Steel City...Soon to be Home

I finally heard from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh last week. I'm on the waiting list for two complexes in the city. I'll take either one, because I want this so bad I can taste it. This is what will happen - especially if the apartment comes up when there's no snow on the ground. I'm going to walk virtually everywhere and take pictures. I was down there a couple of years ago, but my mom and I only spent a few hours. There was so much we didn't do. And I'm going to do it all. I'm going to Primantis for a sandwich. I'm going to Eat n Park again, to get a chocolate milkshake so thick you almost have to eat it with a spoon. Throw some grilled stickies a la mode on my plate also. I'm going to go to PNC Park and see the Roberto Clemente statue and the Willie Stargell gate. I'll go see Consol Energy Center and see the Mario Lemieux statue. I'll go up the inclines and go to the Point. Go to the zoo, go to the aquarium, if there is one. I've never been to an aquarium. All in the first week. If I get into the building I hope to get into - although I will take the other one - on Pressley Street, I'll be able to walk to Giant Eagle, a three-minute walk, and Allegheny Center Alliance Church, an eight-minute walk. I want to walk across the Roberto Clemente bridge and take the Gateway Clipper.

I will be able to fulfill my ministry calling in Pittsburgh as well. The Allegheny Center Alliance Church has an urban ministry outreach that I will be able to get involved in. I'll be looking for an office job that I can do. For now, I have SSI, and will have that when I get to Pittsburgh, but I want to get off it. I need a job that I can do, a clerical job. I'm just really excited now that I have a plan. I have an image in my head, I can see it. And the food, I can taste it. And I can't wait. <3

It's Graduation, not a Campaign Stop

This morning, I and the rest of Liberty Class of 2012 got news that made our heads explode. Mitt Romney has been selected as the keynote speaker for our Commencement ceremony in three weeks. Everyone else's problem is that he is Mormon. It is not this that I have a problem with, although you'd think a Christian university would have selected someone in line with their beliefs. This country is not a Christian nation. You want a theocracy, go over to the Middle East or something. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Presumably, that extends to the office of the President. Nowhere does it say the President must be a Christian. Anyway. I have my own issues with Romney, most chiefly that he is so out of touch with the citizens of this country that it's not even funny. He says he doesn't care about poor people, that we have a safety net. Yet at the same time, he wants to eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is a huge part of that safety net. He does not, and will not, have my vote come November. But again, this is not the problem I have with him that is related to Commencement.

You see, graduation is about the school. It's about the students. The keynote speaker delivers an encouraging, empowering message. If this weren't an election year, I wouldn't care. But I can see him using this as a campaign opportunity, seeking our votes. It's neither the time nor the place, and I hope he knows better. Given what's come out of his mouth so far, though, I'm not so sure. I'm still going, though. There are a lot of people who are cancelling their plans, though, which I will admit, I think is a little strange. I didn't get to walk for my undergrad. It was a long walk that I was not able to do, but I could do now. So I'm going through it, because I want to walk, and have the whole experience. To do otherwise would be sour grapes, and I've really been looking forward to this. Still am.

Spoon Theory II: Don't Try to Solve a Situation About Which You Know Nothing

There's someone I know who...I know they mean well, but they're doing more harm than good, really. It's no one reading this, by the way. I had surgery four weeks ago, yes, but this goes back to before that even. An example is something that happened last Friday, but has happened before. I needed to go to the bank, Rite Aid, and Blue Moon. In that order. This person insisted upon driving me to all of these places. Oh - and the post office afterward, to get a card mailed. The only exercise I get besides my bands and weights is walking. I'm not allowed to take stairs right now as extensively as I normally do (I live five flights up, just for the record). "That's too much walking," I get told. No it's not. I'm tired of being treated like an invalid. I am capable of walking around town, it's not that hard. Yes, I get rides to church, and to Life Group and Game night. But that's because there are sidewalks missing along the route to church, and I really hate that three-way intersection by NBT Bank. And Life Group and Game Night are in the evenings. It's dark when we get out. But during the day, around town, come on. I get told, "But if you move away, there won't be anyone to give you rides!" Well, I didn't need them in Buffalo a couple of summers ago. It's a mile and a half between Paramount Parkway and Raintree Island, some of that along a busy highway. But I managed. Heck, I walked the 15 blocks between the corner of Bailey and Kensington and UB South Campus one day. By the way, Bethany, Leslie, Rachel...whoever else is down there in the city - I won't ask for a ride unless we want to do something or whatever. Then it would make sense. 

As you guys know, my parents aren't going to my graduation. There are several reasons for this. One is that my brother's fiancee is graduating from Buff State on the exact same day, so my brother will not be home to take care of the dogs. In addition, my cat is on canned food now, in the morning, so someone will need to fill her dish. My parents were also hesitant about going, which my friend Amy has not been. My mom actually had the audacity to suggest that this could be done all in one day. We go down Friday, and leave right after the ceremony on Saturday to come back. However, I absolutely must be there Friday morning for Commencement check-in. If I'm not there for that, I cannot walk on Saturday, which would defeat the whole purpose of going in the first place. This woman who's been insisting upon giving me rides has gotten really chummy with my mother. Um. Yeah. She keeps telling me, "Well, they MUST take you to your graduation! I'll watch your cat!" It's so much more than my cat...come on. I want to be able to enjoy my graduation, not go just to say I went. I went and just picked up my diploma at IC, bypassing the ceremony, but that was because I was unable to march, and also...I was right there. Not twelve hours down the road. 

I just wish people would get to know my situation before they judge what I can and cannot handle. This goes for a lot of people, in regards to a lot of different scenarios that I will not go through here. Only I can figure out if I have enough spoons. I get help getting to church, to Life Group, to Game Night...I had help getting around Buffalo last summer for Ben and Chelsea's wedding, but that was really because we were all going to the same place and doing the same things (hotel, church, reception, and back to the hotel). It just made sense. But this right now...no. It's nice to be offered, but I also get made to feel bad if I say no thanks. As for my parents going to my graduation...to people who really don't know, please don't act like you do. It's not okay.

This is me. This is what I need **snark within**

OK, people, I've been hearing the following A LOT. Which tells me that a lot of people don't get it, which...of course they don't. They're not living my life. But here goes. I NEED TO LIVE IN A CITY. I NEED MASS TRANSIT. People think Saranac Lake is great. OK. It's great for you. It is, however, not, as someone put it, "self-sufficient." Especially for me. I cannot hold down a job here (much less one that is self-sustaining). I cannot drive. People who say, "But there are buses here" obviously have no idea how mass transit works. In places like Buffalo and Pittsburgh, if you want to catch the bus, you stand next to a sign that has the number of the bus you need to take to get to point B from where you are. This is called a bus stop. You don't have to call the bus to come get you. Secondly: hospitals. If something goes wrong with my shunt, it's not a neurologist I need. We're way past that point. I need a neurosurgeon. And yes, there is a difference. Saranac Lake cannot get me any of this. I appreciate people giving me rides to and from church and other places. Seriously. A city would give me complete independence, though. People tell me, "But you're supposed to be humble and depend on people!" No...Jesus taught us to depend on each other. It's a two-way street. Where I am now, people cannot depend on me. I cannot give back. I love how people are like, "Just go out and get a job." You have no idea...I don't see my disability, but every job interview I have been to, the interviewer has seen it. They don't ignore it. They don't say "Oh hey, no problem" either. They think, "Oh, she can't get to work," or "She's not smart enough." By moving into a city, I can make that first excuse go away. Small towns are great - for other people. But please, just because they're great for you doesn't mean they're great for everyone. That goes for everything, really.