Sooo..amazingly great day here in southern Florida. Glad to be back here, all moved in and unpacked...have seen my old friends and made some new ones already. I went to a Full Moon Party Friday night at Morado Bay/ Islamorada. Great time, fire dancing, great costumes and parades, a live band with beach dance area and a dj/ dance floor and of course lots and lots of dancing!! I love to dance!! A big crowd too. We all drove out there and even though it took longer than we originally thought to get there, and parking was a mess, and it was pretty expensive to get in it was totally worth it!
Today, my first full day off since I got here so far I have successfully rolled out of bed to put a bathing suite on and hit the pool, then I got a lite lunch and hit the beach for some ocean paddleboarding. It is so much fun, if you haven't tried it before I definitely recommend it! We boarded through the channel to the marina area (where we found a manatee!!!) and went through a little cove off the beaten path. The manatee was circling around us and we were playing back and forth for a little while with it (it would go head of us then let us catch up, then come right next to and under our boards, then we would get ahead and it would come back around and swim next to us. It was so amazing! I named it Manny, and Amy named it Bubba. Haha I can't wait to go back (maybe tomorrow) and see if it is still hanging around this area!the wind made it a little tough to paddle back to shore, but it overall was a relaxing time, along with a good workout at the end. A guy even sprayed us down with a hose as we went by his house which was appreciated seeing as the temperature is in the 90's (and being on the water of course is windier but reflects more of the sun).
Later tonite I am going to a hot yoga class, and then over to help some sick pilot whales. I now have a wetsuit I borrowed so I will be a little more prepared. I am excited to do this and I will let y'all know what it entails once I have finished my shift! :) Woohoo!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thank You Atlanta
Dear Atlanta,
Thank you for letting me experience you. From the beauty of your countryside and marvelous sunsets to the terror (for me at least) of your fury and tornadoes. You truly do have some great people here who I will not forget, the southern hospitality for the most part I'd say holds true.
I have made some amazing memories, and experienced a 'different way of life.' I have taken advantage of a few cool opportunities, along with wishing I had more time here to take advantage of more. I know I will be back again in a short while for a visit, but am also very excited for new opportunity ahead.
I have had a nice time here and been welcomed in with open arms (which I appreciate very much) by my Aunt and Uncle (and cousins). They could not have been any more helpful or caring. I appreciate everything they have given me and the time we got to spend reconnecting, after not seeing them much when I was younger (due to the fact they lived in NC for a great part of my childhood). They are great people and I am proud to have them a part of my family! Lots of laughter, some tears, bonding during my lovely unemployment period and late night chocolate escapades :), saying 'goodbye' to Coty (went away to the military for a while), to welcoming in a new member of the family (Bella- our new puppy), teaching Shel about hooping and her teaching me some organization (hah)..the list goes on.
Applebuddies- I have bonded with you all more than I had guessed in the few short months I have been here, but I love you all and know that we will all keep this time to look back on with 'fond memories' (to say the least haha). Also, to the others I have met during my time here...I'm glad for that too.
Here's to the new people who come into our lives, the old ones who helped shape who we become, and the ones we know will be sticking around through it all. Thank You All!
<3 Stephanie
Thank you for letting me experience you. From the beauty of your countryside and marvelous sunsets to the terror (for me at least) of your fury and tornadoes. You truly do have some great people here who I will not forget, the southern hospitality for the most part I'd say holds true.
I have made some amazing memories, and experienced a 'different way of life.' I have taken advantage of a few cool opportunities, along with wishing I had more time here to take advantage of more. I know I will be back again in a short while for a visit, but am also very excited for new opportunity ahead.
I have had a nice time here and been welcomed in with open arms (which I appreciate very much) by my Aunt and Uncle (and cousins). They could not have been any more helpful or caring. I appreciate everything they have given me and the time we got to spend reconnecting, after not seeing them much when I was younger (due to the fact they lived in NC for a great part of my childhood). They are great people and I am proud to have them a part of my family! Lots of laughter, some tears, bonding during my lovely unemployment period and late night chocolate escapades :), saying 'goodbye' to Coty (went away to the military for a while), to welcoming in a new member of the family (Bella- our new puppy), teaching Shel about hooping and her teaching me some organization (hah)..the list goes on.
Applebuddies- I have bonded with you all more than I had guessed in the few short months I have been here, but I love you all and know that we will all keep this time to look back on with 'fond memories' (to say the least haha). Also, to the others I have met during my time here...I'm glad for that too.
Here's to the new people who come into our lives, the old ones who helped shape who we become, and the ones we know will be sticking around through it all. Thank You All!
<3 Stephanie
A month later..
Well, about a month has gone by since my last post. Sorry about that...To fill in the gaps, I went and checked out the Sweetwater 420 fest, although I didn't get to see Rusted Root I did see some other good acts and enjoyed some tasty brews. After that, I stayed w Ash in North Atlanta.
The adventure to Savannah/ Tybee Island was a sensation. Jammed out to Girl Talk on the way there, chilled and hooped at the beach with Abita and some Tilt. Great weather, and pretty busy for the middle of the week, but it was around Spring Break time so it was expected.
Jimkata was in the ATL and rocked it (like always). Even gave a shoutout to my best, the one, the only, Kylie Miller! Oh yeahhh. (and of course Homer, NY). Good music, cool guys, great time. (Happy Easter)
What else... I went to my first braves game. The first one however was rained out, so we hung out at the 755 Club for a little while before heading back. Because of the rain out they played the next day a double header, and although I couldn't attend the one in the afternoon I did get to see the one that night w heather, LB, Nat, Haylie and their bfs. Heather's friend even hooked her and I up with row 2 tickets right behind home plate. Oh yeah! It was awesome! They played the Brewers.
I had my first adventure to Stone Mountain with Ash and B and we hiked to the top. Great weather, and view from half way and then the top was amazing. You can oversee the city, and the skyline is broken up into 3 parts. Gorgeous. I went to see some bands after that in Little 5, electronic type.
The adventure to Savannah/ Tybee Island was a sensation. Jammed out to Girl Talk on the way there, chilled and hooped at the beach with Abita and some Tilt. Great weather, and pretty busy for the middle of the week, but it was around Spring Break time so it was expected.
Jimkata was in the ATL and rocked it (like always). Even gave a shoutout to my best, the one, the only, Kylie Miller! Oh yeahhh. (and of course Homer, NY). Good music, cool guys, great time. (Happy Easter)
What else... I went to my first braves game. The first one however was rained out, so we hung out at the 755 Club for a little while before heading back. Because of the rain out they played the next day a double header, and although I couldn't attend the one in the afternoon I did get to see the one that night w heather, LB, Nat, Haylie and their bfs. Heather's friend even hooked her and I up with row 2 tickets right behind home plate. Oh yeah! It was awesome! They played the Brewers.
I had my first adventure to Stone Mountain with Ash and B and we hiked to the top. Great weather, and view from half way and then the top was amazing. You can oversee the city, and the skyline is broken up into 3 parts. Gorgeous. I went to see some bands after that in Little 5, electronic type.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Dah Dahh Dah Waht Wahhh (to musical undertones)
...Saturday debauchery Madness...Sunday funday w E..then to bringin home the money on Cinco, the the next Mon/Tues Shenanigans (Hotlanta We're on the Loose' and 'Blast Off Party')...Road Trip, Tampa w miss Mia and then MIA...then onto Paradise and a sweet rockin job. The next two weeks are gonna be insane!! Take away the fact that I no longer will have to be on these constant tornado warnings and watches, let's make it through this one. Would be perfect if I could take my Atlantians w me...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Savannah-Bound
...Come 6am Haley and I are off to Savannah...Sad Moni and Nat aren't coming though!! I will have to fill in the blanks of our adventure soon... Goodnite all!
PS- Jimkata will be in the ATL April 24th at the Five Spot...I'll be there!!
Also, really hoping to get next friday off for the Rusted Root Concert. If I am scheduled, I willl definitely do what I can to switch- even if that means I will have to work a double some other day...please oh please!
PS- Jimkata will be in the ATL April 24th at the Five Spot...I'll be there!!
Also, really hoping to get next friday off for the Rusted Root Concert. If I am scheduled, I willl definitely do what I can to switch- even if that means I will have to work a double some other day...please oh please!
Storms..the difference between Upstate (NY) and the Dirty South
I used to think I liked thunderstorms...the rain and noise as it lulled you to sleep, the rolling thunder in the distance...notice the key word being DISTANCE.
Here, in lovely GA last night we had a crazy thunderstorm, which led to tornado warnings/ watches. Thanks to Sabrina, and her grandma, I will remember a tornado watch is where it's 'ok' for you to sit and watch for it out the window. A warning is like a 'get the hell to safety because you may get hit and die.' Ok. well she didn't say the die part, but you know. If we had a basement here I may be a little more at ease, and the fact that if the trees did get hit and fall they are far enough away from the house that it wouldn't necessarily get hit, and we are on a hill-ish area makes me feel better. But, when there are close to 90 (or more) I will look up the exact number later, of lightning hits in about an hour. The storms tore through Georgia, and lightning hit the main Bank of America, not once, but TWICE last night. I have no idea how the puppy slept through it all, and then when it finally calmed down, 420am she decides to come up and start pawing at me in the face to wake up and play with her. Yes, she is adorable...PS if you don't know, saturday April 2nd, we got a new puppy- she's adorable, Bella. She is a german shepard, rotweiller mix...bundle of energy but so freakin adorable!! She even slept with me (almost the whole night) on the couch. She is as big as Taz and Bentley right now, but won't be for long!! I want her to stay puppy sized forever, but at the same time I love big dogs and am excited to see how big she will actually get! Also, she pretty much seems to already be potty (or potty pad) trained...we definitely got lucky with that! She is just 8 weeks old, about the same length as my aunt's shoe...I think it's like size 7 or something like that- so pretty close to my shoe size too.
Anyways, back to the storms...I hope there isn't any tornados where I am, or I hope I get used to and not as nervous for all of the warnings! Ahh! Especially because i was told we are going into the storm season. If we just got crazy thunder and lightning storms without the tornados I would be a lot more calm. The lightning here though definitely hits a lot more per hour, and seems to hit more/ be more 'rampant' (is that the word I should be using here) down here than in lil towns in NY that I have been in! I will say I like the noise ....
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Here, in lovely GA last night we had a crazy thunderstorm, which led to tornado warnings/ watches. Thanks to Sabrina, and her grandma, I will remember a tornado watch is where it's 'ok' for you to sit and watch for it out the window. A warning is like a 'get the hell to safety because you may get hit and die.' Ok. well she didn't say the die part, but you know. If we had a basement here I may be a little more at ease, and the fact that if the trees did get hit and fall they are far enough away from the house that it wouldn't necessarily get hit, and we are on a hill-ish area makes me feel better. But, when there are close to 90 (or more) I will look up the exact number later, of lightning hits in about an hour. The storms tore through Georgia, and lightning hit the main Bank of America, not once, but TWICE last night. I have no idea how the puppy slept through it all, and then when it finally calmed down, 420am she decides to come up and start pawing at me in the face to wake up and play with her. Yes, she is adorable...PS if you don't know, saturday April 2nd, we got a new puppy- she's adorable, Bella. She is a german shepard, rotweiller mix...bundle of energy but so freakin adorable!! She even slept with me (almost the whole night) on the couch. She is as big as Taz and Bentley right now, but won't be for long!! I want her to stay puppy sized forever, but at the same time I love big dogs and am excited to see how big she will actually get! Also, she pretty much seems to already be potty (or potty pad) trained...we definitely got lucky with that! She is just 8 weeks old, about the same length as my aunt's shoe...I think it's like size 7 or something like that- so pretty close to my shoe size too.
Anyways, back to the storms...I hope there isn't any tornados where I am, or I hope I get used to and not as nervous for all of the warnings! Ahh! Especially because i was told we are going into the storm season. If we just got crazy thunder and lightning storms without the tornados I would be a lot more calm. The lightning here though definitely hits a lot more per hour, and seems to hit more/ be more 'rampant' (is that the word I should be using here) down here than in lil towns in NY that I have been in! I will say I like the noise ....
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Friday, April 1, 2011
Georgia Smells Like Chives and My Childhood
Ok, to catch up on about 2 months or so...
SUPERCROSS at the Georgia Dome-
...really neat, never seen live supercross. It smells like exhaust but once you get past that, the arena is huge, tons of fans there, this was (I think) the championship too! They had big shots of fire into the air as the race got near the end, and at the beginning and end of the last few rounds. Beer was overpriced, but then again it was at the dome... parking wasn't bad surprisingly, and we were about two blocks away which is a short walk on a nice night.
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PANAMA CITY BEACH...
Spring Breakers galore...4 Lokos, beer for breakfast, sun and sunburns, sunglasses, swimming and white beaches, clear blue water (the Gulf!!), music, good looking people everywhere, big trucks and sports cars, people shouting.."It's Vodka time!!" at the beach...what you would imagine for a crazy spring break..all the elements were there. The weather was incredible- in the 80's. the drive down was pretty long, but with some bumpin' tunes and great people it wasn't all that bad.
At night the sky was clear, we all layed on the beach and hung out for a while...the whole time pretty much was beach time and I loved it~ On the way down, I finally now can say I've been to Alabama ("the beautiful"), we found a bar that held Extreme Midget Wrestling, and the National Peanut something-or-other....gallery? fair? It was something like that.
On the way back, the most beautiful sunset..pulled over for about 45 mins and watched it...I love enjoying things while time seems not to be an issue..let's you relax and really take it all in without the worry of rush and all that.
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LUCKYFEST-
Held at Park Tavern in Atlanta, Elana and I went. There were just as many, if not more people at Piedmont Park as well, chillin outside in the sunshine, celebrating St. Patrick's a little early. An obsurd abundance of green everywhere... dogs, frisbee, beers, music (live at the tavern), beads, silly hats and green hairdos...the list goes on and on.
Afterwards, we went to the Dark Horse/ High Five with Lana, Stephen, Kale, and a few others. Funny how there is a Dark Horse down here too! The atmosphere was similar to the one in Cortland I feel. The next morning I had my first MARTA bus experience...what should have taken 15 minutes when all was said and done ended up taking close to 2 hours. Annoying, but at least I got a new experience out of it! Plus, I had a bowl of cornflakes to start my morning the right way...thank you breakfast for some morning decisiveness!
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SAINT PATRICK'S DAY-
the Undergroung with Erica..we went in search of the "biggest st. patty's party in Atlanta"... even though we still had fun, we found out that even though they advertised it that way, it certainly could not have been THE biggest haha! They did have a dj though, and we encountered two little girls who were crazy at dancing- they were about 6 or so, and pretty darned amazing- haha, they looked like they could have been in a music video. I can only imagine them at 15...
After our Underground experience and some dinner, we ventured around downtown, and found a park near Woodruff Arts center that had speakers all around it and music playing. It was so cool! We enjoyed a festive Shamrock shake, in the spirit of the holiday :)
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Maria <3
Miss maria came to visit me!! I was so happy to see her!!
We had some craft time, and made some cool shirts- slits, ties, slices...I love our creativity! We were introduced to Jeremiah Weed...if you don't know him, you should meet him. Random tidbit that may come in handy: Marathon's (the gas station) are open 24 hours in the south, while everything else closes pretty much by 11. We were told that Georgia, this county, stops selling beer at 1130...But when we walked in and asked "the man" he said we don't stop till Saturday at midnight... good to know! Oh, and can't forget about our amazing dance party (like always)!*
We checked out a health food store in Little 5, and that whole area reminds me of Ithaca <3. Sort of college town like, but lots of little local shops. Kava, henna, and pure shea butter, along with a wide selection of bulk food and snacks. I discovered that I like Robbie Robbins, a Native American musician while looking around one of the local shops in the area. Plato's closet is another place like Trader K's- name brand stuff you buy and sell. I got a few sweet dresses there- o yea! Psycho Sisters is pretty well known, at least online I've seen a lot of stuff about it...they buy and sell clothing..but this place was more like a costume shop- pretty much anything costume-y imaginable, suspenders, hats, wings, masks, boots, cuffs, sunglasses, button downs, bling and bead necklaces...Elmyr is a bar/restaurant that sells big mouthwatering burritos..definitely a lotta bang for your buck. I got pad thai- I didn't expect it to come in a burrito, but it did, and it was awesome though. A bit hot though- by the end I was starting to sweat haha but I'd definitely go back again. Lots of PBR on tap here as well...I'm sure the people back home reading this will think that's pretty cool :)
Junkman's Daughter was another variety shop- graffiti art all over the front of the building. Everything from baby clothes to pickle, bacon, or absinthe flavored dental floss. Incense, paintings, tapestries, key chains, books, cards, candy... again, it was like a you-name-it-we-got-it store. Vortex, a lovely delicious restaurant. I think the one in Little 5 is the original one...you walk into the mouth of a guy with swirly eyes :) Large beverage/ beer/ wine selection.
More festivities included a tour and brew tastings at Sweetwater. We thought about going to go to Red Brick Brewary as well, but they only do tours specific days, and both were doing Wednesdays. We decided Sweetwater would be the one this time. You buy the glass and get 6 tickets...good pour amounts. We tried Sweetwater 420, Blue (the IPA), Brown (which was half way between a pilsner and a stout), Sch weat!, and unfortunately they were out of Road Trip. Suprisingly, Brown was my favorite one, and I usually don't really like dark beers. My tastes are changing I've noticed! Also, they are having a Sweetwater festival coming up..Railroad Earth, Galactic, Rusted Root...and, I looked it up- it's Free!! How SWEET is that?! hah.
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SUPERCROSS at the Georgia Dome-
...really neat, never seen live supercross. It smells like exhaust but once you get past that, the arena is huge, tons of fans there, this was (I think) the championship too! They had big shots of fire into the air as the race got near the end, and at the beginning and end of the last few rounds. Beer was overpriced, but then again it was at the dome... parking wasn't bad surprisingly, and we were about two blocks away which is a short walk on a nice night.
___________________________________________________________________________________
PANAMA CITY BEACH...
Spring Breakers galore...4 Lokos, beer for breakfast, sun and sunburns, sunglasses, swimming and white beaches, clear blue water (the Gulf!!), music, good looking people everywhere, big trucks and sports cars, people shouting.."It's Vodka time!!" at the beach...what you would imagine for a crazy spring break..all the elements were there. The weather was incredible- in the 80's. the drive down was pretty long, but with some bumpin' tunes and great people it wasn't all that bad.
At night the sky was clear, we all layed on the beach and hung out for a while...the whole time pretty much was beach time and I loved it~ On the way down, I finally now can say I've been to Alabama ("the beautiful"), we found a bar that held Extreme Midget Wrestling, and the National Peanut something-or-other....gallery? fair? It was something like that.
On the way back, the most beautiful sunset..pulled over for about 45 mins and watched it...I love enjoying things while time seems not to be an issue..let's you relax and really take it all in without the worry of rush and all that.
__________________________________________________________________________________
LUCKYFEST-
Held at Park Tavern in Atlanta, Elana and I went. There were just as many, if not more people at Piedmont Park as well, chillin outside in the sunshine, celebrating St. Patrick's a little early. An obsurd abundance of green everywhere... dogs, frisbee, beers, music (live at the tavern), beads, silly hats and green hairdos...the list goes on and on.
Afterwards, we went to the Dark Horse/ High Five with Lana, Stephen, Kale, and a few others. Funny how there is a Dark Horse down here too! The atmosphere was similar to the one in Cortland I feel. The next morning I had my first MARTA bus experience...what should have taken 15 minutes when all was said and done ended up taking close to 2 hours. Annoying, but at least I got a new experience out of it! Plus, I had a bowl of cornflakes to start my morning the right way...thank you breakfast for some morning decisiveness!
____________________________________________________________________________________
SAINT PATRICK'S DAY-
the Undergroung with Erica..we went in search of the "biggest st. patty's party in Atlanta"... even though we still had fun, we found out that even though they advertised it that way, it certainly could not have been THE biggest haha! They did have a dj though, and we encountered two little girls who were crazy at dancing- they were about 6 or so, and pretty darned amazing- haha, they looked like they could have been in a music video. I can only imagine them at 15...
After our Underground experience and some dinner, we ventured around downtown, and found a park near Woodruff Arts center that had speakers all around it and music playing. It was so cool! We enjoyed a festive Shamrock shake, in the spirit of the holiday :)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Maria <3
Miss maria came to visit me!! I was so happy to see her!!
We had some craft time, and made some cool shirts- slits, ties, slices...I love our creativity! We were introduced to Jeremiah Weed...if you don't know him, you should meet him. Random tidbit that may come in handy: Marathon's (the gas station) are open 24 hours in the south, while everything else closes pretty much by 11. We were told that Georgia, this county, stops selling beer at 1130...But when we walked in and asked "the man" he said we don't stop till Saturday at midnight... good to know! Oh, and can't forget about our amazing dance party (like always)!*
We checked out a health food store in Little 5, and that whole area reminds me of Ithaca <3. Sort of college town like, but lots of little local shops. Kava, henna, and pure shea butter, along with a wide selection of bulk food and snacks. I discovered that I like Robbie Robbins, a Native American musician while looking around one of the local shops in the area. Plato's closet is another place like Trader K's- name brand stuff you buy and sell. I got a few sweet dresses there- o yea! Psycho Sisters is pretty well known, at least online I've seen a lot of stuff about it...they buy and sell clothing..but this place was more like a costume shop- pretty much anything costume-y imaginable, suspenders, hats, wings, masks, boots, cuffs, sunglasses, button downs, bling and bead necklaces...Elmyr is a bar/restaurant that sells big mouthwatering burritos..definitely a lotta bang for your buck. I got pad thai- I didn't expect it to come in a burrito, but it did, and it was awesome though. A bit hot though- by the end I was starting to sweat haha but I'd definitely go back again. Lots of PBR on tap here as well...I'm sure the people back home reading this will think that's pretty cool :)
Junkman's Daughter was another variety shop- graffiti art all over the front of the building. Everything from baby clothes to pickle, bacon, or absinthe flavored dental floss. Incense, paintings, tapestries, key chains, books, cards, candy... again, it was like a you-name-it-we-got-it store. Vortex, a lovely delicious restaurant. I think the one in Little 5 is the original one...you walk into the mouth of a guy with swirly eyes :) Large beverage/ beer/ wine selection.
More festivities included a tour and brew tastings at Sweetwater. We thought about going to go to Red Brick Brewary as well, but they only do tours specific days, and both were doing Wednesdays. We decided Sweetwater would be the one this time. You buy the glass and get 6 tickets...good pour amounts. We tried Sweetwater 420, Blue (the IPA), Brown (which was half way between a pilsner and a stout), Sch weat!, and unfortunately they were out of Road Trip. Suprisingly, Brown was my favorite one, and I usually don't really like dark beers. My tastes are changing I've noticed! Also, they are having a Sweetwater festival coming up..Railroad Earth, Galactic, Rusted Root...and, I looked it up- it's Free!! How SWEET is that?! hah.
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