"You're Old!!!" moments

SteveDallas · 12-21-2003, 05:21 PM

Have you ever had somebody say something to you that made you feel old all of a sudden? My first such moment was about 10 years ago when I was interviewing a student to work in the college computer lab I managed, and she called me "Sir."

Most recently, this afternoon we were doing some almost-last-minute Christmas shopping at the mall. I was looking for a hat for myself, and I was at a department store examining a grey fedora and calculating the sale price. As I stood there with the hat in my hand, a chick-let dressed like a somewhat younger, not-as-rich version of Paris Hilton went by with a guy. They paused for a moment, and then walked on. As they passed, the girl said, "No, not those hats... we need the kind of stuff young people would wear!"

elSicomoro · 12-21-2003, 05:52 PM

The summer of 2000 showed me that either I was getting old, or that I worked with a bunch of crackhead college kids. I'm going to go with the latter...and keep in mind, this was in suburban Washington, DC.

The company I worked for at the time marketed products to college kids...and during the summer (our busy season), we had quite a few college kids working with us.

One day, one of the girls that worked for us was inviting some coworkers to a party at her apartment later that night. It wasn't something I would have went to anyway, but I made a half-joking, half-smartassed remark, "Damn, don't I get an invite?" Her reply was, "No offense, Terry, but you're old"...and she sounded so serious when she said it.

At the time this incident occurred, I was 24, and had only been out of college for a year and a half.

It's all good though...I probably make more than any of them at this point anyway...stupid motherfuckers.

OnyxCougar · 12-21-2003, 05:55 PM

Every time I tell someone how old Justin will be on the 29th.

My oldest will be 16 in 8 days.

I suppose it will be worse when my youngest turns 16, but luckily, that's 9.25 years away...

xoxoxoBruce · 12-21-2003, 07:46 PM

Nope, not me.

juju · 12-21-2003, 11:01 PM

My forensic sciences teacher was telling the class one day that when he was in college, ballpoint pens had <i>just</i> come out, and everyone was all up in arms because they said it would "ruin people's handwriting". Apparently, back then, everyone still used ink and quill.

And despite the rudeness, I actually said, "My God.. how <b>old</b> are you???"

Kitsune · 12-21-2003, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sycamore
At the time this incident occurred, I was 24, and had only been out of college for a year and a half.

I'm twenty-four, now, and I can say I've experienced similar things as of late. Two years ago, I returned to my high school to visit and speak with my old Chemistry teacher. Students were still milling about even after classes were over with and they overheard me talking about college and how classes were treating me. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but the student looked at me strangely when I mentioned cassette tapes.

"You know, for music?"
"Huh?"

Yep -- after further questioning, I found out that the graduating class of 2002 only knows compact discs. They have never owned magnetic media for music.

Another extremely depressing moment happened in my undergraduate psych class just this recent semester. The discussion: episodic memory storage. The instructor was trying to find a way to explain to the class that instructional memory is not stored in the same way you store episodic.

"Episodic, you see, is when something dramatic happens", he said after stomping on the stage loudly to make everyone jump, "and there are some things you will never forget. You know, like Challenger -- I will never forget exactly where I was when I saw it lift off and explode and neither will you."

The class, at this point, was giving him confused looks. Someone in the back raised their hand and said it would be better if he used September 11th as the example because "I was, like, one year old at the time, but my parents told me all about it".

Shit.

wolf · 12-22-2003, 12:50 AM

I refuse to accept that the kids from the class of 2002 are clueless about cassette tapes. Vinyl, I could almost understand their confusion, but not cassettes. They have to be some dumbass kids to not know cassettes. Most of their parents probably have cassette players in their cars.

Ten years from now, yeah, then I'll believe the cassette is something they might view as a curiosity seen only on Antiques Roadshow.

Actually, the getting old thing for me was duly noted when I raged at a supermarket checker for attempting to card me for cigarettes. When I was in my thirties, I got carded for alcohol (which I thought was cool), but this was too much. It was early in the morning. I was running late, I was obviously NOT 18, and my ID was in the car.

Some other highlights: Rotary Dial phones, Burnt Sienna as a Crayola Color, and Play-Doh comes in more than four colors (but at least it still smells the same).

And on the "flashbulb" memory example ...

Your experience shows a shift also ... the KEY event was always "where were you when Kennedy was shot?"

OnyxCougar · 12-22-2003, 06:48 AM

And for Californians, it's "Where were you when Northridge hit?"

warch · 12-22-2003, 01:37 PM

I think not having my own kids has allowed me to feel more in suspended animation- there arent the daily markers...yet.
But a few years ago, one of my former elementary school students introduced himself to me in a bar. That was a wierd kinda time lapse. I didnt know him all growed up. But then, after he started talking, I could see the 12 year old smart alec in there. Turned into a cool guy.

Also, just last week when watching a 18 year old NHL player skate the warmup, it dawned on me that the parka I was wearing is older than him. and its a great parka.

Radar · 12-22-2003, 01:43 PM

I was told by my cousins (14 & 15) that I'm REALLY old just yesterday. I tried to explain my bouncing rubber ball of life theory to them but they don't get it.

Here's the theory...

When you bounce a rubber ball it bounces high and with each bounce it bounces lower and faster than the bounce before. Life is like this. When you're a child, a year seems like a very long time, and the older you get the faster the years go by until it seems like they're whizzing by faster than you can believe. You don't feel older inside, but your body starts having trouble doing the same things you did before easily. It takes longer to recover from injuries, etc.

vsp · 12-22-2003, 01:57 PM

My theory on why time flies is this:

As we get older, our attention spans increase. We become more accustomed to long periods of time going by without anything interesting happening, and (thanks to the wonderful world of work) are placed in such situations more often than when we were kids.

All of a sudden, the summer's over, and we think "How can it be fall already? It seems like Memorial Day was just yesterday." That's because we've done things that are useful to us, but often not all that much that's out of our daily routine.

Compare this to the kid who's been a little ball of energy over that period; to him, the summer vacation lasts forever (though it's still not long enough when it's time to go back to school), because he's been doing one thing after another after another during those months (and if he ISN'T occupied, he's squirming in his seat, ready to bolt off to something that _is_ interesting).

Signs of aging: My cousins have a Sega Dreamcast, and I (their decrepit gaming uncle) offered to put together an Atari 2600 emulator disc for it. They'd never _heard_ of the 2600.

dar512 · 12-22-2003, 02:22 PM

I subscribe to the theory that the main reason time goes more slowly for kids is that each minute represents a larger percentage of the total time they can remember.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-22-2003, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by warch
.............. it dawned on me that the parka I was wearing is older than him. and its a great parka.

Heh, heh, heh.

daniwong · 12-22-2003, 08:14 PM

Well - I know I'm old - the three kids were in the backseat and Janet Jackson's "Control" came on the radio. I quizzed them on who it was and they were like "Brittney Spears?" Then I told them who it was.

"Oh - is that on the new album?" Uh no. It was on an album in the 1980's. "Really? I thought her first album was the one that had "All for you" on it.

Doh.

Griff · 12-23-2003, 06:52 AM

I got carded this week.

Of course, I had a hat on my bald head...dulp!

I finally ruined my old hiking boots, too bad really, they only now qualified to get their drivers licence.

12-21-2003, 05:21 PM	#1
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	"You're Old!!!" moments Have you ever had somebody say something to you that made you feel old all of a sudden? My first such moment was about 10 years ago when I was interviewing a student to work in the college computer lab I managed, and she called me "Sir." Most recently, this afternoon we were doing some almost-last-minute Christmas shopping at the mall. I was looking for a hat for myself, and I was at a department store examining a grey fedora and calculating the sale price. As I stood there with the hat in my hand, a chick-let dressed like a somewhat younger, not-as-rich version of Paris Hilton went by with a guy. They paused for a moment, and then walked on. As they passed, the girl said, "No, not those hats... we need the kind of stuff young people would wear!"

12-21-2003, 05:52 PM	#2
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	The summer of 2000 showed me that either I was getting old, or that I worked with a bunch of crackhead college kids. I'm going to go with the latter...and keep in mind, this was in suburban Washington, DC. The company I worked for at the time marketed products to college kids...and during the summer (our busy season), we had quite a few college kids working with us. One day, one of the girls that worked for us was inviting some coworkers to a party at her apartment later that night. It wasn't something I would have went to anyway, but I made a half-joking, half-smartassed remark, "Damn, don't I get an invite?" Her reply was, "No offense, Terry, but you're old"...and she sounded so serious when she said it. At the time this incident occurred, I was 24, and had only been out of college for a year and a half. It's all good though...I probably make more than any of them at this point anyway...stupid motherfuckers. Last edited by elSicomoro; 12-21-2003 at 05:56 PM.

12-22-2003, 12:50 AM	#7
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I refuse to accept that the kids from the class of 2002 are clueless about cassette tapes. Vinyl, I could almost understand their confusion, but not cassettes. They have to be some dumbass kids to not know cassettes. Most of their parents probably have cassette players in their cars. Ten years from now, yeah, then I'll believe the cassette is something they might view as a curiosity seen only on Antiques Roadshow. Actually, the getting old thing for me was duly noted when I raged at a supermarket checker for attempting to card me for cigarettes. When I was in my thirties, I got carded for alcohol (which I thought was cool), but this was too much. It was early in the morning. I was running late, I was obviously NOT 18, and my ID was in the car. Some other highlights: Rotary Dial phones, Burnt Sienna as a Crayola Color, and Play-Doh comes in more than four colors (but at least it still smells the same). And on the "flashbulb" memory example ... Your experience shows a shift also ... the KEY event was always "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

12-22-2003, 01:43 PM	#10
Radar Constitutional Scholar Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 4,006	I was told by my cousins (14 & 15) that I'm REALLY old just yesterday. I tried to explain my bouncing rubber ball of life theory to them but they don't get it. Here's the theory... When you bounce a rubber ball it bounces high and with each bounce it bounces lower and faster than the bounce before. Life is like this. When you're a child, a year seems like a very long time, and the older you get the faster the years go by until it seems like they're whizzing by faster than you can believe. You don't feel older inside, but your body starts having trouble doing the same things you did before easily. It takes longer to recover from injuries, etc. __________________ "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death." - George Carlin

12-22-2003, 02:22 PM	#12
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	Time Flying I subscribe to the theory that the main reason time goes more slowly for kids is that each minute represents a larger percentage of the total time they can remember.

12-21-2003, 05:55 PM	#3
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	Every time I tell someone how old Justin will be on the 29th. My oldest will be 16 in 8 days. I suppose it will be worse when my youngest turns 16, but luckily, that's 9.25 years away...

12-21-2003, 07:46 PM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Nope, not me.

12-21-2003, 11:01 PM	#5
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	My forensic sciences teacher was telling the class one day that when he was in college, ballpoint pens had <i>just</i> come out, and everyone was all up in arms because they said it would "ruin people's handwriting". Apparently, back then, everyone still used ink and quill. And despite the rudeness, I actually said, "My God.. how <b>old</b> are you???"

12-22-2003, 06:48 AM	#8
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	And for Californians, it's "Where were you when Northridge hit?"

12-22-2003, 01:37 PM	#9
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	I think not having my own kids has allowed me to feel more in suspended animation- there arent the daily markers...yet. But a few years ago, one of my former elementary school students introduced himself to me in a bar. That was a wierd kinda time lapse. I didnt know him all growed up. But then, after he started talking, I could see the 12 year old smart alec in there. Turned into a cool guy. Also, just last week when watching a 18 year old NHL player skate the warmup, it dawned on me that the parka I was wearing is older than him. and its a great parka.

12-22-2003, 01:57 PM	#11
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	My theory on why time flies is this: As we get older, our attention spans increase. We become more accustomed to long periods of time going by without anything interesting happening, and (thanks to the wonderful world of work) are placed in such situations more often than when we were kids. All of a sudden, the summer's over, and we think "How can it be fall already? It seems like Memorial Day was just yesterday." That's because we've done things that are useful to us, but often not all that much that's out of our daily routine. Compare this to the kid who's been a little ball of energy over that period; to him, the summer vacation lasts forever (though it's still not long enough when it's time to go back to school), because he's been doing one thing after another after another during those months (and if he ISN'T occupied, he's squirming in his seat, ready to bolt off to something that _is_ interesting). Signs of aging: My cousins have a Sega Dreamcast, and I (their decrepit gaming uncle) offered to put together an Atari 2600 emulator disc for it. They'd never _heard_ of the 2600.

12-22-2003, 08:14 PM	#14
daniwong Vice-President of Resentment Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 196	Well - I know I'm old - the three kids were in the backseat and Janet Jackson's "Control" came on the radio. I quizzed them on who it was and they were like "Brittney Spears?" Then I told them who it was. "Oh - is that on the new album?" Uh no. It was on an album in the 1980's. "Really? I thought her first album was the one that had "All for you" on it. Doh. __________________ Mistress of all that is claim related.

12-23-2003, 06:52 AM	#15
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	I got carded this week. Of course, I had a hat on my bald head...dulp! I finally ruined my old hiking boots, too bad really, they only now qualified to get their drivers licence.

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