The Blurgh

Today I’m going to post more writing that I did when I was a college undergrad, seeing as how I had my wisdom teeth removed a few days ago and I’m still feeling rather sore and out-of-it. This piece was written when I was a sophomore and it’s part of a larger essay about my father - namely, the fact that he hasn’t been a part of my life since I was about seven years old.

It’s after the jump.

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I got a call from my brother today. He went to college in DC and stayed there after graduating three years ago. When I answered my phone, I could practically feel his excitement coursing through my veins. Turns out, he got a new job. Previously he had been working as a program associate at a nonprofit in DC that deals with poverty issues in the district. Now he’ll be working in a job that’s somewhat similar to his old one, but at a large corporation.

“Wow! Why the switch?” I asked. “I thought you loved, you know, working on the poverty stuff.”

“Yeah,” he replied, “but this is just such a better fit. I’ll be doing a lot of the same types of things I was doing there, but for a lot more money, which is definitely nice.”

Later, when I ran this exchange by Frank, he didn’t seem too surprised. He has a cousin who used to work for a nonprofit in Philadelphia but switched jobs because her salary was way too low for her to even get by in the city.

It really got me thinking about my job. As you know, I work for a nonprofit - and a relatively new one at that. My salary is by no means exponential, but it’s fine. And I’m not the only one in the city in this situation. Plenty of people I went to college with now work for small nonprofits throughout the city. When the tech firms started moving in a few decades ago, they brought with them more money to be spent on charitable efforts. They also caused salaries at nonprofits to increase a bit in tandem with the increasing salaries being earned by those working in the technological industry.

Thanks to all this, I can live comfortably on my entry-level salary at the Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation. Frank and I can afford to live in our pretty cozy digs downtown while still managing to save money to buy a house at some point later on. We never have to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries. Living together helps keep our costs down, but my brother had been living with three of his college friends in DC and he still felt he wasn’t making enough money. The phone call from him today really made me understand how lucky I am to be living in a city with a low cost of living while still working at a job I really love.

Also - sorry for not posting the past few days! I’ve been sick with a gross bronchitis/sinus infection thing and Frank has been taking very good care of me. We’re hoping to be posting on our regular schedule for the rest of the week and into next.

Sorry for the lack of posting during the last week, Gretchen and I have been busy entertaining family. We convinced everyone to meet in Pittsburgh like we did over Thanksgiving, although it was a little more difficult this time around because the Florida and California family were scared of the snow! The big event was held at my parents’ house, and it went really well. It really was big, too–besides immediate family, a good chunk of both of our extended families came to town.

On Christmas Eve, we all went down to the Strip for the annual activities. Most of the extended family that came hadn’t been in Pittsburgh for decades, and they were amazed at all the differences. They really enjoyed taking the train to different places, and they kept commenting on how they don’t remember seeing so many people out, especially so many families with young children. The Strip was a madhouse, but everyone there was in such a good mood that it felt more like a party. There were a couple people playing music in the streets, including a guy playing an accordian, and Gretchen and I had a little fun and started polka-ing. After a little bit a few more couples joined us, and our families started snapping a crapload of pictures, many of which I’m sure will embarrass!

One thing about getting together with family is that you get the inevitable questions on what you’re doing with your life. I’ve always hated those, but now that I’m a senior, the questions seemed a little more pointed. When I’d try to give the old answers of, “Oh, I’m not sure, maybe I’ll go on to grad school,” they just didn’t seem good enough, and I guess when it comes down to it, they really aren’t. I’ve been trying not to freak out about graduating, but it’s starting…what the hell am I going to do? I feel like I should have a good idea of what I want to do if I’d go to grad school, and even if I did want to apply for next fall, I’m already late. I hope having a few days off to think about it before the semester starts will help.

Today, I’m sharing some of the writing I did when I was still a lowly college undergrad (as opposed to now, when I’m a lowly entry-level professional). The piece I’m sharing was written during my senior year of college for a class that focused on reading your work to an audience. I read it once or twice then decided to go with another piece for the class, but I always kept it in the back of my mind, hoping that one day I’d come back to it. I haven’t, yet, but oh well.

It’s after the jump.

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Gretchen and I decided to be a little adventurous this Thanksgiving and do something we’ve never done before–have both of our families over to our place. Not only was it the first time our families did Thanksgiving together, but it was also the most people we’ve ever cooked dinner for. My parents volunteered to make dessert at their house and bring it over, which helped a lot, and Gretchen’s family helped us a lot with the turkey and stuffing. It got a little cozy in our one-bedroom apartment, but in the end it was a great time.

Gretchen’s parents flew up on Tuesday, and if it weren’t for the yellow line, we would have been stuck on the Parkway for over an hour. Instead, we caught one of the express trains and arrived only a few blocks from our place downtown in less than 20 minutes. Gretchen’s parents still get a kick out of taking the train…it’s cute.

Today we’re planning on heading to the Strip to enjoy the sights. About 10 years ago the business owners in the Strip and Lawrenceville came together to organize “Black Friday on Penn & Butler,” which is a several mile-long street festival going from the Strip all the way through 60th street open only to pedestrian traffic. Besides the shopping, there are tons of street performers, great restaurants, games and other assorted ridiculousness.

My grandma is especially looking forward to it, and she promised me that she will FINALLY try a sandwich at Primanti’s–somehow she’s managed to live in Pittsburgh for almost 50 years and she’s never been there, which has to be a record. I’ll let you know what she thinks!

My mom and stepdad visited this weekend. After I graduated from high school in New Wilmington, they told me that they were planning on moving to Florida to join the rest of my family which has migrated down there, and by the time I finished college they had bought a house down the block from my grandparents. But they come back to good old PA every once in awhile to visit, and it doesn’t hurt that I have a free place to stay when I want to be a beach bum.

Every time they visit, they can’t believe all the things that have changed in Pittsburgh. When my mom graduated from college, back in 2000, young people were leaving the city in droves. They couldn’t find good jobs to keep them here, so they left for bigger cities like DC and New York. But this weekend my mom asked me where all my friends were moving to, and I could only think of one person - a friend of mine from college who’s moving to New York to go to grad school. Everyone else has stayed here. Sure, a few of them are continuing their educations, like my best friend Andi, who’s in law school at Pitt, but most of them have found good, stable jobs and are saving up to buy a house.

I think the work of organizations like Students for a Sustainable Pittsburgh and the progressive politics that have been on the upswing the past few years are mostly to thank for these changes. I’m glad that I don’t have to leave the region I grew up in to find a job that’s meaningful and pays reasonably well. I hope to never have to leave this place - although if I ever decide that hurricanes, bugs the size of small animals, and gaudy tourist attractions galore are for me, my mom has assured me I’m always welcome in Florida.

So, Frank convinced me that I was missing out on the elation that comes from pouring your soul out on the Internet for all the world to read and I agreed to write on here and see what all the fuss is. I’m not usually this much of an exhibitionist, so we’ll see how this plays out.

I’m Gretchen. I’m a writer. Currently I’m working on my first novel (more on that later). Appropriately, I double majored in creative writing and women’s studies at Carlow. I work at a feminist organization in Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation, which does many things such as awarding grants to women interested in starting their own non-profits and forming local sports teams for middle school and high school girls who don’t have access to the sports they want to play in their schools. My job there is to work with elementary school girls who love to write – write stories, poems, plays, songs, whatever – and help them develop their skills. It’s pretty much the greatest job on earth.

I am originally from New Wilmington, PA, and I love western PA and Pittsburgh. Love love love them. I’m so happy Pittsburgh has grown into the city it’s become. My family is migrating to Florida (my parents just moved down there last year), which I hate, but oh well. As for a significant other? That would be Frank. We live together in a cute little apartment downtown and spoil our two cats to death.

I think that’s about all you need to know about me right now. I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as Frank and I have enjoyed creating it!