> learn how to make a damn good cup of tea or coffee.

Don't be discouraged by this opinion. There are definitely internships out there where you do real work.

I took a 3-month internship for a larger corporation for similar pay a couple of years ago. Using PHP, I worked on some relatively small-scale web-based projects for internal use. The stress level was low and I made some good friends. I haven't used PHP on any serious level since, but what I learned about web programming has definitely come in handy in my two jobs after that one. On top of that I put a little bit of money in my pocket. It beat sitting on my ass and playing video games all summer.

Interesting points, but I think you downplay the role of role of playing time in the 'hardcore' mentality.
The challenge in raid content is getting the entire raid force to work cohesively together as a group. In a 'hardcore'-leaning game, this cohesion needs to be very tight for the group to succeed. In a casual-leaning game, a more rag-tag group of players is often able to succeed.
Hardcore groups of players rely on their members to consistently show up for raid times and to pay attention during raids. Both of these points correspond to play-time - hardcore players are both more likely to be playing on a given night and less likely to need to AFK at a critical time.

I always keep my phone on vibrate.

Take that ASCAP!

Just drink until the code looks pretty.