Thursday, April 19, 2012

Celebrating Randomness

A long time ago, couple years now at least, I used to do this blog thing that I dubbed Broken Thought Process Thursday.  It was pretty much a means to post random shit and attach a catchy hook to it that other bloggy friends could use when they were feeling spent on things making sense and just felt like rambling.  It worked well and there are a lot of them now (which I’m far too lazy to go back & find to link to, just click on the tag at the bottom of the post if you’re so inclined to read mine sometime).

Nowadays I don’t really label my randomness anymore, I just kind of ramble on & on until I feel all comfortably purgey.  Guess BTPTh is my typed equivalent of bulimia or something.  I take in so much in any given week that at some point most of it is going to have to come back out or my overfilled brain may just explode.

So today I’m feeling a little rambling goodness coming on.  And would ya fancy that, it’s even Thursday!  Get ready to downshift quick folks.

First of all, I’ve removed the captcha crap from my comments page.  Blogger captchas used to be cool and I loved trying to figure out if they could be a word or a name or something else fun.  Now they just look like a bunch of black mohair yarn tossed at a white background that I’m supposed to decipher.  Plus, I think my readers are savvy enough to figure out that, if an idiot posts a nonsensical comment with a link, they shouldn’t click on it.  I’ll be monitoring and deleting stuff like that and that is way less irritating than deciphering black string words.

Tomorrow at 10AM Arizona Mountain time that link over there <-- is going away and Ripple the Twine will be released to the public for consumption, enjoyment and/or ridicule!  I can’t wait!  My first book on shelves before I’m forty years old feels like a pretty sweet accomplishment.  Mostly because it’s the first thing in my life I’ve ever seen through to the end (marriage to Matt notwithstanding seeing as though the end is death & I’m not really asking to speed that shit up).

So anyway, if I sound like a broken record too bad dang it, I’m selling a book!  If you want to get it at the reduced price and with free shipping you’ve got just about 24 more hours to click on BUY NOW.  After that it’s on to Lulu!

Music and water and memories and pain.

That could be the title of a country song, but it’s pretty much the description of my brand new tattoo!  I got this as a dedication, shout out, tribute to my four grandparents and it was done yesterday.  Matt got me a gift certificate for Valentine’s Day to Divinity Tattoo here in Phoenix.  I looked through every portfolio online and decided on Ryan Campbell as my artist.  I felt Ryan had the most fluid lines and similar creative vision as I have.  He did a rough sketch and we came together in approval.  The stencil went on my back.  I approved the placement & overall design concept. 

And then there were the hundred-thousand needle jabs.

I started to mantra myself – breathe like its yoga, and, if you can sit for 2 hours in a dentist chair and get a tooth pulled you can deal with this pain for the beauty of the art that is to come.  Ryan exceeded all my expectations for creativity & talent for my very first piece of body art.  He complimented me for doing so great with my first one and I complimented him for capturing exactly what I wanted.  Love it!


For those not on Facebook or text, we had our short sale purchase approved!!  Woo hoo!  I’m totally looking forward to getting this thing finished and moving back into our own single family house (and out of apartment complex purgatory).  We’ll own our own home for the first time since our bankruptcy in 2009.  (Bankruptcy - A process that actually began the day we closed on the Vacation House in the Ghetto in June of 2002...something about hindsight can insert here I think).

At least this time we’ll be happy to move into the place because we’re intending to live there.  Happy there isn’t much to do for move-in preparations other than a little patch and paint.  But even happier that over time we can do anything we want.  And that it’s in a really decent neighborhood.

Today is our home inspection.  Appraisal is getting done tomorrow.  If all goes according to plan we’ll be wrapping up on this baby by the end of the month.  Fingers (toes, arms, legs, eyes…) crossed for a smooth transaction!

I was in desperate need of a haircut before a friend’s birthday celebration this past Tuesday night so I set out to the cheapy salon in town.  Now before you call me an idiot, depending on your experiences at the lower priced walk-in type places, I needed a cut when we were starting to save for the house and didn’t want to spend a lot so I went to Great Clips.  Since I go pretty short the only travesty was going to be if it went too short and looked like a boy.

When I got in the chair Edna actually cut my hair better than ANY $50+ cut I’ve ever gotten.  No I’m not kidding.  She took the time to ask what I wanted, and then she listened to what I said.  A very important thing because most hair dressers I’ve had didn’t care about my requests.  Edna cared.  Edna gave me a perfect cut that was the exact length, shape, style and texture I asked for.  I love it!

Anyway, all the haircut madness is a lead in to what I did before my fifteen minute, $15 haircut.  I went thrift shopping.  Oh did I ever.  I’m a huge fan of Goodwill.  Not because I can’t afford Old Navy or Gap or whatever, there’s just something about the thrill of the hunt in a thrift store.  You never know what you’re gonna get.  Other than a lot for a little.

I got 3 pairs of cargo capri pants (2 blue, 1 linen), 1 pair of Levis, 1 skirt, a long sleeve blouse, a tee shirt, a pink biz-casual sweater, a dress that I also just happened to find a perfect cardigan to go with, and 3 purses (1 of which will hold all my usual stuff plus a couple books).  That shopping spree ran me under $80.  Yup, you heard right.  Plus, every stitch, seam, inch of fabric is inspected for anything wrong.  And ours is all clean and spiffy with locking fitting rooms.  I think I tried on 5 times as much as what I bought.

It was so time to do this.  I have to be in the public eye now.  And I’m not a personal trainer or Long Island soccer mom so a track suit is just not acceptable in daily life.  All those years while I was painting meant I got rid of a lot of corporate type outfits that I’d kill to have back now.

Of course none of them would fit me anymore so there’s that.  And with that is the final update…we started our crazy P90X workout routine again.  Sadly pre-tattoo.  And now I’m not allowed to sweat for about a week.  So the big push is on hold but I’m ready to bring it as soon as I can.

As a hibernating bear cooped up in my den all winter (read: a writer working on the end of her manuscript, avoiding the outside world and consuming obscene amounts of caffeine), I’m now emerging from the long nap to get back out and catch some fish again.  Or maul people.  I can never really be sure.

Do bears drink coffee?

5 comments:

KC McAuley said...

Gorgeous Tat!! So excited for you - all the goodness is coming your way. Love you my friend.

Great Clips said...

Jen,
Thanks for stopping in! We're glad you enjoyed the haircut Edna provided.

Kasey S.
Great Clips

Anonymous said...

I love the Great Clips that I go to. Always happy with my cut.
So much going on for you Jenn!
Happy, happy and happy for you. :)

Launna said...

I am not into tattoos for myself but I do like them on other people, it's beautiful. Also thank your for admitting that it's a little painful to have a needle jabbed in you over and over.. lol. So man people try to tell me it doesn't hurt, yeah... right.

Also, I always go to a school to have my hair cut and colored, it only costs me 40.00 for a full color and cut. They all have done amazing jobs as the teacher is always there to keep an eye that they are doing it properly. I love to go there and I give them a huge tip.

Thanks for posting, I loved reading your ramblings:)

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