New Job ... new house?

So the details of the Seattle trip will have to be filled in later. Suffice it to say that we had a really good time on Thursday night that we weren't able to top for the rest of the weekend. And Brandon almost made me late for my flight by dropping me off at noon for a 12:40 departure. Thanks.

Anyway, the big news is more that I resigned. That's right. No more working in Philly. I resigned and took a job in Pittsburgh. About a year after I left Pittsburgh, I started wanting to go back. Finally, it's happened. It's with a much smaller company than before, and I couldn't be more excited. I keep on thinking about how great Pittsburgh will be this summer and into the fall and for the next few years. I'd like to go back to school as well, so hopefully ol' Pitt will take me back part time.

This past weekend I headed up to State College to hang out with Nelms and Emily and then Saturday Nelms and I went down to Pittsburgh for a whirlwind house showing. We saw a bunch of places in Squirrel Hill, two in Shadyside and one in Oakland. The one in Oakland is definitely out, mostly due to proximity to campus (don't want to be that close) and the fact that the lobby of the condo building smells like the dorms did freshman year. Riiight.

I guess this might "jinx" it or whatever, but I don't care. I put an offer down for a place in Shadyside. We'll see how that pans out over the next few days. All the places in the Hill were basically a lot of work. Like, rip up the carpets, resand the hardwood, buy all new appliances, new coat of paint, etc., Ugh. Places in Shadyside are a little further along.

Strangest development of the day (besides seeing an honest-to-goodness hitch-hiker on the way from State College to Pittsburgh) was that there are things called "Pittsburgh Pots." These are stand-alone toilets in the basements of some of the older houses in Pittsburgh.

Ick is right.

The realtor told Nelms and I that it dates back to the coal and steel days when the workers would come in all dirty and head straight for the basement to clean up before going upstairs to say hello to the family.

Huh.

Anyway, I'll try to post some more Seattle photos this week. This week I'm also off, but I need to start packing and possibly gather together all the paperwork to like, buy a house.

Maria's back this Saturday; I start working in Pittsburgh Monday. What fun.