how do you know your from good old L.a.
- Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside, even in December.

- You reinforce you attic to store Mardi Gras beads.

- You don't look twice when you see pink flamingos in yards of nice subdivisions during Mardi Gras.

- You save newspapers, not for recycling but for tablecloths at crawfish boils.

- Your ancestors are buried ABOVE the ground.

- You drink Community Coffee, have tried Starbucks, but don't see what all the fuss is about.

- You take a bite of Five-Alarm Chili and reach for the Tobasco.

- Every once in a while, you have waterfront property.

- You sit down to eat boiled crawfish and your host says, "Don't eat the dead ones," and you know what they mean.

- You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a National Holiday.

- You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

- Little old ladies PUSH YOU out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

- You believe that PURPLE, GREEN, and GOLD look good together.

- Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled.

- You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.

- Your town is LOW on the education chart, high on the obesity chart, and you DON'T care because you're NO. 1 on the PARTY CHART.

- Your house payment is less than your utility bill.

- You know that Tchoupitoulas is a STREET not a DISEASE.

- Your grandparents are called "Maw-Maw" and "Paw-Paw"

- Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite SAINT is a football player.

- You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a "New Orleans-based" movie or TV show.

- You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.

- You're walking in the French Quarter with a plastic cup of BEER.

- When it starts to rain, you cover your BEER instead of your head.

- You've eaten at one or more of these restaurants, AND know how to pronounce them: Prejeans, Tu Jac's, Gallatoire's, Ralph & Kacoo's, or Mulatte's.