Book Review: Dana Thomas's "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster"

This book probably should have been reviewed by now since it was supposed to be read for August's Non-fiction month. BUT I just finished it a couple of days ago (and Casey was slacking?? :)) so it has unjustly gone unreviewed. Until now.




I really enjoyed this book. It was fully engrossing, and was very easy to read, which isn't always the perception of non-fictions. I suppose it helped that the subject matter is something that I'm very interested in - hence why the book was chosen in the first place. But yeah.

This book was great because it gave you information on ALL aspects of the Luxury industry - it's history, business structure, how the products are designed and made - you even get to learn about fake luxury goods. (Btw - I am NEVER buying another fake again in my life.) Even the aspects that wouldn't normally be as interesting to me - mostly the business stuff - were well written and presented so that it was still very interesting. There was nary a yawn-inducing chapter in this book.

So yeah - it was a very good read. But besides that - what did I think about what it had to say about the Luxury companies losing their luster? Is Luxury really dead?

I think that Dana Thomas had a very good case for the Luxury companies having lost their true sense of Luxury. Basically her point was that when Luxury companies went global and started focusing on making money rather than creating quality, specialized pieces for an elite group of customers, they lost their luxurious souls. In some aspects I agree with what Thomas says, but really you can only accept her arguments if you intrinsically agree with her concept of what Luxury is.

When it comes down to it, Dana Thomas basically thinks that Luxury is the experience. She talked about decreasing manufacturing quality, but the fact of the matter to me is that the luxury companies still produce clothes that are light-years better (in fabric choices, construction, fit, etc) than lower-end clothing choices. To me, it seemed that what Dana Thomas was really mourning is the loss of the EXPERIENCE of luxury. That is to say - the idea of going to this haute couturier where only the truly upper crust can afford to go, and the designers know you personally, and tailor everything exactly for you, and know your clothing preferences, etc, etc. Now, fashion has been democratized - the same looks are mass produced, there is no more one-of-a-kind clothing, there are no personal relationships with the couturiers. Luxury is officially dead.

I see what she's saying, but I don't totally agree. Luxury is still alive and well! It just may not exist where it used to. Yes, we've lost the experience of luxury as it used to be. But honestly - who was privy to that luxury before? I certainly wouldn't have been - nor would most of the population for that matter. So really, luxury is only lost for that upper crust who could afford it in the first place - and seriously, I think they've probably found other avenues. I don't mourn that loss for them at all. All that's happened is that the illusion of that luxury, in a diluted, mass-produced form has been made available to the rest of. No, we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we're now one of the upper crust too because we can buy from the same brands that they do, because we're not. But now we do have these higher quality clothes to aspire to. What's wrong with that? I don't think there is anything wrong with it. The only thing that I think could be an issue for me is people thinking that these brands are better just because their name is well known. That for me is not true. Don't let the man decide what you like! If you find something that you love love love at Target - then that can be luxurious for you! It doesn't need to have the price tag, or the brand name to be luxurious. If you really love it, and it fits you well and makes you feel good, then it is luxurious.

All-in-all I think that book was great at making me question what is "Luxury" to me. I know that I've decided that "luxury" is a personal experience. My own personal luxury will be very different from any one else's personal luxury. The Luxury goods industry may have lost its soul to the corporate world, but true luxury will find its way out in other forms.

So what does luxury mean to you guys? It's something to think about for sure.
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Fashion Don'ts and Grievances (click the read more to see all of it)

Lately, I find myself having issues with articles of clothing I see all around me. I'm not certain if this is due to the proximity I live to Atlanta- the city where, seemingly, anything you wear goes...BUT I have GOT to say my piece on these...pieces. I can't keep quite about them any longer! Today I had my window down and was on the phone and actually said- loud enough to be heard- "Your dress is terrible!" Oops...but, in my defense, her dress WAS terrible. I will now display some of the fashion faux pas I've seen. Otherwise I'm going to throw down on someone.


Article A. The Fanny Pack/Manny Pack
I have a lot of built up frustration towards Fanny Packs after working at the capital of them. Oh, that's right people- we had games where we counted the number you would see during the course of a day. And the elusive Manny Pack (a fanny pack toted by the husband or man) was worth more points... Yes, I realize fanny packs serve the purpose of freeing up those hands for things like a churro and a coke that you simply MUST carry with you. I understand that you need to put your wallet and cell phone into a pack instead of just carrying, let's say...a purse or a bookbag or even *gasp* just putting said items into the pockets. I don't know what's worse, though...the articles of clothing fanny packs tend to be paired with or the horrible general fashion sense of the people (victims?) wearing them. To fanny packs, I say, BE GONE.

Article B. Sequined Items

Yes. I agree that sequined dresses and shirts can serve a purpose- let's say you're going out to that hot new club downtown for the weekend and you want to wear an outfit that says, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! EVERYONE NOTICE ME!" then sequins are great. You'll definitely grab a lot of attention as every spotlight shines on you and you instantaneously blind all the people surrounding you. Which, come to think of it, sort of goes against the point of said attention-whore outfit. Yet, this is not my main problem with sequined outfits. My main issue is the crunching sound they make. I hate it! It grates on my nerves like nails scratching down a chalkboard, a knife scraping on a plate, or a dentist spit sucker that makes that weird "quuuuuuuooooo" sound...yuck! I'm going to put the rule out there: if your clothes make a sound, you probably shouldn't be wearing them. (Exception of tasteful corduroy)Article C. Tennis Shoes with Dresses

I know, I know what you're thinking. No! No one actually wears tennis shoes and socks with dresses anymore! Especially not with a suitdress! But, alas, dear readers- I have seen this trend more than once in the past week. It was startling. I felt for a moment that I had stepped back into time; or perhaps was on the set of a movie set in the 80s. One about a working girl and she has to walk to lunch and she doesn't want to wear those blasted and painful heels so she takes them off and puts on her much more comfortable tennis shoes- with protective socks- over her pantyhose and walks to that Deli down the road, the whole time thinking, "Screw Corporate America! Feminism, yeah!" but...sadly, I looked around...I saw no camera crew. And the time-space continuum seems to be in good condition so I can safely assume that I did not actually step back in time. Yes, tennis shoes, socks, and dresses do not belong together unless you are from the past or a little girl- and let's face it- those socks better be white and frilly, or with super sweet fuzzy dangly ball things on them (huh...that's weird to write out, but I don't know what they're called).
Also, I am aghast to see the tennis shoe with dress thing is even being used by certain "carefree" and "athletic" brides who just want to be "comfortable" on their big day. Ugh. Put on some heels or cute flats and suck it up...


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Parfume de Heaven?

Yesterday in shopping, Amy and I decided to try on some fragrances. I tried on the new perfume of Gwen Stefani's. These are modeled after her Harajuku Girls- you know, the ones who dance behind her and sing things such as B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Anyway, I tried on the scent titled "Love" and at first it struck me as "this is nice, but I wouldn't actually buy it" YET as the day continued it just kept getting better and better. It is a delightful scent! It also provoked some sort of memory with Amy and I which I have yet to completely place.I normally don't approve of celebrity fragrances at all- I mean, honestly, I don't think every celebrity needs to have one. (Sarah Jessica, Mariah, Britney, BECKHAMS- that message is for you). But I think that Gwen Stefani really nailed this one- the perfume bottles are featured above and modeled after each member of the Harajuku Girls. How cute!

I recommend going out and at least trying one. The large bottles go for $45 dollars and the smaller bottles are $25. I'm probably going to invest in one myself.

Here are the descriptions of each scent, in case you're curious.

• Love — a floral with notes of bergamot, pomelo (citrus, a little like grapefruit), peach, rose, jasmine, orchid and musk
• Lil’ Angel — a fruity floral with with notes of different berries (raspberry, cranberry, blackberry), pineapple, rose and amber
• Music — a floral with notes of clementine, pear, jasmine, sweet pea, honeysuckle, vanilla and musk
• Baby — a powder musk with freesia, bergamot, rose, jasmine, musk, heliotrope, vanilla and violet
• G — a food lover’s fragrance with mandarin, coconut, apple, freesia and sandalwood

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Totally Awesome Store Alert!

So I dropped a load of cash at Lennox yesterday, which was very enjoyable in itself. But what made it even MORE enjoyable, was that I was able to drop a goodly portion of said load at a new store in the Lennox mall, and this new store was totally awesome (hence the title of this blog post).

So the store is called Madewell 1937.


Here's a link to their website: http://www.madewell1937.com/JUL08/index.html
You should go check it out.

Basically this store had a lot of great American classics - jeans, t-shirts, wearable tops, coats, and some seriously amazing boots. It was definitely on the more expensive side (for a students salary), but I think their products are so classic and wearable, that you would definitely get your moneys worth out of whatever you purchased. They have a lot of great investment pieces that would be easy to build a wardrobe around with cheaper pieces. Also, they have a pretty good sales section which helped me out yesterday.

Seriously though, you all should try to make it out to this store. They have some boots that I SERIOUSLY covet, a jacket that Glynnis SERIOUSLY covets, and I'm pretty sure you would find something to covet too. SO go at your own risk really. Read More......

Waxing: An Inside Scoop

Hello, dear readers. I am here to avail you of another experience I underwent so you would not have to. There have been many questions about waxing- and I'm not talking about waxing a surfboard, heh heh. Okay. No more of those types of jokes. There have been many questions asked about waxing over time, and I've heard a lot of them from fellow females in the teen to twenties age. I've heard some opinions on waxing from some males and read a fair share of articles about the act, the different types and styles, and all the brouhaha associated. We as buyers are pummeled with adds for waxing or hair removal constantly and it seems our society is one that believes in less hair. Less hair, I think, almost being associated with a certain level of cleanliness and hygiene- even though this isn't necessarily the case. We see ads for Nads (which claims to be painless and natural...I'm doubtful), Nair(painless and less natural...the smell is otherworldly), and myriad of examples which escape me at the moment. Below the cut you will find...my story....



I have entertained the idea of getting my legs and bikini area (and such) waxed for quite some time. I just never had the money or the willpower to allow the hair to grow out. I like not having hairy legs so that was honestly one of my largest dilemmas. Plus, the pain factor. Now if you are like me you have seen movies and television shows which depict the pain of waxing. It seems to be absolutely excruciating. There are horror stories I've read of people who did at-home hot wax and burned themselves terribly. Waxing was a big, scary unknown. How painful was it going to be? Am I going to break out in a rash? Will it even work? These were all questions I had on a loop in my mind. On top of, how embarrassing is this going to be? And what different styles of bikini wax are there?



Here are the answers to some of these ever-important questions.
Was it painful?
Waxing was not that painful, and I got some fairly intimate areas waxed. I did take two tylenol with pain relievers in them prior to going- I anticipated the pain and wasn't going to stand for it. I've seen this recommended before. Go ahead and take preventative measures, just like you would if you were anticipating cramps.

Am I going to break out in a rash?
This is different for each person. Slight red bumps and skin irritation can occur but normally fades after a few hours or at the most a day after waxing occurs. Hair bumps can also happen when the hair is growing back in--similar to when you get an ingrown hair. I didn't break out at all and there was no redness.

Will it work? And for how long?
My waxing experience definitely worked. I had my upper legs and bikini area waxed on August 4th and the hair only just began growing back this past week. So, I got a good month of hair-free upper-legs and such. It was completely worth the money and I would repeat the experience in a heartbeat. The hair grows back softer, lighter, and more sparsely than it does when you shave.

How embarrassing is it to be pants-less in front of a stranger?
Now, this depends on the level of comfort you have with yourself. I went to a spa/salon. It was very nice, very calming. I spoke with Jennifer- the waxer- before she proceeded to wax. She left me in the room to disrobe- pants and undies off (depending on what you're getting waxed- if you're only getting your legs waxed, this isn't going to be procedure for you). I disrobed- kept on my top and got under a towel on a table. She came in and we discussed exactly what I wanted done- she explained the differences. She was more than willing to work with me, saying that if I felt the pain was too extreme we could stop. So, for me, this wasn't too embarrassing besides the whole being naked and at times in strange positions in front of another person who I'm not having sex with...I'm just saying. One of the positions was very down-dog-esque, again this won't be used for all wax sessions. Basically, Jennifer was a complete professional and nothing shocked her and there was no aghast reaction or comments like "wow, you are hairy!" So it felt very natural and normal. Plus, we kept conversation going the whole time- this really helped.

What are the different styles and types of waxings?
As you may know, there are many different styles of waxing (and different types of waxes used).
It seems that practically any body part can be waxed- arms, armpits, legs, eyebrows, unwanted facial hair, upper-lip, vagina, and chest...apparently some men even get their pleasure area waxed. So, the whole body is pretty much fair game. I believe most types are self-explanatory, most questions arise from the different styles of waxing used in the va-jay-jay area.

American or Classic Bikini Wax- This wax refers to the removal of the hair of the top of the thighs and the hair below the naval area. Classical V shape is the end result.

French Wax or Partial Brazillian- leaves a vertical strip of hair the width of two or three fingers on the vulva. Hair of the labia and peri-anal area can also be waxed in this style, but are not necessarily.

Brazillian Wax, Hollywood Wax, Sphinx- Almost all pubic hair is removed with the exception of a thin strip of hair on the pubis. The anus, perineum, and vulva are all waxed in this process.


For me, waxing wasn't a bad experience at all. I went to a salon, it was entirely professional. I found it funny that it was always portrayed as being entirely painful, but it just wasn't that excruciating. I've also really enjoyed the results and the fact that I haven't had to shave for almost a month. I would highly recommend waxing instead of shaving or creams anyday.

I give waxing a 10/10 for being an effective product and good experience.
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Horoscopes: Week of September 11, 2008

I failed at my self-designated job of copy/pasting the Creative Loafing horoscope the past two weeks. What have you done? How did you know what to look forward to? I'm sorry for failing you, readers. Here, in resplendent glory, are your horoscopes of the week...



-Virgo-
Surprise! You're not as fragile as you imagine. Now and then -- like the phase you're going through this September, for instance -- your health thrives if you push and stretch and test yourself harder than usual. So for the time being, Virgo, I urge you to proceed on the assumption that the most likely way to feel your best is to try things you've previously considered to be beyond your capacity.

Libra
On his Bad News Hughes blog, Patrick Hughes warned his readers never to use a mini-vacuum cleaner to suck up the contents of an ashtray. Speaking from experience, he said the rapid intake of air could reignite waning embers and create a fiery mess. I suggest you make that your metaphor of the week, Libra. It's a good time to clean the hell out of everything in your life and throw away all the stuff that's dead to you. But make sure that whatever you dispose of doesn't contain some smoldering remains that could blow up in your face. (P.S. I'm not predicting things will blow up, but rather advising you what to do so that they don't blow up.)

Scorpio
It's Let It Go Week, Scorpio -- also known as Just Drop It Week. This is a fertile moment in your astrological cycle, a time when you'll be rewarded with a creative influx if you surrender your tight grip, give up your obsessive hold, and stop clinging to your hardened expectations. So I urge you to summon your most brazen vigor and get yourself as completely unstuck as you dare. And please keep in mind that this should be relaxing fun, not a worrisome ordeal.

Sagittarius
Once a year I hike into the hills above San Anselmo, CA and perform a concert for the trees, birds, insects, and sun. If clouds happen to show up that day, I include them as part of my audience. The show typically consists of 80-minutes' worth of a cappella songs and ecstatic poems, along with my "Dionysian sermons" and "primordial gossip." None of my listeners ever express anything resembling applause, but that's fine. For me, it's an exercise in giving without strings attached. I provide the gift simply because it makes me feel good to be generous, not because I have expectations about how the gift will be used. I recommend that you find an equivalent approach to bestowing blessings in the coming week.

Capricorn
Writing in the magazine sub-TERRAIN, John More makes the following declaration: "Captains of industry, great generals, artists of genius, even politicians, are often just people who have discovered that alcohol can enable them to make economic, tactical, creative, or political decisions whose implications would paralyze a sober individual." Your assignment, Capricorn, is to find an alcohol-free way to make such a decision. It's time for you to summon visionary courage from your soul, not from a bottle, as you catalyze complex blessings that will ripple through your future for a long time.

Aquarius
To get a read on how democracy and human rights are faring on the planet, check out the research of an organization called Freedom House (freedomhouse.org). In its most-recent annual report, it declared that 90 countries are free. They represent 47 percent of the world's population. Fifty-eight countries, accounting for another 30 percent of the human swarm, are "partly free." Then there are the "not free" nations: 45 of them, with 23 percent of the Earth's inhabitants. (Half of the "not free" people are in China.) It so happens that your personal degree of freedom, Aquarius, almost matches the world's. You're 46 percent completely free, 35 percent partly free, and 19 percent not free. The good news is that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to reduce that 19 percent.

Pisces
Your funny bone isn't a bone at all; it's actually your ulnar nerve. A firefly is a beetle, not a fly. A lead pencil has graphite in it, but no lead. A cucumber is technically a fruit, not a vegetable. Is there anything in your life that might be mislabeled like these things? Anything that's different from what it's alleged to be? Now is an excellent time to penetrate to the truth below the prevailing assumptions.

Aries
Some people would like the world better if it didn't have oddballs, freaks, black sheep, misfits, and crackpots. Personally, I'm very much in favor of these types, and celebrate the entertaining diversity they add to the world. I hope you share my attitude, Aries, because you're going to have to be in intimate relationship with your own inner weirdo in the coming week. If you're prejudiced against people who don't act normal, you'll have trouble dealing with the unusual urges and needs that will be welling up in you. But if you've developed an appreciation for anomalous behavior, you'll be able to love yourself just right.

Taurus
After studying the astrological omens, I had a psychic vision of you jumping up and down, screaming with joy as if you'd won the lottery. That doesn't necessarily mean you will actually win the lottery, though. My visions are usually symbolic, not literal. So what does it mean? It could prophesy the imminent arrival of a good surprise. It may signify that your physical vitality will be exceptional, or maybe you will be visited by an exhilarating revelation about the future. To get yourself in the proper spirit, why not jump up and down and scream for joy right now? Then keep doing it at least twice a day until the breakthrough actually occurs.

Gemini
After my psychic reading in Santa Rosa, I waited in the parking lot for a friend to pick me up. To entertain myself, I watched a robin as it pecked at a small patch of grass nearby. I applauded when it snagged a fat worm for its meal. Minutes later, I cheered and whistled as it found a second worm. When the bird subsequently plucked up yet another reddish-brown wriggler, I yelled "Bravo! Bravo!" Still it continued to hunt. My mood turned. "Aren't you getting greedy?" I said to the robin. It rummaged around fruitlessly for a while, no longer in tune (or so I imagined) with the grace of the cosmos. The moral of the story, in accordance with your current astrological omens: Be alert for the unexpected abundance packed into a seemingly modest space or situation, but don't try to keep milking that bounty beyond what you need.

Cancer
There's more help available to you right now than you realize. You may have to cure yourself of an illusion in order to connect with it, however. What's the illusion? I suspect it's a misguided belief that you never have enough help! Here's another mini-shocker, Cancerian: You've been making a certain process more difficult than it has to be. If and when you cure yourself of an illusion, everything could very well snap into place and the process will unfold with relative ease. What's the illusion? I suspect it's your (unconscious?) belief that success is more valuable if it's hard and complicated.

Leo
It's a perfect moment for you to try the kind of money mojo that worked for one of my readers, Tamara L. of Las Vegas. Here's her testimony: "I never believed in any of this mystic mumbo-jumbo before. But I was desperate. I was paying the price after indulging in the sick pleasure of telling my boss to go to hell. I couldn't pay my bills. What did I have to lose? I took Rob Brezsny's advice and did a financial ritual. I wrote 'I hereby purify my money karma' on a dollar bill, then burned it in the flame of a green candle while wearing a hat made out of the Wall Street Journal and chanting the magic spell 'Money is my servant, not my god.' Within days, I won big at the casino."
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Polite Applause

As some of you know I'm taking a new media class. That means that I attend lecture after lecture cataloguing the upcoming and popularly-used forms of media. This does include blogs. Of course, I have never been exactly a fan of the quotidient. However, I do have some comments about this blog in particular after having smapled quite a few varieties...

I am SO impressed with this blog. It has really grown from some comments about books or fashion to a really interesting read. I love the "It's going to be a thing" addition and all the inspiration posts. Sometimes you just need a little help with good ideas, writing wise and such. Seriously ladies, you've pushed this blog to greatness. I salute you with a polite golf clap.
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Trial & Error: Tonsillectomy

As many of you know last Friday, August 29, 2008 was a day to be marked in the calendars. I, Glynnis Holt, your ever giving and caring Trial and Error aficionado had my tonsils removed. All for your sake- so you, kind reader, could know what this seemingly deemed "easy" surgery is really like. I went behind the scenes and under the knife for you.


So, how does the possibility of this surgery even occur? If one has a constant sore throat- and an apparent inability to scour the infection from the body, combined with swollen lymph glands and swollen tonsils this surgery will be an option. There are other types of tonsil infections that happen, I've been told that many get their tonsils removed after one too many strep infections. The main point is- tonsillectomies are a constant and current surgery. They are performed often- considered a common surgery. As my doctor said though, tonsillectomies are "easy for the surgeon, hard for the patient." Now, this goes against the general perception of the public that you get your tonsils out and it's all the ice cream you can eat for a few days and then you feel hunky dory and life returns back to its normal hectic pace. No, in my preparation for surgery I learned that there can be many painful side-affects, including but not limited to bleeding, sore throat (duh), voice change, ear ache, and weight loss.

I thought, this doesn't sound too too shabby. Weight loss I can cope with. Limited intake of foods and a soft diet, no big deal. Lots of liquids, well- I thought, I like drinking water all the time anyway. Ear aches, oh well...I mean, that makes sense. The bleeding idea frightened me especially paired with the words "scabs"...ew. Scabs should never be INSIDE your body, at least that's my viewpoint. I didn't think the recovery would be too bad though, honestly. Yet, for me, it has been a nightmare. Let me share my events with you, reader.

I went in on Friday August 29 at 6:30 am for my surgery. It was to be performed at 7:30 am. They prepped me with papers and put in an IV...I won't go into details, only that the phrase "she's a bleeder" was used. Actually, this phrase has been repeated many a time during the process. I almost passed out. I don't enjoy...anything needle-y. Anyway, that was done and they took me into the operating room- I was wearing a delightful hospital gown- and I assume they put something directly into the IV because one minute I was lying on the bed in the operating room and the next they were telling me it was over and waking me up. This is when I tried to talk and noticed that- oh, ouch...that's uncomfortable. This is also when I started feeling queasy and the first signs of the nausea that would become my common company started rearing their head. After a bit, I was awake enough to know I wanted to go home-so, we went to the car and Mom drove home. I got really sick feeling in the car on the way home...the motion did not agree with me. We made it home and I took my first dose of liquid pain medicine and antibiotics. I also attempted to eat something- I don't remember- because it was forced on me. Gross.

That day is a haze of pain medicine, nausea medicine and movies. I didn't feel too bad, and I didn't have any events happen. I actually thought- if this is how this is going to feel the whole time, it won't be that bad.

Sadly, that first day I still had anesthesia in my system which was definitely limiting the pain. On Saturday, around 3 or so I go really nauseous. We thought it was because of the foods I had tried to eat- yogurt, yoohoo, water...sugary stuff, so we assumed that was it. But I started throwing up and couldn't stop- won't go into details there- we ended up in the ER and I felt the worst I've ever felt in my whole life. They couldn't get the nausea to stop, they couldn't get me to stop dry heaving. I was throwing up stomach bile and the sensation had me crying but I couldn't even talk or think straight- all I knew was I felt absolutely terrible. They set up an IV and did two bags of fluid because I was so dehydrated. They also tried several different anti-nausea medicines including one which is normally used on Chemo patients and they didn't work. At I started having a reaction to one of them that made me get flush all over...truly terrible. Finally, they found a medicine that worked- and calmed me down- apparently, it normally puts you to sleep, but it didn't do that. I was just relieved to not feel so sick. They sent me home, which both my doctor and my mother have expressed concerns about- both believe I should've been kept overnight and watched. Oh well. That's in the past.

The rest of the days past in a constant source of nausea/dry heaving at times. I could barely eat- can barely eat still, and we're 11 days after now-but I could drink water. And every now and then I would eat applesauce or something like that. On day 7, I did have the terrible bleeding occur. Apparently one of the scabs came off early- that was extremely gross and a totally unenjoyable sensation, but we got it stopped with ice cold water and ice packs applied directly to the throat. Luckily, I didn't end up in the hospital again. I'm thankful about that.

I'm on day 11 of recovery now and I feel much better- the throat feels awkward. I can't eat really. Food doesn't taste right, mostly. Things that I normally like taste bland and gross. I can only eat a few bites of most things and I've found that food seems to get caught in the back of my throat- or at least, there's the sensation that it's there- and that' s not pleasant. So I'm sticking to mainly soft foods still. But, I'm on the mend. I'm starting to get some of my energy back. The nausea is mostly gone, so that's been great. And I'm not popping tylenol every three hours. All in all, things are looking up.
So, my rating on tonsillectomy- if it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY get it. Otherwise, NO NO NOOOOOO.

I give tonsillectomies a 3/10 for experiences. The 3 is only because I assume when all this is done I'll feel much better- but all the pain and stuff was not worth making it more.
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A Creative Construction

Hello again everyone. I know I just posted a creative construction post not too too long ago but I came up with a very intriguing one today. Possibly this would not be an easy one to respond to on the blog but if I can inspire someone to write my idea into reality then it'll be worth it. So my idea was . . .

a person's biography told by fortune cookie fortunes. I was just looking at some fortunes I'd collected over the years and thought to meself what if someone wrote a book about a person who can define the major events that occured in their life by different fortunes they recieved (via cookie). Like if I were to write the book the chapter headings would be the fortune and then it would tell how that fortune came to be true in real life.

For Example: If the fortune was for instance [Happy life is just in front of you.] (this was a particularly good fortune I got from Doc Chey's just yesterday) then the chapter would say when the person recieved the fortune. Then it would describe how the girl worked at an office with cubicles at that time and ended up being in a relationship with the guy in the cubicle across from her. Or something like that. So you see what I mean.

Also, as an interesting sub-idea. Has anyone had a fortune that later turned out to be true? Any good fortune cookie stories out there? Do tell.

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It's Going to Be a Thing - Update

So I know that I just did a real It's Going to Be a Thing post, but I wanted to also do an update on one of my previous It's Going to Be a Thing posts. Specifically I am speaking about my June "It's Going to Be a Thing: Japan Edition" post. This was the post where I said that I could see girls wearing men's jeans becoming a thing. I've discussed this with Allison and she is doubtful of my evidence (which probably rightfully so), but I am going to stubbornly stand firm here and say that this could very well be the beginning of the girls wearing mens jeans trend becoming a widespread thing.

Recently around Twinkle Town (or New York City?) we have seen Miss Katie Holmes (of the "Mrs. Kate Cruise" fame) wearing decidedly masculine jeans (Tom's maybe?). - Ok, I would just like to openly state here that I realize I used a lot of paranthetical statements in that last sentence. Sorry about that, I know that can get confusing - I always got marks taken off for not writing clearly in High School (sorry Dr. Tilley!). I just have too many thoughts going on and I apparently can't get them out in a way that's not confusing to other people! But anywho! My questionable writing skills aside -


Pegged or not, these jeans have been a widely debated and oft criticized (even by Tim Gunn!) choice.

I recognize that just because they are being worn by a celebrity means nothing about their actual state of trend-ness. Also, the fact that they are more often than not criticized negatively could just strengthen the "They're not actually a trend" state of thinking. But I don't know - any press is good press maybe? People are being exposed to this idea and I'm thinking that it has a possibility of catching on! Also, I would like to say that in a way my original post on this subject has already been validated, because in looking at what I actually said - my main prediction was that "we would be seeing some for realz mens jeans on some ladies at some point in the near future". And in semantics alone, I have already been proven right - just with only one person who happens to be a celebrity ha ha.

So everyone be on the lookout - I predict that this will be something you will be seeing more and more of in the months to come. Read More......

It's Going to Be a Thing

It's time for the September edition of It's Going to Be A Thing!

So I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath to see what is the next biggest trend. I'm here to oh-so-humbly tell you. :) ...After the cut.


So I've been throwing this thought around for a few months now. I have full faith in it, but I'm not sure I could tell you how widespread it will get. Well, how about first I tell you what the trend will be, and then I'll explain my reservations.

So - I think that sometime in the future Cat Eye Glasses are going to be a trend!


So, for my reservations. I am not totally sure if this will be a trend that will be basically reserved to, say, the "artsy" crowd, or if this will actually make itself outside of that elitist crowd and trickle down to the general masses. Also - I feel that I must address reading glasses vs. sunglasses. So my feeling here is that this trend will start with the reading glasses and make its way to sunglasses. Also - I will predict that when, or if, this trend makes it to sunglasses is when it will be picked up by the "general populous". Then maybe there will be an interesting trickle up effect where when the general masses start wearing the cat eye sunglasses they will take it back up to reading glasses. I don't know - this seems like a pretty complicated trend to me with a lot of layers. But then, I guess most trends are.

Ooh, wouldn't that be interesting to scientifically study trends? I think I'm onto something here! :)

But yeah - Cat Eye Glasses - it's going to be a thing!
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Dear Blog...

I miss you blog. It seems I never have time for you anymore.

What's my excuse? Well... there's school, and work. Just a general lack of time and energy. Etc. etc.

In fact, I think I ought to make an iTunes playlist that reinforces my apology.

We'll call it "Excuses Excuses"

Take the theme, interpret it as you will, and run with it (If you ever manage to get around to it.)

:)

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