My Turn to Ramble Incoherently

Ah summer, that wonderful time of the college student working his or her ass off to make some money. It's a good time. It's hard to imagine that my fellow 2000 graduates will be graduating from college NEXT spring. Woah, is anyone ready for the real world? (she said to me, condescendingly) Oops, how'd that get in there? I for one am more than ready for the afterglow. Working full time, wearing business suits, coming home to MY house fixing dinner with my utensils on my stove, it's going to rock the casbah. Anyway, if you know me at all, you know how excited I am for my own (shared?) place. Unfortunately I'm one of those saps who won't graduate til May 2005, so I don't feel the same way some of you feel about your last summer of non-responsibility. After saying all that, I am not sure where this article is going to take me, but in the spirit of the person to whom this page is after (Bill Simmons) perhaps I will do some ramblings. Ramblings=complaining.

I am writing up my grant to study illiteracy with smoking. I am positive I will find a connection with the two. Let me describe the setting where my study will take place. Many are familiar with Schneider Hall at UWEC. The entrance has a few signs posted on it. To the left are two signs designating the area as a non smoking section. To the right are signs saying please, come and get the cancers! However, every hour of everyday there are people smoking on the left side. Just today when I was outside on break from my summer class, some guy came over by us and sat under one of the no smoking signs and started puffing away. What the hell is wrong with people? Well, it just so happens I have the answer! These college students/professors are illiterate. How they have gotten as far as they have is beyond me. Their teachers must've hated their smoky smell and just passed them. I will have more on this subject in a bit.

The Leader Telegram (or the daily fish wrap as many North side people like to call it) is ok for comics, Moments in Life, and Dear Abby. Have you ever read the opinions page? It is a RIOT! Some people have actual LEGITIMATE opinions and other people are morons. (I agree or at least can see people's points with legitimate reasons; morons are people I clearly don't agree with.) Others, well it's ridiculous how some people think. I get a laugh out of it though sometimes. It's interesting to read people respond to others. This past week though, I was enraged at some people. (When are people not pissing me off?)

Was I for the war that occurred this spring? I can't really say I was or am for that matter. I think Bush just did it for payback for his dad. And that is childish; putting soldiers' lives at risk for some revenge is psychotic. Then I read about someone else's opinion on the war. It basically called Europeans pot smoking alcoholics who couldn't fight a war. They actually used those words! The legal drinking age is 16 in I believe most of Europe, they do not have a problem with underage drinking or alcoholism compared to us because for them drinking is not a big deal. As far as the whole pot thing, I believe he's thinking of Amsterdam, where yes they smoke pot, but it's probably mostly Americans who just want a vacation of sex and drugs. Ah the red light district. But anyways, to say that all Europeans have dependency problems because they didn't want to fight a needless war and putting their citizens at risk because of our president's need to play battle. Then, I come back to my thoughts on smoking. A Luther Midelfort doctor had an article about how smokers cost the state or insurance companies more because they are sick more often than non-smokers. (Or develop lung cancer or emphysema, so they also have more chronic illnesses.) Anyway some guy retorts that non-smokers, well I just have to quote him for everyone to understand my utter disbelief.
"How does living longer, sucking up Medicaid, Social Security and pensions, spending more time in nursing homes, racking up even more medical expenses over their lifetimes, and then dying from the same diseases as smokers, supposedly save society money? And nonsmokers aren't taxed on every pack of cigarettes they don't smoke.
Once again, the old anti-tobacco lies don't even stand up to common sense."

Are you *poop*ing me? So what we should all be doing is smoking as much as we can possibly inhale so that we don't "live too long" and rack up medical expenses due to old age? Do we not all have the inherent right to try and live as long as possible for as long as we want? Then the anti-tobacco lies? I want to know about all of these lies. And then I want to know the definition of common sense. Inhaling carcinogens = a good thing? I'm confused. The tobacco industry had to pay out billions of dollars because the Supreme Court ruled that smokers deserved money for their illnesses. Excuse me? Who decided to take the risk of what seems to me like inhaling car exhaust, tar, and rat poisoning? (Those being just a few of the hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes) Wouldn't REAL common sense say that that would be bad for you? They DID put labels on all cigarette packs that smoking may be bad for your health. It all comes full circle with my theory on illiteracy and smoking. The money should go to people who have to endure the second hand smoke like me. Then I could skip this whole college thing and live in my own house a year earlier than I intend to. Now THAT would make me stop griping about things. Since I have had two articles where I moan and groan about things, I should think of something positive to end this thing.

I really recommend taking a summer class. It has so far proven to be very interesting and enjoyable. I am taking a business law class, and it is rather fascinating. My professor is also an attorney, so he knows everything about the subject. Hearing about cases is very intriguing. I want to go to law school now just because of it. Well, maybe not that drastic of a move, but I would like to have more classes on the subject. The time flies, and you end up getting 3 credits for 3 weeks worth of work. Plus, everyone else I have talked to have also had a good time with summer classes. This is my plug for higher education, go to school in the summer, you'll be glad you did!

How cool would it be to own your own little plot of land along I-94 for $500? You can't do anything with it, but I still think it would be rather neat.

-Sarah Brovan can't wait for her summer class to be over...stay in school.