To toke or not to toke, that is the question

Marijuana...pot...mary jane... bud...the sweet stuff...joint...reefer

Whatever you call it, most people have smoked it or eaten it or at least know someone who has. As a public speaking teacher, each semester I get to hear at least one student make a passionate argument for the legalization of marijuana. Sometimes these arguments are well-researched and convincing, other times they are based solely on the fact that the student would love to smoke as much pot as possible and thinks a good way to start making that happen is to persuade other 18 year olds that marijuana is the best thing that could ever happen to you.

This morning I heard perhaps the most creative speech on marijuana use. Though it was totally devoid of any useful new information, its creativity and the fact that the student is a spitting image of Spicoli (I mean, this guy could be his double in looks, attitude and even voice) made this speech a true winner.

First off, he started by quoting Abraham Lincoln, which drew a laugh from the class, because this was the last student you would think would be quoting anyone other than Bob Marley. This was his quote: "The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture." According to Spicolo Jr., this useful plant must have been..... marijuana! After all, ol' Abe was a great dude and always looked pretty cool and laid back in all those old paintings and stuff. And we all know he did great things for the country, so what better than to legalize the most useful plant ever?

Besides learning that Abraham Lincoln was the forefather of the legalization of marijuana, I also learned that marijuana never kills anyone. In fact, "you may feel like you're dead, but 10 minutes later, you get up and realize that you are just hungry." I have to admit, I cracked up throughout this speech. His other arguments included that smoking pot helps you with homework and helps you relax and that wouldn't we all rather be around stoners than drunks.

So, did he get an "A"? Well, unfortunately, the lack of any substantial evidence negated his exceptional reasoning skills and humor. But, it was a valiant effort and would have earned him a trip to the graduation dance and a special pass from Mr. H.

Sacrifices

Beth said something funny to me the other day. I was talking about not being able to surf and she asked about going on roller coasters. I told her I couldn't do that either. What about grandma's spa? She asked. Nope, no spa either. Well, she told me, you're missing out on everything fun! Ha, isn't that true!

I would have loved to have a glass of wine the other day after I got my pedicure and my hair cut...and I'd love to eat a turkey sandwich without having to nuke the heck out of the turkey! But, in the grand scheme of life, the small sacrifices I'm making to have a healthy pregnancy.

Last night Grant made a sacrifice too! He sold his beloved mustang (and my 5 year old truck) to buy a nice, big, safe truck that will fit a baby seat and pull around his dirt bike trailer. I know that deep down he's pretty bummed to part with his "dream car." I'm definitely relieved! It was pointless to have 3 cars, one of which sat in the garage most of the time. However, to him, this car represented freedom, masculinity, and all that weird man crap. So, I'm very proud of him for making the big sacrifice!

MySpace is for idiots and blogs are for nerds

This is what my husband told me yesterday. So, what does that say about him, that he's married to an idiotic nerd!

I am a nerd, though I have always felt that I have been a rather balanced nerd! :) I did date the homecoming prince in high school, though being on the speech and debate team I think that I brought down his popularity factor much more than he brought mine up! I was one of the only girl surfers in my high school too, though I quickly learned that boy surfers would much rather date someone who lays on the beach and looks good than is out there in the lineup. Beauty over brawn, right?

Apparently, I am still a 30 year old nerd. I love to read, I like to write, I get upset when my students do shitty on their assignments, I play bunko, I swing dance, and I still like to listen to They Might Be Giants. On the flip side, I have great hair (i should after 140 dollar cuts), still surf (well, not since I've been 3 months pregnant), and am married to a manly man non-nerd type (though, believe me, he does have his nerdy moments, though being a nerd does not suit him as well as it does me!).

So, not to get too Revenge of the Nerds on you, I've come to realize that nerds tend to be more interesting, more successful, and a lot more fun to hang out with!

I'm not going to begin to discuss the idiot part of the title of this blog. He got in trouble for that one. :)

Closed ears, closed minds?

This morning I have had another example of how most people in this world don't listen! I am one of the blessed few who have not had any negative pregnancy symptoms. I haven't been sick, I haven't had too many weird aches and pains, etc. Despite this, people are constantly asking me how I feel and asking in a tone of voice that implies that they know, I must be feeling so bad and they are so sorry for me. The funny thing is that these people who are asking me are people who have been asking me for the past 3 months. And every time I say, I feel great, no complaints.

This morning a coworker stopped by and our conversation went something like this:

"Hi Cheryl, how are you feeling?"
"I feel great, thanks. No complaints."
"Oh, that's too bad. Well, I hope you feel better soon."

Um, hello? I feel GREAT! What could be better than great? How many times do I have to tell this lady that I feel good and that my pregnancy is easy? Why does she insist on implying that I feel bad? I guess she's just not listening.

Did you know that we spend more of our life listening than we do reading, writing or speaking? So, why are people so bad at it?

I'm not immune from bad listening. I regularly find myself tuning people out, but I'm making more of an effort to tell myself, "Cheryl, stop thinking about how good a frappucino would taste right now or that you just noticed that the polish on your right big toe has chipped. Listen!" I guess that's making listening progress! Or, perhaps we're really not supposed to listen to social niceties. Maybe it's more important to ask the question than it is to listen to the answer.

Today I was inspired by an old high-school friend to create my very own blog. Being in marketing and teaching at a college, I write and read all day and have shied away from one more task that requires a keyboard. However, being pragmatic, I can see that there may be several benefits from blogging that may just outweigh the risk that keeping this blog will further contribute to the likelihood that I will have carpal tunnel by the time I'm 40.

I'm not quite sure what purpose this blog will serve for those reading it, though for me, it may end up being a catharsis--I do have quite a lot of emotions to purge, especially being pregnant. Perhaps keeping a blog would have prevented my breakdown last week after learning that the car I wanted to test drive had sold. I've always heard pregnant women are hormonal, but now that I am one, I can testify that that is indeed a fact. Not only have I cried on several occasions over the past month, but I have also been completely unable to keep away from my daughter's Halloween candy. Case in point, today at lunch, I had five pieces. I kept telling myself to stop, but I just couldn't. The cool part of this little pig out is that the baby really likes it when I eat sugar; he kicks and squirms for a bit, so I think he's enjoying the sugar high. Unfortunately, this sugar has no positive nutritional benefit for me or Dylan. When I wasn't pregnant, I would have been able to tell myself to stop, step away from the candy bowl and think rationally about the input/output of caloric intake. But, now that I mostly consist of hormones, I can't seem to convince myself that eating chocolate until I feel sick is not good idea.

Besides providing me with an outlet, I'm hoping that eventually this maybe this a fun way to keep in touch with some friends and family. I am getting tired of myspace and tired of my myspace site being hacked into. I don't want to send out anymore porn to my friends and family. And I'd like a less superficial way to keep in touch with those people who actually care what's going on in my life. I have some friends I haven't talked to for over a year.

Negatives to blogging? Well, I guess i could have random strangers reading my blog, though I have thousands of random strangers reading what I write every week. (Isn't it amazing how some newspapers never change a word of a press release?) I could reveal too much and that could come back to haunt me... so I'll have to be careful about that. I could also get caught blogging at work, though I don't see how that is any different that sending e-mails and I don't think anyone would really care. All in the name of creativity!

Anyway, it looks like for now I'll give this blog thing a try, though I'll probably only invite a select few friends to read it. You'll have to help me decide if I should blog or not and whether this is an exercise in futility or a worthwhile expenditure of my time.