Superfastrecap

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Who am I kidding?! You and I both know that would drive me insane.

So. Um. After the Vikings game...where do I begin? St. Practice Day? My new fourth favorite day of the year (it's 6 months from St. Patrick's day if you didn't figure it out). Also, if this particular St. Practice Day was any indication, I most definitely need the practice. Then there was the St. Practice recovery day. Then there was Vikings football and a most pleasant surprise.

Then, one of my oldest, most awesome friends, Jen came to town. And I didn't get a lot of sleep for a few days. There was a random kickball game that we played in. There was the eating of good food (ok, so that's a given). Then a breather night. And yet another night in the Quarter (somehow I managed to stay off Bourbon Street). A scavenger hunt birthday party. An introduction. A continuation. More football. The start of a new kickball team. And Krav.

I'm exhausted just typing that. Future outlook? Lots of work, more kickball, more Krav, a visit from the rents, a training class and mini-vacation....and....well....hopefully. :)

100 random facts....

1. I'm a terrible liar.
2. I have incredible beginner's luck.
3. My nickname (name) is in reference to my father's favorite Stooge.
4. I do 95% of my shopping online. I hate shopping with the exception of the grocery store.
5. I could eat Thai food and gyros every day of the week and never be sick of them. And ice cream..
6. I don't intend to reproduce.
7. If I had $5 for every time someone said "oh, you'll change your mind about that", I'd likely be retired by now. Without kids.
8. I have clown feet.
9. I want to join the mile high club.
10. I never thought I'd have any use for e-mail on my phone, but I cannot live without my iPhone.
11. My favorite painting is "Nighthawks".
12. Skydiving is the coolest rush I've ever had.
13. I'm a sports freak.
14. I've never broken a bone.
15. I've given up on trying to impress people.
16. Flying bugs and birds terrify me.
17. I've been on TV, the radio and in a movie.
18. I don't think I can count the number of famous people I've met.
19. I didn't used to get along very well with my mother, but it's gotten much better.
20. My father is one of my best friends.
21. It takes a very long time to get to know "the real Me".
22. All of my closest friends could blackmail me.
23. My favorite food is anything of the Mediterranean variety.
24. I do not have a Minnesota accent. I am starting to acquire a southern one though.
25. I am the only child of my parents. My siblings are amazing.
26. I take exceptional care of my hair.
27. I think Krav Maga is the hardest thing I've ever attempted.
28. I can't do anything cool with my face, like raise one eyebrow or roll my tongue.
29. I sleep on satin sheets - one of the best purchases I've ever made.
30. I own my dream shoes.
31. My favorite photo of myself is my first day of kindergarten. My second favorite photo...well, you'll see it if you're lucky.
32. I have zero artistic talent. Stick figures are impossible for me.
33. My left hand is pretty useless for anything other than typing.
34. I'm usually extremely shy, and my job forces me to be outgoing. Alcohol also works.
35. I still sleep with my baby blanket.
36. I dream of beating Ken Jennings and Eddie the Blind Guy on Jeopardy. I'm undefeated at Jeopardy on PS2.
37. I will bet on anything.
38. My underwear always match my bra.
39. I can go over a month without doing a single load of laundry and without wearing the same outfit twice.
40. I love cats but am extremely allergic to them.
41. I share a b-day with George Clooney and Sigmund Freud.
42. I'm claustrophobic in elevators, sleeping bags and crowds of people.
43. I refuse to write with a pen that's any color than black.
44. I have slept in my car on more than one occasion.
45. I have a beer named after me.
46. I have a 36" inseam.
47. I miss Phil Hartman.
48. My favorite color is blue.
49. I buy a different kind of cheese every time I go to the grocery store.
50. I have developed a serious case of insomnia since moving away from home.

51. I knew within a week of working at my first hotel, that this was the career I wanted.
52. The best thing to do when I'm mad is leave me alone.
53. I hate people that don't know how to drive.
54. Slow people also irritate me.
55. My favorite band is DMB.
56. I snore. And talk in my sleep.
57. I've never camped out for tickets to anything, but I have camped out for beer.
58. I can do an impression of Apu. And that's it.
59. I love to cook.
60. I interrupted MC Hammer's dinner at Glamorama.
61. I'm not nearly as witty as I would have you all believe.
62. I was born a blonde.
63. I will get liposuction someday.
64. You can tell how drunk I was the night before by how many times I throw up the next day.
65. I have a Magic 8 Ball in my office. You can tell if it's working by asking "is Moe going to hell?".
66. I have made it halfway through my list of places to go before I die - Ireland has been checked off, Greece remains.
67. My favorite song to sing for karaoke is "Copacabana".
68. I've been on the Jumbo-tron at the Metrodome (both football and baseball), the Target Center, Target Field and the X.
69. It perturbs me when people say they'll call you back, but don't. I am frequently guilty of this.
70. I want to throw someone else's steak at a cyclist and I want to throw a Molotov Cocktail at an abandoned brick building.
71. I refuse to spend more than $50 on a shirt, but will cough up $300 for shoes without batting an eye.
72. I'm extremely shy - ISTJ.
73. I have two collections of shot glasses: One for places I've been and one for places others go.
74. My goal is have them match by the time I die.
75. I'm the nerd of my friends.
76. I have managed to buy one thing and one thing only at Target.
77. I may be the only female on the planet that doesn't crave chocolate.
78. I am deathly afraid of never being able to ski again.
79. I walked around the set of 'Days of Our Lives'.
80. J-Lo is my guilty pleasure.
81. My idea of coffee is a double espresso.
82. I have been classified as a flirt.
83. Cranium is my favorite game.
84. I do not own a TV.
85. I dance better alone.
86. If I could take back one moment of my life, it would be the moment I sold my U2 tickets right before the show.
87. As much as I enjoy being single, I miss the little things about having a boyfriend.
88. I've worn a coconut bra and grass skirt - it's a funny story.
89. One of my many nicknames is "Fun Moe". $1 if you get the reference.
90. I hate Jaeg, but love Jaeg-bombs.
91. My favorite bar is Brit's Pub.
92. I tried out for "The Weakest Link".

93. I've mastered the recipe for lemon ricotta pancakes from Hell's Kitchen.
94. Apparently I am the reason Surly cans Coffee Bender.
95. My "list" includes more women than men.
96. I miss being able to see stars.

97. I'll rarely admit it, but I'm a closet romantic.

98. Selling everything I owned that didn't fit in my car was one of the most freeing moments of my life..
99. I would fail miserably on the Atkin's Diet. But I'm going to try. Have to look hot for sister's wedding
100. I have the most amazing friends and family anyone could ever hope to have.

I am so ready for some football!!!!!

OMG! Football season is finally here!!!! And, guess what? My first game of the season was the FIRST game of the season!! Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I started looking for jobs towards the end of 2009. I had found a couple that I wanted, but wasn't super serious about finding a new job. I mean, I had a great Monday through Friday gig that paid me well and I had the most amazing boss I think I've ever had in my life. Who'd want to give that up?!

So I moved the job hunt to the back burner and got through the holiday season. I kind of kept looking, here and there when I had a free minute at work. I found a dream job, but when I went back to post for it, it was gone. After the first of the year, I was going through some personal crap and just said eff it. The winter sucked the life out of me and I decided that when I got back from Mexico, the first thing I was going to do was re-dedicate myself to finding something, anything that wasn't in the state of MN. At this point I didn't care if it was Cambodia or Columbus. I just needed to leave. And then this job almost jumped out of the website at me. New Orleans? Could I live there? Could I deal with the humidity and the crime and the (gasp) hurricanes? In typical me fashion, I walked into my boss' office and asked if she cared if I posted for it. She said no, so I did.

Obviously I got the job, or I wouldn't be here. Somewhere during the interview process, the NFL released it's 2010 schedule. Lo and behold, the first game of the season is at the Superdome. On a Thursday. Against the Vikings. In the process of the job hunt, I wasn't super sold on NoLA, but once I saw this, I figured there was something else going on and I had to go. I wanted to be at this game. I needed to be at this game. So, job taken, and the hunt for tickets was on.

Fast forward to last week. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's not what you know, it's who you know. I'd been badgering my friend all summer to come down for the game, and wouldn't you know it, my friend Chris was the lucky guest of honor along with a couple of his friends. They all happen to have a friend that works for the Vikings. A friend that hooked us up with tickets to the game, gratis. And somehow finagled on field passes for the pre-game!! Are you effing kidding me? I'm seriously one of the luckiest girls on the planet.

They all arrived Wednesday, we went out to dinner and hit Bourbon Street (of course!). Had an awesome time as always with them; it's easy because they're awesome. Thursday was the big day. I met up with them at their hotel and pre-gamed for a bit, then hopped in a cab to the Superdome. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty impressive. I've driven by it countless times, but when you're standing on the street next to it, wow. We found our way in and found our way to the field. I had goosebumps and a smile the size of Texas when we walked out on that field.

There really isn't any way to describe the feeling of walking out on an NFL field before the game. In the industry I'm in, I've been around my fair share of famous people, including countless athletes, and I'm generally not one to get star struck. But seriously, this was different. There was the Thursday night game crew that included Tony Dungy, Brett Favre was on the field, Roger Goddell, Chris Paul. I was in heaven. I even got to catch an NFL football pass from Chris. I really can't describe it. It was one of those amazing once in a lifetime things.

About a half hour before kickoff, they booted us from the sidelines and up to our seats we went. All the way up. Literally. Last row in the upper level. We were on about the 45 yard line, so they weren't too bad, and there was a restroom literally right behind our seats (awesome). The crowd was super fun and didn't give us too much crap about being Vikings fans. There were a couple guys from MN near us, so I shared a Surly with them (duh! of course I snuck one in!). All in all, it was a great night with seriously kick ass people. Thanks to Ryan for the tickets and to Chris, Ryan and Andy for coming down and letting me be a part of the fun. You guys rock and hopefully we'll have drinks when I'm back in the 612 in November.

Labor Day weekend in the desert.

These short weeks are spoiling me...I had planned on taking the day after our draft off, knowing full well how fantasy football drafts go. What I hadn't planned was being on a plane that afternoon. Apparently one of my good friends had a free ticket on Delta he needed to use, and I didn't have any plans for the weekend, so I said 'what the hell?!', and off to sunny AZ we were.

After a relatively uneventful couple of flights (super cool neighbor on the second leg), the first stop? In 'n Out Burger. I mean duh, where else would it have been?! I'll give you a point if you guessed bar, since that's also a reasonable place for me to go right off the bat. I hadn't been to the western part of the states in god knows how long, so I was an In 'n Out virgin. I've heard it's amazing, and all my friends that have been there rave about it on and on and on and on, so of course I had to try it. I don't generally eat fast food, as a former fat kid, I really have to be careful about what I eat, but there are always exceptions to rules, and this was too good to pass up. I really didn't think I'd eat the whole thing, but dear god was it delicious. Yes, I had a Double Double Animal Style. I still have no idea what "animal style' means, other than pure awesomeness.

After that we checked into the W, I scored a sweet new dress and off to some gay bar we went. It wasn't super crowded, got a spot at the bar, had numerous jello shots (they were for a good cause!!), met some cool servers and some other cool peeps. There are quite a few things I love about gay bars, which I just decided I will dedicate an entire blog post to in the future. At some point I guess the bartenders wanted to go home, so we hopped a pedi-cab and back to the hotel we went. Super swank room at the W - not nearly as cool as the one I stayed at in Minneapolis, but it was nice. I slept on the killer purple couch.

Saturday we had to run a couple of errands - picking up stuff, mailing it back to MN, haircuts and eyebrow waxes, a bit of shopping, and of course, mimosas. After accomplishing all of these goals, we stopped at a little go-kart place because if I'm anything, it's a giant kid. Go-Karts, Bumper Boats, and Skee Ball!! Ok, so my back hurt a little after playing Skee Ball for an hour, and I learned that I'm now too big for go-karts (also, don't wear a skirt to go-kart; lesson learned), but it seriously was a super fun afternoon.

We switched hotels on Saturday, something about keeping platinum status or something, so we ended up at the Phoenician. In a word, stunning. I work in the hospitality industry, so it's rare that I'm impressed with a hotel or resort, but this place was incredible. Might be the only time in my life I've stayed at a 5-diamond resort. It was gorgeous. After an afternoon spent being ridiculously lazy, we were off to the bar. Went back to the same one and it was much busier. I'm not generally a fan of packed bars, but after a couple of drinks, I was fine. Managed to meet about the only straight single guy in the place, which was awesome (it'd be even more awesome if I remembered his name....). The four of us went kicked it at an after bar somewhere and then back to the hotel to be bums.

Sunday brought more errands, more arguments and more food. We ended up back at the W at some point in the afternoon. Room wasn't ready, so we went to Sushi Roku to cocktail and kill time until the room was ready, or I had to be at the airport, whichever came first. After a while a couple chicks came down from the pool and we started talking to them. Super cool girls, which doesn't happen very often. Their friends were playing at some bar who's name I also can't recall, so I walked there with them and took a cab to the airport to catch my red eye back to the Big Sleaze.

Overall it was a decent weekend...not too expensive, not too many arguments. It was however, nice to be back here. It's almost starting to feel like home. But that's yet another story for a different day.

Draft Day!!

So, yet again, I'm the only girl in our fantasy football league. When we picked the order of the draft, my nickname was "It's a mans game". Needless to say, I've been on, and will continue to be on, the receiving end of mass quantities of trash talking.

Some of it I bring on myself, like taking Aaron Rodgers #1 overall because he's hot. He's also a damn fine quarterback. I eventually will need a backup kicker, defense and tight end, but I'm ok with my team. It might be the first time I've ever NOT had a Viking on my team. Our jerk banquet captain took Longwell, our mean GM took our defense, and some clown actually drafted Favre. Has he seen him play this year?! On that ankle?? I hope I'm wrong, but my prediction is that he's only going to play one game.

Also, I'm mad at my counterpart for taking my tight end. No, not a euphemism. I believe my exact words were, "I hate you Jono! You took my tight end!!" Of course I don't realize what I'm saying while saying it....and this was BEFORE we ended up with a bottle of Patron at our table. Note to future self: making rules like "drafting players already drafted results in a shot" and "going over your allotted time results in a shot" always SEEM like a good idea at the time. Turns out, they're generally not.

I took copious amounts of crap from our league during the draft - "who takes Addai in the third round?", "Um, Moe? You need a backup QB!" (not until week 10, jerk!), "sure, Crabtree in the 5th is a great pick....", but overall, I'm ok with my team. It's not great, it's not terrible. There aren't really any super huge sleepers on my team (I'm holding out hope they're REALLY sleepy), but I like it. If I can just pick the right weeks when Hines Ward scores, and Felix Jones gets stuffed, I'll be just fine.

Honestly, the only reason I have ever done fantasy football is because it makes me care about all 16 games every week (except the bye weeks). If I didn't have fantasy football, I wouldn't have given a second thought to football today, since the Vikings played on Thursday. Also, I really enjoy beating the guys that think they know everything about football and this chick knows nothing. There are a certain few people in life I've come across that I really relish beating at this "sport". In fact, I play the first one this week - my GM. So, here's to The Suckiest Suck Team That Ever Sucked....from Suckville. AKA, the Flaming Moe's.

(It should be noted that I've started off the year with a win. Over a most magnificent opponent - our smack talking GM, who gave me the following nickname for when we determined our draft order: It's a Mans Game. Ah, victory. It really is sweet.)

One would think....

That being cooped up in the house all weekend with a sore throat (save for a kickball game) would inspire me to write. One would be wrong. Instead of recapping the amazingness of the last week, I have been the laziest person alive, save for a couple of showers and a popsicle run. You'll just have to hold your breath* until such time as I decide to share my thoughts of the last ten days with you.

*I wouldn't actually hold your breath....it might be another couple of days.

Random thoughts....

I have a handful of sayings in life. The first is, I'll try almost anything twice. I will. If I don't like it the first time, who's to say my tastes may not evolve? I definitely qualify it by including "almost" because really, I'm not likely to try jumping in front of a moving vehicle more than once. And that's assuming I survive the first trial run.

The second is, It's not what you know, it's who you know. This also directly ties in with the third, which is, well, it's the Golden Rule. Not the one about whoever has the gold makes the rules, the other one. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

I've been insanely fortunate in my life. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. I've met A list actors, I've made professional golfers laugh, I truly have the most incredible support system on the planet, I've seen some incredible music, I've eaten food most people can't imagine, I have a career that I love with every bit of my soul, and I've traveled to some of the most amazing places in the world. I've had a great life so far. Now that isn't to say I haven't had my fair share of downs, but I don't dwell on them.

I wouldn't have been able to accomplish or achieve ANY of these things without the people that I know. And I wouldn't know ANY of the people that I do without treating them the way I'd want to be treated. I've worked incredibly hard to get where I am, and I've met some incredible people along the way, all of whom I've treated as I'd like to be myself.

Y'all know who you are, and I love you dearly. I'm grateful beyond description to have you in my life, and I hope you'll always be there for me. I truly wouldn't be where I am today without you, and I won't get where I'm going without you. You're the best. Really the best.

I ask one thing of people that I meet, and I only hope that they're able to answer it as honestly as I am, and believe it. The question is - if you could be anyone, from any time period of life, living or passed on, who would you be?

All the ups and downs, the good and the bad, the sickness and the health, I wouldn't be anyone other than me. Regrets and successes, skinny or fat, there's no one on the planet, past or present, that I'd rather be than me. Not even Kate Middleton. Have you seen what Prince Charles looks like now?!?

Recap...

The last week has been somewhat of a blur....all starting with Thursday night.

Thursday was our last regular season kickball team. I caught wind of this team from one of my Krav instructors, he said the team was pretty cool, it was on Thursday nights, there's lots of flip cup, so I looked into it! Unfortunately, the minute I signed up for it, I jacked my knee and missed the first four games. In the last four games, I was 3-4 at the plate, made one catch, assisted on another, and FINALLY scored in our last game. Well, we have playoffs next weekend, but the regular season is over.

It's surprising how sad I am about it. Yesterday just didn't feel the same without the carolina blue shirt and tutu. Granted, we had our fantasy draft yesterday and I wouldn't have been able to play anyway, but I missed it. I missed the camaraderie and the adrenaline. I digress....after our last game we had our flip cup playoffs. I never actually participated in the competitive flipping, just a cheerleader, so I can't take credit for the three-peat. Yes, our team is the three time flip cup champs. You can see how this would turn into a long night.

Friday I watched the Saints game with a colleague and her brother, had a few margaritas, checked out the 5th Child CD release at the Banks Street Bar and went to bed early. Saturday was the Monday night kickball playoffs. I had planned on stopping by and watching a few of the games and my friend Karen was in town, and she was cool with checking it out. Sadly, it was a super rainy day, and I wasn't dressed to give the slip 'n slide a go. We managed to watch one game, and then went to Felipe's for lunch.

We both had different events to go to - her a fundraiser for the Make it Right foundation, and me, an Abita beer sponsored grub crawl. It was a bit disorganized, but the food was good, and the beers were paired perfectly. We reconnected at Howl at the Moon later and I eventually had to call it a night. We met up for lunch on Sunday and I gave her a ride to the airport. It's so wonderful having good friends come visit me; in the last few days, I've had two more friends confirm visits here. Please keep coming, it's an amazing city that has so much to offer. Plus, tourism is our main industry here, and being that I'm in it, I'd like to be able to keep working. :)

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I didn't really do much of anything. Wednesday I went out with the guys from the Krav studio - it's so interesting to see people out of the normal environment that you see them. These are the guys that yell and scream and push me harder than anyone ever has before, and yet seeing them out and about, they're big teddy bears that wrestle each other, listen to live music, scarf pizza at 2am. People absolutely fascinate me, watching how we interact with one another, the life choices we all make....funny the way it is.

I have...

....THE BESTEST FRIENDS EVER!!!!!!!

I've been going back and forth, trying to find cheap flights to get out of town for the weekend. Turns out I didn't have to do any work. This little lady is off to Scottsdale for the weekend, courtesy of Delta and one of the bestest people on the whole damn planet (blood relatives notwithstanding).

Leave it to me to go from hot to hotter, literally, not figuratively. Sigh, at least I'll get to experience In 'n Out Burger.