01 December 2011

My [utterly fantastic] Day at the Renaissance Festival!

Fantastic:

1. conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actionsextravagantly fanciful; marvelous
2. My trip to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival


One of my many super adventures during the Thanksgiving holidays was to journey across Lake Pontchartrain to the magical (not really) world of Hammond, LA, which hosts a truly fantastic renaissance festival every November.

I was EXTREMELY excited about this trip for several reasons:

1. We were commuting in this fantastic vintage chariot with two of our most fantastic new New Orleans friends, T and Z!


2. I love costumes. I would live in costumes instead of cloths (aka: boring costumes) if it wouldn't run me the risk of being arrested or committed. Evidence A: This photo of me from 1983, wearing my favorite "I Dream of Jeanie" costume on Christmas morning.
Check out that fantastic E.T. suitcase! Man, how I wish I still had that thing!


No, seriously. Check out these costumes!
 


3. I'm obsessed with carnivals, nomadic tribes, pioneers, and other transient, outside-between-under society cultures!

I love the hell out of carnies. When I was a kid, I wanted to be one. Basically, for me, circus life was everything real life wasn't; carnivals were the only place real magic still existed. Clearly, I don't have such innocent notions any longer (I watch way too many documentaries), but I'm still fascinated (in a more anthropological way) with the people who adopt these hinterlandish lives...and food served on carts!

If there is "carny" food anywhere around, you can bet I'm going to find it! And there is plenty to be had at faire!
Ye Olde Cotton Candy
Yep, it's all fried.


4. I have been craving a giant turkey leg for months!.....Let me preface:

On March 8th of this year (Mardi Gras for all you non-locals), I quit smoking (after the parades and parties were over, of course). I smoked for nearly 20 years and "being a smoker" was a major point of identity and pride for me.

Ok, rewind a bit: In the summer of 1996, I became a vegetarian; and I remained a strict veg until 2009 when I caved to the urge for seafood before my Costa Rican wedding. Ok, fast forward to this year again...

I carefully planned my quitting strategy, a fabulous combination of mental effort and meticulous preparation...well, and I sequestered myself inside the house for 3 days...ANYwho, I needed something more. The early days of quitting made me an uber-consumer; all I wanted to do was eat! I needed something in my diet more satisfying than vegetables or grilled fish that wouldn't completely corrode my insides (gummy bears and cake, mostly)..

SO, I traded my smoker personae for a meat-eating one. And the faire offered the perfect combination of meats and carny-ness to appease my carnivorous needs! Today, I'm 9 months cigarette-free and a bit heavier, but LOVING EVERY FANTASTIC
 MINUTE OF IT!!!

5. Some of my favorite fabulously fantastic people were there! Besides me and B, and T and Z (haha, I made a rhyme), some old and new friends were there to make us feel welcome!
 
B and our friend DF
Pirate T, Bonnie, and Robin Hood
at the WHISKY TASTING!!!
Nothing says "welcome" like a pickle!







  





Heck, yeah! The Renaissance Festival was a fabulous blast! I'm definitely going back next year, and I'm already scouting fabrics for a wicked fantastic costume! Huzzah!

29 November 2011

My [excellent] Life

Excellent:

1. possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good.
2. My life

Hi! I'm Jess! I live in New Orleans (the most excellent city in the world), with B (my most excellent husband), and Annie, Edith, and Rufus (the most excellent cats in existence). I'm 34 excellent years old and I have 3 degrees and the not-so-excellent accompanying student loan debt. But I'm not worried, because I know I'm one of the luckiest gals around.

I teach English as a Second Language (a truly excellent job), and I make frequent attempts to make excellent craft and sewing projects (often I fail at these, but I fail excellently). I also make truly excellent baked goods.

I enjoy living my life in multiple spectrums at once. I have a filthy mouth, but like delicate sentiments. I wear combat boots with flowery perfume. I love horror films and show tunes. I try to be a good listener, though I acknowledge that I may be a bit outspoken and bossy.

Last week was Thanksgiving, and I spent some serious time thinking about my life....well, okay, I stole a few minutes between parties and adventures to think about my life. Anyway, I came to the conclusion that my life is truly excellent (and some other swell adjectives too).

I have too many people, experiences, and things to be thankful for; I nearly bust thinking about them all!....Well, ok, mostly I was near to busting due to turkey, baked goods, and cheap wine, but that's for another tale (and adjective).

I used to have another blog, called "Just Jess," where I tried to make my life seem interesting and chronicled my crafty adventures. But I lost my way with that blog long ago; I think I forgot why I started it in the first place.

As a language teacher and anthropologist, I'm fascinated by the way language shapes how we perceive the world. Simply by naming something (or describing something with a creative adjective) we, in essence, create it.

I'm a big fan of adjectives, so I'm going to challenge myself to adjective-ize my life and create some new perspectives with some frequency on this blog. I plan to celebrate adjective-worthy experiences with blog posts. Each post will focus around a particular event and a particular adjective. Hopefully most of these events will be excellent and positive, though I'm hoping to chronicle and appreciate less-than-perfect moments too. And I encourage you to do the same!

Welcome to my life!