Goddess Monica's Page

By Tim Wise [white anti-racist activist & writer]
9/13/08
.
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or
who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples
of it, perhaps this list will help.
.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like
Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that
of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right
to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challen-
ges,… Continue

I pretty much breezed through the first day of not smoking. I had a few cravings, but they quickly passed.

Today is a whole different story.

I'm using these lozenges like they're going to make me smarter. I'm still rockin' the patch, but the cravings are vicious!

I also feel like I'm in a fog. My thoughts are so cloudy. My head hurts. My jaw hurts from clenching my teeth. My gums burn from the lozenges. My coffee tastes weird.

Eric asked me if I wanted some wine. I about cried. Yes. I want a… Continue

I made it through the first 24 hours. From my past experiences with quitting, I should be freaking out right now and ready to cave.

Not today.

I armed myself with a myriad of smoking cessation aides. I have lozenges, patches and gum. Right now I'm rockin' the patch/lozenge combo. The patches irritate my skin and the lozenges, like the gum, taste like roasted butthole. (Thanks for that metaphore, Jen!) They are minor annoyances I can live with in order to succeed in being smoke-free.

My son, w… Continue

Tonight is the eve of a huge life event. I'm quitting smoking tomorrow. I've had this quit date in my head for about 3 weeks.

I have smoked most of my life. Cigarettes have become my friends. They are there all the time when I'm happy, sad, angry, stressed. They've accompanied my phone calls. They're always up for having a drink. And they've been my company with morning coffee for years. I've liked them. But the bitches are trying to kill me.

Three weeks ago I went to the doc for an x-ray of m… Continue

I grew up with a not-so-active mom, an absent dad and a step dad I didn't want to be around.

Summer was a time to entertain myself. I climbed trees. I read books. I painted. I rode my bike. I worked in the garden. When I was a kid my mom didn't do things like take us to the pool. We went to parks once in awhile. We didn't really go to carnivals. I didn't go to camp. I didn't take lessons of any kind. I didn't do sports. We didn't go on vacations.

I made up for all of this when I was a teenager… Continue