Current mood:	nostalgic
Current music:	Aphex Twin - Green Calx

What I miss about Pittsburgh
I've done this before, but what the hell.

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I miss the weather. I'm the strange sort that loves overcast days, looking up and seeing gray. I miss not being blinded by the sun every day, but not having to walk through the rain, either. I miss walking in South Side under that cloudy sky; even if I only ever did really see the strip that is E. Carson St, and that isn't all of South Side, I still miss it. The air I breathed there had character to it; a sort of volume I can't ever seem to find out here in California, try as I might. But even the feeling I got from daytime is nothing compared to the way it comes alive at night, when all the lights are on with colors everywhere. Sure, it's mostly bars; bars I never went into, and still (probably) wouldn't even though I'm of age.

And I miss the public transit. Granted, Port Authority is becoming more and more strapped for cash and is cutting service while raising prices, but I could still get where I needed to go. And as I mentioned before, Pittsburgh at night is nothing to scoff at; put your headphones on and start listening to techno or trance, staring out the window. Surprisingly, the surroundings fit the music, even if only blandly. I used to have Aphex Twin in a CD player as I took the 51B, 51B/D, 51C, or whichever buses I needed to take home, and... well, the music matches the town, is the only way I can really describe it.

Pittsburgh -- and living there -- taught me to walk long distances and be resilient, gave me the drive to go on despite what happens, and gave me hope that there's always something better at the end. Even though all good things, also, must come to an end, the experience is still all the sweeter. Most of the heartbreak in my life comes from Pittsburgh; but most of the firsts, and the best experiences of my life, all there.

I moved to Sacramento to be with the girl I love, and I'm moving to Stockton (eventually) to give us and others a better life, but there is no other location on Earth that truly feels like home to me... not even my place of birth, Minneapolis, MN. I don't feel nearly the same familiarity there as I do to Pittsburgh.

I wonder if that will ever change, for any place and not just this one.

Things to be said for my time out here, though... I'm twice the person I was two years ago, better in nearly every way. More focused, more skilled and more knowledgeable. And I would never have found out about OWbN or learned so much by doing their web stuff if I had never moved. I wouldn't have gotten this sweet job that I enjoy more than any other job I've ever had (even though I've only had a few jobs, so it's not saying much). And, of course, I wouldn't have found the love of my life were it not for this place.

That won't stop me from reliving my memories, though, and it won't stop me from missing one of the few places I could ever truly call home.

Hmm... I seem to have rambled on long enough... time for bed.