It was a very positive affair. No laws were broken, we had a permit, we didn't block traffic or the sidewalks. We waited at lights and when the group was separated by a do-not-walk sign we waited for them to cross before continuing our march. There were no slights to anyone, all of the signs were good, nothing that attacked any church at all, people honked in solidarity as they passed us, we chanted positive messages "What do we want? EQUAL RIGHTS! When do we want them? NOW!" or "Gay, straight, black, white all we want are equal rights!" The Pittsburgh police even helped us at one point by blocking traffic at one intersection so our entire group could cross at once. All in all there were about 500 people at the march, a very good turnout for something put together near last minute and in the rain.

There is torrential downpour going on here in the state of Pennsylvania. I can't even begin to describe the differences between here and home, but I can try.

1. The Weather - So far this has been the biggest. The weather here is wet. Always kind of wet, whether it be humidity or the rain (it's already rained more here than an entire season in Bakersfield). It's mild though, it's 70 degrees currently and won't get much hotter, only much much colder through fall and winter. I'm looking forward to the snow, but not to being cold. In a way I'm already looking forward to going home for Christmas and getting out of the cold. And, you know, seeing my family and friends.
2. The People - The demographics are completely different here on the opposite side of the country. The biggest contrast to me is the complete lack of Hispanic people. There is maybe one Mexican food restaurant in all of Pittsburgh, which is weird to me coming from a city where there was practically one on every street corner. The niceness here is kind of contagious, too, but it's not as extreme as I thought it was in July. Yes, the people in the city are generally nicer than what I'm used to at home, but it is taken to the extreme at Chatham. My RA explained it to me, saying the just average niceness here isn't nice enough, so everyone is super-duper-nice to prove that they really are nice. It's just the general attitude.
3. The Food - Have I mentioned how much I miss good Mexican food?
4. The Trees! - Oh my goodness there are so many trees. Everywhere! Driving through main parts of the city, buildings on one side of the bus, a freaking forest on the other side. It's crazy. Like, I can look at my window right now and see trees, trees, trees, and over there is the city. Interspersed between all of those trees. It's just so green!

Those are the main differences. Other things include political persuasions (this is a really liberal school in a pretty moderate city in a swing state, as compared to a conservative school in a conservative city in a blue state), all of the brick buildings, basements, and the general lack of males. Also, not having a car is something I'm starting to get used to. It's not easy though.

Most of all. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss Target (weird, right?), I even miss the oilfields. But I still have 13 weeks to go before I go home, so I'm going to stick it out!

All my love,
Allyson

I found this in My Documents the other day, it's a simple list, something I was sent no doubt, where you create the soundtrack to your life.


Here's mine from 2007:
Opening credits – Girl Inform Me – The Shins
Waking up - This Fine Social Scene – Zero 7
First Day at School – Tell Me What To Do – Jim Noir
Puppy Love – The Celibate Life – The Shins
Fight Song – Unwell – Matchbox 20
Breaking Up Song – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – John Mayer
Prom – SexyBack– Justin Timberlake
Life is Good – Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To
Driving – Walk Away – Franz Ferdinand
Flashback – Kill – Jimmy Eat World
True Love – Spin – Lifehouse
Wedding – Brand New Colony – The Postal Service
Moment of Triumph – The Perfect Crime #2 – The Decemberists
Death Scene – Slow Hands - Interpol
Funeral Song – Hell – Foo Fighters
End credits - Everywhere – Fleetwood Mac


And again in 2008:


Opening credits: Bryn – Vampire Weekend
Waking up: Sleeping Lessons – The Shins
First Day at School: Tell Me What To Do – Jim Noir
Puppy Love: Make Someone Happy – Jimmy Durante
Fight Song: Mutha’uckas – Flight of the Conchords
Breaking Up Song: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – John Mayer
Prom: I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You – Black Kids
Life is Good:Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To
Driving: Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
Flashback: Action/Adventure – Andrew Bird
True Love: Like U Crazy – Mates of State
Wedding: I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Moment of Triumph: End Theme – Zero 7
Death Scene: Heartbeats – Jose Gonzales
Funeral Song: Parachutes – Mates of State
End credits: Drop and Anchor – Mates of State

Only a little overlap, I hope to keep doing this from year to year to track how my tastes change.

Eight Things I'm Passionate About:

• Coffee
• China
• Family
• Friends
• Cantaloupe
  
• Chapstick
• Sleeping
• Day-old sandwiches

Eight Books I've Read:

• The Great Gatsby
• Jurassic Park
  
• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Princess Bride
• The Andromeda Strain
  
• Ella Enchanted
• A Wrinkle in Time
• The Grapes of Wrath
  

Eight Things I Often Say:

• Shivawhat?
• I'm bored.
• TFAGNRF
• What are you doing?
• Like
• Great story Jeopardy contestant!
• Ugh
• Pshaw

Eight Things I Look For in a Friend:

• Humor
• Wit
• Sarcasm
• Energy
• Musical Taste
• The Office
• Appropriately placed harsh language
• Humor

Eight Things I Would Like to do Before I Die (Or Really, Before I'm 35):

• Get a Masters degree
• Marry
• Have Kids, Maybe
• Buy a Hybrid vehicle
• Travel back to Europe
• Learn to like tomatoes
• Learn to Meditate
• Beat Zelda on DS AND Wii

Eight Things I Learned in the Past Year:

• What a true friend is
• I'm completely worthy of going to college
• Parents are never finished parenting
• I'm pretty funny sometimes
• I heart NY
  
• I needed to leave, and come back
• Target will eat your soul
• Happiness is sugar-free chocolate Jello pudding cups
  

Heavy metal 3 little pigs?

Years and years ago I came across a blog called Television Without Pity (commonly abbreviated to TWoP). It offered snarky recaps of some of my favorite shows and also had forums for each show where fans could connect and talk about what was going on etc. I loved TWoP, would spend way to many hours on the forums, and I genuinely enjoyed the recaps because they were written by people who liked the show. When the site started it didn't have any kind of media affiliation, it was powered by ads and by profits generated in the store which sold hilarious shirts that I never bought. Two years ago the site was purchased by Yahoo! in order for it to be incorporated into Yahoo!'s TV section. I didn't have any problem with this. The layout remained the same and I was happy to see it get a little more exposure by referring Yahoo! readers to TWoP to get the latest recaps and gossip. Recently it was again bought out by Bravo, which is owned by none other than NBC Universal. Massive changes have been brought. The entire layout has changed, I see ads on TV for it, the original founders of the website have jumped ship, the writers of the recaps are boring and they are now about half as long and dry as a bone, and worst of all, active moderators have been established in every forum. This may not seem like a bad thing, but I used to LOVE participating on the Office forums, until Moderator "TWoP Barnes" showed up on the scene. So many rules were established that I couldn't even type straight. The entire forum was rearranged, she changed the titles of a lot of the actor threads to only say ACTOR: and then their name. John Krasinski's thread used to be called "John Krasinski: We'd Climb Him Like a Tree" and now it's just "ACTOR: John Krasinski." What. The. F**k. Honestly. I once aired my grievances about the new methods on a thread that this moderator started in order for us to ask her questions and get accustomed to her presence or something only to have my post DELETED. Deleted! She up and deleted my post because I was criticizing her methods. That is censorship, my friend. I have since all but eliminated any ties I've created with TWoP. I think everyone who reads this (all two of you) should make fake accounts and spam the hell out of them. I will if you will!

Rules that would be acceptable to break with John Krasinski

Doing drugs
Having pre-marital sex
Breaking the dating range
Getting totally wasted
Speeding down the freeway
Shoplifting
Sneaking into the movies
Mooning passing cars
Calling out of work for no reason
Double parking
Going into the men's room
Jumping the check
Indecent exposure
Going to Hart Park after 10pm

There are no rules when John Krasinski is involved.

This has nothing to do with rules, I just felt like quoting Brixtnezy: "I'm pretty much not going to have sex with anyone covered in blood unless it's John Krasinski." Word.