A moment of calm

And I want more. It's been a crazy week of work and play and it's done. Well, almost....

Half of my parents arrived on Tuesday. Wow. It's hard to believe it's been two months since I've seen them. I met them at their hotel and many hugs were had, their travel plans were discussed and dinner locales were tossed about. We ended up at Port of Call, one of the better burger joints in the city. I have a wildly different palate than my mom and step-dad, so a burger place seemed like it would be pleasing to all. And it was. Wow. Seriously good burgers there.

After dinner we walked around the Quarter for a bit and then up Frenchman street and back to the car. We drove up Esplanade and then over to Uptown, showing them the St. Charles streetcar line and where I'm thinking about moving to (when my lease is up, of course). I dropped them off after our drive and went home.

Wednesday I picked them up and we made our way to Cafe du Monde. I've had a fair share of beignets here, and I've been by The Cafe, but never bothered to stop in. Too touristy, too crowded, too much to look at elsewhere in the quarter. It was magnificent. Really truly amazing pastries. The coffee was meh, but most coffee is.

We drove around the places we went Tuesday night, to see them in daylight. I gave them the grand tour of my abode and then I went into work. Oh, how I wish I wouldn't have. I won't discuss it here, but suffice to say that one of the biggest challenges I've had since I moved hasn't been the adjustment to a new city or the lack of friends or even the job itself. If you've spoken with me in any capacity in the last 5 months (has it really been that long?!?!), you know. Basically, I like throwing stones at hornet's nests. But you knew that about me.

After work, we grabbed a bottle of wine and hit up a local pizza joint to watch the Twins game. All was going well until the end of the game of course. Thursday brought a day of pampering....from manicures to ice cream to prosciutto and pedicures, to more wine and pool time, it should have been a lovely day that was completely marred by things going on at the office. I felt absolutely awful about my mood and have sworn to myself that it won't happen again. My parents came from 1300 miles away, and they deserve me at my best, not the crabbiness that infested me yesterday.

And so here we are today, with only two full days left. I was supposed to join them on a river cruise this afternoon, and life had other plans. So, tonight we'll do dinner and tomorrow brings a swamp tour. And me in a better mood. It makes me sad that 60 hours from now I'll be on a plane to LA and they'll still be here. Yes, I'm sacrificing time with my family because of my job. It'll never happen again, because at the end of the day, family will always be there, jobs will come and go.

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.

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.

Whirlwind....

My first official trip home has come to an end. I’m feeling rather conflicted about the whole deal….I’m so happy I got to see my amazing friends and family, but I’m happy to be going home. It truly was a wonderful weekend. I appreciate my time to myself more than most, and unfortunately on this trip, I had little to none most of the time. Not that I’m complaining in the least, but it’ll be nice to get back into my groove until the next time I trek back to Minneapolis.

I’ll recap the family reunion portion in a separate entry – this will be Wednesday, Sunday and Monday.

I knew I didn’t want to do anything to extravagant on Wednesday night….travel makes me crabby to begin with, and doing it on little to no sleep makes it worse. My friend Rob was kind enough to give me a ride to the airport at 5:30 in the AM…mad props to you – thank you.

I landed around 3 and sister picked me up. A quick shopping trip was in order as I am quickly running out of tank tops in NOLA. If I’d stay out of truck pools with them, I probably wouldn’t go through them so quickly. I hate shopping anyway, and I really see no need to pay tax on clothing, so we swung through Heartbreaker and I stocked up. Found a super cute skirt and a dress for this Saturday’s Red Dress Run. After that, she dropped me off at the hotel.

Trent was able to hook me up with a ridiculous suite at the W, gratis. Mucho thanks to you, man. The room was AMAZING. It was actually a “Wow” suite, and good lord was I wowed. I’m pretty sure it was bigger than my old apartment. I’m pretty sure it was bigger than my current apartment, actually. Anyhow, it was awesome. Ran a couple errands, showered and met up with Nicole for champagne. Well, prosecco, but whatever…

Catherine and Stephen picked us up for dinner, which was scheduled at Corner Table. It’s one of my absolute favorite restaurants in the city, though I’ve only eaten there twice. A friend of a friend joined us with his girlfriend and we ate and drank until our faces fell off. Amazing food and wonderful wine. Great company….all the things in life that make me unbelievably happy.

Thursday morning my sister’s fiancé picked me up and we went golfing with my dad and some of his friends. I haven’t played since I left MN, so I wasn’t sure how I’d do. I borrowed a set of clubs and somehow hit them straighter than I ever have in my life. If I could quit three-putting, I’d probably score pretty well! After golf, we headed down to Worthington for the major festivities.

Sunday I was dropped off at my mothers – it was her birthday and I was taking them out to dinner. We went to a new restaurant called Apertif and I wasn’t crazy about it. The food was ok, our server was ultra cheery, but it was missing something. It’s like it was trying to be Redstone without being Redstone. It was nothing special, and I likely wouldn’t return when I come back to town. Monday we got up and headed downtown. I stayed at my old hotel, and my cousin was coming down to cut and dye our hair. We had a nice lunch (the black bean burger at Northern Shores Grille is really good – though next time I’d get it with cheese), ran a couple errands and got our hairs did. Good solid family bonding time.

Monday night was happy hour with my friends…the only real opportunity to spend time with them over the weekend. It was a later night than I’m used to, and the debauchery will stay in the minds of those present. Suffice to say it was a great time, and a spectacular sendoff for me. My flight was oversold this morning, and I’m surprised I had the presence of mind to pull it together to give up my seat. I arrive two hours earlier and am 300 Southwest Airlines dollars richer. My suitcase will sadly not arrive with me, so I’ll have to trek back to the airport later, but I’ve got another flight up my sleeve…wherever will I go next?!

MONO.

Wow. A person who I believe to be my personal guardian angel introduced me to this band. I met them before I started on this journey, and my only wish was to have met them a year prior. I may not have left. It’s quite refreshing to get a completely different perspective on life from someone that has absolutely no vested interest in success or failure. No reason at all. And perhaps that’s why I listen to them; because they have nothing to gain or lose. They just want to be honest about what works and what doesn’t in life. And while I may not listen, or only hear what I want to hear, I truly do appreciate the unsolicited advice. Because when it comes down to it, the people that have nothing to gain by helping you are the ones that can help the most.

I’ll stop pontificating now, and say that to date, this show may have been one of the best I’ve ever been to. Powerful, dominating, moving in so many ways, and yet so fragile, like a Faberge Egg. Dainty, and peaceful, but at the same time like a bull in a china shop (not unlike myself). The femininity of the xylophone coupled with the masculinity of the drums created an almost out of body experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard. The crescendos were reminiscent of waves crashing on the beaches of Mexico. I’m listening to it as I type and I may be even more moved now…thinking back, and how much I wish I could have seen them in Minneapolis too.

There are no words, literally. They don’t sing - no dancing or pomp and circumstance. Just four people that are so passionate about their craft, they could do it blindfolded. And, perhaps, that’s part of what moves me about them. I want to be so good at my job I could do it without sight. And to care that much about it. To be able to put every fiber of your being into that which moves you the most. It’s got to be an amazing feeling. I know it resonated with me – the passion.

With everything in life, there should be passion. The only thing in life I will fault someone on is doing something because they feel they should, because it’s comfortable, because “that’s the way it’s always been done”. No. As I listen to the magnificence that is “Ashes In Snow” it rings even truer. Stop accepting the status quo, because it’s “comfortable”. Now.

Of everyone I meet, I ask him or her one of two questions. The first is – if you could be anyone, from any time period of life, who would you be? The other is – what do you want out of life.

All I ever ask of people is to know what they want. It’s a tough task, for sure, but not impossible. I feel sadness for those that can’t answer it. I truly do. I know it’s not the easiest thing to answer, and I’m grateful I could answer it at the age of 17. The belief that I have is that everyone knows what they want out of life. They may not want to admit it for whatever reason, or they haven’t yet touched the part of their psyche that it’s hidden, but everyone knows what they want. Do yourself a favor; figure it out.

I truly didn’t mean to get back on my soapbox, and I’m sorry. It’s just that this music…brings back so many things for me. Amazing, wonderful memories that I want so badly to relive again. Memories I haven’t yet created. I’m so hopeful, even with all the crap I’ve been through and will go through in the future. The crap and how we respond to it is what makes us better people. And all I want is the best for everyone, for people to be happy.

In closing, to the person that opened my eyes up to something new and exciting, I thank you. I cannot thank you enough for your words of wisdom; the things you told me that if it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have listened to. For the new perspective on so many things, I appreciate it in more than words could ever express. I hope that our physical paths cross again soon, and I can give you a hug like I’ve never given. So you can see in my face how unbelievably appreciative I am. You went out on a limb, something I have great difficulty in doing, and I was receptive to it like I’ve never been before. I mean every letter of describing you as a guardian angel, and I truly hope to see you soon. Thank you. For everything. I mean that in truly every possible way.

Funny, the way it is....

Life is the most interesting, mysterious, enjoyable experience ever. Things change so quickly, in a fraction of the blink of an eye. Realizations that although some things are not as they seem, they more frequently are. It's truly a small world, and part of the reason for my change of locale was to escape it. And then I realized I can't. I'm exactly the same person, doing the exact same things. It's taken me less than three weeks to realize this. And the best part about it?

I love it.

I love that I have the guts to go for what I want. To take the worst possible situation and make the best of it. To see, to truly see, the good in everyone, even (and sometimes especially) the people you think are complete a-hole douchebags. I love that I'm doing exactly the job that I love, in a place that I love. I had lost the passion for doing this job before, and I needed to be away from it for a while. To experience more. I'm so much better equipped to deal with all the aspects of this job, and I've regained my passion for it.

I could sit here and be upset about my vacation being put on ice for a year, but I'm not. I know that the postponed concert will happen, and it will likely be 1,000X better because of the delay. After my trip to Target in the suburbs, I could be sad that I have to replace most of my worldly belongings, but I'm not. I know that I get new cool silverware and a shower curtain that I've wanted for a while. I miss my couch, and it would have been the perfect style. But it would have been too big.

So many opportunities present themselves in life, and if we don't jump at the opportunity, it just....passes us by. I see the status updates and the Twitter feeds of all the things I'm missing out on in Minneapolis, and then I realize there's a festival here literally every weekend. Greek Fest, Creole Tomato Fest, whatever, opportunities that I would miss in Minneapolis if I WERE there. And I wouldn't even know it, because I'd still be stuck in the same rut. I don't mean that to sound like it probably does. I mean that I'd be doing the same things, with the same people, in the same places. And here, I may be doing the same things, but it's different. And somehow, seems better.

I'll close by saying this: I TRULY hope that my friends and family, who I love with all my heart, come to visit me. So they can experience this city. It's really amazing. I hope that whoever reading this has a dream, and passion. And when they have the opportunity, they take it. They break out of their shell. They jump so far out of their comfort zone, they can't even see it.

Because if I can, ANYONE can. And you should. Ask yourself what it is you want out of life. And then go for it. Don't let anyone tell you can't, or that you shouldn't. Or anything. Just do it. You won't regret it, I promise. Not for one single second.

A friend of mine said something to me that was quite poignant - don't regret anything you've done, because at the time you did it, it was EXACTLY what you wanted. No regrets, no looking back. Only going forward.

One last thing: if you live in MN, please, PLEASE, quit complaining about the humidity and road construction. I'm tired of those being the only two things I see on Facebook and Twitter. Spend some time here in August and you'll never complain about either again. Besides, isn't that what you suffer all winter for? Humidity and road construction?

Not homeless!

Lease has been signed and delivered!!! I have a key! To an apartment! To my apartment!!! How flippin cute is this entrance!?!?!?

For those of you that have seen it, I KNOW how PERFECT my couch WOULD have been. It saddens me to a high level that I didn't bring it with me. It was TOTALLY a New Orleans couch. Not as much as the news of the U2 concert postponement, but greatly saddens me. But, we're being upbeat! Shuffle is reading my mind today, I'm excited to have my own place (as much as I love room service and our housekeepers, living at the hotel has begun to get old), to decorate it and make it my own. I'm excited to discover the neighborhood and hang pictures. To buy bar stools for the super cute breakfast bar. TO HAVE A DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It really is the little things in life, friends. This one is huge for me, and I'm beyond excited. Work is going well; I have my first clients and I'm almost comfortable around here. I did have to cancel my trip back to Minneapolis in June however. The U2 concert was the reason the trip was planned in the first place. I'm ultra bummed out because there were plenty of other kick ass things I had planned (girly golf outing, Twins game, possible road trip to the Dave Matthews concert, spending time with an angel - in every sense of the word). But mostly missing out on the opportunity to spend a week with the people in my life that I love the most and my new nephew. He still hasn't arrived, but now I have to wait another month to see his sweet face. And when I'm back in August, I'm only back in the cities for a couple of days, so I know I won't get to see and touch and hug and kiss everyone that I want to. It will still be wonderful, and I'll get to meet and welcome a beautiful newborn to the family, I just wish I had more time.

So, having said that, I will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday, August the 4th, and Monday, August the 9th. Save the dates, peeps.

Possibly the worst news ever....

Ok, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration. I just read that Bono (of U2 fame, for those that have lived in a cave for the last two decades) injured his back prepping for the upcoming tour and had to have back surgery.

The last time U2 came to Minny, I bought a ticket the day before the show for $125. I sold it the night of the show for $300. Anyone that knows me knows I have few regrets. This is one of them. When I heard they were coming back, come hell or high water, I was going to be at the show. I bought into the fan club so I could get presale tickets and I did. 2 GA tickets.

I bought my plane ticket yesterday. YESTERDAY. 6/25 - 7/4. So long as the concert isn't delayed more than a week, I will still be able to go. If it's rescheduled for any time after 7/3, I'm fucked. I know this is karma messing with me and I think it's bullshit. If I don't get to see them, the universe can go fuck itself for all I care. I KNOW I shouldn't have sold those tickets, but don't punish me like this!!! Please!!

Also, I wish Bono a very speedy recovery and truly hope it's nothing serious. Aside from enjoying their music immensely, Bono is a humanitarian in every sense of the word. I may not agree with all of his political views, but the man wants to make the world a better place. And he puts his money where his mouth is. I have mad respect for him and hope that he gets better soon.

Or discovers cortisone shots.

Wa wa wee wa!

Hey hey!! For the first time in my entire life, I've moved away from home. I don't count the year I spent at Mankato State as being away from home (mainly because I was home every stinkin weekend), so this is quite the jump. I had a dream of moving to the Big Apple and instead I'm in the Big Easy. I will still get to Manhattan, but for now, I'm good here. I'll share the chronicles of the drive down, and everything leading up to it in future posts, but I'll give my first impressions of the city that's below sea level today. Once my computer arrives in a couple of weeks, I'll have more of an opportunity to be a regular poster and contributer.

My first night here was Wednesday. I checked into my new hotel and had dinner in the bar. After talking to Sam for a while, I decided to check out this thing called Bourbon Street. You may have heard of it. I certainly had, and it was everything I expected and more. I only walked a few blocks down, past a bunch of gentlemen's clubs, and found a bar with a live band and 3-for-1's! Seriously? Granted my Red Bull/Vodka was $16, but still....it was huge! And I'm not normally a size queen. The band was pretty good too. I made friends with an older couple (George and Susie, you're absolutely adorable!!), and a few guys that were in town doing some contracting work of some sort. We found an Irish pub (I'm a complete sucker for a good Irish pub) and played pool and then I headed back home.

Thursday I slept in, ordered room service, and met my new co-workers. They seemed really nice and I think I'm going to fit in just wonderfully. A friend of a friend picked me up and toured me around the city a bit. I really like the Uptown area. This weekend I'll do more driving around as I don't generally like sleeping while I work (or having the pen dipped in the company ink). Just makes me too accessible.

Friday I had some loose ends to tie up in Minneapolis so I went back for the weekend. Yesterday marked the first day on the job - touring around the building, meeting some of my new colleagues, an all afternoon meeting and a quick reception. I'd been hearing nothing but wonderful things about the Cuban sandwich at Cajun Mikes, and since I was unable to get one on Sunday (stupid wonderful crawfish boil!), I went back Monday. And it was wonderful. So were the people I was sitting next to. So wonderful, in fact, that I ended up staying way past my bedtime (completely missing my date with Jack Bauer), and laughed and laughed and laughed. Also, I will be back on Wednesday to try said Cuban sandwich with bacon. Bacon makes everything better, I say.

All in all, the first few days have been wonderful, and I'm excited to discover all this city has to offer in the coming years. That's right, I plan on being here at least three years. C'mon, I want to be at a Super Bowl dammit!! And hopefully the Vikings will be in it. There are a lot of things I will adopt about this city - po' boys, crawfish, jambalya, gumbo, Mardi Gras, Jazzfest, all the other Fests - but the Saints are NOT one of them. This girl is a Viking fan for life. Please don't beat me up because of it.

Lastly, I don't care what anyone says, Minnesota Nice is a farce. I was born and raised there, and it's a load of crap. It's more like Minnesota Passive-Agressive. Southern Hospitality is where it's at. Thanks for being so welcoming so far. I truly cannot wait to fall in love with this city and the people here.