Snotlanta

I was in Atlanta all last week for work. Making commercials, specifically. A compressed list of things learned/observed/experienced:

• Atlanta in April is a hotbed of nasty pollen and other nasal-congesting allergens.
• Puffs now makes a tissue, coated in Vicks VapoRub, so powerful they can clear your sinuses before coming in contact with your face.
• Norcross, GA has an interesting mix of Hispanic and Korean businesses. A high percentage of which are dentist offices.
• Cindy Wilson of the B-52s has a home in the Dunwoody area of Atlanta. It is a very nice house. It does not have a tin roof. Rusted or otherwise.
• It is, in fact, possible to film, edit and score 5 commercials in four days.
• A 15-second commercial is incredibly short.
• The Varsity restaurant might be an Atlanta tradition, but they have lousy (and very small portions of) food. Free hats though.
• A junk food junkie, such as me, can get tired of eating out every day.
• While I do not like Chik-fil-a food, their hand-spun milkshakes are downright delicious (and huge!).

art

Some time in 2007, coudal.com ran a link to a real live artist offering free paintings. Free! Needless to say, I jumped all over that. As my dad likes to say, “If it’s free, it’s for me.” I sent Ali an email with my request, something for Susie and something that I thought would go perfectly with the artist’s style—a squirrel.

I didn’t hear back but that didn’t surprise me, coudal.com is an immensely popular site and I figured Ali probably had tons of requests. No big deal.

A couple of weeks ago, however, I got an email. It said basically, “Your painting is done.” Wow. After nearly 450 requests she had gotten to my painting. The squirrel promptly arrived on my doorstep (with free shipping!) and it’s perfect. Susie loves it.

Thank you internet for Ali Spagnola and her free paintings.