I'm a crack... I mean blackberry addict.

I tend to get to tired of things before I can get addicted to them. I've never tried any sort of drug, so I can't say that I wouldn't get addicted to anything, but as for everything else, I can't imagine getting hooked. Too much of anything and I quickly grow to despise it and never touch it again for a long period of time. Whether it be alcohol, a certain food, a store, a routine, etc.. Once I notice that "stuck in a rut" feeling, its all over.

However, I absolutely cannot function without my blackberry. It has achieved what nothing else could. My complete inability to live without it. My emails, my text messages, my news, my various facebook and myspace alerts - everything. I guess thats why people call them crackberries, right?

Religuous

For the first time in YEARS, Jake and I went to the movie theatre and caught Bill Maher's new documentary-style flick, "Religuous". Its a movie poking fun at all the crazy and illogical beliefs of all the different religions. Obviously he's preaching to the choir, because I highly doubt any devout follower of any faith is going to put themselves in a situation that might make them question their beliefs. Just like most Atheists aren't willing to give a door to door missionary the time of day. The reason I am posting this blog is not to go off on religion, but because it was nice to finally see that there are many people out there who think the same way I do.

I was surprised at how articulate and intelligent Bill Maher is. Back when I was a non-questioning Republican, I couldn't stand the guy. However, after seeing his movie, my perspective has changed.

Its no secret that I am non-religious. I personally have no use for it. However, it wasn't until recently that I was able to "come out of the closet" regarding my heathen status. I was afraid that people would judge me, wouldn't like me, or wouldn't let their kids play with my kids. So, I chose to keep my views to myself. Now I realize that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's. If people choose to dislike me for this, its their loss, because I have a lot more to offer than my rejection of a god (or better said - an organized religion). I'm not saying that people of faith are wrong. In fact, I hope they are right! Bill Maher says it perfectly when he says that religious people are selling an invisible product that can only be verified when you die. They are selling certainty when it is absolutely indisputable that there is no certainty about it.

Bill Maher makes the point that 16% of the population in the US would describe themselves as I do. That's a larger minority than gays, blacks, Jews, etc..!! Yet we are widely unrepresented in every aspect of government.

He makes the argument that religion is the root of all evil. I'm not sure I totally agree with him, because religion is inherently meant to do good. However, virtually every war in the history of the planet can be attributed to faith. Its a "If you re not with us, you're against us" type attitude. If life ends on Earth, I have no doubt that it will be due to the self-fulfilling prophecy of those foolishly thinking they are doing it for their god.

Some of the points that I really enjoyed:

1. Before modern Christianity, there are various references to other supposed "chosen ones" that had similar situations; all born on Dec 25, were crucified, arose, walked on water etc.. Obviously its a story that's been told and retold throughout times. Jesus was no different. Its just regurgitated folklore.

2. In one of his last lines, Maher says: Anyone that tells you that they know they are right, is obviously wrong. Because unless they have some sort of superpower that I don't have, they don't know.

They have faith that they are right. Faith is hope, not certainty.

3. Why does God always have to go to someone in private and tell them to spread his message? It'd be a lot more effective if he did it himself. The way it is now, the chosen ones tend to gain notoriety, fame, elaborate living quarters, etc.. Maher interviews a black pastor who touts that he does not get paid a salary from the church (as all figureheads tend to do). However, he has on a $2000 suit and "lizard skin" shoes. Hmmm... I might add that to my list of "get rich quick" schemes. Except this one actually works!!

4. He points out that while most of us believe that our country was founded on Christianity, many of our founders have been quoted saying the following:

"Lighthouses are more useful than churches" and "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."- Ben Franklin

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as His father, in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." - Thomas Jefferson

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution." - James Madison

"The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles." - John Adams

5. And lastly, the movie reminds me of a quote I read recently.

I contend we are both atheists; I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. -- Stephen F. Roberts

My Take on the Debates

So I am officially old. I spent a Friday night glued to the TV watching the presidential debates - and I actually enjoyed it.

It definately wasn't a slam dunk for either candidate. Obama started off very strong, but McCain eventually came back to hold his ground. I think most people have their minds made up regardless of the debates, but I don't think that the candidates managed to sway those crucial independent votes who don't quite know who to vote for yet.

I thought I would point out some of the things that stood out to me:

1. Foreign Policy: McCain came down on Obama because Obama thinks that the US should sit down and attempt relations and diplomacy with hostile countries (Iran, Korea, etc..). He said that the use of sanctions to "punish" them is clearly not working because those countries are getting stronger. The U.S. no longer has that clout, because in a global economy, sanctions do not affect those countries as much as they used to (just because we wont buy their goods, doesnt mean that other countries won't). McCain states that speaking to the leaders of those countries will seem like we are legitimizing them and we should continue sanctions until they back down and agree to our terms (disarming, etc..). I fully agree with Obama on this and I feel that he did a much better job convincing his argument.

2. The Middle Class - I think McCain did a horrible job when it came to relating to the middle class. There was no mention of this on his part during the entire debate. It was a little depressing. He did talk about giving small businesses tax breaks. "Small business" sounds like it benefits the little guy, right? But then I thought about it. I used to work for a winery that would qualify as a small business. The owners lived in La Jolla in a multi million dollar house. I'd be surprised if anyone that worked there made more than $30k/yr. More tax breaks would only ensure the owners get a little richer and possibly add a few more minimum wage jobs. The tax breaks would be better suited to go to workers, not the businesses. This is an area where I thought I had more conservative republican views, but Obama won me over on that issue too.

3. Iraq - I was sucker and fell for the whole need to invade Iraq thing too. Lets admit it. We were wrong, we made bad decisions and used our military inappropriately. We should have been in Afghanistan and possibly Iran, not Iraq. This is where I agree with Obama. He even stated that our invasion of Iraq has caused Iran to get stronger (Iraq and Iran were enemies). McCain is still unwilling to admit that we screwed up.

However, we messed up. We can't just pull out and leave Iraq in shambles. We broke it, we fix it. It was a costly mistake, both fically and the human toll it took. Obama seems to want to establish a timeline and get out ASAP so we can move on to other pressing issues. I don't necessarily think thats realistic and possible. McCain might have the upper hand in handling the current situation over there.

Neither candidate was committing to anything regarding the financial crisis we are in. Im very disappointed that we are bailing out all these companies. The CEO's are giving themselves billion dollar bonuses, yet the taxpayers have to bail out their failed businesses?

Intelligence by Proxy

A few weeks ago, over a political dinner discussion, my friend made a statement that I thought was very intelligent and insightful. Ironically, she's always calling me her smart friend. Among the topics under discussion was the subject of same sex marriage. She said that while she personally does not think its right, she didn't think she should impose her morals on everyone else.

I have the same mindset, yet, I had never really been able to express those thoughts, so it was like a light bulb went off when she said that.

I mean, imagine if we start passing laws based on what kind of morals people should have. The Catholics could push a ban on birth control, because according to them, its morally irresponsible to interfere with God's will. Or maybe a group should try to enact legislation banning sex before marriage, based solely on the fact that its morally wrong and leads to broken families and disease. While they may be correct, should government have such a large say in your personal life?

Barbados

Well, all this talk of Belize and Costa Rica, yet good deals and the decreased threat of hurricanes put us in Barbados for the week. Barbados is in the Carribean, off the coast of Venenzuela. Jakes mom came for a few days to watch the kids and then my parents took over for the rest of the time, so the kids were in good hands.


I've never been too excited to see the Carribean. When I travel, I like to see the country and experience the culture. Staying at a resort sunbathing on the beach all week just isn't my thing. From what I had heard, the Carribean doesn't have much to offer once you leave the resorts, so I'd never really put much thought into going there.


Nevertheless, we went and had a really good time. Not only is every beach public in Barbados, but every beach is unbelievably beautiful. The water is crystal clear and is the same temperature as a lukewarm bath. The people there are very friendly, go out of their way to help tourists, and do absolutely nothing half-assed when it comes to ensuring you get what you paid for. There isn't a lot to see in terms of sightseeing, but we were still able to fill our days with lots of fun activities.


I experienced my first scuba dive during this trip. WOW. It was an amazing experience. I managed to make my air supply last 41 minutes (being that this was my first dive and I was very nervous, this is very good) and I overcame all my fears. No sharks ate me, I didnt panic and inhale water while 40ft under, and my lungs didnt explode from not breathing correctly. I had the pleasure of seeing all kinds of sea life swimming around a ship that had been sunk 50 years ago.


On another day, we went on a catamaran. Due to my severe sea sickness (I get sea sick almost from swimming alone), I needed a hefty and constant dosage of dramamine to endure this. There was a really obnoxious british woman on there that provided much of the entertainment. Her itsy bitsy bikini on her orca-like body (well, except for the boobs - those looked more like udders from the biggest cow youve ever seen) and her immodesty about everything was a show in itself. They provided us with an open bar and a scrumptious delicious Bajan lunch. We made a few snorkeling stops and we even got to swim with giant sea turtles.


We also went on an island tour. A crazy, barefoot, middle-aged Irish-Bajan man named Ted took us around the island on a bus. He gave us a little historical information, as well as many other interesting facts about the island. In between the serious informational chats, he would put on a comedy routine and tell such awful jokes that you couldnt help but laugh. We stopped at a few points of interests, but I have a feeling those stops were mostly to fill us up on rum punch. I was rum punched out at this point (rum punch is flows like water on the island). At one of the stops I had "rum punch" (not the drink, this is what a bajan man working the tour was named) cut me open a coconut and I drank the juice (or is it milk?) inside instead. When I mentioned that it wasn't as sweet as I was expecting, he chopped off a piece of sugar cane from the sugar cane field we were standing in and showed me how to eat it.


Overall, we had a really good time. I was able to relax quite a bit and I came back refreshed. I notice that I have a lot more patience with the kids and feel like I have been recharged. One week of no contact (besides email) with the outside world did my body (and mind) good.



Jake and I outside our hotel







Sugar cane field overlooking an incredible view

My pal "Rum Punch" cutting open my coconut

Politics

McCain chooses Palin, Obama chooses Biden. Honestly, I feel like either one would be a billion times better than what we have and neither would be terribly bad. McCain isn't afraid to stand up for what he thinks is right, even if it means pissing off his party. I find that admirable. And I like that he picked a woman VP. Obama also has that same independent quality. He wasn't afraid to say how stupid the federal gas tax break idea was, even when the other Democratic candidates were for the popular plan. However, I'm a little more liberal than McCain is and a teeny bit more conservative than Obama. So how is this newly-registered Independent going to vote?

I've decided that I have to pick issues that are important to me. So I've narrowed it down to a few. 1. Environmental Issues 2. Inequalities 3. Economy/War 4. Immigration

1. Even though McCain has much more progressive views on environmental issues than most of his republican counterparts, I'm not sure he goes far enough. Palin has stated that the Alaska pipeline is "God's will". Uh huh. Whatever... Was the Exxon-Valdez oil spill also God's will? Until people have an incentive to develop alternative energy sources (ie. less abundant and more costly gas), we will be dependent on oil forever. While Republicans don't go far enough, Democrats go too far. I still want the ability to enjoy the outdoors. Democrats tend to make it off limits or extremely limited.


2. Inequalities. Over the weekend, there was a pretty intense discussion about gay marriages. So I went a little further and investigated the differences between civil unions and a marriage. It turns out there are HUGE differences. Civil unions do not allow for tax benefits (you cannot file jointly, as married couples can). They also do not get other the federal benefits that married couples get, such as social security, medicare and pension protection. So basically, gay people can never get married and have that same sense of security that a married couple has. Every citizen (so no, getting married to your dog is not an example) should be entitled to the same benefits, regardless of whether or not the lifestyle is something that you agree with.

Unfortunately, it will take time to erase the current ignorance that exists. While both parties have a long way to go on this issue, the Democrats have more progressive ways of thinking. Religious conservatives, in my opinion, follow a semi-caste system. Its not necessarily advertised (nor recognized by many of them) this way, but when you look deeply, you see that there really is an unbreakable mold for many people. This way of thinking only pushes the inequalities among citizens - whether they are women, gay, or black.

3. The economy has definately suffered. A lot of it has to do with this Iraq war. Clearly we need to clean up our mess and get out. Its time to be humble and admit that it was a mistake. This is where McCain still has his head somewhere up in the clouds (or maybe in a much darker place).

4. Immigration. Seeing how much immigrant students are costing our schools (and I don't just mean fiscally), is unacceptable. Free breakfasts, free lunches..and thats just the beginning. The learning process is dramatically affected when most of the children in the class don't even know English. Just a few non-English speaking students can decrease the academic progress of an entire class. The school system is not the only problem. The justice system is also clogged. I am not against immigration, I just think it needs a major overhaul. Again, neither party particularly stands out on this issue. However, Republicans have done more to speak out about this than Dem's.

My Absence

So much has been going on lately that I have only thought about things that would be fun to post about. I never actually get to it though.

To start with, I went back to school this semester. I begin my masters program in the spring, but I decided that I'd take a few science courses before that so I could get an additional science endorsement on my teaching credential. So many science courses (2 of those being physics) at once is more overwhelming than I thought! Here's a "you were right" to those who are saying "I told you so" :o)

On top of that we've been having a lot of fun. We visited family down in S. Ca and even spent the night with some friends while we were down there. Last weekend we went to the balloon races and this weekend we will be sipping Pina Coladas on the beach in the Carribbean. Then we get back and Im planning a killer 30th bday party in Lake Tahoe. It seems like every weekend has been filled with lots of fun and excitement this summer.

It wasn't until the other day that I began thinking how truly happy I am. I have a wonderful family, I am surrounded by good friends, and I am experiencing a self-satisfaction that I have never felt in the past. I am confident in my beliefs, in my appearance (well, as confident as a woman can really be), and in my abilities. I can't help but think about what it is that has brought this on. Is it just my age? Maybe it took 30 years to "figure it out". My weight loss? Maybe its a combination of both.