Reality bites.

Dialysis has taken a turn for the worse. If anybody asks in the next week, I'm not doing well at all; I'm nauseous, dizzy or both. With any kind of luck, the hell of being hung more or less upside down so they can pump blood out of my body and then pump it back in will be over within a week, but I can't count on anything any more.

As I was laying there yesterday morning, I remembered this set of pamphlets I used to have. They originated from some Beauty Institute in NYC, and one of the things they recommended for increasing one's beautiful-ness was laying in a slanted position, in which one's feet were elevated, much as mine were during dialysis. The pamphlets--which have disappeared from my life, probably in my move back east from Seattle--also advocated such things as dressing your salad with mineral oil and pushing a baby in a stroller for exercise. If you didn't have a baby of your own, you were supposed to borrow one.

Damn, I wish I still had those pamphlets.

Anyway, after reclining for close to four hours yesterday, I still feel bad today. This sucks.

~~~~~

On the other hand, I have mascara. I've even been wearing it. It's L'Oreal Featherlight Mascara in Brown-Black, and I like it because it doesn't clump. As mascara goes, it's not obtrusive at all. I also like that I got it on sale for $3.99. My deal with mascara is that I won't wear black, which confounds makeup artists. My coloring is such that black mascara looks utterly fake on me. I really prefer a taupe if I'm going to wear mascara, but it's hard to find taupe mascara at CVS, so you make do.

My favorite mascara, all told, is Prescriptives. The one I have from them is a nifty plum color. I don't know if they make one in taupe, but it's like $12, and it's harder to buy department store makeup on the spur of the moment than to toss something in your cart at the drugstore.

Today, on the spur of the moment, I bought a lip gloss, a nail polish and some stuff that's supposed to make my nails grow while I was ordering something I really needed from planetrx.com. The gloss is from Black Opal, which is pretty much my favorite drugstore makeup. They have really good colors because it's designed for women of color; however, women of no color such as myself can still wear some of the shades if they know how to apply makeup. It's heavily pigmented, which is one of the difference between the spendy stuff and the cheap stuff. I like the packaging, too. The eyeshadow quads compare favorably with Chanel at a small fraction of the price.

I have never tried their mascara.

before - after