A Rickdiculous Wednesday

Hey friends! I miss you guys! Also I’m totally buzzed as I write this—read on to find out how and why, but let’s just say it has something to do with banjos.

Here we go:

Day: Wednesday, March 23

Location: the great city Pittsburgh, PA aka “The Steel City,” “The City of Bridges,” "City of Champions."

Weather: TORNARDO WATCH with thunderstorms and a high of 58, low in the mid-20s (no, I’m not kidding).

7:30 - I barely rise from my bed to get ready for another day of work!

Let’s take a short tour of my place, shall we? I live in a house with my friends Lou (he owns the house), Dan, Caroline, and Dan’s annoying cat, Moo. Here are a few pics of my room (yes, that door in the back is the front door—my bedroom is essentially the living room—our real living room is in the dining room--we use the entrance at the side of the house).

I raid a few popsicles from the kitchen freezer. I’ve been recovering from a tonsillectomy the past few weeks (it’s a pretty intense surgery for adults), so popsicles are still essential for my weak throat.

8:00 - I’m not a “morning person,” but I try to stay positive, so I read about 15-20 minutes every day before I leave. This morning was devoted to “Soccernomics”—it’s awesome—assuming you really dig soccer.

8:35 - After talking a bit to my roommates, I leave to work for the man. Here’s a picture of my house (it's the one with the bluish grey front).

Sometimes I take the bus to work, sometimes I drive, and when the weather warms, I ride my bike. I drive my car this morning due to the crappy rainy weather. It’s a six-minute drive supplemented by some Democracy Now on the radio.

8:40 - Here’s a picture of the city from where I park everyday. I take my additional ten-minute walk through the Strip District (to avoid paying $8 a day in parking).

8:55: I arrive...ugh. I have a management job at an online university in the Finance department. It’s nothing that great, but my job’s pretty unique in that I do something different everyday: I lead trainings, teach new hires, run reports, put tutorials/online documents together, and make jokes generally all day. So sometimes it's fun.

Here’s my desk, though I’m often away at meetings and such (the balloons aren’t mine).

My laptop, which follows me everywhere:

9:00-12:45 – I’m at trainings all morning…sheesh (can't really take any pictures). Oh, here’s my best friend at work, Megan. She sits next to me and we have tons and tons of gossip and girl talk every day. Kate and Steph—you’d be so jealous.

1:30 – I meet Mark for lunch! We generally talk about life, work, and anything else one can think of. Good times!

2:30 - My mother texts me to report that there’s a tornado warning…yay!

3:00-4:55 - I’m in meetings for most of the afternoon and miss a few wild hailstorms (apparently).

5:00 - I’m very, very anti-smoking, but I’ll occasionally take non-smoking breaks with friends outside. The clouds in the sky are shifting in all different directions, which is somewhat terrifying.

6:00 - I leave work, walk to my car, and drive home. I live in Bloomfield, and if you read Mark’s post, you’ll note that it’s in the East End of Pittsburgh. It’s pretty much the greatest, as everything's there: bars, coffee shops, good restaurants, record stores, grocery stores, a lot of my friends, etc.

Bloomfield by car:

6:30 - I make it home avoiding any twisters(!!). I walk into the living room where my roommate Dan talks to his girlfriend about his dream the night before where a bear was grilling food at picnic wearing an apron that read, “Chomp-laments of the Chef.” Yeah, those kinds of stories are common in my house.

I heat up some leftover quiche that I made a few days ago, watch this crazy Youtube video, and spend twenty minutes or so writing. I write for a couple of websites and blogs nowadays. Today I’m working on an article for Pittsburgh-based site Draw Us Lines. If you’re ever looking for some new music, check it out…it’s apparently becoming quite the big deal around Pittsburgh, which is awesome.

7:30 - Speaking of music, there’s a quick band practice I have to attend! Boca Chica, a band I play drums in, is practicing for a show Saturday night. The band is folky rock, while my other band, Horse or Cycle, (that I’m much more involved in) is louder and a bit more rockin’. HoC actually has two shows this weekend and a short mid-west tour next week, which I’m super pumped for!! Here’s a link to our album from early last year: http://horseorcycle.bandcamp.com/

9:00ish - During practice, a friend texts me about Banjo Night. I was planning on just going home, but simply ask Kate and Mark—Banjo Night is probably the greatest weekly event ever. A bunch of older gents (and a few ladies) play old tunes in front of seniors and hip 20-somethings at a lodge in Pittsburgh’s North side—free to the public! If I had to describe Banjo Night in one word, it would be "pleasant." I meet up with a few friends at the bar inside, drink a few $1.50 Yuenglings, and manage to sneak away to shoot the vid below for you guys. The dude singing makes lots of good jokes throughout the night--wish i got one on video--it's so pleasant.

10:30ish: I don’t stay for too long, as I quickly grow super tired. Another beer is consumed at home, I write this blog entry, and make it to bed around 12:30 with a decent buzz.

So yeah, that’s a pretty average weekday for me, albeit it a bit busier than usual. Have a great week everyone!