Dear friends, forgive me for taking so long to write this entry! November and December have been exceptionally busy months. I will not bore you with the detaills, but instead share with you a couple of "adventures" from these months.
I wake up around 625 or whatever random number my alarm set to. DJ picks me up at 7am. En route to North Carolina, she says, "Instead of getting up really early to go shopping, we can go at midnight. That's when the Outlets are opening." So, by 715, I knew it would be a very long day...
We had a very nice, albeit uneventful Thanksgiving at her sister's house in the mountain in North Carolina. I have only great things to say about the whole family, and there are some photos in album 28 "Atlanta Late 2007." Unfortunately, my memory card in the camera filled up so that is where the photojournalism of our day ends.
Dinner was late, of course, and we unfortunately had to leave in a hurry because we were obligated to help Ginger at the pre-game party. Took a 10-minute pit stop at DJ's so she could change her clothes. Made good time to the stadium, only the cop would not let us turn left, so I got out to pick up our parking pass, and DJ met me 15 minutes later, because literally traffic was crawling! Park the car, run inside... we get there and Ginger is packing up. But, she's chipper. Low turnout, thank goodness, and she says it will be the first kickoff she gets to see this season.
Falcons played a good first half, which says a lot considering how they are playing this year (and I'm being honest here!) But, Peyton ain't going to lose to Atlanta... The whooping began in the second quarter. We left in mid-way through the third.
Stop in to DJ's to let Daisy out. Then off to my place, so I could change, brush my teeth etc. We hit the road around midnight, it's an hour drive. About five miles from the Outlets, all you see is brake lights. "What is going on, why are there traffic at 1am?!" DJ exclaims. I tell her everyone is going to the Outlets. "Don't be silly Shani, nobody is that crazy, at least not this many people. There must be an accident and everybody is rubbernecking."
So, when we get to the Outlets, I was declared the winner of the above micro-argument. We had to park on the street. For any one who has never been to the Outlets, the street is at the bottom of a hill from the mall, it's a measure of the parking lot being overcrowded, and so was the line to get in. Incidentally, there wasn't much street left to park on, but we weren't concerned with people who got there after us.
After our hike, we get in line to get into [DJ's favorite store]. She turns to me, "I left my phone in the car!" (This may be a good time to mention she had to pick someone up at the airport at 7am, and planned to call him while he was on his layover around 4.) I chuckle, "I think you have enough time to hike down the hill to get your phone. It'lll be 30 minutes until we're in the store." That started the pattern of one of us (generally me) holding a place in line while the other did whatever else (usually shopping).
We'd originally planned to leave around 3. But, we had not banked on the crowd. So, we left a little after 5. Kristen sent us a text about how she was waiting for Target to open. By the time we got to my house, Target had opened. "I guess it opened at 6."
Brush my teeth and go to bed. Check the clock. 624. It's light outside already. I smile that I went a whole 24 hours straight, but I may have missed that last minute!
I am going to take a moment to thank Ginger profusely for giving me the tickets to take my dad to his first football game with a ticket. He came up Saturday before the Bucs @ Falcons and took me to dinner. It was Midtown Shop + Dine Week, where you can get a three-course meal for $25.
We had reservations at The Savoy, a restaurant in the lobby of the Georgian Terrace Hotel, across from the Fox Theatre. I had been eyeing their Scallops dish for about 2 weeks! Their parking lot was full. We arrived 20 minutes late because there was an event at the Fox, and who knows what else, so we couldn't even find PAID parking!
Surprisingly, the restaurant was empty when we got there. Got a table, no problem. They were offering a wine pairing for $10, and we were ready to go... as soon as the waiter got there...?
Our waiter, Craig, nice guy, but clearly having a rough night... aside from looking frazzled, he had wine all over his shirt. ALL OVER!
We're ready. First thing I order is the shrimp appetizer. "Oh," Craig says, "We're out of the shrimp. But we are offering fried green tomatoes instead, as well as the salad." I go for the fried green tomatoes, "But don't tell me you're out of the scallops, because that's what I really want." He smiles, "No ma'am" (isn't the South great!) "we have the scallops, and for you sir..."
Remember that wine pairing? The wine for abba was almost gone, so Craig had to go get another bottle. In the meantime, a busser comes out with bread for us. My dad and I look at it and at each other. Then the busser brings bread to the table next to us. THEN he comes to us, with bread plates and butter knives. Now is when I figure it out... Big crowd at the Fox was here, and they left RIGHT before we got there. No wine glasses on tables, no bread plates... I get it, now, props for it taking me so long!
Not sure when it happened, but Craig came back with bad news. Out of scallops. Now, I'm not proud of my over-emotional tendencies, but I was rather upset. The manager offered me anyhthing, so I went for the steak, though, really I was disappointed.
Now is about when the laughing got to a point of seriousness. I'll never fault a restaurant for being busy. Having a date with my dad is just awesome, so none of this stuff is going to interfere! The follies continued, though at a slower pace. I, on the other hand, just laughed. Ear to ear smile. Props to Craig, props to The Savoy, but really, I love abba. And Ima is coming in January!
~shani