Biking

Last October, I had a bike accident involving a cracked fork and a nasty fall.  After determining that fixing my beloved orange bike would be more of a project "for later" than a short-term solution, I found myself a lovely gray Schwinn.  I bought this bike from a co-op called Free Ride that fixes and sells bikes (or lets you buy cheap and fix yourself), so it needed just a little straightening and adjusting before I could ride it.  On my first ride, beginning of December, to a destination mere minutes away, I was hit by a car that pulled out of a driveway (slowly, thankfully) and right into me!  "Didn't you see me?" he said.  I wasn't yet too comfortable on that bike to begin with, so between the shaken-up feelings and the impending cold, I was out of commission for biking all winter.

This spring, I finally mustered the motivation to re-straighten the bent rims as best I could and get on the road!  Now that I'm driving to work every day, I've noticed a shift in my thinking (one I'm not fond of) that makes biking seem like much more of a hassle than it is.  Thankfully, it hasn't taken too many rides to give me back my confidence and remind me how much I love the feeling of being on a bike!  The handful of rides I've done so far this year is a far cry from what I was doing in the fall (I rode at least 1.5 miles 26 out of 30 days in September), but being able to get around by bike is probably one of my favorite parts of summer in Pittsburgh.

Free Ride also has a program where you can volunteer time in the shop and use those hours to earn a bike or maintenance classes for free.  I've been meaning to participate ever since I moved here 21 months ago, and I finally volunteered for the first time and went to my first bike maintenance class (on derailleurs) earlier this month.  One of my goals for this year was to do their whole series of six classes, so I'm pleased to have started!

Another exciting biking-related thing was going on an underwear bike ride!  Hundreds of people did a 10-mile ride up and down hills, over bridges, past houses and restaurants, and even through one of Pittsburgh's many tunnels wearing nothing but underwear!  This happens monthly during the summers here, but this was the largest one yet and my first.  Beautiful night for it, and what fun!  

Murals of Pittsburgh, Part II

Update

I've been working for about two and a half months now as a lab tech in a paints/coatings development group at PPG Industries.  I have some administrative responsibilities (customer complaint tracking, cleanliness/efficiency initiative, other duties as assigned), but most of my time is spent in the lab.  This is no chemistry lab, mind you, but a paint lab.  Being in development, I get to work on a variety of paint formulations, but the basics stay the same: collect raw materials, mix up a small batch of paint, adjust the formula and remake the paint as many times as needed to obtain the right color or specifications, paint metal panels with said paint, put said painted panels through testing or cut them up into displays for a customer.

Probably the most useful outcome of this position for me will be the look I'm getting into industry.  Quite a bit different from the nonprofit/academic world I've been in.  I don't imagine I'll work in paints long-term, but I'm enjoying becoming familiar with how the company functions and I'm trying to pick up bits and pieces of chemistry along the way.  It'll take me a while longer to completely know my way around or to have a good sense of what goes into the production of the big batches of paint that actually get sold.

Even in the short time I've been at PPG, I've settled into a routine that makes me feel like I've been doing this for quite some time.  Working in a small-town suburb, driving to work every day, and getting to know coworkers with significantly different priorities than mine were all big adjustments at the beginning.  Surprising how quickly something can become the new normal.

Outside of work, my stressing about the growing number of adult-ish things I have to do has been punctuated by some novels, some trips to Indy, some newly learned Hindi phrases, some happy hours, some chilly walks, and a lot of snuggling up in blankets.  

You Is Brave

A story.  This is from back in February when we all made mini podcasts as part of one of our PULSE seminars.  Makes me wish my whole life was set to music!

The Search

I enjoy quite a number of activities; job searching is not one of them.  As I keep looking, I feel discouraged, humbled, resigned, hopeful.  I more or less know what I want, but here's the thing: there's a diagram in my head, one circle enclosed in another.  In the inner circle are things I know I want eventually, things that will help me reach my long-term goals.  The outer circle holds (many more) things I would enjoy doing, things I would consider worthwhile ways to spend time, things that can pay the rent.  I'd been almost completely focused on the inner circle, but after a couple pieces of disappointing news there, I'm trying to decide where the new boundary for my search should fall.  Thinking 1) How much energy should I spend on what? and 2) It's probably as much about timing as anything.

As an aside, my very privileged version of unemployment is making me consider the equation our society tends to make between a person's occupation and a person's worth.  It's not cool.

This situation does have its perks: time to work on projects, time to read novels (gasp), time to clean and bake and organize my room so I can actually feel settled.  And I must say I'm better rested than I've been in a while!  This late-night blog writing is not the sign of dysfunctional sleep patterns it would normally be--instead it's because I don't feel tired enough to fall asleep immediately upon touching my bed!  (Granted, my sleep patterns are still not much to speak of.)

The search continues.  If you get impatient for an update, it probably means I am too.  

Perspective

It's been long enough, eh?

Friday is my last day at GBA.  I've had a great year there and will miss working with my fantastic team.  I'm thrilled to be staying in Pittsburgh though, surprisingly so.  (I have an irrational fear of getting "stuck" here, as if somehow being happy enough to stay is a bad thing...)  What can I say, Pittsburgh is a good city.  My housemates and I are moving a couple neighborhoods over at the end of the month, and I can't wait to get settled in our new place!  I'm looking at various chemistry opportunities and have an interview next week.  More on that when I actually have news to share.  We met the incoming PULSErs tonight, and while I'm ready to move on, I'm also quite excited for the great year I know they have ahead.  I keep trying to remember how it felt to be beginning this program, to see myself through their eyes.  Lots of transition in the next few weeks, but I'm happy.

And now, for some pictures from atop the 64-story US Steel Tower, where I got to go on a tour last week!

The Point

Three Sisters

Strip District

Hill District, Oakland

Looking down the Monongahela

Looking toward the South Side

The big brick building on the right is where I work--for a few more days!

US Steel Tower from the ground

Audit

Another external blog post, this one about an event I coordinated at our office: http://www.go-gba.org/energy-audit-eps/.