Thanks to the beauty of 9/80 work weeks, I was able to have Friday off work and catch up on a little sleep. As a result, I was also able to spend a little bit more time at our friends' weekly BBBQ (the extra B is meant to be there). The guys made lots of shish kabobs which turned out pretty well. My roomie and I brought a pan of brownies and a few extra beverages to keep our thirst quenched since the average temperature around here at night is still around 80 degrees (yaaaay sweating).
The highlight of our BBBQ adventure last week was definitely dancing salsa around the kitchen with six other people. There's nothing more fun than convincing male engineers to dance! Especially something involving hip movement. Some guys get it...and some look like they have a steel rod connecting their hips to their shoulders. Kudos to the guys in this work that give dancing of any sort a try. Girls notice that you're trying even if it's awful and needs practice.
After a solid 8 hours of sleep Thursday night (yesss!), I got ready to venture over to Baton Rouge to visit one of my Northern dojo family friends. It was great to catch up with him and meet some of the friends he's made while working down there. We both agree that moving down here practically requires a passport. We have endless stories about witnessing creative acts of driving and hearing "Is it hot enough for you?" every time someone spies that we're from the North. Yes, it is hot enough for me thank you very much!
Saturday was our main adventure day. Since the heat index was over 100 F, we decided to do something that involved air conditioning and cooking seemed to be the best choice. Here's what was on our menu for the day:
- Manicotti -- Noodles and sauce made from scratch with sausage in the ricotta filling and ground beef in the sauce. All topped with some provolone cheese.
- Fresh Apple Pie -- Made from scratch. Apples from a fun little produce market down the road.
Here are some pictures from the results:
Saturday was also a good day for movies/TV. I watched Taken for the first time. Let me just say that Liam Nieson is a total BA! That movie was fantastic. The way they connected the small details was really great. I was at the edge of the couch for a solid hour clutching the nearest pillow. I probably looked a little strange, but it was well worth it. The other movie for Saturday was my second viewing of The Hangover. Of the random party/guy flicks this one is probably one of the good ones. It's definitely random, sporatic, and profane, but that's what makes it good. To top of the two flicks from Saturday, we also watched a solid amount of the Food Network. Yay for having friends who are into food as much as you are! It helps when you're so stuffed from a huge home cooked meal that the food you're too full to start wanting to cook what you're seeing on TV.
The last adventure of the weekend (besides my adventures in traffic in the bayou) was catching up with a friend from high school. This is a true testament to the fact that I remember people/keep friends for a long long time. My friend and I went to summer camp together the summer before our sophomore year of high school on the west side of Michigan. Her big sister was my cabin's counselor so she became an adopted member of our cabin. We shared two weeks of summer camp together which included snacking on terrible amounts of junk food, suffering through hours of concerts and walking countless miles through the forest. Given that she is from Louisiana, it has been hard for us to see each other often. We met up again the winter of our junior year of high school, but since then have only really kept in contact through the powers of instant messenger and Facebook (whooo for social media!).
Today we were able to get together for a late lunch to catch up on the last...5 years(?). It's funny how time flys and how you can pick up where you left off after many years and lots of changes. We've both dealt with a lot and changed our lives quite a bit, but essentially we're still addicted to Gardetto snack mix, can handle living in the Michigan woods like champs, and truly appreciate hot water after a long camping trip.
My final adventure for the day came in the form of traffic. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Louisiana, there is a portion of land outside of Baton Rouge where normal roads are just not enough. There are about 20 miles of bridges across the bayou. Unfortunately, the westbound portion of these bridge had crazy traffic today. I think I sat in traffic on these bridges for at least a half hour going no more than 10 mph. Fun, right? The best part was feeling the vibration on the bridge as traffic from the eastbound side zoomed along. While talking to my friend, we concluded that if the bridge failed I would be in some serious poo-poo. About 15 feet below the bridge was some serious bayou action. I'm talking mudbugs, gators, a variety of leaches and a smattering of parasites that could make itch for days in all sorts of terrible places. Luckily, the civil engineers knew what they were doing when they built that bridge and my air conditioning pulled through so the drive home was successful. For anyone who is in around the Bridge City area, definitely try driving over the bridges in the evening when all the lights are on at the refineries/chemical plants around there. It was a really cool sight from the top of the bridge.
I guess that just about wraps up this last weekend. More updates to come as events unfold!
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