My feelings about make-up

I don't like make-up, except in the context of it being someone's art form. I've seen some girls do gorgeous and creative things with eye make-up; eye shadow and the like. But especially in the South, so many women wear a full face of make-up with the unspoken understanding they look disheveled and unbecoming without it. The face has to be concealed, the hair has to be styled *exactly* so.

It's like you're saying your face isn't pretty enough, your hair isn't good enough. This hair straightening trend is an odd one. It grew out of the 60's, when women wanted to look more natural; to get away from the highly stylized curly hair going on around them. Now curly hair is the more natural alternative to the ever popular flat iron. Eliminate frizz! Get rid of your curl! Straighten it, and then curl it again! It's not curling in any of the good ways, anyway. Come on, all the cool kids are doing it!

Now that I've said that, I am looking for some kind of product that I can use to make my hair shinier without having to straighten it. I'm a bit of a hypocrite because I think my hair looks stunning when it's all shiny and not as frizzy. I've even straightened my hair, and it looks neat, but it's not me. In my search, I went to a local "beauty supply" store. Working there was one large gay man. I thought I might feel a bond between us since I'm different from most girls in the South (no make up), and he's different from many guys (not straight). Unfortunately, all of his comments were soaked in a "oh honey, you just need some good make up pointers!" tone of voice. I told him what I was looking for (something to get rid of frizz and make my hair shiny, but without straightening it) and he kept asking if I used a flat iron. "This stuff is great; it'll take about half of the curl out of your hair..." Well then, that's not what I want, is it? GRRR

My hair is curly and I LIKE it that way!
I have acne, like MANY other people, and I don't feel like hiding it.
Why is it not professional or formal for me to look human?

I'm not a masculine or butch person, and I'm not super girly, but I am feminine. When I was in that store, I felt like an un-girl. Not a man, necessarily, but not a girl. That's dumb. I'm not less of a girl because I don't comply to social norms.

And that's what I think.

mind clutter!

I have a song by Cloud Cult 9 stuck in my head, and all I know of it is, "Everybody here is a cloud. Something -body something evaporated!" So basically none of it. But that half a line is stuck.

I want to lose weight. I lost a good bit when I went back on my adderall. I've gained all of it back after decidedly not taking it for about a year. I have a bike! I decided to start doing crunches every night. I feel the burn, yo. I'm a pansy, so I looked up how to run a mile. I'm thinking seriously about that. I've always really hated running because of activity induced asthma, but maybe if it's at my own pace, I can do it. This TN summer heat is oppressive, though. I'm so tired of being pudgy, even if it's just in a couple of places.

And suddenly I don't have any more words. That's cool because Kevin's playing Star Wars, The Force Unleashed, and it's captivating.

suuuuuushiiiiiii is awesome. So is tofu! I love that stuff. Two people told me that it's gross to eat uncooked, but I love it! So odd, because I normally crave lots of flavor, but I like the subtle flavor of tofu. I just like soybean, methinks.

I think the kids at the daycare are almost completely used to me as a teacher. :p I've been there since mid April. So almost two months! Some of the older (and I work in the one yr old room, remember) kids can say my name, and do. Actually, it's pretty cute the all of the variations of Ali they come up with. "Aah-ee" Aah-yee" Aah-dee" and so on. I like that my name is easy to say. It's a ego boost when the kids can say my name.

Well, I'm tired. Bai for nao.

Fantastic Weekend

True story. This weekend blew my mind with how awesome it was and still is. Kevin, David and I went to the zoo, then ate lunch at Fino's Italian Grocery and Deli. We met some friends of David who invited us to hang out on the roof of their apartment building. By the way, they live in Midtown. Good view, good friends, good times. I also met a cute bebbeh. ^_^

First though, the zoo was wonderful! It was hot, but I coped by taking off an extra shirt, and my socks and shoes. Yup, totally walked around the zoo barefoot. :p Here's my run-down:

• the meer cats= ADORABLE
• the penguins= ADORABLE
• most of the other birds = hilarious
• the big cats= awe-inspiring and ADORABLE
• the sea lions = intelligent, hilarious, and ADORABLE

Also, sooo many parents were at the zoo with their babies and small kids. I wanted to squee the entire time! But I didn't because Kevin didn't want to look at humans while we were at the zoo. So there you have it.

For the record, Free Wheelin' Frank's is the best most spectacular store in the history of everything! I seriously wanted to buy every other item there. It was amazing. As is Frank. What a cool guy. I bought these shoes.

Today rocks as well. I tried a vanilla cigarillo, which was nice. Kevin and I are about to run some errands and chill at the park. Good friends, good times, good life.

Yup, can't sleep.

Pues... I felt so responsible today for filing my taxes, and yet I must send them again, but by paper. It seems I'm listed as a dependent and the IRS reJECted my federal return. It burned. But I'm figuring it out with the help of Dad, Mum, and Tim.

On a different note, I've resolved to grow out my hair. I want it to be spectacularly long... Or Pentecostal long. Same thing, I suppose. So, I'm going to grow it out for 6 years. I might trim my bangs or I might grow that out, too. I'm deciding as I go along. Already I'm happy with how long it's gotten.

See? Isn't it pretty?^_^ Kevin took this picture. I like it.

I really shouldn't be up this late with work in the morning, but I feel a little better and at least more rested after leaving super early on Friday. I went to the doctor that day. Doc doesn't know what's wrong but did some blood work and said he'd get back in touch. I'm always tired, get headaches constantly, and have frequent stomach problems. And so the quest for answers begins. By the way, I'm not anemic. I do know that much.

TECTA class tomorrow. It's pretty interesting, though the first class was mostly a commercial for TECTA.

I'm ready. It's a new week and a new start. I'm ready to do things around the house, do things for the daycare, and knit a totally awesome slouchy hat for Kevin. He picked out some beautiful yarn with the intent to make a hat for himself but then told me I could make it for him since he's pretty involved in Gentoo stuffins these days. That's my sweet nerdy boy. :p Can't believe it's been 15 months (as of last Wednesday). <3 :D What's that, you ask? That's my giant heart smile. or my favorite <3)

Goodnight!

Peanut butter jelly time!

Yup, I couldn't sleep so I made myself a sangwich. NOM. -ahem- -composes self-

Here on this early March morn, I sit in the computer room of the apartment. Kevin and I are making progress, if ever so slow, to get settled into this place. I told him it would take a while! I should do the dishes today. Any way, the real news is that I got another promotion at work. I'm now head teacher in the nursery, where before I was the assistant teacher in the preschool room. Instead of being assertive with children, I'm now being assertive with adults... That's a generous term. How to word this... The assistant teacher likes to throw in her two cents, and she's certain about everything she says. As a skeptical person, this ANNOYS THE CRAP OUT OF ME! But I digress.

I want to get a digital camera to bring to work. A couple of coworkers will sometimes bring a disposable camera and take some cute pictures of the kids, but the quality is awful! At least a digital camera would show me the pictures before they're developed. I'm tired of washed out, blurry kids. I doubt the parents care if the photos don't look professional.

I know I have very little money (I've three weeks into a put 50.00 into saving from each paycheck, and I get paid every week) and I know I'm saving up to potentially buy a car, but that doesn't stop me from looking at t shirt websites. http://www.vintagecotton.com/shirt/lebowski_baseball_raglan/ That's right, people! But, ugh, I don't want to pay 30.00 for a shirt.

For the record, 3:00am is a lame time to wake up. Will I go back to sleep now? It's almost 5. I'm practically awake and ready for the day. I'm not any more awake than this when I get ready to go to work. On a Saturday, this kind of behavior is shameful, though.

All out of ramblings for now.

What you've all been waiting for..... Right?

Well, followers... It's been a looooong time since I posted on here. Quick update to anyone reading--

I'm employed at a daycare where I've been for six months. I work half the day with 2.5-4 yr olds and spend the rest of the day in the nursery with 3 seven month olds. I also help in the toddler room. I've started writing the lesson plans. I'm not great yet, but I'll get there. Also, I'm constantly working on becoming more assertive.

I've been dating Kevin, aka Kebin Vay, for almost 13 months, and he continues to rock my socks off. Speaking of Kevin, he should be getting off work soon. I normally work 8-close (which can be anywhere from 5:30-5:45), but today the daycare was low on numbers, so I left early. Actually, there were so few kids because of inclement weather and for that same reason, driving school was rescheduled for next Thursday. So, yay!

So yeah, I'm at home. I really ought to wash the dishes now that I have extra time on my hands, but here I am typing up a blog post. And there's me in a nut-shell. I'm so ready for the icy weather to go away. It's no fun to drive in, and the kids can't outside in it. Double lose! Meh.

Oh, oh! I feel especially grown up, lately. I'm paying for my own cell phone bill. I switched from verizon to CREDO mobile. I no longer have unlimited texting, but that's fine. Also, I now pay for my own car insurance. FURTHERmore, I'm looking to buy a car. w00t w00t! Verily, I've been driving the same 96 tercel for 8 years now. My mom and stepdad got me this car in hopes that I would be motivated to drive. Srsly. It's time for change, if only because this car is a piece of crap. Well... Hm, okay, it's not that bad. It gets WONDERFUL gas milage. The most I've had to pay for gas, a full tank, is 30.00. For realz, yo.

Man, I love excedrin migraine. I had a killer head ache about three hours ago and it's gone. :D Of course, I've also had two beers.

Fat tire amber ale ftw!

And for your viewing pleasure, there's Kebin lovin' on me. Hence the goofy grin on my face.