Halloween in the Quarter.

[angledge]

Brace yourself, people. Today I am going to totally spam your LJ-friends page with photos.

Saturday night was a truly EPIC night – Halloween in the French Quarter! My co-worker E* had an inspired idea for a costume, & he transformed me from my normal status as a mild-mannered FEMA bureaucrat...


(katieledge: note the sweater!)

...to my superheroine alter-ego, Blue Roof Girl!



BACKGROUND: one of FEMA's many programs is called Operation Blue Roof. FEMA installs blue tarpaulins as temporary patches on damaged roofs. They are a very common sight down here.


Roof Girl and Blue Roof Man head into the French Quarter. TO THE ROOFS!



Quite a stunning pair of low-budget superheroes, don't you agree? We even had our little superhero act: E* would point at me & shout "Blue Roof Girl!" then I'd point at him & shout "Blue Roof Man!" then in unison we would point to the sky & shout "TO THE ROOFS!!" We did that about every 20 seconds, all night long. The more we drank, the funnier it seemed.

All good superheroes need an arch-villian. We found ours at a costume party. She was KATRINA, Evil Hurricane Monster. We fought:



We won the costume contest, collected a very odd collection of prizes, & moved on down Bourbon Street into the Quarter proper.


You can't say that things are exactly back to normal here, since I rather doubt the MPs are usually patrolling the city streets. However, the entire street was full of drunk, costumed partiers. Emmanuel, who is a NOLA native, was genuinely moved by the sight. "This gives me hope that the city will survive & be like itself some day."

Partway down Bourbon Street, we met another arch-villian, Toxic Mold Man:



This was the point in the night where things started to get a little hazy. We bar-hopped for several hours, then I lost Blue Roof Man. Then I lost the rest of our support team. I decided I had had enough, so I began making my way back toward my hotel. On the way, I walked smack dab into the middle of a gay street party, where I reunited with Blue Roof Man & a bunch of my other co-workers (always interesting to learn who's Family). At some point, I traded my Blue Roof Girl wig for a NFL referee's cap & penalty flag – so now I have something to throw at the TV when the Eagles are stinking up the place like they did yesterday *grumble*

When I got home I called funkyplaid & evilfb & shouted at them on the phone for a while. I also emptied out my pockets, which contained the following:

• four fung shui magnets;
  
• an eight-sided charm of some sort that is supposed to repel evil (heh);
  
• a tin of merlot-cheddar spread;
  
• two strings of beads; and,
  
• my new penalty flag.
  

Thank God for Daylight Savings Time, because I definitely needed an extra hour of sleep before undertaking Sunday's adventures. But that is a story for another photo-laden post.

Comments

[sasscat.livejournal.com]

Now your hair is the same colour as mine! Squee!

[angledge.livejournal.com]

And we both match blu_matt!

Bring a party?

[angledge.livejournal.com]

Bringing a party to NOLA is like bringing coals to Newcastle. No need, there is plenty of party already here....

[hermiston.livejournal.com]

merlot-cheddar spread? How wonderful!

[funkyplaid.livejournal.com]

I love that this is what you had to say about the whole affair.

:)

I couldn't agree more.

mmmmm

[angledge.livejournal.com]

I bought some Triscuits yesterday, now all I need are some olives, a bit of wine, perhaps a few chunks of andouille sausage....

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Emmanuel looks like John Cleese. But more blue.

[calamityshane.livejournal.com]

Very cool costume. Easy to move in, protects you against oncoming traffic and you match any blue drinks you may be downing that night. Also does my heart good that you tripped upon a gay street scene. Way to go, Ang. Keep having fun!

[angledge.livejournal.com]

Also, waterproof. Helpful when drunks (including self) are spilling drinks all over the place.

[kielbasa-007.livejournal.com]

Soon to be part of the super hero team: the Blue Roof Group!

[aitkendrum.livejournal.com]

So when do you get the Blue Roof Mobile and Secret Blue Roof Cave?

Cool photos! Puts my Uruk Hai costume to shame!

Not a group, but a team!

[angledge.livejournal.com]

We had a Blue Roof Support Team (aka my boss, Marlea). She carried our duct tape.

TO THE ROOFS!

[deinemuse.livejournal.com]

Great costumes... that must have taken half the next day to get off. Very coolio!

[angledge.livejournal.com]

It was a pain in the butt to get all that face paint off. The upside was that I was still staying in a hotel, so I had tons of towels at my disposal. I bet the housekeeping staff was cursing my name when they came to my room on Sunday - despite my sincere efforts to control the blue, there was blue on every towel, on the pillowcases, & all over the shower.

[(Anonymous)]

Fantastic! Loved your commentary and photos!

Inspiring costume and as a NOLA native it was nice to hear about the festivities. Gives one hope. To The Roofs! (Of course, I will be shouting this for days and no one will understand why.)

[angledge.livejournal.com]

And who might you be, anonymous person?

(I'm glad you liked it!)

[effrontery.livejournal.com]

That's a good look for you. For both of you, actually! Glad you had fun. ;)

[funkyplaid.livejournal.com]

On the way, I walked smack dab into the middle of a gay street party, where I reunited with Blue Roof Man & a bunch of my other co-workers...

But how did you ever find him again in the crowd?

[angledge.livejournal.com]

I listened for the rustling tarp.

[marasca.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! You look totally hot with blue hair. I mean, not that you don't look hot otherwise...

[angledge.livejournal.com]

Awesome, maybe I should consider a more radical hair dye.

[marasca.livejournal.com]

Hey, wait! Your icon is a line from the play I'm in!

I haven't seen the movie yet.

Oooh!

[angledge.livejournal.com]

What's the play?

Re: Oooh!

[marasca.livejournal.com]

Arsenic and Old Lace, about two old ladies who "charitibly" kill lonely old men to save them from their misery. I play one of the old ladies.

Re: Oooh!

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

I hope that's not called "foreshadowing"...