One thing about Pittsburgh, probably the only thing I don’t like about the city is the bone chilling cold. No matter how many layers you have on, you can’t escape it. It was on one of these cold days that I was walking to my apartment and just got done telling my friend about the pug guy and how I needed to get over him very quickly, when someone held the door open for me. I looked up to flash a smile of gratitude when my “thank you” got lodged somewhere between my lungs and my throat. Low and behold it was Pug Guy with a gorgeous smile stretched from ear to ear.

Pug Guy at my building, this was interesting. Why was Pug Guy at my building? I wish I could say Pug Guy was dropping off flowers or swinging by to see how I was but just as the wind blew a bitter gust against my back out stepped a little blonde with a sporty ponytail from behind him. Insert Oh Shit moment here.

So this was why Pug Guy was at my building. Silly Pug Guy, Tricks are for kids. So even procrastinating at the mailbox for 5 minutes couldn’t separate me from the elevator ride from hell. 5 floors have never taken so long before, and the magic red digits were never so appealing, so entertaining. Sadly I wish I could have said I handled the situation with a bit of tact, but in the end it was more along the lines of a Dear in Headlights performance that resulted in me mumbling an apology about having to make a quick exit and stepping off the elevator after he tapped my arm.

This is where I realized I had a huge problem. I, for some reason became vulnerable to Mr. Pug Guy despite all my layers of protection. Intimacy is a very bad thing, whether or not there are feelings there originally there will be a thick cloud of lust after all is said and done. And Lust is just as dangerous as any thing else if not more. It has the tendency to leave a person wallowing in the bone chilling cold.

So, who would of thought… one whole week in the Steel City! I don’t really have to point out the major differences i’ve found between Dirtville, USA and Pittsburgh, so i won’t. But for those of you all who know me, it wouldn’t come to any surprise that i couldn’t get past that first week mark with out finding myself in trouble. But trouble cooks and fed me cheesecake, so its ok. Besides, i behaved myself, i slept on the sofa with the pug. You don’t believe me? I wouldn’t believe me either if it weren’t the truth.

So the morning, I found myself in a dilemma, how to make my exit tactfully without losing grace?

I could leave without saying anything but I can only imagine what that would make me look like. Hi, my name is shady. Or I could find a pen and paper and leave him a note, but that would require me going through his things which i wasn’t wanting to do. Then again i could leave and come back with a… this is about the time he rolled over and found me there contemplating this. So in the end I did this: smile, hey! i’m going to get going. Oh that was hard. In a perfect world, i would of said something the night before about having a meeting/interview/appointment in the morning. Strategy, walla problem solved. But this wasn’t a perfect world, a perfect body(him), not a perfect world. I didn’t expect to be eating cheesecake and drinking beer at the Pug Guys house. I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong, I like imperfections like these, they are the best kind.

So i left his apartment building and headed towards mine. Between the two lays the park. So walking through the ice covered grounds with the sunshining i realized there was nothing shameful in this walk. It was gorgeous and peaceful. I loved it. People were walking their dogs, the trees had ice crystals hanging from them and i realized this town has alot more to offer than just the obvious. Now if I could just figure out how to stay out of trouble.

Last night The Guy From The Skating Rink and I decided to go out. The Guy From The Skating Rink is a great guy whom I have known for god knows how long, hence the skating rink thing. Skating Guy is indecisive though, that to me is a turn off. We spent an hour before hand trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Unsure we decided to figure it out when he got here. I had a few errands to run before hand so walking across town and back in this weather(-10), he pulled into the parking lot about the time I made it back as well. I get in to the car.

“So what are we doing,” he asks?

“I don’t know, what do we feel like? There’s Oakland, the Strip District, the Cultural District…”

“Well, you were supposed to have that figured out by the time I got here.” Good god Skating Guy, good god.

So we decide to go to Robinson, tracking down a CD he wanted and a few other stores. I bought lucky bamboo, which I hope I can keep alive. It’s a very sweet plant and I would be horribly sad if it died. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. I digress…

The night went well and I sat in the car with him listening to Alan Cox’s new CD while he figured out if he wanted to come up or not. So eventually we made it up to my apt and I got the bamboo situated in its new home. We talked for a while and he made his move, finally…he hit me with a pillow. Yes, I swear, a pillow… then he tried to tickle me…then I walked him out.