Uncreated Conscience

Looking back on some of my blog posts since starting work here at St. Martin’s Press, I’ve become slightly baffled by how much I talk about work. It’s like I have no life, you guys! How horrifying! It’s time I return to a self-centered, narcissistic monologue about my life.

(Not really. Except kind of really.)

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade!

I started this blog long before I was ever in publishing, but slowly and insidiously, the industry has infiltrated my entire existence–including social media. Cap’n Sweet Valley has me tweeting and Facebook-ing as part of my job description (not that I mind) and when I come home, it seems that all I can discuss/think/eat/breathe are books. I used to have hobbies! What happened to them?

I don’t miss much about being unemployed: the crippling bouts of depression and feelings of futility, the uncertainty of what I was going to do with my life, the fact that I was often eating ramen noodles, but damn if I don’t miss the endless amounts of time to devote to whatever creative urge moved me. And I have a lot of them: photography, art, animation, webdesign, piano, guitar, music, and writing. But more than that, I used to be frivolous! I liked being frivolous! What happened to frivolity?

So I devote this blog entry to frivolity. Exhibit number one: Med school prom!

What I wore to med school prom last year.

Last year I went to prom with Bear dressed in a fabulous orange bias-cut dress, pretending we were a gangster and moll from the 30s (I like to dress up).

Bear and I doing our best Prohibition look. All Bear needs is a gun.

Because I don’t like to repeat myself, and because this year’s theme is masquerade (last year didn’t have a theme), here is what I’m wearing this year.

Masquerade Prom!

Thankfully I was able to recycle the shoes and the faux-fur stole, and the dress is a vintage party dress from the 80s that once belonged to my mother. It is a size 8 and I can barely breathe in it. I bought a pair of Spanx from Ricky’s (along with the mask), but found out I had accidentally bought a pair for people who weighed 240lbs or more. I was proud of myself for having gotten away with paying so little until I stepped into Sephora and bought the entire Urban Decay makeup section.

Glitter eye makeup!

Nevertheless, I am pleased with the final look, even if I can’t seem to get a decent shot of its glittertastic goodness. Because of the dress, I was aiming for Sarah’s hallucinogenic ballroom sequence in the movie Labyrinth, complete with the requisite enormous hair. Now, if I can only convince Teddy Bear to dress up as Jareth the Goblin King…

And Frivolous Exhibit Number Two: LOST THE FINAL SEASON. Psychic Roommate and I are having a low-key get-together with some friends. We have decided to dress up tonight as our favourite characters: Psychic Roommate as Charlie and me as Ben Linus. I’ve got the glasses, khaki pants, dress shirt, and possibly even a fake ham, but I am sadly lacking the receding hairline, bulging watery eyes, and lack of eyebrows. Oh well. I love you anyway, Ben!

I will also say that I am absolutely thankful it’s the final season because I can finally quit this show. I have a bad track record with TV shows; they’re like abusive relationships I can’t get out of. I’m also somewhat of a serial monogamist when it comes to television. I KNOW they will hurt me, but I’m loyal so I will watch to the bitter end. (And the endings were bitter in some cases. Why must you hurt me in this way, X-Files?)

That is all. I will most definitely return with work-related posts in the future, but I felt as though I needed to find the shallow girl I know lives inside me.