tuning back in

Okay, time to haul this thing off the procrastination pile before it dies a swift death. Were all those initial postings in the same day? Probably. I figure the first blog-remission is most often the fatal one, so I have high hopes that this particular post means I'm ready to get into the habit.
(Yes, I understand that the very nature of a remission, as it is usually conceived, means that said disease is not, at that time, fatal. I'm mixing metaphors or something. It's a late morning on a work day, though, so you can't expect much.)
I've leapt back on here because I just HAD to share this. Yes, sir: it's a breakfast manifesto about cereal. I found it while eating Cheerios with Ari and opining about the merits of Fiber One.
But seriously, people, it's pretty funny.
Cereal ruminations aside, Baton Rouge is being pretty welcoming this week. Yesterday I had my first banjo lesson, and it was really fun and not at all discouraging. I found my teacher, Garrett "Doc" McCutchan (described here as a "Cajun Santa Claus") while browsing at Circa 1857, a sprawling conglomeration of six shops arranged in a sort of courtyard, covering antiques, jewelry, cheaper junk furniture, a great cafe, and, perhaps best of all, fabulous architectural pieces salvaged from stately Southern homes, theatres, etc. There are all these huge windows, doors, fireplace mantels, and all kinds of weird random stuff just piled up outside (concrete alligators and flamingos by the dozen). It's crazy to think of all those amazing buildings torn down to make way for, probably, concrete Days Inns and such. Then again, there were probably homeless people peeing in a lot of them.
Anyway, 1857 is, on the whole, like a Cajun 305 South. We didn't find anything, but had fun exploring, and as we wound through one building a banjo started up. We found this older man playing at the speed of craziness, and perfectly looking the part of the banjo teacher I'd imagined. I waited behind the couple he was wowing, and then introduced myself and have now landed weekly appointments. He's $40/hour, which isn't bad. Yesterday's lesson lasted nearly two hours, in fact, and he still charged for only one. I'm hoping he maintains the habit of running over, as the trainer I shared with Mindy often did.
The lesson itself was actually held in the 1857 cafe (after closing). Doc told me some crazy stories and gave me some tips about music festivals both in town and outside of it (including a Celtic music weekend I'm seriously considering, in Jackson. Yes, Mississippi.). He also gave me a decent foundation in beginning banjo - I know four chords and can almost play a song.
I left 1857 really excited and happy, and must have been distracted because I missed the first turn-off for downtown and home, resulting in my having to loop around downtown (a good way of exploring, since I haven't been driving enough). I ran into a few runners (I mean, I saw them running as I drove by). The column became thicker and was clearly a club, so I followed the line of them up to where I found a few walkers. They were Happy's Running Club (they have an awesome logo), and are based out of a Irish bar. I'll be meeting up with them next Tuesday. Wish me luck, because I have been one lazy individual for the past month or so. One of them also suggested I run with the club from Varsity Sports (check out how cute their shop looks), which is apparently super-intense and meets four times per week. But she was clearly in the throes of some crazy running high, so I don't know if I really want to hang with them. I think Club South Runners, "The drinking club with a running problem" might be my best secondary option.
(Maybe that last link was one too many. But honestly, providing all these is helping me organize things, too. And it makes up for my current lack of photos - to be alleviated soon.)
In other news, we saw Chapel Hill band The Hold Steady last week, on the insistence of our landlady, Laura Mullen, whom we'd invited down for dinner that night. Needless to say, she is really awesome. The show was great, and packed, and the space was decent (Chelsea's Cafe), and I felt quite at home. I'd never managed to see The Hold Steady in Chapel Hill, in fact.
This started with a link to a cereal tasting and is on its way to novella status. Off to practice some chords, then schedule some meetings.