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19
Dec
2009
New Years 2010 Deciphered
Since I’ve been in my own little world lately, I figured I should get in at least one blog update before rushing off for my 6th New Years abroad. In this order, the past five were Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party, Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay (rained out, drying off in a tiny hotel room watching Paolo Nutini sing in Edinburgh Castle on TV), a night train from Cairo to Aswan in Egypt, and a beach party in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. You never know when this string of celebrations will, for good or not, end. In fact, had I not sold my house in November, I’m not sure I would have felt so free to make these plans, particularly for a bit beyond a month of time on the road!
I also rarely posted trip specifics before, but it’s amazing how much more free you feel when you don’t have to ponder that you’re advertising an empty house! So, as things stand, I leave Dec 26th bound for Dublin, Ireland. I arrive the 27th and will be there a whole night! The morning of the 28th, I’ll be hopping straight on to a 6 day Paddywagon bus tour that rings around the whole isle. Granted you can only see so much in such a short period, but I’m considering it the appetizer. Beyond that, I have literally no plans until I leave for Paris on the 23rd of January. So, I have weeks to spend in Dublin certainly and perhaps revisiting somewhere from the tour or I’m looking a lot at the Aran Islands off the Southwestern coast. The largest island, Inis Mor, is about 9 miles long and at its widest point, about 3 miles wide. At this time of the year, there won’t be many tourists and it’s mostly a pedestrian place with some awesome prehistoric forts and beautiful geography. The photos I’ve seen of it call my name, but there’s a chance that somewhere I visit at the outset will call me back louder. Any one with Ireland suggestions, by all means, feel free to drop them my way!
On the 23rd, bound for Paris for 5 nights before returning home for winter and more reflection time. You see, at the outset of this grand experiment, the plan was firmly spending my savings on some good old fashioned travel time. And it may well stay that way, but I’m also toying with the idea of spending some of my savings on something a bit more lasting if I can find the right place, probably in one of Georgia’s “second cities” - preferably closer to the mid-state. It may surprise some of you that I nearly put down an offer on a house in Macon this month. At the literal last moment, I decided to shelve that idea for the moment.
Why not Atlanta? Atlanta was a chapter of my life I wouldn’t exchange. Like any good book, it had its highs and lows, and it set the stage for learning how much I loved seeing the world beyond and, of course, it was where I learned to love being behind a camera so much. But I also don’t relish returning to Atlanta. I would not be so bold as to say never. There’s especially some soft spots in my heart for intown Atlanta where I lived my first two years. They were the poorest years of my life (getting started after college), when every penny mattered, but it seemed everything was on my doorstep of my tiny apartment and it was the most diverse community in which I’ve lived. So, you can see, genuinely no hard feelings, but I have also grown weary of the size of Atlanta, not the people but the sprawl, for now anyway. Each trip back to see friends or handle business has reminded me what it’s like to sit in grid lock traffic and how frustrated I got not being able to get somewhere 10 miles away in less than an hour. If Atlanta can ever escape the car and embrace mass transit, it could be an awesome place.
So, I may come back at the end of January and decide to start down a new path, or I may come back and plan some more travel starting in Spring, or if I have an incredible light bulb go off, I may figure out a way to do some of column A and some of column B.
Where did this new direction come from? While I was already reading a lot about small living before my summer adrift, I’ve had a lot of time to really read about a lot of different topics, specifically centering around small living, urban homesteading, and trying to have a smaller impact on the world. And I don’t per se see myself in a travel camper (believe it or not, heavily considered), I do see that even my 1,500 sq foot town house was more than I ever needed alone. There are families, living in less space than I had to myself. Some are actually here in the US, but most you’d read about here have done so out of choice, i.e. the (hopefully) growing realization that we don’t really NEED 3,000 square foot houses. All they become is places to pile more and more belongings. Anyone who saw my storage unit would know that I’m in no danger of becoming an ascetic monk soon, but I have over the past few years (and will continue to) shed some of the things in my life that are truly just retaining space. Having a smaller place to keep your stuff is its own mandate to deal with excess. And if I can wing a way not to be paying for that space over 30 years of my life, all the better. When you look at how much of your budget is spent on your house and all the stuff in it, you’ll realize that those mortgages are not just a promise to pay a loan but an anchor to a way of life that may not offer you as much satisfaction as you thought.
Anyway, before I get all mystic and hippie-like here, I’ll let it go at that. I’m happy to discuss with anyone who’s interested and you are free to use it for my sanity hearing later. 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I hope that everyone out there who I’ve known over the years has an awesome holiday! This is as close to a card as I’m sending, but the sentiment is heart felt. Even if I don’t talk to you every day, I think of people I knew last week as well as many years ago quite often. And even if I’m awful at responding, I love to hear from you about what’s going on in your lives! Merry Christmas and Happiest year ahead to you all!
10
May
2009
Atlanta Stroll – Woodruff Park to Woodruff Arts Center
My last week before putting my stuff in storage and going home for now, I wanted to take a stroll through the city, take some parting shots. I may end up back here. I may not. Who really knows, so it was also sort of a farewell. And I’ve been in Alpharetta so long now, that it always seemed like I had some reason not to burn gas getting into the city.
At any rate, the plan was there, but the weather just woudln’t cooperate. Every morning started out gray and only a few ended sunny. And each of the sunny ending ones, I had already planned something for the evening. Saturday, I finally decided just to wander on down. I hopped MARTA at Doraville and rolled down to Peachtree Center where my long walk began.
Atlanta Flatiron - History Surpassed
My first stop was Atlanta’s Flatiron. When I first started getting into photography and wanted to photograph some local sites, this was one of my destinations. I had heard of the famous Flatiron in NYC, but never knew Atlanta not only had a building on the same plan but an older one. Built in 1897, this now diminutive building is Atlanta’s second and oldest surviving skyscraper.
Suntrust Plaza
I’ve always liked this building, the piles of cubes, the whole geometry of it. It was completed in 1992 as One Peachtree Center, later being changed to Suntrust Plaza.
Fabulous Fox on Peachtree
No meander up Peachtree would be complete without a stop at the Fox. I still had the fisheye lens on the camera and decided to go with it and see what I could get having attacked this one before with my regular wide angle. I really like the feel and color of what resulted. And, as you can tell, I had a little bit of sky to work with at last! Gray skies are gonna clear up!
The High Museum
This part of the meander wrapped up at the High Museum. If I had been just one week earlier, I could have stopped in here for free as a Fulton County resident. I regret never having done that in 10 years of living here. If you’re a Fulton resident, by all means, surpass my example and drop in on the first Saturday of the month for some culture paid for by your tax dollars.
At this point, I hopped back on MARTA and wandered some of Buckhead as well – photos to come. This isn’t, by the way, everything from the first stroll. If you want to see more, be sure to check out my Urban album.
4
May
2009
Extended Stays
So, last Friday was my final day at Equifax. I’ll still be back and forth to Atlanta for a bit until I move my stuff in storage and won’t entirely cut ties until I manage to sell my house, but soon, I’ll get to move onto another chapter of my life. A little travel and then we’ll see what’s next.
But there will surely be some interim stops here at home while I await the sale of the house and possibly longer if I decide to go back to school. Much to think about but it’s a happy time.
As it goes, I’ve already taken some long walks here with the camera and wandered some familiar old streets. I’m sure there will be more of these to come.
Several new images added to the Macon County photo album. A couple are below.
Gathering Storm
The above house on North Dooly used to belong to ‘Miss’ Irene Brown, a good friend of our neighbor, ‘Miss’ Matt Price. They are both gone now and I couldn’t say who lives there anymore, but it’s well kept and the skies beyond it just begged for a shot.
Corner of South Dooly & Walnut
If anyone could be said to be stalking a house, I seem to be stalking this one. I’ve always liked the style of this home and it’s literally a block from my parents house. If I go for a walk, I invariably seem to come back to this spot just as the afternoon sun is striking it. I know it will be a ways off in the future based on the speed they are going, but I look forward to that day when it’s finally completely restored.
Surely more to come in my rural south and Macon County portfolios before I get to go on my Euro adventure!
23
Apr
2009
Life is a State of Mind
I guess you could say a fair bit has been going on in my life this year. After a decade working with the same company, I’ve decided to cut ties and try something new. When I figure out what that is, I’ll let you know! It’s a long involved story for one on one time if you care, but this was the right thing for me to do right now and although it’s a little scary in this economy, I don’t remember being happier in quite some time. My intentions right now are simply to sell my house and take whatever I can get and add it to my rainy day funds. Once that’s done, I plan to travel for a bit, definitely Europe, plus maybe a spot or two besides if I can swing it.
When I get back and my mental batteries are recharged, it will be time to determine a new course in my life. Maybe school, maybe volunteer for Americorps or otherwise find some nonprofit work.
So, if you’ve wondered where I’ve been, it’s mostly been cleaning and packing. I need to get my life in order so that I can shake it up!
In the meantime, I’ve done very little photography wise, but in March, I did get a neat opportunity to go with some other photographers to check out the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA. A gorgeous place you should check out if you get the chance!
Going The Distance
Hymnal Studies
Abbey Church Nave
There are a few more to see in my Monastery of the Holy Spirit Gallery – hope you’ll check them out!
I also added a couple of photos I took way back in November when I was home for Thanksgiving! They got lost amongst a sea of pictures but I was particularly happy with how they turned out and finally got back to them!
The first is a lovely old house that’s being slowly renovated on the corner of South Dooly and Walnut streets n Montezuma. I’ve no idea who lives there now – have always heard it called the Richardson home, but knowt hat family is no longer there.
Winter Blues
The second is two houses down from it. I also am not sure who lives there now but when I was little, our family doctor lived in between these houses and some of his kids lived in this house, which in this photo I’ve been told has an air of mystery to it.
Winter Mystery
And a mystery seems an apt place to end this particularly post!
2
Nov
2008
Is It Midnight?
Okay, for weeks, I’ve been hating how dark it was in the morning. The late sunrise made it seem even harder to rise and shine. Okay, I never shine, but I do rise. Now the sun is going down too early. There is no winning is there?
Where to begin on updates? Hmmm… I don’t know that I’ll start at the beginning as such, but I’ll start with the biggest news. And by that, I mean big to me and probably no one else. My annual new years holiday is now officially planned. I will ring in 2009 in Nicaragua. Defeaning silence? Okay, let’s just say warmth and sun in Central America? Is that more appealing? I’ll be honest. I hadn’t really heard anything about Nicaragua in years and years. It was stowed away in some dark corner of my mind as being a place of much conflict. That’s apparently mostly sorted. There appears to be some lingering issues over control of the northeast corner of the country from what I can sus reading the US State Department’s travel warnings. And if I compare it to Egypt’s travel warnings, it would look like I visited a war zone for my last New Years getaway. Just to put things in perspective. And no, my trip will not take me near said corner of the country.
I am actually visiting two countries, so I shaved a little off the trip by just stating where I’d be to see in 2009. The trip actually starts and ends in San Jose, Costa Rica. I fly out to arrive on day 1 (not unlike my Intrepid trip last year, a day to meet and organize) on Dec 28th. I fly back on Jan 11th. The rest of the time will be spent in comparative warmth and sun. And I know friends who live up north are reading this and shaking their head as I live in comparative warmth and sun for them. Sorry, I’m just a big baby when it comes to my sunshine!
This weekend, in far less interesting fashion, I went up to the tippy top of the state to check out the fall foliage. I don’t think I got any killer photos honestly. I am very challenged by forests and mountains, still. None the less, I had an awesome time if just for the zen moments and the riot of colors. The trees were really putting on a show this year. I drove up Saturday, getting a later start than intended. I really only stopped by Anna Ruby Falls and did nothing else worth mentioning until checking into a hotel in Clayton, GA. If I had realized just how close to North Carolina I really was, I might have gone that little bit further.
But if I had, I would have missed out starting my Sunday on the top of Black Rock Mountain, just north of Clayton. The aerial view of the surrounding mountains and valleys were incredible. The park ranger told me that this was the best color he’d seen in about 15 years. Color enhanced even more by the warm morning sun.
After, I popped back northward and crossed the line into North Carolina. This was actually the second time in as many days. I had border crossed the evening before hoping for some nice sunset photos. You can tell I am by nature a low lander. I was flummoxed quickly by the fact the sun didn’t really set so much as the mountains blocked it. Twilight came suddenly and I only got a few shots in, more of them covered in long shadows than anything. I’m not sure I could quickly adapt to life in the shadow of mountains and I know I don’t want to live *on* one. Nice flat yard please.
I took the Appalachian Parkway across the southern edge of North Carolina. Saw more staggering views from various overlooks, and took one old mountain road down into a valley. It was fun in a way, but more of a driving experience than a see the sights experience. The curves were coming too fast to do anything but focus on driving!
And this is where I go into a side rant. Most of the North Carolina stretch was fairly empty, when I dipped southwards again towards home, I ended up on more winding “scenic highways” packed with other Atlantans. All wanted to go faster and wear their brakes out in every turn. I’d rather not wear my breaks to nothing. Face facts, you’re not going to get there much faster by screaming down the few straightaways only to jam on brakes into every curve. And more importantly, I’m thinking you came into the mountains to see the sights, so please, slow down and see them. Sheesh!
There’s much irony that I’m planning a trip that’s now less than 2 months away and I’ve yet to go through all the photos from England. There are a few more England photos up, though. Starting here should get you to the newer ones since last posting. And here are some of my favorites from the new crop.
Lanyon Quoit - Standing Stones
The Trail To Lands End - Cornwall
Minack Theater - Cornwall - In The Spotlight
Newquay Surfer - Heading Out
