Poem Is Me -- Part Deux

Hi all,

For lack of an original post, I figured I'd put another poem of mine "out there" for scrutiny and mocking :) Two of my favorite pasttimes for sure! BTW...it's sunny AND warm here in Chi-town today. Explains those winged pigs I spotted outside my window earlier. Happy reading!

Green B out :)

All Sales Final
You didn't know
I was a knockoff
a copy of the designer
original
almost as good but
not quite
the quality lower
the mechanism slower
a bargain for
a bargain price

Buyer beware
that's what mom said
and the consumer
should heed such
warnings
all sales final
how could I know
you'd fall
hard and fast
for the deal of a lifetime

Things That Make You Go Boo

So...I'm watching "Into the Wild" right now (and LOVING IT, btw, though it is depressing to say the least!) and it occurs to me that giving up every material thing and leaving everyone I know would terrify me. Which naturally led me to thinking of what else scares me in this world, and of course caused me to ponder what scares everyone else. The funny thing is, I'm not afraid of most of what scares my friends -- I love the dark (in fact, I watch most of the scary movies I see in the dark...alone), I love heights (I've bungee-jumped and LOVE all roller coasters at Great America), and I'm perfectly content being alone. Still, I do have few fears (not "frog fear" like Willow from Buffy, but a few trepidations nonetheless). I'll show you mine...I just hope at least one person shows me theirs :)

• Facials -- I'd never had one before. Last summer I went with a group of female family members for a spa day. I must note that in the past few years I've somehow developed a heightend sense of anxiety due to stress. Typically I don't notice adverse effects. Ironically, the one activity meant to relax me and reduce my stress turned out to freak me out. After the inital facial cleansing, the facilist (or whatever the correct term is for a person who gives you a facial) placed a warm towel over my face...completely covering it. For some reason, when she put the towel on my face, I had a panic attack...all of a sudden I couldn't breathe and I literally jumped out of the chair while at the same time shaking the towel off my face. I am now truly afraid of facials and will NEVER have one again.
• Spiders -- I don't jump on chairs or anything...but I'm scared of them IF I CAN'T IMMEDIATELY KILL them. See, if I spot a spider and it then escapes my line of vision, I am afraid of where it has gone and when it will next appear...I imagine it finding its way to my bedroom while I'm sleeping...and that skeeves me out!
• Being a passenger in the front seat of a car -- back in college, a friend of mine took a left turn too fast and hit a tree...on the passenger side. Since then, I've been a less than ideal co-pilot in driving situations. I don't call shot-gun. I prefer the back seat. If I'm forced to be a front-seat passenger, I tend to close my eyes a lot. And I do have curb fear!!
• My breathing, of late -- last summer I had this weird heart/breathing thing happen where my heart began beating irregularly and my breath caught in my throat. Luckily, the heartbeat thing never happened again. But breathing weirdness happened a few months back again, and the dr. said there isn't anything wrong and that it was probably anxiety. But I doubt that...because since then I've had some mondo stressful situations where no breathing issues surfaced, and alternately as things have become less stressful, I've started to notice what I call "breathing blips" again. These freak me out because every time it happens I think "not yet...I'm not ready to stop breathing" (which in my mind translates to not being ready to not live more). Which segues nicely into my final fear...
• Life -- for some reason, I'm afraid to just go out there and "live out loud." I am my own worst enemy. I hold myself back. I scare myself :) Boo!

Ok...so what are you afraid of? I'd love to hear about it! Happy rainy Saturday in Chi-town, folks. Green B goin' bye-bye. Catch you on the flip-side.

GB

Leaving On a Jetplane...

Ok, so I'm not leaving on a jetplane. I'm leaving on an American Airlines domestic flight. And I'm not leaving until May 2nd. But I am leaving. And I'm going to Arizona for four glorious, warm, non-crappy weather filled days. I can't wait. This winter, and now this spring, has been kicking my butt! I (naively) thought that surely by mid-April this crazy, punishing Chicago weather would relent...but alas, no such luck. So, to all those with seasonal affective disorder...I feel your pain. Shout out. Hey ya! I'm actually listening to my playlist labeled "blah," if that helps describe my state of mind. Sure, there was a bit of sunshine today...with 40-degree temperatures. So far '08 is turning out to be a lose-lose proposition (at least weatherwise). So, I say proudly, I can't wait to visit my childhood friend of 28 years in Tucson...because it's been 8 years since I saw her last, and because she lives in the warm place. Where smiles and sunshine abound. Lovely :)

This past weekend I watched "Sweeney Todd" on DVD. I was totally excited to see it...which is why I can't believe I'm saying this...I was bored by it! I never thought a movie-musical about a cute, murderous barber in England would could ever be boring. But I found it a snooze-fest. And this is coming from a gal who loves all things dark, scary, mysterious and horror-filled. Oh, and all things sarcastic, cheeky and musical. Maybe everyone else loved it. Maybe I'm crazy. But I'll take Johnny Depp in Pirates any day!

This past weekend I also saw the musical JERSEY BOYS. It rocked!!! I loved it...and I want to see it about 10 more times (ok, maybe two more times...I'm not made of money). It was the first musical I've seen where I haven't been bored at all. Yes, I admit, there were moments of boredom when I saw CATS (in '85...oy), PHANTOM, and LION KING. I still need to see Wicked...that's on my to-do list. Along with getting a tattoo one day. We'll see which one happens first ;)

Right now I'm reading Diablo Cody's (screenwriter of Juno, Chicagoland native) autobiography of her year spent stripping in Minnesota (I know, BRRRR, right?) and it rocks. She has the best "voice" I've read in a long time. Snarky, funny, honest and a bit woeful. Love it. Thank you, Stacey K., for lending it to me!

That's really all the aimless rambling I had in mind for this post. Although I do have to say that I was doing laundry this weekend (major miracle, but not the point...see, I have to go outside to access the wondrous cleaning machines) and when I opened my back door, I spooked a squirrel who was, for some reason, hanging out on the stairwell railing. See...I DO have squirrel karma. I'd really rather have millionaire karma, but a gal's gotta take what she can and work with it. Next month is the SATC movie...another tangent...but SO worth it. Cannot wait!!! But, if Carrie and Big don't end up together I'm gonna be one cross bee, I tell ya. Not to be confused with a Crosby. That ain't nowhere near me.

Happy almost tax-deadline day. I sit next to accountants...believe me, even I'm looking forward to 4/15!!!

Peace, love and chocolate :)

GB flying away (well, soon)