Friday, December 25, 2009

merry christmas!
i got socks and that made me very happy

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

i didn't use shampoo all last quarter. i used the baking soda/vinegar technique i learned from Ksenia and sometimes i used Dr. Bronner's magic soap. Because it isn't soap thats the enemy, its the pertroleum derived chemicals and the idea that a bottle will make me beautiful thats the problem, and Bronner's soap is all natural, organic and produced in the USA and workers share in the profits (http://www.greenamericatoday.org/greenbusiness/interviews/articles/200803.cfm)

i found that my hair stayed grease free for a long time between washings, it was soft and shiny. i was pretty happy. except for the dandruff. you can skip the next gross paragraph if you like

it was terrible, terrible dandruff. by the end of ten weeks the dandruff had gotten really really bad, i was so embarrassed about it i kept my hat on whenever possible. i should have taken a photo to prove it. i've always had some dandruff, since i was a kid. but this was chunky and thick and itchy, and scrubbing my head to get the flakes out made it worse.

i couldn't take it anymore. i bought some head and shoulders to celebrate the end of the quarter. one wash and all the nasty flakes were gone.

but i'm not giving up. i'm going to do research on dandruff cures. i hope i find something that works, or head and shoulders will own my soul until i'm a bald old lady.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Friday, December 4, 2009

A Warm Up

A fellow plamerite who I shared the elevator with asked me "Are you gonna walk??"as I headed down 55th instead of waiting at the bus stop.

Yes, I am.

It was 23 degrees, the first truly below freezing day we've had this fall. I honored the coming of winter by walking all the way to the reg from my dorm, while my uchi mates fretted and panicked that the bus was late. The cold was marvelous, eventually. For the first few minutes my eyes were tearing up from the wind and my hands were cold, not because I wasn't wearing gloves but because my sleeves are too big and the wind creeps up my arm and into my pockets.

I wrapped my scarf around my head and then around my neck, leaving my face exposed so that i looked like a kind old granny. If I had worn it a little closer to my eyes, i would have looked like a muslim woman.
But this scarf method prevents my beloved-fleshy-under-the-chin-to-the-neck-area from being horribly cold. A cold under the neck area makes me curse the climate. My ears and part of my head were kept beautifully toasty thanks to this scarf method . I can understand why muslim women and grannies women wearing those head scarves- it feels really good and cozy to have your head wrapped up. More secure than a hat and scarf combo, the scarf around the head is simpler too- only one article is needed instead of two.

I was still cold, sort of unhappy because my hands and legs were growing numb until I got to Woodlawn and and turned to walk to 57th. The sun was no longer blocked by the buildings, and god's own heat lamp was glaring in my face, bathing my legs and head with a real tangible warmth. With the help of the sun, my blood began moving again and warmth returned to my legs and finger tips.

My the time I got to the library, I was overheated, and read to unzip my coat. I love the winter!