Baseball Birthday

Today was Sarah's 26th birthday. We had a 'lekker bring&braai' (or as they say here - a cookout) for her on Sat, because she is an uber-cool housemate and other people like her too! But, what is a birthday without a Brave's Baseball game? So, today a few of us trekked off in Phil and Kara's very nice new Subaru Outback to Turner field. We learnt on the way there that the Grand Master of the KKKlan lives in Harrison - the town Sarah's dad works in. There was a very humorous conversation between her and her dad. We also learnt that Subarus were called "Lesbarus" in the NY Times. Apparently a certain orientation of people find them aesthetically pleasing. So did most of us in the car.
We parked at the Holiday Inn and walked to Turner Field. Sarah, as the ever prepared travel warrior princess had our tickets ready, so we went inside, climbed too many stairs and sat down to 9 innings of Braves vs the Phillies. And guess what? At the bottom of the ninth it was 2-2, Braves to bat. 1 out, 2 bases full. Andruw Jones steps up and hits a home-run! Game over, Braves win. Happy Birthday! Woohooo!
I sound like a local! Haha, good times. I even bought some boiled peanuts. Tasty. The seats were high up and the sunset was cool. All in all a good evening.

On a side note, i still think that cricket is cooler and more entertaining. I kept on feeling sorry for the batters who try so hard but hardly ever get a run. The excitement felt with the homerun is similar to when someone hits a six in cricket, except that in a good ODI game, there are plenty of sixes. Anyhow, i guess the sport you grow up with you tend to appreciate more. Phil does want me to explain cricket to him sometime. Will do!

A to the T to the L (again)

Hey, hey...
Been watching the cricket? SA beat Irealand yesterday, and should beat Bangladesh tomorrow. Come on the Bokke!

I've been keeping my word about exploring the city some more. I've been to Virginia Highlands and Little Five lately. Visited Ikea and Atlantic Station, and just had a beer at The Local. Working on my thesis has shown me the insides of one too many Starbucks though! I drove (all by myself) to Target and bought some toothpaste and a webcam. So... anyone on Skype, now we can talk face to screen! It's awesome trying to drive on the wrong side of the road, and I get a kick out of knowing my way around town.
I've also been documenting the whole experience. As an almost-architect student, there are some really nice big shiny buildings in Atlanta. Wealthy city = big nice shiny buildings. My photo collection is growing daily:

A to the T to the L

= ATLANTA!After a wonderful party on the rooftop of a building in downtown Atlanta last Saturday, I've decided to (in my two remaining months) properly explore this city I find myself in.
Exploration no. 1: Bicycle. This morning i went on a fabulous cycle from Decatur to Piedmont Park with Pomo-Adam and Serene-Sarah. It was a glorious day, made all the better by being outside expending energy. The park itself is not that impressive, but you can see the city skyline nicely. The best part (apart from the shower when i got home) was cycling through wonderful little obscure ATL suburbs, and cruising down fast hills. There is also 3 miles of bike path that does some cool winds and turns. One proper cycle and I'm beginning to get a feel for this city. Exploration no.1: Complete!Photo shoot - i'm also beginning to document this whole experience with my camera. I mentioned a few days back that spring is here, and the colours are wonderful. Here is my collage of some of the blossoms and leaves from today's cycle:
As they say in SA: Pragtig, né?