Michael's been hinting

at getting a plasma or LCD TV (thanks a lot, Kelly & Kevin). If something ever mysteriously happens to me, the post below will help you understand why. He could buy a couple of those TVs with this.

$4775.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Michael threw me off

Otherwise, I would have gotten a perfect score.

95%ALCOHOLIC

Ghoulies and Ghosties and SHORT-Legged Beasties

Michael wrote a lengthy review of The Mist, which we saw on Friday night. It has a lot of spoilers, so I don't recommend that you read it unless you have already seen the film. I suppose he wants me to write and chime in with my own thoughts, but I can sum it up much more quickly: Giant spider movies are not my friends.

Even more horrifying was finding out that my cat actually had balls. Yes, Igor, The Incredible Non-Cat, found and killed a mouse while we were out. At least, we suspect that he did. We did find a mouse corpse in our bedroom (our bedroom, of all places! eek!). It appeared to have no damage, so either he broke its neck or chased it till it had a heart-attack. Either way, I am impressed. I always thought he would be more afraid of a mouse than it was of him. I bought him treats.

We suspect that it came in through the bathroom. Prior to leaving, Igor had an unnatural fascination with the toliet and we couldn't figure out why. It turns out there is a hole there big enough for a mouse to get in on the side of the toliet. I've put some tape on it thinking that if we have a mouse problem, we should find the tape messed up or chewed up. Igor is no longer obsessing over it and I am hoping it's an isolated incident.

Quadriblog

4 jobs I've had:
-Projectionist
-Bookseller (I had the porn/psychology section to maintain!)
-Waitress
-Ghost tour guide

4 movies I love to watch over and over:
-Fight Club
-Airplane
-Futurama series (I know its not a movie but its my blog so bugger off)
-Aliens

4 places I have lived:
-St. Georges, Bermuda
-Puerto Rico
-Thurso, Scotland
-Brunswick, MD

4 TV shows I enjoy watching:
-Scrubs
-Iron Chef (and virtually anything on Food Network that's not Emeril/BobbyFlay/PaulaDeen/SandraDeeorwhateverthehellhernameis
-Battlestar Galactica
-Daily Show/Colbert Report

4 places I have been (in the past year...):
-Las Vegas, NV
-New Orleans, LA
-Denver, CO
-Boston, MA

4 websites I visit daily:
www.cnn.com
postsecret.blogspot.com (well, it's only updated once a week)
MSN Money
www.dollarstretcher.com

4 favorite foods:
Tuscan Meatballs
Brie/Bread/Wine
Toast/Butter/Coffee
Soups (especially bean soups...)


4 places I would rather be:
Japan
Italy
Germany
(I'm liking the Axis, aren't I?)
Someplace in the Middle East where I wouldn't get shot

4 blogs I'm tagging:
Lo siento, out of peeps...

Turns out

It was only 5lbs that I gained. But still.

So now I am on a soup and salad diet. Except for today when I had Potbelly. Probably not a good sign.

sigh.

I have to admit that I am a sucker for Christmas music. But one of the stations in this area is already playing Christmas music. UGH.

The South Will Rise Again

Sitting in Louis B. Armstrong airport right now. Sipping on coffee that I can't decide if it's good or not.

I didn't see any evidence of destruction on my way to the airport this morning. Fog coated the city and even now the sun is still struggling to burn through.

The city still has problems. We heard that there are service issues at some hotels (namely housekeeping, which is currently a limited workforse). One or two hotels supposedly smelled of mildew. One hotel came with a complimentary "pet" in a few of the rooms. And not the cute type that likes to eat cheese.

But I would definitely come back in a heartbeat, but maybe with some slightly larger pants. I swear I have gained 10 lbs here.

Weather or Not

I just checked the weather back home. It's cold. I ain't coming.

Vitamin B12 Chef

Did I mention that I promised Michael I would not watch the finale of The Next Iron Chef without him? I was looking forward to watching it when I got back. I'm watching Food Network right now and they are already advertising episodes with the "next Iron Chef," showing who won. I am so disappointed-I wanted it to be a surprise. Damn them!

Mango and Black Spice

Bourbon Street is seedy, smelly, and dirty.

It is everything I thought and would want it to be.

I love New Orleans.

And I can't quite put my finger on it. It seems real to me-completely true to human form. Like Vegas, but less corporate and less censored. People break out in to song, for love or for money. But it just feels comfortable.

I have been in Denver, Boston, Las Vegas, San Diego, Honolulu, D.C., Seattle, and New Orleans. New Orleans feels the most comfortable.

Work has been nonstop busy and stressful. We soothe ourselves with fine food and drink. My favorite so far is a local dive, sort of a proto-Cracker Barrel. It's called Mother's and it always has a line and a man at the door named Elvis doing meet and greet. They have the best buttermilk biscuits ever. The food is not good for you, but totally worth it. Michael would love it.

Speaking of which, I have been searching all over for the New Orleans Vodka, something I cannot find at home. I have asked every single bartender I have encountered if they have it. Finally, after coming back to my hotel after a long day and having wading through disappointed and drunk Saints fans, I thought I would check my own hotel bar before crashing in my room. They had it. Its brilliant.

I don't know if I would have enjoyed New Orleans has much pre-Katrina. I don't know if my expectations are lower, so I am happily pleased with what I see. I don't know if I am enjoying it so much just because I want it to succeed. But it just feels comfortable.

Tomorrow is my last night. I am kinda disappointed about that-I feel like there is so much more I could have seen. Oh well. Next time? If there is a next time?

P.S. I had a Bourbon Milkshake. Yum.

New Orleans, Day 2

Day 2 started out with me waking up without a hangover (I know-everyone is SHOCKED). I did realize, however, that I must have broken a nail the night before. No, really-my finger is all black and blue and crap. And it throbs a little. Oh well.

I grabbed an apple from downstairs and went for a walk in the French Qtr. Had a second breakfast of beignets and cafe au lait and did a little christmas shopping. Met my boss for breakfast/lunch (no, not brunch-she had breakfast and I had lunch) and had my first taste of real New Orleans Red Beans & Rice. And the best buttermilk biscuit ever. How come I can't make biscuits like that?

This place, Mother's, had a line the entire time we were in there. The servers continously argued with the cooks. Hot sauce was plentiful. It was pure genius.


Work, work, work, then dinner at one of the Brennan's restaurants. Yummy.

Rinse, repeat. See you tomorrow.

'rithmetic

1 Jamee + SUM(2 glasses of wine + 1 hurricane + 1 [free w/ purchase of hurricane]kamikaze shot) =
Jamee riding 1 mechanical bull.

x 3 attempts

+ The Commodores' "Brick House"

+ Jamee singing along to The Commodores' "Brick House"

+ 2 "reward" Blueberry Vodkas

="Sweet".

(Did I mention that I adore the French Quarter? Is it obvious?)

New Orleans, Day 1

Getting off of my plane, I had the choice of taking a shuttle or a taxi. I opted for the shuttle since 1) taxis make me kinda nervous and 2)I thought I would see more of the city via the shuttle. Secretly, I wanted to see for myself the damage Katrina had wrought.

I was not disappointed. We set out in Metairie (to lazy to comfirm the spelling) and drove through Jefferson Parish. Someone asked the driver about the damage and the entire shuttle quieted down. Some of the damage we could see for ourselves, like roofs with damaged shingles. Some of it had to be pointed out, like the watermarks that still appear on the building. I would guess that it would come up to my waist-maybe 4 ft? The driver mentioned that the "waters" were higher than that, but the waterline shows where it settled. And remained.

I have never been to New Orleans, so I don't really what it was like before

. It seems kinda empty, more so than I expected. Then again, it is November. But even our shuttle bus driver/tour guide mentioned that he felt the city was only at 40%.

That's it for now. I did walk around the French Quarter today, but I had my head buried in a Blackberry, so I didn't see much. Maybe tomorrow...

Morer Tildaisms

When Tilda does something, she says "Ididitproudofyou!"

Likewise, if Tilda turns off the TV, she says, very proudly, "I broke it!"

Tilda has helped me cook the last four meals I have made. Seriously. And it is the Best. Feeling. Ever.

Tilda refers to me as "mumpkin." As in, "thank you, mumpkin." I have not figured out why. She can say both "pumpkin" and "mom." I feel like some sort of genetically-engineered freak.

Tilda said her first swear this weekend. It was Michael's fault. I'm so glad. I thought for sure it would have been my bad.

I Knew It!

I knew I would think of another meaningful book after I published my list-

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.

Changed my life so I, uh, had to mention it.

"Make sure there's a Dixie moon..."

I leave for New Orleans really frakkin' early tomorrow morning. And today I read the coolest thing from one of our hotels:

"New Orleans: Pronounced noo aw-lins or new or-lins or new or-lee-yuns, but not new orleens. Unless referring to the street or the parish of or-leens. Or when you're singing. Confused yet?"

Isn't that the coolest thing? I didn't know that!

I'm sure I will be ecstatic when I get there-finally, a chance to personally add to my voodoo doll collection-but right now I feel guilty. I already made Michael his favorite dish-Tuscan Turkey Meatballs-but he is feeling poorly and Maddy apparently asked him tonight "mommy home soon?" Guilt, thy name is Motherhood.

But I do love the fact that the convention I will be assisting will help the city economically in a small way.

I'll be sure to bring my camera. In case this is the last time I get a chance to see it...

In the meantime, check out this photography about New Orleans.

"New Orleans, I'll...be....there...."

Tagged Again

Mike has of late been possessed by Pazuzu and has been actually updating his blog. And the bastard has tagged me.

I am supposed to think of 8 random things about me. I can only think of 3, but Mike says that more will come as I get started.

1) My favorite meal is brie, yummy wine, french bread, and grapes. KraftMacnCheese comes in as a close second.
2) I firmly believe that any movie that features giant, man-eating spiders should not make the spiders any bigger than a basketball. Any bigger than that and they can't hide as well thus decreasing the creepy factor.
3) I have been thinking about point 2 a lot lately. Can't explain why.
4) I wish I could be a chef. Not to be famous, or own a restaurant, but to make yummy food and have people enjoy it. Plus, chopping up vegetables is the ultimate stress therapy.
5) I think I would be happy as a SAHM but I can't afford it.
6) When I think about applying for a teacher job, sometimes I consider applying for high school just so I can chaperon school dances and dress up in fancy clothes once in awhile. Sad, I know.
7) I watch Barefoot Contessa religiously on Food Network. I hate her with the exact same intensity that I want to be her.
8) I hope one day I can hike the AT.

So Mike was right. Whaddya think about that?

I'm it

Total number of books:

Too lazy to count. Even methodical, maniacal Mike is too lazy to count. I would say the technical term is "up-the-wazoo."

Last book I read:

The last book I read in its entirety was I am Legend by Richard Matheson. However, I quite often pick up books I have read before and reread sections of them.

Last book I bought:

It has been so long since I bought a book solely for myself, I can't even remember.

5 Meaningful Books:

I'm sure as soon as I hit "Publish Post," I will think of other ones.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. 'Nuff said.

Dracula. Sorry, but I think it is one of the most enjoyable books of all time.

The Mists of Avalon-this has been one of the most influential books I have read as an adult.

From Hell-storytelling at its finest.

The Stand/Gone With the Wind-sorry, for going over but I kinda equate these the same way. The Stand probably serves as the origin of my fascination with zombie movies (that whole post-apocalyptic thing) and Gone With the Wind influenced my love of history.

Freak Flags

So I have been thinking that my hair is getting too long and unruly and that maybe I should get it cut.

Then I saw this.

So now is the kid imitating me or am I imitating the kid?

Either way, she is frakkin' adorable.

giggle

 

Tears of a Clown

Sad moment: Watching "What Not To Wear."

Sadder moment: Admitting that I watch "What Not to Wear" when by myself.

Saddest moment: Watching the hosts totally dis and dismiss a pair of shoes I actually own. What I considered to be my "nice shoes."

Sigh.