Bad Things Happen When You Wear Sweatpants In Public

If you guys know one thing about me, you know that I think wearing sweatpants in public is a sin. I don't care if you're not wearing makeup, your hair is looking a hot mess or there is a stain on your shirt, but if you are wearing sweats in public (or GOD FORBID pajama pants) I will be secretly judging you. I have come to terms with the ideas of wanting to be comfortable and that sometimes jeans are just a tough decision to make, I get it, I wear leggings in public which I realize makes some people judge me. So while I understand why you would wear them in public, I cannot bring myself to do so.

You can blame Stacy and Clinton. Or the strict dress code that Ellwood City school district established during my freshman year of high school. But honestly the last time I remember wearing sweats in public was on the way to the WPIAL Fastpitch Softball Championship in my sophomore year, and we lost. See, bad things happen. So I should have thought of all these things on Monday.

Monday morning, my brother needed me to follow him to the mechanic to get his car fixed so he would have a ride home and not have to wait there while they worked on it. No big deal, and since it was early when we had to leave the house, I thought to myself, "It's okay just wear the sweatpants because no one is going to see you and we're coming right back home after dropping his car off, you can just get ready for the day when you get home." However, Eric and I decided to go through the drive-thru of McDonald's on our way home for breakfast. Still thinking, no big deal, it's a drive-thru, the only person seeing me in sweatpants is my brother and I wear these around the house, no problem.

Problem...bad things happen when you wear sweatpants in public. If you're around Erie during this time of the year, you know that no one cares about plowing the roads until there's some "serious snow" on them, meaning apparently at least eight inches. Well, on our way to McDonald's I started to break early for a red light, knowing that the roads were getting snowy, but got caught on some ice and hit the car in front of me which was already stopped at the light. Don't be worried, everyone is fine, the accident was more of a love tap between our cars. I happened to be driving a Suburban though so there was less damage on my end, considering Suburbans are ridiculously large vehicles, made for inclement weather. Way to suck in this incident though, Chevy.

Anyway, if you've ever been in any kind of minor traffic incident you (should) know that you have to get out of your vehicle, make sure the other car's passengers are okay, take pictures of the cars and area, get local police to report it and swap insurance info. The woman I hit kept saying she didn't know what to do because she was never in an accident before, yet, I have never been in an accident either and still knew what to do. Isn't this part of driver's ed? Anyway, multiple people saw the pants of shame. I guess this is karma for spreading hate for public displays of sweatpants for the past ten years, but let this be a lesson to you all. Wearing sweatpants in public leads to bad things, even if they're the "nice" sweatpants you got from your graduate school.

Don't forget today is the final day to enter the Firmoo glasses giveaway!

I'm picking 5 random winners at midnight so be sure to enter while you still can.

How To Not Look Like a Tourist While Being a Tourist in Pittsburgh

I have wanted to write this post for a while but just didn't know how to present it without sounding like a jerk. I personally like lists and simple tips so here you have it folks - if you're planning a trip to Pittsburgh, here's the top five things to keep in mind to avoid looking like a tourist this summer, or during your next trip to the 'burgh.

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#5. Stop pointing at everything. 

Yes, I see that building. Yes, we are on Liberty Ave. You don't have to point everything out to the other people with you, just tell them. They can see it. The number one thing that gives you away is pointing. Don't do it, it drives the locals crazy. And if your arm is stretched out for no reason except to point to a lamp post, I reserve the right to run into it if it's in the way of me walking.

#4. Don't hold your mace out in the open. 

First of all, this isn't Detroit or some big bad city where you need to be concerned for your safety 24/7. Granted there is crime everywhere, but more than likely, you are fine in Pittsburgh and holding your pepper spray in your hand, ready to fire at any moment, while walking across the Clemente Bridge on a Sunday afternoon is scaring people. Stop that.

#3. Figure out public transit before using public transit. 

If you are one of those people who want to do like the locals do and ride the buses, inclines or the T, good for you and thank you for supporting Port Authority and not clogging up the roads as much. But please, please, please, please, know where you're going. Know how much you need to pay and where you need to pay before you become that person who is holding up the whole line and in turn holding up the times of when the bus, incline or T is supposed to get to the next stop. You can find out how much you have to pay here. And if you are smart, you will not try to figure out how to read a bus schedule, as a tip, just go on Google Maps and put in your start and ending locations and hit the "by public transit" button and it will tell you exactly where and when to catch the bus you need and the number that you should get on. Trust me, it's the only sane way to go.

#2. Enjoy the moment. 

This means, stop updating your Twitter and Facebook every five seconds and stop taking a picture of absolutely everything you see. Live in the moment. If you're going to do check-ins or take pictures of something that you really could not see anywhere else, then by all means. But if you are checking-in online every time you come to a new intersection, how much of your time in Pittsburgh are you really enjoying? Put the phone and camera away for a minute and experience the city through your own eyes. Seriously, if I see one more person take a picture of a downtown garbage can, I don't know what I'll do.

#1. Drive like a yinzer. 

If you are not going to use public transit or when you are coming into or heading out of the city, know how to drive. Nothing bothers a Pittsburgher more than some "jag-off" not knowing where to go or how to get there. Your GPS will be confused, know that ahead of time, it will probably point you in the wrong direction and recalculate more times than you care to count. Take a breather. Regroup. And drive. If there is one thing that defines a Pittsburgher, it's how they drive. Our roads are crazy, there are a lot of one ways and at almost every turn there is a bridge that will take you to the other side of town. Either know before your trip where you need to go to get to your destination, or at the very least, remain calm yet aggressive, because if you hesitate for a second, I and every other Pittsburgh driver, will "Pittsburgh left" you at a red light. And no one who bleeds black and gold will ever apologize or think twice about cutting you off. 

Welcome to the city of champions, try to keep up :)