so uncool

I'm fairly au courant with technology. I may not use all the newest technology though I'm often aware of it. I admire my friends who are early adopters. I'm sometimes in the second wave and sometimes just enjoy what my friends produce. My brother and sister are on MySpace. I have friends who twitter and create YouTube videos. I'm familiar with the promise of Web 2.0.

I'm fairly competent at getting around a computer, a cell phone, and other typical gadgets of this modern age.

But I've fallen so far behind in the drug scene. I used to know about drugs -- the effects of different types, how they got into a user's system, even which friends could provide access for other friends who were curious or in need. And some time, a long time ago, all that information fell away.

A friend and I were talking recently about someone she knows who became a crack addict. She paused. She stared at me. She said "How *do* you do crack?" I stared at her. Um, I've heard of crack pipes, so maybe you smoke it? Do you inject it? I don't know.

What about crystal meth? I know it's highly addictive. I know it makes your teeth rot. I know you get really skinny when you're on it. I know that it's of great concern in the HIV prevention community because it inhibits clear thinking. And... is it injected? Eaten? Smoked? Sniffed? All of the above? Aren't crack and crystal meth variations on the same theme? Or maybe they're entirely different?

Somewhere along the way to acquiring my AARP card, I stopped knowing about these things. I realized that most of what I do know about drugs, at least these days, comes to me via writings by gay people and from HIV prevention literature. Obviously, it's not *that* important to my daily existence. It is sometimes helpful to be a little knowledgeable in case a friend wants to talk about drugs and related issues. It's not crucial, though.

When *did* I become such a fuddy-duddy?