Campfyre Stories

I’m not feeling the holiday spirit this year.  I’ve been thinking about it and I realize that this happens every so often.  I don’t always buy entirely into the spirit of the various holidays, but this time around seems different.  It took a few different comments to figure it out, but I’ve finally come to it.

It’s a neverending October right now.  It’s in the mid-to-high 40′s, there’s no snow, it gets dark early and there’s no white blanket to offset the darkness.  It’s a pre-apocalyptic wasteland at night, and it only makes me sad, not jolly.

I’m really worried about the way the climate is changing.  Whether or not it’s anthropogenic (human-driven) or simply part of a planetary cycle, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a good thing for anyone, and I can’t shake the feeling that this is something to get used to.

Of course, maybe I’m overreacting.  Maybe it’s just El Nino, or La Nina or whatever weird weather patterns are cyclical, but it doesn’t feel like the first day of winter.  It doesn’t feel like the new year is approaching.  It just feels…  like October, and I don’t really like October weather all that much if it doesn’t come with brilliant foliage.

One of the things I like about living in this region of the country is having four distinct seasons.  I feel gypped out of winter so far…

I’m not sure that I can say it, but I absolutely can (and do) buy these masques regularly.  I’ve tried most of what’s available in my local drug store, which is a limited selection, but I’ve loved every one I’ve tried.  Imagine my very pleasant surprise when, inside my most recent Vox Box from Influenster, there was a sample sized masque in a flavor I hadn’t heard of – Strawberry Souffle.

Happily, the Influenster website provided a direct link to Montagne Jeunesse (for the US site, click here).  Otherwise, it would never have occurred to me to find them online (let alone follow them on social media!).  I love what their masques do – hydrate, deep clean, and nourish, leaving a soft, smooth glow to the skin.  This Strawberry Souffle, in particular, was exactly what I needed and wanted before going for a night on the town, and I didn’t even know it until I tried it out.

Hands down, what I love the best about this product line is that in the “how to use” directions, it spells out “Relax”.  This is a pampering product, vegetarian approved and never tested on animals.  You can feel good about using it, even as you feel good while using it.  And now, with the website finally being right in my face, I have a way to pick up all the flavors I can’t find in local stores!  Sold.

Another product from the current Influenster Holiday Vox Box.  I love being able to try out new products for free with this program and encourage those of my more opinionated readers to participate if you think you’ll be interested in writing the reviews and sharing your experience with others.

“Hrmm, it’s a lip gloss,” was my first thought when I opened the box.  I’m not big into lip color, but I knew that this time of year has me more made up more often than usual, so I knew I’d use it.  I got a neutral nude shade, which bored me.  If I’m going to put color on my face, I want to put color on my face.  I tried on the gloss, which made my lips shiny, but little else.  This wasn’t the right choice for a night on the town.

Or was it?

Recently, I bought a lip liner in a shade as close to my natural color as I could find, and, as a liner, it’s the right color, but it’s pink (with blue undertones) enough that if I fill in my lips with it, it’s a lovely, light shade that looks mostly natural.  Putting the lipshine on top of it?  Uh-maze-ing.  Gorgeous effect, and one that was completely unexpected.  It’s better than any other color I have in my arsenal.

New York Color Liquid Lipshine.  It smells amazing and is shiny and glossy without being *too* much.  Again, I’m not big into lip color, but I like this enough to want to try some of the berry/pink-blue hues to see if they make a dramatic enough change to my natural color.  I”m not sure that lip gloss is something I’ll be converted to, but I’m willing to make the effort.

As you may remember from a few months back, I’m a product tester for a company called Influenster.  They periodically send me a “Vox Box”, which contains products for me to test, then talk about.  In the latest Vox Box from Influenster, I received a “revolutionary way to apply polish”.  I have to say, I took that to mean that it was nail polish strips, but the reality is that they are press-on nails.  As of this writing, I’ve been wearing them for the past 4 days and they are still holding on strong.  I also have quite a few left over, so I expect I will be able to replace a few as they start to fall off.

imPRESS press-on manicure by Broadway Nails is a fun way to try out nail art that you might not otherwise play with.  While I find them a little long for my taste, that’s really only an issue because of the design I received (Wink), which is at the long end of the nail and would be wrecked if I tried to trim it.  I plan to try another set so I can see if it is possible to trim them down with solids or other patterns.

It has been years since I wore press-on nails, and this is the first time since I broke the habit of chewing on my nails.  I have gotten nothing but compliments, and surprise that they aren’t real.  Product testing, I’ve found, is an excellent way for my friends to learn about new, cool products.  I always share the fun ones with my friends so they will know what’s available and this was no exception.

In addition to a night on the town, I’ve done a lot with the nails on.  I’m hard on my hands, and particularly on my manicure.  I soaked in a hot bath, washed dishes, cleaned up messes, cooked a few meals, and my “nails” are none the worse for the wear.

The verdict?  I’ll buy them for a special occasion or because I’m in need of a pretty little pick-me-up and something pretty to look at while I type.  I can be harder on these than a standard manicure, but they’re so long that they get in my way a little bit.  Special occasions, for sure, though.  At $5.99-7.99, it’s a little pricey for day-to-day wear.  That said, it’s cheaper than a manicure if they continue to last as long as these have, but significantly less pampering an experience.

**UPDATE**

Last night (Wednesday), I peeled the nails off.  I’m not sure why, but the tips had turned blue (I’m 100% sure it was something I did, but I don’t know what) and they length of them was just getting in my way.  They peeled off really easily and painlessly.  My nails are whole and healthy and undamaged underneath.  They lasted a solid 5 (almost 6) days, which is almost a little too much.  I’ll definitely try them again, but next time with slightly better planning on my part, and hopefully a pattern that can be trimmed back.

*There is, unfortunately, no possible way for me to convey just how amusing the proceedings actually were.  The humor was just too situational and I can’t seem to bring that into my writing.  Just understand that we were all in an excellent mood and recognized just how ridiculous the entire situation was, which led to a lot of laughter throughout the entire time we were there.*

Well-rested and on time, I left the house to 50 degree weather.  “Nice day for a court date” , I thought to myself.  I left plenty of time to get a cup of coffee and take the bus over and arrived at the courthouse a few minutes early.

There was an assembly of everyone in front of the courthouse and one of the lawyers was explaining what we all could expect – how long it would take, what the end result would be.  I didn’t know it at the time, but he gave us the exact script that we would hear over and over again.  They took a roll call, and while we were missing a good number of people, we still had quite a mob.  this time, I had remembered to  bring my cards with me, so I was able to share contact information with the people I felt a connection with.

I was dressed as  I generally do, professional with a bit of fun in it.  I was surprised by the sheer number of people wearing ripped jeans, scrubby t-shirts or otherwise not dressed for court.  Fewer than half of our group was dressed (in my opinion) “for court”, and more than a few of them commented that “I should have dressed better…”  Let me be clear, though, it wasn’t just the jeans that felt underdressed, it was the ripped, dirty jeans.  It was the complete lack of effort put forth.  I overheard a few people talking about how they had forgotten about court and almost didn’t make it (on time).  I don’t understand how this happens.  You make a conscious decision to get arrested and then forget that you did?  I’m not sure what that was about.

Around 9:30, we started filing into the court house.  There was one open door and a single metal detector.  And 56 of us.  It took a while, but the security guards were patient and friendly.  Once through the machines, we filed into the large courtroom, where we found it to be standing room only.  However, the problem was the signs posted around the room that read “NO STANDING INSIDE THE COURTROOM”, and it was enforced.  The judge asked the room to scootch together, but there were simply not enough seats.  Several people were told to wait in the hall.

The early cases were largely amusing.  I’ve only been to this courthouse once before, but I remember thinking then that I could spend an entire day, just listening to the silliness that ensues when some of these people appear before the judge.  This judge was a lot of fun to watch, too.  He has an excellent sense of humor (and sense of the absurd).

One of our guys was called up, then told to sit back down, then called up again, then told to sit, then one more time, called up and told to sit back down.  This was someone I felt I had connected with (and had passed my contact info to) and I felt bad for him.  He’s just a regular guy (much like me and a few others I connected with), and for him to be the one up and down and up and down wasn’t as funny as I would have found it had it been someone else.  The problem was that there were so many of us arrested with OA that they wanted to bundle us together, and just take us in the order we appeared in the pile (which was not the order in which we were arrested).

They called us up one or two at a time.  Both our attorneys and the ADA appeared to be working off of a script, speaking the exact same words each time.  Our attorneys cycled, presumably so no one lawyer had to fill out the dismissal paperwork on the other side of things.  The ADA spoke faster and faster with each new person, since the words were exactly the same – not prosecuting us because there were no allegations of violence nor any property damage.

Two hours in, the room was chastised by one of the guards for being too loud and interrupting the recording.  The response that garnered the best reaction was “Tell the judge to stop telling jokes, then.”  There were posted handwritten signs around reading “No TALKING in the courtroom”, but with that many people knowing that the entire show is really just a game, that wasn’t going to happen.  We tried to be reasonable, but there was no way we were going to be silent.

At 41 people down, the judge asked if there were any other OA folks who had not yet been called up.  10-15 hands shot up.  “Only those whose name I haven’t called…”  and all the hands stayed up.  A handful of those people were not Occupiers, but people waiting for their own, unrelated, appearance, who misunderstood the question.  We were asked to present our appearance tickets, but then they found a second pile of files for the rest of us.

All told, it took about as long to go through the court process as it did to get arrested in the first place.  The final occupier was dismissed at just about noon – three hours later.  Those who stayed for the full time were given some information about “where do we go from here” and what the possible consequences were.

I came away from it feeling like Cuomo had seriously wasted a huge amount of taxpayer dollars, gumming up the local justice system in trying to make a point that he’s bigger than us.  I do put that entirely on Cuomo.  However, at this point, I feel that getting arrested for the same issue would put that responsibility on me.  Additional arrests, at this point, no longer make a statement, and only serve to put us in the position of wasting those taxpayer dollars.  There was no excuse to clear the park across the imaginary line, and I still feel it is an infringement on the right to peaceably assemble, but continuing to force the issue doesn’t make Cuomo look any worse, it actually makes him look like someone who “sticks to his guns”, which is often a political positive.

So I won’t be seeking out arrest again.  Certainly not in the same place for the same issue.  However, having gone through the process, I would do it again for another cause I feel passionately about.

And I am sure that there will be more causes to stand up for.  From what I hear, this is far from over.