Xander ,'Beneath You'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
I think this is a fairly common first question no matter where you are.
It's not out of a desire to get to know someone better. It's mercenary in its ultimate form. The implication is that your job better be able to move me ahead, or you're not worth my time.
Maria, are you speaking of DC-socialising or of the question in general?
Dollars to donuts that you wouldn't get that reaction here. It's a basic survival skill: know something about everything.
Oohhh...now I want to test that out. Every reaction I've ever gotten is, "Huh." and a blank stare. When I explain it further, the response is "I never realized there was a need for that kind of thing." It's funny.
The discussion of "class" returns to money very quicky among Americans, you will note.
Except for those from DC. Substitue "money" with "power" and you're spot on.
That's the sardonic beauty of this city. You don't need money to get ahead, but you'd damn well better know the right people.
Maria, are you speaking of DC-socialising or of the question in general?
DC-socialising. I'd forgotten that the other exists.
t /been in DC since 1992
So, ChiKat, what DO you do, if it's not too revealing?
Yeah, whatever happened to genteel poverty anyway?
For that matter, what ever happened to the concept of the deserving poor? It's as if poverty has become a symptom of laziness and moral depravity, rather than something that can easily happen to the non-wealthy when the job goes at the same time that the medical bills come.
Hmm - While reading the Netflix vs. PPV discussion I got a Netflix popup ad.
I work for a research/consulting/publishing company that specializes in corporate sponsorships. [link]
ChiKat, I wish I was kidding, too.
To be fair, "trophy wife" is a little different from "arm candy wife," especially in D.C. The trophy wife should have a master's degree and a job paying a six-figure salary, as well as being size four and blonde. The arm candy just needs to be pretty.
When the fam and I were in West Virginia we noticed that it wasn't the first question at ALL and almost never came up.
I noticed that when I was on the west coast. The only people who asked were the ones who seemed genuinely interested -- it wasn't a reflex, like it is here.
(This is sad, but I love my city.)
When a friend of mine was doing an unpaid internship at the American Repertory Theatre here in Cambridge (MA), she noticed immediately that the well-off interns would immediately ask each other "Where did you board?"