pot pies for 33 cents

I totally forgot about those! Yep. I ate those, too. But only when they were on sale.

I mean, who DIDN'T eat ramen in college.

Once upon a time, best beloved, there was no ramen, and the poor student had to lean on popcorn, cheap soup, minute rice and happy-hour food. Also, in my case, Krystals.

and the poor student had to lean on popcorn, cheap soup, minute rice and happy-hour food.

And beer. Beer is nutritious.

There are ducks at the Student Union in Madison who subsist on a diet of popcorn and stale beer.

Raq's friend sounds like my lawyer friend. I would be shocked if he'd ever had ramen or pot pies or mac and cheese. But then, I think he's just a little removed from normal people experiences anyway. Last year or so, I had to introduce him to Sixteen Candles. Are you even allowed to be our age and graduate without having seen that movie?

I know I've told this story here before, but when I was going off to college, my mother compiled a book of advice from various people she knew. The range of things people thought was important was really funny, but my favorite was to go to a bar with nuts or bar mix out, order a bloody mary, and call it dinner!

And actually, I did the equivalent of that a lot when I first moved to New York -- there's a cheesy Mexican place that has cheap margaritas and free food at happy hour, so for $5 you could have dinner and a drink!

Also, being an AP on a bazillion student films meant I got really good at getting local restaurants to give me giant trays of free food, which meant good eating on set AND tons of leftovers.

The range of things people thought was important was really funny, but my favorite was to go to a bar with nuts or bar mix out, order a bloody mary, and call it dinner!

I still do this! Except I call it breakfast!

The problem with that, though, is both storage and being able to budget the $10 straight off for bulk.

Yeah, I think my worst dietary situation was when I was sharing your standard dorm refrigerator with 16 other people. In a country where ordering a salad got you a leaf of iceberg and a slice of tomato.

I also went the mac and cheese/pot pie route instead of ramen. During the early '80s, Winn Dixie's store brand of M&C was 25 cents a box. Butter/margarine on sale would last forever, and water substituted nicely for milk.

I still do this! Except I call it breakfast!

Heh.

I think that might have been from the same person who passed along her father's advice to drink Chivas on dates -- it's expensive, so the guy won't get you liquored up, and you (18 year old girl "you") won't like it that much, so you won't get yourself liquored up, either...