As our friend Jann pointed out, I could always go see the Atlanta Braves play during Spring Training at Disney. And she’s right, but it just wouldn’t be the same as seeing a Major League Baseball game on the team’s home field.

So Sunday morning around 11am I drove the short distance to the train station and took a 20 minute ride into downtown Atlanta, then got on a shuttle bus that took me (and about 50 other fans) over to Turner Field.

After picking up my ticket at the “Will Call” window, I stepped inside to see what you see below. This is the area just outside the field behind centerfield and is on the upper level. You can see part of the stands on each side and on the opposite side of the screen you see with the baseball on it is the world’s largest HD screen. Beneath the baseball you see a smaller screen and that all sits atop the Braves Clubhouse Store where I almost choked when I asked a clerk how much a Braves baseball cap was and he said “$32, sir”. Gulp! Thanks anyway.

This s hot gives you a good idea of where I was sitting. If it hadn’t been for people traipsing up and down in front of me, this would have been a great seat, but even with that it was a good view and not too expensive.

Panning to the right you see right field to the right and remember that big sign 2 pictures back? Well there’s the side that is over centerfield and is the world’s largest HD screen. That adorable looking fellow on the screen is Braves Manager, Bobby Cox. The players you see right in the middle are about to be introduced by the announcer.

Atlanta’s Yunel Escobar is up to bat. I don’t remember now if he singled or was walked, but either way he ended up on first base.

Here’s Escobar stealing second. Man, that guy runs like the Flash!

Just a composite shot of a batter singling to first base.

Hey! What’s the big idea of putting up the Bat Symbol on the screen instead of the Superman “S”?

Oh, I see, because the Bat Girls are out.

I had a fun time going to my first Major League baseball game. The weather was good, overcast and cloudy for most of the game, which kept the temperature down and the sun didn’t really start to come out until the middle of the 8th inning. The Braves were up 5 to 1 at the top of the ninth inning, so I headed back out to the shuttle bus, rode the train back to the station and drove back to the hotel.

If you’re planning on trying to get a look at The Masked Blogger during the game tomorrow (you know, in case I do something SO outrageous they put the camera on me), I’ll be sitting in Section 117 with a shirt the color of baby-poop yellow and perhaps a Braves baseball cap on, if I buy one before the game.

Thought I’d throw out a few pictures of my crib here in Hotlanta.

Ok, ok, pictures of my hotel and room in Atlanta.

Here is a shot of the front of the hotel from the street. Somebody stuck a big, black arrow on the front pointing to my room.

Left side of the front room from the entrance door.

Right side of the front room from the entrance door with the bathroom farther back on the left and the little kitchen on the right.

Front room from the inside hall and another big, black arrow hanging from the ceiling.

Left side of the bedroom from the bedroom door.

Right side of the bedroom from the bedroom door with yet another big black arrow stuck on the drapes.

So that’s the tour of my little place on the road. The two TV’s are nice but I really haven’t watched much since being here; mostly local and CNN news, a couple of Larry King Live shows and one HBO movie “Final Destination 2″. I’ve also watched the “Special Features” disc of the new extended version release of the first Fantastic Four movie on my laptop. The rest of my time has been spent reading, writing and sleeping, at least when I’m here in the room. What an exciting life! LOL

After the CNN Behind the Scenes tour I grabbed some lunch (which turned out to be the worst sweet and sour chicken (?) I have ever eaten) from a Chinese place in the food court, bought some souvenirs from shops in the atrium and then hustled out to catch the train to my next stop, the High Museum of Art.

The High (as Atlantans call it) had two specific exhibits I wanted to see; Louvre Atlanta: Kings as Collectors, comprised of more than 30 works assembled during the reigns of Kings Louis XIV and Louis XVI of France and Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990 - 2005, an exhibit of 175 photographs Leibovitz created on assignment as a professional photographer, as well as personal photographs of her family and close friends.

Ironically (but not surprisingly), there is no photography allowed in the museum.

I arrived in time to take the one hour guided tour at 1pm so I could get an overview of where everything was in the museum and then spent another hour and a half just strolling through and enjoying the exhibits I came to see and other art on display. I was a little disappointed that they only had one Monet painting on exhibit, “Autumn on the Seine”, but since I was fortunate enough to have been at his home and garden just 2 months ago I shouldn’t grouse too much. The Louvre exhibit was beautiful and reminded me of my several visits to the Musée du Louvre in May.

The Annie Leibovitz exhibit was spectacular and easily the most crowded part of the museum’s exhibits. The exhibit was composed of both fully processed works and, perhaps even more interesting, proof shots. Ms. Leibovitz is truly an artist with a camera, carefully posing her subjects with their individual personalities in mind in what she is striving to capture. This famous photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono attempts to show the nature of this famous couple’s love and relationship. Tragically, this photo was taken the morning of December 8, 1980; at approximately 11pm that night Lennon was shot and killed outside his home.

After Atlanta, the exhibit moves to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. from October 13, 2007 through January 13, 2008 and then on to the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco from February 9 through May 11, 2008. If you’re in either of those places during those times, I highly recommend this exhibit.

Leaving the High I got back on the train and made my way to Underground Atlanta. I wish now I hadn’t wasted my time.

Underground Atlanta used to be the street level for this section of town, back in the days when the train ran through it. In the 1900’s with new-fangled automobiles and an ever-increasing pedestrian population causing the streets to be dangerously crowded, the city decided to build viaducts, not to rise above bodies of water but to rise above the crowded railway street.

These days, Underground Atlanta is (this is my opinion) a horrible mutation that resembles a shopping mall with heavy flea market influences. There are shops on each side of the street and the street itself is filled with cheap kiosks that appear to have reproduced as prodigiously as rabbits. But I’m probably the one out of sync on this because the place was incredibly crowded and it was only 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I kept a hand on my wallet because pickpocketing would be so very easy in this atmosphere. I’m told by residents and friends that it is a very enjoyable place at night when the clubs open up and music acts are performing, but I’m not sure I’d enjoy it with even more people crammed in the area. Plus, the place smelled bad. I don’t even know how to describe the odor that was constant during my walk through, but it wasn’t pleasant by any means.

Here I am (somewhere, just not sure where) on the street level above Underground Atlanta where you will find several of those white archways letting you know that beneath your feet is the world famous Underground Atlanta. Like I said, I wish I hadn’t wasted my time.

Anyway, this Sunday I’m looking forward to my first Major League baseball game when I go to see the Atlanta braves play the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:05pm. I already have my ticket and, if you want to watch for me, I’m in the field seats that are just beyond first base, 18 rows up. Of course I won’t have my mask on, so you won’t recognize me anyway. Still and video cameras are allowed so I’m hoping to get some good photos and a little bit of video, besides enjoying the game.

And finally, before I go I’ve been meaning to mention that not only is former WFTV reporter Ross Cavitt here at the Atlanta ABC local affiliate, but so is Jodie Fleischer.

Things have been going well here in Atlanta, except for the fact that my little old head is about to explode from all the policies, practices and procedures that are being crammed into it. I have the distinct feeling that I’m being quietly tested on different fronts to gauge not only my knowledge but my judgment (that’s it, I know I’m done for now) and my demeanor. But, no one has said “Get out” yet, so I guess I’m doing something right.

Earlier last week I decided I would go out this past Saturday and see a little of what Atlanta has to offer. I’m fortunate in that the rail system (MARTA) has a station about 10 minutes from my hotel and the train has stops very close to the places I was planning on visiting. I wish O-town had a mass transit rail system to move people. I rode all the way into Atlanta (about 30 miles if I had been driving) for $1.85 in comfort and no traffic in just 20 minutes.

Anyway, my first stop was CNN Headquarters to take the “Behind the Scenes” tour of the world’s first Cable News Network. Behind that ticket kiosk in the photo below is a security setup that rivals those at the airports in terms of thoroughness. Obviously, when you think about it. the headquarters of this news organization would be an attractive target to some moron(s).

Standing in the atrium and looking up you see the world’s longest free-standing escalator, leading into the huge world globe on the 8th floor. That is the escalator people take to start the tour and it’s a spectacular view from the top. Unfortunately, once you pass through security there are no photos or video allowed. This photo and the one below it were taken from the floor of the food court in the atrium.

The first stop is the CNN theater where you get to see the same screens that are in the control room and listen to the director and producer (and the on-air talent during commercials) talking about which shots will be cued up when, what stories are coming up and counting down when they come back from commercials. We happened to be watching and listening just as the news broke that John Mark Karr had been arrested on domestic violence charges and so during the commercial break we heard the director order up file footage and explain to co-anchor Betty Nguyen what the intro would be while the other co-anchor, T.J. Holmes, moved to another location in the studio for a different story. We saw the file footage come up on one of the multitude of monitors, heard the director confirm that the footage was what he ordered and then listened as the producer counted down and watched Betty Nguyen get herself set for the camera shot and ready to deliver the intro the director was giving her verbally and via the teleprompter. If you enjoy knowing what goes on behind a live broadcast, it is one of the best parts of the tour.

From there we went to a small studio set up to demonstrate the “blue screen” or sometimes “green screen” effect used in broadcasting the weather, where the weatherperson stands in front of what looks to viewers like a map but is really just a blue (or green) screen with the map inserted in the camera only. They also had a news anchor desk set up just like the “live” one and for $20 you could sit at the desk and have your picture taken as if you were delivering the news. No thanks, been there, done that.

By the way, these three photos are from the CNN website “Virtual Tour”. You didn’t think I had been sneaky and taken these pictures, did you?

Then it was on to the floor above the main news floor that you see behind the CNN anchors during the broadcast; the one where all the people are moving around in the background. Those are the live news checkers, writers, directors and producers who put together the pieces you see presented as news. We stood above them in a glass-enclosed hall looking down and watching them do their thing. For this part of the tour a big, burly, armed security gaurd joined us, I imagine to make sure no one tried to shatter the glass or something. All I know is I had my black duffel bag with both my cameras and some other stuff in it and he was watching me all the time, lol. Maybe he didn’t think his colleagues downstairs had done a proper job of checking me and my bag.

After that we dropped by the Headline News studio, which is of course MUCH smaller because they are just re-airing packages that have already run on the main CNN broadcast. Most of them are cut down in time and then made part of a 15 minute or so combination package and run continuously for several hours before being updated with “newer” news. We also got to peek in on the CNN International studio and the separate CNN Spanish broadcast. We finally ended up in another small theater watching a little “puff piece” by various CNN personalities like Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Christiana Amanpour and Robin Meade explaining why the love the news business.

Then, just like the Disney, Universal and Sea World rides, we ended up at…the CNN Gift Shop. I laughed out loud when the tour guide brought us in, but quickly stopped and told her “thank you” for the excellent tour. I REALLY enjoyed it.

Monday morning Blog Girl and I were up bright and early so she could drop me off at the airport on her way to the Mouse’s corporate offices. I had done almost all my packing the night before and gathered all my remaining items and we were out the door and at the airport 2 hours before the flight departed. We kissed on the curb in front of the departing flight level and I went inside with my baggage and got in line, happy to have everything going so smoothly. Some 5 minutes later when I stepped up to the ticket counter the young lady took my e-ticket, greeted me and asked, “May I see a picture ID, please?” I reached to my back pocket for my wallet and as my hand closed on empty space my stomach simultaneously gave me that sinking feeling that you dread having. I had forgotten my wallet!!

I stepped out of line, pulled out my cell and called BG and we quickly worked out a plan; she would return home, retrieve my wallet and bring it to me at the spot we kissed. Here is one of those (many) reasons I adore her; though this would probably make her late to work she never uttered one word of unpleasantness or displayed any kind of bad attitude. When I thanked her profusely later when she handed me the wallet, she said “You would have done the same for me”. Yes, I would have…just not as nicely. Thank you, ma chérie.

Other than that self-imposed glitch, everything else went very smooth. my flight arrived 10 minutes early, and even though I had to wait in line almost an hour, the folks at the car rental desk were gracious and helpful (I ended up with a Hyundai Sonora, a nice car that even has a sunroof which I haven’t tried out yet). I arrived at my hotel at 1:30pm and they were adamant that I could not check in until 3pm, so I grabbed some lunch and then went to the office to meet folks and get started on some paperwork and training. When I got off at 5pm I drove the 15 minutes to my hotel and checked in without a hitch. My room is a suite with a front room that has a 32″ TV in an entertainment center on the front wall, a three-person sofa on the left wall with an end table and a stuffed upright chair cornered to the sofa. The right wall has a two-seat dining table then a small sink, mini-fridge and microwave. Opposite the little kitchen area is my bathroom and then the back room is the bedroom with a king-size bed, nightstands, spacious closet and a set of drawers with another 32″ TV on top facing the bed. The back wall is a double window that gives me a beautiful view of…the front parking lot. Oh well, lol. Best of all, the rooms have wireless Internet!

I went back out after getting everything unpacked and hung up and/or put in drawers to buy a few groceries, then came back to the room ate dinner and sat down to watch TV. More on that later.

Work is going well. There is a lot of training, reading of policies and practices and classes to attend. Friday I get to drive to Americus, GA for a big press conference that will involve both of the U.S. Senators from Georgia and several U.S. Representatives, a mayor, etc. I just have to “shadow” one of my trainers, keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, lol. But I have a LOT to learn in a month and while I am enjoying it, I am mentally exhausted at the end of the day. Tomorrow I’m going to try and start using the hotel’s fitness center for an hour each night to de-stress. Amazingly, they have no pool! I was looking forward to swimming while here.

This is not as hard on me (I’m a cave-dweller, remember?) as it is on BG, because of my hermit-like ways, but it’s still lonely here without her. Fortunately, we have a cell phone plan that allows unlimited cell to cell calls and long-distance that is free all the time, because we have been logging a lot of hours on the phone. Last night we chatted on webcams for about an hour and it was nice for both of us to see each other. Technology definitely makes being apart easier to take. Plus I’ve been in e-mail contact with lots of friends and loved ones (keep them coming!) and spent some time talking to my oldest friend, Dave, on the phone last night.

I noticed tonight, while watching the news on WSB-TV (the ABC affiliate) that former Orlando TV reporter Ross Cavitt is working here in Atlanta for WSB-TV. I always enjoyed Ross’ space shuttle program reporting and it was nice to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar city.

Speaking of seeing a familiar face, I also saw John Morgan doing a commercial for Morgan & Morgan, which I thought only had offices throughout Florida, but apparently has expanded. I almost felt at home!

Finally, this was in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper under their “The Vent” section (similar to the Orlando Sentinel’s “Ticked Off” column) which was in response to an article a few days ago about people moving to the Peach State, and made me laugh out loud;

“Floridians are now moving to Atlanta? Just what we need - more Yankees”

I am Atlanta bound, or at least I will be tomorrow morning when my flight departs at 9:48am. Blog Girl will drop me off at the airport on her way to the Mouse House at 7:30am so that I will be able to check-in the requisite 2 hours ahead of departure time and I am scheduled to arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 11:20am. After that I pick up my rental car, drive the 20 miles or so to my  hotel and settle in for at least the next 30 days at the Regional Headquarters of the Big Government Agency that employs me.

The process of getting ready to leave has been, on the one hand, easy, and on the other, hectic.

The actual work to set all the parts in action is easily handled by a service that Uncle Sam uses. You simply call, tell them where and when you’re going and how long you’ll be staying and they handle all the bookings and reservations of flights, rental car and hotel, e-mail you the packet and you’re all set. Well, supposedly. I’ll see about the “all set” tomorrow when I go to the airport, rental car and hotel, but hopefully there will be no problems along the way.

The hectic part has been the personal preparation. I have been spending several days wrapping up things around the Blog Cave that needed to be done before I leave. Cindy and I went Friday and bought some new clothes (gotta make a good impression, lol) and I needed a new pair of dress shoes. Dave let me borrow 6 books about wrestling I’ve been looking for the time to read (and will have now), plus I’m taking a book I’m reading to write a review about for another site, and I bought the new extended Fantastic Four DVD (with the Jack Kirby documentary) and the Back to the Future Trilogy DVD set to watch on my laptop. My checked suitcase may well be over the 50 pound limit imposed by the airline (it has bulges where I didn’t know it could bulge!), but I have thrown in a collapsible bag so that, if it IS over the weight limit, I can move some of the heavier items (books, shoes, etc) into the collapsible bag and check that as a second piece. Plus I’m taking my laptop and a carry-on with me in the passenger cabin.

Hey, 30 days is a long time, OK?

In addition, there is every possibility that I will find myself leaving to another assignment right after this one is finished, without a chance to return home, so I need to have all my “have to haves” with me. Cameras (digital still and digital video), external hard drive, mp3 player, books, magazines, DVD’s and the Internet (webcamming with Blog Girl) will help those nights and weekends alone pass more enjoyably. We’ve been pretty much joined at the hip since we found out I’d be leaving, trying to spend as much time together as possible.

Perhaps I’ll get a chance to explore a bit of Atlanta on the weekends. I know that the High Museum of Art has several pieces on exhibit that were loaned out by The Louvre, so it would be a kick to see some of those after visiting in The Louvre itself 6 weeks ago. I’d like to see how much Underground Atlanta has changed since I last saw it 35 years ago and maybe catch a Braves game. If I do get the opportunity to play “Man About Town”, I’ll be sure and post some pictures and/or video.

Hotlanta, here I come!

“I’m a travelin’ man….”

Love that song by Ricky Nelson. And it looks like that will be my theme song for a while.

Friday afternoon at 2:28pm, I walked out the doors of the big government agency I had been working for over the past 2 1/2 years, having turned in my laptop, cell phone and ID badge. It felt a little strange.

We had been told 5 weeks ago that our department’s work had come to an end. It was no surprise; we had all been expecting it. The only slight surprise came when they told us that, rather than the Region folks coming in to finish the close-out of cases as we expected, they would be bringing some of us (28 to 32 approximately) back to do the close-out, which might last 3 months or could last until the end of the year. If we wanted a position we could apply, although by law the positions would be open to any who applied within the time frame. We could also apply to our Region office, or any Region office in the country, for what is basically a troubleshooting position that takes you anywhere in the Region, or country, if needed.

I was out of the country on personal travel when the local positions were posted. I applied online and via e-mail for one position; one supervisory position that would raise my salary by about 20%. When I returned I found that there had been over 1,100 applications for the (at most) 32 positions available. I thought that those odds almost certainly assured I would not be chosen for the single position I had applied for. In addition, I have reached the point where I am ready for a change from the day in and day out work in the office.

So, I decided to apply with my Region office for a position with them this past Tuesday and on my way home from work that afternoon I received a call from them telling me they wanted to pick me up ASAP. I informed them my release date would be Friday and they put all the paperwork into motion. By the time I left the office on Friday, I knew just about everything except where and when I would be going. Hopefully I’ll find that out later next week. My salary will increase by 10% instead of the 20% I would have gotten for the local position, but with per diem and other expensed items covered I will end up with a hefty raise. Most likely all of my travel will be in FL, GA, AL, MS, SC, NC and KY, but I could find myself elsewhere in the country if needed. Most assignments will be about 6-8 weeks in length, but could range from as little as 2 weeks to as much as 4 months. It’s hard to predict in this “business”.

Blog Girl and I are getting our minds and hearts wrapped around how this will change our lives. We’ve never really been away from each other for more than a week at one time in the decade we’ve been married, so this will be a different experience for us to work with. But it will also help us with the goals we’ve set over the next few years, so we have incentive to deal with it positively.

Oh, and that single local position I applied for that I didn’t think I would get because of the odds? Headquarters called me this morning at 8:30 and told me I had been selected. I was shocked and flattered, but I politely declined. Things change, and this is one of life’s transitions. Hopefully it will be a good one.