7-11:30p

7-8:30p: Dinner at Palace Cafe on Canal St. Yeah, I know...not excatly jiu jitsu...or is it? I was all fired up to get back to training at NOLA BJJ after nearly a week in San Diego. But then...life interrupted. A friend (Matt) reminded me that another good friend (Paul) leaves tomorrow to return home for good. Paul and I have been work buddies since we first met almost four and a half years ago at a training session in Washington, DC. I may not see him again for many years. Then again, I may not ever see him again since he lives in Pittsburgh. Matt said Paul wanted the three of us to go to Palace Cafe for dinner. Matt and I had never been and it's one of Paul's favorite places in New Orleans. My initial reaction was "Noooooooooooooo! I have to train tonight!!!!!!"

I don't know why, but I thought about Saulo Ribiero and Jiu Jitsu University: "...I must know all my white belts, and will accompany them as they grow as people and practitioners of jiu-jitsu" (pg. 12). Grow as people? Part of the sport? I hate to admit it, but I really really wanted to be selfish tonight. Also, tonight was supposed to be Matt's first night attending BJJ class. I had convinced him last week and he promised that he'd go tonight. I was really looking forward to introducing him to the sport!

No matter how much my flesh wanted to ditch the dinner and attend class, I realize I couldn't forsake my friend. Life sometimes interrupts training and I have to be okay with that. Tough as it was, I am glad we had dinner. Palace Cafe is a truly great restaurant and I am glad to have shared that meal with Paul and Matt.

8:30-10p: Bourbon St. Yes...if you watch Treme, you know that there is pride on Bourbon St. (ha!) Paul, Matt, and I ventured into tourist hell and caught a couple bands. The first band was a Matt special. 80's rock cover songs. We yelled, "Play some Slayer" and the band proceeded to play Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer with a demonic-type voice. Interesting...

10-11:30p: Managed to find Paul's favorite Bourbon St. band, Willie's All Purpose Blues Band. Good stuff. The ~60yr old guitar player has probably played since he was 15yrs old or so. Solid play and a good time.

11:30p-??: We said our good-bye's and headed back to our hotel rooms. I'm glad I chose dinner and a night out with an old friend over a BJJ training session. Life interrupts. That's part of the journey. Difficult as the choice may have been, I'm glad to have chosen a friend over a night of training.