my career path would be very different if I had understood, at 19 or 20, that unpaid internships = connections = future jobs. It honestly never occured to me.

I think I did know this, but didn't know it know it. And, on some thought, it's probably just as well. I'm not ambitious enough to care.

Yeah, DC has it's own way of looking at things.

We watch awards shows and talk about the dresses and stuff.

In this day and age, the vast majority of the population is suckered in by notoriety, rather than high society. Look at the hubub one breast revealed at the Super Bowl caused, yet I'll bet you no one outside of the cities of origin (and us) can name an old money family.

But we all know Tara Reid doesn't care if her dress falls off.

My folks live in SC . one of thier neighbors - into the whole society thing.

Right now, netflix is winning the money game - because I have had three movies in my house for months. but it was a great deal for us. esp since they have a lot of music programs on DVD that DH enjoys. Blockbuster or hollywood video - doesn't have them ,nor does pay er view. I know a number of people that have no cable - 70 dollars for cable without pay per view, netflix to the house for 20 a month... pure economics.

however today - i have a cat that is willing to destroy things if I ignore him. Really , that is what today is about.

And how is that not whoring, then?

I was saying that it is whoring, but that there seems to be a polite fiction that it is not. Being a trophy wife is much more acceptable to people in general than being a call girl. (There's a group of Republican women in D.C. who call themselves "Trophy wives in Training." I'm sure they'd be shocked, simply shocked, if one suggested they had anything in common with a streetwalker.)

I'll bet you no one outside of the cities of origin (and us) can name an old money family.

only because I got a free 6 month perscription to W when I bought something.

But did they read the papers and talk about the dresses and stuff? Nobody does that now.

Nope. We watch awards shows and talk about the dresses and stuff.

Right. Now it's movie stars and not debutantes. Nobody cares about the debs besides their own society anymore.

If the job doesn't have the right cachet or is too many degrees separated from a power source, the offending person is discarded and left to commiserate with the rats.

OH MY GOD YES. A friend of mine used to be a Salon editor, and so when there was this shindig in DC that Salon sponsored, she invited me down. It was a political wonk thing. I remember Arianna Huffington was one of the people. Anywho, it was like a pack of ravenous tigers. And I was peas. Completely and utterly uninteresting to people once they ascertained that I was not a lobbyist or something. Which they'd do within 5 seconds. They didn't even talk to me. My editor friend usually managed to get a couple sentences in before we were rudely ignored. Luckily, there were other vegetables there, so I wasn't bored silly.

My friend started implying she was sleeping with various people. It drew quite the swarm. That was hilarious.

There's a group of Republican women in D.C. who call themselves "Trophy wives in Training."

OMG! You're kidding, right? Please, tell me you're kidding.

The discussion of "class" returns to money very quicky among Americans, you will note.

It is a very different thing, elsewhere. The American Edith Wharton was also interested in this. What separates the "uppercust" from the "well-monied" was an ongoing motif, for her.