I have a vagina in my ceiling. That is what it has been aptly named by quite a few of you so we’re going with that. In fact twitter has named it “Paris Hilton” or “Tila Tequila”.
That’s the latest damage in our house. I’m working on the splash screen for videos so you can see first hand how we got to where we are today. Needless to say I’ll be staying home today.
I’m beside myself. Rational thoughts at this point is amusing to me. If you follow me on Twitter there’s no doubt that you know of the destruction that the Pittsburgh snow storm last week laid on us. In case you missed it it went something like this: it snowed, it snowed more, kept snowing, started to melt, massive water damage.
I had to get on my blog tonight for a few minutes just so I could forget about the water world around me. I will do a full recap this week to get everyone caught up. First of all you guys rock! I have some of the greatest friends in the world! The outpouring of support has been incredible and while ppl want to dog Pittsburgh I have to say yinz have the biggest hearts and I thank you.
I appreciate all of the help with tips and legal support and as great as it would be to “sue the fckers”, as I was told many times, there is a process for everything and as always we have a plan. I can’t go into details just yet but when the time is right I’ll flash the bat signal. The dining room (you know it as the pregnant wall) is starting to have issues where the window pictured above won’t open or close. We are safe for now and just hope the rest of the ceiling doesn’t come down.
Pictures and more video coming soon.
July
Began the month with recording at the BeerDependence Day celebration at Bocktown. Attended the Penguins Stanley Cup DVD Release Party. Started a contracting job at EDMC that would become the longest month of my life and that’s all I’m going to say. Enjoyed my first ever bowl of Pho. Rocked the Beer on the Bay festival in Erie which the videos are epic and may never be released. End the month being interviewed by KDKA for the Craft Beer Summit.
August
Won a 2009 Mustang! Bees invade our bathroom (landlord still has yet to remove the dead bodies). I got a full-time job in social media/web dev that has turned out to be freaking cool plus I’m on a rockstar team. Threatened Lushie with divorce after she gets rid of the Back to the Future marathon channels.
September
Attended “Best of the Burgh” at the Warhol with sickpuppy, PittGirl, Woy and Rachel. Go big time and hosted Beer School at the Cabaret downtown to a sold out crowd. Teaspoon hits 17lbs.
October
Hosted 2 sessions at Podcamp Pittsburgh 4. Should I Drink That passed 500,000 download mark. Pens start defending the Stanley Cup. Revised Google Maps errors. Celebrate 4 years of marriage with Lushie. Lay the smackdown on poor fact checking by the Post gazette about Erie. Teaspoon goes pumpkin farming.
November
I blogged the whole month. Seriously. Bought a X-box. Teaspoon’s first Thanksgiving. Wonders of fatherhood and a kid who grows like a weed. Craft Beer Dinner with Lew Bryson, Education on the Pittsburgh Potty. Making your own Bacon. BEER AT GIANT EAGLE! Yinz Bowl 2.o
December
Still living it for 5 more hours. Remembering dad on his anniversary. Hosted a Christmas beer sampling at Bocktown. Saw KISS in concert. Teaspoon’s first Christmas. Finished the school year with a 3.65GPA. SNOW!
So what do I have to look forward to in 2010? Come back tomorrow and find out!
I have to admit that this has been the most life changing year of my life. Some good, some bad and some mind blowing kickass. Here’s a quick recap as I reflect before tonight’s festivities start. I’m splitting this up into 2 sections because lets be honest, no one will scroll through 12 months.
January
Reflected on the first beer I EVER drank and yes, I kept the bottle. Prepare for the end of my 10+ year employment at ForeSystems/Marconi/Ericsson. Bitched about the weather and yinzers inability to drive in snow plus dumb ass snow removal by my neighbors. Both of those still hold true today. Got ready for an unbelievable run to the Super Bowl
February
Steelers won the Super Bowl and became the first ever 6 time champ thus giving every knock off t-shirt maker starry eyes at the potential of “6 pack” shirts. Punxy Phil said 6 more weeks of winter. I was officially laid off, was interviewed for a Post Gazette story on unemployment moments after i was laid off (that never was published), Pens started to turn it around and the biggest shock of them all… Teaspoon arrived 2 months early making me the happiest and most terrified dad. Came in at 4.1lb, dropped to 3.2lb and would leave at 5 in March.
March
It was the month of Teaspoon. Lushie and I spent every minute we could at the Mercy NICU while he got healthy in an incubator. 28 days later he came home. Also witnessed the stupidity of some Hill District parents who think its a hotel in there and the joke that is unemployment system in PA.
April
Went to my first ever Rugby match and got addicted to watching Claire and the girls kick ass. Missed my first opening day of Pirates baseball since 1984 (watched it on TV with Teaspoon and started a new tradition with my boy). Bought a Wii. Enjoyed the greatest comeback in Pens Playoff hockey that I have witnessed as the Pens turned the series around with 1 fight and the Max Talbot shhhhhhh! Saw Beer Wars the Movie with hundreds of other craft beer fans around the world and baked an incredible beer ham for Easter.
May
Should I Drink That turned 3. Pens defeated Washington and Carolina to earn a second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals for a 2nd year. Bought a Blackberry. Joined Sadie’s Soldiers and took some Great Strides. KDKA reads my “tweet of the day” which I WISH they would bring back. The great personalized jersey debate. Meatshield welcomed his first child (i swear it was the year for kids to be born) and we had a cookout with some family. Bowling league ended and we were the undisputed champs.
June
Teaspoon’s first trip to the ER. Coming out of golf retirement after 3.5 year for a day with Yinz Teamer’s Woy, Lokay and Shireman at Cranberry Highlands. The Clarks release Restless Days after 5 years. Pens win the Stanley Cup in 7 games vs Detroit. Pittsburgh floods… again. Unemployed Utensil makes his first appearance as a way to help me get through not working. My first Father’s day and Pirates waste of talent Ian Snell cant take negative people.
up next… July through December.
There were rumors for days that a huge storm was coming our way but I honestly don’t think anyone took it serious. Then there is myself (and Uncle Crappy I found out from this post) who loves severe weather. Part of this stems for me from growing up in Erie, PA where you will experience 4 seasons in one day. I know people exaggerate in Pittsburgh about the phenom but it is true up on the lake. I saw it. When you think about it what else do we have to do besides obsess about weather and gas prices?
On Wednesday Pittsburgh was slammed by a couple of storms which brought on flooding, high winds, hail and mass hysteria. The areas of Westmoreland County, Turtle Creek, Forest Hills, East Pittsburgh and parts of Monroeville were hit the hardest. Friends of mine in the areas all reported minimal damage with one having 4 inches of rain in his sun room. As a weather geek this was the super bowl for our area. I watched KDKA’s coverage for 4 hours. You’re reading that correctly, I watched a Doppler for 4 hours… in HD! Oh yeah buddy!
Floods and I have a history together. When I lived in Bellevue we had massive flooding in 2004 and 05 due to hurricanes with he last basement bath coming in 2007 shortly after we moved to our new residence. This one was due to sewage lines and not flood waters which turned out was a blessing. The cleanup sucked and we lost around 10k in personal belongings but found out that our insurance didn’t cover natural flooding. If you are a renter you’re basically screwed when mother nature comes calling. I called my insurance agent and got the “good farking luck” speech.
Back to watching the news, I did find some humor in the clip that showed a Bellevue cop scolding a resident for driving through the flood waters which almost swept her car away. Why is it funny? She’s the drunk girlfriend of our old neighbor who stole the backhoe to go grocery shopping and put a non-working toilet on his porch. See why I miss Bellevue. It’s the people.
Weather report for Friday is more rain so Lushie and I are getting our basement ready just in case. Most of what we own are in plastic storage bins but it’s my electronics I worry about. Do you know how many years of dumpster diving it took me to collect this stuff! Though I don’t think Lushie would mind if some of these computers were tossed.
The last act of Ericsson was to send out a bonus check to those of us laid off folks (go ahead and make jokes, I haven’t stopped about the irony). With that Lushie said that I need to do something for myself with a part of it so I bought us a Wii and Wii fit. Scratch that, Teaspoon got a Wii and Wii Fit for Easter. Love that bunny!
I’ve been dwelling on which gaming unit to purchase for years and what it came down to was honestly the Wii Fit. I was hesitant at first but last night after breaking it in I love the little sucker. PittGirl had named her trainer and I’m still trying to decide if I like the male or female trainer. It’ll probably come down to who I talk back to more. Since Teaspoon was born I’ve dropped 20lbs so I figure that this is more motivation to keep going. Plus I was finally able to get Lushie to play a video game that wasn’t Pac Man
As for the other games we stuck with what came with the gaming unit and extra controller. Hands down bowling is my favorite and I can see this as a huge hit at parties. It has consumed me into a Wii lifestyle. Next up on my shopping list (probably this weekend) is NHL 2K9, Tiger Woods and Punch Out! . I need to earn/buy more points so I can get the web browser and see how SIDT looks on it. Also a big fan of the weather channel. What appeals to me most is that its not graphic intensive as a PS3 or XBOX 360. It’s simple and entertaining. Granted I’d love to play some hockey with rockin graphics but for the price this more than fills my needs.
I also picked up Mario Kart which I really suck at and need practice. Wanna race and kick the snot out of a noob? Send me your Kart code thinger to add as a friend via my contact form. Can you tell I’m still trying to get use to this?
All of you Wii owners out there, what else should I look at buying/playing? What are some MUST HAVE accessories? What is online playing like and what info do I need when wanting to play someone?
cheers!
Oh, here are my 3 top bowling scores last night. If there is an online league I’m SO in!
We’re buds. Served in the war together.
This is my favorite holiday of the year.
If you drive an SUV or an oversize vehicle and drive on Parkway North there is a very good possibility that I don’t like you. In fact you’ve probably been on the receiving end of the bird from Lushie for being an idiot driver.
Yesterday Pittsburgh was pounded with a winter storm that went snow/rain/ice/thundersnow. Yes, thundersnow. It took me 2 hours to drive to Downtown Pittsburgh and back. A drive that is normally 40 minutes round trip. Granted the roads were slick but PennDOT actually did a good job clearing I-79 and I-279, the problem was the idiot drivers. I spent 45 minutes going from Vets Bridge to Perrysville exit not because of snow or accidents but because of illiterate drivers (like that pictured above) who haul ass in the far right lane that’s ending so they can zoom up and merge. There are signs saying “Lanes End in 1500ft. move the hell over.” Apparently these signs don’t apply to dumbasses. Better yet, since everyone is taking shots at the mayor for his and Dan Onorato’s most excellent adventure to Tampa, lets call these people “dumbassenstahls”.
The numero uno reason for traffic backup yesterday was a collection of dumbassenstahls who would get out of their lanes and race up 279N to this merge point and and then force their way into traffic. Here is a concept to comprehend. If YOU speed up and screw up traffic, you are causing a chain reaction in dumbassenstahl-istry. Since I had plenty of time to sit back and watch this in traffic I can say with confidence that a dumbassenstahl drives some form of BMW, Hummer, Expedition, Yukon or a truck that should be kept on the farm.
People, stop being dumbassenstahls. Wait your turn before one of these days someone with less patience than me puts you into the ditch.
I admit, I take pride in my snow shoveling skills. Many a winter I spent in Erie under my dad’s guidance learning when to shovel snow, how to do it with style and why you do what you do. When you get as much snow as Erie does you need to learn to accept and adapt to it. Moving to Pittsburgh has taught me that not only do people fear it but also they have no idea how to deal with it. I need to write Snow Removal for Dummies.
The picture above is steps that lead down to the parking area in my community. As you can see the steps are an abomination and the picture actually makes it look better. Late one day last week while I was at work one of the Mensa elite that live by me deemed it wise to shovel a single path from their door, across the lawn, down the steps and across the road to neighbors on the other side of the street. The effort put in was shovel down and walk.
By the time I came home and the temps dropped to single digits the snow had become ice. The issue now is that the steps are all ice and it’s too cold for salt thus making them a hazard for those who are, oh I don’t know, 29 weeks pregnant. When I’m up at 5am and outside shoveling I take the responsibility upon myself to not only clear my walkway but the neighbors all the way over to and including the steps. I don’t mind doing it but when you half ass shoveling that causes a risk to my family I get pissy.
I went out with my shovel and tried to clear the steps with no luck. My shovel almost broke when I tried to chip away at the ice so I knew it was a losing fight. So now not only am I irritated that the steps are a hazard but also at the slackass careless job. I understand it takes effort but if you’re one of these people take into consideration the others around you.
So here are my tips for you when it comes to snow removal:
The temp finally went up on Monday so I went outside, cleared as much snow as I could and salted the hell out of the steps. By morning I was able to chip away and make it a safe passage for Lushie.
In the meantime, the dumbass who originally shoveled just made a straight path from his back door, across his lawn and to his car. My guess is that the steps were too slippy for him 
