The timing of this sucks. But I’m going ahead with my skincare review of The Ordinary anyway, because the brand is amazing. (This weekend, Brandon Truaxe, the very troubled founder of Deciem, …the company that created The Ordinary…passed away. After a difficult, very public year in 2018, he was ousted from the company with hopes he would get the help he needed.) Let’s all be more aware of mental health issues.
Recently, I heard a popular YouTuber say that she was out with friends when someone recognized her from her YouTube channel. She feigned ignorance and laughed it off, but secretly started sweating it out. Her friends new nothing about her channel–or the fact that she had 50,000 subscribers. The thing was, she wanted to keep it that way, because she wasn’t ready for that conversation.
Okay, so now I’m sure you’re curious about what this girl’s channel is all about. Does it matter? What if she paints pictures live, like a 21st century Bob Ross? Or what if she does makeup tutorials, or fashion haul try-ons? These are all innocent things, and so is the content of her channel. But it’s also something a lot of people don’t know about…or understand. So, she chooses to keep it from her friends because it’s just easier.
Why do we pick the “easier” way so often? I get it. There are only a handful of people in my close circle who know that I write. I choose not to tell people because I’m not ready for the conversation…or conversations. (When is your book coming out? What’s it about? You wrote more than one? Why don’t you try writing “real” books?) I could go on.
I choose the easier option because if (when) I do have something to tell the world, I want it to be on my terms. People can judge me all they want then because I’ll have succeeded in the way that matters most to me. I don’t need a million dollar contract. I don’t have to be on the best seller list. I don’t even have to sell more than one copy. Whatever people think of me at that point will be irrelevant to me.
But not right now. Right now, I choose to work in the ether. I make my strides at my own speed. I can stop whenever I want and get out completely. I do this for me.
Maybe that’s really the only reason to do anything at all. I do this for me.
P.S…..the YouTuber I was talking about? She makes relaxation videos….kind of like those mesmerizing clips you see on Instagram of people making slime, or pouring liquid icing on cakes. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. She does it for herself…and 50,000 other people.
I don’t do holidays very well. I like holidays…no, wait….I LOVE holidays, but I don’t do down time very well. I always feel like I need to be doing something.
So this year, my intention is to take holidays on a regular basis…one a month, or something like that, so that I don’t feel overwhelmed with days off, and my expectations don’t get too high.
Is it that easy, though?
How do you do down time? Do you plan long stretches of nothingness? Or do you block out a list of things you want to accomplish before the days are up? I need hints!!
It all started with a joke.
What does a dolphin put on its peanut butter sandwich? Jellyfish!
If you followed my instagram post from earlier today, you’ll know that one of the kids during my library class visit read me this joke from a National Geographic book about dolphins. It had lots of information, graphics, and a few jokes, like this one. Fun, right?
Then, later that day, my boss came back from a library conference and told me she’d been to Ripley’s Aquarium while she was in Toronto, which I love visiting when I’m there. And what was her favourite thing about it? The jellyfish.
I didn’t really think much about it at the time.
But later that evening, my dad visited us, and I was showing him what fun our Amazon Echo could do. I asked Alexa to tell me a joke. What did she come out with? You guessed it….the same joke about the dolphin and the jellyfish.
It rattled me. I live in Canada, it’s winter…jellyfish aren’t typical conversation around here. And what are the chances that I’d hear the same silly joke twice in one day….from VERY different sources?? Yeah….it must be up there in the realm of possibility about as likely as I’d win the lottery.
But it got me thinking. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
If you’ve ever done Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY, you’ll know she talks a lot about observing things around you. It’s what gets our creative juices flowing, but it might also lead us in a direction we’ve just been ignoring. Her explanation is much more in depth (and if you’ve gone through the twelve weeks of her course, you’ll know….it’s about digging really deep), but the sudden occurrence in one day of this very random thing must mean something.
Am I supposed to do something with jellyfish? Unlikely. Should I be taking a trip to someplace warm to swim in the ocean? Again, very unlikely, and unlike me. So what does it mean?
Maybe it’s as simple as….are you paying attention? I’ve been in a sort of limbo this past year, with lots of heavy personal things going on. Yesterday was the first day in a long, long time that I felt really happy. Like, really happy. Maybe the constant mention of jellyfish was simply a startling reminder that there are great things out there, that I should be paying attention, and that the world is a fun and beautiful place. Maybe I needed that reminder.
So, I’m not going to start a great novel about jellyfish, or begin a wall-sized painting of the creature, but I might just keep my eyes open a little more, and enjoy the nice things–the unexpected things–that happen on a daily basis. That’s easy enough, and it’s something I can do each day.
What do you think about coincidences? Is it the Universe guiding you? Or is it just a glitch in the Matrix?
My skin has always been my worst enemy. My mom told me I was born with bad skin, and it has plagued me all the years since. I’ve had it all–oily skin, dry skin, acne, dark spots–and while one thing might clear up after a number of years, it’s usually replaced by something else to keep me occupied. I guess if I didn’t have to worry about my skin, I wouldn’t have anything to worry about at all. (Total lie there, but you know what I mean.)
These past few years have been about breakouts—serious ones—mostly on my chin. Hormonal, from everything I’ve researched. It’s pretty common for women to go through stages like this, but I’m done. Done. I want out.
So, I’ve been hearing all about this crazy strange little company called Deciem–their slogan is THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY–and their skincare line called “The Ordinary”. As far as I can tell, there is nothing ordinary about them at all. The line is clean, well packaged, and CHEAP! Seriously….super cheap, as far as skin care goes. And no one can keep them in stock. If you see The Ordinary somewhere, and you’re thinking about getting some to try….order it right away! Chances are, it won’t be there when you go back.
After doing a ton of research (like, scientific research because these products are really just a long list of ingredients), I picked several items I want to try, recommended by beauty bloggers, makeup artists, skincare specialists, and the company themselves. They tell you to start with no more than three products at a time, and honestly, I understand why. I received my box yesterday, and just learning when and how much to use will take charts and graphs. But I’m determined to give it a try.
I’ll follow up with a post in a few weeks to let you know what I think. But for now, I’m enjoying opening up these little tinctions in their glass bottles, and squeezing out a few drops of what I hope will be a miracle in a bottle. Wish me luck!
