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- Apr 14, 2006
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I'll see if the mods can re-title the piece.
At your service.
I'll see if the mods can re-title the piece.
At your service.
She did!
Have a neice who was given the option of cash for a down payment on a house or spend $100,000 on a wedding. Guess which she chose...
Hamlet, Urchina, et al, I think your point is very well made. I have never harbored complaints about today's younger people. What I was really focused on and mislabeled was niece's ridiculous expectations about weddings, marital support, and making one's way in the world. Part of the issue I think is that she is very pretty, and has been able to do a lot of riding on her looks, though obviously she is also quite bright.
I am sure that there are many young folks who get married at the beach or at their parents' or in their own backyards, just like we did, but I do have some experience with lavish weddings in far off places that are expensive, and/or tiresome to travel to. One DIL's mother wanted them to be married in Rome. So I just said, “Where should I send your gift"? They wound up having a lovely but inexpensive wedding in a local church, and had a great reception in the garden and the church basement. It was all paid for by the bride and groom, with the groom's brother hiring the DJ and buying a huge amount of quality booze.
I'll see if the mods can re-title the piece.
Ha
I think today if I went up to a random friend or associate and said "I don't own a cell phone because they are too darn expensive and we just can't afford it anymore", most people would not blink an eye. If I would have tried that 3 years ago, the response probably would have been "what you can't afford $100 a month? I thought you were doing well."
Yeah my adult kids are so much more financially savvy than DH and I are. We threw a lovely overpriced wedding when our daughter was married (and she was most grateful and surprised that we could and would) but guess what? No one put a gun to our head to do it. It was something we wanted to do and we loved every minute of it.
I imagine Ha's cousin derived some pleasure out of his expenditure, or else he needs to develop a backbone.
I remarried into a family that has a few parasites and it has given me an eye opening perspective on giving. In order for this relationship to go on you need a willing host and a willing parasite. The parasite part is easy, but the revelation for me is that a lot of the hosts really get a lot of enjoyment from their side of the deal. They can control the lives of the parasite(s) somewhat, they get to be the big shot who has the extra money to spare and the status that goes with that, and they feel good about themselves because they have "helped" someone out.
Me - I'm the cheap b@st@rd that "has all his money invested", unavailable for "loans".
So can I assume from this that you don't actually have a cell phone? I don't have one either, and I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who doesn't have one other than myself. I love the looks I get when people ask me for my cell number and I tell them I don't have one. What? Isn't a home number and a work number enough? I don't understand how people like our student workers and entry level employees have cell phones at 50 to 100 per month and consider it a necessity rather than a convenience. I know there are people who "need" a cell phone. My wife has one for her work and it truly is a necessity, but at least Megacorp is paying for it. She says when she quits working, the cell phone is history.
In 1974 DH and I got married in my parent's living room. Afterwards we went to dinner with the immediate family and a few friends. The restaurant was a local "Steak and Ale" type place. There were about 15 people there. I think the total bill was about $400. No regrets.
Of course, they gave us some money to help defray part of the costs of the added extravagance and bloated guest list, but DW and I still ended up paying more than we would have liked out of pocket.
I think most of the younger generation has made the leap to having just a cell phone. They've decided that it is the home phone that is unneccessary.
I'm with them. I haven't had anything but a cell phone for about 6 years.
So can I assume from this that you don't actually have a cell phone? I don't have one either, and I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who doesn't have one other than myself. I love the looks I get when people ask me for my cell number and I tell them I don't have one. What? Isn't a home number and a work number enough? I don't understand how people like our student workers and entry level employees have cell phones at 50 to 100 per month and consider it a necessity rather than a convenience. I know there are people who "need" a cell phone. My wife has one for her work and it truly is a necessity, but at least Megacorp is paying for it. She says when she quits working, the cell phone is history.
They invited many of their friends and business acquaintances whom we had never met and kinda turned the whole thing into a PR operation for their own benefit if you ask me. Of course, they gave us some money to help defray part of the costs of the added extravagance and bloated guest list, but DW and I still ended up paying more than we would have liked out of pocket.