It's official. I'm a tree-hugger.



You know what kills me?  The thought of breathing in air that's trapped in elevators and vestibules (fun word, aint it?).  As soon as I walk in, I (slightly) start to panic.  I try to take the least amount of breaths possible... but you know what happens?  You start breathing quickly because you're nervous and so you begin to breathe in even More Funk Air and.. that just plain Sucks.  I like Fresh Air.  Knowing that things are moving around...  not just sitting there being... stagnant would be the word.  I don't like stagnant.  Who likes stagnant??  Let's see a show of hands.  haha...  Feel free to join me in saying "stagnant" aloud about 10 or 12 times...  you'll start to feel a little weird.  Did you ever just stare at your thumb?  For like a good 3 minutes.  Whoa.  Things start to look VERY creepy after a few minutes.  What ISS that??  Why do things start to look strange?? 

I attended a funeral over the weekend at Sylvania Hills Cemetery.  (Very nice place by the way)  The gentleman was honored by the Beaver County Special Unit with full military honors.  That includes a rifle salute, the playing of Taps and the presentation of the flag to the widow.  Is there anything out there more touching and gut-wrenching than these few moments?  WOW.  You don't even have to know the family and it's still one of the saddest things one will ever witness.  There is So Much RESPECT & HONOR that goes on in that 10 minute presentation.  Taps will get you every time.  I don't know what it is about that song, but MAN its like a sharp blade right thru the heart.  Even the firing of the guns...  man.. I've got chills right now just thinking about it.  The dedicated veterans, all lined up in their clean, pressed uniforms, ready to honor their fallen comrade.  I think it's fantastic what these guys do.  It means more than you can imagine to the families.  You can learn a little more about them here:   http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_405291.html

I am now CPR certified.  Something I've wanted to be for a Long time now.  I thought there was a lot more involved in being certified, but not so much.  I especially wanted to learn the proper details of the Heimlich Maneuver because I have a fear (one of many) of witnessing someone choke in a restaurant and not being able to help.  Now I can.  The problem with me tho..  is my brain is very un-sponge-like, so I'm going to have to read the details... over and over.  The number 1 thing kids choke on?   Legos.  Number 2?  Coins.  Beware Parents!!  The number 1 thing adults choke on??  Dentures. 

I feel like I should put stink bugs in here somewhere, since they are "Taking over our Land".  haha.  They are everywhere at my place.  Some people don't see any.  What I'm Really happy about is that they are not in the spider category for me.  Meaning... they don't scare the piss out of me.  I handle them w/ no problem.  Now, if my windows and doors were completely infested by Spiders???    Dude.   I'd have to douse my house in gasoline.  Besides the fact that there are millions of them around, the stink bug itself I find very cute.  They mean no harm... they're not Creepy.. they don't have creepy Legs everywhere...  they have cute little feet and legs and they make me laugh when they walk.  And I like the sound they make when they fly.  Like they have little motors.  They just make me laugh.  That's all there is to it.

October is here.  Well, almost.  October puts a big smile on my face.  Pumpkins.  Apple festivals.  Long sleeve shirts.  *long nose inhale*  ahhhh...  that cool, crisp autumn air.  Some would want to add haunted houses to this list.  Not me.  I'm petrified.  Teenagers running after me with fake chainsaws?  I don't find that fun.   I don't like being scared.  I don't like being snuck up on.  I don't like thinking about evil things.  I like sunshine... and drum circles.   =) 

I'd wreck my car for a rainbow.

I think it would be worth it to crash my car while looking at a rainbow.  Saw one this morning on my way to work.  Why do I always wonder if everyone else is looking at this thing in amazement?  Why do I give a poop??  I'm just curious I guess.  I've obviously seen rainbows before, but each time it's like the very first time.  HAHA.. some cheesy 80s song just popped into my head..  "It feels like the fiiirst tiiimee.... feels like the Very first tiiime!"  who knows this song??   Anyway...  it was BadAss. [the rainbow, not the song]  I even saw the "end" of it.  I wonder how the whole pot of gold thing came about.  I'm not sure exactly what it is or Why it is, but it's extremely fucking cool... I know that.  I have lost my faith over the past couple of years, but it really does make me want to believe in something again.  It just seems so damn Special.  I suppose it's all in the way you look at things... which is the case in every situation in life.  Like.... when I looked to the sky... on my right it was all gray...  on my left was Blue skies and fluffy white clouds... with a rainbow thrown in... like a happy artist's canvas.  Bob Ross if you will.  Now That guy knew how to view life.  Who else could get excited about painting a happy little bush??

Ducks.  Geese.  Whatever they are.  They fly together.  Most of the time in a V shape.  This really blows me away.  Okay, I can maybe get why they form a "V", but I want to know how they decide who's in front.... who's gonna lead the V today guys????  And what slackers are gonna be in the very back?  Do they rotate?  If ya'll have an answer for me, I absolutely want to hear it.  I also love how birds fly together in flocks... and they look like a school of fish... they make a quick turn and the school stays in tact.  It's So Cool.

Lastly, on this fine Monday afternoon, I would like to mention the song "No Quarter" by Led Zeppelin.  I don't expect anyone to like it... or go out and listen to it... and I really don't care if everyone but me hates it.  I just think it deserves to be mentioned.  Yes, I am a rock and rolla at heart.  I love All Kinds of music and I mean all kinds.  But I bleed rock and roll... for sure.  Certain songs just Get To Me.  And No Quarter is one of them.  I love it and it's Fucking Fantastic.  Amen.   

Sense Extravaganza.

It was a "sense-sational" morning.  It truly is amazing what music can do for a person.  I know for a fact there are people out there who do not view music as an integral part of their lives.  That is sad to me, but if they don't feel they are missing anything, then, why would I be sad?  Ignorance is bliss.  I just think how it can benefit the lives of many.  Music in general is a really really really cool thing.  People sitting around, being creative with mulitiple instruments, including their vocal cords, fulfilling a desire inside them to.... express and release.  Express their emotions... and release tension and frustration, among other things.  The beauty of music is that there is no limit to what can be done/expressed.  So... drums, guitar, bass, saxaphone, whatever it may be...  Great.

But the thing I love most about music... is how it becomes part of you and once it's in you, it never goes away.  Popping in a CD I bought when i was 17 and listening to it today...  it's like I'm 17 again.  I'm Feeling how it felt to be 17.  I'm Seeing my apartment at that time.  I can Hear conversations and people's voices I hung out with then.  Emotions.  Smells.  You name it.  It All comes flooding back.  And what a Cool Ass thing that is.  In some cases, it brings back some negative memories, but that's all part of life.  It can't All be one big, plump strawberry. [haha "plump".  what a funny word.  say it a few times... you'll see]  It makes us FEEL.  Feel human.  Feel real.  Feel like we are part of something bigger.  Like life actually has some meaning and it's not just some sick experiment.

We all have different tastes, but you gotta find what type of music makes your soul Zing.  All kinds of music does it for me.  This morning it was Alice In Chain's Facelift.  Came out in August 1990.  I wasn't quite 15 at that time, but I don't think I got the "tape" till a year or two later.  And now, 20 years after it's release, it still blows my mind.  It's just Everything about it.  What it does to me when I listen to it, thinking about the whole grunge scene in Seattle in the 90s, thinking about Layne Staley's mental strife, those amazingly heavy, dark chords and thunderous drums.  Ahh... I just LOVE it.  But the best is.. that Voice.  Oh, that voice.  Drugs have taken Many amazingly talented humans [even tho it was a choice].  But let's face it,  the best music/vocals came about when people were in fact stoned out of their mind.  [things change drastically when people get clean/mature, but that's a whole other blog]  That voice is utterly AMAZING.  Take a listen to one of my favorites on the disc.. "Love Hate Love".  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Another favorite is "It Ain't Like That".  MAN.  You want to get a good laugh... be a fly on the window in my car when that song comes on.  I go nuts.  What a fun ride into work it was this morning!  Haha.  Good, good times.

This new shampoo I have.  Wow.  The smell... blows my mind.  It actually smells exactly like strawberry Starburst [the chewy candy if you're unfamiliar].  Why would you want your hair to smell like strawberry Strarburst???  I don't know, but it smells DeeLish.  I have a lot of different types of "fragrances".  Fragrances?  NO.  Haha.  It's perfume.  Fragrance is something that snooty women say behind the counter at Macy's.  So I like a lot of different smells, obviously, but one perfumey that sticks out as Amazing to me is "Secret Crush" by Victoria Secret.  WOW.  There are seriously no words to explain the levels of pleasure while smelling this smell!  Haha..    sometimes I truly think I'm insane.  So yeah, I highly recommend it.

So this morning, after exiting the shower, I was listening to Facelift, feeling the towel-dried hair on my face as I head banged (slightly), smelled my starburst hair, then sprayed my skin with this...  enchantment.  Ah..  what a Sense overload.  It was a GREAT morning.  ;)

Funny tho, how one tiny thing can throw you off and change your mood dramatically.  But guess what awaits me in my car at lunch time????   Yep.  More goodness in the cd player.  Have a great Thursday, ya'll.