07-14-1999, 10:54 PM
Ok, I was going to put this in MPSIMS, but I ended up bitching quite a bit, so here it is in the Pit. Feel free to take offense. ;)
Ok, I know I'm only 18, but recently I've been feeling like a little kid. All of my friends have grown "responsibilities" and my boyfriend Carl (who is 6 years older than me) is constantly bringing up things that happened when I was only 6 or 7 years old. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was hanging out with him, his best friend Chris (10 years older than me), and the best friend's wife Robin (a few months younger than me, but she has a baby). Carl and Chris began to talk about "the good old days", and suddenly Robin interrupts her husband's speech about when he was in high school, turns to me and whispers "We were in the second grade!" Makes me feel a little like I'm dating a pervert. ;)
Okay, enough ranting. The real purpose of this thread is that I want to take offense to this list which was posted in the Feel Old? thread. It is not an accurate portrayal of my generation at all.
1. The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1981
2. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot.
I did too know that, and I even know that it had something to do with a guy who was obsessed with Jodie Foster. Didn't it?
3. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.
4. Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.
5. There has been only one Pope. They can only really remember one president.
I remember three presidents, thank you, and "voted" for two of them in school.
6. They were 9 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do not remember the Cold War.
I remember the Berlin Wall coming down, and I fully understood the importance of it at the time.
[/Quote]
7. They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie.
8. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up, and Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.
9. Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
10. They never had a Polio shot, and likely do not know what it is.
[/Quote]
Polio? Isn't that a game with horses and mallets? I know what polio is!!!
11. Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been
plastic. They have no idea what a pull-top can looks like.
12. Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.
That is only accurate if you had money. I had an Atari, and I still have vinyl albums.
13. The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.
So you're saying we're incapable of understanding metaphor because the majority of us did not listen to records?
14. They have never owned a record player.
15. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
I owned a record player, I've played both Pong and Pac Man.
16. Star Wars look very fake to them, and the
special effects are pathetic.
Not. I just saw Star Wars for the first time this year (although most of my friends had seen it hundreds of times) and I thought the effects were awesome. (The original version, BTW, not the digitally remastered version.)
17. There have always been red M&Ms, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?
Wrong again. Okay, red ones I didn't know were "new", but I remember beige M&Ms and I remember when the blue ones were introduced.
18. They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably never
have actually seen or heard one.
19. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.
Yet I didn't own a CD player until I was 16. I still prefer tapes.
20. As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.
(Accurate until recently)
Wasn't that only a few years ago? I remember the prices changing when I was in the 6th grade, and again soon after that. Sixth grade is not pre-memory, you know.
21. They have always had an answering machine.
22. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a
black-and-white TV.
23. They have always had cable.
24. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is.
Wrong to all of those. Our first answering machine was a big deal in our house; I remember it. We did have a black-and-white TV and one with 13 channels. I got cable in the 7th grade. And I remember being upset when we got a VHS because I couldn't watch Charlotte's Web anymore.
25. They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Because everybody had a remote control beginning in 1981. Yeah, right.
26. They were born the year after Walkman were introduced by Sony.
27. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them.
No, inline skates are not the only ones I've ever seen. I remember skates before that.
28. The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno.
So you're saying I have no idea who Johnny Carson is, and that Ed McMahon is just the guy from Publisher's Clearinghouse?
29. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
I think you get the idea. . .
30. Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.
31. They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player.
32. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
Jaws? I remember that movie coming on TV once. I watched it on our little black-and-white 13 channel TV that had no remote.
33. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as W.W.I, W.W.II, or even the Civil War.
34. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
35. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
I wear hard contact lenses. I can't wear soft contacts because of my cataracts.
36. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
He came from Happy Days.
37. They never heard the terms: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "de plane, de plane!"
38. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.
Ok, ok. Who did shoot JR? I've been waiting 18 years, I think it's time somebody told me!
[quote]
39. The Titanic was found? I thought we always
Ok, I know I'm only 18, but recently I've been feeling like a little kid. All of my friends have grown "responsibilities" and my boyfriend Carl (who is 6 years older than me) is constantly bringing up things that happened when I was only 6 or 7 years old. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was hanging out with him, his best friend Chris (10 years older than me), and the best friend's wife Robin (a few months younger than me, but she has a baby). Carl and Chris began to talk about "the good old days", and suddenly Robin interrupts her husband's speech about when he was in high school, turns to me and whispers "We were in the second grade!" Makes me feel a little like I'm dating a pervert. ;)
Okay, enough ranting. The real purpose of this thread is that I want to take offense to this list which was posted in the Feel Old? thread. It is not an accurate portrayal of my generation at all.
1. The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1981
2. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot.
I did too know that, and I even know that it had something to do with a guy who was obsessed with Jodie Foster. Didn't it?
3. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.
4. Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.
5. There has been only one Pope. They can only really remember one president.
I remember three presidents, thank you, and "voted" for two of them in school.
6. They were 9 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do not remember the Cold War.
I remember the Berlin Wall coming down, and I fully understood the importance of it at the time.
[/Quote]
7. They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie.
8. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up, and Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.
9. Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
10. They never had a Polio shot, and likely do not know what it is.
[/Quote]
Polio? Isn't that a game with horses and mallets? I know what polio is!!!
11. Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been
plastic. They have no idea what a pull-top can looks like.
12. Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.
That is only accurate if you had money. I had an Atari, and I still have vinyl albums.
13. The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.
So you're saying we're incapable of understanding metaphor because the majority of us did not listen to records?
14. They have never owned a record player.
15. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
I owned a record player, I've played both Pong and Pac Man.
16. Star Wars look very fake to them, and the
special effects are pathetic.
Not. I just saw Star Wars for the first time this year (although most of my friends had seen it hundreds of times) and I thought the effects were awesome. (The original version, BTW, not the digitally remastered version.)
17. There have always been red M&Ms, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?
Wrong again. Okay, red ones I didn't know were "new", but I remember beige M&Ms and I remember when the blue ones were introduced.
18. They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably never
have actually seen or heard one.
19. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.
Yet I didn't own a CD player until I was 16. I still prefer tapes.
20. As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.
(Accurate until recently)
Wasn't that only a few years ago? I remember the prices changing when I was in the 6th grade, and again soon after that. Sixth grade is not pre-memory, you know.
21. They have always had an answering machine.
22. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a
black-and-white TV.
23. They have always had cable.
24. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is.
Wrong to all of those. Our first answering machine was a big deal in our house; I remember it. We did have a black-and-white TV and one with 13 channels. I got cable in the 7th grade. And I remember being upset when we got a VHS because I couldn't watch Charlotte's Web anymore.
25. They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Because everybody had a remote control beginning in 1981. Yeah, right.
26. They were born the year after Walkman were introduced by Sony.
27. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them.
No, inline skates are not the only ones I've ever seen. I remember skates before that.
28. The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno.
So you're saying I have no idea who Johnny Carson is, and that Ed McMahon is just the guy from Publisher's Clearinghouse?
29. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
I think you get the idea. . .
30. Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.
31. They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player.
32. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
Jaws? I remember that movie coming on TV once. I watched it on our little black-and-white 13 channel TV that had no remote.
33. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as W.W.I, W.W.II, or even the Civil War.
34. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
35. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
I wear hard contact lenses. I can't wear soft contacts because of my cataracts.
36. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
He came from Happy Days.
37. They never heard the terms: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "de plane, de plane!"
38. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.
Ok, ok. Who did shoot JR? I've been waiting 18 years, I think it's time somebody told me!
[quote]
39. The Titanic was found? I thought we always