Standard Disclaimer: Don't want to get it, tell me.
I have now given up on numbering these. Since this will probably be my last until I return to Cookeville (ah, the grand metropolis of Cooke-vegas), I'm going to switch to a new system. I'm going to start giving creative titles (still starting with ATTT, which is short for As the Tech Turns).
I have updated my webpage, for anyone that's interested in viewing it. The address is (and has been) in my sig file, but to save you the suspense of getting that far, you can go to http://aziraphale.homestead.com and look around for yourself. Of note (if you've already been there and don't want to see the same old stuff), some things that I've updated that many of you might be interested in are: the books link, the current events link, the essays section (which is new, go under my stories link to find it on the left side bar), my summer experiences link (I put in what I've done in O.R. this summer), and the drama link (still needing some stuff, but coming right along). I'll send another message when drama gets fully updated so those of you interested in joining can know what's going on, and those of you interested in attending can see more about it. (Hopefully a lot of you that aren't in C-ville but are close enough to come for an overnight trip will come to the performance this fall. It should be a good one!)
Also, in the essays section I am listing all of these updates that I'm sending out (starting with this one). So if you deleted yours and want to go back and read one, it's there. (why? I don't know, but you might.) Or if you want to refer someone else to some of my more "freestyle" writing, this is a good start. Feel free to note (ahem, subtle plug) all the other stories around this section....hmm...;)
Last Saturday was a CALAR game. Wow, that was SO MUCH FUN! I got to character, something I haven't had the chance to do it...wow, probably a few years I guess...so it was even more fun because of that. And everyone seemed to have a really good time. I was playing a gnome and though my skills were limited, I did have waylay and a few stealth abilities. When used creatively....well, let's just say I can take 'em out! :) In the end, I defeated the boss monster by turning invisible (Out of Sight, for those of you that know what it is) and finally sneaking up behind him and waylaying him. For extra measure, I then pinned his unconscious body while I retrieved a sword and beheaded him. Then, because this guy had pissed me off so much, I drop kicked his head (which subsequently ended up pegging a white dragon that had come to terrorize the province; the dragon decided that being hit with a flying drae head was too much and kept flying).
Everyone got a good laugh off of this. :)
I now have a day and a half left here in Oak Ridge. Thursday I fly out to Washington, DC where I get to present the exciting RUBE-GOLDBERG DEVICE!!! What an arts and crafts project this has been. There are links off of the "summer exepreiences" page to show you some more of this project (so don't be lazy...go look!). You may want to check the part about the project after Friday sometime, since we should have some pictures (or maybe video if we're lucky) of the actual device in motion instead of just schematics.
Thursday evening I will be meeting with Thomas and Nohemi (the others that have worked the most on this project) to put everything together and make sure it works before Friday morning when we present it.
I must admit, I'm not anxious to go flying again. Not because I'm scared of it (oddly, for someone so acrophobic, I never was scared of flying), but because of the BOREDOM! I went to DC in June at the start of this program. Flight from Knoxville to Newark: ooh, fun, haven't done this in a while. And there was this guy next to me that was really friendly so we talked most of the trip. Newark to DC: Also fun, landing over the water, yay, excitement. Two days later I reversed the process and by the last leg of the trip I was very much over it. You can only watch the micro-machine cars and trucks for so long before you think "okay, put me on the ground so I can go DO SOMETHING!". And this time I get to go through Atlanta. Ug. I just hope I don't get delayed or lose my luggage or something stupid like that.
Post-DC, I return Sunday to Cookeville (did I say that? well, it bears repeating). I don't know what time yet. I hope to find out soon. It'll probably be one mad dash to get things moved in, attend the retreats I'm there early for, take care of some other business, and do it all BEFORE ANY OTHER STUDENTS GET THERE NEXT THURSDAY! (Why did my eyes just stray to lithium on the periodic table? Prophesy?)
Also, as of Sunday, it will be exactly one month until I'm LEGAL! I'm rather excited about this. Though I still don't know what I'm doing for my big 21st birthday. I'll be celebrating at home on Labor Day weekend (kind of early, but you don't go out drinking with your parents anyway). September 12 falls on a Wednesday this year...which is good because I don't have any classes thursday until 4 PM. :) Ammaretto sours anyone? Strawberry daquris? Verily do I hear the call of rum? (no, me?) I think I'm going to have to pull a Missy, just so I can say I've done it. Missy, do you remember when you turned 18? You went out to a place you knew would card you and bought a pack of cigarettes just to be carded. You and Michelle went back to your house, smoked half a cigarette, tossed the rest, and tacked the empty box to your wall. I love that story. Well, I think I may do something similar with a rum bottle (except that I can't display it in the dorm, because housing is just....well, sensitive eyes should not read the words that describe them). Only difference: I'm not likely to just dump a bottle of rum.
Enough of my plans for revelry for celebrating 21 years of life (and what a 21 it's been!). My parent's anniversary is also coming up in a few weeks. Hmm....it looks like the celebration (at least from me) will have to be Labor Day weekend as well. I'm still not sure what to get them (and they don't get this posting, so I can ask this). My dad seems to want a Neil Diamond CD....but I'm not sure I can find one, nor do I think I should get it. I've always felt that the gift should in some way reflect the giver. And going by that, the only justification I can give is "it's music, I like music". But It seems like the easy way out. I'd rather save that for his birthday or for Christmas or Father's Day if I'm going to do that. For an anniversary I want to get something for both of them. The only suggestion I have is a gift certificate to some nice restaurant. I have mixed feelings on gift certificates. I have a feeling I will probably just do that. But the question remains, what restaurant? Which ones offer gift certificates? And add to that, I will need to be able to find it in Cookeville for them to use in Knoxville. Argh!
On to the open forum section. I've had a few people tell me they wouldn't mind seeing something like this, so if you don't want to read it, feel free to skip. I like what Aunt Brenda said. Doing it this way I can say whatever I want without being interrupted. :) ha ha, go me. So...what to talk about....well, I think in light of my upcoming birthday, I want to pick a mildly controvertial subject: legal drinking age. I've seen several signs recently advertising the slogan "21 means 21, it's the right thing to do". What a bunch of crap! Twenty-one is nothing more than an arbitrarily assigned value. We brainwash our children into thinking that there is something magical, but there is not! Why am I excited about turning 21? It's not because I get to drink alcohol, I've been doing that already for several years. It's because I now get to legally PURCHASE it (purchasing it is something I've never done before, for obvious reasons). I am no longer limited by some paranoid, archaic law that doens't consider reality in making it's judgement.
Let's look at the way many European countries handle the issue. In many European countries, the legal drinking age is 16, sometimes as low as 14. Oh, egad! Heaven forbid! Those poor children being corrupted by alcohol! Actually, no. Europe has less alcohol problems (and alcohol-driving problems) than the US does. And there is a very simple reason for it. The younger age. But it's more than that. We in America are afraid of alcohol. We put a certain status to it, a certain quality that says "you're cool if you do this, but only because it's living on the edge". We relegate drinking alcohol to the status of driving fast and daredevil stunts. We fear it, but we don't respect it. We aren't taught to deal with alcohol in a responsible manner. I see the same thing starting to happen with sex education, but maybe I'll discuss that in my next post. We're taught from a young age that alcohol is bad and if you drink alcohol before you're 21 you're a bad person and sometimes even after your 21 you're a bad person. So when people do start drinking (at whatever age, but this is more prevalent the younger they start) they don't know how to do so in a responsible manner. So what happens? They binge drink. They don't eat enough with the alcohol. They don't know their limit. They don't know to stay away from doing many different things, from cooking to driving. They feel they have to hide it so they do it quickly, stash the booze, and then run the risk of getting incredibly sick later and developing more problems than they knew they could have.
So what can we do about this? Well, the great machine of politics and legislation is not likely to change any time soon. But underage drinking goes on all the time and in a controlled setting, I encourage it, so long as there is someone there that has more experience (thereby creating the control), preferably who is staying sober as well. If handled properly, it teaches young people how to take alcohol safely, to know their limits, to know what they can and can't do while under the influence. In short, to be responsible about it.
Every time I've been out drinking with my college friends we make sure that certain precautions are in place. We ALWAYS have food available, preferably pizza or something with olive oil in it (yes, olive oil will regulate the alcohol in your blood stream). If we haven't made plans to stay the night whereever we're drinking, there is always someone there that stays sober, so they can drive. If it happens to be a large group, we have at least one sober person per car. These people also serve the backup purpose of being able to tell us when we've just plain had enough (and I've seen them do it before, too). Best people for this: people that aren't comfortable with drinking, but don't have a problem being around people drinking. (Anna, Brian, thanks guys!)
When you learn to respect it and deal with it responsibly, alcohol is no worse than any other food or drink that we can get addicted to. My guess is that if we didn't have such stigmas on alcohol, there would be less alcoholics. There are many other things that have the potential to hurt a person MUCH MUCH worse than alcohol, yet these are allowed to circulate freely, or freely enough that there is little safeguard against them (i.e., cigarettes, incredibly anti-healthy foods, couch potato recreation, etc, etc). But again, even these things would not be such a bad thing if understood and taken in moderation (moderation varying upon the item).
Wow, that's a lot. I think I'm done. If you skipped that, you can start reading again. Hey, you! Yeah, come back! No, don't go that far, you may miss something! Okay, now that you're all back with me. Why do I feel like a talking head? Oh, wait, I am. Ha, ha. Well, hopefully you've found this entertaining, maybe even getting a good laugh from parts or it, or a good new thought from others. I do welcome comments back (as always) and feel free to air your own opinions on the topic of choice. I don't mind if you diagree with me (just please try to back your reasoning, as I've tried to do), and if you find faults in my logic, point those out to me, so I can work on it some. Also, if you respond to the topic at hand, please tell me if I may post it or not. If you allow me to, I may post a "response" section on my webpage (it won't be sent out to the list, promise).
That is all for now. EtOH. (who gets it?!)