Facie’s Ramblings

I have written about my love for Pittsburgh before. In fact, a Pittsburgh blog picked up a post I wrote a few years ago, which was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me. I am purposefully not going to find that post; I want to write a new love letter to the city I have had long-term relationship with. The impetus: Momalom , a blog written by two sisters who have six children between them (the blog is in my Blog List at right). My dearest Pittsburgh, I have loved you since I was a child, living two counties away. Back then you were many things to me: trips to the Buhl Planetarium, a ride on the incline or one of the Gateway Clipper boats, a chance to be on KDKA radio and visit Santa at Horne's during the holidays, the Ice Capades and an occasional child-friendly concert, a show at Heinz Hall and later the Benedum, the arts festival and regatta, and, pretty important to my family, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1984, we had season tickets to see the...

I have been absent from the blogging world for a little while. Last Tuesday I received a phone call asking if I was interested in coming in for an editing test for a temp-to-perm job (I had missed the email about this from the day before). The next day (Wednesday), I took the test, had a brief interview, and then found out that evening I did well enough to warrant a second interview the following week. The morning after (Thursday), I received another email asking if I could instead come in on Tuesday to start a project. Just a day later (Friday), I was asked if I could come in on Monday instead. So I did, and I spent several days this week working on the project, mostly in the office and some at home. I don't know what will come of this; it is fast-paced, and I have been away from the business world and a daily commute for three (!) years. And there is a lot to absorb. But whatever shall be, shall be. But back to my post title. On the news last night was a report of a man who u...

If you live around the Burgh, you have probably heard by now that some idiot apparently shot himself on Light-Up Night (as an aside, apparently there is no hyphen in the official Light-Up Night moniker, but I am choosing to put one in anyway). I had wanted to take Jordan to that event, but Brian thought it was too dangerous. I scoffed at that, but relented to his wishes, as much for the all the traffic as for anything else. It turns out he was kind of right. However, since Light-Up Night was actually a two-day event this year, I decided that we would go to the second day, during the afternoon. I was not about to let a little shooting and some fights stop me from heading downtown. Any time I read about what I consider an isolated incident at a place I would normally go to (or at least would considering going to), I make it a point to get right back on the horse or to try it out if I had never been there before. When there was a shooting at Boyce Park this summer, hours after we had...