Oh em gee, it's Election Day!

Holy crap! I thought this day would never get here.

I'm not sure if it's obvious, but I voted for Obama.



(Man, I look tired/chubby/pimply. Please ignore my face, and focus on my shirt!)

And I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some change.



But obviously John McCain has a lot to offer as well.



In addition to this monumental election, I get to leave work early for my three-month Lasik follow-up appointment, which means that afterward I get to come home and 1) take a nap and 2) obsess over the election.

I'd like to say that having eye surgery was some of the best money I've ever spent, mainly because I don't have to walk around looking like this guy:



And having good vision is a big plus, too.

Happy Election Day, everyone! And don't forget: "Live your values. Love your country. Vote."

Anatomy of a Metamorphosis

On Thursday afternoon, I looked like this:





Words cannot express how much I hate the way I look in the above pictures. Oh, well. I'm not the one who took them.

On Thursday evening, after a couple of hours at the salon, I looked like this:





On Friday afternoon, after I'd had my Lasik surgery done and had been put to bed, I looked like this:



After sleeping 16 hours following surgery, being told I now have 20/15 vision, and taking a nice, relaxing shower, here is what I now look like:




I think I like the new me.

Time for Change

Why do so many of my blog titles reference song titles/lyrics, books, and movies? It seems to happen on its own. Someday I will come up with my own original ideas for titles. Until then, I will steal like the thieving thief I am.

And now...on to the real point of this post.

The times they are a-changin'. (There I go again, stealing like a sinner.) Things are changing because I am thirsty for change. I've got a couple of superficial changes that are coming up very soon (this week, in fact) and are very exciting.

-New eyeballs! I'm having Lasik on Friday! Here's what I look like without specs:



Correction: That is what I look like without specs when I've had my makeup done by a professional and have a professional photographer taking my picture.

-New hair! I'm getting a long-overdue haircut on Thursday after work. I have been growing my hair out since Roy and I started dating, and now I'm over it. Here's the look that I want:



I've had my hair cut short before, and I liked it. This picture is from 2005.



I think it's going to work out. I am super excited. I am not very adventurous when it comes to my hair. For me to attempt something like this is pretty huge. I did have an A-line hairstyle for awhile back before I ever met Roy, but the lady who cut it didn't really know what she was doing. It was supposed to look like this:



But it came out looking not so hot. There's a reason I have no pictures to share.

But I have finally decided to try again! I'm done with my overly stringy and boring long hair.

-Lastly (and this is a not-so-superficial change), I'm finally going to court on Thursday morning to have my name legally changed. After over a year, I will finally have my so-cute-I-could-be-mistaken-for-a-stripper last name.

There are other (big) changes coming up as well. Totally exciting, totally scary. Stay tuned for those - they are still too new to blog about. It takes me awhile to process, yo.

Hungry Eyes / A Sphincter Says What?

Recently it's come to my attention that I have a debilitating handicap. I have had this handicap since I was 9 years old, but I never thought of it in that way until recently.

Folks, I have really bad eyesight. I have been fine with wearing glasses for years. I tried wearing contacts in junior high and high school (due to that oh-so-low adolescent self-esteem), but I have some sort of eye virus that flares up when I wear contacts. The result of my trying to wear them is not pretty. So for years it's just been me and my specs. And I am fine with that.

From a cosmetic standpoint, I really am fine with that. But actually, emotionally my level of blindness is beginning to bother me. I'm afraid of losing my glasses and thus losing my ability to do anything. If there was a really bad earthquake (or some other disaster) and I lost my glasses, I would be screwed. Granted, the chances of something like this happening are small. But I've had a few mornings lately where I've had to search the bedroom floor with my nose pressed up against the carpet to find my glasses that wandered off my nightstand in the middle of the night.

For this reason, I'm thinking more seriously about having my vision corrected through Lasik. The possiblity of not having to have corrective lenses excites me, but it also makes me sad. I've always been the girl in glasses. I even wore my glasses when I got married, which seemed to shock some people. Someone even told me how brave I was for wearing my glasses that day. Seriously?! I can't believe that this culture values flawless beauty to that degree.

Oh, wait. Yes, I can.

So last night Roy and I watched Wayne's World. Love that movie. Seeing it took me back to junior high and high school when everyone used to tell me I looked like Garth.



I have changed some since those days, but it's nice to see the resemblance is still there. And it's all because of the glasses. (Well, I'm sure the blonde hair helps as well.) I'm not sure who I'll be without them, but I'm fairly sure that I won't be able to change my nerd status that easily. And truly, I'm a cool nerd.

www.mylifeisridiculouslyboring.com

I have been so busy lately with what most people would probably consider uninteresting things, so I haven't really been writing about the current goings-on in my life. Here it is, in list form.

- Thesis proposal. I'm hoping to have a good enough version of it to send up to the graduate committee by the end of the quarter. If not, the beginning of next quarter it is!

- Creative writing. I've been hard at work critiquing my classmates' work and revising my own. Tomorrow the class will be workshopping a sequence of poems I put together, and I'm a little nervous.

- Mandy's bridal shower. It's coming together, but I can't reveal any more than that right now. The RSVPs are coming in though!

- Beauty. Mandy and I got pedicures today. We also got our eyebrows threaded. It was definitely an interesting experience that only took a matter of minutes. I would definitely do it again with someone who doesn't leave all my eyebrow hairlets all over my face like this lady did. Thanks, lady.

- Lack of beauty. Still struggling with the acne issue, though it's not nearly as bad as it was.

- TV. Currently, I'm watching (when I can) Firefly, the first season of Beverly Hills, 90210, and the fourth season of One Tree Hill. Don't hate on my TV show tastes; I pride myself on being well-rounded!

- Weight. Apparently, I've lost 5 pounds in the past month or so.

- Photography. I haven't gotten out to take photos in quite awhile, but I have been doing a bit of editing. Check out my flickr site if you're interested.

- Work. I have actually been busy at work. The days have been flying by and have made my professional life much more tolerable.

While some would probably find my life boring, I actually don't. I just really lack the skills to make it sound exciting, I guess. Well, whatever - there it is: my life right now.

Ugly Week

Have you ever had those days where you just felt ugly?

I have pretty much felt like that all week. It all started last week when I began breaking out. By last weekend I had a good amount of zits on my face, and because I'm pasty white, they were really obvious. I don't think I've ever had that many zits at one time, not even during puberty.

On Monday morning, Roy and I went to the doctor. I found out that I've gained 10 pounds since October, which means that I am now officially overweight. My doctor didn't seem too concerned, but I have to confess - I really am. I am the girl who, for most of her life, had a hard time keeping weight on. Now all of a sudden I'm overweight?! (But really, who am I kidding? I should have seen this coming.)

To combat the pimples and at a co-worker's suggestion, I went to a local salon that carries Bare Escentuals makeup. This really nice guy fixed me all up with some concealer, foundation, lip plumper, and bronzer. I really liked the way I looked, especially because the eruptions on my face had magically disappeared! The best part is that it was all free. He ordered a starter kit for me, and I was really excited to use some makeup that actually provides good coverage.

And then I woke up yesterday morning, and my entire face was red and blotchy. I can only assume that I had a bad reaction to the makeup, because I didn't do anything else differently. I am seriously bummed because I managed to develop an unhealthy attachment to that makeup for the 8 whole hours it was on my face.

Today my face isn't red anymore, but it is now extremely dry. Just another part of ugly week, I guess.

Anyway, I do have good news. I started working out this week. I've done power yoga twice (for 30 minutes each time) and added in some weights last night. My plan is to try to work out at least 4-5 days a week. I'm starting easy and am feeling great so far (but I'm sore). I also really need to work on changing my eating habits. It feels so hard because I'm such a picky eater.

I am officially taking recommendations for good, natural makeup products. Let me know what you can come up with.