"The Last Easy Day"

So said a New Orleans police officer at the Still Perkin' coffee shop this morning. I was there to slog through six chapters of "Managing People" in preparation for next week's Organizational Behavior class and quiz. Imagine reading a fifty page chapter on placing help wanted ads and you'll understand why I was at a coffee shop. Anyway, Still Perkin' also turns out to be a favorite haunt for the NOPD. There were several rotations of 2-3 person teams taking a break while I was there. To a man they were all looking forward to the end of Mardi Gras, which to them simply represents 12-hour days and lots of work with large crowds and rowdy drunks.

Today marks the true beginning of Mardi Gras madness. Although Mardi Gras parades traditionally last for two weeks, the last five days represent the climax (if you will) of the holiday. The Friday before Mardi Gras is when things really start to get crazy. The city begins to shut down around noon, figuratively if not literally. Friday nights in the French Quarter around Bourbon Street and St. Anne aren't insane, but you can tell things are about to rev up. The excitement and crowds build up after that. Bead-o-rama is definitely over, too, unless you're on a reviewing stand or know someone in a krewe (tonight I'll be at Krewe d'Etat looking for David on float 11, third from the end, driver's side).

Because of the attack in NYC, my expectation is that this will be a 'light' Mardi Gras. I always measure 'light' and 'heavy' by how many gaybois are standing at the intersection of Bourbon St. and St. Anne, the confluence of the two most popular gay bars in town (Oz and the Bourbon Pub/Parade Disco) and the demarcation between the straght and gay parts of Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. New Orleans' boosters will always say that a given year's Mardi Gras broke all attendance records, but I always rely on the gayboi factor for a true indicator. Face it, who has more discretionary income than a gayboi? If they ain't there posing shirtless and drugged out of their minds drinking bottled water, it's light. BTW, if they aren't wearing a shirt, they're tourists. The locals (should) know better. You're an exception.

In honor of Mardi Gras, we're going to stop unpacking our stuff. We've made good progress and haven't gone after each others throats (yet), but now we're going to have some fun. D bought a King Cake at the Sav-A-Center today (yea!!!!!!!!) and his sister and her husband and some friends (Mae-Z, Larry and Donnie) will be over for the parades. I'll try to keep you and everyone else updated, but forgive me if I lapse - it's Mardi Gras, you know!

Freeze!

Although it's been a cold Mardi Gras so far, that's not what I'm referring to. Actually, we were awakened at 3AM this morning by a voice screaming "Freeze motherf*cker!!!" outside of our bedroom window. Someone's been breaking into cars in my neighborhood and last night the cops caught him. I'm happy because he might be the person who sliced my Miata's rear window this past Monday. The police stayed around until about 7AM. Needless to say, we're starting to wonder what the hell we've gotten ourselves into.

Two parades tonight, the Knights of Babylon and the Knights of Chaos. More folks on the street now that it's stopped raining, so I think bead-o-rama time is over. We're now trying to see whether we have the stamina needed to attend the Parade's Big Dick contest this evening. It is the official kickoff to Mardi Gras, you know. I wonder whether Dominic Dumaine will be a contestant...

A wet and cold Mardi Gras

It's been a wet and cold Mardi Gras so far. Tonight was the Krewe of Saturn and the Krewe of Muses. Aside from the weather and the continuing bead-o-rama, tonight's highlight was that one of Saturn's floats burned as it began to start the parade. No one was hurt, although no bead casualties were reported. We scored big time on Muses cups.

D and I are costuming next week. As one develops one's costume, it's wise to have a Plan A and a Plan B: a costume for a warm Mardi Gras and a variation for a cold Mardi Gras. We've been focusing on Plan A. In the past twelve years I've only experienced one Mardi Gras with inclement weather, back in '94. I think the last time I worried about Plan B was when I did Josephine Baker in '92. Most of our costume is in place, we just need to fine tune a few aspects.

Mardi Gras!!!!!!!!!!!

So we've moved into our new apartment. I've been busy unpacking boxes and placing things in their approximate resting place for the next few months. As usual, not nearly enough space for all the stuff we have. The phone went live today and I had my 4th or 5th conversation with our new neighbor Leo about parking in our small complex of 8 parking spots.

Unlike other cities in this country, when things get a bit tedious and tiring I can take an hour or two off and attend that day's Mardi Gras parade as it saunters by the 'hood. We're going to average 2 parades per day between now and next Tuesday. Tonight was the Krewe of Druids and the Krewe of Morpheus. It's been a rainy and cold day, which means that only people in the neighborhood attend the parade. Let me tell you, that's a Bead-o-rama!!!! I caught a ton of beads tonight. Tomorrow we have more parades!!!!!! Don't you wish you were here (BTW, love your new look!)?

Oh, did I mention we had a Super Bowl here, too? It's really weird seeing police monitor all the on-ramps to I-10 (closed to commercial traffic that day) and hearing fighter jets circling the city. We went to the Pub for T-dance that evening and to see the game on the Pub's TV. One of the highlights that evening was meeting the three girls from St. Louis who were lookg for a grrl's bar in the FQ (no such thing). Two were paramedics, the third was their dispatcher. I loved their beer mug beads... I had a few too many cocktails that evening, but I had a great time. Our favorite bartender showed up with a round of drinks for everyone, which I'd never experienced before with him in more than 12 years of patronage. Must have been that NFL Experience.

I'm looking forward to the NOLA bloggers shindig! I'm excited to meet all the local bloggebritys!