Oh, Atlanta

After an incredibly short flight (only 4 hours!) I made it to Georgia and met up with a friend I made a NASA last summer. I must say, being picked up by a friendly face is exponentially better than taking a taxi! (Is there anyone I know at Rice, UMaryland, Rensselear?)

With the time change, I missed lunch and as much as I love my homemade trail mix, it doesn't quite cut it for me for a meal. So, we hit up this place called Fat Matt's. It's a barbecue place:

And it's really small. That tiny picture above captures about all of the interior. They had a fantastic live jazz-ish band that was playing when we arrived, and with the size of the place, we decided to enjoy their tunes while sitting outside. The food was quite good - it was a spicer/less sweet barbecue flavor.

Menu - look at those cheap prices! Sometimes I regret living in one of the most expensive cities in the country....

After a stop at a coffee shop (I am from Seattle!) that I think I could quite easily frequent as a student here, we drove a bit around campus and stopped by the library. Even though GT has something like 35,000 total students, they only have two libraries! (I think the UW has like 40)

My body is still getting used to the time shift, but so far, I like the bit of GT and Atlanta that I've seen, now off to learn more about the program.

Also, I think my high heels confuse the poor engineers here. Good thing I only brought my shortest pair!

one goal achieved [twice]

Remember my list of goals for the quarter? I'm checking one off my list!

-Find a new coffee shop-

I've actually completed this one twice, as I've now gone to both Bustle on Queen Anne and Star Life on the Oasis in the University district.

Bustle was a very fresh feeling cafe and stocked the wonderful Harney and Sons tea! I love how they package their tea in silk sachets, which allows for the tea to fully unfurl when it is steeping and there is no paper-y taste in your drink. They also have sweet flavors like pomegranate oolong, which will always remind me of Christmas. (Christmas break my freshman year, my dad bought me like 48 bags of that tea which I subsequently drank before Winter Quarter was done and I'll forever associate with that time of year). They also have sweet mosaic tile tables and other ginormous wooden tables - excellent for studying.

Delicious Harney and Sons Tea

The other new shop I traveled to was the Star Life on the Oasis - thanks Nate for prompting me to go there! I actually biked there from SPU, it was only about 4 miles each way, but the going there had a decent hill up through the university district. As much as I love biking, I hate hills!

This is a picture from Star Life - forgive the yellow-ness of the photo, the lighting was really warm in there! But the tea was really good and the atmosphere very cosy with a few wing back chairs and converted-seattle-home feel!

The interior of the cafe. Apparently, they have the best vegan chocolate chip cookies. The bite I had was pretty good!

I wonder - are they many cities in the US that have as many coffee shops (and shops in general) in converted homes as Seattle does? I love the character that each home gives to a shop!

Off to visit graduate schools!

Over the course of the next month I will be visiting four different graduate schools:

Georgia Tech
UW
Rice
U Maryland

While I'm not sure how I feel about spending that much time in a plane, I am excited to meet potential graduate school advisors and fellow students. This whole process has been one complicated and generally unguided process and I'm just glad to have been accepted to some schools. I don't have a top choice, or even a top three at this point, so don't ask, but I plan on having a sorted list by April 1st!

And then I shall determine where I will spend the next 5-6 years of my life. Wow. This PhD business is actually starting to feel real!!

On a related note, the jacket picture below is one that I had hoped to have completed by the time I left for GA. That is not going to happen - it's not even cut out yet. And, apparently, people don't usually wear suits to these interview shindigs, at least according to my friend James, who had been to three so far. I'll still start with wearing my jacket from H&M, but that gray sateen cotton garment can't even begin to compare to the beautiful green wool-cashmere blend material from England that I bought in the Philippines!

The last videos!

Here are the last two videos from our Camden trip last month (that makes 14 total!)

And with that, I'm done editing videos for a while!

goals.

I wanted to make a list of things I wish to do this quarter and put them somewhere where'd I remember them. If you didn't know, I only have 12 credits this quarter and have more than enough time on my hands. And sticky notes on my computer only hold so many words...

-Visit the Asian Art Museum

- Vist the museum of industry's exhibit on the 'clutch' (aka handbag, aka purse)

-Watch at least the Star Wars # 4 & 5 (apparently they're the best ones?)

-Make a few more dresses (and quit buying more fabric!!)

-Watch Tron (old and new ones)

-Use my bread machine at least once a week (Yum!)

-Find one new coffee shop (that sells decent tea)

Inspiration for the quarter:

Anybody want to join?

Fun Moments in Camden

Here is one more video of our Camden trip! (It will mostly make sense to those of us on the trip - as these were all the fun moments that didn't really fit with the other videos)

Home Again

Our team arrived safely back to the west coast last Wednesday evening, and now after catching up with friends and family, I have a few more videos to post. Here are two of them, at least one more is still to come!