Kicking My Habit: Week 2-3

Dear Facebook,

I miss you. I wish I could log in and connect with people. Facebook, I lost my phone over Halloween and I had no way to get a hold of my friends! It was very sad and I longed for you dear Facebook. I didn’t realize how many people I’ve “lost touch with” since leaving you. People think I’m crazy for giving you up, they mock me or laugh when I say I’m going without you for thirty days.

Facebook, the truth is that you take up too much of my time. I must learn to control myself around you. Paul wants me to return to your social network, but I can’t go back, not now, not when I have come halfway. Trust me Facebook, I recognize your benefits, I see your beauty and intellect. You help me stay in touch with friends and connect with Marijuana Radio fans, you are a social platform which allows my voice to be heard. You provide hours of mind-numbing entertainment perfect for a lazy Sunday or hectic Monday at the office. Facebook, you are great, perhaps even a social networking miracle.

I will return to you soon my dear, and we will be reunited, it will feel so good. I’m counting down the days until I can tag friends in photos, comment on posts and be “in” on the latest gossip or trend. Oh Facebook, in less than a week we shall be together again, until then try to stay strong.

Love,

McKenna

Kicking My Habit: Week 1

I’ve been without Facebook for a week and with each passing day it becomes easier to live without it. During the first few days I wanted to login every minute, my job entails extensive use of the internet and being online was torture. For a couple days I felt disconnected from society, out of touch with my friends, I even worried about how I would get in touch with them, then I remember email and cell phones. Facebook was one of the five internet sites I visit each day, I’ve yet to branch out and discover what the web has to offer, but I’m taking this thing one day at a time.

Living without Facebook has given me a new perspective, I never realized how social networking is so ingrained in American culture. My friends talk about news they see of FB or about a mutual friend’s wall post and comments. I remember when I first learned about Facebook back in ‘03; I though it was lame, I didn’t want to connect with fellow students via the web. It’s incredible how FB took off and captivated the minds of so many Americans.

Since giving up Facebook I’ve had more free time. I’m more efficient, instead of staring at Facebook for fifteen minutes every hour, I work. I no longer feel obligated to comment on friends’ walls or photos, I’m more free to do what I want. This week I’ve worked out more, cleaned my apartment, began keeping a journal, and spent more time with friends.

Although I miss Facebook dearly, I’m looking forward to going without it for another week. Perhaps I will discover a new website, finally organize my office, read a new book or take more bong rips. There’s no telling what I’ll get into with all this free time on my hands.

Hello, my name is McKenna and I’m addicted to Facebook

After waking up and brushing my teeth I log into Facebook. I check my email, then log into Facebook. I do a few tasks then log into Facebook, I eat lunch then log into Facebook, I take a break by logging into Facebook. Facebook consumes hours of my day.

I sit idly reading status updates of individuals I don’t really know, remaining apathetic to their joys, worries and sorrows. Keeping tabs on what my “friends” are doing isn’t going to benefit me in anyway, yet I find myself perusing pictures of strangers’ tropical vacations when I could be working to afford one of my own. My productivity has declined and my addiction to Facebook is to blame; when a task is too difficult I find myself logging in, in order to disconnect.

I’m not sure when my addiction began, I used to be a very moderate FB user, only logging in once a month or so. My job with Marijuana Radio really connected me to social media sites and eagerness to see friend requests and read comments fueled my need to log in every hour, every day.  When it comes to Facebook I have no self control. I must form better habits and learn to live without Facebook. In an effort to become more productive I will not use Facebook for thirty days and have deactivated my account. Quitting Facebook will be an extreme challenge, which will take skill and determination to overcome, but plan to kick my habit. Tomorrow will be day one without the big FB, I’m gonna miss it, I already do.

You can follow my progress by reading my weekly blog, wish me luck kiddos!

About the Supermarket

I visit the super market every Monday after the weekly Marijuana Radio meeting. I generally get lost in my thoughts while shopping for sustenance, and make silly observations. The super market neutral territory, there are no cultural wars or political upheaval. Each one of us needs to eat regardless of our perspective on Obama’s health care plan. People are compliantly pleasant, many attentive to their surroundings, others in tune to solitary thoughts. This fact fills me with anxiety. There I am picking out a loaf of bread, wondering who could be staring at me, judging me while they peruse the freshest batch of pastries. Perhaps its mere paranoia, nothing to be alarmed over, this feeling generally subsides when I’m forced to remember what I came to purchase. One thing is for sure, grocery lists save time and money.

My trip to the super market this evening was rather pleasant, the remodling is nearly finished and the store was back to a somewhat normal state. I began my journey by walking right up to the salad dressing isle, bingo, one item off the list! Then I searched for crackers, walking down the juice isle I learned that grown men are just as impressed with Capri Sun as children, when a man asked his wife to buy a flavor he’d been “dying to try”. I could not find the crackers.

I stood in the produce section for fifteen minutes, too stoned to really make out any objects, it all appeared to be a sea of green with speckles of orange and yellow. One can only stand in a single spot for so long before other shoppers begin to question her motives. I quickly moved to the zucchini, then mushrooms and darted away only to realize I still needed fruit.

Two young men held up the deli line with their order of ten pounds of turkey. Another fella was very excited to be making philly cheese steak sandwiches, he told his girlfriend they would need “a lot” of meat. While in the deli line I debated wheter or not I’d have salami sandwiches for lunch this week, or if tuna sounded better. I tried to find the “canned meat” isle but failed and decided the universe is forcing me to be creative this week.

Self check-out is a gift from the technology gods. The robot voice generally treats me with respect and evokes a sense of pride when she calls me a “valued customer”. I do miss human interaction at times, but these days most people don’t want to make small talk. My cashier last week wouldn’t even look me in the eyes. I did not speak through my entire shopping experience, that’s probably a bad thing. Either way, the super market is a place of wonder and surprise, I’m eager to see what’s in store for me next week!

Medical Card or No Medical Card, That is the Question

Many benefits be can derived from the cannabis plant. We all know people afflicted with serious conditions such as AIDS, cancer, MS, arthritis and chronic pain can be helped by using marijuana. I’ve heard testimony of people’s cancer being cured by using hemp oil, people kicking their opiate addictions and turning to marijuana for their pain. There is no doubt in my mind that marijuana can and should be used for medical benefit. So why am I so hesitant to get my medical card?

According to one doctor, I have glaucoma, which is listed as a medical condition treatable by marijuana. Yes, I could jump on the chance to get legal pot for my “ailment”. The truth is glaucoma doesn’t effect me, at least I don’t notice pain or discomfort from it. I’m actually unsure of how medicinal marijuana would mitigate glaucoma since it is a degenerative disease. How can medical marijuana help me?

Then there is the issue of recreational smoking versus smoking for medical benefit, where does one draw the line? If marijuana is medicine then it should be used as medicine, medical patients should take proper doses and use as recommended by their physician. For instance, if my doctor prescribed vicodin for back pain I would use them when I felt pain, use them as directed.

I’m not completely naive, I know people abuse prescription drugs everyday, and I know marijuana is far more beneficial than any of these drugs could ever be, but I’m resistant to the idea of using a recreational drug as medicine. When does it become smoking for health? There are times that I’ve used marijuana to alleviate menstrual cramps or a head ache, perhaps its the intention behind the puff that determines which purpose the marijuana is being used for. If I intend to smoke pot for fun then its recreational, if I intend to used it for glaucoma then it is medicinal.

It’s difficult to draw a conclusion. I go back and forth with the decision each day. Part of me is waiting for this whole “pot is illegal” thing to blow over, perhaps I’m being too idealistic. In a perfect world I would be able to pick up a sack at a convenience store and use it for whatever I like. No stigma hanging over my head from the government, peers, or a medical license.

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