Why I'm Homesick Today

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Now that I'm in the working world and living in Houston, this is the first Mardi Gras I've missed in 8 years. It seems unnatural to be working today, and I'm taking it pretty hard. Below are the top 5 reasons why I wish I were home.

5. Can't even go to Spanish Town - If I were unlucky enough to be in Baton Rouge for Mardi Gras, this parade was the place to be. An oasis of irreverence in the desert of prudishness that is Baton Rouge. When their signature pink flamingos start popping up in University Lake, you know its Mardi Gras season. Best alternative now…Galveston :(

4. Watching co-workers enjoy a supermarket king cake - King cake should only be made by people with mafia-sounding last names - Randazzo's, Bernardo's, Gambino's, etc. That Kroger pastry sitting on your secretary's desk and trying to pass itself off as king cake is crap.

3. No Rex to make me feel better about myself - The big daddy of parades. The King of Carnival. I love the spectacle of it all. Makes your fun/drunkard/embarrassing/fuzzy/regrettable weekend seem sort of culturally significant. The just-passed fun/drunkard/embarrassing/fuzzy/regrettable weekend was just useless.

2. No Plastic Cups - Beads are fine and all, but nothing beats parade cups. Practicality meets sentimentality. I save them all. Now I have nothing. It'll be like 2008 never even happened.

1. I Missed Muses - Easily the most fun parade. It rides Uptown on Thursday night so crowds aren't as bad as Endymion and Bacchus. It has good bands, great throws, and a stream of floats that doesn’t go on forever. It's an all female krewe made up of local doctor/lawyer types with a biting sense of humor. The theme is usually political and they pull no punches on the powers that be. In the past year we've had a presidential race, D.A. Jordan fired, Congressman Jefferson indicted, Senator Vitter caught with a hooker and Mayor Nagin (period). Probably was the best Muses yet.