Alan Gutierrez

I’m learning how to enjoy my weekends.

On Friday evening, I wandered down to the recently reopened Fair Grinds, on Ponce de Leon off Esplanade, with my computer, with the intention of doing work. There was a band on the sidewalk playing and people where up and down the street, drinking wine from the wine shop, Sip, listening to music.

I’d wanted so dearly to do something anti-social for a change. The day had already been given over to PovertyPalooza at the Pierre Marquette Hotel. It was a burst of mingling with dear people, among a group who’s ambition was palpable. A dissonance that is exhausting.

Almost alone in the shop itself, I’ve unraveled my bluey, and laid out the MacBook, when Jared Michael Zeller taps me on the shoulder. I’m out the door in a few short minutes to get caught up with him. I want to regale him with tales of the orgy of self-congratulation at the Piere Marquette.

This corner of New Orleans has sprung to life now. Across the street at the fabulous and financially challenging restaurant Dega’s, Jeane Nathan is supping with her husband Bob Tannon. I must tell her how much I enjoyed her question about poverty earlier in the day. Not a question of course, but when the 1 Economy MC Rey Ramsey began to take questions, Jeane Nathan thanked him for the forum, and then made a number of, run of the mill post-flood political statements, that must have been in violation of Rey’s admonishment to not talk about political issues during the dialog on poverty. Public housing closed and going to waste, was what I recalled.

Indeed, Jeane confirmed that one of the muffins was calling cut, with a finger across the thought while Jeane spoke. My estimation of 1 Economy Corporation went down the last notch, from misguided to an all too clever scam. Invite your funders to a Donahue set, and walk through the audience asking them how they are alleviating poverty. A dog chasing it’s tail.

On Saturday, after a morning at Fair Grinds contending with task anxiety, I set out to teach an Internet Workshop on publishing at ThinkNOLA. This was an event hosted at Melanie and Ken Ehrlich’s house.

Ray Broussard stopped by to give me a ride. He was gracious enough to pick up the tab at Liuzza’s by the Track, where he had a catfish po’ boy and I had the phenomenal bbq shrimp po’ boy, with fresh cut French fries, and an Abita Amber in a frozen glass.

Melanie and Ken have a new home, the only one on the block, in their Gentilly neighborhood. They are across the street form the Holy Cross site. That has got to give them some hope for someday having neighbors again.

We had a little classroom already setup, coffee and cookies. K.C. King arrived. I proceeded to give a lecture on ranking and show them Google Analytics, to stress the importance of publishing. We all took a page on the Wiki and began to learn the ins and outs of Textile markup.

It went well. We decided to meet again next weekend and work further on the website.

Saturday night I was out until the wee hours, and rode home listening to birds chirping. I’d met Mimi Dimassa at Mimi’s on Franklin. But, Mimi doesn’t own Mimi’s. Mimi is developing a project to build homes using sprayed concrete. I interested her in the Road Home Unconference. I hope to hear from her this week.

The next day, I was dragging for being up so late. It was good to have been up late on a weekend for once. Not really the best way to spend a weekend however. I much preferred my Sunday night at Bacchanal, for the second weekend in a row.

It was packed. I ordered salmon and sat with the people with whom I stood in line. Exchanged stories about migration toward New Orleans with a woman that was also a Detroit toddler.

Then hours drifted by while I sat with another gal I’ve known these many months. We spoke with a couple visiting from Tennessee, first about New Orleans, then about immigration for a tick, and then onto the Iraq war.

Thus, I’ve heard two very kind things said to me this weekend. Melanie Ehrlich ended the lessons on Saturday saying, “I feel so empowered.” What a strange thing to hear from Dr. Ehrlich.

Then the kind fellow from Tennessee said that I should work for the State Department. Yes, I’m sure there was a subtle joke at my expense, but a much better way to end a discussion than to have to “agree to disagree.”

That was the weekend that was. Last weekend. it has taken me this many days to write this piece.