Just the Beginning

I actually wrote a post on Thursday night but when I went to save it accidently deleted so I hope the second time I’m writing this turns out as good as the first. In my post titled “Starting Fresh,” I mentioned how my right foot had started to bother me. I went to the doctor and she told me she wasn’t sure if it was broken or if there was just inflammation in my foot. The doctor gave me some medicine and the pain went away, so I thought everything was fine. A little over a week ago, it started bothering me again. It hurt in the same exact spot as the first time and was actually a little bit more painful the second time around. I went back to the doctor a second time and she recommended that I get an MRI done on my foot. Last Friday (February 6th), I had an MRI done, which took a lot longer than I thought it would. They had me lay down completely still on the machine for 45 minutes. I couldn’t really move so I was pretty bored after a few minutes. Luckily they gave me headphones to listen to the radio. The results came back showing that I had a broken seasmoid bone in my right foot, which is underneath my first and second toe. I was given a boot last Monday and saw a podiatrist on Thursday. I’m not in much pain because I was given more anti-inflammatory by the doctor. Wearing the boot isn’t that big of an inconvenience except that I have to take it off when I drive. I have to wear the boot for three weeks which kind of sucks because I’ll have to wear it during Mardi Gras. I’m not going to let that stop me though.

Last Friday night was my friend Pat’s birthday party which he had at his house. We went and picked up the keg of Miller High Life (delicious) after work. It was a pretty big turnout of about 30-40 people which is bigger than the gatherings that we usually have. There was a good mix of people from work and other friends. He had RockBand, beer pong, and a bonfire going, so I think a good time was had by all. With the first Mardi Gras parade the next day, I told myself I was going to take it easy that night, but obviously that didn’t happen. Before the parade, I went to my friends’ Sean V. (my supervisor at work) and Sean M.’s (the Supply Manager with our organization) house to do a little drinking and hang out. People often refer to them as the Seans because it’s just easier. After the Seans’ house, Jon, Patrick, Jordan, the Seans, and me all went to a former Rebuilding Together employee’s (Josh) house. Josh lives right at the beginning of the parade route. So he had a bunch of people over for the parade. It was fun seeing some of the Construction Managers and Warehouse staff at his house because I never get a chance to see them socially. Everyone had a lot of fun and the parade was pretty cool for my first parade. Krewe du Vieux is the first major Mardi Gras parade and took place last Saturday night, a little after 6 p.m.. The parade begins in the Marigny and slowly meanders its way through the French Quarter. The theme of this year’s Krewe du Vieux was “Economic Stimulus.” The Krewe du Vieux is one of the most anticipated krewes with the hand-made floats and adult themes.

The weekend ended up taking a lot out of me and I spent most of Sunday just lying around trying to recover. I’m happy to say that last Sunday, I officially caught up to the current episode of Lost. I watched the premiere episode on Christmas Day when there was nothing to do and it took me a month and a half to completely catch up. And I must say, it was well worth it. The show is absolutely amazing. I used to think that 24 was the best show on TV, but after watching Lost, there’s no doubt that it’s Lost. If you ever have the time, I would recommend watching the series.

Anyways, because of my foot, I spent most of last week working in our office. I found that I’m going to have to wear the boot for three weeks, which is a little disappointing. I like that work that I have been doing and am not looking to working out of the office. The first week there was a lot of copying and I didn’t have a lot to do much of the time. I wrote bios on five of my fellow AmeriCorps which was fun and I think is set to be published in our monthly newsletter. With this injury, I think God is trying to tell me that I’m supposed to work in an office and hang out with my good friend, Microsoft Excel. I am trying to be positive because it’ll only be for a couple of weeks.

This past weekend, there were more parades that took place. I went to two on Friday, the Krewe of Oshun and Krewe of Pygmalion. Oshun is named for the Yoruba goddess of love and intimacy. Pygmalion takes its name from the Greek legend of a Cypress king who sculpts a statue of the sea nymph Galatea. Both were fairly short parades and are more family oriented. I watched it with a group of six or seven friends from work and we made it a good time. I have some videos from the first three parades that I went to that I’ll post later today. The beginning of the parade season has been a lot of fun and it’s only going to get crazier this week. I got the Kantatafish and Big Z heading down here for the weekend so that should only add to the insanity. I also saw the North Mississippi Allstars at Tipitinas on Friday night. Standing on my foot all night was a little uncomfortable but definitely worth it. They played a great show, which lasted almost three hours. The lead guitarist in the band has also been playing with the Black Crowes (the best band of all time) for the last year or so and is very talented. In preparation for next weekend, I decided to skip Saturday’s parades and take it easy. I watched “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” which was very funny (watch the outtakes too, hysterical).

Other than that, I’m just trying to mentally and physically prepare for Mardi Gras, because from everything that I’ve heard, it’s absolutely nuts for a week. I’ll keep you updated on my well being and if I’m surviving. Hopefully, there will be more posts to come. Talk to y’all later.