Novusfemina--lol Glad my strange mind is amusing, and not freaky. Hehehe, you're not the only one who adores Hugh and his hair. One of my friends used to tease me because I was so obsessed with it.

Angel Spun--lol Thanks, but your talking worm is pretty weird as well! I wonder if I should be concerned with what my brain can come up with even without the use of drugs.


BPAL--Wooo, my very first order finally came in!!! Besides the oils I listed on page 7 of my journal, they sent me free imps of The Raven, Zorya, Y'ha-Nthlei, Sheol, Twilight (funny because I was considering getting an imp of it anyway), and Midnight Kiss. I'm terrible at opening imps and ended up spilling some on myself and consequently did some preliminary tests.

*Midnight Kiss, Shojo Beat inspired limited edition: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, blood wine. I shouldn't judge perfumes from the bottle because they seem to smell totally different on me. Anyway, while it was still wet on my skin, I got a lot of cocoa and it smelt yummy. As it dried down, the cocoa faded and turned into a sweet, berry-like scent. Since I can't pick out most individual notes yet, I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it's good. Compared to Hunger Moon, it's a "warmer" scent and kind of girly. I'm super happy I had already ordered a bottle of this and can send the imp to a certain lady here (you know who you are! ).

*Eat Me, Mad Tea Party general catalog: white cake, vanilla, red and black currants. In the imp, ew. On me, CAKE! I didn't leave it on very long, but holy moly, this is nice and exactly like what you'd want your grandmother's kitchen to smell like--vanilla cake with something extra in the air. I need to test it again, but I'm most likely going to order a full bottle of it.

*Kabuki, Love Potions general catalog: cherry, red musk, star anise. Oh, Kabuki, how I want to like you, but you remind me too much of the horrible cherry cough medicine I had to take as a kid. I'll give you another try later on, but you smell like cherry cough syrup and morph into maraschino territory. I think this might be good for someone without bad memories of cherry scents. I guess I can't try Kyoto in the future because that has cherry in it as well.

That's about it for now. If I spill any more imps on myself, I'll do another update tonight.

LOL, you guys! Just too funny.

Hair--Trimmed a bit today and did my usual fenugreek soak, CWC, and herbal rinse. But this time, however, I added some rosehip seed oil to the fenugreek. 's about it.


Sorry for not writing for a few days but life got in the way and I learned some bad news yesterday that made me too sad to post. Actually, while I've accepted the news, I'm still a rather sad about the whole thing. I'm afraid this entry won't be very lighthearted. I'm not sure if I should use proper names, but perhaps it doesn't matter since he's passed on and rather well-known in the tattooing community anyway. I doubt many (if any) tattoo fans read this journal, but if there are, maybe they'll get another example of what a cool guy he was.

Well, yesterday when I was on the internet, I found out that my dad's friend, tattoo artist extraordinaire and all-around neat guy, Mike Malone passed way. He actually passed in April, but I didn't find out until I googled his name just to see what he was up to. My dad and Uncle Mike (as I grew up calling him) knew each other since before I was born and my dad used to take me to his shop in Chinatown when I was a little kid.

When I would go there, Uncle Mike used to tell me a story about a mean haole man who made the poor, little Japanese kids build him a swimming pool in his backyard. While the kids had to work in the hot sun, the mean haole man would sit in the shade and drink cold sodas, but the kids had to drink from the garden hose. When the pool was finally finished and the man was about to jump in, a gigantic koi came up and swallowed him whole. The little Japanese kids rejoiced and swam in the pool all summer long.

Even after nearly 20 years I can recall that story. Apparently Uncle Mike had ad-libbed the whole thing because when my dad mentioned it to him when I was in high school, he didn't remember any of it and was amazed I did. It's weird, I can't remember what he looked like, but I remember that story, his paperweight with the scorpion inside, and the cockroach hole in the baseboard that I thought was a mouse hole.

After Uncle Mike moved back to the mainland for good, he and my dad lost touch. But when I ran into "Aunty" Kandi (another of my dad's tattoo artist friends) a couple of years back at an art gallery she had some of her work in, she told me how sorry she and Uncle Mike were about my dad. She also told me that sometimes when she calls him, they talk about my dad and wonder what I'm up to. I was really touched that Aunty Kandi, whom I hadn't seen in 10 years and Uncle Mike, whom I hadn't seen in nearly 20, still remembered me and my dad. I mean, it would be natural for them to remember my dad since they were friends. But with all the people they've met over the decades, I was amazed that they would even bother to mention me.

That night she gave me Uncle Mike's address so I could write to him. But at the time I was in my last year of college and trying to finish my honors project, so writing to my late father's friends wasn't a super high priority. Sending a letter to him got put to the side and was eventually forgotten, put on a to-do list, and forgotten again. Then I moved out of the country and forgot about it again until yesterday. Imagine my shock and sadness when I learned that my dad's friend had been dead since April. 

While I think it's a bit silly for me to be so sad over the passing of someone I haven't seen since I was probably in the first grade, I feel so much regret for not having gotten in touch with him while he was still alive. I had nearly two years to contact someone who told me a story I still remember and despite the hundreds of people he'd met over the years, never forgot who I was and even wondered what I was doing with my life. But I didn't, and now it's too late.

Rest in peace, Uncle Mike. I'll never forget you and the humor you showed to an easily entertained little kid.

Thanks so much for your words, Curlgirl, Sakina, and Angel Spun. They really mean a lot to me. I have a hard time expressing feelings of sadness in real life so I'm grateful that I can do it here and get such support. I'm feeling better, but sometimes when I think about it, I get teary eyed. Besides a part of my childhood dying, it also feels like I've lost another connection to my dad. But perhaps Dad and Uncle Mike are now sharing some Dos Equis and eating magic brownies together (er, yeah, those types of brownies. Don't ask). I'm hoping I can see Aunty Kandi when I go back home  during the Christmas/New Year's holidays and touch bases with her. And maybe get that tattoo I've been thinking about since I was in high school. I don't know for sure, but in a weird way feels like the right time in my life to do it.

The Star-Bulletin had an article about Uncle Mike, Aunty Kandi, and Ed Hardy when they had their own showing at the Contemporary Museum. I went down there and was amazed by their art. I would have bought Uncle Mike's "Moon Shot", but at the time I didn't have $2000 to throw around. (Well, I still don't but since I have a job, I can justify the purchase more.) I hope it went to a good home.

Sigh. Well, enough sad feelings for now. I feel like I've had my fill over the past couple of days. I did have something nice happen to me today. When I got to work this morning, I found my order from Chagrin Valley Soap sitting on my desk, waiting for me to open it. I ordered a bunch of samples and a full bar of Pumpkin Spice. Man, the soaps smell so good. I wonder which one I should try first. The labels are too cute and the Patchouli Herb package has a little Hippie on it. As soon as I smelt it, "headshop" was the first thing that came to mind.

BPAL--Been trying more scents over the past few days. I haven't had any more "ZOMG, I lurv it!" experiences yet but I've found some pleasant oils.

*Baobhan Sith, Diabolus GC: grapfruit, white tea, apple blossom, ginger. Nice, light, citrusy. I'm not sure if I'd get a whole bottle of it, but it's nice enough.

*Jack, Bewitching Brews GC: pumpkin, peach, clove. At first it smells like Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies. But then I get the peach and some cloves. Not sure if I'd use it as a perfume, but it makes a really nice room scent.

Masabakes, Diabolus GC: black currant, myrrh, mimosa, mandarake. Potpourri through and through. Definate no.

Samhain 2007, Halloween Limited Edition: fir needle, black patchouli, pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, all spice, red apple, mullein. Because of the fir, it's a very sharp, cold scent. It seems to match the weather we're getting now. Overall, it's a "yes but no" for me.

Zorya, Excolo GC: spices of the Orient with crystalline white musk, midnight flowers, cereus, jasmine, primrose, vesper iris. O ye gods, this is a definite no. From the moment I put it on, the jasmine started screaming "Smell me! MEMEMEMEME!" I had to wash it off.

March Hare, Mad Tea Party GC: apricot and sweet clove. Very apricoty and cute. It would be a good daytime perfume.