Archive for April, 2006
04.29.06
Posted in General at 10:43 am by Adriene
This weekend is Founder’s Day weekend for Jeff’s fraternity (basically, when they celebrate when they were, duh, founded). A new tradition they’ve started is the nice dinner the night before the actual Founder’s Day bash for the alumni. So, we went down to Buckhead (eek) to have dinner at Fratelli di Napoli, a fairly nice Italian restaurant, which I’d never been to before.
We had fun catching up with some of the brothers and their wives (a few of whom were sorority sisters of mine) and eating a nice dinner. However, it became so obvious to me that although you may fall out of touch with some of the people you went to college with, what a small world is anyway. For example:
- My maid of honor, Kate. Kate got married and moved to Texas about two years after Jeff and I got married. We kept in touch some over e-mail and Christmas cards, but I hadn’t heard from her in about three years, and I lost both her e-mail address and her mailing address. However, I was talking to another brother’s wife (also a sorority sister of ours), and she said “Kate? Yeah, she lives in Kennesaw now.” Huh? Kennesaw’s about five minutes from my house. 
So, Amanda (the other girl) gave me Kate’s contact info, so she should plan on hearing from me soon. 
- We were talking to a younger brother about the “Girls always date the first guy, but marry the second guy” rule that seems to be around their fraternity. Jeff pointed out that that rule was true for me. So, Daniel (the younger guy) asked who the first one was. I told him, and the girl sitting across from me piped up “Oh yeah! He’s married to my sister!” Then I found out that the same girl who spoke up pledged my sorority two years after I graduated. Haha.
So yeah, I became very much reminded of how small the Georgia Tech community is these days. Here’s hoping Kate’s happy to hear from me.
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04.27.06
Posted in I Suck, My Immaculate Taste in Music at 9:12 pm by Adriene
I’m a horrible procrastinator. My motto should be “Why do today what you can put off til tomorrow?”
Case and point. Some of the folks over at RMFO.net set up a mix CD circle, oh, three months ago. And I’m JUST NOW getting my CDs burned and sent out to the other three in my group (many apologies to Luke, Phil, and Joe C.). However, I think it was good that I waited, since I’ve gotten some new music since then that is pretty good, and isn’t the usual stuff I listen to (hold on to your hats, folks. There’s NOT ONE U2 song on the entire CD). (I’m also horrible at gift-buying. I’m usually the one scouring the aisles of Target twenty minutes before a birthday party with a glazed-over look in my eyes begging for something to leap out at me to buy. Hence why most gifts from me do not include a card.)
Here’s the track listing, for anyone interested:
Keane - “Snowed Under”
The Arcade Fire - “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”
Glen Philips - “Duck and Cover”
Damien Rice - “Lonely Soldier”
DMB - “All Along the Watchtower”
Depeche Mode - “Precious”
Jem - “They”
Aqualung - “Easier to Lie”
KT Tunstall - “Another Place to Fall”
Erin McKeown - “Aspera”
Remy Zero - “Belong”
Augustana - “Stars and Boulevards”
Gin Blossoms - “Until I Fall Away”
Imogen Heap - “Candlelight”
But anyway, I’ve at least gotten one thing that’s been nagging at me off my plate tonight. Now, if I can only find their addresses, I’ll actually get these things mailed off. That’s hurdle #2.
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04.26.06
Posted in General at 9:59 pm by Adriene
We live in a neighborhood where we have a restrictive covenant. To some people, these inventions of homeowners associations conjure up bad images of bored housewives wandering the neighborhood with clipboards, ready to fine anyone who hasn’t edged their yard in the past two days. However, ours is actually rather un-restrictive, so I don’t think it’s so bad. It’s actually meant to help preserve the value of the homes in the neighborhood, but not be too outlandish in its rules.
Nonetheless, there are a few provisions that some people in our neighborhood just can’t abide by. The first is the dreaded “no chain-link fence” rule. In our neighborhood, if you’re going to have a fence, it either has to be a white picket fence or a wooden privacy fence, surrounding your backyard only. Well, there’s this one guy (serial offender) who, not two weeks after moving in, had a chain-link fence installed. He promptly got a visit from the nice HOA lady who asked him to remove it. I understand he wasn’t too eager to, but faced with the fact that he acknowledged the restrictive covenant when he moved in, he had to remove it or face a hefty fine. The same happened with a lady (thankfully in the VERY BACK of the neighborhood) who decided that she needed to paint her house a lovely shade of Pepto Bismol pink. (In our neighborhood, you have to paint your house either a tasteful pastel or earth tone.) Again, the nice HOA lady paid her a visit, and two weeks later, the house was a nice pale yellow color once more. Other rules we have are generally common-sense rules - no livestock (egads), no cars up on blocks in your yard, no in-laws named Cletus, etc.
However, we know of other neighborhoods where the covenants border on ridiculous. For example, one neighborhood we looked at a house in not only stipulated that you can’t have chain-link fences, but it took it a step further and stated that any fence you built had to be no more than six feet high, and made out of cedar. You were not allowed to do any landscaping without seeking approval from the “architectural review committee.” You could not have any cars parked in the driveway overnight (just how were you supposed to handle out-of-town guests?). All window treatments had to have a white lining so that you couldn’t see the color from the street. Any house repairs that may alter the exterior of your home had to be approved by the architectural review committee as well. Needless to say, we did not buy that house.
So, I guess covenants are a two-edged sword. On one hand, it keeps your neighbor Bubba from setting up his own chicken farm in his backyard. However, in some cases, they go a bit overboard.
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04.25.06
Posted in Rants at 6:58 pm by Adriene
I really wish ad execs in New York and casting directors in LA would quit casting people who aren’t from the South as Southerners, then telling them to do a Southern accent. Nine times out of ten, it turns out badly. I myself do not have a very pronounced accent. In fact, my VERY Southern relatives tell me I sound like a “Yankee.” However, most of my friends from up north assure me that they detect a slight drawl in my voice, so I guess that’s good. Nonetheless, I, like all other true Southerners, can detect a fake Southern accent quicker than it takes us to spot someone wearing white after Labor Day.
News flash, folks. Most Southerners do NOT sound like Scarlett O’Hara. In fact, Vivien Leigh was British, doing a Southern accent, therefore NOT ACCURATE. Please do not hold her as the standard for Southern accents. Paula Deen, being from Albany, GA (pronounced all-BAN-ee to us Georgians) has a genuine Southern accent. Use her as the standard. To illustrate:
SOUTHERN:
NOT SOUTHERN:
What brought about this rant? McDonald’s has apparently recently started selling sweet tea at their franchises. In turn, they have these radio spots playing all over Atlanta advertising the fact, with the announcer talking about “McDonald’s New Swayt Tay.” Good Lord. I literally want to strangle the chick doing the voiceovers, or at least shake her very hard.
So please, I’m begging you. If you’re advertising something to be marketed in the South, DO NOT HIRE A YANKEE TO DO THE JOB OF A SOUTHERN BELLE. You will raise my ire, and that is not a good thing to do.
Thank you. 
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04.24.06
Posted in Geekery at 8:17 pm by Adriene
I guess I’m the gadget fanatic in the Holland household. Considering his occupation, Jeff is actually rather content to wait a few years before grabbing something (his response is that he’s waiting to see how buggy the new piece of technology is before plunking down the money for it).
I was the one who pushed him into getting a TiVo (and he’s glad for it). I was the one who wanted an iPod as soon as they came out. I begged for a Razr when they first came out, but was unable to justify the $500 pricetag to him (now, two years later, you can get one for $50. Go fig).
Case and point. My iPod Mini, while kind of ratty-looking, is still perfectly functional. However, as soon as the Nanos came out, I wanted one. BAD. I begged. I pleaded. I threw tantrums. Alas, none were able to melt my husband’s black and pitted heart and make him understand that I NEEDED it.
This affection for all that is pretty and technological also extends to the realm of household appliances. As soon as we bought our house (and I realized just what a pain it was to keep the entire top floor - 2000 square feet - of laminated hardwoods clean), I went out and bought a Hoover Floormate. This was enough to sate my appetite for girlie power tools until I caught sight of the Scooba a few months ago. So, now we own one of those (and the Floormate. I don’t know what to do with it now).
And, I’m sure that as soon as they come out with a model that folds your laundry as well, I’ll be all over that one.
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