(I uploaded more pictures on my Flickr)

I am not sure how many of my readers even will understand this, but I will type about it anyway. As mentioned previously, CZ’s dad is in Endymion. When CZ and I arrived at our hotel on Friday afternoon, her dad called her, and asked her to ask me if I wanted to ride in Endymion if the parade was rained out Saturday night. I’d have to pay $550, but that was it. I told her yes, without really thinking about it. How often do these kinds of opportunities come around? Besides, at that point I figured the parade would not be rained out so I wouldn’t ride anyway.

That night at Herbsaint, he told me everyone had gotten an email that the parade was in fact rained out, I was riding. Also, I had this AMAZING duck and andouille gumbo that ruined me for eating gumbo the rest of the weekend. Dinner was fabulous, watching the parades roll by on St Charles was great, and ending the night at the Carousel Bar was excellent.

The next morning, I went over to the Hilton to meet her dad and go with him to a traditional pre-parade luncheon for members of a few floats. It was pretty cool; they had a live band, open bar, and buffet. The gumbo made me miss the Herbsaint gumbo. The rain came about an hour after we got there and was POURING. The lights even went off a couple of times. We left after doing everything they normally do before Endymion rolls, including second lining and doing Kamikaze shots. I ended up taking home some bananas and grapes. After a trip back to the Hilton that took a few detours, I was able to trade the tux I had rented for the costume I would wear. The guy who was originally going to fill in was going to wear my tux for the ball and luckily he’s the same size as me.

That night at the Endymion ball, we were supposed to get on the floats in costume and ride through the Convention Center. I had never been on a float, much less thrown anything from a float, and now I was about to ride through a massive throng of nicely dressed people on a float with Elvis on the front. All of my throws were already on the float, so all I had to do was organize them on the racks. We rolled through the ball and I threw a ton of stuff. I realized pretty quickly that I was terrible at aiming. I’m trying to throw a football from a moving float with an overhang, and the first few I airmailed over my targets’ heads. After the inside parade was over, I met up with CZ at the table and watched the concert.

The next day was the big day. I put on my costume and walked over to the Convention Center to board the float about 4:30. I had found out where Jacob would be, and where my parents would be. I had put together a bag of stuff for Jacob to get, and set aside things for my parents. We loaded stuff onto the racks and waited. The anticipation was crazy. Once everyone seemed to have their stuff ready, it was cool to look around at the other people without having to say “this is going to be incredible!” You could just feel it. The first few floats rolled out and it was happening.

Rolling down Tchoupitoulas was slow and go. We’d stop for a few minutes, then go, then stop, then go. It seemed like it took forever. The coolest part of the whole night was seeing the shadow of the float on one of the warehouses. You could cleanly depict Elvis on the front, then the people on the top of the float. I checked my phone and saw we were 3 blocks from Napoleon and texted my mom. When we got near Tipitina’s, I saw them. I threw them stuff, and thankfully the crowd wasn’t CRAZY INSANE, so they caught everything I threw them. I was going to throw them beads but they were loaded down so I said “y’all have enough beads!”

We turned the corner to Napoleon and it was like nothing I had ever done. The people were so loud and all over the place. I threw the stuffed animals CZ’s dad gave me to the little kids I saw. I threw the bigger beads I had and tried to get them to people who didn’t seem like they had very many beads. The glow sticks I had to throw were very popular. I have no idea why. People LOVED them. I would throw a bunch at once and people would scramble.

The most awkward thing was when the float would stop. CZ’s dad told me not to throw anything when the float stopped, because the crowd would just expect more. If you threw one thing to someone, then someone else would ask if they could get the same thing. The guy next to me threw when we were stopped, and every time he threw, people would want more. I made myself busy with unpacking more beads while we were stopped, but that did not make the situation any less uncomfortable. The highlight of the ride down Napoleon was the guy who asked for a blinky bead that was “a collectible”. As if I would throw some random dude on the street a collectible pair of beads even if I had any.

We turned onto St Charles, and I knew Jacob was going to be one block off Napoleon. Sure enough, I hear him yelling and saw him. I threw a bunch of glow sticks and had the crowd scatter and was able to hand him the bag. It was a successful handoff!

The farther we got down St Charles, the more the crowd changed. Less little kids, less families, more drunk frat boys. I knew CZ and her mom were going to be near Herbsaint, but I had to cross over to get to the other side of the float. The crossing over was not a problem, and I thought they’d be up near the barricade, but they were kind of far back. Then when we got in front of where they were, we couldn’t see them. I spotted CZ as the float pulled away and tried to toss a football, but I don’t think it made it.

The crowd was noticeably different on Canal. By that time I had gotten rid of my good stuff and was chunking everything I had left. CZ’s dad told me to throw everything because anything I did not throw I’d have to carry off the float. That was not happening, so I was throwing everything. I finally ran out after we had turned on Loyola, so only a couple blocks from the end. The float stopped, and all I had to take off was the stuff I was going to hand to CZ and CZ’s dad canvas bag. I had met a couple of new members at the open house a couple of weeks ago, and those guys did not throw all of their stuff. They had a lot leftover, so they were going to have to take it all off the float. I was glad I did not have anything more to take off than what I had. I said my goodbyes to the guys around me and got off the float.

I met up with CZ’s dad and we ended up walking up Poydras back to the Hilton. We caught up with his friends, and then ended up hitching a ride back when a guy in a black pick up stopped and offered us a ride. That was a blessing, because my legs hurt. After hours of balancing myself from the float starting and stopping, my left leg was really sore. We made it back to the Hilton where we met up with the women. We ate cheeseburgers at 1 am. It was the first food I had eaten since lunch. CZ and I made it back to our hotel about 2 am and I made it to sleep shortly after that. My first time riding on a float in Endymion was over, and now I’m thinking I may want to do it again.

I can send texts so much faster now! The downside of having a full keyboard is that there’s no way I can text without looking at it. I’ve tried and failed. I miss that ability. I did however download a speech to text app that works like a champ, but getting what it outputs to a text needs to be done looking at the phone.

Also of course, PHONE CALLS! For some reason I think the iPhone sounds much better than my 6 year old flip phone. Go figure. I thought it’d be weird holding it up to my ear, but it’s not bad at all. I’m still learning how to end calls faster and all that, but I’m getting there.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t use my PC as much at home anymore, because I can check email and all with my phone. A quick few clicks on my phone and I’m ready for bed. Right on.

I’ve been addicted to checking network speeds on it. I check the network speed wherever I am multiple times a day. Last week I was checking 5 or 6 times a day. Lately I’ve cut back to 2 times a day. I’m getting on average about 1 Mbps, which seems to jive with the speeds I was seeing in articles comparing Verizon and AT&T. I have not noticed any effects of the slower speed on my phone. I’ve watched Netflix on 3G. AWESOME! Incidentally, I have had two instances where I could have used the ability to use voice and data at the same time, but neither time was it a major deal. So far so good.

Since my friend Jacob ended up not being able to come to Denver, I was determined to show up two hours before kickoff to watch the game at an Irish pub near Coors Field. I walked out of the Hyatt with my American flag bandana on, because of all days to wear my patriotic bandana in public, June 12th would be a day. The Irish pub plans changed after I showed up and saw no empty seats and the viewing angles for the possible areas to stand pretty much sucked. I ended up at this place called the British Bulldog. My mom had actually found out about it in a magazine or something and told me about it. After a phone call and a google search, I had the location and started walking.

I arrived about 11:15 or so, a little over an hour before kickoff. There was a pickup soccer game in the street, and the beer line wasn’t long. They had what looked to be Carlsberg on tap at the truck outside, but I did see someone with a can of PBR. I never went and investigated where the red, white, and blue cans were though. Adriene and Brandy were going to meet me there later in the day, so I got a spot under an awning and started to wait. There were a ton of people there already, but as the kickoff neared, the crowd swelled. I’m not sure how the Irish pub ended up, but this place to watch the game was WAY BETTER. The beer line grew to half a block. I had chosen not to start drinking until closer to the game, but with that long line I just abstained.

The crowd was pretty electric considering we were outside in the light rain. I moved out into the street just before the game started. When Gerrard scored, the smattering of English fans cheered while everyone else stewed. We had been so amped up and it all came crashing down just a few minutes in. It did not help that it began to rain harder too. Dempsey’s goal shot new life into the crowd. It’s one thing to celebrate with some friends, but with a couple of thousand other people it was great.

Adriene and Brandy showed up just before halftime, and the rain stopped. Things were looking up. Everyone collectively was up and down during the 2nd half. No goals were scored, but there were some close calls. It was nice to have the same reaction as other people like when Altidore struck the post. When Rooney missed on a header in the 2nd half, I yelled out something about how he was going to be eating beans in a trailer. I’m not sure how many people got that I was referencing the Nike commercial, but at least Adriene laughed.

Since the game ended in a draw, nobody really went home disappointed. Well, except maybe the English fans. I was kind of hoping for a miracle win or something, but I could live with a draw. It was cool walking away from that place with people wearing flags and face painting with people driving by and honking. It was definitely a game we were proud of, and I got to watch it in the middle of a blocked off street with a couple of thousand fellow crazed fans for free. Can’t beat that.

BTW, that’s my unemployment beard. I stole the idea from Coco.

If you missed the game here’s a 4 min highlight reel.

Also this afternoon, I got Lady Gaga stuck in my head. I blame the article on CNN about some new video of her’s and how music videos are changing. I don’t really listen to the radio, so I’m behind the curve when it comes to pop music, much to the chagrin of my sister. I heard Poker Face in the gym a few weeks ago, and it was the first time I had heard a LG song knowing it was her. They have video screens now sometimes showing videos, but always telling you what song is playing. Anyway, I liked it, and then later I was able to ID her as the person who sings that song “blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah” or whatever. Today at work those two songs kept getting stuck in my head. I can’t help but like them. I hope that doesn’t lose me any music elitist cred. (I won’t tell you how I now have a couple of Katy Perry songs on my iPod)

Finally I got motioned to go to the front to show off my wares. I did, and my friends in the crowd had summoned help from people around them to cheer for me. Unfortunately, I did not make the finals of the Best Dressed, but I was still staying up there until they told me to leave. One of the ladies came up to me and told me she had something inside for me, and to stay up there. They announced the winner of Best Dressed, and the lady came up to me again, and said “follow me inside, we’re going to put you on the radio.” I motioned out to my friends about the greatness that was happening.

The lady told me to grab her hand and stay close. It was still crazy packed. We made our way through the crowd, and since I was with the radio lady, I got past the security guard. They had me wait near the table that was being used for the broadcast. I thought they would eventually give us microphones or something, and ask us a couple of questions.

I was going to thank my dad for the hairy legs. Sadly though, I never got the chance. They took my name, and the name of the guy who won Best Dressed, and said them over the air, so that was cool. My parents heard it. When they said my name, I turned and waved to the people in the restaurant. It was all kinds of awesome. The lady gave me a bag full of stuff from one of the local Saints shops. I wanted the plaque that the other guy got, it even had Hairy Legs on it. I think they only got one plaque though, and it did say Best In Show, so he got that.

We left the restaurant and got a picture at the Andrew Jackson statue to add to my collection. Then we made our way to Fleurty Girl, where I met THE Fleurty Girl. She asked to get a picture with me, and then she tweeted it! She’s like a real celebrity with all the local and national interviews from the cease and desist selling WHO DAT shirts thing. (or so I have learned this week) My sister was able to buy a shirt she’s been wanting. Afterward we went and ate at this BBQ place called Squeal where they had the most amazing corn grits I’ve ever had.

I have told this story over and over since Sunday. I keep thinking how incredible it all was. I was expecting a lot of guys to show up and march and all, but the amount that did blew my mind. The amount of people who turned up to watch was just awesome. The crowd was so happy. Everyone was having such a great time. I’m so glad I did it. I can’t wait till Sunday. WHO DAT!

I hope they give us better shirts than last year’s. I hate the design on last year’s shirt. It had both of the presidential candidates running with a turkey, but the joke was stale since it came out 3 weeks after the election. At least the running turkey looked happy. I think this year’s shirt is really bright gold with a profile of a turkey on it. At least that’s the design on the race webpage. It can’t be worse than last year’s, it just can’t.

I took this picture a while back and have used it as avatars on message boards. Now though, I can use the picture for a new purpose, because yesterday I read that Jay-Z is coming to NOLA next February. My sister has already enthusiastically said she would come with. Tickets go on sale Saturday. They are a bit expensive for my taste, but have you heard the Unplugged album? It’s one of my favorite albums EVER. Have you been enraptured with Empire State of Mind this week? I heard it for the first time on Monday and it is FANTASTIC! Do you get an extra boost when 99 Problems comes on your iPod when you’re running? I do. Jay-Z’s always kind of been in the quest realm, but I never thought I’d ever have a shot at going to see him. Now though, it’s on.

WHAT? The talking oven found me! I’m a little disappointed that so few ‘liked’ it, I thought the costume came out pretty well. (BTW, if you don’t recognize some of the stuff on that FB page, it’s because I keep mine translated in Pirate)

If the talking oven really wants to help me out, he might try to re-open the Quiznos in Slidell, LA near Target that is now closed. As far as I know, one of his mute relatives is locked inside not being used. A toasty oven is a terrible thing to waste.

Two days before the big day, I noticed I had a new follower on Twitter, and it was the Quiznos toaster oven. You may know him from the commercials where he talks to Scott, the Quiznos employee. Apparently he had started following me when I asked about costume suggestions, so clicking through his page I came upon a page full of suggestions related to Quiznos. A couple of them were dressing up as the oven himself, but I didn’t have a box big enough to pull that off. But behold, dressing as a Torpedo! BRILLIANT! It’s unique, it’s something I can make, and it’s cheap. I could even wear my fake mustache!

On Friday I went to WM and bought a white sheet for $4. FOUR DOLLARS! I’m not sure how many other people were going to be dressing as Torpedos, but I got one of the last white sheets. After running the HALF MARATHON on Saturday, the costume was put together. I had some help drawing the logos on and pinning it, but I thought it came out fine. The result is below:

And yes, that is my HALF MARATHON finishers’ medal I had EARNED earlier in the day that I was wearing no matter what.

One of the highlights was a drunk lady who tried to befriend me by showing me her Star Wars shirt and saying it was vintage because it had Jar Jar on it (she kept saying it was a jabberwocky). That doesn’t mean it’s vintage, that means it sucks. I didn’t tell her that though because she was really excited about it. She was going around by herself and told me she lost the rest of her family, but she was still collecting candy in 3 bags; two for her family, then one she said was for her dog. You know you’ve hit rock bottom when you are trick-or-treating for your dog, or worse….LYING about it.