Sunday 19 April 2009

Judgement

"Are you tired?" I was asked by a professor of Journalism at Ithaca College. It was rather awkward, I had been trying to yawn with my mouth closed for the past few minutes, and I obviously failed at being discreet.

I've been yawning really often lately, not because I'm lacking sleep, but because I can't really breathe. Sometimes I feel pretty short of breath, and the only way to get enough air is to yawn and hope my lungs fill enough. This gives me the appearance of an obnoxiously tired kid.

It's sort of funny though, to see how everyone acts when they think I'm tired. For example, my mom was especially nervous about me driving home from Albany. I'm pretty sure that some speakers I saw at my college visits this weekend thought I was bored.

One yawns to get more air, because for some reason, they have not been breathing efficiently, and it might be because they're tired. It never occurs to anyone though, that I'm yawning because I just need air. Everyone makes the assumption that I'm sleepy.

So I guess this goes to show that just because someone does something, doesn't mean its for the reasons you would assume. Let this be a lesson on judgement to you!!

Monday 13 April 2009

When I'm Mayor of NYC

So you're walking down NYC, and somehow, between the shady hot dog you just ate, the second hand smoke infesting every corner of your lungs, and the trash thrown all over the street, you feel sick. Your stomach is freaking. You might puke... You need a bathroom.

Most restaurants only let costumers use their restrooms, not just anyone who walks in. Small shops and stores don't have any, or don't want non-employees to use them. Your best bet is a starbucks, fast food place, or small cafe of some sort. But if you can't find one quickly... you're pretty out of luck.

THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL ITALIAN MEN AT BOTTICELLI, I didn't get sick in the middle of 5th ave and a disaster was avoided.


However, I think I would require establishments that own a certain amount of space to provide public restrooms. Because.... it's just so wrong.

Thursday 2 April 2009

Everybody's On Drugs

Imagine, for a moment, that you are a high school student, and infront of you has just been placed a drug survey. This is completely anonymous, but your answers will be used to better understand the level of drug use in your school. In the following pages, you will be asked questions like, "How many times in the last week have you used crack cocaine?" or "How many times in your life have you used LSD?" or "How many of your close friends smoke pot daily?" Could you possibly resist the urge to tell the local substance abuse association that you drop acid every day, with no negative consequences?! Doubtful.

Our little prank came back to bite us in the ass though, with, as Farny says, "enormous, sharp fangs!" We are apparently too short-sighted to realize that, word got out that everyone in the school buys, sells, and uses ecstacy five times a day, there would be consequences. The people most bothered with our youth's hypothetical drug use is, not surprisingly, the clergy of Le Roy. Anyone who has attended a religious service in town this month has probably been warned about the evils of drugs. Catholics, even if they were zoning out, were lectured on the dangers of excess amounts of alcohol (small amounts are cool though, we have some in church).

Apparently, some young girl informed an unknown priest or minister or pastor that, students can buy any drug, at any point throughout the school day, in any hallway in the building. While I've certainly whitnessed a few shady (and usually pretty obvious) meetings in the hallways, I don't believe that I could easily pick up some acid after Calc (not that I would want acid after calc).

While we're not exactly going to be "punished", I think we can expect some more presentations like the anti-drug-use one we had last month... which some may argue is, in fact, cruel punishment. Although, I don't know what better way to keep kids away from drugs than showing video of destroyed organs, damaged brains, and teens dying from overdoses.

Does Le Roy have a drug problem? Sure. Is it worse than surrounding towns? Probably not. Drugs are always going to be present in a high school. While I don't see any harm in creating some programs to try to combat teens' drug use, I'm thinking that GCASA should rethink their source of information. Because even the finest, most mature students cannot resist to fill in the "yes" bubble next to, "Have you used heroin in the last 24 hours?"

At least I can't.

Disclaimer: I don't do drugs.