Sunsets: One for the Road

There are a lot of differences between college kids and those who graduate college and begin their lives in the real world. But none are bigger than the group paycheck scenario at the local bar or restaurant.

Scenario #1: College. You go out to dinner with a group of friends. The waiter/waitress brings the check, a single check. The collection of undergrad students bust out their wallets and leaf around for some bills. They estimate what they believe their portion of the bill is to the exact penny, often not taking into account tax, and then round down. They throw that amount of money in the pile and immediately thrust their wallets deep into the nether-regions of their pockets, to a place where it shall not be retrieved for upwards to seven days. Someone, usually the type-A personality or the business finance major, gathers the bills on the table and proceeds to count. Now again, this is the college age kids scenario, so naturally, the total money thrown out by the scholarly participants is going to be about $5 short, not including tip. The fact they are $5 short is announced to the group and the group responds with inattentive gazes around the room, quizzical looks at the receipt, random mumbling to defray the awkward silence and a collective hope that someone will just bite the bullett and throw down a crisp $5 bill to cover the shortage. Eventually a few people begrudgingly take out single doller bills and throw them onto the current stack of money. They act as though it's no big deal when really they are seething at the thought of having to pay full value for what they ordered. The money is stacked nicely, a generous 6.5% tip is left neatly on the table, and the college crowd begins the 20 minute walk back to campus.

Scenario #2: Post grad/Newly worker crowd. Same idea, single check comes. The participants pull out their wallets, flip through about 4 or 5 plastic forms of banking cards but decide to just cash this one. They wade through their stacks of greenbacks, pull out enough to pay for their share, then pull out some more for the tip, then throw a little more out there just for the heck of it. However, then they proceed to gather it all up, put it back in their wallet and pull out a single larger bill that eclipses what they had initially put in. Someone casually counts the money (more of a rough estimate), realizes it's well over the bill+tax+tip and places the money back on the table. When the waiter/waitress comes back, at least two people make direct eye contact and say "keep the change". Sometimes I'm glad the college years are behind me.

Here is one last boulevard sunset pic for the road. Same night as the previous post. Just figured it needed a little notoriety as well.