ZoMbI3 CuPcAK3's blog: "I blog your face."

This is beautiful, and a tradition I intend to start with my children, should I ever have them.

“Recently, I overheard a Mother and daughter in their last moments together at a regional airport. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and she said, ‘I love you. I wish you enough.’

She in turn said, ‘Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.’ They kissed and she left.

She walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’

’Yes, I have,’ I replied. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’ I asked. ‘I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ she said.

‘When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’ She began to smile. ‘That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’

She paused for a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, she smiled even more. ‘When we said ‘I wish you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,’ she continued. Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. Do this if you like. Pick a band that has a lot of songs.

My Artist:
Tori Amos

Are you a male or female?
Cornflake Girl

Describe yourself:
Abnormally Attracted To Sin

How do you feel:
Girl Dissappearing

Describe where you currently live:
I Can't See New York

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Beulah Land

Your favorite form of transportation:
Taxi Ride

Your best friend:
Professional Widow

You and your best friends:
Almost Rosey

What's the weather like:
Snow Cherries From France

Favorite time of day:
Sleeps With Butterflies

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
She's Your Cocaine

What is life to you:
Blood Roses

Your current relationship:
Sorta Fairytale

Your fear:
1000 Oceans

Thought for the Day:
Tear In Your Hand

How I would like to die:
Me and a Gun

My soul's present condition:
Silent All These Years

Most Faithful Companion:
Liquid Diamonds

My motto:
Secret Spell

1. I was born on Friday, 13 February 1976, at 11:58PM. Yes, this makes me an Aquarius. 

2. I'm a modern gypsy. The longest I have stayed in one place in my adult life is two years. Places I've stayed long enough to call home: Paterson,NJ; Tampa,FL; Orlando,FL; New Orleans; London; Tel Aviv; Calcutta; New York City; Oklahoma City; Chicago; Atlanta.

3. I am allergic to pennicillan, coconut, bees, and most laundry detergents. I found all of these out the hard way.

4. I am a daredevil, a show-off, and an accident magnet. This combination has led to almost 100 broken bones and nearly 1000 stitches over the course of my life.

5. The first physical feature I notice about other people is their hands. I'm a sucker for elegance and long fingers. Boys who paint their fingernails get me hot.

6. I have changed careers three times. I started out my life in the entertainment industry...modeling, singing, dancing and acting. Then I switched to the funeral industry. Now, I'm an archaeologist.

7. My middle name is Anna. I went by it for most of my life to avoid the inevitable Christmas jokes caused by my first name.

8. I have dyed my hair every colour of the rainbow and then some. It's been dyed like fire, an astro-pop, cheetah print, rainbow, and several other combinations. I always end up going back to pink. My favourite look I've ever had was white dredlocks with black tips.

9. I have 18 tattoos and continually shift the jewelery in my 20 or so piercings so I am never wearing more than 8 at a time. I plan to end up with 30 tattoos, several brands, a scarification, a subcutaneous implant, and 3 corset piercings eventually.

10. My grandmother was named Guiseppa Leonora, but everyone called her Dora. My grandfather called her Dolly. On his gravestone, it says "Dolly, I'm Home."

11. The first time I had soda I was 13, fast food I was 15, and pasta out of a box I was 18. I had never had wonder bread, a tv dinner, or boxed macaroni and cheese until I went to college.

12. I consider the most profound experience of my life to be visiting the Vatican and Auschwitz within the same week. Seeing the juxtaposition of the best and worst of humanity was humbling and touched me more deeply than any words ever could have.

13. My favourite words are plethora and cybernetic. My least favourite word is moist.

Ok, so this going green thing has become a trend of epidemic proportions. I took some easy steps to green up my world. And prove that you don't have to have a huge budget or an HGTV special to save our planet.
Being green doesn't have to be about turning into a patchouli wearing pothead or an overtanned health freak. So here are my 10 EASY STEPS to going green and staying awesome.

1) DIGITIZE YOUR LIFE. Not only does it make you look cool and all hip and up on the latest technology, it's also good for our planet. Since this is a website!! I thought I would point out that digitizing is one of the best ways to go green today. Ask for online credit card and utility statements. Ask for online checking. Digitize your books, CDs, movies, art, hell, even your Book of Shadows and save up to 100 acres of forest a year all on your own, just by using the tool you are using to read this blog. Don't print anything you don't need to. Reuse the other side of the paper. And use recycled paper. Make sure to recycle or sell all of the things you previously had on paper or disk!

2) BUY GREEN EVEN IF YOU SHOP AT WALMART. Even Corporate Satan (WalMart) now has a huge array of green products available. They work just as well, often cost the same, and are usually even aesthetically pleasing. Cleaning products, toiletries, pet food/litter and paper products ALL have green and easily available options now. Look for aerosol alternatives, chemical free cleaning products, and things that are recycleable and/or made from recycled products. It's become easy to save our planet. Thank the GODDESS for America's blind willingness to follow any trend thrown at them by the media. Let's keep this one up folks. We finally got something right.

3) EAT FROM THE EARTH. Another easy change in today's corporate world. Look for the following tags: organic, hormone free, free range, natural, cage free, no artificial preservatives, locally grown, chemical free. Read labels to make sure it isn't bullshit. Even a blood loving carnivore like me can eat green. Look for meat that doesn't come from factory farmed or cruelly treated animals. Look for cage free or free range eggs, etc. It's available at regular grocery stores. Eat seasonally. Discover your local farmer's market. It is a wealth of chemical free bounty. Every place on earth has one. Everyone has to grow and eat food. Also, the veggies, fruits, honey and various other stuff tastes better and costs WAY less. I still have my double emo girl latte in the mornings. I just make sure the coffee in it comes from somewhere chemical free where workers are not exploited. And the milk is from cows that aren't tortured. STARBUCKS is a god of local and tribal coffee. Even corporate assholes sometimes get it right.

4) DO NOT STAND FOR ANIMAL TESTING AND UNNECESSARY ANIMAL PRODUCT USAGE. It is a thoroughly unnecessary practice. PETA, crazy and militant as they are, has a great list of companies that do and do not test on animals on their website. And find alternatives to things that contain animal products, if you must. You can find leather from natural death animals or a synthetic or natural product alternative, animal product free hair dyes, makeup, soaps and shampoos, and hell, even SHED horns to make your nifty drinking horns, like the one hanging on my wall.

5) LEARN THE POWER OF BOYCOTT. Refuse to shop at stores that carry this stuff. The stores that don't have way cooler stuff anyway. Refuse to work for companies that test on animals. The ones that don't pay their employess more because they don't spend millions killing animals in the name of capitalism.  If enough people do it, it will make a difference. Blah blah animal testing saves lives. Okay, test my cancer medication on a rat, but don't test my goddamned eyeliner on one.

6) LIGHT SUCKS ANYWAY. Ok, so an energy smart light bulb costs like 8 bucks. But it lasts about 50 times as long as the other ones and uses WAY less of our planet's resources. So it's a win-win situation. And for god's sake, don't use lights when you don't have to. a) It will save you a ton of money. b) Darkness is so much more flattering. And remember to unplug shit you aren't using. It really makes a difference. This is something I am guilty of. I forget to unplug stuff. But I know I should dammit, and that's something.

7) BE CREATIVE DAMMIT. Reusing is sort of the forgotten part of the mantra. And multiuse products. Look for things that serve more than one purpose. And if you can't do that, find another purpose. Reuse fabric! I can't tell you how many of my clothes, blankets, and everything else either served another purpose at one point or will in the future. And I am proud to say nothing I own killed an animal so I could own it. Clothing alternatives are out there. They even make leather free hot goth shoes and fetish wear. Find them, do an internet search. I dress like a dominatrix, and it's all animal free. It's possible. You don't have to be boring to be green. I promise.

8) LET YOUR ART SELF GO GREEN. Use natural pigment dyes and paints. And brushes made from natural materials that are *not* animal hair. Shop garage sales for art and craft supplies. I have found 30 dollar canvases for 50 cents. It employs reusing and recycling. And it uses one of the most valuable resources on earth, your community. I know garage saling doesn't SEEM cool, but it is. I swear. Barter and trade are a huge part of our history. Look at buying or trading for other people's junk as participating in a rich cultural tradition!!!

9) YOU CAN STILL BE A GOTHIC DOMINATRIX OF DOOM. Even your thigh high boots come in non leather alternatives. Whips made of hemp hurt just as much as ones made of leather. Yes, there are even green alternatives to SEX TOYS. On the pretties side of it, black dye, hair dye, makeup (even black lipstick!!), piercing jewelery and EVEN TATTOO INK exist in organic, natural product, non-synthetic and earth-friendly incarnations. So see, you don't have to stop wearing mind numbing amounts of black, or being all emo and death obsessed. Although taking care of your planet might improve your mood a bit.

10) AND DUH REDUCE YOUR WASTE, RECYCLE AND COMPOST. This is a big duh.  Use less paper products. Be conscious of how much toilet paper, paper towels, paper and such you use. Pay attention to the packaging on what you buy. If the same product is available with less packaging, buy it instead. When your grocer asks paper or plastic, opt for fabric instead. EVERY grocery store has green bags now for like a buck. It's amazing how naturally paying attention comes when you start the habit. Most paper products, can, bottles (plastic and glass) and even batteries are recycleable. Most organic products, such as food scraps, are compostable. A composter is a great investment and they make them for every lifestyle from a one bedroom apartment to a 500 acre ranch. Also, recycling makes you money!!! And if you don't recycle it, reuse it. There is no reason you can't refill your bottled water. Or rinse a paper towel and use it twice. Or field strip your cigarette butts and throw them away instead of contributing to the cigarette butt coating that lines the urban landscape of America.

*EXTRA CREDIT*

PLASTIC IS EVIL. One of my current projects is replacing all my plastic with alternatives. This is going to be hard, because as someone with a lot of clumsy cats who moves around a lot, I had opted for a LOT of plastic products in my less aware purchasing days. Plastic composes almost HALF of our planet's non-biodegradable matter in landfills. There is a great alternative now made of corn. It's hard to find and a little more pricey, but it biodegrades quickly and is even safe for animals to consume. A good national goal would be to replace 50% of our plastic products with biodegrables in the next 25 years. Use recyclable paper, metal or glass containers where possible, buy things with LESS packaging (I can't insist this enough) and reuse what plastic you do obtain.

See it's easy to go green! You can like...be a lazy, emo, life hating, internet living, cigarette smoking, latte popping childe of the 21st century and still help to ensure that the lazy, angst ridden, space living, hemp smoking, food pill popping children of the next generation have a planet to be miserable and hateful on!!!
 
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY. Get your friends and community aware and involved. Challenge them to make one green change to their life a month. Even take them out to dinner for doing it or something. Or buy them a locally grown soy milk latte!!

Sane people aren't going to hate you if you aren't perfectly 100% green all the time. I'm not. I can't sleep without my television on. I don't always unplug my electronics or even turn them off.  I eat at restaurants and don't check everything. I occasionally buy not local ingredients or something I know isn't green out of convenience. And despite my best efforts, my household still averages a bag of trash per day of waste. But I pay attention. And I am aware when I do something that hurts goddess earth.

So shut up, stop whining about how it's HARD WORK, and learn to live green. Or just slash your wrists and get it over with. But make sure you are buried in a biodegradable coffin and natural fiber clothing.