Our relationship up to this point had been toeing the line between professional and personal. We enjoyed each other's company and had an easy banter during dance lessons and he had become an unexpected confident in dealing with some other struggles.
See I had just gotten out of an extremely abusive relationship and although those ties had been severed as best I knew how, the guy in question was still bothering me through text, email and following me when out in public. Q had been urging me for a few weeks to file a restraining order and had even gone so far as to drive me to the court house himself. He had become this sort of White Knight during the process and I think for me that's where the lines began to blur. I was so used to being the strong one. I was always the protector and fixer; this man wanted to protect me. It was easy to sit back and allow him to take the reigns. But more on that later... Let's get back to the party.
We knew we wanted to be in the middle of the action but weren't entirely sure where that was. I had done some research and knew that of the three Krewes: the Knights of Babylon, the Knights of Chaos and the Krewe of Muses, the last would be my favorite. They were an all-female crew with throws of lipstick, hand-mirrors, combs, purses and the ever-coveted high-heeled shoes! I wanted one!
I hadn't slept the night before because of excitement so I decided to pop an Adderall before heading out and offered one to Q as well. I take them on a regular basis as prescribed but warned him to only take half so he wouldn't feel too jumpy. New clothes for him, new lipgloss for me and we were off.
Mardi Gras was like nothing we had ever experienced. The whole scene was a sensory overload of sight, sound, taste and even smells. Lol. The first hour or so we continued in this awkward tango of how we should act toward each other. With no idea where the night would take us we decided the best bet would be to start off with some drinks. The streets were alive with people everywhere. Adults, teenagers and kids. Some were tourists but most were locals. We were warned that most of the debauchery happens on Bourbon Street where the tourists hang out and that to get the real experience we needed to steer clear.
Ok, we're not going to skip Bourbon Street, but we can at least save it for later... ;)
For now we stuck to the crowd growing on the street and waited for what seemed like forever when finally the first of the parade marchers came around the corner. The crowd went wild! Police officers and volunteers had to physically force the crowds out of the street so the giant floats could make their way down the street. Grown women were screaming like 13 year-olds at a One Direction concert! Men were scrapping on the floor to snatch up whatever trinkets landed within 10 feet of them. I didn't know what to do! Thank God Q is 11 feet tall and was able to score my first official Mardi Gras beads. :) Then out of nowhere I raised my hands in the air and a string of beads looped around my outstretched fingers. YES! I was hooked. From then on we wove in and out of the masses finding the best spot to get in on the action. We drank 3-4 Hurricanes each and at last started to loosen up. By the end of the parade we each had ropes of beads around our necks, hands full of cups, coozies, notepads and other trinkets and Q had secured 3 shoes for me! Not the full-size Muse Shoes, those were drawing blood to catch one, but I had a bracelet of shoes, a necklace with light up shoes and a small purple glittered shoe that would fit a doll. I was in heaven.
With the Muse parade over we wandered down the street to get a better view for the next parade. The Knights of Babylon were friendly and passed out hoards of goodies, but they couldn't compare to the Muses. Still, it was fun and we headed back to the hotel to unload before hitting the streets for the night.
See I had just gotten out of an extremely abusive relationship and although those ties had been severed as best I knew how, the guy in question was still bothering me through text, email and following me when out in public. Q had been urging me for a few weeks to file a restraining order and had even gone so far as to drive me to the court house himself. He had become this sort of White Knight during the process and I think for me that's where the lines began to blur. I was so used to being the strong one. I was always the protector and fixer; this man wanted to protect me. It was easy to sit back and allow him to take the reigns. But more on that later... Let's get back to the party.
We knew we wanted to be in the middle of the action but weren't entirely sure where that was. I had done some research and knew that of the three Krewes: the Knights of Babylon, the Knights of Chaos and the Krewe of Muses, the last would be my favorite. They were an all-female crew with throws of lipstick, hand-mirrors, combs, purses and the ever-coveted high-heeled shoes! I wanted one!
I hadn't slept the night before because of excitement so I decided to pop an Adderall before heading out and offered one to Q as well. I take them on a regular basis as prescribed but warned him to only take half so he wouldn't feel too jumpy. New clothes for him, new lipgloss for me and we were off.
Mardi Gras was like nothing we had ever experienced. The whole scene was a sensory overload of sight, sound, taste and even smells. Lol. The first hour or so we continued in this awkward tango of how we should act toward each other. With no idea where the night would take us we decided the best bet would be to start off with some drinks. The streets were alive with people everywhere. Adults, teenagers and kids. Some were tourists but most were locals. We were warned that most of the debauchery happens on Bourbon Street where the tourists hang out and that to get the real experience we needed to steer clear.
Ok, we're not going to skip Bourbon Street, but we can at least save it for later... ;)
For now we stuck to the crowd growing on the street and waited for what seemed like forever when finally the first of the parade marchers came around the corner. The crowd went wild! Police officers and volunteers had to physically force the crowds out of the street so the giant floats could make their way down the street. Grown women were screaming like 13 year-olds at a One Direction concert! Men were scrapping on the floor to snatch up whatever trinkets landed within 10 feet of them. I didn't know what to do! Thank God Q is 11 feet tall and was able to score my first official Mardi Gras beads. :) Then out of nowhere I raised my hands in the air and a string of beads looped around my outstretched fingers. YES! I was hooked. From then on we wove in and out of the masses finding the best spot to get in on the action. We drank 3-4 Hurricanes each and at last started to loosen up. By the end of the parade we each had ropes of beads around our necks, hands full of cups, coozies, notepads and other trinkets and Q had secured 3 shoes for me! Not the full-size Muse Shoes, those were drawing blood to catch one, but I had a bracelet of shoes, a necklace with light up shoes and a small purple glittered shoe that would fit a doll. I was in heaven.
With the Muse parade over we wandered down the street to get a better view for the next parade. The Knights of Babylon were friendly and passed out hoards of goodies, but they couldn't compare to the Muses. Still, it was fun and we headed back to the hotel to unload before hitting the streets for the night.
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| My Shoe Bracelet! |
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| Shoe Float! |
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| Giant Shoes on Parade! |
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| Shoes by the Krewe of Muses |
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