Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!
Post-Update: Forum Issues

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 6,604 views
Diplomatka
 

Got my order

After being carried from the Midwest to South Central (Asia), I nearly lost my order when Schwig's housekeeper threw it in the trash. Luckily it was salvaged before garbage pick-up.   But it made it. I ordered large bottles of Queen of Sheba, Lady MacBeth, Persephone, Lolita and Embalming Fluid. There were also about 7 imps thrown in for free. I got Embalming Fluid smell unsniffed, but it turned out well: a little piney-limey on first application, but then it dried down to Body Shoppe's grapeseed soap. Not bad.   However, the imps I am not to sure about: it seems that many of them seem like 1980's Coty imposters (Emeraude, anyone?). Perhaps the new scents are retro, but they do not seem as innovative as the ones rolled out two years ago when there seemed not to be such a frenzy to put out new scents.   Not to offend, but this is my opinion. That's why I keep ordering the old standbys over and over.
Confection

Confection

1
Diplomatka
 

Jesus Christ has got Seoul

There is a place for proselytizing (arguably). Kabul, Afghanistan is not it.     That whistling sound you will hear will be rockets heading for the Kabul Olympic Stadium:       Potential For Riots/Demonstrations - Kabul. Institute of Asian Culture and Development (IACD) intend to despatch up to 2,000 South Korean nationals who have already been granted visas to enter Afghanistan. At least 60+ are already in country and the remainder are expected over the next week.   Their aim is to hold Christian religious gatherings, the first at the Kabul Olympic stadium followed by a 5 km 'peace march' through Kabul on or around 5 Aug 06. They then plan to extend their religious activities to Mazar, Herat, Kandahar and Bamyan 7 Aug onwards. The IACD will initially be 'camping out' at the Kabul Olympic stadium.   • Most security and NGO actors are taking the threat from these marches as potentially extremely serious as they could easily trigger a violent backlash from elements of the local community.      
Confection

Confection

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Godwin's Law the 2nd

Godwin's Law says whoever invokes Nazis/Hitler in an argument first loses.   In addition to this, a friend and I decided today that if, in the course of an internet argument someone declares their authorativeness based on being a member of MENSA, they also automatically lose.
antimony

antimony

2
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Candy-O

I have on a new layering adventure today; I bought a bottle of Bengal from chappiti on the forum (BTW, check out her avatar, I love it). While I really love Bengal, (or why would I have a bottle of it?), it tends to light up on my body for a bit. By that I mean, the cinnamon bark makes my skin flush rosy red for a brief time. So this morning I put down a nice layer of O (kind of like a paint primer) and then put Bengal over it. Yummy! Since I think Bengal smells like redhot candies over musk, and O smells, well, like O, I'm calling this blend Candy-O. That name is stolen from the title of an album by The Cars, which had this cover:     And now, for a brief aside: A friend called me and told me to turn on the Today show, because they were doing a shoe fashion show. Naturally, the Shoe Whore-Foot Fetishist turned it on right away. I just finished watching it. They were doing very close close-ups of each model's feet, and ARRGGHH! One of the models had on a pair of open-toe, slingback shoes and SHE HAD CRUSTY HEELS! OK, I know it was a big closeup, but I shudder to think how it looked on HDTV. I probably would have vomited. And who picked her to model shoes? Why didn't they put her in a pair of closed-back shoes? And if you had even 1 hour's notice that you had to sub for someone as a shoe model, would you at least do a little buffing and shining? Arrggh!!! At least I didn't see any French Manicures on the toenails, thank goodness. I would have screamed so loud that I would have frightened my coworkers.   Ahem, sorry to anyone who was eating as they read this. You probably had a hard time swallowing.
valentina

valentina

9
Diplomatka
 

Listen to the Text

First, I want to point out that one cannot listen to text; conversation or dialogue yes, but you can only read text.   Two-way radio training. Since the riots and our office was burned we are all about security. Part of this new initiative is radio training. Yesterday afternoon, my boss came to ask me to come to hand-held radio training. I told her that I had been to radio training last year and that I did not need to sit around for an hour and a half to learn how to hold a walkie talkie upright. “No, this is advanced radio training, you should go.”   On the way up the stairs back to my office, I encountered two colleagues: “I hope y’all brought your crack ‘cause this is going to be the most boring shit you have ever encountered”, I warned.   The training was held in one of the burned out containers that used to house part of the finance department. Hot is not the word, the temperature was at least 98 farenheit, and without air conditioning the container was like a toaster oven. I sat down and our Afghan IT guy launched into his presentation.   The first power point slide was entitled, “What is Communication?”. I just shook my head. This was the same drawn-out remedial bullshit I had to sit through last year. I felt like standing up and saying, “What is communication? I am so happy we are addressing this question. Here I have completed graduate school and worked professionally for five years and I had no idea what the fuck communication was!”, but I restrained myself. It got worse.   While the swarm of flies in the room settled on my face, toes and hands and sweat beaded up, the IT guy took ten minutes to talk about all of the different types of communication and specifically, the types of communication we use in our offices (CODAN, VHF radios, e-mail, cellular phones, smoke signals, carrier pigeons). My boss told him to cut to the chase, and was backed-up by the finance manager.   So we fast forwarded to the section about “How to Speak Over the Radio”. I swear to god, some of the bulleted points included, “do not shout” and “speak in short sentences”. Then, there were definitions of radio lingo that included, “hello: a greeting”, “out: the conversation is finished” and a stern lecture about not using phrases like “roger, over and out” because they are WRONG and anyone who says them will go to hell. Then we talked about the “wolume” (volume) control and were subjected to more slides sprinkled with misspellings and poor grammar.   Finally, my boss put her foot down: “What I need to know is not how to turn on the radio. I need to know if someone breaks into my house at night or if we have another situation like the riots, what do we do?!?” The IT guy sheepishly replied, “I only can give training on how to use the radio. Those systems are to be decided by the Security Specialist.” At that point, I got up and I walked out. Forty minutes of my life lost and two reports to submit. This is my life.
Confection

Confection

0
This Old Snark
 

Grouchy

Just put on a happy face (dammit)!   Snarky has been in a three day Very Bad Mood that has been interrupted by bouts of happiness, contentment, and countless uncomfortably sweaty naps.   She's sure things will turn around soon, but just wanted everyone to know she's avoided updating her blog in order to minimize the bleed through of her psychic pollution.   On a slightly better note, she's really starting to fall in love with her (mangy, crispy, slug-infested) garden.   Carry on. (Snarky :heart:s Tim Gunn. Just so you know.)
darkitysnark

darkitysnark

9
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Cotton Candy thoughts

Not so much that I'm thinking about cotton candy as the level of substance to the thoughts...   I was thinking about my name. I just signed a PM "Gracie", even though I've been using "Grace" predominantly. I have also written out a few return labels using the full Gracelyn. It's inevitable that I'll use one more than the others, right? I never shortened my given name, despite it having a very popular nickname (which my mother hated), so I don't know how these things work. It's like having three seperate names! It's almost like playing "pretend" again.
smallvoice

smallvoice

2
Eoywin's Blog
 

It's just a game!

Todd and I are friends with another married couple, A & J. They are pretty much my only friends thus far in Asheville. We get along with them rather well, and every Sunday night we go to their house to role play.   When we started last fall, J was the storyteller. Well, a couple of months ago, A started to run a game. She hadn't really run a campaign before, so we all have tried to cut her some slack.   Except J gets pissed at something she does nearly every week she runs. They get into a fight nearly every week.   Yesterday, A was busy with my character, because my character ran away from the rest of the group. Well, J was pissed that A didn't ask what he was doing, even though he could have easier said "I'm doing this and this" which is what Todd and I would have done if the scene at the time wasn't focused on our characters.   So, J pouted and picked up his gameboy. And then A posted in her lj that she felt like she was the most horrible storyteller ever, because she did badly.   Their dramamongering makes me feel like rolling my eyes. They need to realize that it's just a game. Unfortunely, they take these games really seriously!   I really need to find some more friends in Asheville, or maybe another game to play in.
Eoywin

Eoywin

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Sunday night picture madness!

Here is my lovely tomato... I picked 7 tomatoes off of it today, we ate them with little buffalo mozerellas, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.     I haven't shown the basil lately, take a look!   Here's the other tomato plant, it's turning into a total jungle, it's really taken off since I re-potted it. It's got a bunch of little green tomatoes on it.     The peppers are showing no signs at all of ripening:   The roses are putting out new buds, I'll have more flowers soon:   I think there's as much strawberry foliage outside the pot as inside:
antimony

antimony

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

My last entry

Woah. I am so not upset about the contest not being as successful as I might've imagined. It was late, and I was tired and cranky and felt sort of silly and awkward having devised this intricate event with the two entertaining guesses and the two entertaining non-guesses. (I really did love all the responses.) I realize it isn't All About Me- non-cc paypal only is a limitation, and everybody's saving up for the update, and I'm sure some people feel like it's too much of a gamble and I'm equally sure there are many people who are simply not interested. But, hey, if you guess now, you're pretty much guaranteed a pack. Unless five people pop up and want to play. Heh. Anyway, I'm more relaxed about it. Really.
smallvoice

smallvoice

2
Sourball Ho!
 

More estate sales

I went to two different sales this weekend, which is unusual. One was on the way home from work on Friday, and there must have been 15 cars parked in front of this house. I thought, "Wow, this sale should be great!" and went in. Unfortunately not a whole lot was there, but I did get for $25:   --a Scooby-Doo lunch box from the '70s (no thermos) --3 boxes of Japanese coil incense   Then DH and I went to one today that was in one of our favorite neighborhoods, Hollywood Heights -- yes, the houses are all little 1920s bungalows and I wish we could afford to live there. We got for $3:   --a few albums, Mahalia Jackson and a couple of touristy "Songs of Old Mexico" and "Songs of Hawaii" which I picked for the cute front covers --a handful of old 45s of stuff DH liked, like Roger Miller (King of the Road!) and Allan Sherman (Hello Muddah!) --a hurricane glass from Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans --a little clay dish with a lid (for salsa or guacamole, I'm thinking ) with Mexican-type designs --a green 4-dish appetizer set from a pottery co. in California, probably 1940s   So I probably paid too much at the first one, but made up for it at the second
dawndie

dawndie

2
How difficult could it be?
 

Next Order

just put in my first order in a good few months.... 10ml snake oil and cheshire cat and 5ml of et lux fuit. cannot wait. i need to have some snake oil aging nicely as i am down to the last 2ml of this 10ml bottle i have right here....       ETA i now have a 5ml aging...thank you ebay
Nemesister

Nemesister

0
space girl lost's blog
 

like i really need another blog!

current pending orders/items: 2006-07-10: (from the lab) • 5ml harvest moon 2006 • 5ml bewitched • imp pack of: akuma, blood, kabuki, madrid, swank + obatala (for the mum)   2006-07-22: (from astrid) • 5ml hungry ghost moon i am a wee bit nervous about the lust i'm feeling for oils right now. i cannot justify getting more when i have two body shop oils i never use in my medicine cabinet. i feel the need to be rid of them since i don't use them but who and how? i'm petrified of swapping and suches b/c, well ... my mind thinks, "who the heck would want those? this is bpal we're talking here!" plus i've got like two bottles of samhain 2005. true - i LOVE the scent. it's something much like i've always dreamed of, but my god! i just NOW got a tiny fraction below the label on the first bottle! the second will probably rot to the smell of death before i finish the first. should i sell the second? why keep it? and all the 8 or so imps i have. there's some i don't like to much. why keep them? b/c they're not nearly full enough to draw interest? i'm so damn ridiculous! why must i be so practical? why can i not just give in and allow myself pleasure in one of the few things in life i draw it from?   i also cannot justify the price of the oils right now as i've got the monster electricity bill coming up (w/ deposit) plus my auto insurance. basically half a month's pay sucked out of the account right there!   oh but i want more. more more more. at least two chaos theory bottles b/c i'm feeling risky (at least today) and all this talk of a big update. then again ... i've sat through big updates before and thought "eh. nothing sounds good." i'm hard to entice. sometimes.   why why why?     on a retarded note ... i'm going to start putting all the oils in splashshopper on the pda so i can track what i like, what i want and what i have on order while i'm away from my computer. lame!     and on a random note ... i need some final fantasy gaming fantasy to escape into for the day. too bad i no longer have such access to things.
space girl lost

space girl lost

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Insomnia sucks

For some reason, it never occurred to me that there'd be a lack of interest in my contest/sale. I mean, I didn't expect everyone to be scrambling to join in, but I think it's both fun and reasonably priced, particularly considering that there's a one in six chance that the winner'll be an imp of Underpants. With less guesses, I'll need to adjust it somehow, and it'll be more likely.   I'm just rambling to whine, folks. But please don't take this as me sulking (which, to me, implies anger, whereas 'whine' does not.) . I'm tired and PMS'ing. I think I may finally be able to sleep.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Legal!

I went and got my driver's license info updated yesterday. I realized that my signature looks awkward, even for being left handed and not so good with the neat handwriting in the first place. I need some serious practice.   It feels like a fake ID. (Especially since it's that paper stand-in you get before they send you the fancy plastic) Somebody called me Grace! I updated my social security card, too. Now I need to do billing records and bank account and library card and credit cards and school records... this is a really huge undertaking.   It will be my two year anniversary for having my driver's license on my birthday.   Tomorrow is my one-month wedding anniversary!   Awesome.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
How difficult could it be?
 

All in a muddle

i have too much BPAL. it's all aging and changing and i haven't even got used to how it used to smell when fresh! i'm currently putting it all into categories of things to wear when it's really hot, cold, snowy, overcast, when i'm happy, sad, nostalgic, horny etc etc!   so far as it is REALLY hot today i have a row of bottles by the computer: numb, aizen-myoo, neo-tokyo, spooky, the hamptons, swank, embalming fluid, kumiho, phantasm and the dormouse...... i know there are more in my stash but it's hard going sorting them all!
Nemesister

Nemesister

0
How difficult could it be?
 

One of those times

the last 6 weeks have been awful. a complete rollercoaster of emotions and most of them not good. i can count the number of days i haven't felt stressed and upset on the fingers of one hand. today is one of them though! i really feel that it is getting sorted out finally. fingers crossed.....
Nemesister

Nemesister

0
circe_blue's Blog
 

Happy Friday?

So today was a nice friday because:   1. A coworker and I went to Target during our lunch break. Yaaay Target!   2. I kept getting compliments on my new t-shirt. It pays homage to my looove of horror movies.   3. The boy came over. He's been doing rounds/working at the hospital for all of the week. I haven't seen him in a week ::gasp::... I missed him!   4. Finding out that Nightmare Before Christmas will be re-released in theaters in 3D!   Not so great moments:   1. Watching Sleepaway Camp for the first time. It was cheesy-bad 80's stuff until the disturbing ending. Ew.   2. Me telling my mom that I'll be going to dinner and a movie with the boy tomorrow and her angrily saying "why do always go to dinner with just the two of you? We [my parents] should be going with you! " Dude, it's a date. With two people. You are not included because 90% of the time we hang around at home watching movies in your house with you around 'cause you're crazy-strict even though I'm 23 and you won't let me go anywhere. Argh argh argh. Sometimes, you just wanna be alone with your significant other sans parents. Is that too much to ask? I love them, but the craziness must stop   Only 39 days till grad school/moving the #### out! Wheee!   My weekend so far looks like it will involve a journey to IKEA to buy/scope out furniture, dinner and Clerks II date, posting a roomate wanted ad, sleeping. Have a nice weekend, BPALers!
circe_blue

circe_blue

2
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Mantra for the drama queens

One of the reasons that I love this forum is because (other than the amusing, funny, intelligent, kind and lovely smell-obsessed members,) it is very well moderated. I used to go onto another forum and spent most of my time there as a lurker, in large part because it wasn't really moderated and the "host" was a bright, well-versed, but utterly mercurical and sometimes Just Plain Nuts person. She'd caused a drama in another forum that resulted in an exodus to her current forum, which was set up specifically so she could host it and provide her expertise, which she does indeed have, in between psychotic episodes.   But predictably, she's had another melt-down in the last week and is turning against forum members and the business who's hosting the forum. A good friend who also used to participate told me about the drama, and it was indeed a fiasco, complete with conspiracy theories and accusations of slander. I looked at it for a while and jokingly suggested to my friend that one of us make a post to the forum that has now become a war zone with a suggestion for a mantra. My thanks go to darkitysnark for the inspiration behind the mantra:   "Ohm yamma ramma drama llama drama!"
valentina

valentina

0
Port Wine and the Morning Star
 

Whoa, Nelly!

Finally getting around to trying Umbra.   Holy crap, it's ruthless and savage like Geek, only moreso. Despite the fact that it doesn't contain leather, which is usually what I require to give a scent a fully sexy rating, this is a scent that just lunges straight for the naughty bits and keeps on teasing.   Actually, no. It doesn't tease. It doesn't care whether I like it or not. It's just having its way with me.   Luckily, I appear to be enjoying it.   None of this is helped by the fact that I've been perving over dangerous older men for three days now. If getting an open-handed spanking from Jason Isaacs had a soundtrack, this smell would somehow be on it.
Naamah_Darling

Naamah_Darling

0
this machine
 

the salon

Oh holy hell. I think the salon may be the actual death of me. So far i have tried three scents from it, and they may be the most gorgeous, unique, complex, and intriguing scents i've tried so far. They're definitely way, way up there, if not the top.   I ordered a bottle of two monsters unsniffed (a first for me!), and i love it. I have one small hangup about it - the champaca flower. This is silly i know, but i have this fear that i will smell like That One Incense to people, which bothers me. See, i used to wear lush's karma fragrance for years and years, and often times when someone would comment on the scent it would be "ARE YOU WEARING PATCHOULI?! we didn't know you were a hippie maureen," and i'd be like uhhh, pipe down there, i'm wearing a gorgeous scent that contains some patchouli, but no, i'm not just wearing patchouli. I'm always amazed at how some people only smell that one thing, which i know isn't there fault i guess, we all smell things differently. Anyway, ramble ramble...my original point is that i don't want to just smell like i bathed myself in a room of incense, or have it be interpreted as such. Incense is great and all, but i associate smelling like nag champa with the dirty and filthy rich but pretending to be poor college stoner hippies. All this to say, i love two monsters and i will probably keep wearing it and just wonder quietly if anyone thinks i smell like i scent myself by laying in my room burning nag champa all day.   I'm not up to actual reviews of them, but resurrection of the flesh...hoo boy, depending on the total drydown, i may love this. Satan and death blows me away and makes my head spin when wet and in the initial drydown, but i need a few wears of it to see how i feel about its eventual complete drydown.   I am so frigging excited about the rest of The Salon scents.
this machine

this machine

0
×