Today was different. It went as followed... Work at 8:30am, getting sick and leaving at 12. Sleeping until around 2 then wasting time until now. I had planned to go to the new Outlet mall in Leeds, by the Bass Pro Shop, which is literally less then 5 miles/5 minutes away from me. But me getting sick ruined that. I actually was really, really excited to go. I had gone yesterday before work, but the place was PACKED!!! So I left after about 20 minutes, because I was afraid I might be late to work.

Well now I guess I should start some studying.

rushing?

THE SITUATION - In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.
About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made …
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

So I read this on another blog and I had to pass it on...

late nights

Ibogaine

Imagine there was a drug that an addict could take just ONE dose to relieve them from their addiction and the dreaded withdrawal. Well, apparently there is... but there is a catch.

Okay, why am I even talking about this, you wonder? Well I'm sitting here watching Law and Order: SVU where a heroin addicted kid needed to clean up to testify against the bad guy, but the bad guy was his dealer and legal guardian (lucky kid, huh?). Long story short, the psychologist of the show, Dr. Wuang, spoke of a drug, Ibogaine, that could cure almost all addictions. However, the drug was no longer legal in the USA (but is used worldwide) because its patent expired and no drug company would pay to run the needed trials for the FDA to approve it. The reason no drug company would pay for the trials was because there is apparently no profit in selling Ibogaine. They make more money selling Methadone, then Ibogaine. Which in case you didn't know, Methadone is used to treat opioid addicts. The drug blocks the euphoric effects of heroin, morphine, other opioids. So patients no longer need those illegal drugs, instead they need the legal Methadone in place to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Well, after patients start Methadone, they are suppose to slowly decrease their amounts until the patients no longer need Methadone or any other drug. However, a high number of patients become addicted to Methadone, so instead of getting off drugs, they get on to uhh... legal drugs.

Ibogaine on the other hand, is usually extracted from the Iboga plant, and is used in the UK, Canada, and many other countries as a form of drug treatment. Ibogaine is used to remove the dependency of methadone, nicotine, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamines, as well as compulsive behaviors. One dose of Ibogaine removes the patients desire to use.

My point is not to bash Methadone, obviously it has helped a lot of people get clean and move on with their lives. My point was that there is a drug that could help addicts in a better way but because of its lack of profitableness it swept under the covers.

If I tugged on your interest line, I have a lil news video on Ibogaine... Ibogaine In the News

...end of rant.

On current affairs, MiKayla, Erin, and I went on a nice little 5.11 mile run this morning! That is now the longest distance I have ever ran. Just 1.9 miles until it can be considered a 10k! So even if I do nothing today, I can at least say I achieved that!

my life is...

currently consisting of school and work. But our fall break is this week (Thursday and Friday). I already have every Friday off of school, but now I get a Thursday off as well. But the best part is that I get Thursday off of work too, because I usually have lab at night and morning classes during the day so I cant work. So Thursday, I am thinking of a nice workout section, along with some sleeping with the dog and watching some Law and Order: SVU and Freaks and Geeks (my latest new obsession!)....

Speaking of obsessions! I am also in LOVE with the school Glee!!! And I mean in love! For those who watch it, Brittany is my favorite, and for those who don't go to Hulu.com and watch the last five episodes, please! Actually I am working on a Lab quiz and waiting for the new episode to start is 13minutes!!

Okay, my day today was me waking up at 8, going to speech class with Brittany Bullock at 11, then chilling in the Engineering building for 2 hours until my Philology class. Usually I skip my Tuesday Philology class because we do nothing in there, but today she was giving us our essay test questions, so I managed to stay for that. My teacher is basically a talking skeleton with ADHD trying to teach 50 college students on difficult choices. Needless to say all I do is talk to my friend in the back. (for an interesting fact, she told us in class one day, that she didn't have a preference for anal or vagina sex...yeah TOOOO much information)(also she tried to tell us what sex was like post-menopause, but she didn't thank goodness!)

So yeah this was my life update! I love you guys, and I will leave u with a Brittany S. Pierce quote, "I don't brush my teeth, I rinse my mouth out with soda after I eat. I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was some sort of dentist."