Posts Tagged ‘medical marijuana’

And Now for the “Ugly”

{ August 24, 2011 @ 9:47 am } · { The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly }
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I left you with the question at the end of my last post, “Things are sounding good…right?’  Well…

…Wrong!

     After proposing and telling me he missed me, I didn’t hear from him all week.  That doesn’t really add up to me.  But, then again, this is, unfortunately, dating in LA.  And let me just say – it sucks.  Anyway, as the guys do – they flake.  I figured he must have fallen into that same fate, although I didn’t see that coming from him.

     By Saturday night, and a week of complete silence, I sent him this inquisitive and possible sayonara text:

Zia text:  Hey Gameless Joe Jackson, haven’t heard from you in about a week so I’m guessing you’ve moved on?  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bummed.  I hope everything is going well with you, and good luck with your finals.  If I remember correctly, they’re coming up.

     Over an hour later I got this response:

Gameless Joe Jackson text:  Moved on?  Not in the slightest…I have just been studying a whole bunch.  How have you been in the past week?

     Dude, that’s it!  You couldn’t have taken five seconds to send a text that says, “Hey, sorry, I’m a bit busy, but just wanted to say hi?”  You could have even stated, “I can’t talk right now,” and then maybe tossed in, “but hope your week is going well.”  Something – anything – but silence and you expect a girl to still think you’re interested!?  And you’re curious as to why you’re single?

     I know, you’re probably saying, “Well, you could have texted him.”  And I could have, but the previous night’s text indicated that he would contact me.  And I was expecting it around mid-week.  He had been reliable and so on top of things thus far, why would I think differently?

     However annoyed, I kept my composure and texted back that I figured he was studying but thought that I might have heard from him mid-week.  This got no response.  I followed up with asking if his finals were next week.  That, he replied to.  Hmm…talk about neutral “you” subjects, and you’ll answer…interesting.  He said they were the week after, but had projects the following week. 

     This all added up in my head to:  Well, you just ignored me for a week because you claimed to be busy studying.  Now you’re telling me that you have a week of projects = one week, no contact.  Then a week of finals = another week, no contact.  Why did you bother texting back that you’re still interested if you’re trying to brush me off?  I gave you an out.

     Then I took into consideration his lack of game, and the fact that he is taking finals for the first time ten years later in life than when most people do.  I had already gathered from previous chats that he is kind of an all or nothing type of guy.  I also didn’t think he was that suave with time management skills when it came to studying. 

     I jokingly texted back asking if he’d be underground for two weeks.  (Hey, I wanted to know flat-out if he was planning on ignoring me for two weeks but yet was still crazy enough to expect me to be hanging around.)  Alas, that too got no response.

     His personality did seem a little different, a bit off, in his texts, so the next day I just asked how his studying was going.  He did admit to being a little lost, and said he could use some help.  Nice to know I was right about that.  I gave him a few tips and left him alone.

     Mid-week I shot him a quick text just to see how his studying was going.  I was getting the impression he was suffocating himself with books.  Got the brush off that he was busy.

     Meanwhile, I didn’t stop myself from dating.  Had my speed dating adventure, and then a longer-than-five-minutes follow-up date with Mr. 911.  After which I realized that dating Gameless Joe Jackson kind of ruined me.  Dates with him were fun and effortless.  Had the urge to texted him. “you suck,” but I held back.

     When the following week came to a close, and I knew his finals were over, I shot him one more quick text to see how they went.  I wasn’t expecting to start dating him again, but with his bipolar disorder, I was genuinely concerned.  Like I said, his texts didn’t really sound like him.  He replied back and we chatted for a little bit.  He was almost himself but not really.

     I have no idea what went on with him or what happened to him from the beginning of one week to the end of that week.  I am pretty confident it wasn’t some else because our texting times, date times, etc. were always at peak “family/couple time” hours that a significant other would have noticed.  It was like a personality light switch. 

     I talked to Cousin Jo-Jo about it.  She mentioned that she didn’t know much about treating bipolar disorder with medical marijuana, but what she did know was that in a manic state it calms you, but in a depression state it does nothing.  Meaning if he was in a state of depression, he was going untreated.  She ended up suggesting what I was thinking; give him a couple of weeks and then just send a text to see how he is “actually doing.”  She pointed out that if that was it, he may feel to embarrassed to contact me again, knowing he screwed up.

     So I let the time go by and then wrote out the text (which probably should have been an email, but it’s not like I thought he’d give me his email address.)  I said that I wanted to make sure he was actually ok, pointed out the light-switch personality (in so many words), and let him know that I always just accepted him for him.  Basically, I was letting this be my closure.

    Surprisingly enough, I got a response back:

Gameless Joe Jackson text: That was the most intense bombardment of texts I have ever received.  Thanks for your concern.  I would appreciate it if you stopped contacting me.  Best of luck.

     Wow.  So cold.  So distant.  So not the guy I met months before.  I could sit and over analyze, “What if I said this?” or “What if I said that?”  But honestly, do you really want to be dating a guy who is going to run away because one sentence wasn’t worded to his liking?  I sure don’t.  I never got an “it’s not you, it’s me” speech, and I didn’t need one.  Buddy, I know it was you.  And even though I was hurt and bummed for a while, I dusted myself off and got back up again.

     What I have come to find is that I am done dating pot-smoking head-cases.  Mr. ADD didn’t want me (disregard the fact I didn’t want him either) because I didn’t have my own mental disorder.  Damn, my mental stability.  And Gameless Joe Jackson, bipolar, didn’t want me because I cared.  Man, I’m such a horrible person; I was concerned. 

The Big Question

{ August 11, 2011 @ 9:42 am } · { The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly }
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     After my cooking confession, where my last post left off, he started quizzing me on what I could cook.  He ran through a laundry list of things, most of which were no-brainers for me.  Then I saw a lightbulb go off in his head.
Gameless Joe Jackson: Can you make apple pie?
Zia’s Thoughts: Christ. When I said I could cook, I meant I could cook – whatever.
Zia: Yes, I can make apple pie.
Gameless Joe Jackson: (flat and serious) Will you marry me?
Zia: So you’ve heard enough?
Gameless Joe Jackson: Yeah, I’ve heard enough.  I know all I need to know.
Zia: Is your family aware that you’re gonna sell yourself out for the promise of apple pie?
I don’t really recall his response to that since I was trying to hold back laughter as to how serious he was about the marriage proposal over my word that I can cook.
We carried on.  Of course the medical marijuana topic made an appearance.  I found out he “medicates” because he’s bipolar.  Apparently it runs in the family…as he called it, “bad breeding stock.”  He also told me that I could relax and be myself.  Um…I just told you I wouldn’t cook for you because you’d fall in love with me.  Does that sound like a woman who is holding back?  I just told him I was being myself.  Guess he thought I’d cuss like a sailor or something.  I did take that opportunity to ask him if I made him nervous.  Bipolar hyper manic phase aside, I could tell he was a bit jittery.  He confirmed, “Yes, very.”
He asked if I wanted to walk to another bar down the road a bit.  He said he likes to bar hop, but I noticed that he just can’t sit still.  Every date we relocate.  I said okay, and he said he would have to “medicate” before we go.  I noticed on the other dates, and their length, that he never smoked while with me.  He said he knew I didn’t like it, so he held off.  After blurting out “bipolar,” all his hyperness from previous dates made sense, and he really does need to chill and take care of business.  I ran to the bathroom while he did his thing, and when I returned he was already done and waiting.  He had his sunglasses up to point out that not all potheads have bloodshot eyes.  He is very self-conscious about many things, I’ve noticed.
Like a mom, I asked if he needed to go to the bathroom.  He had had a few and we were going walk about a mile to the next bar.  He said no that he was fine.  Mid walk I notice him slowly picking up pace.
Zia: You have to go the bathroom, don’t you?
Gameless Joe Jackson: Yes. Yes, I do.
Zia: (little chuckle) Mm-hmm…
Gameless Joe Jackson: If we can just keep this pace…
Thoroughly entertained by this, but not teasing him too much, we kept talking to distract him from his abundant bladder activity.
He brought up food again, and again started asking about things I could make.
Gameless Joe Jackson: Can you make cheesecake?
Zia: Yes. I made one once with a coworker and we sliced apples and soaked them in dark rum. It was great.
And without skipping a beat he said, “Soooo, we haven’t set a date yet.”
Took me a minute to register what he was talking about, and then it dawned on me.  Had we walked by a courthouse, I’m sure he would have dragged me in and married me on the spot.

 

 

To read the next post from The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly series, click here.

As We Carried On

{ July 22, 2011 @ 9:09 am } · { The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly }
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My last post about licensed pot-smoker, Gameless Joe Jackson, had us leaving Dave & Busters and continuing on.  Here’s what followed.

     We headed to a new restaurant and our conversation continued.  We talked about things we want for our futures, how many kids, additional schooling for him, he’s pre-law now, and a bunch of other topics.  I was being interviewed, but for once I didn’t feel like it.  All his questions were very conversational and time flew by.
     He was very good about not looking at his phone while we were together, but it must have been vibrating a lot on the seat next to him because he looked annoyed and then apologized and said his brother kept texting him.
     He picked up his phone to read his texts and then said, “My brother wants to know if we’d like to meet him for a round.”
     Okay, I was gathering the fact that he was smitten…but apparently so was his brother.  At this point, our date was going on four hours.

Zia: Uh, isn’t it getting late?
Gameless Joe Jackson: (teasingly) Well, yes it is.  It is all of 8:30pm.

     I knew very well it wasn’t “late,” but a four plus hour date?  I made a remark about him possibly getting sick of me or tired or something, and he replied:

Gameless Joe Jackson: Actually, I’m having a really good time.
Zia: Me too.

     We finished dinner.  I declined on the drink.  And, despite his brother crashing and the medical marijuana thing,  I was actually hoping to see him again.
     I drove him back to his car.  I got an odd passenger/driver hug good-bye, what I’m assuming was supposed to be a kiss on the cheek, but was more on the jawbone, and said good night.
     The next afternoon I shot him a text telling him I had a good time and hoped to do it again.  I got a very excited reply back telling me he couldn’t wait to do it again.  We texted quite a bit throughout the day.  And the next day he wished me a Happy Birthday.  Sweet of him to remember.
     I didn’t hear from him that Monday, but Tuesday morning I received this text: “Hey you happened through my thoughts, so I just wanted to say hi and have a good day.”

     This guy is really quite adorable, and starting to grow on me.

 

To read the next post from The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly series, click here.

And the Pitch

{ July 20, 2011 @ 10:17 am } · { The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly }
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Monday’s post, The Wind Up, left off in the midst of my date with Gameless Joe Jackson.  Allow me to fill you in on the conversation cliffhanger I left you with.

Gameless Joe Jackson: So I just have to tell you that I take medical marijuana.  I smoke everyday.
Zia: Oh.  (Here we go.)
Gameless Joe Jackson: I have a license.

     To which he leaned to the side to get his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out his medical marijuana license to show me.  It looked official, but how would I know?  He then went on about it a little, and I listened.  He started to say why he chose pot over other drugs.  And as he began his sentence I finished it with –

Zia: …rather than take a bunch of pills and destroy your liver.
Gameless Joe Jackson: Yes! (As his eyes lit up with excitement. I got it.)

     We talked about it a bit more and I voiced how I don’t date smokers (meaning cigarettes) and although I get why he’s using pot, I’m never gonna smoke up with him.  He was okay with all of that and pointed out that he was relieved I wasn’t getting up and running away.  Didn’t bring it up, but Dude, I’ve heard it all. My shock factor is off the charts.  It’s gonna take more than pulling out a medical marijuana license to have me running for the hills.  I didn’t press as to why he was taking it.  He mentioned something about the military and figured I can ask later after I get to know him a little better.  However, he did mention that the day he was shipped off to boot camp was…9/11.  Okay, Dude, you’re allowed to have issues.
     The conversation continued and we brushed up on the “I’m broke” email and he joked how he could have a beer a month.  When he offered to get me another, I teased him about blowing his budget and making a girl feel special.  His eyes went down and he seemed to blush a little.  It was kind of cute.
     After a beer or two it was time for a bathroom run.  When I returned, he looked at me and said…

Gameless Joe Jackson:  So, you may be meeting my brother.
Zia: Huh?
Gameless Joe Jackson:  My brother text me and said he and his girlfriend are on their way here.
Zia:  Is he coming to check me out?  Make sure I’m okay.
Gameless Joe Jackson:  He’s worried.  Wants to make sure you’re not a serial killer or something.
Zia’s Thoughts:  Yeah, Dude.  You’re 6’2″ ex-military and your brother’s worried about me. 

     Well, this was a first.  I’ve never had someone’s family member join in on a first date.  I was only the second person he had met from online dating and I gathered the first woman was a bit of a wacko, so little bro was making sure I wasn’t another nutcase.
     We continued chatting and then I saw him staring over my shoulder.  I figured his brother had arrived.  His brother stayed by the entrance, so Gameless walked over to him.  When he came back, I asked if his brother approved.  He joked that he sized me up, realized I was small, and had nothing to worry about.  Duh.  His brother remained in the restaurant but went off to a different area.  I never saw or met him, but it was weird knowing someone was there who could peek over at any time.  Felt like I was being graded or spied on.  It was especially nerve-wracking when I went on another bathroom run and I didn’t see, but knew someone could be watching me.  Very odd, but I’m a trooper.
     After I returned from my bathroom break, he asked if I wanted to go grab something to eat.  I was starving at this point and that sounded great.  Dave & Buster’s was getting a bit noisy, and we didn’t want to stay there to eat.  Since we drove separately, I asked if he wanted me to just follow him there.  He quickly took in the comfort level of the situation and asked if I wouldn’t mind driving, rather than me feeling unsafe in his car.  He was very considerate.  I agreed to drive.  He asked me to hold on as he walked off to the direction I was assuming was his brother’s.  When he returned…

Gameless Joe Jackson:  Ok.  Ready?
Zia:  Did “dad” say it was okay?
Gameless Joe Jackson:  (laughing)  Yeah.
Zia:  Did you get your allowance?
Gameless Joe Jackson:  (patting his wallet) Yup.  All set.

 

To read the next post from The Good, the Bad & the Ugly series, click here.