It is strange to say I feel better and worse, but it is as accurate as I can describe my current sense of self.

On Saturday, my boyfriend, I suppose in an attempt to try to make up for Thursday, (which was an attempt to try to make up for Valentine�s Day), texted me and asked if I�d like to go for a walk. When he asked me it was sunny and somewhat warm. At the time he messaged me I was sitting at my table in my bedroom with my make up case open, staring out the window, waiting for Third Degree silicone compound �wounds� to dry on my leg. I was practicing my Finals without having any of the supplies needed to do so, minus the compound. And I was waiting for a reply from my instructor as to what I was supposed to do. I was also staring at really disgusting pictures (:-)) of woundage and bloody faces and arms, giant gashes and cuts. I peeled the silicone wounds off my leg and examined them to try to figure out what I can do with them and how I can make gross skin flaps so it looks like a real piece of skin hanging from a cut. For now they are in a baggy, waiting for some event requiring an enormous bloody gash. :P Luckily my instructor just said to do it in class when she would return my needed supplies, and not to worry. So I had the day off anyway.

By the time my boyfriend was out of school, it was overcast, cool, and threatening rain. It felt really good, actually. We walked a trail by St. John�s that is not hard but still sort of rural and quiet. I think we did 1.5 to 2 miles or so before it started getting really windy. It was a good walk. If it wasn�t so windy, I could have easily done twice what we did. I got to see all the hibernating brush and trees. They are the most stunning shades of burgundy, bamboo, and chocolate browns against the reddish dirt of this place. It is so beautiful. For part of the walk, the towering junipers made me feel like Alice journeying through Wonderland. :-)

After the walk, my boyfriend was hungry, but I wasn�t really. So we decided to go to the Blue Corn C@fe in beautiful downtown SFNM. We walked around a little bit more as the wind was blocked by the very old buildings. There is a restaurant across the way with an image of flames across all of the windows, it�s pretty cool.

At BC I got an Atomic Blonde Ale, and he got a something Stout (which I can�t drink because it�s like drinking food, it fills me up too fast). And we got chips and guacamole and salsa, and sat by the bar laughing at the TV that had no sound as we did some rare-these-days cuddling and actual talking. We laughed because Shaquille O�neill made the announcers look like hobbits. And we made up what was being said.

It was a good little non-dinner :) And it makes me feel a tiny bit less like I�m living in the Black Eyed Peas � Meet Me Half Way video�weird reference, but there you go, it�s true.

After we walked back to the car, and he drove me home so I could get ready for school. To be honest, I would have given anything to have gone home with him instead.

On Sunday, I got up at 6:30 am, took a shower, and after that felt the need to pee all effing day. And the little I did hurt like hell and then I felt like I had to pee again right after. So my Finals was annoying as far as that. I clearly have an infection of some sort, but I�m hoping it goes away on its own. I took a hot bath as soon as I got home and it helped a lot, at least with the constant urge to nearly pee my pants part of this. :-( Now I just hope the cramping I�m feeling means I�m not pregnant and that hopefully that means my bladder isn�t about to mutiny on me too�

In my Make-up Artistry class I learned how to do airbrushing make-up to cover tattoos, which is more complicated than you can imagine. And then we were given about 3 hours to complete our Final projects. Luckily the instructor was willing to help us learn as we were going and give tips and help us with our Finals. She really liked mine a lot, and on Film it looked horrifically real. I am apparently really good at bruising people. Lol.

My model, my friend�s 13 year old daughter, was so happy. I had promised to do some damage, and she liked what I did. If the photos won�t show, I�ll try to describe it. I did a huge gash to her forehead, with blood dripping down. I did some scraping damage down the side of her face to her cheekbone with some dripping blood and scabbing. On the other side of her face a scrape wound that was scabbing over. And then I did a lightly bruised eye.

I was the only one who did anything morbid and bloody. Haha. There were a couple of �Black Swan� remakes that were good. I liked mine the best.

My model said they are planning to do a film at her school and asked if I could do the makeup. :-)

I can say that I completely prefer workshop type classes to traditional academic mind-numbing read crap and spit it back classes. I have learned so much with such little stress. My eyes don�t hurt, and I�m doing full-time for the first time in my life�all because every class I�m taking is a workshop class. It is all hands-on, experiential learning, and it is awesome!

Anyway, my instructor seemed happy with everything I turned in to her, so I hope I got an A in the class. Advanced level starts next week. :) And I can officially put that I�m a make-up artist on my resume. Yay

~e

I hope the pics load�