Saturday, February 20, 2010

Mardi Gras Madness

My favorite time of year is Mardi Gras. Simple as that.

For me, it has always been a five-day weekend of just fun. We go to various parades, catch some pretty awesome throws (beads, stuffed animals, light up toys, dubloons), and just dance in the street (if you're lucky enough to find a spot near Superior Grill, of course)

So what does a typical Mardi Gras look like?

Well, St. Charles Ave. looks something like this...


Parade floats look something like this...


Reveling Tulane students (and a couple of my friends from California who came to visit) look something like this...
And visiting Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait looks like this...


Another great Mardi Gras. Can't wait till next year!!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Who Dat??

Okay. So I know I said I'd post about Krewe du Vieux, but this post takes precedent. I swear I'll post all about Mardi Gras after this weekend! But this post is all about the madness that's been the Saints winning the Superbowl!

Important Disclaimer #1: I love football. I watch it every Sunday and have been known by roommates to shout loudly at the TV screen in our living room. I blame my father's influence.

Important Disclaimer #2: I have been, am, and always will be a devoted Green Bay Packers fan. However, after being eliminated by the Cardinals, I put away the Rodgers jersey till next season and put on some black and gold to root for the home team. Great life decision.

So on Sunday for the game, a few of my friends and I headed out to a local bar and grill, Friar Tuck's, because of their promise of free food (yes, there was free food, and it was delicious). Not only was the game a nail-biter (I had my doubts in the first quarter) but in the end, the Saints pulled through in dramatic fashion (and come on, that Porter interception was really exciting).

The place erupted. Like literally erupted. I have never high fived/hugged so many people in my life, and we danced along to "Black and Gold" for the rest of the night. It was so much fun.

And then, on top of that, the university shut down on Tuesday afternoon (thanks Pres. Cowen!) so that we could hit the parade on what the city was calling "Lombardi Gras". And boy was that exciting. All the players were on floats (the little boy standing in front of my was so excited he caught beads from Drew Brees... I was so jealous.) And I even saw the Lombardi Trophy. It was definitely worth enduring the cold.


Ah, how great it is to be in New Orleans!

Anyways, this weekend is Mardi Gras weekend. We have Monday and Tuesday off of school. One of my best friends from home is flying in from California this afternoon, and another is flying in on Saturday. Can it get any better than this?

Monday, February 1, 2010

MLK Day of Service

So I have a lot to cover in this post because I've been slacking on blogging. Let's see. First order of business - WHO DAT?! Ever since my beloved Green Bay Packers lost in the playoffs, I've been rooting for the hometeam, and they're headed to the Superbowl on Sunday! Like the rest of this city, I am really excited! Can't wait!!

And then on top of that, the first Mardi Gras parade of the season, Krewe du Vieux, was this past Saturday. Pictures and stories to be put up later this week (hopefully). Also, I'm so excited about Mardi Gras!! It's the best time of the year!!

But today's post is all about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. It was on MLK day that we had off from school on the 18th. The MLK Day of Service was a collaborative effort with Tulane and three other local universities (Dillard, Loyola, and Dillard). I was on the planning committee for the event. It was a full day event and sent about 1000 volunteers to about thirty sites. We sent volunteers to do everything from weeding and planting City Park and repainting the Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center.

Below are few pictures from the day:


And here's a picture of yours truly signing the canvas that we had for volunteers to leave their mark:


It's always great to see so many get together to do a little bit of good. As Martin Luther King, Jr, himself, once said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."