【47】Can’t get enough @ Strip District

Let me tell you a story. Just a story, no Yinzerita or beer winning trivia or Investigation Discovery. So just sit back and hear me out.

One the first day of November, I needed to get out of the office in Lawrenceville and head to a graphic design shop in Cultural District to do a final approval on a printing project, just to make sure nothing would go wrong.

It was a lovely sunny day, so I planned amble time for this trip and decided to walk to the shop and walk back to catch a team meeting in the office. It was a 40-minute walk one way and most of the time you find yourself walking through the Strip District. This was actually the first time, I took a walk through this famous neighborhood and had some time to take in what I saw, heard, and smelled. It’s a vibrant market. You see those organic food stands everywhere, old but tasteful and sometime colorful buildings aligning along the streets, professionals working in adjacent areas, like downtown, having their lunches in those delicious restaurants or outdoor food stands, and some visitors from outside of Pittsburgh wandering around and about doing some antique shopping in those family-owned shops. Oh, Frank Sinatra’s music would occasionally escape from some CD stores and flew around the background to bring you back to the old times.

It was a great walk. Yet, that’s not the entire story I want to tell.

One the way back from the Cultural District, I was attempted by the great smell of food in the air. So I decided to spend $5 for a lunch to see if I can get one that is not fast food. As I was thinking that, I passed by a food truck where two people were serving food outside and one lady was working inside of the truck. The gentleman had a big smile and was greeting every of his customers with sincerity and humor. He also had many loyal customers who seemed come to his place quite often, because he would say something like this “I haven’t seen you this summer, where have you been?”

Well, nevertheless, as a daughter of a former restaurant owner, I understand that a happy person often make very good food. So those fried rice and noodles and spring rolls looked so delicious as if they were saying “try me, and you will not regret!” So I spent $5 dollars getting a box of mixed fried noodles and rice plus a spring roll. Not bad. Not bad at all. Maybe I was influenced by the good spirits of this sands and content about the good lunch deal, before I left, I was attempted again to talk to the gentleman.

And I did. From our brief conversation, I learned that he is of Philippine origin, came to Pittsburgh in the 1960s, opened an Asian grocery store and ran it until 1988. Made some money, but the market was changing at that time in Pittsburgh (population outflow) and he wanted to try something new. So he closed the grocery store in 1988 and opened this food truck in 1989. He was happy about the business so the food truck has been around ever since. Since he owns the block the food truck resides on, he has been at the same spot for 24 years. And his name is Robert.

It’s a beautiful story about the resilience of the people living in our City, an inspiring story about the adaptability of International folks thriving in this City while also contributing to its prosperity, and…... there is more…..

As I kept walking while ruminating over Robert’s story in Pittsburgh, a brand new woody stand inside a typical Strip District building caught my attention. Two gentlemen were conversing lightheartedly but I could tell the one in Pittsburgh Penguins hockey shirt was very excited about something new in his life, although he appeared to be calm and in charge. So I couldn’t help but stopping to ask the question “Sir, Are you planning to open a new business here?”  He might be slightly surprised by this question from a complete stranger, but he was kind enough to nod his head and said “Yes. I am”. Then I told him the story of Robert just down the street and wished him good luck.

Isn’t this a great manifestation of life, and our life in and around Pittsburgh? Some people have been around the block for a long time and they can tell you all about history and their experience so we become humble and eager to create our own legacy.  There is also always someone new trying to find their spots, and they can tell you the excitement, the exploration, and the possibilities we face ahead so that we always have something vibrant  to hope for, for ourselves, our family, our neighborhoods, as well as our city.

I can’t never get enough of what I encountered that day in the Strict District. Not after opening to its lively spirits and finding myself completely submitting to its dynamics and beauty, let alone knowing all these stories behind those brick walls and glass windows.

Can you?

【46】Play, Eat, and Dress Scary for Halloween @ PAA--Oakland, Office--Lawrenceville

Despite the fact that nowadays many traditional Holidays have become big commercial opportunities for those bloody capitalists, it’s still nice to enjoy some holiday spirits in your own way once every a while. After all “There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treating looking for a brightly-lit front porch.”

My first ever Halloween experience ever was made possible by both +GlobalPittsburgh and +Pittsburgh Cares.  A day before the 31st, GlobalPittsburgh had a bowling night at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. It only cost $13 for two tickets for me and Emma, who I knew from the GYM at CMU (Now she is working on a Science Fiction novel while preparing for her Jaw surgery back in California). Didn’t dress up though for I was at work during the day, but did pick a bright orange shirt to wear for the spirits of it. Met a couple, formed a team of four, and had a good time. Three people did stand out from the crowd and won the prices for best dresses for this Halloween: Camille with her skeleton dress; Tom with his superman shirt; and Xin with his warrior outfit. Well, overall it was a nice occasion. As the group walked out of the PAA building, we passed a dining area, many genteel dinners were eating there and people were enjoying some good conversations. Wow, I thought, it’s a nice event in a tasteful building and I don’t mind being a bystander at all.

Then Halloween resided in the Pittsburgh Cares office. Deb, dressing up in a Pirates outfit regardless of the fact that her favorite Boston Red Stockings just won a great game the night before, brought the office some sweet pumpkin cookies, Holly made many delicious breakfast potato pancakes, and everybody, well, wait, not everybody but four people who didn’t want to be party poppers, dressed up conservatively for a spirit of Halloween.  I only had a sweater designed by Matt that remotely fit the “scary” theme, so that was my choice for that day.

My scary storytelling for Halloween? ….I think I have gotten one. This is kinda scary, but it’s part of Pittsburgh’s charm as well.  On the day of Halloween, I met a gentleman in the morning on the bus, who was the same gentle that pointed out the right bus for me to take on the first day of my work back on September 3rd.  He had an amiable nature and seemed to be a person who was easy to talk to. So I asked his opinion about the new art work in front of Carnegie Museum as the bus passed by. We both were confused by it and joked about it.  Then before the day was about to finish, I talked to my supervisor Benjamin Weaver, about Michael Sypolt, the gentleman I met on the bus, and his willingness to help out with HandsOn Tech’s efforts in the future. It turned out that Ben knew Michael from the web because he has been an active and dedicated advocate for improving the public transportation system in Southwestern PA! ……….So…….at this point…..., it seems that not only we bump into people in Pittsburgh, but also we bump into interesting and respectable people, and the whole city is a one big community. Isn’t this scary enough to add a little bit Halloween flavor to the day?

Maybe we shall really stay curious, not only for those brightly-lit front porch, but also those people we come across everyday. I know, I will.

Beer winning trivia @ Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Halloween

1. The Pittsburgh Athletic Association is a nonprofit membership club organized in 1908 by real estate developer Franklin Nicola and chartered in the same year. It continues today to offer comprehensive athletic facilities, sports lessons, spa services, fine dining, and overnight accommodations. One if its interesting features is that it has a swimming pool on the third floor.  The clubhouse has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard and it faces three other landmark buildings: the  Cathedral of Learning, William Pitt Union, where I met +Albulena Krasniqi  and Sarosh as well as +Janera Solomon ,  and the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial, in which a documentary movie “Gasland 2” was screened during early summer of 2013. Bob and Siew invited me to go and I saw Bridget and Elisa there as well.  

2. Halloween, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, is the time in the liturgical year (October 31st) dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers. Mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century increased the holiday’s celebration in the United States. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds. Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending  costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing prank, and watching horror films. Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although no longer require,  abstinence from meat on All Hallows' Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian food for this  vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

Your ID @ +Michael Sypolt 

1. When did Michael Sypolt emailed Port Authority’s Service Planning Department providing an alternate suggestion to a service cut, which ultimately led him starting his social enterprise TransitGuru Limited in 2011?

【45】The best salad I've ever had @ Industry Public House, Lawrenceville

In Nonprofit sector, it seems that being frugal is a commonly accepted moral code. Yet there are many reasons for celebrations considering the meaningful work we do every day, so having a work lunch in a nice restaurant once every a while is legitimate.

On October 28th, Pittsburgh Cares welcomed its new Executive Deb Hopkins. All the staff took her out for a lunch and three VISTAs were invited (one staff member and one VISTA were out of office that day and didn't join the lunch). It’s always nice to get to know your colleague a little bit more outside of the office, then you would realize that with many interesting characters you are working with everyday. For instance, Nina Zappa is very knowledgeable about Pittsburgh’s sports and on the side she is a piano teacher; Riley is a trivia lover and is good at it. He attended acting school where he met his future wife. Now he has a cute baby girl and works on being a great Dad; Holly has a mother-in-law who buys them expensive gifts all the time but not being nice to people, while her own Mother might not afford expensive gifts but is always caring and loving to her family. I thought Holly got it all., and Deb is a grandma to be……

The restaurant we dined at was the Industry Public House on Butler street in Lawrenceville. Nice place. Great salad. For some reason I loved every bite of that "Company Salad" and finished all the spicy Chicken wings I ordered. Guess what? I met a Heinzer at the restaurant! Well, it seems so far that we just can’t avoid familiar faces in Pittsburgh anywhere we go.

Beer winning trivia @ Industry Public House, Lawrenceville

1. Industry Public House locates on 4305 Butler Street. It’s opened in March 2012 and has gained an approval for its 2013 expansion plan. In the Pittsburgh Magazine, an article titled Best of The Burgh 2013, Smoke Stack from Industry Public House was featured as the “Hottest Drink in Town”. The drink was invented by mixologist Adrian Van Balen. He had the inspiration struck while making breakfast one morning, when the aroma of maple-cured bacon got him thinking about a drink with similar taste characteristics. Commentator Matt Sober said in a review said “like everything else at Industry, from the utilitarian steel bar stools to the exposed brick interior, the Smoke Stack is an unmistakable (and tasty) homage to the city’s heritage.”

2. Lawrenceville was founded in 1814 by William Foster, father of composer Stephen Foster, who was born there in 1826 and has its birth residence on 3600 Penn Avenue (Claimed by Pittsburghers as the real birthplace of the famous composer.  Another building, located at 3414 Penn Avenue, purported to be Stephen Foster's home was bought by automobile tycoon Henry Ford and carted off by him to Michigan.). Lawrenceville is named for Captain James Lawrence, hero of the War of 1812, famous for his dying words, "Don’t Give Up The Ship!" Lawrenceville was selected as home to the Allegheny Arsenal, due to "The area's accessibility to river transportation and its proximity to what was then the nation's only iron producing district". Lawrenceville was annexed to the city of Pittsburgh in 1868.  

Nowadays, Lawrenceville is undergoing a revitalization, and has been noted by The New York Times as a "go-to destination". It has become one of the premier art, live music, and dining hubs of Western PA. Butler Street, where my office resides, is the main artery of Lawrenceville. Many art galleries, along with clothing boutiques, furniture stores, and a number of new restaurants and  coffee shops have opened on this street.

The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC opened a new facility in Lawrenceville on May 2, 2009, moving all its patients from Oakland. Deb’s newly born grandson is currently in the facility ready to receive an open heart surgery. He is in good hands.

Your ID @ Pittsburgh Cares

In Which building does Pittsburgh Cares’ office locate? Is Pittsburgh Cares a volunteer matching organization that on average matches 18,000 volunteers annually  or an animal shelter and advocacy organization that takes care of 3,000 needy animals?

【44】“Meet” Andrew Carnegie @ Schenley Plaza, Oakland

I have noticed that there are many blue and gold road markers in many Places in Pittsburgh. Never really stopped to read through one, until one day in front of Carnegie Library, I stopped, looked up on the plaque, and found myself read the story of one of the most influential person in late 19th and early 20th century’s history, especially in Pittsburgh. The story was about Andrew Carnegie, who was also the founder of Carnegie Mellon University, where I gained so much knowledge and experience, and loved deeply as my life unfolds itself in the past two years.

Often, when a name is so big that everybody knows about it, it can also mean that nobody really knows much about it, especially for young generations who are always on the go and consuming fast information(reading a biography book is just not their cup of tea, nor is reading a extremely long and demanding Wiki page) . But Andrew Carnegie is someone I want to know, not just acknowledging his grand and glorious name, but more importantly to know his story in Pittsburgh and his journey from a poor Scottish immigrant to one of the wealthiest figure in history.

Carnegie was born on November 25th, 1835, to poor weaving workers William and Margaret Morrison Carnegie in Dunfermline, Scotland. He migrated to the U.S. and settled in Allegheny Pennsylvania, when he was 13 years old with his parents using the money they borrowed. His first job in 1848 was as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory. His starting wage was $1.20 per week. In 1850, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company, at $2.50 per week.He was a very hard worker, paid a lot of attention to his work and polish his skills and at the same time would memorize all of the locations of Pittsburgh's businesses and the faces of important men. He made many connections this way. Within a year, he was promoted operator.

Starting in 1853, Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company employed Carnegie as a secretary/telegraph operator at a salary of $4.00 per week. At age 18, the precocious youth began a rapid advancement through the company, becoming the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division.  In 1855, Scott made it possible for Carnegie to invest $500 and the opportunity was only available because of Carnegie's close relationship with Scott. A few years later, he received a few shares in T.T. Woodruff's sleeping car company, as a reward for holding shares. Reinvesting his returns in such inside investments in railroad-related industries: (iron, bridges, and rails), Carnegie slowly accumulated capital, the basis for his later success.

Before the American Civil War (1861-1865), Carnegie arranged a merger between Woodruff's company and that of George Pullman, the inventor of a sleeping car for first class travel which facilitated business travel at distances over 500 miles (800 km). The investment proved a great success and a source of profit for Woodruff and Carnegie.

In spring 1861, Carnegie was appointed by Scott, who was now Assistant Secretary of War in charge of military transportation, as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut. His work helped the telegraph service render efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory. Carnegie later joked that he was "the first casualty of the war" when he gained a scar on his cheek from freeing a trapped telegraph wire. In 1864, Carnegie invested $40,000 in Story Farm on Oil Creek in Venango County, PA. In one year, the farm yielded over $1,000,000 in cash dividends, and petroleum from oil wells on the property sold profitably. The demand for iron products made Pittsburgh a center of wartime production. Carnegie worked with others in establishing a steel rolling mill, and steel production and control of industry became the source of his fortune.

After the war, Carnegie left the railroads to devote all his energies to the ironworks trade. Carnegie worked to develop several iron works, eventually forming The Keystone Bridge Works and the Union Ironworks, in Pittsburgh. He remained closely connected to its former employers, namely Thomas A. Scott and J. Edgar Thomson. He used his connection to the two men to acquire contracts. He also gave stock to Scott and Thomson in his businesses.

Carnegie made his fortune in the steel industry, controlling the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations ever owned by an individual in the United States. He adapted innovations that can increased the production and reduce cost. In the late 1880s, Carnegie Steel was the largest manufacturer of pig iron, steel rails, and coke in the world. In 1888, Carnegie bought the rival Homestead Steel Works. Soon Carnegie combined his assets and those of his associates in 1892 with the launching of the Carnegie Steel Company.

In 1901, Carnegie was 66 years of age and considering retirement. He reformed his enterprises into conventional joint stock corporations as preparation to this end. John Pierpont Morgan was a banker and perhaps America's most important financial deal maker. He had observed how efficiently Carnegie produced profit. He envisioned an integrated steel industry that would cut costs, lower prices to consumers, produce in greater quantities and raise wages to workers. To this end, he needed to buy out Carnegie and several other major producers and integrate them into one company, thereby eliminating duplication and waste. He concluded negotiations on March 2, 1901, and formed the United States Steel Corporation. It was the first corporation in the world with a market capitalization over $1 billion. Carnegie's share of this amounted to $225,639,000 (presently, $6,331,430,340), which was paid to Carnegie in the form of 5%, 50-year gold bonds. The letter agreeing to sell his share was signed on February 26, 1901.

Carnegie spent his last years as a philanthropist. From 1901 forward, public attention was turned from the shrewd business acumen which had enabled Carnegie to accumulate such a fortune, to the public-spirited way in which he devoted himself to utilizing it on philanthropic projects. He had written about his views on social subjects and the responsibilities of great wealth in Triumphant Democracy (1886) and Gospel of Wealth (1889). Carnegie bought Skibo Castle in Scotland, and made his home partly there and partly in New York. He then devoted his life to providing the capital for purposes of public interest and social and educational advancement.

Carnegie's education and passion for reading was given a great boost by Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night. Carnegie was a consistent borrower and a "self-made man" in both his economic development and his intellectual and cultural development. His capacity, his willingness for hard work, his perseverance, and his alertness were deep rooted characters that brought forth many opportunities in his career. Carnegie's mother had not wanted him to get married. After she died in 1886, Carnegie married Louise Whitfield, who was more than 20 years his junior. In 1897, the couple had their only child, a daughter, whom they named after Carnegie's mother, Margaret. [Abstraction from various Wiki pages that are involved around Andrew Carnegie. Thanks to all the authors who organized the materials and created the juicy wiki page for Carnegie.]

Beer winning trivia @ Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission

1. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the PA is responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for historical manuscripts, public records, and objects of historic interest; museums; archeology; publications; historic sites and properties; historic preservation; geographic names; and the promotion of public interest in Pennsylvania history. PHMC was established June 6, 1945, by state Act No. 446, merging the Pennsylvania Historical Commission,  Pennsylvania State Museum and Pennsylvania State Archives. The PHMC administers the Historical Marker Program, which installs bronze plaques to commemorate individuals, events, and landmarks throughout the state. The program was launched in 1914 by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, the predecessor to the PHMC. The signs were redesigned in 1945–46 to make them easier to read from a passing car.

Your ID @ Andrew Carnegie

1. Witnessing sectarianism and strife in 19th century Scotland regarding religion and philosophy, Carnegie kept his distance from organized religion and theism. Did he want to be seen as a “Positivist” or “Skeptic”?

2. Who was the most important Intellectual influence on Carnegie? was it English Herbert Spencer (Survival of the fittest, individual independence, limited government interference) (1820-1903), or English statesman John Bright?

【43】I bumped into some people and they brought new experience to me @ Pittsburgh

As I have mentioned over and over again, Pittsburgh is a place you can easily bump into people and have a great memory. In this post, I want to share some people who live, love, and laugh, who help, serve, and lead, who were, are, and will always be part of my Pittsburgh profile.

I met Janera Solomon several times in University of Pittsburgh’s Philanthropy forum and was amazed by her energy and great passion for her career as an Executive Director of Kelly Strayhorn Theater. While looking for employment this passing summer, we met in a coffee shop and had a chat. She reminded me of always following my own idea of what I want to do. Whenever I felt stressed and wanted to do less, for some reason, she would be the person popping out in my mind reminding me there is more to be done. Meeting Janera in a coffee shop brought a completely new experience to me and I noticed from then on that having a cup of coffee with a friend is such a great experience not every city would have. Aviva Diamond who lived in New York City for many years and eventually came back to Pittsburgh said to me once “I like it here in Pittsburgh, you would easily development a circle of friends with whom you can have coffee with. That’s not necessarily the case in New York.”

Stacy Pethia, Dr. Stacy Pethia and I met during Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) summit in 2012. I was amazed by her passion in community engagement and her interesting PHD journey in England. At the time, she was working at Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, an organization mainly helping middle and low-income people maintain their homes. Because of her dedication to her work, I got a chance to volunteer with her on a house painting project in Wilkinsburg. While all the volunteers were painting, the home owner family were sitting in the living room watching TV. It kinda gave me an unpleasant feeling, whether helping other people can actually be harmful in the long run? Stacy and I met once in a coffee shop in Oakland working on a proposal that was eventually not accepted by Heinz College, nevertheless we are still in touch and she is about to become an Executive Director of an organization she has helped put together.

Charles Zehnder, a retired Insurance agency president and partner, now an escort diver at CMU. Chuck and I became friends over the past two years by chatting on the bus almost every evening when I left Hamburg Hall at about midnight. His being there simply supported me mentally. Sometime he tells stories, we share points of views, sometime I seek advice, or I just vent. A 10-minute ride hasn’t ever been that homey. He lent me all those videos about Pittsburgh, from which I learned tremendously. He also took me to an American diner close to CMU to have a meal once in a while, where I found a diner can have good and economic food, especially good French Fries and lovely mid-aged waitresses.

Elaina Minkel. A dear friend since IUP year. Her ultrasim to other people is most admirable. She made me realize that  unlike what the rest of the world had stereotyped, the concept of family actually means so much in America as well. Families care for each other and can be close too. She got married with her love of life this passing summer and now is starting a new life with whole bunch of energy and hope. She is a bundle of energy and always has open arms for people. She was also my teacher for driver’s license test.  Being able to drive and owning a car means so much to my sense of independency and she is the person to thank for getting me started in this experience, which might be taken granted for folks here who started to drive when they were 16?.

Professor Leela. We often bumped into each other in the Gym at CMU and I admire her sense of discipline  to follow a rigid and regular workout schedule. Overtime, we started with smiling to each other, made each other's acquaintance, and then she took me to an Indian Temple in Monroeville, where I was first time experiencing Indian religious culture in such a close environment.  I also learned that many excellent Indian people are very active here in Greater Pittsburgh region, yet they still stick to each other and keep their Indian traditions. They never left their homeland, they create one wherever they go.

Teacher Ke Li. We often met on the bus during the summer I was interning at the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. One day we bumped into each other again in Oakland on the sidewalk in front of the PITT student union building. Then we stopped to chat with each other for two hours, as if we had been friends for a long time. She went back to Xinjiang in June 2012 with her husband, who was then doing research at PITT as a visiting scholar. She told me that she liked Pittsburgh a lot although language could be a barrier from time to time. She liked the kindness from strangers, she especially liked the fact that her little girl absolutely enjoyed going to school here, and the American teacher at the school even brought gift to them before they were preparing to leave for China.

Brett Wiewiora and Christina Cann, a nice couple, both are Heinz Alumni. I actually met them at the very beginning of my CMU journey. They were introducing their social adventure Onlyinpgh, which is a social calendar to showcase what’s going on in the city at real time so that people can always find fun things to do in our communities. At that time I didn’t realize how profound such an encounter would be. But later on, as Brett keep evolving his social adventure, from a social calendar (Onlyinpgh), to social media infrastructure building, to online placemaking for community (Sceneable), I constantly got inspired by this entrepreneur’s drive to get better and explore new possibilities. Now these two have become parents and they have a extraordinarily cute baby.

Sandeep Reddy M and Ketaki Desai are two friends as well as peer mentors. The experience they brought to me was delicious Indian Cuisine, great thought-provoking conversations, and always look up to excellence that is not only focusing on our own immediate life but others in a broader way.  Sandeep stays in Pittsburgh today working in a promising healthcare consulting firm, and Ketaki sailed for New York working as an engagement manager in a consulting firm as well and now she has become a partner of a start-up consulting firm focusing on technology and machine learning. May our life continue to blossom and we shall convene one day to celebrate.

Uncle John Pennello. He is a music and language genius, a good person and a close friend like a family member. Although we didn’t meet in Pittsburgh about four years ago, he doesn’t live in Pittsburgh, or to my knowledge has much to do with Pittsburgh either, yet he is part of my experience too. Why? That’s because he came to visit once in a while, he sent gifts from all over the World, and he made Pittsburgh destination to many of my good memories, as if this city is my home and I am ready to welcome any friends to come.

The last gentleman, I don’t know his name. He can be anybody and he is everybody. Take a close look at the fan in front of his vehicle. Isn’t that creative? I met him on CMU campus one day and was intrigued by this small element of humor in our daily life. He was very amiable and willing to talk about the fan and its usage as a cooler for the engine. It was just so cute that I didn’t let it pass without being given any attention. So now this picture has always been reminding me to be perceptive, and appreciate small things that may not matter that much in the mundane world of craziness.  

All these people are carried within me, and they may carry part of my existence in the City as well. We may not talk regularly or at all. But it’s them, it’s people I will keep encountering like them, who made it a little bit different  and special each and everyday. As Matt once intelligently said “Life is a process of accumulating…..”. They are part of my collections for the life experience, right now, and right here.

【42】I am not the only “Paparazzi” @ Pittsburgh

In the era of social media, it seems that many people feel comfortable putting up their pictures on the internet. Facebook has been saturated by personal pictures that people took for their friends to record their happy memories, most of the time. However, this post is not about taking pictures of friends, but of the beauty of people’s memories in the community. It’s a more introvert perspective those moments people wants to cherish for themselves at the moment.

Those people I know and don’t know in the pictures were taking in their experience with the beauty of the city, or with the humane personality created by many people similar to them in the city. People must be in peace to completely appreciate what’s outside of their own immediate life.

Thinking of myself taking those pictures while those people in those pictures are also taking their own pictures now turns out to be such a fulfilling experience. Because while they were recording their memories, I was recording mine, yet altogether we were recording the comforting and beautiful nature of our people, community, neighborhoods, and our city.  

Beer winning trivia @ Paparazzi  

1. The word “Paparazzi” is originated in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini. One of the characters in the film is a news photographer named Paparazzo. One story writes that Fellini took the name from an Italian dialect word that describes a particularly annoying noise, that of a buzzing mosquito. There is a similarity with the Italian word "pappataci" a name for small mosquitoes. Another interpretation in the Abruzzi dialect spoken by Ennio Flaiano, co-writer of La Dolce Vita, the term "paparazzo" refers to the local clam, and is also used as a metaphor for the shutter of a camera lens. Ennio Flaiano said the name came from the Italian translation based on a 1901 southern Italy travel narrative by Victorian writer George Gissing, By the Ionian Sea. He further states that either Fellini or Flaiano opened the book at random, saw the name, and decided to use it for the photographer.

Your ID @ Pittsburgh

Where were those pictures above taken?

【41】Celebrate the International Culture Festival @ Doubletree, Downtown

We often hear people talking, mainly complaining that “Bad things happen in clusters.”. I can channel that because I have had to cope with many tough situations in the past two years. However, I don’t want to consider those necessarily bad, because I know from experience that if you want, you can become a stronger person out of all those miseries. And, that, is one of the best thing I have experienced.

So let’s just say its opposite proposition is true as well. “Good things happen in clusters too.” In the last two weeks of October, a series of good things happened in Pittsburgh’s internationals community, and I was lucky enough to be part of many of them. Shortly after the Worldquest trivia competition on the 21st, +GlobalPittsburgh  had its annual International Culture Festival event at Doubletree, 1 Bigelow Square, downtown on the 24th. It’s during this event, I met Mr. Bill Flanagan, whose buy-in served as a direct catalyst for this blog moving from an idea to an action and ultimately a blog on the web.

Also during this event, I met two lovely professors, Heidie and Larry Hutchinson. Heidie came from the Middle East 30 some years ago to Pittsburgh, fell in love with the City, and has stayed on ever since. She was so infectious with her character that I was just drawn to her, as a daughter was drawn to her mother. Guess what? Two weeks after our initial meeting, we bumped into each other in a HandsOn Tech training workshop in Google’s facility at Bakery Square!  

Then Carlton Ketchum also at our table for the evening shared his many stories hosting international visitors in his house. One memorable event was that he spent $100 on getting  the Vantage Grand Prix car rides for several international youth visitors and he thought that’s one of his best spent $100 dollars. Love to hear stories like this: each citizen here in Pittsburgh is a diplomat for our city!

I remember Bill Flanagan pointed out the "U-haul" Index in one of his monthly email addresses, I was thrilled to know that I contributed to the increase of Pittsburgh's population in 2011. When I became a member of GlobalPittsburgh worked on a proposal with Tom Buell and Nadya Kessler, and attended many joyful and meaningful events GlobalPittsburgh organized, I was even more thrilled because I knew that I had come to the right place.

At the Cultural Festival, a room full of people from different nationalities brought in a vivid atmosphere that speaks itself for the essence of Pittsburgh's personality. Yes, it's about diversity, curiosity, respect, responsibility, citizen diplomacy through each handshake, and making this city a welcoming home for those who are looking for one in Pittsburgh.

A wonderful and meaningful experience. Many thanks.

Beer winning trivia @GlobalPittsburgh

1. It’s established in 1959, as a member of Washington, DC-based National Council for International Vistors, GlobalPittsburgh (formerly the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors) is the U.S. Sate Department’s designated regional service provider for the International Visitor Leadership Program and other government-sponsored international exchange programs. As of 2013, it has a network of over 500 members, volunteers, and citizen diplomats who ensure that visitors’ time in the Greater Pittsburgh region has bilateral impact.   

It currently has four major programs: International Leaders--Hosting overseas delegations; GlobalPittsburgh CONNECT--Serving international professionals, researchers, and student; Study Pittsburgh--Attracting & Engaging international students; and Business Link-- Serving regional corporations & international executives.

Your ID @ International Annual Cultural Festival

1. Who are those two special guest speakers during the 2013 CultureFest? Are they Raul Valdes-Perez, author for Advice is for Winners and Krishna Pendyala, Pittsburgh-based author and life coach? Or are they Bill Flanagan, TV host and Executive Vice President of ACCD and Jean Dominique Marie Le Garrec, French Consul?