Lazy kids

[DisturbedPervert]

Is the ban actually enforced?

Pretty much everyone here had gotten drunk before 16 (legal age when I was young, now it's 18). A teenage weekend without massive overt drinking seems so alien to me ... I was a teetotaler at the time but everyone else drunk in Fridays and Saturdays.

Yes.  When I was in high school alcohol was hard to come by, some people drank but most did not.  I can remember a friend who would hang out in the parking lot of supermarkets, trying to get people to buy alcohol for him, sometimes it worked, but not always. It got much, much easier in college, but there was still the danger of a citation for underage drinking, which I and many others I knew got, and bars were out of the question without a decent fake ID.

[Caliga]

I was 21 when I graduated.

Same (though barely).

[Caliga]

Yes.  When I was in high school alcohol was hard to come by, some people drank but most did not.  I can remember a friend who would hang out in the parking lot of supermarkets, trying to get people to buy alcohol for him, sometimes it worked, but not always. It got much, much easier in college, but there was still the danger of a citation for underage drinking, which I and many others I knew got, and bars were out of the question without a decent fake ID.

In Boston, it was very much hit and miss in terms of which bars carded and which didn't.  If they checked IDs and you didn't have one, they wouldn't serve you booze but they never kicked you out or anything (in my experience).  I had the best luck in terms of not getting carded at a place called Crossroads Irish Pub, which (maybe not coincidentally) Joe Kennedy used to own. 

[garbon]

Same (though barely).

Sadly the first time I personally ordered a drink was in the UK, so it didn't matter much.

[DisturbedPervert]

Now that I think about it there was one place that rarely carded, the cafe in the International House.  Most of the staff were foreign students, and they thought our drinking laws were ridiculous. At most would just require one person at the table to have an ID to buy with.  Most everywhere else started checking ID at the door at night.

[ulmont]

I too started at 17. 

Same here.  My 21st birthday was spent studying for my last set of finals.

[Monoriu]

I started at 18, because I was born in November

[Monoriu]

It is a huge mistake to start university any time after 19.  University degree is like a game card that increases your experience gained for each subsequent level.  It is the bonus in life that you pick as soon as you can.  Because chances are the degree increases your earning power.  Someone who starts university at 18, finishes at 21, then immediately start working full time will tend to earn more money over his entire life than anyone who fail to adhere to this schedule.

I make more money then anyone I know who went through university right after high school.  I used to hire those types from time to time.   However, I stopped that practice when I realized that lawyers who hadnt experienced anything outside of school made terrible lawyers.

The majority of civil service recruits in Hong Kong are 21/22 year olds with no work experience at all.  They tried recruiting people with some experience (and pay them a higher starting salary).  Generally people in their late 20s and early 30s.  It doesn't work.  These guys leave in droves.  They hire like 10 of these and after one year only two are left.  All the effort and money is wasted and they are blasted by Audit.  After a few of these experiments they are back to hiring fresh grads. 

[katmai]

Someone who starts university at 18, finishes at 21, then immediately start working full time will tend to earn more money over his entire life than anyone who fail to adhere to this schedule. 

I'm so screwed, I started at 17.

slacker, what took you so long.

[Monoriu]

Is the ban actually enforced?

Pretty much everyone here had gotten drunk before 16 (legal age when I was young, now it's 18). A teenage weekend without massive overt drinking seems so alien to me ... I was a teetotaler at the time but everyone else drank in Fridays and Saturdays.

I am 33 years old and I still have not experienced this feeling that you would describe as "drunk".

[garbon]

I started at 18, because I was born in November

I was born in November.

[garbon]

slacker, what took you so long.

[katmai]

slacker, what took you so long.

College at 15

[Monoriu]

I started at 18, because I was born in November

I was born in November.

You also went to Stanford, superman.

[garbon]

superman.

Err, no. Thanks for the flattery though.