Old Milwaukee vs. Elitist Pricks

Lately I've been writing about how I work too much. Yesterday I worked too much too. I was up at 4AM, at work before 6 and then got home at 9pm. This is not a complaint, there has been an excellent run of productivity lately at Schmootzie's Recombinant DNA Labs and it has demanded long hours to harvest science fruit.

Still, spending 100 hours a week with a labor of love is exhausting, and it would not be possible without the crutch of alcohol. A few beers at the end of the day sure help my aching head.

Last night on the way home I stopped at the local beer store. The parking lot was unusually full for 8:45 pm, 15 minutes before close. Not only was it full in terms of quantity, but there were qualitative differences as well. The lot usually filled with beat up old pickup trucks like mine had a sheen of the elite-- Hummers, Range Rovers, BMWs and high-end SUVs. I had to double check to figure out if I was at my crappy neighborhood booze hole.

The automatic door opened to reveal that I had arrived into a wine tasting event. The usually vacant store was packed full of a Docker's commercial, well-groomed slick white people gathering around small stands of wine and cheese, each accompanied by some alleged wine expert. I made way back to the beer cooler in search of my medication.

I got back to the beer area to find the cooler blocked by temporary tables featuring different wines, surrounded by happy wine drinkers. I politely asked some guy in a Polo shirt (collar up, hey, the 80's called....) to excuse me while I opened the cooler.

I grabbed a 12 pack of Old Milwaukee and he felt compelled to comment, "Goin' for the good stuff, huh?"

"It's what I like", was all I said, and I turned to walk away.

"Yeah, I used to like the cheap stuff too", he added.

Now, I may have looked like a bum because I roll out of bed, put on any clothes that are semi clean regardless of wrinkles and matching. I work for 16 hours in a hot lab coat and become fucking exhausted. I wasn't in the mood. I would have loved to debate the basis of my crusty decisions with a 27 year old Banana Republican but discretion prevailed. What an asshole. Why does he care? I'm sure when he and his buddies gather at the 19th hole they pop the tops off of a couple of Coor's Lights and think its good.

(Basically, I don't want to support Budwiser, Miller or Coor's. They basically WalMartized the brewing industry and stole choice. That's a topic for another day)

He mocks my Old Milwaukee beer, one that I chose, a decision that does not affect him in any way.

The point here is, what kind of elite prick gives a fuck what I decide to consume to the point where he has to comment on my choice? If there's a point, make it. I could spend an hour telling him about Coor's, their ties to an elitist asshole family, unfavorable labor practices and discriminatory policies. His snide little comments come from the combination of a teeny dick, a thin conscience, thick wallet and big attitude.

I meet these condescending pricks all the time, the kind of people that look down their noses at me because I refuse to keep up with the Jones'. They look down on me for my choice to be a scientist and educator. At a recent fancy people party (my wife is fancy and in the fashion industry, lots of pretty people invite her to stuff, I usually go along) one of these dicks told me that I was wasting my time working in an academic research environment and that I could make much more money if I worked in the private sector. Another acquaintance called me when our wives were out together to see if I wanted me to come over to help him out with his six pack of Coor's Light. Alas, it was a Sunday and I was going to work. He could not figure out why I would work on a weekend."Ahhh, getting some time-and-a-half", he says.

"No, just have some things to get done", I say.

He mocks my Old Milwaukee career, one that I chose, a decision that does not affect him in any way.

I hate these assholes. They make their decisions based on dollars and cents with no concept of what it is like to seek and discover. They don't comprehend the feeling of seeing a student light up with understanding. They don't understand the feeling of accomplishment of successfully passing a well-crafted scientific text through a panel of stringent peer reviewers. Their daily goal is a Hummer in the driveway when my goal is a hummer in the driveway. Two different standards.

The funny part is, I have a great position, a stimulating career and a great life from it. My happiness comes from a good family and friends, a great wife and dog and a difficult daily challenge that I meet and exceed. My happiness comes from incrementally forwarding mankind's understanding of the fundamental basis of life, adding resolution to hard questions that form the basis of science. I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.

These assholes will never be smart enough to understand.