Separated at Birth

The Monopoly Man

AND


MinnieI'm just saying...

Scary...

Check out this article on Perezhilton.com here!

OMG what happened to Madonna's face? I know...too much plastic surgery! This picture frightened me when I saw it and I just couldn't look away! I have never been a fan of Madonna just for the record but it looks like she has reached a new low.

Now, I think a little nip and tuck is all fine and dandy (if you have that kind of money) but how do people not realize when enough is enough!?! How can Michael Jackson look in the mirror and think that he will look better if he gets another nose job or new cheek implants?

Also it seems like EVERY major celebrity out there has had work done on their face if you stop and notice. Angelina Jolie for example: her lips are all real, but do you remember what her nose looked like when she first started out? See Here .
Or here

She had a perfect nose that any normal person would be lucky to have! A much different nose than she has now! See here,
or here
Her poor little nose keeps getting thinner and thinner!


The scariest part of all is that it's not just celebrities that look like this these days. I was at the Estee Lauder counter a while back and the lady working behind the counter had fake lips and cheek implants... I mean not just a few collagen injections but she was verging on the Cat woman: see here

I was thinking....she works at the Estee Lauder counter at Dillards! How can she afford this magnitude of surgery? She probably is in loads of debt b/c she thinks her "perfect" lips will be worth it, but how can someone not see that they look like a freak? I just don't understand...

One armed Em

I feel like I only have one usable hand right now :-(

Ever since I played the POS Frumpet in marching band I have had tingly sensations and irritation in my hands and wrists. For example when I push a shopping cart across a parking lot my hands ache and tingle. Or if I am driving on a rough road my hands hurt from the vibrations on the steering wheel. Not fun, but it has never severely interfered with my life. I never saw a doctor about it but I have suspected that I have some kind of nerve damage or carpal tunnel syndrome.

Flash forward to June 2008. I woke up this morning with my wrist absolutely killing me!I am in a ceramics class and have been learning to throw on a potter's wheel. Now when you watch potters do this they make it look effortless, but in reality it takes a lot of strength to move the clay where you want it. This has apparently aggravated my wrist/hand condition because it is so painful that just the action of gripping a light object sends a sharp pain from my wrist down my arm.

I can't turn a doorknob, open the fridge, or pick up my 2 lb puppy without being in great pain. I'm really upset b/c I love my ceramics class and fear that this is going to stop my progress of learning the wheel in its tracks. Monday morning I plan on setting a dr.'s appointment with a hand specialist so I can get this thing diagnosed and treated. Such a bummer...

Happy

I am almost finished with my first week of summer classes and I am SO happy! I am taking ceramics and photography this session, and drawing in the second summer session. Drawing and painting are kind of my fortes, so ceramics and photography were kind of out of my comfort zone. BOY am I glad I took them anyway!

In 3 days of my ceramic class I've finished a large abstract sculpture (that's ready to go in the kiln) and learned how to throw pots on the potter's wheel and trim them! It is SO much more productive than boring business classes that put me to sleep! This class is at 8am and I have to drive a ways to get there, but even though it's early, I am excited to wake up every morning because I look forward to class so much!

Somehow, I feel alive again. A hole in my life has been filled in. I feel that my purpose in life must involve art and in hindsight I can't believe that I didn't realize this sooner. In high school I had art in my life, but I was always distracted somehow by boys and other high school things. Now that I have Glenn and art in my life I am just about the happiest girl in the world!

I really think I have a high level of natural talent, but also I have worked hard my whole life to try to be a good artist. Everything is coming easily to me now; I feel like I'm at the point where every piece of art I have observed and done in my life is sitting in my brain and so when I am designing something, my mind somehow just knows what a good design/ composition looks like without thinking about it. It's hard to describe, but it's almost like the less I think about it, the easier it comes out in my artwork. For whatever reason that art comes easily to me, I KNOW I can do great things!

For the first time I can see a career that is enjoyable for myself and even exciting to me- being an art teacher! What other job allows you to be immersed in your subject of interest, affect young people's lives, get to attend art classes on the school district' dime, gets the summers off, and still starts out making around 45,000/yr? It's a pretty awesome gig! Teaching in college and simultaneously being able to sell my own artwork in galleries would be my ideal goal, but I will start with teaching high school.

I will post pictures of my new artwork when they are totally finished!

I'll see you on the Dark Side of the Moon

This past Sunday, Glenn, me, and my parents attended the Roger Waters concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion in the Woodlands. In the first act he played pretty much every one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs that aren't on Dark Side of the Moon and then in the second act he played the entire Dark Side of the Moon album. The pictures in this blog aren't mine but were taken by others at other stops on Roger Water's tour, so are pretty much what my pics would have looked like if I had taken them.



The Dark Side of the Moon is a masterpiece in my opinion. Hearing it live was just incredible. No other band has ever been able to affect my mood and emotions in the same way that Pink Floyd does every time I listen to them. So hearing it live combined with the pyrotechnics, lasers, and light effects was amazing. I had chills just hearing the first few notes.

So many idiots were at that concert though! It never ceases to amaze me how many people pay money for tickets, but all throughout the concert repeatedly get up from their seats to buy more $8 beer from the concessions stand. Even if they remember the show they have missed half of it just by waiting in line. I wouldn't have taken my eyes off of that show if it was pouring rain and someone was passing out hundred dollar bills outside the pavillion!


Many people think of Pink Floyd as a "drug band" because they are sort of Psychedelic. If you actually listen to their music, they are all about the torture they feel because of their friend/ former bandmate Syd Barret who fried his brain on drugs at an extremely early age. Syd Barrett's life to me is one of the most tragic stories of all time. He was creative and the driving force behind Pink Floyd in the beginning...then got to the point where he couldn't function or play music anymore, so they replaced him. They went on to make unbelievably passionate music inspired by Syd...better than before. And so they achieved what Syd had wanted without him, but because of him. Of course they tell this story so much better with their songs. I don't think one can really understand Pink Floyd without knowing the back -story though...and many don't think to look that deep.

...The time is gone, the blog is over; thought I'd something more to say ;-)

Minnie's (almost) 4 month stats

My little baby Minnie had her final puppy check-up and set of vaccinations today. She is nearly 4 months old! My how time flies. She still only weighs 2.08lbs (up from 1.15lb 3wks earlier). Although I am happy that she finally surpassed the 2 lb mark, her lack of weight is such a source of stress for me. The vets think that she is just a small girl and that's just how she is made but I am supposed to watch her closely for signs of liver shunts. Not growing at a normal rate is a symptom of this, but she hasn't shown any other signs-hopefully she never will! Minnie is SO spunky and acts like she feels great so I have to keep reminding myself of that!

On a lighter note we attended her 2nd puppy obedience class today and she is doing very well. She is quite observative and a quick learner. So far she can sit and is walking on a leash just great! It is common for people to chuckle when they see her walking by on a leash because when I walk Minnie it looks very similar to walking a furry guinea pig in a harness!

PS Molly is still a perfect girl. She is so sweet and patient with the puppy 99% of the time.

Here is a video of them playing:

It's been a while...

It has been a while since I have posted anything. It has been bugging me that the name of my blog is still "Calicallaghans" and since we no longer live in CA that doesn't seem very accurate anymore now does it? I suppose I should start a new one, but I am lazy.

Also my biggest readers before were my parents who now live a short distance away and know everything already, so it feels a bit pointless to post blogs. OH well.

I do have some big news! (and my parents don't know this just yet b/c it is very new, so there you go)

I just got officially accepted today (via letter in the mail) to University of Houston Clear Lake! I will be going there to earn my master of arts in humanities w/ an emphasis in Art. Basically that means that I get to take lots of applied art classes and a few required humanities classes.

After that I am thinking of teaching. Not totally sure yet though since I have a while to decide. The awesome part about that is that since I will have my master's I will get paid more AND if I want to teach in college eventually I can.

Meanwhile I will be substitute teaching for extra moolah. I am a bit nervous about wranging teenagers but I better get used to it!