Peevish

Saturday, October 08, 2005

10 miles! IBarefoot! In the snow! Uphill! Both ways!

During my 5-hour stint in Brew Ha Ha yesterday, I was acutely aware of the rest of the clientele.

I chose to sit at the far end of the bar, which put me in the perfect people-watching position. I was disturbed by a number of things, which I choose to share with you today. Bear with me, people. I'm not as vitriolic as some or as eloquent as others, but I'm as annoyed as both.

What is with the Stepford College Students today? Way back when in the previous century when I was in college, if we rolled out of bed, dragged on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and threw our hair in a ponytail, we were ready for class. I saw college students in skirts and hose for chrissakes! With makeup! And perfect hair! They sat in lovely little ultrafeminine enclaves, with prim handbags perched next to them in their chairs, delicately sipping cappuccino and discussing art history. Yes, I eavesdropped. If you have that much time to put into your appearance, ladies, you'd better be making a 4.o GPA, not arguing that, duh, Manet and Monet are the same person, you just spelled it wrong, Ashley! That's all I have to say.

Also, since when has the notebook computer become de rigeur in the University set? Everybody and her sister had a cute little laptop sitting in front of her, industriously tapping away at the latest term paper or IM. And the cellphone not to far away, chirping every now and then to keep the peeps informed. Now, I didn't use the chisel and stone tablet, that, if you listen to him, my father used. I had notebooks and an array of colored pens - I color-coded my notes. I was a real geek (or swot, if you prefer). I had to earn my laptop the old-fashioned way: I married for it. I have the WCM's old one.

What's with the disposable income these kids have, too? A ginormous Mochaccino cost $4. How come these kids have $4 to throw away on coffee? Back in the day, I lived on dining hall fare and hobo soup out of my hot pot. If I had $4 to spare, I did laundry, and it sure as hell wasn't skirts and hose. We drank tap water, snacked on crackers and squirt cheese, and, on rare occasion, pooled our cash and splurged on a pint of Ben & Jerry's to share between us. For those years when I paid for my own education and commuted (5 of the 6 non-consecutive years of my education), I had to eliminate luxuries to pay for gasoline and books. Lattes were soooo out of reach.

Lastly, anyone over the age of 30 in the coffeehouse was subjected to an extended critical appraisal, culminating in raised-eyebrowed eye-rolling like, "whatever, dude." Like I was crashing a party at Lambda Chi Delta. Like I'd be caught dead at Lambda Chi, or any of its fellows. Dude, like, who's the grandma at the bar? Doesn't she, like, know there's, like, rules about who can come here? Dude, is she, like, working? Duuuuuuuude. That's, like, soo wrong.

Perhaps it was my sweatpants and sneakers. It could have been the grading and record-keeping done with a pen. It could be that I was just OLD. Whatever.

Move over, Dad, I'm joining the chorus. In my day, we had to walk 10 miles to school every day, barefoot, in the snow, uphill, both ways, carrying our stone tablets and chisels on our backs...

9 Comments:

  • Students these days eh? I was a complete geek minger when I was at university (1988-91-94), most of us were. But then again, we were science so it was expected of us. saying that though, I work near The University of Manchester and I have to agree that most students are really well up on fashion these days - it's really scary. As for money, I've no idea about that. All I do know is that we had none, but lived on maintenance grants and whatever our parents could give us. These days, the students have to get loans to pay for fees and living expenses and i think these amount to a hell of a lot more in terms of actual cash. Either that or it's just that it's only kids from privileged backgrounds that can afford to go to university these days.

    By Blogger Sniffy, At 10:34 AM  

  • *joins in chorus too* Yeah, I remember those days when my diet consisted primarily of rice and ramen noodles because that was about all I could afford.

    By Blogger Recovering Packrat, At 11:28 PM  

  • There are too many students. Most of them wouldn't have been able to cope with the academic demands that were placed on stucdents fifteen years ago.
    These days access to universities seems to be regarded as a right.
    Frankly it's immoral. Load them with loans for a useless qualification.

    By Blogger garfer, At 6:08 PM  

  • Damn excellent post! :)

    I'd LOVE to go back to school but I know I'd feel positively ANCIENT doing it.

    Ah screw the lot of those young whipper-snappers!

    ;)

    By Blogger Stacy The Peanut Queen, At 11:58 AM  

  • Since we're soon to be joined by a young whippersnapper ourselves, the DH and I have been discussing the "uphill both ways" schtick. Turns out he actually had it that way. He walked uphill to school...then walked uphill to the woman who took care of him after school...then his parents picked him up in the evening. Poor thing. And remember, this is Canada so he probably WAS going through 4 feet of snow.

    Me? I didn't have it quite so bad, but I did have a set of parents whose primary goal in life was instilling a good protestant work ethic, so most of the weekends were spent grooming some part of our 6 acres of property-- "hauling brush" was a favorite activity for dad. No wonder I have a bit of an aversion to gardening.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At 2:44 PM  

  • You walked to school?? In snow???


    You were lucky.

    By Blogger S.I.D., At 7:25 PM  

  • Walked? Pshaw. I rode the bus until I graduated. And was pissed about it, too.

    By Blogger Peevish McSnark, At 9:50 PM  

  • Oh, the days of grunge when not showering was a fashion statement. I miss thee.

    If I had carried a handbag in college, I would have been mocked mercilessly.

    And I had hoped that we had liberated women from hose once and for all.

    By Blogger Whinger, At 1:44 PM  

  • Yes yes yes!

    I just moved to Ann Arbor, isolated, self-important college town in the middle of post-industrial wasteland central and sweet God, I feel like such an ass whenever I leave the house. Who are these Junior Stepfords and who the hell is footing the bill???

    It is so unbelievable.

    I was so damn broke in college, I cringe to think about it.

    However, I relish my memories of squirty cheese and waiting in line ten hours to use one of the three crappy Macs in the dorm computer lab and, photocopying textbooks so that I could return them for the money to pay the rent.

    Designer caffeinated beverages were absolutely the furthest thing from my mind. Sitting at a coffee shop would've forced me to reflect on how damn broke I was.

    I relished the first laptop I ever owned. Mine was also passed down to me from my husband when he finished grad school. I recently sold it TO A COLLEGE STUDENT for $700...and she wrote me a check for it! And I didn't cash it for three weeks, and I'm not gonna lie, I held on to the damn check as a test. And it didn't bounce!!

    I just can't help but think that these girls are going to be so unbelievably disappointed with the real world. I wonder if the drug company that makes Prozac is giving their parents a stipend for their pretty laptops and fluffy Anthropologie skirts to ensure that this is the best they'll ever have it.

    By Blogger portuguesa nova, At 11:08 PM  

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