More New Orleans Pictures

The Big Easy

New Orleans top ten highlights (I attended the AAPOR annual conference last weekend, and also found plenty of time to play tourist. I became unexpectedly fond of this city):

10. Being in New Orleans during a flash flood warning

9. Not tripping over my feet or my words in my first professional conference presentation

8. Bourbon street. Yikes! (Anyone who has been there knows exactly what I mean.)

7. Room service :)

6. Getting trapped momentarily in an elevator just below the 27th floor of the hotel (hey, it could have been worse)

5. Balconies! Everyone in the French Quarter seems to have them. I want one. With plants.

4. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. Have I ever told you that I love cemeteries? New Orleans cemeteries are known as Cities of the Dead because they look like streets with rows of buildings. This one is in the beautiful garden district.

3. Sitting in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant watching a man at the next table use his shoe to smash a giant cockroach on the wall, then hearing the bartender scream out a moment later, "What did you do to Frankie?!" (Seriously, though, the food all weekend was excellent. Jambalaya, gumbo, seafood and po'boys, mmmm!)

2. A driving tour, offered through the conference, of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, most of which are still in various states of disrepair. Conducted by a non-profit group called Women of the Storm. Sobering and inspiring all at once -- these ladies saw something that needed to happen in their community and just started doing it. I want to do that. (I also heard heartbreaking stories from my taxi driver and others I met along the way who lost friends and family, who tried to rescue who they could, who pulled together with others through the storm. It all put my life into perspective. I thought my basement flooding a few days before this trip was something, but compared to this, I am not complaining.)

1. Live jazz. I can't describe this in words. Click on these links to have a listen yourself:

• New Orleans Jazz 1 (Panorama Jazz Band playing at the Spotted Cat)
  

• New Orleans Jazz 2 (Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing at Preservation Hall)

And I didn't even get to take the plantation tour or the swamp tour or help rebuild a school or house! All in all, I highly recommend N'Awlins as a destination. Interesting history and culture, great live music, and they need the money coming into their economy. Let me know when you go and I might even come with you!

I don't want to be an ant.

I have a love-hate relationship with public transportation.

OK, I admit, it's mainly hate. I hate waiting, I hate standing, I hate not getting a seat. But there's something else. Something about the social phenomenon of so many people, fellow human beings, acting completely indifferent to one another. I mean, you're all in this small space together, and everyone is avoiding eye contact and pretending like no one else exists. It's like John Hannah's character says in Sliding Doors:

"It's funny the way nobody talks in the tubes, isn't it? I mean, I rarely catch the tube myself, but --or lifts -- confined spaces, everybody shuts down -- why is that? Perhaps we think everybody else on the tube or lift is a potential psychopath or a drunk so we close down and pretend to read a book or something --"

But then I also completely relate to Gwyneth Paltrow's response (in fact
sometimes I actually hide from people I know):

"Look, I don't think you're a psychopath, I just want to read my book."

So it's kind of contradictory that I want everyone to leave me alone, and yet I wish we all could be more human with each other.

Anyway, I was explaining this to someone who pointed me to this clip from the movie Waking Life. I'm weirdly fascinated by this:

Big Fat Loser

So, my excuse for not posting for more than a month is that I am a big loser. No, seriously. Just when I got rolling with this blog, I also became involved in an intense Biggest Loser competition. Who knew trying to be more healthy could be so time-consuming?

This is the point in the conversation where people start in with, "Oh, you don't need to lose weight! Why are you doing this competition? You look great!" And I want to say, "Spare me," but instead I explain that it's not just for weight loss, it's to be more healthy.

I say, "See, there are these eight things that you try to do every day (like eating five fruits/vegetables, working out for 30 minutes, sleeping seven hours, drinking 6-8 glasses of water, not eating after 8pm, and so forth) -- and you get a point for each one. So you can get eight points a day, and at the end of the competition, you get a little bonus for any weight you lose. So really, it's more about being healthy than losing weight."

(I always say that last line, but let's be honest, it's not really true. It really is more about losing weight, and about competing with other people. Especially in the moment when you're chugging two glasses of water before bed just to get that point for the day. And hoping your seven hours of sleep won't be too interrupted by it.)

At this point, people often interject one of two things: 1) "I could never do that. There's no way I could not eat after 8pm," or 2) "Oh, I would love to do this! Is it too late to sign up?" (The answer is yes. Sorry. We do have about 60 people participating -- and with each person putting $10 in the pot, it makes for some serious high stakes!)

Anyway, my point is that this competition has taken over my life. Sleeping seven hours a night takes a long time! Plus trundling back and forth to the gym all the time ... which brings me full circle to where I started this post. If you'd like to see what I've been doing instead of updating my blog, check out my progress here. And stay tuned for The Big Reveal, coming up next week ...

Beats getting towed

Saw this sign in front of a Baptist church on Washington St. in Old Town Alexandria:

No joke

Anyone who doesn't think working out is fun should have been at our house for laughter yoga last week. Sure, it weirded out Mike and Kevin when they came up the walk and saw, through the window, a group of girls inside walking in a circle high-fiving each other and laughing hysterically ... but it really was physically and emotionally therapeutic!

Like regular yoga, there are names for certain moves. Check it out (from the AU Laughter Club handout -- which also explains the laughter yoga philosophy):

• Hi-5 Laughter: Raising both the hands up, go around giving each other high fives while laughing heartily.

• Appreciation Laughter: Join your pointing finger with the thumb to make a small circle while making gestures as if you are appreciating your group members and laughing simultaneously.

• Milk Shake Laughter (a variation): Hold and mix two imaginary glasses of milk or coffee and at the instruction of the leader pour the milk from one glass into the other by chanting Aeee...., and then pour it back into the first glass by chanting Aeee..., after that everyone laughs making a gesture as if they are drinking milk. (Repeat 4 times).

• Silent Laughter (without sound): Open your mouth wide and laugh without making any sound and look into each others' eyes and make some funny gestures.

• The Bald Eagle Swinging Laughter: Stand in a circle, spread your hands wide and move towards the center by chanting Aee....Ooo....Eee...Uuu...

• Lion Laughter: Extend the tongue fully with eyes wide open and hands stretched out like the claws of a lion and laugh from the tummy

• Cell Phone Laughter: Hold an imaginary mobile phone and try to laugh, making different gestures and moving around in the group to meet different people.

• Gradient Laughter: Gradient laughter starts with bringing a smile on the face, slowly gentle giggles are added and the intensity of laughter is increased further. Then the members gradually burst into hearty laughter and slowly and gradually bring the laughter down and stop.

• Heart to Heart Laughter (Intimacy Laughter): Come closer and hold each others hands and laugh. One can shake hands or hug each other, whatever feels comfortable.

I mean, seriously -- I'm laughing just writing this post. And because I just found this video of a laughter club in California:



Go ahead, laugh at me or with me -- either way, it beats 30 minutes on a treadmill any day.

I am a n3rd

I can't help it -- I love this (from John Tierney's column at NYT):

Q: Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the other doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, 'Do you want to pick door No. 2?' Is it to your advantage to take the switch?

A: Yes! I know, I know, I couldn't get my mind around this. But check it out -- play the game here and then read the explanation at the end. If you do it enough times you see the pattern -- 33% success rate if you don't change, 66% if you do!

Up through the atmosphere

So, it turns out that springtime in DC is just like in the coloring books. March wind, April rain, the whole bit. Seriously. Popcorn popping, too. I never fully understood it before moving here.

One of the best parts of this is the yearly kite festival on the mall. They just plan it for March, and it's always windy. Amazing. There are hundreds of people flying hundreds of kites -- butterflies, pirate ships, racecars, you name it -- and this year I saw the kite fighting contest, which was exciting a) because it's a fight, and b) because it reminded me of one of my favorite books/movies, The Kite Runner. (Seriously, it's probably the best adaptation of a book into a movie I've ever seen. Ever. Watch it. See the trailer here.)

This is the launch of the first heat (sorry about the quality, my camera battery died and I took this with my phone):

And here's a kite getting cut down (umm, don't mind my finger -- yes, I was struggling with the videography skills on Saturday):

And a close call:

Here are a few more pictures of the kite festival and the cherry blossoms (most of these are Layla's due to my dead camera battery):

Peep Wars

For the record, I had a very grown-up, nice Easter/birthday dinner party: cloth napkins, crab cocktails, coordinated place-settings with assigned seating -- not to mention an amazing spread of all the ham and funeral potatoes and orange rolls you could eat. We even participated in a Romanian Easter tradition and I read one of my favorite poems after dinner.

Unfortunately, none of this was captured on film. What was captured was this slightly less mature, somewhat degenerate, but, well, hilarious after-dinner activity:

Yes, those are pink chicks and blue bunnies flying through the air. As Jenn said afterwards, "I stopped for a moment to consider the cumulative educational level of everyone in the room, and had a good belly laugh." A memorable birthday for SO many reasons.

p.s. I can't resist adding that I also received a very grown-up birthday gift that I LOVE. After fourteen years of living on my own and chopping all my vegetables with a dull knife and a cutting board, I am now the proud owner of a brand new KitchenAid food processor! It's so dreamy. Peep salad, anyone?

I had a blog once.

I had a blog once. I posted to it three times -- sentimental, introspective, poetic posts. I never sent the address to anyone, and finally it dawned on me: I didn't want a blog. I wanted a journal.

Fast-forward a couple of years. I say to Margaret, "I have an idea. I'm thinking about starting a blog. There are just so many great people that I want to stay in touch with, and I just don't have time. I think blogging would be a great way to keep up with friends." Margaret says, "Yeah, that's kind of the point."

Oh. I get it.

So, um, hey guys! Here I am, I have a blog now, let's, like, link to each other and stuff. FYI, I don't have any cute kids and I don't work in Abu Dhabi, but I promise to have funny mishaps and make witty observations regularly.

So, until then ...