We all have days from time to time when it feels like the world is against us or that the chaos we are experiencing will never end. One negative circumstance seems to lead to another. You may wonder, on a bad day, whether anything in your life will ever go right again. But a bad day, like any other day, can be a gift. Having a bad day can show you that it is time to slow down, change course, or lighten up. A bad day can help you glean wisdom you might otherwise have overlooked or discounted. Bad days can certainly cause you to experience uncomfortable feelings you would prefer to avoid, yet a bad day may also give you a potent means to learn about yourself.
You may consider a bad day to be one where you’ve missing an important meeting because your car stalled, the damn bus driver passed you again standing on the corner, the EL just pulled away from the stop, and you received a piece of very bad news earlier in the morning. Multiple misfortunes that take place one after the other can leave us feeling vulnerable and intensely cognizant of our fragility. But bad days can only have a long-term negative effect on us if we let them. It is better to ask yourself what you can learn from these kinds of days. The state of your bad day may be an indicator that you need to stay in and hibernate or let go of your growing negativity. Bad days contribute to the people we become. Though we may feel discouraged and distressed on our bad days, a bad day can teach us patience and perseverance.
It is important to remember that your attitude drives your destiny and that one negative experience does not have to be the beginning of an ongoing stroke of bad luck. A bad day is memorable because it is one day among many good days – otherwise, we wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge it as a bad day. Know too, that everybody has bad days, you are not alone, the world is not against you. Tomorrow is guaranteed to be a brighter day. Might be raining or snowing, but I promise, tomorrow will be a better day.
Peace Out!
Sir Bear of Chicago
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Spring?
Okay, enough is enough with the fuckin' snow. I've had it! When is it ever gonna be Spring? Does this thing actually exist? Or, is it just another Hallmark moment you have to buy another frickin' card for? Spring, you know the thing that is supposed to start after winter's chill is done for another year? Those of us that are in the "deep freeze" would love to know when that day is?
I want to see muli-colors on the ground and in the trees. The color of white, yellow in the snow, brown, and or black is driving this Southerner out of his cotton pickin' mind! (Pardon the pun Vanessa! No offense, okay? LOL)
I mean really, is it too much to ask for just a couple of days in the 50's to give us a taste of what, maybe Australia is going thru right this very second? (Hold the fires!) Instead, we get our weather sent to us via the Polar Ice Caps!
We want an end to this dreaded freeze that when you walk out your front door, instantly your moustache, for those of us who can grow 1, freezes stiff on your face like what Viagra does to your pecker. I mean come on, this is ridiculous. Its been cold ever since, what, Halloween? That was 4 months ago. I remember in school when we studied the seasons of the year, that each season lasted 3 months. Now we're going on 5 this winter? Give us a break!
Last spring was so wonderful. It was my 1st one here. It was almost like someone flipping a switch. Jasmine swears that we don't have a spring. But, I vaguely remember 1 happening. I might be a stoner, but get real! The trees started budding, stalks of green came bursting up thru the ground that led to an array of colorful things attached to them. I mean, it was still cool. You couldn't rip of your shirts and dive into Lake Michigan. Who wants to anyway? YUK! But it was there, I know it was.
But, for now, we're stuck in frozen hell somewhere in between frost bite, and shivering to death. My teeth still chatter when I'm awakened in the middle of the night when nature calls. I have to put on a robe, dash to the bathroom and by the time every thing's done, in the cold, I'm wide awake with nothing to do. Many a night, I would just lay in bed and then after an hour or so, say, 'Fuck it!,' and come out here in the living room and fire up my computer, trying to get warmth from the hard drive. LOL
I want to see kites in the air, like I wrote about before. Dogs barking, children playing "Tag." The drums beating high above the laughter of adults playing in the water at the beach. The sight of sun worshipers, bicycles whooshing past you, roller bladers, animals doing what comes naturally in the spring. I want to do that, too! People down at the Lake looking for that special stone in the water.
Is all of the above just too much to ask for? Or am I just pissing in the wind, or out the back window of a station wagon? Someone's gonna get wet, and I'm afraid that someone is gonna be me. Is there something we can due to usher in what we all want? Please Goddess, hear our cries! SEND US SPRING!
Affectionately,
Sir Bear of Chicago
I want to see muli-colors on the ground and in the trees. The color of white, yellow in the snow, brown, and or black is driving this Southerner out of his cotton pickin' mind! (Pardon the pun Vanessa! No offense, okay? LOL)
I mean really, is it too much to ask for just a couple of days in the 50's to give us a taste of what, maybe Australia is going thru right this very second? (Hold the fires!) Instead, we get our weather sent to us via the Polar Ice Caps!
We want an end to this dreaded freeze that when you walk out your front door, instantly your moustache, for those of us who can grow 1, freezes stiff on your face like what Viagra does to your pecker. I mean come on, this is ridiculous. Its been cold ever since, what, Halloween? That was 4 months ago. I remember in school when we studied the seasons of the year, that each season lasted 3 months. Now we're going on 5 this winter? Give us a break!
Last spring was so wonderful. It was my 1st one here. It was almost like someone flipping a switch. Jasmine swears that we don't have a spring. But, I vaguely remember 1 happening. I might be a stoner, but get real! The trees started budding, stalks of green came bursting up thru the ground that led to an array of colorful things attached to them. I mean, it was still cool. You couldn't rip of your shirts and dive into Lake Michigan. Who wants to anyway? YUK! But it was there, I know it was.
But, for now, we're stuck in frozen hell somewhere in between frost bite, and shivering to death. My teeth still chatter when I'm awakened in the middle of the night when nature calls. I have to put on a robe, dash to the bathroom and by the time every thing's done, in the cold, I'm wide awake with nothing to do. Many a night, I would just lay in bed and then after an hour or so, say, 'Fuck it!,' and come out here in the living room and fire up my computer, trying to get warmth from the hard drive. LOL
I want to see kites in the air, like I wrote about before. Dogs barking, children playing "Tag." The drums beating high above the laughter of adults playing in the water at the beach. The sight of sun worshipers, bicycles whooshing past you, roller bladers, animals doing what comes naturally in the spring. I want to do that, too! People down at the Lake looking for that special stone in the water.
Is all of the above just too much to ask for? Or am I just pissing in the wind, or out the back window of a station wagon? Someone's gonna get wet, and I'm afraid that someone is gonna be me. Is there something we can due to usher in what we all want? Please Goddess, hear our cries! SEND US SPRING!
Affectionately,
Sir Bear of Chicago
Monday, February 16, 2009
"Break Out" in Chicago
Will the winter ever end here in Chicago??? The answer to that question is, 'HELL FUCKIN' NO!' It will drag on until the fat lady sings, and that ol' bitch has not even begun to warm up. Pardon the pun. Rumor has it her dress has gotten stuck half way down.
I've been trapped in the house for now going on 2 weeks with a simple sinus infection. I called my doc immediately when I thought I was coming down with 1. Didn't want to see him. Just call in the script and everyone will be fine.
The pills were being taken, like prescribed, I thought I was getting better, but in reality, I was not feeling any better at all. I actually was getting worse.
As I slumped at our heroine's table, she actually threatened to kick my ass if I didn't go see the doc. So, with a request like that, I made the appointment the very next morning.
I explained to the receptionist, I had this mean, bad tempered, 6 foot tall, black lady threatening to kick my ass from here to Wisconsin if y'all don't see me. After a lot of giggling from the other end of the phone, which pissed me off even more, I secured an appointment for later in the afternoon.
Come to find out, Vanessa was right, I'm immune to a Z-Pak. Thank you Vanessa!!! I since have been put on something stronger and meaner than her. And it has torn my stomach up. I have 3 more doses to go until I'm free of that crap. Its upset my stomach, my social life, and my job. I know everyone at work thinks I'm dead behind a dumpster somewhere!
Back to my rant...
The sky is clear and the sun is brightly shining. But don't let it fool you. My weather bug on the computer says its 31 bone chilling degrees outside. With SSW wind of 3 miles per hour, making it even colder.
Yesterday, I mentioned, I crawled downstairs to see Vanessa's. No longer contagious. Jasmine was also down there, with her door open, and with dill tea she had made for me and my stomach. I take it by the teaspoon. I would love nothing more than have a huge blunt in front of me on fire!!!
I went over to Jasmine's apartment, 1st, and we sat at her dining room table, and we talked about Chicago's " Break Out" and when that would be. "Break Out" in Chicago is a wonderful thing to behold. If you can just close your eyes for a moment a picture this...You're in a beautiful city with so much to do, but its all unreachable during the winter months. Who in the hell would want to go out in this mess. Cold, snow, ice. Its crazy!
We've got about 2 more months of winter and the Break Out hits. We'll be swinging from our back porches, cookouts, Artist of the Wall down at the Lake, and maybe I'll have someone new with me. Or old. I'm not all that picky. Oh, who am I trying to fool, hell yes I'm picky, and I'm not going to just settle either. You have to be a certain way or no go. And, you can't know who John-Michael is. That, right there, is a deal breaker. LOL
But, yeah, the thought of kite flying at the beach, running/power walking, cycling all over town. This place is a wonderful and magical dream in the summer. But, in the winter, its very forbidding, hateful, and a "Closed For Repairs" kinda place.
Okay, I'm done, and at the end of this rant, but, I want to leave you with some wonderful images...
Green grass, leaves on the trees, birds doing their thing, kites so far up you can barely see them, cyclists buzzing by, people out with their mutts on leashes, and their dogs too. LOL Laughter, singing, drums beating to the "call of nature," jazz filling the very air you breathe. Hot dogs, steaks, and hamburgers on a grill. The smell of jasmine so thick you could cut it with a knife. (No offense Jasmine. LOL) The sound of children at play, couples walking hand in hand down at the Lake, the old men playing dominoes on benches down at the park, and me in the center of it all. This place blows me into flight.
Peace...
I've been trapped in the house for now going on 2 weeks with a simple sinus infection. I called my doc immediately when I thought I was coming down with 1. Didn't want to see him. Just call in the script and everyone will be fine.
The pills were being taken, like prescribed, I thought I was getting better, but in reality, I was not feeling any better at all. I actually was getting worse.
As I slumped at our heroine's table, she actually threatened to kick my ass if I didn't go see the doc. So, with a request like that, I made the appointment the very next morning.
I explained to the receptionist, I had this mean, bad tempered, 6 foot tall, black lady threatening to kick my ass from here to Wisconsin if y'all don't see me. After a lot of giggling from the other end of the phone, which pissed me off even more, I secured an appointment for later in the afternoon.
Come to find out, Vanessa was right, I'm immune to a Z-Pak. Thank you Vanessa!!! I since have been put on something stronger and meaner than her. And it has torn my stomach up. I have 3 more doses to go until I'm free of that crap. Its upset my stomach, my social life, and my job. I know everyone at work thinks I'm dead behind a dumpster somewhere!
Back to my rant...
The sky is clear and the sun is brightly shining. But don't let it fool you. My weather bug on the computer says its 31 bone chilling degrees outside. With SSW wind of 3 miles per hour, making it even colder.
Yesterday, I mentioned, I crawled downstairs to see Vanessa's. No longer contagious. Jasmine was also down there, with her door open, and with dill tea she had made for me and my stomach. I take it by the teaspoon. I would love nothing more than have a huge blunt in front of me on fire!!!
I went over to Jasmine's apartment, 1st, and we sat at her dining room table, and we talked about Chicago's " Break Out" and when that would be. "Break Out" in Chicago is a wonderful thing to behold. If you can just close your eyes for a moment a picture this...You're in a beautiful city with so much to do, but its all unreachable during the winter months. Who in the hell would want to go out in this mess. Cold, snow, ice. Its crazy!
We've got about 2 more months of winter and the Break Out hits. We'll be swinging from our back porches, cookouts, Artist of the Wall down at the Lake, and maybe I'll have someone new with me. Or old. I'm not all that picky. Oh, who am I trying to fool, hell yes I'm picky, and I'm not going to just settle either. You have to be a certain way or no go. And, you can't know who John-Michael is. That, right there, is a deal breaker. LOL
But, yeah, the thought of kite flying at the beach, running/power walking, cycling all over town. This place is a wonderful and magical dream in the summer. But, in the winter, its very forbidding, hateful, and a "Closed For Repairs" kinda place.
Okay, I'm done, and at the end of this rant, but, I want to leave you with some wonderful images...
Green grass, leaves on the trees, birds doing their thing, kites so far up you can barely see them, cyclists buzzing by, people out with their mutts on leashes, and their dogs too. LOL Laughter, singing, drums beating to the "call of nature," jazz filling the very air you breathe. Hot dogs, steaks, and hamburgers on a grill. The smell of jasmine so thick you could cut it with a knife. (No offense Jasmine. LOL) The sound of children at play, couples walking hand in hand down at the Lake, the old men playing dominoes on benches down at the park, and me in the center of it all. This place blows me into flight.
Peace...
Monday, February 9, 2009
Winter's Cold
I guess y'all think, since I'm a Southerner, I'm gonna bitch about how cold it is. Well, day before yesterday, when I started this post, I would have. And just when you think you can't take it anymore, the heavens open up, the skies clear, and it warms up a whopping 60 degrees. That was yesterday. Today, is another story.
I awoke, this morning, with the familiar tap, tap, tap, on my windowpane, knowing that it wasn't my love, as the song goes, it was the sound of the fucking rain! We've gone from 60 delicious degrees, to a 37 frigid, icicle from hell.
Okay, enough of the bitching. There's nothing we can do about it. You just layer yourself up and pray for the 1st sign of spring. What I do wanna talk about is the brave hearted people that live in this wonderful city.
In summer, we're all aglow. Michigan Ave. has scores of men and women in their latest couture, preening themselves in their reflections in Macy's windows. Joggers on the pathways of the Lake, strollers by the scores. YUK! Oh, and don't forget the bicyclists, that break every law that was made for motorists and get away with it. That is our summer.
In the winter, we loose our individualism. Everyone looks the same. I was walking down the street today, trying my best to keep warm, when this person came up to me, smiling from ear to ear like a jackass, and I thought, 'Who the fuck are you?' Apparently she was glad to see me. I returned the smile and the greeting and then it dawned on me who she was. She was Jasmine's favorite waitress, and mine, from Morseland. That's what we all loose up here in the winter. I'm sorry, you could be wearing an Armani suit, but underneath an overcoat, scarves out the ying yang, and dorky little knit hats on our heads, who gives a shit!
So let me end this rank with...
Just because we have to layer ourselves up the wazoo, don't forget you are individuals, too. Splash some color on that grey coat. Wear a star spangled banner scarf. Nothing looks bad if you can throw a little red, white, and blue on it. Try it! You and your friends will be amazed. And, you'll feel better too! It'll help these long days of winter pass. And hopefully, they'll pass quickly!
I awoke, this morning, with the familiar tap, tap, tap, on my windowpane, knowing that it wasn't my love, as the song goes, it was the sound of the fucking rain! We've gone from 60 delicious degrees, to a 37 frigid, icicle from hell.
Okay, enough of the bitching. There's nothing we can do about it. You just layer yourself up and pray for the 1st sign of spring. What I do wanna talk about is the brave hearted people that live in this wonderful city.
In summer, we're all aglow. Michigan Ave. has scores of men and women in their latest couture, preening themselves in their reflections in Macy's windows. Joggers on the pathways of the Lake, strollers by the scores. YUK! Oh, and don't forget the bicyclists, that break every law that was made for motorists and get away with it. That is our summer.
In the winter, we loose our individualism. Everyone looks the same. I was walking down the street today, trying my best to keep warm, when this person came up to me, smiling from ear to ear like a jackass, and I thought, 'Who the fuck are you?' Apparently she was glad to see me. I returned the smile and the greeting and then it dawned on me who she was. She was Jasmine's favorite waitress, and mine, from Morseland. That's what we all loose up here in the winter. I'm sorry, you could be wearing an Armani suit, but underneath an overcoat, scarves out the ying yang, and dorky little knit hats on our heads, who gives a shit!
So let me end this rank with...
Just because we have to layer ourselves up the wazoo, don't forget you are individuals, too. Splash some color on that grey coat. Wear a star spangled banner scarf. Nothing looks bad if you can throw a little red, white, and blue on it. Try it! You and your friends will be amazed. And, you'll feel better too! It'll help these long days of winter pass. And hopefully, they'll pass quickly!
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