Good Times!

For the last several weeks, I have been mentally preparing myself for what I always thought would be a dreaded affair – the 10 year high school class reunion. In actuality, it turned out to be an unexpectedly relaxed and fun-filled weekend here in Baton Rouge.

In order to soften the shock factor of stepping back into the old crowds from high school, and to warm up our reminiscing muscles, I met two friends for dinner Friday night who I have kept in touch with over the years (Natalie and Sarah, who are in the first photo below with me). After dinner, we somewhat reluctantly headed to a local bar, The Fox and Hound, to meet up with our former classmates. We did not have the bar to ourselves, which complicated the matter a bit, because we were constantly trying to determine if any given person was with us or not with us. Lucky for us, almost everyone looked pretty much the same after ten years, so we had little trouble recognizing our old friends. Most of our conversation that first night was spent catching up on the basics of who is doing what and where they are living, meeting spouses and significant others, and basically reestablishing our bearings with one another.

Saturday morning, I had most of the girls over for brunch at my parents’ house, and we pored over hilarious high school pictures for a few hours. From freshman year parties, sleepovers, homecoming dances, proms, drama events, and various amateur athletic endeavors, we managed to relive most of the worthwhile memories. Out of the dozen or so of us at the brunch, we had five who were married, three with children already, and two who were pregnant. We agreed to attempt a girls’ beach getaway in five years so that we don’t go another ten years without seeing one another.


The main event, Saturday night, was kind of like a wedding reception but for the most part more fun and much less proper. We mostly agreed that it was a very classy evening, everyone dressed well for the cocktail party, the food was fancy, the setup elegant. There was a slide show of high school photos, a few awards for those who traveled the furthest and those who had the most interesting jobs, and a group photo. Then the DJ took over and played all of our favorite songs from high school, to which we danced our hearts out and acted a fool just like old times. A group of us continued on for a few more hours at an LSU bar up the street, and we fittingly ran into several other people who went to high school with us but were in other classes. We were all having such a good time that it was with much reluctance that we finally started heading home around 1:30 or so in the morning. I never thought I would say this, but I am definitely looking forward to the next high school class reunion…

Poor Guy

I've been doing my best to keep up with the most recent uprising in the Middle East. So far my favorite guy involved is:

Lebanon Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat

How do ya like that name? I hope he doesn't have a daughter. If so, she's probably extremely self-conscious about her weight.

Paralympics

Last weekend at about this time, I was finishing up a 2-day adventure as a volunteer/spectator/fan at the 2006 U.S. National Paralympic Track and Field Championships right here in the fine city of Atlanta. I must say, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was blown away by what I saw and more importantly who I saw. I saw an elite group of world-class athletes, all of whom carried with them onto the track (or field) a disability. The afflictions ranged from a mere amputated hand to severe paralysis and quadriplegia. These men and women (and a few boys and girls) were at their top form and certainly made me – a not-so-inactive healthy individual – feel rather lazy. I noted with wonder the reality that regardless of how many muscles remained in operable status for each of these athletes, they used each muscle fiber to its maximum potential. Most, in addition to their level of paralysis, also suffered from other effects of spinal damage, such as the inability to sweat. This of course poses a slight problem in Georgia in the middle of the summer, but it was just another day at the track for these athletes - a little wet sponge here and spray of water there, and they were able to cool down just fine. One of the amputee sprinters, a female with a left below-knee amputation, replied to my question about the degree of her disability that she just had a scratch compared to most of her peers on the track that day. The next time I actually have a bona fide scratch and am tempted to whine and seek pity, I will remember to keep this in perspective.

As for track events that I was able to witness, there were various lengths of wheelchair races, from 100m up to 5000m. I must be a slow learner, because I must have watched this for nearly 5-6 hours before finally noticing the gloved hands of each of the competitors and that many of the gloves were specially made and molded to fit their fisted hands during competition.

The wheelchairs themselves are impressively sleek and compact. I wanted badly to sit in one and get the feel of how they operate, but as a severe new-comer to the scene, I decided to wait for another event or opportunity. In addition to wheeling these chairs around the track and all over the stadium during the day of competition, the racers have to haul these things from all over the world in airports and hotels and on buses to reach their competition locations. Most could be seen at some point in their “everyday” chairs, wheeling with one hand and pushing their racing chair in front with the other hand. And I thought hauling my bike around was rather cumbersome.

My favorite events, though it was a close call, were the “ambulatory” races. This classification is for amputees with prosthetics or for athletes with other disabilities that do not confine them to a wheelchair, such as blindness. It was absolutely exhilarating to watch as some of the fastest sprinters in the world whizzed by me on the track with one or two prosthetic legs, one or no arms, or a “guide” runner for those who could not see well enough to run alone. I witnessed many new world records for 100m sprints and even held the starting blocks for one bilateral upper limb amputee from Nigeria who broke the 100m record for his classification. Classifications for the paralympic competitions are based on the athlete’s level of disability, and this “levels the playing field”, so to speak, for who competes with whom. I would explain that further, but I really don’t understand all the classifications yet. Obviously someone with two amputated legs is in a different class from someone with one amputated leg, and the blind or deaf are separated as well, etc. The amputee sprinter in this photo is April Holmes, an American who was present at the competition and won every race I saw her compete in.

After this first initiation into the world of paralympic competition, I must admit that I am completely hooked (if you hadn’t noticed). I’m not only inspired to make the most of every muscle fiber that I am blessed to have, but I am also inspired by their determination and commitment to make the most of every day regardless of whether I am tackling a physical, mental, or emotional challenge. I do not even begin to yet understand the daily challenges that these fine athletes face, along with their less athletic peers, just to dress, shower, eat, go to the bathroom – all of the things that I take for granted as I gripe and complain about whatever happens to be my topic of choice for the day. The bottom line is, regardless of whether we walk, roll, or crawl through this world with a disability, none of us are home. We were not created for this world as it exists today, with pain and suffering and anger and frustration and disappointment, with missing limbs and atrophied muscles or with broken hearts. We were created for something so much better, a perfect place in which we are in perfect relationship with our creator. And we will one day be there again. But until then, we must face each day with courage and with determination, and we must help each other remember that our home will be there waiting for us when these days pass. I applaud the paralympic athletes who I had the pleasure of watching and meeting for demonstrating that resolve.

Photos above are from: http://howtoadapt.com/RacingWheelchair/RacingWheelchair.shtml and http://www.usolympicteam.com/paralympics/news_47603.htm

It Just Keeps Getting Better

There are no words to describe my delight at finding the object below this morning for a mere $5 at the Peachtree Expo.

Reason #84658 Why I Love Waffle House

I have been thinking this past week about trying to get a number for the Peachtree Road Race, as this is my first summer living in Atlanta and it just seems like the right thing to do. So this morning I did in fact find someone who is unable to run and will be selling me a number. Anyway, I started looking up some info on the race course and details, and lo and behold, guess who one of the sponsors is: you guess it, Waffle House! How many diners do you think sponsor sporting events? Probably not many. Granted, Waffle House probably doesn't make a habit of it. As if the hashbrowns weren't enough, this is just another in a long line of reasons that I love Waffle House. Now I feel like I should eat there before the race, but then again, I think I won't.

Foot in Mouth

Ok, I have to admit, and I might as well admit publicly, I have been put in my place by God himself tonight. This past Sunday, I heard a sermon entitled, "Why be a Generous Christian?" by a pastor visiting Intown Community Church from a church in Colorado Springs. I was not particularly impressed with the sermon for a few reasons:

(1) It was obviously a canned sermon that this particular pastor preaches all over creation. This was obvious by the speed with which he spoke and the fact that he was selling a book and giving seminars on the very topic of his sermon.
(2) The sermon incorporated a few biblical references but largely emphasized the stories of people who trusted God for such-and-such money and had miracles occur to provide that money.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe that God provides for us. I do believe that when we trust him and pray specifically for his provision that he can provide for our needs if he so desires. Despite my belief in these truths, though, I actually verbally (out loud, to other people) stated that the sermon was lacking because of the implied cause-and-effect relationship between trusting God for something and having it provided by God. This may not be making any sense, but lets just say that I was somewhat of a naysayer in response to the stories of faithful people who received abundant returns (financially) from God. And now God enters into this story of my unbelief...

Earlier this evening, I sat down and balanced my checkbook. I looked ahead to next month's expected expenses and tried to decide how much money to budget for the month. I came up with a number that seemed a bit low and did not account for unforeseen expenses, but I decided to go ahead and budget with this amount and trust that God would arrange for me to make it through the month without overdrawing my checking account. I then packed up my backpack and headed to Starbucks to study. I normally study at home, but I wanted a change of scenery, and I decided that one trip to Starbucks (I have not been yet since moving here) would be ok, especially if I only bought regular coffee instead of my favorite cafe au lait. Well, I ordered a regular coffee, the guy went to pour it before taking my money, and then he turned around to tell me it was still brewing and would be a few minutes. I said that would be fine, that I would go ahead and pay for it and he could just yell when it was ready. He then waves his hand and says that this one will be on him since he will be inconveniencing me with having to wait for my freshly brewed coffee. I insisted that it was no inconvenience at all, but he still would not let me pay. Hmm, interesting "coincidence". THEN, I sat down and started studying, and they guy completely forgot about my coffee. I waited and waited, made eye contact and everything, and he just did not remember. So I went up to the counter and reminded him, at which point he briskly whipped a coupon out of his pocket for a free "any starbucks beverage" and apologized profusely for having now inconvenienced me twice in one visit. I could not believe this was happening (seriously, I never get free stuff), but I took the coupon and took my coffee and continued to study.

On my way home, I had to laugh at myself, thinking (despite the relatively small amount of freebies) that I had just seen an example of God providing for me , literally right after I had prayed about my monthly expenses. I love it when God takes me by surprise like that, answering prayer when I really don't even expect Him to. It makes me feel like an idiot, but sometimes I need to be reminded that I'm just a kid, just a child of God who has to be reminded every day that He loves me, listens to me, and looks out for me. What a great reminder.

Love Never Dies

Unfortunately, it seems that I have lost one of my favorite CDs, Andrew Peterson's "Love and Thunder". I love the music on the CD, but mostly I love the lyrics. Andrew has a gift for words and specifically for putting God's truth and the cry of our hearts into words that ring so true to life. Lucky for me, though I don't have the music to listen to, I do still have the CD case and therefore the written lyrics. My favorite part that he wrote is actually not a song but what he wrote on the inside cover. It is so good that I can smell and feel the atmosphere as he describes it, and I can taste the vastness and goodness of God as I read this:

"All over the quiet plains, beneath the snow on the high mountain, rustling through the cattails that congregate along the water, you can feel the presence of promise. On cold nights when you look at the sky, sometimes your breath catches in your throat at how bright the night can be. The dark spaces between the stars aren't as dark as you thought they were; not nearly as dark as the tree line on the horizon, and as you stand there shivering with your hands bunched in your pockets suddenly you remember that you're standing on a rock in the middle of space. Suddenly the notion that there's a Someone who made it all and knows us all no longer seems quite so far-fetched; indeed, it seems too good to be false.

But here we toil and we till the hard earth, where even the warm times with friend and kin are lonely because we know they won't last long enough to quiet the ache. Our sadness points to Home the way hunger points to the feast, the way the light of the cratered moon is always facing the sun, always pointing to where the dawn will come like a pillar of fire when this rock we walk on turns again to burning day. All over the quiet plains and the cold stone cities full of dying and shame the promise is not drowned out by the weeping; it is declared by it.

God died as a man and rose again, and the sound of the fiery blast of Death exploding shook the firmament. Throughout the wail and shudder, over the shriek and moan of man the thunder has sounded and sung, and it is both the answer and the promise. It sings still, and you can hear what it says if you listen: love never dies."

Grocery Store Incosistencies

One of the little nuances of moving that hit me this week is the "new-grocery-store-organization-learning-curve". Now, I have visited my new (old, but new to me) local Kroger several times since moving here to Atlanta, but yesterday I really got stumped over an item on my list.

During one of my first trips to this store, which is significantly larger than any of the Kroger stores in Augusta, I spent about 10 minutes searching around the freezer section area for ice cream. What threw me off with the ice cream was a small section of ice cream located at one of the little end freezers. Inside this small freezer was an assortment of Kroger brand ice cream containers and a few varieties of popscicles. I of course insisted on finding the Breyers (I may be a student, but I still have taste buds), so I searched back and forth and up and down the adjoining aisles before finally finding the ice cream - on the same aisle as the beer. Not a bad combination, but I have not seen this particular storage strategy before. Anyway, that was several weeks ago, and most of my other trips were relatively uneventful until last night...

I had a little trouble finding minced garlic, but that did not stump me nearly as significantly as the Saltine crackers. At my previous Kroger location, the Saltines were located somewhere in the vicinity of the snacks, which were near the cereals on the right side of the store upon entering. At this new Kroger, the "Crackers" are located way on the left side of the store, one aisle over from the chips and sodas. After much searching on the right side of the store near the cereals and soups, I finally zeroed in on this "Cracker" aisle and figured I had finally found the Saltines. I quickly walked down the aisle with no luck, so then I slowly walked back up the aisle and still had no luck. Then I went one aisle over and scoured the "Chips and Pretzels" but still no luck. I sighed and proceeded back towards the trusty right side of the store, thinking of course the Saltines will be over there just like they were in Augusta - I must have just missed something. Finally, after this failed me again and I had procured everything else on my list, I asked one of the stockers where the Saltines were, and he directed me to the left side of the store. So I went back over and repeated the previously described search to no avail. After almost giving up on the elusive Saltines, I asked another employee and FINALLY was directed to the "Snacks" aisle, which did in fact contain the Saltines. This aisle was way beyond the "Crackers" and the "Chips and Pretzels", beyond even the beer, ice cream, and all other frozen foods. It was on one of the farthest aisles to the left, next to the Bakery. I have no idea who decided to string out the crackers, chips, and snacks in separate locations, who decided that Saltines are in fact "Snacks" instead of "Crackers", or who allows Kroger locations to adopt such vastly different store organization strategies, but I do know that the next time I do not find an item right away at the Howell Mill Rd. Kroger, I will immediately ask for help before wasting 20 minutes walking up and down aisles in a grocery store stupor.

Ahh, The Weekend has Begun

I am happy to report that the blog is back up and running (though not new and improved), and I am also back up and running after yesterday's test. In fact, the test wasn't that bad. I can't say I aced either the written or practical sections, but they were not as hard as I had expected. I almost feel that I over-studied, but that is a much better feeling than under-studying.

The movie last night at Piedmont was great! There must have been about 10,000 people there, all sprawled out on the lawn with blankets, pillows, food, beverages, you name it. Everyone was so closely packed in that you literally could not walk through the crowd without stepping on people's blankets, but they also had aisles marked out for walking. The best part about it was we were watchhing Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and of course 99% of the people there knew it by heart. So for all the great lines -- "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller", "anyone, anyone...the Great Depression", "he'll keep calling me, he'll keep calling me until I come over" -- the crowd was reciting in unison. And during the parade when Ferris gets up and sings Twist&Shout, about half of the crowd got up and twisted and shouted. It was like a gigantic slumber party in the park!

Other thoughts of the week:
(1) When I get home from being gone for any amount of time, my dog walks right up to me and unabashedly indicates that she must be rubbed and touched immediately as though it is a matter of life and death. She indicates this by whining pathetically and rolling over on her back in such a way that she is covering at least part of my feet. This way I must touch her, even if it is just to move her out of the way. Wouldn't it be great if we, as humans, could so openly express our need for contact every day. Most of us go about our days in our little solitary worlds and even go out of our way to NOT touch people. But I'm not ashamed to admit that at the end of the day I often feel like Kelsey: could someone please just rub my back a little and show me the love?

(2) The more time I spend with The Captain in lab (and the other cadaver, which is female), the more I have been having strange thoughts about our mortality. I expected to be shocked by having to face death on the first day of class and basically get used to the idea, but that's not how it's happened at all. I have gotten used to being around the bodies, the smell, and the idea of dissecting literally EVERY part of the body. I am not, however, getting used to the idea of death itself. It is very strange. I mean, I have thought about it before, and I know we will all die, and I understand that is just the way of the universe, and I am certainly comforted sometimes when I think about heaven versus life on this earth. But it is still just eerie to realize how our bodies work and how vulnerable they are and how we just don't know when life will expire for us. I know this is not the most pleasant of topics, but I am just getting my thoughts out there to try to sort through them. I guess the reality of each day being a gift and not a given is a good way to sum up my thoughts so far.

(3) On a related but different note, as we are learning about the human body, I have been awestruck by the brilliance and intricacy of our bodies. I have learned much of the facts before, but seeing the reality of how everything fits together and realizing how we are literally "knit together" as the Psalmist says has baffled me. I don't see how anyone could possibly believe that anything other than God himself is responsible for taking ONE CELL, a zygote, and creating from that a living and breathing human being. If you have no real conception of what is under your skin, trust me it is absolutely amazing!

(4) And finally, last but not least, I would like to once again comment on my love for Atlanta. This week I have particularly appreciated the exercise-friendliness of the city. I have been running and realizing that no matter where I go, there is always either a sidewalk or a worn trail on the side of the road from previous runners. And the cyclists are everywhere! I love seeing them and would love to be riding around as well, but I have not yet been bold enough to brave the curvy streets around here for fear of cars.

Blog on Pause

Not much to say tonight except to report that this blog will be on hold until sometime next week. The anatomy class has presented me with more information than I can possibly absorb for our test this Thursday, and we still have tomorrow's lecture/dissection on everything dealing with the hand. Needless to say, I will be busy studying until Thursday. Our class will then celebrate Thursday night, assuming we survive the ordeal. Included in the festivities for that evening, we will be going to Screen on the Green at Piedmont Park, which will be Ferris Bueller's Day Off this week. Friday I will leave town for Mobile to go to DeLisa and Nick's wedding. They are friends of mine from Plant Vogtle. We were all baby engineers together. Now they are grown-up engineers, and I decided not to grow up as an engineer.

The Weekend is Slipping Away...

I suppose before I get caught up in another whirlwind of a week, I may as well record a few thoughts from the weekend....this will be random, but that's just a product of the way my weekend has been.

First of all, after the post on Saturday, I spent the rest of the day studying (sort of). I realized in the late afternoon and evening that my focus problem was probaby resulting from (1) being overwhelmed with mass amounts of information from class, and (2) finally starting to absorb the reality of what I have done over the last few months - as in quit my job, move, and start an entirely new career. Don't get me wrong, I am still happy about the decision, but that doesn't make it any less strange, and it doesn't make me any less lonely when I am buried in books on Saturday night. I spent some time last night trying to decide which church to visit today. As with restaurants and other various venues in Atlanta, there are more churches than I could possibly visit in the next two years. I finally decided to narrow my search to fairly close proximity (staying inside the perimeter). I am not determined to only visit PCA churches, but most of the other church websites I have visited (including some PCA) do not look like what will be a good fit for me.

I narrowed today's choices to about 4 locations and finally decided on the closest one, which was Christ Church Presbyterian. It was a good visit. I unfortunately have in my head a rudimentary grading system, which is not intended to judge the church but nonetheless helps me determine if I want to return. This church had a few people who scored highly on friendliness and a few who scored almost zero. I try to base this on mainly whether people take the initiative to greet me when given the right situation. For example, I sat down in the Sunday school class this morning at a round table across from 3 people. They all simply stared at me for about 20 seconds. Trust me, 20 seconds is a long time to sit across from people like that when you are the visitor. Anyway, finally one of them spoke up. I would have introduced myself first, but I was literally dumbfounded by how inconsiderate these people were. They were not talking amongst themselves, but literally sat there and made eye contact with me without saying a word. Anyway, there were several other people who were much more friendly and inviting. On to other scores... the preaching scored very highly. The senior pastor is British, so he gets points for the pleasant accent, not to mention he was well-spoken and preached straight from the scripture passage, which happened to be in Titus 1. The worship was also good, though I find it hard to immerse myself in worship in a new environment amongst a group of strangers. We had communion, and a slight lack of direction showed through because I had no idea what to do with my little cup when we were done. I didn't even see what anyone else did with theirs, because we were sitting, standing, and singing all during the communion. The atmosphere scored fairly low, though this will not make or break any church for me. The sanctuary almost had a warehouse feel and was decorated (in my opinion) kind of out of date. The best visual part about this room was the art displayed on the back wall, but I didn't notice that until I was on my way out. I guess that's more than enough about the church. I didn't really report on the one I went to last week, Intown Community Church. It scored high on friendliness, worship, and facilities. The preaching was good the morning I was there, but I listened to some older sermons that were kind of lacking direction. This is probably because they are in between senior pastors and have different people preaching every week.

In other news, I have already managed to let my checking account slip to require overdraft protection. Stupid! I haven't yet figured out the optimal plan for trasferring funds each month from my savings to checking (as I have no income), so obviously this month I was a bit late in making that transfer.

I noticed today that there is a Fresh Market on Peachtree Road, not too far from my place. I also noticed that this Fresh Market has a parking garage. A parking garage. For a grocery store. I love it. Thankfully, there is an elevator to prevent having to haul groceries down the stairs.

And last but not least, one more random thought. I have been reading some in Gray's Anatomy to accompany the other 3 books I have for class. I noticed in the author's bio that Henry Gray died at the age of 34. If you have ever read Gray's Anatomy, you will realize that this man accomplished a remarkable amount of work in his 34 years. The book literally describes every tiny portion of every part of every tissue or structure in the human body. It's amazing. To make it even more remarkable, he wrote it in the mid-1800s. I hope that in 6 years, when I am 34, I will have produced even a tenth of the amount of valuable information that Gray has left for us. Unfortunately, this blog will probably not count as part of that valuable information.

Lack of Blog

I will start by clarifying that the lack of blog this week has not been due to lack of material. It's been a very full and interesting week, but I've been quite busy. Last weekend I was pretty bored hanging around Atlanta mostly by myself, but I won't be bored again for at least another 6 weeks. My summer anatomy class started on Wednesday, and we will will be literally covering the whole body inside and out over the short span of six weeks. I will spare most details on the cadaver experience for a few reasons:
(1) I don't want to offend anyone who doesn't like such subjects.
(2) There really aren't sufficient words to describe the experience.

So if you have been there and done that, then you probably know what I mean. If you have not, trust me it is a unique, disturbing, interesting, humbling, demanding, and invigorating experience. If anyone else who has experienced it would like to offer up some adjectives, please share. I will say that my group is great and I know we will really glean a lot from this course. We have named our cadaver The Captain, so if I reference that name in the future you will know to whom I am referring.

Other happenings of the week included a small dinner party on Tuesday night with a few classmates, a trip to the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Thursday night to see the movie Crash, and the Jimmy Buffet concert last night at the HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. That was my first time to see Jimmy Buffet in concert, and I have to say I enjoyed it for the most part. Unfortunately, about an hour before the show, Atlanta experienced the worst rain and thunderstorm in recent memory, complete with terrifying lightning and raging rivers in the streets. I waited for most of this to pass and decided to go ahead and go to the concert, where we had "lawn" seats. The rain continued on and off for the entire evening, so for the first hour of the concert I was basically miserable and wishing I had not decided to tough it out. But after I was sufficiently soaked and able to stop kicking myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the music and had a great time.

After the concert, our group stopped at Waffle House for coffee and a midnight meal. I am sorry to report that we received absolutely sub-par service. We must have been there 20 minutes before anyone even had a cup of hot coffee in front of them, and the rest of the experience was just as bad if not worse.

Today I have tried my best to study but am having trouble focusing. I decided around 11:30 to go to a nearby cafe and try to study there, but it turned out to be much less cool than it looked. Well, it actually was pretty cool, but there were no other customers. I also didn't see any employees in the cafe, so I wasn't feeling positive about being able to get lunch there. The place is part of Defoor Centre, which also has an art gallery and used book store. I walked through the book store (which is basically like a dilapidated library) and wasn't terribly impressed. One guy, apparently an employee, was sitting in the bookstore but was not very friendly. He obviously likes books more than people, as he managed to make eye contact with me but did not so much as say hello when I cheerily greeted him and asked how he was doing (as any good Southerner would do). So I left that place, picked up a sub to go, and now I'm back home trying to focus here. So far I have managed only to eat my sub and write this blog. Maybe now I will start studying.

Atlanta Notes

A few things noted thus far about Atlanta and it's largeness:

1. I now have 6 phone books instead of 1.
2. I cannot count the Waffle Houses, but I estimate there are between 150-200 in the Atlanta metro area. I have noticed there is no comprehensive map (that I can find) which marks all the WHs. I may make an attempt at this if I ever become computer savvy.
3. There are upwards of 80,000 registered tennis players.
4. No matter where you go, there is a parking "plan". As in, they will indicate either on their website or in front of their establishment where you can and cannot park if you are going to their place. This goes for restaurants, churches, everything.
5. Just minutes from my condo is the start of a paved trail (for biking, running, walking, etc) that extends all the way to the Georgia-Alabama state line. I think it's about 60 miles long. In Augusta, the longest trail of this type was approximately 6 miles long.
6. There are 10 Presbyterian PCA churches in Atlanta. That only includes Atlanta proper. There are more in Alpharetta and other such suburbs. I am not limiting my church search to the PCA, but it could take months just to visit all of these, which I don't intend to do.

This is all I have so far, after 2 days of officially living in Atlanta. I'm not overwhelmed by this city as much as I am just dumbfounded. I mean, I've been here before, but I've never fully appreciated the sheer swell of activity marked with such well established efficiency. The city is always growing and changing, but it is intimately in tune with and adapting to itself. I love it.

The Rest of the Story

The last post regarding Baton Rouge was made on Sunday afternoon. I did make it to that graduation party Sunday evening and saw all people I thought I would see minus Jill. I did see Jill's mother that night, though, so we arranged to get together later in the week for happy hour one day. It was so strange but so natural to be back in the midst of those old friends. I know they are like part of my family by how easy it is to hang out with them even after years go by without nearly enough communication. In fact, when I finally saw Jill on Tues evening and met her new husband, we decided it had been about 10 years since we had seen one another. I'm not sure how that happened, but I certainly hope it doesn't stretch that long again. I could go on about details of the evening on Sunday, but mostly it was just good old-fashioned catching up with people. Aunt Mary's house is still as great as I remembered. I always thought that they rented a frozen margarita machine for the annual Cinco de Mayo party, but I am happy to report that they actually own it. So I didn't miss all the Cinco fun after all. I unfortunately did not get any photos that evening, but I did get one with Jill and Mark on Tuesday night. Here we are atop the LSU Museum of Art downtown overlooking the Mississippi Bridge:

The restaurant/bar atop the museum is a sushi place called Tsunami and is a refreshingly cool place, with an obviously great veiw, for Baton Rouge.

Also, I mentioned Sarah's wedding previously but did not include photos. The first one below is of me, Sarah, and our friend Brandi. We were all friends starting at about age 4. Brandi and I played T-ball together, and we were all in girl scouts together. Brandi, sadly, moved when we were 14. It was great to get together again. The second photo is all of us from McKinley High that were at the wedding. From left, it is me, Kimee, Sarah, Cindy, and Amanda. We of course recounted the good old days and lamented the tragedy of working life. I was happy to report that I don't work anymore, though I think I will find soon that school may be harder than work was for me. We will all see each other again in July at our 10-year reunion.

The remainder of my visit, I tried as much as possible to pretend I was at the beach. Despite the lack of water, it worked pretty well. I ran every other day, walked the dog on off days, read a book, worked on my tan, etc. Tuesday morning I played Canasta with my mom's card group, which was fun. My last night, Wednesday night, my parents took me out for a very nice dinner at a place called Juban's. I got kudos because I ate everything on my plate, which included two veal chops served over mashed potatoes with crabmeat on top and some sort of asparagus-broccoli vegetable on the side. I also had a drink called "The New Old-Fasion", which was pretty good. A nice final meal (for this trip) in the greatest culinary state of these United States.

Red Stick Ramblings

I have been back home in Baton Rouge now since Thursday. It's funny, when I tell people in other places that I am from Baton Rouge, they always repeat the name back to me, but in the best fake Cajun-French accent they can muster. "Oh, Baatonne Roooje!?!" I always smile politely and nod, but I really think this is very obnoxious. If you don't live in Baton Rouge, trust me, the natives are not impressed with your best fake accent. And we don't say it that way anyway. I've tried to come up with a correlation, like if someone from Shanghai told me they were from Shanghai, and I said, "Oh, Shunghiiyah!" Thankfully I don't do that, nor have I heard anyone try, so why try to butcher Baton Rouge?

During my few days back here so far, which is my first visit in a year, I have been re-introduced very harshly to the oppressive heat in South Louisiana. If you live in middle to northern Alabama or anywhere in Georgia, I can assure you that what you think of as hot is no comparison to this. It's not even summer yet! I ran three miles this morning (morning, as in coolest time of day), and my body insisted it had been a marathon. You can't drink enough water to keep up with the constant loss of water due to massive perspiration. Oppressive is really the only word I can think of to describe it.

On a more lively note, I have truly enjoyed seeing some old friends, several of which I had not seen in many years. Most of my visits since college graduation (in 2000) have been brief ones during which I fly in, have some pre-arranged event to attend, spend 2-3 nights max, and fly back to Georgia. This visit has been pleasant due to my current jobless state, which is allowing me to stay for a week, not have to keep up with any work issues, and I also have my car because I drove here. After my arrival on Thursday, I drove over to my friend Sarah's house for a nice visit with her, her parents, and her best friend from college. Her wedding was last night, which was a big reason I came home this particular week and why she happens to be in town. The wedding was beautiful, and it was so great to see some of the other guests. Sarah and I have known one another since pre-school, and we were in school together through high school, so we had a lot of mutual friends and acquaintances over the years. One of our best grade school friends, Brandi, was at the wedding with her mother and gorgeous little five-year-old boy. Many of our parents' friends were there, most of whom my parents still stay in touch with but who I rarely see. Additionally, several of our high school friends were there. We stay in touch decently over e-mail, but we are rarely all in Baton Rouge at the same time.

Friday night, which I sort of skipped over, I went downtown with my parents for a great evening of live music called "Live After Five". We stayed for a few hours and spent some time walking around downtown to see the buildings that my dad is involved with some business deals for. His new office was in one of the buildings, and another one is an old hotel that he and his partner will be managing the renovation of. I wish I had gotten some pictures, as it was a beautiful late afternoon downtown, but I did not bring the camera. After a few cold beers, some jambalaya for an appetizer, and a good dose of bluesy soul music, my parents and I left the downtown party for a crawfish boil. What a treat the crawfish boil was! I didn't really know anyone there, though I met a very nice couple who had adopted a child from Romania 6 years ago. I spoke with that woman for most of the party and heard about her hopes and dreams for this little boy who they rescued from a dire situation in Bucharest. I went to Bucharest in 2002 on a mission trip and saw so many children there who are without homes or families, so it was encouraging to hear of at least one success story. After a long wait for the crawfish to be unveiled, we had the pleasure of eating our fill of some of the best boiled crawfish I have ever had. They also had jambalaya, boudin balls, and huge boiled shrimp. I had a few boudin balls but mainly stuck to the crawfish. I ate until I couldn't eat anymore - it was wonderful!

Back to visiting with friends... tonight I am headed to a graduation party for Emily, a high school friend who graduated yesterday from LSU Law School. This party will take place at Emily's Aunt Mary's house, a very lively and never-disappointing party venue. Aunt Mary also hosts an annual Cinco de Mayo party which I unfortunately missed this year. So tonight I will see Emily and many of our other friends from high school: Leanne who graduated yesterday from LSU Dental School and is getting married next month, Carrie (Leanne's sister) who is six months pregnant, and hopefully Jill who's wedding I missed in March.

As you can see, it has been a busy visit so far, but I have also had a lot of time to relax. I am even working on a tan for the first time in years. Yesterday I layed out in the yard for about 30 minutes and practically burned. Reference oppressive heat as mentioned above.

What a Wonderful Day

Today was another busy day as I am still settling into the new place in Atlanta. I had one almost entirely fruitless trip to the GT campus and one slightly better trip to run errands. Most of the to-do list for the day still remains to be done. However, I must say it was a wonderful day, and I will tell you why. It was my great and wonderful pleasure to embark on a new Waffle House today. Not just new, but opened for the first time this morning! Unfortunately, this find occurred late in the afternoon, which was not an opportune time to stop and eat. I did, however, stop to see what all the fanfare was about - there was a tent out front with what appeared to be some sort of giveaway trinkets. Wow, am I ever delighted that I stopped! It turns out they were giving away official Waffle House coffee mugs. I explained that I would definitely be back to eat sometime, as WH is my favorite restaurant. I don't know if they believed me or cared, but I did walk away with my very own mug. For those of you who don't know and have never tried to get a WH mug, they do not sell those mugs. You would have to steal one to get one, and I am not about to steal from my favorite establishment (or any other establishment I hope). Of all my worldly possessions, most of which I just packed up and moved here from Augusta, this new WH mug is one of my very favorites. So, if you ever come over to my place and I offer you the WH mug for your coffee, you will know that I truly do love you.

Signing On

Just a few short days after signing off, I am happy to report that I am back in the e-world from a new location. I don't actually have internet access in the new place yet, but I am tapping into someone's wireless. I have moved into a huge condo community here in Atlanta, and so far I think I am going to love it. It's extremely close to school, and everything I need other than school is close by: bank, dry cleaners, McDonald's, 13 sub restaurants, 9 chinese take-out places, 4 pizza joints, and various other eateries and bars. The only thing I haven't found yet is a grocery store, and considering the prices at most of the local restaurants, I better find one soon. Every time I go outside here, someone is walking or running by, most with dogs, so I think Kelsey and I will fit in well. Unfortunately, Kelsey is not transitioning real well just yet. She has apparently been pretty stressed out with the sudden change, and she hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. She also hasn't pooped, which may be because she hasn't eaten. I hope she can get herself adjusted soon. I suspect she will like indoor living and getting walked at least twice a day, but so far she doesn't seem too pleased with being stuck inside.

I'll have more to report as I get settled in, but as for tonight, I'm whipped. Just wanted to go ahead and get in the first blog from Atlanta here on my first night in Atlanta.

Signing Off

Alas, sadly, this is my last blog, last hoorah, last stroke of the keys from here at Oakdale. I am running out of things to pack here on the last day of packing, and so the computer must be dismantled and boxed. She will be resurrected in Atlanta, but probably not with internet access (we'll see how the $$ goes). Never fear though: have laptop, will use free wifi.

A few noteworthy updates before I pack this puppy up:
>> I finally sold the lawnmower today, and for a good price. The same buyer also bought two of the items I was planning to give away. So in addition to the lawnmower price, she paid $5 for two free items. Not a bad deal for me, but she seemed pleased.
>> With the house back on the market, two people wanted to see it today. Not the best day for "showing" the house due to mass chaos, but at least there is some traffic.
>> My car is still at the body shop, but they assure me it will be ready tomorrow. I feel better if I fully believe that to be true, so I believe it.
>> As a result of the first item above (and because I am moving), I officially mowed my lawn for the last time today. Future lawn maintenance will be done by someone other than myself. It will cost me, but I am ok with that.
>> There are still many free items up for grabs, so if you are here in Augusta, stop on by and browse. You may either take the free items for free or offer me money for them as the nice lady did earlier today.

Over and out.

Ho Hum, or Not

I unknowingly entered this week, my last week in Augusta, realizing that I had a lot to do but really thinking it would go pretty smoothly and ho hum. Well, lets just say it's not going so smoothly. So far these things aren't getting me too worked up, as I know that it will all be fine, but a few hiccups as of right now are:

(1) Yesterday, on my way to play my last 9 holes of golf as an Augustan, I was rear-ended by a lady in a big ole Dodge truck. So now, with 4 days remaining here in Augusta, my car is in the body shop. Everything seems to be cool with her insurance, but who knows? Hopefully the work will finish by Friday, as the trusty guy at Rick's assured me it would.

(2) Today, I got the news that my house is no longer under contract. We were scheduled to close next week, but I did not agree to repair a few items that the buyer insisted on having repaired. So we're back to square one on selling the house. I'm pretty confident that it will still sell easily, but it was sure nice to have that all taken care of already, or so I thought.

Hopefully that will be the end of the hiccups and the rest of the week will be ho hum, but I'm not holding my breath...

Truth:::Truth:::Truth

Do you ever feel like God is really bringing home a certain message to you? It’s interesting sometimes, how we come across the same truth in different forms all in a short span of time. Today, I’ve been pointedly reminded over and over of the best truth of all:
Every single day that goes by, I don’t measure up to the righteousness that God requires of me. And every single day, the righteousness of Christ is freely offered to me as a replacement for what I cannot attain on my own.

The 3 reminders I had of this today were as follows:
(1) This morning’s sermon at church was from Luke 4, where Jesus was tempted by the devil. Three separate times, Jesus was challenged to turn from God, and all three times Jesus did what you and I cannot do. He remembered God’s command, he clung to God’s promises, and he resisted the temptation before him. And because we cannot do this, God allows the performance of Christ to be ours as well.
(2) After church, I went to Waffle House for my usual Sunday breakfast, though I usually go before church. I brought my Bible to read while eating, and I turned to Romans 12, where I left off yesterday morning. As I was reading, I noticed an underlined verse on the previous page, Romans 11:32. It says, “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” Not only does God freely offer his mercy to us, he reminds us that there is not one person who is not in need of it, not one.
(3) This afternoon, I was reading The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. I actually wanted to pick up a simple novel a few days ago and realized that I have already packed them all. So instead I picked up this book, the only unpacked book that I have not yet read. I don’t exactly understand what’s going on in the book, but I think the characters are people who have died and are either in heaven or hell, or somewhere in between. Two of them get into a heated discussion. One guy, who is not in heaven, says, “Look at me, now. I gone straight all my life. I don’t say I was a religious man and I don’t say I had no faults, far from it. But I done my best all my life, see? I done my best by everyone, that’s the sort of chap I was. I never asked for anything that wasn’t mine by rights. If I wanted a drink I paid for it and if I took my wages I done my job, see? That’s the sort of chap I was and I don’t care who knows it.” Another guy, who is in heaven, sort of starts arguing with him that it really doesn’t matter. But the guy continues in his tirade, “What do you keep arguing for? I’m only telling you the sort of chap I am. I only want my rights. I’m not asking for anybody’s bleeding charity.” The guy in heaven responds, “Then do. At once. Ask for the Bleeding Charity. Everything is here for the asking and nothing can be bought.”
Wow, what a great reminder of the same beautiful truth. We so badly want to earn just what we feel we deserve in this life and beyond. Thank God that he does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he gives us what Christ deserves. The “Bleeding Charity” is ours for the taking if we will only admit that we cannot earn its rewards on our own.