What I did, but should have done differently (part 2)

Yesterday's entry was fun yet didn't tell a lot about the trip, so today's entry will make up for that a little bit and also share some additional life lessons from New Orleans.

#4) We hadn't been in New Orleans more than about 30 min before hitting up Bourbon St. We parked, checked into the hotel, took a few minutes to get ready, then left as we were wasting precious time. It was just after midnight and with Jazz Fest going on the same weekend, you can imagine how crowded the streets were. After walking about three blocks, I threw out the suggestion, "If we're going to be walking around, we might as well have drinks in our hands."
* What I did -- We stopped in one of the next couple places we saw and got frozen drinks served out of a slushy machine.
* What I should have done -- I should have made that statement one block further down the road. One block further down was Pat O'Brian's, true home of the best Hurricanes. Instead of spending $8 on a real Hurricane, I had just bought a $8 slushy version. Not the same, but at least I got the real thing the next night.

#5) While Kelly and Meredith were at their concert Saturday night, Kinsley and I were on our own with no agenda. After finding a place to eat dinner and then relaxing in the hotel for an hour, I decided that I wanted to take a walk down to Harrah's casino so that's where Kinsley and I went. The lights and sounds of casinos are interesting to me, but I'm not much of a gambler.
* What I did -- I sat down and put $10 in a video poker machine and decided that I would play til the money ran out. Less than 5 minutes later I was out of money and decided that was the only reminder I needed on why I don't gamble.
* What I should have done -- After losing the money, I should have gone to find someone with management and let them know about the donation that I had just made to Harrah's. Granted, $10 isn't enough to pay part of the light bill, but I'm thinking that they could at least name one of the toilet paper holders in the men's room after me.

#6) On the drive down to New Orleans, Kelly played a mixed CD of Death Cab for Cutie music that Adam had made. Joking around, I told here in exchange for that I would listen to a mixed CD of songs made after a service trip I took to New Orleans back in college (spring 2001). The songs on my mixed CD were as random as random can be; I couldn't remember all that was on there. The very last song on the CD was "Rocky Top." It's always a favorite of mine, especially during football season.
* What I did -- I danced a little in my seat as it played and cheered along where I would have had I been at a football game in Knoxville all while telling the rest of the car why this was such a great version of the song. After 5+ hours in the car, the song woke me up and gave me the jolt I needed to finish the drive.
* What I should have done -- I should have sang at the top of my lungs and showed everyone what true school spirit is. As annoying as the song was to everyone else, it was sweet music to my ears.

To sum it up, the life lessons learned here are that good things come to those who wait, know the difference between throwing money away versus making a sound financial investment, and finally that there is no such thing as too much school spirit.