I’ve been distracting myself with NaNoWriMo in the mean time, and I am ahead…but if I do get a job that may affect my ability to finish things up. Especially as I had a lax day yesterday. I did write some but barely a few hundred words, and I didn’t update my word count at all. Ah, well, the story is still rattling around in my head. I’ve been meaning to post an excerpt up on here; but I keep forgetting.

When I decided to dye my hair black I had picked up some L’Oreal cream hair dye at the store because I didn’t want to wait for Special Effects to be delivered before I could go job hunting. WELL — it’s interesting to me that companies warn you about strand testing yourself but they don’t think about the fact that your significant other might have an allergic reaction. Honestly I never bother strand testing because I’ve never had a reaction but just before my husband went to bed last night he commented that his face felt itchy and burning as did one of his hands, at the time I wasn’t sure what had changed in the last twenty four hours. My husband is allergic to some of the chemicals in certain detergents so generally we use Charlie’s Soap for our laundry.

Hubbie went to have a shower to rinse off whatever it was and I suddenly realized that my hair dye had changed in the last twenty four hours, and he’d made the same conclusion. So, I spent last night washing my hair several times with my husband’s shampoo and conditioner to try and rinse of any remaining residue myself. I think I had some kind of sympathy reaction, because as I was rinsing off my hair, before I put the shampoo on, my arms started getting horrendously itchy!

According to most websites I read say the allergic reaction is most commonly caused by something known as PPD (p-Phenylenediamine); the ingredients on the L’Oreal hair dye don’t say that there’s any of that in so I’m a little confused; but still I felt I should write about this experience. In the mean time I’m taking back the box of hair dye that I had for a top up and order the Special Effects dye in replacement, I shouldn’t have to top off the color for a while so it’ll be okay until the dye can get here by mail.

I figure that if I want to make a good impression on prospective bosses I need to tone down my hair a bit. I can be the best applicant EVER; but in our area in particular my appearance at an interview with rainbow hair will probably make people start to consider other people right off the bat. I’m preparing to dye my hair a more normal color now.

I have the top-knot because I can’t completely forgo having multi-colored hair, so that portion of the top-knot will be red streaks that go over the top of the “base” which will be black, given black is the one color that *should* go over the multi-colored hair without me having to bleach my hair within two months of me having bleached it before. Black and red is fairly common place…but I also know aside from my preference for having streaked hair that if my hair is completely black I’ll look like death warmed over, and that’s not a good look to impress bosses with either!

I have a few friends who are upset by this because they voted for McCain. I’m curious as to why people decided to vote the way they did. For me a lot of it was about vibe, and hope, and the fact that Obama seemed to actually have a plan that was designed to try and turn things around, rather than one that seemed content to remain the same, but I value hearing about things from different perspectives, so if anyone out there is reading whether you voted for Obama, McCain, or even Nader or someone else on the ballot what was your reasoning?

I have held down a job before. I worked at the library from 2002 to 2006. I was getting $10.46 an hour when I left, having started at $7.91. I discovered this yesterday when I looked up my final paycheck to have information to send to a temp agency. I thought I was only getting $10.01, but then I’m not a slouch. I consistently got higher than average pay raises because of all the extra work I did outside of my own job description, and how prompt, punctual and accurate I was.

I wonder if perhaps working and feeling useful may help me more psychologically than anything else.

I know my limits, but I do often sell myself short.

Even in this state of duress which I loathe and feel is useless I’m considered to be “high functioning” because I take care of my household. I manage the bills. While the place isn’t spotless it’s liveable. I may constantly forget loads of laundry or get distracted while making dinner, but even so-called “normal” or in this case singleton people do things like that especially while taking care of a toddler. I’ve come up with ways around things which is making lots of notes and leaving myself reminders on my cell phone to do this and do that. I know if I put my minds to it I can do anything. I just have to get myself to believe that.

On the downside, going back to work is doubtless going to mean I have to start dyeing my hair conventional colors again, but to be able to help us climb out of his mountaining debt and actually be able to see the light fiscally again, my expressive hair is a small sacrifice to make. I think the harder thing is going to be not being home with my son.

My husband and I are still sorting out what we may be doing with regards his care, at least 2 or 3 days out of the week my husband can look after him. However if I get a full time and not part time job that might be a bit trickier, we do have roomie and she’s said she can watch him some times, but her own schedule and school work may mean we have to get him in daycare, unless I can find an employer who has a daycare. That’s not something they generally mention in their promotional bags, but still it’s good to try and plan. We do have a few day cares around here, and socializing with other children would be good for him, even if it is only one day a week or so.

These are all bridges to cross as they come up.

Anyway, how are people finding/liking entrecard? Let me know!

Without further ado here’s my entry for Self Portrait Sunday

That’s my Halloween costume. You can’t see it from the way the picture took but I’m wearing a corset, and I have mismatched stripey tights on. We dressed up mostly just to take the munchkin to Publix, but still it was fun all the same.

We dressed the munchkin up too. He was going to be a ninja, but he freaked out about the costume, but it’s big enough it should fit him next year. So, we did a last minute change and put him in green pants, a Halloween shirt that had a pumpkin face on it, and gave him a green hat to be his “stem” and made him a pumpkin.

And there he is. I’m off to see what every one else has been up to this week, by looking at today’s self portrait Sunday entry on Cass’s blog.

I was apparently weirding out some friends who were over last night because I was typing while we were doing the game. We have a wireless keyboard so I could sit with the keyboard in my lap and type away during times my character wasn’t doing anything. I got another 2000 words done during the game, but the fact that I was looking neither at the computer screen nor the keyboard was apparently disconcerting for several of my friends. Ah, well. I hope everyone else is doing well with NaNo (if they’re participating) or for those of you who are participating in NaBloPoMo I wish you the best of luck as well!

I’m hoping since I’ve done a lot of prep work this year that I’ll actually be able to finish my work as I did in 2006. Who knows? If I’m lucky you may soon be able to put it on your office furniture, or keep it on your bedside table. If you like supernatural fantasy that is. For more information you can find me on NaNo at this profile. I’m interested to see how many people around and about are participating in NaNo. I find more people are aware of it than I think.

However, this has afforded me the opportunity to set up the Samhain Special that Roomie and I have been talking about doing for the past week, and for us to coordinate and get the tag line on the new header that I was doing for Look Beyond Mirrors. Spread the word about the special, or take advantage of it yourself. Two readings for actually LESS than the price of one doesn’t happen very often.

Well, that’s enough from me for now. I need to put away the “Fleadh nan Mairbh” and perhaps we’ll do a few divinations of our own for the new year.