Louisiana is like a whole other state

I went to the Mudbug Festival in Shreveport this weekend with a friend from work. Mudbug is another, less classy name for the Crawfish. The actual festival was smaller than I was imagining...I guess any comparisons to the Texas State Fair should not have been made in my mind. But the food, oh my. Booths and booths of things steamed and stewed and fried and smothered in cajun sauce. I had red beans and rice and hamburger (I'm not really the seafood lover) and Dip'n Dots. I did taste some fried alligator and I had several bites of the boiled crawfish...not too bad! I'm not saying there really needs to be a festival for them, but not bad at all.

This is a pile of mudbug shells. Disgusting looking, I know. The corn and potatoes that were served with them were possibly the best I have ever eaten.

Now I was so hot about 5pm. But after seeing those poor men cooking over the huge vats of steaming crawfish, I had to stop complaining. It takes dedication to share your crawfish love with the world.

Okay, I may have grown up only 50 minutes from the Louisiana border, but I felt almost as if I were in another country. And we were in north Louisiana. Imagine if I had traveled to the coast of Acadia. These are a few of the oddities I noticed:

1. The accents - There was a cajun guy who came up to the table we were at. He started talking to us, but it was a full minute until I could half-way understand what he was saying. It turned out he was only saying "Your red beans and rice sure do look good." But what I heard was The Waterboy assistant coach, "Yoourn red beenz n rizze surre dough luk good, un huh."

2. Drive through daiquiri barns - Come on! A little shack selling a very strong 20 oz frozen daiquiri with all kinds of liquor for only $6! And like the piece of tape covering the straw hole is really going to stop anyone from drinking and driving.

3. Dressing up 2 giant mudbugs as Santa and Mrs. Claws...in May! I'll let the picture speak for itself.

This post doesn't have to have a point

Because now I can blog anytime I want. I don't have to carefully consider my topic and pre-plan it and write a well-composed message. I can whip out any little thought that crosses my mind. Sucky for you, reader.

Yep, my new little data card came yesterday...super fast. The installation was pretty easy too. No CDs , no download, just plug and play-practically.

I can be being lazy, too! Right now, I"m laid out on the couch, watching tv, and typing. Ouch...I'm wearing shorts, and my laptop gets hot! The speed isn't that fast, but it gets me online.

This is one of my fav pics from NYC trip. Not b/c it is a great picture of me, hardly. I love tulips and there were tulips all over the city. Very gorgeous ones.

The other picture captures NYC's essence to me. There were signs everywhere saying no honking, $350 fine. But that doesn't stop New Yorkers! There was honking right and left. I would think it would be hard to police that.

Can you feel the excitement?

You life may never be the same again. In the not too distant future, expect more mind-blowing, exciting posts that enrich your lives. At 12:24 pm on Monday, May 12, 2008, I vow to post with a little more frequency. Why? Because I will finally be getting Internet access at home.

I signed up for Sprint's broadband through a data card. I should be receiving somewhere around high-speed Internet access. That is assuming I can get a good signal at my house. Because I can't get a good signal on my AT&T phone at the house. I have to stand outside. Now while I do love to inform you about my comings and goings, I do not have a power cord that will allow me to cart my desktop outside to update my blog. So, hopefully Sprint will be better. I have reason to hope. And I have a 30 day money back guarantee.

In 2 to 4 days, this sweet little lady will be mine.
http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/DisplayPhones?filterString=Data_Cards_Phone_Char

The service is pretty expensive, but I'm about out of choices here. A girl can only live unconnected for so long. I guess it's time to put the cats on the store brand of cat food. So long Iams, hello Kitty's Choice. OK, probably not. But there will have to be cuts somewhere. I guess it will come from the eating better/throwing less food away/eating out less budget. Except that money was going to more expensive gas. I'm really glad I am carpooling. If only my pesky b/f didn't live 25 minutes away. We might have to start living like a long-distance couple :) Make a date out of weekly work meetings. Or not.

I'll let you know when I am able to post on my own free time...not constrained by quick lunch-time work posts. I feel the pressure now. I shouldn't have brought this up.