Discovering Downtown...and Macys

I had a mission: to find my brother's wedding present. They are registered at Macys, and I know there's a big one downtown, so that's where I went. Hell if I was going to go online and pay shipping when I could just go in person. I grabbed the 8, and as we're headed downtown, I see something. Starbucks. I decide I need coffee, before I undertake this mission, so...yeah. It's the one on the corner of Sixth Street and Penn Avenue...will have to keep in mind for future reference.

I have only been here for about a month, and have discovered something intriguing, something I could never say about Buffalo. I have not gotten lost. It's impossible to get lost when you have the Steel Building to orient yourself. But anyway. I find my way to Macys, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street. Smithfield, I have become familiar with. My bank is there, the library, the Port Authority office, my pharmacy...I spend quite a bit of time there. But the Macys. It's in the building where Kaufmanns used to be, and in fact, the Kaufmann Clock and the old signage is still there, because of the building being designated a historic landmark. I go in and am stunned. This place is pretty much bigger than the closest mall to where I grew up. Something like eleven floors. Some of which house only offices, but still. There's a bookstore on the fifth floor, even. A couple of restaurants and cafes, too. A sales associate sees me and asks if she can help. Me: "Towels...where are they?" This place is amazing, and to be quite honest, I have not been impressed with JC Penney lately, so I think I'll shop at Macys from now on. Especially this one. A huge store. Right in the middle of downtown. I have never seen anything like this before, and I love it. I can't wait til the snow goes. Spring, summer, and fall - especially summer - here are going to be fantastic.

Heinz History Center

I last went to the Heinz History Center four years ago, and loved it. Not much has changed...the sports highlight video when you first walk into the Sports Museum is still there. I'm pretty sure they moved the footballs closer to the targets in the throwing exhibit, though. I still missed. I love the Sports Museum, obviously, but I also love the 1968 exhibit. I think I'll be coming back and bringing a friend with me. She would love it.

The thing that I love most about the History Center is the interactive exhibits. The Andy Warhol Museum is not too far from me, but I won't be going to check it out. I took an art history class in college. It bored me to tears. The Heinz History Center has hands on exhibits, and a lot of media stuff. You can listen to original newscasts. You can listen to Martin Luther King's speeches, which almost made me cry. You can immerse yourself in history. You can't do that at the Andy Warhol.

So what's left? There's the Carnegie Science Center, the National Aviary, and the zoo. Probably wait til spring for those, or at least the zoo.

Under the Ninth Street Bridge

When I lived in Buffalo, that was the first time I saw real poverty and homelessness. There was the woman who slept in the bus shelters up and down Delaware Avenue. There was Broderick, who begged for change in Lafayette Square. There was the woman and her two kids who were starving and living in a gutted building in Buffalo's West Side. But I never saw people living in tents...until now.

There's an underpass just before you get to the Ninth Street Bridge, also known as the Rachel Carson Bridge. Up against the wall, off to the side of the road, there is a group of people who have tents set up. One guy told me that he was aware of the resources that are out there, but that he wasn't "ready." It's winter. There's snow on the ground. I have been told that there are people out there who choose to be homeless. While this may be the case, there are reasons for that choice. Ultimately, you can't make these people get help. It has to be between them and God.

I can't walk across that bridge anymore, though. Not because I can't look at these people, but also because it's not entirely safe. I'll be taking the bus from now on. Or going across one of the other of the "Three Sisters." Crossing Lacock and Anderson's not safe anyway. The vehicular traffic has little regard for the pedestrians. But I can't be getting approached. I have nothing to give, especially to those who are trying to feed their addictions. There are other ways.

Grille 36...and Discoveries Along the Way

Jerome Bettis' restaurant, Grille 36, is not too far from my apartment. Went there with a friend today, finding a caesar salad suitable to replace the ones I used to eat when I lived in New York. No lava cake, though. We had the chocolate malt cake instead, and let me tell you about dessert at this place. They actually specify on the menu that the carrot cake is for two people. They should do the same for the chocolate malt cake, because there is no way either of us would have been able to eat one piece by ourselves. 

I should say that while I went with a friend, we actually met there. I got there on foot and got lost on the way. I guess I wanted to see the Immaculate Reception plaque that badly, because I forgot to hang a left at Mazeroski Way. 

This is the exact spot where the Immaculate Reception. I also discovered that Chuck Noll has a street named after him. I wouldn't have found all of this if I hadn't gotten lost. Hope I don't make a habit of this, though.

Finding a Church

Before I got here, I looked for churches online so that I would have a place to go when I got here. And I had narrowed it down to two: the Allegheny Center Alliance Church on East Ohio Street and the Community House Presbyterian Church and Learning Center on Parkhurst. I actually went to both churches this morning. ACAC was at 8:30, with Community House at 10:45. And with that, I was able to pick one. They made it easy, too. ACAC would just be more of the same. They even went so far as to say that they do not allow women to speak in their church, that if we had questions, we had to ask our husbands, or tell our husbands our thoughts and they would relay them. Yeah. No thanks.

Community House on the other hand is completely different from any church I've ever been to. It seems more authentic, which surprises me, given that it's a Presbyterian church; I went to one of those when I was a kid...and then became an atheist. I'll be going to Community House from now on.They are literally "Come as You Are." And there's no "But don't stay that way." This church truly is Christ-centered, which for me is a first. People are friendly, not judgmental. When I'd walked into ACAC, no one said hello. No one was smiling. You'd think people would be happy to be in church, but in this case, apparently not. It's like that line from 2004's Miracle: "They're Russians. They get shot if they smile." Community House has real, welcoming, people. That's what I was looking for, and I found it.

Finally Here

I finally made it to a place I had been talking about for most of my life. Not New York. Not Paris or London. Not Los Angeles, either. Pittsburgh. The Steel City. I was on a waiting list for an apartment, and my name finally came up. About time, too, because the management office was probably getting tired of me calling them.

The city is everything I thought it would be, even if the apartment is not. The apartment's just a roof over my head right now, anyway. The reason why I'm here is so that I can look for employment. I made the move, hoping prospective employers would take me more seriously than they did before I moved here. I've been unemployed for three years. I'm completely over it.

The great thing about my apartment, though, is the fact that there's a grocery store really close by, a definite improvement. There are several buses that go downtown; and downtown is not really that far away. I could walk it if I wanted to. My church is also within walking distance. This is all very good, especially considering the rumors I have heard about Pittsburgh's bus system. It's fine right now, but I don't think they're finished making cuts yet. They're doing the same thing in other cities, which is why I chose the way I did, taking layout and location into account. No, it's not just about the football team. It's about being comfortable, and honestly? Pittsburgh is fitting like a glove already. It's perfect. It's home already. And that's what this blog will be about: the job hunt and new adventures along the way.