And then Atlanta’s “perceived” crime problem helped themselves to my 20″ iMac computer. That’s right, my house in East Atlanta was robbed.

I’ve been a resident of East Atlanta for ten years now; ten mostly good years. About this time five years ago I was robbed, relieved of all of my bodily possessions as well as my automobile at gunpoint (two, but who’s counting), in my driveway.

Now I can add house theft to the list.

I considered myself lucky, because in order to be lucky one must be prepared. I don’t have my head in the sand, even without being robbed five years ago I knew that crime in Atlanta is real. So it was with this knowledge that I prepared my house for the day that the asshats would arrive.

My house has an active alarm system which is set every time I leave the house. I also belong to the East Atlanta Security Patrol. Both of these are advertised on my front lawn.

I have been diligent to make sure irreplaceable itmes are never left out, in fact they are usually with me when I leave the house. Ridiculously, items are chained/locked in order to make it harder to be taken. Hell, the computer which was stolen was “secured” to my desk with a (now obviously useless) Kensington lock.

Do I own a nice flat-screen television? Not in this neighborhood I don’t. In fact, I was hoping that on the day someone broke in that he would give himself a hernia trying to move the boat anchor that is my 32″ tube television.

All in all the feeling I have right now sucks ass. In the end all I lost was a computer and a little more of the happiness I once had in calling myself an Atlanta resident. I know people who have suffered way more than I have today.

There is little one can do to ensure that crime will never occur, but there are things you can do to be prepared in case it does. Think about your house. Yours may be next.

Admittedly, this little ramble has more to do with the state of Georgia than the city of Atlanta, but whatevs. I like to bend the rules.

The Man Friend/Partner for Life/Love Monkey and I just finished a 994mile (one way) jaunt to the wiles of Omaha, Nebraska for reasons I won’t bore you with. What’s relevant here is that in order to get from A-Town to O-Town in his adorable, shiny, nimble Mini, we had to pass through the following states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and lastly – Nebraska.

First, I’ll point out that we have more potty stops than any other state. This rules. This especially rules when you’re finally starting to consume your RDA of H2O. Yeah. Hello, gerbil bladder! I didn’t know you were coming with us!

Second, I’ll say (and my body can corroborate what my mind is churning out) that our highways are smoooooooove compared to other states. Especially St. Louis, MO where we thought we’d hit a musk ox but it turned out to be a gap between cement segments. Our smoooooveness rules when you’re in a tiny car with tight suspension, have bewbs and didn’t wear a jog bra for the trip.

Lastly, I’ll point out that we have better signage and indicators that there’s a COFFEE SHOP, BY GOD I’M ON A ROAD TRIP HERE, PEOPLE.

So that’s it. We pretty much rule. Our highways are superior. Get out there, let your butt feel for itself.

I just got back from seeing The Room at the Plaza.  I can’t remember where I first heard about the Room, but this entertainment weekly article got me interested.  I might have first read about it in Creative Loafing.  I finally made it to a showing, and….. wow.  It completely exceeded my expectations for how bad a movie could be.

Despite all that I had read about this movie, I was still unprepared for how mind bogglingly awful it is.  It is stupefyingly awful.  And it was probably the most fun I’ve had at the movies in a very long time.  I could go on about how amazing this movie is, but you really need to go see it yourself.  This preview really doesn’t do it justice.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCj8sPCWfUw[/youtube]

I think the Plaza is showing it every month.  You really don’t want to miss this.  That’s a promise.

A few weeks ago I took a date to Yogurberry in Buckhead. Yogurberry is situated in the Terminus Building across from Flying Biscuit and next to LOLA. I was looking for a different place for a date besides the usual things I do such as coffee shops and touring bookstores.

Yogurberry proved to be a rewarding experience. My date and I were greeted by a beyond enthusiastic Brian Hah. Brian high-fived me at least twice and was jumping out of skin to tell us about the yogurt. We both got the Brian Special. It was a mix of the Korean yogurt with toppings selected by Brian.

The texture is like any other frozen yogurt. The taste is quite different. It’s tart but the sweet toppings balance it out. It doesn’t melt quickly.

Yogurberry is not cheap. I did get the large though, she got the medium and it was $18. All in all, that’s an inexpensive date. We had a great time talking outside and people watching.

The experience of meeting Brian is worth it alone. He tells each customer to, “Have a positive day,” with sincerity and enthusiasm. If you’re in the Buckhead area I highly recommend checking out Yogurberry.

Facebook Page
Yogurberry
3280 Peachtree Rd., NE #140B
Atlanta, GA

there are times when enforcing the “no waiting” policy in front of the terminals at hartsfield makes very little sense, such as around 10:30 pm on any evening, or early morning on a weekend. as you might guess, these are the times during which the atlanta police stationed at the airport seem most interested in enforcing this so-called “rule” to the extent that i almost watched a dude get cuffed, henry louis gates style, while waiting on a ride late on night.

then there are other times when there is a ton of traffic waiting to pick people up and enforcement of this rule seems like it might make a lot of sense. weekday mornings, weekdays early evening and sunday afternoons in the summer when everyone like me is coming home from vacation (yes, this post is directly correlated to my flight home from aruba yesterday.) as you might guess these are times when an atlanta police office is impossible to find.

my buddy rich picked my up around 1 pm yesterday and was able to sit at the curb for about 15 minutes waiting on me. the truck in front of him had been there even longer as was still there when we left.

not an atlanta police office in sight. well not true, we did see one as we pulled away. standing in the cross walk at the end of the terminal “directing traffic” while she talked on her cell phone.

the things that make me go hmmmmmmmmm……

Central Atlanta Progress has coordinated what looks like an interesting week for Downtown restaurants.  So CAP is the official business community booster organization for Downtown Atlanta, and contrary to how that may sound, they acutally do some interesting stuff.  Or maybe I’ve just officially gotten old and boring…. Okay, probably the latter, but I’m trying to blog about Downtown Restaurant Week, so bear with me.

Right.  The Point.  Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week.  Go to Downtown’s swankiest restaurants, and get a three course meal for $25/person.  I’m gonna try and convince the lady friend that we need to go to Il Mulino for some mussels in fra diavolo sauce.  (I had to look that up, too).  Let’s be honest, I’m never going to take her someplace that nice on my own.  I’m a broke college student, you know.

Also, it is a good time to mention a few other restaurant week events in other neighborhoods.  Inman Park is having a special day on July 29th – up to 20% of restaurant sales (depending on the restaurant) will go to paying for the Inman Park Security Patrol fund.

Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week

When: July 27 – August 9

Where: All the best places

Inman Park Dine Out

When: July 29

Where: All your favorite Inman Park restaurants

One of the many things I like about Atlanta is that it is relatively close to many other places.   For example, last weekend I was able to go to Charleston for a few days.  La novia and I left Friday after she got off work and got into Charleston around 10pm.  We had a great day getting the dogs in the ocean and avoiding fines from the beach patrol, checking out downtown, and going out to eat.  Sunday morning brought me a Big Nasty Biscuit, and I got home in time for True Blood and Entourage.  Total cost for the weekend?  $50 – $60 each, since we stayed with friends.

I’m writing this from the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina, again staying with friends and family.  I got up at 6:30 to drive up to the Nantahala river.  A few hours of Gut Wrenching Terror (paddling whitewater in inner tubes), and now I’m chilling out watching the Braves take on the Brewers.  I’ll be back (again) in time for my stories.  Total cost? $40 for gas, plus whatever I buy at the grocery store to cook tomorrow night.

I just love that it is so easy to get out of the city when I need to.  I mean, I LOVE Atlanta, and there is a LOT to do.  Most of my weekends in town are quite full.  But you know, sometimes you just gotta get away.  Atlanta is 3-5 hours away from almost anything you could want for a great weekend.  Whitewater?  Check.  Beach?  Check.  Camping and hiking? Check.   Relaxing mountain get-away? Check.

Heck, it isn’t my boat, but you can get down to the coast for some sea kayaking pretty easily, too.  Historic Savannah?  Four hours.  Music City?  Four hours.  A friend of mine just went to a wedding in Gatlinburg last weekend, if that is your bag (I’ll pass on it).  Gas prices aren’t nuts this summer, which helps.  Personally, I am continually surprised and impressed with all the cool stuff close to the city.  I am embarassed to admit this, but I’ve never been to Savannah – so I hope that will be my next weekend trip.

You may have seen that Gwinnett is tearing down those so two water towers you see by I-85.  You know, the ones that are so ridiculous they are kind of awesome?

Honestly, these towers were about the only thing I looked forward to in Gwinnett County.  That whole county is otherwise a vast traffic jam I would just as well avoid.  Okay, downtown Lawerenceville has a certain charm, but I’m not driving that far for a quaint little square with a few restaurants.

But the water towers.  There was something a little too Leave It To Beaver about them that really represented what the county aspired to.  They are just cheesy enough to make me laugh, especially because I obviously disagree.

I know, I know.  “Hey, a-hole.  That’s fine, you stay in Atlanta, Gwinnett doesn’t want you anyway.”  Fine by me.  Frankly, I’ve gotten fairly used to the game we play.  I pretend you don’t exist, you pretend I don’t matter.  It works fine until you get stuck on the connector going to a Braves game (learn the surface streets, nimrod), or I get stuck on the highway on my way to somewhere I actually want to be in north Georgia or North Carolina.  Sure, it bugs me when you guys repeatedly elect retards, but hey, it isnt’ like my city has the best track record there either, eh?  Bill Campbell and Derrick Boazman FTW!

one of the items i am trying to do a better job of these days is to try to get out of the city and see some of the area’s sights that are within a day’s drive of atlanta.

to that end, recently my family and i got in the car and headed south to see franklin delano roosevelt’s little white house down in warm springs georgia. the little white house is sort of like w’s crawford ranch only about a million times smaller and occupied by a president that most people revere not revile. it’s a place roosevelt came as his retreat because the warm springs nearby and their positive effect on his polio.

it was a neat tour. it’s a pretty tiny facility; i was shocked by just how small the house was and it reminded of just how different life was back then. it is wonderfully preserved right down to the chair fdr was sitting in when he had his final attack that ended his life. you can even see the scratch marks the roosevelts’ scottish terrier made on the door frame.

afterward we headed into warm springs, which is a cute little southern town and ate at mac’s barbeque and steakhouse, which wasn’t the best food in the world, but made up for it all in ambiance, being in an old southern house with iced tea poured by the proprietor.

i say check it out. it’s a little bit of georgia history that has nothing to do with the ciivil war amazingly.

roosevelt’s little white house historic site
401 little white house rd
warm springs , GA 31830

Having only been to Zoo Atlanta once in the 15 years I’ve lived here doesn’t mean I don’t believe in it – I just loathe crowds.

That shouldn’t stop you though – especially when it’s free! This year’s Zoo Atlanta “Open House” is scheduled for Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9, from 9:30 am-5:30 pm. Admission is free for residents of the City of Atlanta and Fulton County.

Any of the following forms of identification will permit one adult and up to three children to enjoy free entry on those days: GA driver’s license with City/County address; GA voter ID or GA ID; utility bill with City/County address.