Happy summer to those who enjoy it! I'm not a fan, but you know respect to them. One of these days I'm going to rent a place or buy a condo or something in Chicago or New York City and thermal-opposite-of-snowbird there.

I've been doing some cool stuff though, lots of fun food things. Unfortunately I feel like I have to lean more into posting online and you know I hate that so much. Will tell you more about everything below!

Franklin made 12 on June 17! Wow. This is his last year as a real kid, so I pray that I can do all the cool stuff I've been wanting to do with him. Speaking of prayer, I didn't know where I was going to get the money to take him out for his birthday this year, but thank God for my novenas and y'all who pinned money on him virtually. Making that payment page after Hurricane Ida was my wisest decision yet.

Also I had to take out a predatory loan. Shout out to CashNet USA! The most awful loan terms ever, but it's hard to keep affording rent when you keep applying for jobs and they keep hiring internally and when your only pay is through freelance that takes up so much time, way more time than a "regular" job.

Anyway enough about that. I know God got me. That's literally the only way. Lots of talk about ohhhh I have a great role for you ohhhh there's money for you well yeah where? 

Back to Franklin! For his 12th birthday weekend, we went to breakfast at Sunny Side Up in New Orleans East, then to Slidell to The Amazing Digital Circus Movie, Five Below and Las Morritas. Another day we went to Taco Bell on Bullard (the best one!) and the next day we were invited to Saint Rose Cafe in Saint Rose. On his actual birthday, we early voted, got donuts at The Donut Bakery, were invited to Dolfy's on Freret Street and then we visited the new Trader Joe's where he got his "Gemini fuel" (half moon cookies). Aaliyah gave him a card! Random found the cookies in the back! The day after his birthday, we went to see Toy Story 5 (I fell asleep) and then got Burritos Grill for dinner.

That's certainly a lot, but I feel like (a) 12 is an important birthday and (b) he went through a lot during his 11th year so he deserves a little treat.

Dear God,

I don't recall seeing your email in my list of subscribers but just in case... Howdy! Love You so much but I don't ever understand why You want to keep me ... not stressed but also not not stressed?

I get invited to these amazing events where I make great connections and surely I love that. You know 50 Best and even the Carnival event felt serendipitous for ya girl. However. I need that to translate into MONEY. I literally need money to survive -- at least $1,930/month bare minimum $2,730 if You want me to pay back CashNet USA, my credit card and what I owe on my car so I can put my license plate back on. However, I know You will not leave me crying for bread or whatever they said in Your book. I've been making my novenas constantly.

Anyway my apologies for that brief sidebar with the man upstairs.

At every work event I attend, multiple someones are telling me to get into posting online more. I HATE BEING ONLINE! I don't know how you get money from that, unless you're selling your soul. It's helpful for work I guess IDK. But I don't want to work in social media! I hate it! But I've been trying to be more active or whatever on there.

I'm a brand ambassador for Mockly and I think that's cool! Technically I'm a brand ambassador for many other brands too, like Wayfair and Home Depot and even (I forgot about this) Adore Me. But I don't want to be a walking infomercial. Give me real brands, local brands especially. I thought I had something coming up with Blue Plate but they never got back with me. They do send me nice merch though, which is so sweet.

Also as always, it's hard to pitch people for writing gigs and all that when you actually need money in your hand right then. This is why people sell drugs. Maybe that's what I should do. Unfortunately I've aged out of selling my body and I think I'm looking a little too cherubic for that these days anyway.

Let's be friends online, links are below!

A What It Is, Reader? A What's Up?

Can a Megan ... just keep in touch? Anyway real quick here's some stuff I've done lately!

Next Steps for The New Orleans East Sunshine Weekly

I made a Google Slides presentation so that I can try to get some sponsorship. Really I don't need that much money to start. I just need the funding for the first month, since regular advertisers and classifieds etc. won't come in until they can actually see the paper and website. Ain't shit nonprofits secure funding all day every day. They got people out here making folks pay to be posted on their pages. Insanity. I just need some of that Raising Cane's money, you know? Todd got it! I'm very thankful for your Givebutter donations! Please follow on Facebook and Instagram!

North America's 50 Best Restaurants

This was amazing! World's 50 Best did their second ever North America's 50 Best, and I think it's really the best food award situation ever. Some folks say it's not fair to some restaurants, but I say if you want an award you gotta step your game up! Anyway it was the most serendipitous thing ever for me. I'd look up, and oh there's Jamila Robinson. Then BAM (haha) there's Emeril. And wow there's Mike Jordan. Last minute change and I got to interview Chef Kwame Onwuachi. I look to my right and it's Chef Erick from the Grenada trip. Like WOW. I should've gotten emails instead of Instagrams, but whatever. God'll sort it out!

I LOVE that they clearly separated actual journalists from influencers. Loved it. A very small group of us got to interview chefs round robin style, and that was so fun. An even smaller group got to interview the number one restaurant! The PR people there and the chefs said they loved my questions!

And of course, the very few Black journalists there ALL stuck together, in the best way. Family!

Confession: Baby Emeril (EJ) said something about how we all need to follow [Phone-It-] Ian [McNulty] on IG and I wanted to flip the damn table. WTF. Soooo I aggressively wrote "NEW ORLEANS NATIVE" on my little name plate. Because fuck that.

Carnival Cruise Restaurant Preview with Emeril

As a Black woman of a certain age, I was thinking Carnival cruises were like what Nene Leakes said about white refrigerators. However! I got to meet everyone over Carnival, and I was wrong! Learned sooooo much and can't wait to take a Carnival cruise someday soon, preferably with Franklin! They said the tropical ones are great, but that the ones in colder climates are also very special. The big thing is that Chef Emeril Lagasse is the director of cuisine there, so he's made all these fabulous restaurant concepts there. People love Guy's Burgers and coffee and all, but the new Emeril restaurants are going to be fantastic! Especially that Hawaiian one! This was another fairly serendipitous event, where I was glad journalists were separated from influencers.

Ascension Parish Press Trip

Did you know that one of my great-great grandfathers was Pierre Caliste Landry, the first Black elected mayor in the United States? Yep he was mayor of Donaldsonville, La., and I'm headed there soon to go on a lovely little press trip. Gas is high and I gotta drive without my license plate showing because technically my car is out for repossession but hey. Gonna make it do what it do! One thing about me, God got me and my ancestors too! Looking forward to the trip! Here I am at our family exhibit at the River Road African American Museum! 

By the way, I made sure to ask to not visit any plantations. It's easy, when you have morals. Meanwhile there's very popular local influencer here who not only attended a ghost tour in a plantation, but she also has a freaking affiliate code for it. SICK!

Food at the House

Franklin and I are so blessed to eat out for free a lot of times, because I'm a food writer. So blessed! However, I love cooking! Recently I made the best oyster and artichoke bisque I'd ever made and some fantastic ceviche too. I've recently been given three awesome cookbooks, so I'll be trying some recipes from there, thanks to chefs Toya Boudy, Rawlston Williams and Toya Boudy. My friend Chef Will Coleman is doing something amazing in New York City and I am so proud of him. Another friend from my Grenada trip, the best press trip of all time!

Seven Snippets in Three Sentences

Here are seven cool things, in three sentences max, in random order.

1. Franklin is in film camp with The Cool Collective and loves it!
2. I applied for a job with Straight Arrow News a month ago and heard nothing, but maybe that means I'm in the running?
3. If you love food, you need to attend this free film screening and party on June 24!
4. If you're gonna be in town for Essence, you should attend this fried chicken, caviar and champagne (and tequila!) soiree at Maria's Oyster Bar!
5. New Orleans is finally getting the inpatient mental health care facility it needs, at New Orleans East Hospital!
6. I'm starting to think I might have some food allergies, but I haven't died yet.
7. Surely I say it all the time, but God really got me in all the ways at all times!

My Favorite Juneteenth Articles

I didn't get around to sharing them this year, but here my two favorite Juneteenth articles that I've written. I wrote one for Today Show years ago, but CHEESUS HOLY GUACAMOLE they keep updating it for SEO and I'm like PLEASE remove my byline please.

1. Culinary Preservation: OXFORD AMERICAN
2. Juneteenth Menu: EPICURIOUS

Other Blackity Black Articles

Here are some of my other favorite hella Black articles.

1. Bayou Classic: THE WASHINGTON POST
2. Who Owns Twerking: JEZEBEL
3. Appraisal Discrimination: APARTMENT THERAPY
4. Books and Films on Housing Discrimination: APARTMENT THERAPY
5. Voodoo in New Orleans: THRILLIST
6. Black-Owned Restaurants in New Orleans: THE INFATUATION
7. My Too Black Story about a Black Business: MEGAN BRADEN-PERRY

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