I am getting kinda excited for the rest of the summer. Not that the beginning was bad....but after the 4th...its gonna be good. In 2 weeks, not only are there two Bonerama shows(Maple Leaf and Sogo's in Baton Rouge) but I have some friends in town!! Lisa let me know that Neal Caine would be performing on July 29th at the Funky Butt, then its Satchmo Fest (the link takes you to one of their pages with a cool Satchmo Fest Video) then, the invasion of Lisa, Mike, and Connor begins!! Which is just around the time for my birthday! There are a few folks coming down for that...then my Best Friend is getting married over Labor Day...that one is taking place in Montana...hopefully I will have the fundage to attend!!!

So I did a bit of research....most of the stuff I already knew from when I had surgery over a year ago...Here is some fun filled facts for those who are are interested:

Retinal detachment occurs when a part of one of the layers of the retina is pulled out of place, or when a hole or tear occurs. Although a detached retina is not painful, it is definitely a medical emergency. If the retina is not reattached to its source of nutrients promptly, the cells die and blindness can result. Risk factors for the condition include nearsightedness, previous eye surgery or injury, and inherited thinness of retinal tissue.

retina-The inner layer at the back of the eye, where light-sensitive rods and cones are located. Chemical changes in the retina transmit electrical signals through the optic nerve to the brain to produce sight.
retinal detachment-Separation of the light-sensitive retina from the back of the eye, which may cause vision loss. Laser surgery is required as soon as possible after detachment is detected to secure the retina to the inner eye.

Treatment for Vision:
Resting your eyes when they are overworked is the first line of defense against vision problems. Eye exercises and a well-balanced, nutritious diet will help your eyes remain healthy and your vision sharp.
Maintenance of your healthy eyesight depends on getting sufficient vitamin A, which plays a key role in the eye's ability to adjust to different degrees of light. To help prevent or postpone vision disorders, you should cut your consumption of refined sugar. If you smoke, stop. Do everything possible to stay away from tobacco smoke, exhaust fumes, and other kinds of polluted air. Finally, do not let yourself get overtired. When your body is rested, your circulation improves and your eyes get the supply of oxygenated blood they need.
Eye Exercises to Relieve Eyestrain
When using a computer or doing concentrated activity such as sewing or reading, rest your eyes for five minutes at 30-minute intervals. Look away from your work, close your eyes, or simply stare off into space.
Blink regularly. This action helps prevent evaporation of the tear film that protects the cornea. Blinking also breaks the continuous focus when you have been reading or looking at a computer screen, increasing the amount of concentrated activity you can perform.
If you are driving for long stretches, alternately focus on the dashboard and a faraway object. Changing the focus periodically will relax your eye muscles and prevent eyestrain.
Palm your eyes. Sit comfortably, breathe deeply and cover your eyes with the palms of your hands.
Breathe deeply for several minutes. Roll your head around with a circular motion while stretching your neck and shoulders, then turn your head from side to side and up and down, repeating several times.
While yawning, stretch and maneuver the muscles of your face to relieve tension.

So it looks like I am going to go and get some vitamin A, and resting a bit more. A good website, that tells a bit about the surgery I had..I have the secular (sp) buckle

I just got back from the eye doctors. The good news is there is no retinal detachment in the right eye. The bad news is that both retinas are very thin. He lasered the left then and there.....and I go back in a week to have the right eye lasered. It hurts when they do that. My head now hurts. I am going to go and crawl in bed as soon as I get home. I have a very strong feeling they won't be able to keep doing laser to my eyes...and soon...no more sight. That is very scary and sad, but I don't know if that for sure is gonna happen.

And it continues....yesterday as I walked to the bus stop, the parrots were flying over my head...about 5 of them, flying from what is probably their normal nesting place, the palm trees to the trees across the street in the park. I had noticed that now 2 of the luscious looking apples on my tree were now gone. Then this morning it happened. Not one, not two but SIX of those parrots were in my apple tree, noshing. They would stop, and look at me like "these are some damn good apples" It took all I had not to throw open the window in the bathroom to scare the hell out of them. Although the one hanging almost upside down eating one of the apples was kinda cute...I must now resign myself to the fact that there will be no fresh apples, no apple pie (like I was really gonna make one of those?) no apple sauce....at least not for me. Hopefully one of these days I will find my old school camera, and the film....and take some pictures. Then of course I have to get them developed. Maybe my digital will just start working again.

On a completely different note....today is the appointment the retinal specialist. Fingers crossed that my right eye is not detaching and no surgery is needed.....and that my left eye continues to be fine.

* People who call me ma'am. I am not a ma'am. Quite calling me that.
* When I answer the phone at work "good morning T..."(saying the name of my company) and the caller responds with "well good morning T...." no you dork....MY name is not T...thats the name of the company.
* I have a long desk at work, and a few people think its okay to come behind it and stand right next to me, to talk, rather than stand at the edge of my desk. And they stare at the computer screen...not making eye contact. Didn't realize you were that enamored with Harry, cuz thats all they are gonna see when they stand right next to me is the wallpaper
* People pretending to care....
* Not closing of the cabinet doors in the kitchen....did you get tired and couldn't reach up to close them?
* Stupidity
* Tom Cruise (see the above point for reference)
* The fire alarm going off suddenly during the day for no real reason.
* Being used
* When people don't realize they are being just as childish...if not more so than the children they are complaining about.

Okay I think thats enough bitching for now. Apparently I am experiencing some major PMS this morning.

So when I was getting ready to head out on Saturday afternoon, I was in the bathroom attempting to look cute. I look out the window to see how much of the apple had been eaten, and my little friend was there again...working again on the same apple. He took off soon after I spotted him, winging off to the park across the street. I then went outside to wait for Adam and Carrie, and inspect the apple tree from outside. All the apples are way up high, even with the windows on the 2nd floor, no apples on the lower branches. Which will make it hard for apple pickin. Then I hear a racket across the street. There are at least 5 of these wild green parrots in the tree right at the edge of the park. They are all hopping around in the tree then, all of a sudden...they fly to a tree across from the park. They need to leave my apples alone. I know they are stalking me.

All I want is for it to be Friday already...into a nice long weekend. I don't have any big plans yet for the 4th, I think I am denial that the summer seems to be flying by. As for this past weekend....on Friday night, we all went out for drinks after work. A lot of the people left around 4, which was cool, because there were a few people finishing up work, and would probably be here until 5. So they would be able to give me a ride to where we were gathering. However...5 rolled around and everyone was gone. So I wasn't at all pleased. I ended up walking to where where we were meeting out on Frenchmens street. It took about a 1/2 hour, and well hell, I needed the excersise right? Lots of drinks (free) were consumed, and the night was winding down around 9ish/930ish. I decide to go down and hang out with my roomie who was bartending. As I am strolling down Decatur (where her bar is located) I saw this suspicious looking character hanging out on the street corner....okay it was just Lucien. ;) I stopped and chatted with him for a bit, he was really tired having just flown back from Canada that morning, where he had played with Harry the night before. He said "Come say hi to Mark" So I went inside and talked to Mark for a few....it turns out Carmen had worked the day shift so I had missed her...but I did get to hear some cool music...what I remember of it anyway. Saturday came....and I hung out around the house for awhile...then Adam, Carrie and I decided to go and wander around in the Quarter. It was a fun afternoon.....we even tried our luck at Harrah's....they were lucky, I was not. We ran into Pam the owner of Tropical Isle on the way back to the car, I really need to go back there and hang out some. Yesterday I just read and watched TV.....then right before I went to bed...I found out something that wasn't cool, made me very mad, stressed me out...and am trying to figure out what to do about it. So I am tired from lack of sleep and a little PO'd.

There is an apple tree right outside my bedroom/bathroom window. I didn't realize it was an apple tree until just recently when, well the apples started growing. I mean, this is my first full summer here in NOLA. Anyway, I keep looking out the bathroom window every morning, wondering when the apples will be ready for apickin'. Some of them are looking pretty good, and there was this one at the very top of the tree that I have really had my eye on. Of course I have no idea how I will get to it, I just know I want it. Until this morning that is. The tree always has a lot of little birds coming and going, which drives Liza nuts. She will sit on my bed and just stare out the window, and every once in awhile, will try to get the birds. As I am doing my makeup this morning I realized "damn those birds are being really loud this morning" So I look out, to find the offending birds, and there perched right by MY apple, was a wild parrot. As I watched he started eating my apple. And making happy parrot sounds...and staring at me like "I dare you to stop me". Now my perfect apple is no more. He took maybe four bites out of it then disappeared. I have a feeling he is going to bring back a big party of the wild parrots that are here in the city and they are all going to nosh on my apples. Which I don't think are quite ready yet....

So I had a good morning. It all started when I stepped on the scale. I was a little worried, as well, I have been eating much much better, no beer has been consumed in a week, and I have had only 2 sodas. Usually its one a day in the soda department. However the grand plan to go walking....either first thing in the morning or in the evening just hasn't happened. I have managed to lose 2 lbs though. WHOO HOO. Its a step in the right direction, now just imagine if I actually started my walking!!

I also decided this morning, that well I need to get out more. I know some of you are thinking...WHAT?? no you don't. Well...I always just tend to go out on the weekends...and to the same places. Not that that is a bad thing at all, I enjoy those places. But this whole "woe is me gonna be alone forever" attitude isn't going to change if I don't get out more, and meet some more people. Sitting at home and reading isn't helping. So tonight, I am going out. I don't know where, or with who, or any of those things...I am just going.

I remembered...then forgot...then remembered... then forgot...that today marks I have 2 months left of my 20s. (signs of old age...all that forgetting) I go from moments of panic...to WHOOO HOOO LETS PARTY!! The moments of panic of course being...I am gonna be 30 and what the HELL have I done so far with my life. Granted this past year I have made some pretty darn big choices...one being to move myself here to NOLA. Those moments of thinking..."I am going to be 30, not married, no prospects, no kids...I am gonna end up alone with 50 cats" You know all that fun stuff. Then I remember that I wouldn't be able to go out and have fun, and well party....if I had all that other stuff....so obviously, I am not quite ready for that yet. I have expressed my "fears" to several friends, who think I am crazy. Although Michelle telling me "don't worry my sister is 35 and not married/no boyfriend/kids, you'll be fine" I don't want to be 35 without some stable roots. Without a family. See...there I go again.

I was so confused this morning...okay I am confused MOST of the time..however when I woke up, first thing I thought of was "Its Tuesday morning and I don't remember going to work yesterday" I seriously thought I slept through Monday. Then I thought I had blown off work completly. I guess its because it was a nice relaxing weekend. That must have been it. Friday night Carrie, Adam and I went to harrass Mark Braud at Palm Court. He was sweet as always...fun to talk to and of course to hear play. The lady that was singing with the band was SO much fun. I lurve her. We also got to chat with Lucien.....and he even sang a duet with the said lady. LOVED LOVED LOVED that. Saturday dawned and I just hung out at home for awhile...then went and saw Crash. I very highly recommend everyone see that movie. It is beyond excellent, and really gets you thinking...I need someone here to go see it...then we can talk about it. I then went and got Dad's father's day gift and finally picked up Harry's new cd "Occasion" I know...I know....bad Harry fan. But I had to wait for the $$. It is, of course a great CD. I just keeping thinking of "crystal clear" when listening to it. I also picked up a few new books, one of which I have devoured already....I love books like that. Sunday was just more...reading and talking to friends on the phone...planning everything we are going to do, rather they are going to do (I am tagging along for some of it) when they are here in July. I also got to see eppie #2 of "Into the West" I have gotten sucked into that series on TNT. I was a bit apprehensive on watching it this week. I had read an article in a Televison weekly mag that we get here at work....it was about the mis-treatmeant the Native Americans received onset. Things like, shooting going later than planned (no biggie that happens alot) however they would get to eat breakfast and lunch, provided to them, and then when shooting went longer...the dinner was for the crew and the lead cast...not for the extras. If they did take food from the catering table, they were asked to leave the set for good. The tutors were not supplied for the children, as were promised. Big union no-no. Several were promised more money for their bump-stunts (falling off horses, and what not) and still haven't received that extra money. The costumes of course were minimal for the extras...and the weather was extremely cold for the shoot. They were provided one heater for all the extras. The article indicated that a lot of the white extras weren't treated much better either. I just kept thinking of that as I watched the 2nd part last night. There were many, many other things I had going through my brain as I watched. I was shocked beyond belief when they showed the sun dance in the first eppie. It is such a sacred ceremony...that I am surprised the Lakota people were okay with it being aired. Not that it happens a lot anymore, but still. There are plently of things that the Salish won't let people video during the Arlee Pow-Wow. I am pretty sure I will keep watching it, although it saddens me to think of the troubles that happened on the shoot.

Friday Fun
A few random tidbits for a Friday morning. (I almost wrote Monday morning. How pathetically sad is that??)

* my cat is weird. I have this clearish storage bin that I use to take my clothes downstairs to be laundered and then to bring back up. Usually I leave it downstairs by the washer and dryer. Last Sunday I didn't feel like taking it back downstairs. It is now Liza's personal bedroom. She will come tearing into the room at full speed, leap into the box, often with the force of a missle that sends the box tipping over. Last night she found a new toy. Heather also has a cat (bringing the total of cats in the house to 4 right now) and its one of her toys. Liza brought the metallic mouse into "her room" which was around 10:30 last night as I was trying to sleep. Later I woke up to her and Roodie fighting in the box. This morning she decided to wake me up by literally kneading my scalp with full on claws out, and grabbing my hair in her mouth and PULLING. She is lucky she didn't go flying. Apparently she also thinks she is a daredevil of sorts. Roodie was asleep in one of the cabinets in the library yesterday, above where Carmen was working at her computer. Liza knew he was up there, and wanted to harass him. Carmen tells me that the door (which are glass-less) was partly propped open, and Liza took a jump. She ended up hanging from the door with her front paws, as the door swung open more. I would have died laughing had I seen it. I am glad that Carmen was there and able to help her, so she didn't end up hurting herself.
* My left arm is twitching. It seems to have stopped a bit now...but earlier, the upper part of my arm, from my elbow to my shoulder was doing some sort of dance. It was weird. I couldn't get it to stop. It would have made sense if I had done some heavy lifting or something....but I haven't.
* For the biggest loser contest at work....everyone decided to break up into teams. So I have 5 teammates. 3 are already super skinny and are looking to lose 5 lbs. Actually one wants to lose 10. the other two want to try to lose 15 like me. Allison and I shouldn't be on the same team. We both like our beer. In fact...she is in Key West today....sitting on the beach. Drinking beer.
* My parents are seeing Bonerama tomorrow. I am nervous as to what will be said. The guys are under strict instructions, "don't say anything bad about me" of course Matt and Steve both said "Like we could ever say anything bad about you" Mark just got that evil look on his face. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to him at all. I have also told my mom not to say anything embarrassing about me. So fingers are crossed. They can't go to the Boulder show as Dad flies in tonight from Atlanta and won't get to the house till about the time they guys start.....

We are playing Biggest Loser here at work. No I don't mean who has the worse life kinda deal...but who can lose the most weight in 6 weeks. We weighed in today, and paid $10. When the 6 weeks is up, the person who has lost the most...wins the $$$. We should be ending it at the end of July. This is perfect timing. I have been meaning to get my ass in shape again. Since losing 70 lbs a few years back....I have put some back on. Of course living in New Orleans hasn't helped much at all. Fried food and lots of beer. However, I have been getting that bug to lose the weight again. I needed some extra motivation. I mean, I knew I wanted to lose the weight before my 30th. Cuz I want to wear a really cute dress, that I have yet to find. So if I can win this challenge, I will get the $$$ from it, which in turn will buy me the cute dress. See how that all works out? I honestly don't think the eating better will be the problem. I can get my butt out walking and other various workout regiments (without having a gym membership that should be fun) Its the drinking beer part that will be hard. Really. Your out in New Orleans...listening to some great music...and you have a few. A nice cold beer on a really hot summer steamy day? That is just awesome. When I lost my weight before..I had a great support system. It was with a bunch of girls on connick.com But after awhile? I couldn't handle it anymore. There are several girls (all very nice) who are skinny, who are in shape, who are obssessed with this whole thing. I mean if they aren't within their "goal" weight (which they were/are) yet still working so hard....it was discouraging to me. Here I was working hard...losing the weight, but the feeling I got was "your never fully happy with your weight" It was depressing. If they weren't ever happy...how could I be? I know it was all in my head, and still is. But the positive support I got, all of a sudden seemed discouraging to me. So I stopped participating in it. And wouldn't you know? Even though some of the weight came back on, I wasn't as depressed anymore. So I am gonna kick some ass on this. Lose the added back on weight, and win.

Even though Carrie swears up and down that she didn't kick my ass....she did. In Trivial Pursuit. Pop Culture edition. Actually I was only one wedgie away from having all of them...she just got there faster. It was a fun time....interrupted of course for a brief time so we could listen to Mark Mullins on the radio. He did a phone in interview to a radio station in Boulder, CO. The last thing I said to him when I talked to him was "don't sound stupid" Which he didn't....although the DJ doing the interview did. She was a dolt. We finally got to eat dinner after the interview....Adam tends to get distracted....and I kept offering to help out....I can cook somewhat...but oh well. It was a yummy meal. A fun night with some good friends....its always good.

I finally made an appointment with the retina specialist. Its not till June 29th, that is when he is in the NOLA office. I had meant to make the appointment yesterday but forgot the referal letter at home. Even though I had placed it next to everything I was bringing to work. I still forgot it. Anyway. The appointment is made and now the waiting game begins. I will be there at 1:45, so now I need to make the decision as to, do I need to get a temp in for the rest of the day? Or do I come back, guessing the appointment will be over around 3:00ish. My eyes dilated and what not. Hmmmmm.

I stood up from my desk a little while ago to get more coffee. On my walk to the kitchen...I definetly saw flashes in my right eye. It scared the SHIT out of me. I really really don't want to have the same thing happen to the right eye as it did to the left eye over a year ago. #1. I can't afford it #2 I don't want surgery again, #3 the thought of going blind again scares the SHIT out of me. I know I am probaly over reacting right now, I tend to do that. Just sit and think of all the possible awful outcomes. Stress myself out. I will on Monday make the call to the retnial specialist my eye doctor gave me on my last appt. Just to make sure its still okay.

Gonna focus on some fun stuff coming up. Bonerama shows tonight and Sunday night that I am selling merch at. Friends visiting in about a month, my 30th birthday bash (wait is turning 30 a positive thing??), my best friend's wedding in Sept. So that will get me back to Montana for the first time in a long. New roomies moving in.

The Interview

Okay party people...here is something a little different for ya'll. I thought this would be fun, its a sorta interview chain making the rounds on blogs. So I asked Miss Zoot to interview me. And I in turn will interview some of you. So let me know. You know you want to play!! Leave a comment if you do. Okay #3 is really really HARD.

1. What is the ONE food you wouldn't want to live without? I don't think I could live without chicken. I love chicken. I eat it boiled, baked, bbq'd, as wings, as tenders, fried, spicy, cold. You name it. I would eat it.
2. What is the best thing about living in NO? The food or the culture? Without a doubt its the culture. Every night, weekend, and day there is something you can do here, learn, see, just experience. How do YOU pronounce New Orleans? Depends on how much I have had to drink when I try to say it. Nah Oleenz something like that.
3. If you could only listen to one musician/band the rest of your life, who would it be? I keep going back and forth between Harry and Bonerama. But, I think it would have to be Harry. All the craziness started with him, and on his CDs I can find a song to fit almost every mood I have. That and in a sneaky kinda way I would still be able to enjoy all the guys cuz they are in the big band. What if you could only listen to one ALBUM? Star Turtle without a doubt. He covers so much on that CD What if you could only listen to one SONG? One song would drive me nutso. So this is gonna have to be a good one. I am going to have to go with "City Beneath the Sea" I know, get off the freakin Harry kick you freak. But really that song meant so much to me before moving, and now that I am here, it still continues to mean alot.
4. If you could work ANY job regardless of talent, pay or naturalskill, what would it be? Ruler of the world. Okay no that would require too much commitment. Okay...Orlando Bloom's "personal assistant"
5. If you could leave tomorrow to spend 24 hours in ANY PLACE in the world, where would you go and what would you do? I would go to New York and see as many Broadway shows as I could, and get lost wandering the streets. (Wait I think I have done some of that already)

That's right...the sun is shining, after a few days of thunderstorms, we have sunshine. Which also means hot, sticky weather. I love this weather SO MUCH. Seriously . It must be some kind of sickness. It is so much better than it be sunny and cold out. There is a 60% chance for storms again today however. Yesterday was fun. Flooding streets, water pressure down at the water/sewage plant which resulted in no running water across town. The AC was off in the building for awhile. That was actually fine because its normally a freezer in here. So it got to warm up a bit in here. A little bit later on the fire alarm started going off. It is the most annoying, nails on chalk board sound EVER. Of course when it goes off suddenly, I nearly pee myself. And almost every freakin time it goes off (which it does often) the phone rings. I can't really answer the phone when that sound is happening. One of these days that thing is gonna go off for a real emergency and we will all sit here in the office working away. Yesterday the fire trucks even came. Too bad the cute firemen must have had the day off. But you should have seen us girls crowded around the conference room windows looking down at the street. Kinda like that old "Coke Break commercial"

Anyway....when I saw the sun today, it reminded me of a funny story. Okay so its probably only funny to Jenny, Sarah (the Estill girls) and myself. But I am going to share it anyway. Way back in 1998 during a weekend out at Kitsap, we were doing a performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" It was a Sunday, maybe the 2nd or 3rd weekend of the run. We normally have everyone down at the theatre at 10, where we do warm ups, run through some songs and maybe some dance numbers. Around 12, lunch is brought down to the theater and we all hang out on the stage or in the house soaking up the sun eating our lunch. The show doesn't start until 2, but the house opens at 1. So we have an hour to kill. Once the house is open, we are all to stay backstage. I make my rounds telling people to clean up their lunches from the house area as well as the stage. Because the theater is older...there is no "overhead" announcement for me to make that "house is open" So I usually start out front, then go from one side of the stage to the other. I usually would have to go down to the creek that ran backstage and tell the kids down there as well. I had a lot of ground to cover. This particular weekend I went through the drill....got everyone backstage, had the stage set and cleared. At some point after I had given the house manager the okay to open the trail (its 1/4 mile hike down to the stage) I was down by the creek rounding up kids. Jenny had wandered out the stage to sit and eat not realizing the house was open, she then got distracted by something and when backstage. I came back up and was talking to one of the ushers by one of the entrances, I happened to look at the stage and noticed an abandoned plate of food on a bench. That hadn't been there before, and now the audience was coming in. I ran down the steps grabbed the plate and ran backstage. "who left their food on stage after I said house was open??" I guess I didn't say it in the nicest ways as Jenny burst in tears and said "me...I am so sorry" at the time she was 8 or 9. It became a running joke for the rest of the run...Jenny making a big production of checking the stage right after I announced that the house was open. Cut to two years later. The first weekend of "Secret Garden". On the ferry ride across the sound it was cloudy and drizzly. The shows open memorial day weekend. Our final dress would take place on Saturday, opening day would be Sunday, with another show that Monday. We ran the show that Saturday and all prayed for no rain. The show goes on rain or shine. After all we were Mountaineers right?? That night as I laid in my tent (yes tent) the rain started. It had to have been around 11 or so. And it kept raining. All through the opening performance....all through the night and all through the Monday performance. It finally stopped around 5:00 PM...when the show was ending. We were all covered in mud (including Lily's white lace dress) wet and cold. It made for a pretty miserable weekend, but we had made it through. Jenny had the lead of Mary Lenox...and Sarah had a fairly large part as the maid/nanny for Mary. Can't remember the characters name. The following weekend it was sunny, wonderful and we had a packed house. I was standing in one of the wing entrances, going through all my upcoming scene changes. All of a sudden Sarah runs up and says "What's all that yellow stuff on the stage?" I freak out ("what?? where???")and almost run out on stage looking for this yellow substance in front of about 400 people when Jenny and Sarah started laughing hysterically. Sarah had been talking about the sunlight on the stage. I, of course was thinking that someone had left something on stage again. In fact for several years following....the kids would try to pull that joke on me.

You know how when you meet some people, and you just know they are suppose to be in your life? That would be Adam and Carrie. I met Carrie 2 years ago while vacationing in New Orleans. She is a fellow Cowboy Mouth fan, and we met at the instore they did at Tower. We hung out that night at Carrollton Station for a Lonesome Travellers show. (That's Paul and JTG of Cowboy Mouth acoustic) Carrie had just started dating Adam the month before, so they were on the phone alot that night. Carrie and I kept in touch via email after I went back to Seattle. Last year, when trying to find places to live, I would sent Carrie and Adam (who was by then living here) the addresses and they would go check the area out to me. Right after I moved here, we started hanging out. The second time I met Adam, I almost killed him with the move into my apartment. Moving in August, up stairs, in New Orleans is NOT recommended. In a weird twist, the one place I didn't have them check out for me, is the place I ended up moving into. It also ended up being 4 blocks from their house. There were a lot of evenings hanging out over there, just causing trouble. They have both been a great support system to me, moving to a city where I knew practically no one. And now today, at some point today, they are hitting the road to Oxford, MS where Carrie is attending Law School. Its only 5 hours away...but still. No more those spontaneous outings. Who else is going to go to every Mardi Gras parade with me? Stalking movie stars with? Wanderings through Wal Mart? Runs to the store for wine? *sigh* They will hopefully be back for my birthday celebration and Voo Doo Fest. and I am hoping that I can make it up to visit them as well. Without a car now, it may be a bit more difficult. I said my good byes last night, as I helped them pack a bit. I was okay...until Adam, yes Adam started crying. Then both Carrie and I did. He is really a sweet boy. They both are very very sweet and wonderful and will be missed. They are very very dear to me.

No wonder I have NO freakin money right now. In the past few weeks I have gotten the following CDs: Mark Braud, Leroy Jones, Matt Perrine (Ambassordors of New Orleans), Neal Caine, and last night BTE. Then in 13 days I can get the new Harry Connick Jr. CD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear that CD. I know there are clips you can hear online, but I want to experience each song whole....want the suprise of each track and enjoy each on in the fullness. That and the clips are just a big ole tease. Kinda like me. HA. I love living in a musical mecca. So while I enjoy each CD to its fullness, I am going to live on peanut butter and ramen. At least it will make my big ole ass shrink a bit. maybe.