Why "Going Green" makes me feel green around the gills

Everyone seems to want to "Go Green" these days. All the advertisers have picked up on it--packaging now loudly proclaims this or that product as "Green!" or "Environmentally Friendly!" Big celebrity names are no doubt using it to bolster their own careers, or just to maintain a good public image. Big companies are jumping on the bandwagon too, with requirements that "green" supplies be ordered (which equals more money spent) --in the middle of the biggest economic downturn in my lifetime. Naturally there is some genuine concern for the planet and the environment involved--but also a large dollop of concern about the company's public image. What percentage of the whole does each of those occupy? Being a pessimist, you can guess my thoughts on that. Sitting through training about "Being Green" (unless it's taught by Kermit the Frog) is not my idea of a good (or even truly productive) time.

Is going green really "all that"? Let's put it this way--when I found out CFL bulbs last up to 9 years and use only a fraction of the electricity of incandescents, AND that they're not much more expensive, I was sold. You made a better product that uses existing technology in a more efficient way, AND you made it almost as affordable as the old product? Sounds great!

The only downside? What they don't advertise is that those bulbs can't just be tossed in the garbage when they burn out. They have to be recycled a special way because they contain mercury, a poisionous substance that we can't just throw in a landfill. I'm hoping they have fairly convenient ways to recycle these ticking time-bombs I just bought 9 years from now when they burn out. =P

The annoying part is that most of the "Green" products and technologies are much more expensive than standard products, and some have other serious side-effects, like my poisonous light bulbs. And things like recycling can be great if good, accessible facilities/services are in place for people to use, but enough of a royal pain to make you want to purposely avoid them if not. It's easy for big companies and big celebrities--and even governments--to say "Be green! It's important." But if they don't put their money where their mouths are--i.e. in providing easily accessible, user-friendly recycling services, and reasonably-priced, "green" alternatives to current products that won't require a haz-mat suit to throw away, people aren't going to go for it. I recently moved from house in a smaller city that provided a dedicated recycling bin for residents and picked it up with the weekly garbage. I now live in an apartment complex in a larger city with no recycling bins anywhere in sight. Personally, I'm too lazy to put much of my own hard-earned free time into running all over town with bags of recyclables in tow. So guess what happens?

"Green-ism", like any movement, has good points that are frequently carried to extremes. And "Green" training, "Green" celebrity endorsements, and "Green" advertising on every aisle at the grocery store is plenty extreme enough for me, thanks. To the big shots out there trying to promote this--not a bad idea, but for pete's sakes, shut up and DO something to make it more accessible to the common man. Until you do, don't expect it to ever be truly effective.

Why hurting--oops, I mean dating, sucks.

You know what is worse than finding out the once-love-of-your-life is now married? The irony that she's married to Mr. Wright :P *sigh* (well, that and the surmise that she's no longer active in the church).

Whoever said the universe doesn't have a sense of humor has clearly never met me.

Why does love have to suck so much? Why is dating such a pain? We meet a new person, get to know them and understand them--get a window into their world, so to speak--and then it doesn't work out and we lose that window, and most everything we were starting to see within. That specialness is gone. Yes, friendship is nice and can have some of that specialness--but it's never the same.

I can't complain about lack of dates, since that is going okay for me. Nothing super-fantastic as of yet, but I'm trying.

The whole process of connecting with another person that way--and then losing them when it doesn't work--just strikes me as sad. I know it doesn't always happen that way--but it has often enough with me to be saddening.

So once you've loved someone--and I mean truly loved them, not just dated for a bit or whatever--and then you lose them, does it ever really go away? It sure doesn't seem to for me, but I wonder how others have felt about that.

A poem I was thinking about recently (don't be too impressed, I found it inside the booklet of a Cure CD). Think it kind of applies to my thoughts on the sadness of dating & ending relationships.

We look before and after, And pine for what is not;

Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught;

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought...

-"To a skylark", by Percy Shelley

For any who might have hoped for a clever, verbose posting here, I apologize. This one's scattered and rather disjointed. Just something I was thinking about--and since I happened to also think that I don't post on my blog enough, well here we are.

Latest Book I finished:

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

A book about a group of rabbits that leave their home and travel to a distant hill to start a new colony. Sounds odd (and it is), but cleverly done with some memorable, enjoyable characters & fun adventures. Worth a read. 50 cents from DI (I love bargain books at DI). I was curious to read it because I saw the animated film as a very young child and can only remember being terrified of the vicious "bad guy" rabbits that slashed the good rabbits with their claws. I couldn't get to sleep for a while that night, terrified of violent bunnies coming up my bunk bed to slice & dice me (I was probably 5 or 6 at the time). It's a little violent (not a book for young children), but overall quite enjoyable.

Moving, shaking, and......well, just moving.

I rented my very first apartment (that I've gotten all on my own) tonight. Crazy eh? Now I just have to pack my stuff so I can actually move in. Still some little details to worry about, but the main part is over, which is a huge relief. I can finally have friends over and do movie nights! And show off my cool TV! And leave dirty dishes in the sink whenever I feel like it!

Anyway, the complex is really pretty--big trees, lots of shade, really quiet & a really nice neighborhood. It's not as much closer to work as I wanted, but it's an awesome price for the size (767 sq ft). Check out some pics on their website. And I checked--my balcony is big enough for a hammock stand :D

And now I can also start looking into buying a house without jumping into anything too quickly.

My sis & her hubby & baby are going to move into my old room, so that will be cool too. I'll get to see them and my little nephew on a regular basis. Good times! :)

And this weekend is my family's Easter Brunch at a big park, the following week my sister's family will be here for a visit, and the week after that is a midsingles conference in SoCal. I think it's going to be a good month.