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July 21, 2006
Iced lattes and spoiled teenagers
I'm waiting in line at my nearby Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, waiting for a couple of iced lattes on a 120-degree day, when I overhear two teenage girls talking about graduation gifts.
Normally I would be wating in line for a Cafe Americano, large, little room for cream and an Equal. Sugar and me don't go well together, so I have to stay away from anything that has mocha or caramel in its name and it's a bit frustrating. But Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf makes a mean Cafe Americano and I am usually content with that. I prefer a sugar-free vanilla latte from Starbucks, but there isn't a Starbucks on my way to work and I have a co-worker who greatly appreciates an iced latte, especially on a 120-degree day.
And there is always an off chance that I will find a sugar-free vanilla or chocolate pound cake at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which goes surprisingly well with either an iced latte or Cafe Americano. If I get my pound cake, my co-worker gets her much beloved chocolate chip cookie, which she wrote extensively about in a previous blog entry.
But back to the girls.
One was complaining that she was considered spoiled by some of her friends because she got $1,800 as a graduation gift. She apparently didn't think this was a fair judge of her character, especially since she has other friends who received much more for their graduations. For example, one got an all-expense paid trip to Italy.
From where I come from, everyone this girl knows is well beyond the line of spoiled.
A part of me felt like asking her: What do you plan on doing with the money?
I remember when I graduated from high school, I got an acceptance letter to attend San Diego State University and enough money to enroll at College of the Canyons. It sucked, but that was my situation back in the day.
Now if I had been given $1,800 for graduation, I probably would have spent it on cheap beer in Tijuana and Dodger tickets. It's one of the reasons I ended up at College of the Canyons rather than San Diego State, but that's another story for another day.
I just can't believe anyone would complain about $1,800, which will probably get spent on mocha cappacinos and miniskirts. I hope some of that money finds its way to college text books and tuition. But listening to these girls talk, it would be a sad commentary on the potential of the next generation of college students if these girls were enrolling at any institution with university in its title.
It just made me grateful that I have very little contact with teenage girls anymore. But it doesn't have me looking forward to the day my sons bring home girlfriends for the first time. If all goes well, I have another good 10 years of peace before any of that happens.
But maybe it's time to switch and stop at Starbucks from time to time in an attempt to avoid any more unfortunate encounters.
Posted by Tim Haddock at July 21, 2006 5:39 PM