The Blurgh

For the past eight months, my partner and I have been asking ourselves the question, “What if?” We wanted to imagine a world that exists on the other side of the problems in which our city is currently engulfed; we saw a Pittsburgh with a vibrant economy, a world-class transit system, a dynamic cultural scene, and opportunities anywhere and everywhere.To do this, we employed the services of two fictional characters, Frank Zielinski and Gretchen Parker, and we asked them to tell their stories first-hand. Frank was a student entering his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh, a young man full of potential but unclear about his path in life. Gretchen, a graduate of Carlow University, used the unique blend of past, present, and future that Pittsburgh oozes out of every pore as fuel for her fledgling career as a writer.

The intent was to be short on prescription but long on inspiration–we didn’t want to be fortune-tellers, but rather dreamers. In that way, we wanted to be part of the solution.

While that was the original goal, it quickly developed into something different. As our various storylines took shape, it became clear that there was, in fact, a certain degree of prescription happening. Pittsburgh, in the world of the Blurgh, becomes the way it is because individuals took action. Individuals. Not politicians, not developers…individuals. Some of these storylines include:

- Students for a Sustainable Pittsburgh - a group of law students banded together to advocate for women/minority/family friendly policies. As they entered the workforce, they took on the old boy’s club mentality head-on and began changing the fabric of power in Pittsburgh.

- Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation - two students, one out of Pitt and the other out of Carlow, created a foundation to promote sports for girls, childcare legislation, and after-school programs. Also where Gretchen works.

- Community Renewables and Recycling (CRR) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) - A company founded by two individuals who decided to combine community organizing, renewable energy, and home improvement. Also where Frank has his internship and starts his career after graduation.

- Breaking Down the Digital Divide (B3D) (1, 2) - an organization that Frank’s mom works for dedicated to bringing technology and technology education to kids and neighborhoods that were getting left behind. It was started by a few prominent bloggers who decided to take action to combat something they all felt strongly about.

- The Artists Marketplace Network - a group of artists coming together to transform some of Pittsburgh’s industrial past into a mecca for sustainable creativity.

From the big organizations to the small local bars and venues, the world of the Blurgh becomes the way it is because of individuals throwing caution to the wind and making it happen.

So, now what?

In addition to envisioning a better future, we wanted to start a conversation. Frank and Gretchen’s story is now over, and in all honesty, we don’t know when or if any other stories will appear here, but let’s keep that conversation going. What can we do, as individuals, to start taking small steps towards creating the world we want to live in?

Lasting change doesn’t come in one massive swoop. It happens when many people take small steps, and those steps are built upon by more people taking steps, and then by more people, and so on.

Please comment or email us with your thoughts. If you have an idea and are looking for other interested people, let us know. If you’re already doing something and want to get the word out, put up a comment. Maybe this site will evolve into something else, or maybe not, but as long as the conversation keeps going, it’s served its purpose.

And thank you to all of our readers and commenters–we appreciate your support.

In Solidarity,

Brett Wiewiora & Christina Cann
Founders of the Blurgh

Hey everyone! You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting lately. The truth is, I really love this blog and I haven’t been able to devote the attention to it that it deserves. Between working with the ever-expanding Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation and working on my book and taking part in my writing group and everything else that just seems to crop up when I’m not looking, I have just been too busy to really put any meaningful time into the Blurgh. So, I’m taking an indefinite hiatus. (Please don’t cry, really. It’ll all be okay!) I have really loved blogging here and wish everyone who has made this such a great community the very best. Seriously. Yinz are the best.

Feminist love,

Gretch

Yesterday I did something that a few months ago would have seemed inconceivable–I got up at 7 am, printed out a slew of resumes, put on my one and only suit, and went to the job fair at the union.

At first, I was overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time.  Pretty much every meeting room on the 1st floor of the union was being used, and the rooms were practically busting at the seams with booths.  When you added the throngs of students that were there, the environment seemed like a hybrid between a convention and a street fair.

As I made the rounds, though, I started to get a bit discouraged.  There were a lot of interesting companies, but nothing really jumped out at me.  I talked to some people, got half a million pens and other goodies, but felt a little empty.  Around 11, I took a break and grabbed a seat in the lobby.

Since the job fair was being held in multiple rooms, each room had some sort of theme tying it together.  I first went into the psychology-related room, since, you know, I’m a psychology major and all, but all the employers in there were offering research or lab assistant type jobs that people look into when they’re interested in grad school.  Then I decided to look at the non-profit room, and although the booths there interested me more, I couldn’t find anything that seemed like a good fit.  It’s never good when your first impression of a job is that you could probably do it for 2 years but then be desperate to move on.

As I was sitting in the lobby, I took out the room guide and tried to figure out where I’d go next.  I knew the “Physical and Natural Sciences” room wouldn’t have anything for me, and although the “Public Service” room may have been interesting, I knew I wasn’t cut out for government work.  The last room was labeled simply as “Business,” so I figured I might as well check it out, and if nothing else, I’d probably get some good freebies.

When I went in, I quickly realized that what “Business” really meant was “stuff we don’t know how to categorize.”  There were your typical business booths (finance, marketing, retailers, etc.), but there were also a bunch of booths that seemed to span multiple categories.  One of those booths, I was pleased to see, was CRR.

I recognized the two people there as people who work in the outreach department, and they recognized me as well.  When they saw me, though, they gave me a weird look, and when I came over, they both asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”  Somewhat taken aback, I simply replied, “Uhhh, looking for a job…”

Well, as I found out, my manager had apparently asked all the CRR interns to become full-time employees after graduation, but it happened to be last Friday when I had to call off to take a test.  I hadn’t been scheduled to go back until tomorrow, so he was going to talk to me then.

I was stunned, but I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face for the rest of the day.  My manager called later in the day yesterday and officially offered me a job, and I enthusiastically accepted.  My internship has been awesome, and the work that CRR does interests me in so many ways.  So, come Monday May 1st, I will officially join the workforce!

Now I just have to make sure I get that graduation thing out of the way…finals are next week.

Finals are in just a few weeks, and I’m so ridiculously behind it’s not even funny.  You’d think after this long I’d realize that blowing off reading with the intention of catching up “next week” is, at best, a ridiculously obvious lie.  At worst, it’s an “F.”

Getting behind in blah classes is one thing, but I really hate it when I get behind in a class that I actually enjoy.  My History  of Peace class has rocked my socks all semester, but I find it extremely difficult to do the readings…they’re just so hard to follow.  Every time I pick up one of the texts, I feel like I’m about to enter an alternate dimension–one where everything you thought you knew is only marginally meaningful, and the things that used to be irrelevant are now monumental.  It’s interesting learn new things about events you thought you had studied to death, and I like the paradigm the class is based around, but holy crap, it sure can be exhausting.

We have to write a paper for the final, and the question is: “In your opinion, how is peace best prolonged?”  We’re supposed to take certain time we studied periods and use them to build our case.  Easy, right?

…

Dr. Huang also said that he’s planning on publishing a book of short essays in order to get more people interested in the subject, and that if we do well enough and are interested, that we can work with him on getting our essays in it.  Yeah…no pressure at all.

So what do you think?  Any ideas?

Have you ever gotten a very powerful feeling that you’re about to enter a new phase in your life?  That you’re standing on the edge of an unexplored and unfamiliar territory (at least to you), and you know that the only way to go is head-first into it?  It’s kind of like the slow-climb up the first hill of a rollercoaster–you’re scared, excited, but most of all, waiting.

Last night that feeling hit me like a subway car.  Gretchen and I were out on the North Shore taking a stroll up and down the river, and I caught a glimpse of a perfect scene–the sun was setting, the river was glittering, and the buildings downtown oozed grandeur.  We both sat on a bench and stared for a while, silently.

It wasn’t the first time I felt like that.  The night before my last day of high school definitely qualifies, and I think I remember regularly feeling that way at the end of every summer vacation.  This time’s different, though.  I knew what was coming all of those other times; I had already been accepted to college, and I knew school would start again after vacation.  This time I don’t really know…as we were sitting on the bench, I let out an unconscious shiver, and Gretchen put her arm around my shoulder.

I do have one comforting thought, though–there are a lot of options out there.  It might take me a couple tries to find what I realy want to do, but that’s life.  I know I want to do something good for people and the world…the trick is just translating that into a paid profession!

It’s April, i.e. the last month of my life that I’ll be an undergrad.

This brings many interesting thoughts to mind, including:

• Holy crap!
• So after I graduate…then what?
• No more health insurance?
• No more free gym?
• No more papers!!!!!
• A job? Like…a real job?
• Holy crap…

There’s a job fair going on next week–I already told a couple people that I wasn’t going to go because I didn’t feel like getting up at 9 am. For some reason, that doesn’t seem like a very good excuse anymore.

Just read a post over at a new local blog, Christina Speaks, and it was a great example of one of my favorite parts about using public transportation in Pittsburgh–the people.

Of course, the people aren’t always great, but if you’ve been on a bus or in line at the grocery store in this town, you’ll know what I mean. 

Do you ever feel like you’re in such a rut that you want to step out of your body and yell at yourself?

Gretch and I had one of those weekends where we had very ambitious and interesting plans (go see the new stuff at the museum, jam out with friends at 1 am in the South Side, solve the world’s hunger problem, etc.), but ended up spending a lot of time on the couch watching re-runs. Our living room became an energy, creativity, and ultimately time vacuum, and we were helpless to do anything about it.

Why is it so hard to try new things? And why does it always seem like everyone else in the world has no problem at all with it?

Last night, after thoroughly exclaiming how much we suck, we decided that the only way to defeat our living room is to attack it head on. Instead of making it the most inviting room, and our office the least, we’re going to spend tonight rearranging. The couch, TV, and other comfy accouterments are going into the cold and loud (thanks to our upstairs neighbor) front room, and our desks and craft equipment is going into the former time vortex. Then, instead of automatically plopping on the couch and vegging when we get home, we’ll look around and see all the interesting stuff we can occupy ourselves with.

I’ve also been a big believer that craftiness and creativity loves company, so if anyone out there wants to get together and get the creative juices flowing (or maybe break out of your comfort zone a little by meeting new people), hit us up!

Contact Us Page

I’ve been writing about my internship at CRR for a while now, and it’s really been a tremendous experience thus far. Just this morning, though, I got the big news–we got the go-ahead to move forward with the Polish Hill project!

As I mentioned earlier on, this project was different than other projects CRR has pursued in the past. Not only was this project meant to implement neighborhood-wide improvements, but it also was designed to galvanize the community. A lot of the work I’ve been doing has been in that area–canvassing, meeting with neighbors, and trying to build support–and apparently it’s actually worked! I was looking over the final details of the plan, and it’s pretty ambitious:

• Conduct a neighborhood wide energy audit on buildings to identify structures which need better insulation or can benefit from other energy saving improvements, and then implement those improvements.

• Install locally manufactured solar panels on the sides of buildings and roofs that receive the most light (approximately 40 structures).

• Work with 10-20 home-owners and businesses to install water-reclamation systems

• Secure a parcel of land to be used as a community compost collection and distribution center, (which may also be turned into a biogas collector down the line)

• Assess the possibility of also building a medium-scale wind generator on that piece of land.

• Partner with a local biodiesel manufacturer to collect used frying oil from local businesses and homes and use it to create biodiesel, which will then be sold back to the neighborhood at a discount

• Provide general consultation to home and business owners on how to improve the energy-efficiency of their buildings.

The project is getting paid for by a number of sources, including the Polish Hill Neighborhood Association, city, state, and federal grants, and also from the home and business owners themselves. After-all, these improvements will save them money in the long run!

But more importantly, this is a huge project that neighbors are doing with and for each other. It never ceases to amaze me how tremendous and seemingly impossible things can get done when people come together and decide to make it happen.

Has anyone noticed how much public art there is in Pittsburgh?  Even on some of the most random, out-of-the-way streets, I’ve managed to catch a glimpse of beautiful pieces done on the sides of buildings, intricate chalk-art on the sidewalk, or beautifully worked storefronts.  There’s been a lot of efforts in Pittsburgh throughout the years to sponsor public art, even graffiti art, but I have to admit that my favorites are the pieces that are on the verge of legality.  Some people call it vandalism, but I prefer the term guerrilla art.

It comes in many different varieties, but there’s just something about it that I find greatly inspiring, especially when there’s no ulterior motive other than to beautify an otherwise drab our downright ugly place.  Just think–there are people out there who are willing to risk prosecution just to make a place a little more beautiful.  It blows my mind.

Of course, a lot of guerrilla art is political, which, depending on which side you’re on, can either be really amazing or really annoying.  This brings me to the inspiration of today’s post: potholes.

As everyone in the city knows, tis’ pothole season.  I’m often amazed at how insanely huge some of them get, and also how slowly these obviously dangerous road hazards tend to get filled.  You’d think that after almost 3 centuries of existence, the city would have figured out a way to deal with them.  Yes…one would think that.

Well, on my way to the train stop this morning, I was surprised to see that someone had taken matters into their own hands.  There had been a crater-sized pothole on my street for months, and just the other day I had even pondered giving it a name since it was obviously going to be staying around for a while longer.  When I passed it today, however, in it’s place was a traffic cone, but not of the run-of-the-mill orange ones–instead, this one was a piece of art.  Full of abstract shapes and bright colors, it was truly a sight to see.  Further down the block I noticed a couple more, and the other people on the sidewalk were looking at them with similar interest.

What a fabulous idea!  Not only does it beautify an otherwise depressing site (streets so damaged that they are sometimes reminiscent of a war-zone), but it also brings these dangerous holes to the attention of drivers.

So, hats off to whoever put them up, and I hope it catches on!  And for the city workers who’ll eventually fill the holes, do everyone a favor and plop the cone on a hole that you know won’t be filled for a while.  Maybe we’ll even give it a name.