'Ello poppet!

Interaction with real people is something that plagues me on daily basis.

I suppose that's a tad dramatic, but I'm talking about people I don't know. Strangers, one may call them. Why are they called strangers? Are they strange? Who are they stranger than? Maybe this is an issue with definitions of words changing over time. My favorite of which is "awesome." Yeah! Awesome man! But I like to use it in the sense that something inspires awe (which, according to Google, is a "feeling of reverential respect mixed with wonder or fear"). Suddenly all of these people saying awesome is so much more intense!

This is not the point though. I was a very shy child, and it took a lot of time for me to be able to approach strangers and have a conversation. (Having a job REALLY helps with this.) Now, the feeling of human camaraderie is something I try to achieve every day. But since I am still not the most outspoken and extroverted person, my daily challenge goes something like this:

(at the grocery store)
OK Emily. You're going to pass the guy with samples of food soon. He's probably going to offer one. What  do you say? What do you say?! You're really close now! He's taking a breath, he's going to--

Him: "Good morning!"
Me: "Hi!" OK, that was the easy part.
Him: "Would you like to sample our freshly made salsa? It's made right in the store, and it's organic!"
Me: "No, thank you." Gahhhh why did he ask me?

And here's why I'm afraid of strange social interaction when it goes beyond "hello." Everything starts out great, each person is positive, because there's nothing negative about a "hello" (unless you say it really creepily, don't do that). After a "hello," there is either a statement offered ("it's so lovely today!") or a question asked ("isn't it lovely today?"). This prompts yet another response, which puts stress on the receiver of the offering, and at this point my heart is beating so hard I'm surprised the other person doesn't see my whole body heaving with anticipation.

HOWEVER, if I am the one saying "hello" first, then there is a smaller chance of questions being thrown at me.

Me: "Good afternoon!"
Stranger: "Why hello."

Lalala, we smile and go along with our lives.

I'm not saying that having a conversation with someone at the grocery store is a bad thing, or something to be avoided. I'm not saying that asking about your neighbor's dog because you heard it was sick is something that should make you feel stressed out. I'm just weird, and if you battle shy-ness like me, I want to encourage people to at least say "hello." And if you're a social butterfly with the entire world, go make someone get out of their comfort zone by, for example, striking up some small talk and offering to reach for the orange juice on the highest shelf. (I'm pretty sure the orange juice is never on the highest shelf, but I'm really in the mood for orange juice and you get what I mean).

We're all just people. We all have struggles and passions and fears. We all feel alone at one point or another. Is it really that hard to believe that a simple greeting can change someone's day for the better?



TL;DR: Go say hi to someone you don't know today! We are all furless, two-legged creatures, so let's acknowledge our fellows. :)

Nurture: An Introduction

I'm becoming an eco-enthusiast. And for those of you who are tired of hearing about how humans are ruining the planet, and how horrible of a species we are, blah blah blah, hear me out.

What is waste?

When I try to wrap my head around "waste," I just go brain dead. (I'm speaking of materialistic waste, not bodily waste here. Oh my gosh, did she just talk about poop?) It doesn't make sense to me. Nature recycles itself. Plants grow, animals eat them, animals eat those animals, things die, more things eat those dead things, and more plants grow. It's a never-ending cycle. It is a balance.

So why do land fills even exist?

I'm not saying that humans can live without producing some kind of waste--that's not likely in our society. But I feel like something went horribly wrong sometime. Somehow we decided that certain things are no longer useful, and instead of taking responsibility for that stuff, we just threw it in a big pile and tried not to think about it.

I picture this behaviour as something children would do. Imagine 5 year-olds, not a care in a world, playing house and disposing a giant pile of broken toys, once-used paper towels. The pile just keeps getting bigger the longer they play, but they can't take out the trash because a) they're 5 year-olds, and b) there are no trash cans in little mini playhouses. (If I really must be obvious here, the playhouse is an analogy for the earth.)

And while I don't know much about the statistics of waste, or the technicalities of where it goes and what happens to it, I know that I want the nurture the earth as much as I can. Because it nurtures all of us.

I think the beginning of some kind of positive change is simply being aware of your actions. What are you throwing away? Why are you throwing it away? How many bags of trash do you create in a week?

I have way too much to say about this, but now I must sleep. Sleeeeeeep. Isn't it a wonderful thing? :)


TL;DR: Assignment for your life: pay attention to what you're putting in the trash can.

Food: An Introduction

Here's a quick video about supermarkets that blew my mind.

So, other than the indignation I felt about this video, I can now maneuver supermarkets amazingly well!
"Hey, where's the milk?"
"Oh, it's way at the back. Also, the peaches will be on the far right, and the brown rice is on the bottom shelf." (I have now done this in supermarkets I've never been to before. It's scary.)

I have recently become passionate about food. And I think everyone should join me on this. Food is literally what you fuel yourself with. It's what is making everything run, so yes, it is important. Forget about calories and the latest diet fads. Educate yourself and decide what food belongs in your body.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone wants to change something about themselves, and they don't do one thing to move in that direction. It makes no sense!
"I don't like my haircut that I got 3 months ago. I want to look hip and trendy, but instead of going to a salon, I think I'll just watch America's Next Top Model."

WHY?! Just go do it! And the most common thing I hear people complain about is their weight.
To friend: "I really should lose 15 pounds." To café server: "Yes, I'll have the double chocolate chunk caramel macchiato please. The largest size."

How sad is it that this is barely an exaggeration of what I have heard before? In real life? As in people literally say one thing, and do another? OK, it's a common problem, but if something is important to you, then go do it! You want to be healthier? Put down the Cheetos and munch on a carrot instead. They're both orange, and if you're watching the telly, you probably won't notice the difference anyway.

So here's my advice for today (and every day): If you want to change something, do it now. Maybe it's not such a quick switch as it is from Cheetos to carrots, but if you just start moving in that direction, maybe you'll gain some momentum. If you have been waiting for a sign, this is it. This is me, being your sign. Because I said so.


That was all quite rant-ish. I suppose you can expect more rants, and this was just barely touching the subject of Food (yes, it deserves to be capitalized).


TL;DR: Move your bum and go do what you've been saying you want to do!

The Secret to a Happy Morning

There are an infinite number of scenarios that could occur every morning. You could be woken by...

...the extreme pressure in your bladder

...your regular alarm clock, the one whose goal is to pierce your brain with the most obnoxious noises

...the sun shining through your eastern-facing window

...your roommate-the-cook, banging utensils and plates as loud as humanly possible

...the pungent aroma of your dog's gas (so much for being cute and cuddly)



And your reaction every morning could go just about in any direction, depending on whether you are a morning person or not, you woke up in the middle of an REM cycle, and how quickly you realize what day it is.

To be honest, I have experienced all of the above situations, and it's not so easy to be a good sport with all of them. The secret to a happy morning may not work every morning, but it may just shift your daily attitude enough to positively change your perspective.

Don't get up. (Unless the scenario is the first one.)

Turn your alarm clock off, look at how brightly lit your room is, pretend the pots and pans are part of the awesome "Trashin' the Camp" song from Tarzan, and opt to breathe through your mouth. Stop thinking about the list of chores you must complete today, the crazy uncle you really don't want to see, the mess that your husband surely left in the kitchen last night.

Focus on how alive you are, how your toes and fingers twitch on demand, how messy your hair is, how the cloth of your blanket feels like heaven on your skin. Think about how majestic the workings of your body are, that your heart beats as you rest, that your kidneys filter your blood without conscious command, that your eyes remember to blink.

All you have to do each morning is take 2 minutes to appreciate the fact that you are alive, that it may not always be easy, but it sure could be easier if you have a good start.


TL;DR: You are alive! Enjoy it!

Sharing is Daring

I am not here to change your mind. I am not here to pretend I'm smarter than you, or tell you how to be happy.

I am here to share my thoughts, experiences, and questions in hopes of making someone smile, or perhaps even changing someone's life for the better.

I will be offering my experiences in my search for happiness, health, and answers to life in general. I will be sharing alternative options to everyday obstacles, actions, and things most people have accepted as normal. Hopefully I don't gross you out, or sound like a maniac, but I suppose I have gone a bit loopy, so take all of this under your own consideration and risk. :)

I hope you have a wonderful day. And life. It sounds weird, but I really want to tell people "Have a good life!" I'm afraid it would scare them instead. But this is the World Wide Web, so if I scare you, you can just ignore me for the rest of your Internet days, and no one but your browsing history would ever notice. Awesome! Love the Internet!

TL;DR: 

Welcome To a Good Morning.

I am your host, emilythetall. Stay tuned for advice, bad jokes, and personal experiences.

P.S. I don't believe in TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read), unless you plan on coming back to read the whole thing. I believe that if you care about something, and want to stick to it, you should be thorough in your research/reading/etc. However, I will be offering TL;DR summaries for those of you who just cannot survive without reading my blog (psh, every one of you, right?), but I just happened to post something as you walked into work, as your dog threw up, or as you had a very sudden urge to clean and must make use of the feeling before it goes away.