Judy Garland

Image: Wizard of Oz

From Google Image Search

Cowardly Lion: Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got?

So the iPhone has me hooked. I play scrabble on it. I post photos directly into my Flickr and Instagram accounts. I use it as my mp3 player since my iPod is being repaired. I find these intriguing applications on it.

Influenced by a co-worker, I am reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and I simply love it.

Not so sure what to make of these calm days in which reading, cooking, working, and dancing some have done to me. I made some great chicken liver paste and that reminded me of my mom. She used to make it for us when we were kids. We loved it. I went to the pool yesterday to relax a bit. Work has been very tough indeed. It's not easy to work with people you don't like, don't trust, don't respect.

I am turning into a makeup addict. With the excuse that I will wear makeup for showcases or for when I go out dancing, I have been buying a lot of new products. I also went to the dermatologist and he taught me a great secret that is just changing the way I feel about my skin. Changing it to the point I like my skin now. I have noticed a change in the color and texture of my skin that just makes me feel great without any make-up product applied on the face. All I need is the secret and the moisturizer. So I went to a store on Thursday and I got a very good mask to clean the skin (without paying for a facial, which I need, but will postpone), a vitamin C serum and a night cream.

On Wednesday, I bought this beautiful Nars Blush that is all shiny and it looks gorgeous with the right light. I also got three Sephora brand shadows that I find gorgeous and are on sale. Yesterday, I got two new brushes (one for shadow and one for eyeliner), a foaming cleanser to remove makeup, a shadow palette, an sparkly green soft eyeliner and a gold glittery eyeliner. From my Mary kay consultant, I ordered a black eye pencil, an illuminating powder and a red-plum sparkly lip gloss.

On Wednesday, after delivering a small container of chicken liver paste at my brother's house, we came home and started watching a documentary on Judy Garland. It was incredible to see her talent and her desperation at the same time. Her self-esteem was so low. She wasn't beautiful per se, but she was super talented. I hate the stereotype of women having to be beautiful while men can just be average looking. She died when she was only 47. It seems to me that she had always sought for a approval and never got it. Even when she thought she would get that from her partners, she would be left hanging. She seemed to be very close to her father and some people speculated that she was attempting to find that kind of love in her adult life. It impresses me that she learned singing from her father. Her mom would play the piano and her father would sing for the children while the family gathered together in the evenings. I empathize with her sense of longing. She never got an Oscar. Not even for her role in "A Star is Born". Being good doesn't guarantee success (but success is very relative as well).