the product of the revolution

Okay, I think it's almost safe to say that I am a New Orleanian transplant....a few more months and I have put 3 years under my belt. I've been thinking about how I came here, young, naive, and stupid. I told my mom on a Sunday that I was leaving on Tuesday; jumping out into thin air hoping that I was going to coast. Boy did I ever.

I found a job at a small restaurant on magazine street, and have been there ever since. In 3 years I have made really stupid decisions, and for a while I still had the emergency line tied to my parents wrists. But, I have also made good decisions. I have learned much about being an adult and taking care of responsibilities. (thanks mom ;)) I often wonder how the heck i've made it. Actually, let me rephrase that, I haven't quite "made it" yet, but i'm trying my hardest to get there. whatever "it" is.

I have gone through the biggest piles of bull crap imaginable. I have fallen off the "in the know" chain with the people back home. I'm not really concerned about how I'm viewed. I know this isn't the typical life people really pictured for me. I remember where I come from, and I am grateful to those who played a part in building my character. I love my family and friends. I miss them dearly...and certainly of course, I miss the old days. So where am I going with this, the girl who packed up everything and threw three sheets to the wind.....in the big easy

this is what ive learned....we're only human....living day by day. Taking it in pieces at a time, trying to do the best we can. When we can stop being so damn dramatic and approach things with a positive attitude, it makes all the difference. Things change, people change, shit happens, life happens, i could go on....but you already know. A really wise older man told me that "there is always going to be stress in life, you just have to find the best way to manage it". that is a plain and simple truth, no embellishment, nothing fancy: as they say in new orleans "it is what it is"

I rub shoulders with all walks of life, different people from different backgrounds, countries, whatever. I see people barely making it who are the happiest souls that I have met. It's an extremely humbling experience to be able to soak in knowledge from people who know more than I. ---and I decided today that THAT is the way to success. I'm not talking about success financially specifically....after all, i've certainly learned that's NOT what life is about.

what is life about? that's a deep subject i'd rather not tap into at the moment, but i'll give a small crop from my personal experience: we all may think we know...or maybe we don't....maybe we do....but whatever the case--it's about compassion and respect. family. ...follow your dreams...be positive.....

A dream is what got me here....and a dream is what keeps me going. Every time I open my mouth and every time i get to meet a new artist it truly is the experience of a lifetime. I have met the best people here, the smartest, the most talented, new orleans is truly a gumbo.

take time to second line and everything will be just fine......that about wraps it up

.....

p.s.- i saw on a stop sign close to my house someone had written "to think" under the word stop

i recommend it

Comedy Central

I would like to write a blog about my surroundings, here goes:

I think everybody here leads a pretty busy lifestyle, and we all see things and experience things on a day to day basis that are both good and bad. You know, I met a comic a few weeks ago that writes jokes for a living. It's actually kind of a funny story;

About 5 months ago I was sitting in Zotz one day after I got off of work for a nice gourd of yerba matte. Sometimes I need a mid-day pick-me-up to keep me going throughout the rest of the evening. That particular day I was feeling pretty drained. For all of my none-local readers, Zotz is an awesome eclectic coffee shop pretty close to my immediate area of habitation. I like to go there and write sometimes, but I can't quite pinpoint what it is about Zotz that makes me so inspired. Perhaps it's all the mod goth decor or the pictures of the naked barbies on the wall. Needless to say it titillates the creativity.

At any rate, I was sitting outside drinking yerba when a young man walked out of the front door and lit up a cigarette pretty close to where I was sitting. It was pretty obvious what I was doing since I had a notebook and pen. The young man approached my table after a few drags off of what smelled like a pall mall then asked, "what are you writing over there?". In the spirit of friendliness I responded "lyrics". Of course that was the segway to the following dialog:

"Well what kind of lyrics?"

"I write what I feel"

"I'm actually writer myself."

"oh yeah? what do you write about?"

"Well, I'm a comic. I write jokes and do open mic nigh every Tuesday at **********"

"Really!? That's really awesome, I've never met a comic before! Tell me a joke!"

"Um, okay I'll tell you the one i'm writing right now, it's still in the works of course"

"Don't be shy, I am all ears!"

"Okay, well, do you ever wonder what it would be like if people were still writing super hero comics like back in the old school days? I mean, I'm talking about batman, spiderman, the green lantern, the whole bit?"

"I don't imagine I have really considered it"

"I don't know if the american society is really capable of conceiving such innocent heroes. I can see it now, modern day spiderman is an emo kid who never does anything because he's too busy writing poetry and drinking espresso. Yeah, instead of fighting crime he's getting a gloss on his emo-cut. I mean, people can't distinguish him from his girlfriend (mary jane) because they have the same damn hair cut"

***laughter from megan****

"that's awesome, and so true on multiple levels"

And that was it, that was the encounter. I always have little strange encounters like that when I got to Zotz, which is the reason why I love it so much. Well about 3 weeks ago I saw this guy again and we've actually hung out a few times with some mutual friends. He's definitely a character, and you know he's inspired me a little bit to come up with my own jokes. I won't bore you, point being take in the moment. Experience what you are living, don't just observe.

OH MY GOSH A TALKING MUFFIN!!!!!!

--m

Madame Fortuna

So I've been trying to be more optimistic. I found myself looking on the sucky side of things in almost every scenario...I have no justification in saying that a lot of crappy things happened to make me feel that way, but I digress. Today I did something as an adult, all by myself, and daddy wasn't there to have my back, as he does in most of my sticky situations. This may sound ridiculous, but as I have previously blogged, I was pulled over and got a citation for three different counts (when I referred to my "car crap" on January 18 that's what I was talking about).

To make a long story relatively short, I was pulled over because I had a tail light out, which made the cop run my plates, he said my registration was out (bull crap), and I of course didn't have the most recent copy of my insurance on hand. Say it with my now--- "that sucks". Yes, it did suck. It sucked so much that I had to spend a lot of money that I didn't have on a trip to Texas (yes the trip was necessary and it was good to see my family, but once again my pocket book was looking sparse). Let's see, we are in the New Orleans Bureaucratic checkout line and:

1. Tail Light= $125 ouch
2. NO insurance proof=$175 (heart is slowly decreasing)
3. Expired registration=$250 (and she flat lines)

So, with this being known, I have consistently for the past 2 1/5 weeks been freaking out a little bit on the inside.

Today I woke up, I got out of bed, and I drove my booty down to the court house, waited for 3 grueling hours, met with an attorney that the city of New Orleans so graciously allotted to me, and walked out of there with only paying $25 dollars.
and cue hallelujah chorus
******************************hallelujah!************************

So given my circumstances...I will now choose to look on the brighter side of things. I've been in a few tight spots financially over the past couple of months, but now I will look forward with my head held high. If I could get through this, I can get through many things.

cheers
--M

kickin up some dust

First of all let me just say WHO DAT!? go saints...woooo yay! and boo cowboys y'all aren't crap. anyways..now that i've got that out of my system

been a pretty uneventful few days...worked a double on friday and saturday and then sunday night. Lots of work=good money which is what i need right now:) not a whole lot going on right now...planning on going to texas next monday for a day and then coming back on tuesday. I have to get all of my car crap taken care of.

that's about all for now

--m

day 2 of the plague

If you have a heart condition, are nursing, pregnant, or have any health condition they usually list when giving the side effects during a drug infomercial....I would be wary of continuing to read this post.

Today I received insight as to what it might be like to be a woman in the, oh let's say, third trimester of pregnancy. I have been sick for the past two days, and I find it harder and harder to move...much less get up off of the couch and go to the bathroom.

Here's a story for you....
Today, I sneezed...and it made me pee a little bit

and I just admitted it on my blog.

I then went up to will and said...will..i just peed a little bit...he looked at me like i was a little bit incapacitated...which apparently in that moment...I was

cheers
--m

cheers
--m

you can add a "mc" in front of anything

Today I am coughy mc-cougherton...yesterday I was fine mcfinerton..but today i am sicky mcsickerton....

are you following me here?

Okay...cheers

So pretty much I woke up today feeling like I had broken my pelvis and my lower back was very sore. I definitely do not recommend water beds when you are not feeling well, because they only amplify the feeling of crappiness...hence the broken pelvis bit. I went into work this morning, but told my boss I was going to peace out because I felt like death warmed over...literally...

I was under the impression that I had already gone through my sick spell for this year....I feel jipped to the fullest degree.

...bogger

--m

Joining the bloggers...

So the aim of my blog is to tell stories. I met this amazing person named Jason who is always telling our group of friends to tell stories...I mean seriously, we will be sitting on the porch, and he will say...Ms. McCallon....tell me a story about a bonfire... It's the neatest thing in the world. His opinion is everyone has a story, and they should be told.

So here is my story.

There are many different parts of the city of New Orleans...there's uptown, downtown, the treme, the marigny, mid-city, etc....Well my co-worker Lily introduced me to this WONDERFUL music spot down in the Marigny where the most amazing dj plays every Saturday night, D.J. Soul Sister spins on a real vinyl playing everything from true funk to disco...she is amazing!!!

So I very quickly became a fan of this classy lady...Tuesday I was sitting at the restaurant waiting for tables to come in, and I was with Lily...the said co-worker ...THEN OUT OF NO WHERE IN WALKS DJ SOUL SISTER...I nearly wet my pants.

So I walk up to her...act normally of course, and then finally i can't hold it in any longer, and I burst out with..."I love you"....which probably seemed weird...but I continued.."your music is AMAZING...and I think you are wonderful".....

She was VERY nice, and even told me that her real name was Melissa..and I of course told her mine. AND THEN I WENT AND SAW HER ON SATURDAY..and she remembered me...AMAZING..I danced my booty off..it was awesome...

feel good story of the year..and oh yes..i will be back to see her indeed..she is awesome..it's so nice to meet cool people who are humble and who just really love music...

so there's my story about meeting a semi celebrity and acting a fool.

-m