twodoebs
Random Thoughts From Our Random MindsMonday, August 02, 2010
Our One-Year Yinzer-versary
By: Doebette
This week (well yesterday, technically speaking) marks our one-year Yinzer-versary! It was one year ago we moved to Pittsburgh.
For those of you who don't know what a Yinzer is - let me enlighten.
"Yinz" is the Pittsburgh version of "y'all". But where "y'all" is an actual contraction (you + all) and is a sweet colloquialism that is easily adopted by nothern visitors -Yinzers (aka, those for whom Yinz is a normal word in the lexicon) well - quite simpley - being a Yinzer is a way of life. Yinzers live in/around Pittsburgh and have a very specific accent and even vocabulary. For example - "down town" is pronounced "dahntahn". "Irons" are beers (don't worry, that one actually isn't so crazy. The local favorite beer is Iron City). Yinzers add the phrase 'n'at to the end of a sentence that is meant to indicate a 'series' or 'mulitple'. I presume it started from "and all that" but was shortened. For example, I am going 'dahntahn' to drink some "Irons'n'at". Ohh Yinzers. they are funny.
For those of you with copious amounts of spare time - there is no end to the Yinzer hilarity on YouTube.
Anyway - here's some of the things I've learned about living in Pittsburgh in this last year.
1. Drivers are so nice they actually are TOO nice. I can't tell you the number of times people being overly nice to each other at an intersection and letting a car go thru has actually screwed up traffic or practically caused an accident. Don't worry, if a driver waves me thru, I GO.
2. Things are cheaper here. Boy it's nice to have a mangeable cost of living.
3. YOU CAN'T GET FRESH BAKERY ON A SUNDAY. It's crazy. Honsetly crazy. And it breaks my heart every Sunday.
4. I have never seen a people so rabid than a bunch of Steeler fans on Sunday. It's honestly bizarre. What's funny tho, is even with the rabid fan-dom, you never feel like a fight could breakout at any second. That's probably because you really don't ever see fans from the visitors side but still - drunken fan-ish debauchery with a sense of respect for others. (PS - Philly fans could take a hint from that).
5. This may be Sewickley-specific but 'around here' they don't let the kids trick or treat on Halloween. It's something like the Thursday before Halloween is 'trick or treat' night. That's absurd. And weird. I thought something crazy had happened when returning home from a business trip the Thursday before Halloween this year to find hordes of kids trick or treating everywhere.
6. The Pittsburgh Airport is delightful. It's clean, easy, small and rarely crowded. Now at about 6am on a weekday that place is a madhouse and security lines are out the wazzoo but pretty much the rest of the time everything is a breeze. I LOVE that I can have an 8pm flight, leave my house at 6:30 and: get to the airport, park, get thru security, on the tram, over to the gate in about 50 mins. (Although to be fair, that time I had my boarding pass already printed - but still). Of course the downside to being in a small market is that we don't have the plethora of options and direct flights to other medium or small markets are harder to find but for a gal who mostly goes to DC, Philly or NYC I am served just fine.
7. We eat WAY less take out. There just aren't that many options as NY obviously and not everyone under the sun will deliver to us up in the hills here but for the size of our bank account and the size of our pants, less take out is better.
8. This city has about the most confusing 'parkway' system that I STILL don't understand. There are two different highways that go two different directions both called "Parkway". There's "Parkway East, Northbound" and "Parkway East, Southbound"..."Parkway West, Northbound" and "Parkway West, Southbound - - I THINK.
9. Our poor GPS can't keep up around here. She (our GPS is named Jill) is usually wrong about the highway number or the exit number. Because so much has changed in the highway set up here in the recent years (supposedly), many GPS's are out of date. My plan is usually to follow whatever direction she's giving me if she's right on 2 out of 3 markers (road name, exit number and distance from the exit). If all else fails, just go to the airport. I can definitely find my way home from the airport.
10. Things are just 'easier'. Commuting is easier, parking is easier, getting around (despite aforementioned GPS struggles) is easier, traffic is easier. One thing tho - i wish there was a better public transportation or taxi network here. It makes it impossible for Doebs and I to both enjoy a glass of wine with dinner - but thankfully he ususally lets ME enjoy.
(I will omit my rant about the absolutley logic-less, arcane laws about purchasing alcohol 'round here. I'll save that for another day!)
To celebrate our Yinzer-versary, we went out to a nice new restaurant Saturday night and then yesterday went to enjoy the Rib and Wing Fest (see post below) at Seven Springs. (I also managed to squeeze in a trip to the salon AND a mani/pedi - AND we even did some yard work! We were very productive little homeowners). We also got to sit back and reflect on some of the fun things we did this year like:
1. A few trips to Kennywood
2. Katie and Tom's Thanksgiving party
3. Peggy and Chris's World Cup party
4. OUR Olympics party
5. Kate's Lobsterfest
6. Lots of visits from our friends and family (mom and dad, Gilles,Toko and Thomas, Cindy, Tracy and the girls, David and CC, Kelly, Aunt Chris - KEEP ON COMIN GUYS!! We love having you!!!!)
7. Doebs was able to see some friends in OH back last fall
8. Oh and the STEELERS GAMES!!!
9. The Kidney Walk at the Zoo
10. The Progressive Dinner in the fall
There was lots of fun to be had and we look forward to more.
Though I have said to Doebs and now I say to you all - if Libby starts talking like a Yinzer - we are OUTTA HERE - that day.
For those of you who don't know what a Yinzer is - let me enlighten.
"Yinz" is the Pittsburgh version of "y'all". But where "y'all" is an actual contraction (you + all) and is a sweet colloquialism that is easily adopted by nothern visitors -Yinzers (aka, those for whom Yinz is a normal word in the lexicon) well - quite simpley - being a Yinzer is a way of life. Yinzers live in/around Pittsburgh and have a very specific accent and even vocabulary. For example - "down town" is pronounced "dahntahn". "Irons" are beers (don't worry, that one actually isn't so crazy. The local favorite beer is Iron City). Yinzers add the phrase 'n'at to the end of a sentence that is meant to indicate a 'series' or 'mulitple'. I presume it started from "and all that" but was shortened. For example, I am going 'dahntahn' to drink some "Irons'n'at". Ohh Yinzers. they are funny.
For those of you with copious amounts of spare time - there is no end to the Yinzer hilarity on YouTube.
Anyway - here's some of the things I've learned about living in Pittsburgh in this last year.
1. Drivers are so nice they actually are TOO nice. I can't tell you the number of times people being overly nice to each other at an intersection and letting a car go thru has actually screwed up traffic or practically caused an accident. Don't worry, if a driver waves me thru, I GO.
2. Things are cheaper here. Boy it's nice to have a mangeable cost of living.
3. YOU CAN'T GET FRESH BAKERY ON A SUNDAY. It's crazy. Honsetly crazy. And it breaks my heart every Sunday.
4. I have never seen a people so rabid than a bunch of Steeler fans on Sunday. It's honestly bizarre. What's funny tho, is even with the rabid fan-dom, you never feel like a fight could breakout at any second. That's probably because you really don't ever see fans from the visitors side but still - drunken fan-ish debauchery with a sense of respect for others. (PS - Philly fans could take a hint from that).
5. This may be Sewickley-specific but 'around here' they don't let the kids trick or treat on Halloween. It's something like the Thursday before Halloween is 'trick or treat' night. That's absurd. And weird. I thought something crazy had happened when returning home from a business trip the Thursday before Halloween this year to find hordes of kids trick or treating everywhere.
6. The Pittsburgh Airport is delightful. It's clean, easy, small and rarely crowded. Now at about 6am on a weekday that place is a madhouse and security lines are out the wazzoo but pretty much the rest of the time everything is a breeze. I LOVE that I can have an 8pm flight, leave my house at 6:30 and: get to the airport, park, get thru security, on the tram, over to the gate in about 50 mins. (Although to be fair, that time I had my boarding pass already printed - but still). Of course the downside to being in a small market is that we don't have the plethora of options and direct flights to other medium or small markets are harder to find but for a gal who mostly goes to DC, Philly or NYC I am served just fine.
7. We eat WAY less take out. There just aren't that many options as NY obviously and not everyone under the sun will deliver to us up in the hills here but for the size of our bank account and the size of our pants, less take out is better.
8. This city has about the most confusing 'parkway' system that I STILL don't understand. There are two different highways that go two different directions both called "Parkway". There's "Parkway East, Northbound" and "Parkway East, Southbound"..."Parkway West, Northbound" and "Parkway West, Southbound - - I THINK.
9. Our poor GPS can't keep up around here. She (our GPS is named Jill) is usually wrong about the highway number or the exit number. Because so much has changed in the highway set up here in the recent years (supposedly), many GPS's are out of date. My plan is usually to follow whatever direction she's giving me if she's right on 2 out of 3 markers (road name, exit number and distance from the exit). If all else fails, just go to the airport. I can definitely find my way home from the airport.
10. Things are just 'easier'. Commuting is easier, parking is easier, getting around (despite aforementioned GPS struggles) is easier, traffic is easier. One thing tho - i wish there was a better public transportation or taxi network here. It makes it impossible for Doebs and I to both enjoy a glass of wine with dinner - but thankfully he ususally lets ME enjoy.
(I will omit my rant about the absolutley logic-less, arcane laws about purchasing alcohol 'round here. I'll save that for another day!)
To celebrate our Yinzer-versary, we went out to a nice new restaurant Saturday night and then yesterday went to enjoy the Rib and Wing Fest (see post below) at Seven Springs. (I also managed to squeeze in a trip to the salon AND a mani/pedi - AND we even did some yard work! We were very productive little homeowners). We also got to sit back and reflect on some of the fun things we did this year like:
1. A few trips to Kennywood
2. Katie and Tom's Thanksgiving party
3. Peggy and Chris's World Cup party
4. OUR Olympics party
5. Kate's Lobsterfest
6. Lots of visits from our friends and family (mom and dad, Gilles,Toko and Thomas, Cindy, Tracy and the girls, David and CC, Kelly, Aunt Chris - KEEP ON COMIN GUYS!! We love having you!!!!)
7. Doebs was able to see some friends in OH back last fall
8. Oh and the STEELERS GAMES!!!
9. The Kidney Walk at the Zoo
10. The Progressive Dinner in the fall
There was lots of fun to be had and we look forward to more.
Though I have said to Doebs and now I say to you all - if Libby starts talking like a Yinzer - we are OUTTA HERE - that day.
Comments:
To add my 2 cents on a FEW topics, here:
5) I'm PRETTY sure you're just a BIT misguided on the Trick-Or-Treating thing. It's not that they don't let kids Trick-Or-Treat ON Halloween, it's that they don't let kids Trick-Or-Treat on the WEEKEND. My understanding is that it's a mischief-avoidance thing . . . kids are less likely to stay out late and do bad things (vandalize) when they have to get up for school the next day than they are on the weekend. And it just so happens that the only Halloween you were here for was on a Saturday night. (And, unfortunately, this year it's on a Sunday . . . although, maybe they WILL allow Trick-Or-Treating on a Sunday, 'cause it IS a weeknight--that'll be interesting.)
6. I predict that more air-routes will be coming through Pittsburgh in years to come. Pittsburgh lost out when USAirways (who was the main tenant of the Pittsburgh International Airport) took their ball and left after the county wanted to charge new fees for takeoffs and landings. But the void that's been left behind WILL be filled by somebody 'cause there's business being lost that's created by US-Scare's stubbornness. Southwest and JetBlue have already started to add new flights out of Pittsburgh.
8. How many times do I have to TELL you?--The Parkway East and the Parkway West run INBOUND and OUTBOUND. It would be CRAZY for them to run Northbound and Southbound . . . (I think.) As for the Parkway NORTH, I refuse to refer to that--it's 279 to me. For that matter, I'm OK calling the Parkway East 376 and the Parkway West . . . uh--the road out by the airport? The upshot to not using their numbers is that whenever you need to refer to a major road in Pittsburgh, you can always just say "The Parkway" and you're probably correct.
9. The GPS thing annoys me. Why can't the GPS manufacturers get the updated exit numbers? It's been 10 years since they changed!--get it right, already.
10. Pittsburgh DOES need more taxis. Period. I will NOT omit the rant about the alcohol purchasing laws. THEY SHOULD BE UPDATED. (see, e.g. http://doebtown.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-message-to-sen-john-pippy-and-rep.html )
A couple of things you left out about the last year:
- the snowstorm(s)
- Phipps Conservatory
- The Carnegie Museum
- great proximity to and help from Bob and Paula
- 400 RLD Bar
- The Dream
- Hosting our first Thanksgiving
- Playing in the woods in our backyard (mostly just me and Weber!)
It's been a good year!
**********
5) I'm PRETTY sure you're just a BIT misguided on the Trick-Or-Treating thing. It's not that they don't let kids Trick-Or-Treat ON Halloween, it's that they don't let kids Trick-Or-Treat on the WEEKEND. My understanding is that it's a mischief-avoidance thing . . . kids are less likely to stay out late and do bad things (vandalize) when they have to get up for school the next day than they are on the weekend. And it just so happens that the only Halloween you were here for was on a Saturday night. (And, unfortunately, this year it's on a Sunday . . . although, maybe they WILL allow Trick-Or-Treating on a Sunday, 'cause it IS a weeknight--that'll be interesting.)
6. I predict that more air-routes will be coming through Pittsburgh in years to come. Pittsburgh lost out when USAirways (who was the main tenant of the Pittsburgh International Airport) took their ball and left after the county wanted to charge new fees for takeoffs and landings. But the void that's been left behind WILL be filled by somebody 'cause there's business being lost that's created by US-Scare's stubbornness. Southwest and JetBlue have already started to add new flights out of Pittsburgh.
8. How many times do I have to TELL you?--The Parkway East and the Parkway West run INBOUND and OUTBOUND. It would be CRAZY for them to run Northbound and Southbound . . . (I think.) As for the Parkway NORTH, I refuse to refer to that--it's 279 to me. For that matter, I'm OK calling the Parkway East 376 and the Parkway West . . . uh--the road out by the airport? The upshot to not using their numbers is that whenever you need to refer to a major road in Pittsburgh, you can always just say "The Parkway" and you're probably correct.
9. The GPS thing annoys me. Why can't the GPS manufacturers get the updated exit numbers? It's been 10 years since they changed!--get it right, already.
10. Pittsburgh DOES need more taxis. Period. I will NOT omit the rant about the alcohol purchasing laws. THEY SHOULD BE UPDATED. (see, e.g. http://doebtown.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-message-to-sen-john-pippy-and-rep.html )
A couple of things you left out about the last year:
- the snowstorm(s)
- Phipps Conservatory
- The Carnegie Museum
- great proximity to and help from Bob and Paula
- 400 RLD Bar
- The Dream
- Hosting our first Thanksgiving
- Playing in the woods in our backyard (mostly just me and Weber!)
It's been a good year!
**********
5) Matthew is correct that Kati misunderstands the Halloween thing, but Kati is correct that it's just goofy. I would like to see some data that there is that much more mischief when kids trick-or-treat on Saturday. One could even argue that trick-or-treating on a weeknight is bad for their school performance and that it should only happen on Friday or Saturday.
8. The Inbound and Outbound Parkways are perfectly logical. But I'm not sure I would take driving directions from Matthew.
10. Pittsburgh definitely needs more/better cabs!
**********
Post a Comment
8. The Inbound and Outbound Parkways are perfectly logical. But I'm not sure I would take driving directions from Matthew.
10. Pittsburgh definitely needs more/better cabs!
**********
Archives
April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 October 2012 December 2012
