Things you learn by living in New Orleans*

*henceforth also known as "The Shit in the Stairwell Incident"

So. Maybe I've got a few phobias. I know, hard to believe, right? Well, here's the story:

I work in the "Heart of Downtown New Orleans" and I park in a garage about 9 blocks away, kind of on the fringe of downtown. Yesterday morning, as I exited my car and walked down the stairwell to the ground floor, I noticed that someone shit (shat?) in the stairwell. Yes, you read that right. Gross, right? So, later that day, I had to leave and come back. I stopped for lunch and had a frosty and delicious fountain Diet Coke to bring back to the office with me ('cause we all know how much I lurve Fountain Diet Coke!!!). As I entered the stairwell, I thought I was going to die - they sprayed the shit (literally, haha) with water and the smell was overpowering. It was disgusting. The first thing I did was throw away my beloved Fountain Diet Coke because there was no way my mouth was going near that straw that had Stank all over it. Very disappointing. Well, at the end of the day, I had to walk UP that same stairwell, in that nasty, nasty smell. So I held my breath. Walking up the stairs. Did you know that if you hold your breath while walking up two flights of stairs you get dizzy? Yeah, I didn't either. Now I do.