Oh my gosh! Blogger's new look is... really weird. But weird in a good way. It will take a little bit to get used to! But I like it. Good job, Blogger! :)
In fact, I'd forgotten they were changing over yesterday, so I wasn't affected by the downtime at all. I should go play now and see what all the new features are! But I did come here for a reason this morning...
I have nothing in common with most of the people my age that I know. It's weird sometimes, because I wonder if there's something I'm missing, not watching TV every night or going to bars or whatever they do when they're not working.
Maybe I'm destined to be my generation's version of the weird old lady with a bunch of cats (which would be fine with me) but it seems quite strange from my POV that so many of my "peers" have bought into consumerism and shallowness--like they're still stuck on being cool, which can be traced all the way back to High School. (Which was 12 years ago this year. So they really have no excuse.) I mean... all these people seem to worry about is whether or not they're thin and tan and have a boyfriend or husband, 2.5 kids, and a house with a white picket fence.
Is it because they're city folk and I'm not? Bethel's on the edge of nowhere, after all. The last bastion of civilization (to some people) before you get to Brown County and "country." But I know for a fact that the "city" ideals don't apply to everyone who lives in the city, and that even out here in the country, young people buy into the lifestyles the magazines promote.
Or is it because I know what I like? It's all well and good if what I like is popular--I can get more of it easily--but when it's not, I don't change my tune or my decorating scheme. And while there are some brands I will buy (if cheap enough), I'm not a slave to any certain manufacturer.
Or is it because I didn't go to college? If that's it, then good riddance, because I make plenty of money for my needs at the moment. (Although I'm still considering taking classes here and there for Interesting Things. But we'll see.)
I don't fit in with the writers because I'm not out to become famous or win any awards. (Being famous would be a pain. Winning awards... okay, that would be fine, but that's NOT why I write.)
I don't fit in with the readers, because frankly, it's been almost a year since I've read a new fantasy novel, and I'm not planning to buy any soon.
I don't fit in with the status-seekers, because just as long as I can do what I want with what money I make, I'm just fine and happy with my status and the state of things.
No less than four people of my acquaintance have recently admitted that they have never been to an auction. AT ALL. This saddens me, because who will become the antique dealers of the future? When I go to auctions, there are very few (if not zero) people my age in attendance. (And I'm not counting the yuppies, who don't and shouldn't count.)
The current upswing of interest in knitting is a good thing, but I do wonder what will happen when it falls out of favor again. When we're grandmothers or great-aunts or whatever, will it still be cool to knit? And what about poor crochet, my first love? :)
Anyway. I have no solutions, only observations. But I can't help but feel my POV is a dying breed in my generation... and while that scares me, it doesn't incite me to change any of my ideals or interests.
I mean. For example:
I don't wear makeup, pluck my brows, or shave my legs in the winter. I could care less about coloring my hair. Good shampoo and conditioner, to me, costs less than $2.50 a bottle and smells like anything except for green apple. I've never gotten a manicure or a pedicure, and I doubt I ever will. I don't spend hours fixing my hair. Although I do get perms, I leave it long and messy and curly. I like it that way.
In the summertime, there's usually dirt under my fingernails. I do grow them, but they're never long enough to bother me while I'm typing. I stop at yard sales for bargains, auctions for antiques and collectibles, and always try to have cash in my wallet for fleamarkets.
I make applesauce and jellies. Pie mixes, and spaghetti sauce. I make a mean chili, and delectable vegetable soup. I grow herbs to use, not just for their smell or their landscaping qualities. I think growing bamboo is cool.
I hardly ever watch TV, unless it's a movie, and that puts me in the minority right then and there. I listen to the radio, but usually only for background noise. I wear long skirts (ankle length preferred.) I drink tea, almost exclusively.
I have strong convictions about some things, and stronger convictions about others.
I think $100 is still a lot of money. Heck, I think $50 is still a lot of money.
I want to visit Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Orkney, France, Italy, Denmark, Greenland, Canada, and Spain. Canada will probably be the first country to be crossed off that list.
I don't play computer games. In fact, the couple of times I played computer games, I got bored and quit. (With one exception: Torin's Quest (? Can't quite remember the name) was a fun game.
I have never played Nintendo. Or XBox. Or... whatever the rest of those things are called. I don't download Mp3s to my computer.
I write. I read, although not as much as before. I am on constant lookout for story subject-matter. I like to be left alone, and I don't do well in certain social situations (especially if I have nothing in common with the other people present.)
And yet, I seriously consider everyone else the abnormal ones, and myself a fairly normal person. There are no skeletons hiding in my closet (honest. I've always wanted one. In fact, I wanted to buy one and stick him in the passenger seat of my car and see if anyone noticed. But I digress.)
Is status everything? Is money everything? Most of the people I know in my generation think so. After all, who else patronizes the day spas? The gyms? The boutiques? The coffee houses? The upscale bars?
These people aren't readers. They aren't writers. And yet they're considered the 'in' crowd; the shining ones; the norm.
I am my own generation, evidently. I didn't grow up watching MTV or cable. I didn't grow up wearing the latest fads. I didn't grow up shallow, but filled to the brim with an education money cannot buy.
And I'm a better person for it. It's a shame, though, that there aren't more people like me in existence. :)
In fact, I'd forgotten they were changing over yesterday, so I wasn't affected by the downtime at all. I should go play now and see what all the new features are! But I did come here for a reason this morning...
I have nothing in common with most of the people my age that I know. It's weird sometimes, because I wonder if there's something I'm missing, not watching TV every night or going to bars or whatever they do when they're not working.
Maybe I'm destined to be my generation's version of the weird old lady with a bunch of cats (which would be fine with me) but it seems quite strange from my POV that so many of my "peers" have bought into consumerism and shallowness--like they're still stuck on being cool, which can be traced all the way back to High School. (Which was 12 years ago this year. So they really have no excuse.) I mean... all these people seem to worry about is whether or not they're thin and tan and have a boyfriend or husband, 2.5 kids, and a house with a white picket fence.
Is it because they're city folk and I'm not? Bethel's on the edge of nowhere, after all. The last bastion of civilization (to some people) before you get to Brown County and "country." But I know for a fact that the "city" ideals don't apply to everyone who lives in the city, and that even out here in the country, young people buy into the lifestyles the magazines promote.
Or is it because I know what I like? It's all well and good if what I like is popular--I can get more of it easily--but when it's not, I don't change my tune or my decorating scheme. And while there are some brands I will buy (if cheap enough), I'm not a slave to any certain manufacturer.
Or is it because I didn't go to college? If that's it, then good riddance, because I make plenty of money for my needs at the moment. (Although I'm still considering taking classes here and there for Interesting Things. But we'll see.)
I don't fit in with the writers because I'm not out to become famous or win any awards. (Being famous would be a pain. Winning awards... okay, that would be fine, but that's NOT why I write.)
I don't fit in with the readers, because frankly, it's been almost a year since I've read a new fantasy novel, and I'm not planning to buy any soon.
I don't fit in with the status-seekers, because just as long as I can do what I want with what money I make, I'm just fine and happy with my status and the state of things.
No less than four people of my acquaintance have recently admitted that they have never been to an auction. AT ALL. This saddens me, because who will become the antique dealers of the future? When I go to auctions, there are very few (if not zero) people my age in attendance. (And I'm not counting the yuppies, who don't and shouldn't count.)
The current upswing of interest in knitting is a good thing, but I do wonder what will happen when it falls out of favor again. When we're grandmothers or great-aunts or whatever, will it still be cool to knit? And what about poor crochet, my first love? :)
Anyway. I have no solutions, only observations. But I can't help but feel my POV is a dying breed in my generation... and while that scares me, it doesn't incite me to change any of my ideals or interests.
I mean. For example:
I don't wear makeup, pluck my brows, or shave my legs in the winter. I could care less about coloring my hair. Good shampoo and conditioner, to me, costs less than $2.50 a bottle and smells like anything except for green apple. I've never gotten a manicure or a pedicure, and I doubt I ever will. I don't spend hours fixing my hair. Although I do get perms, I leave it long and messy and curly. I like it that way.
In the summertime, there's usually dirt under my fingernails. I do grow them, but they're never long enough to bother me while I'm typing. I stop at yard sales for bargains, auctions for antiques and collectibles, and always try to have cash in my wallet for fleamarkets.
I make applesauce and jellies. Pie mixes, and spaghetti sauce. I make a mean chili, and delectable vegetable soup. I grow herbs to use, not just for their smell or their landscaping qualities. I think growing bamboo is cool.
I hardly ever watch TV, unless it's a movie, and that puts me in the minority right then and there. I listen to the radio, but usually only for background noise. I wear long skirts (ankle length preferred.) I drink tea, almost exclusively.
I have strong convictions about some things, and stronger convictions about others.
I think $100 is still a lot of money. Heck, I think $50 is still a lot of money.
I want to visit Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Orkney, France, Italy, Denmark, Greenland, Canada, and Spain. Canada will probably be the first country to be crossed off that list.
I don't play computer games. In fact, the couple of times I played computer games, I got bored and quit. (With one exception: Torin's Quest (? Can't quite remember the name) was a fun game.
I have never played Nintendo. Or XBox. Or... whatever the rest of those things are called. I don't download Mp3s to my computer.
I write. I read, although not as much as before. I am on constant lookout for story subject-matter. I like to be left alone, and I don't do well in certain social situations (especially if I have nothing in common with the other people present.)
And yet, I seriously consider everyone else the abnormal ones, and myself a fairly normal person. There are no skeletons hiding in my closet (honest. I've always wanted one. In fact, I wanted to buy one and stick him in the passenger seat of my car and see if anyone noticed. But I digress.)
Is status everything? Is money everything? Most of the people I know in my generation think so. After all, who else patronizes the day spas? The gyms? The boutiques? The coffee houses? The upscale bars?
These people aren't readers. They aren't writers. And yet they're considered the 'in' crowd; the shining ones; the norm.
I am my own generation, evidently. I didn't grow up watching MTV or cable. I didn't grow up wearing the latest fads. I didn't grow up shallow, but filled to the brim with an education money cannot buy.
And I'm a better person for it. It's a shame, though, that there aren't more people like me in existence. :)
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