Petty irritants, turning 29, and a scorched earth policy on my collarbones

So I turned 29 like a big girl on Thursday, and did not, as promised, begin to tell people I'm 26 (a passable lie, I felt).  My friend Amber brought up a good point, that she had spent her entire year being 29 dreading turning 30, and that once she turned 30, it was done and over and she could relax.  I don't want to spend a whole year dreading something, and it's not like 30 is 50, I just know I don't feel that old yet.  I don't feel 18 anymore, but I sure as hell don't feel like I'm turning the corner on 30 either.

The birthday itself was actually pretty great.  My A3 family got together on Wednesday night, and as usual (especially when there's ETOH involved) things got silly, and like 1700 pictures documenting the silliness got taken.  And I woke up in the a.m of my birthday with no hangover!!  Had birthday sushi (Hanabi we love you!) with Katharine, made a trip to Chapters, which I always love, and called it a day :)

However, in between waking up with no hangover, and having birthday sushi, I went to Amber's to retrieve my forgotten wallet, and it was such a gorgeous day that we sat out on her patio in the sun and chatted for what must have been longer than it seemed, because even now, on Saturday, I have raccoon face and my collarbones are on fire.  I had no sunscreen with me, and never really gave it a thought because it was just so nice.  Living in an apartment with no balcony the opportunities for impromptu sunshine are pretty decreased, you have to plan to go out and find a place to get it.  And I should know better.  My collarbones and chest are where I got my sunburn scar in New Zealand. (Fun fact: that was the day I learned that cricket, unlike North American sports does not last 3 hours, but all bloody day, and that the hole in the ozone layer, the one NZ probably had little to nothing to do with creating, sits right above them, so you sunburn in about 3 minutes) Oh the burdens of being Caucasian....

Tattoo is inching closer to being done.  I went to get the color done just over a week ago, and despite what anyone says, color is NOT better than outline.  It was excruciating.  I made it about 2 hours and 20 minutes, but started silently weeping around the 1 hour 50 minute mark.  At 2:20, I asked Carly percentage-wise where we were, and she said quite non-chalantly "Oh I'd say maybe 55-60%".  Meaning there was probably a solid 2 hours left.  Considering she was already going over spots a 3rd and 4th time, spots that were raw and bleeding, I wasn't trying to be anyone's hero.  I threw the towel in, and I'll finish it up mid-June.  It's healing up well, the color is gorgeous and vibrant, I just want it to be done though.

Ouch. That is all.

 

There's still a fair amount of shading left, the parasol, which will be lavender-ish, plus the flowers, which will eventually be pink & yellow.

Anna and I went to see Bridesmaids the other night, and it absolutely lived up to the hype.  It was hilarious, not just "funny for a bunch of chicks who are trying so hard!" funny.  Parts of it were a little raunchy for my taste, but I think that's what happens when you let Judd Apatow season your comedy stew :(  That and Fast Five by far the best movies I've seen this year.  Insidious still the scariest.  Your Highness the absolute most godawful.  And I don't care what anyone says, Fast Five is a movie for women.  There's like 2 hot women and easily a half dozen truly jawdropping men.

 


Yeah, looking at this I think I'll go see it again ;)


Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get - George Bernard Shaw

Thoughts on the royal wedding and tomorrow's election

So while I believe that if I was British, the royal wedding and it's associated costs would piss me off given the current economic climate, as an outside observer without financial burdens towards it, I think the pagentry of the royal wedding was actually kind of neat.  Let's face it, the past hundred or so years have not been kind to the British "empire", but they sure know how to preserve tradition.  And I love, love, loved how dressed up the guests got. I don't care how silly people think fascinators are, I adore the fact that people realize this is a fancy dress occasion and treat it accordingly. Ascots! Mourning suits! Splendid hats! Military regalia! In Winnipeg (and yes I know this is apples and oranges, but still) you could go to the swankiest place in town (where exactly is that??) and see someone woefully underdressed and completely unashamed of same. You go to the Fort Garry for brunch and some schlub has got his gut hanging out from between his ripped up, stained Fruit of the Loom t-shirt and his elasticized sweat pants riding up his ankles.  I appreciate a sense of occasion/venue.  Below some of my very favorite looks. (And yes, the Princess Beatrice hat is controversial)

I personally think the neck tatto ruins the illusion ever so slightly, but chic these two definitely are.  I also enjoy the toothless guy leering at them.

I have no idea who this woman is, but I love her flapper vibe.

I imagine this woman saw this photo and thought to herself, "Yes, it's true. I HAVE got it all together. Even if my husband is wearing pants that are ever so slightly 70's Adidas."

While I'm not crazy about the color scheme of Beatrice's outfit (on the right), I think the hat was a ballsy choice and she pulls it off.  While I like the colors of Eugenie's, the outfit is frumpy and unflattering. Ugh.

While I (like everyone else on the planet, it seems) thought Kate's dress was lovely and appropriate, I was surprised it was as conservative as it was, being a McQueen.  Also I had been hoping for her to do something a little more dramatic with her hair.  Well something at all would have been better.  I thought it was weird that anyone even bothered "critiquing" William's getup, given that it was military dress and he in no way dictated it.  Tradition and rules did.

Final thought on this. Camilla looked hideous.  As she usually does.  And came off like a royal party crasher.  As she always does.

And for my final thought overall, I would like to remind anyone who reads this before tomorrow that it's election day in Canada, and to encourage you to get out and spend the 20 minutes it will take you to participate in the democratic process.  People have and continue to die all over the world for a basic right that so many in this country could seem to care less about.  I hear so many people say things like "Oh I couldn't possibly vote, I don't know enough so it would be irresponsible."  Well guess what?  It would take you 10 minutes to learn the basic principles of the main political parties, and it would be relatively easy for you to figure out which you identified most with.  It's not as though if you choose wrong you get dropped into a pit of alligators and fire. At least you participated. I'm especially disappointed in the fact that younger people vote in such small numbers.  The reason there is next to nothing promised to you in election campaigns is that political parties KNOW you don't vote.  They COUNT on it, so they leave you out if it, and put no energy into courting your vote.  If you want to be better represented, vote and represent yourself.

"I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe