A Tornado Ran Through It

As most of you know, we lived in Atlanta, Georgia up until last July, and we still own a house in one of the suburbs there that we are trying to sell. Well, a tornado (maybe two?) hit downtown Atlanta at around 10 pm Friday night local time. My job was at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta, so I know the entire area that was hit very well. One of my former students has sent some links to Flickr albums that contain amateur photos of the destruction:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/angusn77/2335613492/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/erokcom/2334773155/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/erokcom/2334781443/

It is terribly disorienting to see something so familiar look so devastated. The picture below, in particular, gave me a shiver. It appears to have been taken just ESE of Georgia State, in an area where many students and faculty I know live. I hope they are all OK.

Thankfully, it appears that our house, which is in a suburb 20 miles to the north, was nowhere near this path of destruction. I would hate to have to deal with that kind of mess from the other side of the world.

Frustation For Sale

Have you checked out the link to our house that's for sale back in Atlanta?  It's a very nice site, but I am open to any suggestions to improve what our realtor has done with it.  My reaction is biased. I easily get sad when I look at the pictures of various parts of the house--especially Will's room, which V. and I painted together, and the family room, where we spent many hours watching Will--first lying on his back, then crawling, and then finally walking.  We have had barely a nibble from a potential buyer in the past 12 months.  The most common complaint is that it needs extensive "updating," which we concede, but that's also why it's listed at more than $100K less than anything else in the neighborhood.  Lowering the price isn't much of an option, as we are already looking at barely paying off our mortgage if it were to sell close to the asking price.  A few of my colleagues here have suggested that we contemplate just declaring bankruptcy, especially in light of the mortgage payments we send back to the U.S. every month.  Of course, we now live in Australia, where we would be immune to the hit such an action would take on our American credit history. But that would also mean that we really couldn't move back to the States for at least seven years.  And, perhaps more importantly, I would have to get over the whole stigma attached to someone who doesn't pay off his debts.  For now, we have decided not to think about this option until September 1.  Hopefully, someone will come along and fall in love with the place the way we did.

Praying for Rain

As most of you know, I moved from Atlanta, Georgia, to Brisbane, Queensland, this past June. Without intending to do so, we also stayed within the same Köppen climate classification group and subdivision: Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climate, Humid Subtropical. World cities in this group include Houston, Milan, Brisbane, Atlanta, Yalta (Ukraine), Porto Alegre (Brazil), and Luodian (China). What’s more, we moved from one drought-stricken city to another. As soon as we got here, “saving water,” “Level 5 restrictions,” and “Dam area catchments” became a regular part of our daily conversations. People here have been madly buying rain water tanks for months…so much so, that there was a shortage of tanks back in July. Huge public works projects are going on so that a large pipe grid can more easily shift water from wetter parts of the region to dryer ones. Households face restrictions based on the number of their occupants. Four-minute showers are the norm. And Level 6 restrictions go into effect next week, which will severely limit the amount of water businesses can use. I have friends involved with both the pipe grid project and the public education campaign for Queensland, and I am impressed how everything is proceeding, despite the fact that the dams are now less than 20% of their capacity.

As I said, I left Atlanta in the middle of a similar drought back in July. The only noticeable sign of the Atlanta drought back then was that people were restricted to watering their lawns at only certain times on certain days. That was it. When I visited in October, those watering restrictions were more severe (although the lawns still looked surprisingly green in my old neighborhood), but nothing else had been done. There was a mild ruckus when the Stone Mountain amusement park announced its plans would proceed for building a snow mountain in August (with temps reaching into the 90s), even though they would be using public water from the county, rather than from the lakes in the park. I also heard the governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, make an impassioned plea that FEMA send water trucks to Atlanta to help out. Lots of blame was put on the federal engineers who control the water at Lake Lanier, the primary reservoir for metro Atlanta, but it’s clear that the lake would run out of water anyway, regardless of whether they stopped releasing any more into the Chattahoochee. In October golf courses were still allowed to water their massive turfs. There was no talk of rain tanks, no public campaign to urge people to conserve their water usage, and no proposed long-term plan to deal with future droughts. Still, Lake Lanier could run out of water in a matter of months, if there isn’t a significant rainfall soon. And Atlanta is now entering the driest part of the year.

Well, Georgia has come up with a plan that I don’t think Queensland has thought about yet—prayer! Yes, the governor gathered a group of people on the steps of the state capitol to pray for rain on Tuesday. Interestingly, he acknowledged that the people of Georgia have been a bit shortsighted:

“We acknowledge our wastefulness. We acknowledge that we haven’t done the things we need to do. Father, forgive us and lead us to honor you as you honor us with the showers of blessing.”

I am convinced that we are going to see increasing problems around the world due to water shortages. Populations in the driest parts of the world have nearly all exceeded their local water capacities, and it’s only going to get worse. Maybe praying can help, but we all should be planning and acting now before the pipes run dry.
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UPDATE: I just found this New York Times story about one BIG water user, who says he only recently became aware of the severity of the drought in Atlanta:

ATLANTA, Nov. 14 — A day after Gov. Sonny Perdue asked God to forgive Georgia for being wasteful with its water, county officials in the wealthy suburbs northeast of Atlanta confirmed Wednesday just how profligate one consumer had been.

A homeowner in Marietta, Ga., used 440,000 gallons in September, or about 14,700 gallons a day. By comparison, the average consumption in the United States is about 150 gallons a day per person, and in the Atlanta metropolitan area about 183 gallons.

Month after month during a record-setting drought, the two-story, five-bedroom home owned by that consumer, Chris G. Carlos, a wealthy investor who is a member of one of Atlanta’s most well known and philanthropic families, has topped Cobb County’s list of residential users.

Robert Quigley, a spokesman for the Cobb County Water System, said Mr. Carlos had used an average of 260,000 gallons of water a month for the last year, about twice as much as the consumer next-highest on the county’s list. Mr. Carlos has apparently been using the water not only to flush nine toilets and maintain a swimming pool but also to refresh nearly four acres of lush landscaping around his white-columned, red brick home. click here for the rest of the story...

Cops and Robbers

Our local city, Sandy Springs, recently became incorporated, and many members of its police force have been recruited from surrounding communities, probably with significantly better pay. As a result of all the enthusiasm that accompanies new things, the police department has been especially proactive, giving lots of speeding tickets and keeping the local neighborhood watches apprised of every local offense via email. I simply had to share this one with you, my loyal readers:

A 43-year old man was arrested at 6335 Roswell Road, in the parking lot of a gym after a man reported that when he walked out of the gym and got into his car, a silver Mercedes drove up next to him and the driver of the car began to stare at him. The complainant said that he noticed a motion coming from the man’s hands, near the waist area and suspected the man was staring at him and masturbating at the same time. (This is sometimes known as multi-tasking.)

The report indicated the man told the complainant “Hey Big Boy, can I play with you?” The complainant then got out of the car and walked over to the man’s car at which time the man probably read the word “Police” on the complainant’s T-shirt.
The man was arrested for Solicitation for an Illicit Sexual Act, a city ordinance. The complainant is a detective with Sandy Springs Police.

The guy in jail is upset because of all the luck, this guy was a cop.

The detective is upset because all day long everyone’s been calling him “Big Boy.”

Losing Sleep Selling a House

This past weekend was the most tiring one yet in our son's 15-month-old life. It started with a birthday party on Saturday morning during his nap time. He was able to make up that missed nap in the early afternoon, but he never got his second one. We then went to a 6:00 dinner at Patty and Sarah's house. Unfortunately, Will was ready to go to sleep an hour after we arrived, so I tried to get him to fall asleep on my chest as I walked around, missing the dinner conversation and having to eat my meal after everyone else had finished. This was all for nothing, as Will never went to sleep and just grew crankier. We left at 8:30, got home, and put Will, who was now completely exhausted, straight to bed. I then checked the messages. An agent wanted to show the house the next morning, "sometime between 9 and 12." (The early hour on a Sunday made me want to write my own "Dear 24," letter).

If you haven't had to show a house in this country, let me just say it is disruptive. Each time one is scheduled, usually with just a few hours' notice, we are expected to be out of the house, and, of course, our home is supposed to be spotless. With a young toddler in tow, this becomes extremely challenging. Normally we spend a good part of an hour feeding him in the morning, and then following that with another 30-45 minutes of bathing and getting him dressed. Well, yesterday, he slept until 9 because of his long day before. We quickly dressed him and left, not wanting to have the house messed up by the usual routine. This particular agent's three-hour window was especially annoying because most showings don't last more than 10 minutes. We went out to breakfast at a local Dunwoody institution, J. Christopher's (our first time, if you can believe it...and I am now sorry that I didn't know about it before now), and then headed to the mall to buy some shoes. By the time we got home at 1, Will was exhausted again. He even fell asleep in the car. But he woke up when I transferred him to his pack-n-play. Now he was awake again, but another message was waiting for us that an agent wanted to show the house sometime between 3 and 5. This time we waited in the house until 4, and then put Will in the car for a long drive to kill the time. He did fall asleep again, but woke up as soon as we got back to the house at 5:15. For the next two hours he tried to stay cheery while he banged around the house like a drunk and picked through his dinner. Putting him to bed at 7, he then cried for the next 40 minutes while we tried different tricks to help him calm down. He was so, so tired. Finally, after much singing of Beatles's songs, he gave me a smile, and fell asleep almost the instant I put him down. He was exhausted, we were exhausted, and our last "quiet" weekend was finally over.

And still no one has made an offer on our house.

Why I Like Atlanta

Although we have made a deliberate decision to leave for now, I really would enjoy moving back to Atlanta someday. So, pretending for a moment that I never have any complaints about it, here's my list of reasons to like Atlanta (in no particular order):

1. Trees, trees, trees.
2. Midtown.
3. The excellent restaurant scene (Canoe and Babette's have been my favorites).
4. A visibly successful Black middle-class (as opposed to what I left in Los Angeles).
5. The Georgia Aquarium.
6. MARTA
7. Piedmont Park.
8. Sweetwater Creek State Park.
9. Redtop Mountain State Park.
10. Northside Hospital (where our son was born).
11. The network of long streets that meander in all different directions without regard to the compass points and change names 2-3 times along the way.
12. Super Target.
13. The Malls (Lenox, Perimeter, and Northpoint are my favs).
14. Three Apple stores!
15. The misnamed Dekalb International Farmer's Market.
16. The general level of politeness of Southerners.
17. Being called "sweetie" by waitresses and women at the cash register.
18. Emory University.
19. Georgia State University.
20. Carter Presidential Library.
21. MLK Center (King's tomb is less than a mile from my office).
22. CNN center.
23. Philipps Arena.
24. A concert (and dinner) at Chastain Amphitheater.
25. Moe's.
26. Willy's.
27. The corner of Virginia and Highland.
28. Downtown Decatur.
29. Downtown Norcoss.
30. The Brickstore in Decatur.
31. Walking in Lullwater Park (near Emory).
32. Our subdivision and general neighborhood (Hunter's Woods and Deerfield in eastern Dunwoody/Sandy Springs).
33. Our house.
34. The birds that congregate at the four feeders outside my window.
35. Grilling dinner in the backyard.
36. The excitement that comes with the chance of snow flurries in Atlanta.
37. The great Atlanta airport.
38. The downtown skyline at night.
39. Seeing Stone Mountain from afar.
40. The Weather Channel (which is based here).
41. Felix at Mint Salon.
42. Jaclynn, our former personal trainer.
43. Spring in Atlanta.
44. Being able to drive to Savannah, one of my favorite cities.
45. All our friends.

The End is Near...

...well, at least the end of the semester is near. Today is the last day of my classes. I still have about 70 papers and final exams to grade, but that won't require any last-minute lecture preparations. I am teaching one more course at Georgia State before we move--a three-week course in social psychology that meets every day for 2.5 hours starting May 14.

The picture here was taken yesterday during a short trip to Zoo Atlanta, which was a nice break from the usual routine. It came about because this semester an undergraduate student from Spelman College worked in my lab. Yesterday she presented her research at a poster session sponsored by the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience in the conference center at the zoo. Because I happened to be taking care of Will, I took him with me so that we could spend a little time seeing the animals. Unfortunately nearly everything was closing down by the time we arrived. The goats at the petting zoo were just going in for dinner, but Will got a chance to grab at their fur for a few minutes while a zookeeper snapped this photo. One of my friends from work, Tricia, and her daughter, Jamie, joined us a little later, and Will was much more interested in watching Jamie running around than looking at the lions, elephants, or monkeys.

We took care of another important requirement for our move this week--we booked the date when the shippers will come to get our stuff for May 16-17. That means that we will have nearly nothing in our Atlanta home for about 5 weeks, except the things that we taking in our suitcases or that we intend to sell. It's supposed to take about two months for our things to get to Brisbane. I can imagine that we will be very happy to see our things when they arrive in late July. And, by the way, still no offers on our house, although we have had about 4-5 viewings a week.

As V. described it yesterday, the whole move has taken on a surreal feeling. We are still pretty much going through our daily routine, seeing all the people we normally see, driving through the familiar neighborhoods, and shopping at our regular places. It's hard to believe that in about two weeks the first of the major disruptions will take place. In fact, soon I won't even be sitting at this computer (the desktop Mac in my wonderful upstairs office) writing these blog entries, with Sammy snoozing next to me as the morning sunlight comes through the window.

It's My Dahling's Birthday!

Yes, the mother of my child and my young wife of oh-so-many years is celebrating her own birth today. We started things off with Huevos Rancheros (my own version consisting of salsa, scrambled eggs, and cheese) for breakfast, followed by flowers, cards, and some dancing in the kitchen while Will watched with a bemused look perched in his high chair. Later V. went to a spa for a leg waxing and haircut (her first since Will was born) while I had lunch in Piedmont Park with Irwin, a long-time and close friend. Later David and Cathy will join us for a night out, which will begin with attending a reception at the Dean's house for those of us who recently received tenure and promotion, and then dinner at Babette's. We are leaving Will at our home with David and Cathy's daughter, Rachel.

It's a good day. And I'm an extremely lucky guy.

Missing the Dogwoods

Spring in Atlanta this year has been strange. We had about 10 days starting in late March when the temps got to about 80 F and the pollen counts hit near record levels. All the beautiful blooming trees, plants, and bushes started to come out in their full glory. Then, all of a sudden, we went back down into the 20s for a couple of nights, and nearly all the blossoms disappeared. In the week since, we continued to have very cool weather, which culminated in a miserable Sunday yesterday. We had planned to go to the annual Dogwood festival, which takes place in Midtown Atlanta. I have been to it nearly every year since about '98 (I moved to ATL in '97), so I was especially looking forward to having a final glorious day watching the frisbee dogs and wandering among the crafts booths. This time we would be able to let our son roam around on the grass in the sunshine as well. Alas, the temps didn't exceed 41 degrees (5 degrees C), and the wind was blowing at gusts of 30 mph. So, instead we drove to an outlet mall where we had to walk around in our winter coats. My guess is that the dogwoods had stopped blooming before this year's festival had even started.

The picture I have posted here was taken at last year's Dogwood Festival, when we met up with our very good friends Larry and Lisa, and their three kids, Alana, Hannah, and Alec. They have since moved to the DC area and we miss them a lot, but I'm glad that what has turned out to be our very last DF was shared with them.