Skyfire: That's quite a horror story. I hope to God that none of mine have cavities, though it wouldn't surprise me if they did. My molars are quite prone to them. 
    Glad to hear that you've recovered and that the surgery wasn't terribly pricy. I, on the other hand, do not have insurance as I work part time, so it's going to be a doozy for me.

Hair: Today was the usual Friday WTC. I am slowly but surely running out of my remaining Time Renewal products. I can't wait to return to the basic line. Who cares if it's a few months early? Don't get me wrong, I love Restoratives, but it's just not in the budget right now.

Anyway, today's leave-in was the usual. Style is a flipped half-up. The length in front was getting annoying as it fell over my shoulders all the time. The overall look is rather wispy and stringy, but whatever. It'll do. 

Other: So, it's Halloween. The most gothic of all holidays. You'd never know it by the blaring sun outside. It really is so hot that I'm regretting what I wore today, and am starting to rethink my Halloween attire completely.

I went all out today. Spiderweb tights, black cami with a sheer, ruffly, purple Victorian blouse over, long black skirt, black boots and tons of black beaded jewelry.
    Makeup is black & white eyeshadow, black liner and a few coats of my favourite mascara. I have a sweep of dark glitter extending from the outer corners of each eye. Plum blush, shimmery violet lipgloss...the works. The trouble is that I worry about sweating through it all, it's so hot. 
    So far, I've gotten compliments from 2 co-workers. One of them said, "If you had black hair, we could call you Elvira!" I didn't bother telling her that I used to have black hair and it looked horrendous. 
    But yeah...next year, I'm dressing for hot weather. SoCal seems bent on clinging to its infernal summer until November. 

Anyway...yes, I have a new account and it's no accident. I've actually been planning it for awhile. Looking forward to climbing up the jewel ranks again. Haven't been an Amethyst in years.

Happy Halloween!

Tanai: Merci, my love.

After Work: I stayed a few minutes after closing to post the November birthday list in a few places and one of the outside salesmen started asking me all sorts of questions, including my age. As I was leaving, he drilled me about what sort of man I was after and invited me to a local "adventure club." I cracked up and told him "NO!" when what I meant was "not with you!" but that was as polite as I could make it.
    Dude must be in his 40's and I'm not sure just what kind of gal he thinks I am, but he doesn't seem to be on the right track. For the record, I did not reveal my age, but he guessed somewhere between 19 and 21, which I found rather flattering.

Anyway, after that, I went immediately to the bank. Friday was not only Halloween but payday. Not too shabby. Then, it was off to Pt. Loma.

All Hallows Even: Went quite well. My relatives were happy to see me and I was happy to participate in their haunted house again. One of the girls from the Nazarene college there was directing the event and told me where participants would be needed most. When I met her, she said, "I love your costume! Very spooky, perfect for scaring..." and I got a kick out of that. I almost said, "Costume?? These are my regular clothes, lady!"
My youngest cousin thought it was funny too and even she wanted to inform the gal that I dressed that way on a regular basis. Funny stuff.

Anywho, when the sun finally set, the fun began. I started the night off distributing candy to those who made it through the haunted house. Most people reacted positively, commenting on how cool it was, how good the effects were and what a good job we did. And I thanked them even though it wasn't my house.

After that, I dove under the trampoline in the backyard. A couple of crazy clowns were jumping around above me and there was a tarp along the bottom with slits cut in it, so you couldn't see what was underneath. I attacked people's legs with a feather duster as they walked by.

But my clothes were getting dirty under there, so I crawled out and began making my way back into the house to clean up a bit and check my makeup...but not without hiding in the bushes along the way and then jumping out to scare people as they went through. I got a couple of people pretty good.

As the night wore on and the candy supply began to run low, my youngest cousin asked me to take her trick-or-treating so we could replenish the bowl. After hitting up every house in the neighbourhood that was still awake, we returned and ran up the front walk into the house, dodging the large crowd of people in line to go through the haunted house. A few of them called after us, "Hey! No cuts, girl!" My cousin & I laughed about it.

After that, I went back to jumping out and scaring people for a bit. But on one of my trips back into the house, my uncle said that I should be Phantom Of The Opera (there was a Phantom Of The Opera room). Before I'd even said "ok," my eldest cousin tied a cape around my neck, handed me the iconic white mask and ushered me into the music room, which was littered with candles, burnt sheet music and dead roses. My kinda place!
    The fact that I've never seen Andrew Lloyd Weber's version didn't seem to make a difference. I strapped on the mask (which was nasty and moist inside from other "Phantom's" breathing in it all night) and taped it into place. The cape had a cool stand-up collar on it, so I turned it up and acted tortured and angsty. Not exactly a stretch for yours truly. I pulled dramatic poses, lit candles and blew them out, pretended to play the piano along with the soundtrack, which was blaring...just had fun with it.
    As late as this evening, I was still getting compliments on my Phantom performance from people who had seen it.

So, the project was a success. I even got a little candy out of it.

Hair Today: After waiting for a shower until laaate this morning, I finally got to take one in my parents' bathroom. My dad was installing a new fan in mine and had to do some ceiling repair.
    Anyway, I did the usual CWC and used leave-in crème & EVOO afterwards. Then, I took my hair on an east county shopping spree and let it dry out in the open. Also dodged cleaning duties at home in the process. hehe Bathroom indeed - there's money to be spent!
    After returning, I measured my hair...in my bedroom for the first time. 25½". I now have a ½" gain from where I started at the beginning of this year.

Gone Tomorrow: The bag of Baked Lays that I bought from Target this evening, that is. A fitting dessert for a dinner of toasted marshmallow mocha and red velvet cupcake. lol And I wonder why I can't drop these last 10 lbs. Even ghouls gotta live a little sometimes.

Skyfire: Nope, you're not supposed to use straws. You also can't use mouthwash or swallow anything properly.
   Insurance is a luxury. That's about all I can say.

Hair: Today, I did a CWC with a vinegar rinse before the final conditioning. Just wanted that extra level of clean, I guess.
   The ends have been pretty dry lately. I know they need trimmed (my hair seems to want one every 2 months), but I'm holding off until next month.
   Next year, I've pretty much decided to grow for length again. I was going to maintain BSL/mid-back for another year, but...meh. I've waited long enough to be back at waist length as it is. Why make myself wait longer? If I get another 4" out of next year, I'll be just about waist length by next December.

Other Stuff: Over the weekend, I bought 2 deliciously scented bodywashes: one in buttercreme swirl and the other in whipped cocoa. I also bought a toasted vanilla scented light conditioner. Mmmm...

Yesterday, there was a car accident on my street. I guess one car was backing out of a driveway and another car hit it from behind, causing it to roll onto its side on the sidewalk. I didn't see it happen, but I heard it from inside my chamber and went outside to see the aftermath. Injuries were minor. Apparently, both drivers were young guys.
   Soon afterwards that section of my street was flooded with cop cars and fire trucks.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm not feeling all that spectacular today, so it's a short entry. Peace.


There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming,
Confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never-ending
Controlling,
I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
[without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced
that there's just too much pressure to take]
I've felt this way before
So insecure

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real

Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me
Distracting,
Reacting
Against my will, I stand beside my own reflection
It's haunting
How I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
[without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced
that there's just too much pressure to take]
I've felt this way before
So insecure...
                -Linkin Park, Crawling

La Diosa: The brand was Suave. I use their conditioners as light conditioners, usually for CWC's. And cheap shampoos make excellent cleansers for sinks, tubs, showers, cars and horses.

Hair: Today was rather extreme as hair days go. I started off with my usual clarifying wash routine, then squeezed the extra water out with a towel and applied my deep conditioner. After an hour, I rinsed it out and conditioned as usual. My only leave-in was EVOO and the style du jour is a single braid.

So, after 3 years on this site, I finally posted a hair pic. Woohoo!
    It was just an experimental kinda thing, but now that I know I can do it, there will surely be more to come. Hopefully with a better camera though.

Other Stuff: No, I'm not voting. Don't make me get hostile. It requires more faith in the system (and in politicians) than I have, I'm afraid. And between work and band practice today, I haven't the time. So save your preaching.

Tanai: I'm not registered either, but I do know that I'm nonpartisan.

Trisha: Thanks, mom. The lights at my work do bring out the red tint in my hair. After looking at that pic, I now understand why my co-workers think I'm a redhead.

And indeed, voting is voluntary. More power to those who feel that their vote makes a difference. I just don't really give a da[r]n.
   Besides, my personal politics can get pretty extreme, so I don't think the rest of the world would like how I'd vote!

La Diosa: Skin & hair are totally different things, hon. I'm pretty sure I've used cheap shampoo as bubble bath before, but I don't recall if the bubbles lasted very long. It's been awhile.

Quote:

Only One...

Hair: The usual CWC routine today. Leave-in crème (which I'm running out of) on the length and my sister's Enjoy serum on the ends. After combing through my hair today, I have to restate that my hair doesn't like oil, but it does like oil-free serums with cones.
   One of these days, I'll have to do the "morning test" and put ample amounts of serum on the ends, then see how my hair reacts the next morning. When I've done this with oil, my hair has turned out nasty and dry.

Anyway, I did a simple hairstick bun today with my black & silver hairsticks from Claire's. I wish the ends of them came to finer points, but at least they don't have any really horrible seams. They're also lighter and longer than my LongLocks hairsticks, which makes them easier to use.

On another hair-related note, I got a text from our beloved Maggie this morning, announcing her plans to go shoulder length or shorter. She said she needs a change and that it will be a good starting point from which to grow even healthier hair.
All the best to you, Maggie sis.

Music: Practice was nightmarish. Neither Moon Pie nor the Russian girl (who doesn't yet have a nickname) were there, and those of us who were sucked lima beans. My voice had been giving out all day and everybody else kept messing up. It was like the whole band had collectively hit the suck button. And that's a big no-no because the band's cardinal rule is "don't suck."
   A family friend came with my father & I to practice and sang along. He used to be an Elvis impersonator on the east coast, so we did a few Elvis tunes toward the end. And sucky as we were last night, he wants to go back with us again on Thursday.
...Did I mention we sucked?

Other Stuff: Still haven't taken my car in for it's 25K mile service. Poor thing. She's really starting to feel the effects of negligence now. Soon, I promise...

As for tonight, after I drive my father home from work, I plan to take the "scenic" route (sans freeway) to the mall. I have a $3 off coupon from Boudin Bakery and a coupon for 2 free dessert truffles from Godiva just waiting to be redeemed.

Cheers!