OPI Nail Polish Update

A couple of months ago, I talked about my new find: OPI nail polish. It’s what is used in salons, and the colors, besides being rich and brilliant, also seem to be chip-proof, at least when applied at the salon.

I didn’t have as much luck on my own. Within a day or two of applying, or my worst record yet, a few hours, I noticed chipping. And because the colors are so bright and, well, colorful, the chips showed up that much more glaringly.

My most recent endeavor was to buy a nail strengthener by Sally Hansen that was specifically supposed to help with weak, peeling nails. I thought maybe my chip problem was because my nails tend to peel, and that if they peel, the polish peels off, too. I had two reasons for trying the Sally Hansen fortifier: one was to try to save money, and the other was because it was convenient to buy. I paid about $7 for the bottle of miracle no-peel formula. Sally Hansen can be found in any grocery store and any drugstore, while OPI can only be found at Trade Secret at the mall. I figured that if it worked, I would save both money and time. I applied it religiously for about two weeks. I used it alone, and I used it as a base and topcoat with OPI nail polish. And I didn’t notice a difference. My most recent and monumental failure happened Sunday. I did my nails Sunday afternoon, and by Sunday evening, the color had chipped so badly, I ended up removing all the polish and went to work Monday with naked nails.

So finally, last night, I broke down and I did what I have really wanted to do: buy myself some OPI products and use them together. I bought ChipSkip, which is a clear application, that when applied directly to clean, dry nails, is supposed to prevent chipping. I also bought their three-in-one base coat, nail strengthener, and topcoat. And, of course, I bought three new nail polish colors. It was a little pricey, coming to about $44, which qualified me for a free nail polish accessory bag, perfect for feeding my addiction. Although it seems like a lot to spend on nail polish, if it works, it will have paid for itself in less than two trips to the salon for a manicure and pedicure.

The first thing I did was apply the ChipSkip, which dried instantly on contact. And when I say instant, I mean instant! Then I applied one base coat and to my surprise, it dried very quickly. I applied two coats of color, waited a bit for them to dry, and then applied one top coat. I waited about an hour and half before putting my nails to the test: peeling price tags off purchases and wrapping presents. This simple task is what ruined my nails on Sunday. And guess what this time? No chipping! This morning, my nails look great. I don’t know how to explain it, but my nails have a different quality about them, almost as if I were wearing acrylic nails, but without the hefty salon price tag that comes with a manicure. If this really works, then I’m going to be an OPI girl for life. In addition, I will never, ever assume that other products can substitute for the real thing. It only makes sense that OPI products work best with other OPI products.

I will update again, when I notice my first chip. I promise I will update this time!

P.S. If you’re stumped for what to get me for Christmas, here’s a hint: OPI Nail Polish!

The Trans Siberian Orchestra

As our Christmas present to ourselves this year, we went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra last Friday (the 15^th) at the Richmond Coliseum. Stefan had seen a commercial for them on television and thought that their mix of orchestra and progressive rock would be something I’d really enjoy, seeing as to how I’m an orchestra and progressive rock junkie.

He was right.

We splurged on second row seat tickets, and the show was worth every penny! From the very beginning to the very end, the show was a gourmet meal for the senses. The band was made up of quite a few members, all who were dressed to the nines. The men sported long hair and wore tuexdos with tails, while the women wore identical black evening gowns with fishnet stockings. It was apparent that this band truly cared about their audience. They didn’t allow the complex light and fireball displays to carry the performance, but rather every band member pushed out their passion and delight in performing onto the sold-out show. Throughout the 3-hour long performance, every member was allowed to showcase their skills.

Initially, I was concerned that we would blow out our eardrums being so close to the front, but once the band began to play, my fears were allayed. I had forgotten that TSO has a huge budget; much larger than the local bands I had seen as a teenager, and therefore, they had a super serious surround sound that local bands cannot afford. My other concern about the acoustics not being that great in the Richmond Coliseum also evaporated. The sound was mixed very well, and I could hear every instrument and voice clearly. There was no muddy or thin, reedy sound to be heard. I did notice that the entire concrete floor had been covered with plywood, and I wonder if that helped the acoustics. But whatever the case, the sound engineers of TSO definitely knew what they were doing.

The first half of the show consisted of a narrator telling the tale of the Lost Christmas Eve, and his magnificent voice told a story so beautiful that many in the audience were moved to tears. A backdrop of thousands of twinkling stars mesmerized the audience, as well as the snow that fell from above the massive lighting rig. The snow was very clever: it was made up of tiny soap bubble clusters, that when they fell, they formed various sizes of “flakes” and melted instantly on contact. Likewise, the lightness of the bubbles allowed the “snow” to fall in that same weightless gravity way that actual snow falls.

The show could have easily closed after the first half. It marked an excellent closing point, but then we were (or I was) pleasantly surprised when the director announced that they were halfway through the show. Stefan didn’t really enjoy the second half, as he does not enjoy progressive rock the way I do. I thought the first half of the show was absolutely fabulous, but then the second half started, and I felt they outdid themselves once again.

The second half of the show consisted of remakes of old familiar rock songs, with their own added twist to each song (imagine classic rock played with a progressive twist). The two guitarists took turns playing solos, and they even came down to mingle with the first row of the audience. The lead violinist came out at one point with a neon-wrapped bow, and the outline of his clear electric violin glowed beneath the black lights. As a former musician, I was mesmerized by my first “real” rock show, and Stefan grew concerned that I might lose my shirt. Apparently I got lost in the moment as the guitarists took turns rocking out just above our heads and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The one guitarist favored his Gibson Les Paul, while the other one had a penchant for Jackson Flying V’s. I lost track of how many Flying V’s he had after he emerged with his fourth one. At one point, one of the guitarists even played a double-neck. At first I thought it was just for show, but he did eventually utilize both necks, and that pleased me. The two keyboardists, who played Korg Tritons, performed a dual. I felt the dual was weak, and they could have really wowed the audience with their skills, but they chose to hold back. I felt the same way about the drum solo. But then again, I grew up listening to Neil Peart, the drummer of Rush, so I might be holding TSO to an impossible standard.

If you have never seen the Trans Siberian Orchestra, I highly recommend that you do so. It is a great family show, as well. Put it on your list of things to do before you die. And start planning now so you can get front row seats. I’m sure that the show is fantastic from any seat, but it is something really special and spectacular up close. You will not be disappointed. They get a huge thumbs up from me, and I can’t wait to see them again next year!

Chillin' wit' My BFF

Stefan and I celebrated our marriage’s first birthday last night. Yay us! We took ourselves and our marriage out to Brother’s Pizza, a local favorite restaurant, where we ordered our standard meal: a pitcher of Bud, garden salad with chunky bleu cheese dressing, and Tony’s Special. For dessert, Stefan ordered a homemade cannoli, while I opted for cheesecake slathered with strawberries. The waitress brought out the cheesecake with a lit candle on the top, and I blew out the candle on behalf of our marriage.

We spent the meal as we usually do, discussing the activities of the day, and planning for the weeks ahead. But we also talked about the past year, and how although it’s been peppered with lows and highs, with seemingly more lows than highs, it doesn’t really matter. The lows weren’t a result of our interaction with each other; they were caused by external forces. In the whole scheme of things, when looking at the bigger picture and seeing how we’re going to be together for the next 30 or 40 years, a lower-than-expected year isn’t all that surprising or even unexpected. In fact, it matters very little.

As any other thing in life, a marriage is susceptible to falling victim to entropy. Vows don’t make us immune to the nuances that can eat away at a great relationship. We can protect our marriage by communicating more than we think is necessary. The more we practice communicating, the better we will become at it, and the stronger our marriage will become because of it.

Afterwards, we didn’t feel like going home just yet, so we headed to Books-A-Million, where we cruised the aisles for reference books on editing. In the interim, Stefan spotted a stack of “I support Marriage” magnetic bumper stickers that the bookstore was selling for $3.99 a pop. This political issue is a bit of a hot-button for both of us (we do support marriage, otherwise we wouldn’t be married, but we don’t support it in the way the bumper sticker implied, which was that marriage should be restricted to one man and one woman). This served as a further reminder that we moved to the wrong part of town. Somewhere during the course of the evening, the entire stack of bumper stickers managed to fall down between some bookshelves. I have no idea how that happened, but when the store closes for good and the bookshelves are dismantled, the magnetic bumper stickers will reappear. Hopefully the store will never move or go out of business, and the bumper stickers will stay there for a long, long time.

At the checkout counter, we were again bombarded with religiously charged material (apparently this Books-A-Million is making a statement as to which political side they fall on), and Stefan spotted some little charms with pink plastic sapphires stuck to them. Engraved on the side of the charm was, “Best Friends” repeatedly, in a circle. We got a good laugh out of reminiscing back to the days when childhood friends referred to each other as BFF, or Best Friends Forever. That got us thinking about our relationship again, and on a whim, we purchased the charms and put them on our key chains. Now we can declare to the entire world (like our wedding rings and Stefan’s tattoo isn’t enough) that we indeed are Best Friends Forever.

Maybe some folks would roll their eyes or laugh at us, but we don’t care. If we remember nothing else of our first anniversary, we will remember it as the day we got our BFF charms.

Technology Killed the Job Applicant

People have always said that the newspaper is the worst place to look for a job. Those who advertised openings in the newspaper are said to receive more resumes than they could handle. Oftentimes, you’d end up writing to a generic P.O. Box, with no hope of contacting a live human being. How do you successfully follow up and show that you are ambitious? How do you make yourself stand out from the crowd when the attitude is, “Don’t call us; we’ll call you”?

I am going to take that old saying and revise it a little bit. The Internet is the worst place to look for a job, yet applicants are left with virtually no other options. An overwhelming number of companies now only accept online applications.

Online job websites have turned into recruiter junkie reunions. It has been several years since I’ve seen a “real” job posting on one of the popular job websites. Mostly, the chaff settles there – the jobs that are 3-month long contracts in far-flung places like South Dakota. Plus, you get no benefits, no overtime pay (since you’re hourly), and no stipend to support you moving somewhere else for three months while you struggle to support two households.

I may be exaggerating a bit, but I’m not far off. The last call I received was from a recruiter who happened across my online resume and he tried to interest me in a 3-month on-site contract in Alexandria, VA. I told him to Mapquest Alexandria to Petersburg and tell me what the drive time would be. Then I asked him if he would drive 3 hours one way to a job that was slated to last 3 months. He laughed and said, “No.” I said, “Neither would I.”

The next bright idea is to go directly to the company’s website you wish to work for, and apply there. Still, everything is electronic, and the attitude is the same as the newspaper ads: “Don’t call us; we’ll call you.”

So what’s a girl to do? Simple. Get a contracting job working for a very large, Fortune 50 company. Ingratiate yourself into the social circle and sniff around for openings. So far, so good. An opening came up a few weeks ago. I talked with my manager about it, and she enthusiastically encouraged me to apply and to include her as a reference. While she does not have the budget or power to make hiring decisions (if she did, I wouldn’t be writing this now), she is willing to talk to anyone who does about why I would make a great choice as an employee.

The only way I could apply was through the online website, just like everyone else out there. So much for having an “in.” My manager cannot even break the chain. The best I could do was put her name down on my resume as a reference and hope they would read that far.

The HR department has taken a very hard line regarding the application process. Once they receive your application, you get a confirmation number. This number I received does very little to make me feel certain my electronic submission was received. They state only the most qualified applicants will receive further notification. Once a person has passed muster on paper, the next step is to see if they pass muster over the phone. If the phone interview goes well, then the next step is a face-to-face interview. Once all that is done, a candidate receives an offer, and the job posting is removed from the website.

I checked today, and the posting has been removed. If me contracting at the very same company at which I applied, doing the same job as advertised in the posting isn’t enough to get me in, and if my manager as a reference isn’t enough to get me in, then I don’t know what will be enough. I can only hope that I did pass muster, but the position was closed for other reasons, such as an unexpected hiring freeze.

I just sometimes feel that the HR departments running the application process live in an air-locked compartment. The application and interviewing process has changed, but nobody’s up-to-speed on it yet. There are plenty of articles on how to knock-‘em dead in your interview, but nothing written yet about how to make your electronic resume stand out from the crowd, so that you actually get an interview. The whole point of the resume is to outshine your peers, to get the attention of the decision-makers. Filling in some forms online hardly lets you do that.

I’m feeling a bit pigeonholed into contracting. It’s the next best thing to a “real” job. Yet, it’s awfully frightening to me. I know that I could be let go with no notice. I could be here this morning, and standing in the unemployment line this afternoon. That fear never, ever, ever goes away, either.

It would go away, I suppose, if I was independently wealthy, but I’m not. I still work to live, just like 99% of the rest of us. Being a contractor has made me extremely financially savvy, so I suppose that’s a plus. But it is tough, staying at a place for 2 years, getting to know everyone and their working styles and personal nuances, only to have to start the job search all over again, and start over somewhere new. I wonder if I can get used to it, to learn to accept it and embrace it, love it, even. Maybe in a few more years, after we’ve saved up 6 months’ salary and our stock portfolio has a deep cushion, I will be able to accept contracting as a lifestyle choice. Until then, I’m just going to walk around with angst.