I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Why? Good question. How? Even better one.
I’m not entirely sure how I came to live in Atlanta, Georgia. At the end of January, I actually packed up my car in hopes of moving to San Francisco. What was in San Francisco? Nothing, technically. I was just getting nervous in Colorado.
So where should one go when one is where one began? Why–where one has been, of course.
And so, for me, that was San Francisco.
I landed a job interview in San Francisco after spending an unrealistic amount of time applying. There was nothing certain. I wasn’t quite sure what the job even was. Regardless, I blazed across the desert, taking with me everything except for things I ended up actually needing.
There is a lot of desert between Colorado and California.
A lot.
I tried to land other interviews in San Francisco while I was there. I wasn’t having much luck. I did land a few other phone interviews. One phone interview was with BBDO–a worldwide advertising agency that I read and studied lots about in school. I didn’t remember actually applying to it. It was with their office in Atlanta.
As illogical as it was, I turned around, bound for Atlanta, canceling my other interviews in San Francisco, with just as much uncertainty as I had in California. It somehow felt more productive to be on the move.
When where one has been isn’t where one belongs, then one goes where one has yet to be.
That was Atlanta. Atlanta is on the opposite side of the country.
I drove for days. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia–the United States isn’t all that lovely in the first week of February–a plane would have been a much better idea.
If you aren’t completely bored at this point, you will be grateful to know that the rest of this post is primarily made of pictures. May it be known, however, that this is not a photography post, but a blog post with pictures. Many are taken with my phone–so blah.
First, a few favorites from San Francisco:
First, a few favorites from San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge.
Thanks to the random draw of Priceline, I landed this odd little hotel in Flagstaff, AZ–one of the Little America Hotels. The photo doesn’t do it justice. It looked like something that Queen Elizabeth II might have stayed in for a night en route to a State dinner banquet–if such a thing could ever even have taken place in the middle of nowhere.
Remember that your day could always be worse. You could get a flat tire in the middle of Oklahoma on a Sunday. Special thanks to Dee & Gene’s Tires for fixing it, despite being closed. They wouldn’t have, if they hadn’t already been in the shop using the welding torch to cook hot dogs.
This is the only photo I took between Oklahoma and Georgia. I think it said “Welcome to Mississippi,” though it was raining and I felt like I had been in the forest for 3 days, so I’m not really sure.
Making it in time for a Monday morning interview at BBDO’s office in Atlanta, I suddenly came to a crashing halt of uncertainty while I waited to hear back. Luckily, after a day or two, I found out I was offered the position. Here’s the lobby of their office.
My office building is in Buckhead–the uptown area in Metro Atlanta. My building isn’t seen here but looks like these buildings, I think. I wouldn’t know, I’m always inside of it.
Here’s an unglamorous photo of the little apartment I live in. That’s right after moving in. It still looks the same because I have no furniture.
This is the neighborhood church that is next door. You wouldn’t believe the amazing churches they have throughout this city. This one is Baptist.
Some exploring in Downtown Atlanta including CNN’s Headquarters. (Anderson wasn’t there. He’s always in New York. I have been trying to perfect his squint for years and was hoping to show him.)
One of the tall buildings I often find myself lost under:
A view of Midtown Atlanta from the historic Piedmont Park. This was just before spring really sprang.
Then, spring sprung.
In attempt to be appreciative of American history, a trip was made to Stone Mountain–a giant carving of Confederate heroes. Alas, a temporary Disneyland-esque amusement attraction full of fake snow and sleds was plopped at the foot of it. But to give you an idea of scale of the carving, a 6-foot tall man could stand in one of the horses’ mouths.
Atlanta has a special place in the Civil Rights moment. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site is located just outside of downtown in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood.
This is the new Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street from the iconic one of MLK’s childhood and funeral.
Here’s the sign of the original church that you will see in a lot of history books and documentaries.
This is the actual crypt of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
Shotgun houses, as they are called.
I found a deal sponsored by a-cheap-mass-market-corporate-megalith for a cheap ticket to the Atlanta Zoo. Unfortunately, 95% of Atlanta also found the same deal. There was a line for tickets that extended several hundred yards. Needless to say, the people were more fascinating than the animals. Here are the obligatory zoo photos:
I don’t know what this rhino was trying to do. I didn’t ask. He was getting frustrated, though.
With no furniture, one must become creative. Finding a box springs laying by the dumpster and then stripping it of its material makes for a great shelf. (I’ll be offended if somebody doesn’t pin this to Pinterest)
Speaking of makeshift junk, I saw a lot of people testing out water-drop photography. Here is my trashy setup. I didn’t do mine right because I don’t have the right equipment to do the close-ups I need. However, I thought I’d give it a try. You’ll see a couple of the results below.
I found the LDS Temple–it wasn’t very friendly. The grounds were all closed off the day I drove by. So here is an ugly picture taken through a dirty window.
But, remember that despite having everything closed off, we still want Atlanta to know we are a welcoming people. We do that by spending money to prove it with billboards of very happy people:
My favorite thing about Atlanta is that I can watch Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta and feel like they are talking about my neighbors. Even better than that, Jo Dee Messina has had a regular appearance on the show. I took a picture of her so we could all enjoy it together. Not the best photo of her, unfortunately.
Pollen. It’s insane. It covers the roads and my car. I have to scrape pollen off my windshield, however, I’ll take it over ice and snow any day.
Did I mention the cool churches around here?
This last weekend, a trip to the High Museum of Art was made. Structurally, it was a very cool building. The exhibits were pretty impressive too.
Sculpture made out of bottle caps.
My kind of dresser.
A crocheted chair.
This is a piano.
nother interesting neighborhood trip was to Inman Park. Lots of really neat old houses.
I did mention the churches, didn’t I?
Happy Spring!
Is anyone still reading this?
That concludes your tour of my new dwellings and stomping grounds. I hope it was as extravagantly humid, deep-fried, and accent-twanged as it has been for me.
you are simply fantastic