A friend just called me up and said she couldn't sleep until she knew whether I was still doing my blog.

It's sad when the drugs start doing that to you.

I was online looking at Toyota Tundras. You know, you can really stack the list of options on those. For fun, I added everything I could think of, and it came out to be a $40,000 truck. Which is impressive, considering they start at 16something.

Pat O'Brien's is going incredibly well. All the other players seem to enjoy working with me, and I'm learning songs really, really fast. I'm mainly worried about football season, when I'll be expected to know every college fight song ever written (I know about 3 and a half).

But the last couple of weeks I've been working six days a week. If that holds out for any length of time, my bills are so going to be paid off soon.

I'm still trying to get a new pic made so I can put it on my website. I'm not very good at taking my pic in the mirror. As you can tell if you look at the pic on the front of my website.

My friend Anna came and spent a couple of days here. 'Twas fun. She had to leave way too soon, though. I would love to teach her how to do the piano bar gig. With her voice and looks, she'd make twice what I do. Of course, convincing her to move to New Orleans wouldn't be easy. But I can dream.

My friend Julie is coming up next week. The guys at Pat O's are so going to think I'm the ultimate playa. But I'm looking forward to hanging out with Julie. We haven't spent more than a day or two together in years.

Also, my friend Katie Parr may be coming up later this summer. I haven't seen her since I had just quit teaching school. So it's been about three years. I'm hoping she doesn't run in horror when she sees me all clean-shaven and short haired.

Frank and Jonathan are supposed to start recording the drums for my rock album next month. I can't wait to hear what they come up with. They are both so awesome, I'm just lucky to have them on board with this project.

Well, that's the news from Lake Woebegone.

Jess

Terry Pratchett is a genius.

During my breaks at work, I usually read a book or two. I had read a bit of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, but since moving to New Orleans, I have become truly addicted.

Each book satirizes a different topic (or two or three). Last night I read "Maskerade," which makes fun of Opera and musicals (namely "The Phantom of the Opera" by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber).

Normally I hate when authors write about music, since I rarely read anything that's accurate. Usually any attempts to write about music are painfully misconceived. But every subject that Mr. Pratchett tackles, he manages to sound like an insider writing to the uninitiated.

He manages to sum up so many absurdities so succintly that I often have to stop reading to laugh. Let me quote one passage from "Maskerade":

"Out in front the orchestra was already tuning up. The chorus was filing on to be A Busy Marketplace, in which various jugglers, gypsies, sword swallowers and gaily dressed yokels would be entirely unsurprised at an apparently drunken baritone strolling along to sing an enormous amount of plot at a passing tenor."

Can you count how many operas begin that way? I sure can't.

Anyway, I'm putting him right up there with Asimov, Brust, and Tolkien as my favorites.

Man, everybody's life is a soap opera, but mine. (Not that I'm complaining about mine)

I've got one friend trying to decide between her husband (a doctor) who has pretty much ignored her for the last five years, her ex-boyfriend (a dentist) who treated her like shit, and a new guy (a musician) that's... Well, he's a musician. What sane woman would go with that?

Then I've got one friend who's been breaking up with her boyfriend for several months now. And she's pining for her former boyfriend, who was also her college professor.

I've got one friend whose mother is having an affair with her ex-husband (the friend's ex, not the mother's... Can you say Eeeeuuuugggghhh?!?!?!?)

Meanwhile, I'm just working here at Pat O'Brien's.

It's awesome, the pay is great, the tips are great, the crowds are great... And it's on Bourbon St.

My mojo hasn't caught up with me yet; I haven't gone on a single date here in Louisiana yet. But that always happens when I move somewhere, and the girls here are starting to flirt, so I have hopes for the future.

Frank Favacho (the drummer guy) and Jonathan Fernandez (the everything else guy) met for the first time to work on some of the tunes for my CD. I can't wait to hear what they come up with. But I'm going to have a lot to live up to vocally speaking...

Anyway, more soon.

Remember, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't wipe your friends on the back of the couch.

Jess

Haha! I'm back!

Okay, for those who read this blog, but didn't know (if there are any such), I've moved to New Orleans. I'm the newest Piano Entertainer at Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon St. Also, I've been without Internet for almost a month. I had the shakes bad, man. Anyway, I'll be posting more soon, but the important thing is JESTER'S BACK!!!!!