New Skin Care Routine: Day 2

I have to admit, it's a little embarrassing for me to put up pictures of myself without makeup and with the camera pointed specifically to capture my acne. But I want to show the realities of this new skin care regimen. Here I am with my second honey mask of the day (I decided to do one in the morning and one in the afternoon since I was home all day).

The acne still looks bad, but after washing the honey off, my face feels amazing. I guess I'm really getting into this natural cleansing stuff because I also took a shower and washed only with olive oil (I still used shampoo on my hair). Again, it physically felt good, but I don't have that clean and fresh sensation I normally do when I come out of the shower.

New Skin Care Routine

If there was one thing I could change about my appearance, it would definitely be my skin. It seems like I've been struggling with acne for as long as I can remember. Or more realistically, since I was about 11. It was around that time that most of my peers were discovering how much appearance mattered, especially for girls. I watched many of my friends struggle with their body shape but my insecurities revolved around the pimples that popped up in the most obvious places, an affliction I alone seemed to have. At least at that age.

After a few years of battling my skin with over-the-counter products, my mom took me to the dermatologist. Since then, I've been devotedly following a regimen that slightly adjusted and updated every few years when new pills, creams, and topical gels arrive on the market. I am now 26, and nothing has really given me the results I've been hoping for.

Most recently, I've been using a combination of a benzoyl peroxide cream during the day, a tretinoin gel at night, and a birth control pill that is supposed to decrease acne. I use Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser to wash my face twice a day. I also wear minimal makeup and have tried numerous moisturizers or no moisturizer at all (the moisturizer doesn't make much difference).

Within the past week, I've started taking a skin, hair, and nails multivitamin, a probiotic, and omega-3. I've also started using  sunflower seed oil after I wash my face in the morning, an idea I got from an article about the Oil Cleansing Method on Crunchy Betty.

Today I was looking at some honey in my kitchen and thought I remembered something about honey face masks being good for acne so I went on the internet and found this lovely piece from Laurel of Leaves. I suddenly felt all motivated and optimistic about the possibility of maybe, once in my adult life, having good skin.

I decided to start out as simply as possible and create a two-product routine. I'm cutting out all the products I've been using - even my regular cleanser. Instead I'll be applying honey to my face half an hour before I shower in the morning. When I rinse it off in the shower, I'll consider my face to be ready for the day and won't use any other washes, creams, or moisturizers. In the evening, I'll use the sunflower seed oil to wash off whatever make-up I've had on. That's it.

After two weeks, I'll assess how my skin is doing. Different products have, in the past, either made my skin very oily, or very dry. I'm going to resist using a moisturizer for the first two weeks to see if my skin can finally balance itself.

Today is my first day of this experiment. I have done the honey mask so far and nothing else. After my shower, my skin felt smooth, but after an hour or so, it had gotten a little dry.

Here's how my skin looked today after the honey:

Note the giant, boil-like zit on my neck.

So, does my new skin care routine seem like a good idea? Does anyone have experience using honey or the oil cleansing method?

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Pen Pals: Creepy

Got this gem in my inbox about an hour after posting an ad on a pen pal website. (My ad specifically stated I am not interested in having sexual conversations.)

Hi,

 

Please read this before you delete.  I got your e-mail address from the pen pal site. I'm looking for an open minded person who would be interested in exchanging very exciting, very open e-mails. I'm not looking for a meeting , or to get too deep into your personal life. I'm just looking for some fun exciting exchanges back and forth via e-mail. I'm a very sexual person, and I thing I could please and excite you. Please give me a try.

I don't thing you could please or excite me.

How To Tuesdays: How To Write A Thesis

New thing. Since I spend a lot of time staring into space, thinking about what I could theoretically teach people to do, I'm starting a feature called How To Tuesdays.

My first topic is going to be How To Write A Thesis, since writing a thesis is what I'm usually doing.

It's not Tuesday, you say? Well, let's think of How To Tuesdays as more of a clever title and less of a restrictive label. I hate restrictive labels.

So,

How To Write A Thesis
(Or other lengthy academic paper)

• Start with the lit review. It will suck the most to write and will take up the most of your time.
• When you're reading all the other academic papers you might cite in your lit review, don't actually read them. Just scan them, paying the most attention to the introduction and the discussion (beginning and end). The introduction should tell you why the paper is relevant and the discussion should tell you what the results mean (if an experiment was conducted). Take notes on important details. You can always go back and do a more in-depth reading later if the paper seems particularly relevant. The notes I take generally look something like this:
• Background: social psychology, mob mentality, mass hysteria, hazing (Make note of topics discussed in the paper's lit review. If you want more information on those topics, you can look up the cited papers.)
• Purpose: How does group size affect severity of hazing at universities? (What question is the paper hoping to answer?)
• Study: Hazing reports were used to assess correlation between severity of hazing acts and number of perpetrators. (What is the study, in general terms? How was it done and what variables were involved? You should be able to sum this up in one or two sentences.)
• Results: Severity of hazing acts increased as number of perpetrators increased. (What were the results or the outcome of the paper? What were the relevant implications? What was the final point?) 
• Break the paper into manageable parts. Nobody can write an entire thesis in one night so don't get yourself into a situation where you sit down to start writing and don't stop until you're done. Because even if you manage to finish, the quality will likely be questionable.
• Set deadlines and work times for yourself. When I have some free time, the last thing I'm going to do is decide to sit down and start working on my thesis. I actually need to schedule times for myself to work and I write them down on my calendar. I also estimate how long it will take me to finish something and set a reasonable deadline for myself. That goes on the calendar too.
• Use procrastination to your advantage. If I don't want to do something, I won't do it unless I'm under a lot of pressure to meet a deadline. If I know I have to work at 4:00 on Friday, I'll set a deadline at 3:00 on Friday. I can't break the deadline because I'll be leaving for work. I get motivated to finish on time, especially if I've already told a friend, classmate, or teacher that I'll be emailing them my progress. It keeps me accountable because I have someone waiting for my email (I like to at least imagine someone is impatiently refreshing an inbox) and I can't send it 15 or 20 minutes late, assuming the recipient won't mind, because then I'll be late for work. I need to keep the pressure on if I want to  make any progress.
• Pay yourself. This isn't something I've tried yet myself, but I have a feeling I'll be doing it in the near future. Even though I don't have a lot of money to spare, let's say I really love the tacos al pastor from  El Sabroso (which I do). If I pay myself 50 cents for every hour of work, after 8 hours, I'll have enough to buy two tacos. It's not much, but it's a reward I can work toward by earning actual money (albeit from myself) and there is no delay to my gratification because I can buy the tacos immediately after I put in an 8 hour day of work, thereby making my association between working and awesome tacos extra strong. I've had jobs that were less rewarding.
• Know what makes you get burnt out. I happen to get burnt out when I have the same obligation every day. It wears me down to never get a day off from something I don't particularly enjoy. So I dedicate one or two days a week to full days of working on my thesis. Even though I might end up putting in 7 or 8 intense non-stop hours, it's worth it because I know I won't have to think about my thesis for the rest of the week. (Well, I'll probably think about it. But I won't feel obligated to work on it.) If you're not like me, you might want to set aside manageable amounts of time every day to work on something. Maybe it will become a routine for you. And you won't have to endure full-day episodes of desk chair sitting.
• Lastly, keep up with your sleep, nutrition, exercise, and recreation. Really. I'm notoriously bad about this and there are entire semesters I don't remember because I was sleepwalking through everything and barely able to get anything done. The more balance you allow yourself, the easier everything will be.

Did I miss anything?

Pets Love Pets

Walked 1.5 miles today to and from school and I'm embarrassed to say that was probably the most exercise I've had in the past week. I'm really missing Cowles Mountain and having a partner to work out with. I wish I had someone nearby in Orange County who was at the same level of fitness that I am and would want to go jogging with me. I'm now considering going to my school's gym, even though that still seems overwhelming at this point. I have a dread of working out in public without a friend to share my discomfort.

I can't even remember the last time I weighed myself but I'm really focused on feeling good physically and getting my body used to exercise rather than a number on a scale. I would, however, like to tone up my stomach, my hips, and my arms. I would also like to ultimately be in the 120-125 pound range, since that's a healthy weight for my body type.

Today I wore one of the new dresses I got in San Diego last week and yesterday I wore a shirt I got from the thrift store on Monday.

Today I also wore some new jewelry I had gotten at the 99 cent store. They're not exactly a matching set, but the necklace and earrings are really great in totally different ways.

I haven't been cooking my own food since I've been back to my apartment (unless putting a frozen burrito in the microwave counts as cooking). But I have a new crockpot waiting and after the goat taco I had the other day, I'm getting excited about the prospect of finding some I can cook.

Thrifting

Overall, it was a successful day. I sold my dining set so now there's a huge empty space in the apartment and no place to eat, but I'm one step closer to moving back to San Diego.

I also figured out why I still haven't been able to register for classes. Apparently my school just assumes I've graduated each semester and it's my job to notify them that I'm still a student. So tomorrow I need to take care of that.

I went on an impromptu trip to one of the Fullerton Goodwill stores on the way to get Mexican food and I found some pretty great things:

Striped cardigan: $6

Gray cardigan: $6

Brown and rose button up. (Rob says it looks like
part of Mia Farrow's wardrobe from the 70s.) $3

Probably my new favorite shirt: $3

Sweet gnarled-wood-looking glasses, obvs. waiting for whiskey on
the rocks: $1.50 each

Tennis racket: $3.50

I think the trip was worthwhile. I wanted some long-sleeved things for the cooler weather so I don't always need to wear a coat to keep my arms warm. I also got a $3 tree-with-leaves wall decal that I'm saving for the next place I live. Here is something I also saw at the thrift store that is not so great:

Make your own interpretation.

And here is the Mexican food I finally got:

Two tacos al pastor and one taco de birria from El Taco Sabroso in Placentia. Best.

No Exercise & Sketchy Pen Pals

Beyond a few leg lifts and quick yoga poses, I haven't done any exercise since my last Cowles Mountain climb three days ago. My muscles were pretty sore last night, though, especially in my legs. I'm guessing it's just delayed soreness from the climb. I really wish I could make one more Cowles trip before I leave San Diego, but it doesn't seem like I'll have the chance.

I'm leaving for Orange County on Wednesday and am really dreading my last six weeks up there. I have so much to get done but I'll also have the apartment to myself for most of that time and I'm anticipating boredom and/or loneliness. I'll have both dogs, too, and I'm hoping they'll do alright on their own in the apartment while I'm at school.

Since the weather was pretty bleak today, I spent a lot of time puttering around the internet. I looked over pretty much every still-existing blog or website I've made since high school and felt a twinge of nostalgia over webrings. Then I decided to make a webring of my own through alt-webring.com based on some desire for connection I must be feeling: anarchafeminism webring.

If you are confused or worried about what anarcha-feminism is, read
this Wikipedia page.

Then, desiring still more connection, I tried to find some old-fashioned pen pals on the internet, which probably seems like a counter-intuitive place to look for old-fashioned pen pals. I was led to a lot of thinly-disguised dating websites and, finally, to penpalsnow.com, which still seemed sketchy but at least had ads from people who genuinely seem to want pen pals.

Then I realized that I don't really have much to say to a pen pal and probably wouldn't keep up with sending letters. I also hate buying stamps.

I'm now going through the clothes I want to take with me when I leave and am wishing the weather was still nice so I could wear my new dresses.

To my one known reader, Robert, hello.

Music Monday: The Go! Team - Apollo Throwdown

I think I'll start sharing music I like on here and what better way to do it than a Music Monday series? All the best things use alliteration! Even though I don't really count a new day as starting until I wake up for the first time on that day (or the sun rises...whichever comes first) it is now technically Monday and a conveniently appropriate time to share this song.

I love The Go! Team, I love this song, and I love this video.

Weekend Warrior

A lot happened this weekend. First, I had to take Ruffin, the dog I adopted about a month ago, into the vet because of an eye infection and now he's on a regimen of two eye drops per eye every 8 hours. It sucks for both of us since I have to somehow pin him down to give him the eye drops and my arms are gettin' all kinds of scratched up. Plus, there's the vet bill...

My poor, sickly animal.

I got lucky at the mall earlier this week and found a super good sale. I know I promised some thrift store clothing, but I rarely buy new clothes and I decided to give myself a treat since the prices were so low. Sorry for the sour looks and poor picture quality. It is literally my first time using a webcam and it's probably obvious.

XL green dress: $9
Pretty big on me but I used a belt to cinch the elastic waist
and I'm sure I can pin the fabric along the sides to bring in
the bust. Probably my favorite purchase. It has pockets!

Small striped dress: $9
Fits nicely and I love black and white horizontal stripes. The
skirt has a tulle overlay so it's kind of fancy and girly.

Meduim patterned dress: $9
The fit is a little loose but I guess that's the style. It borders
on frumpster though so I might pin the sides to bring in the
bust. If only I had a sewing machine! 

Bralet: $1 and skirt: $3
Cheap warm weather clothes. What is a bralet, by the way?
When is it appropriate to wear one? Can it be worn by itself or
is it meant for use only as an undergarment? This picture
showcases the number one area I'd like to tone up: my tummy.
Once that's done, I'll wear this thing...somewhere. My mom
would not approve.

At the same sale, I got a sweater, a new pair of gray jeans, and a black wool jacket (which was also only $9!).

Today, my mom and I stopped at an estate sale and we found an old singer sewing machine for $20. It's not in the best condition, but we bought it anyway and plan to fix it up next time I'm home. I don't have a picture of it now because it's in the shed, hiding from my dad, but this is basically what it looks like:

Even though I haven't yet fit any real exercise in yet, it's been a pretty good weekend so far. 

Cowles Mountain 3

This morning I hiked Cowles Mountain for the third time in a month (and ever). I went the entire way without stopping for a break, but walked at a slower pace than before. I'm not sure which has provided a better workout: really pushing myself but then needing to take frequent recuperation breaks or keeping a consistent, albeit easy, pace with no stops.

I'm proud that, at the very least, I was able to keep a consistent pace, even through the steep parts, and I can definitely speed up as I get more physically acclimated to the exercise. Rob and I agreed that this was our best time yet, which we estimated was around 30 minutes (from base to peak). We couldn't tell for sure because we have given up trying to carry cell phones and neither of us had a watch.

Once I get a job, I think I'll invest in some shoes that are more suited to fitness activities. Most of the other people on the mountain are decked out in Nike and Adidas gear and I just have my chucks (fashionably coupled, here, with some old shorts I usually sleep in).

You got your motion control and dri-fit. And I don't give a sh*t!

Overall, this trip up the mountain was a lot easier for me than last time. And last time was a lot easier than the first time I went, which is when I thought I was going to collapse, pass out, and/or die. I did manage to capture this ye-olde-timey-looking picture of San Diego on my first trip, which was a good excuse to rest for a second.

This is what the view from Cowles Mountain must have looked like to Lewis and  Clark.

I'd like to be able to do some activity like climbing Cowles Mountain at least twice a week, but I've been looking around Orange County and there's nothing in that area with the same incline. I believe Cowles Mountain has an elevation gain of 900' in a mile and a half. None of the hills near my apartment seem to be anywhere near as steep. Plus, there are a lot of fees for going to places that actually do have good hikes, like the Cleveland National Forest and Chino Hills State Park. I guess I'll have to get comfortable doing some jogging instead.

Overall, the climb today was a good workout and I'm looking forward to the next chance I'll have to go back and ramp up my pace.

New Start

Alright. I've been neglecting this blog since I started it, but this year I'm going to try to change things. I've spent the past few years doing exclusively academic writing and now that particular era of my life is almost over. To celebrate/reclaim my free time, I'm going to attempt to start writing for pleasure, starting with this blog. Topics I'll mainly be covering include:

My new fitness regime

My attempts at cooking

My efforts in buying clothes at thrift stores

Let's see how this goes!