different goals

Three days ago I was studying at Starbucks when I was distracted by three 28-somethings that talked loudly two seats over from me. They were attractive and white. And since they were in the Irvine Starbucks they must have been moderately successful, at least, considering the cost of living of the area. I listened to their conversations. Weird, I know. But I was in need of a break and they shouldn't have been talking so loud if they didn't want me to listen.

Now these were three friends apparently. Two girls and a guy all seemingly approaching 30--and fast. They sat for about an hour talking about one thing: money. How much their apartments cost, their cars, their insurance, their jobs--everything had a dollar sign attached to it. None of them seemed too interested in kids simply by the way they talked about money like it was the end of all things. It was almost pornographic. Crude.

Yesterday, I was at another coffee shop in Irvine. Now this time as I sat studying, three middle eastern men and their wives sat a couple seats down from me. Each of the men, who were all in their mid-20s, had a child with them that was at least 2. The whole group made up several people. Three families sat and drank legal stimulants.

What struck me was that the White Americans who sat next to me before all were a little bit older with no kids--at least from it sounded like. They were just three individuals talking.

The middle-eastern people talking were just three families talking.