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.

NYC Odd Sighting #1 (Not Siting #1)

While walking to the NYC library, the great bastion of learning and culture, we came across this scene.

The traditional art form of body painting.

I felt inspired to write a haiku:

Brush on my nipple
A tickle, as people watch
I turn red from paint

Fabulous!

I heart NYC and have a t-shirt to prove it. We had a wonderful time! The weather was gorgeous for the first time this year, so everyone was in a good mood. The cherry blossoms and other trees were blooming. The pope was in town. There was a cool breeze, so the city was fresh and clean smelling. Nothing went wrong on the trip, and everything went right.

Day 1: Arrived at LaGuardia about 2:30. My bag arrived as well! Typical cab ride to Brooklyn. I was scared. It was great. Arrived at the Saints and Sinners B&B about 4. We were on the 3rd floor of a 4 story brownstone. It wasn’t as “nice” as a hotel, but it was a cool place to stay. It showed me what it would be like to live in the neighborhood. There were lots of families and kids. It was a 10 minute walk to the subway, and it had lots of little shops and restaurants in the area. We took a power nap, and b/f called and ordered tickets to a show later in the week. Then he called his friends and made tentative plans for meeting up with them for the week. We took a cab to a Columbian restaurant. Had great empanadas, and then I had arroz con pollo with black beans. It was all very tasty. One of his friends ended up not having to work that night, so he met up with us at the restaurant for drinks. Then we went to the bar where he works sometimes (he’s also a music teacher). At the bar, there was a demonstration of a new musical instrument thing invented by a Japanese guy. It was weird. Sort of an electric piano crossed with a music box and a go board. Went back to B&B.

Day 2: Woke up late. Had brunch at Lobo’s Tex Mex. Couldn’t go very long without some good familiar food:) Then we took the subway into the city. Arrived at Rockefeller Center to a mad rush of a lunchtime crowd. So many people. Went to St Patrick’s Cathedral. Beautiful building, inside and out. Walked to the Guggenheim Museum, but it was closed. Needed to go to the bathroom, so we snuck into the Met. Since we were there, we walked around a bit. Saw Monets and Picassos, and Manets, and Rodins and huge asian sculptures and tons and tons of stuff. Walked to Central Park. Beautiful. Subway back to Brooklyn to meet up with his friends for dinner and drinks. Had an excellent burger at a French restaurant. I know, I know but it was too good.

Day 3: Met up with friend 1 at the subway station. Had lunch at a quirky little family owned “restaurant”. They had 3 tables. Walked along the Lower East Side. Bought some sunglasses from a street vendor (mine got broken on the plane). Went to Grand Central Station. It certainly is a grand place. I don’t know why they would spend so much money on a public place like that. But it was gorgeous. Walked some more (are you sensing a theme here?) Stopped in the NYC library – also very gorgeous and massive. Went up the Empire State Building. Beautiful day and we could see for 10 miles. Pigeon pooped on my hair. But not much. And I give him credit. It took him guts to fly up that high. Took a pedicab (a rickshaw with a bicycle) ride during rush hour back to south Central Park area. Almost got hit. Had dinner on a patio overlooking the park. Walked to Times Square to go to The Lion King. That was amazing! We had really good seats, and the show was spectacular. The kids who did Simba and Nala were very talented, and there was a South African lady who did Rafika, who had an amazing voice. Got out of the show about 10:45pm and entered a crazy world of lights and people and vendors and madness. Walked to the Hello Deli from Letterman fame, but it was closed of course.

Day 4: Met friend #2 for brunch in Brooklyn. Walked to the Brooklyn Promenade along the waterfront. Very cool neighborhood. I never really pictured kids living in the city, but they have parks everywhere and they act like its normal to play 2 feet from the busy streets. We walked across Brooklyn Bridge. Impressive and long! Took a subway to Battery Park. Then we went on a helicopter ride around Manhattan. Wasn’t my idea, but I went along. It was good – that was the closest we came to seeing the Statue of Liberty. The heights didn’t scare me, but when he turned around, I started to get a little green. The whole ride was 10-12 minutes. It gave a good view of Ground Zero as well. Then walked to dinner at a pizza place. But it wasn’t my idea of NY pizza. It was good, but the brick oven type, so it tasted like something I could have gotten in Dallas. Walked along Canal Street and bought cheap t-shirts and got the offer to buy handbags, watches, DVDS, VHS (ha), and even a dime bag! My NY experience was complete. Which was great b/c I was running out of days and money! Got back to the B&B and b/f went to have drinks with friend #3. I chilled and packed and went to bed.

Day 5: Travel day. Back in town about 3pm.

It was a wonderful trip, but at least I have a reason to go back. I still didn’t get my Grey’s Papaya hot dog, or to taste real NY pizza. I highly recommend going. I hope this entry wasn’t too long!

Rollerderby in the Big Apple

I want to tell you about what I did this past weekend and what I'm doing this coming weekend. Just so you know that life after 30 doesn't revolve around pulling weeds. Although I did that, too.

I went to a roller derby bout on Saturday night! A lady from work joined the all-women roller derby league. It was an interesting sport to watch. If I can figure out how to add video to the blog, I will show you. Very entertaining, loud, and lots of oohs and ouches as the girls pushed and shoved their way around the track. It attracted an interesting mix of people. I went with about 30 or so co-workers and their spouses. I'd say about 1/4 of the people are involved in an alternative lifestyle, not that there's anything wrong with that. Yes, there were plenty of people of the type who wear white before Easter. And also bikers and rockers and metalheads and tattoos and weird facial hair, and the other alternative lifestyle that you may have thought I was referring to. Anyway, my friend lost, and it was her first time to skate. But her goal was to come out alive, and she only has 1 bruise, so mission accomplished. My b/f even bought a Dallas Derby girls t-shirt. To go with his Women's Professional Football League t-shirt. No, I'm not kidding. I think we are going to try to go to one of those games as well.

And now on to the big event! I'm leaving on Wednesday morning to go to the city that is so nice you have to say the name twice! For the first time ever, I'll be in NYC! But I won't be eating any chili there because I'm a Southerner and I know that Wolf brand chili is the only kind to eat and it is definitely not made in NYC. I will be there for 4 nights. So much to do...so much to see...so much to eat! This is my actual priority list: 1) Eat a slice of NY pie - that's pizza to you who aren't in the know 2) Eat a NY hot dog - I've been told not off the cart. Maybe we will go to Nathan's 3) Something cultural 4) Other stuff. I'm going with my b/f. This will be our first trip together. Hopefully we will still be together when we get back. If we do get back. We are returning on an MD-80. American says they are done with the whole wiring check thing. We will see. I'm not sure how I am to travel with. Other than anxious, I'm not sure. I'm trying to be a little spontaneous. Wish me luck!

The tax man cometh and he left a little present in the yard

Finally, my house is paying for itself! I get a tax refund this year! That's right, Uncle Sam is writing me a check for $63! If I only use my tax refund to pay off the house, I will be an out and out homeowner in, oh, 1 billion years.

I think next year will be even more...since I only had 3 housepayments in 2007, I will have paid more in taxes and interest in 2008. I know that it is my money anyway, but it feels much better to receive money from the gov't than to give.

Talk about bad weather! We had horrible storms last night. They left me sitting in my closet at 4am with only one cat. Tigger could not be found. Good thing I didn't get a tornado, or I'd be 1 cat short of a litter. And speaking of litter, there would be litter everywhere. As of 1pm, I still didn't have power. I hope to be pleasantly surprised when I get home today. It may be an evening of reading "Around the world in 80 days" by candlelight for me. I only have 1 more evening before book club, and I have to finish it! I have been too lazy lately.