Bingeing

I've recently come to realize that my life is basically a giant, long string of binges.

That's pretty depressing-sounding, isn't it? But that's basically how it works for me. When I find something I really like - whether it be a TV show, a food, a workout, a song, a book, a color - I go at it, hard, until that dead horse had not only been beaten, but its basically turned into a big dead horse pancake. Gross imagery #sorrynotsorry I don't have any solid reasoning for why my life is such a bingefest, although I do have a theory that I like to call Bingeing on A Bunch Of Different Things Is Basically a Creative Form of Everything in Moderation so Obviously I Have My LIfe Pretty Well Under Control.  I mean, if I spend 10 hours watching How I Met Your Mother (I'm still on season 1) one week and then don't watch TV at all for the rest of the next two weeks, is there really anything wrong with that?

This whole self-examination occurred as a result of John Green, who writes books that are almost as philosophical as the above paragraph and which also happened to be the subject of my latest binge. It started with a quote from A Fault in Our Stars, and before I knew it I had my hands on a virtual copy of it and had read myself halfway through the Superbowl. Which I heard was no big loss, but I wouldn't know that because I kept right on reading until I had gotten to the last page and my world was basically falling apart because of people I hadn't even met. And who don't actually exist.

And then before I knew it I was Sparknotesing it and then I was finding book numero two for the night AKA Looking For Alaska, which I proceeded to read until 3 AM, which resulted in me becoming emotionally involved with fictional characters for the second time in 12 hours. 

And I tell you, I haven't opened a book that wasn't required for school since November, and I do love reading. But that was definitely a binge. And it was awesome, and I don't play on changing my lifestyle any time soon!

Please excuse me while I start book numero three aka Paper Towns. 

I obviously hate you and don't value my sanity

I think I must be some kind of psychopath, because recently it seems like I've been really into self torture.  It's starting to become a big issue, because its spreading to the people around me. Like you. So if you want to save yourself, don't scroll any further. Especially if you, like me, live in Michigan, where snow's been falling non-stop since Halloween and most days, the temperature is zero or, if the weather really feels like being an over achiever, lower.

I mean, I don't hate Michigan. I love that we have four seasons (ahem even if winter is wayyyyy longer than all the other ones), but most of the time I'd rather be at the beach. More specifically, the ocean beach on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where we spent a week two summers ago. Things I miss ...

1. Being tan. Oh, how miss being tan. I know, I know, it was probably giving me skin cancer. But I spend so much time not being tan that it probably makes up for the one week out of the year that my skin spends actually exposed to actually exposed to sun!

 2. This

 3. My parents walking on the beach like supermodels. 

 4. This sunset every. night. 

 5. This beach being just 3 blocks away. 

 6. This being my back yard.

 7. The moon being pink. 

 8. The ocean. I've been to the ocean once . . . I fell in love. 

 

 9. Finding seashells. And constantly being happy. And warm. 

Yeah well it works, okay?

I literally haven't washed my hair with shampoo in over a week. No, I'm not turning into some kind of hippie, in spite of hard evidence to the contrary.

Back in 09, when I used to be cool.

Anyway, about that washing my hair thing . . . I don't.  Yep. For the last few days I've been doing that vinegar/baking soda thing that you've maybe heard about because it's a trend now. You heard about it here first, folks. 

In really, really simple terms, it works because baking soda and vinegar aren't as hard on your scalp as shampoo. When you use shampoo, it strips your hair of its natural oils - which is why it feels super-clean at first! - but that eventually causes your hair to work overtime to reproduce the oils, leaving you with - you guessed it - oily hair! That means that most of us have to wash our hair every single day, which causes it to break and just generally be less shiny and gorgeous. Sooooo . . . when you use baking soda and vinegar, it DOESN'T strip your hair of natural oils, so your hair DOESN'T get oily as fast. Rumor has it that after a few weeks of the system, you can go 2-3 days between each wash! 

So, how does it work, you ask? 1 part baking soda to 2-3 parts water. You have to experiment with the amount needed for your hair - I have short hair and use 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of water. Scrub that into your scalp really well (since its not as harsh as shampoo you really have to scrub!) and rinse it out. Next, rinse your hair with a cold vinegar rinse (thats 1 part vinegar to 3-4 parts water) and rinse that out with cold water. You don't have to use cold water, because I mean duh cold water in the winter. Nope. 

Oh, and make sure to put some lavender oil into your vinegar rinse or otherwise get some kind of good smelling spray in your hair, because you don't want to smell like vinegar.  Don't worry too much - one of those things should take care of it. 

Also, prepare to get called a hippie by your family members and for extreme jealousy of everyone who sees your hair, because this stuff works. 

I make good use of my time

Time management has never been an area of strength for me, which really stinks because the world is basically designed for the people who are. Why can't it be so that the people who always show up late, finish projects at the last minute, and do useless, fun things rather than productive, boring things get ahead in life? Because I would be great at that. And the way I see it, I'm going to either have to work against my natural tendencies for MY ENTIRE LIFE or learn to live with the consequences of what some might call "slacking." 

One prime example is my PSG white iPhone case.

It used to be white until Wednesday night, when I decided to decorate it instead of cracking into the pile of books in my backpack. I don't regret that at all. I'm actually kind of proud of it, which is why I wanted to show it to you.  The band sticker came from church camp because I'm hard core, and the prints are from magazines.  Spiderman came off my book cover. The heart is from a note from one of my friends, and the time stamp on the sticker used to be part of a movie ticket. All held together with wood glue and packing tape. It is a quality piece of work. 

Thanks for letting me brag on my very important little project. Go out there and make it a productive day.