The Yankee Librarian Goes South. Again.

So I went back south. I spent several days in New Orleans for ALA.

I was a little worried about going down south at the end of June. Anyone who knows me knows I don't like heat. Or humidity. And both of them together make me unhappy. I was in New Orleans for ALA in 2006 and it was humid but not nearly as hot as it could've been. So... during a normal summer when the south was seeing crazy high temperatures, I was a little worried. I was worried for me and for Frenchie, who would have to listen to me complain.

Honestly, I have no clue what the temperature was; I never checked. Why bother? It was crazy humid. I took enough clothes to be able to change outfits at least twice since I knew I would spend a significant amount of time sweating through at least one outfit a day. And I did. But you know, it never seemed that bad until you were almost to your destination. And then it became the hottest, muggiest weather ever. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. I still think DC in 2010 was hotter.

But you know what surprised me? How quickly I settled back into old patterns. Like, how normal it felt to be called ma'am (and to call someone ma'am). Or being called Miss Yankee Librarian. But I have to admit, being called "baby" was new to me (as in, "Thank ya, baby"). I'd become accustomed to being called sweetie and honey (by women) in Mississippi, but I don't ever remember being called baby (by a woman).

The other thing that threw me: One night I was lying in bed in the hotel room, thinking about what I needed to do when I got home. I was running through a list of things and in my head I said, "Okay, so when I get back to Ye Olde University Town, I'll do this and that.... Oh shit, I don't live here anymore." It was strange, very strange. I never thought of Ye Olde University Town as home, but for a split second I was disappointed. I was telling BFF this after I got home, and she said this made sense because I had lived there a long time. And she's right. I was there 4.5 years. Outside of college, it's the longest I lived in one place since I was 18.

Some highlights:

• Ruby met me at the airport, just as I arrived she sent me a text message telling me where she was parked and that the car was ice-cold. She knows me so well. 
• Frenchie made me a towel embroidered with "I'm the fucking librarian, Motherfucker." She knows me so well. 
• Frenchie, Just Jess, and I went out for beer, gumbo (and other stuff), and then Just Jess and I retired to the weird bar next to the hotel for some extra-strong drinks and a water glass filled with whiskey. She knows me so well. 
• Our hotel seemed to have issues with towels and soap. We either had none or too many. As I said to Frenchie, "It's feast or famine, y'all."
• Dan Savage was the keynote speaker at ALA. He walked within two feet of me and looked right at me. I almost shoved the librarian I was talking to out of my way so I could grab Savage by the arm, proclaim my love for him (despite his gayness) and tell him how much I love Savage Love, his book The Commitment, and the It Gets Better Project. But I didn't. But it was still a fangirl moment. 
• By the end of day one I had a huge blister on the ball of my foot. Gross. And ow.
• I had a blister because the Convention Center is 1.4 miles long (according to Stephen Abrams), and I had to walk the length of it at least three times in four hours.
• I wore my Pixies tshirt. Twice. (By Monday was running out of non-sweaty clothing and I hadn't sweat through my Pixies tshirt.) Who knew that a Pixies tshirt at a library conference would cause so many comments. It's like people felt they had to prove their coolness by pointing at my tshirt and saying, "Pixies....."
• When getting ready to leave for the Convention Center while wearing my Pixies tshirts, long shorts, and sneakers, I said, "I look like a skater." And Fenchie said, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...." I miss her. 
• The Go Cup. And walking into a minimart, buying a beer and having the cashier ask, "Do you want this open now?" Yes, please. Gotta love New Orleans. 
• People in New Orleans didn't understand it when I asked if I would have to "brown bag it." Its a common phrase used in Mississippi. It meant the place didn't have a liquor license but you could bring your own as long as you kept it in a brown bag.
• I drank a lot. 

If I would've thought ahead, I would've taken some extra time off and driven back up to Ye Olde University Town with Frenchie and then flown home from Memphis, but I didn't.

In the end, though, I had a blast. It was a good conference. It was great to see both old friends and library friends. I ate some amazing food (more on that later). When I got back I was telling a friend about it, and I said, "I feel like I've been gone for two weeks." He said that was a signal that it was a good trip.

Indeed it was.

I'll have a report on what and where I ate shortly.