Thursday
OK, now that I've gotten all that whining about a man out of my system, I can now move on. As planned, I had my char.broiled oysters not more than a couple of hours after I had arrived. And they were everything that I dreamed they would be. It has become tradition, ever since I moved away, that me and a couple of friends do this on my first night back in town.
Afterwards, we met up with my boy, G, at Le Bon.s Tem.ps and caught the Sou.l Re.bels. I'm a self-proclaimed So.ul Re.bels groupie. As a native, I believe that an acute affinity for brass bands, jazz, and bounce music is in my blood...it makes it hard to not be caught up in the rhythm even when your feet hurt or you're 2 blinks away from a coma. Upon grooving and observing my surroundings, I was trying to calculate how long it had been since I was in a spot with so many attractive black men. I still have yet to come up with an answer. It must've been a grip b/c as more guy friends rolled through, I noticed that they were finer than I remembered. Be that as it may, I can't do anything with anyone long distance, so I had to avert my eyes and sidestep the flirtatious touching as much as possible. I'm not what I used to be so by 2 AM, I was propped up against an old piano, counting how many yawns I can muster in 10 minutes. We bounced shortly after.
Friday
I slept in the next morning and then joined a family game of Wii bowling. By that afternoon, I had made plans to have dinner with my former boss and then hook up with G afterwards. Seeing my FB was cool. She was telling me of some private contracts that were coming down the pike, to which I thought my current experience was beneficial. I believe that is when I first pondered the idea of moving back and perhaps acquiring what I deemed to be meaningful work. But considering how slow the N.O. can be in that aspect, I figured that I had more than enough time to fully do some research on the possibilities.
Later, me, K-Rizzy, and G met up for some good reminiscing and even-better drinks. We were having a good time on that bar's corner until G started looking a little too intensely into the cars that were stopping at the sign. G has been shot before. With that memory resurfacing, we thought it a good idea for us to take cover behind a wall, so we went down the street to the Bl.ue Ni.le. The So.ul Re.bels happened to be playing downstairs but we partook of the sounds from a DJ upstairs. Once we got to the balcony, this guy swooped in like a vulture and was much too overly aggressive for my liking. Just when I started to like the black people content at this joint, he ruined it. Upon pushing him off of me for the third time, I looked around and saw this guy that I had met a couple of years ago...or maybe last year. I really have no clue. I hugged this familiar face b/c he saved me from the other guy, but I still cannot remember his name and I was hoping that I wouldn't be forced to if he said mine. We maintained very little contact from our first encounter and I'm sure that was for a reason (a reason that escapes me, as well). We talked until I realized that I was both safe and bored and then me and K-Rizzy left to get a closer look at the brass band playing on the street, right outside of a taco truck. That taco truck had been there all evening, but this band appeared out of nowhere. Were they undercover? Was I THAT tipsy? I needed sleep.
Saturday
I sprung up the next morning, b/c me and RC were booked up for a day of shopping at the French Mar.ket and the the Riv.erwalk. I only packed for hot, hotter, and hot-as-hell...and well that day, it was hot-as-hell! Perhaps I HAD gotten used to the slight breeze in VA but I swear that Satan was walking next to me saying, "You can't hang, hunh?" Now, I may have cheated my low cholesterol diet while in town but I got enough exercise to last me a month. At the market, I spent too much money on N.O.-themed black and white sketches to go in my N.O.-themed kitchen. What can I say? I am a sucker for artwork that reminds me of home. We then took a break at Caf.e Du Mon.de and grabbed some beig.nets as I started to feel as if my deodorant had punched in its time card while my relaxer had questioned its long, hard-working hours as well. Which sucked b/c I was scheduled to take a family picture that day and was wondering how in the world did I plan to recover from this. We continued to walk along the river and then get briefly air-conditioned inside the River.walk. It was hard but I refrained from buying anything else with a fleur-de-lis on it.
I went back to my dad's house to freshen up for this ghetto photo shoot. Leave it up to my dad to not decide that Ol.an Mills or Se.ars would capture our fam's best moments in time. Instead, we went to his sis-in-law's, who happens to run a beauty shop and photography studio out of her home. Never have I ever gone to take a family photo, during which I was offered wine, chicken, and red beans so that I could be relaxed for the shoot. Only here. But they did mix a jazz CD for me, so perhaps it was worth whatever my dad negotiated in payment.
I met up with K-Rizzy again b/c, for some reason, I just couldn't stand the thought of being in the house at 10 PM. We hit up Bour.bon and once again, I was trying to determine the last time that I actually walked down Bour.bon Street...and for the most part, without a drink in my hand or a line dance...i.e. "the Bus Stop" in my heart.
Sunday
Mack texted me to see what my plans were for the day. I was the house heathen that skipped church that morning. K-Rizzy and I decided to have brunch instead. I had just bought a dress in the French Mar.ket and I thought that it was a brunch-y dress and I wanted to show it off. Unfortunately, Tro.pical Stor.m Fay.e was going to make my ANTM Sunday plans hard. Although I modified my wardrobe that early afternoon, I knew that I was going to have to be super-cute for when I met up with Mack.
When I told him where I was staying, he was a little too tickled by it and that's when I realized that his brother lived less than 2 minutes away. Small world N.O. We went to this dai.quiri shop up the street and chilled. Its weird...I was sitting across from this man, who could've used a shave, a haircut, perhaps even a change of clothes yet I was more into him than I let on (I hope)...more into him than anyone that I dated or merely thought that I liked (even Choir Boy) in the last 3 years. For some reason, I didn't want to ask him anything regarding his career...or if he was dating anyone. I figure that he gets interviewed enough. I DID feel as if we talked about me too much. But as I was listening to him discuss what all he did to move his sisters back to the N.O. and get their kids into good schools, I got all dreamy eyed. I told him about my 5-year plan and how I was considering moving to Te.xas and he looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I then back-peddled and said that maybe I'd stay in VA, to which he cut me off and stated that that wasn't happening. I knew in my head and in my heart that that wasn't happening either. And that's when he said,
"Why don't you move back to New Or.leans? It wasn't that bad to you before the storm."
I stumbled for a sec, b/c that wasn't necessarily true. He just didn't know all the drama that I needed to get away from and Kat.rina kinda freed me from all of that. I wasn't too interested in filling him in either b/c who I was 3 years ago is a far cry from the innocent, sheltered girl that he first met. Who I am now is no where near who I was 3 years ago, but "who I am now" doesn't know how she could possibly fit in Mack's world now. And to be honest, I just want to exist in his low key life...and still don't know if THAT's reasonable considering his schedule.
We stood outside and talked in the rain and I just wanted to freeze time.
Monday
Visited with a few friends to see their new homes or the progress of their old homes. K-Rizzy took me to Rod.ney's b/c I had been craving a bub.ble gum sno-ball and some soggy nachos. I used to live in walking distance from this place when I was a little girl. Everything felt the same, excluding the prices. I noticed that the housing looked more run down the further east we drove. While in the area, she took me to the house that J and I lived in before the storm. The man who bought my gutted home had made much progress...but I didn't too much care for his curb appeal decisions. To each, his own. The neighborhood still didn't have much life to it, in my opinion.
I missed G's speech at some women's empowerment convention. Why he was asked to be a speaker is still beyond me. I joked that he was supposed to be "empowering" the sno-ball that I had to eventually get with K-Rizzy. Instead, I went to dinner with J's godmother, EJ. She and her hubby used to be in driving distance while in B-More, but they moved back home 3 months ago. I still didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to see, but the more important players were present.
Tuesday
It was time to get in the VA mindset. My JJ had a hard time at the airport. Up until that point, he was ready to come back to VA but I guess the realization that his PawPaw wasn't coming back with him, hit him hard. I never had a grandfather or one that I had ever met but I imagine that the relationship that he has with his PawPaw is just as special as the relationship that he has with me. Due to the FAA glitch, I had time to wonder if all the benefits of being in VA truly outweigh all the benefits we would have if we were back home. Only time will tell.
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