Dear Diary (and Current Playlist)

(I think its more of a diary than a blog if the only person who reads it is the author, yeah?)

In exactly 10 days, almost to the minute, we leave for New Orleans! It is one of my favorite places on the planet and it's funny: we were last there in 2007, about 18 months after Katrina. We didn't go back for 10 years. Then, we went in June 2017 and are going again in March 2018! Last year, it was just the hubby and I. I had a business trip, and he joined me, and it was glorious. This time, it'll be a group of 7 of us (the way we used to travel to NO) and it shall be glorious as well.

Ten years ago, we spent most of our time on Bourbon and Decatur Streets in the French Quarter. Cheap booze and debauchery were all the rage and we lived every second to its fullest. The 2017 version of us had us spend a little time in the Quarter, hitting our favorite classic spots (like Lafitte's for voodoo daiquiris and Tropical Isle for Hand Grenades). The rest of the time, we head out to the neighborhoods to see what else the city had to offer (still focused on the booze, of course). It felt like a classier way to get drunk and be crazy: a whirlwind of craft breweries, fancy cocktail bars, tiki lounges, and wine laboratories. To me, this was perfection. My husband and me, flitting around the city, trying every drink and every yummy morsel we were offered. Chilling. Relaxing. Chatting with locals and tourists alike. Literally slowing down, sitting and having a drink, enjoying the hum of the city.

I am curious to see how this trip will go down. This may come off snobby but it's a fact: we have more money than some of our friends, and/or we are more willing to spend money than some of our friends. So we will sit in a fancy cocktail joint and drink scotch for hours; some of them can't or won't. We can work with that. We can be flexible. But at the same time, I don't want to drink piss beer on Bourbon all week, or shy away from the awesome things we experienced the last time around because some folks can't hang. So it is going to be interesting to see how compromise works with 7 bull-headed friends. I'm hoping for the best.
------------------------------
On another weird note, we hung out with Patsy and Diddy (and Diddy's cousin) this weekend and it came up in discussion that I am meaner than Patsy. She is louder than I am...but she is all bark with no bite and I am the bite that follows the bark. I don't know how I feel about this. I mean, I don't mind that people know that my bark is not hollow and it will be followed by a generous and painful bite. But I guess I thought I was nicer than Patsy. Maybe our definitions of "nice" are different. I am definitely more thoughtful and conscientious of other people's feelings...but I guess I am the type where if you do cross me, there is hell to pay and perhaps with her, there is something slightly less than hell? I don't know, it just struck me as strange.
---------------------------
And I am going to add in my current playlist, because I am so digging a few songs right now and I want to remember them when I move to something else:

1. Where's My Love (SYML) <---- OBSESSED with this song, so obsessed.
2. Dear Love of Mine (Daniel Spaleniak)
3. Do You Still Love Me? (Ryan Adams)
4. Don't Hurt Yourself (Beyonce with Jack White)
5. hell is where i dreamt of you and woke up alone (blackbear)
6. Yellow Flicker Beat (Lorde)
7. Quiet Lies (Matthew Mayfield)
8. I Am Mine (Pearl Jam)
9. Your Ghost (Kristin Hersch)
10. Cranes in the Sky (Solange)

George Michael Was Right: A Quick Remembrance of a Vodka Tour

When we were in Russia, we were so excited to taste some true Russian vodka. Well ok, I was really the one who was super excited and hubby sort of just came along, but it was all very exciting to me. We saw the palaces and churches by day, and the boozy fun side of St. Petersburg at night.

Throughout the trip, I had seen this couple who were hitting the same sights we were. They had that 50's rockabilly aesthetic, which is one that I really like looking at but have no interest in trying to pull off. I know I have my own style which I adhere to pretty closely, but the idea of dressing in that same rockabilly style every day is not attractive to me. However, it does fascinate me. All the cherry-print skirts and red and white bandannas and peep-toe shoes are pretty cute (on other people). And the pin curls in their hair...yesss. Again, not my personal style but definitely a stand out. Because they were dressed like this all the time, they definitely caught my eye. I found myself thinking that I'd like to meet them and maybe hang out for a drink because they must be pretty cool.

She was not nearly this cute, but this is how she dressed. Cherries for days.

When we got to the meeting point for our vodka tour (you can't just go out on your own in Russia - you need a very expensive visa to do so, and since we were only there a couple of days it made more sense to do tours), I saw the rockabilly couple waiting as well. They must have seen us around too, because they gave us a little head-nod of acknowledgment. As we boarded the boat (yes, it was a boat down the Neva River with vodka all the time, and it was amazing!), they chose to sit next to us. Perhaps they thought we were cool, as well? Well, duh.

The shots started flowing and we sang and yelled and chanted and also shopped and did some sightseeing and took a million pictures. We got to see another side of St. Petersberg - a really cool downtown side where young people were hanging out and drinking coffee at cafes, walking hand in hand down the Neva, and honestly, just being people. There is nothing like traveling and seeing foreign places to bring down your prejudices about other cultures and countries. We hit up a great chocolate shop, saw some amazing sculptures, and yelled and waved to anyone on a bridge as our boat sailed under it. We even learned to read some Russian, which I absolutely loved even whilst tipsy on the vodka.

And this rockabilly couple, the ones whose fashion choices led me to believe they were so awesome that we could be lifelong friends, were beyond annoying. They were loud and obnoxious and not in the fun way. They were crass and uncouth, and as Jersey as I can be, I am never those things. I am always respectful and thoughtful and conscious of my surroundings, especially when I travel. These losers made off-color jokes and were obnoxious and really quite uncivilized. They were every reason other countries hate Americans. Maybe their 1950's clothes really did represent where their evolution had stopped in terms of understanding the world around them. I hated them.

I couldn't wait to be away from them, and in fact, when we got off the boat to go shopping in Nevsky Prospekt, we made the decision to sit in someone else's seats for the rest of the boat ride so as not to sit by these people any longer. It might have caused a bit of unrest with our fellow travelers to switch like that, but it was worth it. Drunk on vodka or not, there was no way I was going to spend another minute talking to those circus animals without ending up in a Russian prison for assault.

Despite our initial opinion of them, we came to realize that George Michael was right. Sometimes the clothes do not make the man. The morals of the story are: 1) Sometimes people who look cool are really just the most uncool, 2) Americans really do need to check themselves when we go overseas so we aren't perpetuating the stereotypes of Ugly Americans, and 3) Russian vodka is really delicious and I want to go back and spend more time drinking it.

Randomness

• Still missing my puppy every time I pull up to the house and he's not at the window to greet me.
• Raging at work right now...someone has crossed me in the most unprofessional way, and I feel like my hands are tied in the way I can approach it. I do not like this feeling, because I feel like it's something I am going to just have to "get over" rather than being able to "crush someone" in retaliation.
• Had a great date night with the hubby the other night...went to the biergarten in Hoboken and drank lots of good German beer, then had a nice dinner out, then came home and watched Pearl Jam kill it at the concert in Central Park. We had so much fun...just hung out and talked and just made a really nice night of it (TJK was at a bday party and sleepover, so we had the night to ourselves.)
• Went out to a sports bar/restaurant on Sunday with TJK and Hubby to watch the Steelers game. It's hard to be a Giants fan surrounded by these terrible-towel-waving people, but at least I don't hate the Steelers and can root for them most weeks. Although it's really hard to root for any team with a rapist as a starting quarterback and a dog torturer as a backup. So yeah, there's that. #GoGiants
• I used to never be able to sleep. Then, I started to be able to sleep and it was awesome. And now I am back to not sleeping. I think it might be the work stuff invading my brain when I am trying to drift off.
• Randomly decided to go to Maine this coming weekend. For no reason at all - just to go away and forget about real life for a bit. I can't wait to hit up every single craft beer joint up there.

I Never Blog Anymore

I have been completely neglecting this blog and probably no one even comes here anymore since I never post. I know, I suck.

If anyone even cares anymore, here's what's been up with me:

- Had an awesome party the night before my basement flooded, and am having another party on May 19th even though my basement does not have walls or carpet or anywhere to sit. But the beer fridge and the blender work, so its cool. Its a CD exchange party where we all make CD mixes of our favorite songs and then burn enough copies for everyone, so you end up with lots of new music. I am struggling with what to put on my mix though because I know my friends hate my music. I am thinking I am going to do an all My Chemical Romance and Bjork mix, just for PatsyDarling, because I know how she loathes them and I want to torture her. Here's a pic of me and PatsyDarling at the last party, drunk as usual but festively dressed:



- Just came back from Disney, which was fun. But tiring. I'll probably get around to doing a post about it. Eventually. Maybe. We'll see.

-Went to both days of Bamboozle, which was awesome. Saw My Chemical Romance up close again, and saw like 30 other bands including Taking Back Sunday, Linkin Park, Brand New, Spill Canvas, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Armor for Sleep, Circa Survive, Thrice, From First to Last...and the list goes on. Highlights (other than MCR and Brand New) were seeing MC Hammer and Weird Al. Yep, you read that correctly. Good times. Drank again with my (slightly) underage cousin, although this time she provided the alcohol.

Ummmm yeah, I think that's about it.

More About My Trip, Part One

The main reason that New Orleans rules are signs like this. Cheap beer and you can drink it on the go:

We had a great time down in the Big Easy, eating at our favorite restaurants (Crescent City Brewery, Coop's, Maspero's, Bubba Gump's) and drinking at our favorite bars (Lafitte's and Tropical Isle). We did lots of shopping and spent lots of money (that was our contribution to post-Katrina N'Awlins - you were not going to see my ass out there cleaning up or building houses, but I can pump money into the economy like nobody's business!). We really spent most of our time walking around, enjoying the atmosphere down there (so relaxed and casual, jazz music everywhere you turn, good smells on Decatur Street from good restaurants - bad smells that still smell good on Bourbon Street).


Me and Patsy on Bourbon Street, standing with another sign that you only see in New Orleans.

My favorite part, other than the obvious (which would be Voodoo Daquiris, with My Chemical Romance playing on the jukebox) was eating at Nola, Emeril's "casual funky" restaurant. It was not casual in terms of price, that's for sure (my meal itself was $27 - whereas I am used to paying $8.99. Yep, I am a classy broad.). But it was so fantastic - the meal was so scrumpdilliumptious (you heard me) that it melted in your mouth and the service was amazing. Amazing meaning that I asked the waiter where the ladies room was and he took my arm and walked me there. It was worth every penny, and me and Hub decided that we need to start dining in better establishments more often. Of course the next day we went to the place we call "The Drag Queen Diner" - I think the real name is the Cloverleaf Diner. Its in the gay section and is fabulous, in every way. The waiters are flamboyant (example: Mommie Dearest was on the tv) and the food is greasy but delish. Their sign advertising the food says, Check Out Our Weenies! It does not get better than that.


Here's me and Patsy under the sign that bears our name.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention I picked up some broad from Nebraska. She was visiting with her mom and was out drinking alone, so I let her join us for a few hours and I do think she had the time of her life. She even got me out on the dance floor which just does not happen. Hallelujah there are no pictures of that. Well, none that I will admit to.

And finally here's me and Hub in the Best Bar Ever, Lafitte's, with the best drink ever, the Voodoo Daquiri (for those of you who have asked - its made with ice, grape juice, bourbon, and everclear. Yep, everclear.)

So again, I will say that if you have not been to this fabulous city, you should go. There really is more to do there than drink and its a beautiful part of America that is truly like nowhere else you have ever been. If you are looking for a great place to travel, consider it. You'll have a helluva time and the locals will appreciate your support.

Coming next time: The Wrath of Katrina: Why George Bush Sucks So Hard and Has Deserted An Entire Region for the Past 18 Months, as observed in a semi-non-partison manner by your pal True. There are pictures you just have to see to believe.

If There Was A Prize For Worst Transportation To And From New Orleans, I Would So Win It.

I finally made it to the Greatest City on Earth. But it wasn't easy. As you know, our flight on 3/17 was canceled due to ice. We were rescheduled for Monday night - but of course, because nothing is simple we were delayed for 3 hours, getting us into New Orleans at the delightful hour of 1:00 am. Luckily Patsy and Diddy met us at our hotel with our fave drinks (Voodoo Daquiri for me; Hand Grenade for Hub). Then, getting home, our flight was delayed another 3 hours. AND THEN, our cab from Newark Airport broke down. It was insanity I tell you.

Luckily, New Orleans is worth it. Another time, I am going to do a whole post on the state of New Orleans' post-Katrina state, but let me just say this - the French Quarter, which is all most tourists see, is still perfect. No damage (other than lots of help wanted signs since so many people have left and have no homes to come back to), and still lots and lots of fun. I know the media is telling you there is so much crime down there - its just not true. We had zero problems, zero. This may sound...bad, I dunno...but the crime is all outside the French Quarter and doesn't effect tourists. Its just like in most cities - it is drug and gang violence, which doesn't happen where the visitors are. It happens where the locals are.

The drinks were flowing, the restaurants were fantastic (the service was way better than usual, actually), the tours were crowded, the people were friendly and wonderful as always - it was the same amazing city its always been. If you have never been, now is the time to go. Support a city that desperately needs to get back on its feet and is totally worth saving.

Talkin' Bout Good Times

Another crazy weekend for your friend True. On Saturday night, we went to see Papa Roach in concert. There were 3 opening bands, two of which sucked (It Dies Today and Trim) and the other was good (Kill Hannah). After the show I met the lead singer of Kill Hannah which was cool. So last weekend I touched Evan Dando of the Lemonheads, and this week I touched some guy whose name I do not know from Kill Hannah. Touching famous people rules. Papa Roach was great in concert. I am not a huge fan or anything, but this is still the third time I have seen them in the last 5 months and they put on an awesome show. (That's Papa Roach in the pic.)

Then, we came back to my house for the "after party." My cousin babysat for Princess while we were at the show, so when we got home she stayed and hung out with us. It was good times. She is such a cool kid (she might be just a little under 21 years old so I am not going to give too many details. I don't want you calling Child Services on me). We all stayed up till about 6:30am talking and arguing and laughing hysterically. I was telling her, I so wish she was a little older so she could hang out with the cousins when we go out, and so she could come to New Orleans with us. I love that kid, she rocks. And here's the thing. Everyone says that our little group of friends is really hard to infiltrate. We are like a group of mean girls (even though there are boys in the group) and we don't really like new people. So sometimes when new people try to hang with us, they just can't. We are all sarcastic and we say what we think and don't care much if you get hurt by it. Its kinda like getting jumped into a gang. So here comes my cousin, a young girl of slightly less than 21, and she fit in like she had been hanging with us forever. Of course I have known her for her whole life, but she has never hung out with my friends before. She rocks, seriously.

Dude I Just Went to The Best Party Evah

I hope this makes sense in the morning because I drank ALOT of wine tonight and I hope Patsy reads this message: Dude, I got the house in Cabo.

Ok, so we get invited to this party at our neighbor's house, they are cool as hell but way older than us. But we're like, ok, we have nothing better to do tonight and they live one house away from us, which in Jersey is like, 10 steps. So we go to the party and the hostess within the first ten minutes tells me about her cleaning lady, who is there working, and who gets only $50 for 5 hours of work and is looking for a house to clean on Monday mornings. So of course I book her immediately. I now have a cleaning lady, thank god, for only $50 a week. Hoo-ray.

So then, the party is going on and this girl of maybe 20 is telling me how cool Princess is, and I am like, duh, of course she is. So then she offers her babysitting services and she lives like 5 minutes from us. The only sitter we have now, really, is my mom. So this is a big deal to meet an awesome girl who wants to watch my kid. Ya ya. So this has already been the best party ever, someone to clean my house and watch my kid, this is great.

So then, I am talking to my neighbor (the hostess) who is totally me in 15 years, left wing, anti-establishment, punk rock crazy person, I love her. So we are talking and I bring up Cabo San Lucas, where she owns a house. She immediately offers it to me and my friends and is like, dude, you must go to Cabo, take my house, don't bring Princess because Cabo is not a place for kids but you must use my house whenever you want, seriously. And I am being all modest, as if I have not been planning the Cabo thing since I met her and I am like, seriously? I can use your house? Are you serious? And she is like, oh my god, you must use my house, you must go to Cabo, its the best evah, you will so love it there and you must use my house.

This was the best party evah, even better than one of my own because as kick ass as my parties are no one ever offers me the use of a Mexican party house out of it. I got a cleaning lady, a babysitter, and a vacation house in Cabo out of this party. Plus I drank some very expensive wine which has me quite buzzed at this very moment.

I have been trying to upload a pic of myself because I looked pretty badass if I do say so myself, with my dark hair and red highlights and black eyeliner for days, but for some reason it isn't working. Maybe its because I don't look as badass as I think? Oh, no, don't be ridiculous. I look BAD ASS. And I am going to Cabo. Don't hate.