So after ignoring a txt about going back to Leopard Lounge, I caught wind of a nice little party at Trois, downtown across from Shout on 14th st and Peachtree. Classy joint with three floors of loud music and a bunch of folks. You know how it goes. At one point your arms are tired and you're out of breath from holding your drink up and saying excuse me trying to get to the other side of the room. Now, the party was supposed to go until 3am, but it was over at 2:15. I guess they need everybody out by 3am. It wouldn't have made that big of a difference, but I was only there for a little over an hour! I was with a group of fine women who you can see on my facebook page. You can imagine how long they took to get ready.
I went to a few notable places while in Atlanta. Thumbs Up Cafe was ultra good! I mean Salmon chunks in my eggs...heaven in a plate! Well they were my cousin's eggs, but she shouldn't have let me try them! Even saw the original Waffle House...which...looked....like the Original Waffle House. I went to the Cave in Decatur which stays open until the sun comes up. I know this, because a couple of my cousin's friends wanted to keep it going one night and the Cave was the only place to go. I even went to the club that T.I. owns. The name of that club escapes my mind at the moment, but it's wild, what goes on in there. I'm definitely going back! I went to the Lennox Mall on a Friday afternoon and unfortunately, it wasn't as packed as you'd expect it to be. I feel that the retail industry will be next to be "restructured" like the Auto Industry.
I did go to Utopia and caught a little comedy. The guy running it told me to let him know next time I was in town and I would get some time. That was good to hear. What I took from the comedy scene in Atlanta was that at least seven clubs had open mics on a Wednesday and I wasn't sure how this environment was as far as growing young comedians. You could go to a club and chances are, you could run into a big name and be discovered. Now, that caught my attention, but I'd rather become a big fish in a small pond(Minneapolis) then go to Atlanta when I have something substantial.
Oh, before I forget, I went to Piedmont Park for the Dogwood Festival and it was cool. Now the park is in Midtown, so you really need to have a progressive mindset going in that area.
I suggest Piedmont Park or Little Five Points for lunch and shopping.
The night life in Atlanta is great and really can't be overstated! You got the four major sports and plenty of stuff to do for whatever your interests. The Finale was at Opera! That place looked a little like a castle and the layout inside is nice. The DJ was on another floor overseeing his puppets, making them dance. The VIP looked nice, but got as full as the first floor and the only difference between the two were the couches nobody was sitting on. A guy was even making it rain...I swallowed my pride and became a rainwater collector and paid for parking!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Albatross
So while I have been here, I have been dying for some nightlife, so I can evaluate the talent...and visit some comedy clubs. Since my cousins are newlyweds and are pretty much home bodies, I had to make some connections and quick. My Uncle, told me about a little night spot in Stone Mountain called the Albatross. We heard about a female DJ that was nice on the 1's and 2's. Her name is DJ Tiff, a young up and coming DJ. She didn't get a chance to show off, because we listened to some live jazz. This guy was getting his Kenny G on hard!! I mean this guy was walking through the crowd, getting the women open. I am so pissed my parents didn't just make me play an instrument.
Anyway, once Mr. "Sexy Sax" was done, we got to dancing. They played the Cha-Cha Slide, but the southern version and that's what got me on the floor. I surprised my uncle and soon he had to join. He keeps it smooth and controlled on the floor as some uncles do. Other uncles, like the one I am about to explain, are the ones we like to laugh at, cause they're crazy. This guy was seriously letting the music move him...in any direction his body would move! At one point he had two women with him and he wore them out! He did surprise me at times with his girations, being surprisingly nimble for a 50+ guy. I had this slim, mature lady. She was the best looking lady in there, now that I think about it! Real pretty eyes and slick back hair. You know ladies, the slickback 'n go! Too bad she was married or else I would have flirted hard, playing cool until I think I have a shot and then BAM, denied! That's usually how it goes, but anyway...............
I had more fun there with my uncle and an older crowd(34+) than I thought. Driving around the place, we saw it was a converted from a Arby's. Who woulda thought I'd have that much fun in an Arby's without my Big Beef 'n Cheddar.
Anyway, once Mr. "Sexy Sax" was done, we got to dancing. They played the Cha-Cha Slide, but the southern version and that's what got me on the floor. I surprised my uncle and soon he had to join. He keeps it smooth and controlled on the floor as some uncles do. Other uncles, like the one I am about to explain, are the ones we like to laugh at, cause they're crazy. This guy was seriously letting the music move him...in any direction his body would move! At one point he had two women with him and he wore them out! He did surprise me at times with his girations, being surprisingly nimble for a 50+ guy. I had this slim, mature lady. She was the best looking lady in there, now that I think about it! Real pretty eyes and slick back hair. You know ladies, the slickback 'n go! Too bad she was married or else I would have flirted hard, playing cool until I think I have a shot and then BAM, denied! That's usually how it goes, but anyway...............
I had more fun there with my uncle and an older crowd(34+) than I thought. Driving around the place, we saw it was a converted from a Arby's. Who woulda thought I'd have that much fun in an Arby's without my Big Beef 'n Cheddar.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Easter Trip to Alabama
So I decided to pick my younger cousin down in Tuskegee on my way down to Mobile, Alabama for Easter with the fam. This dude was just glad to get out for a bit and I understood. I love kicking it with him, because I find out something new about him every time and also find something else that we have in common. One thing I would learn we did not have in common, is that he shaves his legs. We'll address that later.
I hadn't been to Tuskegee in a very long time, but it hadn't changed that much. College town in the middle of nowhere. Almost 45 min. from Montgomery and an hour and some change from Atlanta. We get down to Mobile and our Aunt almost did backflips, she was so happy to see us.
Oh, before we got to our Aunt's place , we stopped by my cousin's barbershop and it was like any other barbershop, my cousin giving shit to whoever he makes eye contact with and I wouldn't have it any other way! He never lets me get too high on myself. He's my favorite barber. His older brother came by a bit later. He has a landscaping business on the side. Some would argue that he was a slave driver with his pay though. Whenever I come back into town, I will offer my services, because basically I just like being around him. I treat these clowns more like brothers, than cousins. The boys were reunited and it felt soo good!!
We ate VERY well. We always do. Whenever I come down, I never expect the red carpet treatment, just a place to lay my head and some food. The same can be said for my little cousin, but I swear he could sleep through armageddon. This boy is a pain to wake up. He was always last to eat breakfast when we were younger. You know I never missed a meal.
It's always good to see the family. You gotta make the most of it, especially when it's only once a year. I got a bunch of cousins that I enjoy being around. We catch up and I give them as much shit as I can, simply because that's what I do. It's all out of love and they know that. Don't get it twisted, whenever I get out of pocket it won't last long, because someone will call me out.
A perfect example would be when my older cousin woke me up to show me my other cousin's legs. He said, "Yo cousin done shaved his legs!". Now, he has always done his own thing and I will forever admire that about him. I said maybe he took up swimming or wants to cut down on his 40 yd. dash time. It was insisted that I see it. I saw cotton swabs, but what really threw me was that my poor cousin used duct tape y'all! I mean not a single band-aid, but dammit if he didn't have some duct tape handy. It did look like he was treating gunshot wounds. I was more than happy my cousin woke me up for this! I dunno if any of you have ever woke up and just began laughing your ass off, but it is one of the greatest feelings. My uncle got in on it and people broke out their cameras. I left mine in Atlanta or else you would have already seen them on facebook, C'MON! Remember, I told you my cousin could sleep through armageddon.
It got real interesting when the other women in the family came by and started asking questions and all my cousin could do was shake his head and ignore them. I didn't feel bad for him because if ya wanted to go down that road, you easily could have asked one of our aunts for "how to" tips on shaving your legs. You always were her favorite! On the way back, I had to ask him what the hell was he thinking and he told me that sometimes he just wants to groom his legs. There really is nothing like family!!
My uncle put some meat on the grill and slow cooked some pork, which was outstanding and tender(just how I like my women)! He cooked all the meat early, so when church was over, it'd be ready.
The Sunday program was real nice. There weren't too many bright easter suites and I kinda missed that. I got to see some of my little cousins perofrm and they did well. Baby girl will steal yo heart in a second, boy! She is seven I think, and is missing her fronts. It was so cute, because no matter how many teeth a child is missing, they'll still smile big! She's as sharp as she is cute. Her brother is a 12 yr. old who's body finally caught up to his head. Probably one of the biggest 12 year olds in Mobile county. He's on his way to 6 feet easy. Real good kid who was trying to grow up too fast, but is gonna be a teenager soon and we all know what that means.
You know how Easter services go, so I bounced early and got an early taste of the food....sooooo goood. The only problem with going down there is for some reason, my bowels move in slow motion and I keep packing my stomach with food. You try not to when you are faced with all your favorites.
So after we ate, we went to watch my cousins play some softball at the local park. Their team is pretty bad, but the fellowship is what it's truly about. My face was familiar to a few who recognized me from when I used to come down every summer and it was fun getting reacquainted, usually over a beer. I got reacquainted with a lot of people that night.
Monday comes and I'm trying to leave by 12pm to avoid traffic. Unless you have a flight to catch, you'll never leave when ya want when you're enjoying family. As I stated earlier, my cousin is hard to wake up, so you have to plan accordingly. The plan was to leave at 12pm, but we didn't leave until 3pm.
I hadn't been to Tuskegee in a very long time, but it hadn't changed that much. College town in the middle of nowhere. Almost 45 min. from Montgomery and an hour and some change from Atlanta. We get down to Mobile and our Aunt almost did backflips, she was so happy to see us.
Oh, before we got to our Aunt's place , we stopped by my cousin's barbershop and it was like any other barbershop, my cousin giving shit to whoever he makes eye contact with and I wouldn't have it any other way! He never lets me get too high on myself. He's my favorite barber. His older brother came by a bit later. He has a landscaping business on the side. Some would argue that he was a slave driver with his pay though. Whenever I come back into town, I will offer my services, because basically I just like being around him. I treat these clowns more like brothers, than cousins. The boys were reunited and it felt soo good!!
We ate VERY well. We always do. Whenever I come down, I never expect the red carpet treatment, just a place to lay my head and some food. The same can be said for my little cousin, but I swear he could sleep through armageddon. This boy is a pain to wake up. He was always last to eat breakfast when we were younger. You know I never missed a meal.
It's always good to see the family. You gotta make the most of it, especially when it's only once a year. I got a bunch of cousins that I enjoy being around. We catch up and I give them as much shit as I can, simply because that's what I do. It's all out of love and they know that. Don't get it twisted, whenever I get out of pocket it won't last long, because someone will call me out.
A perfect example would be when my older cousin woke me up to show me my other cousin's legs. He said, "Yo cousin done shaved his legs!". Now, he has always done his own thing and I will forever admire that about him. I said maybe he took up swimming or wants to cut down on his 40 yd. dash time. It was insisted that I see it. I saw cotton swabs, but what really threw me was that my poor cousin used duct tape y'all! I mean not a single band-aid, but dammit if he didn't have some duct tape handy. It did look like he was treating gunshot wounds. I was more than happy my cousin woke me up for this! I dunno if any of you have ever woke up and just began laughing your ass off, but it is one of the greatest feelings. My uncle got in on it and people broke out their cameras. I left mine in Atlanta or else you would have already seen them on facebook, C'MON! Remember, I told you my cousin could sleep through armageddon.
It got real interesting when the other women in the family came by and started asking questions and all my cousin could do was shake his head and ignore them. I didn't feel bad for him because if ya wanted to go down that road, you easily could have asked one of our aunts for "how to" tips on shaving your legs. You always were her favorite! On the way back, I had to ask him what the hell was he thinking and he told me that sometimes he just wants to groom his legs. There really is nothing like family!!
My uncle put some meat on the grill and slow cooked some pork, which was outstanding and tender(just how I like my women)! He cooked all the meat early, so when church was over, it'd be ready.
The Sunday program was real nice. There weren't too many bright easter suites and I kinda missed that. I got to see some of my little cousins perofrm and they did well. Baby girl will steal yo heart in a second, boy! She is seven I think, and is missing her fronts. It was so cute, because no matter how many teeth a child is missing, they'll still smile big! She's as sharp as she is cute. Her brother is a 12 yr. old who's body finally caught up to his head. Probably one of the biggest 12 year olds in Mobile county. He's on his way to 6 feet easy. Real good kid who was trying to grow up too fast, but is gonna be a teenager soon and we all know what that means.
You know how Easter services go, so I bounced early and got an early taste of the food....sooooo goood. The only problem with going down there is for some reason, my bowels move in slow motion and I keep packing my stomach with food. You try not to when you are faced with all your favorites.
So after we ate, we went to watch my cousins play some softball at the local park. Their team is pretty bad, but the fellowship is what it's truly about. My face was familiar to a few who recognized me from when I used to come down every summer and it was fun getting reacquainted, usually over a beer. I got reacquainted with a lot of people that night.
Monday comes and I'm trying to leave by 12pm to avoid traffic. Unless you have a flight to catch, you'll never leave when ya want when you're enjoying family. As I stated earlier, my cousin is hard to wake up, so you have to plan accordingly. The plan was to leave at 12pm, but we didn't leave until 3pm.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Welcome to Atlanta
So my trip down south started Wednesday. On my way through Wisconsin, I was constantly reminded of how boring, lame and stupid that state is and I was fortunate not to have to stop. I had an empty bottle on the ready if it came to that. With all the detours I had to take, it didn't help. I was so happy to get to Illinois, I paid $2 at the $1 toll. Illinois was a nice state to drive through. They love Abraham Lincoln there. They make a huge deal about where he slept or ate...c'mon, can you even prove it anymore?? You can tell it's a tourist ploy, but hey, they gotta make money like every other state! I also saw wind turbines and I tried to take a picture with my phone AND drive. Not a good idea, but if we are smart about placement so they don't become an eyesore, let's do it. I decided to take Highway 39 south to Bloomington and cut over to Indianapolis on 74 to avoid Chicago traffic.
The sun set somewhere between Bloomington and Indy and it was like God kissing America goodnight.
After spending the night in Indianapolis, I had to replace a tire, then it was back on the road. I ate McDonald's one time and snacks and that's all I needed. It's tough to measure time with all the detours and the missing of exits. I blame that on the distraction of a kickass playlist y'all! Anyway, I made it Thursday night and it was good to see my cousin and husband.. I got in just in time to catch some of The Office.
I caught up with my boy from school and he took me to the Leopard Lounge. Now my dress was horrible by Atlanta...well most people's standards, so we put a few things together and I was presentable. We get there and the doorman looked at my boy and said, "Tennis Shoes? $20!" I started walking back to the car, because it wasn't looking that great inside. We managed to persuade the doorman to let us in. The club was alright, the floor was kinda small. Bunch of guys watching the game. It got kinda tight in there and I told my boy that we could do this at the crib and he agreed. We posted up outside and did some people watching. Now anyone that knows me, knows that people watching is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WORLD. I will go deeper into that subject, as I post more.
Friday was spent riding around town. I went to Atlantic Station and bought some jeans, because I was told that I needed to step my game up if I wanted to be in Atlanta. I decided to do the driving, so I can figure out the streets and how to get around. So after all that shopping, we built up an appetite and went to Fatburger. It was my first time and it will not be my last. They can put an egg on your burger, y'all!!. I don't know where you can get that in Minnesota.
I love how people try and tell you what to look for and how to act around these parts. You know they have your best interest in mind and it does show that they care. Thanks to this blog, I can be on observe and report mode, so that as I go, so does this blog and you reading it!
The sun set somewhere between Bloomington and Indy and it was like God kissing America goodnight.
After spending the night in Indianapolis, I had to replace a tire, then it was back on the road. I ate McDonald's one time and snacks and that's all I needed. It's tough to measure time with all the detours and the missing of exits. I blame that on the distraction of a kickass playlist y'all! Anyway, I made it Thursday night and it was good to see my cousin and husband.. I got in just in time to catch some of The Office.
I caught up with my boy from school and he took me to the Leopard Lounge. Now my dress was horrible by Atlanta...well most people's standards, so we put a few things together and I was presentable. We get there and the doorman looked at my boy and said, "Tennis Shoes? $20!" I started walking back to the car, because it wasn't looking that great inside. We managed to persuade the doorman to let us in. The club was alright, the floor was kinda small. Bunch of guys watching the game. It got kinda tight in there and I told my boy that we could do this at the crib and he agreed. We posted up outside and did some people watching. Now anyone that knows me, knows that people watching is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WORLD. I will go deeper into that subject, as I post more.
Friday was spent riding around town. I went to Atlantic Station and bought some jeans, because I was told that I needed to step my game up if I wanted to be in Atlanta. I decided to do the driving, so I can figure out the streets and how to get around. So after all that shopping, we built up an appetite and went to Fatburger. It was my first time and it will not be my last. They can put an egg on your burger, y'all!!. I don't know where you can get that in Minnesota.
I love how people try and tell you what to look for and how to act around these parts. You know they have your best interest in mind and it does show that they care. Thanks to this blog, I can be on observe and report mode, so that as I go, so does this blog and you reading it!
Intro to an old friend
Throughout this blog, you will witness my random thoughts and feelings on whatever topic comes up. My parents always told me to write stuff down and I am...kinda. So whatever happens from here on out is relatively their fault.
I have decided to take this and use it as my outlet like so many have done before and will continue to do. If this serves as a vehicle of entertainment to you, then so be it. I love feedback, but I'm also a huge fan of the Golden Rule y'all. I'm also trying to get this to as many people as I can, so if you offer any tips on how to advertise to those that care, that'd be great!!
Alright, let's get started.
I have decided to take this and use it as my outlet like so many have done before and will continue to do. If this serves as a vehicle of entertainment to you, then so be it. I love feedback, but I'm also a huge fan of the Golden Rule y'all. I'm also trying to get this to as many people as I can, so if you offer any tips on how to advertise to those that care, that'd be great!!
Alright, let's get started.
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