We’re Back in Atlanta
So we’re back in the States. After a short flight to Seoul, Korea and then an overnight stay at the hotel that’s IN the international terminal, we hopped on one more plane and flew for 15 hours over the Arctic and eventually landed in Atlanta - only an hour after the time that we left Korea (we left Korea at around 10am Friday morning and landed in Atlanta around 11am Friday morning - it’s like magic.)
After having been through 8 airports in a month with a few repeats, I can only say that the airport screening process is still relatively a waste of time - well it would be if terrorists weren’t so stupid sometimes. Ah.. but at least airport security is just as irritating no matter what country you’re flying through (of course in others, it’s obviously more since they can take your stuff and basically coerce you into paying them to allow it to pass.)
I think I’ m doing pretty well with the jet lag battle - took a nap yesterday afternoon when we arrived - then FOUGHT to wake up - and then went to bed at around 1am and slept all the way through to this morning. I should be just as tired as usual for Monday morning.
So. Although I have plans to get back to the fitness regime and get back to where I was before I moved to Atlanta, that’s probably on hold until Monday. Yesterday, we went to Mellow Mushroom for a really great pizza, and then Thinking Man Tavern with our friends Anna & Chris for some dinner. And then for breakfast today, we went to The Flying Biscuit - Mclendon location because it’s the best and only one worth going to. So yeah, Mellow Mushroom and The Flying Biscuit - although it’s always an argument when discussing the best/most/worst/anything in regards to food in Atlanta, it was a nice change of pace from Chinese cuisine. We could’ve done much worse, and actually, these three outings where satisfying on all the right levels.
Breakfast
China seriously lacks a breakfast food culture. Aside from the steamed buns and a few other items on the morning street food list - the breakfast in China is considerably lacking. Especially when compared to a fully realized southern breakfast.
Omlettes the size of my head, full of cheese, meat, and bell peppers. Pancakes, grits, potatoes, toasts, and finally, an awesome biscuit. The kind of biscuit that they only seem to create in the South - that make other areas in the United States envious. Having eaten so many breakfasts at so many different restaurants around Atlanta, it’s always a hard choice (in fact, we haven’t been to the Flying Biscuit in a loooooong time) but even at a touristy location such as this - when you’re the first customer and they have to unlock the door for you, the service isn’t rushed, the food is timely, and the hour wait is non-existent. We love breakfast because we usually wake up early for breakfast, and brunch is always too far off.
Back to the ‘real world’.
It’s the weekend and we have all of today, and then tomorrow before we have to get back to work. ‘Back to the real world’ as most would put it however, saying that kind of bothers me. As if we left the real world. It doesn’t bother me that it seems to say that what we did for the past month wasn’t real, but that what we are coming back to is more real. And then the connection that this ‘more real’ life isn’t anything great - or it’s just… a negative connotation.
Especially when the trick to a trip such as the one we are returning from - is to come back having been changed. Or rather, to not come back and fall into the same old routines and more importantly, the same old mind sets that we were in before we left. Because the battle isn’t to sit in my cubicle and hate every moment of it simply because I’m not ‘out there’ - but it’s to make my life here in Atlanta as interesting, or exciting, or at the very least, have as much purpose and meaning. Because life isn’t all about traveling, but it’s not all about simply accepting your existence. And that’s why I don’t really like it when others negatively (with or without knowing it) state that we now have to return back to the real world. Because our real world is actually much more fluid, more flexible, and I dare say, more exciting than many other people’s - but only because we choose to make the attempt at living life deliberately.
So while this past month was quite awesome - it’s good to be back. Because our real world is quite excellent.
Our cats, One-Two and Three-Four are doing quite excellent and I know they’re happy to have people here with them, staying overnight. It’s awesome that Anna & Chris came over nearly everyday to feed and spend time with them, but obviously it’s not the same as sleeping here. Since our cats generally sleep on the bed with us (it helps a great deal during the winter - they help keep us warm.)
Unpacking still needs to be done, but mostly just dealing with all of the ’stuff’ we bought as gifts for people. We went to Wu-Mart and loaded up. In fact, we bought a new suitcase to hold everything that we were bringing back - and then some. Wu-mart rocks. We also each practically bought a new wardrobe of clothes - for the cheap - and then also a good share of dvds, and movies - but mostly series. Oh yeah, and I got a dvd player that can play most of the formats I download (not that I torrent anything illegal - cause that’d be wrong right?)
Let’s keep moving forward. There’s too much to do in the coming year. Fortunately, most of it is stuff that we’ve chosen as opposed to stuff that was thrown upon us. More and more that’s how it is these days. It’s not easy. Just a life lived deliberately and less ordindary.
