Update

Its been a while since I posted, especially a positive post, and I think its time!

The giant pallets of furniture finally made it, and I can't tell you how nice it is to have a place to sit down, dishes (REAL dishes! Not paper ones!) to eat off of, and all the little knick-knacks that make an apartment feel like home. Hopefully we're not jinxing anything, but the neighbors upstairs seem to be keeping their kids a little quieter during the early morning hours, which means we're getting to sleep in later than 6 am on the weekends. Yannis is back from Minneapolis, but will be headed back again on Tuesday for another 10 days. Hopefully after that, we're done and can finally spend some time as an every day, regular couple, instead of this pseudo-long distance thing. Its been great living together and at least having the same address, but only getting a couple days a week with him makes it difficult to really adjust to living in the same house. I realized while he was gone that I've never really lived alone, or even stayed alone. Staying in a big empty apartment alone was pretty scary at first, but now that it feels like home its a lot more bearable, but I'm always happy to see him when he comes home :)

The snow is finally melting! There are still giant piles of gross black snow/ice on the ground hogging up valuable parking spots, but its finally melting. Its been so nice to see the sun these past few days. Cloudy, cold days really make you appreciate the sunshine so much more. I started my new job and am having a great time. My new family and I are dealing with sorting things out (its been difficult without a car and a set schedule), but they're so nice, the kids are great, and I feel so lucky to have found a family like this to work with. The communication seems to really flow and I'm having a great time exploring Pittsburgh with my new tikes. We went to the Phipps Conservatory the other day, a gorgeous greenhouse and garden, which was incredible. The sun was out and it was a fantastic day to go exploring some miniature rain-forests and English gardens. We're really looking forward to Spring and Summer when we can really get out and get our hands dirty in all the parks, trails, and museums have to offer. Its a nice departure from the desert, where there's never much new to do with kids outside of the house. Now I just need a car and I'll be all set!

Manuel : Comment virer un PDG en 1 jour

1. Envoyer 6 allemands en avion d'Allemagne (forcément) vers Pittsburgh

2. Ne pas oublier d'inclure le PDG du groupe dans l'avion.

3. Faire la surprise (de venir)!

4. Après les salutations, dire au PDG de la filiale américaine "Hey how are you? good to see you again! Oh by the way, you are no longer CEO of the company starting now"

5. Mettre en place le nouveau PDG

6. Informer les employés (en voyage) du changement

7. Rester 2 jours et repartir en Allemagne.

I just want to sit down.

So apparantly my stuff is NOT in Harrisburg, as was told to me by my shippers in Palm Desert. I'd be a lot more patient about waiting for my stuff to get here if I just had a chair to sit on and maybe a radio or something. The internet is getting old and shoveling snow isnt as fun as it looks.

I'm on my last nerve, here. Desert Moving is getting an earful from me, if they ever return my phone call.

People here are really nice. I mean REALLY, really nice.

Maybe its just that I've been conditioned to believe most people are pretty selfish (thanks for that, So Cal), but I've been absolutely blown away by people's kindness here.

Exhibit A: I called a taxi to take me to the grocery store on Monday night. It was too snowy to walk and I don't have a car, plus I knew I'd have a lot to haul back up the hill. There was a bit of a wait but I had such a friendly cab driver. Not only did he give me some tips about Pittsburgh (don't steal peoples parking chairs, for example) some driving tips, and a couple Pittsburgh etiquette/slang pointers, but he also came back to the grocery store to get me. I was in line checking my groceries out, about to call the cab company for another cab, and I look up and there he is, nicest cabby in the world, decked out head to toe in black and gold (people are REALLY into sports here), bagging up my groceries and carting them back out to the cab for me. He even helped me haul them all up the icy steps to the front door, and didn't even run the meter. I tipped him extra and he seemed shocked. It was only a 4 dollar cab ride but I felt like I had my own personal assistant for an hour. +1 Pittsburgh!

Exhibit B: The people at the Chick-Fil-A are amazing. I went there yesterday with my new nanny family and not only had the best lemonade ever but we were also 'seated' and our orders taken from our table. Some people lined up at the front to place orders, but staff came out and personally took their orders, told them to have a seat, and brought the food to them. An older woman (the manager, maybe) walked around asking if she could "refresh" our beverages or bring us more condiments. Wow. I never even had service like this at expensive restaurants, let alone a fast food joint with a kiddie area. +2 Pittsburgh!

Exhibit C, D, and E: Numerous offers from people, both friends and strangers, to help me/us out in any way. The upstairs neighbors offered me the use of any towels, pots and pans, or kitchen goods until my stuff gets here. Thanks, neighbors! Our friend Justin is/has been extremely helpful in helping us get settled, find a car, and fix our place up. Justin has a soft spot for Mac and Cheese, so I'm going all out for the next batch. My new mom-boss/nanny family, prior to even meeting me, offered to bring me anything I needed or take me anywhere I needed to go. Really? Wow. I mean I know there's snow and all, but wow. Thank you. +3 Pittsburgh! Even people at the grocery stores, banks, and KMart are super friendly and actually help you find what you need. When I walk in the snow I get a lot of "you're not from around here, are you?" looks, but everyone is understanding and helpful. I wasn't really expecting that, at all.

Yannis needs to post more!

Ah, the sun. I can finally see and feel the sun. It only pokes through the clouds every few minutes for just a second or two, but its there. The dripping sounds of melting snow are almost as soothing as the sound of rain falling, but much more relieving...except that melted snow = ice tomorrow. Either way, I'm just happy the white stuff is disappearing, slowly but surely.

This week has been a bit nutty. I should have been blogging all along, seeing as I've been in this big empty apartment with nothing to do and nowhere to go (oh woah-oh). The snow made it more than inconvenient to get out and discover the neighborhood, what with a lack of sidewalks and all. My furniture was supposed to arrive on the Monday the 15th, but when I called to ask what time it would be delivered, I was told my stuff was....still in Palm Desert? What? Yep. So now its Friday, and I'm "told" my stuff arrived in Harrisburg the yesterday and should be delivered today. Harrisburg is on the other side of PA for those of you wondering. It'd probably be faster for me to go pick the stuff up myself. Of course, they don't deliver on Saturdays so if it doesn't come today we've got to wait till Monday. Grrrrr. I just want my couch and my bed...just something to sit on besides an air mattress and a hardwood floor...cozy and cute as they are, they are also hard and cold.

Moving drama aside, the place is fantastic. We've got a little work to do, mainly just basic sprucing-up like a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom needs a little work, but our landlord is staying on top of it (as much as a 75 year old Hungarian who speaks little English can). We're getting a new vanity to replace the fluorescent monstrosity thats currently calling our bathroom home, and tomorrow theres a guy coming to seal up and paint our bathroom. I'm just hoping this doesn't mean we have to go shower-less while the layers of paint dry. Stinky. Yannis got back from Minneapolis last night and it was SO good to see him after being alone in this place all week. I can't wait until he's done with this assignment.

On a cheery note, these have to be the orangiest oranges i've ever seen...and delicious, too! Thanks, Giant Eagle.

GAH!

still crying. Jesus freaking Christ. Thanks for nothing, Google.

Its the final countdown!

Today I:

packed the last of my boxes
booked a one-way ticket outta here
made a delish chicken Parmesan. Take that, Rachael Ray.

Today was a good day.