Pieces Of Me
Scorpions Mean Business
People often ask me why my name on WordPress is “ScorpionGlow”. Well, I’ll tell you.
For one, I am a Scorpio. In fact, today is my birthday.
Two, scorpions glow. Of the 1750 known species, almost all of them will show up under a black UV light, thus, giving off the impression that they glow in the dark. If you know an actual Scorpio, I’m pretty sure there is something about them that shines brighter than that of non-Scorpios. That’s not arrogance talking, it’s fact. Put me in a room with 50 people, I will always choose to be around other Scorpios. I can pin-point them down to the last detail, because I know my sign so well.
Scorpions have existed for 430 million years, which explains why Scorpios are such intense survivors. Only 25 of the known species are venomous. Spend an hour with me, I will probably zing or sting, all depending on how you behave towards me.
Scorpios are intensely loyal. We are “ride or die” types of people in our relationships and friendships, but don’t EVER get yourself on the opposite side of that, because it is a very dangerous place to be. People often mistake our personalities for something they really aren’t. People almost always assume I am sweet and nice. I’m not. I might do nice things, but I’m pretty sure only the mosquitos believe I’m “sweet”.
Many non-Scorpios like to tell the story of the Scorpion & the Frog. I’ve heard many different variations of it over the years to the point that it annoys me. No, I won’t sting you “because it’s in my nature”, but if you push my buttons, be prepared for the outcome because I do not back down and I will tell you precisely how things are. I might not kill you, but you’ll certainly wish for it sooner or later. A very common saying in astrology is “Hell hath no fury like a Scorpio scorned.” Slightly apropos. Push me to the point of no return, and the stinger comes out. I am well aware of my own venom, and how I come off as a person.
Scorpio is the sign of rebirth and transformation. We are one of only a few astrological signs with two ruling planets, Mars & Pluto. We share Mars with Aries. The three animals representative of the sign are scorpions, eagles, and the mythological Phoenix. Some people also associate the wolf. I do not. It is believed that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was cut in two, the head becoming the symbol for Virgo, with the tail becoming the symbol for Scorpio. Both signs, interestingly enough, are a part of my personal birth chart. If you’ve never had one done professionally, and you’re interested, ask me about it. I do them.
Each form of astrology, from Celtic to Native American, links Scorpio to different things, but most of the traits remain the same. It is presumed that we are all jealous, vengeful, aggressive beings. I learned a long time ago that in order to conquer the negative aspects of my sign, I needed to learn to keep my jealousy in check. Ever since then, I have evolved into one of the most un-jealous people you’ll ever meet. It helps keep me grounded. I’m not saying I don’t occasionally have a flare-up, I do, but it fizzles out so quickly that it can make your significant other think he/she isn’t loved enough. That’s actually not the case. There is a difference between fierce passion and jealousy. There is a difference between persistence and aggressiveness.
I often feel sorry for those who are so incredibly intimidated by those who are born under this sign. People often assume I am one way, only to get to know me and discover I’m the exact opposite. It’s interesting to see people be so surprised. Intimidating is often a word used to describe me. I am well aware of it when I’m doing it on purpose, but mostly it’s just me carrying myself with confidence. Regardless of your sun sign, all women should be able to go out in this world and hold their head up high, look people in the eyes, and not give a rat’s ass what someone thinks of them. Some men may have confidence problems, but they don’t have to worry as much about what others think of them because, by proxy, men are judged less than women are. It’s a very sad truth.
When it comes to astrology, everyone is different. However, as a Scorpio, I am in some pretty talented, fierce company. I am certain I will miss someone here and there, but that is not intentional.
October 23rd: Johnny Carson, Meghan McCain, Ryan Reynolds, Weird Al Yankovic, Amandla Stenberg, Cat Deeley
October 24th: Monica, Drake, Adrienne Bailon, Tila Tequila, Kevin Kline, B.D. Wong, Katie McGrath, Shanae Grimes
October 25th: Antony Starr, Marion Ross, Minnie Pearl, Persia White, Mariana Klaveno, Katy Perry, Ciara, Mehcad Brooks, Pablo Picasso, Conchita Campbell
October 26th: Mahalia Jackson, Hillary Clinton, Keith Urban, Dylan McDermott, Rita Wilson, Carey Elwes, Steve Valentine, Bob Hoskins, Natalie Merchant, Jon Heder
October 27th: Theodore Roosevelt, Emily Post, Kelly Osbourne, Sylvia Plath, John Gotti
October 28th: Bill Gates, Julia Roberts, Joaquin Phoenix, Troian Bellisario, Bruce Jenner
October 29th: Jonas Salk, Bob Ross, Winona Ryder, Ben Foster, Randy Jackson, Gabrielle Union
October 30th: Ivanka Trump, Janel Parish, John Adams, Ezra Pound, Nastia Liukin, Harry Hamlin, Henry Winkler, Kevin Pollak, Matthew Morrison
October 31st: Piper Perabo, Jane Pauley, Dermot Mulroney, Dale Evans, Deidre Hall, Rob Schneider, John Candy
There is wide speculation that Christopher Columbus was either born on October 30th or October 31st.
November 1st: David Foster, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jenny McCarthy, Penn Badgley, Lyle Lovett, Toni Collette
November 2nd: Marie Antoinette, Marisol Nichols, K.D. Lang, Nelly, David Schwimmer
November 3rd: Kate Capshaw, Dennis Miller, Elizabeth Smart, Colin Kaepernick, Kendall Jenner
November 4th: Former First Lady Laura Bush, Kathy Griffin, Bethenny Frankel, Doris Roberts, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Macchio
November 5th: Vivian Leigh, Art Garfunkel, Roy Rogers, Tilda Swinton, Kevin Jonas, Bryan Adams, Tatum O’Neal, Kris Jenner
November 6th: John Philip Sousa, Pat Tillman, Emma Stone, Maria Shriver, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Hawke, Sally Field, Lamar Odom
November 7th: Marie Curie, Joni Mitchell, Billy Graham, Christopher Knight, David Guetta, Tinie Tempah, Adam DeVine
November 8th: Bram Stoker, Gordon Ramsey, Kamar de los Reyes, Jack Osbourne, Mary Hart, Bonnie Raitt, Parker Posey, Jessica Lowndes
November 9th: Carl Sagan, Hedy Lamarr, Jean Monnet, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Eric Dane, Chris Jericho, French Montana
November 10th: Miranda Lambert, Walton Goggins, Martin Luther, Tracy Morgan, Ellen Pompeo, Brittany Murphy, Mackenzie Phillips, Sam Waterston
November 11th: Kurt Vonnegut, Victor Cruz, Calista Flockhart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci
November 12th: Richelle Mead, Grace Kelly, Neil Young, Ryan Gosling, Anne Hathaway
November 13th: Whoopi Goldberg, Gerard Butler, Garry Marshall, Jordan Bridges, Chris Noth, Jimmy Kimmel
November 14th: Claude Monet, Prince Charles, Condoleeza Rice, Rev Run, Graham Patrick Martin, Veronica Lake, Josh Duhamel, Travis Barker, Laura San Giacomo
November 15th: Randy Savage, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jonny Lee Miller, Shailene Woodley, Jimmy Choo, Roberto Cavalli, Beverly D’Angelo, Ray McKinnon, Chad Kroeger
November 16th: Brandi Glanville, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Oksana Baiul, Missi Pyle, Miguel Sandoval, Amare Stoudemire
November 17th: Jeff Buckley, David Ramsey, Martin Scorsese, RuPaul, Isaac Hanson, Rachel McAdams, Danny DeVitto, Ryan Braun, Evelyne Brochu
November 18th: Steven Pasquale, Owen Wilson, Elizabeth Perkins, Chloë Sevigny, David Ortiz, Mike Epps
November 19th: Calvin Klein, Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan, Ted Turner, Larry King, Patrick Kane
November 20th: Emilio Pucci, Robert F. Kennedy, Joe Biden, Bo Derek, Joel McHale
November 21st: Voltaire, Goldie Hawn, Jena Malone, Carly Rae Jepsen
November 22nd: Jamie Lee Curtis, Tyler Hilton, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson
An impressive list of names for an incredibly note-worthy sign.
From now until November 2nd, I will be spending my time as I see fit. I encourage everyone to take a bit of confidence from this sign and see how empowering it really is.
copyright © 2014 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Empire State Of Mind
I like the second version best. This song is one of but a few that reminds me of where I’m from and why it’s so important never to lose that part of who I am.
A Word…
“A word after a word after a word is power.” -Margaret Atwood
New Moon In Scorpio
October’s New Moon is upon us and this one promises to be extremely potent. Some deep transformations are under way, new incarnations, new pathways beckoning. Like with every New Moon it is a time for new starts, after today the Moon will start waxing until it becomes full, it is a time to start new projects.
To all my fellow Scorpios, it’s time to raise hell during our rebirth!
Why Are Birthdays So Rough On Some Of Us & Happy-Go-Lucky For Others?
Why Are Birthdays So Rough On Some Of Us & Happy-Go-Lucky For Others?
I’ve never understood this, and maybe I never will. My birthday blues have hit me early this year, and they’ve hit hard. I’m days ahead of the actual day, and all I can think is “What’s the point? I might as well just stay in bed all weekend.” It’s a terrible attitude to have when a month or so ago, I was excitedly anticipating SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Lets face it, birthdays aren’t always happy.
I can’t remember the last time a birthday was truly joyous for me. I know it was under the age of 13, but couldn’t tell you for sure the who, what, when, or why of it all. I’m probably blocking it out for some reason (Most of my childhood should be blocked out for reasons I have yet to discuss here.). Generally, I remember everything on the long-term spectrum, I can tell you things about coming home from the hospital as a newborn (Crazy, right?), but as often as I’ve tried looking back on birthday stuff, I am a complete blank at the moment.
Was 18 a great one? No. It was the last one celebrated with my Grandmother before cancer fully took over, eventually taking her life a few years later. 21 was celebrated multiple times, because everyone was trying to top each other on the celebration and the gifts, but apart from coming out of the actual day with a new piercing, the day itself was nothing to write home about. Unless you’ve actually lived 21 years and have never touched a single drop of alcohol, it’s a ridiculous birthday to make such a big deal out of. I’ve never been a big drinker. I was given whiskey somewhere around age two by my Great-Uncle. Apparently that was much more satisfying to me as a toddler than my 21st birthday was because not only did I drink it, but with my discerning palette, I smiled and asked “More.” I was given more, until three appalled Jewish women lectured him on “giving whiskey to the baby”. It was cute and utterly hilarious while it was happening, and it’s still a funny story when properly told. The only time I drink it now is when I have strep throat, or a really horrific sore throat, and need to get rid of it fast. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve needed it for either, but I can tell you that it works. I have no idea why it speeds up the healing process, it just does. On occasion, I will have a drink or two. Hell, I might even have four, but it’s nothing to celebrate. I might just be pissed off on a Tuesday.
There are plenty of birthdays where it’s nice to spend time with friends and family, share a meal, and end the day with a cupcake. For the past six years or so, cupcakes have sort of become my staple. There is ONE company that makes the absolute best Triple Chocolate and Lemon Ice cupcakes. If you’re nice, I’ll even tell you who makes them and where to look for them. They’re amazing, everything else falls short, including the fanciest ones from a bakery. They come out about this time every year and you can find them until maybe March, after that, you don’t see them again until early Fall. There’s a flavor for everyone, but I’m addicted to the Lemon. I am going to look for both before “the big day”, in case I’m really blue and need sugar to help cope with my misery. 😦
I’m not an envious person, but even on the birthdays where I’ve intentionally gone away in order to be able to enjoy it, I’ve ended up waking up the morning of my birthday, growling in any direction, and going back to sleep. Or I end up sick and I never get to celebrate at all, which sucks.
In 2011, this happened while I was on vacation. I did end up going out with a family member later that day, in seriously cold New England weather with intermittent rain. I was an absolute unpleasant bitch, and it makes me cringe knowing how I behaved. After nearly a week of hitting up so many different places and great restaurants, we ended up someplace I would not have chosen off the top of my head, but had an amazingly delicious meal and great service. When we got home, there was Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cheesecake and Coconut Cream Pie cheesecake waiting. Too sweet to eat more than a few spoonfuls in one shot, but 100% worth it.
In 2012, I got sick and spent my birthday in bed. The next day, despite still being sick, I pushed myself out to celebrate. Two hours later, I was in a gun shop in the middle of nowhere. I’d been told it was a 20 minute trip, so by the time we reached the destination, I was pissed and in desperate need of stretching my legs. The shop owner told me to “just stand there and look pretty”. He’s lucky he was behind a counter, or he’d be missing a favorite body part to this day. Afterwards, I did end up having a great birthday meal and then spent some time at the mother-ship (Sephora). If ever you just want to get on my good side, throw Sephora gift cards or nail polish at me. No, I’m not kidding.
Last year, I forced myself to attempt a celebration. After a manicure and an errand, I was completely done for the day. I was exhausted, fine to be home early to enjoy seriously awesome Italian food as my reward for being born. Like most years, it came, it saw, it fizzled out before 8 PM.
Why is it so much easier for some people to go out, celebrate, and be thrilled on their birthdays? It can’t possibly be about material things or the people they’re sharing it with, can it? Is it all about gifts, alcohol, food you may, or may not, really want to be eating, and people you may, or may not, even like? Is it quantity over quality? Is it extroverts over introverts? If you know the answer to this, please step forward and spit it out!
My discussion this morning went something like this: “Mexican sounds SO good to me right now, do you want to go to…?” It’s a tiny little place, but the food is authentic and if you get there at the right time, the service is good too. “I’d rather stay local.” Mind you, the place I’m talking about is less than 10 minutes away, 15 if you hit traffic. “How about…?” Blank stare. And then I had a moment where all I could think was “It’s MY fucking birthday, douche bag! We’ll go where I say we’re going, and you’ll fucking deal with it.” Another suggestion was presented, probably because the look on my face showed that at any given moment, someone might need to sleep with both eyes open. Sadly, I’m just not feeling it.
Is it wrong for you to want certain days to have a special feel to them? I’m not saying you need a fortune spent on you, or that you need to spend a fortune, but on a special day, it shouldn’t just be “the same old shit”.
In the end, I’m leaving it all up to Fate. What’s meant to be, will be. If I wake up and I don’t feel it, then that’s okay. I’m sure someone will be more than happy to deliver.
copyright © 2014 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Little Things
You know you’re a writer who lives and dies by her laptop when replacing your laptop battery is a big deal. What’s worse, you’re excited about the fact that you got it for a good price and it should be here sooner rather than later. The fact that I considered getting a second one “just in case”, is probably just a sickness.
The next thing I will have to replace on my “not even old laptop” is some of the keys. They’re all still firmly attached, but if you didn’t know where all the letters are on the keyboard naturally, you wouldn’t be able to read E, R, T, I, O, A, S, H, L, N, M, the period key, or half of the space bar. HP and I disagree on the pricing, so I’m definitely not replacing the keys through them.
One of my best friends and I would always laugh about this, because with longer nails, we both had to take Sharpies and write what key was what on our old desktop computer keyboards. Hers was a nightmare. I tried using it once and after Sharpie-ing all of the letters in, never touched it again. She came home one day and laughed hysterically at what I’d done, but it was necessary. Her keyboard was different from mine, but apparently we’re both rampant keyboard abusers. We won’t discuss how many times the tip of one of my nails gets stuck between the keys, which is always a sign for me to file them down to a more desirable length. This time, it’s happening Friday or Saturday. I want nice nails for my birthday, even though I have no plans. (Yes Riley, I’m being ever-so subtle here. You’d better be bringing me chocolate, diamonds, or chocolate covered diamonds, but I will also settle for chocolate covered strawberries. 😛 ) However, no matter what the plans entail, I will be watching The Good Wife. That’s definite.
I made it through a few more chapters on that read-through yesterday, but not before calling the intermediary to make sure I was protected in case this guy acts like a douche bag again and I am forced to back out of the job. I am protected, which gives me a sense of calm. I messaged him a chapter update and he seemed like a totally different person, but later sent me revisions to a chapter I have not yet read. Yeah, I know, I had the exact same thought. I did a little research and discovered that this guy likes to hire women to read his work. In nearly two years, I don’t think he’s hired a single man to read his manuscript. I have a theory on that, and it’s not because every woman I’ve ever met is thorough, has great attention to detail, and gives solid feedback. I honestly think I’m being misjudged here, AGAIN, but since I probably don’t have a lot more work to really do, I am going to try and stick it out. In the meantime, I am actively looking to line up something more challenging. I nearly fell asleep during chapter four. That doesn’t bode well, but it could just be the lingering whatever I have in my system that caused me to pass out yesterday afternoon. Even now, since I’ve been up since about 4:00 a.m., I am feeling exhausted. It helps that, thus far, it is dreary outside.
For now, I am going into my own work for the second time in two days. Yesterday I revised my acknowledgements, today I’m going to re-read the big fight sequence and see how it plays out in my mind. I am certain there’s more that can be added, but I don’t want to force it. When I don’t feel at my best health wise, it’s always okay to back off a bit on the external shit.
copyright © 2014 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Written by LISA MARINO-Molchanova 