Pittsburgh, continued

I lived in Pittsburgh (the 'burgh, Picksburg, PGH) from October of 1997 until December of 1998. The resaons why I lived in Pittsburgh are irrelevant at this time: let's just say that it involved a woman and leave it there. I lived near the top of a hill in Swissvale, a neighborhood on the east side of town. The parking lot of my apartment complex was on a very steep incline and my apartment was right on the corner of the building, the first one you would come to as you entered the complex. In fact, if a car were to lose control down the hill while entering the complex, my bedroom would have been the first thing they would have hit.

My friend John's apartment is in Regent Square, about three miles down the road from where I used to live. He works in the same shopping plaza where I used to buy my groceries at the Giant Eagle (pronounced Jahnt Iggel) and in the building where the Blockbuster used to be (apparently, the locals also refer to it this way).

In the other direction from his apartment less than a mile away is the improv comedy troupe/children's theatre I worked with. I was really more interested in the Friday night shows for the adults than the Saturday matinees for the kiddies. However, the one children's production I did do was Alice in Wonderland as either Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee. My opposite was about 8 inches shorter than me, 50 pounds lighter than me and with a bushy mustache, which pretty much killed the whole "twins" thing the Tweedles are generally going for. I only worked with the improv troupe for about four months. The first show I did was about 90 minutes and hysterically funny; the last show was well over two hours and dreadful. I sensed that things were starting to go the wrong direction and bowed out.

The theatre shared office space with an indoor playground, complete with a room full of plastic balls to jump in. I used to jump into the balls on rehearsal breaks until my friend Mollie pointed out to me that children with runny noses and less-than-perfect bladder control had been occupying the same space a few hours previously. I never found the ball room quite as relaxing after that.

Next door to the theatre was a food co-op where we would go for the least junky junk food in town on break. But just down the block was a 24-hour train-car diner with decidedly less wholesome fare. Scrambled eggs, homefries and various shades of breakfast meat stood out to me on their menu. If they served anything else, I'm pretty sure I never tried it. I spent many nights after rehearsal or just nights when I couldn't sleep in their booths that were just the perfect size for you and three close friends - not a lot of elbow room, but you didn't mind - to huddle over the one ashtray, drink your midnight coffee and talk about that evening's rehearsal.

To the east of Pittsburgh along I-376 and US-22 sits the stripmall town of Monroeville. When I first moved here I worked as a server at TGI Friday's. I had worked at the Friday's on Indianapolis' north side just prior to my move and transferred out here. However, I quickly found out that there just was not enough money to be made in Pittsburgh at a casual dining eatery with junk stapled to the walls. A typical lunch shift would net me about three tables and $20. I quickly decided to search for other employment when I noticed that Music-Go-Round was hiring across the street.

Music-Go-Round is a franchise that specializes in selling used musical instruments and gear. Paul, the owner, was a great boss to work for, and I was actually using knowledge of a topic I was interested in. The base pay wasn't stellar, but it was certainly better than the $2.85 + no tips I was making for wearing clown stripes and flair, and the commissions would occasionally double my income for a given week. Although I was hired specifically because of my knowledge of band and orchestra instruments, I began to pick up a lot of useful information about guitars, amps and PA equipment. Before I left that job - and Pittsburgh - in December of 1998, Paul was kind enough to let me really capitalize on my employee discount. I bought a ton of instruments and gear before I left, most of which I still have today. Now, the Music-Go-Round where I worked is an empty storefront: Paul moved the business to a larger location a bit off the main drag about a mile away.

I have stopped through all of these places I have mentioned on previous trips to Pittsburgh in the last year and don't have time to visit today. I have a more pressing schedule to keep than I hope will be typical for the rest of this trip. My friend Matt asked me to drive some boxes of books from Indy to New York for him. He lives all the way up in Inwood, Franca lives in Queens. I want to get to Matt's early enough that I can drop off the boxes and hopefully have enough time so Franca, Matt and I can catch a show or do something fun before Franca and I head upstate tomorrow.

John is getting ready for work, once he's gone I'll get cleaned up and dressed, head down to his office and hopefully join him for a cup of coffee before I head out for New York.