I have THE BOOK! In my hot little hands! I was too impatient to wait for THE AUTHOR to send me a copy. I had to see it for myself.

It's totally real. I walked into my B&N, and it was on the main new releases table, right near the front.

And the guy ringing up my purchase said he liked the cover, and the title, and he was going to go check it out himself!

to the students, those going into college in the fall of 1979 were lining up to introduce themselves to the professors. My brother was born in June 1961, and he definitely is more X-er in behavior.

I'm also June '61 - and we were definitely Not Boomers and Not Gen X.

We're post-hippie, pre-Internet. We missed free love and then AIDS hit. We invented punk and rap and zines and made a lot of indie comics and movies. We didn't have any wars during our draftable age. That's my demo.

I'm creating an account on a networking-type site and it asks me to choose the industry that best fits my "primary expertise," but the closest I can get is "Education Management." Buh? I get that the site is apparently geared more toward the high-powered 3-martini type of business playa, but it's got "Alternative Dispute Resolution" as an option but not "Education" or "Teaching/Training"! It does have "Higher Education," but not "Lower Education," so that doesn't exactly help. The heck?

Is there a way to find out online whether a particular B&N has a particular book, or do I have to haul my sorry ass to the store to find out?

I'm also June '61 - and we were definitely Not Boomers and Not Gen X. We're post-hippie, pre-Internet.

I think that's how my youngest uncle (born Sept. '61) would describe himself too.

I remember taking this gen ed course in college. Professor pulled me aside and asked why I'd missed the last exam; I explained that I had no excuse, I'd had a sinus infection and just slept through my alarm, but it was okay, since only 2 of the 3 exams counted toward my final grade, right? I think she was so taken aback by my honesty that she let me take a make-up exam.

And require, uh, special handling. More guidance, more mentoring, more babysitting, basically. Fun.

If there's one thing I hate, it's being handled. I require no babysitting, thank you kindly.

I was born in 1961 and don't feel any connection to Boomers.

We need our own damned Gen designation. W? 5? Some really cool Prince-esque symbol that can't be pronounced, only seen?

I don't need AARP spekaing for me, but I am not a fan of rap and hip/hop. My favorite music is on the "we don't dare call it the Oldies" station. I want my trendy generational designator! I want my MTV!

I suspect I may be hormonal. Please ignore any unseemly overexuberance and posturing. The seemly stuff is purely intentional.

Had to take some managers workshop hooey last week, and were told that the GenY like to be called Millenials. And require, uh, special handling. More guidance, more mentoring, more babysitting, basically. Fun.

OK, considering where lori works that is freaking HORRIFYING.

At my job? Some brat in a law firm whines about this or that -- so what. But when you work in a field that is largely used as a synonym for amazingness and smartness and best of the best? Dude.

We need our own damned Gen designation.

I've heard "Kennedy Kids" for those of us born while Kennedy was president.

Dutton's won't get the book until later--duh! I knew that--so meanwhile I'm going to try to get to B&N to pick one up. And still get the Dutton's copy later, since I'd rather buy from them.

My demo is Hec's demo. My DH is Gen Y, but really not, he's Gen X like me. And my thoughts on raising children are far too complex and contradictory to get into right at the moment, but suffice to say that, I was raised by parents who made me feel special *and* who taught me to treat others with respect but stand up for myself. I'd be proud if, down the line, I can say I raised my kids like my parents raised me.

Also I am surprised at how early issues of how to treat others come up, even with basically well-behaved kids like Frances (eek! I don't even want to think about Isaac's talk two years from now!). Most recently I've been working with Frances to get her to see the difference between saying "I'm mad at you" and "you're not my friend anymore!" She doesn't get it yet, but I hope she can learn the difference between expressing her feelings and being deliberately hurtful.

Is there a way to find out online whether a particular B&N has a particular book, or do I have to haul my sorry ass to the store to find out?

1. Go to the B&N page for the book: [link]

2. Look for the "Find it in our stores" box and enter your zip code.