Whatchu mean that's not your Natural Hair Color?!??!

You don't realize how unique we are until you are speaking with someone not from NOLA who has never been to Mardi Gras about things happening here. 

- saying I need to sign off early to get to the store before they close the roads

- saying i need to leave early because a float is stuck on the interstate and its a mess

- Explaining what "Deep Gras" is

- saying I am so excited to catch a shoe

    - Posting pics of said shoe and having people go "where did they buy that?!?!?"

        - Newsflash...they made them!!!

- Saying I need to find my tutu

- Saying I don't know which wig to wear tonight

    - Them Being shocked when I say I have more than one

- Saying I bought glitter from an 8 y/o who made her own glitter making business

- Saying we have to make a sign for our friends riding

- Trying to explain its a NEUTRAL GROUND!!!!!

    -also trying to explain why there is "beef" between Sidewalk Side and Neutral Ground Side

- Saying I need my ladder

- Trying to explain why Purple, Green and Gold do actually go together

- Trying to explain I probably get more steps during Mardi Gras than I do during a half. 

-Also trying to explain its a MARATHON.  this year its 8 straight days of parades and partying

    - My body will probably hate me Wednesday but it will be a good time. 

I'm sure there are more but I have so confused my poor co-workers. 

I answer to no one!

I am nice.  The nice one.  Non confrontational. Generally level headed.  While I will not be a doormat, I pick my battles so to say. 

With that said most of the time I choose not to respond to dickheadery.  Most of the time I will just roll my eyes and ignore when people are clearly trying to pick a fight or being pig headed. 

The problem occurs when you push me too f**king far or catch me at a bad time.  The problem is I don't have to explain myself to ANYONE.  The problem is if you come at me aggressively because you think you are entitled to know where I am and who I am with. 

My husband is literally the only person who is entitled to that information and he NEVER pulls any cards on me.  Plus we tell each other our plans if we aren't going to be together.  Its a non-issue. 

A week or so ago I had a person we'll just say is close to me send me a very aggressive text.  It was after midnight, after an evening of fun.  When I say aggressive, I mean it was all CAPS, a paragraph of anger accusing me of basically being a hypocrite because I went out after not going out earlier in the week.  

I responded calmly at first. Then they doubled down and I kinda snapped.  I am sorry but you do not get to monopolize what I do and who I am with.  So I said so much as kindly as I could but it wasn't my normal niceness or my normal laissez faire attitude.  

Now I am the bad guy.  How does that make sense?!?!?  I am getting the silent treatment.  They are telling everyone they can how I am being a b**ch.  How I attacked them.  I am the bad guy because I finally had enough of the badgering because I dared to do something without their knowledge.   So I am trying to pretend I am oblivious to this because I don't want to give it legs to run on.  But its hella hard because I really want to call them out but I wont.  I wont because that is what they want.  So instead I will kill them with kindness and move on.  

I HATE DRAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

What timeline is this??!?!?!

Regardless of your political affiliations $hit has gone so far sideways it's not even funny. 

I fear for my future freedoms as a female

I fear for my LGBTQ+ family and friends

I fear for my friends who have more melanin in their skin

I fear for my people who are here on Visas and Greencards

Honestly...I fear for anyone who isn't in the top 10% financially.

Things are scary.  I try not to be paranoid.  I try not to fall into conspiracies. But the way things are going it's really hard not to make parallels to a certain time in Europe... a time where my grandfather had to go fight in a war. A time where Yatzis ran amok.

I'm just...tired and scared.  I don't understand how we are allowing this to happen.  I don't understand how some people think this is ok.  Racism and sexism are running rampant.  They think its ok now to show how horrible they are. But the worst is how they think it won't affect them too.  Newsflash....Billionaires don't f**king care about Joe Shmo from  -insert tiny town name-.  They aren't going to help us.  Why would they?!?!?!  There is no benefit to do better for us.  

All they care about is money and control.  And we handed it to them on a silver platter.  They aren't even hiding it anymore that they are doing shady $hit, they are just throwing it in our faces and saying "what ya gonna do?"  FFS an immigrant who we didn't elect into office has free reign to do what he wants in all gov agencies.  Cutting out the corruption and bloat is what we want but there are ways to do it that don't involve blindly gutting things like the FAA, NOAA, IRS, DEQ, etc. 

And people are still supporting it and making excuses that they are doing it to MAGA.  

I don't know what to do.  I don't know how it happened. But I do know that we are only a few weeks in and not even the onion can come up with the Shenanigans of reality. 

This is my city!!!

So everyone should know NOLA is hosting Super Bowl LIX.  Everyone has been on edge for a few reasons.  One, it's not a secret we have had some crime issues although for the last few months they have been more under control.  Two, the terror attack that occurred on Bourbon street in the early hours of New Year's Day.  

Side note - I have never felt so loved as I did on NYD.  I was in bed by 2:00AM ish so I didn't know about the attack until I woke up at 8AM to a plethora of texts asking if I was okay.  I was so confused until I checked the news.  All my out of town peeps were SO WORRIED and I felt so loved that they thought of me. It was such a tragic awful senseless act and my heart breaks for the victims and their families.

Moving on to happiers events.

Our City...our beautiful, historical, unique city showed up!  We said we are NOLA and we will show you how to have a super bowl.  

For one thing the City looked amazing.  I know we cleaned up for guests but kudos to the beautification peeps that made it HAPPEN!

- The light show in the quarter

- the events ALL OVER THE CITY

- The locals actually showing up and being a part of things even though "our team" isn't in it

- The sheer number of celebrities. 

- The 1st EVER super bowl parade!!!!  Uh-Mazing!

- Lady Gaga's performance on Bourbon (sobbing)

- Harry Connick pre game show

- Southern University being showcased and showing how AMAZING their marching band and dancing dolls are

- Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle singing America the Beautiful

- Honoring the victims of the terror attack (literally sobbing).  

- John Batiste singing the National Anthem 

- The hilarious shade from Lil Wayne for NOT being the freaking half time show.  Like who made that decision.  

- The half time show... okay I wanted someone else (obvi) but it was ok.  Semi-Entertaining.  He did good, the dancers were great, and I like his songs but it wasn't as BAM for national TV.  Also SAMUEL L JACKSON!

- Its not over yet but HOLY $HIT the Eagles showed the f**k up!!!! As of posting this, its 27-0 Eagles!!!!

People have judgments of NOLA and some are most definitely true but NOLA said "hold my beer" and showed the F**k up!  This has been a beautiful representation of our city and our culture.  This is who we are! 

Just a few pics of events that have been shared. 

This is my city.  This is my home. And I am proud to be from NOLA!

UPDATE: I've watched the halftime show a few more times.  And its soooo good.  I missed a lot of what he was saying and the symbolism!  He had a message.  Message heard sir!  Soooo gooood!

Yo f**k that Guy....girl...@$$hole

 I am so over everything.  I went to a party (yay).  It was an early party and we had plans for after.  

On our way out... we get to our car...and someone had hit it. 

Not just a ding or scratch....like RIPPED THE FRONT BUMPER OFF and messed up the wheel.  

OF COURSE they didn't leave a note... that would be too kind.  

So now we are down a car, because while drivable its pulling hard to the right AND the bumper is dragging. 

Does this start over the 3 or is this one included with the other accident?!!?!?

I can't take anything else.  

I didn't know that could happen!!!!

So to go back to my previous post.  I found out very quickly my TMJ was in fact NOT due to teeth grinding.  I did NOT know that one could get TMJ from a car accident. 

Turns out my random development of TMJ is directly related to my getting rammed into at 50 MPH or however fast he was going. 

So EFF ME because this $hit can last from a couple weeks to a couple years.... AHHHHHHH

My super power is injuring myself in my sleep

So it's been a couple weeks and still no police report from the wreck.  I don't know why but its freaking me the eff out!!!!  I know holidays, etc but still.  

Work has been A LOT.  Like yes its "slower" since Thanksgiving but so much is going on.  Contracts are changing, job duties are changing, my counterpart got promoted which I am super happy for him but like I am getting a newbie on all my accounts and it terrifies me!!!!  I got lucky with him.  I was super scared when he took over because his predecessor was my friend for a LOOOONG time and knew the accounts backwards and forwards.  

But again he deserves all the things, I'm just in panic mode because things are so weird with a few of the contracts.  Then my other counterpart got promoted which again AWESOME but it's just a lot of change and the peeps I depend on are getting new duties.  Its just so much change....good change but I have too much going on and am just trying to not drown.  

My car is being a B....she is functional at the moment but randomly has a battery drain and I really don't want to deal with this right now!!!!!!!

One of our bathrooms is being a Tw@t and has been since before Thanksgiving, but I don't want to call a plumber because again.... TOO MUCH GOING ON!

On top of all this my mother makes me worry about her well being daily (a story for another day), the cost of everything has gone up exponentially & my paycheck doesn't go as far, and my cat randomly got the $hits & stopped eating (she's fine now). 

So in true me fashion, I shoulder it all and don't complain.  DO NOT DO THIS! I woke up Saturday morning because I was in extraordinary pain. Like I ran a half and and got punched in the face at the end.  I went about my day cleaning and went to a friends for dinner.  As the day progressed my face hurt.  Like the whole right side.  I was convinced I had a toothache in the newly refilled tooth.  I got orajel and got home and did a cold compress.  That's when I realized the pain wasn't my tooth, I could chew just fine...it was my jaw.  Like the most INTENSE ache in the joint and from the back to the front under my teeth.  

I thought my jaw was going to lock up it hurt so bad.  Heat felt better than cold so I did that, I took some Ibuprofen and went to bed.  I wake up whimpering at like 4AM. That's when I realized, I was clenching my teeth together.  That's right...for I don't know how long, I have been clenching/grinding my teeth in my sleep to the point where my new filling is so sensitive it almost hurts and my jaw feels like I was punched.  

So I have effectively given myself TMJ due to pent up stress.  I ordered a f**king bite guard so I don't injure myself further.  My dentist said if it doesn't go away or gets worse to come in but he thinks the guard will help.  Oh and I should try to destress.  Cool cool... I'll get right on that.