(no subject)
I don't know when I wrote this but it was saved as something I didn't get to post, and it isn't finished but fiured I should post it in order to get it over with. I will start posting again afterwards....
I know I said I was going to start posting more and then I didn't. I suppose that makes me a liar.
Things are pretty good in Pittsburgh, it's been cold here and hasn't stopped snowing for weeks now, though it hasn't accumulated. Actually, yesterday it stopped and then accumulated. I rode my bike into (unpaid) work, essentially a 12 mile uphill ride (well its rolling hills, positioned with enough turns so that each ride feel entirely uphill), taking advantage of what seemed to be a beautiful, promising grey chilly day. At the top of the last hill, I saw a few snowflakes, the very tiny ones. I've learned to not pay much attention here, because there is ash in the sky every day that often looks like a light snow. But as I rode down into the valley where my work is, in the neighborhood Mt. Washington, it started coming down heavier. Turned into essentially a blizzard. What was I to do but ride home in it? I ain't no baby! So i took the coward's route and rode the sidewalk down the real big, long, steep hill, McArdle, because I wasn't sure how icy the roads were going to be. Also my brakes don't do so well when they are wet and I couldn't see well because of all the snow, and the road is sort of falling apart since it is in this lovely city. The rest of the ride home was delightful. Evan gave me a new pair of gloves that are waterproof and windproof, which helped a lot once I started pedaling (I walked up the first home-bound uphill because it was too steep w/ the ice, and then riding down the first hill was all brakes). I also brought my rain gear just in case, which helped with the wind, and am a pro at layering. In fact, putting the laundry away, I realized I have more clothes for cycling than I do for work or even for hanging out. Though I do have a lot of tshirts.
Things between Evan and I have been better. Things still get a bit rocky at times, mainly on my part because being in a relationship is still something I am skeptical about, but he's held up his end of the bargain and has been a great friend and person to share my life with, and fairly regularly he does something to remind me of that, of why I both love him and like him.
However, I have still been restless staying in Pittsburgh. I know, most of you think that's crazy. I get to visit MA once a year, FL once a year, last year I went to Mexico and the year before that was Trinidad and Tobago. But still, the prospect of staying here forever and never getting to leave is frightening. We've bought a car! And soon I will have student loans, and immediately I have $2,000 to pay for next semester and he needs a cap on his tooth after a root canal. So I might have to get a real job, which will mean having to stay in Pittsburgh for a while. It isn't a bad place to be marooned, but the idea of being chained up anywhere makes me claustrophobic. I've started up a dialogue with my friend Nick about teaching ESL to people overseas, especially eastern Europe. I really like that idea but it costs money to take the class. I am considering doing it here for Americorps so they can teach me how to do it and also pay for part of my student loans, and then take that knowledge overseas with me...
I know I said I was going to start posting more and then I didn't. I suppose that makes me a liar.
Things are pretty good in Pittsburgh, it's been cold here and hasn't stopped snowing for weeks now, though it hasn't accumulated. Actually, yesterday it stopped and then accumulated. I rode my bike into (unpaid) work, essentially a 12 mile uphill ride (well its rolling hills, positioned with enough turns so that each ride feel entirely uphill), taking advantage of what seemed to be a beautiful, promising grey chilly day. At the top of the last hill, I saw a few snowflakes, the very tiny ones. I've learned to not pay much attention here, because there is ash in the sky every day that often looks like a light snow. But as I rode down into the valley where my work is, in the neighborhood Mt. Washington, it started coming down heavier. Turned into essentially a blizzard. What was I to do but ride home in it? I ain't no baby! So i took the coward's route and rode the sidewalk down the real big, long, steep hill, McArdle, because I wasn't sure how icy the roads were going to be. Also my brakes don't do so well when they are wet and I couldn't see well because of all the snow, and the road is sort of falling apart since it is in this lovely city. The rest of the ride home was delightful. Evan gave me a new pair of gloves that are waterproof and windproof, which helped a lot once I started pedaling (I walked up the first home-bound uphill because it was too steep w/ the ice, and then riding down the first hill was all brakes). I also brought my rain gear just in case, which helped with the wind, and am a pro at layering. In fact, putting the laundry away, I realized I have more clothes for cycling than I do for work or even for hanging out. Though I do have a lot of tshirts.
Things between Evan and I have been better. Things still get a bit rocky at times, mainly on my part because being in a relationship is still something I am skeptical about, but he's held up his end of the bargain and has been a great friend and person to share my life with, and fairly regularly he does something to remind me of that, of why I both love him and like him.
However, I have still been restless staying in Pittsburgh. I know, most of you think that's crazy. I get to visit MA once a year, FL once a year, last year I went to Mexico and the year before that was Trinidad and Tobago. But still, the prospect of staying here forever and never getting to leave is frightening. We've bought a car! And soon I will have student loans, and immediately I have $2,000 to pay for next semester and he needs a cap on his tooth after a root canal. So I might have to get a real job, which will mean having to stay in Pittsburgh for a while. It isn't a bad place to be marooned, but the idea of being chained up anywhere makes me claustrophobic. I've started up a dialogue with my friend Nick about teaching ESL to people overseas, especially eastern Europe. I really like that idea but it costs money to take the class. I am considering doing it here for Americorps so they can teach me how to do it and also pay for part of my student loans, and then take that knowledge overseas with me...