Oakland -- Future Leaders of America?

If Oakland, home to the University of Pittsburgh, is helping to cultivate our future doctors, engineers, and business leaders....then they're all going to have terrible fashion sense.

That was the takeaway from my trip down to Oakland to pick up some gift cards for a birthday gift. My cousin from Texas chose to come to the University of Pittsburgh because she hates Texas, Texas weather, Texas people, and wanted to see snow.

Anywho...I didn't have to rush home, so I wandered around Fifth and Forbes and couldn't believe how much it changed since I used to haunt it in my misspent youth. (Dons old man cap and puts on cardigan sweater).

I didn't attend Pitt, but I had a ton of friends from high school that did, so during breaks or when I was interning back here in Pittsburgh, I would hang out there. I noticed last night that there are so many more food choices and interesting food choices as compared to the mid/late 90's. I bought GC's to Caribou Coffee and Starbucks Coffee, both jammed with young brainy females that would have loved to talk to an engineering college student back then...surely. There's Noodles and Company, Panera, Quaker State, multiple delis with healthier choices, plus offstreet ethnic places like an intriguing Cuban restaurant that I should have tried.

Instead, I think stubbornly, I went to the O for a "small" fry order (feeds 2 people) and ate it in a place that refuses to change and adapt. It's dirty, cheap, greasy, and probably still edgy at night -- awesome. I got some noodles not at Noodles and Company, which was bright and trendy, but Taiwan Express which was dirty and probably staffed by indentured servant immigrants.

I kind of flashed back to when DB~ and I were in Montreal. We spent a good deal of time using the subway system to explore the city. We got off at an interesting stop called Beri-UQAM which we found out meant University of Quebec at Montreal. We were deposited into the middle of what felt like Oakland, except it had strip clubs and a massive amount of bars and shopping areas.

Tons of skinny jeans (both girl and guy), leggings, ruffled skirts, yoga pants. Typical college attire that will hopefully not start to translate to the workplace. Some things have to stay the same, right?