About Me
I am from St.
Louis originally, but now live in Pittsburgh, PA. I also enjoy
playing golf,
racquetball, and flag football, but am finding less and less time for
stuff like that as life moves forward.
To learn more
about my first name, check out this page I made about 7 years
ago.
PLACES
I'VE LIVED
Granite City, IL
I grew up in
Granite City. It's about 15 minutes from St. Louis and is a steel
town. I enjoyed growing up there, and have very fond memories of
school, church, and of the people. It is unlikely that I would
move back there, but I can say that I would not have traded my life in
Granite City for anything. I recommend going to Taco Le and Vin
Hoa, both on Nameoki Road.
Kirksville, MO
I got my
bachelor's degree at Truman State
University,
which is basically the lifeblood of Kirksville. It's a small town
(about 15K + about 6K of students), but definitely endearing. If
given the chance, I would move back to Kirksville, especially to teach
at Truman. If you are in Kirksville, I strongly suggest having a ronza from Paglia's Pizza,
and a beer or two at Too Talls Two.
Oak Ridge, TN
I spent about 7
months in Oak Ridge working at Oak Ridge National Lab. This town
went up literally overnight back in
the
50's (I think) so they could start doing nuclear research. I
remember going to Crystal quite a lot, as well as Godfather's Pizza
when
I was there ('94). I strongly suggest taking a tour of ORNL,
though. They do an incredible amount of research there, and the
historical value is off the charts.
Madison, WI
The best place
I've ever lived, no doubt. There is so much to do I didn't cover
very much of it in my two years there. Yes, it is cold, but if
that doesn't bother you (I love winter), Madison is the perfect place
to
live. It is large enough (around 200K) to get anything you need,
and the people there are beyond friendly. I had perfect strangers
talking to me on nearly a daily basis. There are no skyscrapers,
but it is the capital of Wisconsin, so there is always a demonstration,
or something going on. I once saw two guys swordfighting on campus and after
a
second look, realized they were actors and had a hat sitting out for
donations. I also remember the blue-robed old man who stood up on
a small tower shouting at everyone who went by that they were all
sinners and doomed. Man I enjoyed that. Before I moved to
Madison, I did enjoy college football. By the time the
cheeseheads
got to me, I
LOVED BADGER FOOTBALL. I lived about
a block from the stadium, so to witness the sea of red in the streets
before games was intense and enticing. I will always root for the
Badgers, and am proud that I went to UW.
If you are
Madison, definitely take a stroll down State Street. You can stop
at any restaurant or bar there and have a nice time and get good food.
By the way, Madison ranks #1 in the country for most restaurants
per person. Personally, I always enjoyed Falbo's Pizza and State
Street Brats.
Pittsburgh, PA
And currently I
live in the 'burgh. It's a big city, but is really about 100
small
towns smushed together. There is a great mix of culture and
sports
here (I'm a bit behind on the cultural side though!), and the food is
absolutely tremendous. One thing I've noticed about Pittsburgh is
that things are always changing. They are always working on
something here, or building something new there. That's a good
sign, I think. The current effort is to build up the riverfront
between Heinz Field and PNC Park - it's going to be sweet when the
finish. I always wondered why they didn't take advantage of any
of
their riverfront space (they friggen' have 3 of them!).
As far as
recommendations go, I have several. You must go to the Church Brewworks. I only go
when I have guests in town, but I should go more often. It's an
old Catholic church that was going to be torn down, but instead it was
purchased and turned into a microbrewery. The confessionals now
hold booze and t-shirts to sell. How cool is that? You
also
must get a Primanti Brother's sandwich - I will
probably miss this most of all when I leave Pittsburgh. There are
also "O" fries from the Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland - they are
made
completely from scratch on location. While in Oakland, you would
also enjoy Dave & Andy's ice cream (again, made on premises).
Lastly, there are many places to visit, but some of my favorites are
Station Square (by the inclines, which you should ride, btw), the
Homestead waterfront area (by the high-level bridge, it is new &
unique), and of course, the Point State Park downtown (where the three
rivers meet).
last update: 1/24/03
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