My name is Stacey. I'm 39 years old and live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though I do love to write, I don't make a living doing it. I work at a health insurance company as a consultant for operations and compliance issues. I usually love my work. It's exciting and challenging for me.
I have two pets; Zoe, the dog, and Fred, the cat. I have one sister who's ten
years older than I am. She
has three children that I adore! My parents live nearby as active retirees. I
never know what they'll be up to next. They can (and do!) run rings around me.
I love spending time with my friends and family.
I am a Libra (for those who like to know such things) and my birthday is
October 2. Libra's are pretty cool people once you get to know them. We can be
a little vain and a lot romantic. I love candles, wine, pretty silver jewelry,
sharp (not overstated) dressers, athletes, music, writing, reading, fabulous
meals
with friends and lovers, and "perfect moments" in life. It doesn't take much
to get me laughing and I like a well-told story.
Libra's get a bad rap in life. I'm not sure why but they do so it's up to me to set things straight here. Well, maybe not THAT straight (wink, wink) but a little bit straight. You see, a lot of very well meaning people think we're indecisive. We're not. Are we? I mean, what does it mean to be indecisive? That could mean a lot of things, I think. Like maybe we just like to keep our options open. Or maybe we like so many different things that's it's hard to pick just one on any given occasion. Don't even ask me what restaurant I'd like to go to; that's like opening Pandora's box for a Libra. Just tell us where you would like to go and we'll suggest somewhere different. Yep, that's a Libra for ya! Okay so maybe we are a little frustrating but once you catch on, you'll do just fine.
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (a.k.a. the "Steel City").
Pittsburgh is probably a lot different than you imagine. It's a heck of a lot
cleaner than those old 1950's photographs portray and there are plenty of new
buildings and two new sports stadiums. It's very hilly here; some communities
are actually built into the hillsides looking out over the downtown area. This
is the view from atop Mount Washington.
The ethnic community in Pittsburgh thrives. There are entire communities built around various ethnic groups dating back to the immigrant ghettos that arose during the Industrial Revolution including: German (Troy Hill), Italian (Bloomfield), African American (Hill District), Jewish (Squirrel Hill), Polish (Polish Hill), Russian, and Irish to name a few. There sure are a lot of hills. We also have the Mexican War Streets which is an area on the North Side that was part of the land given to the U.S. as part of the Mexican American War. We also have cities named Mars, Moon, and Beaver. Go figure.
A lot of the old timers here grew up working in the steel mills. Most of those
are gone now. Next came Gulf Oil's headquarters and Westinghouse. They're
gone. And now? There are a lot of technology start-ups here which may be
driven by Carnegie Mellon University graduates. We've been invaded by
Starbucks but who hasn't? They're trying to revitalize our downtown; been
trying for many years. Everyone always talks about Cleveland and Baltimore and
what grand things they've done to revitalize their cities. We've got a ways to
go to get there. But hey, who can complain about a city that has a Strip
District? And no, that's not a district filled with strip bars. It's a
fabulous area of the city that houses all of the produce and food shippers and
Saturday mornings are well spent brousing all of the shops.
My life since college has been an interesting journey, which, one of these days I really must get around to putting down on paper. I graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. I used to spend hours composing poetry and short stories as a teenager raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. There really wasn't much else to do at that age except get into trouble and play sports.
I majored in Public Relations at W.V.U. The first two years of college were uneventful. My junior year, I moved off campus with a house full of crazy women. This house was so bad that you could actually see the curtains blowing in the winter breeze. My room did not have any heat vent so I used to sit at my desk with three layers of clothes and a blanket wrapped around me. I could actually see my breath.
I worked at a little country store a few blocks away and carried 20 credits. Was I nuts, or what? There was this guy named Wally that used to come and talk with me all night. We sold beer in cans at the store and these awful sandwiches. The owner only let us put one measly slice of corned beef on them. I made Wally special sandwiches and got his 16 ounce Stroh's ready for him before he arrived. The guy only had one leg and hobbled in on crutches. He smoked like a chimney and drank precisely three beers out of a paper bag -- one before his sandwich, one during, and one after. All of the local coal miners would stop in and buy their chew and beer for the road. Quite an interesting joint! I heard all of the local gossip.
I had no idea where I was going to live my senior year. All of my roommates were graduating. A few months before the year ended, I was sitting in the computer lab cursing FORTRAN programming loops for all the world to hear, when I met one of my next roommates. She leaned over to me and asked me if I smoked. The rest is history. I ended up rooming with her and several of her close friends which later became close friends of mine. Those are the people I keep in touch with these days. We had the best time living together. They were all friends with the rugby, hockey, and lacrosse players who were simply insane human beings. The women ruggers used to do this bit in a bar after games called the "Flaming Hitler." They would all head into the bathroom at Redbeards pub, stuff toilet paper into their bare asses, and emerge with flames shooting out from behind. Now those were fun days!
After college, I worked in public television for several years. I have a
photo of me with Big Bird and the Sesame Street gang to prove it. I did
everything from tape traffic to media relations to program listings in TV
Guide. I wrote some on-air promos for shows like "Doctor Who" and tried out to
be a video disc jockey. I guess we thought we could compete with MTV back then
which is utterly ridiculous. I can't complain because we got tons of free
promo CD's and tapes. After three years of long hours and countless laughs, I
received my lay off notice. That's always a huge blow when you aren't
expecting it. I had no idea what I wanted to do next but really didn't think
I'd stick with television. It's a very cut throat business and lots of back
stabbing goes on behind the scenes.
I ended up applying at a friend's company; a little third party benefits administrator that was a subsidiary of our local Blue Cross Blue Shield plan. I've been with the Blue plan for more than 14 years now and have worked my way up to a professional level position doing business compliance and operational consulting. Pretty cool stuff, I must admit. I get to analyze problems and form work teams and I spend a lot of time on the phone with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Insurance Department. We administer two state programs for them. I like my work; it's challenging and offers me plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. Now if we could only do something about the wretched coffee they give us ... but that's another story.
Somehow, I got into the landlording business in 1999. I recall vaguely
thinking, "Hey, this place could really be spectacular if it was fixed up,"
when I saw the "FOR SALE" sign go up on the front lawn. I had been a renter in
the house for the previous four years and I would often dreamily sit on my back
porch conjuring up images of how fabulous the place would look with a new this
or a painted that. The neighborhood kids used to dare each other to ring the
doorbell because they thought it was haunted. I learned about that much later
from my Dad who often worked in the yard and got to know the neighbors better
than I ever had. People that lived in the neighborhood used to ask him for his
business card because they thought he was doing the renovations. He always got
a huge kick out of that.
I also recall thinking, "God, I do not want to move again." That sealed the deal, really. The owners approached me to buy it and I thought about it for a few days. I knew absolutely nothing about buying a house let alone rental property. So I did a little research on the internet, got my ducks in a row, and made an offer. They countered. I countered. We agreed. The house inspection revealed some problems that I already knew about; the worst of which was a sagging first floor and shifting main beam. Then the borough code inspectors swept in and blew my doors off with a list of things that had to be remedied. Oh well, I bought it anyhow and still own it today. I have a list of good contractors a mile long if you need a referral. This is a photo before I put new siding on it. It's a beautiful Victorian that was rental property for the past 20 years or so. Must have been one hell of a grand old place at one time. My landlording experiences have been good so far. If you're thinking about becoming a landlord, I strongly suggest you read up on it. The law favors tenants. Rent "Pacific Heights" and let that sink in before you make the leap. Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!
This is my new sugar shack. I just bought it last Christmas. Nice gift, eh?
I'm still settling in and adjusting to mowing two lawns but life is good and I
love my new home. I was looking for a place that was reasonably renovated
(didn't want that headache again) and had a fenced yard for the pup. Mission
accomplished. The house has hardwoods throughout and ceramic tile kitchen and
bath. I have to replace the windows soon. Although it's not reminiscent of my
college days where we could actually see the curtains blowing in the winter
breeze, it's close. Otherwise, the place is great!
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