Pitt. or The Pits

Some aspects of a person's life just can't be altered.
As we grow old our joints will stiffen, and we'll sit on the porch waiting for the end like a potted plant. But before that, we work. In my case that frequently involves attending sporting events at high schools and some of the colleges in Western Pa. It can be a decent day, or it can be a drag depending on the time of day the event starts, day of the week, season of the year, of most tellingly the organization in charge. The WPIAL - the Big Cheese of sanctioning bodies in Western Pa - has got to be a typical organization, but consistently produces events in the in what seems to be a lowest bidder mode.

Today and tomorrow are the local swimming championships. Hooray - the WPIAL holds these at Trees pool on the Pitt campus. The biggest problem with this event is this: there just isn't anywhere else to hold it, and nobody in a position of authority seems to care.

This thing is just wrong in every way.

•Parking is expensive - if you can find a space - as you're competing with a 30k student population, half a dozen busy hospitals, and an urban campus.
•Everything is uphill. Not just a hill but a 5 story climb to the pool from anywhere in the neighborhood.
•The media work area is a pair of folding tables and two rather decent chairs.
•WiFi in the pool is password protected. God forbid anyone in the area know the password or know who would.
•Hungry? Bend over and spread 'em. $3.50 for a Pepsi in a bottle. $3 for a dog. I was ready to use my "Usually when I get screwed, I get a kiss" line, but the counter help looked as if they were only Minimum Wage Slaves with less control than anyone.
•Agoraphobic? Contemplate this. At the afternoon session there were 54 swim teams participating. if they AVERAGE 10 members, that's 540 kids plus coaches all crowded around the pool. Loads of room to work.

sheesh