Product
That is what I refer to all of the numerous hair care products that I use. Product. Singular.
My hair, no matter what others think of it, is one of my most favourable physical features. And it is all thanks to Product. Skin care I could care less about, but hair care is a passion. Some might even say adiction. Just under 5 years ago I got a fantastic haircut I call the "Sandra Bullock." It was a longer version of the hair she had when she shot "28 Days." (Bad movie, great hair!) I found a fansite that seem to take screen captures every 2 seconds of the movie and created a collage of her hair at ever angle and style (up, down, held back with a a headband) on an 11"x17" sheet of paper and took it with me to the stylist my friend had been seeing for years.
It was the best haircut I ever had!
Unfortunately, Paul went on to slowly butcher my beautiful hair so we have part ways and now I am very happy with Sergio at Coupe Bizzarre in Toronto. But I digress. With the "Sandra" I felt I needed to spoil my hair a little so I bought my first "salon brand" shampoo & conditioner. I also ended up buying high-end putty, wax and hairspray. I am a woman of extremes. I cannot just buy one item. I
need to buy 5. OCB indeed! After that I was hooked! I tried to go back to "drug store brands" but it left my hair oily and my scalp dry. I haven't gone back since. When I would profess to the miracle of Product - that there really was a difference between a $5 shampoo and a $15 one and I wasn't just a sucker for designer products - my friends would scoff at me. Scoff, that is until they decided to put it to the test themselves. They haven't gone back either....
I am also gifted with "The Hair Gene." That's what I call it when someone knows how to style their own hair well. My sister is missing THG. I remember when I was young, I used to force my even younger cousin to sit there while I styled her hair. Braids, Ponytails, Twisting Up-Dos, and Highbrow Originals. I would style her hair and then we'd go and show it to our mothers. They would issue the appropriate compliment and then we would go back to my room and I would do it all over again. Unfortunately for my cousin, when my mother used to brush the tangles out of my hair she was
brutal! No mercy whatsoever! Therefore, I thought that was the only way to do it, so I used to brush out my cousins hair the same way. Ouch! Why she put up with it I'll never know! I certainly wouldn't have.
The point (albeit not an interesting one...) is that I never use the same Product twice. I just switched shampoo and conditioner and this morning I have not been able to stop touching my hair! It is sooooo silky without being oily that I wish I could drape my body with it! The only bad thing about my addiction is that the Product I buy steadily increase in price, for it is one of those things where you pay for quality. So without further adieu, Phytologie Mallow Conditioner ROCKS! And I'm excited because they just opened a Sephora in Toronto so now I have access to Frederic Fekkai!! (I get excited over the stupidest things....)
Man! First a boring entry about notetaking and now one about hair care products...My friends are going to beat me High and
Lowbrow
Limited Edition
For those of you in search of the "My Left Boob" post, I regret to inform you that upon further introspection it has been deleted from the blog 4eva.
The Highbrow Administration
In Search Of The Perfect Note-taking System
I've tried notebooks of all shapes, colours and sizes. I've tried post-it notes of all shapes, colours and sizes. (I'm kinda addicted to stationary.) But nothing, nada one has ever worked as a good solid note-taking-to-do-follow-up-don't-forget system for me. Even throughout school, I'd change up my notebooks and binders at the start of every school year because I could never keep up the adopted system for the entire year.
I am not a creature of habit. I get into a ruts, sure. I just can't stick to any sort of routine, unless of course it involves my television. I could never keep a journal/diary/agenda. Three months worth of daily multivitamins lasts me a year. I'm lucky the pill is not my birth control of choice because there is no way I'd remember to take it everyday. Heck! Some mornings I even forget to put on my glasses!
In my current job, however, I need to keep a lot of notes. Multitasking is imperative to the position. When I was younger I would soley rely on my memory to keep track of appointments and deadlines, but as I get older the more I forget and the worse my memory. This leaves me in a bit of a pickle. I need to write down the notes so I don't forget anything, but every system was a failure. There were many problems with the notebook route. For example, I would list my notes in point form down the page and cross out the completed tasks, but then I was left with a page full of scratched out notes and one pending note that wouldn't stand out enough. As well, sometimes a post-it note was more accessible than the notebook, resulting in notes that were not contained in the same place. I love post-it notes and prefer to write each note on it's own post-it. Yet, to only use post-its would mean the potential loss of important notes or not being able to find pertinent information immediately, which is usually the timeline I'm given to pass along the information.
I believe I have finally figured it out! I have been writing the date at the top of a piece of legal sized paper, punching holes in it and adding it to a clipboard. I write my notes on various coloured post-its (colour doesn't mean anything except to break up the monotony of a monochrome so I don't miss anything) and stick it to the page. I cross out the notes that are completed or else move them to the next day's sheet. As my boss astutely noted, I can't seem to keep a notebook so I am actually creating my own book instead.
I can't believe I just made you read (or skim, as the case may be) such a long entry on something that has got to be boring to everyone who is not me!
A Highbrow notekeeping method for Ms.
Lowbrow
Why Do I Insist On Doing Things I Know I'll Regret Later?
I had a touch of food poisoning last night. Some bad leftover breaded shrimp from the local Chinese take-out place. So last night consisted of sleep that was interrupted by sharp stomach pains and, well there's no easy way to say it, vomitting. This morning I still felt a little queesy so, no surprise, I wasn't my usual cheerful self. (Yes. That was sarcasm.)
Then we had a little electrical fire at the office. The Fire Department put the fire out quickly but said that there were still toxic fumes in the air so they told us to take-off for an hour and then come back. Niiice. I know. (Again, there's that sarcasm.) Since we were already in his car (there is a freezing wind out there today), the Scotsman and I went to Krispy Kreme.
Against my better judgement, I ate a Glazed Chocolate Cake donut (My new favourite! And I don't even like chocolate donuts. In fact, I don't like chocolate cake either, but I find I'm craving it more and more as I get older. But I digress, that is a topic for another "exciting" (sarcasm) entry!) AND a Boston Cream (although KK calls it something else).
I feel really sick right now.
You know what feeling where it's like your stomach is filled with some kind of thick, gooey, almost gelatinous liquid and it just kind of rolling around in your belly? In addition, your stomach is making very unnatural noises which only you (or so you hope) can hear because it is more like you are feeling the sound rather than hearing it? That's what I feel like right now. Honestly, I had stored up a much more interesting entry of an anthropological categorization of human behaviour that I have brilliantly come up with on my own thank you very much, but this feeling superseeds all highbrow sociological observations.
There's nothing High about today. It's all
Lowbrow
from here on out....
Still A Little Giddy
The pic is now the wallpaper on my desktop, so everytime I shut down a program there we are! It still makes me all happy and lightheaded!
In reference to my other, much smaller, crush Zach Braff (don't ask me why I can name ZB but can't name my #1 love - it's different...I don't know how, but it just is...probably because it's a part of my "real life" now), on "Scrubs" a couple of weeks ago they aired a real cellphone number rather than the usually phoney 555 movie number. Well, apparently you can call it and get Turk's (Donald Faison's character) voicemail message! But I hear that the cast is now having fun with it and you can call and a real live person may answer! I was reading ZB's blog and he was saying how one guy got Zach to propose to his girlfriend for him. Crazy! So, anyhoo, I dialed the number and it started to ring. Once. Twice. Three times (a lady - sorry, couldn't resist!). Well, I totally chickened out at the prospect of having to talk to ZB on the phone. I'm awful awful awful at small talk. Plus, I'm totally star-struck, and the combination of the two means that upon meeting a celebrity I do a lot of smiling, nodding and mm-hmm's. I don't think that would go over too well on the phone....
If any of you have more nerves than I: (916) CALL TURK
It was a nervous High that ended up with me Lowering the phone receiver. I know...that didn't end with
Brow
WOO! HOO!
I did it! I achieved my goal! I got a photo with my #1 celebrity crush!!!!
However, unlike the woman in the NY Times article, I don't believe in sharing "too much" personal information with the world. So, sorry folks who don't know me, cuz the ones that do got a treat in their personal e-mails!
Thanks to all the well-wishers! It really came true!
On a permanent High, and never again
Lowbrow
Fashion & Style
I'm at work on a Saturday. How much more pathetic could I be? Granted, it's really my "Thursday," but it's still Saturday and by the end of today I will have been at the office for 12 hours. Pathetic! Although, I did allow myself a Starbucks this morning. It was like heaven I tell you! I don't know why I ever stopped! Oh yeah, the whole "being more healthy" thing. Right.... Mmmmm...I'm thinking about having another one right now. I do need some kind of kick to help me stay up past my usual work-week-10PM-bedtime tonight BECAUSE....
I have something to keep me motivated. I have something to look forward to! Tonight I get to party with one of my all time fave celebrities! I have been a fan of his (to be read as, "totally in love with him") since I first saw his one page layout in
Jane. A black & white photograph I just couldn't get out of my mind. That must have been about 5 years ago. Some say be careful what you wish for because it might come true. Well my, yes, pathetic little wish to meet the man in person is about to come true and I am SO not ready for it. I always pictured that when we met, I would be about a gazillion pounds lighter and have the complexion of alabaster, and yet, he would still fall in love with me for my laugh and personality. So maybe I shouldn't have wished so hard, because lately I've been eating like a bear getting ready for hibernation (yes! I love the idea of being able to hibernate! I love to sleep!) and I'm currently breaking out over the stress of potentially speaking to him! ("Hi. Can I get a picture with you?" "Sure." [snap] "Thanks.") I'm almost 30 and acting like a teen, both metally and physically. Again, pathetic. Nevertheless, my goal is to get that photo! So please everyone, send your goodwill wishes my way in order that they might come true as well!
In other news, there's an interesting blogger article in
The New York Times Fashion & Style Columns section. You have to register to read the article, but unlike some cheeseball online newspapers, it's free.
Here's wishing my night ends up on a High note and not a
Lowbrow
one.
Bloggers who get book deals. Awesome! Although I have little hope that this will ever be my fate, there is one lucky woman who is unlucky in love that Random House deems as read worthy. Check her out if you have the time:
Breakup Babe.
Wishing Upon A Star...bucks!
On "Oprah's" advice, given to me via JS, I have been trying to cut down on the coffee intake (which has been steadily increasing, btw) and replacing it with green tea. I decided that during my work week, from Wednesday -Friday only green tea, and on Saturday-Sunday I can splurge with a peppermint americano (try it before you knock it!) from the almighty Starbucks on my way to work. The traffic is lighter on the weekends so I actually have the time to stop at the almighty Starbucks versus the weekdays when I'm usually running far too behind to stop even though that is all I think about on the drive up. Thus far, I am not buying that the green tea has the sufficient amount of caffine I need to get a move on. Plus, I am drinking 2 cups of tea for every 1 cup of coffee I used to drink! That can't been good! Especially since that mean I have to up my water intake as well! I'm so tired right now! I feel like I'm about to fall asleep any second now....
No High, Just
Lowbrow
So That's What The @#$%! I Did To You...
And it is a reason that is as equally as stupid as being pissed off at me for it in the first place!
What The #&$%! Did I Ever Do To You?!
Don't you hate it when out of the blue someone you know decides that s/he is pissed off at you and as far as you can remember you did nothing to aggravate this person?
Sick Of Reality
I watch a lot of television. Now I know there are people who say that, but, I really watch a LOT of tv. However, one thing I could never really get into was the whole reality tv thing. Sure I watch the occasional episode of
Trading Spaces,
What Not To Wear and whatever is on at the moment on the Home & Garden TV network, but I'm not hooked on any of them. In fact, after a couple of consecutive weeks, I get totally bored and need a break from them. I'm just an old fashioned gal. I like good ol' serial television. Something with a theme or story that carries me through a traditional 8 month network season. None of this
Swan crap.
Unfortunately, with the demise of situation comedies like
Friends and
Frasier and the impending demise of well-written dramas like
ER,
The West Wing (what were they thinking killing off Leo McGarity?!) and
Law & Order (what are they on? Like, their 13th season or something insane like that?), this season's kick-off was quite a disappointment and non-event for me. You have to understand how obsessed I am with my television. It has been my tradition to buy the network fall line-up issues of
Entertainment Weekly and
TV Guide (which they do over 2 weeks. New Shows and Returning Shows.) in order to decide which shows I wanted to continue to watch, begin watching seriously and which one's I was going to give a one-time only chance to catch my interest. I also used the magazines to come up with a watching "live" vs. taping on my VCR schedule. Sadly this year, not only did I not by my magazine, but the only must-see-tv shows I was left with was the
CSI franchise (
NY sucks rocks by the way. The cast ensemble to not mesh nearly as well together as
Miami or the original series) and
The West Wing. And of those, I missed the premieres of all three
CSIs
! I didn't even know Speedle (eye candy on
Miami) was dead until this week! As for sit-coms, I have never been a devote follower of
Will & Grace or
Scrubs but left with no other serious offerings this year (
Joey? C'mon! How much more could that show stink up the airwaves?!) I have come to cling to these 2 series of a dying genre.
In order to fill the void, I have been searching the smaller networks for good television and I am happy to say I have found shows that are tape-worthy. On The WB, I have been keeping a closer eye on
Gilmore Girls,
Everwood and have begun watching the new and fantastic
Jack & Bobby. I have friends who have e-mailed me to say they were glued to the tv during the US Presidential Elections and I say to them, and to all of you like them, if
The West Wing is not your cup of tea but you want something with a political twist, please please please watch
Jack & Bobby. No, this is not a history of the Kennedy boys, but rather it chronicles the adolescence of the future (2040-ish) and one of the most influential presidents of the United States. Furthermore, I will begin to watch
The O.C. premiering tonight on Fox. Finally, Showtime's
Dead Like Me is one of the best things on television today! Sadly the season is over, but I have no doubt that it will come back for a third! It just gets better and better!
See! Look how I've gone on and on (and trust me, I could go on and on some more!) about something as, admittedly, frivolous as tv shows. But I just can't help it! I was a latch-key kid with a 27" colour as a babysitter....
Good TV gives me a High! Reality TV brings me down way
Lowbrow
Not an original title, I know, but I gave Jon Stewart props by linking it to The Daily Show site.
I don't have much to say on the subject of the US Presidential election except for the following:
1) If Dubbya wins (which it looks like he probably will - the provisional votes in "the new Florida" notwithstanding) I win 2 BUCKS! Woo!Hoo! Now don't get me wrong...I wouldn't vote for Bush myself, I just bet on a sure thing and found a suckah to bet "on hope." In the famous words of Jim Carey, "Loooooooooooooserrr!"
and
2) What kind of outdated system is the United States of America, arguably the strongest nation in the world (according to their own propaganda), electing their president with?! One candidate may win the popular vote (more than 50% of the voting public want that candidate to represent their country as their Commander-in-Chief) but can still lose the election by not garnering enough Electoral College votes. How is this fair??? How does this make everyone's vote of equal value? Checks and Balances, my ass!
In truth, and in typical Lowbrow fashion, I don't give a shite which moron wins Ohio. Either way (and don't be fooled...both ways are pretty much the same way) it won't make a difference in the long run. Neither candidate seems like they will make a profound impact on US history. Even the War On Terror is really a continuation of what Junior's daddy started back in the early 90s. I think it's safe to say that neither George Jr. nor JFK (ed. note: I luff the way he's banking on his initals being the same as another, but much beloved, Democrat) will turnout to be a Washington, a Lincoln, a Roosevelt - Teddy or Frankie D. - or a "real" JFK. Either way, let's just say I'm glad I'm a Canadian because we have no military to speak of to be drafted into which wouldn't matter anyway because God blessed me with flatfeet and I've heard a rumor you can't be a soldier if you have that particular ailment.
Whatev. I, obviously, don't carry a High esteem for either candidate. If anyone or thing is
Lowbrow
it would be the sad choice that the US voting public has been left with in the 2004 election.
Hmmmm...I guess I had more to say than originally anticipated on the subject....
Pamper Me! (And I Don't Mean With A Diaper...)
I was just thinking this morning on the way to work that I needed a facial but didn't want to spend the money. When I got to work, as usual, I checked all 5 of my email accounts. Low and behold, I got an email from
pure+simple for a $50 (vs. $70) classic facial!! It was serendipitous! (Is that a word?) The offer's valid on mondays and tuesday which works perfect for me b/c I'm shifting work weeks this week! (Meaning that I'll be working weekends - boo! - and getting Mondays & Tuesdays off) The only drawback is that it's only at the downtown location and the woman I see only works midtown. So, unfortunately, I have to try someone new.
I hope she doesn't suck or, at the very least, I hope she doesn't burn my face... Don't laugh! That's been known to happen...
High hopes for a
Lowbrow
girl!
