6/27/10

Sorry I have not kept up with this in 4 days...I have been too busy getting lost in Pittsburgh...
The adventures started on thursday. It was the staff's day off and some of us decided to go out to eat for dinner. Not sure why but the whole day thursday I was incredibly irritated about everything and sad to say...many people. Nevertheless, I decided to go with a group of people to a pub nearby. After taking "detours" here and there, we finally arrived at what we thought was "Penn Dark"??? It sounded like the name of a shady nightclub where your drinks are spiked with LSD....or roofies. Walking around, we discovered a pretty legit block party. After coming closer to the party, it was noticed that it looked like a reception of some sort? Though Ryan wanted to go forward and invite ourselves to the party, we went back to the restaurant. The lighting was horrible, the atmosphere was definitely pub-like and.........they didn't do separate checks!!! This was only the beginning of the dinner fiasco. It already felt awkward being there and best of all, there was a limited menu. So we (me, lacey and ryan) sat down (awkwardly) and looked at the menu. I cannot even begin to explain the awkwardness. I think the problem was that none of us wanted to be put on the same check and we didn't really like the menu...at all. After everyone ordered, the 3 of us and Jaz said we would not get anything. Again...the awkwardness level skyrockets. It doesn't stop there. To make matters even better...there was utter silence. I get a text saying "should we wait until the moment passes?" During this awkwardness I could not stop myself from laughing. I'm sure this didnt make things better. But....how could this moment get any worse? haha. It can only get worse, I thought. Finally..... Jaz took the lead! As awkward as you can imagine, she got up and said she was going to go somewhere else... slowly and extremely uncomfortably, the 3 of us stood up and walked out. I'm not sure I ever felt like that.
So...there we were, the 4 of us outside the restaurant. The question now is....where do we go? I quickly found out we have 4 very indecisive people here. After what seemed forever we tried to go to the Allegheny Sub Shop which of course closed at 2pm. While trying to open the door, this old man from down the street yelled to us and kept telling us to go to these other restaurants so we could pay for his meal (he especially wanted the shrimp fried rice). Ryan was kind enough to give him $4 that he had earned, but that did not satisfy this old man. So then we spent prolly like a half hour walking down that street trying to decide on a place to eat. Of course, none of us could make a decision. So finally we got back in the car and drove to Oakland. On the way there we almost hit a sign and died, but thankfully it was only a close call. We first went to the O but after standing there for awhile finally realized they didn't take card. So once again we turned around and kept walking. Then amazingly we decided on Joe Mama.
Jake here. I wasn't even there. I went to the casino. There was this promotion going on where you could gamble with free money. It was nuts. If it was really my money I would have lost 40 bucks, but in the end we got to keep 90. For free. They have this machine where you play tic tac toe with a real live chicken. He's in there pecking around some box and then beating you at tic tac toe. I think it's rigged. Has any one ever seen the movie "War Games"? Seriously you can't win that game. Just like you can't win thermo nuclear war. We then took our winnings and went to cheese cake factory and ordered shrimp, because during the summer of 2010 the oil spill in the gulf will eradicate the United States of all shrimp, and we had to get some before they were all oily and disgusting.
AMEN Jake.
After being seated, the four of us actually decided on 2 pizzas. I was impressed. Truly. It was pretty legit. Not lying.
Friday. On Friday they serve Pizza at a Park but me, Lacey, and Laura decided to stay on site and have a couple (or more..) slices and then wanted to go to Target. I wrote some directions down (more on that later) and off we go. After driving down what seemed like Mt. Everest, we get to the end of my directions. Of course....It ends where we have to go left or right. We pull off to a parking lot to try and decide this mess. Meanwhile, I'm thinking to myself.....You know what... I probably didn't scroll down enough to get all of the directions. haha....oops. I didn't tell them though :). So there we are sitting in this lot. I'm trying to call 411 for directions and Lacey is trying to work her GPS that isn't pulling up anything, anywhere and is probably only good in Canada or something. Then comes a man in a truck that pulls up in front of us and parks right on the street (illegally). He seems a little scary, especially when he parks and looks at us... as in that "i'm probably going to kill you" look. He gets out, and rummages through his back seat FOREVER, looking under about 4 blankets in the back. He finds what he's looking for and makes his way up to our car. All 3 of us are staring at this man when right from a horror movie, Laura from the back seat screams at the top of her lungs "omg omg omg omg its GUN!!!!"
.....
....
It was a cell phone.
So, after almost getting shot by a cell phone, I get some directions from Target. So there we are again, off on the road! Of course, on account of my lack of directions, we get lost. Or what seemed like it. At this point, we are sure we far from Target and at this point, I'm starting to think this trip is far too adventurous for going to Target. Anyway, we stop at a gas station where we get some legit directions. Again, we're on the road. FINALLY, we get to the right road and we see everything--Bed Bath and Beyond, Walgreens, McDonalds, Rite Aid. So we keep going...and going... and going. Now, we are starting to think we passed it. Of course. So, taking what resources I had, I wrote on a piece of paper "TARGET?" and showed it through our window. Luckily, this guy at the stop light simply pointed in the direction we were traveling. Then he rolled his window down and explained its the next light on the right behind Kohls. THEN, he rolled down his window to tell us he will let us in front. So FINALLY, after making a trip to who knows where, we reach Target. I feel like we just made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Somehow, after Target ,we managed to make our way to the opposite direction of where we needed to. This is amazing. After about 20 minutes of driving in the wrong direction, we stopped for directions, again, only to find out we were, Indeed, way out of our way home. So, we made our way back to the general area, and we stopped for some dessert at McD's. Oddly, we found a game on McD's tables. A spin-the-straw game, if you will. Admittedly, it was fun! To end the night, we safely made our way back home, and get this...without getting lost! It was truly a miracle.
Saturday. Me, Lacey, Ryan, and Laura and Seth decided to hit up Pittsburgh Strip District. It was pretty cool. There were many cool shops and stands around the area. Here lies 4 indecisive people with the tour guide, Seth. This afternoons challenge: Find a place to eat lunch (dun dun dun...). So, we tried Pamalas. They don't accept cards. This seems to happen way too much in Pittsburgh. So from a Miracle from God, we decide to eat at Peppi's. It was pretty good. After that, we decide to go to the South Side District. This area featured more small shops here and there. We spent some good time at Dave's Music Mine looking and reminiscing about 90's classics and taking pictures with a Beyonce cutout. Don't be jealous. We walked down the street to find more cool shops. One was called the Beehive. Supposedly, its a Pittsburgh favorite for a coffee house. And it was a pretty legit atmosphere. Very cool place to just hang out and play Jenga. Yes, Jenga...with penises and phone numbers on the game pieces. After a few games of that, we headed back to the guest house. From there, we wanted to go see Where the Wild Things Are at a park in Mt. Washington. So we follow Seth and his girlfriend Brittany who claim they have directions to the Park. I'm beginning to think "directions" and "pittsburgh" are really not possible. To my amazement, we get to the wrong park, then they assure us they know the way. So we drive....and then we get out of Mt. Washington. Still, nothing is said. We drive more... and more...and keep following Seth. Still......nothing is said (about getting completely lost). After what I'm sure was 40 minutes of driving away from Mt. Washington, we get a phone call saying we are lost. Ok. I'm not sure how much of getting lost I can take. haha. Sure its fun every now and then...but it has to stop somewhere!!! After losing Seth, we turn around and negate the idea of seeing the movie. Instead, we follow through with going to the Hookah bar! I'm getting excited now. It felt like we were in the car for the entire day---oh wait, we practically were. Ha. Anyway, we managed to get our way to the Hookah Bar and...it was nothing I expected it to be. In a good way. The Hookah Bar is in an old church building and when you walk in, its a large open floor with low tables and simple "chairs" or pillow-like chairs to sit on throughout. The lighting was absolutely horrible for the menus you are given, but we decide to get a large hookah with honey melon. I'm not sure if I just didn't care or couldn't see the menu in the dark, but I (and Lacey, Ryan, and Laura) ordered a shake at $5 each. I think we all agreed, though, it was well worth it....yeah....all $5.00......for a shake. We were moved to a corner which was pretty awesome. The place was so incredibly relaxing and chill. I feel like I could go there everyday just to chill out. The actual Hookah experience was pretty cool too.
I'm going to cut this short now, (1) because this is already a novelette and (2) it is 12:00am and I have to be at my weekly meeting downtown at 8am. So, to say the least, the weekend was filled with adventures and...getting lost. A lot. It was a great weekend with great friends. I'm excited to see what other adventures God will take us on this summer :)
Night.