2002-06-07|9:32 a.m.
I was thinking about how I give skeptics too much credit. I can appreciate how critical they are of things; I do it myself. Being critical is important, because the very foundation of justice is logic. But, after watching the Adventures of Baron Munchausen and listening to the ideas of Art of Living, I have become surer that being critical is overrated. It leaves little room for mystery, love, and magic in your life. These states of being are dependent of open minds and obscure situations. Because I was thinking (ha, using logic to discredit logic) as I looked at a bottle of tea with ginseng, herbal-type remedies are always marked with the FDA required disclaimer that "this product is not a certified medicinal remedy" and what not. So, if they really don't do anything or they do, it doesn't matter I suppose, because a lot of people feel better using it. So, it may very well be that some herbal remedies are simply placebos that trick the mind into thinking itself better. And, I am a firm believer that the mind loves misery; I know personally. So, if you are too critical of these things you can never be open for the magic of a good placebo effect.
"I'm lost on the river, the river of life."
So, my birthday was really pleasant. A brought me sunflowers in the morning and my mom had a huge bouquet sent to me. Then, I met up with A and my stepsister, T, later to have lunch and then wander about the air-conditioned mall to talk with her alone. We had a good time laughing and letting off steam. Then, we met up with A again and my other friend TL (the one with the parties) to eat Indian food at the Delhi Palace. The Delhi Palace is great. It is this Indian restaurant placed in what was once one of those cheesy 50's diners. The food there is so delicious. I also ordered my first legal alcoholic beverage, an Indian beer, appropriately called the Taj Mahal. I laughed when the guy there asked if I was really 21, because none of my friends ever get carded there, even the under aged ones. But, he was pleased to hear that my first purchase on my 21st birthday was an Indian beer. He even had free desert sent out for us. I was feeling so great that I even managed to flirt with him teasingly a bit, which is much to say, because when I flirt it is so subtle that no one ever gets it. So, I had fun with my A and my friends.
The funniest thing about my birthday is everyone at my work thought I had turned 18.
Today, I am getting my nose pierced and maybe that tattoo I've been promised last birthday (both are gifts). I am really nervous about the piercing, because I have heard that it is really painful and my work specifically prohibits them. But, I'll just deal with both, I suppose.
Oh, I haven't lost the 20 pounds either. I did lose about 5 though. I still will do it, I promise myself.
It isn't even summer here yet, and it is in the triple digits. Ah, hot, dry summers in the desert, the thing I won't miss much.
Word of the Day: phantasm- a product of fantasy, as a delusive appearance/ a figment of the imagination/ a mental representation of a real object