Traveling Far And Wide (At Least By My Standards)

Saturday and Sunday started with different concepts, but oddly turned into somewhat mirror images of each other. On Saturday I set out to find potential hashing land and stumbled upon a photographic opportunity. On Sunday I set out for a photographic opportunity and stumbled upon some potential hashing land.

But First, An Unexpected Pleasure
Over the past ten hashing years I have met a lot of great friends. I still keep in contact with many of them. even though some have achieved Atlanta’s escape velocity. When it was seemingly all-the-rage to leave Georgia for North Carolina my friend Suzanna (aka “On My Knees”) went and got married, and then moved to Raleigh.

In the “olden days” (read “2000”), and in a very small window of time, Suzanna and I did a lot together — we both ran the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, later that year we went to Manhattan together for a weekend to visit her friend Erin, and then we — along with über-runner Little Easy — went to Hell, Michigan and “ran” the Dances With Dirt 50k (for the records, I believe we were the first Atlanta hashers to participate in that event).

In fact, here we are at the finish line–

–note the beers in our hands.

I even drove the (then unnamed) Jackmobile for its first long-distance trip to Orlando for her wedding (at which I had a good chuckle when one of her bridesmaids asked me if I was in love with the bride — my answer was of course “No, we are just good friends”).

On Saturday morning I received a Facebook note from Suzanna that she, her husband Mark, as well as as our friend Mindy, husband Scott, and very-little-one were headed to the Silver Skillet and that she’d like for me to join. Because I am a notoriously early riser I was more than happy to make the journey to midtown.

It was great to catch up with someone who, even though you haven’t seen each other in years, makes you feel as if you had just hung out together the other day.

ITP Flickr Pic
For today’s photo I thank either ITP-Reader Debbie or ITP-Reader Michelle, and I apologize for not remembering who.

After breakfast I headed out to a patch of Georgia that I identified as “potential hashing territory” using Google Maps — which is not a really good method for finding locations because Google’s satellite images are woefully out of date.

Driving around, driving around, driving around, WAIT, a free-standing hearth, SCORE!. Because I had camera in tow I stopped and took the above photo. I was stoked that I happened across a free-standing hearth while driving around.

When I got home I uploaded the photo and went to place a pointer on my Free-Standing Hearth Google Map — only to find that this hearth had been identified for me months ago and I had obviously not gotten around to go shoot it.

Take Me Out To (Half) A Ballgame
On Sunday I checked the weather report and decided to take my camera to the afternoon Gwinnett Braves game. It’s a bit of a drive for this reporter (exit 115 on I-85 to be exact) but I figured that it would be worth it for some minor league baseball photo opportunities.

Once again I left the house early, so early in fact that I was able to eat breakfast at an IHOP, do a little Goodwill shopping, and drive around Gwinnett looking for hashing territory before the game.

For $3 parking and $15 I scored a great seat inline with first base and about ten rows up. With the sun (supposedly) out all day I purchased some sunscreen and a Gwinnett Braves baseball cap (neither of which were ultimately necessary — read on). As is turned out, my seat was pretty much under cover and the weather was not going to be as nearly as sunny as I was led to believe.

Through four innings I snapped many photos, some of which will be highlighted here, before checking the weather radar. What?! A huge rain storm headed our way? I decided that it might be in my best interest to start the commute home.

For the record, it never rained. The storm system broke up before hitting the area.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – behind even though it’s Monday
Current Music – listening to the “Daily Giz Wiz” podcast
Website Of The Day – As once-prolific podcasts seemingly peter out I find myself looking for new entertainment. This weekend I found one that’s a resurrection of 1950’s radio called This I Believe.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 15 (15)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 14
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
– lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]