<p>Here are the two posts in question-took me forever.LOL.
So I was wondering, does anyone know what the social scene is like at Wash U? I remember a friend of mine visiting the place during school and to make a long story short, he ended up helping a drunk guy up to his dorm. So i was wondering, is Wash U like this? Are there many parties there? I sure hope there are but I want to see what everyone else #6<br>
curmudgeon
Member</p>
<p>Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 401 Well Beavis, it appears you have found Butthead. With those attitudes "Home for The Holidays" may take on a whole new meaning for each of you next year.</p>
<p>Wash U is a competitive institution. The students will all be gifted test takers and BS'ers, just lke you two yardmonkeys. Party too little -Jack's a dull boy. Party too much- Jack's an "at homeboy". Just my opinion , as usual except this time trust me- I spent the first 100 days of my college career in an alchohol and drug induced coma. (It's still spoken of reverently at College One as "The Lost Months" and I am still known as "Vomitus Erectus" for my incredible ability to remain ambulatory during the coma.)</p>
<p>In one fell prolonged swoosh I lost a scholarship, a fraternity invite, two girlfriends and a 1974 LeMans Sport (for a month-really. I was afraid to report it stolen for fear it had been involved in an accident and/or string of major felonies). In trade I garnered a checkbook devoid of my life savings, an easily curable but painful STD, a raw oyster eating championship, assorted friendships with various tatooed and/or glittered "folk", and a stunning 2.3 gpa. WooHoo! </p>
<p>Good luck. At least I warned you. Nobody told me crap.</p>
<p>I guess what it all boils down to is the purpose of your posting on a college forum. If your purpose is to prove that you have a sardonic sense of humor and to garner kudos for it from other adult posters (hence your telling others where to find your "masterpiece"), then you have accomplished your goal.</p>
<p>If, however, your purpose was to sincerely offer the knowledge you had gained from your own youthful college experience, you missed the mark terribly because you managed to alienate the people whom you were trying to influence.</p>
<p>If any of my messages had been misconstrued in that way, I'd have made an effort to clear up my point. I'll give you an example. Let's say I were answering the charge that I had been offensive and ugly to the poster. Here's what I would have said:</p>
<p>"I am so very sorry if you took my post to be a personal attack on you. It was not meant in that way. I may have not come across as I intended, but what I was trying to say was that I entered college with an attitude similar to yours, and ultimately, it ended up causing my family and me much grief and regret. Please know that I never intended to make you feel badly but rather to give you the benefit I gained from an unfortunate personal experience without your having to experience it yourself. I am so sorry if I offended you."</p>
<p>See? I know the difference between EQ and IQ! ~berurah</p>
<p>TOL, I can't seem to find a post where I called you anything, and I've glanced (not read, it could be there) at all 105 of your posts from 10/17 (as far back as it will let me go). If you would be so kind, please do what I did and post them for all to see.</p>
<p>Confession: I adore Beavis & Butthead. Right up there with The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Monty Python, and The Onion.</p>
<p>I think your post was a bit heavy handed up top, but you swiftly nullified the barb with the self-deprecating part that came after. I have had a few direct hits come my way (TheDad accused me of not liking a student because I suggested Pepperdine to her!) The verbal smack can feel sharp, but you can usually just continue the conversation and acknowledge the joke aspect or (if there was one) the misunderstanding. No need to get bent out of shape.</p>
<p>I get your post, & it is funny. Most (all?) funny stuff has edge. I tend to prefer risky humor-- with a few misfires-- over pap.</p>
<p>My purpose on this site is to find info for my kid's college search, impart what I know that may help another, and do both in a way that is effective and that amuses me. It's clear that some posts ring true with some , not with others. I can live with that.</p>
<p>In regard to post #81, I don't see any reason for Curmudgeon to make an apology. In a straightforward way, he gives some advice based on his own youthful follies. I used to work in the alcohol rehab field, and the advice is very similar to how recovering alcoholics would reach out to youngsters who appeared headed down a sad and familiar road.</p>
<p>If I had a kid who needed that advice and was sober enough to listen, I'd forward it to him.</p>
<p>And, if I had a kid who was considering applying to a college because a friend visiting there got to help a drunk guy walk, I would be very worried, and would not be sugarcoating any advice.</p>
<p>People sure do get testy here sometimes, don't they. </p>
<p>curmudgeon, you told it like it was for you, pulling no punches, and I think if they're willing to read beyond the sharp humor, students may see something to beware of in their own futures. Then again, at 17 or 18, most of us are/were invincible and impervious to advice offered by adults, so regardless of how much I enjoy reading your well-crafted posts, I suspect many of them just bounce right off their intended targets. Pity: you have a lot of wisdom to share.</p>
<p>reidm, you're wise to avoid this one. So far tonight I have been insensitive, unethical, rude, inconsiderate, and a glory hound. All in all , not a bad night's work, if I do say so myself. I'm not Mother Teresa folks, never said I was . I'm just a regular Joe.</p>
<p>Berurah, a small but important point: sometimes one's audience is not the one to whom the post is putatively addressed but to third-party readers. With some people, it's futile to hope to communicate "This is a really DUMB attitude." However, readers without a direct stake in the exchange may take away the message thoughtfully without getting all lathered up and defensive about it...see Northstarmom's post #89.</p>
<p>It's nice to be nice but sometimes nice is ineffective. My dad used to say that I was very reasonable, all you had to do was hit me with a 2 x 4...then, when you got my attention, you could reason with me.</p>
<p>Curmudgeon--I wish all regular Joes were as smart as you are. Some of us relish snappy retorts and some of us don't (hmmm, which camp am I in?). But this is the parents forum, and adults should be free to speak their minds.</p>
<p>I understand the point you're making, and I appreciate its respectful presentation. </p>
<p>We all are aware that message sent rarely equals message received.</p>
<p>To everyone else, </p>
<p>I was brought up to think that manners and common decency are important. I am also raising my children to believe this. I hope in the future they are not as ridiculed as I have been on this board for believing that kindness is a positive thing. I feel like one of those left out kids at school who is shunned because she doesn't revere the popular bully. :( I just can't believe that I am the only one who feels this way, though I would certainly understand if no one else wants to subject him/herself to this.</p>
<p>If your purpose was to make me feel like I don't belong on this board, you have succeeded beautifully. I don't.</p>
<p>Berurah--You're a very respected poster and I don't think anyone was trying to push you away. I for one like hearing from both you and curmudgeon--the more viewpoints, the better. </p>
<p>The way you stand up for kids who you feel are being attacked tells me you must be a really great mom. But I have to admit it bothers me when kids come onto the parents forum and then get upset--and get good people like yourself to fight their battles for them--because they don't like what they hear.</p>
<p>Berurah, I went back and reread your posts . So far tonight you have said either my actions or I were "shameful', "plain rudeness" ,"inappropriate", and I believe I may be the "popular bully" in your exit post, if that is what it was. In post 76 you questioned my right to speak on "integrity", and on another you suggested that I posted for the adulation of others. Please find an instance where I said anything to you that comes close to that list, much less ridicule. Kindness? Manners?</p>