in the future we'll laugh about this, but she wasn't laughing. Neither was I.

In his Divine Comedy, Dante portrayed the inner ring of hell as a freezing place. I'm here to tell you he was correct.