Euonym

Poor Lil'T was sick on her birthday. A fever, cough and runny nose, the usual cold stuff. Just in time for the last hurrah of summer. Oh well.

But I wanted to write a little blurb about my favorite made up word. We use a bulb syringe to clean out Lil'T's runny nose. But who ever says "bulb syringe"?

In our house, it has evolved from the "snot sucker," into the SNUCKER.

Isn't that a perfect name?

Tokin'

The other day, I was listening to Rick Steves on the radio. He was being featured on the NPR station. If you're not familiar with Rick, he's the author of the series of books on Europe through the back door. He also hosts both a television and a radio program on travel. Dude has a great life -- he's turned his passion into his job. Lucky shmuck!

Interestingly enough, this particular day, he wasn't the interviewer but the interviewee because he is also an activist for the legalization of marijuana. He's been an activist for the past 5 years.

How can that be? He is hardly the picture of a MJ activist. He's totally clean cut -- actually a little nerdy to be truthful. He has an elf-like voice and really, you just want to pinch his cheeks he's so darned sweet. He wears glasses for heaven's sake! He's also incredibly well traveled and is a student of humankind. His travels are more about meeting the people than seeing the sights. You can tell by just what he talks about.

He was invited to speak at Hempfest. He said that yeah, he did stick out like a sore thumb, but the people he met there were a vibrant part of Seattle. That they had a peaceful gathering, they left the place cleaner than they found it and it was just a large group of folks enjoying their music. People there are not only environmentalists but human rights activists. How can this be wrong?

What really struck me was how he spoke about the Netherlands. The people of Europe have a much different view of alcoholism and of MJ abuse. They have the same problems as we do. They are just as intolerant of DUI and drug abuse as we are. But they've shifted their thinking. They've shifted it from a problem of law enforcement to a problem of healthcare. And because they've removed the criminal nature of drugs, the government has a chance of regulating it, putting controls into place to reduce the amount in the streets, and generating taxable revenue from it.

Right now, hot button items are overcrowding of prisons, deforestation and global warming, the national deficit. While legalizing MJ wouldn't fix all of these problems, it certainly would help.

With the decriminalization of MJ, there would be less people in prison for possession -- less time for law enforcement to spend with this crime. According to Rick, we've arrested 800,000 people in the last year for MJ possession. We have the highest rate of imprisonment in the world. We imprison the poor and minorities when they are in possession more frequently than we do the wealthy. That is the inherent racism and classism of the war on drugs.

If MJ were legalized, the moratorium on growing hemp for paper and textiles would be lifted. Instead of destroying forests for paper, we'd use hemp which is a harvestable crop within a year as opposed to a 30 year crop of trees. We could grow the hemp here instead of having other countries do it for us.

How much tax revenue would be generated from the sale of MJ? How much easier would it be for us as a society to make sure that it doesn't fall into the hands of minors? That if there is abuse, it is happening where the person can get help. Plus, I haven't even written anything about the medical uses of MJ.

Eh, this whole marijauna thing isn't new to me though. Back in the day, I know this will come to a shock to many of you, I was kind of a nerd. Well, one of the smart kids to be precise. In the 6th grade we were introduced to debating. Now granted, being a kid in Waipahu who could actually speak proper English without a pidgin accent was a huge leg up with the teachers, but a hindrance with the peers. I'm sure you understand. Well, the illegality of MJ came up as a topic for debate. I don't really remember why. I may have suggested it in the first place. I gained a huge amount of street cred with my fellow classmates because this nerdy little girl who always was picked by the nuns to do the readings in church was actually advocating the legalization of marijauna. Sad thing is, I was right about it back then. It should be legalized.

The Seattle Bar Association advocates the decriminalization of MJ. Not surprisingly, the ACLU also advocates it as well. It is nice to know that there is a core of nerds like Rick and me who are out there not because we want our next joint, but because we want to see our society move forward. We're spinning our wheels, people.

Happy Birthday to Chuck

Today is my friend Charlotte's birthday. I routinely forget birthdays but I have the advantage of my friend Jenny's birthday coming exactly one week before Charlotte's birthday. What happens every year is that the day or two after Jenny's birthday, I'll remember that her birthday passed. Then I'll call (this year she called me) and then I'll wish her a happy birthday. But because that happened, I'll remember to call Charlotte. But I'll have to remember for a whole week or a scant 4 days like this year, and I'll typically forget on the day but remember the next day.

So in honor of Charlotte's birthday, I'll write down some obscure references that only she will know and you all can be puzzled by.

1. I just want to crawl with you and nibble grass.

2. I still think it was a ghost in the auditorium. Serious chicken skin.

3. A serenade from a guy whose calling card was a Playgirl magazine. Surreal.

4. Can't stay mad at a person if she kisses your nose.

5. Especially special.


Bon anniversaire ma cherie!

The Wedding Planner

Yesterday evening, on the most auspicious day of 8/8/08, at 8:08pm, my friends Julie & Joe got married. Thousands of people (especially Chinese folk) got married yesterday because of the number 8 which means good fortune (wealth) in China. Joe and Julie aren't Chinese, but I think the idea of all those eights, especially since this is the 8th year of them as a couple, they thought it a great idea to get married on the day.

And it is all my fault.

I didn't introduce them or anything like that. What I did do was nag Julie to the point of annoyance which all came to a head last week Sunday at the beach. I struggle with this because I've been told many times by people who love me that I have no tact. Because self-loathing is something I'd like to rid myself of, I embrace my tactlessness. Anyway, back to the beach. I said to Julie, "So, are you two ever going to have a ceremony?" Which led to a discussion about the 8/8/08 day. When I told Julie about its meaning in the Chinese culture, I think it really captured her imagination. The following day, she called me and my co-conspirator Sharon with the news that her friend Lissa was going to host it at her fabulous waterfront property and the wedding was a go.

You didn't read that wrong. There were 4 days to plan and do this wedding.

I've reflected on that idea a lot. People always say that you need a good year to plan a wedding. I think that is a whole lot of hooey. See, it is all about expectations. If you have a year to obsess about how a wedding should look and how people should dress, and what the favors should look like, and what color bows to put on the chairs -- YOU WILL OBSESS ABOUT THE MINUTIA, simply because you can. When you have 4 days to put together a wedding, you get to be much more big picture. This was a big picture wedding.

The invitations were sent out by email. Of the 80 people invited, about 70 showed up. Remember, that was on 4 days notice. The bride's father and the groom's parents who live out of town, made it to the wedding. It was amazing. Friends and family, even the best friend of the bride's father made it to the wedding. It was truly magical.

The minister is a friend of Joe & Julie's. He's a total hoot! I talked to him on Thursday to get some music figured out for the wedding ceremony. I also suggested what I think is the perfect wedding song, but the few couples that I've suggested it to in the past have nixed it. It is Grow Old with Me by John Lennon, covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Thursday at 10 pm, I checked my email and found that Mark had decided that I should sing the song while he accompanied me on the guitar. A perfectly balanced person would balk at that idea especially with no rehearsal time.

I am not perfectly balanced.

I wrote Mark back and told him that sounded great. And since I would be singing, then Sharon would do the reading during the service instead. Turns out that it was a joke. Mark was not ready (in one day) to get that song in performance mode so I called his bluff. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to sing it but should I ever attend another wedding where Mark is officiating, I'll be sure to sing it then.

I ended up herding cats all evening long. Getting the kids to stick around for the formal pictures, getting the guests to gather for the actual wedding, getting people to gather for toasts, making sure the couple had champagne in hand to have the toast... truly, it was challenging. There is the fact that you cannot legally use a cattle prod on guests at a wedding. Nor can you taser the groom so that he'll stay in one place while we're taking pictures. (No, Joe, you may not go back to the car to get something.) You cannot tastefully use a megaphone at a wedding. You cannot yell at people to get moving or they'll miss the wedding. And yeah, Minister Mark, I get to tell you to start at 8pm, and it was a gift that I gave you 8:08pm. I get why real wedding coordinators get paid so much.

And the other cool thing about weddings is seeing people you totally don't expect to see. I got to catch up with a college friend whom I've not seen in about 17 years. We didn't even know we had Julie in common. Amazing.

All in all, it was really great. One of the guests brought fireworks to set off. When they were announced as Mr. & Mrs. they had the fireworks overhead. I cried a little during the vows and couldn't believe that I had forgotten the rule to always wear water proof mascara to weddings. I didn't raccoon too much. Sharon stole my napkin to pass to the bride to wipe her tears leaving me defenseless. Bah.

It was a good day for romance.