[Elysium & Eosi's Scrap] Pithy Insights

[Elysium]

The Choice to be Happy

It's not having what you want,
it's wanting what you got
- Sheryl Crow

Many people think that 'organic happiness' is found outside of themselves. That is a myth. One of the reasons why we have a three pound meatloaf in our skulls is to grant us the ability to be happy in spite of whatever circumstances we face. Happiness quite frankly, other than reproduction, is the only reason for us to go on. It is the endgame.

Ask yourself - why do you live? To get that job? To get that house? All of these things lead to the bottom line. You think they'll make you happy.

You can be perfectly content without them. But how? That question is far more difficult to face. Many of us aren't blessed with loving families or financial security. Hell, some human beings are born to and die in squalor, each and every day. They know nothing else. But even they find joy where they can.

It's about self-actualization. Instead of directing your scrutiny to the outside and placing blame on what is around you, you should look within. Loving yourself leads to happiness. The focus on outward stimuli is just a game of smoke and mirrors. It is meant to distract you from what truly matters

There are so many systems in place that can help lead a person to achieving true organic happiness. Religion, support groups, roleplaying websites... Communities. Just to name a few.

I think Elizabeth Gilbert had some astonishing points about the creative process that can apply here. She said to absolve yourself of the responsibility for creation, to place it somewhere else. Ancient Greeks attributed it to 'muses,' and the Spanish attributed it to 'god.' But whatever works for you, place that responsibility for life somewhere else. Control is an illusion. Just learn to love what you've got.

[Traverse]

So I feel this bit of content differs from the general mood of your Scrap, but...but...I just think of you anytime I hear or see anything about this movie. Elysium :

[Sybel]

I just laughed out loud. Every single time I see that preview, I go "oh, hey!" But I can't take it seriously. MATT DAMON.

[Elysium]

Ebb and Flow

I haven't been inspired to write anything here for quite some time. Every attempt I've made has been met with a sigh, really. I honestly feel like if a person has nothing worth saying, they shouldn't say anything at all. I don't want to use my scrap to vent but likewise, because of the state of things, I don't feel inspired to post anything other than just that.

I love to write. I really do. I feel like this place is oftentimes my escape from an otherwise unfair, malicious world. I try to be grateful for the things that keep me going rather than the things that hold me back.

When you have a big, fat barrier in the way of something, you should try to force it down. So, the purpose of this rambling scrap I suppose, is to break down my barrier with scrapbooking. Perhaps I spend too much time ignoring myself and this is just the physical manifestation. From now on, I'll try to post here more often.

And now, for something completely different:

Secret :

Thank you, Jen.

[Gossamer]

The phenomenon of cat beards are guaranteed to.make any feline enthusiast smile.

[Lavira]

There should be a like button.

[Sybel]

I feel sick No really, I do. I am worried to death about my cat. On Monday, I found out he had a serious urinary blockage and I rushed around to get him the help he needed. My vet catheterized and kept him until Wednesday morning, after which he seemed fine. Until he reblocked on Friday. I took him in and they managed to express his bladder, thus unblocking him and saving me four hundred dollars. But it isn't about the money. It's about him. If he continues to block, it could indicate more serious problems. He could have kidney stones or worse. And I should have known; he's a purebred Norwegian Forest Cat I just happened to find at the SPCA. Someone didn't want him for one reason or another. I feel like a parent, going to pieces wondering if he's okay. But I have to work. I can't just stay with him. I love my baby so much. He's my heart. He's gotten me through so many hardships... The least I owe him is to do the same. But it's killing me. The worry is literally making me sick. So if you're wondering where I've gotten off to, it's a tiny rabbit hole of stress somewhere on the other side of crazy. But don't worry. I have my roommate checking him every hour or so. And I shouldn't worry either; news is that he peed a few times since I was gone. But cats can experience heart failure from blockages and of course, my irrational brain can think of nothing else. Oh, and not to say that money doesn't matter. I have 88 cents in my bank account thanks to this whole thing and a half tank of gas that should last me approximately 180 miles, unless something happens. Which I can only pray, it won't. I get paid on Wednesday from my other job and if my cat hasn't reblocked by then, I will consider myself temporarily out of Stressland. And here I am, trying to save to move to Oregon, dealing with all the nuances of one controlling, nutso roommate and another, "I drink to forget my horrible life and the nightmares that haunt my sleep" roommate. And when I say nightmares, I mean the poor chick sleeps about three to four hours - six or seven if she's lucky. I try to be there for them. Hell, I try to be there for my boyfriend of three years that now suddenly has three jobs. But I feel kind of sick. And I can only hope for a smile.

[Elysium]

WOW. I haven't posted here in forever. So first of all, Happy Turkey Day! I don't have a lot of time to scrap as I'm fifteen minutes out from running up and seeing my side of the family, and twenty minutes later running back here and shoving my face straight into the mashed potatoes. Don't you love the holidays? I sure do. But similar to what Jen said in her scrap, once I'm back here you couldn't get me to go out if you tazed me. Seriously. And like hell do I want to work tomorrow, but I've got no choice. Luckily, I work in the middle of freaking nowhere. No risk of being trampled there. Gotta look on the bright side of life! I think I'm finishing NaNo tomorrow, potentially. I'd do it tonight, but after six or so I'm going to be wasted on homemade alcohol. We used our own, homegrown cascade hops in the beer and HOO-BOY, let me tell you. For being only seven percent alcohol, this beer really packs a punch. We added a lot of honey in after the boil, too, so it's sweet. Nothing like the super-bitter ale I usually drink - like last year's brew. You can tell the difference between my significant other's beer and my beer for sure. What started as an amber ale for him ended as the most bitter, alcoholic pale ale you can imagine. Good thing I like both! Of course, his dad had to get in on the action, too. We have this homemade mulberry wine that smells like merlot gone too long in the sun. I can imagine I'll be doing that after I've soaked up all the beer. So, long story short; Thanksgiving. The season for enterprising alcoholics. If there are any other homebrewers out there, let me know!!

[Gossamer]

. Home Brewing Once upon a time when I was 18 I lived with another girl in a renovated vet clinic. Primary surgery was my bedroom. Annie slept in the kennels, and the waiting room was our living room. We loved the heck out of that place. Anyhow, we started home brewing (and got better at it) but the first attempt was the one I will remember best of all. We brewed ale and bottles of honeymead and something we called apple strudel wine. These glorious concoxions got brewed up and later bottled... in which the bottles got stored all over the cubbies all over our home. Vet clinics have a lot of cubbies. Anyhow, months later in the heart of the night when atmospheric conditions were prime... the first bottle blew its top. Then hundreds of others went as well. Our kitchen, which was secondary surgery, looked like downtown Baghdad with all the explosions going on. Our house was covered with alcohol and froth, and we ran screaming for cover out the front door. Twenty minutes later the show was over. Five hours later the house was almost clean. We gave it up for two years then tried again with a whole lot more succcess .

[Elysium]

Foundation. The basis of any beauty regiment. So, to preface this rant, let me give you the definition of something called BB cream. BB cream stands for blemish balm, blemish base, beblesh balm (apparently because of a trademark in Korea on the word "blemish"), and in Western markets, beauty balm. It is a cosmetic item sold mainly in East and Southeast Asia, although larger beauty brands are increasingly introducing BB creams to Western markets. So, awhile ago, I stumbled upon this phenomenon after shopping around for a new foundation. To start, I used to use CG Smoothers AquaSmooth, which for the record is still excellent cover-up, but just a little too heavy, in my personal opinion. It is excellent to slap on, but doesn't last for more than a couple of hours of heavy traffic, causing you to re-apply often and quite frankly, ain't nobody got time for that. So naturally, I started looking for something a little more to taste, something new. This was roughly about a year and a half ago. I saw a youtube video of a young, canadian girl raving about the stuff and her skin was flawless. I mean, really. But it seemed almost too good to be true. As advertised, it's an "all-in-one facial cosmetic product to replace serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock," and as women, we all know how well "all-in-one" products tend to work. (Men would use "all-in-one" shower-gel, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream and deodorant if they could.) But I think I was feeling adventurous that day, especially given that back then, you could only purchase BB cream from Korea. So I picked up a tube of Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream. I cannot articulate how good this shyke is. The quality of my skin improved dramatically in less than a month. My one and only complaint (and I mean, only) is that it's designed for yellowish skin tones, causing those with the redder pigments to looks well.. A bit yellow. That, and it never expanded into darker shades for people of different ethnic backgrounds. Then again, take into consideration that it's South Korea we're talking about here. Anyway, I bought two 50ml tubes and they lasted me six months or so, which is pretty astronomical considering daily use and whatnot. So there you have it. Amazing. However, I quickly learned buying anything from Singapore is a pain in the ass. Seriously. Shipping takes god-awful forever and you have to change your seller often because the moment they get a lot of business, they tend to crank the price. So I took a hiatus in light of the cream's new, american counterparts. And now I ask myself - "why Gods, why." First off, I tried Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector. (You have to wonder who the hell comes up with these names, seriously.) But I cannot tell a lie - it wasn't bad. It's a lot lighter than the Perfect Cover BB Cream and doesn't do as much to hide your super unsightly blemishes, so it warrants a spot cover-up as well. It also wears a lot faster, but it helps promote healthy skin and evens out your skin tone nicely. Plus, it's more flexible with base pigmentation. Oh yeah, and it isn't from Korea. But the last time I went poking around the supermarket, I couldn't find it. So I ended up trying this stuff called Studio Secrets Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. Cream by L'Oreal. And let me tell you, it is straight up awful. It feels like lacquer for your face. It's heavy, it applies WHITE as if to emphasize the moisturizing bit, it has highly unnecessary little "beautifying" beads that do nothing. It dries flaky and noticeable. Oh and it's more expensive. Great. So in summation, as I rue the day I bought it, don't purchase the american substitute of this stuff. The first one is okay, but if you want to feel amazing, get the real deal. Just be prepared for all of the above. tl;dr BB cream is amazing. Just don't buy it here in the states.