Bless You Boys

New Orleans has officially gone Saints crazy. The boys in black and gold beat the Vikings last weekend to win the NFC Championship and earn their way into their first ever Super Bowl. Basically, at this point its impossible not to be a Saints fan if you live in this city. With the exception of UK Basketball, I've never seen a fan base that loved its team with a more burning passion than these Saints fans and their excitement is contagious. We are way past the point of respect or even love...we're at full blown hero worship status at this point. we said a prayer for the Saints in church on Sunday and everywhere you go around town there are signs people have put up proclaiming their support of the team. My favorites are the ones that say, "God Bless You Boys."

I'd imagine there are those of you who would say that this is "just a football team" and that its inappropriate, sac religious even, to show so much love and yes, worship this group of people. Whatever. The natives tell me that this Saints team has done more to reunite and rejuvenate the city since Katrina than anything else has or possibly could. At least for a time, this team has erased racial and socioeconomic bounderies and brought the people of New Orleans together, fighting for a common cause. People here are happy; they have something to celebrate...for some of them this is the first time in a long time that has been the case. New Orleans has found its way into a national spotlight for something positive for once, and the Saints have given these people something to take pride in. We wear our black and gold every Friday, we echo back the Saints chant of "Who Dat" to each other when we pass in the hallways and the local radio station has taken to playing nothing but songs written for the Saints. There is already a parade scheduled the the week after the Super Bowl and win or lose, the team will be escorted through the streets of New Orleans like heroes.

WHO DAT!

Wow

I am so unbelievably blessed by the people in my life...far more than I could ever hope for or deserve.

My Thoughts for Today

"You ain’t gonna believe this...but you use to fit right here. (Rocky holds up his right hand) I’d hold you up and say to your mother, this kid is gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid is gonna be better than anybody I ever knew...and you grew up good and wonderful it was great just watching you everyday it was like a privilege. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world and you did... But somewhere along the line you changed...you stopped being you...you let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good...and when things got hard you started looking for somethin' to blame...like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, it's a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life! But it ain't about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep movin' forward, how much you can take...and keep movin' forward. That's how winning is done! Now, if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth! But you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointin' fingers sayin' you ain’t where you wanna be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!"
--Rocky Balboa


I've been around for you
I've been up and down for you
But I just can't get any relief
I've swallowed my pride for you
I've lived and lied for you
But you still make me feel like a thief.

You got me stealin' your love away'
Cause you never give it
Peeling the years away
And we can't relive it
I make you laugh,
And you make me cry
I believe it's time for me to fly.

You said we'd work it out
You said that you had no doubt
That deep down we were really in love
Oh, but I'm tired of holding on
To a feeling I know is gone
I do believe that I've had enough

I've had enough of the falseness
Of a worn out relation
Enough of the jealousy
And the intoleration
Oh, I make you laugh
And you make me cry
I believe it's time for me to fly

Time for me to fly
Oh, I've got to set myself free
Time for me to fly
And that's just how it's got to be
I know it hurts to say goodbye
But it's time for me to fly.
--REO Speedwagon

We're Baaaaaaa-aaaaack!

And oh, how sweet it is...

Crack Cake

Ugh. Someone brought a King Cake to work today and left it in the kitchen for everyone to share. I would now like to hunt this person down and kill. Don't they know you can't bring crack around an addict without them relapsing??? I'm either going to chew my hand off or devour the entire thing within the next hour. I honestly don't know which it will be.

People

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun it out, but when the drakness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
--Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

I am still amazed, every single day, by people. I'm amazed by how badly we treat each other sometimes, for no good reason. I've learned that people will hurt each other; they'll do horrible awful things to cut one another down in order to fill themselves with some hollow sense of comfort. They'll say whatever hurtful things they can think of in the moment; they'll criticize; they'll argue; they'll belittle and mock and yell. I've learned that a great many people are insecure and hard-hearted and when you get right down to it at the end of the day, care only about themselves.

But every once in awhile I meet someone who surprises me. It's a rare thing indeed but every so often you're lucky enough to come in contact with someone who, despite their circumstances in life, treats other people with a kindness that they do not even deserve. These people are able to turn the other cheek, to be the bigger person, and no matter how bleak the situation may be, maintain a sense of peace and joy about life. I've observed people like this and I've noticed that in most cases, these are not the wealthiest people or the most beautiful, or the people with the best jobs or houses or clothes. Rather they are the ones who have chosen not to let the drudgery of life bring them down. They have something inside them, lighting them from the inside out.

And isn't that amazing?

Pocket Calls

So, I got a new cell phone last week. Not because I wanted to you understand, but because it became a necessity. You know those supposedly indestructible SIM cards that cell phones have? Yeah. Well. Guess who managed to destruct hers? And I have no idea how! I was just sitting on the couch last week and I reached into my pocket to answer a text when my phone went ballistic and died right there in front of me. At least it wasn't a slow, painful drawn out affair; it was more a like one minute it was fine, the next it was deader than a doornail. Granted, I've had this phone for approximately forever and it was older than dirt, so I had known for awhile it was only a matter of time before it kicked the proverbial bucket. This was my old phone:

That's right; I was still rocking the old Samsung flip phone, baby. (You should have seen the looks on the faces of the girls at the AT&T store when I whipped that bad boy out). And I loved that phone too. I'll admit I've been kinda sorta wanting a cool new Smart phone for awhile but I also didn't know that I cared to spend the money when I had a perfectly good phone that still worked.

Anyway, once Old Phone died, I had to get something so I hightailed it down to the AT&T store and after spending an hour agonizing over the different styles and texting back and forth with my sister (who LOVES her Blackberry) I decided to go with this one. Meet Polly:

Pretty snazzy, huh? (I justified this because after the rebate and a $50 coupon I had for being "such a good customer," the phone itself was FREE to me). I should tell you here that I'm by no means a techo geek. Once I figure out how to use a new piece of technology I ride that until its dead. It's not that I'm opposed to learning how to use something new, I just...I dunno. It feels like a lot of work sometimes. I was so comfortable with my old phone that I could do just about anything on it without even looking. Not so much now. What I'm telling you is that I've got this awesome new phone and I have no earthly idea how to use it. I'm kinda figuring out texting and I think I can make phone calls but I feel like this phone still has a lot of untapped potential that I'm not using yet. Also, I feel like I'm probably doing unnecessary retarded things simply because I don't know where all the buttons are for different functions.

Case in point: As I was leaving bible study last night I got a call from my Grandad. Its always great to hear from him but I just found it random that he was calling me at 9:00 pm on a Tuesday night. Well apparently, he was returning my phone calls. Yes calls. Calls that I had no memory of making. Calls that I apparently made from my pocket because I don't yet know how to lock the keypad on this new phone and I'm so used to the old flip phone that I don't even think twice about sliding this new one into my pocket. "Yeah I saw where you had called a couple times," he told me, "And I had a voice mail that was just a bunch of static and then a hang up so I thought it might be you." Great. Not only am I making pocket calls,I'm leaving pocket voice mails too.

My point in all this is that if you get a bunch of missed calls from me in the next few days its not that I do or don't want to talk to you its just that I probably don't even realize I've called. Don't take it personally.

(And by the way, my Grandad's suggestion was just to get some pants with looser pockets). ;-)

Krewe of Muses

I did maybe the coolest thing ever in the history if the world last night. Ok that's an exaggeration but it was still pretty freekin' neat. I'm still learning all about Mardi Gras so I didn't know this but the Krewe of Muses is made up entirely of women and so (appropriately enough) they give away shoes during their parade.

Wait a second, lemme back up and put that into English for those of you who are (like me) ignorant of all things Mardi Gras. The Krewes are the big social groups that are responsible for sponsoring the different parades and hosting the balls during Mardi Gras. Best I can tell they are the adult equivalent to the Greek system in college. The groups are all very different, they have their own personalities if you will, and some are super exclusive while others are open to just about anyone coming or going. Some have been around for literally hundreds of years and some are less than a decade old. Some are super secretive with members who will not admit publicly that they are in fact members, and others are very very liberal and open with membership. Anyway Muses is one of the newer Krewes and as I said, is made up entirely of women. Lots of the Krewes throw things (beads, coins, small children, I dunno) during their parade, or hand out souvenirs to onlookers. If you're familiar with the Zulu coconuts at all you know what I'm talking about. These tokens of Mardi Gras are apparently a really big deal and are considered to be highly priced collectors items almost.

Well come to find out, several women here at the hospital where I work are members of Muses and are responsible for decorating by hand all of the shoes that they give away. I got invited to help make shoes and even though I had really no idea what that meant, I agreed to give it a try. It was awesome! They take old shoes that are donated and literally coat them from heel to tip ion glitter and sequins and feathers. They make these shoes look just ridiculously fantastic!

I mean seriously, how cool are these? Who wouldn't want to catch one of these at the parade?

WHY...

Are chocolate donuts not good for you???

Remember these? I loved these things when I was little. Loved them. Ate them every chance I got. Yes, I realize they taste more like they're coated in wax than chocolate but mmmmboy was it good wax.

(Obviously, I'm sitting here craving chocolate donuts at the moment).

Embracing the Nerdiness

It has come to my attention that a few of you don't believe me when I say that I am a complete and total nerd. I don't know how I've managed to convince you otherwise but let me assure that I am in fact, nerdy beyond belief. It's true. I don't wear glasses and I keep my pocket protector and calculator out of sight for the most part but don't let those things fool you. Let's examine the evidence, shall we?


#1: My job. Do you know what I do for a living? I just spent the past five years of my life getting an ACCOUNTING degree and an MBA and now I work as an assistant to the CFO at the hospital. Accounting, people! Do you know a nerdier, more boring group of human beings on this whole earth than Accountants? The answer is no, you don't, because one does not exist. Accountants are the epitome of the "number cruncher." That's what we do, all day everyday. Numbers, numbers, numbers. (I like to think of it in terms of "money, money, money" but at the end of the day it all boils down to the same thing). ACCOUNTANT = NERDY.


#2: My hobbies. The one thing I enjoy doing better than just about anything else in the whole world is reading. I love to read. I'll read anything and everything and as soon as I finish I'll turn around and read it all again. I spent the better part of elementary school hiding out in the library with a stack of books (quite possibly to the detriment of my math skills and knowledge of World History but whatever) and even now I'd choose a good book over TV or a movie any day of the week (and twice on Sundays of course). When I was little my sister and friends would sometimes get mad at me because I would choose to stay inside and read instead of coming outside to play with them. READING = NERDY.


#3: My obsession with nerdy things. I went through a phase in elementary school where I was obsessed with Amelia Earhart and Helen Keller. I don't know why. Sure, they're very interesting historical figures (and women no less) but how many third graders have read every single book in the biography section of the school library? At my school the answer was "one"; me. In middle school I developed an absolute fanatic obsession with the X-Files. Actually, come to think of it, this obsession continues to this day. Have you ever seen the show? If so, can you say SUPER nerd? If we're being honest here, I probably took my obsession to a borderline unhealthy level, but whatever. I'm sure its nothing a few good years of therapy can't fix. X-FILES = NERDY.


Now this may come across as just a wee bit of self-deprecating humor on my part. Wrong! I'm totally proud of and willing to embrace my nerdiness. I'll wear the nerd badge of honor with pride and stand tall knowing that I have nothing to be ashamed of here.

Have I convinced you yet?

Choices

"Time passes in moments... moments which, rushing past, define the path of a life, just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether the path we take in life is our own making, or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed? But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path? "

--Scully (The X-Files)

Getting it Right

Every once in awhile, people will surprise you. In a good way. (I am no longer surprised by the stupid, rude, obnoxious or otherwise unpleasant things people do to each other anymore). I just got this e-mail from HCA corporate headquarters informing all employees that the company is donating $1 Million in cash for direct relief to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. 100% of the money is going to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. The e-mail also provided a link where HCA employees can donate directly to either of these organizations and promised to match, dollar for dollar, every donation that employees make.

I'd just like to say, way to step up to the plate HCA. Yeah I know there's lots of great PR in a move like this and all that jazz but still, not many big corporations out there today do things of this nature anymore. It makes me proud to be a part of this company.

I know where I'm sending my tithe for this month and I'm giving you the link too. If you're looking for a good cause, well, I would encourage you to think about this one...


www.cfmt.org/HCAHaitiReliefFund

So Apparently, I Have Actual Followers

Who knew?

I started this blog back in July as a means of 1) keeping myself occupied while Zack sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for a law degree and 2) so that those friends and family back home who care to can keep up with me while I'm in the Big Easy. I seriously had no idea whether anyone would care to read anything I had to say but figured "What the heck?" and rolled with it anyway. Over the past few months I know my mom has read my blog. So has my sister. And even my Dad who at first refused to out of protest because he thought having a blog made me susceptible to being stalked by all the crazies of the world. My grandparents even read my blog.

Not that its not flattering to know the family is reading...but...well...I dunno. I guess deep down I had aspirations of bigger and better things. Like maybe someone outside the family would care to take a gander at my inner-most thoughts every once in awhile. (And by inner-most I mean the inner most thoughts that are appropriate and safe to broadcast to the world).

Well! Come to find out, I actually have a few real readers! I'm just terribly excited by this news too, because it means that someone out there actually has taken time out of their otherwise busy and probably very fulfilling day, to read about me. And let's be honest--I'm vain enough to really enjoy the thought of that!

So...to you girls who I now know are following my blog...

and THANK YOU!!!

I'm truly flattered that you enjoy it enough to stop by on occasion and promise to do my best to keep you entertained. Or at least not offend you.

My New Obsession

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the King Cake...or as I now like to refer to it, "The New Orleans version of manna from Heaven." Last week was 12th Night, which (I think--still not fully up on all of the festivals and carnivals here) marks the beginning of carnival season here in New Orleans and the arrival of the King Cake. I'd heard tales of these mythical King Cakes but this past weekend was my first up-close-and-personal experience with one...and OH MY LORD, are those things laced with cocaine? To say that I'm now mildly addicted may be the understatement of the week. We bought one Saturday night and I've managed to devour most of it already. Yes; almost a whole cake in just over 24 hours...don't judge me. And this one wasn't even anything special; just one we bought pre-made from the grocery store. This particular cake was stuffed with cream cheese (and maybe heroine), but apparently they came in lots of other flavors too. I can't even imagine how good some of the homemade cakes must be. I'm craving King Cake as we speak come to think of it and I think I'm exhibiting mild withdraw symptoms. I figure, at my current rate of consumption, I will gain approximately 14 pounds by the time Mardi Gras actually rolls around.

I love this...

"At the end of the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box."
- Italian Proverb

Thankful

I truly do believe that God is watching out for us and knows, even better than we do, what we need in our lives at any given time. And whatever those things are, He makes sure to provide them for us in ways that we probably could never have imagined for ourselves. That's how I feel anyway, about a particular part of my life these days.

When we first started attending Rayne Methodist Church (we came across it in August after visiting several other churches in New Orleans) I met a really sweet girl who introduced herself and seemed genuinely happy to see us there. Deborah. Come to find out, she also works at the hospital where I work and helps lead a women's Bible study for 20-30 year olds. She invited me to come to the Bible study group, but at first I kinda brushed her off. Ok brush off is too harsh; I just didn't really take her invitation seriously and I completely forgot about it to be honest, because Bible studies have never really been my thing.

I've done my fair share of Bible studies (or at least tried to) mostly during college. I hated them. God help me but they were absolutely some of the most tedious, uncomfortable things I've ever done. When it reached the point where I was dreading the evenings I was supposed to go, I knew I wasn't probably getting out of those things what I should, so yes, I usually just sort of slowly stopped going. Call it an unfair generalization if you want, but I found the girls who lead those things to be sooooooooo fake! And I hate fake. They were always so insincere and fake and believe it or not, downright catty sometimes. Oh and, did I mention they were fake? They acted like they were so perfect and holy and as though doing this Bible study somehow made them better than others. They were super "cliquey" and exclusive and just...not super pleasant people a lot of the time.

Needless to say, the second time Deborah invited me to her Bible study here, it was with great hesitation that I agreed to come. Truthfully the only reason I went is because I've found that once you're out of school and in a brand new city where you know no one, its really hard to meet new friends sometimes! Especially when the majority of the people you work with are men over the age of 50.

I've been going to this study every Tuesday for the past month or so now and oh my goodness, I can not tell you how much I enjoy it. These girls (young women) are amazing! (And that's coming from someone who has never had very many girl friends because I find females as a group downright impossible to be around most of the time). I've never been around a group of women who are so real. These girls are sincere and open-minded and for the most part, brutally honest about themselves and with each other. There seems to be an unspoken rule that no one will in any way judge anyone else so in turn, everyone feels comfortable opening up and being truthful. We don't all sit around for an hour and pretend that we've got things all figured out or that we're perfect and holy and that God loves us better because we're doing this. These girls recognize that in fact they're not at all perfect and never will be. We all readily admit we don't fully understand everything in the Bible; we sometimes question God, or what we feel God is leading us to do. Sometimes we feel lost; sometimes we do things even when we know we shouldn't, and sometimes even when we try our best to do what we think is right, we still come up short. And what I'm starting to see the more I talk with these girls, is that that's ok.

By Christianity's, and even secular society's standards, this group of girls is far from perfect. But they're super, super real and in my opinion, downright amazing women. There are teachers and lawyers and a physical therapist. There are single women, married women, girls who are dating and living with their boyfriends and one divorcee. Some of them drink, some of them have very "checkered"pasts, and some are in marriages that are struggling.

Through them I'm seeing that I don't always have to be perfect. I don't always have to be right. I don't always have to know the best thing to do for every single situation. God knows I'm not and never will be able to do all those things and He doesn't even expect me to. People are, by definition, imperfect creatures. I'm learning that I'm going to mess up and I'm going to come up short sometimes and I'm going to be confused and angry and often times completely lost. But the beauty of it is, God already knows that and loves me anyway. I get to wake up every single morning and have a brand new chance to do the best that I can, and if at the end of the day I've made some mistakes; so what?

I'm Back

Hello all! I apologize for my extended absence but between a trip home to Kentucky for Christmas and ringing in the New Year back in NOLA, I haven't been inclined to write much lately. Actually, lets be honest here; I just got fat and lazy while I was home and am just now getting motivated to get back in the blogging saddle.

Christmas was really good. We were able to go home to Kentucky for almost a whole week, which was wonderful. We saw my family, Zack's family, and a few of our old friends in Lexington as well and one of the best parts was that we were able to go to Calvary (our church in Lexington) on Sunday after Christmas. Man. I miss that place.

I actually worked the week between Christmas and New Year's Day while Zack went to Florida for a wedding so we had to hightail it back down to NOLA pretty quick. All in all though, it was a pretty darn good holiday season. Happy 2010!