It turns out this thing still work. It's been just short of a year since I've updated it. but I figured it was time to dust it off on this special day.
It was four years ago today that I successfully moved to Georgia from Ottawa (after a failed attempt on Sept. 17, 2005, but that's another story).
It's officially fall in Atlanta. It's 45 F outside, I could see my breath when I went to the wood pile, and we used the fireplace for the first time.
After struggling to keep the fire going after a few hours we remember that it's not just a wood-burning fire. It's also gas. Yeah, it's cheating, but being able to turn on a gas burner underneath the logs makes things nice and cozy.
In other news, I'm turning in to a cranky old man. I actually honked at skateboarders as I drove into our neighbourhood today. Darn kids were zigzagging across the street going down the big hill.
Despite the category listing that this post is under (Life in Atlanta) I don't technically live in Atlanta anymore. I live in Marietta, or East Cobb County. Cobb County might sound familiar to anyone that grew up watching the late Big Boss Man wrestle in the WWF. He was always announced as being from Cobb County, Georgia, and as far as I know he was, though he retired to Paulding County which isn't too far away. He passed away in 2004 at the ripe old age of 42. If you've never lived in Georgia you probably didn't know that Georgia has more counties than any other state in the country. It's true. I've already lived in three of them, which is the same number of counties in all of Prince Edward Island.
Anyway, one of the things I love about Georgia is the summer thunderstorms. We've been in a drought for a while and we probably went six weeks without a drop of rain until last Thursday. Since then we've had thunderstorms four of the last six days. More often than not they roll in out of nowhere and disappear within an hour or two. It's been hot enough that when they hit in the afternoon the roads are dry ten minutes after they stop.
Today I happened to be at home when one started to roll in around 8:15pm. Here's what it looked like form our back deck before the rain started. you might want to turn your sound up for the full effect.
The best part about the thunderstorms, aside form being able to enjoy them from a screened in sun porch, is the way they can make the temperature drop 15-20 degree Farenheit within about 30 minutes. At 8pm it was 82 degrees. An hour later it was 65. On Friday the temperature went from 91 to 78 in 20 minutes (you've got to love backyard weather stations).
A week from today will be our first full day as homeowners.
Thankfully it's supposed to cool down from the current 88 degree weather and
drop to a more reasonable 70 for moving day on Saturday. We're looking forward
to the painting, furniture shopping, BBQ buying and being able to just open the
door and let the dog run free in the backyard.
This will be Meg's sixth different address. By my count it will
be my 20th.
So I was in a minor fender-bender last week. I'm okay, the other guys are okay, and my '89 Buick has minimal cosmetic damage. I got cut off when someone turned left onto a main street during rush hour so he got a ticket and I was deemed not liable (though he's fighting the ticket and I'll be in traffic court to make sure it sticks). No big deal.
The funny part is that I got a phone call this afternoon from a personal injury lawyer asking me if I wanted their assistance suing the other party. I asked him how he got my name and number and he said they have a database that tracks accident reports.
You've gotta love the way society is going. For the record I'm not suing.
I don't get trucks in cities. I get people that think they need an SUV to cart their family around. I get mini-vans. I don't get big trucks that are bad on gas, take up a lot of room, are impossible to park and aren't used for hauling stuff. The only excuse I can really see for having on in Atlanta is if someone grew up in a more rural area and is just plain used to trucks. If so, that's fine.
But that doesn't explain the truck that was in front of me on my way home last night. A jacked up Ford F250, tinted windows, complete with a silver skull trailer hitch cover with glowing red eyes. Nothing too unusual about that I guess, but if you're going to drive a truck like that, do you really need to slow to 5 mph to drive over one of the hundreds of steel plates that on the roads in Atlanta?
If you're going to drive a truck, drive it like it's a truck- not like it's a Porsche.
You may or may not be interested in taking a look at the new photo gallery to the left. Meg and I recently got a kitten, so most of the pictures in the "pets" gallery are of him, though some are of Sekai too. Eddie was named after Prince Edward Island, and so far he fond of playing in Crate and Barrel boxes, chasing his tail, and playing with a four-foot piece of ribbon. He also sits on command to get a treat when Sekai comes inside from her walks.
Did I mention that he's the only cat I've ever seen that's prone to falling off things and not landing on his feet?
Being married is fantastic, but weird. Sometimes when I'm doing stuff the dishes get washed, the floor gets vacuumed and the laundry gets done.
Meanwhile, I've now ironed women's clothes. Non-pleated skirts are the easiest thing in the world to iron. Fitted women's shirts? Not so easy.
The best marriage advice we've received so far was from my younger sister, who happens to have six years of marriage under her belt. Her advice was at the same time practical and profound- buy two tubes of toothpaste. It avoids the whole debate about squeezing from the bottom or top.
If it's the little things that kill, that's one little thing out of the way.
If you live in Atlanta or happen to be coming herefor vacation or whatnot (perhaps a wedding?) I strongly suggest you take some time to visit the Georgia Aquarium. I have an annual pass and stopped by for a while on Wednesday after work. If you're trying to figure out what time to go, late afternoon seems to be a great time for a visit if you want to avoid the crowds. I had 45 minutes to kill and I was still able to see the river otters, belugas, sea lions, otters, pacific octopus, penguins and the big tank. That's where the four whale sharks are, as well as the hammerheads, rays and dozens of other types of fish. There's no way you want to go through that quickly if you're there for the first time, but your visit time can be cut in half if you go after 4 pm or so.
It's not the cheapest attraction in Atlanta, but it's one of the most impressive. I hear the laser show at Stone Mountain is quite the Southern spectacle too. I'll let you know in a couple weeks when I go.
And if you;re here in the summer and the Haks and Thrashers aren't playing you may as well check out the Braves, who play in one of the best modern ballparks in the country.
