The 13th Gate

Last night I ventured to the state capital with Zach & Max (and others) for an evening of dinner and fear! We met up with some of their friends at a restaurant called BJ's outside of the Mall of Louisiana. It reminded me of a Cheesecake Factory because their menu looked like a mini-novel! We all enjoyed our grub which included a "pizookie" for dessert. None of us had any idea how large this pizza/cookie combo was going to be! Basically this was a large pizza-shaped cookie with piles of ice cream on top! While I did not get a "before" shot, here is one of Kirsten & Zach devouring the deliciousness which was the pizookie!!

After dinner we made our way into downtown Baton Rouge to a haunted house called "The 13th Gate". Standing in line was rather chilly but the impending fear got our blood racing! They take you inside in small groups and have you get into a service elevator that takes you down to the basement where you then lead yourselves through numerous different sections. Some of the various themes I remember include: a mental hospital, underwater/Jaws, forest/werewolves, alien/pods, arctic/caveman (which had a huge wooly mammoth that totally farted on you as you walked by!), a cremetorium, creepy clowns, alligator alley, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a pig slaughtering factory, and at the end you walked through an area that was Saw themed! Craziness! Things/people popped out at you constantly and you had to walk through tight spaces, rooms filled with mirrors, over wooden bridges, and crawl through an incenerator!

We had a little caravan formed of us holding hands! It took about a half an hour to make it through the entire thing. Overall I was not as terrified as I thought I would be, but I definitely screamed my fair share!

Baseball...A Flame Rekindled

I have re-found an old love. Baseball, the good ol' American pass time. As a young whipper snapper I watched my brother play tee ball for RARO while I played softball for them for many years. As a family we ventured to Baltimore on more than one occasion to watch the Orioles. (Brady Anderson was so dreamy!) And now, after straying from the sport, I have suddenly become a huge fan again. (In general I suppose I am more interested in sports now than any other time in my life.)

The World Series has just begun and I have chosen my team: the San Francisco Giants! It all started when I watched the American & National League Championship Series with Nick. For the American League I rooted for the Rangers to beat the Yankees, which they did. This decision was based on the fact that I have always been taught to dislike the Yankees! They are always a big rival for the Orioles. For the National League I picked the Giants over the Phillies, but this was based solely on the player's appearances! What? I am a girl, that is how I choose loyalties! The Giants have a cuter team!

Tim Lincecum, the main pitcher, has long brown hair and is rather lanky looking. However, I think he is cute and I appreciate his fierce pitching style! Also, Andres Torres and Cody Ross are easy on the eyes! Brian Wilson's extremely black beard is rather intriguing too.

Here is Mr. Lincecum in action:

As of this post the Giants have won the first two games against the Rangers. Only two more to go! Woo hoo! Next game is Saturday and I can't wait!

Boo!

As soon as the calendar flipped over to October the folks in this fun-loving town whipped out their Halloween decorations in a big way! It has been cool to drive around and see houses all decked out with spider webs, ghosts, scary lights, coffins, etc. With Halloween less than a week away, I have been told by many that locals take the holiday pretty seriously! However, I believe their loyalty will be tested this year because there is a home Saints game on October 31st at 7:00pm. Hmmm... watch the game or go out to celebrate? I heard a conversation on the radio the other day discussing whether kids should trick-or-treat on Saturday instead! And if a home game wasn't enough to compete with, the 31st is the last day of Voodoo Fest as well! Decisions decisions!

Here are some drive-by pictures I took of some spooky decorations!

(If you click on the picture it will get bigger)

New Adventure at Sucre

I started working a new position at Sucre this past week. Instead of working at the shop I am now reporting to the kitchen and shipping area. This means that I am on a Monday-Friday schedule, I do not deal directly with customers, I do not have a uniform to wear and I know that I will get forty hours a week! Basically if someone purchases something on the Sucre website I will assemble and ship their order. Also, if there is a "special order" (i.e. someone needs 100 macaroons bagged up with a sticker and a bow, or someone wants 250 chocolates for wedding favors placed in certain packaging) I put those together too. Currently we are trying to stockpile things for the holiday season in preparation for the craziness! I am only a week into this new position, but so far so good :)

Angola Rodeo

Yesterday was the day I have been waiting for since early September. It was Angola Rodeo day!! Brie, Nick, AV, Daniel, Bill, Zach, Caleb, and I hit the road around 9:00 in the morning. After a few pit stops along the way we made it to the Louisiana State Penitentiary around 12:30. It was definitely a long ride! A lot of interstate followed by Baton Rouge, then lots of long, flat, rural road. The entrance to the facility is very pretty though; it is decorated for fall near the gate then there is a long road on to the property leading to the prison that has fields of cattle and horses on either side. (First time I have seen a cow in nearly four months!)

AV was the only rodeo pro in our group, as this was his third trip to Angola. The rest of us didn’t know what we were in for! You walk into the area around the arena where there are tons of different food kiosks offering everything from fried Snickers and fried Coke to catfish po’boys and Chinese cuisine. Then there were plenty of carnival type attractions for kids to enjoy including a dunk booth, huge inflatable slides, and a place to get your picture taken with a long horned bull. Scattered amongst all of this were “hobby craft” areas that feature paintings, wooden creations (rocking chairs, picture frames, chests, etc.), and leather products (belts, hats, purses, etc.) all crafted by inmates. In one section there were signs near the items for sale that instructed you to contact the inmates behind the chain link fence about pricing. It was kind of a strange set-up; though I suppose it is the only way to make it work, but there was a long row/fenced in area that the inmates were in. It was plenty wide for them to wander around in, but most stood and watched folks browse the crafts.

Around 2:00 the rodeo began so we found our seats which were not the best as we soon found out (that is what you get for waiting until last minute to buy your tickets though!). We were pretty much ground level--in most situations that is a good thing--and therefore could not see what was going on inside the pin when people were walking by in front of us. We were to the right of the shoot the bulls came out of, but they tended to go to the left, so again, hard to see the action. At the beginning of the show we were in the shade, but as the sun moved across the sky we were slowly exposed to the hot rays! There was a large section of the bleachers to our left that was entirely fenced in where probably two hundred inmates sat to watch the rodeo.

There were forty to fifty inmates dressed in jeans and a black and white striped shirt who participated in the action. Of course there was classic bull riding then there were other less traditional events. For instance there was a game of “chicken” essentially where inmates stood in hula-hoops that were placed on the ground while a bull was released. The last man standing in their hoop won. Another similar event was set up with five inmates sitting around a red table “playing poker” while a bull was released. This was probably the most exciting thing we saw because the bull demolished the table and clobbered a few of the guys in the process! Luckily they were all able to walk out of the arena unassisted and assumingly unhurt. There were other games/events as well and the clowns put on skits in between acts. A random, yet hilarious, show in between bull events was a man with three dogs, perhaps small Collies (I really don’t know much about different breeds of dogs) that had little monkeys dressed as cowboys riding them. Yes, you read correctly: monkeys. There job was to wrangle three goats into a small fenced area. It was weird and totally amusing to see cute little monkeys riding dogs around in the dirt!

Understandably due to the nature of this rodeo, visitors are not allowed to bring cameras, cell phones, weapons, prescription drugs, alcohol, or other contraband into the facility. Therefore, I have no pictures of the actual rodeo. I did purchase a program that has a lot of information about the rodeo and the prison. They also have a website you can check out: www.angolarodeo.com. There is a nice video showing some of the action.

The traffic leaving was horrible but we jammed out to the rodeo and played “would you rather” to pass the time. Everyone arrived back at Joseph Street around 7:30 safe and sound!

Overall I would say everyone had an enjoyable time! The weather was great and the people watching was amazing. Though it was a long day, I would say the Angola Rodeo was a definite success!!

I really wanted this shirt! Now each roommate has one!

Bill, Brie & AV "tailgating" at the gas station.

Last stop before Angola!

Brothers, Caleb & Zach with the Saints-supporting Brie :)


AV was very antsy waiting in traffic when we left the rodeo!

Being Sick Stinks

I think that I am going to blame my current lack of a healthy immune system on the weather change. It is hot one day and chilly the next! Talk about bi-polar weather. The result has been me battling a cold/sinus bug for about a week now and needless to say, it is getting old. Working none-stop the past few days has not helped I am sure, but today I was finally able to relax some. I have taken liquid medicine, pills, theraflu, drank hot tea, sucked on cough drops, gone through a box of tissues and attempted to get as much sleep as possible, but I am still not back to 100%. In due time I suppose!

Little Willie

Last night I went to Tipitina's with Squire from work to see Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real perform. Lukas is one of Willie Nelson's youngest children. The place was pretty empty but the band was really awesome! Lukas sounds a lot like his dad but with a little Bob Dylan mixed in; a very nasally, squeaky voice. From what I can gather looking them up on-line, Lukas is fairly young and the band is just getting started. I enjoyed seeing them and hope that they will come back to NOLA soon, perhaps with a little more promoting people would have known about them!

(Lukas is the gentleman with the hat on)

Foods I Didn't Know I Liked

Over the past few months I have been experiencing a lot of different styles of food and expanding my palate. Along the way I have discovered things I never knew I liked! Here is a quick list of some of my new favorite foods!

Potato Salad: Honestly, I had not even tried the stuff until maybe a year ago; but now, I find that I like it, especially if it is made with dill.
Strawberries dipped in honey: Brie introduced me to this concoction a few weeks ago. I grew up dipping strawberries in sugar, but honey is another sweet option!
Sushi: I have tried sushi a few times over the years but have never felt very confident in ordering it. However, Brie and I frequent a place called Kyoto that is a few blocks away and can I just say, YUM!! Their menu has a lot of descriptions so that helps and I make an effort to try new things each time we go.
Pistachios: Not the nuts alone per say, but at Sucre we have Sicilian Pistachio gelato and a pistachio dark chocolate that are both really really good! I never thought I liked that flavor before, but now I am hooked.
Fish tacos: Some may find this strange, but I have grown to love these heavenly little things! I get them at Rum House and at Lucy’s. Grilled fish in a small tortilla with fresh light toppings are delicious!
Beans: I have always liked green beans but have shied away from other varieties. Now I pretty much like them all! As a side dish, in salsa, on a taco, however!

And just for the heck of it, a list of foods I still don’t like: pickles, mustard, coffee flavored anything, avocado, and licorice.

Brrr!

New posts three days in a row! Holy cow! I know that I have written about the weather and fall recently, but this morning, oh this morning, it really truly 100% feels like we have entered a new season. I walked out to the kitchen to refill my water bottle and the wooden floors felt chilly and the air in the living room was crisp. My handy dandy thermometer that is installed outside my bedroom door reads 68° and I can hear the wind blowing leaves around on the patio. Time for long sleeves and jeans!

Sunday: Sucre, Saints & Sushi

I went into work today under the assumption that it would be a slow, leisurely day due to the Saints playing the Panthers at the Dome. (Typically game days result in few customers, most likely because we do not have a TV to watch the action on.) Kick off was at noon, the same time I was due at Sucre. Well I was sorely mistaken! I walked into a herd of about a dozen young folks (gals and guys) who all had dolls with them. Not Cabbage Patch dolls or china dolls, but weird thin things with crazy colored hair and black outfits. They would pose them differently and then one girl would take pictures of them. It was strange to say the least. They were a nice group, but we were short handed and running out of things quicker than we could run to the back to restock. So, doll group plus tons of other customers plus too few employees equaled a lot of running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

Needless to say I was super jealous of Brie who was at the Superdome watching the Saints beat the Panthers! I have not watched the game (it is recorded though and I will get around to it) and I was trying to avoid knowing what was going on (the score!) but an older couple came up to the chocolate counter, ordered some sweets, then out of nowhere the man says “hey, the Saints won!”. Well so much for me not knowing the outcome. He didn’t mention the score, but at this point I know they won by the skin of their teeth (again) 16-14. This is not the team that has been talked up to me; these mighty players who went undefeated for a dozen straight games last season and then ultimately won the SuperBowl! We are 3-1 currently which isn’t anything to snub your nose at, but I want to see them pulverize an opponent! However, next Sunday won’t be good for me since I will be at work during that game too. But I hope they beat the Cardinals none-the-less!

Now it is 8:30 and I have taken a nice hot shower, changed into some comfy pjs and eaten my leftover crunchy roll. Brie and I are both sitting at the kitchen table (which is in the living room?!) with our computers. I am updating my blog and listening to my new favorite song (“Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine). She has headphones in as well, so I am guessing she is enjoying some tunes or perhaps watching a few movie trailers. I am sure that we are both up to speed with what is happening on Facebook. Nick is kicked back in the leather recliner manning the remote and AV is sprawled out on the couch. They are flipping back and forth between the Giants v. Bears game and a soccer match. Some gummy bears have been passed around and I believe it is safe to say that a relaxing end to the weekend appears to be under way :)

Dexter

I have been told by at least half a dozen people over the years that I should watch the show Dexter. It is about a guy who works for the police and is a serial killer, but he only murders bad guys that deserve it. “It’s right up your alley” they say, “you’ll love it!” Well, they were right!

Brie is a big fan of the show and we get Showtime here at the house, so she has begun watching the new season (#5). I am currently trying to play catch up via Netflix and Blockbuster! I just finished seasons one and two and am excited to be starting the next shortly. The only problem with trying to catch up on Dexter is that each episode is a little under an hour long, each season has twelve episodes, so quick math… I have about 48 hours of show to watch!! I better get on it!