I haven’t been blogging much, or writing in general. I think I’ve been in a funk. I blame winter. I can’t even fathom my despair if somehow Obama hadn’t been elected. Fortunately he was, and good for all of us.

Anyway, I am going to make an effort to write here, mainly for the pleasure I take in keeping a record of my random thoughts. Thanks to anyone who reads it.

So let’s start with what’s been on my mind. I woke up very early this morning from a dream that I was lost as I tried to make my ferry. I had parked my car somewhere and was now riding a bike, using my sense of direction to locate the water. I thought I would miss my boat. I got there, but I was frustrated and forgot where my car was. I tried to call Brian on my cellphone. I woke up and it was 5:30, the radio was on.

Kona stretched and came to my side to lick my hand and do her little whine. I petted her soft head; she had her bath last night. She’s the kind of dog who allows us to bathe her, stands submissively in the tub with a sad look on her face. When she is all towel dried and has been released from the bathroom, she then sprints around the house like a maniac for about 20 minutes. I don’t understand, but it’s funny.

I got up at six and fed the animals, poured coffee into two cups, and prepared a bowl of cereal. When I was done eating, I spent about 20 minutes washing up and putting on makeup.

I have turned into someone who likes wearing makeup. This was not so for about 30 years. If I wore anything at all, it was a poorly drawn liner and inappropriate eyeshadow smeared on my upper lid. And a neutral lipstick. But usually, nothing. It amazes me that I went for years and years at a fashion corporation and didn’t bother with makeup most of the time. I have a theory about this.

Times are tough and I wont be splashing out on handbags or shoes or whatever this year at the level to which I became accustomed when I made a lot more money and my future was more certain. But I can afford makeup. And putting on a pretty face boosts my confidence. I know I’m not alone in this. Lipstick sales are a very predictable measure of consumer confidence — meaning the more makeup is sold, the worse the economy is. It’s a relatively cheap, feel-good treat.

So I’ve been treating myself to a few nice new brushes and shadows and nail polishes, and have been teaching myself how to put it all on so that I don’t look slutty or tired. I should watch some of those youtube tutorials, there are thousands of them on eye makeup application.

I typically do this: first I wash my face, then apply the Clindomycin my dermo prescribed two weeks ago to kill bacteria and hopefully clear up my skin. Of course it doesn’t work until six weeks in, so I haven’t seen much of a change. But I’m patient. After that dries, I put on a Clinique moisturizer with SPF 25.

Then I pat on just a bit of compact foundation, Teint Innocence by Chanel. The only foundation I have EVER liked. I just spot treat the redness on my cheeks, really. I don’t use blush, I don’t need it, this is not full-coverage stage makeup.

Eyes: a neutral base by Clinique called “Canvas” over the lids. Then I pick a colorway from my eye shadow collection. Lately I’ve really liked the Chanel “Mystic Eyes” compact (bottom center). But I try to rotate through as many of them as I can, and use what I’ve purchased. That said, I have never cleaned out an eye shadow pot.

Then I apply a thin line of eye liner above my eye lashes. I like Clinique cream shaper, it’s the only pencil I use. Though I have this dark blue Laura Mercier color that works like a watercolor — you wet a flat brush and smudge it in the pigment, then carefully tightline around the lashes. It’s kind of time-consuming and requires practice but the effect is great. Applying makeup well is kind of like learning to paint in miniature.

Lastly, I curl my eyelashes and brush on a little bit of black Lancome mascara. I usually wear pretty neutral lip color, unless I do minimal eye makeup, in which case I go with one of my favorite lipsticks, Chanel “Enthusiast”. I wait until my commute to put on lip color because I always kiss Brian goodbye and he hates getting lip gloss on his mouth, lol.

Anyway. It’s fun but I want to get better at it. My goal in wearing makeup is to even my complexion a little and bring out the shape and color of my eyes and mouth. That’s about it. I don’t like to wear a ton of it because it’s a bitch to take off. I wish I could do something about the circles under my eyes but I think that’s a lost cause. Concealer, I find, just sinks into the creases and highlights rather than hides them. So basically I need more water and sleep.

Tonight my plan is to do an hour of Wii Fit when I get home, then have a light dinner. Since I went to Dick’s for lunch which will probably come back to haunt me. At least I didn’t get the milkshake.

Speaking of milkshakes, we watched There Will Be Blood last night. Beautiful film, but god, could it have been more disturbing? Daniel Day Lewis earned his Oscar for sure. But his character was a fucking monster and I hate that I was nearly coaxed into sympathizing with him. I wanted more of the son’s story, to be honest. It was a great film, but so bleak, and no need to see it again any time soon.

We also watched Kingpin, which I had never seen before. It was pretty dumb, being a Farrelly movie. I found the hairpieces fascinating, and the funniest joke in the film.

So, two movies with bowling alley scenes. Very, very different bowling alley scenes.