Things I Learned in New Orleans (in no particular order)

 ~ Drinking a delicious, rather high-octane, drink called "Smurf in a Blender" will turn your teeth, lips and tongue bright blue

 Here I am, consuming the aforementioned drink

~ Bourbon Street can be beautiful at night

~ The beauty of Bourbon Street at night is, most likely, amplified by consuming a number of Hurricanes at the Piano Bar at Pat O'Briens. (and not all of these are my empties - I swear!)

~ Southern hospitality really does exist 
~ Deep-fried oysters are amazing
~ The cable car is a picturesque, but rather inefficient, means of travel.
~ It is possible to jam-pack your time in New Orleans with wonderful sights and meals, and still not see or consume everything that you had hoped -- which means a return tip is required
~ Smoking rates among African Americans and individuals of low socioeconomic status in our country are ridiculously, obscenely higher than the rest of the general population (and yes, I do realize that's a very general statement - but I don't quite have time or space here to share all that I learned at the conference)

I've been home for two days and am still exhausted -- and still feeling full from fried everything, rice-and-beans, Southern breakfasts, and good ol' hotel food. The conference was great, the company was wonderful, and the overall experience was unforgettable.

Edited to Add: And to quote my coworker's Facebook status: "EVERY work conference should include a live New Orleans jazz band at lunch and a gospel choir at the post-conference reception. Conference planners, please take note."

My Florida Vacation, by Jess

While Dr. Mom was (ostensibly) attending a conference, here's what I did for the past five days
(in no particular order):
~ slept a lot
~ drank various rum-based concoctions

 One such concoction

~ read "The Postmistress" and started "Grapes of Wrath"

~ sat on the beach

Windy but gawgeous

~ bought new sunglasses
~ made friends with the bartenders on the beach, at the pool and in the main hotel bar
~ bonded with my mom
~ argued with my mom
~ took lots of photos

Back deck of the hotel 

~ got a sunburn
~ ate a lot, including a fantastic Cuban lunch with my friend R
~ heard Desmond Tutu speak (he was amazing)
~ bought an absurd amount of chocolate at a local candy store
~ attended receptions with my mom and drank cheap white wine
~ watched TV (still have no TV at home, so yes, this was a treat)

Here's what I didn't do:
~ go on a Twitter/email/text message vacation
~ exercise
~ miss the cold weather in DC

It's a good thing I checked my email, because there was still an absurd amount waiting for me when I got back to the office. And I needed to be able to access Twitter constantly because.... because I say so, okay?

I have no excuse as to why I did not exercise.

In Which I Gush

Friday night, I went to a fantastic happy hour, where I met (and got drunk with) a few dozen DC-area bloggers and/or Twitter addicts. I started off feeling self-conscious and anxious: I was exhausted from this week and, as a result, was super-ADHD; of this whole group, I only knew DC Princess (but what a wonderful person to know - read her post on attending such a gathering for the first time); and I don't consider myself a blogger of the same caliber as some of these incredible writers....*cough* ihatesomuch *cough* Livit, Luvit .... sorry something in my throat.

But as the evening tipsily progressed, I found myself increasingly comfortable -- yes, the drinks helped, but this group was so welcoming, and everyone was happy for the chance to see each other and make new friends. Plus, I wasn't the only gushing, new-to-blogging girl there.

I woke up the next morning with a bit of a headache, along with new Twitter friend requests, new contacts in my phone, business cards in my jeans (and bra, of course) and silly photos in my camera. In my humble opinion, #DCHH was a huge success.

Now it's Sunday night. I need to attempt productivity. This will take the form of packing for Florida, and cleaning the apartment so my father doesn't know how much of a degenerate I really am when he comes to feed Stormy this week.

Finally Friday

My 30th birthday celebration was a success. Well, maybe I should say "celebrations" - I was terribly, wonderfully spoiled by my friends, family and coworkers over the course of several days. This has been a long, and very busy week, but if my 30's are going to be anything like the last week has been, then I'm fine with that!

(Minus the broken (but now fixed) air conditioning. Not fun in the DC early summer heat.)

I had the pleasure of caring for my friend's cat this past week. I was nervous about the responsibility, anxious that I might have lost my touch with cats in the years since my family's own furry beasties passed away, but ultimately, it was wonderful to have a cat in my home. Even if he does weigh just over 20 pounds. And woke me up by lying on my torso this morning, purring (and drooling, which he does when he's happy) kneading his claws into my chest, fur and pudge draped over my sides. (I emailed a terrible iPhone pic to my family and a friend, saying "I'm TRAPPED!")

Here's Gatsby, not looking quite so plump, in my bathroom:

His mom took him to another foster family this AM, as I'm off to a conference in Phoenix for a week and the cat can't quite be returned to his family -- they're waiting to find out if their kids are allergic -- but I might end up fostering him for a while upon my return. I hope he can go home soon, though.

So, I leave for Arizona on Sunday. I expect the conference will thoroughly exhaust me, but I expect it to be a great experience overall. I'm leading a discussion with a smaller group on one day, but the trip will be mostly be about attending different sessions and networking. And taking extensive notes on EVERYTHING.

I also have tentative plans to meet one of my boyfriend's sisters -- which, surprisingly, I'm not anxious about at all -- and hope to see some of my friends who live in the Phoenix area. There will be cocktail hours, receptions and meet-and-greets after the official sessions are over each day, but I do want to get out of the hotel and conference center at some point; those places can get tedious, as well as really cold. (Oh, note to self: pack a few more cardigans.)

I hope to have some interesting stories to tell after this trip, although, since it's a tobacco control conference, they may only be of interest to MOI.

I'm off to a National's game with some coworkers. Lets hope the game isn't too awful and that the seats aren't completely soaked!

home again, home again...

Fortunately, my luggage finally appeared in Tampa, about 12 hours after my arrival. I promptly found my bathing suit and went swimming in the hotel's outdoor pool - a treat one can only dream of in mid November in most other parts of this country.

The conference went very well, I think. And it was absolutely exhausting.

Of course, my flight back to DC was through St. Louis. I mean, it's not like I was going to fly through Atlanta or some other more northern city to get home, right? In fact, I think I should have flown further South before attempting to get home. In any case... upon arrival in St. Louis, I found that my flight to DC was delayed by two hours. And then three hours. Some young, skittish-looking girl told a friend on her iPhone about how she didn't think we were even going to get to DC that evening, an idea that nearly ground my teeth to nubs. (The bars in the airport had last call at 7.30 - I was able to snag one drink before having to vamoose.)

But the plane finally arrived.... they took us to DC... and I got home at quarter of two this morning. It took me another two hours to unwind and fall asleep. Which begs the question as to why I am now awake. But considering that it's rainy, dismal Saturday, I'm sure I'll be unconscious again soon enough.