Category: Ruminations and Crackpot Theories

Observations on life in general.

Snarky Sunday: Eyebrow Threading

There’s a relatively new trend in cosmetic enhancement called eyebrow threading. I first heard about it from X-Chromo, who has actually had this done. I understand the concept: it’s like plucking with tweezers or using hot wax to extract eyebrow hairs. What I don’t understand is the mechanics.

A couple of weeks ago, X-Chromo and I went to The Maul (not a typo). One of the first things I noticed is how dark the interior of the place has become. I knew the “new” part of the sprawl was “green” and ill-lit, but when we ventured into the “old” part, I felt as if I’d wandered onto the set of a post-apocalyptic movie. Very dystopian feel to the place.

And there, in the middle of all this darkness, someone was having her eyebrows threaded. In a Maul kiosk, not a in a private space. And the technician had the threads in her mouth. As if they were dental floss. Using them. On some stranger’s face. In the dark.

I think I’ll pass.

Weird Collections

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever collected?

My daughter made a rubber band ball.

Rubber Band Ball courtesy X-Chromo

Rubber Band Ball courtesy X-Chromo

At one point in my unexciting childhood, I collected the tags from Tetley Tea Bags. I believe the brand was Tetley. The tags were printed with clever sayings. The one I remember–and still quote–is “To make a long story short adds six words.”

Nowadays I collect and share the sayings from my Yogi tea bags.

How about you? What odd thing have you collected?

 

Purse Project (Reprise)

Purse project 01

Remember this purse? I really like this purse because of its outside pockets.  But it wasn’t quite big enough.

My portable keyboard didn’t fit.

portable keyboard (1)

I couldn’t carry a magazine.  Or a file folder.

mag and file

So for my birthday, I decided to buy another purse–if I could find what I wanted. I wanted the same purse, only bigger. Only by an inch or two.  Just enough to accommodate my portable keyboard or a file folder.

X-Chromo told me I should check out JC Penney. We went to the Maul together. She guided me through parts I’d never seen before (I am not a fan of the Maul). Nope,nope, nope. Then we went to JC Penney. She went directly to the purse I wanted.

purses 01 (3)

I am delighted. The new one (on the right) has a pocket on the back (although the keyboard also fits inside very nicely).

Purse with keyboard

Pen or Pencil? Plotter or Pantser?

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Today is National Pencil Day, which got me to thinking about how my preferences in writing implements have changed over the years.

When I first joined RWA, I ordered something called The Prescription for Plotting by Carolyn Greene. (Unfortunately, I can’t find a working link to share here.) It was a 3-ring binder with lots of pre-printed forms, a mechanical pencil, and a Clic eraser. That’s when I came to truly appreciate a good mechanical pencil and learned that I will never ever ever again be without a Clic eraser.

Being an organic kind of writer (some people call us pantsers), I never did fill out all of the forms, although I did give it my best shot. The beauty of using a pencil was the ability to erase something that wasn’t working. Making notes in pencil makes plot point more fluid than writing in ink.

Pencils are for pantsers.

Two of my critique partners are organized writers (some people call them plotters). They fill out index cards by the thousands.  Color coded. In ink. And the process works very well for them.

Pens are for plotters.

When I wrote in long-hand, I used a fountain pen. Then I switched to an Alphasmart. To a laptop computer. But sometimes, when I want to fill out those charts to try to get a handle on a plot point, a character, or just to “think on paper,” I use a pencil.

Do you prefer a pen or a pencil? Are you a plotter or a pantser?