Lots of thoughts after a weekend in the ATL
Lots of stuff to think through and talk about after this weekend, so this entry will likely be a little scattered. Feel free to skip the parts that bore you, haha.
I’ll start with a metaphor my friend came up with that I really like and might set the stage for my entry from this weekend. We were talking about our college experiences and what it’s like to try to be an adult and move on. Freshman year, we were all told that we’re all in the same boat. We were all trying to figure things out, make new friends and so on. What they don’t tell you is that that ship is the Titanic, and on graduation day, you hit the iceberg. From there you scrabble around the debris trying to hold on to everyone and everything that you care about from that darn ship. And we all know how well that turned out.
We’re all handling things with different levels of discomfort, but I’m optimistic about where things will go from here. We’re all trying to support each other as we go through similar struggles.
That being said, sometimes the most comforting experience in the world can be reconnecting with friends from college, no matter how brief the reunion is. I saw this firsthand during my trip to Atlanta to visit Lindsay, one of my close college friends.
On Friday evening, I left work promptly at 5:30 p.m. with a light dinner packed in my purse and hit the road. For the next five hours I traveled north along I-75 toward my friend and a fun holiday weekend. I spent some of the trip pondering work difficulties and such, but the farther I got from Gainesville, the more relaxed I became.
I also spent some time thinking about how different my perspective is on distance compared to just a four years ago. Now, a five-hour trip seems like nothing whereas four years ago I thought being two hours from home was an epic drive. Now, I have the means to just hop on a flight if I want and be anywhere in the states for a weekend. Being so far from the Midwest, this change in perspective is a welcome comfort, but back to my weekend in Atlanta:
Soon after my arrival at Lindsay’s house in Home Park, we were catching up like old times and on our way for some food and a nightcap at Ormsby’s, the first of many great restaurants and bars I would be taken to over the weekend. After trying my first Chicago-style hotdog (yes, I know, in Atlanta) and talking with my friend for a long time, her roommate (the fiance of another close friend) came and joined us for a while longer. It was so fun just being around people who know me and with whom I can joke about old times, but by 1 a.m. I was starting to feel the time after my long drive, and we called it a night.
The next day was full of more great explorations. Lindsay took me to Little Five Points, this great alternative neighborhood in Atlanta with some cool vintage shops, restaurants and such. We ate lunch at this famous restaurant, The Vortex, where I tried bison for the first time. It was really good! A bit like beef but way more tender and flavorful. Anyway, after lunch we walked around the area, shopped a bit and ended up at Brewhouse Cafe where we watched the Espana/Paraguay game with hundreds of other World Cup fans. Most of the people, including a crazy guy with a vuvuzela, appeared to be Spain fans, so it was fun watching them win. We even missed the very beginning of the Braves game for which we had tickets in order to catch Spain’s goal and celebrate with the other patrons.
But we made it to the game at the top of the second inning and had fun talking about friends back home, rocking out to the music and enjoying the game. The Braves won 4-1, so I must’ve brought them some luck, even though I guess I should’ve been cheering for the Marlins since I live in Florida now. Oh well. :)
After a much-needed break, we headed to this wonderful taqueria called Tin Lizzy’s in Midtown. Again the food was great, and afterward we walked up the block just a bit to enjoy the cool evening on the patio at Ri Ra, an Irish pub. Joking about bachelorette party plans for our friend and enjoying the night skyline kept us talking for several more hours outside. I even found a new drink I really like called a Blackberry with Stoli Blakberi, lemon juice, blackberries and mint. Oh, and of course I can’t forget Allen, our adorable Irish waiter with an accent that made me immediately homesick for the British Isles. Lindsay of course used her talents to keep Allen talking while I simply enjoyed listening to his voice. Haha.
A bit later Lindsay noticed there was a good live band playing inside, so we went in to check them out. I can’t remember the band’s name, but they were really good, playing great covers of everything from Play That Funky Music to Lollipop. When the band took a break, we ended up talking to a couple of guys on the dancefloor, and I bantered with this German guy about whether Holland or Germany would be winning the World Cup. I think I had him convinced of Holland’s unavoidable success by the end of the evening. Finally we decided to call it a night and headed back to Home Park.
Sunday we had a more chill day. We started the day at The Flying Biscuit, a yummy southern place where I tried both sweet tea and grits for the first time. While they were fun to try, I think they’ll be staying on the sidelines of my diet for the foreseeable future. Haha, not quite my taste. Then we wandered around nearby Piedmont Park where Lindsay goes on weekends. It was a huge green park with a swimming pool, wide open spaces and even porch swings surrounding a reservoir. After walking all around, we ended up talking for a long time on the porch swing.
After a while, I received an unexpected phone call from my friend Dana who is also living in Atlanta and I hadn’t expected to see. But we ended up making plans to meet up for the fireworks and 4th celebrations later that evening. Then Lindsay and I headed back to her place before grabbing some groceries, picking up her friend Whitney and heading toward some Independence Day celebrations. Initially we were going to go to Stone Mountain for music and fireworks, but Dana called saying the place was full. Since Centennial Park would be packed too, we decided to meet up in a suburb of Atlanta, called Decatur, for a smaller city celebration.
The town square vividly reminded me of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. It was a cute area with a big band playing patriotic songs, adorable kids and puppies everywhere. Soon after we laid down our blanket, Dana and her friends from Atlanta joined us. I was really nervous bringing two groups of complete strangers together, but thankfully my fears were unfounded. Everyone got along really well, and it was so great to see Dana since it had been many months since I’d last seen her.
Many hours of snacks, joking and a hilarious fireworks display later, Lindsay, Whitney and I went to Brick Store, a pub just off the square with an extensive beer collection and a really cool atmosphere. We even ended up meeting up with some of the other interns at Lindsay’s summer internship and spent a while hanging out in the parking lot, loving the company, the busy atmosphere of the dark town and the cool summer air.
By midnight I was exhausted and we headed back to Lindsay’s house where we sat up talking with a couple of her roommates before calling it a night. Late the next morning I finally woke up and sadly went on my way back to Gainesville.
Love.
