sports tickets
I really don't understand the need for people in this country to spend so much money on entertainment. It seems quite disgraceful to me that the people in this country that make the biggest salaries are those who provide us with a good laugh. Teachers, firefighters, police officers, and even EMS workers have to worry about how to feed their families, but if you are an actor or comedian or even a sports star, no worries you will make enough to take care of your family forever and then some.
The cost of event tickets cost an arm and a leg, and people even in the slowing economy will pay through the nose for sports tickets, concert tickets, NFL tickets, and tickets to shows and events. I just don't get it, don't these people shelling out all this money on tickets get the fact that there are people who won't eat today in this world? Where is there social consciousness and awareness? And what about the people who are making the big money for these "performances", why don't they see anything wrong with living in homes the size of hotels and spending money like it was water. Yeah, I know there are a few big stars that do a lot to help others, but I think that they are few and far between. Most of them in my opinion hoard their money instead of using it for the greater good of the world. Very few, seem to realize that their help is needed both here in the US and globally. I really hate when I see stars give $5,000.00 or even $20,000.00 to an organization acting as if they are doing this most wonderful service for everyone. You and I we believe it thinking wow that is a lot of money, however, it would be the equivalent of us donating a $5.00 bill or even a $20.00 bill, no one would stand up and cheer at that kind of donation.
I just think that as part of this world we all have a responsibility to contribute what we can and give back for the greater good for all humanity. I would really like people to promote giving less money to movie stars and giving more money to the people in this world who truly need it. That would be, in my opinion the perfect kind of entertainment.
luxury umbria villas
One of my favorite memories of high school is coming back to shape my future right now. When I was a junior taking Italian in high school, I had the greatest class trip ever and because of that I am now researching apartments in Umbria. All of the kids who were already taking college level Italian in my school had the option of going on and taking an experiential trip over the summer to Italy. I of course knew right away that there was no way I was going to miss a trip like this for the world. The trip would last about two and a half months and cost a good bit of money which I did not myself have. So I convinced my parents to fork over the money and they told me to call every day, which I did not do when I got there. So anyway, we began our trip from Sardinia where our plane landed. We spent a week there just checking out all of the amazing architecture and the beaches. I tried my best to do some hiking and biking on the island, but our trip was so planned out that it was a little bit difficult to slip away. I had thought this would be a mildly educational vacation, but it turned out to be a summer long class that has proven essential to my life goals. We took a ferry over to the mainland and did all of the usual tourist stuff life seeing the buildings and the statues. I was much more interested in spending my free moments in the cafes drinking espresso and listing to people speak extremely fast Italian. We went to Sicily for a few days and the went up to Tuscany. Along the way I was trying to read newspapers to help my reading skills. One day I noticed a section on apartments Umbria. I realized that in the city of Assisi the rent on apartments in umbria was exactly the same as in my home town. We had only been in Umbria for about three days and I managed to walk around looking at all the luxury Umbria villas and lower scale Umbria villas as much as possible. Since then I feel that Umbria is where I should live my life when the time comes.
medical billing training
This summer I am unfortunately not going to be going home for the summer. I am taking a a summer class during the second session so I really don't have time or money to be able to go home at any point. On top of that my mother just got a new job and she won't be at the house for the next month or so making any visit I make basically useless. She got a job as the head of an insurance company accounting division. So right now she is off doing her medical coding training. That lasts about three weeks, and then when she returns she will have to do a solid week of medical billing training and then she starts her new job just in time for me to start classes. So I will be sticking around town and spending lots of time at work. She has been working to get this job for a long time and she seems like she has never been happier so I am really happy for her. Until classes start I think I am going to try to work about sixty to seventy hours a week, and then spend the rest of the time doing a ton of biking trips. I have gotten all of the local trail maps and have begun planning a bunch of little mini trips. My work schedule is laid out on sundays so that I work in the morning and then I don't work again until monday late night so that leaves room for overnight trips. There are a bunch of trail camp sites where I think it would be fun to ride like twenty or thirty miles on sunday and then camp out and wake up at sunrise and ride all day for maybe another forty or fifty miles then go to work. I think that sounds like a lot of fun and all of my friends who don't ride are acting like I am a total nut job. I am just totally free when I am on a bike and I feel the wind in my hair and the ground under the rubber.
Games
I enjoy some online games; however I still believe that certain games are better as board games than they are on the computer. For instance, I have always loved to play Scrabble; I am a very wordy person. I only seem to enjoy this game as an in person board game. As an online game, I find it a bit flat. I don't like playing card games online and I really don't like playing with other people that I don't know online.
My son loves to play his video games online. He loves to play some of those really cool war like games online with his friends. He just hooks his Xbox 360 up through the computer wires and he is off playing with his friends, just like that. Honestly, he does play mostly with his friends; however, he also plays with lots of other people that he doesn't know.
I think this is one thing that I am yet to understand about the internet world. I really can't understand why people want to deal with people that they don't know online. I mean, I am a people person, but I like my people to have faces, eyes, arms and legs. I like to see them and be able to tell what type of person they are. Online interactions to me seem to be really lacking something. You can never look the person in the face and tell what their intent is. It is very difficult to tell if someone is scamming you online. The main clues that you would use to determine this in person are not available to you in the internet world. Things like tone of voice, facial expression and eye contact, are not available to you when you are dealing with an unknown person online. This aspect of the online world is really intimidating to me.
I guess I like to be able to size up a person and know their intent, and this is not something that I seem to be able to do from my computer desk. For me I will still continue to play online games, but I will be very careful not to interact with strangers on my computer. Not now and not ever!
alcohol treatment
Each year, the number of people suffering from substance abuse and alcoholism has continuously increased that more than thirty percent of the American population is now afflicted with this persistent illness. Alcohol treatment has taken on quite a wide variety of forms, each one following a different philosophy but all are geared towards helping individuals attain sustainable sobriety.
With the wide array of options for treatment to choose from, making the right decision can be a real challenge. How does one determine the right type of addiction treatment that will suit an individual's needs?
Doctor's consult
One way to determine the right type of alcohol treatment that will suit your family member is to have him see a specialist. Ask a doctor for advice regarding the right selection of alcoholism treatment programs. The doctor will probably need to examine the patient and run a couple of tests to verify any other pre-existing conditions that may get in the way of rehabilitation. The same procedure may also be administered once the individual enrolls in a treatment facility.
For your part, it's important that you inform the health care provider about all other medical conditions that the patient may be suffering from. His health condition will influence the type of alcohol treatment that he will take part in.
Inpatient vs outpatient care
For alcoholism treatment, one is usually provided with a choice between inpatient rehab and outpatient care. The decision highly depends on the gravity of the addiction as well as the patient's specific preference. When the alcoholism is already about to make a turn for the worse, most experts recommend an inpatient alcohol treatment. This will ensure that the patient will have access to medical and psychiatric care at all times. Because long term alcohol addiction has already created considerable damage on the person's body, constant monitoring will be required especially during the detoxification stage when the patient is bound to suffer painful withdrawal symptoms.
On the other hand, outpatient care is suitable for people who need to be in close contact with their family and friends. It is also accepted for cases where in the addiction has been detected in its earlier and more manageable stages.
dahn yoga
Dahn Yoga is an incredible yoga technique I have just discovered. I was doing a paper on mind body medicine for school and accidentally stumbled across this technique, which has actually been in existence for about 5000 years.
The concept behind Dahn Yoga is a very simple one. Dahn Yoga says that the brain needs to be clean and powerful and peaceful. Accomplishing this is the main goal, quite honestly the only goal. Through this the belief is that anything is attainable. The brain in harmony will allow people to achieve more out of their lives. It will put their bodies in harmony and balance allowing them to live a more disease free, symptom free existence. It will also allow them to become more connected to the world around them, allowing them to live more in harmony with the people around them. By cleansing their mind, they will search out a more harmonious existence with others around them. They will become more clear about their purpose on the earth and will be able to enhance their God given talents, and all this by clearing the mind and making it more focused and peaceful. Dahn Yoga believes that finding this balance not only balances a person, but helps to balance the world as well.
Much like the traditional transcendental meditation, which in short that believes if a group of people focus their minds on one thing that they can create a greater consciousness for the world. People who follow transcendental meditation, all meditate at the same time to focus more energy on healing and the world. This is even reinforced in the bible which talks about whenever 2 or more people pray together they will have a bigger impact. This is why people will say to others I will pray for you.
So many different philosophies in the world confirm a lot of the concepts which are encompassed in Dahn Yoga, that is really seems to me that this method of balance seems to be on the right track, and that focusing your mind can overcome any physical or emotional challenge that you may face. Using our minds to change ourselves and the world may be the best and most peaceful way of making changes in this declining world, before it is too late.
Low back pain
I have just moved to the area and am trying to locate a new Chiropractor. I have looked online and found several Chiropractors under my searches for Maryland Chiropractors and Bethesda Chiropractors, however, my Chiropractor back home uses a very specific technique called Gonstead, and I am having trouble locating a Chiropractor that uses this technique. I have been living without my regular adjustments and quite honestly my low back pain is returning and I can't take it anymore.
I don't just get adjusted for low back pain though. I know that there are many other health benefits to having a clear nervous system. I know that my with each adjustment, my body is clearing out the traumas of my everyday life and allowing me to cope and adapt better in my new surroundings. Things that we don't think about, affect the function of our nervous system everyday. Things like physical stressors, working out, running, and even carrying that awful book bag cause stress on the nervous system. But there are other things that cause these things called subluxations (just a fancy term for when the bones in your spinal column move out of place). Emotional stress is another big thing that I encounter here at school and that mostly is in the form of financial stress and test stress. These take their toll on your physiology and can cause your body to try and use its adaptive mechanisms to help you alleviate this stress. These adaptations, although for your own good, can also be causing interference in your nervous system. A third and final cause can be chemical in nature. We are all subjected to chemical stressors everyday. They come in the forms of drugs, alcohol, cigarette smoke, pollution, and even the chemicals in our food.
Basically, in summary, there is no way to avoid subluxations. For your sake and the sake of your body's functioning, you must get checked and adjusted by a Chiropractor. You may feel well, and I hope you do, however, that does not necessarily mean that your body and nervous system are functioning at their best. Just like an illness that takes years to surface, these breaks in communication between your brain and your body, could be doing you in a little bit at a time. Don't wait, find yourself a Chiropractor today. You will be glad that you did.
security cameras
Many employers are having surveillance cameras installed secretly to watch their employees and make sure they are not stealing from them, or stealing time off the clock. Employers can legally monitor any employee and see what they are doing at any time. Most employers already have installed software to allow them to see what their employees are accessing on their computers during work hours. Several people have been fired or even prosecuted for looking at porn while at work or even for things such as typing and receiving personal e-mails. Some work places won't even allow attachments to come through to their employees via e-mail both to insure that viruses won't come through, as well as inappropriate jokes etc. All this is legal, which basically tells me that your employer owns you during the time you are on the clock.
Don't get me wrong, I do understand that many people are making choices these days to do the wrong thing and a good security system does help an employer weed out those employees who are costing them money, but still it feels a bit strange to me that my employer is watching my every move. I guess, if you are not doing anything that you shouldn't be doing, than you don't have anything to worry about.
These days security cameras can be hidden anywhere. In the workplace, they can be hidden in any item that sits on your desk or even right on your computer. At home, they make cameras and recording devices that can be hidden in regular items such as decorative things found on you shelves, behind pictures, or even in children's toys. These cameras and recording devices are so small and can transmit for a good distance, so you won't even know they are there. Anyone could be watching you or listening to your conversations, and these devises can be purchased by anyone, online and for a really reasonable price. No matter where you are, or what you are doing, just be careful because you can never be sure who is watching or listening to what you are doing. You just need to be on your best behavior no matter where you are because someone could be watching you.
Surveillance security technology has really become a very advanced field. As an employer or parent this can give you a birds eye view of everything that is going on even when you are not around, but as an average person it can make you a bit uneasy to feel that you could be being watched and not even know it.
Flowers
The other day was my friends fiftieth birthday at work and boy was she inundated with flowers. She received some of the most beautiful flower arrangements and they seemed to be rolling into the office all day long. I have never seen such an array. There were roses and teddy bears with and without balloons. There were arrangements of wild flowers full of purples and yellows.
Honestly, I really think that flowers are the perfect gift for a woman. Now it seems that if you want to send someone flowers the best way to do it is to go online. No more having to go to the local florist or even call them. The internet has provided the perfect venue for the flower buying experience. It is a great way to see what the florist has to offer and get to view it first hand. You can look through tons of options and decide which arrangement suits the occasion and person as well as your budget. There are also lots of little add ons to choose from. For instance, you can choose your flowers and choose them with or without a vase. Then you can go on to choose an accessory like a stuffed animal or balloons for an additional fee to make it more personal.
I can only say that women love to receive flowers. We love flowers for any occasion. They brighten our day and definitely put a smile on our faces. We especially love to receive flowers for no reason at all. Those are the best ones and when they are delivered to school or work, it makes you feel like a queen. Every other woman in the place will oooh and ahhh at your arrangement and will ask you what the special occasion is. If your answer includes nothing or just because, then the other women will really envy you. It shows that someone thinks that you are special even when there is no occasion at all.
Tip to all you men out there. If you want to impress a lady, then go online and order her flowers today, and if you have them sent to her in public, you will overwhelm her with your thoughtfulness. It is not a very expensive thing to do, but it will give you a definitely leg up with the ladies.
luxury Tuscany villas
Now that the summer is over I have decided to keep my plans sort of low key. I won't be taking any crazy trips to some place I have never been as usual. This year I have just been beaten senseless by my studies so I think for the summer I am just going to stay in one of my father's luxury Italy villas. He owns some all over the country and we have friends that own Luxury Sardinia villas, which is the only area of the country where my father doesn't own property. This year has been so brutal that I don't even feel like planning a trip. I just want to get over there and relax on the beach. I plan on spending a good bit of my time in the wine areas so I will surely have to stay at one of father's Luxury Tuscany villas. I especially Like staying at these homes because they are nestled in the wine country and we can actually just step outside and take a wine tour whenever we feel like it. It is a great area to do some long bike tours, which is my favorite form of exercise. I have been building up a great new road bike which I will take with me everywhere I go in the country for transportation. I don't like to use the cars even when I am on vacation because of my own views of ecology and my deep love for bike riding. I may even decide, if I get bored at all by the scenery and the perfect air of the north, that I may head on down to one of my father's luxury sicily villas and use that as a place to jump over to Rome for a day trip. I always have to go see Rome for at least a day when I get to Italy just to see something new in the city. That is sort of how I visit with every trip and I have found it easiest in cities where I have been before. There is no pressure to see the relics, but to find what is coming out from under them in the lives of the citizens.
Drug treatment
By browsing online websites about drug treatment centers, I was surprised to see how many governmental-based addiction treatment centers there were. If the addicted person really wanted to take a step forward and to start getting rid of his/her addiction, the possiblities there are endless. Some of the websites define alcoholism as a "brain disease", meaning that the person most likely would not be able to cope with the situation on his/her own. All the websites that I surveyed recommend drug treatment for the alcohol addiction; alcohol treatment centers exist that integrate all kinds of theraphy in order to help the person recover from the addiction. Some of the websites do state that some people are, in fact, able to quit drinking on their own, and the chance that they do not drink in the year following the one when they quit is only, unfortunately, four percent. Again, what comes to mind is that the level of addiction obviously plays a role in this discussion. Maybe a person who is able to quit on his/her own was only mildly addicted, or needed to drink less alcohol per day/week in order to satisfy the addiction. However, the statistics show that people who go through the alcohol rehabilitation programs, have a fifty percent chance of recovering and not drinking for the following year and on. Here, again, the percent of recovery is only fifty, when I would, personally, expect a percentage higher than that. Thus, it probably means that the person really needs to want to recover in order for the treatment process to be complete. If the person is not really eager to take a stand on the issue, then the person is likely to relapse, even after the extensive treatment at the alcohol treatment centers. I remember that a person come to give a lecture at my school once, and he was a Medical Doctor, in the Military, and a recovered alcoholic. What stunned me is the rancor with which he spoke about his past addiction. Obviously, he was very eager to get over it, since he was there, talking to us, addiction-free. But, at the same time, he seemed to deeply regret the fact that he went through the period of addiction.
Novelties
So you are throwing birthday party or a shower or just a party to celebrate some occasion that is special to you or someone you love. Now how are you going to pull this off and make it a festive, fun party. Well, when you know what the occasion is, the novelties you need to make it a success will probably come pretty natural to you. Many of us just celebrated Cinco de Mayo. However, many of us celebrated Cinco de Mayo with no knowledge of what that particular day means to the real Mexican population. Many of us celebrated because we just love those darn margaritas and those chimichangas. But for instance, if you just wanted to plan a fun evening for your Mexican neighbor or co-worker or for yourself, the importance of the day alone would be enough of a novelty, not something that happens every day or month, and that would be the theme of your celebration. Of course, you would want to have some balloons and perhaps a few light up items, just enough to get everyone get in a festive mood. How can anything not be festive if you have balloons all over the party area. And those light up items don't necessarily have to be something you wear on your person, they could be outdoor torches (unless you are in a very dry area where there are fire restrictions). You could have light up items around your pool or on your patio - but far from your balloons, of course. The novelty of having a theme party is novelty enough. With the theme centered foods and drinks and music well planned, you may not have to purchase those pricey novelties from your local party stores. And you can pick your theme, and you can have no special theme at all, just some decorations that let people know that they are partaking in a celebration. Costume parties are always fun because arriving at a gathering dressed up in something different than your friends usually see you wearing is a delightful ice-breaker immediately and puts everyone in the mood to party hearty. So I suppose you don't have to always have a theme, just put up some streamers, some balloons and some of those brightly colored light up items and have some delicious food items and definitely some flavorful drinks and just invite everyone you want to get to know better or everyone you just want to spend some fun time with and because you put your personality into it, very few other pricey novelties will be required.
Health insurance quotes
Today was a pretty normal day for me, except my Internet seemed to really make me angry today. I have a bit of an anger problem sometimes when it comes to some of the advertisements that pop up on my computer screen when I'm trying to do something innocent like check my email or play a game. This time instead of the normal glittery pop ups or the pornographic pop ups, there was a pop up about "Fast Health Insurance Quotes". Fast health insurance quotes? I know you can get quotes on your automobile insurance because of what kind of driver you are, what your age is, and things of that nature. I had no idea that health insurance also did that same type of test! It makes me feel bad for the poor old people with preexisting problems who probably have to pay more for their health insurance because the companies are afraid they will be a greater risk. In the same sense, however, I guess it makes sense that they would charge prices based on health conditions seeing as they do the exact same thing when they charge prices for house or car insurance.
After the pop up about health insurance quotes, I was able to access my email. But as soon as I tried to access a different website, another pop up popped up about how I was the 1 millionth person to visit the page. I could have sworn I saw the exact same flashing banner two days ago when I tried to visit a different site. Then again, after a while all flashing banners start to look the same anyway. 1 millionth visitor...what exactly would they give me for being the millionth visitor? Did I get some fabulous prize like a trip to Cancun or my very own private jet or at least coupons to my favorite store? Honestly, what was so important about that one particular site that made it my responsibility to feel good about being the millionth visitor? Would I get some type of worldwide recognition? When I walk down the street, will people's heads turn and say "there goes the girl who was the millionth visitor to that one site she doesn't even know the name of?"
Once, way back when, I would click on the page when it said "click here". This was before I knew viruses and other types of cyber sicknesses existed (I think maybe I should have gotten one of those fast health insurance quotes on some type of insurance for my computer!). I learned later that clicking on those links causes viruses. I don't have money for a new computer.
By the time I hit the third pop up (a porn site) I was so angry I just turned the computer off. Maybe tomorrow I can attempt to play a game, provided I don't get stopped by some ad telling me I won a free iPod if I fill out all of the partner obligations. We'll see.
pet meds
It was April many years ago when I lived in New York and we were experiencing several days of April showers. The rain was almost constant so activities were centered indoors. On the few occasions we ventured outside, we kept noticing a strange dog on our property. The animal looked frightened and, of course, was wet from all of the showers we were having. She started hanging out on my front porch, just looking sad. My husband realized that the animal was probably hungry so he prepared to feed it. I told him I did not want him to bring the animal in the house. I felt sorry for it but we already had a dog and I had two small children and did not want to add another pet at that time. We agreed he could feed the dog in our garage.
Off my husband, George, went with the animal and bowls of water and dog food for this poor lonely looking dog. I was upset that the dog took up residence in the garage because I knew where the next step would lead. It was several days later when the dog found its' way into our home. I told the children they were not to give the dog a name because it wasn't going to be staying with us. This is how the dog came to be known as "dog" in my house. She did seem to get along very well with Prize, the dog we already had, so at least we didn't have any relationship problems between them. Prize was a much larger dog and seemed to want to protect her new sister. They hung out together, shared food and water and played with one another in the yard. I'm happy to report that the new dog listened to me much better than Prize did, so she was much easier to manage. Prize had a stubborn streak but the new dog did not. She seemed a little frightened and I always assumed that she might have been abused in the past. This, of course, was another good reason to try and help this animal.
Of course as time went by, we decided we should take this animal to a vet to have her checked. We did not think she was a puppy any longer but she was a young dog. She was a mutt but we weren't sure of the breed combinations either. We made an appointment with our vet and had her checked out thoroughly. She seemed to be healthy but underweight, and the vet suggested pet meds that would increase her appetite. We ordered these and started giving them to "dog" and watched her appetite increase. She was settling in with us and I soon realized the futility of my stand in saying we were not keeping her. I could not imagine tearing her away from my husband and children so "dog" had a new home and we named her Pax. I'm happy to report that the pet meds worked very well and it wasn't long before our new dog looked healthy and happy.
Eco friendly products
I used to think that organic and eco friendly products were for granola crunchers and tree huggers. You know, the patchouli smelling people… But I have actually come to prefer them. I started out just buying all natural cleaners for my home, mostly because I liked the smell. Then I started looking for things like laundry detergent and fabric softeners, since we pollute our water systems. They are a little more expensive, but if you find places like Whole Foods that have coupons and sales, it is worth it. If you don't live near or have easy access to a larger store like Whole Foods, or a specialty or health food store, then you will probably end up spending more on eco friendly products. But it doesn't stop at home products, they make really nice bath and body products, too. I have sensitive skin and sometimes I have to buy products that are green, even shampoos and conditioners and hair styling products have a lot of things in them that bother me. I always loved pantene shampoo, but they put silicone or something in it for smoothness of hair, and it makes me break out! So now I use natural products. Same goes for facial cleansers. I have even started buying natural makeup, I love the brand Korres. They have all kinds of body products and makeup. There are personal benefits as well as environmental benefits to using all natural or organic products. I think a lot of the reasons why people have so many allergies is in part because of all the chemicals used everywhere. There are also really good lines coming out with natural pet products! Which I love. Just take a look through a store like Whole Foods, you will be amazed at how comparable prices are, and you are helping your family, household and environment by choosing eco friendly products. It seems like 1 person cannot do much to help, but you can, imagine if every person swapped out one thing for eco friendly products?
car insurance
Recently I have been shopping around for a new auto insurance policy. I have a car insurance company, that I have been relatively happy with, but when I was at school, we were talking in the student union, and other people were talking about their car insurance and their rates seemed to be way cheaper than mine. I have been a good driver and have always paid my bills on time, so I am not sure why my rates are so high. I have found a few companies online that will offer me a better rate, but I am a little leery of using an online insurance company. I don't know how their coverage will be. I mean I have always used State Farm, that is the company that my parents have always used for all their insurance needs, and they have always gotten quality service whenever they needed it.
I really just want to make sure that the companies that are offering me the better auto insurance quotes are still going to provide me with solid insurance coverage that I can rely on. After all, until you actually have a problem, you really have no clue how your insurance company will handle a claim, but by then it will be too late. For instance, there was one company a friend of mine told me never to deal with and that was Allstate. She said that she had a car accident with someone who had Allstate, and she had State Farm. Her insurance company took care of paying off her old vehicle right away, but the Allstate Company was very slow to handle the other issues she had, even though the other driver was at fault and had been ticketed and convicted of reckless driving. She said that another time, she had gotten rear ended by a guy who tried to stop behind her at a light in the rain and accidentally bumped her car. When they exchanged insurance information, the guy gave her this no name insurance company that she had never heard of before, however, they came to her within 24 hours and assessed her damage and she had a check within a week. Now see that just goes to show that the bigger name insurance companies do not always provide the better more reliable service.
I will continue to ask around and see if I can find someone who has a good inexpensive insurance company that they have had to file a claim with at some point in time, to try and preview in advance the services they will provide me when I am in need.
addiction recovery
I was sitting in class today, thinking today was about to be just another boring day in my UNIV class. I mean, honestly, who thought it was a good idea to offer a class that lasts for an hour and fifteen minutes where you don't do anything but eat pizza and look around warily at all the other freshman who act like they have this school thing in the bag?? Today, though, we had a guest speaker. Don't ask me his name...I don't remember. But his topic was very interesting. He was talking to us about addiction and how dangerous it is. I had no idea that a person can become addicted to so many different things! His information was so interesting and influential that I just have to share it.
It is important to understand some different types of addiction and what they consist of. One of the most well-known forms of addiction is alcohol addiction. What are some of the symptoms of alcohol addiction, and how can you tell if you or someone you know is addicted? First, it can be much easier to recognize that someone else has a problem than for you to recognize your own issue. People who have alcohol problems often try to rationalize their drinking habits, saying they can't have problems because "they only drink a lot on weekends" or "they can handle their liquor" or "they just drink to have fun". People don't realize these very behaviors qualify them as having alcohol dependence. Alcohol treatment is the only option.
Have you ever done something risky, like driving while drunk to go grab a bite to eat from McDonalds down the street? Of course, you thought it was innocent at the time because you weren't all that drunk and you could function perfectly fine, right? At this point, it is difficult to see whether it was worse that you actually drove under the influence or that you thought it was an acceptable thing to do.
Some other ways to tell somebody (or yourself) is dependent on alcohol is to watch how it affects the rest of your life. I know for a fact in college it can be very easy to get sucked into the irrational belief that everyone is drinking, and that it's the cool thing to do. But look around you. Are those very students you see partying on Thursday night also failing their classes? I know you've seen the poor students in their Friday morning classes, so hungover they could barely move their pen to take notes provided they could actually pay attention to what was going on in class. What about people who are beyond their college years? Jobs don't take kindly to people calling in sick on Saturday or Monday mornings, especially if it is a recurring thing. And what about the financial impact? Alcohol isn't free to drink (not all of the time, at least), and alcoholism can become a costly habit as tolerance builds and the amount of alcohol required to get the same buzz increases. Some people can't stomach cheap alcohol and so buy the more expensive (more potent) and smoother alcohols, which can become even pricier. Add the cost of juices and chasers and your tab runs up rather quickly. The money used to support an alcohol habit is often money that was supposed to be used to pay the rent or buy food or some other such important expenditure. This leaves the person in debt and unable to pay off these debts, which can even arise to the status of legal troubles (and let's not forget that driving under the influence is also illegal as well).
But let's not get it twisted. Alcohol is not the only thing a person can be addicted to. People can come back from addiction recovery. Obviously, some drugs, like cocaine and other "hard drugs" are addictive. People addicted to drugs like cocaine, or the street "crack", tend to begin to commit crimes to support their habit. Drug recovery is very difficult. They will steal, beat others up, or commit other extreme crimes just to get their fix. People addicted to drugs may also do stupid things while under the influence. Driving while high is just as dangerous as driving drunk; either way, your perception is flawed (and usually slowed). Certain drugs are hallucinogens and can produce the idea that images are being seen and sounds are being heard even though nothing is really there.
Drug treatment
Today I have found a simple error in my thought process. I typically view all things in life such as classes here at school, jobs in the world, and relationships, as things which are in abundance and we just need to pluck one out of the stream and everything will work out fine. I have been shown this before in terms of relationships, but today my view of the workforce has changed as well. I have been looking this week for jobs over the summer to supplement my education and give some extra money before the fall semester. I have scoured every single listing of treatment centers and specifically drug treatment centers in this area. I have put in about thirty calls to various places and no one has anything available right now. This has from the beginning of my search turned my view of how getting out of college should not be. Well ok I am not out of college yet and won't have a degree until next year, but I think that three years of current counseling education is worth something right? At least a job as a paper pusher or something. I mean I could easily just settle down and take one of the many jobs offered in food service once all of their workforce moves to the beach for the summer, but that's not the kind of use of my time that I feel is valid. I don;t want to get a job that I know will be a waste of my mind and my time. I really want to work at a substance abuse center of some kind the most because that is presumably what I will be doing after college, if I can find a job then. I know that this feeling would just be too much for me from experience of the last two summers where I did have to settle for jobs that were uninteresting and totally unchallenging. Those are tow words that certainly turn me off when it comes to something that I will want to take seriously. Some people have that ability to fake enthusiasm for a topic they feel nothing for, but I certainly was not born with anything like that.
Sardinia Sardinien
I was researching a vacation to
Italy, and stumbled upon this section in a travel brochure, advertising
for great deals for all kinds of villas and hotels in different sections
of Italy. Originally I thought the article was written in Italian, but
later discovered that it was actually a German language article about
Sardinia.
The article read:
Kommen Sie in das Natur
Paradies Sardinien.
Diese unglaubliche Insel liegt im Mittelmeer an der Küste Italiens. Die
Ufer Sardiniens sind unberührt, weil viele der Ortschaften in dieser
malerischen Landschaft etwas zurück versetzt im Landesinneren errichtet
wurden. Die ursprünglichen Einwohner dieser Region kamen von der See und
deshalb war ihr Wunsch am Meer zu leben minimal. Daraus erwuchs die
heutzutage relativ unbewohnte Küste dieser Region. Mit vielen schönen
Stränden und einigen der saubersten Gewässer, von denen ich sicher bin,
dass Sie niemals sauberere gesehen haben, wird es zu einem tropischen
Rückzugsgebiet, dass Sie nicht missen sollten kennen gelernt zu haben.
Diese Region war lange Zeit die
Attraktion der Wohlhabenden, wurde jedoch seit Kurzem zu einem In-Treff
in Europa. Ferien
Sardinien wird
aufgrund seiner vielseitigen kulinarischen Highlights und exquisiten
Weine als echter Genuss angesehen. Dazu kommt noch der Überfluss an
archäologischen Ausgrabungen und vielen mittelalterlichen Anlagen, die
dieses Areal zu bieten hat, zusammen mit den Festen, die seit langem die
Herzen und Köpfe europäischer und amerikanischer Touristen gefüllt
haben. Die Hotels
auf Sardinien
bieten ihren Gästen ein unglaubliches Panorama und viele
Annehmlichkeiten.
Loosely Translated:
Come to the natural paradise of
Sardinia. This incredible island is on the Mediterranean Sea, just off
the coast of Italy. The shores or Sardinia remain untouched as most of
the villages in this quaint area were built further inland. The original
inhabitants of this region were of the sea, and so their desire to live
on the shore was minimal. This gave rise to the relatively uninhabited
coast line that exists in this region today. With many beautiful beaches
and some of the clearest waters that I am sure you have ever
experienced, this is a tropical retreat that is not to be missed.
This region has for a long time
been a favorite attraction for the wealthy, however, more recently has
become a hot spot in Europe. A Holiday in Sardinia is considered a real
treat with its many culinary delights and exquisite wines. Filled with
archeological finds and many medieval structures, this area has a lot to
offer, and its many festivals have long filled the hearts and minds of
European as well as American tourists. Hotels in Sardinia offer
incredible views and many amenities to those who visit.
Quite honestly, I am really glad that I took the time to translate this article, I found the information about Sardinia to be very helpful and will definitely add Sardinia as a must see to my tour of Italy. Although out of the way from the mainland, it sounds like a must see location when traveling abroad.
Discount airfare
Decisions have been made and the plans have all been confirmed. My daughter, Mary, is marrying Greg Anderson on Saturday, August 23, 2008. We are very excited about the wedding and are looking forward to the gathering of family and friends to share in our joy. We know that there are often some little details that still need to be attended to at the last minute but feel confident that most of our preparations have been addressed.
Now that wedding details have been arranged and a bridal shower is planned for Mary, it is time for the couple to begin preparing for their honeymoon. They are very fortunate in that they will be able to take two weeks vacation so that they can have a leisurely trip. They are planning to go to Europe, but only if their budget will allow. If not, the back-up plan is an island cruise.
Mary and Greg would really like to visit Italy as Greg even has some relatives living there who would gladly house them and show them around their beautiful country. It would be a wonderful experience and they are very much looking forward to it. Now comes the hard part, finding cheap international flights and reasonable lodgings for when they are not with Greg's family members.
Mary called an old friend of hers who is now a travel agent. Mary was able to be totally upfront and ask her immediately if she had any cheap international airfares available for the scheduled honeymoon dates. Katherine, the travel agent, did not have any cheap flights available for Italy at this time but will investigate and see what she can find. There are several months between now and August and, hopefully, something will become available. She reviewed all available discount airfare listed in her computer but was unable to find anything that would fit within Mary and Greg's budget. She was confident that a cheap international flights would eventually be listed and, when it is, she will immediately book seats for Mary and Greg.
It was only two weeks later that Katherine called with the good news. She was able to find cheap international airfares for exactly the days that Mary and Greg wanted to travel. They are so excited that they will finally get to visit Italy and have the opportunity for Mary to meet Greg's family overseas. Cheap flights are really a blessing for people with a tight budget.