Paradise

Some people say that their paradise is a beach.
Yeah, I can see that. Warm, sandy beaches with clear blue water.
Oh, yeah. I could take some beach therapy right now.
                         Others say their paradise is a mountain lodge, engulfed by snow.
                         I can see that, too. Skiing/snowboarding by day,
                         cuddling up in front
                         of a fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate by night.
                          Sounds cozy.
                                          All of that is great.

                                         But my personal paradise is a wooded farm in Chesterfield, Virginia.

                            You may think I'm crazy, since VA is humid and full of bugs,

                                            but nothing beats lying in the grass, soaking in the glorious Southern air.

                                         Ancient trees act as a barricade, blocking the outside world from you.

                   Deer creep across the lawn, savoring the luscious grass.

                                                Birds serenade you as frogs try to ruin the moment. But in reality, the sounds  

                                                of frogs croaking adds depth to the whole effect. At night, the crickets

                             replace the birds. Fireflies dance. It's still humid, but it's worth it.

                                 Virginia woods amaze. They glisten. They inspire.

Circle

Sunrise. Sunset. Darkness.

Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. 

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. 

Brush teeth. Floss. Listerine.

OR

Floss. Brush teeth. Listerine. 

Wake up. Act like a zombie. Mentally wake up. Sleep.

Birthday. Presents. Cake. Birthday ends. 

Eat. Savor. Swallow. 

Up. Down. Up. Down. 

It's the circle of life, ya'll. Everything begins. Everything ends...

except for everlasting gobstoppers...Willy Wonka just defies the laws of the circle of life.

No matter how great a thing is, it usually has to end. Otherwise, you wouldn't appreciate it. 

Life is a gift. Death is when you have to return the gift to the store.

Why you'd want to return life to Walmart, I don't know. It's just some random metaphor.

I guess you could return the Game of Life. 

So why bother? If you're going to die eventually, why even try? 

Because life is good. No matter how hard it may seem, the ability to live, laugh, love, dance, sing, talk, etc, is worth it. So keep your head up. When your life comes full circle, be proud of what you've accomplished.

That is all. 

Ode to Diet

Oh diet, how I love you.
You make my heart smile,
as you keep my stomach unsatisfied.
I long for the crunch of goldfish crackers
or chips
or cookies.
My mind (and you) tell me NO
but my heart tells me GO!
But then I remember
that I'm only humoring you
to support my dad...
but losing some poundage could be
beneficial...I suppose.
Why, oh why, did I agree to this?
My dear diet, you are killing me.
You and your oh so amorevolous
eating restrictions.
You say I can eat as many veggies as I want?
Oh, lucky me. You're too kind.
And I really enjoy eating a turkey burger
wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Thanks for suggesting it.
Your food regimen shows tough love.
But you do love me, right?
LIES!

Fear

I fear the unknown

but I look forward to it. What if something happens and my life totally changes? That's a scary thought, but what if it's for the better? I'll still be scared of it...until I realize it is good.

I fear change. 

Change is scary. I was terrified when I moved to Utardia. I was scared on the first day of the semester, when some of my classes changed. I was daunted when I had to speak Spanish for 24 hours this weekend. Every time, I survive change, but sometimes, it just isn't pleasant. And I fear unpleasant things.

I fear rejection. 

There's a reason I don't always put myself out there for everyone to see. I don't want to get hurt or embarrassed or ridiculed. Bad news never makes me happy. But even then, a lot of times, the bad news isn't as bad as I actually imagine it to be. I guess rejection does help you appreciate good news.

I guess most of the serious things that I fear are rational, but unnecessary. Most of the time, the unknown, change, and rejection help me become a better person. But I'm still scared of them. Just like how I'm scared of spiders, snakes, animals with big pointy teeth that chase me, little bunny foo foo, the white residue on an orange after you peel it, soy sauce, falling from high altitudes, swimming in deep water, sharks, getting in a car crash...the list could go on and on in this non-poetic format :)

I'm Thinking About You

I'm thinking about you like Charlie Brown thinks about kicking that football.
And Lucy thinks about making Charlie Brown look stupid.
Poor Charlie Brown.


I'm thinking about you like goldfish think about whatever they think about
for their three seconds of memory. And cheddar.


I'm thinking about you like hypochondriacs think about the common cold.
and mold.
And being bold
in taking medicines for that supposed cold.


I'm thinking about you like germaphobes think about public bathrooms.
And hand sanitizer.
And hand sanitizer in the public bathrooms.


I'm thinking about you like tylenol thinks about headaches.
And headaches think about tylenol.
And you. I get headaches when I think about you.
Because I think about you as much as the sun thinks about shining.
And diners think about dining.


I'm thinking about you like insomniacs think about sleep.
And sleep thinks about dreams.
And dreams think about Sleeping Beauty.
Because she's always talking about her "Once Upon a Dream."


I'm thinking about you like cowboys think about horses.
And country girls who move to the city think about acres
and trees and horses and the goats...
who always think about eating.


I'm thinking about you like accents think about Britain.
And Britain thinks about those obnoxious Americans.
Like American girls think about foreign boys.


I think about you like sinks think about being emptied.
Like old toys think about being played with.
Like skunks think about spraying
and kids think about playing.


I think about you like peanut butter thinks about jelly.
And bananas. And no-bakes. And the endless recipes
that involve it.


I think about you like authors think about inspiration.
Like high school seniors think about graduation.


Long story short, I think about you. A lot.

Save the Words!!

Some people adopt orphans. I adopt words.

Did you know that hundreds of words drop from the English language due to lack of use? 

I didn't think so. 

You're probably thinking, "That's TRAGIC, but there's nothing I can do about it." But guess what? There's a solution to this epidemic of disappearing words.  And it begins with YOU!

There's a magical website called  http://savethewords.org/site.swf . As a concerned citizen of English-speaking society, you can ADOPT a word and pledge to use it as much as possible! Whoa, I know you're excited, but you can stop shouting for joy now. I adopted the word 'amorevolous': (adj) affectionate; doting. So I'm going to try to use it as much as possible.

Are you inspired yet? Well you should be. 

So be a hero. Save a life. Adopt a word. 

No words were harmed in the creation of this over-dramatized promotion. My name is Nimbus Zest and I approve this message. The end. Adios. Ciao.

Happily Ever After

What is love? (baby don't hurt me...sorry, it's habit.) 

Well...that's a good question. Love is a lot of things. It can be how you feel about food, animals, family, friends, and/or that certain someone.  But as it is the month of love and pink merchandise (don't believe me? next time you go to Walmart, look around), I figure I'll just talk about the type of love that exists in fairy tales...and real life.

First of all, I think we all overestimate the appearance of love. In the words of a Disney classic... 

"Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance. Like so many things, it is not what outside, but what is inside that counts." 

Aladdin

I think that a lot of people just assume that love is a dramatic event, but it can be anything from a glance between two twitterpated people to an admiring compliment.

But...that's not very fun to blog about so...

this is what every girl dreams that love is:

And while Disney love stories can be semi-shallow...they emphasize the fact that love is a lovely, happy thing :) Everybody needs a happily ever after at some point.

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I bought you some fries,

and a hamburger, too.

Sadly, I'm not the author of this fine poem, but I was the recipient of it. On a dark and stormy night (well, just dark), I was watching TV (Disney Channel....yeah...) when the dramatic sound of my doorbell rang. And, just like any other lazy teenager, I let someone else answer it. Then, my mom called me to the door. So, I was forced to remove myself from the oh-so-comfy couch and momentarily say goodbye to whatever I had been watching. How tragic. But my sadness disappeared the moment I saw the certain someone standing awkwardly by the front door. As I didn't know this person very well at the time, it was pretty weird seeing him on my doorstep. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking nervous. We chatted for a little bit, until he finally said, "The reason I came was to bring you these fries. They're very good." As he said that, he handed me a Sonic bag and ran out the door. Inside the bag were...fries! Surprise, surprise. And yes, they were very good.

So, I was really confused...even more so when the next night, someone ding-dong-ditched our house with another Sonic bag, which brings us back to the lovely poem above. Someone had written it on the bag...and there was a hamburger in it! 

 So if you're actually reading this totally random story, you're probably wondering why I'm writing about this. To be honest, I don't really know. I guess I could mention that the whole thing turned out to be a joke (from my friends...not random people), but that's kind of anti-climactic to my story. Oh well. I guess the moral of the story is, Sonic hamburgers and fries make for very good doorbell ditching tools. Just FYI :)