Tuesday, March 13, 2007

The Many Misadventures of a Scatterbrained Girl or My Weekend

Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pumps don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

Okay, so the lyrics here from Bob's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" may seem a bit random, but the last line kind of comes into play later on. And I like to brag that I can sing all the words to that entire song. I'm so accomplished.


So as most of you know, I went down to Tallahassee this weekend to visit my dear sweet friend Krishna. Krishna moved down South nearly a year ago and has since come to visit her old Georgia friends many times. But nobody had gone down to see her. So I figured it was her turn.

Aside from a few vehicular and familial snags, the trip was well-planned. I even had super directions with insets of maps I had found online. Of course I barely paid attention to them once I got going. And it did take me a while to get going. It took me an hour to get my errands run in Rome, so I didn't really get on the road until two in the afternoon.

All was smooth sailing down Highway 27. I liked it. I don't do so well in traffic or on interstates, so 27 was the perfect route for me. I didn't stop until I got to LaGrange. Krishna had directed me to get onto I-185 for a few exits. I followed her directions, but got hopelessly confused because I stayed on 27S. So I decided, "hell with it" and continued on 27. Well, I didn't realize that somewhere near Calloway Gardens, 27 was being detoured. Nothing is more obnoxious than a detour on an unfamiliar road. I followed this detour for about 20 miles before I just got too confused to tolerate it, so I stopped at a gas station and got directions from a very bored and possibly gay LaGrange conveniance store worker. I ended up on I-185 for about two exits, but soon found my way back to my good friend, 27S.

On through Columbus and Fort Benning I drove and drove. And before I knew it, I was out in the middle of nowhere. And I mean nowhere. There was NOTHING on either side of the road except for trees. It was very pretty, though. It was around dusk as I was driving through this desolate place, and the hills around were very pretty in the fog. Still, I had to call Krishna just to give me something to do while I was driving through this place. Soon after I hung up with her, I passed the best road name ever. I mean EVER. Benevolence Pumpkin Road. I kid you not. BENEVOLENCE PUMPKIN ROAD!! Not even the adjective, "benevolent" but the noun. I laughed for like fifteen minutes until I passed a Sheriff's Department car and got pulled over for going 77 in a 55. Bad monkey.

Many hours and many miles later I finally rolled into Tallahassee. I was SO happy to see Krishna. And she's such a good hostess, she even had supper waiting for me. Their little house is nice. It's the perfect size for Krishna and her husband, and I'm super proud of her for being more grown-up than me. And her cat is precious, although I now see why Krishna keeps calling her a "strange kitty." We didn't do anything really on Friday night because I was wiped out and I had arrived too late to do much. But Krishna and I did have a couple Jack and Cokes and talked for several hours. Something I have missed SO MUCH about having Krishna around. We always have something to talk about, which is a rare thing for me.

Saturday after all were awake and showered, Krishna and I took a pilgramage to Krispy Kreme. Ooooohhhhh Krispy Kreme. Because we are so far away from one up here in the NW Georgia sticks, any opportunity I have to get some REAL, fresh Krispy Kremes is always taken advantage of. I ended up with a dozen (actually, 14 because the little dude at the counter was very sweet and gave me four of the blueberry ones because they're smaller) and Krishna ended up with a dozen. We sat in the glow of the glazing machine and happily chowed down on a lemon-filled (in my case) and a cinnamon apple filled (for Krishna).

Our stomachs properly full of the most unhealthy pastry known to man (if it's not the most unhealthy, let me know what is so I can try it), we headed for the one place in Tallahasse Krishna most wanted me to visit: Vinyl Fever. All right, so Vinyl Fever is what a record store ought to be. CDs by a huge variety of artists at decent prices and a vast section of used CDs. It's a huge store. And I was in my own little Paradise on Earth. I'm not sure how long we were there. I always lose track of time and space when I'm in such a kick-ass record store. Krishna and I were like a couple little girls in a candy store. I ended up spending way too much money, but it's been a very long time since I've bought any music (ack!). When I took my CDs to the counter, the dude working there flirted with me in the best possible way - going on musical taste. Tom Waits always brings the love.



The Florida State Capitol Building - what were they thinking?


We had lunch (we allowed Krishna's husband, Cliff to join us after Vinyl Fever) at a good seafood place and continued to just kind of galavant around Tallahassee. We enjoyed the lovely view of the very phallic Capitol building (I mean, REALLY phallic), and went to a few stores and whatnot. We really just had a lovely time. I also noticed that there are a lot of really good-looking men in Tallahassee. A LOT of good-looking men. And they're not all oiled-up muscle men, nor do they really seem to be fanboys. They're just...good-looking. And when I made this observation to Krishna I got the strangest sense that she was trying to sell me on this little town. Hmmm...

Once we got back to Krishna and Cliff's house, we really just took it easy. We all checked our e-mail on their super cool wi-fi network and Krishna made us supper. She's such a sweetheart and made spaggetti with meat in it despite the fact that she's a vegetarian. Later on, we broke out the Whiskey again and I proceeded to get my ass beat at Mario Cart.

The next morning I had to get going because I wanted to get up to Macon to see my friend Adam before it got too late. It's just as well, because poor Krishna suddenly had a sinus attack or something similar and wasn't feeling so great. We said our goodbyes and I miss her already.

I had to take I-75 to Macon, and althouth I don't much like the interstate, I didn't mind braving it to see Adam. I ended up taking 319 up to Tifton to catch I-75. 319 was fairly uneventful except for the slight little mistake I made in Moultrie. I ended up on Business 319 instead of regular ole 319 North, but all that transpired was that I had to take a few funny little turns in downtown Moultrie.

75 was a little crazy. There were more people on the road than I had anticipated, but I managed okay. It really didn't take too terribly long before I was in Macon. I got to town at about three, which was exactly the time I had been shooting for. If you knew how rarely this happens to me, you'd understand why I was so impressed with myself.

I found Adam's place easily, but I was earlier than he had expected. He had promised me food, so we went in search of it. Well, a search it was indeed. He had mentioned a very good pizza place. We found it, but they were closed. Then the idea of a home cooking place was shot down when they turned out to be closed. Then we though, surely a Sushi place would be open. Well, it wasn't. All during this pinball game of trying to find food, Adam pointed out a few things about Macon and we had some good conversation as we always have done, so I didn't mind the running around. I just felt bad for Adam having to drive me all over creation.

Finally, we ended up at Cheddar's. It's a nice place and they know what "medium rare" means. I was very pleased with my steak and it was so good to sit with Adam and laugh and talk. He's one of those folks from the old days that I have always really missed. It's so rare to meet a good-hearted, level-headed, good-looking man of a certain age, and Adam is all three. His ex must be out of her mind.

After we ate (well, I ate - Adam had eaten already), he drove me around Macon to show me certain points of interest. It's a nice town. Lots of beautiful old houses that are sadly run down. But some of them have been remodeled and are beautiful again. He showed me the Mercer campus and his house as well. I love his little house and it just breaks my heart that he's going to have to sell it and start all over again. Divorce is so ugly.

We really had a good time riding around, and mostly it was just nice to hang out with Adam. I get a feeling that he's trying to sell me on Macon just as Krishna was trying to sell me on Tallahassee. We'll see kids.

Anyway, I said goodbye to Adam sooner than I would have liked, but I really needed to get home at a decent hour since I had to work the next day. So I headed out. 75 continued to be a little crazy, but all went pretty well until I stopped for gas.

I don't know where I was, but I stopped at a BP station. It was prepay only, which I don't like but I can deal with it. So I pulled up to the pump and I went in to get a Diet Dr. Pepper and pay for 20 bucks in gas. I paid, went outside, got into the car, and headed off. I had gone at least 30 miles before I realized that I had forgotten to pump my gas. So I hope somebody had a good time with my twenty bucks. I felt like such and idiot and I still do, because twenty bucks is a small fortune for someone like me. I stopped somewhere in Jackson and had to pay with my debit card. Bleh.

Anyway, Atlanta was crazy as usual, but all turned out well, and I got home at about eight thirty.

It was a hell of a trip, but it was worth all the little problems along the way. I'm in one piece and I got to see my friends. All is well with the world.


So here's some Bob.

5 comments:

  1. that capitol building photo is unreal. too funny.

    that reminds me of an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

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  2. GASP! You posted the picture of our Freudian capital building. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH! God a'mighty. I'm SO glad you had the best time this weekend. I hate it that I got sick Sunday morning. (damn sinuses). But I had the BEST time. Whatever do you mean that I'm "trying to sell you on T-hassee"? Hmm? Just b/c we have KRISPY KREME!, VINYL FEVER!, CUTE GUYS!, and MOI. I've still got the donuts how about you? God I miss you already. We need to figure out when I'm coming home again. What did you think of BFE b/w Columbus and here? Sorry I forgot to tell you that you'd be on 185 for like 30 exits. So, what did you think of the Avenue Q soundtrack? :)~ Strange kitty missed you after you left as much as I did. How was Macon? Been SO long since I've been there. Hm. You move there, I can make my pilgrimage to the GA Music Hall of Fame to worship the music gods from GA. MISSING YOU OODLES! When can I make your reservations to move down here to have good donuts, music, seafood, and cute guys. Glad you didn't get sick off any food I made. hehe.

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  3. My Ex may, in fact, be crazy. Lord knows it would explain a lot, but that could be said of any woman from time to time! (Sorry Women, it's true)

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  4. Long story short -- when are you relocating to Tallahassee to chase these men? :D

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  5. scott - I laughed for like ten minutes after seeing that thing

    Krishna - I MISS YOU TOO!!!! Still got some donuts left, but they're quickly dwindling. Soooo yummy. BFE was...well...exactly that - BFE, but it was kind of pretty in that light at dusk. I'm going to have to buy that Avenue Q now - too funny. Mrows to the kitty. I like Macon - I really do. I'll probably end up sending resumes to both NE GA and Macon and see who hires me first. Although you make a good case for the foxiness of Tallahassee men. :^)

    Adam - I admit that we are all a little nutty from time to time. Even me! *gasp*

    Aaron - I do not chase - I dazzle and they follow. Dang it. ;^)

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