Yesterday, Sinta picked me up from work for lunch. As we were driving around the block to get to the main road, we noticed the unusually high volume of cars. The block is practically at a dead end, so we were trying to figure out where these cars were coming from. Then I remembered that there is the back side of a private high school near the dead end. That explains the fresh-faced kids driving in their BMWs and Mercedes SUVs. Talk about rich, spoiled brats...brats who have Stanford University stickers plastered on their rides, who also know exactly what university they will be attending. Just like me, they were on their lunch break.

Some of these kids followed us to Quizno's. As Sinta pulled into the parking lot, one girl was running across the lot with her boy friends, pointing at something, acting obnoxiously cute, which, to me, blared "hey-look-at-me-in-my-Bebe-outfit-and-I-can-act-this-way-cuz-I-know-I'm-cute-and-I-have-the-money". Miss Thang raced us to the door as if Quizno's was rationing sandwiches and she had to get hers. We, and Miss Thang and her friends gathered near the counter to look at the menu, so we weren't exactly in line. As Sinta and I were deciding on what to order, Miss Thang asks if we were in line. We let her go ahead, but her friends were telling her that we were in line first. Her reaction was: "Well, I was here first!" I wanted to kick her. Not because of what she did, but because of how she was acting. Did she forget her manners influenced by her Asian upbringing? Or was she just trying to act cute because she was with a bunch of guys? I think someone needs to put Miss Thang back in her place where her money and looks don't matter.

But it's not just the lack of manners kids have these days. I'm not saying that all teens are like this. You have to give credit to Miss Thang's friends for being polite. It's also the way some of the girls dress. They dress so provocatively, and put on so much makeup that it's so hard to tell if they're under 18 or not. It's a scary thing. I remember listening to a local radio station who hosted a spring break party for the 18 and under crowd. The deejay was explaining that some of the girls were scantily clad and so mature looking that they could pass for adults. What made it worse was that, according to him, some of these girls were flirting with him. As tempting as it was for him, he had to keep his distance because the girls were underage. Scary, isn't it? Is it safe to say that the media is partly to blame for exploiting the sexy image as the "in" thing? Hell, look at Britney and Christina. Or how about that daring FHM (or was it Maxim?) cover of Michelle Branch? This issue of sex and the media isn't new. Girls have been idolizing actresses, singers, and supermodels; and these days, idols project that sexy image that teens try to emulate. I won't spend too much time on this because I think it's pretty evident how influencial the media is in more ways than one.

While we're on the subject, have you guys been to Limited Too? It's a clothing store for 'tweeners. An acquaintance of mine was telling me that this store carries unmentionables that should be worn only by adults. I've heard it from other people, too. Out of curiosity, I went into the store during a trip to the mall to see for myself. No, I didn't find those undies, but I did find string versions of them in a bin. Gosh forbid will I ever let my daughter wear that! Overall, the outfits that the store sells are pretty tame, but there are other pieces of clothing that are questionable. It's scary and worrisome at the same time.