it rains in new orleans...and you get to swim a little

more than seattle. it rains in new orleans more than in seattle.

today i had proof. out from the third floor window my fellow students and i watched vats of water pour from the clouds for hours. there was a pond outside of the social work building by noon. literally the size and depth of a pond...i am not exaggerating. and unfortunately because new orleans is the city in a bowl, the drainage issues are innumerable. i've been lucky enough to never be outside during one of these seemingly daily downpours and every time i get out of class to ride my bike home the rain has subsided and the weather is perfect for my eight minute ride.

the rain is good for new orleans...it's a dirty city.

my dad drove over yesterday for a much needed visit. he let me chose our dinning experience and he paid deeming our new system of choosing as "you do the decidin' and i'll do the buyin'." i love talking to my dad and here's why: he's got a perspective on life that challenges, encourages, and inspires me. he effortlessly (or so it seems) expresses advice that consistently pushes my form of thought past it's normal boundaries. there's an imaginary spectrum on which our topics of conversation range. yesterday we talked about socialized health care, re-democratizing of the United States, nobel peace prize winner Jody Williams, buying new shoes, road-tripping the country by car, and the peaks and valleys of life in general.
he randomly says things like,
"life's not just about floating down the river and getting knocked around by all the boulders...you get to swim a little too."

my dad is my sounding board. i respect and love the man he has become. i am blessed.


p.s. thanks to whole foods i've discovered couscous and it's the most exciting thing my mouth has encountered in quite a while.