#228

We moved!

I still really like our new place but totally lack all motivation to unpack.

I'll update later with pictures once we get our own internet. This connection keeps cutting out for me.

Ciao!

#226

I talked to someone today who's only experience with MI was a visit to Owosso. He seemed amazed that it was 2 blocks of houses and then just fields and silos. And it was so flat. It made me chuckle.

Tonight I was thinking about how I used to spend my summers working with people who were so thankful for their very first toothbrush or how they would ask for another tube of toothpaste because they couldn't afford it at the store. Now I work with spoiled entitled people who think they deserve everything in the world while treating others horribly. Oh what a difference!

The moving day is almost here. My mom, dad and Bubba are heading out on Thursday. I am really, really excited to spend the weekend with them. But I'm also sad that Woie and Harpo wont be making the journey.

Buddy moved out on Sunday. She didn't really say goodbye and thought I was weird for being a bit emotional about her leaving. I don't know. Sure we weren't super close over the year but I got used to her being around. And I know it wont be the last time I see her, but her leaving really signified an end to me for some weird reason. I didn't really learn anything new about her this last year nor do I understand her any better. However, I think we had some good times.

This is my new favorite drink this summer. I can't get enough of it.

#185

BART, BART's bf and I went back to look at the apartment we checked out on Monday. It was still just as cute as before. We got a chance to talk to the landlord who would be living in the downstairs apartment. He was really cool. Had some nice things to say about MI which around here is very rare. Anyway, he is e-mailing us a lease and we'll send in a deposit and VOILA! a place to live next year. It was a lot easier this year than last year (but its still not for sure yet so now I'm all paranoid something wont work out because that is just how I roll). I was going to post some pictures but all my energy just went away so later...

#184

Long time. No post. Lets see...

I tried to post from my new iPod but for some reason it wasn't working. My parents got me an iPod touch for my birthday. So far it is awesome and I love it. I'm thinking of naming it Sully but I'm not sure yet. I'm taking Baby!Bro's advice to spend a few days with it before deciding for sure. 

Flying to Michigan and back to Pittsburgh was just a huge headache. It was just a big bummer.

Turns out I don't have to work friday. One of my BFF volunteered to work it so I wouldn't have to which is sooooo nice of her. So now I have this whole day off and absolutely no idea what to do with it. I will probably just end up bumming around the house but maybe I will think of something to do.

BART and I think we have found a place to live next year. I don't want to jinx it because I love it so so much but I will say it brings back fond memories of our Amsterdam hostel. Oh good times.

#182

Hi world!

I do not like the ad at the top of my blog. I'm sure its encoded in the html and I'm sure if I spent enough time messing around with it, I could delete it. But I haven't really had time or energy lately to do that. I just wanted you guys to know that I don't like nor do I want it there.

My Anthropologie dress finally made it to my house. It only took an additional week because someone confused a 2 for a 1 when looking at the zip code. But ya know, I didn't have to make one phone call to get the whole situation corrected so I'm not going to complain. The dress was sorta heavy when I pulled it out of the box but once I put it on, it was pretty comfy. Now I just need to find a bra to wear with it because it was obviously designed by a man who did not think about this problem. 

BART bought us a new shower curtain. Its super cute with a bunch of vertical stripes. I searched all over the Target website to find it but I can't. I would take a picture but that seems like a lot of work at the moment so maybe next time?

Another girl I knew from high school had a baby yesterday. I guess we are just in the age group where more and more people will be having babies or getting married. I don't know but to me, it seems like we just graduated from high school. It really does. 

#140

I need a new hobby. On my days off, I am so bored. I've actually been keeping my room clean. Its so weird. 

Two nights ago, PGH was hit with an ice storm. The sidewalks and streets were coated in about 3 inches of ice. It made walking to work a bit difficult but not impossible. It was really funny to see Buddy shuffle down the sidewalk and fling herself onto the light pole to stop herself from catapulting into traffic.

Lately, I've been thinking about just painting my room. When we first moved here, I was all for it. But then it didn't happen right away and I thought well we're moving in August what's the point? However, the white as I had mentioned earlier, is closing in on me. I think it has something to do with all the white inside the house and then when I look outside all I see is white too. I just I need some COLOR. 

My latest inspiration has been Carrie's apartment from the SATC movie.

I love the wall color, the blue. I think it would go well with the gray and pink scheme I have going on now. I don't even care for pink that much but somehow it has invaded my life in the last few months: cell phone, camera, sheets, shoe rack. Its everywhere. Which is really funny because as I child I did not like the color and it drove my mother insane. Anyway, that wall color or something like it. And then maybe one of these wall stickers that Pomme suggested. Like the chandelier:

 

Or maybe just a bunch of different size black picture frames filled with pictures of y'all? Or those B&W posters I already have? Hmmm...so many options. What do you think?

#139

I need some help. Now that my room is clean I can clearly see this white wall. Its opposite my bed so I stare at it a lot. I was going to put up those B&W posters but its just too much white. So what is a cheap way to get some color up on the wall? I don't want to do another tapestry. I was thinking maybe a bunch of picture frames? But I know you guys are all way more artistic than me and would have wonderful ideas!

#136

My mom came into town this weekend. We hung out, ate at some cool restaurants, saw some movies and shopped. Oh boy did we shop! My mom is handling me moving out by buying me stuff for my new life. I tried to tell her I didn't need all this stuff but she insisted and it quickly became a moot point. So I get all excited because really who doesn't like new stuff? 

But my high quickly comes crashing down when I get home and all Buddy can say is 'where are we going to put all of this?, do we need it? why does your mom buy you stuff?' I can't help it if my parents like me. What am I supposed to do? Reject the presents because for the next 8 months I am living with her? I mean eventually (and not soon enough) I will no longer be living with her and I will need plates and pots and pans.

I guess it all boils down to this. I am no longer in school. This is my real life now. Michigan no longer feels like home. I realized this during Christmas break. It threw me for a huge loop. I didn't know how to feel or talk about it. Pittsburgh is my future right now. Sure it may change along the way but I'm okay with that. I want all my possessions in one place, one city, one state. I don't think its unreasonable request. Its been almost 5 years of living in 2 different locations. Its exhausting. I don't see how it affects Buddy or her parents. I want my apartment to feel like MY apartment not my dorm room that I have to vacate during school breaks. I want pictures on the wall and comfy furniture and dinner parties! This is the first time in a long time I am living somewhere with no expiration date. I always knew at AQ that come the first week of May I would be moving back home and come August I would return to AQ. France was only for a few months. 

But Pittsburgh, its until I want to leave and that is a bizarrely wonderful feeling. 

#118

I'm a bit annoyed.

You know when you wake up and you have a clear plan for your day. Everything is laid out in front of you and you know exactly what you are going to do.

Twice I have experienced that this week. And twice Buddy has screwed it all up. On Wednesday, she ate the remainder of my Thanksgiving leftovers. I only eat the cheesy broccoli casserole and stuffing as leftovers, the only two things. We had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, rolls, gravy, whiskey carrots all left over but she had to eat the ones I wanted.

Then, this morning I was going to do laundry and clean my room in preparation for Pomme's visit tomorrow. But no not even waking up at 9 in the morning on a Saturday was early enough. She has the washer and dryer occupied and loads of laundry all over the basement.

Its just frustrating. And I know she probably didn't do any of this intentionally. But it just annoys me. She only goes to work and school. She doesn't go out at night or out to eat with friends. All her time is spent on the futon in the living room. Seriously, I'm not joking. Ask BART.

Oh and she threw out the coffee I had in the pot. Didn't ask me just threw it out and when I asked her about it she told me I was more than welcome to make more. More of my own coffee that I purchased with my own money in the coffee pot I own with the filters I bought. Gosh, isn't she generous?

#113

BART and I just got done with an impromptu dance marathon to "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Sure, its not Thanksgiving yet but its snowing and cold and the holiday season is almost here. Anyway, we invited Buddy in to dance with us. Instead of joining the fun, she screamed that it wasn't Christmas yet and slammed BART's door and then slammed her door. 

I don't get her. 

We were just trying to be nice and friendly. It was only one song, a dance party.

ETA: This cracks me up!

Create free ringtones at Phonezoo

#84

I know you guys just left and I had so much fun this weekend. But now I'm kinda sad and in a funk. Its very weird. Its not homesickness. Its like not being with my friends-sickness. 

blah, blah, blah

ETA: Here are some pictures of our new walls!!! Aren't they pretty?

#73

I just bought my plane ticket home!!! Its official: October 2-October 5 = me in MI! I'm totally excited to see you all and my dog. Okay, mostly the dog because no matter how hard I worked with him this summer he still can't write or talk and Skype totally creeps him out. 

My mom called the other day to tell me that my great aunt and uncle out here in PA were not doing well i.e. coma and dementia. But today when I talked with home, they had woken up from the coma, recovered enough to be moved to a nursing home and talk on the phone. 

I just realized my next birthday I will be 23 which is 2 years away from 25. Umm...where the hell has the time gone? 

We (well me and BART) have picked colors to paint the downstairs of Quarterlife. The dining room shall be a yellow like goldenrod. The living room shall be a cranberryesque color. After picking these colors, I realized that I inadvertently used the candle I received for directing Its A Wonderful Life: The Musical! as inspiration. Scary but I feel the person who gave me the candle would approve.

#71

I am watching the VMAs right now and they are horrible. Though the highlights include: Britney's opening, Britney winning her very first moonman and thanking me her fan, Christina's performing and oh Jordin Sparks' outburst about promise rings. During the commercials, they are running random facts and Kid Rock performed with Run-DMC 9! years ago. I clearly remember that performance and OMG! it has been almost a decade.

Oh and also Buddy is KILLING ME! I swear she thinks me and BART are idiots. Without her guidance, we probably couldn't get dressed in the morning or feed ourselves. She reminds us about the stupidest things like 'Don't stab yourself in the eye with the pointy end of a screwdriver.' GEEzus, why does she even bother? OR she patronizes us about our music tastes because they aren't nearly as cool as her sad, fiddle, yoddling artists that you've never heard of and never will but that only makes it that MUCH BETTER THAN YOU! Oh, she constantly needs to be near me. I sit on the couch she sits right next to me OR leans on the couch behind me so that I can feel her breath! Tonight, I purposely sat in the chair to avoid this AND she came over at sat at my feet. I cannot get away from her. Its so creepy

#65

I realize I never truly introduced the roommates to you all so that is the mission for this post.

Roomie #1 or as I shall now call her 'Buddy'. I've known Buddy the longest out of the two. We grew up together and are both attending Pitt for our MLIS. She's doing the general program so we only have 1 class together. We've never be really close but more like friends because we had so much in common and it was just easier to be friends. I'm not going to lie. Its causing a bit of a problem since moving. She worries a lot more than I do and this gets on my nerves. I have one mom, I don't really need nor want another. But I'm hoping to come out of this whole experience with a umm not closer or deeper but maybe a more meaningful friendship? I don't really know how to explain it.

Roomie #2 or 'BART' is a sorority sister of Buddy. I met her during our first trip out her to look for housing. We clicked that very first day and its been fun getting to know her ever since. She has introduced me to Gossip Girl (Omg, we have missed out on the best guiltiest pleasure, ever!) and I showed her the wonder that is OnNoTheyDidnt. I think she is going to be a fun person to explore Pittsburgh with and an awesome support system.

#61

When we got to the apartment/townhouse on Saturday, we discovered it was filthy! like so disgusting that the previous people probably never cleaned. We spent most of our time moving furniture from the van across 3 lanes of traffic and scrubbing walls. It was an interesting weekend. I was able to get the bedroom I wanted despite one roommate expressing disbelief that my furniture would fit in it. But it did and in fact I've got some space left over, maybe for a comfy chair or something, as my room has become the hang out spot upstairs. We really don't spend much time downstairs yet but I am thinking that might change as the year progresses. Its starting to feel more like home but I haven't put anything up on the walls yet because I want to paint. So all the white is driving me slightly crazy. 

I went and got my Panther Card on Monday. Its my student ID, bus pass, debit card all rolled into one. I'm so not at AQ anymore. It was very surreal to take the bus downtown and get off among skyscrapers to get to my college. It was HUGE! I kinda loved it.

Yesterday, I went with a new roomie to the doctors where we discovered she has mono. It made me giggle. It made the 3rd roommate freak out and move her toothbrush. I think that sums up our attitudes towards everything. 

#59

I am so tired. 

In the last 24 hours, I have flown home from Orlando, loaded a moving van, driven to Pittsburgh, unloaded moving van and am officially in my very first apartment.

Its weird and strange. I am freaked out. I think everything is going to work out though but I still want to go home.

#55

Things that have happened since I last posted:

1. I went to Lansing to hang out with Pomme, MMM, and we shall name her Aussie. MMM rode Wylde Thang and there was a tribute to our soldiers overseas at the bar. Its an evening I wont soon forget.
2. I went to the Rose Watson Banquet. While I got to sit with Toi, Toi's Lil Sis, and new Pitt roomie, the best person at our table was this college sophomore who went to CMU who KNEW EVERYTHING. Oh, those were good times. He wants to join ROTC just to ride a helicopter once and he feels that high school friends can never live together at college. Oh, if only he knew.
3. I went to an election party for my dad's boss. He won his race but my dad's other friend, the sheriff, lost. That was a bummer. But the best thing I learned at the party was a former coworker who left to go work at another office, had an affair with his boss there, then used the affair against her when he ran against her in an election, lost his race last night. Thats some good drama. 
4. I signed my very first lease. It is beyond bizarre. I am officially moving August 16th. It seems way too soon and weird. 

#53

I made, well my mom made, my first purchase for the new apartment:

Its a tapestry and I plan on using it in my bedroom. We're allowed to paint our walls and in fact our landlord was like 'all the other units have paint on the walls, this is so boring'. So I was thinking about painting one wall that hot pink color and the rest of the walls the gray color. Then I was going to hang the tapestry on the pink wall and center my bed beneath it. But I don't know which of the 3 bedrooms will be mine yet. So who knows?

Also, I need some opinions. It seems that no one has any opinion about what bedroom they would like. Yes, It seems that I have found people just as indecisive as we are. So if no one else is going to pick, I will. But I need some help. Should I pick (1) the largest bedroom that did suffer some water damage but has been fully repaired and shares a wall with the bathroom and the neighbors? (2) the medium sized one that shares walls with our next door neighbors and both the other bedrooms? (3) or the slightly smaller than #2 bedroom? I kind of wanted bedroom #2 but as my mother pointed if the neighbors are having sex all night I'll have to listen to it all night. So now I'm not sure, hmmm.

#51

Ok, I had this long entry all wrote at that I worked on all day but then I read it and was like 'WTF! Moi, you wrote this and you know you are rambling.' So I started all over.
First: Look! a handy dandy map so to help you understand the random neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

Pitt is located in Oakland and Duquesne (the school my one roommate is going to) is Downtown. We looked in Oakland (too expensive), Shadyside (too yuppie), Lawrenceville (too far away) and Point Breeze (too dangerous). But we finally ended up in Squirrel Hill (ahh just right!). 

 

Squirrel Hill is known as the old Jewish neighborhood which is kind of weird since the Jewish faith is still very prevalent there. There are beautiful synagogues, community centers and kosher grocery stores everywhere. I'll be living right by the intersection of Beacon and Murray. Murray is an awesome street that literally has everything I'll ever need. Panera, Barnes & Noble and Starbucks are all right around the corner. Interspersed between those chains are various local ethnic restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques and CUPCAKE BAKERIES. 

But really the best part of the neighborhood is one of its residents:

Mr. Rogers!!!!

Well he no longer lives there on account of being dead and all. But there are plans to unveil a statue of him and I've hear they have such days as 'Wont You Wear A Sweater?' What else could I possibly want in a neighborhood?