I will miss these guys, though. (Just kidding. They’re terrifying.)

I had big plans for my first week back in the US. I was going to eat Mexican (and Indian and Ethiopian) food. I was going to drink a mint julep in a porch in some alternative universe where I wear jean shorts and like NASCAR.

What have I done since coming back? A lot of tedious things, it turns out. Today, for example, I submitted an apartment lease application (woo hoo!). I also cleaned my bathroom drain using a drain volcano and, when I was feeling fiesty, called my bank about giving me back my freaking debit card (and opened a bank account with a new, less-terrible bank).

It’s been a pretty exciting eight days, I tell you.

However, there’s been stuff that I’ve done that has been unexpectedly fun. Atlanta in the summer is a good place to be. Why is that?

Art festivals: The day after I got back, I headed out to the Decatur Arts Festival. This festival is not normally a highlight of my own personal summer festival calendar, but it was unexpectedly wonderful to wander over there and be greeted by life constants: the “veggie” corn dogs, my familiar artisanal popsicle cart*. Plus, as I was wandering through the boutiques on the backend of my local square, I happened upon one that was having a PBR-themed art exhibit. Upshot of that? They were offering free PBRs and oatmeal cream pies. Y’all, nothing says “welcome back to the south” like the diabeticly sweet embrace of free hipster beer and Little Debbie. Corn syrup and lard, I have missed you.

Big screen movies: Yesterday, I finally got it together with a friend from high school and headed to the theater to see the Avengers flick. Because it was Joss Whedon, there was beloved secondary character death and hilarious throw-away dialogue. Because it was a super hero film, there was also the Hulk grabbing villan-Loki by the throat mid-monologue and slamming him into the ground repeatedly whilst Iron Man played fireworks music in the background. USA! USA!

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