It’s all bullshit. Why do you think both Bush and McCain are pushing for this to happen? Could it be that Bush is getting money from the oil guys to help put even more money in their pockets yet still have us pay more for a gallon of gas? Why not invest the same amount of money into alternative fuel sources that will start helping us get away from our dependence on foreign oil at same time bettering our air quality and helping ease our taxing of the environment. Sure drilling off the coast could help out in the future, say 10 or 15 years from now, but how do we know prices won’t already be lower? And what if solar power is far less expensive than oil and in widespread use? Do we really want to see a bunch of tankers off the coast of California destroying our amazing views?? Didn’t think so.

With more and more people on in the world it means more and more oil being used. What happens when the oil is gone?? Remember the Mad Max films?? You really want to enter the Thunderdome?? TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVES!!!

About 4 months ago I was having lunch with my friend Megan and she suggested I try not drinking soda for a while and see what happens. She suggested it cause I wasn’t using any hot sauce on my burrito and asked why. I told her I constantly had heart burn and that I don’t dare eat anything spicy unless I wanted to be in pain for a few days. I just figured I was going to live the rest of my life with heartburn and it was just something I was going to have to get used too. I never figured it could be from all the soda I drink on a constant basis.

Growing up the family would ALWAYS drink Pepsi with lunch, dinner and everything in between. We would always say the best tasting Pepsi was when it burned while you drank it. And it was, but never thought of the harshness it did to your body. During summer vacation, while I was in school, I would drink a litter bottle of soda a day while I was at work. Then when school got back in I would have the worst headaches for the first month or so cause I didn’t get my daily fix of all that soda. When I got older I started drinking Coke cause it mixed better with rum than Pepsi. Pepsi is way more sweet than Coke and putting a sweet liquor in a sweet soda is not the best taste in the world. Also Coke has way more carbonation in it so it just makes those Rum & Cokes that much better.

So I’ve gone without drinking soda now for about 4 or so months. I’ve been really careful about not drinking soda. If I’m out somewhere eating a meal I will always order iced tea or water. At home I just drink water all day long. If I go to the market to get lunch I’ll grab one of the organic teas. No soda, no sports drinks, not juices. Who would of known that stopping drinking soda would of stopped my heart burn. On top of that I feel better. I’m less tired and my entire body just feels better. When i want to have a cocktail I’ll have a gin & tonic or vodka tonic cause the tonic water doesn’t have all the syrup in it and such. On memorial day I decided to have a Dr. Pepper cause I had been good about not drinking soda and since Dr. Pepper is/was my favorite soda I would treat myself. The thing is, I didn’t enjoy it. It was way too sweet and blah. Too much syrup and just didn’t satisfy as it used too. By having this one Dr. Pepper I think I have completely lost my urge to have a soda again.

And on a side note, I also stopped drinking coffee. I would go up to the Pannikin every day when I got to work and would either have a iced double late with vanilla syrup or an iced coffee with vanilla syrup and it would get me wired for the first 4 hours of my day. Before returning from lunch I would get another to get me through the second half of my day. Now I get what ever herbal iced tea they have that day. I’ve even bought a bag of the tea to make while I’m at home. The funny thing of it all is I used to hate the taste of tea. I would only drink the iced tea with sugar my grandma would make. I forget how much sugar she would put in the tea, but I do remember it would be so much that the tea was no longer clear and had more of a tan color to it rather than the deep brown that most tea has. So now I see why folks drink tea over soda.