Wednesday, October 27, 2010

73% elite, although my real problem is probably misanthropy more than elitism.

1. Can you talk about "Mad Men?" Yes.
2. Can you talk about the "The Sopranos?" Yes.
3. Do you know who replaced Bob Barker on "The Price Is Right?" No.
4. Have you watched an Oprah show from beginning to end? Maybe at some point in middle school, but not recently, so I'll just go with no.
5. Can you hold forth animatedly about yoga? I'm scoring this as yes because I go to a class twice a week, but I've never held forth animatedly about it. I don't find my exercise routines to be that interesting to other people, and most of my close friends are guys anyway.
6. How about pilates? I went to a class once at my gym. The instructor wasn't very good, and Wednesdays are bad for me, so I gave up.
7. How about skiing? No.
8. Mountain biking? I can't ride a bike.
9. Do you know who Jimmie Johnson is? No.
10. Does the acronym MMA mean nothing to you? Yes, it means nothing.
11. Can you talk about books endlessly? Yes.
12. Have you ever read a "Left Behind" novel? No.
13. How about a Harlequin romance? No.
14. Do you take interesting vacations? Arguably yes (Argentina and Japan b/c of Pnin's speaking engagements in each), but I don't actually get the upper-middle class love of travel, which argues against my scoring myself as "elite." I think I'll just set this as a wash.
15.Do you know a great backpacking spot in the Sierra Nevada? No.
16. What about an exquisite B&B overlooking Boothbay Harbor? No.
17. Would you be caught dead in an RV? I'd be fine with being in one theoretically. But I'm not eager to do it either, so I guess I'll score this as an elite answer.
18. Would you be caught dead on a cruise ship? Again, not philosophically opposed, but not eager to travel via cruise either. I guess I'll score this as elite.
19. Have you ever heard of of Branson, Mo? No.
20. Have you ever attended a meeting of a Kiwanis Club? No.
21. How about the Rotary Club? Actually, yes. They used to give out scholarships and things for high-achieving high school kids in my town and invite us to breakfast.
22. Have you lived for at least a year in a small town? I lived for five years with a town that had 2,043 people. Safely non-elite.
23. Have you lived for a year in an urban neighborhood in which most of your neighbors did not have college degrees? I used to live near the U Street Corridor in D.C. It was a mix of gentrifiers and urban poor, although I think that the balance tipped far enough toward the gentrifiers that I'll say no.
24. Have you spent at least a year with a family income less than twice the poverty line? No, unless you count me on my own during law school.
25. Do you have a close friend who is an evangelical Christian? No.
26. Have you ever visited a factory floor? Yes, although I think this marker's actually useless. I feel like every elementary school in my town -- rich, poor, in between -- took the kids to see the Crayola Crayons factory at some point. They've since put up a Disneyfied version of it, similar to the Disneyfied factory tours that kids can take of the chocolate plants in Hershey.
27. Have you worked on one? No.

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