Medicine is For Losers
I just took an Advil like 20 minutes ago. This may come as a huge surprise to people who know me but it's complicated. Anyways, my head has been hurting since Sunday at Wisconsin, and today after I had my lunch I just popped one in.
Now, I understand that it will be hard for people to not feel offended by my title up there, but let me just explain why I don't like medicine. To me, it seems like the easy way out. If you've got a headache or cold, just suck it up and take it like a man. These days, there's a pill for everything. Nagging cough? Buy Halls Vapor Action this and that. Allergies? Allegra, Claritin, you name it. Menstrual cramps? Ok, I better stay away from that one because that could bring me more trouble than I can handle. Anyways, I don't pretend to have suffered all these illnesses and severe conditions myself, and I'll admit that in more serious cases there are times when taking something is understandable or even necessary. So, not everyone who takes medicine is a loser.
But I've had my share of headaches, coughs, stuffy noses, etc., and rarely have I resorted to taking Tylenol or the 'Tussin. The way I look at it, your body has an immune system, let it take care of you instead of depending on some pill that other people cooked up so they could have a multi-billion dollar industry. Plus, I have to believe that every drug has its side effects, big or small. Since I don't know exactly what causes cancer, Alzheimer's, or even ulcers, I stay away from caffienated drinks, tobacco products, and yes, aspirin, ibuprofen, and even cough medicine. I can bear a little discomfort now if it means I will be healthier and less drug-dependent in the long run.
So here I am, now 40 minutes removed from taking that Advil, and guess what? Headache's still there. Maybe it still needs some time to kick in, but I already regret taking it. By the way, those things remind me of Skittles or M&M's, no wonder they have to use those child-safety caps. Anyways, not only do I still have a headache, I have probably increased my chances of getting an ulcer by 0.1% or something. this sucks...
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Starcraft and Me
Much like an alcoholic starts with just a sip of beer, my addiction to Starcraft began so innocently in the early days of my freshman year at U of I. Me, my roommate Andy, and a third pseudo-roommate Will probably did basically nothing other than play video games and watch movies in our room in those times. Needless to say, studying was not in the picture for room 509 of Oglesby that year (thankfully, there were other places for me to keep my Engineering status afloat). Anyways, a friend let us borrow a Starcraft CD, which we ended up burning some copies of, and in no time, we were all on Battle.net playing against other people online.
Soon, it spread from me, Will, and Andy to our next door neighbors, and almost by accident, the ~509~ clan was born. Before I knew it, all of my friends were into Starcraft, and over the next couple years I must have spent over a thousand hours playing that game. At our height, the 509ers grew in number and we played so much that people would notice us by our names when we joined or created games. For a while, I even thought I was unbeatable and that I had become as good I as I could ever be.
But inevitably, times changed, schoolwork started to take over and as studying, sleeping, and video games clashed, something had to give. Not to mention the girl factor, even though she likes playing Starcraft herself (which is definitely a huge plus in my book). As I played less, my skills suffered, and though my love for the game has never waned, a younger generation of 'crafters with higher potential and more dedication passed me by.
Today, I still play semi-regularly, if not for fun, then mostly for the sake of not letting my skills deteriorate. As for the rest of the original 509 boys, only a few still show up in our channel nowadays. Most have moved on by now, possibly to fancier games like Counterstrike or onto a job and career. The people I do see in channel 509, I no longer recognize, and none of them have that once-revered ~509~ extension to their name. It's a far cry from our glory days, that's for sure.
As I reminisce about the old times, I must say that even though the game has probably dropped my GPA by as much as a half point cumulatively from what it could have been, I look back and think only positive things about the whole experience. Call me an addict, but I still love Starcraft no matter what you say. A friend once planned to write a poem entitled "Starcraft and Fellowship," and while it has yet to be released, I am quite sure that this blessed man is in the same boat as myself; he understands what true love for the game means. Other people on the internet have dedicated entire webpages to the game and even produced songs for it. Nerds, but I respect that.
There's just something about the game that sets it apart. Starcraft is not just another video game, for I have played many others in my life without ever becoming nearly as addicted. Battle.net is a community where people all over the world, of all ages can gather and all collectively be entertained by a common interest. When you play together with someone, you can't help but feel some sense of brotherhood as you save a partner from attack or he sends you an overlord to help your cause. When you look at your map, you feel like a king controlling his army and taking care of all his little men. When you win or lose, it can have severe effects on your ego as well as on your mood for the rest of the day.
It's hard to explain it all. For people who have never played the game seriously, you all probably think I am an idiot for writing all this crap. Not that I could blame you, but if you had experienced the crafting sensation for yourself, then maybe you would understand.
Much like an alcoholic starts with just a sip of beer, my addiction to Starcraft began so innocently in the early days of my freshman year at U of I. Me, my roommate Andy, and a third pseudo-roommate Will probably did basically nothing other than play video games and watch movies in our room in those times. Needless to say, studying was not in the picture for room 509 of Oglesby that year (thankfully, there were other places for me to keep my Engineering status afloat). Anyways, a friend let us borrow a Starcraft CD, which we ended up burning some copies of, and in no time, we were all on Battle.net playing against other people online.
Soon, it spread from me, Will, and Andy to our next door neighbors, and almost by accident, the ~509~ clan was born. Before I knew it, all of my friends were into Starcraft, and over the next couple years I must have spent over a thousand hours playing that game. At our height, the 509ers grew in number and we played so much that people would notice us by our names when we joined or created games. For a while, I even thought I was unbeatable and that I had become as good I as I could ever be.
But inevitably, times changed, schoolwork started to take over and as studying, sleeping, and video games clashed, something had to give. Not to mention the girl factor, even though she likes playing Starcraft herself (which is definitely a huge plus in my book). As I played less, my skills suffered, and though my love for the game has never waned, a younger generation of 'crafters with higher potential and more dedication passed me by.
Today, I still play semi-regularly, if not for fun, then mostly for the sake of not letting my skills deteriorate. As for the rest of the original 509 boys, only a few still show up in our channel nowadays. Most have moved on by now, possibly to fancier games like Counterstrike or onto a job and career. The people I do see in channel 509, I no longer recognize, and none of them have that once-revered ~509~ extension to their name. It's a far cry from our glory days, that's for sure.
As I reminisce about the old times, I must say that even though the game has probably dropped my GPA by as much as a half point cumulatively from what it could have been, I look back and think only positive things about the whole experience. Call me an addict, but I still love Starcraft no matter what you say. A friend once planned to write a poem entitled "Starcraft and Fellowship," and while it has yet to be released, I am quite sure that this blessed man is in the same boat as myself; he understands what true love for the game means. Other people on the internet have dedicated entire webpages to the game and even produced songs for it. Nerds, but I respect that.
There's just something about the game that sets it apart. Starcraft is not just another video game, for I have played many others in my life without ever becoming nearly as addicted. Battle.net is a community where people all over the world, of all ages can gather and all collectively be entertained by a common interest. When you play together with someone, you can't help but feel some sense of brotherhood as you save a partner from attack or he sends you an overlord to help your cause. When you look at your map, you feel like a king controlling his army and taking care of all his little men. When you win or lose, it can have severe effects on your ego as well as on your mood for the rest of the day.
It's hard to explain it all. For people who have never played the game seriously, you all probably think I am an idiot for writing all this crap. Not that I could blame you, but if you had experienced the crafting sensation for yourself, then maybe you would understand.
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