Big Apple and Big Easy

I've been living here too long.

Yesterday, I had a fight with a taxi driver in the middle of oncoming traffic. I was not in the cab at the time, but instead, in the middle of the street. I beat on his cab, tried to unlock the door when he opened the window, gesticulated wildly, and hollered at the top of my lungs. And, did it all with my right hand without ever letting go of the car's door handle. Didn't drop anything, didn't lose the cab, and he took me home. Wild.

Lately, the 22 year olds in my office have been listening to Gipsy Kings and the Boss's daughter had a Sweet 16. End result is that I'm wildly nostalgic about high school. My high school experience was pretty typical - the good, the bad, the mortifying. I didn't miss anything.

Things I miss most:

*The Body Shop's kiwi lip balm
*the smell of the water in the shower at my house
*Lake Ponchartrain
*PJ's Iced mocha
*oranges from Dad's tree

It makes me really, desperately sad that my NOLA house is no longer my own. Which, in turn, makes me feel silly, because most people moved for most of their childhood. But, I lost the house I grew up in at 30, and I haven't yet found a way to remember that. Instead I think of something I'll do the next time I'm there, and then in a sharp stabbing moment without air, realize that I'm never going back.

Work has been crazy lately. Essentially, I have been trained as a lifeguard. You ask me how to swim, and I give advice and training, and remind you that you can't breathe underwater. At every turn, in every institution, my job has been to blow the whistle and stand in the way if you want to go diving in without a breathing apparatus. Turns out that at this organization, we breathe underwater just fine. So, I've been ticking off the Powers That Be for no good reason, and I feel like I've gone through the looking glass on an acid trip. I can't even imagine which way is up at this point. I had it out with the Boss and the Chair, and in 3 days the Chair took us from The End of My Career to Everything I've Ever Wanted. I feel like an idiot. I feel that she thinks I'm an idiot. And, I'm still trying to explain things to vendors who aren't understanding that we can breathe under water.

Personal life is good. Dr. Boy and I can't plan a vacation to save our souls. And, I really need one. We're working on it. Lala and College visited, and Cupcake is threatening to visit (yes, please!). All the Big Kitties are doing well, though they stink and I'm at the end of my rope with it. I can't figure out a way to make them less stinky, and it's mortifying to have guests when you live in a zoo. Suggestions would be much appreciated.

XOXO, M