I don't know what I was thinking

So I make the biggest purchase of me life - a very important event - and I don't even take a single picture. I take pictures of signs posted in bathrooms, of chicken and waffles, of a random grown man in the park who wears tutus and twirls batons, yet I don't snap a quick pic of my future residence that I am very excited about and want to share with everybody? Go figure.

Nouvelle Maison

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't posted for about a week. So you may be pondering if I have been traveling around the world conquering all of life's greatest quests? No, you weren't wondering? No, you didn't notice my absence?

I've been away from the great state of Georgia, spending the last 4 days in a gruelling hunt for a place to call home back in Minneapolis. And today was our day. A good friend of mine and I found a great home, offered, counter-offered, and finally settled. One less stress off my back...but a new stress of explaining our "partnership" added.

Going Polar

I don't know how we got on the topic, but Lauren and I were recently discussing how an object on the equator would weigh differently than if it resided on one of the earth's poles.

So my quiz for you:
If you were visiting Santa on the North Pole and weighed 200 lbs, what would you weigh on the equator?

Is it:
a. 195 lbs
b. 199 lbs
c. 201 lbs
d. 205 lbs

And the answer is (highlight this text and the space beyond to see): b. 199 lbs -- in other words, 0.5% less.

Did you guess correctly and win the showcase showdown?

Time to go pro?

I just uploaded some pix from our Savannah trip. I'm now also sitting at 97% full of my 20MB Flickr limit for the month. This is my first month of Flickr where I have met my free subscription quota. So do I go Pro? Or do I become more selective on what gets uploaded?

Happy Easter

(thanks mom)

So Much to Say

I've been busy lately. Too busy to post. I think this is as much for me to help remember and record my life as it is to share my experiences.

April 5th - I got to see Death Cab for Cutie at The Tabernacle. I've been meaning to go to the Tabernacle for the longest time. It was a great show and a great venue. Thank you Lauren.

April 6th - An anniversary date to The Sun Dial on top of the Westin (the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere according to the website--could that possibly be true?) in downtown Atlanta for the Turner First Thursday Artwalk event. The Sun Dial is a revolving restaurant and bar that every first Thursday of the month is host to a free art exhibit. The best part? Free finger food. The downer? Looks like they cut out the free martinis -- Sunny, you left just in time...

April 8th-10th - Lauren and I drove down to Savannah for the weekend. I loved Savannah. It is such a charming town rich with history and filled with so many squares (read: parks) and great old homes. One of the highlights was seeing the park where Forrest Gump sat patiently waiting for a bus.

April 11th - Music trivia at Angel. We could have used you Addie, Sunny, and MDN.

April 12th - Dinner at Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken and Waffles. I kid you not. We decided to visit this Atlanta treasure for dinner, and we were not disappointed. The fried chicken was succulent, the waffles were moist, the grits were gritty, and the peach cobbler was a nice finish. I really am going to miss the south.

The Masters

April 4th, a crisp 75 degrees and blue skies, 148 miles from Atlanta, a 2 hour search for a ticket, and $160 later, I found myself standing in Augusta National Golf Club at The 2006 Master’s practice round – and I couldn’t have been happier.

Augusta National is immaculate. Every blade of grass is perfectly green, perfectly cut, and perfectly soft. Everything was in bloom. I was amazed and instantly excited upon entering. You could feel there was something special about this place.

Not knowing the course at all, I decided to join the crowds and randomly mill around wherever they may take me. I eventually let my ears be my guide, and moved towards the most “oohs” and “ahhhs”. This eventually led me in the general direction of Amen Corner.

Over the course of the day (no pun intended), I found myself drawn time and time again to the nook right around 15’s green and hole 16 (Redbud).

16 is a par 3, with water spanning the entire distance between the tee box and the green. The hole is exceptionally fun during the practice round because after teeing off, the entire crowd starts to chant “SKIP, SKIP, SKIP”. Almost always, the player will acquiesce by walking down to the edge of the water and attempt to skip a few balls across it and onto the green. If successful, the crowd goes crazy.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience that I am still excited about and hope to repeat someday if I am so fortunate. So in the years to come, if anyone out there wants to get rid of their badge, look no further.

Update: Photos from my Masters experience here.

April in the South is Spectacular

If you don't mind the gobs of pollen coating everything everywhere, then April in the south is for you (well, at least me).

This past Sunday the local gang all went down to Piedmont Park and spent the entire day playing Bocci Ball, football, and frisbee. Diana's pup Sampson also provided plenty of entertainment, as well as your typical Atlanta population, engaged in activities ranging from flying kites to playing kickball.

Then yesterday, I decided to go for Mission Impossible and drive down to Augusta to see if I could get into the practice round for the Masters. But that definitely deserves its own post when I have more time. So more (and pictures) to come later.