our friday

good morning dear readers,

I hope this blog finds you happy and well rested.
it is sunny here in the ATL and word on the street is that its supposed to be in the 60's. this is a much needed break from the ridiculous cold we have been dealing with. i am ready for spring already.

so this is going to be a sponsored blog entry, brought you by mary and dusty's two babies.

First up, Blue the wonder dog. Don't you just want to snuggle him?



Blue is joined by his sister Davis. Also a little sweet muffin:



Ok, now that we have the sponsors out of the way, let me tell you about our night last night. Jes and I got spontaneous yesterday and she picked me up from work and we headed to Atlantic Station, which is this mega mall sort of town within a city. There are condos and lofts there and seriously you could never leave there and be ok. Because it was Friday night, it was filled with MANY irritating people, but we were on a mission so that didn't matter.

We went to see the two exhibits there. One is called "Dialogues in the Dark" and the other is "Bodies." Y'all, you should check these out. I am pretty sure both are in other cities, so google it if you can. Thank god, Billy Joel just started to play a jaunty tune to accompany my blogging. Heaven forbid I type in silence. Anywho we went to Dialogues in the Dark first. My student told me about it the other day and I was like "oh I have got to take Jes to that" so I did. Basically Dialogues in the Dark simulates what it is like to be blind. Yall it was bananas. Me, Jes, and eight people from Alabama (for real, that is not an "Alabama joke") were all ushered into a darkly lit room with canes in our hands. They say a little ditty, then the lights go off and it is pitch black. You can not see your hand in front of your face. It's the weirdest thing ever. So in comes Margaret, our guide. She takes us through a "park," a "grocery store" (where we feel the produce and bags of rice), on a "boat ride," through a "city" (this was the only place I had a moment of panic b/c I got stuck b/w some construction--i think-- and a car maybe)and then finally to a "cafe" where she sat us down and told us about how she lost her sight. She was hilarious and boisterous and totally understanding when I stepped on her foot and ran into her a million times. She kept saying "come to the sound of my voice" really loud b/c all the Alabamians were talking and yelling a lot. If you have the time and the money, seriously check it out. It was a great exercise in using your other senses AND being reminded of what a privilege it is to see. Seriously.

After that we went to an adjacent exhibit called "Bodies." This is where they basically take the skin off of people and let you see all their muscles and organs and shit. It was really intense as well. We were both pretty worn out from the Dialogues in the Dark so we didn't read every single thing in bodies, but it was still really visually engaging. I especially liked the stuff on the digestive system and fetal development. Oh and the comparison of healthy lungs to lungs of a smoker. There is a place you can deposit your pack of cigarettes if you feel so moved. I would suggest you do one, then maybe go get lunch and then come back for the other, or do them on two separate days. Its a lot to take in, but I am so glad we checked them both out. Once a science geek, always a science geek.

Anywho, after that we went to dinner and then came home, I watched the rest of "Sober House" and then fell asleep on the couch. It's a good thing I went to bed so early b/c Larry meowed the entire night. Seriously I was up (though Jes got up and fed them much more than I did) it felt like every hour. This was a great way to break up the anxiety dreams I was having all night. FUN TIMES.

Ok Jes is going for a bike ride with Angie T. today and I am going to my office to get some students recs and a review article done and to begin on the second set of revisions of my dissertation manuscript. I also hope to work out.

Happy Saturday yall!