Mozart the dog didn't seem to like stairs when I first got him. I had to carry him up three stories to my apartment the first night. Eventually I got him to go up one flight and rewarded him with his favorite thing--hugs and kisses. So he started going up the stairs one section at a time, coming to a landing and turning around to beam at me, waiting for his favorite thing. I started weaning him off the positive reinforcement by only giving him hugs at each floor, rather than the in-between landings. I would say "one more! One more!" at the halfway point. But sometimes we would just stay at the landing and look over the edge for a while. Or he would put his little paws up on my legs and smile at me.

Dogs are stupid. But lovable.

This was going to be a metaphor for something, but I realize it doesn't really work. But being in New Orleans kind of feels like being at that landing...there's this residual feeling I have like I'm about to get my favorite thing, and it doesn't even matter that all I end up doing is vaguely looking over the edge. It's always a waypoint for me when I'm here, now more so than other times, since I'm indefinitely unemployed. And employment could lead me anyway (this is one way in which the metaphor doesn't work--Mozart always ended up at my apartment at the end of the exercise). Well, I've ruled out a few places I want the next leg of the journey to take me:

• Anywhere in Texas but Austin
• The Eastern seaboard of the USA
• Anywhere in Louisiana but New Orleans

Things I can do with my unemployment:

• Learn to play saxophone
• Hang out with K--
• Paint a picture
• Write a song
• Read a book (gotta start small)
• Sell all my belongings

Things I can do in New Orleans:

• Work on Illyria costume
• Work on home videos and photos digitizing project
• Center myself
• Try not to watch a lot of TV
• But do watch Dollhouse because my parents recorded the two episodes I haven't seen yet
• Review CDs (some for KOOP and some for KVRX)
• Stain all the towels with my red hair
• Take the cats for walks in the backyard. They are so good.