just a few minor annoyances

a member of the parking committee at andy's condo complex thinks she made a move for justice the other night by having my car towed from the visitor lot at 2:30am. as the chron would say: unbelievable. i'm not exactly sure who the vigilante is, but apparently this person thinks that i should no longer qualify as a "visitor" and wants to teach me a lesson. i won't bore you with the technicalities, but i was parked in a legal space for less than 8 hours. i might add that andy is a member of the parking committee, has seen a few violators and issued warnings, but has never resorted to towing. we sent an email to the committee demanding a reimbursement and an apology. no luck so far, but it's only been one day. i'm plotting my revenge, and it's gonna be sweeeeeeet. i'll take your suggestions on how to get even.

tried to file a motion at fulton co. superior court today. left my office a little before 4:30 knowing that i probably wouldn't make it in the door by 5pm. miraculously i was able to get downtown, park, and walk over with a few minutes to spare. i dashed up the stairs (pryor st entrance) and saw a sign that read "this entrance is closed to the public. please use central ave entrance." whatever. i didn't have time for that. i pushed past the sign, the doors weren't locked, so i figured i was clear. threw my stuff on the security belt and the guard says "ma'am unless you work here you cannot come through" and i'm like "but the clerks office is RIGHT THERE!!" really, the clerk's office is 20 feet from the security point. of course there was no point arguing. and no point going around, because it's a long jog around to the back of the building. so i aborted the mission, motion unfiled.


some guy in line next to me at the store today heard me say to the cashier "i have my own bag," and replied "overachiever." i kept my mouth shut on that one.

flu shots are for the weak

i haven't gotten a flu shot, nor do i plan to get one. here's why: pride. plain and simple. i know it sounds ridiculous, but that's my deal. i take damned good care of myself. i usually get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, i exercise 3 times per week, i wash my hands very frequently, my job isn't extremely stressful, i don't spend much time around small children, and i eat healthy meals, most of which do not come from a fast food restaurant. some of these practices require more effort than i would like, but it's totally worth it, and a lot of them are actually enjoyable. try it sometime. if my immune system can't handle the flu assault, well, then i guess i deserve to get sick. i'll keep you posted.

and now i shall get off my high-horse. good night.

old man + snuggie = moderately amusing

i could have used one of these on saturday...although i would have had some problems running around throwing the football in it.

some old guy at the neighboring tailgate party

perhaps you are aware of georgia tech's big win over virginia tech. andy convinced me to go with him onto the field after the game ended. here's a shot a few minutes before the frat guys broke the goal post.

(it took a really long time for the goal post to come down...pathetic.)

yeah it was a good weekend.

flood damage

the weather on saturday was awesome so andy and i got our butts off the couch and went for a long walk/jog/adventure. we walked through some neighborhoods near historic downtown vinings since i live on the edge of all that. we saw some evidence from the recent flooding, mainly dirty trees and bushes and then yard sign ads for water damage companies. it's only been two weeks and we both have already forgotten how much destruction it caused since *fortunately* we weren't affected by it. we went down cochise drive and saw some pretty alarming signs from the flooding - i never realized how close these homes are to the chattahoochee.

photo courtesy of ajc.com 9/22 (shared by bleufalcon)

if we hadn't been roaming through such a wealthy neighborhood the aftermath would have been heart-breaking - construction debris everywhere, emergency trailers parked on the curb, toys & patio items scattered about from where they had once been afloat in the yard, etc - but since this is a notoriously rich part of town i hardly felt bad for the material damage we saw. don't think i'm a bad person, i mean, it sucks for the families, but at least they have the resources to rebuild their homes and buy new cars.

as we were walking we saw a lot of the homeowners outside in their yards. one guy was on his phone and kinda waved us down, so we thought he needed a hand with something or just wanted to ask us a question. you could see the water line on the house, it was probably at 6-8 feet. we paused in front of his driveway, then heard him say into the phone "hey man, i'll call ya back." so we thought it must be important if he hung up his phone to chat with us. i was like hey, this is horrible, what's goin' on? then it was clear to us that he didn't need help, because all he talked about was the monetary value of the assets his parents and neighbors lost. something about his mom and an upscale boutique, a neighbor with 4 million in damage to his car collection, etc. yeah man, you're impressing me now. oh, but we did learn something from him: almost everyone in that area had insurance.

this guy was ridiculous. probably 25 years old. not very physically attractive (but then again, most people look bad standing next to andy). socially awkward. textbook close-talker. there was an air of desperation about his friendliness and his obvious need to talk about his parents money. here's my story about him: he's an only child born to some rich people who, by giving him everything he ever wanted, denied him the opportunity to develop essential learning/coping/social skills. he went off to college, as all upper-class kids do, but probably dropped out to help a friend start a business, thinking "who needs a degree, we're gonna be rich!" well, that business tanked, and he can't make it in the real world. but no problem, because he's got mom & dad. the friends he had at one point have forgotten him because they're busy with their jobs and their girlfriends... makes sense, i guess.

so i made the mistake of telling him my name. he knows i went to tech, and knows i live in the area. i'm expecting a facebook request at any moment.

here's a photo my boss emailed to me of one of her neighbors.
she lives in sandy springs, just outside 285. fortunately her
house is on a hill away from the river. looks like the rich
folk had themselves a grand ol' time.