Der Weekend

THURSDAY: left work at six for the 7 pm meeting. Traffic was terrible. I had planned on stopping to get something to eat but didn’t have time. Gobbled down a couple of oatmeal cookies as the meeting began. My week-old beard fit in nicely with the new beards on three of the school’s leaders. Next year Legacy is moving from just north of the North Fulton Hospital in south Alpharetta to Northside Church in Roswell, located on 9 wooded acres behind the Andretti Speed Labs.

 

After the meeting we watched the exciting finale of Project Runway. Of the final four my favorite came in fourth. All the Christmas movies that have begun airing on the Hallmark Channel have preempted all the reruns of The Middle that I usually watch.

 

FRIDAY: Today is Ceil’s birthday so I’m sure we’ll eat out tonight. She had something cooking on the crockpot all night, but I don’t know what. Will is coming home but he’s going to his future brother-in-law’s last football game. Good football tomorrow. KY@GA at noon, FSU@Clemson at 3:30, and LSU@Alabama at 8 pm. My picks: UGA, Clemson, and LSU.

 

Left work at 4 pm. Ceil wanted to go to Superica, and I knew there would be traffic. It could’ve been worse. Picked up C and M and headed west to 75 South. On the way she thought about going to Perimeter Mall, but 400 South was blocked. Then she said El Felix would be ok, but by then turning around and battling eastbound traffic would’ve been worse than staying the course. She wanted to shop at the new Ponce City Market, but I drove straight on to Superica. In the rain and dark and with the narrow streets and one way streets it was hard to find the place.

Ceil loved the entire Krog Street Market. We had a great waiter. Matthew ordered Puffy Tacos. I got the chicken enchiladas and noticed a fired egg on top was just a dollar extra. I asked the waiter if he recommended it and he insisted I get it. It was good. Interesting items next door at The Mercantile: a “trophy wife” mug, a Star Wars book for a small girl, and pennants that appeared to be vintage. Next we drove over to the Ponce City Market, where Ceil shopped at Anthropologie. On the way home we stopped for cheesecake by Café Intermezzo near Perimeter Mall. Will had come home to attend Thomas’s last football game. Joel Norman tagged along.

 

SATURDAY: Ceil and Will drove up to Clemson for the FSU game. I cleaned the house and did laundry. All day long I went from being hot to cold, and by the evening I was constantly sneezing.

 

Watched UGA beat Kentucky. The Cats only score (a field goal) came off a fumble on the 20 yard line. Seems like the Georgia coaches have figured out that none of the three current QB’s are the answer. The fans think the coaches ought to be able to turn at least one of the QB’s into Johnny Unitas in one week. Ain’t gonna happen.

 

More Mark Richt: articles are being published looking at every angle. I just read one about whether UGA’s financial situation has suffered (only slightly). Richt seems to be a decent overall CEO, which is what being the head coach of a major college football team has become. There might be problems with defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt but unless it gets out of hand the time to deal with that is not until after the regular season ends. But like many say it’s the game decisions that most haunt Richt. If Florida has one of the best defenses in the country it’s no wonder Georgia didn’t do better on offense, especially with a brand new QB. Take away the three tipped interceptions and all the dropped passes and it’s a different ball game.  

 

Drove M up to his school dance in Milton. On the way home an old lady pulled out in front of me on Alpharetta Highway. I slammed on my brakes and skidded for 100 feet on the damp pavement. I could smell the burning rubber.

 

Went home and watched the end of the Clemson/FSU game. After the long FSU touchdown run on the first play, then another long run on their second possession, I wasn’t sure if the Tigers could come back. As I’ve said all along, I don’t think Deshaun Watson is the greatest player in the country. All year long he has missed wide open receivers, and somewhere down the line this will bite him. Watson is a much better passer than Justin Thomas, but Thomas is a better runner. Watson rarely makes mistakes, which is a must for a team in the hunt for a national champion. Then when Watson mistakenly grounded the ball on third down his excuse was the signal from the sidelines. I’ll have to ask my nephew about that, since he’s the one signaling in plays from the sidelines.

 

Was really sneezing when I drove up to get Matthew. Got back in time to see the second half of Bama/LSU. Not sure Herschel was ever shut down as bad as Fournette was Saturday night. Not sure if that took him out of the Heisman race or not. Doesn’t look like Fournette will be able to equal any of Herschel’s collegiate accomplishments. Ceil and Will returned, much to Barney’s delight.

 

SUNDAY: Before I went to bed I gulped down a bunch of Nyquil, and by morning I felt better. Ceil and I went to Johnson Ferry, where I started overheating again. Will drove back to Athens after a late lunch. I took a nap and watched some football, and folded more clothes. Later I picked up M downtown. After a Friday night group dinner date and the Kentucky game on Saturday, Anna went up to the Smokey Mountains with friends on Sunday.          

 

Late last week two co-workers were laid off. I was reminded of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer went to work in an office, though he really didn’t have an official job there. He showed but every day in coat and tie – with zero business acumen. Finally the boss called him in to fire him, and Kramer admitted he really didn’t even work there.  

 

The second person laid off was longtime salesman Greg, a middle-aged white male like me. He lives in Birmingham but had to drive to Florida to call on customers. Not sure if it was a headcount issue. A new guy had just been hired to replace a retiree.