Lest I forget, I actually have a blog here that I need to post on occasionally.
I've had a hectic two weeks. I spent this past weekend in Pittsburgh, watching my cousin Isaac Ward get hitched to a Gina Martino. Their wedding is the second of four that I am obliged to attend this summer. Next up is Kevin M.'s to Gena and then Ben Popper's extravaganza (bike-themed?) to Julie Eisenhardt. It's good to see everyone in wedded (or soon-to-be) bliss, but thank god for good buffets to make up for driving half-way across the country every couple of weeks. I kid, of course.
One thing nice about going to Pittsburgh was that I was able to spend some time getting acquainted with the city in more than a cursory manner. Allison and I came in Thursday night with David Oresick, a classmate of Allison's, who also incidentally has the nicest parents besides my own. They fed Allison and I and gave us a place to crash. Curtis Mann and Brooke stayed there a night, too, on a long trip back from NYC, and they said the same: that the Oresick Manor is the place to be in Steel City.
On Friday morning, I went for a good run through Highland Park and explored the
reservoirs at the top of the hill. The hill leading up to the reservoir was a killer, just as steep as anything in Cincinnati. I was planning on bringing my bike, but I decided that the hassle of lugging a bike around wasn't worth it, considering that I wasn't even sure how much time I would have (and how well I would feel). After showering, eating and packing-up, Allison, David and I were off to the Carnegie International for the biennial Life on Mars art exhibit.
There was so much to see at the Carnegie, but favorite pieces were
Cavemanman by Thomas Hirschorn,
Matthew Monahan's The Feral, and Barry McGee's graffiti/video work (which featured Eddy Merckx content!) After seeing most of what there was to see, Allison and I left David and went off to meet my brothers who had gotten into town and were at the hotel. After getting lost and confused in the non-gridded street plan of Pittsburgh, Allison and I found where we were staying and met up with Ian, Eric, and Eric's girlfriend Kemen. Long story short, Eric and I coerced Ian into jumping into the Allegheny River in an effort to catch a football. Ian cut himself on some rusty metal and then freaked-out when we noticed the signs warning of sewage in the water after rainstorms, which incidentally, had come through earlier that day. So far Ian's not turned septic, so I think we have little to worry about.
After our return to the hotel, we all went down to what is supposedly Pittsburgh's best pizza place for dinner. We arrived later than most everyone else, but we still managed to eat and drink like pigs. Once things winded down, we stumbled back to the hotel and passed-out. In the morning, I went running again, explored the parks on the southern side of the Allegheny and enjoyed a quiet time by myself, sweating and listening to the sounds of my shoes slapping against the sidewalk. Running, for all its annoyances, is in certain ways so much more enjoyable than cycling. All you need is a pair of shoes, easily packed, some shorts, and that's it. No fuss with dragging a bike, kit, tools, helmet, shoes, etc. around. Just shoes and shorts and 45 free minutes.
The run made me hungry, and it was 9:30, so I woke up my brothers and Allison and we went downstairs and got breakfast. Ian told us of wandering around the hotel at 4 A.M. and hanging out with the hotel employees preparing the breakfast and of reading the newspaper when it first arrived – I may wake early, buhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
t not nearly so early as he. I at least wait until the sun's risen.
With our bellies full of tolerable food, we were off to the
Mattress Factory Art Museum. The main exhibit titled "Inner and Outer Space" consisted of riffs on space, place and what it means to navigate and move through the world. I enjoyed
being there by Mark Garry, which consisted of a rainbow made-up of colored threads beaming down from the ceiling to the floor to the wall. Got spooked by the permanent exhibitions, especially Pleiades, but Eric ruined the effect of floating in the vacuum of space by opening his cellphone up and killing my dark vision. Thanks. After lunch, we messed with the outdoor water feature, and then looked at bad art at the auxiliary Mattress Factory museum down the street.
That night was the wedding and I, and my brothers, and Allison and Kemen, burned off our dinner and drinks through some of the most ferocious and violent dancing around. The ceremony itself was beautiful, and short and sweet, just as weddings should be. Passed out at around 1:00, just from sheer exhaustion.
Sunday morning, we all gathered together downstairs for brunch and Father's Day with my grandfather. I ate mostly fruit to make up for Saturday night's dinner of BBQ chicken, macaroni and cheese and cake. Said goodbye to my family about 100 times per person and Allison and I were off to pick up David. After retrieving him and enjoying some food at his parent's, we were finally on the road back to Chicago.
