Weather in Atlanta

Sadly this isn't as clear as I would like it to be. The point I am trying to make it it says it's currently 26 degrees out and feels like 18. Today our high was a whopping 31 degrees and there were some snowflakes in the air. I was hoping for a blizzard, but I will take flakes blowing in the air and leaving no evidence they were ever there so I can then sound like a crazy person when I tell people about it. THANKS MOTHER NATURE! Make me look like a liar. ANYWHO! If you'll note Saturday's weather however, the weather forecast says it will be a high of 70 and a low of 36. ?!?!?! It's like a weather twilight zone! Get me out!

I <3 Shecky's Girls Night Out

Twice a year a magical thing happens in Atlanta. Shecky's Girls Night Out comes to town and spreads cheer all over the city! It has been in town for two days (last night and tonight) and a bunch of Lockheed girls went tonight. With no work tomorrow, it's perfect timing!

If you sign up to go with a friend you can get "Two For One Goodie Bag Tickets" for $25. This gets you in the door, the fabulous (and I do mean FABULOUS) goodie bag, plus drinks all night. At first I thought this was silly, but then I thought about it. If I had two beers while I was there the ticket had paid for itself nevermind the goodie bag worth "over $100" (their estimates, not mine).

When Mrs. Volker and I got there tonight we picked up the goodie bags immediately. They were busting at the seams and weighed about 10 pounds. I opened it up and pawed through it. Oh my god. It's like it knew what I wanted! Three bars of Lindt chocolate, hair ties, Aveeno sunblock and body wash, two bottles of flavored water (hello 10 pound bag), coffee, Dove samples, toothpaste, teeth whitening trays, a new razor (as opposed to an old one), and other trinkets.

Needless to say, I could have gone home then a happy camper, but we stuck around for a while. We did the beer and food pairing, had a few drinks, shopped, and even made some purchases. I got a cute little purse and an awesome necklace.

They were also handing out FREE manicures if you signed up for them. They gave us the bottle of OPI nail polish they used when they were done. I don't normally paint my finger nails, but if someone wants to do it for me, I am not going to turn them down.

Overall, A++ night and the company wasn't too shabby either. Good times all around. Six more months until it comes back to town. At least it's frequency is better than Christmas. :)

Gas Pumps Are Out

I would like to consider myself one of those people who does not react to "all the media hype" about what's going on around us. Snow storms? Please. Drought? Hmm, well... But this is the first time where I am actually seeing and feeling the results of what's bordering a crisis situation.

This weekend I was out and about with Rob running errands and we started to notice some of the gast stations were closed. On Friday when I noticed the Costco one was closed, it didn't really register much other than, everyone wanted cheaper gas, of course they are out. But then on Saturday and Sunday, we noticed a lot more regular gas stations were out as well.

On my way to work this morning, I saw that some of those same stations got gas sometime between last night and today to serve customers, but not enough to last until 3:00 when I left work. When I passed they were all back to nothing.

I have about a quarter of a tank left. I will try and remain calm and just look for the next opportunity to fill up, but with each passing day, it looks less hopeful. I know Lockheed doesn't have an "out of gas and can't get to work" charge number, so it would be vacation time for me. I am sorry, but being out of gas and stuck at home doesn't say vacation to me.

I am hoping this news report is accurate in claiming things are getting back to normal. I was also unaware we have different fuel restrictions to lower smog. Makes sense, but never would have occured to me as a reason we have so little.

All I can say is I know when something is bad wrong when my dad in NY is buying gas cheaper than I can. Maybe I can jog to work... I did want to get in shape...

Close Encounters with Famous People

I don't know how many of you watch the Food Network, but it's in my top ten that I check for interesting shows. Tonight they had a Food Network Challenge for Chocolate Runway outfits. I am pretty sure the model were kept in the fridge until the time to walk the runway.

Anywho! If you have watched it, you may know Alton Brown. He is the host of several shows "Good Eats", "Feasting on Asphalt", "Iron Chef", and others. The show, "Good Eats" is all about how to do it "the right way" and answering the why behind doing it that way. Kind of fascinating and gives me a new appreciation for specific methods. That and he is a little nerdy. Let's face it, I have a soft spot for nerdy people.

Now most of the time I don't have the kind of time he demands for "proper cooking", but I like to watch it all the same. My favorite part of his shows are his trips to the grocery store. The grocery store he goes to all the time is Harry's Farmers Market which happens to be located in *drum roll please* Marietta, GA! For those of you who have no idea where that is, it's in the same town I work in and live 15 minutes from. So I have actually shopped at the store where he shops! How fabulous!!

Of course, I have never seen him there, but I know exactly where he is in the store when I see him on TV AND I am almost certain we have both been in the same exact location. This probably sounds stalker-ish. I am ok with that. He's pretty cool. If I ever went and he was shopping, I would totally ask for his autograph.

He has also been to the library I visit routinely. There was a sign up that you could pay to hear him speak. I didn't make it, but it makes me think he probably lives in the area somewhere. Wouldn't be unheard of. Famous people need to live SOME where.

Andrea & Tyler Visit the ATL

This past weekend has been pretty awesome. Andrea and Tyler flew in from Newport News for a long weekend visit. They were welcomed to Georgia with a pretty long wait for their bags and then got to see the lovely pick up area outside. My favorite part had to be right after they were loaded in the car (literally just shut the door), a car pulled up to my side and parked blocking us in. Lovely. People are so considerate of others.

We got back to the house for some delicious dinner and watched Meet Bill . I got to say, I thought it would be a better movie. Oh well. We hung out and ate the remaining cookies I baked earlier that week.

On Saturday we did the tourist thing. We thought getting downtown was going to be awful with the highway being shut down, but we didn't have any trouble getting in or out. Neat. We were surprised to find that Clemson and Alabama were having some sort of all day pre-party for their opening game. A see of orange and maroon everywhere. Almost looked like a VT infestation.

We made our way over to the CNN center for the tour there. That was actually pretty cool and our tour guide was pretty nice too. After the tour was over, we went to the World of Coke. It was my fourth visit and the most crowded visit for me. But it was still pretty cool and the Beverly still tastes like nastiness rotting in your mouth. Just in case you were wondering.

That night they took me out for dinner to La Paz for my birthday. I have to thank the Pennocks for introducing us to that place. It's probably one of my favorite restaurants in the area.

Sunday we hung around, had a cookout, and I was beaten pretty badly in Scrabble. I have accepted this as the norm. However, I did learn a few new words. Knute is probably my favorite. Just in case you are writing poetry and need a word to rhyme with flute. Cqit I think was the other one.

Today we dropped them back to the airport, but first we hit up Chick Fil A for their free chicken strips. I had on my new UVA hat, Rob and on a UVA shirt, Tyler wore his William and Mary shirt, while Andrea sported her new RIT socks. The lady behind the counter admitted she really didn't know schools. I was also wearing my Breckenridge shirt and she thought that was the school I was sporting. Whatever, we got free chicken. Yum!

All I can say is I need more weekends like that. Hanging with friends I don't get to see very often and just having fun. :) What a way to start my birthday week!

Juan Visits Hotlanta

When I was working in DC, they were trying to set up a buddy system for new hires that were going to be transferring to the area with people that were already at site. Since I am an over achiever, I jumped at this and said, "I'll do it!".

I got the name and email address of my buddy and proceeded to write a long and detailed email to a Mr. Juan Figgers. I talked about places he may want to consider and pluses and minuses of being in each area, some of the things that go on in DC he may want to look into, grad school sites, and whatever else popped into my head. Then I heard nothing back from him.

Months later I heard we were getting a new team member and that they would be working directly with me. How exciting! Until I found out it was the jerk I emailed who didn't have the common decency to write a one liner email back saying thanks. So I was holding a grudge from the beginning.

A few weeks later while we were working on mids, Juan kept dozing off and was having a hard time staying awake. Some people were giving him crap for it and he was looking for a sympathetic ear when I told him, "Oh you are already on my list". "What did I do?!" He was lost. I let him sit there for a minute or two and then said, "Remember that email you got a few months ago from someone who took the time to tell you all about the area?" "That was you!! Oh man, I'm sorry!"

From that point forward we were cool, but it was a questionable start. He and I spent many 12 hour shifts next to one another and saw each other at all hours of the day. He knows that I don't function at 5:45am, ordering Chipotle for 5 nights in a row annoys me, and that I love Rob and my kitties. He even helped me move a few times, but hey, hasn't everyone?

So I was excited to hear that Juan was going to be in town this weekend. We decided to meet up for lunch over at Perimeter Mall this afternoon. We had a good chat and caught up on jobs and what's been going on with each other lately. I had a great time visiting with him. Sometimes I wish those visits were closer together, but I take what I can get. :)

News Alert: Altanta may be buried in for DAYS!

All day today people were talking about "the storm" that was heading for us. I kept saying, there is no way you are going to get snow. It's a myth. Well kids, turns out the myth has been confirmed. As I was leaving the building today I watched as snow blew across the parking lot. I couldn't help but to laugh at/to myself.

I know tomorrow I am going to have to eat my words. Now I wish I had bothered to write down that site status number. I'll find out tomorrow! These are some highlight photos on how the evening progressed starting at 5pm with 30 minute intervals.

Hey You Guys!

Just as Sloth refers to his gang as "you guys", so too, do I also refer to my co-workers living in this state as such. The rate at which I refer to them as such is a little alarming, however completely automatic. I don't even think about it before the words leave my mouth.

I believe if I were to psycho analyze myself, I would find that it's a sub conscience response to NOT wanting to be associated with the extreme stereotypes found here. That may sound unfair, but it's true. If I think of myself as a visitor, I don't count. I do not whimper at the sight of snow, I am not a bible thumper, and I do not enjoy fried.... everything.

It also doesn't dawn on me that people can be upset by that phrase until they remark upon it as in, "you guys???". The question tends to be phrased in such a way that it makes it sound like, "What team are you playing for anyway?" I know I live here now, but I also know that's not how it's going to be forever. For the people who are happy to call this home, awesome for you. I just haven't found a place I want to call home yet. So yeah, for the time being, I play on this team, but I feel the need to remind everyone, I am up for trades.

Easy as 1-2-3, ABC

Last night I went out to a place in Atlanta called The Atlanta Brewing Company or ABC for short. I went with some people from work to just chill for a bit. The basic idea is that you are visiting a local brewery to sample their products and in the end, purchase them on your own at some store. Fair enough.

I paid $7 and got a pint glass to be filled as many times as I wanted over the two hours this event is hosted. They give you bottle caps as chips, but honestly, they don't seem to care if you have them or not. If you can work your way through more than 6 glasses of beer in two hours, then props to you. I hope you brought a DD. All in all though, $7 isn't bad at all for all you are drinking and you get to take the glass home with you. Bonus.

I would say if you want to do something different, it's definitely a good way to try out some new beers at a low risk. It gets crowded so go early. You won't find me there every Friday night, but it could happen again. :)

It's 75 degrees, but wait! It's December!

It appears that we have hit a bit of a heat wave. As if we need it. This weekend we started in the upper 60s and I know my car told me it was 76 this afternoon and right now my thermostat is telling me it's above 80. I know that's due to oven usage, but come on!

Meanwhile back in the north, people are actually having snow fall and lots of it. There have been reports of skiing, shoveling, the occasional snow ball fight, and even some furnaces kicking on. Well, let me tell you people in the north are missing out on.

That's right, the ability to drink a beer in a t-shirt with the warm sunshine on you. It's actually been really nice to do shopping in. The down side - no one I know really wants to turn on their oven and make it warmer in their place at that temperature. That's why I waited until the evening to start. I still have my windows open and a cool breeze is coming in, but it really feels like September, not December. My kitties were even enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.

It's supposed to be like this for another few days. I am going to take advantage of this and wear some of the warmer weather clothes like skirts and open toe shoes. My summer wardrobe is better anyway. :) Meanwhile, the rest of you can enjoy your winter wonderland.

Only in Georgia

There have been two news stories that have been getting some decent press down here and I want to share so you can laugh too.

News Story 1
For those of you living under a rock, we in the south are in a bit of a pickle with our water situation. It's mostly the not having lots of it around that's the problem. So what is our governors answer to this crisis which they haven't been proactive on? Why pray for rain of course! My favorite quote of the article is "The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power." Now I am ok with praying for things and whatever you want to do, however, when it's the governors solution to easing the drought, I have to wonder what they have been putting in his Cocoa Puffs. The service will be next Tuesday if you care to join.

News Story 2
This next one happened last night. Apparently a man robbed a bank yesterday afternoon and was heading out of town on I-75 close to the start of rush hour. There was a GPS locater in the bank bags he took with him. The police decided to track that GPS unit, isolate it, and hence find the suspect. I think this is a good idea. The method in which they implemented it though I would have to disagree with. They shut down I-75 during rush hour to go from car to car and search for the suspect while trying to find the unit. !!! They never found either and eventually gave up. I am so glad I don't commute on the highways.

I will have to quote Leslie from the morning show here, "Only in Georgia will you pray as a solution for no rain and now we shut down the highway going from car to car looking for the bank robber with the story being broadcast over the radio which people are listening to while stuck in their cars. What is wrong with us?" I have no idea.

To Heat or Not to Heat?

It's November 7th. To most people this means that fall is in full swing, the holiday shopping has begun, for some it's finished (sickos), and that colder weather has come to stay. Being in the south delays the coming of cooler weather for quite some time, however we have finally started to get into the temperatures where you can see your breath in the morning.

This week has really been the start of it though and now I find myself wondering, when is it cold enough for heat? This morning when I got up, my apartment read a nice cool 62 degrees downstairs. I had to put on a pair of sweats last night under my covers to be comfortable and getting out of bed this morning was a bit of a challenge. When I got in my car, the thermostat told me it was 37 degrees. A stupid grin appeared on my face.

I absolutely love it when it gets cold here. The people at work are very entertaining to watch coming in and leaving. You would swear a blizzard was happening with their ski coats and hats. I have a fleece on. The only disappointing part is that even though it gets this cold, it won't snow. In the back of my head, I keep saying, any day now. I know that is further from reality than ever with our all time low precipitation these past few months. Stupid weather.

ANYWHO! The real debate is, how much longer can I hold out before turn the switch to heat? Tonight and tomorrow we are dipping in the 30s again but in a few days we climb back to highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. I think it would be fun to hold out til Thanksgiving. Maybe I should have a lotto for it. Whoever wins has to pay my first bill. I mean.... have some cookies. :)

The Passing of an Altanta Landmark

When I first heard the news, I was devastated. According to my former co-workers I would be out of a job to boot. This past month, an Atlanta Landmark on the tour path for visitors closed it's doors to the public. That's right, Girls R Fun has closed.

There will no longer be glowing pair of hot lips with the word "YES" glowing in the night.

The beat up blinds and tantalizing signs for girls are no longer teasing the public eye.

The flashy signs from the road will never attract customers.

I would like a moment of silence to observe the passing of this truly awesome landmark. It will be missed.

Let's Go Braves!

In my quest for things to see and accomplish while I am living in Atlanta, I went to see a Braves game Thursday night. Not just any Braves game, but a free Braves game with transportation. In all honesty, that is pretty much the only way I do baseball games. I do not have enough outright love of the game to purchase a ticket. I go to hang out with people.

This particular outing was put on by LMents which is a Lockheed sponsored club for 0-5 year employees, aka - the younger generation. Most of these people I know from my bowling league so it was nice to hang with them again. We went to Atkins Park (local bar) to meet up before the game and then headed out on the bus.

On the bus we go and we magically arrive at the stadium. Turns out no one communicated we needed a parking pass to park there with the bus and so we had to go some secret special way. Whatever, we got there in time. We got our tickets and headed into the stadium. Turns out our seats were on the exact opposite side behind home plate and in the "oh my god, bring tissues" nosebleed section. It wasn't that bad aside from the slightly chilly weather with a breeze that would make you numb. The more people that left the colder it got. Anyway, we all kind of got settled and watched or tried to watch some of the game. I think I may have paid attention for 1 or 2 innings in total throughout the entire game. I will give you my highlights though.

One - The gianormous screen where all sorts of information is displayed. Wow and more wow.

Two - I waited probably a good inning or inning and a half to get the only things I wanted in the stadium. That's right, an overpriced beer and pretzel.

Three - These guys were my favorite and probably most underpaid people on the field. I cheered for them.

It was a good time and I was glad to go because I got out of it what I wanted. A chance to visit with people and to eat my beer and pretzel. I was happy. :)

Bit O' Southern

I don't know what came over me in that last post! I guess the south assimilated me and now I have the ability to speak redneck! ACK!!! I try to regain some northern heritage by looking at pictures of snow and embracing being a Yankee.

Seriously though, I am growing a garden and I think it's super cool. They are starting to sprout already and this seriously will keep me occupied for weeks! I'll grow pretty flowers and my cats will eat them, how awesome!

On and another note, the radio station I listen to does a south of I-20 word of the day. Some of them are pretty good. For those of you who don't get the I-20 reference, it's just the southern-er part of Atlanta which they make fun of. That I think started the transition the redneckness. If I start to wear camo, I want someone to shoot me.

5th Grade Science Projeck

Remember when yo' were in 5th grade an' th' skoo marm had yo' does a biology projeck wif seeds? Wal ah's cornduckin' mah own mad as a weasel in a blender scientist experiments right in mah own household! Fry mah hide! *Twilight Music*

On over this hyar past weekend ah went shoppin' an' bought some seeds t'plant. ah figger this hyar is a great idea fo' two reasons. One - It's cornsiderably cheaper buyin' seeds an' plantin' them in neighbo'ly aban'oned dirt thet yo' didn't pay fo' than buyin' th' already bloomin' plants an' plantin' them. Two - It kin add excitement t'yo' daily life t'watch these thin's grow. Whuffo' this hyar mo'nin' ah went down t'check on them an''d yo' believe af'er only four days of bein' planted, they is sproutin' already? It's amazin'. This hyar sh'd keep me fine intertained fo' weeks. Plus ah git t'say, "ah grew thet! Fry mah hide!"

ah have quite an asso'tment of flowers some of which ah know, marigolds an' sweet pea, some ah doesn't, th' trimenjus pink flowers an' th' ones thet look like impatients. ah's a-gonna photograph this hyar experience t'show progress. Sh'd be quite neat. :)

The Fuzz

This is my first springtime in the south and there is an interesting phenomenon going on outside. It seems that everything is turn yellow-green! Can this be from radiation? Oh? What's that you say? It's coming from the trees? Run for you lives people! The trees are infected!!

Oh wait. It's only pollen. Pollen that will consume your car, home, and outdoor pets! Seriously, it's insane. Luckily I have discovered my allergies are probably more to weeds since I get reactions in the fall, not the spring. If I were allergic to trees, I am almost certain I would be dead by now. Theory supported below.

The amount of pollen in the air is measured daily in cubic feet of air down here and hits some ridiculous highs. The measurement rating system:
Low, 0-30 Only people extremely sensitive to these pollens & molds will have symptoms.
Medium, 31-60 Many people sensitive to these pollens & molds will have symptoms.
High, 61-120 Most people with any sensitivity to these pollens & molds will have symptoms.
Extremely High, 120+ Almost all people with any sensitivity at all to these pollens & molds will have symptoms. Extremely sensitive people could have severe symptoms.
Today we have a measured pollen count of 5,937. If you'll notice that is almost 50 times what is considered extremely high and what will cause allergic reactions in most people. 50 times!!!! Stay in your homes and do not attempt to go anywhere!

Until today, my car looked like Slimmer had run all over the thing and threw up twice. Thank goodness for car washes. It's going to be a long spring.

My Hit List

Now that I live in Atlanta I want to take advantage of some of the things to do that are significantly closer to here than say any place else I have lived. That being said, I have made a hit list and not in any particular order. It's whatever I feel like doing first. :)

New Orleans - I have been told life is still thriving there and they are trying to keep the tourism industry going. I would like to go visit the area for its food and music if nothing else. I won't lie, I think it would also be something if I were to visit the place where the hurricane hit. Not for neat photo ops, but to just stand in the place where so much destruction happened by natural causes and how people are rebuilding. I know it's a one of a kind place and being only 8 hours away makes it seem a little closer to reality.

Savannah - It's about the only other place in this state I am interested in visiting. Obviously there is a lot of history there, but it's also where Paula Dean has her restaurant. :) I have been told by many of my co-workers, that's the place to go for St. Patrick's Day, but I am not entirely sure I get the connect between of one of the most southern cities and Irish anything have to do with each other. It's a 5 hour drive and there is a campsite nearby to forgo the expense of hotels.

Biltmore Estates - Located in North Carolina, this should only be about a 3-4 hour drive and a possibility to do it in one day. It would be a long one, but I think it would be neat to go check it out. I mean why not see what it would be like to live ridiculously rich?

Orlando - This is also about a days drive as well, could be a great place to go for a quick vacation. I would never pass up a chance to go to Disney World because that's just plain crazy talk, but there are plenty of other things going on in Orlando. I even get discount tickets to Universal Studios through work. In any event, it would be a fun trip for the inner child which seems to take over more often than not. :)

Florida Keys - I realize this is not in an ideal driving distance range, however I would hope airfare may be cheaper because we are a little closer. But seriously, I would really like to go because beaches really are my thing and I think I should visit them all. :)

I understand that I may not get to all of them, but I am going to try!