Arriving in Pittsburgh - June 1 and 2

Drove down to Pittsburgh yesterday. It was exhausting, but fun. Threw all my stuff in my room and, after dinner, went out exploring with Friar. Pittsburgh is a pretty odd city. More than anything, it reminds me of East Lansing or Riverdale. There are a ton of residential neighborhoods with ridiculously large houses punctuated by areas of urban sprawl with short, crumbling buildings. There's a lot of empty space in the city. On top of that, the section of the city where Pitt and CMU reside is a disorienting mix of chains, classic greasy spoon, late-night places, bars, and incredible monuments and buildings built with Carnegie and Mellon money. These buildings aren't just impressively large, they're also designed in an array of architectural styles that seem very out of place. My prime example is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (http://kaijin.smugmug.com/photos/191295297_Geq42-S.jpg). The place looks like a hybrid of a Greek temple and Asian pagoda, and it is sitting in the middle of relatively normal looking neighborhood.

Woke up late this morning and made my way over to the Thomas Merton Center (a.k.a. HRC-FedUp! headquarters). I met a bunch of people there, they were all very nice. Finally met Bret, we had a good conversation, and I feel good about what I'm going to be doing. It's all very self-directed, which is nice, I just hope I don't get bored. It's an odd feeling to know that I have 2 full months to write a paper. After HRC I did some shopping, then mosied over to the Carnegie Public Library (where I anticipate spending a lot of time this summer). Got my library card and caught up on my email. Next up is a used music store, I'll be searching for a Mahler CD.