Five Years Later

Five years ago I was sitting in my dorm room at Roanoke College wondering where Brie and her family were and if they were okay. It was not clear at that point what the damage would be, but none-the-less I feared for their safety. Five years ago I was nineteen and naïve (I may still be naïve, it is debatable.) I was foolishly excited at the potential chance to see my best friend if she had to come back to Virginia. Indeed Brie did make her way to Virginia and attended Hollins for her sophomore year of college. It was awesome to have her closer to me, but not for the reason that caused her relocation.

New Orleans has made tremendous strides to rebuild itself and I get the sense that residents are a closer, more united group than ever before. The Superdome’s face lift is almost complete, and God knows these people rally around their Saints! A structure that once became a make-shift home to thousands of stranded folks was reclaimed as the home of their Superbowl victors less than five years later!

As I type this it is storming outside and oddly, it seems very appropriate.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Yesterday I held and fired a handgun for the first time! Brie & I were watching Green Street Hooligans (great movie by the way despite all of the English accents) when Eddie called to see if we wanted to go to the shooting range with him? Heck yeah! So he swung by, picked us up, and whisked us off to Harahan to The Shooters’ Club.

I was a little nervous at first, as I am sure most people holding a weapon are, but Eddie was good at showing me how to hold the gun, the best way to stand, etc. He owns a few handguns so we used his but they have many you can rent if you don’t bring your own.

I was able to shoot his Walthers P22 and Glock 19 9mm. The 22 was much lighter and easier to shoot, while the Glock seemed too big for my hands and kicked back more. I kept two of my targets since it was my first time and I was rather proud of my shots!

I would love to go back and do it again, but I learned a lesson during my first trip: wear a shirt that is not low-cut in the least! I wore a tank top under a button-down plaid shirt (see picture) and had two shells spit out of the gun and go down my shirt! Holy crap those shells are HOT!

Brie & I rocking our safety gear!

My targets (Left = 22 only. Right = 22 & 9mm)

Gelato Arm

Popeye ate spinach to build his muscles, but all I had to do was get a job at a gelato shop! Scoop after scoop. Cup after cup. Cone after cone. I am developing what is referred to as “gelato arm” at Sucré. Perhaps I will attempt to do some left handed scooping to balance things out… but that could get a little messy!!

Here is a link to Sucré’s website if you would like to be tempted by our sweets:

http://www.shopsucre.com/location-culture.html

(They also have a Facebook page with lots of yummy pictures!)

We Can Do It!

*Two posts in one day! Oh my!*

We may be girls, but by God Brie and I were able to change the battery in her car in the rain, (she in a skirt, me in lounge pants) with a little Pam cooking spray, a few random tools and a hand full of texts/phone calls to my brother and her dad!

After a failed attempt to jump her car with mine we concluded that her battery had seen its better days. Removing an old battery mid-thunderstorm with humidity that made it feel like we were in a jungle was super fun! The adjustable wrench we had was not working right and we didn’t have the right size bit for the socket wrench, but we made it work and somehow were able to remove the battery. Next came a trip to Advanced Auto to get the battery tested (did we do this for nothing?). The read-out said that her battery should have been producing 550 CCAs (Cold Cranking Amps) but was only doing 62! That may mean something to someone who knows anything about cars, but all we knew was she needed to fork over some cash for a new battery! The instillation went relatively smoothly but she took her car to Advanced to have them make sure things were right.

So no one can accuse us of being helpless females! The process may have been done differently than if a “professional” had come out, but we got it done with no major injuries. My fingernails are a little dirty though!

Kitchen Duty

As part of my training with Sucré I got to go help out in the kitchen for two days. All of the gelato, macaroons, cupcakes, entremets, cakes, and chocolates are made in a kitchen in Mid-City. It is pretty amazing the things they create basically from scratch!

My first day I did a variety of things; I diced peaches for the peach cobbler gelato, assembled strawberry macaroons, helped make passion fruit chocolates, started making a huge batch of candied pecans, mixed the ingredients for the chocolate bark, and a bunch of other sweet tasks! The second day I finished up the process of sugaring pecans and assembled lemon, orange, and pistachio macaroons. I was working across from a lady crafting a bunch of the entremets so it was fun to see the creation of some of the more unique sweets.

I had fun meeting a bunch of the chefs and seeing how things work. Also it was nice to be able to ask a few questions such as: is anything gluten-free? (the macaroons are—they’re made with almond flour), is the sorbet vegan? (indeed it is), do they ever change out any of the entremets/cupcakes? (yes, seasonally!), etc.

I enjoy baking/cooking so being in the kitchen was really a treat for me! And an awesome perk to working in a kitchen like that is the porter who does all of the dishes! My mom will be the first to point out that I will bake all day but I HATE cleaning up my mess afterwards! Having a person there whose job is to do the clean up behind you is the coolest part! Kind of makes me want to get a culinary degree so I can make cute little desserts all day!

Feel the Beat

My ears have been exposed to an entirely new genre of music since moving to New Orleans. While I still think that I don’t like “jazz” music (saxophones are not my favorite) I don’t know how to fully explain the things I have had the joy of hearing recently. A few shows/bands that have stuck out to me include 6 Pack Deep, Johhny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, and Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue.

I heard 6PD within my first week here at Maison on Frenchmen Street and I loved their crazy energy and enthusiasm. They had two trombone players that were awesome! Another night we were at Tipitina’s on Napoleon and saw Johnny Sketch. Again, lots of energy but this time the cello won me over! It was nothing short of beautiful. Gal Holiday was playing at Le Bon Temps and can I just say, that girl has got a voice like none-other! Soulful, country and old-timey.

6 Pack Deep

Johnny Sketch with his cello

Gal Holiday

Besides seeing live music (which is very easy to do here!) there is a radio station, WWOZ 90.7, that the guys play at the house a lot with local style music. Somehow I have also become fond of Irish Rock bands (Flogging Molly & The Pouges in particular). Music is definitely a large part of the culture here and there are numerous festivals and concerts going on constantly. The next big one I believe is Voodoo Fest October 29, 30 & 31. Muse, Ozzy Osbourne, Weezer, MGMT, Drake, Jakob Dylan, Kermit Ruffins and so many more are playing! Can’t wait :)

And the Water Will Rise

Everyone knows that the majority of New Orleans is below sea level and that a little storm named Katrina caused massive flooding a few years back. Knowing this information, I still did not expect a phone call at 5:30 the other morning from our landlords warning that the streets were flooding and we may want to move our vehicles to higher ground. Almost every morning this past week I have been woken by thunderstorms but come mid-day it is all clear. However, after receiving a warning phone call I got up to check things out. Billy was up and had moved his car and Evan’s car (since Evan was still out of town at that point). I decided my SUV was safe where it was but I went with Brie to move her car. We parked in the Langenstein’s parking lot which is slightly elevated and only a block away. To get back to our house though, we had to wade through calf-deep water in the streets. When I got up a few hours later the rain had stopped and the water was gone. Some cars were still parked in the raised medians between the streets though. I suppose flash flooding is something I will have to get used to and perhaps prepare a little better for!

On another rain related note: I check the Doppler fairly often, but unfortunately things are not as easy to predict here as they were in Virginia. At home the rain comes from the west 99% of the time. If it is raining in West Virginia there is a good chance it will cross the mountains and head our way. Very rarely did I ever see storms coming from the east. Down here however, there could be a huge orange and red blob on the radar and unless I "loop" it I have no clue as to whether it is coming towards New Orleans or not?! They get rain from the north, south, east, and west!!

Make Yourself at Home

I think that anyone who has ever lived in this house over the years has kept their key upon leaving and now swings by whenever they are in the neighborhood! On more than a dozen occasions I have been hanging out in the living room, heard the front door open, then be greeted by someone other than Brie, Evan or Nick. Sometimes they just hang out or pick up their mail, sometimes they take a shower, borrow a bed for a nap, or do a load of laundry. Sometimes I come home and no one that currently pays rent will be here, yet folks are watching TV and having a drink. Mainly this has been Billy, AV (Alex), and Jon; all of whom are friendly so there are no worries... it’s just something I am getting used to!

Heat Wave

As time has passed I thought I was adjusting to the heat in the deep south, however, August has arrived and the temperatures continue to rise. I think that if I can make it through the next few weeks the heat will be on the downward slide but until then I keep bumping the number on the air conditioner down and refilling the ice in my water bottle about twenty times a day! Sometimes on a really hot day all I want to do is take a COLD shower to get some relief, but unfortunately the water here never really gets that cool. I am not sure the reasoning behind this, but I have had to adjust to brushing my teeth with lukewarm water. Luckily we have a large Brita filtered water cooler thing for drinking water that helps cool it off a little.

Living with the Y Chromosome

Does having a penis automatically make you exempt from any and all forms of cleaning?! Apparently in this house it does! I think that the two males living here believe that an adorable little fairy comes by every night while they sleep and washes the dishes, cleans the toilets, straightens up the living room, takes out the trash and sweeps the floors. I only wish I were so naïve. But no, Brie and I are those little fairies. The Y chromosome must carry some special power that enables men to be blind to messes, dirt, full trash cans, piles of any sorts, and hair on the bathroom floor. I will say that Evan is much tidier than Nick, but he is currently out of town and in his place a fellow by the name of Billy has been staying here. Can I just say Billy and Nick are like two peas in a sloppy gross pod!

Bug Food

In Twilight Edward tells Bella that her scent/blood is like his own “personal brand of heroin” that he can’t resist. Well, my blood must be something desired by every freaking bug in New Orleans because they are sucking me dry!! I am being eaten alive by invisible bugs that I don’t even notice and therefore have no chance of defending myself from. My legs look like they have been to battle. I don’t want to bathe in bug spray but I desperately need advice on how to get off the daily special menu for insects!