I’m a software engineer based out of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
My opinions are my own, and do not reflect those of my wife, my employer, my child, or my pets. In fact there are very few areas in which we agree.
Took my mother out for dinner since her birthday is tomorrow. She decided on Stonepepper’s Grill, which is becoming our family’s new Olive Garden. The waiter made fun of me for ordering an Atwater Vanilla Java Porter, but it was no less delicious for it and my father even said he liked it (quite a departure from Michelob Ultra).
Stopped at my parents’ house after dinner to check out their recent furniture purchase. They got a huge white corner couch which takes up most of the “TV” half of the basement. Very comfortable, and I think they should ignore my sister’s inevitable complaints about the color.
Checked out the WYEP Summer Music Festival at Schenley Plaza. Simona and Russell brought some delicious homemade pizza and sandwiches and we got caught up while the music played in the background. We checked out the homemade crafts market where I picked up some cufflinks made from old mechanical watch parts. Now I’ll have something to rotate out my LEGO cufflinks with.
Next up was Brillobox in Lawrenceville where my good friend Andy’s band Chet Vincent and the Big Bend had their CD release party. The music was great and we got a free copy of the CD (with the cover charge…) but after about four hours of standing (not including the earlier concert!) I was ready for bed. I believe I may be getting old.
After work Emily and I made our way out to Plum to visit a friend who recently had a baby boy. The kid was really cute and took a liking to Emily right away.
Stopped at D’s in Monroeville for a late dinner. I broke with tradition and actually had what turned out to be a very tasty portabella salad. Well, the mushrooms and the dressing were tasty but the rest of the salad wasn’t that exciting.
Headed out to The BeerHive in the Strip with the Beer Meetup. Had some East End Pedal Pale Ale, which I don’t believe I’d had yet this year. It was good, but not as good as I remember from previous years. Maybe it’s designed to be tasted after chasing it through the streets of Pittsburgh on your bike. Also, Jeff talked Greg and me into joining the Ultimate Frisbee Meetup. It will be nice to get some regular exercise for a change.
Emily and I went to Osteria 2350 in the Strip with the Foodburgh Meetup. The food was tasty and the portions just right, if a bit pricey. I did have some bad luck ordering an Italian beer (Moretti, I think). Had to make up for it with Duvel, a nice Belgian blonde.
Finished up Lawrence of Arabia. Great movie but I still can’t figure out why they included the bit at the beginning. I understand they had to start the movie somehow but having him die then talking about how awesome he was then showing how awesome he was seems odd to me. Maybe it was normal for films made at that time. Also I kept expecting to hear Prince Faisal say “The Force will be with you, always”.
Started watching Lawrence of Arabia tonight. Got as far as the intermission. Great movie so far — it’s long but doesn’t feel so as you’re watching it. I can’t say exactly how much water I’ve drunk while watching but it’s been a lot.
Up early. Chatted with Dad and my sister while everyone roused themselves. Dad seemed to like his gifts.
Brunch at Friendly’s. It seemed packed but we didn’t have to wait long for a table. Our waitress seemed pretty frazzled, however, and service was slow. This gave us plenty of time to talk so we didn’t mind too much.
Long drive home. Took the Pa. Turnpike this time. Saw an overturned truck on the other side near Somerset which had traffic behind it backed up for miles. I heard later that they closed the highway in both directions to clean it up. It seems we got through there just in time. According to the news the driver got away with only minor injuries.
Up early. Got to hear my sister’s theories on the Casey Anthony trial, which I’d known about since about five minutes earlier when I saw it on TV.
Eventually Philip got up (he works nights) and we took off for Annapolis for some kayaking. We cruised around the marina dodging yachts and even poking out a bit into the Chesapeake Bay before turning in our boats and walking into downtown for a late lunch.
After lunch we walked around for another hour or two checking out the cheesy souvenir shops and the Naval Academy.
We headed back to my sister’s house to meet up with my father, who was in town to watch the U.S. Open with my uncle Jason. When he arrived we went out to a local crab shack to chow down on some crab cakes and beer. I tried two beers I’d never heard of, Landshark Lager (made by Margaritaville Brewing Co.) which was actually pretty decent and National Bohemian (made by Pabst, and is very much worthy of the brand).
Then it was time to head back to my sister’s house, where we watched way too much of a show called “Parking Wars” and went to bed.
Feel like I have the beginnings of a cold. Oh bother.
After work Emily and I hopped in the car and scooted down to Crofton, MD to visit my sister, her husband, and their menagerie (OK, well two cats and a dog).
The drive down was beautiful. I wish all of my relatives and in-laws lived to the east/south of us rather than make us drive through Ohio to get to them. There is just no comparison.
Somewhere in the middle of Pennsyltucky we became part of a parade as we were directed off of our road into a little town where anxious onlookers lined either side of the street awaiting what was sure to be the biggest event of the year for them. We did wave, but sadly we had no candy to throw at the kids.
As we hit Cumberland, MD it was time to stop for gas and a bathroom break. Cumberland is a cute little town, but it’s easy to get lost in the maze of side streets. We hit the restroom at Wendy’s and even picked up some Frosty™ Shakes (as a side note, the Frosty™ shake is what the now-defunct McDonalds shake once was. I don’t know what Mickey-D’s did to their shakes but they’re awfully disappointing now. It’s nice to see Wendy’s picking up the slack).
We went across the street to an old-timey gas station which was so old-timey that they had different pumps for each of the various quality levels of gasoline. Being ever so observant I didn’t notice this until I had already started pumping the “Super Awesome 20¢ More Expensive” (paraphrasing) variety. After paying (an actual human!) I drove away, enduring no small amount of ridicule from my apparently much more observant wife about the gas mix-up.
We arrived a few hours later at my sister’s house, were welcomed by a very enthusiastic six-month-old chocolate lab (“Reese”, get it?) and two somewhat more hesitant cats (“Joey” and “Gus”). We sat in the living room and got caught up for a while, then it was time for bed.
