How I Came To Live In The Burgh

Before we get started, the author would like to point out that for comic effect she would have preferred to title this entry, "How I Came To Live In The Pitts." However, this seemed such an unfair slight to a city that I'm becoming rather fond of :) Besides, thanks to Sienna Miller, we already have the unfortunate "Shittsbugh" incident.

So, A LOT of people already know the enchanting tale of how I came to live in Pittsburgh. But for those who do not, I thought I should perhaps address it. I know a handful of my friends simply got the message, "Hey, I'm moving from CA!" but without the rhyme or reason. So, here it is......(And for those who are already familiar with the tale, you'll have to wait to be entertained by my next entry. Oh, who are we kidding? I'm damned near entertaining all the time.)

Simply put, I moved to Pittsburgh for love. ***Insert violins playing and a cheesy choir singing*** That's right. Can I hear a collective sigh of "Ahhhhhhhh...." from the audience? Fourteen months ago I reunited with my high school sweetheart. Yup, the guy I dated my senior year of high school and the guy who took me to my senior prom. We hadn't spoken in twelve years. And, although I always thought fondly of Jason, I certainly wasn't pinning away for him. Meaning, it wasn't like I ever looked back on my life and thought, "Ah darn, he's the one who got away!" Gee, this is turning out to sound like a real romantic story :)

So here's how it happened basically. A mutual friend of ours contacted me via email after finding me on Reunion.com. He, the mutual friend, was living in CA (as was I at the time) and wanted to know if I was still living there as well. Turns out he and his wife had been there for several years. Anyways, we started emailing back and forth and at some point I ask him if he still kept in contact with anybody else from high school. He informs me that he does and sends me a list of people that I knew and where they were living and what they were up to. Jason was on that list. At the time, I had connected with several other people I'd gone to high school with, so my curiosity was piqued. I decided to do a little search for him on Friendster. And lo and behold, his name popped up!

Now, although everything worked out well for me, I should you warn you about a little feature on Friendster that I was unaware of at the time. When you click on somebody's profile, it tells them that you've looked at it. Anonymous snoopers beware! So, there I was just innocently doing some good 'ol internet stalking and I realize that now the guy I dated in high school who I haven't spoken to in twelve years is going to have a note on his account saying that I was sneaking around. "Oh, uh, hey, pay no attention to the girl behind the curtain......"

So, to try and save a little stalker face, I decided to send him an email. Just a, "Hey, saw your profile, hope you are well..." kinda thing. And that, my friends, is how it all started. He responded back to that email. We kept responding back and forth until we had emails that were upwards of five to ten pages long. Emails turned into phone calls and phone calls turned into a meet up several months later. I flew out to Pittsburgh from CA and then we took a short vacation up to Toronto. By the end of the trip we were both like, "What are we going to do?!?!"

We dated long distance for nine (LONG) months seeing each other at least once a month and talking every night on the phone. In March, I made the move out to Pittsburgh. I was really burned out on my job and CA in general and was ready for a big change. The only sad part being that I would need to leave all my CA friends behind.

So, that's my story. The semi-short version of it anyways. I'm in a happy relationship and slowly adjusting to the new town. I look forward to seasons and leaves changing colors and snowmen. Oh, and the fireflies are pretty awesome here too :)

On a side note, I'd like to wish a belated Happy Birthday to David. I hope you put a candle in a crumpet and made a wish ;)