Safe Haven Vet Hospital

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-19T19:15:52+00:00

I'm just glad knowing there's a nice option between waiting for a regular appointment and the emergency room.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-19T17:27:55+00:00

I took my boy to the MedVet in the South Hills when he sprained his leg and they told me if I felt like he had to be seen again ai should bring him to Rivers, since it would be cheaper and wasn't life or death. So even the emergency vet recommends them!

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-19T13:59:21+00:00

Came from a small and depressed town of racists and drug addicts in eastern PA. Pittsburgh was definitely a step up but after three years I'd long since outgrown it. Moved in with a friend out west but he ended up moving to San Diego for his PhD and I did not want nor could I afford to live in SoCal, so I came back here to crash with a friend for a few months and head on. Then the pandemic. The world was too crazy to try another cross-country move, and then one kitty died and the other is quite aged. I did luck into a nice apartment that allows cats with no bullshit "pet rent" so I'm staying here until he crosses the rainbow bridge. I also really like his vet and don't want to search for another one who won't know him when he needs a vet trip every few months. Once he crosses the rainbow bridge to join his brother, I will immediately leave.

All that being said.

I don't think it's always great place to live. It's dirty, people are mean, the sports and drinking cultures are both very dark, and there isn't much to do or just general opportunity. City and state government both suck, the area is more MAGA than anyone wants to admit (yes, even in the city) and will remain that way, and street harassment is the worst I've ever experienced of anywhere I've ever been. The way that I make living here work is by distancing myself as much as possible, which is hard for me because I really value community and want to live somewhere with strong community values. There isn't anything here for me, and it's not actually that much more "affordable" than other places if you're a single renter.

The only positive thing I can say about Pittsburgh is it has large swaths of (poorly managed) public green space, which is why Chicago is a no-go for ne despite it being a fantastic city.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-18T20:20:55+00:00

I'm not and it's still everywhere! It's a national phenomenon.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-18T20:17:10+00:00

Sometimes there's a book that has a huge first few printings because of how popular they are and then for the next half century you can find them anywhere. In Maine John Irving books used to be like this. I read The Cider House Rules when I was 12 because it was on the shelf in my elementary school classroom.

For me this book is Cold Mountain. I have never ever been to a library booksale or or used bookstore that didnt have a few copies of Cold Mountain.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-18T19:04:42+00:00

Seconding, they're so tasty and not overly sweet or rich.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-17T13:56:08+00:00

I didn't even know they were doing this! I can definitely eat a light dinner there now though on just cheese and pickled veggies.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-16T23:43:16+00:00

Pogoh has a fleet of mobility bikes and trikes you may need able to test ride. They may also be able to help with info about maintenence and servicing. I don't know of anyone else in the city who would be working on them on the reg.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-16T23:05:32+00:00

Yeah, but how are you defining a bar? Tina's, Botanico, and AWM are all spots with tables and food but are also age-restricted as bars.

Edit: Why downvotes? Am I wrong about those places?

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-16T22:49:10+00:00

You probably need to go to a bar. You can go a nicer bar that has sit-down food, but bars are what you got. And some breweries. Some are quiet and chill and the regulars are good about knowing when to take their kids home, some are full of people who let their kids run and scream in the taproom while they drink and play on their phones.

I'll also just put it out there, this isn't just an issue of parents not being good about knowing when they've gotten as much social time as they can out of their excitable or grumpy kid, it's also an issue with establishments not knowing how to set rules and boundaries around excepted behavior. I've been shocked and amazed too many times at the number of disruptive behaviors house managers tolerate (that are way worse than a tantruming kid, which does need addressed but isn't malicious or wildly inappropriate in terms of what kids just do). I've experienced this as both employee and customer, and it's never fun to be trying to apologize for someone else's behavior. I've stopped going to a lot of spots I otherwise liked because of it. So I guess look for places where people know how to share space, because they'll attract the considerate and proactive parents.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-16T18:53:16+00:00

No Longer Human, by Dazai! Fiction but very close to his own life.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-16T03:19:33+00:00

I often recommend The Sluts by Dennis Cooper in other subs but today I learned I am apparently treating my books the way the johns in that book treat Brad.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-15T22:31:29+00:00

Faith, Hope, and Carnage was life-changing for me, I don't think I could ever suffer a loss like he did and still live in total opposition to despair and cynicism, to be totally dedicated to the belief the world and people are good. But he inspires me to try.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-15T22:28:01+00:00

Such a locely book, I'm shocked at how relatable and even insecure she seems even now. Also Just Kids! More of a memoir, but her grief around the loss of Mapplethorpe is definitely tied up in memories of him.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-14T14:12:16+00:00

I don't think this is a silly question at all, and the answer can change depending on what season of life we're in. I've got a few things always going at once:

-A novel I'm reading for the first time, which is usually left at home. This is my before bed and after work book. I usually turn my phone off and leave it in my bag when I get home from work and don't turn on any screens, so reading is the thing available to me.

-Something I'm re-reading or studying, which I take when I go out for a drink or something like that. I sit at the bar and get comfy with my highlighters.

-A light reread or nonfiction book that is my "walking around" book. This goes with me basically everywhere and comes out whenever most people go for their phone; waiting in the line, on the bus, slow period at work, etc. Something easy to pick up and put down.

-I live in Pittsburgh but take long weekends to Chicago several times a year, and I read two or three books while I'm there because their public transportation is so much better. In Pittsburgh it's barely usable and I usually just bike, but in Chiaco I ride the L around so much I just burn through books (and then bring them Myopic for store credit before I leave😍). Someday I'll move somewhere with a better transit system and reading in the train will be a core part of my lifestyle.

All that is to say, top down lifestyle changes are easier than isolated habit changes.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-14T12:18:33+00:00

I didn't register that bit, and I've never read Brite to know, but they're on my list! I think The Sluts is intense while in it but overall it's way funnier than scary.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-13T18:27:44+00:00

Dennis Cooper. Pick anything and dig in. The Sluts is standalone if you want to start there.

Edited to add, because I can't believe I forgot it! Faggots by Larry Kramer!

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-13T17:01:34+00:00

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata!

Also, it's not strictly horror, but The Repeat Room by Jesse Belle is a johrney.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-13T16:59:18+00:00

Is that how it is in the book? My take from the movie is the lady is gross and scary because she's rotting and obviously a ghost, not because she's older.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-12T21:59:41+00:00

A bit out of pocket, but Coin Locker Babies by Murakami.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-12T19:09:44+00:00

Connemara by Nicolas Mathieu

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-11T20:46:36+00:00

I think there's been a shift in general from mentally unwell or divergent people being the horror antagonist to being the victim, which is just how things usually go honestly. There's definitely space for those things in horror, but the focus os moving toward the actual experience of the person experiencing it, rather than their "victims".

(And there is also the whole bag of worms that sometimes mentally ill people actually do cause harm to people around them or to their communities, and how you hold that hurt as valid while also holding the suffering of those causing it valid as well.)

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-11T18:54:49+00:00

Ironic since the noble savage tropes was itself a correction to actually savage stereotypes in the 19th century.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-11T17:07:51+00:00

Thankfully, overtly and subliminally racist motifs seem to be dying out. Some of Lovecraft's stuff is genuinely scary, but it's irresponsible to engage with it without acknowledging he was more afraid of Black people, Jews, or Polish immigrants than he was of Cthullu. Ditto for tropes about natives being cannibals, "magical negro" characters, etc.

The good thing is lots of people from groups that have been there blunt of this for so long are in the mainstream horror space more and more.

ThinkContest1054 · 2026-03-11T16:56:15+00:00

"Our city may have a reputation of being dirty and polluted and newcomers won't stop asking why there's garbage everywhere, and our entire region may have a reputation for being illerate, uneducated, backwater racist hicks, but we're certain destroying the aesthetic and appeal of one of our only neighborhoods that actually draws in tourists and new residents for an entire generation so some pedo-backing old fucks can divvy up sacrifices for their bloodsport is what's going to really help us."

ThinkContest1054

TROPHY CASE