No major update. Little man was nuts today. Just running around like a crazy baby.
But hey, saw this thing on the road. Feels appropriate for its location.
Yup
You know what, not going to the website, cause I am sure whatever they are preaching, I aint havin. But, a few thoughts:
Great Slogan. The best slogan.
The whole truck was festooned like this. I feel like all churches should give their faithful a tithe discount if they get their truck decked out like this.
A few housekeeping notes before we get into the blog
Heather’s grandmother had a stroke. It…..wasn’t looking good in the first few days…but things have gotten a little better. Sentences, recognition, can walk with a walker. She is going into a stroke rehab facility. She just got out of the hospital yesterday, so she is doing even better now….More news as it develops, but its certainly a serious thing.
Today is Heather’s last day at her current job. Feb 1st, starts at the new firm, and we are so stoked.
Inspections went well. Everything is all set for the close on Feb. 14th. It cant come soon enough. I’m ready to be in my own place again.
Everyone is holding strong in trying times, but its a bit rough now. Family helps. Its definitely good to have plenty of family around.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming
I went to the Georgia DMV today. To get a drivers license in Georgia, you need the following:
A Birth Certificate or Passport
A Social Security Card or a W-2
2 documents proving your place of residence (bank statement, utility bill, etc).
This is frustrating, and I think it is worth mentioning that you are required to have a Georgia Drivers License or ID (which requires the same documentation) to register to vote.
This leads me to a discussion about the body politic in my new home state.
When I told some of my former colleagues in Silicon Valley that I was leaving, I got a very odd question:
“Are you going to be ok in Trumpland? Aren’t you going to be surrounded by religious zealots?”
Id like to break this down in a few pieces. First, oh yeah, plenty of religious people….
The first time I ever came out here, I was evacuating for Hurricane Ivan with two of my Tulane cohort. I was trying to navigate to Heather’s parents house (the house I am in right now). I was lost (this is pre-smart phones, pre-google maps), so I asked her to navigate me to her house. One of her instructions included “now, turn right at the church.”
At that exact moment, I was at an intersection with a church around the corner. I said, “you are going to have to be more specific.”
Second, the religion spread doesn’t necessarily mean that its some sort of cult or Stepford Wives type situation. Lets look at the metric that alot of the internet considers. How did Georgia vote in the last presidential election:
Immortan Trump won by 5 percentage points. Thats closer than alot of other southern states. In fact, he lost Cobb County (by 2%).
My point being, I think its a horrible idea to throw a Red state in one broad generalization. No one likes being put into a general hole.
I think humanity likes to think of everyone in broad generalizations.
To continue using the modern scale of judgement, I grew up in a county that went 78% to the god-emperor. But, i think people forget, there is still a fair 12% of people who exist in there. That could include a future me. Or hell, I was definitely a republican when I was turning 18 (cause I actually had religion back then. REAL Greg had religion. FAKE Greg definitely doesn’t believe in a god).
Point is: I hate this idea of Red America and Blue America. Or the Archipelago. Have you seen that thing.
This is stupid, and I hate it. By this maps recognizing, anyone who voted Democrat in a county that didn’t end up going for Captain Cheetos is in a fucking inner tube floating in the ocean.
Those are the people I feel for. Cause that was me. I can’t find it at the moment, but I was the only voter in my district in Lafourche parish to vote for Mary Landrieu during one of her terms (can’t recall which now). I was plenty weird, and I felt like an outsider (see also all entries in the previous blog).
Remember, there are plenty of people who are adrift in that Red State ocean because that’s home, that’s where they were born, that’s where they want to be, or they don’t have anywhere else to go.
Not every Trump voter is a demon. Believe it. Some of them are plenty weird (and not in a bad way, look at REAL Greg).
Editors note: I was supposed to be at a big thing last night in Atlanta, but a family emergency cropped up. Heather, myself, and Ethan are fine, but just an FYI. An update on this later this week as things evolve.
Lets talk about liquor.
I love the liquor. Its awesome. I dont think I love it as much as Lahey, but close:
So, the switch to Georgia is interesting. They have some really strange liquor laws. I have grievances with all of it, but lets cover my biggest two issues:
No liquor purchased in stores or restaurants on Sunday till 12:30pm
Hard liquor has to be purchased in a liquor/package store.
In addition to the weird sunday liquor law, my bigger axe to grind is the second one? Why, cause I cant get my cheap all day drink.
Nectar of the Gods.
Thats right. Trader Joe’s 10 year old single malt. The best $20 a bottle scotch you will have in your life. Trust me, this doesn’t hold a candle to Talisker or Oban, but if you need an all day drunk, this will fit the bill.
But NOOOOOO, the State of Georgia doesn’t allow Trader Joe’s to carry the best liquor in the world. Cause of dumb dumb reasons that I couldn’t figure out until recently. I thought this was REAL America???? My freedom is being stepped on for the sake of what? Religion? Screw that. I wants my drinkin swish.
I highly suggest reading the article I previously linked above. Who is this Faith Based Community. Cause as far as I can tell, the cats that go to these liquor stores I am relegated to are the same clowns givin it up to jeewhiz every Sunday at church.
Bill Cowsert, I do not believe you. And, i now have a political mission. I will vote for any candidate willing to overturn all of Georgia’s liquor laws so I can get my scotch back.
Also, that cat represents Athens…what the hell. Got some strong drunks over there. You cant vote that fool out and get the liquor going free and clear?????
So its up to you future politicians. You get my vote for letting me get my drink on.
Too much to update. As is consistent with everything in Freedom 17. Life moves really fast.
My wife got a job, and put in her two weeks at her former employer. To make that story as short as I can, she was able to get a sitdown with one of the named partners at a regional (but Atlanta based) law firm. 40 lawyers in total. The size she was looking for. They needed trial experience. She has tons. And so, kismet.
Sometimes life happens that way.
So cut to friday. She puts in her notice, we are going to this steakhouse in Marietta to celebrate. We get there, and Heather tells me to look at this one listing that just came on the market. I see this picture
And my immediate reaction is, thats exactly the type of kitchen Heather has been looking for.
We had planned with our realtor to go see more houses on Saturday (we had seen 5 the previous weekend). And so we asked to add this one.
We ended up seeing 7 houses on saturday. The house of the aforementioned picture was the 6th house.
Ill have more pictures later. Because the house had JUST gotten on the market, the pictures hadn’t even hit Zillow or Redfin yet. In fact, they just got the sign up. However, there was something odd about the sign.
That is Hugh’s Personal Private Lot
I didn’t notice it at first. I turned to heather and asked if I should tag it to say “Yuge” private lot. And she goes, “That doesn’t say huge in the first place…”
Sure enough, a typo. Sotheby’s your better than that.
But the house is incredible. They gutted it and did a full renovation in 2016. It looks totally different than when it was originally built. If you were to look up the address on Zillow, you would find pictures almost a decade old and the house looks awful.
We took one step in and was like “Well this is it. Search is over.”
We put in an offer that afternoon, they accepted by 11am today.
There is still inspections and stuff to go through, but we are excited.
The house is in a neighborhood called Westchester. Its close enough to Winchester that it reminded us both of this:
And I think thats part of the Freedom 17 plan. We get this house in Westchester. Have a pint, and wait for this whole thing to blow over.
Sounds like a good deal to me.
I originally had a post about liquor laws, and I have some more Georgia Wine reviews coming up, so stay tuned. For now, feeling good.
We spent the day snowed in on Saturday. Road completely blocked out.
Of course, come sunday we were a) getting antsy and b) needed to go see prospective houses for us to buy.
The one problem is, there is a steep hill heading out of the neighborhood. Its the hill from this picture
Ill take a better picture but what you cant see heading up that hill in the distance is that its heavily shaded by the trees. So thats a sheet of straight ice heading up there.
In an effort to get us the hell out of there, myself and two other members of the neighborhood got out in the street with flat shovels and spent about an hour and half breaking up ice.
We had a few empty spots heading up the hill from people’s vehicles parked, so we were able to carve out a path.
The other guy my age on the street managed to take the hill with a minivan, so I took the hill with the Lucerne parked out front.
I sweated like a monster but we got out. Not sure what this means for tomorrow, considering a ton of stuff has to get done (repairing the damage on the Prius mentioned two posts back, people needing to go to work, etc).
I suppose we will find out tomorrow, but I think my big takeaway from today was the effor the street took to make their lanes passable. I think its that kind of “all for one”-ness that I missed in my various travels. Its nice to have neighbors I guess is what I am saying.
More news on the thawing of Atlanta tomorrow. And If I am out there scraping again, Ill get a pic or two.
Today, dear readers, I bring a departure from my chronicles of the move. Today, I bring a wine review.
I was informed that Georgia has its own vineyards up in the North Georgia mountains. I requested some of their fine wine as a christmas present for two reasons:
I couldn’t believe that you could grow grapes up there.
I love wine. And I was ready to drink after all this madness.
So, my wish was granted and I received two bottles of Stonewall Creek wine.
The grower notes that its a Provence style dry rose. And I love a dry rose. The nose on its rock solid, legs look good, aroma is exactly where it should be for a rose. The initial palette hit is on point, crisp, dry…..then it hits you.
I have no idea if this is true, but a wine grower in Sonoma told me that it takes forever to get grapes right because the soil is all screwed up for the first few years. You can get the right vines but it will still turn out weird because the soil isn’t ready.
I cant begin to say if that’s for sure, but the finish on this thing is abysmal. It kind of tastes like a cross between sweet manure and WD40. It has the kind of finish regular Budweiser has. Long. Strong. And lasts forever. It was on my palette long after I had my dinner. I couldn’t finish my glass.
The grower notes that its 100% Petit Manseng, which is a grape I am not familiar with. Dry whites though I love. My favorite vineyard, UNTI in Dry Creek Valley makes a Fiano and a Vermentino and Grenache Blanc blend that I love.
So, I was excited to try it. Unfortunately, more of the same. Everything at the beginning was fantastic. Until you really drink it. Initially, the dryness hits you like a truck, which I like. Then the aftertaste. This was some how even more metallic and longer lasting than the Yukari. If the previous one was like Budweiser, this is like Old Style. It makes you question why humanity exists in the first place.
A few things with both of these reviews.
I dont pretend to be a wine expert by any stretch. Its just something I love.
I am also not a snob of expensive wines. My favorite vineyard sells, at the highest, $40 a bottle wines. My current favorite all day drink is a $9 Pinot Noir from Trader Joes. Snooty I am not. I just know what I like, and brother, this aint it.
That being said, I will continue my journey down the Georgia Wine Trail and Ill let you know.
Georgia 400 Revisited 
