Every job interview that I’ve had since I moved here has been somewhere on St. Charles Avenue.  This is a delight to me, as one of my now-most-favorite routes, when I am to-and-fro-ing, is the jaunt allll the way out St. Charles, then up Carrollton Ave., until I hit I-10 back to this Metairie place…or vice versa, depending on whether I am to-ing, or fro-ing.  As large an avenue as St. Charles is, the majority of that stretch is actually (until you get a little closer to Lee’s Circle) a one-lane road each way.  This causes a little bit of backed-up traffic, most of the time, but that is alright by me.  It affords me the time to take in the views that I do not believe I will ever grow tired of…the enormous houses (which perpetually warrant a bit of house-envy in me), the towering oaks dripping with moss and mardi gras beads (which always feed my soul), the streetcars trumbling past (which amuses me when I’m stuck and they are moving faster than I am).  As time has passed here, I have noticed that I’m beginning to adopt an internal 7th sense of where the neighborhood lines are, to boot.  Uptown.  Garden District.  Irish Channel.  Etc.  It’s partially visual, partially instinctual (like navigating much of this city is), partially just knowing.  That drive is one of my greatest joys, being anywhere along that stretch brings me joy, which is why I would love to work along there, and live along there as well.  It will happen, by golly.

*Ahem*  I completely digress, however.  This is, actually, about further art/graffitti-spotting.  The reason St. Charles came up is because, as I make those drives along the Avenue, I perpetually spot about a gozillion Bead Dogs that I wish I was on foot to capture and add to my collection.  It will happen.  Oh yes, it will happen.  Unfortunately, my jaunts always coincide with me being in my interview-monkey-suit and unreasonable shoes, which means that one of these days soon I will have to put on regular Sooz attire and foot-friendly boots and do some wanderin’.

In the meantime, though, Bead Dogs DO exist all over the place, and I was delighted to discover one not too long ago when J and I moseyed up the road from The Room to go see The Avengers.  So, Bead Dog #2 (for me), yoink!  Someday, I will have a Bead Dog Army.

At the Clearview Mall, Metairie.

 ***

On a completely unrelated note, J and I were in the Quarter the other day.  Shocking, I know.  And we were taking a fairly-usual path from our sneaky Marigny parking lot, up Decatur St., and over onto Ursuline, when lo did I espy another push toward literacy.  This time, on a trash can at roughly Ursuline and Bourbon.  Ish.  I’m developing a fascination with these “READ DAMMIT” sorta sightings, as they are showing themselves to be a rather common theme.

Rar.