After my somewhat negative RANT post from yesterday, I thought I’d post an update on how life has been in our new home. We’re living as a family in our condo in Decatur. We had been staying at Clint’s house in Stone Mountain for about a week and felt like a grand imposition. We braved it on air mattresses for a few nights, and our new bed was delivered yesterday. It’s a fake Tempurpedic, but it’s lovely. We also had our new TV delivered. We’ve been using a 15 year old heavy beast that was not functioning well in Detroit, and decided it was not worth shipping. We spent the day mounting it on the wall above the fireplace. Unfortunately, the way that the mounting kit and studs were in the wall, it couldn’t be centered….it’s right-of-center, but I plan to put in a cool photo collage next to it. Taylor went back to Detroit this week to finish packing and fill up the truck. The rest of our belongings will arrive at the end of next week.
As for work, I have nothing but great things to say. I’ve never been so embraced in a new workplace. The staff is wonderful and enthusiastic, the location is pretty good, and I know my work will be interesting. Since some of my coworkers have already stalked my blog, and I’ve decided to leave work details out of my blog…I don’t want to ruin a good thing.
As for Georgia in general, I’m more comfortable here than Detroit. It’s a bit funny because a lot of the things that I expected in Detroit have been apparent here, which I didn’t expect. The roads are a crazy mishmash of streets that change names and twist together. I’ve put a lot of miles on my car trying to find my way around. And because I don’t know the neighborhoods to avoid, I’ve had to keep my eyes on the road and not focus on how scary an area is. We’ve got good freeway access here, and can get to just about anywhere in the area – Midtown, airport, etc – in less than 20 minutes (if traffic is light).
I’ve usually been greeted with Southern hospitality, but I’ve also been surprised at the blatant prejudice and lack of manners. When I attempted to get my driver’s license, I was the only white girl in the whole building. I listened to the way the receptionist talked to everyone else, and pulled strings to help them..but when it was my turn, it was like I was a contagious alien that would somehow infect her. She refused to allow me to get my drivers license because I didn’t have a copy of my marriage license (which was NOT required on the list posted on the website.) Another man acted like he didn’t speak English when I asked to borrow his pen. The most common phrase I hear, other than “Y’all”) is “There ain’t nothin’ I can do ’bout it.” It’s frustrating to hear, especially time and time again by customer service reps. It’ll take some getting used to.
Our ward is also great. I’m excited to attend church again tomorrow. Rosie is happy with her new classes both for primary and school.
And that’s the report from ATL.