If you haven’t been able to discern from my previous posts about Washington DC, I’m terrible at geography. Therefore it should be no surprise to you that the only thing I knew about Pittsburgh when I applied to school there was that it was in Pennsylvania, and that it was NOT the state capital. To my first grade teacher, I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention during geography lessons. I was probably too preoccupied with pretending that we’d already learned how to tell time so that I could count down the minutes until recess. Wait, didn’t we learn how to tell time before first grade? Those years are a blur. I feel old.

Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yes, Pittsburgh. Home of the Steelers. And the Penguins. And the Pirates. And other teams that my freshman year discrete math teacher liked to talk about that I can’t recall the names of. Anyway, as you remember, during “The Computer Science Debacle” (TCSD) years, I truly hated this place. In hindsight, TCSD overshadowed a lot of my enjoyment of the city. It could not be helped. I’m better now though. I can now gaze upon campus without feeling an uncontrollable urge to dry heave.

See? Not a queasy feeling in sight. OK, maybe a little, but only because of that statue they decided to erect on the otherwise fine patch of grass between our Drama building and the University Center. Eyesore!

Anyway, after TCSD, things got considerably better. I was no longer confined (much) to the computer labs, entering when the sun was going down for the night and leaving when it was coming back up for the morning. Those were sad days. Let’s not dwell upon it. What I meant to say was that things got a whole lot better after TCSD, and I completely and utterly enjoyed my last two years as a college student. Why? One word: shenanigans. I think you know what I’m talking about. Are we on the same page? Yes? I’m going to assume I just heard you nod.

Since I know how exciting the thought of shenanigans is, I’m going to give you the post-TCSD shenanigans tour. Hold on tight, please keep your hands and feet inside the flashback at all times. Here we go.

Here we have the shenanigans restaurants:

Oh Joe Mama’s. Oh Fuel & Fuddle. You are both so near and dear to my heart. Especially your half price nights. Without you I would have starved to death and my bottom would not be so wide. It’s a complicated relationship, isn’t it?

Next, we’re going to see the places of shenanigans fun.

Note, the rooftop of the above location was NOT a good place. Let’s just say that there was an incident with a helicopter and I was scarred for life. (MOW and LK, that was for you.) After learning our lesson, we moved on to greener pastures. (Get it? Greener? Even the crickets aren’t chirping.)

Long, windy paths are kind of fun and they make the hike to our final destination more interesting.

Here is where we would rest our wide-from-half-price-night bottoms.

What I’m about to say is going to sound really stupid, but there sure are a lot of memories attached to this bench. Just take my word for it — it’s a special place and I could not begin to recount the reasons why. No really, I couldn’t. That’s part of the shenanigans charm.

It took us a really long time to find this bench. We didn’t know how perfect it would be. Instead, for the longest time we spent most of our time here:

Yet another bad location. MOW, LK, and I were once approached by a sketchy pair who snuck up from behind and greeted us by saying, “Don’t worry, we’re not the cops.” Umm…I feel so reassured?

But once we were settled in at our perfect location, we spent many a-nights in shenanigans bliss. Those were the days. It didn’t hurt that we had this amazing view either.

That view. It takes me back.

And there you have it — the shenanigans tour. Please exit at the nearest doorway. Don’t forget to take your belongings with you. Thank you for riding with us down Memory Lane.