I feel complete again!

My new baby!



I finally broke down and got myself a digital SLR this week. I decided that I can't go to FRANCE without one, that it's been way too long since I concentrated on my art (my film SLR died my 2nd week in Ireland 2 years ago... boohoo), and that I could get it for 18mos no interest, so I make the leap.

I am soooo excited! It's a Nikon, & I am used to a Canon, so I will be practicing lots. Maybe I'll share on here, who knows? :)

I mean, I will DEFINITELY be sharing my pics from France, so don't worry!

This camera came as a package, so I got a free camera bag & a $400 lens for less than $200. So now I have 2 lenses: 18-55 & 55-200, YES!

Please, just expect stalker pics.

For now, I must wait until my battery charges before i can play, so bear with me, but what a GREAT St Patrick's Day gift to myself, I do say so! (It was delivered today)

okay! the battery just finished charging, so I'm gonna run PLAY!!!

(and by run, I don't mean literally... do you KNOW me?)

XOXO

It's like a mood ring...

...on my head.

Per Ky's request, I will jot down a "tiny" blog about my hair.

I have been dying it since I was 14. My hair has ROY G BIV pretty much covered: ranging from platinum blonde to violet-tinted black, with some strawberry-blonde & neon green (well, it glowed neon green under florescent lighting...) thrown in for good measure.

You see, when I was 11, my sister was diagnosed with Cancer & I spent the next 9yrs working with children with cancer & their siblings. I realized at a relatively young age that hair really doesn't hold much value in the grand scheme of things. I had moments where I would have been fine shaving it off, honestly. But I never did. The one thing I could do was give it its rightful place as an "accessory" in my life, rather than a staple.

That said, I ended up with an addiction. To hair colour. Sad, eh?

But it's fun! Basically, my hair changes with my mood. Thus the title of this post, haha. I'm so witty!

I went a few years in my mid-twenties with my natural colour, but then I went to see the movie Troy. Ang & I were running late (my fault) to meet Graison at the theatre, I hadn't looked into a mirror all day & my vanity got a hold of me, so I did a quick check. My hair was about 2-4 inches long & it was raining that day... I literally felt like I had a Q-tip on my head when I left for the movie! 3hrs later, immediately after the film ended, Ang & I ran to the bathroom and as I was washing my hands there it was: A GRAY PATCH. what??? I blame Brad Pitt.

So after a couple months of "the patch", I broke down and dyed it - a really dark brown, the darkest my hair had ever been. And I loved it! Every 6wks or so, I would dye it a new shade of brown & the shades were so obviously different from one another that the ladies in the back of the church would play the "I wonder what Steph's hair will look like THIS week" game - all in good fun, of course! :)

I found that I really liked having dark hair & eventually found a great colour that I used for a couple years... pretty crazy, eh? And then I moved to Ireland. After 6months of RAIN, RAIN & oh wait! MORE RAIN, I needed a change. So I went to my safe place: the hair.

Highlights it was!

Then I moved back to Canada & found a stylist with reasonable rates who was willing to give me the violet-black I decided I wanted. And I kept that for a whole 6months or so, until I moved to the Carolinas...

Apparently, the sun & the heat got to me & I went back to blonde. For 6months.

See a pattern? Or two?

Last month, I went into the salon not knowing whether to keep the blonde or go back to black... I decided that if I can't decide, then I'll make a drastic change. wow. That says a lot about my personality right there!

But after only a couple weeks as a brunette, I am learning that it's not only the moods that determine my hair colour, it's also the weather. I went back to black after several months of cold, gray, wet (& tiny bits of snowy) weather. I associate cold with brunette in my head, apparently.

But what I have learned in the past month is that warm, humid sunshine brings out the blonde in me for several reasons: easier upkeep - the sunshine (& chlorine from pools) wreaks havoc on the black hair, the humidity is really bad on my scalp (weird, eh?) and black hair just magnifies any flakes & makes me paranoid, and to be honest, blonde looks better with a tan - something I do not have right now, so black is okay for a while.

So, in conclusion, I have multiple personalities that can all be found in the colour of my hair!

Apparently, Canadian Steph is a brunette, Irish Steph is split-personality & Carolina Steph is a blonde, experimental Steph is neon green, insecure Steph is a redhead, and happy Steph bounces between blonde & black, depending on location (see above).

Unlike most people, I don't colour my hair because I want to feel better... I colour my hair because I feel good & want to express my happiness.

And there's a little more SS psychoanalysis than you expected! You're welcome :)


(this month's shade)

Love,
SS

Timing is everything

So it's been over a month since I last posted and I have wanted to post at LEAST 5 times in the interim... as you can tell, that hasn't happened.

In the past month, I have*:
1. dyed my hair back to black (temporarily - it will more than likely be blondish by summer)
2. been to a secret concert**
3. "enjoyed" the enlightening experience of reading Judith Butler (aka the reason for weekends filled with suicidal thoughts)
4. had a migraine-turned muscle spasm-turned strained muscle-turned tension headache that lasted over a week
5. learned how to WIKI
6. visited (& decided to volunteer at) an urban sustainable farm, located within the Columbia city-limits
7. made GREAT strides in my dissertation topic (WOOT!)
8. seen an Ansel Adams exhibit
9. received my official letter of offer from the University of Haute-Alsace inviting me to teach English this coming school year in Mulhouse, France, and
10. seen New Moon, Leap Year & When in Rome in theatres (I see a theme... hmm...)

but you know what I actually made it onto Failte to tell blogland? Things I never thought I would say:

It feels SO GOOD to have a clean house***!

Today, I bought my very first ever real vacuum cleaner - not one of those dirt devil hand vacs & not one that someone lent me or that came with the house (in Ireland). It was on sale and my carpets were gross & I have classmates coming over tomorrow, so I figured "now is as good a time as any". So I got home with my vacuum and immediately set to work. First, I piled all my crap from my floor onto my bed, then I vacuumed my bedroom. It made me so happy, and the vacuum is for hard surfaces, too, so I semi-vacuumed my bathroom, because I could! Then I put all the stuff on my bed into their respective homes. Then I went into my bathroom and cleaned it (not spotless, but decent). THEN, I went into the kitchen and put away my dishes, washed the dirty ones by hand & scrubbed down the counters. THEN, I cleaned the stove top, WHAT? I even pulled out the burners & washed those under-burner thingys****. Then I vacuumed the living-dining room.

I set up the DVD player to make sure it would work, seeing as that's why classmates are coming. We have to watch a "potentially" uncomfortable film on gender theory for discussion on Monday, yay. And after all that, I got to dusting my bedroom furniture.

Most of you who know me probably think I've been possessed by some cleaning fairy or something, and I totally understand! I wasn't cleaning to avoid homework (like I usually do) and I wasn't cleaning to make a good impression - although trying to avoid being judged by my classmates was an ignition for the entire experience, it did not motivate the entirety of my work. More like 20%. And I was SMILING as I cleaned, WHAT??? :)

So yeah, of all the adventures I've had since my last post, THIS is what you get!

Love you all ~
SS

*If you would like to hear more about any of the listed items, please let me know & I will actually write something in detail. I may get around to them eventually, but it's doubtful that I'll get around to it unless someone is actually interested.

**the link to the secret concert is the story told my by friend & classmate, Lydia. She is a HUGE fan (he's kinda like her Jason Mraz) and she told it so well, I would not have been able to do my experience any greater justice. I will state a few minor differences between our stories: I found out through twitter, I arrived just before they let us in, as the people were chanting "LET US IN" and tweeting JM saying "we're outside, please let us in!" (or variations of that plea) & news cameras shining in my face, I actually liked the 'stage condom', & WHOAH can that man make a tat sleeve sexy!

***Lydia, no inspections when you get here, haha! I have already noticed several things that need addressed, but I'm tired. I truly believe that the reason why I avoid cleaning so much is because I am a perfectionist & once I get started cleaning one thing, I notice every other little thing & they drive me crazy!!! How's that for an excuse? :)

****I have cleaned them before... fyi...

possible epiphany

Twice today I was in conversation about my faith. The first time was in an office with 3 female university students who were all cracking jokes about christianity and the conversation was in fun, but the context made me a little sad. It started off talking about how something was "of the devil", then evolved into "I was raised Southern Baptist AND Catholic!", which eventually morphed into hysterical laughter and 2 of them stating that they no longer go to church because of the craziness they were subjected to as children and a third just laughing along. Eventually, I piped up. OF COURSE. I mean, I did silently sit through the first 10 minutes, so give me SOME credit for not being pushy! But eventually, in the midst of the "which denomination are/were you?" subject, I remarked that I am a christian. That's all. No denomination, no religion, no segregated perspective... just a plain ole' christian. They all fell silent. Great.

I said that I feel like the only thing denominations do is divide and that I choose to have a relationship with Jesus on my own - and that He and I get along pretty well.

And all three of the girls completely agreed. At one point shortly after, the conversation had turned to communion - wafers vs bread, grape juice vs wine, one cup vs shot glasses - and one girl said, "you know, I understand all of this christian stuff...I just don't believe in it." A second one agreed. And the third turned to me and said, "Stephanie, have you found a church here in Columbia yet?" I replied no and she proceeded to tell me - and told the whole room - that she and her boyfriend had recently been to a church that I may like, about the service she went to and how that group was organized.

Needless to say, I was impressed.

*****

Conversation two went like this:

Class let out really early today and a small group of us decided to go to supper at a Korean/Mexican* place near the Uni. 5 people, 4 of whom are comp lit majors, and 2 of whom are male. There's one male who is... special... I won't say much more because apparently when I vent on here about people in my life, I end up forgetting and giving them my blog address**. And this story is not about this guy in particular - but I think I should say that he is really smart and I don't know how to interact with him without some social awkwardness***.

So I have no clue what the topic of conversation was at all (which is sad), but this guy turns to me and says: "you don't strike me as the christian-type".

WHAT?

So I was like, "really? why is that?" And he says, "I don't know... I mean... I guess I just never saw you as a christian".

So I am like (to myself), "uh oh"... what kind of christian am I if people don't ASSUME I'm a christian after knowing me for an entire semester??? And I was a little sad, I must admit. Thoughts like, "why aren't you witnessing more?" "how could I have shown my faith more clearly?" and "you are a sorry excuse for a seed-planter" all occurred simultaneously.

And so this guy asks, "well... ARE you a religious person?" and I was like, "ummm... NO."

"But I am a spiritual person who follows Jesus Christ. My life is faith-filled, and most definitely not religious... but I am certainly a christian." He says, "oh, me too - I'm episcopalian(anglican for the canadians) - what are you?" And I was like... dude (in my head)... (and then aloud, I responded with) "I am just a christian - no denominational affiliation, just me and Jesus."

Eventually, he remarked that he thinks that (culturally), christian and 'right wing' are synonymous... and that he did not get the impression that I was 'right wing'... with which I wholeheartedly agreed!

So. I guess if being a socialist, liberal, bleeding heart, eco-loving, green living, utopian scholar in the field of humanities gives people the impression that I am "not a christian", then I will have to suffer those consequences. For now. Of course, now my challenge is to change those assumptions. And to fight the categorization that implies that in order for me to represent christ, I have to represent christianity... I mean, if Jesus wanted his people to imitate other people, He wouldn't have died on the cross to have a personal relationship with me. So I will walk my walk and get to know people -- and let them get to know me... and pray that the Jesus in me - not the religion - will shine through and change hearts.

Just sayin'.

Love and hugs to everyone!

*yes, it was a place that served both Korean & Mexican food... "world famous", with a tower of spam cans stacked on display... the other guy was like, "I'm not sure I really want to eat a Korean burrito!"

** Lydia please remind me to never share my blog with said person, okay?? He may not be as understanding as... say... you... :)

*** those of you who can relate: think Enoch times 2, and about a thousand times smarter than me - not joking. possibly hyperbolizing on the last part, but not by much.

Just Like Mary

So a couple weeks ago I found a recipe in Jazon Mraz' blog that I thought would be worth trying - all the ingredients separately kind of grossed me out, but I was still curious to see what it was like. So... I collected the ingredients this week and tonight got around to attempting this new kitchen adventure.

My post title is dedicated to my friend, QOWP, who is so great at sharing her cooking initiatives with blogland - and her photographs are so mouthwatering. I am not claiming to offer 'mouthwatering' - I mean, I am using my Mac photobooth to take the pic - but I thought I would follow in her footsteps and share with you my final product:

Gross, right? But so very tasty! It's the first time I've actually enjoyed the flavour of dates, haha!

So there you go... this is how I spend my Friday nights, yay! I haven't tried the finished product because I have to refrigerate them for a day or so, but so far I am satisfied with the taste. If you are interested in trying something new, raw, organic, healthy, creative, and quick (minus the chilling), I would encourage you to give this one a shot. :)

Love to everyone ~

xoxo