(no subject)

[serene]

I'm gonna quote firecat here.

the_ogre explains "I think this is supposed to measure if one is 'spoiled' or not." I find it a very odd list. It leaves out a lot of things that "upper class" people tend to do or have (e.g., "belong to a country club" or "are on the board of one or more organizations") and includes a lot of things that regular folks do (like go to Mall of America, go on a cruise, get their nails done) but not a lot of things that certain professional class people have or do ("car that costs more than $40,000", "designer furniture", etc.) Of course my examples are probably full of caca too. Class is a weird thing in the US.

( ) your own cell phone

( ) a tv in your bedroom (not at the moment. our one television migrates from the bedroom to the living room depending on our mood)
( ) an ipod
( ) a photo printer
( ) your own phone line
( ) TiVo or a generic digital video recorder
(x) high-speed internet access (aka not dialup)
( ) a surround sound system in bedroom
( ) dvd player in bedroom (see tv)
( ) at least a hundred DVDs

(x) a childfree bathroom (This isn't hard with no children)
( ) your own in-house office
( ) a pool (Would love one)
( ) a guest house
( ) a game room
(x) a queen-size bed (I’m assuming this means “queen size or larger”)
( ) a stocked bar (Don't drink much)
( ) a working dishwasher
( ) an icemaker
( ) a working washer and dryer
( ) more than 20 pairs of shoes
( ) at least ten things from a designer store
( ) expensive sunglasses
(x) framed authentic art (not lithographs)
( ) Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
( ) a multi-speed bike
( ) a gym membership
( ) large exercise equipment at home
( ) your own set of golf clubs
( ) a pool table
( ) a tennis court
(x) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea (FSVO "local")
( ) your own pair of skis
( ) enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area
( ) a boat
( ) a jet ski
( ) a neighborhood committee membership
( ) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
(x) two or more family cars (but my family includes six adults)
(x) a walk-in closet or pantry
( ) a yard (FSVO "yard")
( ) a hammock
( ) a personal trainer
( ) good credit
( ) expensive jewelry
( ) a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get
( ) at least $100 cash in your possession right now
( ) more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards) (no, on purpose)
( ) a passport
( ) a horse
( ) a trust fund (either for you or created by you)
( ) private medical insurance
( ) a college degree, but no student loans

Do you:
( ) shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week
( ) do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
( ) pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning)
( ) go on weekend mini-vacations
( ) send dinners back with every flaw (eww! i hate it when people do that)
( ) wear perfume or cologne (not body spray) (eww)
( ) regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
( ) have a job but don't need the money OR
( ) stay at home with little financial sacrifice
( ) pay someone else to cook your meals
( ) pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
( ) regularly pay someone else to drive you
( ) expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are you:
( ) an only child
( ) married/partnered to a wealthy person
( ) baffled/surprised when you don't get your way

Have you:
( ) been on a cruise
(x) traveled out of the country
(x) met a celebrity (FSVO)
( ) been to the Caribbean
(x) been to Europe
(x) been to Hawaii
(x) been to New York
( ) eaten at the space needle in Seattle
( ) been to the Mall of America
( ) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
(x) been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
(x) moved more than three times because you wanted to (as opposed to losing your house or being evicted)
(x) dined with local political figures (FSVO both "dined" and "political figures")
(x) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast (in any country)

Did you:
( ) go to another country for your honeymoon
( ) hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
(x) take riding or swimming lessons as a child
(x) attend private school (kindergarten only; catholic school)
( ) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you

Comments

[melanie.livejournal.com]

(x) a tv in your bedroom (not at the moment. our one television migrates from the bedroom to the living room depending on our mood)
( ) an ipod (no, but we have 2 other kinds of players)
( ) a photo printer
(x) your own phone line (Used to, but we got DSL)
( ) TiVo or a generic digital video recorder
(x) high-speed internet access (aka not dialup)
( ) a surround sound system in bedroom
(x) dvd player in bedroom (see tv)
( ) at least a hundred DVDs

( ) a childfree bathroom (This isn't hard with no children)
( ) your own in-house office
( ) a pool (Would love one)
( ) a guest house
( ) a game room
(x) a queen-size bed (I’m assuming this means “queen size or larger”)
( ) a stocked bar (Don't drink much)
(x) a working dishwasher
(x) an icemaker (Just bought a new fridge on purpose without one.. they have always hated me)
(x) a working washer and dryer
(x) more than 20 pairs of shoes
(x) at least ten things from a designer store
( ) expensive sunglasses
(x) framed authentic art (not lithographs)
(x) Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
(x) a multi-speed bike
( ) a gym membership
( ) large exercise equipment at home
( ) your own set of golf clubs
( ) a pool table
( ) a tennis court
(x) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea (FSVO "local")
( ) your own pair of skis
(x) enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area
( ) a boat
( ) a jet ski
( ) a neighborhood committee membership
( ) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
(x) two or more family cars (but my family includes six adults)
( ) a walk-in closet or pantry
(x) a yard (FSVO "yard")
( ) a hammock
( ) a personal trainer
( ) good credit
(x) expensive jewelry
( ) a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get
( ) at least $100 cash in your possession right now
( ) more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards) (no, on purpose)
( ) a passport
( ) a horse
( ) a trust fund (either for you or created by you)
( ) private medical insurance
( ) a college degree, but no student loans

Do you:
( ) shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week
( ) do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
( ) pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning)
(x) go on weekend mini-vacations (a few times a year, mostly less than 100 miles from home)
( ) send dinners back with every flaw (depends upon severity of the flaw.)
(x) wear perfume or cologne (not body spray)
( ) regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
( ) have a job but don't need the money OR
( ) stay at home with little financial sacrifice
(x) pay someone else to cook your meals (dinner out or take-out once a week or so)
( ) pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
( ) regularly pay someone else to drive you
( ) expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are you:
(x) an only child
( ) married/partnered to a wealthy person
( ) baffled/surprised when you don't get your way

Have you:
(x) been on a cruise
(x) traveled out of the country
(x) met a celebrity (FSVO)
(x) been to the Caribbean
(x) been to Europe
( ) been to Hawaii
(x) been to New York
( ) eaten at the space needle in Seattle
( ) been to the Mall of America
( ) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
(x) been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
(x) moved more than three times because you wanted to (as opposed to losing your house or being evicted)
(x) dined with local political figures (FSVO both "dined" and "political figures")
( ) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast (in any country)

Did you:
( ) go to another country for your honeymoon
( ) hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
( ) take riding or swimming lessons as a child
(x) attend private school (during some points of education)
( ) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

Jeez, I have a phone and a surround sound system and that's about it for things I have now.

I must be the least spoiled person I know. And yet still the most narcissistic. Which makes no sense.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

what a strange list! my favorite part is how they toss in "good credit" almost at the end of the main list. weird!

[smashingstars.livejournal.com]

Some of this is not indicative of wealth. I have expensive jewelry which I inherited from mom, but none of my own. I have more than $100 cash because it's Friday and I took out the grocery money. Swimming lessons as a kid were like ten bucks.

Are you allergic to perfume or just hate it?

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Yep, I think the list is pretty bogus.

And I like the smell of perfume, but I'm allergic.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Surely its *up* the Eiffel Tower, its not a themepark ride to go "on". And what's so special about Egyptian cotton, our towels are made from it and they're mid-price.... weird sort of list as you say. A lot of people pay other people to clean their houses, it doesn't mean you have a live-in maid or something, and doesn't everyone hire a photographer to do their wedding? Strange.

[xlerb.livejournal.com]

The cell phone thing seems… if the rest of the list weren't so off-kilter, I'd call it a little dated. (At the risk of stating the obvious.)

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I dunno. That's one of the ones that felt weird to me, but part of the weirdness is that I know people who are WAY too poor to have cellphones (unless they're their only phones) and have them. It's like they've become not a cultural signifier, but a cultural necessity. (That said, I don't have one, and I rarely miss having it.)