Which is Better, '80s College Drunks or '10s College Drunks?

One of my pet peeves in blogging or Facebooking or any other sort of internet posting is the person who gets stuck on one subject and beats us over the head with it.  I call it the "Kathie Lee Gifford Effect".  I don't know if any of you remember about 20 years ago when that Kelly show was called "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee"?  Well during that time Kathie Lee had a baby boy named Cody and the broad wouldn't shut up about him.  Regis even started giving her sh*t about it, like making gun to his head gestures every time she mentioned his name.

Anyway, I feel as though I may be on the verge of one of those people talking about my son and his graduation from high school and venture toward college.  I'm trying not to, really I am.  But ya' know, its kind of been the center of my life for the last couple months.  He's my oldest, I assure you by the time the 3rd one graduates I won't even mention it.  No just kidding, but if I take after my Mom it may be true... I was the 6th kid, there are virtually no pictures of me as a child.  lol

Well, since about this past Christmas I've been buying my son odds and ends for his new life at college.  For one thing, I'm broke-ass-broke, so buying things a little at a time is what I can afford.  And another thing, he loved getting all that stuff, he was ready to leave for college his junior year.  So he enjoyed getting a shower caddy and a set of towels for Christmas.  Then for his birthday in March he got a comforter and a hamper.  Hey screw you, he loved it!

Buying all those things got me to thinkin'... wow  college is different now.  I was using my college experience to figure out how I'm going to get all his stuff down to NYC, but I really don't think there will be that much.

Ok, think of this, when I was in college 1983-1987 I packed the following items into my parent's station wagon - a gigantic stereo with turn table, receiver, and tape deck with floor speakers that measured about 3 feet high; a 27" black & white TV (which was considered small back then); a boombox; a Typewriter; a couple milk crates of albums; a couple cases of cassette tapes.  But now all of that fits into one device, your laptop!  OK, somebody may still want to bring a TV and cds or dvds, but they are still far more compact. 

(actually I didn't bring the TV until later years, before that I would go to a friends room, because the TV lounge on the first floor was for the socially awkward and it was always tuned to "Solid Gold")

Then we used to bring a hotpot, really only good for Ramen noodles or a can of Spaghettios.  Which you usually had to throw away after a few uses because you started to make Spaghettios after your drunk ass came home from a fraternity party but you fell asleep while it was cooking  and the Spaghettios burnt to a crisp melded onto the pot .  Remember, drinking age was 18 back then!  And most chicks brought a hot air popcorn popper.  Now kids can take a small microwave.  I think that's pretty much a wash, 2 smaller for 1 bigger.

Hot Pot

I took a bike to school one year, it was still chained in the exact same spot that I put it in on move-in day, at the end of the year.  It would be a pain for my son to have a bike in NY, it's hazardous to bike there and then carrying it up 7 flights of stairs would cancel out any time saving, in my book.

Posters.  I had an extensive collection - The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, The Clash, David Bowie, etc.  That was my baby, my pride and joy.  But I think dbag ex-husband left them behind as garbage in one of our moves.  Grrrr.  Anyway, do kids still put up the posters?   Oh yea and then my room started filling up with sorority souveniers anyway.

So what do college kids do now?  Sit around and play video games?  Watch YouTube videos?  Text people in the same room?  Hey, speaking of that, remember when we had to wait for a boy to call on that one hall phone that was meant for 20 people, but that one girl was always on it to her boyfriend back home?  Like seriously she was on it 24/7, I wonder what that phone bill looked like.  Anyway, do kids even speak to each other anymore or just text? 

It's kind of fun taking a walk down memory lane as I get the boy ready for college.  Things have changed, but a lot has not.  There will still be learning and studying, drinking, boy chasing, girl chasing, hearts breaking, friendships made for a lifetime.  I'm so excited for him. 

What do you remember taking to college or doing in college that would never be done nowadays?  Do you think kids today have more or less fun then we did back in the day?

Even That Man vs. Wild Dude Wouldn't Take This Task On...

I am not really afraid of anything.  Except for frogs and rejection.  Don't ask me why but I've had a strange fear of frogs since I was little, I think it's the unpredictable jumping at you thing.  And rejection, well that's why I suck at selling anything except myself.  I was the worst commercial print salesperson ever, but I was a decent realtor.

Anyway... I mean, after raising 3 kids on my own, I usually accept any challenge without reservation.  Maybe a little anxiety but really no fear.  But I have one challenge coming up that I'm a little concerned about.  Oh Christ, more than a little, a lot.   I pride myself on being a one man band, chief cook and bottle washer, mostly because I'm a broke single Mom with a deadbeat ex-husband and can't afford any other solution.  But for this... *gasp* I am considering a third party alternative.

The problem... I live in upstate NY, and my son is going to college in New York City next year, NYU to be exact.  Now, I have absolutely no fear of the city, but this... this is different.  I am going to have to drive into Manhattan with a carload of crap and probably a rooftop carrier since my 2 daughters want to go to see big brother off as well.  NYU has you make reservations for check-in time.  You have like a 15 minute block to drive up in front of the building and schlep your junk to the 22nd floor or whatever.  

I've driven in Manhattan several times but it's so much easier to just park somewhere on the outskirts (NJ) and train it in.   That saves on expensive parking garages and it's just faster.  I can navigate the subway like a purse snatcher on the run!  But this... oy, I mean I can't stop anywhere, I can't leave the car unattended with all the stuff in it.  And I won't be able to see well to squeeze in a left turn or something.  I'm getting hives...

I'm seriously considering, dare I say it.... taking the basics that will fit in the car and shipping the rest.  *clutch the pearls*  I know, I know.  But I'm just getting tightness in my chest thinking about driving a loaded up vehicle like the Griswold's station wagon with the crap tied to the roof into Manhattan.  Then after I unload, where the hell do I park?  Sure, probably some $35/hour garage nearby.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I need a drink.  

Maybe it's not fear, maybe it's just being smart and realizing the reallity of things.  I guess if I were afraid, I wouldn't let my son go to NYC in the first place.  God bless him for having no fear either.  But he has his Mother's sense of adventure.  Maybe it's just my common sense saying, "You've done this before, you know how the traffic is, make it easier on yourself."  So maybe instead of being hard on myself for being anxious about it, I should give myself credit for trying to prevent a disaster.  

I used to think the only good, honest, honorable way of accomplishing something was to tackle it head-on the hard way, wrestle it to the ground with my bare fists.  But I guess I'm discovering sometimes the smartest and most sensible way to tackle something is to get help and create the least amount of stress for all involved.