into the rabbit hole i go

“It wasn’t an official marriage. We didn’t register. But we had a plan. I was earning good money even though I was young. I was already a specialist at the age of nineteen. She was very beautiful. We’d been together for four years. She was a good person and very easy to talk to. She’d met my family and everyone loved her. At the time I was helping to construct a new subway line in Moscow. I came home from work one day and she was gone. There were no cell phones back then. Nobody knew where she was. She’d last been seen getting into a private taxi with her friend Natalya. A lot of people were disappearing during that time. The police stopped searching after a few months. She wasn’t seen again. There’s a line from a Russian poem. It says: ‘We love just once in a lifetime. And spend the rest of our lives looking for something similar.’ I’ve had other girlfriends after Oksana. But I don’t remember their birthday. Oksana’s birthday was July 9th. She was a Leo.”

Baltimore removes four Confederate statues overnight

City officials in Baltimore, Maryland, removed four Confederate monuments early in the morning on Wednesday, August 16.

Mic has identified more than 140 Confederate monuments across 17 states that are on public land, often in proximity to county courthouses or in city parks. 

We’ve compiled a list of local efforts to take down Confederate monuments across the country. Read more (8/16/17 9 AM)

■ MAGIC TIPS FOR YOUR HOME ■

• Protection herbs or bananas planted in front of your home or in the yard, prevents false or negative people from entering and keeping your family protected.

• A small mirror facing the entrance door cuts off any bad energy from visitors.

• Sunflowers in the room attracts joy.

• Red or pink roses in the room attracts love, passion and affection. Black crystals in the bathroom suck up the negativity of the house.

• Dream filter hanging on the bedroom window so that it takes Sun, prevents nightmares.

• Wind chimes hanging in the hallways of the house, balance the environment and bring the energy of the Silfides.

• Letting the sun’s rays enter through the windows and doors of your home attracts protection, light and the energy of the solar Gods.

• Letting the Full Moon light through the windows and doors of your home attracts intuition, love, sensitivity to all the dwellers of the house and the energy of the Moon Goddesses.

“You look better with makeup on”

On Sunday after my shift at work my male head chef (my boss) said these words to my face which left me in tears in my car shortly afterwards. When confronted about the statement he tried to defend his words by then saying “women are too sensitive”. Didn’t take responsibility for his actions, and dug himself a deeper hole.

Not only does that statement try to undermine my feelings, but it is dripping with obvious sexism.

As someone who has and is still struggling with poor self image and horrible self esteem going to work without makeup was a huge step for me. I finally felt comfortable after a year of working there to not take the time to cover my face in product and just let my skin breathe at work. His comments are not the only ones I’ve dealt with and I understand where some of them come from. But my choosing not to wear makeup was not me trying to “make a statement”, as some of my male coworkers would ask me.

Applying makeup can take HOURS to do. My shifts can start as early as 8am. Which means if I want to shower and do MINIMAL makeup I wake up at 545 to leave by 720 to get to work. I work two jobs so some days I work 8-4 then 5-10 then back to work at 8am the next day. You know what I like doing? FUCKING SLEEPING! After working 10+ hours and sleeping for maybe 4-6 hours I’m not always in the mood to do my makeup in the morning. BIG SURPRISE.

Also, not only is makeup a timely process it is fucking expensive. The makeup I own could pay my rent for about two or three month at retail price. ONE LIPSTICK COSTS $22. FOUNDATION UPWARDS OF $50. When I do a full face of makeup I am easily wearing $20 worth of product. The finished look has so many steps and products to accomplish the desired outcome, people who don’t use makeup don’t understand that.

I finally felt okay enough with myself to be vulnerable and let people see my naked face. Comments like the one my boss made are the reason why some girls can’t even go to get the mail without first applying makeup. The naked face is natural, but we are made to feel disgusting and ugly if we don’t take the time to apply makeup.

ANYONE is going to look better with makeup on. That’s kinda the point to makeup. I wouldn’t spend the time or money I did on it to look the exact fucking same as when I started. However, it is a personal choice each individual has to make for themselves as to whether or not they want to wear it. And they make that decision every day. Just because I made the decision to wear makeup one day does not mean I have to wear makeup every day afterwards.

I’m not here to be a fucking pretty face for you to look at. I am so much more than my physical appearance. I am smart, I am courageous and I am pissed off.

If this comment had been made to me a year ago I wouldn’t have had the same reaction I’m having now. It would have impacted me so much more and would have been detrimental to the four years of therapy I’ve done to help myself learn to love myself. Do you really want to be the reason why someone cries them self to sleep at night or carves the word ugly into their skin? Would you want to know that your comment was the one to push that person to shove their fingers back down their throat? That’s what I would have done a year ago.

I’ve grown. I’ve become a stronger person and I’m able to now take my struggles and fight for them with passion.

Photos were taken before I started my makeup application and once it was done. Took me close to two hours because I messed a few things up and had to correct them, which is a reality of doing makeup.

One Nostril: I’m cool

1. Characters whose Names are Secretly Insults: 

Samwise: means “Half-wise” or “Half-wit.” He is Stupid Gamgee

Faramir: Boromir’s name means “steadfast jewel”, but Faramir’s name just means “sufficient jewel.”

Sufficient.

Denethor took one look at baby Faramir and thought “eh I guess he exists or whatever” which is very in character

 2. Characters who Have Way Too Many Names

Examples include Aragorn son of Arathorn son of Arador heir of Isildur Elendil’s son, descendant of Numenor,  Thorongill,  Eagle of the Star,  Dúnadan, Strider,  Wingfoot, Longshanks, Elessar, Edhelharn, Elfstone, Estel, Hope, The Chieftain of the Dúnedain, King of the West, High King of Gondor and Arnor, and Envinyatar the Renewer of the House of Telcontar

Wait I’m sorry did I say “examples” plural Cuz that was all one guy 3. Characters whose parents must’ve been prophets

-Frodo means “wise by experience.” His story is about becoming wise by experience -A lady named Elwing turns into a bird (geddit)

4. Characters whose families were so lazy that they copy-pasted the same first half of a name onto multiple people

Théoden/Théodred  Aragorn/Arathorn/Arador  Éomer/ Éomund/Éowyn/Éorl Elladan/Elrohir/Elrond/Elros/Elwing/Elenwë/Elendil/Eldarion (the laziest family) 

5.Characters whose Names are Expertly Designed so that Newbies can’t Remember Who is Who and Feel Sad

All the people mentioned in number 4 Celeborn, Celegorm, Celebrimbor, Celebrian All the rhyming dwarf names in the Hobbit Sauron and Saruman Arwen and Éowyn

6. Name so nice, you say it twice