Epilator! (Video)

Fuck you, Epilator! 

Several Fails and a Win

Well, I have really been on a roll this week, let me tell you.

1- I have now missed two posts within one week.
2- I have now put off my animal rightsy post for so many days that it now doesn't really seem worth posting one. I think I'll just wait until this Friday.
3- The guy who sells the hot peppers wasn't at the farmers market, so there will be no reaper video this week.
4- I bought an epilator (if you don't know what that is, because I didn't, it's basically a bunch of tweezers hooked up to a motor that pulls your hair out). That in itself isn't too much of a fail, aside from the fact that I really couldn't afford such a thing, but the fact that so far all it has done is remove about half of the hairs in a given area and give me a horrible looking rash is. I'm going to keep using it for a while anyway though, because I paid too damn much for the thing to give up on it that easily.



Now for the one win.

1- The Typhoid Mary pictures cam out really great!

Give It a Shot

Today my sister and I are going to Connector Art's artist and artisan fair in Fairmont, at Palatine Park, if you get a chance you should come check it out. I'm not holding out much hope for actually selling anything, based on past experience with this sort of thing, but you never know I guess. It seems like it might be kind of fun though.

On a totally unrelated note, I think I have everything I need for my Typhoid Mary photo shoot. My swords came yesterday, and I bought the last little pieces for the outfit. I still have to paint the swords and do a little bit of sewing and whatnot. Other than that it's basically ready though. I thinks it's going to be pretty fucking cool.

Necessary Expense

I went back to Aikido last night. There were only two other people there, plus the sensei, my friend and a woman who is a brown belt. It worked out really well because I worked one-on-one with either the sensei or the brown belt pretty much the whole time, which is good since I still have basically no idea what I'm doing.  

Anyway, we learned this one move that requires you to lift the other person's arm up behind their back and them swing it down and forward "like a sword." When the sensei told me this, I informed him that I hadn't worked with swords yet. So he got out one of their training swords and showed me how to do the basic movement. This was really cool because 1-I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword (you know, because it's such a practical skill to have) and 2-I may have ordered a pair of training katanas on Amazon, for my Typhoid Mary photo shoot, and now I at least know the proper way to hold them. 

I couldn't help it, the shoot just wouldn't have been right without the swords. Plus, these were a good investment because they are wood instead of metal so I can use them when I get to that point in Aikido. I'll just have to paint the blades for the shoot. Plus, this set was cheaper than most of the single steel swords.

Ⓥ The Price of Success

Most people probably don't pay much attention to this, because it just doesn't seem particularly relevant to them, but vegans tend to keep a pretty close eye on the companies they support. We like to buy from companies we can believe in. When you do start to pay attention, you notice that formerly animal-friendly companies are constantly making decision that go against everything that they supposedly stood for.

Recently, there was a slew of non-animal testing cosmetic companies that decided to begin testing on animals so that they could sell their products in China, where animal testing is still required by law. You would think that selling in every other country in the world would be good enough, but these companies decided that missing out on the profits from that one country was so unacceptable that they would rather sell out not only the animals but also all of their loyal customers who care about animals.

Then, of course, there are all the vegan food companies that get bought out by larger companies that also sell animal products. I suppose this isn't quite as bad, because those particular products are still vegan, but it just feels so much more ethical to buy from a company that is completely committed to protecting animals than to a vegan sub-section of an abusive conglomerate. Not to mention the fact that if these people were to hold onto their businesses and slowly expand them, they might eventually be able to put the corporations built on animal products out of business.

The problem is that, for the most part, the second a company starts to make money they inevitably decide that they need to make more. And most of them are willing to toss their morals out the window to do so. It's just so strange to me that it's so easy for people with very little money to put their beliefs and values first, but those who experience some level of success forget what was once so important to them.

Why is it easier for people to stick to their beliefs when they have fewer resources than it is when they have more? You would think that it would be easier to commit to a cause, knowing that you have more to offer and less to worry about. If you knew that you had plenty of money to get by, wouldn't you think that would make you more inclined to use the excess to do some good? This doesn't seem to be the case though.

I would understand if we were talking about different sets of people here, people with more money vs. people with less money. Maybe people who have successful companies have a certain level of selfishness that prevents them from committing to a cause? But that's not the case. These are the same people who started out trying to do the right thing and then later decided that the right thing wasn't so important anymore. My question is, how, and why, does this happen? Why is it that success make people forget everything they once cared about?

I ordered this online and was really excited when I got it, and saw the packaging. This ^ is on the front, and on the back it says "Teach peace. Be nice to mice!" I thought "Any company that prints that on their products has to be completely ethical, right?" Well, I looked them up, and it turns out they also make glue traps (for bugs, not mice, but still.).

I've Gone Too Far!

You know how I have mentioned multiple times that I have been reading Deadpool? Well, I think I have gone a little overboard. See, I decided that I wanted to know the whole story, because I'm a crazy person and I can't stand not knowing everything about the things I like. However, I wanted to do this with as little expense as possible (because, as I have learned, comics are more expensive than regular books). I really had no idea how to do that though. So I went searching on Amazon. I found a series called "Deadpool the Complete Collection, by Daniel Way". Now, since there were only four volumes, I should have realized that it was not, in fact, the "complete collection" but I thought maybe they were just really big volumes. Wrong. In was actually just all of the stories written by Daniel Way (hmmmmm....probably should have realized that, based on the name......) which are all pretty recent, and offer very little back-story. So, once I figured that out, I went back to Amazon and found "Deadpool Classics" volumes 1 through (so far) 11. I thought "Classics. That should have the oldest stories, right? I can start at the beginning!" Well......kind of. It turns out that those contain mostly Deadpool appearances from other comics, and very few of his own comics. So now I finally bought just plain "Deadpool". Probably I should have started there in the first place. None of them have arrived yet, but I feel like I should pretty much know every single thing about Deadpool by the time I'm finished (which I guess was the point, right?). Anyway, I guess my point here is that I am going to have a shit-ton of Deadpool comics! Also, that I really don't even want to think about how much money I have spent on them.

But look at this cute baby Deadpool fan art I found. 

Look What I Got!

Yesterday, my dad and I went to Home Depot to get some stuff for my camper. We got a hot water tank, and some plumbing stuff (not terribly exciting) but I also got something that I am pretty excited about. Try not to laugh, okay? I bought some of those weird puzzle-piece foam tiles, like they put down in classrooms for small children. Here's my reason, I have been thinking forever about putting some kind of mats down in my exercise room and I thought that, since we have to replace the floor in there anyway, I might as well go ahead and do it the way I want to. I've been working out on various rugs my whole life, and it's just awful! They slide, they don't provide nearly enough cushioning, and (here's my favorite part) they give me fucking rug-burn on my shoulder blades and tailbone when I do sit-ups! Now, for the first time in my life, I might actually be able to do my workout without slightly injuring myself every time.

And I don't even give a shit if it looks like I'm living in a kindergarten classroom.

Another Bright Idea

Yesterday my mom, my sister and I went to pick blueberries. I thought that it might be nice to dry some of my own fruit. See, I eat a shit-ton of raisins and I've been wanting to try something else, but everything is just too fucking expensive. So instead, I thought I would buy a dehydrator, then spend a couple hours picking berries, then pay eighteen dollars a gallon for them, then spend many hours letting them dry, after which they will most likely not add up to enough to last me for more than a week. Yet another of my brilliant ideas in action.

Also, the blueberry bushes were covered in weird, angry caterpillars. Like these^.

Back to the Start

My entire life is nothing but running in circles. No matter what I do, I always end up right back where I started. I officially cancelled with the guy who was supposed to move my camper today. Then the guy I bought the camper from emailed me and said that he thought maybe the guy who sold him the camper would be able to move it for me. Also, my mom knows someone who said that her son might be able to haul it for me. Naturally, I thought that having two promising leads was a good sign that I might actually get the thing moved. Well, the guy who used to own the camper apparently bought a smaller truck and can't haul something this big anymore, and the son of the woman my mom knows wants to change me three dollars per mile. By the way, the camper is 585 miles away. So yeah, that's not going to work for me! So now it looks like I'm back to dealing with random strangers on uShip, except that this time no one has bid on it yet. Fucking awesome.

On the upside, I now have this song stuck in my head.....which is nice, since I like this song. 

What a Fucking Surprise!

Remember how I said that I should have my camper soon, as long as nothing went wrong with the transport of it? Well, guess what? It did! The guy who I hired to move it decided that he's not going to move it after all. He says that the tires might not be any good, and the bearings might not be any good, and the license plate is expired. Well, you know what? Those are things that he probably should have considered before I payed for him to haul the fucking thing! I just sort of assumed that someone who moves campers for a living would have the means to move campers that are harder to move. He knew how old the thing was, and that I had bought it on Ebay, before he agreed to move it. Somehow the idea that maybe a thirty year old camper wouldn't be in perfect condition, and might have an expired license plate, didn't occur to him until I had already paid for his services. Now I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do! Obviously, I'm going to try to get my money back, but how am I supposed to find someone who I can count on to move the thing for real. I really thought that going through a service (uShip) that does nothing but connect people who need things moved with people who move things would be a sure-fire way to get the thing moved. Nope! That's the sort of thing that works for normal people, not me! Never me!

Again, Deadpool understands me......well, except for the fact that I don't kill people.

It's the Little Things

When your life is mostly bullshit, like mine is, sometimes the smallest things can make everything seem better. After the whole idea about getting a trailer fell through (but before I decided to buy a camper instead) I was fairly certain that I was just going to be stuck living with my dad for.....well....forever. So I decided that, if I wasn't going to get my own space, I was at least going to do whatever I could to make my life feel a little less shitty. This mostly just involved buying shit that I had been wanting to buy, but didn't feel justified in buying because I thought I was going to need all the money I could save to get the stuff I needed for the trailer. Of course, now that I bought this camper, the fact that I spent so much money on these other things seems rather unfortunate, but what can you do?

That's really not the point of this post though. The point is that these stupid little things that I bought really did make things seem a little less shitty. It's kind of pathetic really, how exited I get about the dumbest stuff. I bought some new scrub pants, because I was tired of having to wear my old, remarkably hideous, ones to work everyday. I also bought some new pants to wear on the weekends, and some new dollhouse pants (which are the ones I'm happiest about); no one else even sees them, but I just feel so much better having ones that fit properly and aren't all stretched out.

You want to know the one that's really depressing though? Bag clips. My dad always uses clothes pins to seal up bags and, since that's all he has, that's what I've been using too. But I don't like them! They're not tight enough to keep things closed properly, and they can't really be washed. So I bought myself some stainless steal bag clips. When I went though and switched out the old clips for the new ones on all my stuff, I was so fucking excited! They were strong enough that I didn't have to worry about them falling off, and if they get dirty I can actually wash them! I practically did a fucking happy dance, just because my food was sealed with a better clip. So yeah, sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference......but, then again, it's also the little things that keep adding up until you owe your soul to Amazon.com

My new bag clips, yay!

The Illusion of Freedom

So you know how I was trying to buy a trailer? and I just couldn't seem to get anyone to move one for me? Well, I've been thinking about it and I'm thinking that maybe I was going about this the wrong way anyway. I know I'm kind of just rationalizing here, but hear me out. I had talked years ago about living in a camping trailer, then I (sort of) decided against it because I thought it would be too small for me to workout in. Well, I just realized that a regular trailer really wouldn't be all that much roomier. I mean, they're still really narrow and most of them have somewhat low ceilings. So if I'm willing to live in one of those, how much worse could it be to live in a camper? In fact, I feel like it could actually be better in some ways.

See, for a long time I've been kind of torn about the idea of investing any money in a place of my own here. I just keep thinking that someday I will move somewhere else, and then any money and time that I spent on making a place for myself will be wasted because I'll have to leave it behind. The great thing about a camper though, is that it could go anywhere I go. If someday I have an opportunity to leave, I can just do it. Not only would I have the ability to move, but having a camper would actually make it easier. I wouldn't even necessarily have to worry about finding a place to stay when I get to wherever I end up going. There are RV parks all over the place. So wherever I go, I will always have a place to stay. I know this is probably something that will never happen, and I'm just being delusional here. But, you know what? Sometimes delusions are all we have.

Plus, as an added bonus, I wouldn't have to worry about finding a professional to haul it for me. I just have to find a camper close enough that I can go pick it up. Also, as another added bonus, it will automatically be cheaper on heat/electricity/etc. And, to be honest, I just think they're cooler than regular trailers. Somehow I just feel like living in a camper is a personal choice, whereas living in a trailer is something you do because you can't afford to live in a real house.

Yeah.....thanks for that.

To Be (In Debt) or Not to Be (In Debt)?

You remember when I mentioned that I was thinking about taking a nutrition class? Well, I'm seriously starting to think about doing it. I just feel like I need to do something with my life. I need to find some way to make some sort of progress. I'm still not sure that it's something that will be particularly fulfilling for me but, at the very least, it should give me some useful information. The problem is, it will put me even further in debt. I'm almost, almost, done paying off my first student loan (from massage therapy school) and it just seems kind of stupid to immediately add more debt right back on. So what do you guys think? Worth it?

While (obviously) not the same line, this is David Tennant as Hamlet.

Stop Me If This Stupid

You know how I was talking the other day about how there is now a tattoo place in Pittsburgh that does vegan tattoos? Well, I really think I am going to try to get an appointment soon (despite the fact that I really can't afford a tattoo right now). I haven't been able to get a new tattoo for so long! and I have all of these ideas for ones that I want to get. Some of them I have been wanting for years. However, I have this new idea that I've been thinking about lately, and I'm pretty excited about it. So I just thought I would get input from you guys before I decide to go through with it. So here's the idea, You know my "vegan" tattoo on my forearm? (If you don't, there's a picture of it in the post I linked to above.) Well, I want to get one on the opposite arm that looks sort of like a reflection of the other one. Instead of "vegan" though, I want this one to say "volatile" and I want the animals to look less cutesy and more.....not scary.... but......maybe sort of threatening. Like, maybe the cow could have horns, and the pig could have tusks, the chicken could have a longer beak and a bigger comb. I'm not really sure what to do with the rabbit though, I don't know how you make a rabbit look threatening? Maybe just make him a little darker and sleeker looking? Anyway, what do you guys think? Dumb idea?

Image by LanWu at Deviant Art

Ⓥ Tips and Tricks Part 2; Non-Food Products

As a follow-up to last week's post, I also wanted to share some of my favorite animal-friendly products and brands. I know how incredibly frustrating it can be to find good products that also fit with your beliefs, so I thought I would offer a few suggestions.

1- Naturally, the first step in buying cruelty-free products, is identifying them. I have found that a lot of people don't realize that unless something specifies right on the label that it isn't tested on animals it almost certainly is tested on animals. The easiest way I have found to identify companies as cruelty-free, or not, is with PETA's list. It's quite extensive and, as far as I know, they keep it pretty up-to-date.

2- As with vegan foods, cruelty-free body care, and beauty products can be expensive and hard to find. So again I will recommend Vitacost and iHerb. For things that can't be found at either of those places, Amazon is usually my go-to.

3- If you still can't afford to buy the fancy vegan products, it is possible get generic cruelty-free
products. Food Lion's store brands are not tested on animals. Though they are not necessarily vegan, this is still a huge step in the right direction, and they offer a wide selection of products, from health and beauty to cleaning supplies.

4- My all-time favorite brand of hair dye is Surya. It is certified vegan and cruelty-free, natural (henna based), and actually good for your hair. Plus it comes in some really beautiful shades. If you try it though, make sure you get the cream, not the powder. I haven't tried this particular brand in powder form, but all of the other henna powders I have used were a huge pain, and the cream is super convenient. Also, you should be aware that the box tells you to leave it on for up to an hour but, since it's actually beneficial for your hair and you get better results the longer you leave it on, I just put it on with a cap over it before I go to bed and leave it overnight. I have yet to find a color that didn't come out amazing with this technique.

5- If you want a more intense hair color, I recommend Manic Panic. They are cruelty-free and at least most of their products are vegan; supposedly there are some that aren't, but I can't seem to find out which ones. I will warn you though, their colors do fade a lot, and they really only work if you bleach your hair first. And, again, the longer you leave the colors on, the better (like overnight). If you want the white-blonde look though, you can't beat Manic Panic's Flash Lightening. I used the 40 volume, and it was much more effective and slightly less harsh than any other bleach I've tried. Also, I found that to keep the blonde white, instead of yellow, mixing a drop or two of Ultraviolet into my conditioner worked really well.

6- I absolutely love Sarawen's perfumes! I have tried quite a few of them and have yet to find one that didn't smell wonderful! My favorite, at the moment is Chocolat Rose, though the Ambrosia Chocolat is a close second (I don't know, I guess I just like smelling like foods that I don't eat). The scents are all vegan and cruelty-free, and she donates some of the proceeds to animal charities. Plus, it's just fun to shop for her perfumes, because most of them are inspired by fictional characters.

7- Speaking of good smells, Crazy Rumors lip balm is absolutely amazing! It comes in tons of great scents, and it works better than any other lip balm I have tried (even before I went vegan). Plus, they are another completely vegan company.

8- I will admit, I'm not as good with makeup as some girls (like my sister) are, so my opinion here may not be worth as much as in other ares, but I really like e.l.f.. They are ridiculously affordable (like nearly everything is between $1 and $3) and, for as much as I can do with makeup, they work as well as any other brand I've tried. They are cruelty-free and, while they are not vegan certified, I did find this correspondence from e.l.f. in response to a question asked by Cruelty Free Kitty "All ingredients used in e.l.f. cosmetics are vegan friendly, safe and meet F.D.A requirements." 

9- As some of you may know, I have had issues with acne my entire life and I have finally gotten it (mostly) under control. I'm sure that a lot of that has to do with my overall lifestyle being so much healthier these days, but I also think that a big part of it has been due to Dr. Woods Shea Vision soap. I have been using it as hand soap, body wash, and face wash for months now and my skin has never been better. Dr. Woods products are all cruelty-free and, as far as I can tell, they are all vegan.

10- Along with my acne issues, I have also always had problems with dry skin (and dry hair). Coconut Oil has all but fixed this problem for me. I use it on my face, body, and hair, and it has made my skin incredibly soft. I have given up any ideas about my hair ever being soft (since it seems to be made of cactus needles) but the coconut oil definitely helps keep it more manageable.

So, there are my favorite products. I hope they make life a little easier for someone out there.

My new hair color, Surya in "mahogany". Also, lots of e.l.f. products. Also, almost everything else on this list.

Now Let's Keep It Rolling

Remember those changes that are supposed to be happening in my life? Well, I started by buying some new hair dye, which hasn't gotten here yet so I'm still not sure if I'll like it or not. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I've also been (gradually) making some changes around this site too.

1- I've started the process of "labeling" my posts, in the hope that it will make things easier to find. Unfortunately since I have nearly 900 posts now, it's going to be a while before I make it through all of my old ones. I really don't know if it will be worth it, in the end, but I guess I'm going to do it anyway.

2- I've added some new pages to the site. This what my friend, Rachel, was kind enough to help me with a while back and I'm finally starting to actually do it! I'm still not sure how many pages I'm going to add, or what I want them to be. So the current arrangement may still change quite a lot, but at least I'm doing something, right?

3- Here's the really exciting thing though (at least for me)! My sister helped me get it set up so I can sell stuff straight from here! No more fighting with Etsy's rules and policies, or having to pay them even when I'm not selling anything. Just so you know, I actually love Etsy; it's just more of a pain in the ass than it's worth for me, since no one ever actually buys my stuff anyway. So now I can sell my stuff here, and do it however I want. Then if I don't sell anything, oh well.

4- I'm pretty sure I'm going to abandon the name Flying Pigs Jewelry, in favor of Volatile Vegan Vestments. I like this name better because 1- You all know how much I love alliteration, and 2- I just think it sounds cool.

I was torn between posting a picture of someone wearing vestments (fancy ceremonial wear), or some dumb joke about rolling. Thanks to Spottedfire94 at Deviant Art, I have both!

Ⓥ Tips and Tricks Part 1; Food

I've been vegan for over ten years now and, while I know I take the whole thing a bit farther than most vegans do, I feel like I have, over the years, acquired a fair amount of useful knowledge. So I just thought I would share some helpful tips with you. This is information that I feel would be of use to anyone who is new to veganism, is thinking of becoming vegan, or is simply interested in limiting their contribution to animal exploitation.

1-Whenever anyone asks me for advice on becoming vegan, the first thing I always say is "Buy a rice cooker." Honestly, this appliance has been the most useful thing I have ever owned. I have never found a single grain that doesn't cook perfectly in my rice-cooker, and without any real effort on my part. It doesn't just have to be grains either; for the most part, you can just throw all of your ingredients in there at the same time, and just leave them until it shuts off. Seriously, it will change your life.

2- I, personally, do not like to cook (hence my reliance on the rice-cooker) but, if you do like to cook, Pinterest is probably the best place to find vegan recipes. Just type in "vegan" at the top, and I guarantee you will find endless delicious recipes for anything you could imagine.

3- When it comes to buying vegan and cruelty-free products (without unlimited financial resources), I find that the secret is to know where to shop. Two of my favorite places to shop for vegan food and other products are Vitacost and iHerb. They both have similar products, but each has some that the other doesn't and the price differs one way or the other between the two, depending on the product. Still, it is well worth a little checking back and forth to get good quality stuff without spending a ton of money.

4- Personally, I like to keep things simple (again, cooking is not my thing) so I tend to have a few basic staple foods that I rely on. I think my very favorite staple foods are nut and seed butters, especially almond butter. They are delicious in pretty much any way you want to use them; sandwiches, dips, sauces, spreads, whatever.

5- Another great staple food I found recently is teff. If you haven't heard of it, it's a tiny grain from Ethiopia that is full of all sorts of nutrients, and very high in protein. It tends to cook into a big clump, but if you just fluff it with a fork it gets a really nice sort of couscous-like texture. I love it!

6- Anyone who has been vegan for any length of time probably knows about nutritional yeast. It is a great way to add a slightly cheesy taste to any food. Plus, again, full of great nutrients (including the elusive B12). Also, most cats absolutely love the stuff. This was the only way I got my, exceptionally picky, cat on a vegan diet.

7- Speaking of vegan companion animals, Evolution Diet is the best vegan "pet" food around. I won't pretend that it's cheap, but it's worth the price. My animals have all done remarkably well on it, and are healthier than they ever were on meat-based foods. A lot of other people have had similar experiences.

8- For the longest time, I refused to use any sort of protein supplement because I didn't want it to seem like I thought my diet was deficient in any way. I absolutely still stand by that, I easily get everything I need in order to be healthy with no help from supplements. However, when I started working out more, I realized that all of these meat-eaters who work out were drinking protein shakes in order to build muscle. So I thought "if they can do it without people assuming their diets are deficient, then so can I!" I've been drinking Sunwarrior for several months now, and it has definitely made a huge difference for me. It took some getting used to because, as I said, I've never had protein powder before, but I've grown to really enjoy the stuff.

9- If you're looking for a quick, healthy, vegan snack, I recommend larabars. Most of them are made of only fruit and nuts, and they taste great. Be careful though, they used to all be vegan but they have come out with a few new flavors that aren't. Just look for "vegan" on the label.

10- Probably the most expensive, and unnecessary product I buy is Solar Energy Gum. The way I see it though, if chewing gum is my only real vice, I can afford to splurge a bit on it. You might not guess it, but vegan gum is kind of hard to find, and even when it is vegan it's still usually full of nasty chemicals. This one is healthy though, and has a ton of B vitamins to help give you energy (hence the name). Okay, this isn't really a food, but close enough.

The Best Part of Waking Up.....Is Deadpool

I have been on this serious Deadpool kick lately. Remember when I mentioned that I had been reading a whole bunch of book that I felt like I should read, for one reason or another? I feel like I've also mentioned that I'm almost always reading two books at once, but I can't seem to find where I said that, so maybe I didn't. Anyway, I'm almost always reading two books at once (there, now I said it), one that's informative, or intellectual, or important in some way, and one that's just entertaining. So lately I've been reading famous and influential literary works.....and Deadpool comics. I always read for at least an hour in the mornings and, if it's something I really like, it helps me to be in a better mood for the rest of the day. I must say, I have not found anything that helps me start of the day on a high note better than Deadpool. He's just so fucking hilarious, and weird, and insane, and I love it!

Unfortunately for me, comics are a lot more expensive than regular books, and there are a shit-ton of Deadpool comics out there. So I have wracked up a rather ridiculous balance on my new Amazon credit card recently. But hey, what can you do?

I'm Rich! Oh Wait........

I got my tax refund check today. That was pretty cool. I'm actually so broke that I got back more than I payed in, which is nice. It's kind of like the government said "Hey! You're a worthless piece of shit. Here have some free money." Of course I'm no fool, so naturally I said "Okay! Thanks!" Now the only question is "What do I do with nearly $800.00 of extra money?" Oh that's right, I pay my bills and don't starve for a month or so. Well, that makes it much less exciting......

There for a minute, it felt kind of like this. 

Just What I Was Hoping For

For the past several weeks, I have been desperately searching for a new pair of Mitchell

Gloves (which is what I call those fingerless gloves). I had several pairs of the knitted ones, but they are all starting to wear out and I kind of wanted some that were vinyl or something, so that it wouldn't look quite as weird if I continued to wear them once the weather clears up. Anyway, once again, I ran into the problem of all the ones I like being leather, and/or super expensive, and/or from overseas. I finally found some that I liked in L.A. (still a little farther than I would like, but I was willing to deal with it) for, get this, $4.99! and free shipping! I was so happy that I bought two pairs, so I would have an extra. Well, they arrived a couple of days ago and I couldn't wait to try them on! When I took them out of the envelop, the first thing I noticed was a big WARNING stick which informed me that they contained chemicals which may cause cancer. I found that a bit disconcerting, but I was willing to overlook it. Them I tried them on and realized that, not only would they apparently give me hand cancer, but they made me look like I already had it. They were sown crooked so they had (obviously unintentional) holes everywhere, they were completely square, and they were several sizes too big (despite being "one size fits all"). Basically, they made it look like I had giant robot hands that had torn through my gloves in random places. Yeah, yeah, I know "you get what you pay for" fuck you.

Mitchell^.....................Gloves^