Friday, November 11, 2005

A day unlike any other

Currently watching "Wicker Park" (Netflix) and I gotta say - a tad disappointed. The beginning is very much like a movie that I love that got horrific reviews, Abandon. The rest of it is Single While Female pretty much. But slower. Good times. Only redeeming factor - Josh Hartnett and Matthew Lillard. For those of you that are not Scream afficionados (and if you are not, FOR SHAME) Matthew Lillard plays Stu who gets to say lines like "Pooookow!" while making gun hand motions. He's a hoot.

I drove my ass to Baton Rouge today just for shits and giggles. I went to the Mall of LA and strolled around briefly and have realized that malls are so very much overrated. There is nothing in there I can't find on the net without the parking hassles and stroller kamikazes (and you know who you are.) However, I did land a hand drawn picture of Tiger Stadium for the husband who is a rabid LSU fan. Nice that my anniversary gift to him is a cool month late, but I was truly clueless as to what to get him. I say a month late and thoughtful is better than on time and just bought to fulfill an obligation. That is what I tell myself to relieve the guilt.

Then I went to my haven, my Mecca, the end all be all of retail existence - Super Target. I get the pitter patters in my chest region just from driving in the parking lot. It makes it all the more beautiful that the ST is flanked by a Chik Fil-A. What beats buying Christmas table decor and then driving through for a grilled chicken sandwich and a Coke the size of your head. Nothing, I tell ya. NOTHING. It's the simple things, people.

Sidenote - this movie is getting stupider by the MOMENT.

This weekend is going to be, in a word, interesting. I will have 4 pre-teen girls in my home from about 1 PM tomorrow until sometime on Sunday. My two nieces have made buds with the daughter of some friends so they want to do a sleepover. No problem, I am fine with it. Then the nieces wanted to bring friends so I was up to 5 girls which frightened even me. However, the one friend of a niece had to back out so I am down to 4 - possibly 3. There is a God and she is kind. I plan to drag them to stores to try on clothes for me so I can get their sizes and hopefully wear them out to the point of dropping because I have to do some work at some point tomorrow and while I am nice, I hate to be bugged while working. It drives me. Obviously something I will have to get over when I pop out the chirrens.

When I was driving home today, I thought about how so many people who visit New Orleans see like 10% of what is so cool about this area. I have made it known that I am NOT a fan of the New Orleans area. However, when I say that, I mean literally New Orleans proper. I live in a suburb about 15 minutes away and I like my area, for the most part, just fine. However, the outlying parishes are what is beautiful about this state. Marshland and swamps are not pretty in the conventional sense, but I have grown to appreciate them. The river parishes and the bayou parishes are just so distinct. The husband and I will every so often drive the Pooper down to Port Fourchon which is about 2.5 hours away but worth it since there are beaches that are rather remote. Remote enough that we can let Psycho off his leash and let him run like the lunatic he is. Granted you have to look at offshore oil rigs chilling out there in the Gulf but if you just walk and enjoy the time and the sounds of the water, it is very peaceful. Anyone that comes here to see NO is not going to see that. They will see the French Quarter and its lovely urine soaked smell that no hurricane will ever wash away. They will see Uptown with its beautiful 19th century homes with the cut glass doors and windows. If they are very adventurous, they might book a swamp tour or go on a plantation tour. There are so many other things to see. The town where my husband grew up is such a place, Jean Lafitte. It's named after a pirate, for God's sake. I think that's cute. It's a small town full (for the most part) of small town people who have an accent all of their own and speak so fast that it took me YEARS to keep up with what the cute father in law was saying. Basically, my point is that New Orleans is so much more than the Quarter and Mardi Gras (more noise, drunkenness and urine) and Ann Rice. There is a certain quality of the people that I have met here that I have not found replicated anywhere else I have lived. I am not sure the proper word or phrase to describe it but down home is the best I can come up with. When I was younger, I did not appreciate any of that type of thing in anyone. I am glad that I am older and know that small towns do not always breed small minds. They can breed closeness, unity and character. It feels very much like home to me - despite the many things I find to bitch about.

Elizabeth at 10:03 PM

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4 Comments

at 11:49 PM Melanie said...: Good luck surviving the sleep over. You are braver than me! I would be in heaven w/a ST and Chick fil A! But I like the original sandwich w/no condiments. All I need is the pickle juice on the bread! Yum!
at 7:01 AM Caroline said...: I loved this post. And if you're loaded up with chick flicks I think the girls will stay out of your hair during the sleepover. :)
at 9:16 AM Kami said...: If you can blog during a movie, it's off of my list.

I still haven't been to NOLA!!
at 8:53 PM Mama Duck said...: Absolutely NO is more than Mardi Gras and hurricanes (both alcoholic and barametric)...beignets! Bring on the beignets! (we don't have those in the Land of Snow and Cheese)

Oh and add Chik Fil-A to yet another thing I miss about TX. (sigh)