Tonka Train T

Pittsburgh is not a city that you think would have a good public transport system. Of all the places I have been in the world, I think Europe does it the best. I might say that Berlin is the most efficient city train system in the world. But Pittsburgh does have one. It's called the T and it's run by the Port Authority. I know, think what you want. Pittsburgh is 300 plus miles from the coast and it has a PORT!!! :) Anyway, the T reminds me of my friend's kids' train set. That train set is Swedish made and probably more sturdy too. The T is actually a trolley that goes about 5 feet between stops. It was built in the 1980's and shows it. 3 of the stops are downtown, underground... therefore, we can call it a subway!!!??? But my favorite thing is that the color scheme of the T looks like a mixture of dirt, cocoa and poop. The signing for the system looks like tonka pieces and you still buy tickets.

Where is Sir Toppum Hat?

More soon.

Another reason why...

I want to join the Foreign Service... cars will be the responsibility of the Automobile Pool and you wouldn't have to go through what I just went through in the past two days. About a week ago, my car started to rattle. I had some problems earlier with a hole in the muffler and went to company M looking for a fix. They fixed it for $100 and not much fuss. I took them back because I thought it was a problem that they may have not fixed too well. They said they didn't write up that there was any problem with the muffler and therefore there was no guarantee. Grrr. I had them look at it anyway because if I have any hope of passing emissions tests this year, I think I need a working muffler. They looked at it, had me look at it (like I had ANY idea what I was looking at.) Then they handed me a bill for $514 saying I needed an entire exhaust system. I was pretty upset because the car wasn't even making as much noise as the last time round. I called A and asked for his step-dad's number because he's a mechanic. The step-dad got on the phone and asked me what's wrong, talked with the mechanic and came back to me laughing. He basically said get out of there, they are trying to price gouge you. I did.

It was only this weekend that I got up to his house about an hour away. 2 days, a myriad of problems later, I have an inspected car and a spot in the poor-house. Hopefully not for long because my new job is starting on Monday!

More soon

A curious trend

So everyone, I've finally got steady employment here in Pittsburgh. I've actually got 3 jobs but they are all part time.

Job #1

Is at the University of Pittsburgh. It's at the University's Center for Social and Urban Research. I do the telephone interviews for the Center to collect data. I make about 100 calls in a four hour shift. Need I say more? I don't think I should bad mouth them too much though because I told them about job #3 today and they were very understanding. This job is very grant based... soooooo when the money runs out, there are no more hours. Let me tell you though, I definitely get some interesting conversations with the nutters out there in suburban Pittsburgh. for example (Why the hell you calling me? It's too hot to talk!)

Job #2

This job hasn't really panned out yet. It's down town in the golden triangle, in the same building as a friend of mine. It's at a international ESL and Translation firm. I've put my name on the list to work on a contractual basis as an ESL teacher and a Translator. I've filled out all of the paperwork, but I haven't heard anything yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that this pans out a little bit. It would be very interesting work.

Job #3

Is right around the corner from my house. IT'S AT THE APPLE STORE!!!! NEED I SAY MORE? :)

PS. I also passed my FOREIGN SERVICE EXAM!!!! Now I have to write my Personal Narratives and land a job in Nauru????

More soon

Hello from Pittsburgh

3 months in hiding and I put two posts up in one day. I'm going to start getting better at this. Last time I wrote you all, I was living in Philadelphia, teaching first grade and generally just miserable all around. Now I'm writing you from leafy Mt. Lebanon in Pittsburgh. I've been looking for jobs and been quite lucky now. I'm living with A now and generally enjoying myself. I'll admit for the first month I felt very lost. My career seemed like it was stopped. I felt like I just hit a brick wall. I didn't know that many people in Pittsburgh. Felt like I was just drifting and floating. I also felt like I've been forcing myself into someone else's house. But since then lots of stuff has gone right. I'll fill in more tomorrow. Until then, LET'S GO GERMANY

PS. I'm going to the Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh tomorrow to watch the game. Should be fun!

Cell Phones

I did something tonight for the first time ever. I was so fed up with my cell phone from all the phone calls I got today. I just couldn't carry on a conversation with anybody... so I turned my phone off!!!! Now let's see if I can just keep myself off of this too. But that might not work so well if I get a job that I have my sights on.... more soon.