tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032012320416285870.post1031170632275242906..comments2023-03-21T22:48:30.234-04:00Comments on rare oats: Glad to Be Grad-Freetara rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00390399466156696007noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032012320416285870.post-74570409163089898672010-05-15T13:57:44.416-04:002010-05-15T13:57:44.416-04:00The swing revival was definitely one of those can&...The swing revival was definitely one of those can't-wait-for-this-to-be-over moments in the 90s. Okay, I admit I was a Squirrel Nut Zippers fan, but then the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' "Zoot Suit Riot" came out and I was done. Ah, 1997. I remember this one bartender at the Magic Stick who wore a silly hat and called every woman "doll". "Hey, doll. What can I get for ya', doll?" Wonder what trend that guy's on now...tara rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390399466156696007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032012320416285870.post-89523878810847194112010-05-15T01:35:30.968-04:002010-05-15T01:35:30.968-04:00AAAAAGGGHHH! "Swingers" was one of my si...AAAAAGGGHHH! "Swingers" was one of my single least favorite pop cultural features of the 90s. Mind you, it really predicted the rise of the douchebag, which had, of course, always existed, but which was about to make itself predominant in a really appalling "bird-of-paradise" way. Interesting that you remind me of this just as I finish up watching Lush videos on YouTube. The best and the worst of a decade.... *sigh*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032012320416285870.post-84692071338189373532010-05-15T01:14:55.248-04:002010-05-15T01:14:55.248-04:00The UM/Ann Arbor grad scene is definitely a unique...The UM/Ann Arbor grad scene is definitely a unique experience, if only because there is so much wealth here. I encounter many leftist "radical" graduate students who have had no exposure to working class people (or work as we know it) and are really pretty elitist in their own ways. And I think those sort of grad students tend to be the most cliquey and apt to attend un-fun parties. But hey, that's just based on my definition of fun (which generally does not include t-shirt decorating).<br /><br />"Mad Men" parties! That reminds me when I transferred to UM as an undergrad and went to an incredibly awkward "Swingers" party, complete with a bubble jet printed banner that said "That's So Money". I honestly wish I had a photo.tara rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390399466156696007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032012320416285870.post-53865395967571933282010-05-15T00:00:03.120-04:002010-05-15T00:00:03.120-04:00Wendell:
I have to confess, I had a great time i...Wendell: <br /><br />I have to confess, I had a great time in grad school, but there were considerable differences between going to grad school in Akron, Ohio, and going to grad school HERE. Akron didn't substantially depend on the presence of a major university, which frankly looked a little out of place in such a once-thriving industrial center. Kent State, several miles to the east, fit in with its surroundings a lot more, and I suspect their students were rather more central to the town's young social life. I'd been three years out of school by the time I went to grad school, and I think this had a subtle impact on the way I experienced it and the way most of my colleagues (who jumped in straight out of undergrad) did. The number of times I had to hear people bitch constantly about "their" discussion section students, many of whom were non-traditionals with jobs and families, constantly grated, and the academic snobbery I half-expected to find anyway frequently surfaced in cartoonish ways that astonished even me. One in particular was pretty much a poster boy for the worst stereotypes of grad school (love him though I did). My social life here, thankfully, has mostly skirted the mortar board, and in the last few years I think I've found a wonderful medium between being a secular anchorite and an official fixture on the party scene. I've been to a couple of fun parties where there were lots of grad students and a determined effort to provide the merriment with some structure (frankly, after my experiences a couple of years back, better "Mad Men" parties than beer pong); it was a lot more enjoyable than I thought, but that sort of thing repeated must be obnoxious to go through. After reading L's comment, I'm picturing people in Buddy Holly glasses (SO 1994) and skinny jeans waifing around wailing "does anyone know how to have FUN???" Living somewhere that doesn't have academia as such a fundamental pillar of the community will be lovely, I agree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com