Monday, January 26, 2009

Firm grasp of the obvious



I love pinup girls. I love the art and to be quite honest I love the female form. Mine and others :) The original picture was going to be of Marilyn Monroe but I could not find one that did not have a profound sadness behind her eyes. Never before I had I noticed that. Yet, today I am working on the firm grasp of the obvious.

Over the weekend the good Frater and I were out at lunch when the subject of an old high school picture came up. I was wearing makeup and rather girly in the whole thing. He was fairly taken aback. While he knows that I own "war paint" it rarely comes out. I was explaining that since I was 19 I worked in labs - wastewater labs - and you just didn't want the chemicals ( in all thier glorious forms) getting between your skin and the makeup and so I don't wear it. I was also explaining that since I turned valves for a living for most of the last decade nails and such were just pointless.

Then today Frater ROs post about flush toilets made me giggle. I told him that he could thank me for indoor plumbing later. Then it hit me.

I do not do that anymore. I do not work in a lab or turn valves for a living. Yes friends, I now have a firm grasp of the obvious.

Much like when my liver cleared up, I forgot that I do not have to do that anymore. I am now working on embracing my inner pinup girl. I went to the store and inspected the aisles. To be honest most of the products scared me. I don't know what is in them and was a bit concerned that there was some sort of venom serrum involved (thank you Lavanah for the heads up!) Though it would count as organic and all natural. Still I think I will avoid it. I settled on some of my old friends from high school and set about reexamining my universe.

No, the Great Work for me is not about all of the large epiphanies. It is about the daily ones. It is about the ever evolving process of asking myself "why do I do that?" Sometimes I am flat out amused at the answers. This one was pretty straight forward. I do not do girl stuff out of habit. Plan and simple.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not about to chuck out every bit of comfortable clothing I own and do not expect to see me doing house work in heels. Unlike the dear in the illustration, I have a hammer and know how to use it.

This should be quite an adventure!

5 comments:

Lavanah said...

Oh fun! Whether you think of it as war paint, or no, you get to play with another art project-yourself.

And, by the way, one of the most exotic skin care products available in Japan, and used as a cleanser as well as a moisterizer is...olive oil.

Rose Weaver said...

I'd love to hear of your adventure with this.

I recently decided to re-embrace my feminine side as well. I'm a great grease monkey, love my comfy clothes, and haven't worn my 'war paint' in quite some time. But I rediscovered my pretty wardrobe, heels, sexy things, and make up. I occasionally decide to create myself as a work of art and feel much different when I do. Though this won't be a regular thing, it is fun.

Suecae Sounds said...

Just thought I would chip in, in the discussion:

In Europe there are sometimes (esp in larger cities), special shops that have special policies like that they do not sell make up that has been tested on animals and stuff like that. Do they exist in the US?

Products especially designed towards those with allergies in mind are usually very good also in that respect. But I get the impression that the field of cosmetics in general have gotten better in the last couple of years.

Leon1234 said...

This post was great. I love the picture of that girl/lady/woman.:) How are you by the way?

Soror Gimel said...

Ladies,

I love the idea of exotic olive oil. I have a rule that I don't eat anything that uses English letters that I cannot pronounce. I worked in a lab for 15 years and if I cannot pronounce it, I do not need to consume it!

As a former costumer, I have no end to the collection of pretty things. I have all sorts of tiaras, silks and other girly things. It is just a matter of getting them from costume to integrated part of my life.

We will see how the process continues :)