Tony Sestito said:
(For the record, let me preface this rant by saying I have nothing against Millenials or anyone else. All parties are innocent until proven guilty.
)
Ever since my day job moved me to out new office in the trendiest part of Boston, I have felt absolutely ANCIENT compared to everyone else here. I'm 37, so I'm firmly in the weird "Xennial" group that bridges the gap between Gen X and the Millennials. Everything here is faux-hip, sanitary, instagram influencer-friendly fakeness that I just can't take seriously. And man, do the kids love it.
One example: The courtyard between our building and the next one over has these weird interactive sculptures that they seem to rotate in every month or so. All day long, there are young people with their iPhones in hand ready to pounce on getting the freshest selfies and trend-able shots as if they are hunting for food in the wilderness to support their tribe. First, it was these giant "hamster wheels" you sit in and pump a lever to make lights come on and it spins the inside of the wheel to give some fancy visuals. Then, there were the crystals. The berking crystals. They had these 8 foot tall giant mirror things that looked like crystals that you could spin around for different effects. They also caught and redirected light right into our eyes in the office. The blinding light pierced through our shades. People would spin them around all day and take selfies in front of them. I don't get it.
Another thing: the food. The area is definitely the newest part of the city, and instead of great little hole-in-the-wall places to get good grub that have been around for decades, there are all these trendy chain restaurants to inject the area with faux culture, and they are all terrible and super expensive. I'm talking $24 for a fried chicken thigh sandwich, fries, and a drink. There's another place, a small brewery that has food, and a hamburger is over $20 BY ITSELF. And that's without putting stuff on it! And the kids here flock to them like they are giving this crap away!
So far, we have found four somewhat reliable places to eat: a small market that has sandwiches, a BBQ sit-down joint, a fancy taco sit-down place, and a Chipoltle. I'm usually brown bagging it these days as a result.
And then there's the avocado toast.
Often associated with Millennials, this... uhh... food is extremely popular with the kids here. Our office has events in the common area sometimes, and anytime they have avocado toast, it's like Jesus Christ himself has descended from the heavens to dole out magic miracle food in person that will cure all ailments and diseases. People line up, talk about how good it is while in line, and eat it all until it's gone, and it's gone FAST. Now, I like avocados just fine; I like it on sandwiches, in salads, and in guacamole form, but slabbing it on a piece of dry toast is not something I can imagine getting hot and bothered over. Yet, here we are.
C/N: HURR DURR GET OFF MY LAWN!!!1!!1
1, you are a millennial, right at the beginning of it, but think like a gen xer,
2, avacado toast is everything. I love that E36 M3.
mtn
MegaDork
4/4/19 11:40 a.m.
Funny you mention the burger. I've come to the conclusion that a good burger either costs less than $5, or more than $15. The cheap ones will be cheap and greasy; the expensive ones will be a culinary delight. The ones in the middle probably can be summed up by "meh".
I have not heard of avacado toast until now.
Avocados are bland, mealy and good for you. Mixed with lime juice and salt, the can be considered less bland, mealy and less good for you.
I don't get the love.
John Welsh said:
I have not heard of avacado toast until now.
Well you’re in for a treat. It’s really good.
jharry3 said:
Me: Roy Rogers and Frank Sinatra had a lot of pressure from the music business and they didn't kill themselves.
12 yo daughter: Who in are Roy Rogers and Frank Sinatra?
i don’t think that’s right. Just because it’s ok for someone doesn’t mean it is for the next guy. Do you say to a homeless veteran that they should be fine and have a job because you know of another veteran who is successful and has a good job?
Sewer rat probably tastes like pumpkin pie, but I have no desire to eat it or avocado toast. My toast is bread as God intended.
In reply to Appleseed :
You know it’s bread too right? Just with what is essentially guacamole on top.
I love toast...a lot.
I like avocado. I miss my travels to California where every omlete was topped with avocado.
I know that really good avocado spreads like butter. I have never thought to spread it on toast.
I'll try. It's probably good for me. I'd probably like it better with some bacon added (and while at it some lettuces and tomato too.)
dculberson said:
In reply to Appleseed :
You know it’s bread too right? Just with what is essentially guacamole on top.
Guacamole is one of the most disgusting things passed off as "edible" ever devised.
For a point of reference, I literally am eating, amongst other things, mashed potatoes with Miracle Whip on top, and it is nowhere near as disgusting as avocado or guacamole. (I am also eating pepper-lemon tilapia)
LITE Miracle Whip.
- Western Spy
In reply to Tony Sestito :
The kids are really amusing. Most of my day is spent on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. When I was a kid it was a rough area, the setting for probably 50-75% of the original Law and Orders. There were junkies, crackhouses, and homeless everywhere. After church on Sundays I’d come with my father’s men’s group to feed the homeless and hand out supplies. The thanks to cheap rent the hipsters moved in and started driving up prices. The flop houses were turned into boutique hotels and dive bars into artisanal ice cream shops. Now I hear them complain about things like dog poop not getting picked up and the paint in the bike lanes fading. All the cool vintage shops, bars, and eateries have been priced and now there are three Targets within walking distance of each other, a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s. Now the hipsters are starting to get priced out and they’re complaining because after all their hard work “settling “ the area they can’t stay.
There’s a large art piece in a park where I usually eat my lunch made of large photos of now defunct shops in the area. Almost every day someone will look and make a comment about how the city should do something to keep these businesses here when they helped drive them out by going to Starbucks and Subway.
In reply to Knurled. :
You are now my spirit animal. Guacamole is just above sewer rat on my list.
In reply to Knurled. :
No man that eats gas station sushi can ever lecture me on food.
come to think of it, maybe you got your guacamole at a speedway. Guacamole is God’s own food. Miracle whip is whale spunk with a nutrition facts label.
mtn
MegaDork
4/4/19 10:11 p.m.
dculberson said:
In reply to Knurled. :
No man that eats gas station sushi can ever lecture me on food.
come to think of it, maybe you got your guacamole at a speedway. Guacamole is God’s own food. Miracle whip is whale spunk with a nutrition facts label.
I actually think that it says “whale spunk” on the nutrition label.
I hated avocados for the longest time, then one day I liked them. I've no idea why.
My “damn I’m old” moment from today: my FIL asked me to check out his Win95 pc, and I realized it’s older than our daughter & her husband.
Last month we took my 18 year old nephew and his girlfriend with us to see Larry the Cable Guy. Neither had any idea who he was until halfway through the show when he asked “Was he the guy that played Mater?”
Appleseed said:
A running Win95?!?!
It was until very recently.
mtn
MegaDork
4/7/19 11:29 p.m.
Knurled. said:
Pete Gossett said:
My “damn I’m old” moment from today: my FIL asked me to check out his Win95 pc,
Uh-huh.
and I realized it’s older than our daughter
Uh-huh.
& her husband.
Uh.....
Someone born the day that Windows 98 came out will be 21 in about 2.5 months.
Windows 95 hardware is actually worth money nowadays! You can get $150+ for a complete pc from that era. It’s vintage hardware. Now that makes me feel old.
I scrapped hundreds and hundreds of original IBM PCs back in the early 90s. Seeing what they’re worth now made me a bit sick. Then again if we and people like us didn’t scrap them they wouldn’t be worth anything.
On my way to work today I was passed by a Porsche 944 that had historic tags. *sigh* I worked at a Porsche dealer and sold parts for those when they were new.
In reply to dculberson :
You wouldn't believe the problem I'm having convincing someone that the Commodore 64 we bought at an estate sale is actually worth real money. Paid $35 for the computer, tape drive, modem, and a few other things, all in original boxes with original paperwork and styrofoam.
On the one hand, we've been burned as sellers on fleabay so much I understand not wanting to risk it, but on the other hand, it's all original in working order with all the accessories and boxes. It's like a computer barnfind.
In reply to dculberson :
I hear you there, man. I wish I kept my old Gateway 2000 that I custom ordered back then! It was a Pentium 166Mhz with MMX Technology and a 3.2GB hard drive. And it had a CD-ROM drive!!! It came with a giant Gateway CRT and a sweet speaker setup with a powered subwoofer. That was the ultimate rig back then and I think we paid well north of $3k for it. 
I have fond memories of playing games on that thing and swapping the disc out for music CD's. My favorite was swapping in Diatribes by Napalm Death while playing Quake. They went perfectly together!
