Happy Monday bitches!
Seriously - this was my first thought when I woke up in the beautiful (uh-hum - shitty) La Quinta in Metaire, Louisiana. But I had butterflies. And was immediately freaking out/excited/like a little kid going to Disney World. So I ripped off the covers and opened the curtains and looked out onto a beautiful, sunny New Orleans morning. Kate and Jodi weren't stoked about the curtains being opened. They were still sound asleep and it was pretty rude on my part to blind them. But, still. I was here!
So, after two days and seven states and over a thousand miles, we jumped back into the Nissan for a 20-minute drive down to the Quarter...
The move-in was crazy. First of all, my street is so tiny that there was no feasible way to park the UHaul to unload it without completely blocking traffic. "Hmmm...what shall I do about this dilemma?" I had thought to myself the week before. So per my wonderful realtor's direction (insert shout out to Wayne Wilkinson at French Quarter Realty here.) I set up to have my street barricaded and closed by the cops. Yes. I know. I was crazy surprised that they would do this. But the officer was super friendly and helpful and I am now in love with my district police department...(insert another shout out to 8th District Police District of NOPD here.)
Now, keep in mind, as I pulled up to my building, I had never ever seen this apartment before renting it. I was rolling the dice that it would be amazing...and thank little-baby-Jesus that I was right. It is beautiful. So with the help of two spiderman-wannabe moving guys (insert yet another shout out to High Tech Movers here.) and my wonderful mom & sister, we were all moved in by lunch. So there we were, surrounded by boxes and bubble wrap. And it was glorious.
We had A LOT of adventures this day. Seriously. This is going to be a pretty long post. Because everything was so new and exciting and we couldn't get enough. We met some crazy people and dogs - like:
- J.D. - the owner of Mr. B's bar right next door and his oh-so-ugly yet cute in a I'm-an-old-pitbull dog named J.W. (picture to come)
- Herbie (aka Butch Cassidy) - my friendly, somewhat odd neighbor who sweeps the courtyard and owns a little Chihuahua named Rocky who peed on my mom's foot
- Charlie Serio - my Louisiana born-and-raised landlord who loves this place just as much as I do
- Ricky (aka Mango) - the little pug dog that MJ met at the dog park...she is MJ's long-lost sister, I swear
After attempting to get through some of the hundred or so boxes (that may or may not be an exaggeration), we ventured out for some lunch. Which in this city, means having a million places to choose from and knowing that they will all be amazing. We stopped at the French Market Cafe - this great outdoor place at the end of my street where there's always a jazz band playing. We indulged in Crawfish Beignets (a-fucking-mazing) and drank Hurricanes and laughed at my mom for just being such a Jodi.
We wandered the Quarter and found amazing little corner grocery stores. We unpacked and assembled and cleaned. We were exhausted and happy and relaxed, especially when it came time for wine on the balcony. We sipped white wine and listened to the Haunted Tours guide tell tales of ghosts and vampires to tourists on the street below. We watched barges and ships sail along the Mississippi River over the tops of the trees at the end of the street.
Jodi, exhausted from driving and moving and the general electricity in the air, inquired about sleeping without curtains.
Me and Kate: "Huh - what does that have to do with anything?"
Jodi: "Well. How am I supposed to sleep with the light coming in the window?"
Kate: "Well - just head down to the BDSM sex shop (insert shout out to Second Skin here.) next door and buy a mask. I'm sure they have a great selection."
Jodi: "Will you go for me?"
Kate: "Absolutely not."
So once Jodi made her peace with the fact that she would have to contend with not having curtains or a mask and went to bed, Kate and I decided we were absolutely famished. Honestly - late night gyros at Alibaba's were just the ticket. OMG - fucking awesome. And the perfect end to the perfectly imperfect day.
It was bliss. It was perfect. And it was the beginning.
Overheard Quote of the Day:
"Take my gay card away. I don't want to get mugged again."
Much love.
Ali
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