Mom, this really happened.

Let me preface this post by saying that I am. not. a. seafood. eater. I do want to say though that In the past three years that I've lived in San Francisco, my food horizons have been broadened. I didn't know about pesto or how good Indian food is before I moved to town. How I missed out on these amazing things my entire life is really beyond me. I mean, my family is fairly cultured. (that may be an under-exaggeration)

I've never been a fan of seafood though. I do remember enjoying fish sticks until I was about five and then when my English friend ate my last fish stick, I got mad for some reason and I haven't eaten one since. Those fish sticks were probably the last seafood that I ate voluntarily. In recent years I've been able to handle shrimp and sometimes crab and lobster.

So last week when I was told that one of our company's supplying companies here in New Orleans was going to have a fish feed for us, I was a bit nervous about it. Everyone here is just so nice; I didn't want to be rude and not eat the food that they caught for us on their day off.

A few years ago a guy that I was dating introduced me to jalapeño poppers. For a few weeks there, we were completely addicted. I mean...they are amazing in case you've never had one. After eating a tasty garlic and butter oyster, I saw these beauties.

Its like a shrimpapeño popper. I'm surprised that they don't have these in Hawaii in the shrimp trucks all over the North Shore. Shrimp with a jalapeño, cream cheese, and wrapped in bacon. Yummy.

After eating a few bowl fulls of shrimp, I was ready to move on to the canoe full of shrimp, corn, and potatoes. Wait. Do you see those things?!!!

I never knew that shrimp eyes and antennae were so....large.

Little did I know, that the man standing on the other side of the canoe was waiting for me to dump the food onto his plate.

Nasty little scavengers, aren't they?

This is a better picture of Coleen holding it. Sick.

In this picture I thought I'd surprise MR at the last minute by grabbing a beer.

Sometimes, I think I'm pretty funny.

By far, this was the best party I'd been to in a while. Everyone was having a great time. Fun people, good food, tunes, and in a parking lot, no less. Its the little things like this that make me miss the South.

Seriously, this party was successful without the pretty decor. Check out the awesome lighting. I loved it. It was a fresh seafood free-for-all. I not only learned how to pull the head off a shrimp, but I ate jumbalaya, pralines, sausage, red fish with barbeque sauce, deep-fried turkey, and some squishy-wishy cake.

For sure I ate more shrimp tonight than I have in my entire life combined and I can honestly say that it was worth it. Can I just stay here in New Orleans for good? Tomorrow is my last day and I'm really sad to be going home. Its just so nice to work with people who hug you every time you walk in the room; especially when you just need a hug. And on that note, SF, here I come.

Have I mentioned that I leave again on Friday for a wedding in Utah?