week 7: TCOB

After another no-internet weekend, getting back to work Monday felt almost like a relief. 

I said almost.

*
On my walk to the work space I pre-emptively grabbed 2 paperbacks from Little Libraries, then downloaded 6 books to Libby, and installed Hulu on my phone.
Just in case.
Monday and Tuesday were killer work days. Back to back meetings for 5 and 6 hours in a row, including one really stressful one where a co-worker lost their shit on me, telling me I have been going behind their back and undermining them for a long time now. I'd known things weren't perfect
but this was a blow. Shaken, I asked for time to reflect, and went to my next Zoom.
I didn't sleep much these two nights. Between ending my lease with the shitty landlord, and this interaction, I was feeling shaky.
During a brief break on Wednesday I ran over to the museum to see Charmaine Neville perform with her band. The room was packed so I had to sit in the lobby for a few minutes, waiting for people to leave. When I got the wave, I ran in. What an entertainer! She had the normally staid room doing
call-and-response, the piano player busted out an accordion, and by the end everyone was cheering and laughing. Her music truly restored me.
On Thursday I had a long talk with my supervisor about the co-worker situation. It went OK but I don't know what the outcome will be. My sibling advised documenting everything and going on record with HR. The internet was going down at the co-working space (of course!) so I packed up and got myself
over to the Sneaky Pickle for their tofu and buffalo cauliflower salad. The salad was good but the service was weird.
Friday, a day off for Veteran's Day! Both the New Orleanians I'd hoped to meet up with ghosted me, so I got myself up early, went over to the WWII Museum for a commemorative event, picked up takeout eggs, grits and a biscuit from Willa Jean, then jumped on a Zoom with a dear friend to catch up
for an hour. On my way back from Willa Jean I heard the silkiest clarinet of my life playing on Royal Street. I stopped to watch a 4-piece band playing on the corner outside Rouse's. The woman playing clarinet and singing was confident and just so so good. Doreen Ketchens. She's played the
Kennedy Center. Why she was outside a grocery store with a sousaphone player, a bassist and a drummer is anyone's guess but it was magical. Even the Rouse's security guard was dancing, his pistol banging against his thigh.

*
A quiet afternoon of cleaning, reading and writing, and preparing for what may be a tough week. Note to self, the Willa Jean's biscuit was not great. The grits though! And the coconut cake. Mmm.