Theatrical Makeup Week.

Theatrical Week in Makeup class was officially my favorite so far, next to Frozen Dead Week.

(me & my friend Diane, after getting "done up" by our partners. Diane was a scary doll thing...and I was channeling Kiss)

(Ryan!! In Diane's handiwork... Rafiki from Lion King on Broadway)

(my attempt at theatrical makeup: starring, Rebecca)

(and this wig, 'cause everyone wears this wig!)

(Rebecca's handiwork)

(the aftermath = Jennifer Connelly eyebrows)

(my theatrical week homework. Props to Curtis for thinking of the awesome Darth Maul idea, and also for modeling for me, while visiting me for Spring Break!)

(we took a lot of pictures, because we were all surprised how cool it turned out, haha)

(I'm super excited for my future kids' halloween costumes!! haha)

This will probably be my last post this week, until I get back next weekend. I'm driving down to LA with the bestie for our Spring Break! I hope everyone has a great week! :) Can't wait to relive many crazy stories that we are bound to have, when I get back!

Frozen Dead Week.

It's officially my Spring Break! So I will finally have time to bombard you all with pictures and stories from my life (and pen pal letters and stuff), YAY! :)

And I have TONS of pics from makeup class. Hope you enjoy. These were from Frozen Dead week!

(my partner in makeup class, Ryan)

(you know the bestie I always talk about? this is him... as a frozen dead person. And ignore his healthy arm, I didn't have time to freeze-kill his whole body)

(the bestie's roommate, Gabe. he's awesome, always willing to model for me)

(my "scared" face)

I'm serious this time... more pictures coming SOON. Hope everyone's doing great n' stuff.

I promise I'm coming back from my hole this week.

But until then, this is all I want to say.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own. If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations, of being human...

Homeless Week.

These photos are from my second week of my makeup class (which I adore)!!! The first week we learned "basic makeup," which was cool... but now we're gettin' into the really fun stuff.

Homeless/bruised/drug addict Week.

(ignore the eyebrows - I got them threaded for the first time right after this... it hurt, but it was awesome)!

This is the makeup I did for my friend & yoga partner, Steve... while working on one of his film shoots.

This is me & Steve, drugged out & working on his film.

More photos coming later...

This is the story of a girl who cried a river and drowned the whole world.

Everything I touch turns to crap.

I had another post in mind for yesterday, something I wrote the night before, all about tears. I typed most of it into this text box, but it just got to the point where I couldn't finish it. For some reason. I'm sure I will post it again one day, so just consider this a teaser. Here's what I wrote instead:

This is my first time going on my computer all day...and I only came on to do research for a paper I need to write. That's right, I had a technology-free day. I was doing an experiment of sorts, that isn't directly related to staying off of my phone and the internet...but it sure helped matters. (And I guess it also helped matters that my phone service was "temporarily suspended" today).

I wasn't expecting today to be a particularly good day, mostly because I approached it with the wrong attitude, but it sure surpassed my negative expectations. I did see a good friend today, unexpectedly, and we hung out for a little while, on my city-walk, which was nice.

I woke up kind of down-trodden and that turned out to be a theme of my day. I wandered around the city and spent the entire day out of my apartment. That's nice, I really like spending the whole day out doing stuff, even if it's just walking around aimlessly. Some days I don't appreciate this city as much as I should.

I ate outside today, in a park. Just sat there by myself, in silence. Not even an ipod in my ears. (I told you, technology-free day. My phone service came back on just in time to talk to my brother for a little while, which is always a treat. He truly makes my days. But that was the extent of my technology usage.. I was away from my computer all day and even when I got back to it, I immediately closed all of my ichat tabs that had popped up while I was away, and I didn't even go on facebook).

I don't know why I don't eat outside every day. (I'm laughing because I read my friend's book yesterday- "Stuff White People Like." Eating outside was definitely one of them).

Well, for better or for worse, it was me, my Vietnamese takeout, and my thoughts, in the park today. I was quiet and present...and slightly cool, because the grass was damp enough to keep you dry, but damp enough to make your feet cold. It was a beautiful day and that was the only time today I didn't mind being alone.

It was when I left the park though, that things went downhill. Like I said, today already wasn't my favorite, but it got progressively worse when I left and my grandpa's awesome striped bag that I wear a lot, broke. One side of the strap just ripped right off, in the middle of the street. I was/am terribly disappointed, because the only way I can fix it is to sew it or something. The other side of the strap started to tear a little while back, but I was able to tie it in a little knot, to keep it together. But this one's a clean break, there's no way to fake it. And I can't sew. I need to learn...or find a fashion major.

I tried going to the library to watch a film I need to watch for class, and write a paper on. (I'm very late on this, shh!). But I got there just in time for the "the library's closing in 30 minutes" announcement. What kind of library closes early on a Saturday? Surely I'm not the only one who wanted to spend their Saturday night in a library...right?

I left there, started thinking about things I wasn't supposed to be thinking about today, as a string of 3 or 4 "sad" songs came on, completely mirroring my every thought of course. Ipods have a funny way of playing songs just in time to match your every mood.

I bought myself some lotion and nail polish to lift my spirits. Haven't used 'em yet. I did some laundry, broke off the door handle, and got locked in and out of the scary basement.

I feel like I'm leaving something out, but I don't really care. One funny thing that happened is that I finally got initiated into the "NBA Sightings Club." I'm really excited about this because pretty much everyone I know has seen some NBA player or team in their time here, except me...until today. Unfortunately, I'm not as cool as the previous NBA spotters, because I'm not sure who the NBA guy I saw, was. I may not have recognized the NBA player that I saw, but as I was walking to the library, looking down and fiddling with my broken bag, I looked up and did recognize the pack of fans with cameras flashing at me, as soon as I got in front of them. I looked up, confused... "Surely all these people aren't here for me..."After standing there for a second, soaking up my paparazzi training, I looked behind me and see that I'm kind of blocking the doors, where... *insert famous NBA player's name here,* was standing, trying to exit. Whoops. Kind of embarrassing I guess, but the good news is that there's probably a picture floating around out there, of me and someone's idol, woo!

Also, my effort to continue my "no sweets since I've been back in SF" streak was almost seriously compromised this morning, when I was sitting within a foot of a girl that smelled like chocolate chip cookies. A spawn of Mrs. Fields, perhaps. She's lucky, she made it out of my eyesight in the nick of time. (Especially because her and her boyfriend were the most disgustingly cute things I've ever seen, it was driving me nuts).

This song came on my ipod today. Forgot how much I liked it.

Listen to the lyrics.

I dodged death.

(I never know what to title my blogs either, Nikki).

Ok, I know I'm a day late past my promised update. But look how much better I'm getting, I've already blogged twice this week! (the bestie is really crackin' down on me, so I'm sure I will be frequenting the ole blogspot a lot more). Anyway, the excuse I'm using for my tardiness is that I couldn't lift my arms or use my fingers (not even to type!) yesterday.

Maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but I was insanely sore from my gym experience on Monday. Even this morning, waking up was hard, because I had pretty much solidified into place over night and had to endure about a minute of stretching and shaking before I could comfortably move.

Believe it or not, patience is not really one of my strong suits, so you can imagine how restless (and out of shape) I've been getting since I haven't been functioning at my full physical potential in 7 months. (My surgery was 7 months ago? That's crazy)! Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, and sometimes it feels like.. years ago, because I'm so much better off than I was, just a few short months ago.

Anyway, I've been anxious to get back in the gym. So, Monday morning, I woke up at 8:30 am (which is about 8 hours earlier than I've been waking up the majority of this break). It was hard to believe I actually responded to my alarm that early, especially because I was up FaceTime'ing until an ungodly hour of the night. (Where did that phrase come from - ungodly? If you figure it out, I'll give you extra credit. This one too: "Dress to the nines"). I'm very interested in where our phrases and words come from.

So, today, I feel the need to share with you... working out is HARD!! I am desperately trying to get back into shape after my surgery. (Okay, desperately thinking about trying to get back in shape). I think I can count on 2 hands the amount of stuff I've actually done physically, since my operation, because I was out of commission for so long. (When you can't lift a gallon of milk for months, and can't brush your hair or sit up on your own, your self-esteem and independence goes straight down). One of the physical activities I did try is what we call "The Gauntlet", which consists of running up my street, all the way to the water, and back, which is basically a 5k... and yes, it's as painful as it sounds. And when I say "up", let's not forget that I live in San Francisco, so I mean UP!!!

So, Monday I decided I wanted to hit the gym hard. I don't really know what it means to ease into something...with anything. When it comes to anything I've ever done, or liked, I just dive headfirst into it, pretty much immediately. (That is why, the very first physical activity I tried after surgery was the previously mentioned Gauntlet).

Sidenote: I was the only one in the Gauntlet group who didn't throw up on our venture. This will be important later.

And that is also why I decided to take the "Circuit Sensations" class Monday at 9:30 am...using 2 risers instead of 1, under my step, so I could have an "increased cardio experience."

Yeah, excuse me... WHAT was I thinking?! There were some parts during that workout where I actually thought I was going to die! (or at least throw up, and I have never thrown up during a workout. I have a pretty resilient stomach. It's only weakness is... other people throwing up).

So anyway, my stomach was reminding me that we only had 2 Eggos for breakfast that morning, (and we had them right before the class started, like.. as I was pulling into the parking lot), my chest and ribs were on FIRE, and my muscles were screamin'! But I tried my hardest stickin' it out 'till the end, despite my belief that I might pass out at any second. (It really is a good class though, and I can't wait until I'm back at my physical peak)!

And, after surviving circuits (woo, I survived!), I followed it up with the yoga class, to stretch out and meditate.

While I'm on this subject, I would seriously recommend yoga to anyone! There are so many different styles and you'd be surprised at how accessible classes are in every area. And it's amazing how much better I feel afterwards.

This particular class was very relaxing, and during certain poses I could feel my muscles softening and lengthening, and I could feel the physical stresses leaving my body. We meditated laying down, and the longer I laid there, and the more I cleared my mind, I could just feel myself melting into the floor, into complete and utter relaxation.

Then I left the gym, headed to Moe's and followed up my workout with a huge-ass burrito.

I love being a girl.

My day started out really great. I went to the gym and yoga (you will hear about this tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow for real. I really am trying to get better at this blogging thing). I felt good, as I usually do when starting and/or ending my days with yoga. However, about mid-day, a funk came over me, and I sat on the couch listening to music and getting lost in pages I was reading and writing, absolutely content in my lonesomeness. I started to get a little cranky, as it was time for me to re-enter the world I was mad at (my hearts and deepest condolences go out to the SPPD and those affected by today's shooting).

This is when I started takin' names. I was no longer a joy to be around, and if you had the UNpleasure of running into me today, you would have been best off seeing me at 11:30 am, because that was my peak. Just moments ago, I unleashed my internal fury on a close, unsuspecting friend. And then tried to apologize immediately after, but only did a mediocre job at it, because for some reason, I was still a little heated. About what? I couldn't tell you.

I thought it would be best for me to just go back into my little cave of solitude and silence, before ultimately grabbing a coffee from Starbucks (with a side of happy pills), and going to see a movie with my dear friends, who I miss terribly when I'm in SF.

However, on my venture home, I got a little misty-eyed. This is the emotional spiral that is inevitable for me. I can stay mad for whole minutes before I break down into a crying mess, trying to take all the blame for the whole world's problems. I tried snapping myself out of it, before the tears really got a'flowin, and it worked, (thank you, Katy Perry, for your catchy sing-alongs).

As I was pulling into my neighborhood, I drove past a cracked blue reflector on the street, and I LOST it! Completely broke down, crying, sniffling mess. (Now, this sounds stupid, but wait...). As I was driving, I thought this cracked blue reflector was a dead frog. The same frog I thought I ran over just days ago. I remember the bestie having to talk me down from that potential nightmare. "No, I'm sure you didn't hit it. You're fine. Don't think about it." He was right, because this "dead frog" was, like I said, a broken reflector.

But since I had been crying, because... something invaded my body today, making me the most sensitive person on the planet, (in the universe, maybe).. I kind of sniffled.. or inhaled too hard, and then started choking. This choking in turn, hurt my chest, because, you know... I hit the gym hard today.

So there I was, a sight to behold! Choking, crying, in my driveway, to R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts." (much like Dwight, in The Office).

For no. reason. at. all.

And now, as I'm typing this, I am laughing.

I just might be getting my monthly visitor soon.