tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60659340960503979862024-02-06T20:55:24.690-08:00nomysteryleft.blogspot.comadventures in beauty school and breast cancer awarenesskaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-35471523641476573492011-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:002011-01-31T18:40:16.684-08:002011 3-Day for the CureI'm officially registered for two 3-Days this year!<br />
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I am wildly excited to be adding my first Crew experience to the mix in Atlanta, and of course I couldn't say no to walking in San Diego.<br />
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In terms of cosmetology school - almost done! I'm at the last 60 hours and will be finishing up in a week and a half. The epic wax post is still coming, and I intend to be much more active with this blog now, especially in the "I just graduated, now what?" vein.<br />
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Happy 2011!kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-38220793575111250022010-08-09T23:40:00.000-07:002010-08-09T23:40:10.024-07:00c-c-c-chaaaaaanges!Yes, two sad months between posts. I'm neglectful, what can I say.<br />
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So, in the two months and six days since I last posted a few BIG things have happened. First of all, I ended a five and a half year relationship. It did not end well. It was my longest relationship, I think it was his and for a few years I thought we were going to wind up married one day. Ending it was the smart thing to do, but it still sucked. However, I really leaned on my close circle of friends for the first time in a long time and they were so supportive and amazing. It reminded me how fortunate I am to have them.<br />
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Relatedly, I started dating again and had one AMAZING date with a great guy and I was so sure it was going to Go Somewhere and Be Something and then he blew me off completely!! I'm still baffled about that for reasons I won't get into here, but I'm taking it pretty well! It was a nice welcome back to the dating world that I hadn't seen since 2004. In all seriousness, it taught me to roll with the punches and not get too invested too quickly. I'm so used to being in a relationship (even one as screwed up as mine was) that casual dating is just not my thing. I need to take a couple lessons from Carrie Bradshaw and company.<br />
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In response to the big break up I took a page out of Felicity Porter's book and decided to drastically change my hair. Not cutting it off, no no. I've been working far too long to cut it off. I did however go from a pretty deep brown to a VERY light blonde. In colorist speak I went from a 5 to a 10. It's been a long process involving 3 full highlights, breaking my base color with Goldwell's high-lift blonde series (11P). I still need a few more highlights and then some subtle lowlights for dimension before I'll be satisfied (color perfectionism is a professional hazard!). The only downside is that my ends are FRIED now. I'm going to cut off between two and a half and three inches this week and it KILLS me to think of doing it, but my hair needs it. I love the blonde, I think I want to keep it for at least a year (which is saying something for musical hair color me!). Or I will once I get the color perfect, haha!<br />
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So there's a tiny update on what's going on in my life! I only have four months of beauty school left, I know it will FLY by, especially with two of my favorite occasions to break it up -- Halloween season in October and 3-Day season in November! Hope summer was good to all of you as well! I'll catch up with you again soon!kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-13603457157988373902010-06-03T21:27:00.000-07:002010-06-03T21:27:07.968-07:00Review: S-Factor hair care<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><div><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">I had the opportunity to try out some S-Factor products recently, and I was THRILLED to do it. S-Factor is TIGI's high-end line, the other lines are generally more affordable (Bed Head, B for Men, Rockaholic, and Catwalk by TIGI make up the rest of the brand, hopefully I'll get a chance to do in-depth reviews of the other lines in the future!). S-Factor is all about luxe, decadent treatment for your hair. The products are enfused with diamond dust, champagne extract, cashmere and crushed pearls -- it's not your grandma's hair care, that's for sure!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
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All in all I was able to try 6 products - the Color Savvy shampoo and conditioner, Papaya leave in moisture spray, Flat Iron shine spray, One Curl at a Time curl serum and Shiny Happy People shine spray. The shampoo and conditioner are supposed to be color preserving, so far I haven't noticed a great loss in hair color, which is a huge plus for me since my hair is color-treated within an inch of it's life (but always carefully done, so it's not too damaged). They are sulfate free which helps with color preservation, but as a result of that the shampoo doesn't lather. I know that bubbles don't make your hair any cleaner, but I like my shampoo to REALLY lather. I like making myself a shampoo mohawk, what I can I say? I feel like the conditioner doesn't leave my hair feeling silky smooth, which is a negative for me. I wear my hair straight a lot of the time and I like it to look AND feel shiny and silky all day.<br />
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The Papaya leave in moisture spray helps with that problem, it's touted as "nourishing and moisturizing damaged hair." You spray it on towel dried hair and then style as usual. I like this, I actually like it quite a bit, but I'm disappointed that I don't get the silky smooth feeling from just the conditioner. I feel like this luxury line should do more with less product. If it's already going to cost $35.00 for a large bottle of conditioner I don't want to have to pay another $27.00 for a leave in conditioner when with most lines (salon or drugstore) I don't need one. But on it's own the Papaya spray is great. It smells heavenly and makes even the most damaged hair feel smooth and silky. I'd recommend this if your hair was dry to damaged, or if you just wanted an extra oomph of moisture.<br />
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Flat Iron shine spray is a product I'd wanted to try for a long time. We all know that daily heat styling (blow drying, curling, flat ironing) takes a toll on our locks. Most people know that you can combat that with a heat protector and this one is worth it's cost ($29.00). It protects your hair from any heat styling as well as harmful UV rays (your hair is made up of the same stuff your skin is -- keratin protein -- just in different form, so it's just as important to protect your hair from the sun to avoid environmental damage). It's sprayed in when your hair is wet (I spray it in damp after I towel dry most of the moisture out of my hair), then you can go dry and flat iron your hair as usual. I noticed a difference right away with this product. Not a single strand of my hair got snagged on the flat iron and my hair was super shiny without looking oily in the slightest. You can also use it on dry hair right before flat ironing, I just prefer to use it before turning any kind of heat on my hair.<br />
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I fought with my hair's natural texture for a long time. I still do a little bit, because it's the <i>tiniest</i> bit wavy. Not wavy enough to leave alone without any product, if I do it just looks messy and not in the fun way. I have to encourage my hair one way or the other. With curl products I can get a nice disheveled beachy look, which is great for hot northern California summers. But since I'm still kind of a curl novice, I'm constantly trying new curl products. One Curl at at Time measured up to my favorite curl product (Catwalk by TIGI's Curls Rock Curl Amplifier). I get a healthy amount of product in my hands and scrunch it through sopping wet hair. Since my hair is wavy, not curly it frizzes really easily if I touch it a lot during the styling process, so I generally put all of my curl products in soaking wet hair. It wastes more product than I'd like because a lot of it is gently blotted out when I start to dry it, but it's what works best. S-Factor recommends that you allow your hair to air dry for "natural support without flaking" but I don't have time for that. I let it air dry for about half an hour (loosely supported with a couple of claw clips so my curls don't get weighed down), then dry it with a diffuser attachment. I use medium heat and medium speed, I've found I get the best looking curls that way with hardly any frizz.<br />
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Shiny Happy People shine spray is a great finish to almost any look. Curls or poker-straight locks, most people are gonna want their hair to catch the light and look healthy. Don't be confused by the looks of this product, though. It is not a hairspray, nor is it designed to be. It's not going to provide hold, it's strictly in the business of shine. This is another product I'd like to do double-duty, shine and hold. It's another case of sticker shock, I guess. $27.00 for a shine spray that also provides hold would be fine, paying $27.00 for a shine spray and another $27.00 for a hairspray seems pretty steep, especially in these economic times.<br />
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Bottom line on the S-Factor line: Great products. Really quite exceptional. The only product I wasn't absolutely thrilled with was the Color Savvy conditioner, and that can be solved with the addition of the Papaya leave in moisture spray. If you can afford to splurge on a hair care regime, S-Factor is the way to go. My hair is shiny, beautiful and smells great, but I certainly wouldn't be able to pay full price for the entire line (if you purchased everything mentioned in this review you'd be spending between $130 and $160 depending on what size shampoo and conditioner you chose to purchase).kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-54465349768807607502010-05-03T21:41:00.000-07:002010-05-03T21:46:41.233-07:00On balance and breakdowns<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow almost an entire month without a post! That's really. . . awful. There's no other word to describe it.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when I started school in January one of the instructors told us "there will come a day when you want to quit. When you get so frustrated that you'll want to throw up your hands, throw down your apron and walk away. Maybe it's just for that second, or that day. But I promise you're going to want to quit at some point. Work past it and you will be fine. Allow it to consume you and you won't." Naturally I dismissed this entire thing. I figured I'd get pissy with a few things that might be difficult for me to do at first, but I'd plug along and figure them out and move on. I didn't consider how balance between school and home would play until they were slapping me in the face.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My school schedule is a full time job. We're a 9-6, Tuesday-Saturday program with a mandatory hour lunch. I live about five minutes from my school so the first couple months of school I went home on lunch most days just to relax and decompress before going back to finish up my day. I'm </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">very</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> social, but also introverted. Meaning I like my "me" time. In March my mom had to have her foot operated on and that became a bigger deal than any of us realized with a long recovery. My lunches became a time to run errands, check on my mom, grab her something to eat or whatever she needed. None of which I begrudge her, she did the same for me when I was recovering from my spinal surgery in 1994 (I had tethered spinal cord syndrome, long story). And luckily my mom and I are really close.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But (you knew it was coming, right?) having a 45 hour week at school and then running a four person household is not something I've ever had to do before. I lived by myself for a year but that was taking care of me and a couple of cats. If I wanted to eat Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner at 10:00PM that was fine. If I didn't want to clean up after myself until Sunday morning that was fine (the litter box always got changed though!) because it was a one person mess and a one person apartment. All I had to do was make sure I got to work and/or school on time and looking like a human being. I mostly managed. Having to grocery shop, pick up prescriptions, cook dinner, clean up from dinner, do laundry, make note of the household supplies we were low on, do all the internet bill paying, make sure my dad had everything he needed to go to work and try to breathe on top of school and taking care of my mom was SO overwhelming. I lost my balance.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned a few posts ago that I wanted to get into running to get back into shape. I had no time to run after my mom's surgery. I was also on a mandatory hiatus from running while my feet recovered a bit from not having shoes that actually supported my abnormally high arch. The timing was unfortunate because I was at the point where I was just starting to not hate running. I didn't realize that in the five or six weeks I'd been running I'd started to rely on it to clear my head and keep me centered. It was different from the hundreds of miles I'd spent walking to train for </span><a href="http://www.the3day.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the 3-Day</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Walking allowed my mind to wander, and usually to the growing to-do list at home. Running forced me to focus on my breathing and my gait and nothing else. Having a singular focus cleared out all the garbage that flooded my thoughts and when I finished a run I was out of breath, tired, completely red in the face but SO relaxed. My last run was about two weeks before my mom's operation. I was unaware that I was giving up the balance and the endorphins all at once.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept it together for about a month. I discovered that I liked some parts of being the faux mom. I </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> cooking, and I like grocery shopping. But passing out dead tired every night at midnight or 1:00 wasn't working out. I was trying to stay on top of my school work, the house and school without taking ANY time to do something I just enjoyed. I was probably not a dream come true to be around. I had a hard time with it because I didn't want to complain to my mom about it and didn't want to sound like a brat complaining to anyone else. One of my closest friends and the gent in my life basically got the brunt of it and I'm guessing they were over it pretty soon. After about five weeks of trying to keep all the balls in the air it started becoming apparent that something was gonna give.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The curriculum our class started with was brand new with our class. According to the new curriculum, students are not "on the floor" (working with clients) full time until they hit 30 weeks. The students that had started before us were on the floor after 10. There was a miscommunication among the instructors, so we were lead to believe that we'd be on the floor after 10 weeks as well. When I found out that was NOT the case, I was remarkably upset. I was also projecting all the stress I was under at home onto this one thing that in the long run is not a big deal, but seemed SO HUGE. When I found that out we were going to be 90% classroom bound for another 20 weeks it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wound up going home at lunch and not coming back that day. I went home and sulked and cried and was basically a brat. Lo and behold, I'd had my day where I wanted to quit. And for the rest of that day I DID quit.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lesson learned: start running again ASAP otherwise I'm going to be forced to develop a prescription drug habit. Okay, maybe not. But what I've taken from the last seven weeks is that no matter what you're doing, if you're not taking care of yourself (and yes, sometimes that means being a little selfish and putting your needs before everyone else's -- even if that's just a 30 minute run every day) you really can't take care of anyone else. The last two weeks I've focused on relaxing more, made sure to get more sleep and drink more water and it's helping. I haven't gotten to start running again just yet, but I know once I get back into it I'll be set. Actually I'll hate it for two weeks and then start to feel better again. But I'll get there.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Losing balance is part of life. It's necessary to remind us that we do things that keep us balanced for a reason. Yeah, I might be running to get in better shape, or lose weight, or train for an event. Sure. But I'm mostly looking forward to getting back to it to keep my balance.</span></span>kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-56806776362234376062010-04-05T10:31:00.000-07:002010-04-05T10:40:59.329-07:00Why the 3-Day is now the highlight of my year<span style="font-style: italic;">This is a slightly edited version of what I posted on a blog my best friends and I keep so we can stay in each other's lives easily. It's totally wordy and long, but even four months later I'm too emotional to edit it down any more, it was all that important to me.</span><br />
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Okay, so... I'm my mother's daughter in many ways. Including my least favorite, procrastination. I was behind Wednesday but took a nap after my opening shift instead of packing, knowing I still needed a few things from Target before my flight Thursday, but you know. I wound up packing last minute Thursday and. . . wait for it. . . missed my flight. By 30 seconds. Yep. I have a bone to pick with the TSA for needlessly holding me up over a frigging ounce of water in my CamelBak, but whatev. My Southwest connections can't really do anything in that particular situation so I ponied up another $112 to book a later flight because she assured me that it would fill up so it would be quite a risk to take standby (for the record the seat next to me that flight was empty. . . thanks, Southwest!), chilled in the airport for four hours and got into San Diego around 10:00, showered and was in bed by 11:30.<br />
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I got up at 4:30 Friday morning, took a cab to the opening ceremonies at Del Mar. I cried like a baby, and then we set off walking! I somehow wound up pretty far back in the group Friday, despite my best efforts to be towards the head of the pack. I'll know better where to position myself next year. The first couple of miles the sidewalk was literally FILLED with people cheering us on. I was itching to go faster but you can't exactly jump ahead of a thousand people, unfortunately. I walked for a mile with a girl named Tiffany who had decided to do the 3-Day THREE WEEKS before the event. She managed to raise all the money necessary, but I don't want to think of what her feet must have felt look or looked like with only three weeks of training. I trained for six months and mine were still killing me by the end. I honestly can't describe the support you feel this whole weekend -- crew and volunteers and cheerleaders (literal and figurative, two high school squads were out on the route too!) cheering for you and high-fiving, motorists leaning on their horns and waving, hot bike cops riding along with you, tough bikers wearing pink directing traffic, young, old, men, women, kids, dogs, other walkers, everyone cheering everyone else on. It was intense, especially for a grumplestiltskin like me!<br />
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There were pit-stops along the route every 2-3 miles where you could refill your water bottles, get medical attention if you needed it (mostly blisters and some knee and ankle issues for most people), eat (lots of eating! keeping strength up and keeping the salt balance in check -- the pit stop motto was "eat, drink and pee; no IV!" we ate bagels, bananas, salty chips, string cheese, uncrustables, oranges, animal crackers and other stuff -- just on pit stops.) and stretch. And stretch and stretch and stretch.<br />
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After the second pit stop I ran into my old friend and volleyball teammate from high school, Kristin. She walked in a 3-Day a few years ago and now she and her friend come out every year to cheer, dressed all in pink with long blonde wigs, signs that say "my ken wears pink." they go by "barbies love boobies." I think I saw her five times all weekend, she kept my spirits up a lot. It was hard (but don't get me wrong, totally rewarding) to walk alone. I made friends, but most people were part of a team or a group or at least a pair, so I'd walk with them for a bit and I or they would speed up a little and we'd part ways. I didn't meet my new 3-Day family until the last few miles on day 3.<br />
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Anyway, after seeing Kristin we headed up Torrey Pines. I thought about taking a sweep van to pass it up and I kind of wish I had. The views were INCREDIBLE, don't get me wrong, but it was hard on my back and my knees. I had the added concern of taking care of my back all weekend (I had two surgeries as a kid, and I still have two ruptured discs in my lower back), it is sometimes hard to listen to and anticipate what your body needs or will need. I got to pit stop 3 and rested for a good 20 minutes, I wanted to give my vicodin a chance to kick in before pushing on.<br />
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I got to lunch around noon that day, I wish I had a better sense of where I was exactly but I didn't care because I literally ate lunch about 20 yards from the ocean. That was also where I made my first of many stops in medical. I had a couple hot spots already and one baby blister, so I got moleskinned up. I push my feet harder than I should most of the time (I'm blister prone, I should be doing more prevention than treatment, but I'm also stubborn and kind of stupid). Lunch on Friday was around the 10 mile marker, and after resting my feet and talking to my lobster (Friends reference, yup) I was in great spirits, very "I can totally do 50 more miles, this is nothing!" The next 10 miles were gorgeous, walked along beaches and had breathtaking views (every time I'm near an ocean -- San Deigo, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, wherever I think to myself "how could anyone ever leave this?"). The last 3 miles on Day 1 were the hardest miles of the whole event. My feet were sore, it was getting closer to dark and I was so tired running on less than 5 hours of sleep. The sign that said "camp 1 mile" was a joke. Another walker and I decided that there are "Komen miles" like a football minute. Just because there's a minute left on the clock doesn't mean the game's almost over. In all seriousness, I'm willing to bet the last "mile" was around 1.75 miles. After 6 months of training I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of a mile. One of the San Jose bike cops (yes, San Jose! they come down every year, and they are CUTE too) rode alongside me for a good portion of it, just chatting and promising me that camp was "just around that bend."<br />
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Getting into camp Friday was emotional, people cheer you on and hug you just for getting home. I knew I needed to set up my tent, get my gear, shower and probably visit medical. But I wanted to eat dinner first. I was tired and weak and emotional as hell, so I hobbled over to the dining tent, got my dinner and talked to a couple of nice women while taking stock of my aches and pains. It was nice to eat hot food and sit in a chair (and really, the food is NOT bad. Friday night dinner was spaghetti and meatballs and Saturday night was chicken and wild rice). After dinner I found my gear truck (running into another girl I went to high school with, Jessica, who was crewing after walking last year. She lost her mom to breast cancer in 2007 or 2008 I think), set up my tent (I wound up without a tent mate which was okay with me, I didn't want to make conversation by the time I got done with dinner, I was in a lot of pain) and went to shower. I don't think I can stress this enough. My feet were KILLING ME. My major blisters (the bottom of my left heel, it was at least the size of three quarters. and one that wrapped around the entire OUTSIDE OF MY RIGHT ANKLE. Like inside to outside) were from Friday, so standing in the shower truck was nothing short of excruciating. I wanted to die, no joke. I should have gone to medical friday night but I was just exhausted so I crawled into my tent, talked to Daryl for a few minutes, took another vicodin and went to sleep. I'm guessing I was asleep by 8:45 or so.<br />
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Saturday morning I honest to God didn't know how I was going to get through the day. I got up at about 5, limped to medical (it should have taken maybe five minutes to get from my tent to medical, it took me 15), had my blisters lanced and wrapped TIGHT (also I had my knee wrapped. I don't have knee issues, but it was swollen). The nurse who lanced my feet that day made it possible for me to continue at all. She took good care of my feet and hugged me before she left which made me cry (of course). After medical I shoveled down a hot breakfast and got out on the road. I took sweep vans twice on Saturday. From right after pit 2 to pit 3 so I could get my ankle wrapped (I DO have weak ankles, this didn't surprise me at all) and ice it a little bit, and then probably about a mile to lunch a little later. I was just tired. One of the sweep van drivers was talking to me about it and he said that he can tell when a walker should be getting in a sweep van but doesn't and that those walkers lose sight of what the 3-Day is about. It's not about walking all 60 miles without stopping or getting help. I wanted to make sure I would be able to walk Sunday, so sweeping was totally an option for me. There's zero shame in it. After eating lunch we walked through a couple of really cute neighborhoods and along the way there'd be people giving out candy or stickers or whatever and a couple times on the weekend we saw the "titty tavern," a little cheer station set up where the lovely proprietors served beer, jell-o shots and tequlia. Yes, there was a crowd five walkers deep around that particular table. Yes, I had a couple shots of tequila. They even had lime and salt how could I say no?! The early part of day 2 was a bit longer, we only had 5.2 miles after lunch, so I managed to stick with it and limped back into camp later than I did on Friday but feeling quite a bit better than I did Friday night too. I showered, stretched at the yoga mats, ate dinner, danced a bit (yeah they played Journey I didn't have a choice! plus it is an awesome way to stretch and keep your muscles from turning against you) then went to the remembrance tent.<br />
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I knew going into the 3-Day that the remembrance tent would be incredibly emotional for me. I didn't count on just how emotional it would be. There are white tents for every event location, covered in messages to loved ones that walkers have lost, then the tent for the current event is inside a larger white tent. The walls are adorned with pictures of walkers and crew members who lost their fights with breast cancer, there are journals to write in. I wrote a 2 page letter to my grandmother and I absolutely sobbed through the whole thing. It had never hit home so hard why I was doing the 3-day and what I was putting myself through and how sad it makes me to know that I don't have her and my dad lost his mom before she was even 60 and it sucked. I mean in the good way, it was good sucking, but my God. It was so hard. I cried and cried while a woman I can't even remember hugged me and I held on for dear life and then I sat down on the grass outside the big tent to cry some more. I think all told I sobbed for about an hour until my friend Sierra saved my life and texted me about Felicity or something. I swung back by medical on the way to my tent to get a few bags of ice, threw one under my back, one on my knee and one on each (elevated) foot and went to sleep.<br />
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Sunday was a rough morning. I was so tired that I overslept a little and woke up knowing I had to hit medical and eat and break down my tent AND get out of camp by 7:30, otherwise I'd get bussed to lunch. I managed to do all of it, eating my breakfast in about 3 minutes and walking as fast as my feet would allow me to get out of camp. The first 5 miles Sunday sucked. We had a short day, less than 15 miles total (they stack the first couple days so we can have closing ceremonies before dark), but the first five were awful. Not a lot of cheer-traffic, and the people cheering you on are what makes you forget about blisters and aches and pains. I decided after pit stop 2 that I would take a sweep van to lunch, but where I was had no sweep access for a good mile. I was probably in the last 200 walkers at that point. One of the bike cops rode with me and talked to me and basically escorted me that mile. He made my day, was super cute, made me laugh, helped me through it and gave me a a big old hug once we finished that mile. I'm pretty sure he knew I was on the verge of tears and he really helped me in a big way. So I took the sweep van to lunch, cutting off 2.25 miles and a HUGE HILL. HUGE. I give mad props to the walkers who walked that hill, I could never do it with my feet the way they were.<br />
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After lunch the energy was crackling through the air, we all knew we were close to finishing, there was more dancing, more singing, more laughing while we were walking. The path became more and more lined with cheerleaders, you couldn't go 10 steps without someone claping for you. One of the girls I'd met Friday was sitting in a bar (yeah, tequila cures what ails you!) and as I walked past she yelled out "KACIE FROM TRACY!" and cheered for me, it made me smile and burst into laughter. A little later there was a little girl holding a sign that said "I never knew my grandma and my grandma never knew me. Thank you for walking." I cried as I walked past her , she hit home for me. About 3 miles before holding I felt a blister on my left pinky toe pop. That is such a gross feeling. I'd had them lanced all weekend but none of them had popped on their own. I sat down on the sidewalk, took off my shoe and sock and bandaged it up myself, got up and walked through the pain. Sitting down to bandage that blister was pretty much the best thing I did all weekend because that's how I met my new friend Jill.<br />
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About a block after that I was limping forward and about to step off a curb when a woman gripped my shoulder. I didn't think anything of it for two reasons. 1, my mom's arthritic and will often grip my shoulder to step off a curb. 2, it was day 3. You think we weren't all holding on to strangers? We struck up a conversation and somehow in the next 2 miles she and her team became my new 3-Day family. Jill's feet were so badly blistered Friday that they cautioned her about finishing the walk at all. She said she didn't come from out of state to not finish, so she walked ALL of day 2 and day 3 in REEF FLIP FLOPS. NO JOKE. She cut the toes out of socks, had her blisters wrapped and rewrapped at every pit and she did it. Homegirl didn't take any sweep vans either, she is my new hero. She and I were both sore, tired and walking slow. We walked into holding arm-in-arm, picked up our victory shirts and immediately laid down in the grass while the last walkers came in (about an hour after we did, score! I know it's not a race, but it made me feel better that we weren't dead last).<br />
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After we were all in holding we got organized to walk into closing ceremonies. The crew went first, to ear-splitting applause. I have said SO MANY TIMES that we couldn't get through this event without crew, and I meant it. I'm going to crew in 2011 for sure. They were amazing people. Then the cops, then medical, then "regular" walkers (all 3800 of us!), then finally the survivors, in pink shirts. We walked past at least 2000 spectators (including my friends Alexis and Tiffani, I'm SO glad I had somebody there for me), cheering, wearing signs, tween boys wearing pink bras and cheering for their moms, the cops (including mine from earlier Sunday, he reached out and hugged me, kissed my cheek and with a huge grin on his face and said "You made it! I knew you would!"), a survivor who is clearly still fighting her battle held a sign that just said "thank you" while tears streamed down her face, a sweet old man holding a sign that said "I'm a boob man," all of our favorite cheerleaders from the weekend. I cried and I kept crying. I was tired, SO HAPPY and so proud of myself. Everything that I was afraid of happening didn't happen, or if it did it was okay. I didn't want to take sweep vans, but once I got there it didn't matter. I was scared my blisters would get the better of me. They came, but I worked through them. As the survivors walked into closing we all held up a shoe to salute them, it was one of the most worthwhile moments and experiences I've ever had in my life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2aOnxVtKeDHeRUAC8UiJIs33ysUsG6oxWctLOV2a3Sm72XwuxbmHk0701UFo461NGu3oEabRM03z8EDbEl7Q_tV6Hs_odVhO84Sc485CV0PqNb9paeLL0UqwjRkmTWF7e8r_h4Vn1c9M/s1600/DSCF0086.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456703796420894834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2aOnxVtKeDHeRUAC8UiJIs33ysUsG6oxWctLOV2a3Sm72XwuxbmHk0701UFo461NGu3oEabRM03z8EDbEl7Q_tV6Hs_odVhO84Sc485CV0PqNb9paeLL0UqwjRkmTWF7e8r_h4Vn1c9M/s320/DSCF0086.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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They announced at closing that we raised 9.5 million dollars that weekend. It is truly an amazing feeling to know that you've been part of creating a better world. If not for my generation then for my kids. The closing ceremony speaker (I wish I'd paid better attention to names and stuff like that, I can't remember her name if you paid me, but she works for Komen) made some remarks about how for three days you live in a bubble that shows you what the world CAN be like. Where everyone is kind, and helps each other and you do something AMAZING and get no reward for it except for thousands of people cheering for you, and having a hot cop escort you across a busy intersection, and people laying on their horns as they drive past and survivors, family, friends, whatever, thanking you and MEANING it and sharing a feeling that we don't just have to strive for human decency, but that we can strive for something beyond that. The world looked different after that. I can't really do it justice, but I do know that it's something I never want to forget, and something that I want to experience over and over again as long as my feet will let me or until there's no reason left to walk to end breast cancer.<br />
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I have never been as sore as I was after that. I took my feet over two weeks to fully recover. I went 10 days before I wore shoes other than my 3-day shoes (they're a size bigger than my regular shoes to allow for swelling) or flip flops. I can't wait to sign up to walk San Diego again this year, and I wish my school schedule allowed me to crew another event, but I will be out there on the cheer route for you, San Francisco!<br />
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It was epic, it was amazing, it was hard, it was everything I wanted and so much more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRAxNAt9XX_L3c7jCtJBSHd9NcioaKGm8VBoykoOX5ROrxqN5zk3MeCJjd58fR4rhDeMSkCrd-Zxd7rkq-wA3dB5KYY8p7Eo2FtRY0iO62QlevcOHAPGusj5eR_RzfPDudpI0n9YK24YJ/s1600/DSCF0079.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456696058745039938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRAxNAt9XX_L3c7jCtJBSHd9NcioaKGm8VBoykoOX5ROrxqN5zk3MeCJjd58fR4rhDeMSkCrd-Zxd7rkq-wA3dB5KYY8p7Eo2FtRY0iO62QlevcOHAPGusj5eR_RzfPDudpI0n9YK24YJ/s320/DSCF0079.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Exhausted, sunburnt, blistered and the happiest moment of my life. Swear to God.</div>kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-29633782704524099882010-03-26T18:49:00.001-07:002010-04-05T10:35:39.081-07:00Focus!Please don't get me wrong. I LOVE going to cosmetology school and after nine short weeks I'm certain it was the right decision (actually after like 9 days. Once we got to start cutting hair I was gone!). I think it's fun, I love being around new people and I REALLY love making people feel better about themselves. Cosmetologists are their client's best friend, confidant, therapist, sounding board AND we make them look pretty. You might be the most important person in your client's life! I enjoy everything about beauty school. Great teachers, a wealth of knowledge to take advantage of and it's incredibly interesting (can't say that about algebra!),<br />
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But I don't understand how anyone finds the book material (also known as theory. And the physical work is called practical or an operation) hard. I've always been a good student, as long as the material interested me. That's a big part of why I waffled so long about going to beauty school. I wanted (and still do want) to finish a Bachelor's degree. As of right now I'm a little less than 3/4 done with a BA in literature. But between budget cuts at my college and a little ennui, I didn't want to finish right now because I honestly don't see doing anything I love with it (other than writing, but I don't want to be poor forever). <br />
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My logical side told me for years to just plug along and finish and get some job doing something other than schilling a product, but my heart wasn't in it at all. My plan now is to take one class at "big girl college" next semester, which will also be my last few months of cosmetology and 3-Day season. It's going to be incredibly busy, but I do want to get back into an academic class. Although now my focus is kind of shifting away from literature to something in business. I see the earning potential in a career in cosmetology and I'd like to own a salon in the next 5 to 7 years. Or at least have something to fall back on. The beauty industry isn't often negatively affected by economic downturn, but you never know.<br />
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Anyway, getting back to the point. We're 9 weeks into the curriculum, and have 7 or 8 theory tests under out belts. The tests are multiple choice, straight from the book and the whole system is designed to help you succeed. And yet I still see a lot of people struggle. I can say without a doubt that it comes down to lack of focus. Lack of focus during theory, lack of focus during review, lack of focus at home. I don't study a lot. I take my books home once a week (maybe). But I take full advantage of reviewing in class. I read extremely quickly, which may give me a slight advantage. I generally read the material once and highlight the key points, then read it again as I complete the study guide, then go over it a third time as the instructor goes over it with the class. So by the time we're done with the material I've read it three times before I'd even need to study for a test. <br />
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My point (and I do have one) is this: Cosmetology school takes less than a year to complete on a full time schedule (at least in California, I know it varies state-to-state, but I figure a year is about average). It is a get in, get out and start making money process. All that is asked of you is one year of moderately hard work. Once you start cosmetology school, find out who the best students are in whatever areas interest you most -- sculpture, hair design, color, texture, skin, nails, whatever -- and be like them. Ask them questions about how they study, find out from an instructor if you can shadow them, do whatever you can without being bothersome. The students that excel while in cosmetology school are going to excel when interviewing at salons, get their pick of where to work, will have more clients and will make more money faster.<br />
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Cosmetology school might be a great place to make friends, but first and foremost it's an educational institution. I assume that I might come out of this year with one or two lasting friendships. But my money and future happiness isn't riding on making new friends, it's on passing my state boards and getting to start a career that I'll love for a long time and that will make it financially and emotionally viable to raise a couple hypothetical kids and keep me in the lifestyle I've become accustomed to -- a fabulous one.<br />
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This is one of the best careers to write your own check. One year of hard work will open up limitless possibilities. If the world was your oyster, what would you do with it?kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6065934096050397986.post-53052309785053381412010-03-21T20:30:00.000-07:002010-04-05T10:36:26.588-07:00A good beginning makes a good end. Hopefully.Have you ever had an inkling that something might be the thing you've always wanted to do, but it was easier to not upset the status quo? Go find out. Chances are it IS, and you'll kick yourself for waiting around that long wasting time doing something that doesn't make you happy.<br />
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I want to be a lot of things when I grow up. I want to be a published writer (the dream is before I'm 30, so less than three years. Tick, tock). I want to be a vet. Animal, not war. That's not going to happen because I don't want to go through 4 years of med school and hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt and did you know sometimes animals DIE? Yeah. I'd get too emotionally invested. And for the better part of the last decade, I've wanted to work in the beauty industry. I've been freelancing with makeup for years, but due to needing a "real" job it always took a backseat. Until 8 weeks ago, when I began cosmetology school. <br />
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Anyway. I decided to marry my new found passion for hair with my long time passion for writing and blog this year. I'm a planner, a watcher, a thinker and before I toured my new school I tried to find out as much as I could about the experiences people had in cosmetology school. I didn't come up with a lot of organic content. Sure, schools and curriculums have websites that have student sound bites on them, but the schools are still responsible for editing that content. I wanted something in depth, to the point and to not pull any punches. I hope that maybe what I write can be that for somebody else, especially since I'm not exactly known for pulling punches.<br />
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I'm a little older than most of the girls at my school (and one boy). I'm 27, which I really view as a total advantage in this whole thing. I can focus, apply the lessons I've already learned and hopefully get through beauty school quickly and pass my state board the first try in January. <br />
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A few other things about me, because I guarantee this won't stay cosmo school focused the whole time (especially after I graduate in December); I am passionate about breast cancer research and education and prevention. In 2009 I did the <a href="http://www.the3day.org/">Breast Cancer 3-Day</a> (now known as the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure). I will for SURE be doing it again this year. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, and kind of the catalyst for going after what I want now. The 3-Day taught me about what kind of world I want to live in, starting with myself. I'm sarcastic and silly and love my friends. I love my family, even though they drive me crazy. I'm working my butt off to get in great shape (this is all kind of part of being the best version of myself before I'm 30). I'm planning on running a half marathon in January 2011 and a full in January 2012, so I'm sure they'll be posts about running and eating and working out and all that fun stuff.<br />
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And most of all, I'm excited for what this year is going to bring. I think my last couple years before 30 are going to be pretty incredible. Here's hoping!kaciehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15878375632740531459noreply@blogger.com0