The Blurgh

Between attending the opening of a new Artist’s Marketplace and having my yearly exam, it’s been a pretty full week. So I was glad that last night I attended the chillest author reading I’ve ever been to.

Magda Hausmann is one of the coolest young adult fiction writers out there. Her books are realistic and funny and really deal with the pitfalls of living life as a teenager. When any of the girls at the PWF ask me what they should read for their next book report, I usually come back with a Magda book that’s aimed at the 12-to-14 crowd. Thankfully, there are about a dozen to choose from - she’s pretty prolific.

Anyway, she is super laid-back and last night took questions from the audience as though we were all BFFs who just happened to run into each other at a cozy coffee shop. In response to a question about where she gets her ideas, she smiled broadly and said, “I look around. Everything is right there waiting for me to write about it.” And to another person who asked whether she was worried that her books dealt with themes that were too “adult” for teenagers, she raised her eyebrows. “Teenagers are mini-adults trying to come to terms with this thing we call the real world, right?” she said. “I try to write about as much adult stuff as I can, to help these people prepare and realize they’re not so alone in their struggles. They struggle. They struggle mightily. We should be helping them along the way.”

So super cool. I think my author-crush on her skyrocketed last night. I’m totally in love.

Oh, boy. Yesterday morning I headed down to the Midwife Center for my yearly well-woman exam - a great way to start the week, ladies, am I right?

(Side note: It’s kind of funny to me that just a few months ago when Frank convinced me to co-author this blog with him, I was a little skeptical of revealing anything about myself, and today I have no problem telling the world that I saw my gynecologist yesterday. My, how things change. Anyway…)

I love the women at the Midwife Center. It’s not just for pregnant women, but for women at all stages of life. I was examined by one of the new midwives there, Maria, and she is incredibly warm and funny. She even made me laugh while undergoing a pelvic exam - not exactly the easiest thing in the world.

Since she’d never seen me before, we discussed all the standard issue things. She asked me about birth control. I’ve actually not done so well with hormonal contraception in the past (hello, near-constant headache), but luckily for me, Frank has no problem taking his birth control pill everyday, so I don’t have to worry about it. She made sure I knew how to do a breast self-exam and all that fun stuff.

All in all, a pretty good visit. I left feeling happier than I’d felt when I arrived, which is definitely saying something about the quality of the Center!

Last night, I decided to be a patriotic Pittsburgher and meet my City Council member, Andrew Marsdale. He’s a relative newcomer - only elected a few years ago - but I like him a lot and he manages to do a lot of good for the Downtown area.

The meeting was held at a small café near my apartment and by the time I got there it was already full and Mr. Marsdale had already begun talking about the work he’s been doing on City Council. He’s particularly interested in the high-speed rail initiative that Students for a Sustainable Pittsburgh has been pushing for, so he talked about that a lot. Basically, he’s excited for it, and so are the mayor and a few other council members, but there are still some voices on the council who don’t see the importance of the tri-state rail system for Pittsburgh. They think that other cities in the area should take care of it.

But Marsdale disagrees. He thinks that the city of Pittsburgh is one of the foremost leaders in the region, and that while of course we need to reach out to other major cities, we should be taking the lead in developing this project. Most of the constituents who were there agreed.

Afterwards, he answered a few questions from people. I didn’t get a chance to ask him about anything, but I was pleasantly surprised that he praised the work the Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation is doing with girls in the public school system. Not bad when your council person recognizes your organization for being so awesome!

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.

The wind saws at my legs as I pull my winter coat close around my body. This is one of the few disadvantages of living downtown - the wind tunnels caused by the tall buildings. One of these days I’m going to blow away.

I hurriedly press on toward the Wood Street station, eager to descend the stairs and bask in the relative warmth below. Once I reach the platform, an unusual sight greets me. A dozen Amish women and several young Amish girls are patiently waiting for the next train to arrive.

When the yellow line train pulls into the station, I get onto the same car as the women and sit down close to them. I wonder where they’re going, what business they have in the city today. I am intrigued by their simple life and wonder what I would be life if I lived in the country with my small community, rather than this imposing city and its thousands of strangers. Would I enjoy the simplicity of it? Would the silence drive me insane? Would I wonder what my life would be like if I lived in the city?

We arrive at my stop and I walk past the women and their children. One small girl in a long blue dress gives me a shy smile. I give one, shyly, in return.

Happy new year to everyone! Here’s hoping that 2028 will be the best year ever. Regular posting resumes tomorrow, after we stuff ourselves silly with pork roast, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.

Gretchen and I will be occupied with holiday festivities until the 26th–Happy Holidays!

Last night, some friends were over at our apartment, eating cookies and laughing at our cats trying to bat ornaments off of our Christmas tree, when someone suggested that we go ice skating over at PPG Place. I love ice skating there - it’s so cool to be in the middle of a city with all the skyscrapers and seeing everything reflect off the glass of the PPG buildings and watching families circle the big tree in the center. We immediately finished our cookies, bundled up and set out for the rink.

As we walked, we passed the small businesses in Market Square and admired their window decorations and stopped in a few of the stores to buy presents for people. Frank bought a toy food set for his younger cousin that included traditional Pittsburgh foods, like pierogies and kielbasa, at a store that only sells toys made by artists from Western PA. We popped into Jay’s Bookshelf (a new branch of the Jay’s Bookstall that’s been operating forever in Oakland) so that a couple people could buy books for people on their lists. And of course, no trip to Market Square would be complete without a quick stop in Chocolatiers, this small chocolate shop that opened a few years ago. The owners are immigrants from South America who import chocolate from around the world and make their own creations from all the different kinds they have.

After these little excursions, we arrived at the rink and rented our skates. I even managed to get Frank in a pair of skates and I think he even enjoyed skating (although I’m sure he’d deny it - he’s not the world’s biggest ice skating fan). All in all, a lovely December Pittsburgh afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon at the Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation was freaking adorable. I was in charge of helping the girls I work with make Christmas cards for their families. Red and green and white construction paper, fancy white-ink markers, and silver and gold glitter everywhere. (Seriously. Everywhere. I rode the yellow line home and when I got up to get off the train at Wood Street, I left a trail of glitter behind me like Hansel and Gretel.)

The effort the girls put into making their cards was admirable and the messages they wrote were just too sweet. Angie cut out about fifty gingerbread men and glued them to the front of her card. Inside she wrote “Mom, Merry Christmas. I am so happy that of all the moms in the world you are the best mom and you belong to me!” Madison made her card in the form of a snowflake and of course covered it in silver glitter. She made it for her older sister and wrote “I love you, even though sometimes we fight, but we always make up because we’re sisters and we can always work things out!” And Shante put a big red heart on the front of her card and decided to give it to her grandparents, writing “Grandma and Grandpa, you are so cool it’s a good thing it’s winter and you can be cool all season long! (But you’re cool in the summer too.)”

I was so happy that they were getting along and helping each other. We’ve come a long way since this creative writing program started a few months ago and we’ve hit some rough patches. But seeing them giggle and be creative together yesterday really (at the risk of getting too mushy) warmed my heart and put me in the true Christmas spirit.

A few readers have pointed out to me that in my bio on the About Us page I mentioned participating in Pittsburgh Promise and doing a Pittsburgh Service Year, but I never elaborated on it in a post. With Pittsburgh Promise, there’s not a whole lot to tell–I went to Pittsburgh Public Schools and did well, so when I graduated I got a nice scholarship to cover part of my tuition at Pitt. It’s a great program, and one that made a big difference when my parents were planning their move back to Pittsburgh (or so they tell me).

There are a few more details, however, around getting involved with Pittsburgh Service Year. Like many kids who are nearing their final year or two of high school, I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to go to college. In fact, I think the only thing I was sure of was that I was sick of high school and couldn’t wait until I could legally drink. Oh those heady, idealistic times…

Just a few years before that, a number of organizations came together to create a program called Pittsburgh Service Year, which was modeled after other programs like City Year. It was a program for anyone between the ages of 18-24 who was interested in spending a year volunteering at local non-profits, hospitals, schools, or, later, for specific projects sponsored by the city. The program would pay a small stipend to the participant to cover living costs (very MODEST living costs), and after the year was up, there would be a bright shining star to put on a college application or resume.

Anyway, they were doing some tabling in the lunchroom of my school, so I decided to stop and look at the information they had. I asked the person about about the different areas I could volunteer in, which were the popular ones, which were the hardest, blah blah blah. Nothing caught my attention until she told me about a new project coming up sponsored by the city which involved working with the Public Works department. For some reason it seemed really interesting, so I decided to apply right then and there. That was no doubt one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life thus far.

I learned so much that year about all kinds of things, some of them practical, some ridiculous. For example, I could tell you all about the many “paper streets” in the South Side, including when they were first built and why. I can also tell you that I never, ever want anything to do with animal control. Most importantly, though, I learned that Pittsburgh is made up of many different communities, each with its own unique character, but that they are all filled with some of the best people I’ve ever met.

In retrospect, I think going through that program is what made me really want to study history. I’m still very close friends with a lot of the people I met there, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.