Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 44 (Study High)

If anyone was paying super close attention to the SFTS facebook updates yesterday evening, one would have noticed a preponderance of "bunnies." This is because we were studying for the Old Testament quiz today and Ryan and Terra got really tired and started relating everything in Genesis to bunnies. 3-fold promise of land, descendants and blessing? Bunnies. Be fruitful and multiply? Bunnies. Leaving alters everywhere? Bunnies. Human sacrifice? Bunnies. Circumcision? Bunnies.

BTW, the "bunny" in the picture is a Flemish Giant, which can weigh up to 28 lbs. I am determined to own one some day. I'm hoping they can be house trained.

So, I joined in on the flash card session and pretty soon we were all laughing about the stupidest things! I'm sure anyone that has had a super long study session can relate. You study for 5 hours, you wait too long to eat, you start feeling delirious and all of a sudden God's covenant with Abraham is the funniest thing you've ever heard of in your entire life. I learn from Terra, the former med student of the class, that this is because after a long session of studying, your brain runs out of the normal sugars that it's supposed to use as fuel and starts burning ketones, which are alcohols. We had literally gotten drunk off of studying and started laughing like idiots because of it. This would explain why I enjoyed studying so much the other day. In hindsight, studying for 10 hours straight actually does feel a little bit like drinking a glass of wine. Of course it takes much, much, much longer to get the same effect, but you do slip into a semi-coma relaxed state after a while. Which leads to the question that my "Drugs and Jesus" professor would hate, "Can studying be addictive?"

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 37 (Make Crack Like This)

Disclaimer: I do not listen to this kind of music, not that I'm judging anyone that listens to it. It's just that my preferences run more towards Norah Jones or Hawk Nelson.

So, Sacred and the Substance (Drugs and Jesus) started with us listening to this song. The professor then proceeded to lecture about the Gin Craze in the U.K. in the 1700s and the Crack Craze in the U.S. in the 1990s. When I realized I would be going to seminary, it never even crossed my mind that I would be taking a class like this. I actually did a little bit of a better job reading the articles this time, so I was able to partake in the discussion and prove to the professor that I actually was capable of speaking, but it's still going to be some time before the culture shock wears off and I get really comfortable sharing in there.

One of the articles we were supposed to read was about hangovers. At one point, the professor asked everyone who has ever experienced a hangover to raise their hands. I was literally the only person who did not raise their hand. I've never even been hung over a little, that I know of anyway. The main reason for this is that for some reason, I am completely terrified of being hung over. I have no idea why, I just am. So, any time I think i've drunk enough that I might get a hang over the next day, I drink a lot of water and eat until I'm really full. It always works. I wake up and I'm fine. Now, Tom brought up a really good point tonight that I had never considered, which is that my fear of being hung over is probably limiting the amount that I drink. I know I've never been gloriously drunk before, but there have been several occasions where I've tried to get pretty drunk, the latest being Gina's anniversary party where I had seven shots of tequila on top of a mojito and a margarita. I honestly don't even know if that's a lot to drink, but it seems like a lot to me.

Still have Spirituality homework to do...*sigh*

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 30 (The Placebo Effect)

Another Tuesday, another trip to Berkley for "Drugs and Jesus" at Star King. This is going to be an interesting class. First of all, as much as people like to smoke marijuana around me, I have not actually done it myself. Second of all, I'm a naive sheltered Presbyterian boy from Santa Rosa Valley, CA that doesn't know the first thing about drug use, their effects, or even for the most part what they are when people mention them by name. I have the foggiest of vague ideas of what ecstasy is. I don't know what it looks like, I don't know what it feels like to be on it, how much a hit normally costs, how to recognize when someone is using it, or anything at all. So, I sit there and I listen to all of these people talking about their experiences with drugs and I feel like I have nothing to contribute to the class. All I can talk about is wine, and when you compare that to someone's trip to Amsterdam, what is there to talk about?

As these discussions often do, the topic moved to prescription drugs and what exactly is the difference between prescription drugs and so-called illegal drugs. This then moved on to a conversation about placebos and how effective they are, which led me to ask the question, "What would happen to me if someone switched out my blood pressure medication for placebos without me knowing about it?" Several people in the class seemed to think I would be just fine, even though the general consensus was that I should never actually try this. I'm sorry, but I think this is a bunch of bull. Drugs work. That's how people get high and that's what keeps my blood vessels dilated. I'm not saying that there is no validity to the power of the mind. I am well aware of how powerful the mind is and the amazing things that faith can accomplish, but I do not think that the chemicals that drugs introduce into our systems can be discounted in such an easy fashion.

We live in a modern society; we understand the scientific method, and unless we all want to jump on to the conspiracy bandwagon, I have to believe that there are actual scientists at pharmaceutical companies who are actually doing their jobs. Does that mean the companies don't exist to make money? No. Does that mean they haven't done some shady drug-related things in the past? No. But, just because there have been some incidents of corruption and unethical behavior does not mean that the entire system is defunct.

If someone were to switch out my medication without me knowing about it, my blood pressure would start to go up. This is not my belief; it is not something I'm taking this on faith. It is simply a fact. Give me my beta blockers, or give me death!