ILLNESS

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Kool Aid Diaries 1a

Here's a picture of the subtle reddish streak. Sorry, don't have a "before" shot.

Posted by Ann on 01/28/06@12:52 PM CST ..::Link::..Whisper or Scream?

The Kool Aid Diaries, Part 1

I decided to try a streak of Cherry Red Kool Aid in my hair. Cherry wasn't my first pick of color, but the reason why I chose it was due to a lack of Kool Aid selection at the store. If there is such a Kool Aid color/flavor as Hot Neon Magenta, that would be my first choice. Back in 1982 or so, when I was in college, I had a patch of my hair professionally colored hot magenta and bright teal/turquoise. It was gorgeous while it lasted. It was even gorgeous while it faded. Once it was pretty much gone, I tried various other colors. Since the punk store in Denver was always out of the best punk hair colors, I had to settle for the leftovers like a sort of natural green--not that green is natural in hair, but I mean natural in that it looked like the color of leaves. Or olives. I also tried red hennas on the patch. Even bluing, ala old grey-haired ladies. I added color to my hair a lot in the 80s, and then recently up to a few years ago.

In the early part of this decade I got tired of coloring my hair, and most importantly, I don't want to put caustic chemicals on my head anymore. My hair is now, well, up to a few hours ago, was, completely chemical-free. But it was also a bit boring. And I have these nagging grey streaks that I want to play with.

There was a TV ad for hair color in the past few years that featured a middle-aged/aging baby boomer that decided she wasn't going to age gracefully, she was "going to fight it every step of the way." Screw that. Who wants to fight age, because it's a losing battle. I'm going to play with it and enjoy it. Grey hairs mean blank palettes for art, not something to be ashamed of. This is something that I'd been saying I'd do for ages--dye my grey hair fun colors.

Well this was just a preliminary trial, and I had a short amount of free time this morning to let my hair sit while I worked on stuff before I took a shower.

At around 8 this morning I took a full packet of Cherry Kool Aid, poured it in a bowl, added maybe 1/4 cup or so of boiling water to it, and dipped my strand in it. I didn't soak the strand all the way up to where the grey is the most obvious near my head because I was dealing with a very liquid form of the Kool Aid dye and didn't want it running on my head. (Next time I will try a different approach.) I soaked the strand in the bowl for maybe about 5 minutes, took it out, and wrapped it in tin foil. After about 30 minutes, I unwrapped the tin foil. It was damp, but pretty dry, so I let it air dry. At around 10:45, I took a shower and washed my hair (shampoo, rinse, repeat, condition). As expected, most of the Kool Aid washed out since my hair was not bleached beforehand. It's most noticeable on the lower part of my hair, probably because it was most concentrated in the dipping bowl, and also because that is where the older part of my hair is, so it has been more exposed to the elements and sun, moreso than on the top, so it has been "naturally bleached" a bit. The result is EXTREMELY subtle, and pretty, but because it was only one small strand, very minimal. It leaves sort of a reddish/pinkish/orangeish cast in that area. I think I'd like to try that all over my head some time.

For now, I'll try to find other shades of Kool Aid (no blues...turquoise might look great on a patch of bleached hair, but over natural hair light brown or dark blond hair, blue will look awful, turning it an ugly grey) mostly in the red/pink/orange range. Purple, if it would leave a cast or highlights, would look great on dark hair, but not dark blonde hair.

Why Kool Aid?

1) No Caustic Chemicals. I don't know what Kool Aid is made of exactly, and although it doesn't seem natural, it certainly isn't caustic like other hair dyes. People, children, have been injesting this stuff for decades--certainly if it was toxic it would have been long gone from grocery store shelves.

2) Can't beat the price.

3) Pleasant fruity odor while dyeing...no stink of developer or ammonia.

4) Enjoyable array of fun colors.

Next time, when I have more time to busy myself at home alone while the hair is dyeing, I will try a different method. Instead of mixing the Kool Aid in boiling water, I will add it to conditioner, giving it more viscosity so I can get it closer to my head where the grey is.

I did a lot of googling on this subject, and along the way found some good information, and then some anecdotes that are a bit contrary to my experience, mainly, the permanency of the Kool Aid. Some people say that it leaves their hair with a fruity essence. Well, that is only if you never wash your hair after you apply it. Others say it will run in the rain. Again, that is only if you do not wash your hair after you apply it. Still others say that they applied it and couldn't get it out, ever, that it had to grow out. I'm sure if your hair is bleached the color will last longer than than if your hair is untreated, however, I've never had any kind of hair color that didn't eventually wash out. I do wonder...do these people ever wash their hair? And although I wore gloves for the most part, I did get some on my hands. They warn that you should always wear gloves because it will stain your hands and you won't be able to get it out. Again, I wonder if these people actually tried to wash their hands...with soap? I came across one Q&A about one person saying they wash their hair once a week and they were wondering how long the Kool Aid would last. Once a week?!?! That's like chronic flu frequency of hair washing! When I had the flu recently, I didn't wash my hair or shower for a week because when I tried to stand up for a long time, I felt dizzy. Oddly, because I was sick and just lied around all day and didn't exercise, I wasn't that stinky, but my hair was a sopping grease mop. It was so greasy it felt cold and wet. How can anyone (who is not sick) wash their hair only once a week? It really makes you wonder how human beings could stand eachother before indoor plumbing. Yet I digress.

I'll be logging my next Kool Aid Hair experiments...

Posted by Ann on 01/28/06@12:14 PM CST ..::Link::..Whisper or Scream?

Friday, January 27, 2006

Racine

DREAM: I was somewhere, who knows where, in the middle of nowhere but in a city nonetheless, standing on a concrete slab. I seemed to be by some sort of school, perhaps over by some high school on another side of some town. Some young woman, shorter than me, some darker ethnic origin, comes up to me and hugs me--I don't know why. I am holding one of those long-ish suitcases on wheels. It's all black. I am busily searching around for a bus token in my purse, as I am waiting for a bus. For some reason, Stan won't share his bus tickets with me. The bus comes, but I still can't find any tokens, so I use cash. I ask the young women how much the bus costs and she doesn't know or won't tell me. I think Tim is waiting for the bus too, and I get on with him and find a seat near him. I realize the bus is travelling down Douglas Ave. in Racine, towards my grandmother's house. It also seems like my grandmother is on the bus. She is wearing a ring with many faceted "stones", peridot green, topaz blue, amethyst purple, citrine yellow. It is in the shape of a butterfly and set in gold, but I suspect only gold plate. My grandmother never wore jewelry, very unlike her granddaughter. I suspect the stones are only glass as they don't have that gemstone lustre. As I recognize landmarks outside, I start to get ready to exit the bus with all my luggage. I can't remember how the dream ended.

--

IRL Stan and I were talking about Colorado last night and how Denver/Boulder used to creep him out back in the 80s when we would go visit a few friends there (who no longer live there, BTW). He thinks it has something to do with being born in Denver, and his bio-mom having gone to school in Boulder. The thing is, Racine, WI doesn't creep me out. And that's where I was born. And when you think about it, Racine (despite a nice location near a great lake) is a really damn depressing town! I always liked taking daytrips to Denver back in the day. Boulder was a rather...eh...place, but Denver always provided a good day's worth of fun. So why does Stan's birthplace creep him out and my birthplace not creep me out? It's a rhetorical question...don't answer it.

Posted by Ann on 01/27/06@11:38 AM CST ..::Link::..A Whisper Inside.

New Corpse

Roaming Brings Peaceful Divinity Organic Opportunities Great Googally Boogally!

Posted by Ann on 01/27/06@10:00 AM CST ..::Link::..Whisper or Scream?

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Wow, I'm glad I read this...

How to Change an Earring

and

How to Sit in a Chair

Glad to know I wasn't doing something wrong. Such useful information.

Posted by Ann on 01/26/06@04:08 PM CST ..::Link::..6 Screamers.

Dog Toys for People

Booda came out with a new line of soft cloth dog toys. I couldn't resist. The "Bugs" series features "Flea for All," "Tomato Worm," "Bed Bug," "Cockroach," "Scorpion," "Tarantla," "Tape Worm," and "Ball Tick." We got the Tomato (horn)Worm (aka Sphinx Moth Caterpillar). Tag on the toy says "Collect Them All!" (I don't know about the Tapeworm, that's just a little too close to home) Clearly geared toward humans with the collector gene. We got the small one, but they also come in larger sizes. Also brought home a plastic Eggplant Man (sort of like the California Raisins, except Eggplant...with a squeaker...for dogs). Don't know who the manufacturer is, but it was hard to choose between Eggplant, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Potato, Carrot, Corn on the Cob or Cucumber Man. A dog would probably be just as satisfied with an old stuffed sock. But I'm a sucker for this stuff. Sad.

Posted by Ann on 01/26/06@09:52 AM CST ..::Link::..3 Screamers.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Death, Pain and DREAM

Very strange and sad set of circumstances. We of course cancelled our Route 66 trip to Arizona that was planned for this spring because of Stan getting settled with the new job situation. Before that happened, we had planned to visit a cactus greenhouse in Arizona. Now we find out that the owner of the greenhouse (who was close to our age) has died and the business is for sale. We'd gotten a lot of cacti (mail order) from there in the past. It's just very sad.

I guess I got spoiled last year taking two trips, one in the fall and one in the spring. Now my body is expecting a spring trip and it's not going to get it.

I think I will go slightly mad.

My knee is hurting when I exercise and I suspect it's from an old war injury, the Hell Foods fall. Bastards. I wonder if I had decided to go to a doctor (I have no idea what I would've done about insurance being out of state and all) instead of my SIL's if she would've held it against me. Leave it to Ann to ruin it for everyone. Maybe I at least could've sued Hell Foods. Dammit.

A couple nights ago I dreamt I was travelling with a dream companion (ambiguous). Sometimes I have this weird sensation that I'm looking at the land from above as I travel, like a map. I was looking at the land around Ogallala, Nebraska. We were going camping there, but it was near Fort Collins, you know, dream logic. I get to the camping spot and realize I didn't bring supplies like contact lens cases, so we go back "home", wherever that is. The camping spot then sort of turned into Baraboo, WI, around Devil's lake, but in a residential neighbohood. It was also like that beautiful spot that exists only in dreams where the land is boggy and it turns into a pond and the weather turns from cold to warm.

Posted by Ann on 01/25/06@02:12 PM CST ..::Link::..3 Screamers.

Dilemmas and DREAM

The other day I stumbled onto a site (you know when you discover someone googled something odd to end up at your site, so you check the google search yourself and find a different site that piques your interest, but then ultimately wish you never clicked the link) that's main thesis was "men are better at everything than women." I will not include the link here because, well, I forgot it, and secondly, I found the site vile, not in terms of profanity, but in terms of the general sentiment. Although for the most part I would prefer the company of men to the company of women, and although I agreed on some of the points put forth (for example, why DO women have to have a humungous wedding that breaks bank accounts? why IS that necessary?) by the (obviously testosterone-impaired) author of the site, the whole notion that someone in this day and age, the 21st century, still adheres to concepts that we/our older sisters/mothers/grandmothers (depending on your age range) fought to overcome should annoy the bloody hell out of anyone with a brain.

We are not moving forward, kids.

The problem with dumbf***s like that is when they are confronted with women who do not live up to their pathetic little stereotype of women, she is immediately deemed a lesbian or undateworthy (like I'd want to date any of those potatoheads if I was in the dating pool). So let me get this straight, they don't like super-feminine fluffy incapable shivering violet defective women, yet at the same time they don't like aggressive and strong women either. So what does that leave them? Men. Oh, but no, they're not gay, oh nooooo. They have sex with the women and they socialize with the men. Gosh, gramma and grampaw, that's just like you!

The thing is, there is no double-standard here though. It's equal opportunity opposite-gender bashing. Women (of course, not all women, but many women) are just as bad regarding men. This is why I hate being around large groups of women because it will inevitably turn into a hormonal anti-penile bitch fest to which I cannot relate. I'm thought of as an exception because I can relate to my husband and we're not segregated in the way many other couples segregate eachother, men in front of the TV or computer, women in the kitchen. Inevitably the statement "well, Stan's cool because he's not like that" would come from the lips of said women, he'd gain an "honorary woman" seal of approval. Yet by the very same time being deemed undatable or gay by the very same women because he's "weird" and not like other men (read, not like other mornoic potatoheads).

I just wonder where we, as a society, went wrong. Why can't we look at our skills, abilities and weaknesses in terms of our individualness and not in terms of our gender? At what specific point in time did the clock start turning backward, that young men are now not supporting equality for women, but dominance over them--again? Just like in the so-called "good old days?"

Anyway, enough of that. Maybe I'll write more on the subject later.

I have another problem.

I can't figure out what is Green Rutilated Quartz, Prehnite or Jade. I have a "Green Rutilated Quartz" pendant that looks like "Prehnite". I have a "Jade" pendant that looks like "Prehnite." I have some "Prehnite" beads that look like "Green Rutilated Quartz". And I have some "Prehnite" beads that look like "Jade." Or "Serpentine." I don't know whether to go by what they were named by the vendors (who sometimes seem to know less about stones' Who's Who than I do) or just go by what I suspect it is. Oh well, this is my problem, not society's, unlike the above matter. Fortunately.

I had a dream I was doing mushrooms. I was walking around on the streets on mushrooms. Effect wasn't that intense. Me and my dream companion (ambiguous) were eating them like they were food, but they started to taste bad and I stopped for fear of ingesting too much. It's really weird to dream that you're on drugs because you start to actually feel weird in your sleep.

Posted by Ann on 01/25/06@10:20 AM CST ..::Link::..13 Screamers.

Monday, January 23, 2006

New Corpse

Shards made by animals dark cave shredded to pieces

Posted by Ann on 01/23/06@12:05 PM CST ..::Link::..A Whisper Inside.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

DREAM: Radiate Birds

I was outside and I was with someone else, male, but I don't know who it was. Both of us had somehow been exposed to radiation, and we couldn't go back in the house. I had my laptop with me, so I was working outside. I think we had to go through some weird procedures to decontaminate, but I forgot what it was. I eventually went back inside but realized I had not decontaminated my laptop, and feared it would effect everything in my house. As it got darker, I was looking outside and saw a very rosey sunset that seemed to be growing in size. As I moved, the glow of the sunset seemed to move too. As it grew darker, it seemed that all the buildings glowed with that rosey aura. I looked out other windows and the builldings around me were much taller. Our neighbors house seemed four stories tall, and I could see East High School from my front window. Many of the buildings surrounding us were dark brick. Since I had already been exposed to radiation, I didn't fear it, so I went outside to watch the buildings glow more. It was warm, like summer. I walked over to my neighbors' yard and down some steps. I saw a strange bird, yellow like a Canary but with a large beak like a Toucan. I approached it. I wanted to touch it. Strangely, it wasn't afraid of me, and started to come close to me. It started to mutate into a very large bird. I tickled it under the chin like I would a dog or a cat, and it enjoyed it. Then it jumped on my shoulders and started trying to breed with me. It freaked me out and didn't know how to get the bird off my back.

I haven't had time to write down other dreams I have had lately; just as well, they were more like nightmares--worse than this one.

Posted by Ann on 01/22/06@12:10 PM CST ..::Link::..5 Screamers.

By Ann @ 12:52 PM CST:01:28:06 ..::Link::..Whisper or Scream?

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