Wardrobe issues

Sorry for my absence, loyal readers. I had another life killer headache. Three days of misery! Fun times.

During my absence, I went into Manhattan for a job interview. Here's what happened.

I prepared all weekend. I laid out my outfit, bought new shoes, packed and repacked my purse, and gathered together my writing samples and resume. I was ready.
Day of the interview, I got dressed, then realized that my shoes were ridiculously uncomfortable, so I tossed them in a bag and put on flats. I wore my ModCloth River Boat Tour dress, with a shrug over it, and my patent leather Blowfish flats.

Then I drove to my parent's house in Elizabeth. My dad offered to drop me off at the train so I parked at their house to save on parking. My dad was adorable. He kept asking me if I was prepared and was I nervous. I was. And I said so. :)

So I'm on the train. And my mind starts working overtime. I get all panicky. "Is my dress appropriate?" "I think it's too short." "It's too wintery." "I look ridiculous." "I can't believe I wore this." "They won't hire me! I have no fashion sense!!!" and so on and so on. By the time I get off in Penn Station, I have convinced myself that I look horrible and need to change.

The sales girls helped me choose.
They were awesome.

So what do I do? I run into H&M. And while in H&M I remember that nothing in H&M fits me right, so I leave and go to Old Navy. I grab a skirt and shirt, pay, and change in the dressing room. I am now wearing this:

I had luckily brought the tote for my shoes, so I stuffed the ModCloth dress in there. I'm aware that I have issues.

So I take the subway to SoHo and arrive about 15 minutes early. I hang out in front of the building for about 5 minutes because I don't want to be too early, then go in. I change my shoes in the elevator.

I have my interview, and I think it went well. I really really hope it went well. It's definitely a position I can see myself doing well in.

I change my shoes again in the elevator.

And then I met up with my cousin and we got Americanized Dosa for lunch.

After Americanized Dosa, we go to UniQlo. I have beef with UniQlo. My cousin goes in and is looking for jeans. He is super hipster skinny, so we go to the women's department. He finds skinny lady jeans and purchases. While he is in the dressing room, I look around. Now, I know that I'm not a skinny girl. The skirt I got at Old Navy was a size large. I'm ok with my curves. I've come to terms with the fact that I will never look right in certain outfits. Some things just aren't meant to be worn by a person shaped like me. That said, I was looking around UniQlo and couldn't find anything over a size medium. There was maybe two size larges in the whole store. And these weren't normal size larges. I think their size large could possibly fit my 7 year old niece. Maybe. And only because she's really skinny. The shelves were packed with extra smalls. Seriously. I saw a girl working there who wasn't a toothpick, and wondered if she was ever able to take advantage of her employee discount. It didn't look like it.

So I left UniQlo feeling a bit down that all my clothes come from Old Navy and Target. But that's ok. The Target dress I'm wearing today cost less than a T-shirt at UniQlo. Win!

I got back to Penn Station and went back to Elizabeth. And was picked up by a very confused father. "Weren't you wearing black when I dropped you off?" "Long story, dad."

Summer reading list

I've been rereading books that I already own and love. It started when I reread the entire Harry Potter series in anticipation of the last movie. (Except book 6. I can't find book 6. If I lent it to any of you, please give it back. It's driving me crazy.) I also watched all of the movies again because I'm a geek that way and I have the time.

After I finished the HP series, I began reading all of Neil Gaiman's books again. He's my favorite author, and the 10th anniversary edition of American Gods (my favorite book) is coming out on June 21. I finished Anansi Boys and Neverwhere, and started Good Omens last night.

Other books on my to be reread list:
Smoke and Mirrors
Fragile Things
Stardust
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
A Suitable Boy
World War Z
Sacred Games
Fight Club
Haunted
Stiff
and whatever else I dig up in the boxes that currently house my book collection.

Anyone have book suggestions?

All about eyes

Hi friends! Today I want to talk about eye makeup. I have bought, tried, and discarded TONS of mascaras and eyeliners. Here are my favorites.

Mascara
I currently have three go-to mascaras. One for everyday use, one for special occasions, and one just because I love it.

My everyday mascara is Maybelline Full 'N Soft. I've used this since high school and it's never failed me. I don't like my lashes to be hard and spider leg-like, and this lives up to its name, giving me lots of volume while leaving my lashes soft.

My special occasion mascara is Maybelline Falsies Volum'Express Mascara. It gives me major length and thickness, but I only use it when I really need to add drama because it tends to flake off. It lasts FOREVER, so make sure you remove it thoroughly before going to bed or you will get serious raccoon eyes. It also lasted through tears at a friend's wedding. Bonus points!

My splurge mascara is Urban Decay Big Fatty. It works just like the Full 'N Soft, but it goes on much faster and smoother because of its huge brush. I've tried it in a few colors, but the basic black is the best.

Eyeliner
I've searched and searched for eyeliner that won't smudge under my eyes. After years of testing, I've found a few that work for me.

My current eyeliner is Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil in black. Application is smooth and it lasts all day. I use this on my upper lash line.

For drama, I use Smashbox Jet Set Eyeliner. This eyeliner comes in a pot and is applied with a brush. (I use the MAC ultra thin angled eyeliner brush.) I like how versatile this eyeliner is. It goes on much easier than liquid liners, but you can get the same effect. I used to use MAC Fluidline Eye Liner Gel and loved it, but I like the feel of the Smashbox better. I've also tried the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel eyeliner, which is half the price of the Smashbox eyeliner and comes with its own brush, but it doesn't go on as smooth.

For my lower water line, I use Hashmi Kajal, which I don't recommend for everyone. This is the eyeliner that I don't leave the house without. I usually buy it through eBay or Amazon, since I can't find it in Edison. It's a bit tricky to apply, but it puts color on both the upper and lower inner eyelid once you get the hang of it. It is smudgy, and gives you the smokey eye look with very little effort. I was going to make a how-to video for this, but there isn't enough light in my house. Sorry.

Adventures in dating presents: Angry Guy

I had promised to tell my tales of dating gone wrong. I guess it's time.

My first tale deals with a gentleman we'll call "Angry Guy." Angry Guy messaged me on the dating site. After a bit of back and forth, he asked me if I wanted to get something to eat after work. He hadn't raised any red flags, so I agreed and we met up in Princeton at Triumph Brewery.

Dinner was fine. Conversation was good. I was charming. He was funny. It was all good. After the check was paid (by him), he asked if I wanted to go for a walk. Still, no red flags had been raised, so I said "sure!"

We walked across Nassau Street to the benches set out in front of Princeton University's library and sat. Again, conversation flowed easily. But then a lady in an SUV attempted to park in a street spot in front of us. She was having some difficulty, as the spot was pretty small. And the entire mood changed.

Angry Guy began berating her for being a "stupid chick driver, this is why I hate everyone who drives SUVs, people need to learn how to drive," and on and on. The language was a bit more colorful. I paraphrased.

Not knowing how to respond to this, I sort of laughed, hoping he was joking. He wasn't. After the SUV gave up, he began yelling (YELLING) at some college kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk in front of us. Apparently they were "smelly hippies" who should "learn how to share the sidewalk with other humans" They weren't really bothering us. And we were sitting pretty far from where they were riding. And also, he was directly yelling at these kids, who pedaled off, horrified.

And me? Suddenly I needed to get home, cause there was an emergency. ("Hi Charlotte it's Carrie, something bad happened." "SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED!?!?!?" One of my favorite episodes EVER.)

I got a message from him the next day. He asked how I was doing, and would I like to go out another time? I said no, thank you. He replied with a tirade on how this is the reason I'm still single! That girls shouldn't go out with a guy just once and then be a b*tch and never call again and he didn't want to go out with me again cause I wasn't good enough for him anyway! !!!

So yeah. Dating was fun only for my work bffs, Anne and Cecilia, who would hear my stories the next day and laugh merrily because they were happily married/engaged. (Love you girls. :) )

They were also integral to my screening process. If I was unsure about a guy, I would forward the profile and pics to them for approval/denial.

Knowledge Junkie

Hey everyone! Sorry I missed a few days. Two things caused the delay in posts:

1. I had one of my life killer headaches. (It's still not completely gone.)
2. The new issue of Mental Floss was delivered.

When the new Mental Floss arrives, all other activities must halt until I've read it from cover to cover, at least twice. It's random knowledge at its finest. I feel as though my internal random information generator has been restocked.

I started reading Mental Floss when I worked at Barnes & Noble. I was a music seller (aka music snob), and could name a song from a customer's bad singing in just seconds. Looking back, that was the best job I've had so far. It's where I was happiest. My coworkers were smart and quirky. I still talk to many of them, and it's been almost 10 years since I worked there. Maybe it's the headache talking, but I miss that place.