Birmingham.

So a week ago I went to Birmingham for a three day weekend. My uncle unfortunately passed away (R.I.P. Ward Yielding), and my mom had to fly out there from California to tie up a bunch of loose ends and make various arrangements. Birmingham is only 350 miles from New Orleans, so I agreed to drive up there and help out. I had actually been to Birmingham before when I was like 5-years-old. I literally have maybe two memories of being there. So, it was kind of like I'd never been there at all. I brought Darwin along, too, because he is good road trip company.

My mom grew up in Birmingham (at least until the age of 9, or so), so a lot of time was spent going on a self-guided tour of her old stomping grounds and meeting some distant relatives I either hadn't met before or hadn't seen since I was a baby. Like most people, I have family in a few different places. My dad's side of the family comes from California and France, and my mom's side comes from Birmingham and Charleston (South Carolina). So the family in Birmingham is all on my mom's father's side. With that said, I learned a lot about where I come from (partly), which was very interesting.

I think the best, most interesting thing I learned was this: my family (on my mom's side) was fucking LOADED! My family used to practically own the city of Birmingham. We had three "empires" they were called, in the family. One was a major local bank chain, another was a major department store throughout the South, and the last was a huge coffee company/distributor. Both the department stores and banks went under in the 80s for different reasons, but the coffee business (Royal Cup Coffee) has stuck around. The point being that I come from old money that disappeared around my time of birth and I therefore never saw a penny of it. Considering the recession and my current financial status, this was admittedly difficult for me to hear and made me *sigh*.

I never got a chance to use my camera much, but I managed to take a couple of photos:

Driving along HWY-59. The drive from
NOLA to Birmingham was much prettier
than the drive from SF to LA.

I always get a room with two queen beds
so Darwin can feel like he's on vacation,
too.

I honestly thought Birmingham was a really
pretty city. A lot of trees, which I like.

You can't really see it because of all the
trees but this is about half of my rich great
grandfather's old house. *sigh*

This is the country club my family used

to be members of. Again, *sigh*.

On the way home. This was not an easy
photo to take, trust me.

When I was in high school, a friend of mine's mom brought me back some tea from when she went to Indonesia. It was just cheap grocery store tea, but it was the most delicious tea I'd ever had. Well okay maybe not EVER, but it wasn't like anything I was used to, and I wanted it to last because I didn't know when I'd ever have it again. So, I kept it around, drinking it only occasionally. Then I forgot about it in my kitchen, and found it like two years later. I still drank it. Then I forgot about it again, and remembered it again after a couple years. At that point, the tea was like four years old, and I had to throw it away. But I wrote down the name in case I got the urge to hunt it down later in life.

Well the day came when I finally decided to scour the internet for this tea. All I had was a brand name, and a vague recollection of what the box looked like.

So I searched and searched, and I found a website that sold it... I think. SariWangi brand? Yes. Green box? Yes. At only $1.50 a box, I was certainly willing to give it a try.

Well only five days after my order was placed, my tea arrived at my front door. Not only was I delighted with my purchase, but I was also delighted at the discovery of this amazing website (which is the main reason for this post). It's http://www.efooddepot.com/ and it is a website that sells all sorts of imported foods, many of which are dirt cheap, and ships them to your door post-haste for like a $5.00 flat rate. I have had a hell of a time finding yellow curry paste here in New Orleans so I tossed that in there too (also like $1.50).

Oh, I just love the internet.

Staying Organized.

So I was sitting here, pen and paper in hand, sorting out all the things I had to do in the next couple of weeks. And then a director of a local community center calls, wondering when I went to come in and meet with them to discuss volunteering. And so, another appointment was made and another commitment was committed to.

So I thought to myself, "I need some sort of planner, or something to keep my life in order here." And then I remembered a gift my cousin got me, as a joke.














I feel more organized already. And look, the 15th is "Act Happy Day!"

ICE CREAM!

One thing that makes me sad about my childhood is that we did not have an ice cream truck in our neighborhood. Okay maybe it doesn't make me SAD... but I do wish we had one. Sometimes during the summer, only on some days, an ice cream truck would circle around our neighborhood. But we never actually knew when it coming, or at what time! And most of the time it didn't even come down my street. It was all very sporadic and unpredictable and pretty lame when I think about it.

But! I noticed we have an ice cream truck in our neighborhood! Even now, during the winter.



So I assume that when the summer months come around, and kids are out of school, and it's hot as hell outside... this thing should come around more often. The ice cream truck in my home neighborhood used to play the "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" song. Which is a funny memory, but, I like this truck's little tune better... even if it doesn't look like a proper ice cream truck. I also think it's funny that it says "hello" which always throws me off. And the little boy running down the street, apparently.

Yup. Living the dream, here in New Orleans. Makin' up for lost time, that's what I'm doing.

(P.S. I've decided to use another website for video hosting, because this website turns the video quality into absolute junk).

One Night of Queen

Last night the boyfriend and I hopped on the 7:30 pm ferry and went across the river to see a show. At one point, before we moved, I spent some time researching places to go and things to do in New Orleans. That led me to the House of Blues, which led me to their concert calendar for the month of February. Something stood out, on Sunday the 21st, called "An Evening with One Night of Queen." I glanced over it, but decided to look it up anyway. And just as I thought, it was indeed a Queen cover band.

Now, normally I wouldn't even consider seeing a cover band over the real thing. But seeing as how that isn't exactly possible (R.I.P. Freddie Mercury)... I thought, "why not?"

His name is Gary Mullen, and he formed what is called a "Queen tribute band." He had great reviews and his YouTube videos were a lot of fun to watch so I had high expectations. And you know what? I was not disappointed. The man really engaged and entertained the crowd, he has a fantastic voice (with a remarkable resemblance to Freddie Mercury's), and he and his band really did the songs justice! I would highly recommend them to any Queen fan. I appreciated two things: one, that the songs were performed as they were originally. No surprise creative interpretations anywhere. And, they didn't pretend to be Queen, and Gary Mullen didn't pretend to be Freddie Mercury, or anything else equally blasphemous. They introduced themselves as who they are, and simply played Queen songs. Gary Mullen was dressed for the part, but I think everyone appreciated the effect.

My only complaint? They didn't play my favorite song (I Want to Break Free). BOO! Oh well. Here are some photos and videos from the show:




I apologize for the sound quality of these videos, but, what can I say? I don't own professional equipment, you know that. And it was loud as hell in there.

Clip from Bohemian Rhapsody.



Another clip from Bohemian Rhapsody.

After the show ended, the audience of
course demanded an encore.

What do I do with all these beads?

That is the question I couldn't help but wonder. Between Michael and myself, we racked in at least 50 beads, probably well more than that. So that left me wondering... what the hell am I supposed to do with these things? I mean, one can only have so many souvenir beads.

Well, I came up with one idea. I plan to use any beads of a similar shape to decorate my next Christmas tree. I can either put them on the tree itself, hanging them like ornaments, or I can break each one and tie them all together to create a big festive garland.

Great. But what about the beads that are left? That aren't the appropriate shape, size, or color, to fit in with the rest?

Well, that's why we have Mardi Gras trees:

Mardi Gras

Oh, Mardi Gras. What a crazy bitch you are. I have mixed feelings about Mardi Gras. On the one hand, I think it's a crazy party and there's nothing else like it in the world... except, maybe, in Brazil. On the OTHER hand, I think Mardi Gras is a little overrated. Take about a week's worth of Halloween celebrations (with the drinking and dressing like an idiot), and add some parades, add some beads... and there you have Mardi Gras. Maybe the difference is I got to celebrate Mardi Gras like a local. Which you would THINK is awesome, but it does come with a few inconveniences. First of all, Mardi Gras is not a few days, or even a week. The Mardi Gras "season" is from January 6th, until the day before lent (mid-February). And during this time, dozens of parties and parades are thrown. So ever since we got here I've been dealing with traffic, closed roads, road blocks, parade routes, crowds, and getting stuck behind floats on the bridge. After three weeks, you can expect that sort of thing to get old.

Mardi Gras really starts to get crazy the final week, or more specifically, the weekend before Fat Tuesday, and then through Fat Tuesday. So four solid days of partying, that makes it. This is when tourists flood the city and you can see the biggest and best parades. So! What did *I* do, you ask? Well, not all that much. I'm not a huge parade person, so I only caught two of the bigger ones.

Bacchus was on the Sunday before Mardi Gras, and was the first parade we saw. It was SUPER, super lame. My first Mardi Gras parade, which we attended because my cousin was visiting and she desperately wanted to see the king of the Bacchus parade (Drew Brees, the quarter back for the Saints). Usually, a parade is one float or marching band right after the other... and I don't know what was going on with Bacchus this year, but they were retardedly off with their timing. We'd see one float, one band, and then nothing for as much as 20 minutes. In an hour, we saw maybe 5 floats. After an hour of that, we just left. It was dumb. D-U-M-B. Dumb.

One of the things I did like about Bacchus

was that it was at night, so, the floats are
lit up.

King Kong. Notice that, instead of people
throwing things into the crowd, everyone
instead throws beads at Kong.

Every king needs a queen.

Look. At all. The garbage. There
are garbage cans along the street,
and they are empty if you can
believe it.



I always laugh at the officer watching the
little car.



This is the float that was carrying Drew
Brees. You can see him on the top, in the
front, wearing gold and a crown. I think
people screamed the most for this one.
(None of the screams/noises are from me,
I always shut my mouth when the camera
is rolling.) Sorry for the bumpiness, I was
trying to catch some beads!



This was actually taken on our way back from
Bourbon Street. We couldn't take the parade
anymore, and when we left and came back
some time later it was still going on.

On Tuesday, we managed to find time to go see the Rex parade before I had to take my cousin back to the airport. Rex is during the day, so the floats aren't lit up and therefore aren't quite as spectacular... but at least the parade had their shit together:

This is a shot of the area and the crowd

before the parade started. We were at the
very end of the route.

Knights? I guess?

This is a photo of Rex (the king) of this
parade. I know what you're thinking. You're
thinking, "Wow. That is an awesome photo."
I know it is.



A military marching band sprinting toward
the finish line (like I said, we were at the
very end of the parade route).



The king approaching.

So after we watched the parade for a little while, my cousin and I hopped back on the ferry to the other side of the river so I could take her back to the airport. After sitting in 2.5 hours of traffic, because they shut the bridge down to let all the floats get across, I had almost had enough of Mardi Gras. But somehow, I found the energy for one more trip over to Bourbon Street.

I have to say that the first trip to Bourbon Street is a bit of a sight. Seeing everyone hanging out in the streets, drinking openly in public, jazz musicians on every corner, people throwing beads at you from the balcony and occasionally asking to see your boobs. It's a site to behold, that is for sure. But it can only be beheld for so long before you're ready to go home. Seriously.

Crowds begging for beads underneath a
balcony. You see? You don't have to take
your top off to get beads.

Well this is what Bourbon Street looks like.
Just a lot of people, half of them in weird
hats, with their arms in the air trying
to catch beads.

So, what about the boobs? Well, most girls
happily keep their clothes on. But during Mardi
Gras there are a decent amount of sluts out
and about, and if you pay enough attention,
you ought to see boobs. This girl could not
keep her shirt on. And when she flashed
the crowd, guys threw beads up at her.

But! The most exciting part of the evening was walking down Bourbon Street and seeing flames on a balcony. People weren't screaming, so, from a distance the fire looked... I don't know. Contained? It was Mardi Gras! It wasn't unreasonable to assume there was some sort of porch bonfire going on, safe or not. So we get closer, and realize that... omfg, a HOUSE is on fire! A house is on fire, the fire is spreading, and the crowd is barely noticing!

After about 20 mins of staring in awe over a building burning to the ground, the fire department finally showed up. In the meantime, people were taking things into their own hands, acting as crowd control and such. I heard that everybody got out of the house and nobody was hurt, and once the fire hose got going they put the fire out no problem. That was a close call. After that frightening display I think Michael and I were both a little shook up and didn't stick around much longer. I had to collect a few beads, but, after that I was ready to go. On the way out of the French Quarter, we passed by this protest of sorts... it made me laugh, and it is definitely my favorite photo of the night:

So we left Bourbon Street, took the ferry back over the river, and were home before midnight. After all, Michael had to work the next morning. Besides, we'd all had enough of Mardi Gras by that point anyway. Even Darwin: