another big day

big day today! i had a job interview, so i got to break out my grown-lady clothes. it felt great.

tonight i went to a presentation / policy discussion put on by the local new orleans chapter of the roosevelt institute (check them out here: http://rooseveltinstitute.org/). an author is doing a fact-finding tour, interviewing millennials (that's me!) about the impact the recession has on their decision making, plans for the future, and geographic patterns, and getting ready to write a book. she had some very interesting insights on why new orleans in particular is such an attractive draw to young, idealistic, well-educated professionals (that's me, too!). to read an article she wrote for the atlantic, click here.

i met some really, really interesting people at the lecture, and just to give you an example of how small this town is,  i met two people who work in the building i had my interview in today i also met the guy who created the website that i've been using to search for jobs-- the site where i found the job that i interviewed for today. this town is crazy-small. everyone i've met so far seems to have one degree of separation from everyone else i've met so far.

in other news, the Superbowl is officially upon us, hordes of people have descended on the city, and it's officially 500% more expensive to park. i've got my eyes peeled for this weekend-- i better see me a celebrity or two.

also, there's a great round-up in the NY Times online about king cakes. click here for the slideshow. the first photo was taken of the king cake at Domenica, which is where one of my roommates works. we ate at her restaurant last week and i can tell you with certainty that Domenica's gold leaf/pecan/banana/salted caramel king cake is DELICIOUS. also featured in the slideshow is the baker who played Hushpuppy's dad in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

january 30th

1. albus (yes, as in dumbledore), my housemate & study buddy, who might just be turning me into a cat person
2. palm trees at the Hollygrove Farmer's Market this weekend
3. studying, studying, studying! also, i'll never understand why Ziggy cartoons are used so frequently in textbooks...

yesterday, tuesday, was my long day at school. i woke up to one black-and-white cat paw poking under my door, scratching to get in. we spent a long morning together, drinking coffee (me) and licking ourselves (albus) while doing some reading about epidemiology. 

i left early for class, hoping to get there on time with all of the Superbowl delays. yesterday was media day-- every parking lot was full, and there were big groups of middle-aged men wandering around everywhere, wearing football jerseys and looking confused. i had no idea that the Superbowl necessitated a weeklong vacation...

after a long day of classes, i came home to study some more, and albus once again kept me company. last night was humid and overcast, so i left the window wide open to get a breeze going. this humidity is so strange: i put lotion on my face three days ago and i swear it hasn't dried yet. this morning i woke up to torrential rain, and it's been absolutely pouring for hours, with brief intermissions of lightening and thunder. i'm sitting by the window now, listening to the rain, drinking coffee, and wearing just a tank-top. it really does feel like i live in a tropical place.

after i finish this post, i'm going to do a bit more reading, then go for a run once the rain slows, then go to class. happy wednesday!

January's almost over!

1. sunset yoga on the roof of the W Hotel. windy night, but a truly incredible experience.
2. Got a Winn-Dixie card-- I'm a real Southerner now!
3. A chubby spectator at Barkus

Last week, i saw a great lecture about the history of women's gynecological exams; tonight, i saw another great lecture by Thom Mayne, who designed the houses for Brad Pitt's Make it Right development here in New Orleans (along with a lot of other incredible projects, check out his work here: http://www.morphosis.com/). i feel so lucky to be a student again, and to be here at Tulane, and to be able to hear these incredible minds at work. lots of equally interesting (and nerdy) events coming up this semester. 

i also have to mention Barkus, a parade i went to yesterday. it's a different parade than the other ones i've seen so far... because it's A DOG PARADE. the theme was tails & tiaras: here comes honey bow wow and so obviously it was amazing. the weather was perfect, once again, so we got frozen mango margaritas & drank them while watching dogs in costumes parade through the French Quarter. i mean.... it just doesn't get much better than that.

Superbowl + Mardi Gras = SuperGras

1. studying near the Tulane School of Medicine (aka watching for Beyonce, who was possibly nearby & practicing her Superbowl halftime show)
2. parades all weekend!
3. important Superbowl preparations (team-affiliated candied apples) underway in the French Quarter

SuperGras is in full swing by now, which means lots of parades everywhere you turn. i love a good parade, and the South sure knows how to do them right: double-decker floats pulled by tractors, marching bands, drumlines, step teams, and lots of teenage girls marching while wearing white cowboy boots with taps and yarn tassels (which are often as large as the boots themselves). the parades i saw this weekend were much more family-oriented than Krewe du Vieux. lots of parents cart around stepladders all day so that their kids can sit atop them & get an unobstructed view of the parade. 

the house where i live is only a few blocks from St. Charles, which means that it's really easy to get to parades (and it can also be hard to avoid them when you're trying to do anything). Friday night, my roommates & i sat outside, ate 25-cent oysters, drank Abitas, and then caught a couple of parades. pretty wonderful night.

another perfect day

today was another beautiful day in NOLA: 70 degrees, sunny, clear, and breezy. i went on a morning run, then class, then studied at a cafe table (outside, in the sunshine). sure makes studying epidemiology less painful when you're also getting some vitamin d.

January 20th

 

Yesterday I went on a long walk, spending a few hours in the sunshine, still trying to get familiar with my neighborhood. New Orleans is a pretty small town (both geographically and population-wise) and I'm already starting to run into the same people, even though I've been here just two weeks. The sunshine is really helping me stay upbeat, even though I'm spending a lot of time on my own. Last night I went to the Prytania Theater and saw Silver Linings Playbook. It was pretty good, although it has a lot of sad grandpa screen time, which is my kryptonite... although a little post-movie King Cake sure helped with that.

I'm off to a yoga class tonight, and then back to school tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to! 

exploring City Park

i got up early today and spent my morning at City Park, the largest park in New Orleans. it was a beautiful day for a run-- sunny and cold-- and i even got a little sunburned. the park is really beautiful, with lots of spaces to explore-- big bodies of water, sporting fields, a golf course, an amusement park, a school, the art museum, a sculpture garden... so much to see, and a great solo adventure for a sunny day.

so far, i've been able to stay pretty busy, and which has kept me from feeling lonely. sometimes i do think, though, that New Orleans is specifically designed to make you feel as if everyone is having a great time, and you're the only one that's left out. 

other big milestones today? visited my first Winn-Dixie, killed my first cockroach, and taught the girl at the liquor store how to say "Oregon." 

first week in the South

Lucille, i really am starting to feel ya on this one.

my first week of classes is complete! so far, so good! i’m taking four classes this semester, two of which are pretty much biology classes for non-biology students, which is perfect for me, because i am nerdy & i love making flashcards. at this point, i have classes just three days a week, and I feel like it’s time to start looking for a job.

it’s quite cold here (it was just 40 degrees this morning), and people are starting to gear up for carnival season. we’ve had two king cakes at our house already— i thought those were just eaten on Epiphany (January 6th), but apparently here in Louisiana that’s just the day you start eating them. Saturday is the first big parade here (Krewe du Vieux), and really i have no idea what to expect. photos to follow!

for more on the parade, check out http://www.kreweduvieux.org/

photo via: http://lucilleandmitt.tumblr.com

first run at Audubon

i went on my first run in Audubon Park this morning before class. it was a cold morning for New Orleans (with the temperature in the low 40s), so I had the park basically to myself, which was wonderful. the track was muddy, but of course that’s nothing new for me. running is such a great way to clear my head, & it’s also an opportunity to explore uptown a little bit. the houses really are too beautiful to be believed— at least the ones that i can see, because many of the most expensive and exclusive streets around here are closed off from the public, with tightly guarded gates.

i ended up running straight through the park, and came upon a Jewish cemetery with gravestones dating back to at least the 1880’s. not bad for a morning run.

photos are from my instagram feed (username: madelinebaars).

house on Felicity Street

top photo: Mike demonstrating the ceiling height in my new house

middle photo: Coda, my fourth “roommate”

bottom photo: my room (an approximation)

ok, that third photo isn’t actually my room, because nothing is unpacked yet, but it looks very similar to that. i’m living in an old house on Felicity Street in the lower garden district, with 16-foot ceilings, white walls, exposed brick, and hardwood floors. it even has one of those gas lanterns out front that New Orleans is so famous for. i’ve got three roommates— one of whom is in my program at Tulane— who are very kind and friendly, and it’s great to have people around who know so much more about this new place than i do.

school starts tomorrow, and Mike’s flight is tomorrow as well. i’m nervous, excited, apprehensive and happy, all rolled into one (and so is he!). it’s easy to underestimate how profoundly overwhelming it can be to plan for something for a long time and then have it come to fruition. 

first days in NO

1. (real) flamingos at the Audubon Park Zoo 2. a house on my street 3. watching the Seahawks game 

we've been doing lost of sightseeing and touristing the last few days. we watched the Hornets get their 10th win, which was fun and very different from watching the Blazers play at the Rose Garden (felt more like watching the Winterhawks at the Memorial Coliseum). the weather's been cloudy and rainy, but after a week in the car, we're just happy to unpack our bags, get some rest and explore.

onward.

After 3,000 miles, six states, and lots of gas station coffee, we made it safely to New Orleans!

Mike & I have spent a few days in NOLA now, touristing & getting settled. as you might be able to tell from the pictures above, it's been stormy & cold, but New Orleans sure looks photogenic. we had a big thunderstorm last night that woke us up from a dead sleep!

it’s wonderful to have Mike here, for so many reasons— i think it’s helping to ease my transition, it gives me an excuse to wander around the city, and makes me less afraid to ask questions about this new place. he is such a source of support. i love seeing things through his eyes, too: first experiences with the south (and the central time zone), humidity, different foods and new terrain. it’ll be so hard to see him leave. 

change is hard, and it’s big, and it’s scary. but i (think) i’m doing the right thing.

photos are from my instagram feed (username: madelinebaars).