30 Before 30: The Casino

I'm not exactly a risk-taker with my money. I prefer to make it, put it in the bank, and then buy really necessary stuff with it. Like groceries, shoes, trips to Canada and small plastic dinosaurs. I've never been the gambling kind. I've even stopped from entering March Madness pools or Fantasy Football leagues because I have zero knowledge about college basketball and a very small attention span. I'm not into throwing away my money on betting or gambling, but every time I've biked past the Rivers Casino on the North Shore, I've wondered about it.

The only time I've ever been in a casino was during a road trip around the middle of the country a few years ago. We were camping on the casino's property (totally above the board, the campsite was part of the complex) when a sprinkler system turned on in the middle of the night. Fortunately for my friend Lindsay and me, the trajectory of one of the sprinklers went directly into the top of our tent. We woke up and thought it was raining. It was only after three trips running between the tent and the car that I realized there was no rain. Our tent completely flooded. Lindsay and I, soaked like rats, walked into the casino at some ungodly hour (as it was naturally open 24 hours/day), and demanded a room in the hotel. Well, I should admit that Lindsay demanded the room. I tried my hardest not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

So, I put going to the casino on my 30 Before 30 list.

What better way to check it off than on Christmas Day?

I gave myself a spending limit of $100. Sticking a crisp $100 bill into the first slot machine was anxiety-inducing. I was terrified of losing all $100. Anytime I dipped below $90 in credits, I would feel my heart start beating way too fast. Fortunately, that only happened a few times. 

Gambling is confusing! I still have no idea what I was doing half the time. I only played the slots, because if pressing a button or pulling a lever was confusing, I can't even imagine what playing a table game would have been like. 

Depressing but true: I lost the most of my moneys on the dinosaur and Ghostbusters slots. No one told me the slots would be themed like this! I was beyond tickled. Even if they did take most of my moneys. (And by most I mean like $5-10. I walked away if I lost more than $10 on a machine. I ain't no dummy!)

And then I made back all the money I had lost by playing dinosaurs and Ghostbusters on the Sex and the City slots. I feel like there is a analogy for my life in these facts, but I'm just going to try and ignore it and be happy about hitting a weird bonus thing where Charlotte showed up on my screen gushing about diamonds or something along those lines.

And looky what I did! I hit three sevens! And made some money back that I had lost on other strange themed games, including Kitty Glitter.

The last machine of the night was the real winner. And also my real taste of just how addictively fun gambling can be. When I started at this last machine, I think I was either up a small amount on the $100 I brought in or just slightly under. I told myself I would keep pulling that lever until I hit $80, because losing $20 after a few hours of stupid fun felt justified. But then I just kept winning!

Once I got up over $200, I cashed out and walked away. I figured: I'd doubled my money. Time to go home and bask in the glow of coming out on top.

So, I started with one $100 bill and wound up walking out with two. Not a bad way to spend Christmas afternoon. Perhaps a new holiday tradition has been born...

30 Before 30: Oh Yeah, We're Going to a Laser Show

I love to let the mail pile up. It's usually nothing but bills and junk, so I find it kind of depressing to take it upstairs every day if it's a bunch of stupid stuff. (And I'm already lugging a bike and a bag up the stairs, so the lame mail gets left behind.) Whenever I worry that my mailcarrier might think I'm MIA in a not good way, I begrudgingly go through it. This happened the other day, and one of the pieces was a mailer from the Carnegie Science Center. I went through it to see if anything caught my eye. And something did! Three words: HALLOWEEN LASER SHOW.

I immediately took a picture of the ad and sent it to my friend Ross, who enjoys the Halloween season as well. Going to see a laser show was on my 30 Before 30 list, and to take care of it with one with these most excellent theme seemed perfect. The ad promised Ghostbusters! The Addams Family! Purple People Eater! All the best things! 

Just look how excited we were!

I think I've forgotten how to not smile like a total goober every time I take a picture.

We settle into our seats. So do the six other people there. The show starts. Wonderfully creepy images and awesome tunes are coming our way! Only! They weren't! Well, the wonderfully creepy images were great, but the 45 minutes of '90s nu metal were kind of strange. That's it. All nu metal. No "invisible man hiding under your bed" or "bustin' makes me feel good." Just a bunch of '90s nu metal. (Though, we did get to hear "Dragula," which was funny for Ross and me, because it had been a song of the Labor Day Toronto trip just a few weeks prior.)

Nu metal listening session aside, I really liked the laser show! It was super neat to look at! And it was only $2 (because of my Carnegie Museums membership). I'll definitely go to more, so long as the music is a little less...something I don't ever need to listen to.

Now, the laser show topped off the crazy day that Ross and I laid out for ourselves. We first biked from Bloomfield to the South Side for the South Side Slopes StepTrek. Then we had a couple burgers and a couple beers at Winghart's. (Market Square location: Will you ever be done with renovations? I miss you!) We followed up with beers at Jekyll & Hyde's (where we listened to the X on the radio and watched Wipeout on TV - perfect combo?) before biking over to Bicycle Heaven on the Northside for a party before the laser show. That's where we met this guy:

And where I experienced much bike lust, especially of the orange variety.

PGH Beautiful: Dinos, May 2012

Guys! I have been finding excellent dinos around town. I think one of my goals this summer is to go on dino expeditions around Pittsburgh by bike and by foot. I know where a lot of the statue dinos are located around town, I just need to make a plan to go snap pictures of them. I also want to keep my eyes out for cool dino graffiti or signage or anything. (Mental note: Look to see if there is a book that connects PGH and dinos. There very well should be considering the Carnegie Museum and all!) I am going to just go with the whole "dino obsession" phase I am clearly entering into right now. It's nearly summer, and that's when I feel most like a kid stuck in an adult's world.

So! Here are some dinos I saw:

Dino outside of the Carnegie Science Center near the North Shore bike trail. Those are molecules or genes or something science-y like that?

I may have shown this already, but I'm being too lazy to go back and check. I found this guy hanging in The Park House in Deutschtown way back when football was still on the TV.

And here is a special dino brought to you by Mr. Andrew Mulkerin. Thanks, Andy!

If you've got a dino you'd like to share, or want to send me on a wild goose chase searching for one, send me an email: everythingbetterpgh@gmail.com

Oh and if you're interested, there's this. Looking forward to reading that before the end of the year...

Under the Bridge: North Side Murals

The weather in Pittsburgh has been amazing. We basically skipped winter (WHO CARES?!) and part of me wonders if we aren’t skipping the early parts of spring too. Whatever the case and whatever the cause, I’m thrilled with the extended hours of daylight and the higher than normal temps. I took one of my longest rides of the year a few weeks ago and stopped momentarily under the Veterans Bridge. I’ve had these excellent murals on my mental list of Pittsburgh murals to document since last summer when I spent my mornings on the trails.

They’re a series of five murals, and they are pretty wonderful:

The return of nice weather means the return of adventures big and small that will hopefully yield a greater volume of posts. Winter sucks. I’m glad it’s over.

EvBetPGH Best Of 2011: Paddling Pittsburgh

Throughout the month of December, I'll be returning to five of my favorite adventures/posts from the past year.

Date of Post: September 5, 2011
Title of Post: Paddling Pittsburgh: Kayaking the Allegheny and the Ohio

For years I've had "kayak on the rivers" on my Pittsburgh to-do list. Finally, with great company, I made it happen. If this whole biking-to-work doesn't work out, maybe I'll get myself a kayak.

Halloween Miracle #2: STEELERS BEAT THE PATRIOTS

Having lived in Boston for five years, sporting events that pit The Burgh against Boston are high-stress situations for me. My dad thinks it's funny to keep giving me tickets to these events, which last year led me to witness two demoralizing Pens losses to the Bruins and one completely devastating Steelers loss to the Pats. The offer was on the table again to see the Pats play in Pittsburgh, and - against everything my brain was screaming at me - I decided to go.

What a good decision.

Leading up to the game, I had plans to meet my dad at Wingharts, but they were closed (sadface) so we tried out Diamond Market Bar & Grill. I had a burger. It was OK. It wasn't Wingharts. Walking up to the stadium, we encountered this guy:

It was an absolutely beautiful day in Pittsburgh. A little cold, but not uncomfortable. I screamed and yelled and cheered and panicked and basically enjoyed myself. Right down to the last two minutes of the game when I was pretty sure the stupid Pats and stupid Tom Brady were going to find a way to get a touchdown and win by one lousy point. But! They didn't! The end of the game was awesome! I was as happy as I've been all year.

My dad and me at the game.

It was definitely a high-stress afternoon, but the reward was well worth all the worrying. And watching the sad Pats fans leaving the stadium? Priceless. A Halloween miracle and the best possible ending to a fantastic Halloween weekend.

Red Sky at Night: Pittsburgh's Delight

On consecutive nights a couple weeks ago, Pittsburgh was treated to beautiful pink/red skies. Fortunately, my plans for both of those nights (Wednesday for Jurassic Park on Flagstaff Hill and Thursday for the preseason Steelers game against the Eagles) involved being outside.

Kind of crazy pink clouds over the crowd at Heinz Field.

Pink light reflecting off of PPG Place before kickoff.

Gorgeous skies over Oakland before Jurassic Park on Flagstaff Hill.

The weather is starting to cool off. Its time for crisper air, crunchy leaves, and all the wonderful things that a Pittsburgh fall will bring. Red skies at night, Pittsburgh's delight.

Paddling Pittsburgh: Kayaking the Allegheny and the Ohio

For the past two or three summers, one of the items at the top of my to-do list has been kayaking on the rivers downtown. My intentions were always there, I just never made it happen. But, when presented with a visitor, who was making their SECOND trip to Pittsburgh in 2011, I had to come up with something awesome to do. I had to show off my city in an even grander way than I had just a few months prior. What better way to see Pittsburgh than gliding on top of one of its three rivers?

Corey, Carrie and I picked up my visitor Marlana from the airport and drove straight to the North Shore. She went right from the plane to the kayak. She is, indeed, a trooper.

We made our way under the Clemente Bridge and signed up for kayaks with Kayak Pittsburgh. It was $15/hour for a single kayak, which seemed fairly reasonable, and once we got into the water and began paddling around, it was worth every penny.

Corey and Carrie have synchronized strokes.

I was a little surprised at the lack of instruction given to us before embarking on our short little journey on the river. But, we were given lifejackets, paddles, and a kayak and shoved into the water. We were on our own and could explore as much as we pleased within the 60-minute timeframe. We decided to kayak down to the point to give Marlana the best view of downtown.

From plane to kayak in just under an hour!

Corey had more fun than this photo suggests.

Here's a thing: I have no desire to own a car. Pretty much ever. Don't see a need for one. However, I could totally foresee buying a boat some years down the road - er, river. Sitting in the kayak on the top of the water was such a relaxing experience. If I had a boat, I would be on it every single nice day in the summer. Will probably definitely have to buy a boat when I'm rich. (I'm never gonna be rich - this is a pipe dream.)

Carrie in her kayak, scoping out the Science Center's submarine.

Corey on the river.

Marlana on the river.

Is there a day in my life when I am not going under or over a bridge in some capacity? Pittsburgh: I adore you for this.

Dorky self-portrait - had to be done! (Even though I totally look photoshopped...)

By the end of our hour on the river(s) we were tired, kinda sunburnt, and hungry.

The solution to our problems: beers and burgers at the always-getting-more-awesomer Winghart's in Market Square. Seriously: the best burger in Pittsburgh. Love this place so so so much.

Ill have to ask Marlana to be sure, but I'm fairly certain landing in Pittsburgh and experiencing kayaking on the rivers and a Winghart's burger was something akin to a religious experience.

Holy, Batman, Batman! - Pittsburgh as Gotham City

I get crazy passionate or obsessed with bits of pop culture, places, or people. Sometimes, things in my life work out, and these things I get crazy passionate and obsessed about join together to make an Uber-Allison Explosion of Awesome. (I should probably trademark that.) For example: Owen covers the Velvet Underground song "Femme Fatale," supposedly about Edie Sedgwick.

Right now, Batman (Christian Bale) is filming in the best place (Pittsburgh). Batman! Christian Bale! Pittsburgh! This is Uber-Allison Explosion of Awesome times about a billion.

They've finished filming in Oakland, though before they did, Corey and I took a bike ride down to the Mellon Institute, a.k.a. Gotham City Hall, to see what we could see. We didn't see too too much, but there was fake snow and we know we saw at least one shot. One thing we were sure we saw was Anne Hathaway being driven off set in a shiny black SUV. She had on sunglasses and was trying to hide her face. It was so very Hollywood. But in Pittsburgh. It's kinda cool.

But wait: there's more! My friends Corey, Carrie, Cunningham and I signed up to be extras for the Heinz Field scene, which required us to get there at 6:15 a.m. and stay in the hot sun until 7:30 p.m. In winter jackets. Yikes. But, a stroke of luck came our way when my dad, who works for Chrysler, was able to hook us and my brother up with VIP access to filming during the day. Basically, our deal was getting there at 8:15 a.m., sitting in an air-conditioned press box to watch filming, getting a free lunch, and being out of there by 2 p.m. On the surface, that was too good to pass up. But then, we got to do and see so so so much more.

Cunningham, me, Carrie, Corey, and my brother Jeff (can you see the family resemblance?).

Oh, yeah, we were nerds and made themed t-shirts.

(And another note: I never look short in photos. This is great!!)

We weren't allowed to keep these awesome passes after the day was over, but it was pretty great to receive one with my name on it. Why Magnus Rex? Apparently, Christopher Nolan gives his movies codenames based on his kid's names. His youngest son, Magnus, loves dinosaurs. Hopefully Mr. Nolan brought Magnus with him to Pittsburgh, because we love our dinosaurs too!

We technically weren't supposed to take any pictures, but these are way less harmful than anything they've shown on the local news.

After lunch, we went to check out the Chrysler cars on display and were going to catch a shuttle back to Market Square, but then we decided to take a chance and see if our handler from Warner Bros. could get us onto the field. Glad we asked, cause he could! He had a friend of his get us right onto the field, right as they were setting up the explosions all over the field and filming the crown reaction sequences. We were on Heinz Field! Never really thought I'd have the opportunity to do that.

Oh, and there is one awesome bit of info I should share: I WAS TEN FEET AWAY FROM CHRISTIAN BALE FOR 15 MINUTES. Granted, we were separated by a pane of glass (he was in one press box, I was in another), but he looked my way once and now that means we're married. (Right? That's what that means, right?) Afterward, I was shaking and giddy, because I am a person who gets crazy passionate and obsessed with bits of pop culture, places and people. In front of me was Christian Bale. In Pittsburgh. At Heinz Field. Batman. Patrick Bateman. Jack Kelly. Uber-Allison Explosion of Awesome times a billion. Indeed.