Soaring Ceilings and Lovely Wooded Views

Looking at apartments, I came across this hilariously yuppie description:

Imagine coming home to a resort setting with everything you need at your fingertips. Your sport utility vehicle fits with ease in your 2 car private garage. As you enter your home, you are welcomed by soaring ceilings and lovely wooded views. Walk-in closets ensures a clutter-free existence and spacious rooms aid easy positioning of your overstuffed furniture. Deluxe appliances and in-suite washer and dryer make your active lifestyle easier to manage.

In the summer, enjoy a refreshing swim in our pool. During cooler months join us in the luxuriously appointed clubhouse to watch the latest movie on our big-screen TV. Open 24-hours a day, our resort style fitness facility boasts equipment that rivals even the best private clubs.”

I wish I could say I was kidding. I am not kidding. I wonder if I have to buy the requisite “overstuffed furniture” to even get a tour of the place?

And really, there is no way The Boy and I could afford these apartments, so I suppose it’s all for naught.

Perfect Drug

A conversation I had with a co-worker, who also happens to write for semi-popular sports blog, Major League Jerk:

[Me]: Can I please tell you a secret, under a blanket, in a closet, at 3 in the morning, out in the country? …I’m looking forward to football season.
[Him]: Hahaha…why?
[Me]: No idea. I’m just looking forward to it. /god help me
[Him]: Football is a drug…your life revolves around it but the actual experience is rarely rewarding. You better stay away.

I’m not even a huge sports fan (basketball is the only game I actually understand while I’m watching) but for whatever reason, football feels the most familiar to me. I feel that all will be right with the world when the Buckeyes and the Browns take the field.

Quote of the Day

I’ve never been a huge fan of Apple: I had two iPods that turned into paperweights, and I’m not really a big fan of ultramodern design. I know it’s fun to make fun of Microsoft for strangling the competition, but Apple is worse – they’re just better at packaging it.

So, with that, I bring you today’s quote of the day:

The catch: You’ve got to be willing to jailbreak your iPhone. Why? Because Apple is demonstrating that they’re perfectly happy locking out any application or tool that will improve your iPhone experience in ways that don’t gel with their corporate synergy. (Yeah, we said corporate synergy—nice work, Apple.)

Thanks to Adam Pash, care of Lifehacker, in regards to this entry.

The Trouble with “Twilight”

I could probably spend several entries hashing back and forth the merits and shortcomings of Twilight (God knows I have annoyed friends/co-workers/The Boy about that beloved/be-shitted book). But it’s becoming a very tired subject on the internet, so I’ll send you out to do your own research. However, if I may, this site has some awesome Twilight snark.

All I can vouch for is the fact that I did not want to read the books, nor did I want to see the film, and I certainly wasn’t going to listen to the album. But I did all three and ended up feeling the same way every lover/detractor felt about Twilight: the glue used to bind those books must be infused with crack, because I cannot put them down.

Ask any literary critic (and casual fan), and they will admit – hell, even Meyer herself basically admitted – the writing in the series is damn near appalling. And word on the street is that in the fourth book, there are even continuity errors – this should not happen if you have a competent editor. You know me: I’m not one to accuse or anything, but hey, what exactly happened (or did not happen) in an effort to push this book into bookstores?

So, there’s no denying that Twilight is an affront to literature and writers – and I think Laura, Erica and I could totally spend hours supporting and tearing this book apart (yes, ladies, I am absolutely issuing a call to arms).

But the thing that I find most displeasing about this whole Twilight “thing” is that it makes me want to come out of fan-fiction retirement, “rewrite” the book and mail it back to Stephanie Meyer with a note that says, “Next time, please…just don’t.”

I had no idea I could/would ever come out of fan-fiction retirement – do you see what you do to me, Stephanie Meyer? Do you?

StyckyWycket Recommends: Products During Accutane

During both courses of my Accutane treatments, they crossed through the harsh Cleveland winters.  The main focus and drive of getting through Accutane is: how do I keep my hair/skin from being so damn dry?

My first round with Accutane, I had to spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out which products were going to provide the moisture I desperately needed. It would have been great to have information collected here; and I’ve checked the stats on my blog, and have seen that I’ve been getting a lot of traffic from people who have been looking for information about Accutane.

In this entry, I’ll cover the products that I’ve used that I think have helped me greatly.

1. Basic Skin Cleansing and Moisturizing

During my first round of treatment, I was using Clinique’s Comforting Cream Cleanser, but it’s a little pricey and doesn’t last terribly long ($18.50/5oz). This time around, I am using Cetaphil’s Gentle Cleanser ($11.49/16oz), which I think works great: it breaks up my makeup, cleans without stripping, and a single bottle will last you through a standard six-month treatment (really! I am the queen of using way too much product).

I used to moisturize with Clinique’s Moisture Surge, but again, it’s pricey ($46.50/2.5oz) and I was re-applying a lot. On the upside, Moisture Surge can be applied over makeup without having to worry about it smudging.

This course of treatment, I switched over to Cetaphil’s DailyAdvance Ultra Hydrating Lotion For Dry, Sensitive Skin ($10.79/8oz), which I think is actually body lotion, but all of Cetaphil’s products are non-comedogenic, so there is are no worries that this ultra-moisturizing cream will cause any pore-blockage. Using the moisturizer means that I only have to moisturize once a day, instead of re-applying several times a day to cover flakes of dry skin. No tightness, no flakes. It gets an A in my book.

The only awkward side effect? My nose sweats. Just my nose. I don’t know if this is standard for this moisturizer, or just me. It’s not uncontrollable, but I do have to wipe my nose before meetings.

2. Body Wash

Very simply, I use Classic Ivory soap. It’s inexpensive ($1.99/3 bars) and there are no detergents or fragrances in it. The only other thing that I would steer people towards is maybe vegetable glycerin soap, which also has no fragrance or detergents.

3. Shampoo/Conditioner

I’m fairly lucky because I have a water softener, so that really helps to keep my hair from getting fried. But, in my first course, I used Aveda’s hair products. I still recommend Aveda’s Dry Remedy Moisturizing line. They aren’t inexpensive, but I honestly believe that when your hair is falling out because of the Accutane treatment, you need products that are as natural as you can possibly get. Aveda does that.

The Ritual Kit has the shampoo, the conditioner, and the moisture mask all-included for $74.00, which is $10 off what it would cost to buy each of the products separately. Of course, though, you can buy them separately and not even get the hair mask and be just as well off.

And, as is true for all of Aveda’s products, a little goes a long way.

4. Body Lotion

I only really need lotion when I shave my legs, but my go-to product that delivers a lot of moisture and soaks in really well is Vaseline Intensive Care Total Moisture, Dry Skin Lotion. It’s very good for hands, too, and a huge bottle is relatively inexpensive ($7.00/24,5oz). I have a feeling that you’ll carry this from your Accutane treatment through to all of your body/hand moisturizing needs through the year.

5. Lip Treatment

If any of you are having the same experience that I’ve had, the first thing that dries out and the last thing to get moisture back is your lips. I would honestly say that I would take all of the other symptoms twofold if only I could have the lip dryness not happen.

During my first treatment, I used Carmex for chapped lips ($2.49/.5 oz,) but I know that it’s cheaper at Wal-Mart, Drug Mart and CVS). I really liked it’s staying power.

This time around, I’m using Blistex Lip Medex ($2.19/.38 oz). I think it has the same softening, moisturizing, and staying power, but I feel like it warms up better with your body heat and doesn’t feel quite as thick and sticky.

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You’ll notice that I took a lot of time to find products that you can get in your local drugstore. And I think even in some cases, you can use HSA dollars to pay for these items.  I’m pretty lucky in that my prescription coverage is very extensive and my prescription for the generic brand is only $10. However, my first course of treatment cost $100 month, and that didn’t count the co-pays or the blood tests. The point is that you don’t need really, really expensive products to provide the moisture you need to have a comfortable experience while on Accutane.

I really hope that this helps: please feel free to leave a comment letting me know how these recommendations worked for you.