Paul "effing" McCartney

I said I wanted to see Paul McCartney in concert when he came to Atlanta @ Peidmont Park, and I did...

In the Gates house - McCartney and Band on the Run was a road trip tradition. Everytime my parents and I would hitch up the boat or go on a little va-ca, we became "the band on the run". Not to mention the Beatles... hello?? Arguably one of the best bands ever to make music.

McCartney had not been Atlanta in over 40 years and he has been singing for nearly 45. This was a moment not to be passed up- by a long run.

This stage took two weeks to put together, they closed down 10th street which is no smal deal in A-town. PS> this is only 1/2 of it:

Now when I say I went to the concert, ya- I went... I just wasn't inside the venue :). ha! On the outskirts of Peidmont Park there is plenty of grassy areas to plop a blanket and relax & listen to the music. I can tell you now that we were alot more comfortable in terms of the 60,000 "standing room/call your space with a blanket" only. Not that you needed a blanket to sit on because I would imagine everyone was on their feet the entire time Paul sang.

And it wouldn't be a true outside concert with out a tiny bit of rain. Well, luckly no thunder or lightning- so Paul sang on. All the guppies who thought they would melt left the venue, but a lot stuck around. What was a sprinkle turned into an absolute down poor. And we got wet... here we are when it started to rain in our little hippi fort:

And here we are dancing- IN THE RAIN, soaked!

So here we are on our little part of lawn that is now drenched. After we dance to a few songs like... Jets, Hey Jude, Yesterday, Black Bird, Helter Skelter, Beep-Beep Beep-Beep, YA!, SGT. Pepper; (the list goes on...) we move around the outside of the park and walk down 10th and stand right behind the stage, we can see Paul on the big screen TV's -just barely, but still singing it up. So then we walk two more blocks to get a better vantage point/and or better sound quality in the back of someones yard.

We stayed there for the remainder of the concert until a little lady said we had to leave because we were on private property... so we totally walked right next door to someone elses lawn :) ha! She was like I"'m gonna call the cops," and we said - "go ahead, all of them are on duty for the concert, they're a little pre-occupied" PS>there are tons of peolple tresspassing tonight. (I didnt' really say it, but I was thinking that)

We stayed here for nearly another hour listening to the concert and the crowd sing, it was amazing. Then, when concert was nearly over, the excitment was just about to begin...

THE GRAND FINALLE.....

In these next epic moments you will hear my great friend Deborah talking to me while I am just standing there in awe and amazement. Forgive my video taking capabilities as even thought it is dark at the perfect possible moment, my camera lense points downward because I was waving to Sir Paul himself. After the concernt finished in a solid single encoure fashion- Paul dipped out. Where Deborah, her husband Jerome, and I were standing (in the woods behind someone's house with perfect amplification from the hundreds of speakers blaring into the crowd of 60,000 + on the Peidmont Great Lawn) the three of us were able to make a quick get away as well.

Sure enough, as we get ready to cross the street on Monroe a police escort turns onto Monroe from 10th. You will see the police and the black suburband immediately following. We thought he would be in the smaller car so you hear Deborah say "Wave Julia!" and we did... then we thought Paul was gone... but just beind the 'burban', the tour bus passed, and in blazing glory both arms stretched WAVING TO US from the front bus window is Sir Paul himself!!!!!!!!!!!! You can feel the excitment in our voice and in pure joy and happiness we couldn't help but laugh and I think Deborah shed a tear... :)

YES!!! HE WAVED AT US!! WE SAW SIR PAUL!!!!

Nothin' but smiles by the end of the night...

I feel I might have let down some of my readers, I posted on Twitter that I would curtsy if I ever saw McCartney- and in that split second I was completely abscent minded and was preoccupied waving :) ha. But I have curtsied at Prince Charles before!!! He totally nodded at me and I curtsied back :) That story for another day...

Truth: I would take a single encoure and a wave from one of the greatest Beatle legends who ever lived- any day.

My First Scuba Dive 8/5/09

My first interest in Scuba Diving evolved when I was at one of my favorite places in the world: the Georgia Aquarium. You see, the Ocean Voyager is one of the largest saltwater tanks on earth filled with 6 million gallons of water. Also "with 4,574 square feet of viewing windows, a 100-foot-long underwater tunnel, 185 tons of acrylic windows and the second largest viewing window in the world at 23 feet tall by 61 feet wide and 2 feet thick. No other aquarium in the world has ever attempted to manage the variety and size of fish in this major exhibit." Excerpt from the GA Aquarium website: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/exploreTheAquarium/oceanVoyager.aspx

In this tank, which is practically the size of a regulation football field, you can Scuba Dive with some of the most gentle giants of the world such as: manta rays, whale sharks, tiger sharks, stink rays, giant groupers and much much more.

Upon one of my visits to the aquarium (after a aquiring my annual pass) I was enlightend to see that people were brushin hand to fin with these sea creatures. To see the divers in the tank looked like a tremendous experience.

You might be thinking to yourself, why would I want to scuba dive in an enclosed tank, when I could be scuba diving in the beautiful reefs of the world?

1. The aquarium is in my back yard, why not scuba there?

2. It is a tank where the fish swim around you - not away from you.

3. There is no current to fight with.

4. NO Great Whites!

So my mission began. I called around, spoke with a handful of Dive Masters to find out what the process was, and how I should begin. I was directed to Divers Supply in Marietta, GA. There, they offer a FREE introductory class every first and third Wednesday of the month. (Please call ahead to sign up for class, you can find more info here: http://www.divers-supply.com/Divers-Supply-Marietta-C118.aspx.)

My instructors Dick (Certified Dive Master) and Howard (Certified Dive Instructor) were more than helpful and kind. They were very informative and patient with our "Beginners and Introduction to Scuba" class of eight.

[If I wanted to embarrass myself just a little] Divers Supply sends out an invitation via Gmail to remind you when you class is. Neither I, nor my diving buddies (ie: Deborah and Brittiny) looked at the date on the email. We all totally showed up the last Wednesday of July excited and ready to go... well, needless to say I was very disappointed I didn't get to scuba dive that night. So we picked up our sad little hearts off the floor and trudged out of the shop. We readily showed up the next Wednesday, which would be the first Wednesday of August (which the email was confirming in the first place). What can I say - I was excited... so note to self, check all aspects of email confirmations.

So, here is the checklist for preparation of scuba class:

-Arrive one week early(by no means mandatory or even recommended). CHECK

- Eager - just a little? CHECK - CHECK

-Arrive on correct day? CHECK IT THRICE

Now we are back on schedule:

Day of:

The instruction first starts out with basics; safety, equipment and predatory knowledge. After we pick out a mask ("they are not goggles" as Dick says), fins, BCD which is your Buoyancy Control Device (ie: the jacket that holds the heart of your equipment), and the regulator - we were ready to get into the water.

At this point my adrenalin starts picking up, I am so excited.

Then, we learned how to assist our partner in putting the equipment on- as it is easier to do that in the water since the tank is so heavy. You can see the equipment here sitting on the outside edge of the pool.

Once we got the BCD's on we were able to breathe through our regulators above water. It is very easy to breathe - but foreign as you are relying something else for air supply. Lets face it - thats Scuba.

Now its time to go underwater.

Task 1: Just Breathe

In this portion of the class we stay in the four foot shallow end. In a semi-circle we all put our regulators in our mouths above water, started to breathe, and went underwater... This was SO cool, so surreal and so bizarre. I am actually breathing underwater (LIKE A FISH!). The idea is to just sit down in the shallow end and relax, and get use to the feeling. This also tests your buoyancy too to see if you are a natural floater, sinker, or just neutral. To help me sink, or a gadget that can help regulate how fast you descend or ascend is my BCD jacket. I can inflate it with air and deflate it at a touch of a button.

Task 2: The Basic Hand Signals

-Thumbs down - lets go deeper

-Thumbs up- lets go higher

-OK sign (as shown to the right) - means I am good, I can breathe, and this is SWEET

After a few minutes of acclimating to being underwater and breathing seeing air bubbles float up in front of your face, looking around at other people that are breathing with you under water, we get a thumbs up to come up out of water to learn the next task.

Task 2: How To Take Out Our Mouth Piece (the regulator):

In a circumstance of your partner running out of air, to smile for a picture, or if the piece fell or got pulled out of your mouth by accident, you would be able to put it back in without sucking in a bunch of water that would then be in the mouth piece.

[Think about it] You could be 130 below sea level and your mouthpiece falls out... this is what you would do...

There is a button on the outside of the mouthpiece that you push and it blows the water out of it so you can put it back in your mouth. You can also breathe out whatever air you have left in your lungs to push out any water in the mouth piece, but it is very weird because when you go to breathe again, I thought I was going to suck in some H2O - that would be bad - but that doesn't happen. Sometimes there is a little water left in the mouthpiece, but you try and breathe in really slow to begin with until you know there is no water left in the mouthpiece. For the most part the magic button to get water out does the trick. Literally. Amazing.

Task 3:

Recovering the mouthpiece.

How do you find the mouthpiece if it falls out, gets knocked out, or its your turn to breathe? Put your right hand straight down by your side. Swoop it backward, lift in an upward motion, then move your arm toward the front of your body. Pretty much move your right arm from 6:00 to 9:00 COUNTER Clockwise. These are all simple recovery tasks, but they are a must know and it helps to learn about your equipment.

Task 4: Read Gauge

The gauge is on the bottom left of my BCD jacket. There are two gages, the top one exemplifies the depth I reached and the bottom shows how the PSI and air remaining in my tank.

[FYI] You should always head back to the boat when approaching 500 PSI for safety reasons.

This is Howard signaling to me and asking how much air I had left in my tank. I signal back pulsing a number 5 on my right hand three times equaling 15, then showed a number 2 with my hand, totalling to 17. Translation: add two zeros to get the PSI - so I was at 1700 PSI. A lot of breathing time left...and I took advantage of it!

NOW: TIME TO HAVE FUN!!!!!!! ONLY IF YOU HADN'T STARTED ALREADY!!!! (Which I had)

We moved from the 4 foot shallow end to the 10 foot deep end. We were able to swim around willingly, explore depths and play with Frisbees and torpedos. We threw the toys back and forth and made games out of it. There was even a small reef to explore :)

And I tell you what, if you hadn't been in a 10 ft. deep in a pool for a while you have to take your time and equalize when you swim. This is how the BCD jacket helps. I was able to let little bits of air out of it at a time allowing me to sink 1-3 feet, swim around, equalize, then do it again, release air, sink and equalize. This is major for scuba divers, you have to take your time as the pressure affects your body, lungs, and ears.

Its reciprocal is an airplane flight. One may swallow, pop your ears, or move your jaw because pressure is releasing from your body outward. When you are underwater, it is opposite. Your body is being compressed by denser waters. Plus, if you came up from 100 feet of water to quickly, you lungs could implode=bad news. This is a very cautious and dangerous sport and one can not abuse the basics.

So that in mind - I played frisbee, had fun, and swam like a fish!! Check it out:

Frisbee catch

Just leaving the faux reef behind me after a thorough examination.

Frisbee throw

A weightless abyss, flipping turning, and being upside down.

I can not exemplify how much fun I had an how much I would recommend anyone to take an introductory course on scuba diving.

Mark my words: I will scuba in the GA aquarium one day...

Why I want to scuba; I like fish.

I should start with my fascination for fish, not even so much the water- just fish.


I suppose it all started when I attending my first Big Shanty Festival in good ole Kennesaw, GA. At this fair I caught my first goldfish. It was then I came to appreciate the species and as I learned and took care of them growing up, and then grew a fond respect - as anyone would have for their pets. It was a few years later when one of those fair fish I caught lived for almost three years. It was maintenance and a chore, but that fish lived a darn good life. They get so happy to, fish know when it's feeding time - cause they go all "lucky fin" on you Nemo Style.

[Mind you] Nemo is the coolest movie ever, definitely in my top 10.


Skipping ahead now, my fish owner years had ceased for nearly a decade. Then after entering college, pretty much the only pet allowed in a dorm was a wee little fish. So, I won a small Beta in a frisbee throwing contest and I took little Red Ruby back to my room. A happy little Beta and a sprightly Julia too.

Well, I was golf tournament bound and in the convenience that I had asked my roommates to feed my fish many times before, I thought I would give them a break and take my fish to my boyfriend, Matt's apartment.

Sure enough I get a call two days into my tourney and little Ruby bit the bullet. (I don't know how this could have happened?) As upset as I was and the dismay Matt must have heard in my voice - he hurriedly scurried to the pet store to pick out the happiest looking fish he could find. He surprised me by getting a baby Parrot Cichlid fish, along with a 10 gallon tank with a running water filter, plants and decor. This was my new fish Ernie.

[Side note]- have you ever noticed how fish have frowning faces? (99% do) Well, Ernie is the coolest fish in the world - he literally smiles. Here is a picture of him:

I have this theory too, that Aquarium's in general will (which pretty much they have) "overthrow/overtake" attendance for any type of Zoo. Heck, the GA Aquarium celebrated its 10 millionth visitor this past June. You can find more on that here: http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/georgia-aquarium-to-welcome-76920.html

[Time Out - 30 sec. please] -Did you know that Belgium's entire population was 10 Million in 2005? Imagine all of Belgium's inhabitants visiting the aquarium... that's a lot.

Let's break this down... when you attend the zoo, it is the thrill of the day to see any animals at feeding time or playing and interacting with its kind in the like cage. But lets face it- what are the animals favorite activities to partake in... sleep. This goes for every geographic region in the zoo whether its the African pride lands when you see those somnolent lions (which are partially nocturnal hunters so they have little to no activity during the day), to the Cameroon nonchalant stagnant gorillas. I like the zoo, I really do, but it is so much more enjoyable when you get to see the animals well, move.

My point - When you go to the Aquarium fish and typically aquatic life in general are ALWAYS IN MOTION. Think about it. Its not like fish can "park it" for a few minutes - no - they are always moving. This is what fascinates people in general. A way of life so natural and yet foreign that otherwise humans would never engage in had it not been for aquaria's or scuba diving.

[Not to mention]- The largest living animal in the world lives in ocean - the Blue Whale. (More on the Blue Whale here: http://www.worldstory.net/en/whale.html)

This is one of the reasons I am beginning a hobby/career out of scuba diving. To have this qualification can open doors to a new under water world. More to come on my adventures in Scuba soon.

[PS]- There is one thing I dislike about fish ... I can't pet them :)

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I dedicate this post to all of my friends who have heard me brag about, daunt on, cry over, or generally be proud of my fish. Thanks...