This is Miss M. We are new pals, and she loves the cat. We hang out a couple of days a week and do girl stuff. You know, like play with small animal toys, jump around on gym mats, run around the house hiding from monsters, and drink hot cocoa or coffee. Yeah, she's awesome.
25 March 2008
24 March 2008
Atlanta's worth - a work in progress
I find myself ofter saying "When I leave Atlanta I'll miss ______ the most." Perhaps it's worth concentrating on loving these things while I'm here. This will be an ongoing list, but perhaps visitors or unexperienced Atlantans will find this worth their time.
First up,
(Your) Dekalb Farmers Market.
despite the explicitly stated "No photography" signs, I have managed to find a dozen or so on flickr from others...
The house I've been living in this past year has been the closest I've ever lived to DFM, and it's proven to be a blessing and a curse. Never have I spent so much money on food in my life, yet if I had to choose a place to do it, this would be it. Their hot bar includes foods from all over, from fried chicken to "Indian spiced chickpeas." The labels for the international foods have been dumbed down for the Atlanta public, which usually creates the feeling of mystery food, but rarely have I been disappointed, especially when a pound of food rings up as $3.99.
David often remarks how my hair tends to soak up the "DFM smell"... it's unmistakable. And oftentimes you'll find the bakery products to soak up the same smells, but it's a little endearing, right? Alas, it keeps me coming back for the single orders of Celray and their vegetable samosas.
First up,
(Your) Dekalb Farmers Market.
despite the explicitly stated "No photography" signs, I have managed to find a dozen or so on flickr from others...
The house I've been living in this past year has been the closest I've ever lived to DFM, and it's proven to be a blessing and a curse. Never have I spent so much money on food in my life, yet if I had to choose a place to do it, this would be it. Their hot bar includes foods from all over, from fried chicken to "Indian spiced chickpeas." The labels for the international foods have been dumbed down for the Atlanta public, which usually creates the feeling of mystery food, but rarely have I been disappointed, especially when a pound of food rings up as $3.99.
David often remarks how my hair tends to soak up the "DFM smell"... it's unmistakable. And oftentimes you'll find the bakery products to soak up the same smells, but it's a little endearing, right? Alas, it keeps me coming back for the single orders of Celray and their vegetable samosas.
17 March 2008
the wind left us with memories
The weekend's events held mixed emotions. Atlanta was simultaneously presented with the best and worst of things, which each have a habit of revealing what's really underneath.
It started fine with beautiful weather and the arrival of Counter Culture's guests James and Annette for a weekend of talks, drinks, and food. Their presence attracted coffee people from across the lands, including the Rue's du Volta from way down south. We all gathered for an evening of debauchery and throwdowns when Atlanta was struck by natural disaster and suddenly the city fell apart. Octane survived, our house survived, my friends and family are fine, too, but we certainly felt the grip of death as the sun rose to reveal our misfortunes.
above: my roommate's car
above: a local landmark, both before the damage and after
of course, while this was going down (pun intended), so was this:
Both events seem to pull us together in different ways. The James Hoffmann event gave a chance for coffee people to gather and converse, yet it was impossible to ignore the presence of the storm across the days after (including now). It takes almost twice as long to get to work now that my main route has been quickly snipped in the middle as I used to drive just by the CNN center... Even driving from Dave's, which is just behind CNN and the Dome and significantly closer to Octane, leaves me driving strange routes and double-backing when the roads I found open in the morning are closed by nightfall.
You can even see the holes in the Westin panes from Octane. Erie, to say the least.
It started fine with beautiful weather and the arrival of Counter Culture's guests James and Annette for a weekend of talks, drinks, and food. Their presence attracted coffee people from across the lands, including the Rue's du Volta from way down south. We all gathered for an evening of debauchery and throwdowns when Atlanta was struck by natural disaster and suddenly the city fell apart. Octane survived, our house survived, my friends and family are fine, too, but we certainly felt the grip of death as the sun rose to reveal our misfortunes.
above: my roommate's car
above: a local landmark, both before the damage and after
of course, while this was going down (pun intended), so was this:
Both events seem to pull us together in different ways. The James Hoffmann event gave a chance for coffee people to gather and converse, yet it was impossible to ignore the presence of the storm across the days after (including now). It takes almost twice as long to get to work now that my main route has been quickly snipped in the middle as I used to drive just by the CNN center... Even driving from Dave's, which is just behind CNN and the Dome and significantly closer to Octane, leaves me driving strange routes and double-backing when the roads I found open in the morning are closed by nightfall.
You can even see the holes in the Westin panes from Octane. Erie, to say the least.
10 March 2008
09 March 2008
The time change struck me by surprise. Of course there was a rushed feeling when I realized I had to be at work in fifteen minutes, but it was more that I couldn't figure out where the time had gone since we had turned our clocks this past fall. Didn't we just do this? I remember the analogy I gave to David to describe the feeling of coming back to Atlanta from Japan: it feels like within the book that tells my life story, a section of pages have been ripped out. As if we skip from page 162 to 194 without a question. My sense of continuity has been disrupted for the sake of a new experience. This brings me anxiety as I feel that this possibly means I learned nothing from my trip, that maybe I did not find the answers I was looking for, or that somehow it was not special enough.
But those are statements that are not true. I believe that the feeling of a disrupted continuity simply shows the ease of habits to take reign on one's life. It took two weeks to sleep soundly at normal hours again. My cat does not freak out every time I leave the house now. The espresso machine at work is no longer awkward in my hands as it was when I first returned. And like that, my trip to japan left my present state of mind, and I became an Atlantan again.
Tonight I was able to re-live the moments of Fukuoka through an event we host at Octane called Pecha Kucha Night. A forum for intellectuals, designers, travelers, etc... you present twenty slides with twenty seconds to speak on each slide. I suppose its a way for Atlantans to feel like something is happening in this city, although most presentations seems to take place somewhere else in the world. Tonight we heard about the Atlanta belt-line project, the Buckhead branch library's architecture, a social commentary on the vastness of YouTube's content, and my own "travelogue" of my time spent in Japan. It almost seemed to allow myself to have a sense of closure.. as if I had finally publicly validated my time abroad. Yes, I was here and I did these things and I learned something.
Next month's Pecha Kucha Night will feature Octane, as we will be presenting on the Bikes to Rwanda Benefit we will be holding on April 12th. Aly, my roommate and coworker extraordinare, has been working days and nights on this project. Spoke card art show, bike race, Rwandan coffee cupping, Pecha Kucha show... April is Rwanda month at Octane and I am stoked! I think we are even getting some special Rwandan micro-lots and a Humure roasted for espresso. Hell yes! This would be a first for Octane... S.O. 'spro at Octane. A miracle, indeed. Much to look forward to, my friends.
But those are statements that are not true. I believe that the feeling of a disrupted continuity simply shows the ease of habits to take reign on one's life. It took two weeks to sleep soundly at normal hours again. My cat does not freak out every time I leave the house now. The espresso machine at work is no longer awkward in my hands as it was when I first returned. And like that, my trip to japan left my present state of mind, and I became an Atlantan again.
Tonight I was able to re-live the moments of Fukuoka through an event we host at Octane called Pecha Kucha Night. A forum for intellectuals, designers, travelers, etc... you present twenty slides with twenty seconds to speak on each slide. I suppose its a way for Atlantans to feel like something is happening in this city, although most presentations seems to take place somewhere else in the world. Tonight we heard about the Atlanta belt-line project, the Buckhead branch library's architecture, a social commentary on the vastness of YouTube's content, and my own "travelogue" of my time spent in Japan. It almost seemed to allow myself to have a sense of closure.. as if I had finally publicly validated my time abroad. Yes, I was here and I did these things and I learned something.
Next month's Pecha Kucha Night will feature Octane, as we will be presenting on the Bikes to Rwanda Benefit we will be holding on April 12th. Aly, my roommate and coworker extraordinare, has been working days and nights on this project. Spoke card art show, bike race, Rwandan coffee cupping, Pecha Kucha show... April is Rwanda month at Octane and I am stoked! I think we are even getting some special Rwandan micro-lots and a Humure roasted for espresso. Hell yes! This would be a first for Octane... S.O. 'spro at Octane. A miracle, indeed. Much to look forward to, my friends.
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