that "are you spoiled" thing

[electricland]

This meme is just bizarre. I keep trying to gauge the background and personality of the person who came up with it and coming up empty. Apparently you are spoiled if more than 40 of the following apply to you, but yeah, "good credit" and "a passport" and "a hammock" don't exactly scream "spoiled rotten" to me. Nor do "access to a large body of water" and "neighbourhood committee membership." Some parts of it suggest the author is:

- from somewhere inland and fairly dry
- about 16 or 17

And yet other internal evidence suggests otherwise. Very odd.

Do you have:
(1) your own cell phone
() a television in your bedroom - HELL NO, and I never will, thank you
() an iPod - no, but I've started eyeing them
() a photo printer
() your own phone line - not just at present, no
() TiVo or a generic digital video recorder
(2) high-speed internet access (i.e., not dialup)
() a surround sound system in bedroom - what is this obsession with the bedroom? No.
() DVD player in bedroom
() at least a hundred DVDs
(3) a childfree bathroom - very few children in my life
(4) your own in-house office - I... guess? I mean, I have a desk and a computer and a chair and stuff. I'd quite like this in-house office.
() a pool
() a guest house - have we been watching MTV Cribs or something?
() a game room
() a queen-size bed or larger
(5) a stocked bar - I guess. Whatever THAT means. I have quite a few liquor bottles in a cardboard box...
(6) a working dishwasher
() an icemaker
(7) a working washer and dryer
() more than 20 pairs of shoes - don't think so, although I haven't seen some of them in a while
() at least ten things from a designer store - define "designer store". I'm thinking no.
() expensive sunglasses
(8) framed original art (not lithographs or prints) - why not? But yes. (If it's not in a frame, it doesn't count?)
() Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
() a multi-speed bike
() a gym membership
() large exercise equipment at home
() your own set of golf clubs - hahahahaha!
() a pool table
() a tennis court
(9) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea - yes, Lake Ontario. Yep, I'm spoiled.
() your own pair of skis
() enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area
(10) a boat - do the family sailboats count?
() a jet ski - HELL NO. Machines of the devil.
() a neighborhood committee membership - huh what? No, but... what?
(11) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
(12) wealthy family members - I guess, depending on your definition of "wealthy" and also how far you stretch "family"
(13) two or more family cars - if we're counting my parents' cars
() a walk-in closet or pantry - sadly, no! But oh, how I would love one.
(14) a yard
() a hammock - I'm sorry, a hammock? How does this render one spoiled?
() a personal trainer
(15) good credit
(16) expensive jewelry - ish.
() a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get - hahahaha!
() at least $100 cash in your possession right now - right now? no
() more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards) - I have exactly two, although they keep trying to give me more
() a stock portfolio - I'm thinking mutual funds don't qualify
(17) passport - Yes, it's official. I'm spoiled.
() a horse
() a trust fund (either for you or created by you)
(18) private medical insurance - supplementary, through work
(19) a college degree, and no outstanding student loans


Do you:
() shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week
() do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
() pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning) - not at the moment, but I TOTALLY would.
(20) go on weekend mini-vacations - ... sometimes?
() send dinners back with every flaw
() wear perfume or cologne (not body spray) - sometimes? What? What is this question supposed to prove?
() regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
() have a job but don't need the money OR
() stay at home with little financial sacrifice
(21) pay someone else to cook your meals - do frozen entrees count? or restaurant lunches/dinners? Then yes.
() pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
() regularly pay someone else to drive you
() expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are you:
(22) an only child - yep, because us only children? Spoiled rotten. It's good to see those Grade 2 myths don't go anywhere.
() married/partnered to a wealthy person
() baffled/surprised when you don't get your way
() been on a cruise
(23) traveled out of the country
(24) met a celebrity
(25) been to the Caribbean
(26) been to Europe
() been to Hawaii
(27) been to New York
() eaten at the space needle in Seattle
() been to the Mall of America - where is that, anyway?
(28) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
() been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
() moved more than three times because you wanted to - I never want to move, so the fact that I have moved about 20 times in my life is not relevant here.
() dined with local political figures - again with the huh?
(29) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast - also the Indian Ocean! and the Mediterranean! Beat that!

Did you:
() go to another country for your honeymoon
() hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
(30) take riding or swimming lessons as a child
(31) attend private school
() have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you

(ETA: although of course, as raithen points out, it does show that I am plenty privileged. But I knew that. And I bet I could come up with a better list of questions for gauging it, too.)

Comments

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Some parts of it suggest the author is:
- from somewhere inland and fairly dry
- about 16 or 17


That's what I was thinking. As if the rest of it hadn't been clue enough, the Sweet 16 party was what gave it away. (Speaking of, have you seen that awful show on MTV where they chronicle the toils and woes of spoiled rotten 15 year olds who are getting 16th birthday parties that cost more than my parents' house?)

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it, but it sounds DIRE.

...oh Lord, and now that we have MTV Canada, I might accidentally come across it...

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Most US tv is dire.

Most of what I watch, in fact, is Brit. Or Australian. Have you seen the one from Oz with the women running a stock station in the outback?

McLeod's Daughters!

[raithen.livejournal.com]

She might possibly have heard me wax greatly eloquent about it once or twice. It is my "YAY I AM HOUSESITTING AND HAVE CABLE!" guilty pleasure ;) I wish they would hurry up and release Region 1 DVDs already. Region 4 will do me No. Good. Unless I can convince M in Oz that he needs a TV and DVD player while he is there, and that he should bring the DVD player home. Sadly, that would mean waiting 2 more years. And he is doing the starving PhD candidate thang, sooooo...

Oh, lookee here - it's 4! I can go home now!

But there will be no McLeod's daughters for me.....

Re: McLeod's Daughters!

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

They've axed it in the US as of the end of series 3, but there will be Region 1 DVD releases starting with series 1, tentative date early October 2006.

You can buy region-free DVD players on amazon for not too much money. Also, they will play on a computer. But none of the Oz DVD's are closed-captioned so I can't just get series 4 and 5 and carry on. I have to wait for the US versions. :(

Damn. That show is about, like, me.