I've been having some sort of bout with food poisoning, so I called in sick and spent the day watching the entire second season of Breaking Bad on DVD. For those unfamiliar, it's about a terribly average man who turns to producing and selling crystal meth after a terminal cancer diagnosis. It has a striking similarity to The Godfather in that it focuses on temptation, family, and downfall. The series is ongoing, and you get the feeling that no matter how things end for the characters, they will end badly. It's really fantastic television, and if there's one thing Ol' Ben knows, it's television.
If there's two things Ol' Ben knows, it's television and drugs. The show got me thinking. Thinking about where I've been in my life, and where I might be again someday.
I have used drugs. I've dabbled in everything under the sun, with the notable exception of heroin. Not because I was scared of it, but at the time I was a-dabblin' heroin simply was not readily available.
The only drug I've ever felt an immediate, 1940's noir film connection/addiction to is/was cocaine. I did a bump(like off of a fingernail) at a party in my teenage years and instantaneously felt a deep desire to do more of it, like, NOW! So I didn't do anymore for about a year, and then had a brief, but fun, three month long fling with the Yayo at twenty. I've done it a few times since then, and have always restrained myself.
Coincidentally, if any work friends/enemies are reading this, I've been clean for 4 years. Feel free to ask for a urine sample, which I will gladly provide. On your face.
That being said, I choose not to use "drugs" because I value my job and the lifestyle it affords me. There are millions of drug users in America. Millions. They are people who can balance risk and reward. You and I do not know them. Most likely, we never will, although they work beside us, represent us at trials, and perform medical procedures upon us.
More millions get get their fixes via prescribed medicine, which is the same thing as a joint or two a week, in my opinion.
We know the drug users who are weak. Their weakness is not "from" or "because" of drug use. It's their character and lack of decision-making ability. It's the fault of their influences, notably, their parents.
My parents never used drugs(well, not around me, at least) but I did. I'd like to think the fact I was able to do it "smartly" is a testament to their skills.
I'm not saying drugs should be legalized, but I do believe in decriminalization/taxation of most narcotics. Like alcohol, what the majority of users do smartly, on their own time, in relative private, is none of the government's business, and frankly, none of "Joe Sixpack's" either.
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In other news, I did comedy last week. Twice in one night, actually. I felt soooo good to be back on the stage again, with new, funny, material. Like a creative weight being lifted from my shoulders.
In more other news, the house is moving along. I hope the summer will allow me to do some insulating, floor stripping and refinishing, and window replacement. My Dremel tool is an amazing piece of hardware that I'm always find a new application for it. I'm also becoming quite a passable plumber, electrician, and landscaper. I am working on my carpentry skills, which thankfully, I wont be needing until I redo my kitchen, which is a year or ten off.
I do need to get some art for the place though. The still unpainted walls are bare. I never bought art when I apartment-dwelled, and that will change. Shortly.
No videos today. Computer runnin' slow off the stolen WiFi signal, so be content in knowing that I'm listening to Dashboard Confessional, a band I adored in high school.
"You're serious?! You don't know who "The Cure" are?!"-BK
