jshatzkin

Marijuana has to be processed to be in a usable form. With your reasoning, cocaine and heroin are also "natural"-. These plants are processed before use as well. Hell, a lot of drugs are naturally grown and then processed for use. That does not make them safe or okay in any way. Another point: The political and social history of why certain drugs became illegal to begin with is very interesting,..and some based in racist policy over 100 years old (especially for Marijuana and opium). We often wonder why alcohol is still legal: most popular theories point to the fact that alcohol (and tobacco) is traditionally a European "white" drug. That's the reason alcohol prohibition did not work. Prohibition on drugs originally used and introduced by minority and immigrant populations were quickly banned. I took several classes on the history of drug policy in college, and it goes WAY deeper than just "drugs are bad, m'kay". If that were simply the truth, then alcohol and tobacco would fall into those categories as well. Jen

I finished my masters 3 years ago,..and yes, a lot of writing, presentations and for me, a 1200 hour internship. The master degree prepares you to think, analyze, derive theories, teach, research, publish and give something back to the field! The good news,..no 'right or wrong' answers. You just have to be able to back up your ideas. Bachelor programs are more for content and base knowledge, whereas in the masters programs you learn that there are MANY perspectives. It's more about process than content. If you are getting your masters in an area in which you are interested, than it is far from boring. I fantasize about going back to school. I miss the constant intellectual stimulation. In a job, you become more involved with day to day issues, and intellectual growth comes on your own time. Just my experience! I say go for it! Jen

Definitely Behr paint (like most have said). Every room in my house has been painted with Behr paint in the past year. Beautiful colors and application! Jen

I also harbor Taoist beliefs. When I was in a Victoria's Secret store in Louisiana a few years ago, one of the workers began preaching to me. She asked if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I simply responded that I believe Jesus was a wonderful teacher, but that I do not regard him as the messiah and I considered myself to lean towrd Taoist philosophy. She commenced to condemn me, along with her friends. I said nothing. She said mean things, called me an "evil devil worshipper" and said to "have a nice eternity burning in hell". (On a side note, I found it funny that at the time I was a hard working social worker, volunteering much time to the needy marginalized populations, and she sold crotchless panties for a living, yet I was the "evil" one) I spoke with a friend and priest, Father Michael David, to which he replied, "You acted more Christian than she. You turned the other cheek. You did not judge. What a lot of Christians fail to see is that Jesus had very much a Taoist philosophy. These are ignorant Christians who do not understand other religions or beliefs, even sometimes their own. They are ignorant in judging and cursing others to 'not follow Jesus', yet their actions are the contrary. To just run around screaming 'Jesus is God' and condemning others is to miss Jesus's whole message.They only verbalize a following of Christ, but not act in those ways. These are the Christians who give the religion as a whole a bad name." I could not have had a better response. I do believe that people find their own way. So we can follow Jesus's way, his ideas and philosophy, without being a Christian. Jen

Being a licensed psychotherapist who has worked inpatient and outpatient with all major psychiatric disorders, i offer my opinion. My disclaimer is: a clear diagnosis should be made with a professional who can interview/assess the person and family members, so I am not trying to diagnose, based only on information given, but give an idea. The first lady (one in her 60's) with the mood swings: You would need to give a more in depth description of the mood swings and examples of them. Although Bipolar disorder is commonly thrown at anyone with "mood swings", it also depends on the duration of mood swings. When do they occur?Do they occur after somethings has happened or somebody has said something she does not like? If that is the case, than you are talking more about emotional dysregulation caused by external factors, which is indicative more of a personality disorder vs. Bipolar disorder. (though, someone can have both a personality disorder and bipolar disorder). Lies are not a direct symptom of bipolar disoder, and could again indicate some personality disorder. Paranoia can come with many psychiatric disorders, including depression. But the way you state her paranoia It sounds more like personality disorder and not quite to the extent of psychotic paranoia. There is such thing as "paranoid personality disorder". The other lady: She sounds like a total personality disorder case. It's hard to tell if all of her stories are "delusions", or more just histrionic attention getting lies for sympathy, attention, revenge etc. This is very common in people with personality disorders. There are 3 clusters of personality disorders, she would likely fall into cluster B: Histrionic, Borderline, Antisocial. The thing is, even when you have a "diagnosis" for them, the behavior is still there. Depending on what professional you see, they could have different assessments and diagnoses! So, focus on the behaviors, not the diagnosis. Don't let them manipulate or run the family (many get the power this way). Most important, if they do not see a problem, then they are likely to not seek help. Forced help is often ineffective, as they have to have some sort of investment in treatment. And this includes pharmacological treatments, as they may refuse medication. Most people who have no insight into their "mental illness", only seek help on their own if they are about to lose something (job, spouse, family), and oftencome in complaining of what other people are doing to them. I am not trying to say they are hopeless, but you will drive yourself crazy trying to figure them out and trying to fix the problem. I know this from professional AND personal experience!

Born in '76. 1992, definitely one of the best years. Turned 16...and wow, the music and movies that year were over the top. I don't think there are many other years that were so good for pop culture than '92. Got married 2000, finished master's degree in 2003, first jump 05. No child yet. I've had some great days throughout,..but 1992 was like my generation's 1969. Anyone agree? Jen

If you read my post, that is exactly what I am saying. To place people in the "either/or" category (either believing creationism OR evolution), is to view the argument as simple and easy to compartmentalize. My point is that it is very complex and there are many people who do believe in both ideas,..including some scientists and clergy. (Read Time magazines articles on this in one of the July issues) My comments were meant in a light hearted manner, but I never claimed to be a creationist OR an evolutionist. In fact, I used the term "deist", which basically says that a god created the universe, but had no further intervention, (look it up). As Wikipedia so eloquently describes a deist belief: "It must be understood that defining the nature of God is up to the individual Deist and not a collective effort. This is because the true nature of God is beyond human comprehension at this time in our development." Of course I believe that, just like politics, both ideas are more on a continuum with some extreme beliefs on each side and then a blending or moderation in the middle. So, it is possible to believe a god (maybe not a Christian God mind you) did create one cell organisms! "Creationist" beliefs are not solely based on Christian views. Although the term has been commonly used to describe Christian views, it still can encompass the many other religious/spiritual beliefs about the beginning of existence. This is my whole point: that this argument is very complex with a lot more than 2 sides. Jen

This is a common misunderstanding of evolution. It is not "creationism vs. evolution". All evolution/Darwinism explains is how life forms evolve over time, not how they were created orginally. You could conceivably have intelligent design as the start point, then animals evolve from some god creating them. So, to pit creationism against evolution, is like comparing apples and oranges. If you want to compare scientific theories on how the universe, world, and animals BEGAN life, than that is something to compare to creationsim. And I am not disclosing my beliefs on this, but some would put me more toward the deist side of things. But I don't rule out the possibility of some god creating slimy amoebas and then we all evolved from that Jen

Where is there to jump in Wyoming?? I grew up there. Jen

I love Fight Club quotes!! Jen

My insurance company informed me that I am not covered in the case of a nuclear attack, or any terrorist related damage. If Hezbollah were running through my neighborhood bombing my house, I think the last thing on my mind would be collecting on the insurance Jen

Fish count as pets.

Vegemite???? Yuck. Is your cat from down under? Jen

I was making a bean salad yesterday and dropped a garbonzo bean. My dog attacked it and begged for more like it was steak. He munched down 3 cups of garbonzo beans, along with canned green beans. Now he stinks. So what crazy things does your pet like to eat? Jen

I ordered my Hot Bod suit a few months ago. I received it within 2 weeks (rush delivery). It was long (my fault at the measurement), so I sent it back and they fixed it and had it back to me within another 2 weeks (no charge). When I originally sent the colors in, they called and said that the gray color I chose on different material (spandex and polycotten) would not look right together. I told them to change the colors to their own liking. It looks absolutely beautiful. It is designed to fit all the curves of a woman's body, and it definitely does that. I have put about 40 jumps on it, some without desirable landings, and it still looks and flies wonderfully. The grass stains even come out without effort. It's obvious this suit will last several hundred jumps more. Bev Suits has my faithfulness for all future orders.

I guess I am confused here, because I understood the article to say that the postal inspector was undercover, so why would he be arrested? Jen

Being a Quantum Leap skydiver, I have signed that waiver and it specifies any skydiving activity. This encompasses pretty much anything associated with being at the dropzone, and most definitely the plane ride to altitude. On a different note: I think it is a little early to paint a bad picture of Victoria's parents. I don't agree with the suit. I blame the lawyer for seeking an opportunity to make money (being that he has been involved in a similar lawsuit before and likely sought out family members to file). I am sure the parents have been in a horrible state of grieving, and one of the natural steps is to try to make sense and cast blame on someone. That is true no matter what kind of death. I just blame the lawyer for pouncing on them in his most opportunistic time (when they are in the shock and anger state of grief). Jen

I was at Robert's memorial service yesterday and Kimberly's parents spoke about what he did. I have only known Robert for a few weeks, but he had a charm about him and was so energetic. Always willing to help, and he was so selfless. What he did does not surprise me at all. Kimberly's father stated at the service that she plans to make her tandem skydive when she recovers, in honor of Robert. I feel blessed to have known him. Jen

I just moved from North Carolina to here (right outside St. Louis) last month. I began jumping at Sullivan 3 weeks ago, claiming it as my new home DZ. Everyone was so friendly and wonderful. They adopted me right away. I had a great weekend with them last weekend, logging 12 really fun dives. We were planning to celebrate my 100th this weekend. I did not go out there yesterday because of home obligations, but was heading out this morning when I got the news. I cannot describe the feelings of emptiness learning about my new friends who have perished. You will always be remembered. Blue Skies Forever Jen

That's a good one! Horrible scenes throughout the movie. So much, that you don't even feel sorry for the guy who gets his penis cut off in the bathtub. Jen

I went to see Stomp back in March (great show) and there was a morbidly obese man sitting next , I mean ON, me. His arms, legs and fat were spilling over into my seat. His breathing was heavy and he chowed on Skittles and chocolate the entire show! I was disgusted. And a little peeved that he paid for 1 seat and used 1.5 seats, whereas my $65 ticket got me half a seat and nasty man sitting on top of me.! Jen

I was hooked when I first saw Repo Man years ago and Emilio was moshing to ST at the beginning of the movie. Fan ever since! Jen

One statistic is for sure: There are more suicides in the US each year than there are homicides! Jen

Shortly before my 17th birthday. In fact, it was January 16, 1993. (girls remember EVERYTHING) His name was Sean. I remember thinking "What's the big deal about sex? It hurt, and certainly did not feel good at all". I think it was another year before I tried it again,..and I changed my mind (about it feeling good) after that. Jen

I feel like barfing now. Jen