I went to work and no one was there.

On Tuesday, Mardi Gras, I woke up at my typical 6:30am and had a typical pleasant morning with typical coffee, typical dog walk, typical arrival at work... but no one was there. I knew a few people had planned on not being at work that day because of the parade and such but I thought some people would be there. Over the next thirty minutes, while I was plugging away at CAD, a few people showed up, including my boss with his dog. I knew this wasn't going to be a typical day. Come to find out, it is a non-spoken day off... no questions asked. By about 10am I shut down my computer, went to Matt and Faith's house where we had huevos rancheros and Southern Pecan Ale for breakfast on the front porch. We then made our way over to the Benachi St. houses, where I used to live, and continued our day with some Bloody Mary's, Scotch on the Rocks and some High Life. After tying a good one on, we walked a block south down to Howard, drinks in hand, where we whored ourselves out for beads at the Biloxi Mardi Gras Parade. Afterwards, we went back to the Benachi St. houses where we played bocce ball, cruzed around on bikes, built a fire for cooking dinner for everybody, had s'mores for dessert and then a standing long-jump competition... yeah bitches, I won. Come Wed. morning, well, work started a little late for everyone. It was a great time. I suggest some of you come down for it next year.

What happened? Oh yeah... Mardi Gras!

Yesterday, on a whim, I up and went to New Orleans with some friends for the Bacchus Parade and all the other festivities and shenanigans that ensue. Things certainly ensued. Though I don't remember them all here are a few tid-bits that took place in that oh so short 12 hours. 1. As I was peeing between some cars a woman across the street in her 3rd story apartment window yelled "Look out your window on Easter morning and you'll find me pissing on your lawn!" I just gave her a thumbs up. 2. seeing one of my co-workers and his friends dressed in purple tights with purple balloons attached (clusters of grapes) carrying boxes of Franzia. By the end of the night they were only wearing the tights. They gave all their balloons to the kids. 3. Whole Foods had a bottle opener at the customer service counter for their in and out patrons. 4. A, very clearly, Louisiana redneck told us that he was willing to go to jail for beads. We just walked away and let him continue to set a good example for his children. 5. That one girl who kept making out with everybody... Good for her.

Tchoutacabouffa River (chew-ta-ka-BUFF)

(photo courtesy of Jessie Zenor)

This is something I meant to write about a few weeks back. Some friends and I went exploring the coastal waterways of Southern Mississippi. This is one of the best ways to get a feel, an understanding, of this region. In most places one seeks higher ground to perch atop and overlook, taking in all that surrounds. Down here there really isn't any high ground so you have to get as low as possible and the best way to do that is by water; everything is attached to the water. We put Jeff's boat in at a marina in the Mississippi Sound and rode east, out to the point of Biloxi where we turned north and then back west into Back Bay Biloxi. The Back Bay for the most part is shallow but a few parts are dredged to make way for the shrimp boats and coal barges. After about 30 minutes of riding west, into the warm sun that knocked off the chill of the water, we turned back north into the Tchoutacabouffa River, a course of water that winds its way trough dense forest of palmetto, wax myrtle, magnolia and pine. In the bends of the river are beautiful little sand beaches; perfect for camping, that is the plan for later in the spring anyway.

228 Gill

Finally, after a month and half, I was able to close on my house and move in on Friday. My friends and I celebrated with a number of rounds of scotch and then went to The Project Lounge for burgers and more scotch. All I have at the moment as far as moving in goes - is me, my suitcase I've been living out of for the past two months, a sleeping bag and my dog Pounder. So, at this point I have an empty house but that is a good thing. This will be conducive for repainting inside the house later this week. I spent most of the weekend clearing out the over-grown back yard and cleaning the old wood garage and work rooms. One of the work rooms is going to become a dark room. One of my friends here has all the photo equipment for it, including an antique enlarger, but hasn't had a place to set up. We're even going to install a revolving door. Pounder thoroughly enjoys having a place to dig and jump at the birds that hang out amongst the tangled mess honeysuckle.

On Saturday night Jessie Zenor cooked a Valentines dinner for the entire studio; a more than impressive spread of food and alcohol. After dinner a number of people moved out onto the front porch to enjoy a pleasant 60 degree evening where a number of things were talked about. One of which was Jeff's story about the midget he keeps in the big green box that sits in the back of his truck. It was a good ol' time.

Early Morning Sizzle

Every morning by 7am Pounder and I go for our morning walks. We walk south, over the railroad tracks, through historic neighborhoods that open up to the beach. Each morning is different; the light, the humidity, the breeze, the smells, the tides... everything. One difference that I always find myself listening for is the sizzle. You can hear the moist air sizzling on the power lines. Occasionally you hear louder cracks and pops, those tend to occur on the really humid days. The picture above was taken at about 6am on a particularly distinct morning, humid and salty with winds blowing layers of clouds from the east. These railroad tracks run the length of the peninsula in which Biloxi resides. The tracks, while connecting the east and the west, divide the north and the south. Not socially in any way, but hydrologically. This is a topic I'll talk more about later.

Weird Noises of the Morning

About a week ago I heard some weird noises outside my current place of residence. I knew it was some critters of some sort but I didn't know what. A few days later I woke up early, about 6:30, to take my dog Pounder for a walk. We went outside, rounded the back corner of the house, so Pounder could relieve himself. That's when I heard that same weird noise I'd heard before. I looked up and about 20 to 25 feet up in a tree were two raccoons. Two raccoons doin' it. At first, I was like "hey that's kindof cool to actually get to see raccoons doin' right in your own backyard," but then I got creeped out because I realized they were staring at me, staring at them. It was an akward moment for us all. Even Pounder couldn't look me in eye when I took this photo.

Strange House and a New Hangout

Saturday night was a good time. First, some friends and I went to a going away party for a guy named Leo. I didn't know him but he seems like a great guy who will be missed. Anyway, the party was at a really strange new house that wasn't finished but people were living there... I think. I can't really explain how odd the house was, you just have to trust me. Anyway, it was a great party with a hundred pounds of crawfish; red, spicy, delicious crawfish.

After the party we decided to go to a new Biloxi establishment called The Fillin' Station. It is an old gas station in downtown Biloxi that has been turned into a restaurant and bar. It is awesome. The bars resides in what used to be the garage; the garage doors lift up to the ceiling and the bar is open to the outdoor patio that fronts the street and is where the gas pumps once were. Lacquered into the bar top are a bunch of the old checks that were written to and from the gas station. I normally don't like that type of thing but they are great little momentos of the past. Most importantly, they've got good beers on tap, including Lazy Magnolia (a local Mississippi brewing co.), good liquior, good food (I highly suggest the raw oysters: dozen for $6 and oh so good or a sandwich called The Recession - fried balogna, you know that's right) and bar tenders that call you "Honey" or "Sweety". You gotta love that.

Ms. Shirley's Flowers to Foster

This morning my friend Jessie called me. She said "They're clearing Shirley's lot today to build her new house and we need to go dig up her bulbs and flowers before they go to ruin." So that is what we did. Ms. Shirley met us at the site and helped up dig her bulbs that were to be saved. Jeff, a construction volunteer, was in the background with his chainsaw cutting up a tree that had to be removed from the lot. Ms. Shirley asked him to leave some of the wood on site because she is going to make bbq at least once a week for the crews that are building her house. She is so happy! We brought the flowers back to our places of residence where they are now planted. Once Shirley's new house is built, we'll dig up the plants that she wants back, and replant them at her new house.

Ice Cream & Sustainability

This week has been a bit busier than usual, but a good one. I've got some new projects on my plate at work; I think they'll be quite fun and rewarding. I'm getting my house painted so I can close ont Monday. I was supposed to close tomorrow but weather delayed the painting process. I've caught the cold that half of the design studio has been toting around the past week or so... hopefully it will be short lived. Soup from Kim Long, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, has proven to be soothing.

Then there was tonight. Some colleagues and I went to an Institute for Sustainable Communities gathering tonight in which the keynote speaker was Jerry of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. He is apparently on the ISC board. To tell you the truth, he really didn't seem to enthused about being in southern Mississippi. After he spoke he served us all ice cream. I had a little bit of it all. I don't think that was such a good idea.

I hope you are all doing well. Talk to you later. -rB