Week Three in the ATL

Today let's discuss getting around, wild life (both human and nature), southern manners, shopping, and a few fun things we've done.

So after three weeks of living here, I'm still lost. Some friends tell me it will take YEARS to know where I am, others say they have lived here 10+ years and still need a GPS. I'm starting to accept the fact that it's huge and sprawling with street names that change without warning and bizarre intersections where I pray I'm not turning into oncoming traffic. There was one intersection where I was grateful for the red light because it gave me time to try to figure out where I was supposed to turn. Wow.

I did have a good day last Friday when I had three errands to do and made it to all three and home again with no confusion, tears, or the F-bomb.

Anyone else have their Garmin lose satellite reception though? Mine is doing it a lot and it's scary when you seriously are half way home and suddenly the lady can't help you anymore. Might just be the trees but it's super annoying to me.

The friendliness and manners here are nice but a tad unnerving. Never in my life have I been called "Ma'am" by so many people of all ages. It's a little weird and makes me feel old. But I do appreciate it and it seems genuine. I went to the Gwinnett County Library by our house to get a library card. Since I don't have a GA license yet, I brought a utility bill like their website said to do. However, it had Brian's name on it, not mine. The woman practically cried when apologizing for not being able to give me a card. She apologized so many times that I was starting to get uncomfortable...I finally just said "You know, it's fine. I'll come back - I was out anyway, I didn't make a special trip." She advised me to "just mail yourself something and bring it back" and then she could help me.

We have several kinds of wildlife in our neighborhood: bluejays, bluebirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, deer, turtles, and the college kids who live across the street. The deer are in our yard (I think it's the same one every time but what do I know?) and the turtle was on our dog walk one morning. The boys freaked out barking at the deer and didn't notice the turtle at all. The boys did notice the drunk Auburn students in our front yard last Friday night though. I mean, they were sort of hard not to notice with two kids hog tying a drunk out-of-control kid face down near my sidewalk.

We came out, asked what was going on, and got varying answers. It was clear he'd been "over-served" but one of his friends also said he had "roid rage". Now drunk I can handle but I get a bit uncomfortable around someone who potentially is all roided up, pissed off, and super strong. I asked if they could take care of him, they said yes; I asked if he needed an ambulance, they said no, but when he got up and started coming toward me, I bolted for the door. Not gonna deal with that. They got him out of the yard soon after that. Now here's where the Southern Manners come in:

A handful of young men knocked on the door TO APOLOGIZE. I was flabbergasted. This would not have happened in Michigan or in Ohio. They assured us it wouldn't happen again. Then later when we had the boys out to use the yard one more time before bed, the kid who lives across the street also came over to apologize. He said "This probably wasn't the best "welcome to the neighborhood" that we could have given you." He's right but I was impressed that they handled it like they did. Now keep your friend out of my yard.

We had two social outings to explore the area a bit:

The Peachtree Corners Festival - http://www.peachtreecornersfestival.org/

This was the first one they'd had for my little neck of the woods - it was fun but hot! Lots of vendors, food (kind of like of Taste of Peachtree), musical acts, community groups like animal rescues and voter issues, etc. It was hot and rainy at one point during the day but we stopped by toward the end and it was fun. Another example of "southern hospitality": a lady overheard me telling Brian that I'd forgotten to put on sunscreen and she took a small bottle out of her purse and gave it to me, saying she never burns anyway! Wow.

Vallarta Mexican Grill - http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/121597/restaurant/Atlanta/Vallarta-Mexican-Grill-Norcross

A new friend told me about this place and it turns out to be literally 5 minutes from our house. So we checked it out last Thursday night. The food was great, cheap, and fast. Margaritas were $4 and they walk around topping off your drink! The refills aren't as strong as the first one but what a nice touch! We'll definitely be back.

Did a little furniture shopping:

Underpriced Furniture - http://www.underpricedfurniture.com/

I was a little skeptical because of the name but once in the place, I was amazed. It's good quality, mostly tasteful with a range of styles, they give you free hotdogs and bottled water when you get there (we only had water), and it was huge! We were not hounded by salespeople but could find one when we needed one. We bought a dinette set there and will definitely check it out again when we need something else.

Lastly (a huge step for me) - I may have found a church I can handle.

Simpsonwood United Methodist - http://www.simpsonwoodumc.org/

I've been twice and the people are nice, not pushy about joining or attendance, not so "Ned Flanders" that I feel weird, and it is close to home. The traditional service is still fairly casual and they offer "contemporary" services that I'd probably hate because of the music (haha) I'm hoping to volunteer at the soup kitchen that they help in July.

So that's all from my THIRD WEEK in Atlanta! As always, please message me about suggestions of cool stuff to do, places to eat, etc!

:-)