Drunk Day III was bigger than the sum of it's parts. It has grown, and it is good. I started late, but dammit I'm glad I came.
The whole event got me to thinking, "what's so wrong with Pittsburgh?" Maybe you could throw 18 or 19 things back at me, but that's not my point.
What it really get's down to is, "what aren't you happy with?" I get to thinking that some folks expect perfect weather, palm trees, and a social scene buzzing all around them will make them happy. Not too much city, but not in the boondocks. Not boring, but not in a concrete jungle. Living life like characters from "Friends" during the day, "Greg & Dharma" at night, and the "OC" on weekends. Friendly neighbors, but not so friendly you have to deal with them more than 5 minutes a week. Where you shop, everyone is pretty, and young, and successful, and there are a minimum of busy moms and old farts to get in your way.
...
People are friggin' deluded.
Weather is supposed to change, and sometimes, it's bad! I mean, when I was living in Pittsburgh, people used that old joke, "if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes. People use the same dumb joke in Atlanta too. Personally, I don't necessarily see the big deal. When we visited San Diego (where it's 72F year round), we passed some leather jackets in a store one time and I thought to myself, "what the hell are those for? Don't people live in San Diego so they don't have to wear jackets?" I understand Northern seniors who move South to avoid 60 days of snow each year, but for anyone else that discounts an entire region because of it's "uncooperative weather", I say, adapt.
Then there's the comment, "there's nothing going on in this place." Well what do you expect? Weekly parades? Singles mingling outside of your apartment every night? Some coffee shop with eclectic furniture and people that don't seem to have jobs? Dream on, Phobe. That sh-t exists only in the movies and on TV. You can be just as bored in Maui as you can be in Milkwaukee, and the only difference is, there's no way you could live in Maui. I don't care what city you live in or near, there isn't some rule that states it has to pale in comparison to "cooler" cities like New York or Los Angeles. Let me dispell the rumors right now: New York and Los Angeles are both crowded cesspools. Yeah, there's cool parts in them where people write Anti-War poetry in trendy cafes, all very reminiscant of a McDonald's commercial or Avril Lavene video, but for anything less than $1600 a month, your ass is leasing a basement in Brooklyn or Compton.
Personally, I haven't met a city or town I didn't like, with the exception of Jacksonville, North Carolina. You know, come to think of it, scratch that. I even started liking that place too toward the end. Really, what I think it comes down to is not where you live, but who's around you. It's like my friend Klos found out, new places don't beat old friends and family.
Fortunately for me, I've got good company. I can stick with any place I roam, so long as she tags along...
Unless, that is, if it gets boring, or the weather is too wet, or they have less than 10 Starbucks' per square mile.
