WC Fields was quoted as saying “Never work with animals or children.” He probably should have added “weather” to that statement.
I Went To The Top Of The Mountain…
…and all I got was a $35 parking pass.
Upon getting to Stone Mountain last night I found that they now charge $10 to enter the park. An alternative to the one-day pass is to purchase an annual parking pass for $35. My inner cheapskate went for the annual pass not knowing that that meant getting a sticker that I’d have to affix to my window. I assumed that the pass would be a rear-view mirror hangar like those issued by Georgia’s state parks (and why Stone Mountain is not one of those still perplexes me) and I really didn’t want to place this sticker in my window (it’s roughly the size of a state inspection sticker for those who know what that is). But I had no choice in the matter once I had purchased it. What happens if I sell the Jackmobile before this time next year? Do I have to purchase another sticker? I’m not pleased.
After parking my car I loaded up my gear for what appeared would be a perfect night to photograph the sun setting behind downtown Atlanta. Unfortunately, as the group of us sat there waiting for the sun to set the clouds moved in and removed any hope of getting a quality shot.
That’s Fine But It Really Cost That Much?
After descending from Stone Mountain a group of us headed to eat at a Frontera Mex-Mex Grill (btw don’t confuse this for Rick Bayless’ Frontera Grill because they are not the same).
When eating at Mexican restaurants my bellweather meal is carnitas, fried chunks of pork usually served with rice and beans. When I saw carnitas on Frontera Mex-Mex Grill’s menu I decided to give it a shot. Sadly FMMG’s carnitas were shredded pork, and the onions, green pepper, and cheese that I was convinced to add piled another $4 to the cost of the meal (which I didn’t realize ahead of time).
The meal, including the one Negra Modelo cost over $19, so when I added tax and tip my meal cost a whopping $24. The meal was good but no where near $24-good.
I Have To Learn To Stay Away From The Social Networks
I returned home shortly after ten o’clock last night. Feeling whooped I decided to go in to bed and surf the internet for a while instead of trying to catch up with Top Chef before going to sleep. One of the things that I should know by now is to never go onto Twitter and/or Facebook on RealiTV nights. Before going to sleep last night I knew who won last night’s Top Chef QuickFire Challenge, but luckily I was quick enough to log off before having the entire outcome spoiled.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fat, but otherwise alright
Current Music – listening to yesterday’s “Daily Giz Wiz” podcast
Website Of The Day – I was contacted by someone who wanted to use yesterday’s photo for his Leonard Cohen blog One Heck Of A Guy. Of course I let him use it.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – hiking up and down Stone Mountain
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 8 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 5, Carnivorous Days – 16
Marta Rides – 0
October Goals
– Not get fired from my job
– Take at least one photo every day
– Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August)
2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I agree, $24 is too much for almost any Mexican meal.
Sorry the weather didn’t cooperate. I took Nibbles for a walk last night after sunset. The sliver of moon and cloudy skies made for a very eerie atmosphere…I would have loved a pic of it, but there is no way I could have done it justice.
Stone Mountain is a state run authority, much like Lake Lanier Islands. It’s managed by those folks who bring you Dollywood and Silver Dollar City and a bunch of other stuff. They don’t take any taxpayer support and supposedly the management company puts part of their profits back in the coffers. They certainly aren’t keeping up the park in some of the areas the Games has to deal with and they waste an incredible amount of money.
Fortunately, they can’t really screw up that big rock in the middle of the park, unless they paint advertising on the side- and please don’t give them that idea.
-FP
And look at the bright side, you can get in for free for the Games next October.
Hahaha, I suppose that I’ll be going to the park more often now that I have the sticker.
Did they make you adhere the sticker to your windshield immediately? If not perhaps one could stick it to some sort of clear plastic which would allow it be moved around and shared between vehicles? Just thinking of ways to help fight the man.
Sort of. They say it has to be permenantly affixed and since I didn’t have any MacGyvering materials I did. Also since there were cops cruising the parking lot I didn’t want to chance it.