How about a random poll?

[stoney321]

1. I am super hungry for lunch, and my friend just happened to drop off some curry, tika masala, and garlic naan. I think I won't be hungry much longer.
2. I am waaaaay behind on NaNo, and only have 17,000 words. In two days, I need to be on track at 25K. Um...
3. I love my derg. She's lying on her side trying to sneak a lick to our cat, Hope, lying on her side, juuuuust out of reach. Nerds.
4. I promised you a poll! I want to know facts about YOU. (This is inspired by a report on 60 Minutes about the vast differences between "Millenials" and "Baby Boomers." (And to some extent, Gen X-ers.)


(Yes, I used a Bryan Adams song for my cut text. AT LEAST IT WASN'T AIR SUPPLY.)

[Poll #1087976]

[ETA for clarity] If your parents have GEDs, that qualifies as a high school diploma. Sorry for not including an option for parents who (for whatever purpose) did not complete their high school equivalence.

Also: if you were born in 1984 and are a younger sibling, then you are a Gen X-er. If you were born in 1984 and are an only child, or the oldest child, you are a Millenial.

And: "spankings, taking away things" should read "spankings and/or taking away things."

Finally: why have I not been owled with scones?

Comments

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Of the 5 kids in my family, I have a BS, #2 has an MBA, #3 has a BA, #4 is in law school, and #5 is in grad school. I feel like I'm not living up to expectations. Not that I would go back to school; bleargh.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I honestly didn't get in much trouble growing up. I can only remember a couple of times, and mostly they resulted in my mom with her Arm Grip of DOOM working her mojo on me. She was pretty lax when I was a teenager, but I was totally one of those boring nerd kids who did all their homework and everything. I only had to clean my room, but I helped out with other stuff. It was kind of a different experience for me since I essentially grew up with a single mom, and with it just being me and her, we had a different relationship than a lot of families, I think.

[elucidate-this.livejournal.com]

Word. I have been putting of grad school and am starting get phone calls about "have you thought more about grad school" SHUT UP I AM TAKING MY TIME.

[elucidate-this.livejournal.com]

stoney i am HUNGRY and your poll made me hungrier especially the doughnut part and i am now seriously considering driving for 20 minutes to get a kripsy kreme.

[stephanierb.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say that a college degree was expected of me, though it was something my parents placed a great deal of value upon since neither of them got the opportunity. My brother dropped out of college to work in the trades and my folks were okay with it.

Great poll, I'm going to have to look more closely at the answers. I'm curious to see how upbringing was affected by the generation of the poll taker, if it was at all.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Heh, my husband feels the same way - he only has a Masters, and all the adults in his family have a minimum of one Ph.D. (His had has two, his uncle has SIX.) O_O

I'm definitely the slacker in the marriage... Oh, well. *rests feet on desk* I'm also the only one without a single grey hair. :D

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Clearly you were a dream child. :D It sounds like you knew what was expected of you, though. (Which tells me there was some discipline in your house, right?)

Oooh, that mom-grip. I know that well.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

OMG IF THE RED LIGHT IS ON GET FOURTEEN-FIFTY FOR ME, OKAY?!?!

(I'm drinking a Sarsaparilla soda, and it's curbing my sweet tooth...)

[lwbush.livejournal.com]

I was spoiled to the extreme of rotten-ness. I was the only child of older parents (Dad was forty when I came into their lives, Mom only three years younger) and adopted. I didn't have to work, but if I wanted to get a car...

I got spanked, but rarely - I had to really show my butt to get it walloped. I never had to clean anything, because not only was I the only with a full-time stay-at-home mom, but my grandmother lived with us as well, and everything Mom didn't cook/clean/do right away, Nana handled. I was the first member of the family to go to college, and the only one in the extended family as well. It's pretty amazing I ended up capable of anything at all, really.

I thought I knew it all, and had the worst superiority complex ever. But now that they're gone, I miss the hell out of them.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I'm interested in the expectations, too.

And it wasn't necessarily expected of me, although it was hoped for by my father (who is multi-degreed.) My mother didn't give a shit about college. We were to get by on our looks. O_O

[that_mireille]

I answered contradictory things for the question about the teen job--I was not allowed to hold a job during the school year, but I worked in the summers and I was allowed to do stuff like babysit/tutor for money.

And I live with my father now, because I'm in pretty damn dire straits, mental- and physical-healthwise. I'd rather not though.

[sweptawaybayou.livejournal.com]

you need another option in the punishment catagory ... i rarely got spanked, physical punishment was reserved for the few (like one!) times i did something totally bad. mostly they just grounded/took the car keys and such.

and out of my three kids, i have only spanked my son *once* in their lives. my little ones were way too easy. just a harsh word and time out in the corner and they were all in tears.

;)

i'm glad you're feeling better, chicka.

*smoooch*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

See, I would qualify the "if I wanted a car..." bit with working = extra money for things you want, not the needs your parents provided for you. (I probably should have spent more than 5 minutes compiling this poll...)

And I was like you - it had to be BAD for my dad to spank us. It was an ordeal. My mom shouted and smacked and rashly grounded us, but my dad disciplined us with taking away things, etc.

*hugs you to take the sting of memory away*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Considering I had the same situation: no work during school, but if I wanted any spending money/extras, I had to work, I should have included that. That's pretty much the line of work I took on, too.

As for the living with family, this show talked about how it's what these "Millenials" EXPECT to do. And it's mostly so someone takes care of them, secondly to save money. Man, when I was able to move out, I did. (But I've been in your situation, too. Let's hope to a positive future for you so you can live as you want!)

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I say 'scones with clotted cream' and jam because right there you have a Devon Cream Tea™ and I am living in Devon and must support our local goodies. (Plus, much yumminess to be had!)

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I meant to put and/or on the spanking/taking away things, but forgot, because I am lame today. :D

And I've only had to spank my son - and that doesn't work, so I don't any more. Taking away things (and hard, physical labor, usually involving scooping animal poop) usually changes bad behavior in my house. :D

(Thank you!)

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Ooooooh, if you could immediately send some scones, clotted cream and jam to me RIGHT NOW, I would be ever so grateful! :D

[diachrony.livejournal.com]

Your poll questions don't fit me. No poll ever fits me!

1) Baby Boom / Gen-X. Born 1964 (tail end of Boom).

2) Both "spare the rod" in theory (until I was, I dunno, somewhere before 11 years old and it stopped altogether) AND "you were perfect." That is, I got spanked some, but was mostly such a good child that it rarely happened, particularly after my misbehaving younger siblings arrived on the scene.

3) I didn't work as a teen, because I was in school. But my parents didn't make a big "study study study" deal of it ... the whole idea of working while in high school just never came up.

4) I didn't have any assigned chores, but I took it upon myself to vacuum, dust, wash dishes, rake the yard, etc. I really was a good kid. Huh. Not like my lazy-ass siblings. Okay ... the twins were slobs, but my little sister took over my unofficial-housekeeper phase when I decided I'd had enough.

5) My parents both had 4-year college degrees ... from an unaccredited religious-cult college. Srsly. (Much good those degrees did them ... not.)

6) No expectations to either go to college or not go to college - that was up to me.

7) My parents, one sister, and I all live together by choice in our nice big house in peaceful domestic bliss.

8) Scones with clotted cream sounds deeelish.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

*feeds them into the DVD drive and sends them through the magic of the internets* :D

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I'm also the only one without a single grey hair. :D

That is so unfair! I spotted my first white hair when I was about 25, and promptly pulled it out, stuck it to the latest letter I was writing to Mommie Dearest and told her it was her fault. :D

[gillo]

I clicked that my parents had high school diplomas, but actually Mum left school at not-quite-14, straight into a job, and Dad went into teh army at nearly-18 without quite graduating (taking "Higher School Certificate" in Britain in the 40s.) I'm the first generation of my family to go to university or even get A levels.

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE FUCK? ARE YOU DISSING AIR SUPPLY?

Also, I feel the need to clarify some of my answers because I just really, really like talking about myself.

2. My parents never spanked me, nor would they take things from me. They mostly just sat me down and told me what I did wrong and then my dad would get his "disappointed" voice going and I'd be all *sadface* But I was also pretty perfect, too. *beams*

4. Hahaha, this answer makes me sound like a gd douche. I did do things around the house but they weren't necessarily "chores" in that I was required to do them. My mom did everything--I would help her clean, cook, etc. but only because I was the Perfect Child. HAHAHA. Trufax: I did not do a load of my own laundry until I was in law school. Total spoiled douche, right? I know. *shameface*

5. My dad has a graduate degree (in Jesus, no less!) but my mom never finished college. She quit when she got married at 20 and started working.

7. I needs a doughnut RIGHT NOW ZOMG.

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

I forgot to add (again, really, really like talking about myself) that I wasn't allowed to work during the school year because of studies/athletics, but during the summers I did. I worked at Chick-Fil-A for a little bit and it was awesome because you could eat as much Chick-Fil-A as you wanted on your shift! \0/

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

My answers are sort of all over the map because from birth to 9, I lived with my grandparents, who were yell, ground, and take stuff away types for the most part. (And by ground I mean 'grounded from September 1981 to July 1982' - and my grandmother wonders why I don't write to her. Uh-huh.) And then at 9 I moved in with my uncle and it pretty much switches to 'you were perfect.'

(Except I wasn't; I was a passive-aggressive little bitch, but that's me as an adult looking back at myself. I was well behaved and never got in trouble for anything, but wow did I make people feel guilty for shit to get my way.)

And I didn't work in high school because I couldn't; we lived 3+ miles outside of town in an unincorporated area, couldn't afford a car for me until far into my senior year, and my uncle worked shift-work at the steel mill so I couldn't count on a ride to work at any given time, since his shift rotated every week.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

Mmmmmmm. *licks fingers with relish*