Whataday

Disclaimer: This blog is more of a daily rant of a Russian kid, Andrei, who lived in NOLA for 13 years and is moving out to Dallas for a job with Capital One after completing a finance degree at Tulane University. The primary purpose is maintenance of sanity, but hopefully you can gather some useful/interesting information out of it. I don't know how often I'll be updating it after I start working, but I'll try to keep up with it at least once a week. For the record, this is my first blog ever, so don't flame too hard - but commentary always welcome.

Day 1

The Most Eventful Day

July 8, 2009

Woke up at 3 am. Mom running out of the house, runs into my room to give me a quick hug one last time. Alarm. 6:45am. In bed until 7:30am. Tried to leave for 8, left at almost 9. Truly, I left home. Very odd realization, that once I lock this door, I'm not coming back for quite a while now.

The Road. First half - pretty uneventful, with the exception of a hilarious "only in Louisiana" experience that included Alexandria, Ay-rabs (inside joke), and plenty of shadiness. To add to the shady, the trip also included a speeding car with its alarm going off. Incredible. It still was quite worrysome that I had to get to Dallas by 6pm, or I have no apartment until the next day.

The trip got particularly eventful, when I was close to Lafayette and made a breakfast stop at McD. Checked my email - and recieved a single line note that my friend is in the hospital on life support. Probably one of the most difficult things I've ever had to digest. I suppose that's probably why I barely noticed that I drove 500 miles...

Somewhere along the way, I got sniped by a cop, while at least 10 over the limit... got a little nervous. State line. First observation - La vs Tx - you typically CANNOT hear the road you are on. Second - the road you are on is actually CLEAN. Very bizzarre.

The Place. The apartment I rented is in the Post Addison Circle community. 1000+ units. Big. Like Texas. Once I got to Addison (area north of the CBD), I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the gloomy rainy dusk, it still had a particularly fresh feel to it. There was plenty of brick, and concrete engulfed with lots of trees. It was NOTHING like the suburb I figured it for. I'm right in the heart of Addison Circle, which is a mixed-use type area that includes living, dining, entertainment, and park space.

The Pad. The leasing office was pleasantly filled with about a dozen attractive ladies. Also, as it turned out, my agent was an LSU graduate. After a tour of the apartment (for the first time, I must add), I was quite satisfied, despite the "new house" smell - fresh paint and new carpet.

The view was spectacular - I have part park, part buildings.

Plus, I'm attached to the parking garage. Here is the view from my parking spot onto my door.

Signature. Check. Done. Except, now I have this one huge 600+ SF space with nothing but a couple of things scattered in the corner (whatever I brought with me in the Accord). Slight dissapointment - no free Wi-Fi... but maybe that would be pushing it. I decide a shopping trip is in order, but before - check da money! So I'm off on a quest for da internetz.

While walking around the Addison Circle and its surrounding, I passed a Coffee/Wine Bar, a Hookah Cafe, a Japanese Restaurant, a Coffee shop playing particularly pleasant guitar instrumental, and a Pizzeria. Another observation - not a single chain establishment. Grabbed a slice and a salad, and got to work. While on the laptop, listened to the "Miami" annoucement... and honestly, I'm not impressed. Not moved at all, really. World cup - now that would be something good to hear, but whatever. Then I quickly realized that stores actually close when it gets late. Jump in the car and off I go to Target.

As it turns out, Target is right next door to Dollar Tree - oh the irony. Here I am, the big man with a pay check (paycheck COMING, I must add), and guess where I end up. Ya got it. Exactly the same store that I first went when I was doing my Katrina time at RPI. Dollar Tree. And seriously, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Only they were closing in 5 mins. Well, after a nice chat with the ladies working there, they allowed me to stay past closing. What an idea, kind retail workers! Particularly amazing, since it's the ultra-low of the retail. Hmm... Louisiana 0, Texas 1. Next Target - wow. It is quite an incredible realization how many things a house needs. I bought a pillow - figured that would be useful. Except I'm sleeping on a fold-out futon, under sheets with a towel for a blanket. Ah well. Sleep sounds good anyway. Whataday.