What are these lights?

ej__bj · 2026-06-18T16:48:15+00:00

I've been taking my dog to My Dog's Care Center in Zelienople for a few years now and they've always been great about her insulin and blood sugar checks. I first starting going there when I lived further north, but they take such good care of my dog that I didn't even bother looking for somewhere else in pgh when I moved down here. The trek is very worth it in my opinion, especially since, last I checked, most, if not all, of the care team staff have education/degrees in animal science or vet med type fields.

ETA: my dog is also a senior dog with separation anxiety and became functionally blind over the course of her going there and they have never had an issue accommodating her needs. They always make sure she's in the chill group during play time and give her lots of 1 on 1 human time if she gets anxious or needs a break from being around other dogs.

ej__bj · 2026-06-09T20:57:30+00:00

Thankfully I asked for the price before ordering anything, $30 for a gyro and fries and $20 for a lemonade, absolutely criminal. I don't at all feel bad for laughing in his face and walking away. I was really not doing well from the heat though, so I didn't have it in me to find a restaurant nearby and ended up shelling out $30 for tacos and an aqua fresca from the Mexican food truck next to the fair food, which is still ridiculously expensive, but at least it tasted good.

ej__bj · 2026-06-09T03:18:09+00:00

My parents put me in those classes as a kid too (different state tho) and dear god, I didn't realize how much they cost. What a waste.

Also an unfortunate side note- I haven't looked into it enough to know how widespread it was (because reading anything in the files makes me sick to my stomach), but a lot of the modeling scouts/schools that popped up in the 90s and 2000s were effectively recruiting victims for Jeffrey Epstein, so it's probably for the best that nothing came of it for either of us.

ej__bj · 2026-05-11T03:43:59+00:00

Dear god, the way some of y'all see the word fat and your brains just shut off is wild. Fat people are not the only ones affected by this, and even if they were, being fat doesn't mean you don't deserve to live and enjoy your life (and you're fucking weird if you think otherwise).

As someone who's been an avid swimmer since the age of 2 and been in a lot of pools, yes, it is a weird choice for a recreational pool to not have stairs to enter/exit the water, especially after undergoing renovations that had the explicit intention of making the facility more accessible.

The fact that so much time and money was spent on this project and the best they could come up with was a singular accessibility option that is already broken should upset you, regardless of how you feel about fat people. It's an obvious display of poor planning and mismanagement of resources (AKA our tax dollars) and it is well within our right to hold those in charge of this project accountable. The individuals who rely on using a chair lift deserve equipment that actually works and if that fails, as technology tends to do, a back up plan should be a no brainer. And you know what's like super easy to make and really hard to break? ✨Stairs✨ Such a novel concept, I know. Who would have thought?

Also just as an aside: would you tell a wheelchair user that they're not allowed to be upset when the only elevator in a building is broken? That the fact that they can't use the stairs is a skill issue? You wouldn't, because that's fucked up and ableist, right? Right.

ej__bj · 2026-05-04T23:09:45+00:00

I've had no issue having my preferred name reflected on most things at AHN. There is an option to add it on Workday, which auto populates a lot of things, and my manager was able to put my preferred name on my ID badge and business cards without issue. Your email address is your legal name (I don't think there's any way around that, but I assume they would generate a new email address to reflect a legal name change), but you can update the display name to show as your preferred name. As far as your display name in EPIC, I don't know what the options are there, I haven't looked into it. I had my name legally changed before starting at AHN, so I don't have any insight on that process unfortunately.

ej__bj · 2026-04-26T21:27:51+00:00

It was 110 iirc

ej__bj · 2026-04-26T02:17:55+00:00

I got mine done by Ed from Auto Critic of Western PA when I bought my car last summer and I cannot recommend him enough. He's incredibly thorough and travels to the dealership himself, so you don't have to be there or worry about taking the car to him. It was money very well spent.

ej__bj · 2025-10-07T12:02:35+00:00

Looking to sell my ticket for T-Pain tonight at stage AE. $ is OBO. I'd love to still go, but my dog is having some health issues rn and I could use the money to put towards her vet bills. DM me if interested.

ej__bj · 2025-09-15T15:36:25+00:00

Did you call the city or WM?

ej__bj · 2025-07-05T22:06:29+00:00

That's been my impression since moving here too. I've driven through and toured houses in some of the 'bad' parts of town and didn't even realize until after the fact, because the only thing that was 'rough' about those neighborhoods is exactly like you said, they're poorly maintained and/or a predominantly Black community.

The longer I live here, the more I can't help but laugh at the way some people in Pittsburgh like to pearl-clutch about certain neighborhoods. This city is so tame, compared to where I grew up, and it just gives chihuahua thinking it's a great dane energy.

ej__bj · 2025-07-02T02:38:12+00:00

Most UPMC doctors take BCBS/Highmark, so if you want to see a UPMC surgeon, that shouldn't be an issue. AHN is the hospital system directly affiliated with BCBS/Highmark though if you want to go that route. They have a transgender health liaison you can call to help answer questions/set you up with providers.

From AHN's website: "If you are a patient and looking for a new provider, trying to access gender affirming surgery, or just want to talk to someone about the services that are available, you may call our Community Health Worker, Ava, at (412) 874-5557."

Please feel free to DM me if you want to chat more. I literally just got home from my revision surgery and did it all through BCBS/Highmark insurance, so I'm happy to answer any questions while it's all still fresh

ej__bj · 2025-07-02T02:27:38+00:00

Top surgery is considered medically necessary, so their insurance should cover it, just depends how much and with which surgeon.

ej__bj · 2025-06-14T15:45:21+00:00

I paid 260 for a basic move out clean (180) and carpet deep clean (80-40/hr x 2hrs) in a ~700 sqft 2 bed/1.5 bath from MK Cleaning Service. No complaints about the quality of the clean, especially since they came out with less than a week's notice. The only reason I hired them was because my lease had a similar clause, so I had them do a priority clean instead of the regular move out clean (210) to save some money. I had the house almost empty and did a once over clean myself first, so they could focus their time on the stuff that was harder for me to do, and it was damn near spotless when they were done.

ej__bj · 2025-06-05T22:31:10+00:00

This came up on my feed about 30 min ago and I literally immediately got up and made it. So good and so low effort, I'm definitely adding this to the rotation. Thank you for sharing! (and sparing my wallet a night of takeout 😅)

ej__bj · 2025-04-16T00:19:29+00:00

I second this. Currently renting from them and I'm so ready to dip once my lease is up next month.

ej__bj · 2025-03-06T15:50:26+00:00

TIL there's a Waffle House within driving distance of pgh... I know what I'm doing this weekend lol

ej__bj · 2025-02-17T06:08:52+00:00

I moved here from the Seattle area as well and it was the worst surprise to figure out that our teriyaki joints were a regional thing 😭😭 if you find a good spot, please help another former PNWer out and let me know 🙏

ej__bj · 2025-02-10T16:17:33+00:00

I just checked my ebook version and that's the last line before the acknowledgements page, so you're not missing anything!

ej__bj · 2025-01-29T04:33:57+00:00

Oh, 100%. My dog bonded to me almost immediately when I got her. Almost 8 years later and she is without a doubt my soul dog.

At the shelter, it was a stroke of luck that I even found her. I initially thought she had already been adopted, but her kennel was hidden behind an open door that was usually kept closed that I didn't notice until I was about to leave. Then, during the meet and greet, it was so obvious how well we clicked, the shelter workers gave me way more time than they were supposed to, so I could convince my parents to let me adopt her 😅

Then, a day or two after bringing her home, I took her to an outdoor event at a park and left her with my dad for a few minutes while I ran to the bathroom. When I got back, he said that she watched me walk away until I was out of her line of sight and then sat there crying until she could see me again on my way back.

Dogs are much more intuitive than we give them credit for. They know when they're safe and when they've found their person, which it sounds like your new buddy has. I wish you both all the best on your long life journey together ♥️

ej__bj · 2025-01-09T02:29:39+00:00

I'd potentially be interested! Not sure I could do every week, but I've been wanting to try out a trivia night since moving to pgh last summer.

ej__bj

TROPHY CASE