Unsent Letters

Most people don't consider the notes they pass in class, in the hall or in between pages of books as letters. And even if I didn't consider those letters, I've been writing my own variation of the form for almost ten years now.

It started in ninth grade when my best friend and I would write each other long winded notes in our geometry classes and then hand them off to each other later in the day. When she moved, I just mailed them instead. I often still wrote them as if she was there and I'd see her later on, when really it would take days or weeks to get the letters to post and by that point most of the information was completely irrelevant. I like to think that she still cared about the trivial pursuits in the mind of a 14-year-old. 

And as the months into my sophomore, post-Katrina year progressed, the letters became a way that I could word vomit things that weren't making sense in real life. Through my junior and senior years of high school, I continued to send off the letters in an irregular and untimely fashion. I never knew what she did with all of them, but I knew she'd gotten them from what we discussed in our phone conversations, emails and later Facebook messages. At some point she told me they were being stored in a box and I always pictured a box barely able to close with folded and crumpled pieces of paper sticking out of the sides. It filled me with a tiny sense of joy that they were somewhere with her after floating around the country, moving from hand to hand as they made their way to where ever she was that month. 

Eventually I got bored with writing the everyday letter. So I cut them up for her to put back together, colored them, wrote upside down, wrote in different colors and started adding song lyrics on the sides, in the margins and on the envelopes. It distracted me from the world for five minutes and I was always curious if she'd ever get completely fed up with my nonsense. 

Now when I dig through half unpacked boxes, flip through books from university, or rummage through an old purse, I often come across a letter I never got around to sending. Sometimes the letters are a couple of months old and sometimes they're years old. If I read through them and they're not completely melodramatic and self-loathing, I'll pen up another letter and send them off together with a disclaimer. I always find those rogue letters incredibly funny and stupid and wonderful and sometimes I want (and do) to keep them to myself, but often enough I feel guilty that they're not floating around the post service and sitting with the other hundreds of letters I've sent her. 

If pushed, I could probably regurgitate all of the addresses I've posted things to, and this summer I'll get to add another when she goes abroad, but I hope I'm still harassing her with letters in 20 years when we're "adults" and not moving around so much.

But honestly it keeps me sharp. 

Then there are letters to other people. I love sending them and I love pen friends, but some letters are never meant to be sent. Those letters will sit in a box or in a drawer and my hope is that they become yellow with age and forgotten-ness because while I did write them with a purpose, there was a reason the address is missing and the postage will never be placed. 

And sometimes that's for the best. 

Happy Belated Mardi Gras

One of my favorite Mardi Gras traditions is the group of flambeau carriers that walk between the floats. Before the electric street light the flambeau carriers were used to light the route for parade goers. The gas lights were carried by slaves and free men of color and parade goers would throw coins to the carriers. Today people still uphold that tradition of throwing or handing coins or dollars to the flambeau carriers.

It's one of those traditions that has preserved the past of carnival yet still vividly supports the parades and traditions today. I truly love night parades for this reason. I love feeling the heat on my face from the fires and seeing people and children hold out change and dollars for the men to collect.


Mardi Gras rolls around about the same time every year and with it comes traffic, hoards of people (tourists and college students alike) and road closures. After a while you get used to the madness and this year was no exception. Only it was thanks to the Super Bowl.

This year the city had the fortune to host the 47th Super Bowl. And honestly it kind of felt like we were all bracing for a really big storm. The Mayor talked of road closures, preemptive construction, traffic and on top of that Mardi Gras parades. But honestly, driving in and around the city that weekend it was quiet. Eerily so.

I guess everyone was thoroughly scared enough to stay home and off the roads. The city hid the 50,000 people in for the game extremely well. But New Orleans didn't do as great the following weekend. Traffic, traffic everywhere, which again, is typical for a holiday that only two states celebrate.

But for the most part -- besides a little rain -- the holiday went off without a hitch.

Friday I got to visit with family and see Hermes, Morpheus and Krew d'Etat. Saturday I spent the day with Kat and her swanky grad school friends in Mid City for Endymion. We danced in the street (the Cupid Shuffle) and made some friends. As usual the parade was gorgeous, the amount of lights they use always blows my mind. I waited patiently for each band and the college bands they brought in from out of state did not disappoint. When I was little, my favorite thing during Mardi Gras was to stand right on the curb as the bands passed and I'm still a little partial to an amazing brass section.

 

 

A lot has happened since Mardi Gras. Sunday night a tornado hit my college campus and wrecked havoc on the City of Hattiesburg. It will be a slow recovery, but the university and city are already moving quickly to get things back to normal. 

Road trip to Clutch City

Welcome to Houston!

One of the quietest cities I've ever heard and potentially the home to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

Seriously though. They must have sound ordinances up the wazoo for it to be that quiet all the time.

I must also state that this was my first time back in Houston since I evac'ed there for Katrina. I'm pretty sure I mentally blocked most of my week in the city the first time because I remembered very little for this visit. I was definitely pleased to see the city with fresh eyes. 

I stayed at The Lancaster Hotel which was only two blocks away from the music venue (beyond convenient). We parked the car Thursday afternoon and didn't see it again until Friday morning when it was time to leave. The Lancaster was practically perfect -- not ridiculously overpriced and beyond comfortable beds with really nice, professional staff. By far my favorite thing about the hotel was that they still use room keys. I really wanted some hat boxes and a travel trunk to cart around behind me. That's how good these keys made me feel.  

The hotel is in the theater district which just made me want to stay for all of the upcoming shows. But it is also two blocks from the Main Street station for the trolley and a block away from the Houston Chronicle offices. Every time we walked past I threatened a sit-in to see if they'd give me a job to make me leave. Sadly they don't have a posh lobby for me to actually stage my faux sit-in, but they do have this awesome quote on the outside of the building. It says:

The publication of a newspaper is a distinct public trust and one not to be treated lightly or abused for selfish purposes or gratify selfish whims. A great daily newspaper can remain a power for good only so long as it is uninfluenced by unworthy motives and unbought by the desire for gain. -Jesse H. Jones

I also got to walk around the city a bit at night. It is a gorgeous city and I wish I would have had time to ride the trolley and meander through the tunnels. (By the way: the trolley makes this eerie pinging noise when it's headed to station that makes me feel like I'm in a really creepy Hitchcock movie or a Stephen King novel. All we needed was some fog and a tolling clock and been set for physco-thriller.)

I want this apartment. Yes, those are guitars and behind that is a pretty decent bookshelf. I was totally creeping on this poor person.

Comemos cena a Guadalajara Del Centro. Aka I basically stuffed my face with chips and Queso Blanco (one of my favorite food groups). We got there before the dinner rush/post work drinks hour and made it there and back to the venue in about an hour, the walk was worth the sight seeing and post eating lag.

So the concert. Basically perfection. Ed while still in only his second major round of touring the U.S., knows what he's doing. I love artists that let you participate in the concert experience; we were the night's gospel choir, rowdy hooligans and the Sharks and Jets. I screamed along the words that have been rattling around in my brain for the last seven months and whispered the words that have started to haunt my soul. There were the quiet moments and the most incredibly loud and vibrant moments where I was literally afraid my ear drums would break and my heart would beat out of my chest.

 This is how we closed the night. Ed has uploaded a similar photo on instagram that is a little more impressive. The guy could move mountains if he wanted to. I hope the rest of his tour goes swimmingly. 

Yeah...I was that girl with the 13 year-olds waiting to see him afterwards. I got pretty close to him and managed to get part of my hand autographed. I hope the next time I see him it won't be as insane. (WORK ON THAT MANAGEMENT)

On the way home we stopped at LSU to see my brother and to run to the dairy while it was open. Strawberry ice cream FTW.

Friday night Leanna and I went to the House of Blues to see my friend Gary perform and then got food at Camellia Grill in the French Quarter (which I didn't even know existed; I'm a bad nola resident).

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down...

It's pouring down raining outside and I should probably be asleep, but I still haven't quite adapted to a normal sleep schedule.

I've been back in New Orleans a little over a week and it's been dark and gloomy since day one. I wish I could say I miss the sun, but I know it will be back eventually so I've been taking advantage of this bout of Eeyore-ness and have watched movies, lived on Netflix and have finished two (almost three) books.

Let's just say I've been sad since leaving Disney and the weather's reflected this.

But I'm looking forward to Mardi Gras! The city is going to be packed for a good month. Parades will start with lots of wonderful traffic and the city is already starting to close roads for the Super Bowl. I rarely follow professional football, but if the Falcons wind up in our city (along with Goodell) it really won't be pretty for anyone. To wrap up February the city is hosting the Rock 'n Roll Marathon and I'm volunteering for the event with a friend. We're probably going to have more fun than what the volunteer coordinator had in mind, but I love doing things with my friends in the city.

My last month at Disney was perfect insanity. The holidays sat on us in the only way 120,000 of your closest friends can; long lines, long days and a lot of great music and not so happy guests.

Most of my fellow CPs have started school already (or will be soon) or they are making their way back to their respective countries. I miss each one of them dearly. I normally can't get through a day without thinking about one of them and it's become so much harder to tell people stories about my program without them there to interject a detail I forgot or to explain a point better. And I miss having someone to hiss to. A lot of my program has started to feel like a dream that's kind of cloudy around the edges. Like I was asleep for the last five months.

But I'm home. And per my usual fashion, I won't be home for long. I'm moving again next week back to Hattiesburg for a job. On Tuesday I start working in the First Year Experience office part time for the next few months. I'm beyond excited for the opportunity to learn and grow at one of my favorite places.

Before I go back, I'm taking a road trip to Houston to see Ed Sheeran in concert. To say I'm trilled is a slight understatement, I'm hoping I can do a small post about that after I get back on Friday. There are few things in the world I love more than seeing an artist perform live or hearing any kind of music live. It adds color to my world and brings back a little life to my soul. It's a happy I have no guilt for splurging on (this is the girl who dumped her whole life savings into a trip sing in Carnegie Hall and saved for four months to go to Hangout Fest).

Until then my week consists of errands and repacking my life into boxes, something I've become surprisingly good at.

Welcome to the Mad Tea Party...where everything is quite Mad!

Obviously there are a few things with my job that drive me completely up a wall.

For example: A party of six at Pooh that wants to ride four and two instead of three and three. Or when a group of nine wants to ride three, three and three instead of four and five. I know that these two contradict each other, but if you worked with us you'd understand our twisted logic.

At Tea Cups it's always the people who decide to play musical cups right as you're about to start the ride. I always want to scream at them, "Thank god I didn't press the start button or you'd be flying into a tea cup right now."

Instead I wait and say, "Please remain seated in your tea cup at all times."

Prior to this past week, I would dread going to Tea Cups, especially at night when dispatch is more likely not to have a grouper to keep me sane.

But a lot has changed. I don't love Tea Cups by any means, but it's there and there's no running away from it.

One night Courtney and I were dispatch and grouper and we had a family with Guest Assistance meet us at the side gate. After Courtney had talked to them she came back over to the gates.

The elderly lady waiting at the side gate told Courtney that when she was little she would watch the Mickey Mouse Club and had been waiting 51 years to ride the Tea Cups. Courtney and I were overjoyed. She had made our night magical. After they got on for that tea party, I happened to have an extra tea cup in the next party so we asked her if she wanted to stay on and ride again.

Both of us just stopped and watched her and her granddaughter spin the tea cup.

It was the first time I had a moment where I knew that was the reason I was spending the semester at Disney.

Normally when Courtney and I are both at Tea Cups it's insanity; the line is horrendous and people are never particularly nice. But, as I might brag, we do an awesome job getting the ride started on time and getting all of the tea cups grouped.

Once I compared it to a Zombie Apocalypse and we were the last two remaining survivors warding off the fray. A little dramatic, yes, but sometimes it feels like you're on an island over there. And people get really snippy during certain parts of the day.

Over Thanksgiving Samantha, Devon, Courtney and I spent the day in the Magic Kingdom. We had lunch at Be Our Guest and walked around New Fantasyland. The park was beyond packed, people were everywhere. We went to Epcot to be slightly ridiculous and then Samantha and I went back to MK with our Christmas sweaters. I finally saw the new projection show and got to watch them turn on the castle lights!

We rode tea cups, met Ariel and harassed our coworkers at Pooh.

It was honestly one of the most wonderful days I've had in a long time. I was with my favorite people at the most magical place on earth.

I only have 38 days left and I know I'm going to miss this crazy place.

Bienvenue en Louisiane

Today at work I was assigned Tea Cup Grouper, which just means that I stand at the end of the Tea Cup pen and ask each party how many they have and assign them a certain number of tea cups (for those curious we have 18 tea cups total).

If I have time I'll stop and chat with a family that asks me questions or wish a child happy birthday and get a high five. I only have about two minutes to group a queue. Sometimes I can group all 18 tea cups before Dispatch starts the tea party already in progress, other times I have to group as they're walking into the RME area.

Saturdays usually mean large crowds and a lot of people wearing various school colors for Saturday college football.

The family at the end of my count line was decked out in purple and gold. I asked them how many together and then slid in a Geaux Tigers. Normally if I see a family wearing purple and gold I'll ask if they're from Louisiana and then from what part if they say yes.

Today was no exception. The family said they were originally from Baton Rouge and I mentioned that I had a lot of people at the game today. The dad in the group asked me where I was from and we started talking about New Orleans (he lived in Old Gretna at one point), Katrina, and that they now currently live in Natchez when I mentioned that I went to USM.

When they entered the ride and I turned back to talk to Dispatch, she looked at me funny and then asked if I knew them. I laughed and told her no, that they were just from back home.

Being from Louisiana means you can instantly have a 20 minute conversation with someone else from the same area as you whether you know them or not. When you're all away in different places, seeing someone from home makes them practically family (haha not really), but there's a pretty awesome bond there. Even more so among LSU fans.

Growing up if we weren't able to go to the LSU games and it was my Dad's weekend we'd turn on WWL radio, and 15 minutes before kickoff my Dad would pull out his LSU album from college and we'd listen to Pregame, Hey Fightin Tigers, Fight for LSU and the Alma Mater. So tonight I did the same.

I cannot even tell you how sad I am not in the stadium tonight. I miss Death Valley and the atmosphere on campus. There is nothing in the world like standing in the stadium with a minute to kick off. I went to practically every home game for 11 years; running down the hill with Tiger Band in the cold and in the rain, and sitting, standing and screaming through DiNardo, Saban and Miles.

Tonight I may be stuck in Florida, but my heart and soul are in Death Valley.


Geaux Tigers!

LSU v. Alabama 2006

One day I'd like to get inside Saban's head when he enters Death Valley from the wrong side of the field.

"Somewhere, Bill Clinton is shouting answers to all of Jim Lehrer’s questions at his television"

My twitter feed blew up tonight because of the debate, and it became apparent very quickly that I follow a lot of people who are not particularly fond of Mitt Romney (or as I affectionately call him Mittens). They have good reason. He hasn't been the most eloquent participant in the previous parts of this election cycle and the media has practically dug him into the ground. But Mitt showed up tonight. Most of America probably wasn't expecting it, but he gave as good as he got. The President could have been a stronger force in my opinion, but I think everyone underestimated this debate.

Let me start off by saying that I have a lot of issues with both parties. Neither side has been as well rounded as I would like them to be. But let me also say that this election, as much as people want it to be, should not be about social issues.

Yes, they are an important part of the society we live in now and yes, it influences a lot of people's decisions on whom to vote for, but right now we need to be more concerned about finding the right person to fix our economy. As horrible as it is to say, they might have to take the back burner for a few years.

Back in January I was working on a post solely about the economy. Obviously I never published it, but I will put part of it here because I think it's still relevant.

The Federal Reserve released a statement about their plans for the next three years. Their new effort at transparency has prompted them to give a detailed idea of what they want the economy to do and how they want it to happen.

The Fed plans to wait until the end of 2014 to raise national interest rates, they don't see the economy recovering from the 2008 recession before then. Hopefully by keeping the interest rates at close to zero it will help speed up the recovery process, but "tight lending standards make it impossible for many people and businesses to get loans." Currently the reduced borrowing costs should help the international market as well, giving Europe a chance to fix their increasing problems.

Chairman Ben Bernanke would like the unemployment rate (currently at 8.5 percent) to drop below 6 percent. In the next three years "the Fed aims to increase prices and wages by about 2 percent each year."

The lower the interest rate, the more willing people are to borrow money. Many times with that money people are more inclined to make bigger purchases like houses or cars. Regardless an increase in spending helps the economy's production and turnover.

A similar event occured in 2001 and 2002, the Fed cut the federal funds rate to 1.25 percent which contributed to the 2003 recovery.

Since I wrote this in January the Fed has obviously readjusted what their plans are and if I remember correctly Bernanke has come under fire for his recent comments about the economy.

I got a little sick of hearing about the 5 Trillion Dollar Tax Cut that was thrown around a lot at the beginning of the debate. Mittens and the President had a lot to say on the issue -- they both went over their allotted times.

"I won't put in place a tax cut that adds to the deficit." -Mitt Romney

I think saying this kind of thing is a bit bold, and I personally wouldn't make promises like this. Candidates are expected to make promises during elections, but promises in word cannot always be promises in action. Point in case the last four years.

The numbers and economic back talk they used in the first 20 minutes of the debate was staggering. It's incredibly hard to follow, and the jargon was absolutely ridiculous.

I have issues with Mitt wanting to end funding to PBS, but at the same time I'm all for smaller government. I think one of the biggest problems that we've had with spending is inside of the government. It's just gotten bigger and bigger with more people spending and allotting money.

"Budgets reflect choices." -President Obama

Beyond true. The choices each administration makes and defines the country's budget. Regardless of what those decisions are. For a long time I was more than okay with the idea of the country becoming isolationist, fixing itself, and being the world power it should be; that it can be. No one in that debate was guilty free in promoting money to corporations. Regardless of party lines, corporations are how the world works and we as a competitive nation just need to find what works for us. In this instance, can we really pick a right or wrong answer. I think promoting any kind of economy can help. Be creative and look for ways for the world to provide the United States jobs and industry without losing our identity as a hard working country.

I know...it sounds all naive and optimistic, but we need a little optimism.


One of my biggest issues with the President is something he's stood behind since 2008 and that's the increase of the maths and sciences. I agree wholeheartedly that as a country we could be more advanced educationally in those areas, especially since the boom in the 60s and 70s and into post-Cold War eras (which I don't think we're out of yet). But only promoting those two educational values is a flaw in my opinion. Consistently though, the arts have never gotten enough funding. And personally I think the arts are a tool that we as a country cannot gain from by losing. The arts provide creative outlets for all walks of people. How can you have science without art? Look at Apple for example or studies that show students who play instruments have higher IQs or perform better in school. I don't see the point of showing preference of one over the other. Why is the President pushing this when his administration also allowed the end of our major space programs? If he wants the federal government to have responsibilities for schools, why can't we have a balanced and solid curriculum? Maybe that's just too much to ask for.

A big problem I have with the debate tonight was that Jim Lehrer wasn't a more prominent moderator. He definitely could have stood his ground. Romney did run all over him, but Romney shouldn't have been able to. I would have like to see the moderator more interactive in the actual correspondence of the debate and leading the conversation for Americans.

On healthcare... well I'm not even going to touch that can of worms tonight, but I think the President sums it up rather nicely.

"Leave a whole bunch of people uninsured and have them fend for themselves. Or figure out how to make the cost of care more effective." -President Obama

On the role of the federal government, I think Romney nailed the answer to the question, "promote and protect the principles of those documents." The last twenty minutes of the debate were almost flawless for the man. Even his closing remarks shown out against the President's.
On the same question the president said that the federal government has the capacity to create frameworks for the american people to succeed. I adore the President as a person, but sometimes I think he panders to the people and hides behind is social issues platform. He could be the well rounded person we need, but I think his business ideas are flawed and I think Hillary has him completely trumped on international relations. I don't think either candidate could be as good at what she does.

I'll leave you with clips of articles I've read on RCP that float along similar wave lengths and I think provide some insight.