Phoenix Rising, Entry Six. Summaries: Tuesday and Wednesday.

[valis2]

So here I go again, with my exhaustive summaries.

First, though, I'd like to send a shout-out to my peep: julian_black, awesome roomie extraordinaire. I already knew she rocked, of course, but still, this proved it even more. She had to deal with a host of valis-related issues, including (but not limited to) my obsession with beignets, chai, chocolate, taking pictures, taking pictures of of cemeteries, and my general lack of Bean. She also had to endure my crow imitations, complaints about uneven sidewalks, repeated trips to Café du Monde (okay, maybe she didn't mind that particular issue much), my never-ending stream of rhetorical questions, and my continual scheduling of every single possible event involved in the trip. My hat is off to you. Not that I even own a hat, but still.

Tuesday

So I flew out on Tuesday morning after dropping my car off at the body shop. I'm certain they were impressed with the level of duct tape involved. I had to add another layer with every city I drove through, so it was rather thick by the time I got back to MI.

While I was waiting for the flight, a girl sat down. She was there about ten minutes, and then suddenly realized that her flight had already left, fifteen minutes prior. "But I was here the whole time!" she cried. Uh, no, not really. She then proceeded to ask the girl at Starbucks for help.

While waiting for the flight, I sat next to a woman with two rambunctious boys. One kept lying on the floor, and he then put his face on the floor.
Mom: Get off the floor.
Kid: Why?
Mom: It's nasty.
Kid: But I'm a boy!

I had a layover through NC, and on the first flight I had to sit in front of the worst-behaved children I think I've ever had the misfortune to be near. They continually opened and closed the tray tables, opened and closed the shade over the window, screamed (oh yes, I do mean screamed), and kicked chairs. It was absolutely amazing to behold. Best birth control ever.

Julian and I played the Wander the Airport and Talk to Each Other on the Cell Phone until we Randomly Run into Each Other Game, which goes something like this:

Julian: Where, exactly, are you?
valis: Are you passing a wastepaper basket?
Julian: I'm coming from Concourse C. Which concourse are you on?
valis: Uh...I don't know. Can you see luggage?
Julian: Are you in the baggage claim?
valis: Well, there is a lot of luggage here. I walked down some stairs.
Julian: Which concourse did you come from?
valis: The one where my plane landed.
Julian: WHICH LETTER WAS IT?!
valis: Uh, it was one of the early ones. Like A or B. It could have been Q, though.
Julian: JUST STAND STILL UNTIL I FIND YOU.

...and so on.

We then checked into the disappointing hotel room. Srsly, after staying in lots of hotels, I've developed a valis rating system, and let's just say that this room scored fairly low. Small, the bathroom lacked a fan, the tub drain leaked so every bath was a race against time, and, worst of all, it was right next to the elfvator shaft, so we had to listen to squeaking and winching all night long, with spikes at 7 am. So I ended up getting up earlier than intended every single day.

We had dinner at Acme Oyster House, and it totally rocked. I had some fried shrimp, and Julian discovered religioncharbroiled oysters.



Wednesday

So we headed out to Café du Monde, and I had my own religious experience: Beignets. They are the perfect valis food. Sugar and grease, what's not to like? The restaurant itself is fascinating. I'm always interested in business, and of course I was trying to figure out how much they take in, what their expenses are, whether they even have to do advertising, what sort of things they've branched out into (mixes, etc.), and how much powdered sugar they go through in a day. The waitresses and waiters were all pretty world-weary. They have their own pace, that's for certain.

Julian told me later that she went there very late and laughed and laughed because the guy ahead of her in the takeout line was miffed that they didn't serve sandwiches. His wife wanted soy milk, too. *snort* Reminds me of all the times I've worked places and had people tell me, "You should carry [x]." *rolls eyes*

They have very scary public restrooms, and when I opened the UNLOCKED ladies' door, there was a woman in there...taking a bath. No lie. I ended up just using the men's room.

I split up with Julian and tried to find a cemetery, but was thwarted.

I met morganmuffle, elements, Aja, and harli_katte in the lobby, and Aja interviewed us and asked us what our favorite fic was. We had a fun discussion, and then later I met up with Julian and we went to Delachaise. The chef there has a LJ (chefcdb. The food was orgasmic. Srsly. We had this incredible Gruyere scalloped potato dish, a cheese plate that was absolutely haunting, and coconut shrimp and a chocolatte soufflé that was to die for. Julian had a crawfish boil salad and this crazy chocolate stuffed French toast. I tried a bite; it's exactly what sin tastes like. Salty, greasy, cheesy, and chocolatey.

Afterward, I went to the Rhythm Revue (the karaoke party). After a bit of liquid courage, I signed up to sing Blondie's "The Tide is High," which I dedicated to the Giant Squid, of course. Voldemort sang "I Will Survive," Snape sang "I'm Too Sexy," and "Cold-Hearted Snake" was dedicated to both Voldemort and Snape.

At the very end I joined tathren and a girl with a great voice to sing "YMCA," despite not knowing any of the words. Still, it worked out for the best. I'm a little frightened that it will show up on You Tube, though. ha!

Comments

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

Wish I had been there. One of my good friends lives there and I so wanted to go.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

It really was a blast. Being with HP friends rocks!