I noticed this on stellans' signature and I thought it was a great idea! Over time, I will keep adding links ot my reviews (I have done so many and I don't have the time to find them all at once...) just in case you're curious. Also, it's good for me to see which scents I have reviewed in my quest to have tried the whole catalog (I wonder how long it's going to take...pretty long I suppose)
Bewitching Brews
Anne Bonny
Bess
Bewitched
Blood
Bon Vivant
Brimstone
Calico Jack
Chimera
Eclipse
Fae
Kill-Devil
Kubla Khan
La Bella Donna Mia Mente
Leanan Sidhe
Lightning
Ozymandias
Plunder
Poisoned Apple
Shattered
Veil
Wilde
Zephyr
Ars Moriendi
House of Night
The Phantom Wooer
The Reaper and the Flowers
Sheol
Shroud
Dark Elements
Inferno
Sin & Salvation
Anathema
Black Dahlia
Hellfire
Jailbait
Les Infortunes de la Vertu
Oblivion
Roadhouse
Tzadikim Nistarim
Wrath
Love Potions
Bathsheba
Bien Loin d'Ici
Debauchery
Depraved
Desire
Endymion
Forbidden Fruit
Harlot
Hetairae
La Petite Mort
La Serpent Qui Danse
Libertine
Lilium Inter Spinas
Muse
Nefertiti
Queen of Sheba
Satyr
Seraglio
Severin
Succubus
The Temptation
Vixen
Whip
Diabolus
A Countenance Foreboding Evil
Black Phoenix
Catherine
Goblin
Hellcat
Horreur Sympathique
Imp
Kitsune-Tsuki
Kuang Shi
Kumiho
Loup Garou
Maenad
Marquise de Merteuil
Nephilim
Nocnitsa
Troll
The Carousel
Mama Ji
Mr. Ibis
Mr. Jaqcuel
Mad Tea Party
Cheshire Cat
Croquet
The Dodo
The Dormouse
Eat Me
Frumious Bandersnatch
Jabberwocky
Knave of Hearts
Mouse's Long & Sad Tale
Queen Alice
Tweedledum
White Rabbit
Illyria
Caliban
Hermia
Goneril
Jester
Katharina
Lear
Lysander
Tamora
Titania
Titus Andronicus
Wanderlust
51
Baghdad
Bayou
Crossroads
Delphi
Florence
Ile de la Tortue
Kathmandu
Lyonesse
Machu Picchu
Madrid
New Orleans
Santa Eulària Des Riu
Santo Domingo
Sri Lanka
Sybaris
Tenochtitlan
Tombstone
Venice
Vinland
Whitechapel
Ars Draconis
Dragon's Heart
Dragon's Musk
Rappaccini's Garden
Black Lily
Black Lotus
Death Cap
Dian's Bud
Hairy Toad Lily
Love-in-Idleness
Love Lies Bleeding
Shadow Witch Orchid
Squirting Cucumber
Voodoo Lily
Wolfsbane
Yew Trees
Picnic in Arkham
Azathoth
Brown Jenkins
The High Priest Not to be Described
The Music of Erich Zahn
Nyarlathotep
Shub-Niggurath
Y'ha-Nthlei
The Salon
And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt
Arrival of the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil
Bat
The Cup of Death
Cupid Complaining to Venus
Death and Life Completed
The Death of Sardanapal
Death of the Grave Digger
Garden Path With Chickens
The Great He-Goat
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun
Haloes
Isle of the Dead
Itasô Kansei Nenkan Jorô No Fûzoku
Judith Victorious
Kiyohime Changes From a Serpent
Les Anges Déchus
Lucifer
Lucretia
Mad Meg
Madonna
Orpheus
Philospher in Meditation
The Sailor's Den
The Smiling Spider
Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree
Sunflower
Three Brides
Three Gorgons
Two Monsters
Excolo
Aglaea
Aizen-Myoo
Al-Shairan
Baron Samedi
Calliope
Centzon Totochtin
Coyote
Czernobog
Eos
Euterpe
Himerus
Khephra
Kurukulla
Mania
Melpomene
Ochosi
Osun
Oya
Persephone
Queen Mab
Sacred Whore of Babylon
Skuld
Voodoo Blends
French Love
Love Me
Tarot Oils
The Hanged Man
The Hermit
Strength
Sephiroth
Nahemoth
Good Omens
Agnes Nutter
Aziraphale
Crowley
Hastur
Ligur
Stardust
Tristran
Victoria
The Witch Queen
Yvaine
Carnaval Diabolique
Carnaval Diabolique
Midnight on the Midway
Doc Constantine
Mme Moriarty
Pulcinella & Teresina
Theodosius the Legerdemain
Parliament of Monsters
Arachnina the Spider Girl
Eshe a Vision of Life-in-Death
Faiza the Black Mamba
Meskhenet the Vulture Maiden
Tiresias the Androgyne
Zarita the Doll Girl
Anaconda
Asp Viper
Australian Copperhead
Banded Sea Snake
Boomslang
Coral Snake
Cottonmouth
Death Adder
Green Tree Viper
Habu
King Cobra
Saw Scaled Viper
Temple Viper
Western Diamondback
Lunacy Blends
Fruit Moon
Dragon Moon
Lotus Moon
Black Moon
Chrysanthemum Moon
White Moon
Bitter Moon
Wolf Moon 2006
Lycaon
Hunger Moon
Bakeneko
Crow Moon
Oborot
Pink Moon 2007
Milk Moon 2007
Minotaur
Rose Moon
Blue Moon 2007
Thunder Moon
Selkie
Red Moon 2007
Allison Gross
Singing Moon
Hunter Moon 2007
Aeaea
Beaver Moon 07
Ivanushka
Limited Editions
13 (10/06)
13 (7/07)
A Bachelor's Dog
A Bold Bluff
All Souls
The Atrocious Attic
Bad Luck Woman Blues
Bonfire Night
Cancer 2007
Capricorn 2007
The Chilling Cellar
The Death of Autumn
Egg Nog
El Dia de Reyes
Enraged Groundhog Musk
The Fruit of Paradise
Haloa
His Station and Four Aces
Fire Pig
The Forbidding Foyer
Gemini 2007
Jacob's Ladder
Lady Luck Blues
Leo 2007
Libra 2007
Lick It Again
The Lurid Library
Kelly Pool
MB Tokyo Stomp
MB Ventroiloquist's Dummy
A Murder of Crows
New Year's Eve in Dogville
October
One to Tie, Two to Win
Ostara
The Peacock Queen
The Perilous Parlor
The Phoenix
Pinched with Four Aces
Pirate Moon
Poisson D'Avril
Privilege
Pruno
Pumpkin I
Pumpkin II
Pumpkin III
Pumpkin IV
Pumpkin V
Riding the Goat
Rose Red
Saggitarius 07
Sol Invictus
The Sportive Sun
Stranger in Camp
Taurus 2007
The Twisted Oak Tree
Vampire Tears
Virgo 2007
The Winter of Our Discontent
So...this is my first blog post ever. I am not quite sure what the point of my blog will be, probably just to put my random thoughts, if not for my own personal amusement. Hopefully this blog won't contain a lot of whining, but I can't guarantee anything What I can guarantee is a lot of typos and the occasional (or not so occasional) grammatical error. I am definitely not an eloquent writer, that is for sure!
So, on to some random thoughts...
I am pretty happy with myself as of late. My French is getting much better. as in MUCH better. I don't have to think anymore when I form basic sentences in conversation. I guess taking night classes three days a week has helped. Thank goodness that they gave me a discount on them! So yeah, now I can actually participate in my improv classes without just saying "Tu joues vraiment bien" or something dumb like that.
I'm also happy that I have successfully performed three pieces from memory in a concert without having a total memory lapse. I never thought I could do it, and I am glad I pushed myself these past couple of months so that this is no logner a fear for me. Whew! Now onto the challenge of performing a minimalist work from memory. Hopefully I can create some sort of device for myself to remember the patterns and number of repetitions, etc.
In a nutshell, things are going OK if not better than that. Maybe this evening after my practicing is done I will finally attack the project of stretching my ears (not a lot but I have a few sizes to go before I can wear this lovely pair of wooden claws that I bought). Hm. It's funny that I find that relaxing activity but anyway...
OK that's all for now. My dog is pleading with my to turn off the M.I.A. on my itunes. It just doesn't sit right with her for some reason and she's being quite grumbly. She can tolerate when i play Ministry but not M.I.A.- strange creature indeed. Over and out...
Wow what an update- I certainly was not prepared for all of this...my bank account most definitely wasn't prepared either, lol. Once again, I'm wishing I had a money tree...
Beaver Moon
Wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry
I loved Bloody Mary, so I am thinking I will probably love this, too. Bottle...
Swan Maiden
White gardenia, white iris, sandalwood, calla lily, French magnolia, muguet, jonquil, and orchid
hm... I love gardenia, iris, sandalwood and orchid, but I really don't like magnolia at all. I think for the sake of my finances I'm going to miss taking a gamble on this one for now. If the reviews turn out to downplay the magnolia then I will try and hunt down some of it.
Scorpio
Dark musk, wormwood, basil, dragon’s blood resin, galangal, and opoponax
Mmmmmm. Dark, musky, and resinous. with basil. definitely buying a bottle of this!
Ile de la Tortue
Damp air trapped in limestone caverns, heady greenery, hothouse orchids, nicotiana blossoms, bois de chandel, elemi, palm wine, garambullo, pega-pega, flame of the forest, and a swirl of Haitian vetiver
This sounds promising. I love the idea of caverns and greenery- add vetiver and that makes me even happier. I would love to order a bottle unsniffed since I'm pretty sure I'll love it, but I don't have enough money- for now I'll get an imp.
Windward Passage
Marine accord, seaweed, and bladderwrack
Hmm..I think this might not be one for me. I am not an aquatic lover (although I used to be in high school and when I was a young child- weird) so I think I will put off trying this...
Kill-Devil
Sugar cane, molasses, oak wood, and honey
Grog really didn't work on me but I have a feeling this might. I love oak and honey, so let's hope the other notes don't turn it too sickly sweet! Imp for now...
Plunder
Tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg
I think I may need to buy a bottle of this unsniffed. This sounds like an amazing spicy tea blend...I love spices, so I can't see how this could possibly go wrong on me.
Pirate Moon
Red musk, ambergris, coconut palm, red sandalwood, balsam, date, warm leather, tobacco, ebony, lingum vitae wood, pandanus grass, an' a touch o' lime
This also sounds delicious. There's not a note in this one that I don't like. I am definitey ordering multiple bottles if I can. I am so interested to see how the lime plays into the darker notes...
The Phoenix
Sea air, gunpowder, lime, salt-crusted wood, a splash of blood, and a dribble of Snake Oil
Eeeeee... another Snake Oil blend!!! I ordered two bottle of this right away. I think it will be absolutely phenomenal with the lime, smokiness and touch of salt.
Midnight Kiss
Red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine
Oh my goodness...this one sounds so rich and sensual! I ordered this right away since I didn't want to miss it (like I did with Crypt Queen ). I hope it's somewhat like a richer Tezcatlipoca or Centzon Totochtin. I love those rich and spicy cocoa blends.
Vampire Tears
Wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka
I was not so crazy about this one when I read the notes....I am not the biggest jasmine fan as it can go sharp on me, and jasmine plus honeysuckle and iris might equal a floral disaster. I am going to pass on this for now- hopefully it doesn't turn out to be something I would have loved.
Well, sort of. Today I got to sleep in late (very late...woohoo!!) and have been traipsing around my apartment doing not much of anything for a few hours. This was much needed since yesterday was the ultimate busy day from hell. Pepper's portable lightweight crate thingie came in the mail today. I am so excited about this because it means we can go stay anywhere and visit my friends in other countries and I don't have to worry about lugging her giant normal crate on the train. (she has anxiety issues and can't be left in anyone's house alone without being in the crate...unless you want your apartment to be completely destroyed ). Anyway, I unpacked it and- she is totally afraid of it! She won't go in it, even if I go in first! I am going to have some serious work to do with this before we leave on March 1st. For now I just put some of her favorite toys and some treats in there. We'll see what happens, I guess.
On my way home from the post office I saw that Inland Empire is playing this week in the movies! I am soooo excited . I thought it would never come over here, and was looking online for downloads to no avail (bad, I know!). But yes, it is here for one week and I am SO going to see it on Friday (and maybe Sunday, too, haha). I think it's a good way to kick off my self imposed David Lynch fest; once again I have decided that it is time to watch all of Twin Peaks from start to finish. I know that part 2 of season 2 isn't out yet, but it will come out in April and by that time I will be up to that point, I think. Yay.
In other news...I have decided this past weekend that I need to join a gym. I found one right around the corner from me that has a student discount. So, for 20 euros a month I can actually get some decent exercise. I haven't exercised in, oh...2 years. I used to go to a gym five days a week. What happened to me? (well I know what happened- more work, music, pieces to learn, groups to play in, etc.) Fortunately I have not gained that much weight (perhaps 15 pounds, which is bad but not catastrophic since I am tall) but I feel like a totally lard ball. All of my muscle is now flab. Ew. Plus, I am tired of not having enough energy during the day. I am going to do a trial 2 month membership and see if I actually make time to go enough for it to be worth it. I think I can, since I don't' have a rigorous class schedule and can make my own hours for practicing and etc. It better work, because I am sick and tired of feeling gross.
Tomorrow is my second concert at the Italian Cultural Center. I am quite excited for this one, since out test run informal concert yesterday went quite well. People said they really enjoyed what I played, which is what I want to hear. I hope they were telling the truth, lol. I really should do laundry cause I am out of my 'nice all black outfits'. whoops. That and Pepper decided it would be a good idea to throw up this morning on my duvet cover. If that isn't an incentive to do laundry I don't know what is!
Man I am beyond excited for this year's Halloween blends! Too bad they came out at a time when I am a bit on the poor side. Thankfully I have a few months to save up some spare change Anyway, here are my thoughts...
HUNTER MOON
Dry leaves, autumn bonfires, blood red wine, feral, animalistic notes and the chill of approaching winter.
Oh yes. Despite the fact that I collect the lunacies anyway, this one sounds particularly appealing (bonfires, leaves, feral, wooo!!). I ordered it asap and I an't wait ot try it.
AEAEA
A dark ocean breeze, electric with adrenaline, magic, and fear, clashing with the thick scent of poisoned berries and spiny aloe, against a backdrop of snowdrop, cedar, and cypress.
This might go soapy on me, but I love the idea of sharp berries and wood, so I ordered a bottle. The only ther. blend that didn't work on me this year was Allison Gross, so I might as well try this too.
LIBRA 2007
Rose, black cherry, carnation, fig, honey, plum, and black currant.
Definitely a yes. I love all these notes (rose paired with sweet fruits always works on me) so this was a no-brainer.
ALL SOULS 2007
An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes.
I loved last year's version, but I don't tend to wear it very often, so I don't think I'll be getting another bottle of this.
BONFIRE NIGHT
Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle.
Hm. I am on the fence about this one. Beer might go cat pea on me like the hops did in A Bold Bluff, but then again it may be ok due to the balancing of the other notes. I do love treacle....I think I am going to try and get a decant of this first to find out if it works on me.
THE DEATH OF AUTUMN
Dark amber, dead leaves, khus, saffron, bitter clove, chrysanthemum, camellia, galangal, and a drop of oud.
Yessss! If I had more money this week I would have bought this immediately. All the notes sound like they'd be great together, forming the perfect melancholy autumn scent. Can't wait to try it!
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2007
This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus.
I am kinda in the same boat with this one as I am with All Souls. However I do reach for this one in my scent lockets a lot, so I may get a bottle for that purpose...
OCTOBER
Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.
This sounds perfect. I am one of those people that's been lusting after a dry autumn leaves scent, so I was more than pleased to see this. I am really curious how the 'sap' note will add sweetness to this. I will definitely order one soon.
SAMHAIN 2007
Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.
Yep. I feel like I have to get a bottle of every years' since it's just so good....(however I find I can only begin to wear it once it's aged a bit)
SAMHAINOPHOBIA 2007
The fear of Halloween. Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves.
I may get a bottle of this even though I have last year's since it does get a lot of wear from me. This is really an amazing blend for those who love dark vetiver scents...
THE ATROCIOUS ATTIC
tea rose, violet, white sandalwood, French lavender, and Calla lily.
Nooo! The dread tea rose!!!! I am definitely staying far away from this one!
THE CHILLING CELLAR
Wine just turning to vinegar, crumbling mortar, red clay, and the coppery tang of old blood.
I dunno 'bout this one... I wanted to love Fortunato and Montresor, blends that sound similar to this, but they turned into cough syrup on me. However some GC wine blends smell great on me. I may take a chance with this later on based on reviews.
THE FORBIDDING FOYER
The faint scent of brimstone, ghostly breath laced with cognac, neglected mahogany panels, and rot.
Rot- mm! Actually, this one sounds quite appealing to me. I love the GC Brimstone scent, so if this has any similarity it should be a winner.
THE GHASTLY GARDEN
Overgrown oleander, marshy water hemlock, the sugared nectar of carnivorous blooms, putrefying wet greenery, oozing sap, crushed rosary peas, withered climbing roses, and nightshade berries.
This sounds great! I love green garden type scents, so I will be buying a bottle of this one soon. Hopefully the sugared necatr adds a nice unique touch to all the green
THE LURID LIBRARY
The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants.
Incense and musk- a winning combo! Need I say more?
THE PERILOUS PARLOR
Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla.
This was the first LE that I ordered straight away- I love pear and vanilla, and the two together seem like they would be heavenly.
THE TWISTED OAK TREE
Blackened, rotted oak wood blanketed in moss and choked by a cloak of grasping ivy.
I love wood and forest scents, so I will be at least getting a decant of this one to try out. I think the moss and ivy with the oak will be just divine!
If I didn't have to complsively order every lunacy and zodiac, I would have gone straight away for the Pumpkin set. All of these sound so creative and unique- I am definitely saving my money atm for a set... I think this is my favorite of the update, besides Libra 07.
PUMPKIN I
Pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, and jasmine-laced tea.
I can't wait to see how pumpkin and wine grapes interact with each other. I really have no idea how this one will smell, and the floral tea aspect really makes me curious, too.
PUMPKIN II
Pumpkin with tobacco, champaca flower, carnation, and tonka.
OK this one looks incredible! I love all the notes, and I have never smelled pumpkin and tobacco before- I bet it's heavenly, though, since they are both such warm and bold scents. This seems like it might turn out to be a good 'comfort' blend for me.
PUMPKIN III
Pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream.
This one I am a little worried about since the 'super foodies' tend to not do very well for me. However Jack works, so there is a chance that this won't give me a headache. I do love pomegranite, so hopefully it will cut out a little bit of the butteriness from the other notes.
PUMPKIN IV
Pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, and sweetgrass.
Oh, Pumpkin goes west! This one soudns very intriguing. I love the 'western' notes in a lot of other blends, so I'm sure this will work well, too.
PUMPKIN V
Pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, and red ginger.
I have to agree with everyone else that this one reminds me of PQ. Sometimes neroli can be sour on me, but I think here it is well tempered by the other notes. I am definitely looking forward to trying this one.
A Murder of Crows
Sleek iris and verbena, grey amber, benzoin, davana, and glossy herbs.
I do love iris, amber and benzoin together, very much. However, I have no idea how the other notes with work with these. I am not itching to try this one, but I do want the whole set anyhow 'cause all the Pumpkins just look so good.
I am so glad there are new GC's! I have many more GC's than LE's and find that I do better with most of them...
EVENT HORIZON
A disconcerting scent, heavy and oppressive, through which no light, no matter, and no spirit can escape. Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin.
This has potential to be amazing, but sometimes opium can go sharp on me. I am definitely trying an imp of this, though, b/c the other notes are all huge favorites of mine.
MARY READ
Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder.
Hm. Looks good to me. Really good, at that. I think the patchouli and sarsaparilla are going to really give this blend an interesting kick. I am going to get an imp soon and find out, for sure.
SCHRODINGER'S CAT
tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint.
I have no earthly idea how this would smell, so of course I am dying to find out This is going on the imp w/l.
KUBLA KHAN
Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.
This is sounds divine, but I was broke when I ordered and had money for one GC (I got Goblin). I think, though, that I will buy a bottle unsniffed in my next order. It sounds complex and rich like a Salon blend, and very fitting for the poem. I'm excited!
EPITAPH
Roses and funeral lilies perceived, faintly, through an indistinct, ghostly mist.
Unfortunately on me, rose and lily usually equals soap. I am not interested in trying this one.
THE PHANTOM WOOER
A lifeless love song: stargazer lily, bone dust, tomb mosses, buttonweed, moonflower, and honey myrtle.
This one sounds like a floral that might work on me. I love moss and floral; moonflower is a favorite of mine as well. I'm definitely getting an imp of this soon to try it out.
A COUNTENANCE FORBODING EVIL
Patchouli, ylang ylang, blood orange, and vetiver.
This is a NO. Ylang ylang smells like rotting garbage on me. Bleh. I can only imagine how cloying it will be combined with the blood orange!
GOBLIN
Black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin.
YESSSSSSS. I ordered a bottle immediately. Need I say more?
INCUBUS
Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.
No idea about this one, either. It seems like it could be similar to Bad Luck Woman Blues, which I love. Imp, please.
TROLL
vetiver, pine pitch, troll musk, black basil, clove smoke, and scorched cumin.
This sounds great to a vetiver lover like myself. I wanted to order a bottle straightaway but I had to restrain myself. I bet the cumin and basil will really work together to give this a unique depth. I am definitely ordering a bottle unsniffed soon.
HAIRY TOAD LILY
Spotty, hairy, purple, sweet!
Not left with much to ponder for this one... I have quite a few lily scents from the garden, so I think I will wait on this one and get an imp when all the hype of the Halloweenies dies down.
HAVANA
Date palm, dried tobacco, snakeroot, and leather.
Argh! So many yummy scents!! I really think this sounds incredible. Creamy, smoky and sexy in a tropical swarthy way. A bottle will come to me soon.
HI'IAKA
maiâ'a, hibiscus, white ginger, akala, na'u, Hawaiian moon flower, yellow ilima, pink lokelani, jewel orchid, and fringed orchid.
Oh man, this, too, sounds amazing. Like Havana, it will have to wait. I think I am going to have to plan a massive GC order sometime....where's my winning lotto ticket when I need it?
So yeah this was an incredible update. I think it is maybe second to the January CD update that had the Snake Pit (my glee over that was quite impressive). I can't wait to try everything, and hope that maybe some extra cash will come my way so that it's possible...
Ugh. I have to vent... sometimes people can really be quite rude...
Today my improvisation class played in the jury of one of the students who is graduating. It did not go well, but that really isn't my problem or anything, for some reason the person whose jury it was decided to take much of a soloistic role and the whole form of the improv fell apart- I couldn't even hear what he was doing at time b/c everyone was playing over him! Anyhow...we had to wait beforehand in the hallway, and everyone was just hanging out and talking. Somehow it comes up that the person whose jury it was has a gig playing in some venue and wants to turn it into a free improv concert. So of course he asks people in our class whom he's played with all year to play with him. Everyone except me, that is. Now, if you're going to invite people to play with you, and you are going to exclude someone, wouldn't it be nice to call these individual people and ask them rather than hurt the feelings of the person you don't want to ask??? I would think so! I just wanted to cry and run away. Seriously. I have never felt that snubbed since high school, or mayb middle school, I am not sure. BUT I have never been musically snubbed like that. The thing is, it wouldn't hurt so bad if I didn't think he was such a great bass player (today's jury aside) and liked working with him. We've played in other things together and blend together really well...I just can't believe it...
Maybe he thinks I don't understand French well enough to know what's going on...maybe he thinks I wouldn't understand what he wanted to ask me? I doubt it, since I have been in class for a year now and the class is in French. I dunno. I would think it's because he thinks I suck as a player, but I know that isn't true since I've done a lot of professional improv gigs in friggin' Los Angeles for crying out loud. I know I wouldn't get asked to do those if I actually sucked. (not to be egotistical, just, well, rational about the whole thing). I am just so hurt.
This is just one of many times that I have not gotten asked to do things here. There is a soundpainting orchestra (free improv with use of hand signals...it's fun...) here at school and I have a lot of experience with that. I made that known to people involved. Do they ask me to be in the group...nope. I just want to run away. I want to go back to LA where all of my friends are. Where good musicians are that are actually good people, too. I am so sick of this crap.
Ugh. Well at least I got that off my chest. I know I'm going to stick it out here, but man, it seems to get tougher every day. I feel now that I can only be nice for so long before I will eventually lose it and start yelling at someone. I really hope that doesn't happen!
First day back from vacation, and I had rehearsal early in the morning with PICCOLO. Now, that, to me, is the equivalent of sitting in a room with a jackhammer (without earplugs) early the morning. I was not pleased (especially since I forgot my earplugs). Piccolo has always been a dilemma for me- apparently I play it well enough that people always ask me to play pieces with piccolo in it, but I don't really enjoy playing the instrument all that much (there are exceptions, mind you!). However, I can't say no because I have "can't so no syndrome". Ah well.
Funny thing, I walked in the door to school this morning to see that my name was on the faculty student concert this Friday night. No one told me I was playing in it. How nice of them, since I'm sure they want me to do a good job. Thankfully the piece that I am listed as playing is prepared and etc.. BUT STILL. I know organization is not this school's strong suit but this is sort of outrageous to me.
I had really good trip to Paris with my close friend. More about that later (since I have some hilarious pictures to post here...). There was lots of cheesy sightseeing to be had. I think my favorite place that we visited had to be the central mosque in the city. The interior was stunning- fountains and ornate tilework. Also, we went to an old lesbian cabaret/nightclub in Pigalle and had quite a good time. It was this older woman's birthday apparently and the party was quite hilarious. I have never seen women over 50 (I think perhaps over 60) dance like that in my life. I hope that I dance like that when I'm that age, too. Once my friend and I got drunk enough we joined in dancing and made asses of ourselves, which was good. I was also gratified to find out that pretending to be my mother (we have the same first and last names) and using her Mariott Platinum account got my friend and I free drinks at the hotel bar. We took advantage of that. It's funny. I am definitely not a party animal by a long shot, but when vacation hits I really feel the need to cut loose. I suppose it's good for me, cause now I feel much more relaxed and ready for the long haul of recitals and concerts that is March.
I finished reading Anansi Boys on the train home(yes, the BPAL Gaiman scents reminded me that I had not read this one yet) and liked it a whole lot. I loved the descriptions of the characters and their personal development- especially the journey that Spider took throughout the book. Although I wish that it hadn't been so long since I read American Gods. Maybe I should read the two back to back sometime soon.
While we're on the subject of BPAL (sorta) I must say, Mr. Nancy the scent is so incredibly dead on. Kudos to Beth!! Actually, all of the scents I just received have been incredible. I feel like BPAL just keeps getting better and better. The only problem is I can never decide what scent to wear in the morning . Tiresias, Priala, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jaquel, Mami Ji, the snakes...I feel as if I have died and gone to olfactory heaven. I can't imagine how Beth could possibly create anything better, but I know she will.
Now, I must be heading off to bed because I am exhausted, but before I go, some silly photobooth photos. P-Dog decided it would be nice to lay in front of me while I was at the computer so I took advantage of the moment.
(and got my face licked in return )
she has a snaggle tooth, and I love it dearly...so much so that I am willing to post a chubby faced picture of me to display it.
OK, I am so glad this was a small update because there were a few Salon bottles I wanted to get and now I can b/c I actually was good and saved up money all month. Now the Smiling Spider and friends shall be mine! Mwahaha... anyway...here are my thoughts as usual:
THUNDER MOON
This is the scent of a summer storm: thick black clouds pass over this full moon, the Goddess roars, and Her Beloved hurls his forked bolts of lightning in the distant sky. Ozone deepened by liquid amber, and a spray of hot nighttime rain mingled with the scent of lightning-struck wood, water-soaked summer blooms, and sun-scorched grass.
Now I am turning into a bit fo a crazy collector, and even though I think this might go the way of the soap I ordered it anyway. Rose Moon proved me wrong and was amazing on me, so this might be too. I love grass notes and wood, so we shall see; annnd, as someone mentioned before, Hunger Moon had ozone and I love that one. You never know.
SELKIE
.The chill waters of the Orkney coast, tea-leaved willow, honey-touched Grass-of-Parnassus, sea aster, and Scottish Primrose.
I honestly have no idea how this will smell, but it sounded so lovely with the song...and it's selkies, so cryin' out loud! Bottle, please.
CANCER
Cardinal Water: the essence of feeling.
Wild lettuce, wild pear, chamomile, germanica orris, sweet pea, and mallow.
Yes, please. Not just cause I collect the astrological signs, but because I love chamomile and pear. Let's hope the sweet pea doesn't act up in this one. I have found, though, that these astro. blends have really smelled completely different than I thought they all would, and in a good way.
HELENA
Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose.
Night blooming jasmine will occasionally behave on my skin. however I think pairing it with white rose and calla lily will totally make it misbehave on my skin. Pass.
HERMIA
Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower.
This sounds so happy and summery. I adore all the notes in it so I bought a bottle unsniffed. Yay
LYSANDER
Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin.
Whitechapel went horribly wrong on my skin. This might not go horribly wrong. I like myrtle, tonka, benzoin and violet, so I ordered an imp.
ROBIN GOODFELLOW
Dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage.
This sounds like it could be just my thing OR too masculine. I am going to wait for reviews and see. I'm hoping the former 'cause I love me some sage.
DIAN’S BUD
Be as thou wast wont to be;
See as thou wast wont to see:
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower
Hath such force and blessed power.
??? I ordered an imp.
LOVE-IN-IDLENESS
Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell:
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
OK call me retarded, but I ordered a bottle of this because I love Love-Lies-Bleeding and it amused me to have it sitting next to Love-In-Idleness. I hope I like it!
I'm sad about a few of the DC scents, but they were not top 10 loves. I do like Dublin very very much and have a bottle of it, mainly because it is one of the only scents the bf had complimented me on. I wanted at some point to get a bottle of Mantis, but my imp will have to do for now. I had a bottle of Neo-Tokyo once but I swapped it 'cause I never wore it. Soo...I feel bad for the company that went under. I hope they all turn out OK and whatnot .
And now that I've blabbered about smellies for long enough, I figure it's high time I update about how life is going. Boy is it going, lol. I have one month left of school, and then it's on to summer of fun. I am planning to do some concerts in Basel, Dusseldorf and LA, all of which make me incredibly excited. Dusseldorf will be great because all of my favorite composers and people, basically, will be there making music for the whole month of July. I can't wait to see Michael and Kathy and James and Doug again (and Radu...yay.) Hopefully I can organize a performance of John Cage's Music For. So many people know it that will be there and I've been busting my butt learning the rest of it, so we'll see.
It'll be great to go to LA for a few weeks Maybe I'll even be able to swing by a WillCall... I am planning on getting another tattoo done by Graham while I'm there, too. It will be a lovely rendition of Posada's La Cantilena with marigolds strewn about her on my left calf. i plan to get her male counterpart on my right calf but that will have to be done next year.
Lately my life has consisted of sewing weird things (a virgin of guadalupe tote bag, lol) and practicing for my concerts in the end of June. Nice and relaxed, just like I like it. Pepper's allergies have been doing much much better, which makes me feel like a good dog parent She's lost a bit of weight which is good b/c the winter/early spring put a bit of weight on her (why, I don't know b/c I don't over feed her and she runs every day a LOT, but anyway...) I have to play in this fucking stupid orchestral flute masterclass- why, I don't know- I don't play orchestral music and I haven't since HIGH SCHOOL!- in two weeks. I am not happy about that. but it's only going to be a few hours of pain and then I can ignore it.
I'm really contemplating dreading my hair this summer. I am sick of dealing with 'product' and haircuts and the like. My hair is so thick and knotted already- if I don't brush it is dreads on its own, lol. Plus, I love the look of dreads and know that I don't have to have an office job....ever. However, I know that they shrink at first and my hair right now is down to my shoulderblades. I don't like the look of short dreads (on me) that much, so I might wait til they grow a bit longer...although I suspect soon I will break down and do it in a fit of impatience.
OK, there is much more to write, but I have to go do some more flute-ing. Yay, update, yay.
Yep, this is going to be a TMI blog entry but I just had to vent...
So on Sunday I got a yeast infection. Most likely due to being super stressed about my personal life. Yay. Sunday here is when the grocery stores (the ones that would have plain yogurt or vinegar) and pharmacies are closed. So there was no hope for me to attend to it until Monday. That basically sucked, and I felt massively uncomfortable for an entire day.
Monday rolled around, and I went to the pharmacy. I explained I had a yeast infection, and of course had a communication snafu where she thought I wanted brewer's yeast (apparently, as I have now learned, a yeast infection is not literally a 'yeast infection' in French but a 'infection of small mushrooms' ew. my dictionary lied to me, lol) Anyhow, once we understood each other, the pharmacist gave me the 1 day treatment, which I knew would not work on me (tried it a year ago and it never helped at all, I always need the 7 day one). I told her that would not work and she insisted that it would and thought that I did not understand that it was medicine for my problem...we argued for a while and I gave up and decided to just give it a try again and if it didn't work I would come back and ask for something else.
In short, it did NOT work. I still feel awful and itchy and gross and it is Wednesday. So, I went back to the pharmacy. After a long discussion with the pharmacist, I learned that in fact they do not carry any other type of medicine for this in all of France, and that I would have to visit a doctor to get a prescription for a different type of 1 day treatment. I did not know what to say. I just was filled with anger and frustration. I want to stop itching NOW. At least I got her to give me a numbing agent for the time being, but it's not really working all that well and I still feel like severing my body to get this feeling to go away.
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I went to the grocery a few hours ago and got some vinegar and yogurt. I am going to try to remedy the problem myself. I know I should just go to the doctor, but I honestly to not have the time tomorrow (lots of class) to wait in a line forever and a day just to get a prescription for something I knew I needed in the first place. Why can't they just carry monistat 7? Is that so hard???
So of course, being incredibly pissed off and irrational, I told my mom that she should send me a care package full of boxes of Monistat 7. One can never be too prepared. She laughed and said "of course".
Honestly, sometimes I really hate living here. Now is one of those times. I don't care if that makes me seem like a stupid American or whatnot...I don't expect France to be the same as the US, and I appreciate it for being so different, but sometimes I wish things were a little easier, or more convenient.
So I have officially, with the exception of Havana (I am going to get an imp in my next order, I swear!), I have tried every scent in the Wanderlust category!
It's my first GC category that I've tried everything in....scary....
Now if only I could review the entire category- I was so bad at keeping track of those things when I first started wearing BPAL.
Anyway, back to work! Only 8 days until this concert series I have to play in (which I was notified of 10 days in advance- argh! why can't they be organized?), and there is lots to be done....
Wow this one's gonna leave me extra super broke. All the blends are so expensive!! I alreayd placed an order for the moons and the lone DPP that I had left to order (and a little ol' bottle of Alecto) but I might have to place another one to add in the missing Gemini since I am one of those nutters who collects all the astrological blends. Anyway here are my little thoughts....
ROSE MOON
Thou art false, O moon, as the hearts of men. I will not, will not love again. Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel.
Hmm...now I do not like tea rose. Well, I like it's smell but on my skin it turns to acetone. However, Bulgarian rose is OK. As are the rest of the notes. aaannnd, I love patchouli leaf, honey and balsam a whole lot. So like the adventurer I am (lol, more like consumer or something) I decided to chance it. If it turns to the dreaded acetone I will jut find it a better home.
BLUE MOON
Mugwort and bay, for psychic sensitivity…
Juniper, for divination through dreams…
Orchid and galbanum, for complexity, wisdom and noscere…
… with a potent lunar-charged blend of exquisite Asian woods, moonflower, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, Greek cypress, davana, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, Clary sage, melilot trefoils, wood aloes, and pale creeping buttercup.
Not sure how this will work on me, but I do love a lot of the notes in it. The only iffy ones are ylang ylang and moonflower. So, I'm also going to give this one a try. I didn't think I would like Black Moon (which seems a bit similar) and it is lovely on me, so you never know.
TAMAMO-NO-MAE
Tamamo-no-Mae’s scent is soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo smoke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha.
This sounds amazing! I like all of the notes so it was an instant purchase. The asian themed scents tend to do well with me, so I am excited to try it...
GEMINI 2007
Mutable Air: the essence of thought.
Lavender, benzoin, orchid, and frankincense.
I love lavendar, benzoin, orchid and, you guessed it, frankincense. I am not sure how they will all smell together but I trust Beth so I will definitely get a bottle.
BAT
Dusty amber, grey musk, red orchid, moonflower, night-blooming phlox, stock, honeysuckle, English ivy, toadflax, and purple salvia.
Hm. It sounds good until the moonflower and phlox come in. Phlox has tainted several blends for me in the past. I think for this one I will hunt down and imp or decant later on.
CLEOPATRA TESTING POISONS ON THOSE CONDEMNED TO DEATH
Accords of peach kernel, hemlock, aconite, and belladonna, with bitter almond, saffron, honey, myrrh, hyssop, frankincense, and palm.
I think this will be a lovely herbal blend. I would love to get a bottle at some point, although not immediately since I am not teh broke. I must mention that I am overjoyed with the use of frankincense lately!!
DEATH AND LIFE COMPLETED
Grey amber, carnation, lemon balm, hydrangea, Chinese peony, white sandalwood, cypress, juniper, cedar, hibiscus, and African daisy.
I don't know how this one would smell, but I think it would be good. I love hibiscus and peony. Carnation is good depending on what it is with. I would like to try an imp of this one at some point.
FOX FIRES ON NEW YEAR’S EVE AT THE GARMENT NETTLE TREE AT OJI
Weeping cherry, watery bamboo pulp, nettle tree bark, green tea incense, soft musk, rice wine, and Japanese tree lilac.
Ooh, green tea incense? What is this you speak of? I am very interested in how that would smell. Very. I think this will be ordered along with the bottle of Gemini.
KIYOHIME CHANGES FROM A SERPENT
Salty ocean spray, red kelp, black plum, lychee, sea moss, green musk, hachiya, plum blossom, and matcha.
Another interesting Asian themed scent. I don't think I've ever tried green musk or red kelp...and this one has lychee which I like very very much. This screams bottle to me. Where is that money tree when you need it?
LOVE AND PAIN
Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera.
I love lavendar but am unsure how it would mix with tobacco. This seems like it could be a winner but I would like to try an imp first.
MACBETH AND THE WITCHES
Lightning-charged ozone, steel, myrrh, mugwort, colophony, ajowan, and leather.
Nope. Ozone and leather will surely give me a headache. I love the painting, though.
MAD MEG
Fire-scorched earth, black mandarin, cinnamon bark, bitter almond, sage, vetiver, and balsam of peru.
This is another curious one. I am not sure that I would like all of these notes together, but I do love them all separately. Imp.
MADONNA
Hyssop, pomegranate, Angel’s Trumpet, Indonesian patchouli, iris, white orchid, and frankincense.
This sounds gorgeous. I am going to get a bottle soon. (frankincense! pomegranite! yay!!!)
MONNA VANNA
Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla.
This one seems a bit too "womanly" or perfumey for me. I think I will read the reviews and if they seem to prove me wrong I will hunt down a sample.
PHILOSOPHER IN MEDITATION
Smoldering woodfire embers, Galen’s Kyphi, and Abramelin incense.
This sounds right up my alley. bottle.
SCHLAFENDE BAIGNEUSE
Skin musk, white cream, honeycomb, yellow rose, King mandarin, chrysanthemum, golden amber, honeysuckle, and wide-throated yellow monkey-flower accord.
OK that last flower made me giggle a bit. This sounds like a perfect spring and summer blend to me. I am going to get a bottle of it as soon as I can. I can only imagine how good the honeycomb and cream will blend together...yummmm.
THE SMILING SPIDER
Bitter clove, black musk, mahogany wood, and patchouli.
I think the little guy is quite adorable And this is my most anticipated blend of the bunch. I love all of these notes dearly and can't wait to try it!
SPIRIT OF THE KOMACHI CHERRY TREE
Cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear.
Ooo. bottle. Damn all of these blends for sounding so incredible. I would love to have a pear honey and sandalwood blend. love.
SUNFLOWER
Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems.
I'm happy to see some Egon Schiele. He is one of my favorite painters. That being said, this looks wonderful. The thought of wilted greenery really peaks my interest. Also, I had a sunflower scented perfume oil when I was in high school and I have been rather missing it lately. I hope this one will smell predominantly of sunflower, because that would make me happy! (eventual bottle...)
SUNRISE WITH SEA-MONSTERS
Ocean mist, kelp, ambergris, amber, white pear, osmanthus, freesia, and seafoam accord.
Although this sounds like a lovely aquatic, they are not usually my thing. Freesia can be odd with me, too. I think I am more intrigued by Kiyohime than this one, but I will look out for reviews to see if it ends up interesting me.
So that is all! I am definitely going to try and snag a bottle of Biggercritters at some point in the month. I really wish I had a way to make more money here...I guess I will have to wait until it is legal for me to work after the end of the school year (for now its under the table music gigs for me! ). Blargh. Anyway this was a lovely update that came at the best day possible- when I am home sick and feeling like shit. It really cheered me up
So I figured it'd be better for me to ramble about my opinions here. I don't have money to order now, so most likely I'll order Monday. Sad, I know, but I am willing to wait!
MILK MOON 2007
A fertile scent, generous, life-affirming, and swelling with a sense of triumph, warmth, and abundance: sweet milk, golden honey, fig fruit, pomegranate, dates, and white grape.
YES. oh yes. I may even order two bottles. I don't know how this one could go wrong on me because I enjoy every single note listed.
MINOTAUR
The Bull of Minos, guardian of the Labyrinth in Knossos. A deep, swarthy black musk dusted by a dark, resinous blend of sacred bisabol myrrh, atramentous benzoin, tsori, balsam, and galbanum.
Sounds good to me. Sometimes black musk can be a bit musty smelling on me, but I think combined with these other notes it should behave itself. I really love myrrh and benzoin, so, bottle!
++ LIMITED EDITION: SUSPICIENDO DESPICIO
TAURUS 2007
Fixed Earth: the essence of possession.
Rose, daisy, apple blossom, violet, poppy, columbine, thyme, and mint.
yep. This year I want to collect all of the signs, so of course I am getting a bottle. I love thyme, so I am a happy girl. This may be a locket only weart since rose can go sharp on me, btu that is OK.
++ LIMITED EDITION: APRIL FOOLS
POISSON D'AVRIL
Not at all fishy; rather, quite Springy! Innocence spiked with a little bit of foolishness: Lenten rose, crested iris, Virginia bluebell, primrose, moss phlox, blue crocus, daffodil, and dewy tulip with a touch of sugar blossom and honey.
hmmm...I dunno. don't think this scent is for me....but the collector in me waffles. I really love iris, honey and well, sugar but daffodil has gone wrong on me before, and so has phlox. Perhaps I will try to get a decant first, but I am pretty sure this will not smell good on me.
MONSTER BAIT: TOKYO STOMP
Beckons all giant creatures from gargantuan reptiles and humongous moths! These babies are sure to crush everything from dollhouses to shopping malls! Can even be used to summon colossal robots in a pinch! A sweet and crisp vanilla mint!
Yes. Sounds perfect. I missed snowblind (that was the other vanilla mint, right?) so I have to try this one!
MONSTER BAIT: VENTRILOQUIST DUMMY
Menacing, maniacal, and slick with the one-liners … this guy does it all with a wink and a smile! Savage apricot, depraved dry woods, and psychopathic patchouli covered by a disarmingly sweet mishmosh of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch. Be warned: this oil will instigate possession in most puppets, including some marionettes and the occasional finger puppet.
This one seems to be the most promising to me. I love apricot, woods, aptchouli, caramel...hell, I love all of the notes! I am definitely ordering at least a bottle of this.
MONSTER BAIT: BLOODY MARY
Why waste time chanting her name in the mirror 13 times? Bedevil your next slumber party the easy way! Chunky, glistening red fruits with sweet cream accord, black clotted cherry, and powdered sugar!
This could be great. I loved Sugar Skull (it's one of my very favorites) but I am not sure about the cherry part of this. Sometimes too much cherry can give me a headache (like in Kabuki). I think I will look for a decant and then decide from there.
and...the dogs This made me smile, a lot. Although most of these seem quite masculine to me. We'll see...
A BACHELOR'S DOG
Soft musk, leather, and Brazilian cigar tobacco.
For me, leather + tobacco = headache, so no...
A BOLD BLUFF
Cherry tobacco, tonka, and hops.
This one could be quite good. However, I think I am going to wait for the reviews. Again, ti's the cherry scaring me.
HIS STATION AND FOUR ACES
Lilac fougere, white musk, and leather accord.
This sounds verrry masculine, in a cologne-y way. That's always been the kind of masculine scent that I can't wear, so I will have to pass.
KELLY POOL
Worsted wool, teakwood, and bois du rose.
I think I would like this one. I love teakwood and rosewood as well, so I am probably going to risk it and buy a bottle.
NEW YEAR'S EVE IN DOGVILLE
Flirty perfume, dapper cologne, and effervescent champagne.
This one's my favorite painting, but I think the notes would smell quite bad on me...
ONE TO TIE, TWO TO WIN
Dewy grass, summer breezes, and dandelion clocks.
This one sounds good. I love anything that says "dewy grasses". bottle.
PINCHED WITH FOUR ACES
Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry woods.
annd, this is the one that seems like it has the most enticing notes for me. I was waiting for another coffee scent and here it is! After Priala, I am loving the sound of cinnamon bark, so this is an obvious bottle purchase for me.
RIDING THE GOAT
A rich Masonic incense coupled with mahogany wood, ebony, and pipe smoke.
The notes in this also seem great. Possible bottle, might just wait it out for reviews for my budget's sake!
SITTING UP WITH A SICK FRIEND
Tobacco smoke and leather bowled over by a powerful smack of heady, classic perfume and a whiff of rose water.
No. rose anything plus tobacco and "classic perfume" seems like it would give me a headache.
STRANGER IN CAMP
Evergreen, damp grass, woodsmoke, birch bark, cedar, and Terebinth pine.
Seems interesting. I have a tone foresty scents right now so I may try to get a decant of this and/or wait for reviews.
This was a nice update. I like that there were totally different types of scents from the last update, as well. I'm especially happy about Milk Moon and the new coffee scent in the Salon. So...that's that. I think I most likely will split my order in two since it will be big (save the ones that are around longer for later...).
Yay! Ok now it is time to take my icky, greasy self to the shower, so my day can finally get a move on...
I lose at this blogging thing!
I forgot yesterday that I needed to select "publish" instead of "draft". Anyhow, not much to say today, except a funny little story from Los Angeles...
My friend Lewis played a concert with sound artist Toshi Nakamura. Of course, or so he said, everything went well. As the applause went on after their set, a man stood up in the audience and began to yell. He yelled about how what just happened wasn't music, and that he was disgusted that he had paid money to go to this concert. And that, as Lewis said, was how he knew that he had played a good concert. I must agree with him, although I don't know whether or not I would have enjoyed his performance. Probably. Anyhow, I am really glad to know that there was a concert that happened that garnered such a strong reaction, be it positive or negative. Too often I feel that people go to concerts for the sake of appearances or obligation and really don't pay attention to what is happening. Also, and better still, it could have also been due to the fact that something innovative and interesting happened that people couldn't yet analyze. Often times I have seen this sort of thing cause people to shut down and just call it "bad" or "not music". Anyhow, I hope it was a little bit of both.
On a completely different note, I hope it snows tonight or tomorrow. Snow is much prettier and more manageable that sleet or freezing rain, which is what is has been doing here for, oh, the past week. I say this because I no longer have to drive The snow is pretty and I haven't seen it in so long.
OK I need to stop listening to Soft Cell's 'Sex Dwarf'. I dunno what my problem is but I have it on repeat. It's just so catchy and ridiculous. I think that's exactly what I need right now.
Today was interesting to say the least. Unannounced to me, I was elected to play in an improvisation masterclass this evening. At least I ran into someone in the hallway who told me this a bit before hand, lol. Hm. I was quite nervous because of this, BUT after I played with a group (it was a nice group, too, flute bass, cello and electric guitar ) I seemed to get a profuse amount of compliments from the artists in residence. It made me a little uncomfortable; I don't know why. I guess I felt like who was I to be getting these compliments when I have only been improvising for 3 years. I don't feel like I have as much experience as others in my group, yet I always get complimented on various aspects of my playing (and hardly any criticism- which I would really like at this point). So I said 'thank you' politely and sat in disbelief for the rest of the class.
I suppose I should be proud of myself. I decided to branch out from my normal fare and try improvising, and by that I mean that I dove head in and joined a free improv 'big band' (kinda like Sun Ra, lol) with little experience and learned from some really amazing people. Hm. I hope that maybe, just maybe I can get some jobs improvising or doing free jazz sometime in the future. I know there are a lot of venues here for that so... *crosses fingers* I just need to find the right group of people that I click with here to form a good group. Goodness knows that has been a struggle so far!
Perhaps part of my struggle with accepting my success is that I have not worked half as hard at improvising as I have with written musics. I mean, I have studied flute for 14 years now. So, that's 14 years of work on written music versus 3 years of work on improvised music- I suppose I think I am being complimented on something that I have hardly even worked for. Now, I know I would be no good at improvising if I had not studied flute technique at all; I am just trying to reason my odd thoughts in my head. I must think about this issue more, it bothers me that I was so upset by the compliments.
Side note- Pele smells good. Very good. I don't know why I swapped away my original bottle of it. I just bought a new bottle and it came the other day; I'm wearing now and feel very happy indeed. It's definitely a 'tropical happy place' scent. I need a tropical happy place, by the way. It would definitely include lots of gardens and mojitos and sitting on fluffy pillows. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.
I am quite exhausted. Tomorrow is my "day off" so to speak. I don't have to go to school, but have a lot of work to do from home. These are my favorite days, I must say. I prefer the little studio area that I have made for myself at home to the cold sterile practice rooms at school. I think it might also be a good day to catch up on my French grammar work .
Yes, I suppose that's what one could say things are right now. Last night I broke up with my boyfriend of two years. I feel sick, empty and quite distraught. Things were just not working out between us in quite a few departments, however, he was my best friend in many ways. The thought of not talking to him makes me feel sick. Hvaing to hear him be upset and crying made me feel sick, too. I really wish I did not have to go to rehearsals today. I want to stay under the covers and hide. I really hope I made the right decision, since it is irreversible...and I really hope he is OK right now.
Yes, the title says it all. It has been a quiet evening. Full of mundane activities such as doing laundry, cleaning, and practicing the piece I have to play in rehearsal tomorrow. I talked to the bf for a while, but there was not much to say since both of our lives have been on the mundane side this past week.
I really miss my social life. I don't know what happened to me, but I am seriously being a recluse. Well, not entirely, but my social life has been dramatically reduced from what it was in California. (i.e. from at least a few nights a week and coffee with someone almost every day to going out once or twice a week and nothing else) Perhaps it is the language barrier? But I think not. It's just lately when I have been given a choice in my mind of staying at home or going out I find that I prefer my comfy apartment and my dog to going out. But then I feel lonely. Oh, the catch 22! I think I would want to go out more if I knew that there was at least one person that I related to in the damn city, but so far I haven't found them. I don't know how I would find them.
So I suppose I have resigned myself to the fact that these years here are years to work and nothing else. I can resume my social butterfly-ness for when I go home. Or for when I travel to visit friends in Switzerland or Germany (but really I don't have the money to do that often). This depresses me, but not as much now as it did when I first arrived.
In other news, I have been really pining over the idea of getting dreadlocks. However, I think the folks at the conservatoire would shit a brick if I came into school with them. The tattoos are enough weirdness for them, I don't need to make my life worse, I suppose (sad but true ). I decided that when I am done here I perhaps will reward myself with dreads. By that time my hair should be long, anyhow. I don't think my bf would appreciate the dreads, but hey, I have never been one to cater to significant others as far as looks are concerned.
So that is all. I better go finish sorting my socks, it's getting late and I would like to meditate before I go to bed...
Sometimes I love it here, sometimes I hate it. I really wish I could make up my mind. I talked to Mario today (he actually had a free minute, what a surprise) about how I was disappointed in the lack of lessons I was getting, and also about the problems with my other teacher being such a royal bitch to me for no reason (that I know of...). I have to say, just talking about it to him made me feel a lot better. It was a lot better than holding my thoughts inside for one more week. He actually said it was ridiculous that I had the in tandem lesson slot and that next quarter I will switch to him full time. I hope he actually means it. Sometimes he is too busy and forgets his promises.
That being said, my lesson went quite well today. We actually talked about what I have wanted to talk about all along- artistry. No technique, no stupid requirements, just the philosophy behind the pieces I am working on. Perhaps that is because I had really busted my ass to learn all of the notes and etc. so that we would have no choice but to work on what I wanted. note to self: do this more often Actually I think it was because I just tend to play low flutes better, they fit with me naturally, I suppose. He has so many amazing thoughts on artistry and musical philosophy, it is a shame that many of my earlier lessons were wasted with us arguing whether or not it is valid and beneficial to perform from memory. Or whether or not I should play Paganini violin music on the flute. ew.
I got asked to sub for the "most in demand" flute player in Strasbourg. I am pretty excited. I am going to play a Xenakis piece for flute and three guitars, and I adore his music! I feel so lucky to have gotten asked to do this, it makes me feel so guilty for being in a bad mood and wanting to leave just yesterday. But I guess that is the rollercoaster that is my feelings and/or life.
Ok enough about my work! I spent the good old V-day drinking beer by myself and watching the L Word on You Tube. Go me. I have such an Alice fixation, it's not even funny. And you know, that was fine for me, I never liked to make a big deal out of VDay anyway (although I read Ah Xia's post somewhere in the forums about the carnations and totally had a sad moment remembering that I too had to deal with the "no carnations for you" thing on VDay in high school. ick. I so wanted to forget about that memory...).
This evening was also good. More beer drinking and pizza eating with friends. A good way to finish off an improvement of a day, in my opinion. Although, my ever expanding waistline did not consider this an improvement. Although I better go to sleep and gear up for a weekend of crap, prelude to giant week of crap that is about to smack me in the face quite soon. At least it will be followed by vacation and the much anticipated trip to Paris with a good old friend from my undergrad (who is conveniently on a fulbright in Germany quite close by). I can't wait...
So I'm sitting here on day 2 of my fabulous vacation, listening to Love and Rockets. Feeling content. I just saw Inland Empire and it was fabulous, although it was really scaring me during parts (but hey adrenaline is good, I should love it since I'm a performer ). It was quite long, too, just like Mulholland Drive (good thing I went to the bathroom before, haha). Actually I found quite many similarities between it and MD- it seems that it is a bit of an evolution from the themes brought about in MD. I was happy to see Laura Dern and the older woman (I forget her name but she was the crazy mother) from Wild at Heart back in a Lynch film. and the animals- too fabulous! I loved all of those TV set scenes with the laugh tracks. I am definitely going to see it again this week, I think- I need to get a better handle on my thoughts about it, since I stopped making sense of it around 3/4 through the film.
Anyhow, listening to L&R brings about some fond memories- specifically, Sunday nights at my favorite bar near school (which was CalArts night, yay for cheap drinks and free pac man!)- geting way too drunk, hoarding the pac man machine with my friends and dancing a lot. The DJ, who was my next door neighbor for a while, used to always play L&R, which made me a very happy girl indeed. Simple pleasures, I know, but I really miss those Sundays nights. It was my time to recharge the batteries for the week.
I guess I just miss having close friends nearby, a community of sorts, a place where I feel at home that isn't just my apartment. I'm trying to be patient, I know these things take time, but still...at least I have my unlimited international calling plan at home so I can call LA whenever I want. (yay for DSL phone, the best invention EVAR). I am counting down the months/weeks/days til I go back to LA this August...
