Sunday, June 19, 2011

Visit with family......




This weekend my dad and step-mom came to visit.....

The arrived on Friday and stayed at a hotel two blocks from my apartment. We went to a nice dinner and had an early night. Saturday we headed to the Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest aquarium's in the world. It was pretty awesome. There are a ton of exhibits and a plethora of marine life. First the giant manta-rays, these things were huge and can weigh up to 6000 lbs! Crazy.....and then there are the sharks....I love sharks...whale sharks, sand sharks.....jelly fish, beluga whales and much more....
After the aquarium, we headed over to centennial park to walk around. It was great, cause I got to be a tourist in the city I live in.
I had made dinner reservations at this place by my house that I've always wanted to try, Murphy's. It was great, they actually have a wine shop connected to it and know that some people I know would love it.
Dinner was great and Jim bought us a bottle of wine which was really nice. Of course all i did was eat this weekend!!!
It was a great visit and am glad they came down, of course being around family always makes me a little melancholy....

Monday, June 13, 2011

Savannah, Pub Golf and much more!

Wow, so the last couple of weekends have been EPIC!!!!

First was the trip to Savannah. 14 of us from work rented a beach house in Tybee Island, what a great place. I've realized how much I miss the ocean since being out here, but every now and again I get to experience with such a great group of people.

These 14 people are awesome, I can truly say I've made some awesome friendships from my co-workers.

Friday night was a mellow night for a few of us, who stopped off at the Crab Shack, for some amazing shrimp and crab and then off to the house we rented. Another grouped stopped off in Savannah for dinner and drinks.

The house itself was pretty awesome, three blocks from the beach with a game room of air hockey and ping pong.

Saturday was spent on the beach, playing volleyball, catching some rays, riding the waves and just chillin out. That night, Sean, was planning a shrimp and crab boil.....It was freaking amazing!!!! That night was a bit hectic, with beer pong, flip cup, cranium and just overall silliness. Again love these people.

Sunday, our car went into Savannah to see the city.....ate some southern food and walked around the streets before getting on a trolley to see all the local squares. This town has so much history, that I would love to come back, the architecture of the buildings and houses that surround the square are gorgeous and require more attention then just the afternoon that was dedicated to it.

The week went by and had to plan for pub golf....basically a bar crawl that is similar to a golf game. Again amazing people!!! Did i say I love these guys! I told them that as well after hole 9! It was 9 holes, each hole a different par and a different club. It was played in the neighbor I live in, which is very walkable. 9 bars, with one stop for dinner and ended at a place where we could stay and dance if we chose....which we did! Everyone had a great time and there will be future pub golf tournaments in the future! Thanks to everyone who participated, oh and if you didn't know.....I Love you!


These types of weekends make me realize how lucky I am to be part of something so great! EFD rocks!

Monday, May 23, 2011

The big easy......

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of flying.


Two weeks ago, I went and visited a friend down in Miami. I flew into Ft. Lauderdale where we met some friends out, it's a cute nightlife area and pretty interesting. Saturday, we hung out and went around the town. We stopped for dinner at this cute, urban Mexican place, with the most amazing tacos and a very interesting cocktail. Not sure exactly what is was, but it wasn't the best. Saturday night we headed out to South Beach and cruised Ocean Drive, but headed to Lincoln Road to hang out for the evening. We ended up at the Hof Brau for a couple German beers and a pretzel. It was a good evening and we decided to keep it fairly low key, cause of our tentative plans to head to Key Largo the next day.

Key Largo didn't happen as the weather wasn't fantastic, but we decided that we should head to the beach. The clouds looked ominous and threatening, though we persevered. Overcast skies, didn't stop people from heading to the Atlantic. We were swimming when I saw some lightening and we booked it out, just in time for the torrential downpour that we missed. It was a good visit, and next time, I plan to see more of the sights.

This last weekend I headed to NOLA, to meet Joy. Again a quick trip and a place that I will be heading back to. We walked around the French Quarter, passing the oldest Cathedral in America, eating beignets at Cafe du Monde and ending our night with a hand grenade on Bourbon street. We encountered history in the Voodoo Museum and set out on a pilgrimage to Marie Laveau's tomb, followed by Sunday morning spent in Church, listening to Gospel at the House of Blues.

























Saturday, May 7, 2011

A quick note

Ok, so it's been a while since I've blogged......it's tough work sometimes!


Life is going well. I am still in training and have started supervised casework. I've learned so much in this last week and it's been awesome, though at times frustrating.

I've also been able to get out of town, a trip to Charleston and a trip to Huntersville to see my dad! More trips are planned, Miami and New Orleans!!!!!

I also did my first touristy thing in Atlanta, went to the zoo!!! We saw some baby pandas, baby gorillas, baby warthogs......it was great and a beautiful day to boot!

Life is good!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Back in the ATL

So after five months of living in the Northeast, I am finally back in the ATL! It is good to be back and be surrounded by my own stuff.

The last couple of weeks in Albany were stressful, due to our final exam and moot court, but I did pass!!! Yipee, now for 12 more weeks of training!

Moot court was an interesting experience, one case, two attorneys (including a JAG), a courtroom and five of our bosses.......not stressful at all. However, Emily and I prepared and prepared some more, so I am thankful to have her as my co-worker, study buddy and friend. I was the first to go and therefore the first to finish! Not an experience that I would like to repeat.

Things I will miss about Albany......

1. Being close to the NYC (this was an amazing experience being so close to the city. I had many great adventures with my co-workers, Kevin and seeing my old classmates from Ireland.

2. Per Diem.......the only good thing about living away from home.

3. Ummm......I guess those are the only things I'll miss about Albany. I am sure it's a great place in the spring, with a ton of outdoor adventures, but when your in school and have no car, it makes it hard to get anywhere!


So back in the ATL for a full week and finally feeling like I am getting settle back into my apartment. However, I have no Internet, which makes it difficult to keep up on my blog. This of course will change in a couple of weeks, but until then I have to hang out at my local coffee shop.

I am throwing the invite out to everyone to come and visit me in the ATL before I take off at the end of the summer!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Washington D.C.




After NYC, I was headed to D.C. to hang out with Christy.....

We had a great time hanging out. Of course every time I see her, she seems to be putting me to work.....I helped paint her room in her new place. It was good, cause I also got to hang out with Karen.

We headed to hibachi/sushi dinner for Friday night, it was yummy!!! Saturday was filled with a bit of American History at the Smithsonian's American History Museum. It was cool, they had
Julie Child's kitchen.....

.

Also they had a modern science exhibit where they highlighted birthcontrol!!


We walked around the mall for a bit and then headed back to the house to get ready for our big night out......

We went to dinner then out to a couple of bars to hang out with the children......
Sunday was a mellow, recovering day.....we went to brunch and then relaxed before we did some shopping. Unfortunately, I had to head back to Albany, but overall it was a great weekend with Christy.

Recap of the last month......NYC


Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything and a ton has happened since the last time I wrote.

So Kevin came and visited, and over President's day weekend I headed back to New York City, to hang out with Kim, whom I went to school with in Ireland, 11 years ago! We were planning on meeting up with a fellow student, Sean for dinner on Saturday night. I arrived Friday, and Kim graciously offered to let me stay at her apartment on the Upper West side near Central Park. Friday night was pretty mellow, just met up and grabbed a beer at her local watering hole. Saturday morning, I went for a nice run around Central Park and it was amazing, glad I finally did it. After the run, Kim and I met back up and went to lunch with a fellow classmate of hers. After that we parted ways for a bit, me to the MOMA and her to do some studying.

MOMA......amazing.....four floors of great art. Van Gogh's, Starry Night is here, Dali's, Persistence of Time, and Picasso's Three Musicians......of course there is also Monet, Miro, Matisse, and Warhol, to name a few more. They also had a great exhibit for Women in Photography. I spent a good 2.5 hours here and enjoyed strolling through the wonderful paintings.

After the MOMA, headed back to Kim's place to get ready for our evening out....We met up with Sean in the Village at this hole in the wall sushi place, literally it was a hole in the wall and we were the only ones there. We tried to get the sushi chef to fix us special rolls, but he was insistent we order off the menu. So 5 Saki's later and full of sushi and reminiscing about our time in Ireland. Kim lived upstairs from me and Sean lived across from Kim. We headed out to a bar called Temple Bar, we thought maybe it would be something like an Irish Pub, however it was a pretty swanky joint. Temple Bar is a spot in Dublin filled with pubs and restaurants. After our expensive drinks there, we decided to head over to Tom and Jerry's another bar, but this one much more my style and had a couple more beers.
Christy and her boyfriend were in town so we tried to meet up, however it was a big FAIL. After Tom and Jerry's we attempted to meet Christy, but with a line and it getting late, we decided to head back, but of course no NYC night is complete without a giant piece of pie.