Something....

I really have no concrete reason for writing this post. It's mainly so I can stop feeling sorry for myself about my 'lil bout of writers block and just write SOMETHING at least. I started blogging again for this exact reason. Just to write.

It's just been a "woke up on the wrong side of the bed" kind of day, I guess. I'm trying really hard to see the silver lining today and not having much luck, which is not like me at all! I mean really, what do I have to complain about? I woke up today, didn't I? That should be enough. I have another day to keep on living! Yet I still want to go back to bed and just cuddle with Yeti. I hope examining what could POSSIBLY be wrong helps a bit.

 "The Job" is really pissing me off. No, not my actual job, it's the short story that I'm writing. I hate when I have a really awesome idea and all I want is for it to be amazing on several different levels....and then I sit down to write it. Then all those awesome ideas go flying out of my brain. I know i'm not the only person to experience this. It's just frustrating as all hell. I have the words to type out this blog but not to write an amazing story? WTF is that shit all about?

 Maybe it's because I'm having so much trouble getting back to the gym. Every time I think I can get back on a routine and start going regularly again. Sometimes all I need is to break a good sweat to start feeling like my old self again. Maybe after a good run i'll be back in the game. The next question I guess is: When can I go for a run?

 It could also be possible that I'm coming off a post-holiday high. Yeti and I cooked the Thanksgiving meal yesterday and what a team we were! Move over Jacques Pepin and Julia Child! We had such an amazing time together yesterday (as we always do), but that could be contributing to why I'm feeling down today. Our amazing culinary adventure is over. The company was also a contributing factor to my wonderful day yesterday. There was wonderful dinner conversation, drinks and a fire to boot. And now it's all over. Womp, womp.

 Ugh.

Thankful

Yesterday was a really rough day at work. My boss even made the remark "Is this really the day before Thanksgiving??" Why yes, boss. That gigantic shit show of a day was the day before a major holiday. But as crazy it was and no matter how many times I wanted to rip my hair out throughout the day, every "Happy Thanksgiving" wish I heard helped me step back and see the big picture. I have plenty of things to be grateful for, this year and always.

I escorted a blind woman to her  appointment yesterday. How thankful and happy she was that someone was there to help her. In return, it made me thankful to have a job where I can help people and feel like i'm making some small difference in their lives. It also made me thankful to have my sight. Everyday I get up to wake up and absorb all this world has to offer just by being able to SEE it. As crazy as it gets out there some days, I appreciate every moment.

I also brought an old man to his appointment in a wheelchair. He could barely stand, let alone walk. I thought about how lucky I am to still have reliable legs to stand on. I can still go for walks when i'm frustrated, go for a run at the gym and I don't mind standing for as long as I need to. I know I may lose that ability over time so I'm going to take advantage of it as long as I can.

This year, my life has been chock full of so many wonderful new experiences and amazing new people. Thinking back over the past 12 months, I have so much to give thanks for:

I'm thankful for my new family I got when I married Yeti. Everyone is just wonderful and has done one hell of a job making me feel like I belong. I'm even cooking the meal today at my father-in-laws. Thats a good sign right? ;)

I'm thankful for my OWN family who has seen me through thick and thin. Things may not be perfect for all of us right now but we will always have EACH OTHER to see us through. I love you all and we will overcome whatever life throws at us!

I'm thankful for all of my AMAZING friends!! From the crazy trips and adventures we all take to just casual game nights, I appreciate it all! I'm  even thankful for my newest friends: a group of strangers I met on the internet called the Arkham Horror Book Club. You guys rock my socks off!

And last but not least: I am eternally for grateful for my Yeti. Everyday I am reminded of another reason why I am so thankful for him. He deals with my extreme ups and downs, is a constant pillar of support when it comes to my writing, encourages me to try new and interesting things, opens my mind to new  ideas. He is my rock

Superfically, i'm thankful for Blogger Mobile (without which I wouldn't be able to post this) and Gordon Ramsey for providing an outstanding turkey prep recipe for his fans.

I guess all that's left now is to cook this little turkey I've prepared thanks to Mr. Ramsey.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

The Job: Part 1

It would seem that I can't seem to get a hang of this whole "blogging every day" thing. At least this time around I have a somewhat good excuse for why not. I've been working on a short story! I've got TWO new ideas kicking around in my noggin for you guys. The first of which is entitled "The Job". I don't want to give too much away because I want the story to speak for itself but its about what happens when a man (or woman, the narration is open to interpretation) is confronted by...uhm...a rather unpleasant visitor. Unfortunately, this is only part 1 as I've been having a good share of technical difficulties trying to finish it up. The end is nearly in sight though, so I promise not to keep you waiting for too long for the finale! So enjoy part 1, and if you like what you see share it around and leave a comment or two with some feedback! Happy reading!  

                                              Part 1

They say that only two things in life are certain: Death and taxes. Neither of which we can do anything about. Well, I guess you could technically consider tax evasion as a way around the latter but eventually it will catch up with you. Death, however, is unavoidable no matter how hard you try.

For a long time I feared this notion, as so many people do. For most the reason is as simple as fear of the unknown. Fear of what will happen after they are cut loose from the mortal coil. Will they be reincarnated to be taught a lesson still unlearned or reach the utmost level of Nirvana? Will they float through an endless limbo while they await judgement? Or will they simply rot in the ground where they will inevitably become nothing more than a veritable smorgasbord for the worms? My fear was an amalgam of all these things, but stems from not knowing just when said unfortunate event would occur. It wasn’t until I stared death in the face that I conquered this.

As far back as I can remember, I feared that moment. The moment when my last breathe would escape my lungs and I would be no more. No more time to laugh or cry, no more opportunities to dance and sing. The party would be over. A solid chunk of my life was spent thinking I was going to die at any moment. Why? I’m not entirely sure anymore. Having seen lives cut too short due to disease or outside forces made me a little gun shy I guess.

No I didn’t have some harrowing “near death experience” as it’s commonly known. Not in that sense anyway. I never saw a “white light” or “floated above my body” or heard anyone call my name. I caught it strictly by accident. It tried to take me by surprise, as death often does. It tried and failed. And I stood face to face against something most never see coming.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was an unseasonably warm day in November. Everyone revelled in the last fleeting bit of summer before the winter’s icy grip took hold. But not me.The glittering rays of the sun that seemed to favor the rest of the world, was shrouded by an ominous grey cloud that hung over my head. My malcontent for the day partnered with an unshakable chill plaguing me took hold and left me with an unfathomable sense of foreboding.  I felt a presence looming that was just beyond my reach. I've caught glimpses in the corner of my eye before, but never giving it too much mind. This day, however, that figure loomed longer than usual.

It followed throughout my work day and hellacious commute home. Like a stalker in the night, it stayed just far enough back to elude me. The overall theme of the day led me to suspect it was just my overactive imagination playing tricks on me. I never once looked back. Later on in the evening I curled up in my red, suede, easy chair in front of my small,glowing, wood stove for my daily escape hoping to ease my troubled mind. A good book by my favorite author and a snifter of my favorite brandy would surely do the trick and distract me from the negativity surrounding me.  A few pages in, an inescapable feeling of dread still loomed behind me. I glanced quickly to my right and as sure as I am writing this, there stood the strange figure.

I quietly watched it while it watched me. I knew if I turned to face whatever the thing was, it would turn out to be nothing more than my own coat rack and rain slicker. My heart began to pound as the mysterious form inched closer and closer ever so slowly. The blackness of the room seemed to envelop and almost suffocate me. The sting of a thousand frozen barbs filled my lungs. The anomalous creature, or whatever it was,now hovered directly over my right shoulder. I clutched my book in my hand, ready to strike whatever it was. I rapidly turned and cried out to high heaven. It was, in fact, a creature and not a coat rack at all. I stood in the presence of Death.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion coming within the next few days!

Our NOLA Adventure!

Ok, so mayyybe making my triumphant return to blogging a week before we leave for vacation was not the smartest idea. I really didn't have the time nor the resources to be blogging every single day, but I didn't really feel the need to either. Plus I knew once I got home, I was gonna have a ton of time to blog my little heart out!

Then of course, as these things go, my computer monitor crapped out on me. Now I know what you're all thinking: "But Jo, don't you have a smart phone?" As a matter of fact I do! But have you tried writing a lengthy blog post on a tiny screen and an equally tiny keyboard? Yeah, it sucks. So, apologies for the radio silence, but everything is back in working order and life is less full now so I should back to blogging in no time. My once-fried brain is finally starting to churn out fun ideas again. Now without further ado: A quick(ish) recap of our trip!

Our story began with an immediate offer to fly directly down to NOLA instead of our original connecting flight. We knew this trip was already off to a good start! We stayed at a beautiful little hotel on the border of the Garden District called the Prytania Park Hotel. Our room was small, but unique and full of character! Much better than any downtown hotel chain could offer. We spent our first full day in the city getting acclimated to our neighborhood, and what a neighborhood it was! Gorgeous Greek revival style homes surrounded us at every turn! We even found the former home of one of  my favorite authors, Anne Rice! There was a delicious barbecue restaurant literally steps away from the front door of our hotel and we couldn't have been happier with that!

Once we left the Garden District, it was a bit of a walk to the French Quarter, so we spent most of our days there.  The streetcar we normally would've taken through town was undergoing repairs in preparation for the upcoming insanity that is Super Bowl/ Mardi Gras week in February 2013! We walked EVERYWHERE because of this! Even though our lower extremities were sore and tired by the end of the day we loved every minute of it! All the exercise we got burned off all the calories from the copious amounts of delicious food and drink we were lucky enough to experience. There were pralines, beignets, craw fish, catfish, gumbo, jambalaya, dirty rice, cafe au lait, sweet tea, apple cobbler, king cake, pickle chips (those are a real thing that exist!), and a slew of others! We never left the city hungry at all!!

 

We even made some ghost "friends" on one of our treks! Haunted History Tours never fails to impress when it comes to providing a fun and informative tour experience. If you get a chance to visit the city, by all means check them out! We took a jaunt through the cemetery with our charismatic and fun guide, Charles, through St. Louis Cemetery #1 and later on that same night we were led by the comedic and knowledgeable, Jennifer who guided us through some of the cities, uhm, more colorful history. And by colorful I mean bloody. I was also impressed that one of the tour guides leading the group in front of us, a gentleman by the name of Rene, was still with the company. I took a vampire tour with him about 7 years ago and I still remember it to this day. Well done, Rene! Being the paranormal enthusiast that I am, I was excited to catch some "orbs" in a few of my photos from the ghost tour. I don't know how else to explain them. Have a look for yourself!:

P.S. I'd also like to add that I found it highly amusing how many times I heard the name "Nicholas Cage" mentioned on each tour. Those stories are for another blog entry because this one is wayyy too long already. I'm gonna start wrapping this up, I promise.

"You know, if you keep coming down here and you love it that much, you may end up staying here." said the sweet young lady behind the counter at Fluerty Girl, a cute shop we stopped in while walking down Royal Street. I stopped and I thought about that comment for a minute as she recounted how a friend of hers loved New Orleans so much she cried when she boarded the plane to go home. To be honest, if I didn't have so much and so many people here that I love, I could see myself making the leap down there. This particular trip was so incredible for me. I was visiting one of my favorite cities in the world  and I got to share it with the love of my life. I can't tell you how special that felt to me. I was at peace. Well, except when we were walking through the scummy part of town, but that was such a small margin of our trip! I had my big strong Yeti to protect me and we were hardly bothered.

I remember back in '03, when I went on my first trip to NOLA with two of my good friends and what a trip it was! For a young 20-year-old who hadn't encountered much of the world yet, it was such an eye opening experience. I loved it immediately. The atmosphere, the people, the food, the tumultuos history and the amazing music that permeates the air. I remember thinking that the only other place to fill me with so much wonder and such an overwhelming sense of comfort was Salem. I felt at home. By the end of our trip, I was sad to be leaving but vowed to go back as soon as I could. Enter 2005 and the coming of Hurricaine 

Katrina. 

Watching such an incredible place be battered and broken by such an indestructible force of nature broke my heart. Images of homes flooded up to the roof tops and bodies floating in the water convinced me that I may never get back to New Orleans. It looked like it was over. I remember worrying about some of the people we met down there. They probably didn't remember me but I felt like I knew them. Thats how everyone makes you feel down there. Like you belong.

But then I thought about some things I learned while I was there: This city does not go down. This city and these amazing people keep on fighting. Two city wide fires, countless die-offs from major diseases, and this tiny parcel of swamp called New Orleans continues to thrive and grow and constantly find a reason to celebrate and overcome whatever tragedy befalls them.

If the Goddess wills it, we're planning a return trip to the Big Easy in February 2014. The only reason we aren't going back in 2013 is, well, see above: Mardi Gras + Super Bowl = wayyyy too crazy for Jo. I can't wait to walk down those seemingly familiar streets again. I can't wait to bring people TO this amazing city to experience it with us. 

So until then: Laissez les bon temps rouler, New Orleans! Let the good times roll!