New Orleans

Summer made a video of a trip that we took with Beata to New Orleans a few years back -- twerking was all the rage at the time. It'll make sense in a minute...

guh i love that city........

What Makes Us Girls from Summer Grimes on Vimeo.

Peg Leg Pigeon

If you ever see a pigeon in a big city -- take a look at its' feet. Certainly in New Orleans, a great big giant percentage of the birds are missing a foot:

We figured it was because they get in fights with each other, during which they peck their opponents' feet off. Not too shabby a theory...Well here is an interesting article and I'm sorry about the swear words. I couldn't find a PG version. This person claims there are three reasons:

• Predators
• Human hair
• Standing in their own poop

Who the heck knows? It's kinda cute, don't you think?

Wouldn't it be even cuter if it had had a little eye patch on and a tiny parrot on its' shoulder?

Headed to New Orleans

...and it just isn't the same without ol' Uncle Lionel...

Watch him school me in the art of "dancing together". I think he prefers to "dance alone"?

Maybe we'll have better luck this time trying to find his gravesite?

What About "Real" Dangers?

Some people like to visit cemeteries in New Orleans because of their incredible history and also the unique way bodies are entombed aboveground because of the floodplain. It was something that Summer and I "meant to do" while we lived there but we didn't for two reasons:

• We couldn't be bothered.
• We were told we'd get mugged.

"Apparently" there are "people" who "watch" tourists going into the cemeteries and "follow" them in and "rob" them. We were skeptical about that but more than one person told us about this "danger" and others that usually turned out to be the warnings of crazy paranoid people.

Well, last weekend we rented a car so that we could show Laurissa a few of our favorite things outside the French Quarter and I thought it might be nice to find Uncle Lionel's burial place. I found on the Google that he was laid to rest at Mount Olivet, which is not too far from City Park, where we were already going. Summer reminded me about the "muggings" and I decided to be a grown up lady and call our Hotel's Concierge and ask if he would recommend tourists visiting a local cemetery.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hi, we're guests of the hotel and we were wondering if you would recommend visiting a local cemetery. We had heard that it could be dangerous for tourists."

Concierge: "No! You don't want to go there. It's getting dark."

Me: (yikes...could the people be right?...but it's only 5pm...) "Well, we'd like to pay our respects to Uncle Lionel who was laid to rest at Mount Olivet and were wondering if that would be safe."

Concierge: "Well that's a great idea but it's getting dark. You don't want to go to a cemetery after dark."

Me: "We would be going right now. In the daylight. Would we be safe?"

Concierge: "No. You don't want to go to no cemetery!  That's Creepy."

Me: (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...he's talking about ghosts...) "What about real dangers? Are we going to get mugged?"

Concierge: "No. Why would you get mugged?"

So we drove over to Mount Olivet. It was closed. FYI, when I Googled information regarding his whereabouts, I learned an interesting piece of weird information. They stood Uncle Lionel up at his wake. No joke.

Guess Where I Am?

My favorite city ever.

Here's a little tribute post I did on October 3, 2011:

In no particular order, an incomplete list of things I love about New Orleans.

1)  Complete and utter disregard for traffic laws.  

What's that vehicle, you ask?

It can't be.  Can it?

Yep.  It's an old man.  In a wheelchair car.  Driving down the middle of the street.

And then crossing that street.

2)  Shade tree philosophers.  Here, the "median" or grassy area between two lanes of traffic is called the "neutral ground".  We found out yesterday that the name comes from ancient times when the two opposing sides (American and the French, Creole, Native American sides) were divided along Canal Street.  The grassy area was a "neutral ground" between the sides, and I believe it was where the Louisiana Purchase itself was signed.  Anyway, lots of dudes sit in the neutral ground and talk all day long.  Some set up chess games, some have picnic tables and some just sit on overturned milk crates:

3)  Beads everywhere!  Even in the trees!

4) My coworkers.  I love them.   :(

Left to right: Brandon, Annie, Ernest, Summer (but she doesn't count because she's coming with me).

5) Soul Food:

Fried catfish, shrimp, baked mac and cheese with sausage and green beans from Gloria's Place.

6) The yummy smell of my street when they wash it with soapy sudsy water once a week:

7) The skyline view from the ferry to Algiers:

8)  Our apartment....

9) The way people alter the One Way signs.  Some say "One Day", some say "One Love", etc.

10) Distinguished gentlemen having a chat on the street corner.

11) Lionel Batiste.  Oh yah.  I met the coolest cat in the French Quarter last night.  This is the third time I've seen him and each time he keeps getting cooler and cooler.  I kept my cool though as I asked for this photo.  Kind of.  I think I asked him to marry me.  If I wasn't on my way to Darlington, I just might have had a chance.

         

I dare you to show me anybody cooler than Mr. Batiste.

I will be back.  Oh yes, I will.  Lionel and I This city and I belong together.  

It's been not quite a year...and I'm back!

Oh, Uncle Lionel.

Last Sunday, Uncle Lionel Batiste died. He was 81. 

I fell in love with him when I lived in New Orleans.

His hand. On my knee.

Cool as cool Uncle Lionel Batiste in action:

Overheard at Work. New Orleans

I was thinking lately about all the weird and strange and depressing things I overheard when I was working in New Orleans for Serco...

Warning: Depressing.

_____

One woman told me they had to evacuate for Katrina pretty quickly and thought they would only be gone for three days. So they decided to leave their dog behind. They left him a bunch of food and filled the tub with water. They said "goodbye" and "see you in three days." Of course they didn't make it back in three days. In fact, they didn't get back for six months. Turns out their thieving neighbor robbed them blind and in the process accidentally let the dog out of the house, at which time another neighbor took the dog in. When the homeowner finally returned to her home, she decided to just let the neighbors keep the dog because they had become so attached after rescuing him. Fortunately they're just a couple of doors down so she gets to see her old dog all the time.

_____

...Another conversation with a very nice guy in his sixties:

"Marriage these days only lasts about 10 years.  In my day, it was for the long haul."

"I don't get involved with dogs.  In my day, if a dog bit the neighbor's kid, their mother told them, 'that's what you get.  I told you to stay away from that dog!'  Today, mama calls doctor, lawyer, jury."

"My son was killed.  He didn't want to take my advice."

_____

...Another old black lady, while talking to me referred to George Bush as "your president."  I said, "why did you call him "my president?" and she didn't reply.  She just looked at me like, "duh."

_____

...Another woman told me that of her 9 children, only four are still living. One went missing for three weeks at Rita. Then he was found dead. Another died of cirrhosis of the liver, another had an aneurysm, and one was murdered. The fifth died in Katrina.

_____

SOME QUOTES FROM THE LADY WHO WAS TOTALLY HIGH, AND FORGOT TO TELL HER HUSBAND THEY HAD COMPANY BEFORE HE WALKED OUT IN HIS BOXERS AND THEN GOT VERY EMBARRASSED:

"I'm on more pain medication than anything.  But sometimes I don't take the medicine cuz I don't want to get addictive."

"I don't do drugs.  It's not my thing.  Crackheads.  That's not how you wanna look."

When her husband came out in his boxers (because he didn't know we were there) she told him, "That's what you get."  He replied, "I'm about to finish you right now."

I've Never Been One to Toot My Own Horn, But, "BEEP BEEP"

Aside from the fact that we were totally neighbors when I lived in New Orleans, the celebrity whose life most closely mirrors mine has and always will be Angelina Jolie.  I'm in a long-term relationship, living with the man of my dreams, (and by 'long-term' I mean 'non-existent' and by 'with the man of my dreams' I mean 'alone in the basement of a married couple in their sixties') have scads of children who love me and each other (and by 'children who love me and each other' I mean 'zits on my chin and cheek area'), hmmmm....what else?

Angelina and I have so much in common.  She is comfortable around snakes...

...I am comfortable around snakes:

She looks amazing in a bikini in a waterfall...

...I look amazing in a bikini in a waterfall.

She goes to Cambodia and wears no makeup...

...I go to Cambodia and wear no makeup.  

Today, though, we truly have more in common than ever.

...we have both appeared in Forbes Magazine.


She, for her Celebrity 100 status and I, for the lil' appearance I made in an article about ladies who travel solo.

Seriously. I was featured in an article on Forbes.com!!!

I was interviewed* by J. Maureen Henderson, of Generation Meh:

 "...I knew I wanted to bring in the big guns. I consulted some of the web’s most savvy solo female travelers for their perspective on why going it alone is not as daunting as it seems, their best advice for women taking the vacation-for-one  plunge and what makes their personal travel highlight reel."

I'd like to thank my mom...

Get it?

Things to Do Before Leaving NOLA # 10: Have Four Days' Worth of Horrible Car Troubles

This story is probably as long as the horrible day that the system beat us in Thailand.  In an effort to consolidate, I'm going to bullet point the story:

Friday, September 30:

• last day of work
• return one rental car to the airport
• park other rental car on Tuesday-street-sweeping street.  (No matter, we'll return it Monday.)

Saturday, October 1 - Monday, October 3:

• do lots of moving errands
• do lots of fun stuff, as outlined in the previous 9 posts in this series
• run out of time to return rental car

Tuesday, October 4:

• sleep until noon
• lollygag about the apartment for a few hours
• get a tan in my living room

• inform Summer that I don't feel like leaving the apartment so she leaves to go to her appointment alone
• get phone call from Summer
• "where is the car?"
• realize rental car has been towed
• make 357 phone calls trying to see if tow lot will release car to us, since we are not owners. nope.
• make 432 more phone calls trying to see if rental company will call on our behalf
• resolve, finally
• walk to tow lot two miles away through bad, bad neighborhood
• talk loud and fast to Summer through bad, bad neighborhood so nobody gets any ideas about robbing us
• finally pick up rental car, $193 later 
• drive it to the office to pick up Summer's car which has been stored at the office and not driven in 7 weeks
• follow each other to drop rental car off at the airport
• ride together back to apartment
• break down two miles from apartment on off ramp
• Summer steers and I push car 
• a few good Samaritans help as she pops the clutch and starts the car and it runs for two blocks
• repeat for two miles
• finally give up and call triple A
• wait for triple A driver
• drive car no problem with help of triple A driver's power pack attached to battery
• it's the alternator, he says
• leave car overnight with voicemail to mechanic, who advertised Foreign car repair
• stay out until 4am dancing with Lionel Batiste

Wednesday, October 5th:

• wake up late and find out Foreign car repair place does not work on cars over 10 years old
• discover Enterprise rental car company would have come and got all of our rentals, we wouldn't have needed to drive to airport
• pick up another rental car
• push/pop clutch on Summer's car for three blocks
• jump car with new rental car

• drive car two blocks again
• give up
• leave Summer with her car, drive rental car to ATM to withdraw $70 cash, in order to leave deposit for alternator shop's power pack so we can drive Summer's car there for repair
• return to Summer and her car, drive 3mph the two miles to alternator shop, who has graciously stayed open just for us
• leave car with adorable cajun couple
• REALIZE THAT ALTERNATOR SHOP IS 45 YARDS FROM ORIGINAL OFF-RAMP BREAK DOWN LOCATION:

Photo taken from alternator shop.  We broke down at that traffic light the night before.

Thursday, October 6 - Friday, October 7:

• cross fingers, hoping car will be ready for our cross country journey on Saturday  (it was)

Saturday, October 8:

• drive to South Carolina, only to be informed part-way through the journey that the destination had been changed to Birmingham, MI.  

The Adventure Continues...

Things to Do Before Leaving NOLA # 9: Go to City Park Sculpture Garden

Unfortunately the sculpture garden was closed, but the park was still open, and it was a fabulous day, so we walked around and laid a blanket out and read and stuff. 

Spanish moss grows on all these amazing old trees.

I already lost these sunglasses :(

I was innocently enjoying the beautiful scenery when suddenly, somebody started urgently knocking at my back door.  Thank GAWD for the stone bench and it's poop-stopping characteristics.  If not for that bench I might have had to go and sit on one of those tree roots:

Fortunately they had a few disgusting port-a-potty's, by the name of "Pot-O-Gold".  Indeed.  Crisis averted.  

The End.

Things to Do Before Leaving NOLA # 8: Have a Shish Kebab Party

We decided to throw a party so we could showcase our fabulous apartment, and shish kebab was the theme.

Summer and I provided all the fixins and have a "build your own/grill your own" situation.  It helps if your roommate is the queen of sauces and marinades.  She marinated the beef in a mixture of soy sauce, chopped garlic, honey, sesame oil and agave nectar (but you could use brown sugar or molasses).  Stir, heat a little if you have to get the mixture to melt into itself.

The chicken was marinated in fresh chopped garlic, fresh rosemary, white wine and olive oil. 

The shrimp was marinated in triple sec, tequila, canola oil, lots of lime juice and cilantro.

Then we just chopped up and provided all the other ingredients for kebabs.  Peppers, poblanos, pineapple, onion, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.  Build and grill your own kebabs!

Oh how I miss this balcony.

For an appetizer, one of our guests brought and fried his own fresh-caught shrimp.  He breaded them with a little egg, flour and spices.  He made regular and buffalo (by adding pepper flakes and Crystal hot sauce) and they were FANTASTIC.