Happy Anniversary, Pittsburgh.

I'm a borderline hoarder. I'm nowhere near close to being featured on the bizarre reality television show, but I do have a hard time throwing things away. As a writer, this often means I find old writings tucked away in journals and on my hard drive. I've more than likely forgotten about them, so it's always delightful(/terrifying) to read and remember. Fortunately I came across a wholly delightful thing I wrote right after moving back, two years ago today. In celebration of two years back home, here is what I had to say about being back in early July 2010. I had thoughts of doing a Pittsburgh blog even then, but I wasn't ready yet to really put anything in motion. I'm glad I've finally found a good use for it.

Count Yellow Highway Lines

The move is…OVER. After an exhausting day of loading up a truck, the longest drive from Boston to Pittsburgh ever, and three solid days of nothing but furious unpacking and organizing and arranging - it's done. I'm situated and set-up. I tied up the loose-ends I had in Boston. I'm back in Bloomfield and am starting to realize that this is…for real. This is my life now: walking out my door onto Gross Street and being able to see the Cathedral of Learning jutting out of the treetops as I walk toward Liberty Ave. It's still a little weird, but I'm sure that will subside in time. Still can't believe that my time in Boston is actually over. I never thought I'd miss it, but there are people there who made my world go 'round and I'll miss them terribly.

Three days after moving back, I spent the Fourth of July on the roof of the Children's Hospital parking garage. We watched the fireworks downtown from afar, but sparklers were handed out and the way I felt standing on that roof is indescribable.

But. Again: this is my life now.

My goal was to have my place completely unpacked and set-up before I went back to Boston for a couple days to take care of a few things (like quitting my job and tossing everything from the old place into the garbage), so I spent my first 72 hours in Pittsburgh mostly inside the walls of this new apartment figuring out where to put all this stuff I've accumulated. I was able to do it all, which ended up being a relief when I got back here last night and realized I didn't have to do a thing to feel at home.

One of my favorite songs is "Left and Leaving" by The Weakerthans. I listened to it as I drove out of Pittsburgh seven years ago. I kept listening to it throughout my time in Boston; it was a siren song calling me back home. The lyrics always feeling a little too close for comfort.

This morning I woke up early and took my bike out for the first time in weeks. It felt great to ride it again after having been so busy packing and being in transit and busy unpacking. I wanted to ride through the Allegheny Cemetery, but when I got there, the gate was still closed (around 7:30 a.m. - thought it was 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.?). So I went to Plan B: Let's see if I can relearn some streets!

When I biked across the bridge that leads from the Carnegie Museum to Phipps and Flagstaff Hill, I caught a glimpse of perfect puffs of smoke from the Cloud Factory and I think that's when it finally hit me that I'm home.

I'm home!

Biking through South Oakland, I went past the Castle and Zack's old apartment. Two places where the younger Allison started many nights of misadventures and ended many nights of misadventures. In five years, I hope I can go back to Boston and feel as happy riding a bike past Great Scott or down Egremont Road. For now, I'm ready to make a new crop of memories here in Pittsburgh.

Happy Anniversary, Pittsburgh. I'm still so excited to be here.

You Only Turn 29 Once, Pt. 1

As happens every June 17, I turned one year older. As mentioned in my previous post, I'm not shy about celebrating this fact. This year, I took the opportunity to celebrate in a couple major and a few minor (but still completely excellent) ways. Let's recap the first half. Shall we?

First, a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to CONFETTI at Brillobox on Thursday. A seriously awesome time was had by me, and from what I can recollect, was had by many on the floor. Next CONFETTI is in August; stay tuned to EvBetPGH for more details on that.

After a sluggish Friday, Carrie and I spent the day at Idlewild Park on Saturday. Yup. Idlewild Park. Voted Best Kid's Amusement Park in the World by...someone. Carrie read the sign and might still remember. Anyways. Being that it has that very distinct distinction, two late-twenty-somethings unaccompanied by any minors was a little odd-seeming. We didn't care tough; it was my birthday - my 29th! - and I wanted to feel like a kid. (I'd say "a kid again," but I sort of always feel kid-like.)

Our first stop was to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. 

King Friday wanted us to invite everyone in the Neighborhood to the Castle Hug and Song. Yes. It sounds as awesome as you're thinking. We rode a trolley and met all the familiar faces and in unison we repeated "Come along, come along, to the Castle Hug and Song!" This is a prime example of why it was a little out of the ordinary for Carrie and me to be at Idlewild.

After leaving the Neighborhood, Carrie and I decided it was time for rides. Of which we rode two. The second is pictured below. It was an inverted Rotor (my favorite fallen Kennywood ride) and it was terrifyingly fun.

Our next stop was Storybook Forest.

If you've never been to Idlewild and experienced Storybook Forest for yourself, it is basically a collection of Mother Goose stories brought to life in a little village-like setting. You wander around a path (stay off the grass, people - they're serious about that; there's a silly "stay off the grass" sign every four or five feet) visiting all the story character's houses. Here are some of the highlights:

That's not Grandma!

Ouch.

As a kid, Humpty Dumpty scared the crap out of me.

Piggy! (Do we all understand that this is a Tyler Kennedy reference by now?)

In Storybook Forest, I made a chicken friend.

We also went to SoakZone, but not one needs to see photos of that. Trust me. I'm doing you a favor. But going down a few waterslides at the end of the afternoon was very enjoyable.

We drove back to the city blasting Weezer Blue with the windows down. But our day wasn't over yet.

PGH T-Shirt Collection: June 2012

T010: WPTS CathedralDesigner: WPTS
Where Bought: 2002ish, I think I paid for it, but I might have just gotten it for free, being the Program Director and all...

T011: PGH City of ZombiesDesigner: Unknown
Where Bought: Monroeville Zombies, Monroeville Mal 

T012: Steelers Training CampDesigner: Unknown
Where Bought: When I sold textbooks up in Boston, the bookstore manager I called on at St. Vincent sent me this. 

Expect more to come. I just ordered four new PGH tees and they've been trickling in this week...

PGH Book #1: "21" The Story of Roberto Clemente

You may recall my first resolution for 2012 was to read more. Well, I am happy to report that I have been keeping ahead of schedule! Now, this is partly due to the facts that a) I started this first book before 2012 began and b) it is a graphic novel. (I wanted to ease into things.)

PGH Book #1: "21" The Story of Roberto Clemente

"21" covers Clemente's lifespan from a child in Puerto Rico to the fatal flight that took his life.

This is a quote I will take to heart.

The Cathedral of Learning! It's weird to see it there, because I've never seen that popping out of the skyline at any Pirates game I've ever been too.

I've never been very good at book review, so let's just say I read it, I enjoyed it, and I think you might enjoy it too! Now, a month is nearly behind us in 2012 already! Time. It flies. You may be wondering how I've been faring with my OTHER resolutions. Well, even if you're not, I'm about to tell you. My second resolution was to volunteer, which I did just a tiny bit of this month when I went to a BikePGH volunteer night. I was there just shy of an hour! One down, forty-nine to go.

My third resolution was to try new things. I have tried new things! Here's a short list: walked all the staircases in a neighborhood, went to the Park House for a beer and peanuts, had dinner with my dad and brother at the Tap Room, tried out Habitat with Kate and Zack for Pittsburgh's first Restaurant Week where I ate OXTAIL for the first time (after a quick text-message consultation regarding if I would hate oxtail).

My fourth resolution? Well, that is something you'll have to wait a few more days to find out more about...

Gender Roles - OR - Finding Quiet Time in the Cathedral of Learning

The other day, I needed some major me-time. I had a lot going on up there in my brain. In college, whenever that happened, I would head right for the Cathedral of Learing and tuck myself away in a corner and figure out whatever it was I needed to figure out. And now, ten years later, I found myself instinctively heading for the good ol' "drunk compass" thinking I could get the necessary thinking done and take some photos of the Cathedral and its rooms all decked out for Christmas. However, the Commons room was blocked off for an event and the Nationality Rooms were being used in some seemingly weird scavenger hunt organized by the Boy Scouts? I don't really know!

So, before I found myself a corner to hide in for a while, I saw these windows, and knew they needed to be shared.

Girls like: birds, tennis and gardening.

Boys like flying kites, running, playing baseball, and fishing.