Still high-maintenance, I see. Very selfish, Val. You’re going to have to make sacrifices now that you’re not being a spoiled brat. That’s a fact of reality. If that’s the only downside, then buck it up, Val.
Cooper has a point, Val doesn’t. I’m really starting to think he should dump her. He’s done so much good for her… yet what has she done for him?
I think calling her “selfish” is unfair. If someone is being selfish they’re doing something for themselves at someone else’s expense. Val isn’t hurting anyone but herself with her unrealistic expectations.
I believe that many young adults have a hard time with this, especially if their family is well off. A friend of mine moved out on his own, and he went from wanting to live by himself and being very particular about it to renting a room with a couple guys on craigslist because it was close to his job.
Val is going to have to prioritize, she didn’t say it had to have a garage, maybe a parking lot is good enough.
I agree, her sense of entitlement needs to go and she needs to face reality. I think that’s the direction Norm is going, but she is at least temporarily becoming unlikeable on her way to personal growth as she adjusts to the real world.
Considering the majority of the body and paint damage my truck has recieved over the last 9 years, mainly from parking in retail lots, and seeing the cars owned by a co-worker and his girlfriend that get parked in their complex’s lot, street parking might be the safer.
I am so tired the way people are ragging on Val. Guys notoriously love their cars, and want to take exceptional care of them. It’s so stereotypical in teen movies, and even car commercials that if Cooper wanted to protect his car, there would not be a problem. So what if Val had some help financially from her dad? She got herself a supplementary income, tried to jumpstart a writing career and never gave up. She hasn’t whined about losing her dad’s help, hasn’t bemoaned her situation. Is a garage a deal breaker for me when it comes to housing? No, but we don’t know what Val’s priorities are. She might be willing to sacrifice somethings for a garage. We only see a part of the characters’ lives in these panels, and I think that people are too quick to jump to conclusions.
And how is she being unrealistic with her expectations towards Cooper?
I agree. Especially because Val’s hit a turning point in her life, where she needs to take a look at her priorities and see if anything can be re-ordered now that she needs to make it all on her own.
She’s learning, and part of that involves realizing that sometimes you need to alter your priorities or that some of them are not realistic and you need to change how you think about things because the world works differently than what you’re used to.
She’s not used to getting by 100% on her own. This is a big change for her, and she’s still trying to figure it all out. What it looks like to me is that while she’s getting there, she hasn’t quite hit the point where she can think of thinks in a less idealized and more realistic way when it comes to things like finding where to stay. She’ll figure it out.
Yes, but some of us work in Retail, working VERY hard to make NOT a lot of money, driving crap cars, living in crap housing, dealing with all of the crap a Retail job entails… and KNOW some people who work in retail… not because they NEED the money, but because it gives them something to do. So they WOULD have “First World Problems” like “poor” Val here if they ever had to face financial reality.
So, the simmering annoyance and anger we feel towards these semi-silver-spoon (ooohhh… alliteration!) co-workers is placed on Val’s shoulders when she acts this way.
I disagree. In most respects she’s a great character and I’m sure Norm has plans for her to grow as a person as a result of these life changes, but…..she *IS* becoming a little unlikeable and people have good reason for feeling that she’s a little spoiled and entitled.
“So what if Val had some help financially from her Dad?” I think readers are bothered by it because she was getting that help from her dad through deceit and lying to him.
As for this week’s strips, now that it’s time to face reality, Val is having a difficult time doing so. She’s coming across as a spoiled brat who can’t handle the reality that all her co-workers have had to deal with all along.
Again, I think Norm has plans for her to grow from this experience and become a better person, but her attitude along the way is a legitimate reason for people to be irritated with her as a character.
Eh, if I were Val, I would NOT want to street park either. When I lived at home my brother and sisters and I had to take turns parking in the street and I had my drivers side mirror knocked off, my brother has someone scratch up his car and my sister had her stereo stolen out of the dashboard.
Yeah, there are a lot of jerks out there who get “bored” and decide to get into mischief, including wrecking other people’s cars. One such creep threw a grapefruit-sized rock through hubby’s car’s back window (an expensive repair not covered by insurance), another jackass stole my MIL’s pickup. Parking on the street almost invites this stuff, though parking lots are not necessarily safer.
These two have been together long enough that I forsee Coop suggesting that they move in together, it would help ease Coop’s money troubles, and Val might be able to bump her budget up just enough to be happy.
Seriously… at this point, I can hear my dad’s voice in my head saying “It’s time to separate your wants from your needs.” This is what Val needs to realize.
This is getting ridiculous. The believability of this has flown out of the window.
Here you have Val. The snobby elitist who comes across as someone who feels they are entitled to a certain way of life.
Here you have Cooper. Someone who has a happy-go-lucky attitude about all the crap that happens to him. He has it rough, but vents with crazy antics.
Someone explain to me what exactly Val saw in Cooper other than for him to be her whipping boy? Especially since that’s all he has been for her thus far.
I think I’ve mentioned before in comments that Val and Coopers relationship was created to showcase the sorts of trials, tribulations, and joys that can come with having a workplace relationship. Val is playing her role perfectly as an example.
I don’t see why so many commenters get so up in arms about how terrible of a person she is and how she’s doing everything at Cooper’s expense. Most relationships have a little back and forth. Val isn’t asking for Cooper to do anything here, he’s giving her advice and she’s slowly opening her eyes to reality. How many of you have gotten advice that you haven’t liked? Advice like “get a second job” or “you will definitely have to work your way through college with no help from your parents or sympathetic roommates” or “your car is dead, man. You need to buy a new one.” Most people prefer entertaining the thought of there being solutions that require less sacrifice. We have to take into account that the lifestyle that her career can pay for is about ten steps below what she’s used to. She might not want to concede that taking all ten steps down is necessary just yet. We’ll see by the end of the week, I’m sure.
Sorry, Val, but SOME of us have to work for a living and didn’t get to live off free rent like you did for God knows how long. You have to make sacrifices! I didn’t like that part of the comic, hearing how she got free rent from her well-to-do dad and I have that running through my mind each time I have to send my landlord a $600 check every month for my apartment, and I’m paying for it on a RETAIL salary! Reality hits her real fast and she just has to deal with it.
That is basically it. But it not about a fictional character, they would love to tear down the people in real life who are living a good life. But they can’t, so they will rail at a fictional character. It’s a good show of how bitter people are about there own lives.
I’m actually disturbed by the volume of bitterness aimed at Val right now. Not only is she a very relatable character who is going through a major lifestyle change, she didn’t choose her parents or her upbringing. Really, she’s a fictional character and if readers are this unforgiving of her, I’d hate to see how they handle actual flesh-and-blood people!
If we’re going to view her as a live human being, she made one mistake in lying to her father, and really, who hasn’t lied to someone about something at some point in their life?! This is part of growing. She’s not going to be an immediate Mother Theresa; she’s stressed out and worried which will bring out the absolute worse in her. Eventually, she will learn, mature, and grow into an even better version of the Val we love.
Cooper isn’t perfect either! If I worked with him, he would be the goofy coworker I adored personally, but loathed professionally. He hides from duties, slacks off in the back room, is rude to customers & staff, and doesn’t seem to care whether he breaks merchandise while building his (admittedly awesome) order statues. I understand why he acts out and his frustration with corporation, Stewart, & Josh, but I was raised to appreciate having a job and to work my butt off. I worked retail for almost a decade and Cooper would drive me insane! Yet Cooper has proven himself as a great friend, a caring boyfriend, and a great employee to those who treat him well (I.E. Marla). He has a terrific sense of humour and is very down-to-earth.
My moral: NO ONE in this strip is perfect because no one human is perfect.
Still high-maintenance, I see. Very selfish, Val. You’re going to have to make sacrifices now that you’re not being a spoiled brat. That’s a fact of reality. If that’s the only downside, then buck it up, Val.
Cooper has a point, Val doesn’t. I’m really starting to think he should dump her. He’s done so much good for her… yet what has she done for him?
I think calling her “selfish” is unfair. If someone is being selfish they’re doing something for themselves at someone else’s expense. Val isn’t hurting anyone but herself with her unrealistic expectations.
I believe that many young adults have a hard time with this, especially if their family is well off. A friend of mine moved out on his own, and he went from wanting to live by himself and being very particular about it to renting a room with a couple guys on craigslist because it was close to his job.
Val is going to have to prioritize, she didn’t say it had to have a garage, maybe a parking lot is good enough.
I agree, her sense of entitlement needs to go and she needs to face reality. I think that’s the direction Norm is going, but she is at least temporarily becoming unlikeable on her way to personal growth as she adjusts to the real world.
Okay, seriously? Val is getting VERY hard to like anymore. She needs to get out of her fantasy/entitlement world right quick!
Val is really being unreasonable in her expectations, and to Cooper. Oil and water pairing.
Considering the majority of the body and paint damage my truck has recieved over the last 9 years, mainly from parking in retail lots, and seeing the cars owned by a co-worker and his girlfriend that get parked in their complex’s lot, street parking might be the safer.
I am so tired the way people are ragging on Val. Guys notoriously love their cars, and want to take exceptional care of them. It’s so stereotypical in teen movies, and even car commercials that if Cooper wanted to protect his car, there would not be a problem. So what if Val had some help financially from her dad? She got herself a supplementary income, tried to jumpstart a writing career and never gave up. She hasn’t whined about losing her dad’s help, hasn’t bemoaned her situation. Is a garage a deal breaker for me when it comes to housing? No, but we don’t know what Val’s priorities are. She might be willing to sacrifice somethings for a garage. We only see a part of the characters’ lives in these panels, and I think that people are too quick to jump to conclusions.
And how is she being unrealistic with her expectations towards Cooper?
I agree. Especially because Val’s hit a turning point in her life, where she needs to take a look at her priorities and see if anything can be re-ordered now that she needs to make it all on her own.
She’s learning, and part of that involves realizing that sometimes you need to alter your priorities or that some of them are not realistic and you need to change how you think about things because the world works differently than what you’re used to.
She’s not used to getting by 100% on her own. This is a big change for her, and she’s still trying to figure it all out. What it looks like to me is that while she’s getting there, she hasn’t quite hit the point where she can think of thinks in a less idealized and more realistic way when it comes to things like finding where to stay. She’ll figure it out.
Yes, but some of us work in Retail, working VERY hard to make NOT a lot of money, driving crap cars, living in crap housing, dealing with all of the crap a Retail job entails… and KNOW some people who work in retail… not because they NEED the money, but because it gives them something to do. So they WOULD have “First World Problems” like “poor” Val here if they ever had to face financial reality.
So, the simmering annoyance and anger we feel towards these semi-silver-spoon (ooohhh… alliteration!) co-workers is placed on Val’s shoulders when she acts this way.
I disagree. In most respects she’s a great character and I’m sure Norm has plans for her to grow as a person as a result of these life changes, but…..she *IS* becoming a little unlikeable and people have good reason for feeling that she’s a little spoiled and entitled.
“So what if Val had some help financially from her Dad?” I think readers are bothered by it because she was getting that help from her dad through deceit and lying to him.
As for this week’s strips, now that it’s time to face reality, Val is having a difficult time doing so. She’s coming across as a spoiled brat who can’t handle the reality that all her co-workers have had to deal with all along.
Again, I think Norm has plans for her to grow from this experience and become a better person, but her attitude along the way is a legitimate reason for people to be irritated with her as a character.
Eh, if I were Val, I would NOT want to street park either. When I lived at home my brother and sisters and I had to take turns parking in the street and I had my drivers side mirror knocked off, my brother has someone scratch up his car and my sister had her stereo stolen out of the dashboard.
Yeah, there are a lot of jerks out there who get “bored” and decide to get into mischief, including wrecking other people’s cars. One such creep threw a grapefruit-sized rock through hubby’s car’s back window (an expensive repair not covered by insurance), another jackass stole my MIL’s pickup. Parking on the street almost invites this stuff, though parking lots are not necessarily safer.
Val, meet the real world. Coop will help you get acquainted well.
These two have been together long enough that I forsee Coop suggesting that they move in together, it would help ease Coop’s money troubles, and Val might be able to bump her budget up just enough to be happy.
Seriously… at this point, I can hear my dad’s voice in my head saying “It’s time to separate your wants from your needs.” This is what Val needs to realize.
This is getting ridiculous. The believability of this has flown out of the window.
Here you have Val. The snobby elitist who comes across as someone who feels they are entitled to a certain way of life.
Here you have Cooper. Someone who has a happy-go-lucky attitude about all the crap that happens to him. He has it rough, but vents with crazy antics.
Someone explain to me what exactly Val saw in Cooper other than for him to be her whipping boy? Especially since that’s all he has been for her thus far.
I think I’ve mentioned before in comments that Val and Coopers relationship was created to showcase the sorts of trials, tribulations, and joys that can come with having a workplace relationship. Val is playing her role perfectly as an example.
I don’t see why so many commenters get so up in arms about how terrible of a person she is and how she’s doing everything at Cooper’s expense. Most relationships have a little back and forth. Val isn’t asking for Cooper to do anything here, he’s giving her advice and she’s slowly opening her eyes to reality. How many of you have gotten advice that you haven’t liked? Advice like “get a second job” or “you will definitely have to work your way through college with no help from your parents or sympathetic roommates” or “your car is dead, man. You need to buy a new one.” Most people prefer entertaining the thought of there being solutions that require less sacrifice. We have to take into account that the lifestyle that her career can pay for is about ten steps below what she’s used to. She might not want to concede that taking all ten steps down is necessary just yet. We’ll see by the end of the week, I’m sure.
Sorry, Val, but SOME of us have to work for a living and didn’t get to live off free rent like you did for God knows how long. You have to make sacrifices! I didn’t like that part of the comic, hearing how she got free rent from her well-to-do dad and I have that running through my mind each time I have to send my landlord a $600 check every month for my apartment, and I’m paying for it on a RETAIL salary! Reality hits her real fast and she just has to deal with it.
A fictional character having it easier than you really bothers you that much?
That is basically it. But it not about a fictional character, they would love to tear down the people in real life who are living a good life. But they can’t, so they will rail at a fictional character. It’s a good show of how bitter people are about there own lives.
I’m actually disturbed by the volume of bitterness aimed at Val right now. Not only is she a very relatable character who is going through a major lifestyle change, she didn’t choose her parents or her upbringing. Really, she’s a fictional character and if readers are this unforgiving of her, I’d hate to see how they handle actual flesh-and-blood people!
If we’re going to view her as a live human being, she made one mistake in lying to her father, and really, who hasn’t lied to someone about something at some point in their life?! This is part of growing. She’s not going to be an immediate Mother Theresa; she’s stressed out and worried which will bring out the absolute worse in her. Eventually, she will learn, mature, and grow into an even better version of the Val we love.
Cooper isn’t perfect either! If I worked with him, he would be the goofy coworker I adored personally, but loathed professionally. He hides from duties, slacks off in the back room, is rude to customers & staff, and doesn’t seem to care whether he breaks merchandise while building his (admittedly awesome) order statues. I understand why he acts out and his frustration with corporation, Stewart, & Josh, but I was raised to appreciate having a job and to work my butt off. I worked retail for almost a decade and Cooper would drive me insane! Yet Cooper has proven himself as a great friend, a caring boyfriend, and a great employee to those who treat him well (I.E. Marla). He has a terrific sense of humour and is very down-to-earth.
My moral: NO ONE in this strip is perfect because no one human is perfect.
amen!