Getting Used to Atlanta.

It all revolves around time, Eastern Standard Time (EST); 1 hour ahead of the Central Standard time in Texas. This one hour changes everything. Where in Texas families eat dinner at 6 or 6:30, here it's 7:30pm. The news is on one hour later. Sitcoms, Letterman, Leno, even The Price is Right; they all begin one hour later, and it just messes me up. How will it affect my life span? Should we be living in the west coast? Is that why it is so populated? Anyway, this is about getting used to a new city. The other major observation is about traffic. I have no qualms with traffic. Not the size, space, or construction, it's going to be the same no matter what big city you live in; of course, everyone has their opinions. Best times to drive here or there, speed traps, short cuts, you just have to experience it in order to believe it. The biggest difference are the Turn Lanes, because there are none. If your eyes are not on the road ahead of you, 9 times out of 10 you will RAM into a car in front of you who was waiting for a clear spot to turn left. In a 2 or 4 lane two-way street in Atlanta, drivers will stop to turn left whenever they want! Top of a hill, end of a curve, whenever. And good luck finding a protected left arrow, those are few and far between as well. You have to jet across the road when the light first turns green if you want to make that left. Also, there are a lot more "No Turn on Red" signs than I have ever seen before. In Atlanta, patience is key. Thankfully, patience is one thing I have plenty of.

Friday the 13th.

August 13th lands on a Friday once every 7 years and with my name being Jason, it's obvious I would get a little freaked out. There's the fictional serial killer character of the above titled film, plus bad things seem to hover around '7 year' increments (like breaking a mirror), and the paranoid fact that I'm the only person who recognizes the coincidence between my birthdate, my name, and the horror film, really just drives me nuts. So this happened yesterday, and you can see that since I've posted today, all is well. I slept in, Lyndsey made breakfast, we did some shopping, and went out to eat with my sister-in-law at what is now my new favorite restaurant, the Rock Bottom Brewery. Of course, nothing bad has ever really happened on my Friday the 13th birthdays, so I will continue to be hopeful about future years. Turning a quarter of a century isn't really a bad thing, is it? So for those of you with strange and unique birthdays like April 1, February 29th, or the 13th day of any month, I wish you the same fortunes and happy days.

Tom and Will.

Two of the flicks on my Summer Movie Hit list were Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy and Collateral, starring Will Ferrell and Tom Cruise, respectively. Lyndsey took me to see Will the night before our wedding. She also took me to see Tom this evening, while she went to see The Princess Diaries with her sister...we'll call it a 'date night.' Although two completely different movies, I'd have to say Collateral was easily the best. It's top notch in its genre of noir suspense thrillers that grab you by the throat and pull you through to the end. Michael Mann has directed a great film, with some great characters, unusually tender moments, and another well executed gunfight just like the downtown chase in his film Heat. Jamie Foxx plays a cab driver with a dream interrupted by Vincent's violent rampage. Both players run through the night with witty repartee and determined hearts. Foxx shines during a pivotal moment in a club after a story about Santa Claus and Pedro Negro...watch for it, brilliant. Anchorman, though really funny, will only work for those of you die hard Will Ferrell aficionados. It's 180 degree of non-sequitur humor will either drive you crazy or drive you out of the theater.

Anji and Lucy.

Since moving to Atlanta, Lyndsey and I have been living with her sister and her beautiful mini-dachsund. Naysayers have spoke their mind about the horrors and worries about living with in-laws, especially for newlyweds, but I must say that our experience has been nothing but fun. We stayed in the guest bedroom, had our own bathroom, and stayed pretty much to our own tasks and assignments while Anji went to work each day. We ate dinner together most of the nights, watched some movies in the evenings, and hung out on the weekends, becoming more familiar with the area. Our only special assignment was to take care of Lucy while Anji was out and during her on-call nights; thankfully, she's great. I love playing with dogs, so running around with a mini-dachsund made for some high quality enjoyment for all of us. Tomorrow our parents are coming to town with our furniture and personal items, so as we move into our new place I just want to say Thank You to Anji, for your accommodations, for your kindness, and for your dog. We will be happy to dog-sit anytime.