Tiny Bunch

For those of you who are in the dark about who "Tiny Bunch" is, here is the update. Tiny Bunch is a new swing dance "team" here in Atlanta. They formed as a one-time deal for a team competition last month in Nashville (which I couldn't attend), and then since decided that it would be fun to continue as a group. That's where I come in. We had our first meeting a couple weeks ago and made the "rules" and "ideals" of the group (aka "the family"), and we had our first post competition performance on Friday night. After just a few hours of rehearsal, we all learned the lindy chorus routine and performed it twice over the weekend. The first time was Friday at the Emory Swing Club dance, and even though we all knew it, we botched it a bit with each couple apparently making a couple mistakes. We had fun anyway though. Sunday we did the routine "perfectly" (at least, as good as we could get it) for a high school group who LOVED it. We gave them a bit of history of the dance and taught them a bit, but we were just thrilled we got the whole routine! This is the first time I have done anything like this, and I am looking forward to getting over my fear of performing, and having some fun while I'm at it. The people in Tiny Bunch are awesome, and I can't wait to do more together!

This is the tiny bunch catch phrase:

The "second string" is a phenomenon as old as competition itself. Not everybody can be an astronaut; every Dumb needs its Dumber. The Tiny Bunch is a ragtag company of drinking friends with a dancing problem, who have been marginalized, rejected, and passed over—and for good reason. But what others have in training, talent, and technical ability, we more than make up for in alliteration. Always stress free, we take dignity, modesty, and irony to new heights. We dance like no one's watching and hope that is, in fact, the case.

We are...the mighty...Tiny...Bunch.

oh, if you're wondering, Tiny Bunch is a famous dancer from the 30's when Lindy Hop was first "invented", who was anything but tiny. The name kind of compliments the other (and original) Atlanta Lindy Hop team: Big George. But like we said. We're happy to be second.

7 flights in 7 days and homecoming!

Well, for those of you who missed me over the last week, I was traveling all around! I literally flew in 7 flights in 7 days.

Destination 1: Washington State. All photos are here
I went to Washington to visit my friend Leah. She has been stationed out on Whidbey Island for the last 8 months or so, and keeps telling me how beautiful it was there. So I took advantage of going to the west coast already, and went to visit for the weekend. We spent one day visiting areas in her neck of the woods - specifically Deception Pass State park where we hiked a trail to a cool lookout point and saw this really cool bridge. The same day, we also went to the base where she is training. It was nice getting to catch up with her. Then Sunday, we went and acted as tourists in Seattle, going to the space needle, the original Starbucks, Pike Place Market, and a wonderfully hilarious and interesting tour of the history of underground Seattle.






Destination 2: Las Vegas.
Having not been to Las Vegas since I was about 18, I was looking forward to this trip. I was going for a packaging trade show that happens there every other year, and I had to meet with about a million vendors for a project I am working on. I spent all day for three days talking about equipment. But after dinner, we were on our own, and we took advantage of it. A couple of my coworkers and a few of our former coworkers and vendors and I went out walked around lots of the hotels, got drinks, listened to bands, and caught up. It was fun. However, the week did not include nearly any shut-eye, which by day three was catching up with me. The only picture that is proof I was there is the one here.

Destination 3: Bakersfield, CA
I was going to Bakersfield for work for an on-site visit for an ice-cream project I am working on. As expected, the plant was FREEZING, but I am looking forward to this project since I am working with a new client for me, and with new coworkers as well.

I finally headed home Friday to make it back in time for the GT JSU reunion. I had been trying to get this planned for a bit, and finally compiled a list of alumni. It was homecoming weekend this weekend, and the perfect opportunity to have a JSU reunion! Even with the somewhat late publicity and the lack of email addresses for alumni, about 10 alumni came along with about 30 current students. It was a lot of fun, and we all got to catch up a bit with each other. It brought back memories to my days at GT. I also dropped by Buzz Bash that evening and ran into a million old friends and classmates.

Then yesterday was the GT/Army homecoming game. My company was having a tailgate, which was actually more of a tailgate for Army alumni than one for our company, but it was fun. I brought my dad along, and we then went to AEPi for him to catch up with his cohorts from his days at GT. The game was pretty good, with GT almost beating the anticipated spread with a 34-10 win. DZ and I went to campus in time to watch the Ramblin' Wreck Parade, which is a homecoming tradition and a lot of fun to see.

Scavenger Hunt Recap

For my birthday, Matt, Scott and I created a scavenger hunt to send my friends all over Atlanta earning points and taking pictures. I have posted the clues, their answers, and the submissions here so everyone can see. I was really impressed with how well all the teams did, and I think they all had a great time doing it. Thanks to everyone who participated!!!
Pictures of the hunt are here. Each picture is labeled with team # and clue name, and are in order of the following clues.

Team #1: Jen, George, Amy, Jeff, Heather
Team #2: Ethan, Matt, Josh, Allison
Team #3: Kevin, Chris, Michelle, Sebastian
Team #4: Moshe, Matt, Randy, Avital

Team #4 was the winning team with a total of 106 points.

Scavenger Hunt Rules:

• Teams may be comprised of 2-5 people.
• Teams must return BY 9:15 to the party room or will be disqualified
• Teams must ALL be in EVERY picture (Except one person to take the picture)
• Bonus points will be given on a subjective basis by the judges (Bela, Scott, & Matt) for creativity and “going beyond the call of duty”
• Winning team will receive a gift from the judges.

1. Go Cosmic Bowling with the cast of “That 70’s Show” [5] Answer: 10 Pin alley in Atlantic Station
2. Fly to Atlanta, but not to ATL [9] Answer: PDK airport
   
3. We take this park for granite [20] Answer: Stone Mountain Park - No submissions for this clue (although we know you guys solved it)
4. Bela scared the crap out of her driving instructor here exactly 10 years ago. [9] Answer: Any DMV, Driving School, or the church parking lot I learned in would be accepted.
5. Hickory, Dickory, _______ . [6] Answer: the dock at piedmont park, but the creativity of Doc Chey's, Doc Green's, and a loading dock were all accepted.
6. These GT boxers don’t give me enough NUT SPACE. [8] Answer: The GT Ballroom.
7. 2.5 Venn Diagram Sprinklers [4] Answer: Centennial Olympic Park by the rings - again, no one did this one, but we know you solved it.
   
8. This Atlanta staple finally came out with something new that was liked better than the original. [3] Answer: The Coke Museum
   
9. The honeymoon is over, and poor Alice and Trixie are widowed. [3] Answer: The Aquarium
   
10. It was her Tara. They should have put a crosswalk in. [5] Answer: The Margaret Mitchell House
    
11. Don’t bite this Reuben, he may bite back! [15] Answer: family dog Reuben's picture
    
12. Where can you find a festival of Beer, Books, or Beach, all in the same place? [10] Answer: Decatur Square
13. WORK this problem: ((3E/12)(4))² * (MZ⁰) [20] Answer: Bela's office (E squared M)
    
14. Here they let the p*ssy out of the bag. [5] Answer: The Cheetah
15. It’s a Breeze. [4] Answer: Marta
    
16. The only bank in Atlanta that serves martinis. [7] Answer:Fernbank (although Pie Bar was also accepted)
    
17. With all the bars closed, this fish is out of water. [6] Answer: The Atlanta Fish Market
    
18. Instead of Cardinal Directions, Marrietta’s directions are based off of this. [20] Answer: The Big Chicken
19. The only place in Atlanta that you can always see stars. [6] Answer: The Fox Theatre
    
20. Various Arteries Run Slowly In To Your <3 Answer: The Varsity
    

BONUS: Bring back any of these items and you’ll get bonus points:

a) 1 Dozen Krispy Kreme donuts [3]

b) a Varsity hat [1]

c) A receipt from inserection [3] (get 9 points if the receipt is dated for any day/time before 7:00 pm today)

article is online.

well, I didn't get so much as an email resulting from that article. I did notice today though when I googled mylsef that the article is now online. So I guess I need to join a convent since I didn't get a date ;-)

http://www.juleponline.us/catch-907.php

Wine and shoes?

This weekend was just jam-packed full of stuff! On Friday, I had Shabbat dinner in the sukkah at my parent’s house. They were very excited because they built a bigger sukkah than usual this year, so they could host more people. They even hooked up lights and a fan in there. After dinner, I went to the ASEDA KOC dance. It was the first I’d been to, but I can’t base this weekend’s experience off of the norm since most of the Atlanta dancers were in Nashville for a competition. Needless to say, it was a slow night. Meanwhile, the next day, ASEDA was asked to dance in Warner Robins, GA for a literacy fundraiser. I did it last year and this year, and it’s a nice event to go and help support, so I went. We got there early, so we got to watch GT beat Clemson from a sports bar there. It was certainly not the same as being at the game, but at least I got to watch it. The event was not a religious event, but the local radio host emceeing the evening kept referring to how “Christian” the band was, and how they have good “Christian” values, and how one of the other dance performers came from a “nice Christian family”. Now, it’s all nice and great that he feels this way, but is it truly necessary to bring religion into something that is not a religious event?? But I digress…

Sunday brought more exciting things…like going to Costco! Haha actually, I really did go to Costco, but that wasn’t the most fun of the day (believe it or not). I went to Wine South with Matt since he won a pair of free tickets. We went around tasting probably 40-50 different wines, and took a "wine appreciation" course, which we really didn't pay too much attention to. There were also a ton of restaurant exhibiting, so they had some amazing food from some NICE restaurants! I had some amazing lamb, fish, beef, and chicken at different points throughout the afternoon, and then there were a few bakeries here and there too, so I got my fair share of fancy desserts as well. Deeeelicious!

We got out of the wine show around the same time that the Falcons game let out, which was not good for traffic, but we eventually made it, and I took DZ and Matt to get new shoes. Both had told me that they "need a girl's opinion", so I went along. It wasn't sooo bad ;-)

At night, there was an event hosted by Etz Chaim Synagogue called Sushi in the Sukkah. There were about 120 young jewish people there, some single, some dating, some married, and at least one that I saw that brought their baby! It's always fun socializing and meeting new people...although it seems there are fewer and fewer new faces each time!

But overall it was a fun weekend, and I am looking forward this week to a ton of dancing and my birthday!!!! =)