Diary of a Manicurist

I am grateful on so many levels for my job at Beauty Bar. The job has helped keep my finances level ever since I left the Hard Rock over 3 years ago. To begin listing the amazing people I would have never met if it were not for that job would be a task I couldn't even begin. So, why? WHY? WHY??? Why am I tired of doing something that has only brought me good things? I still need the money and I wish I didn't. Why can't I make enough at the salon to not need any extra jobs? I'm so ready to kick Avon and Beauty Bar to the curb just because I'm so tired, overworked and frustrated. Life gets really sad when you can't even enjoy something you love anymore. I don't know how to fix it. I don't know what to do about it. I sit here thinking about all the wonderful people who visit my table at Beauty Bar every week. I love them all. I get to connect with them for 20 minutes then like a revolving door, 20 minutes later there's someone new sitting there. I only ...

Yeah, that's me...well, it used to be me. When I stepped on the scale February 20th and it read one pound shy of a weight I said I'd never weigh, I got angry. Thankfully, anger and I are good friends and when I get angry I get motivated. I decided right then that I was gonna go for 30 days without eating fast food. At that point in time I had been eating fast food between 4 to 8 times a week. I've been eating fast food this often for the past 22 years! Here's how I got to that point: I was born with a very high metabolism and was always so skinny that people would ask me if I was sick. In college, I barely weighed 100 lbs and could eat 2 full plates of food in the dorm cafeteria while the heavy girls sat there with two peas on their plate, hating me. All eyes would watch me if I ever got up to go to the bathroom after eating. I swear I've never thrown up my food purposefully nor have I ever been anorexic. I was born skinny and I was teased and tormented about it but...

A short concert review I wrote after seeing Angels And Airwaves a couple months ago.... I attended Area 107.9's Big Damn Holiday Jam on 12/11 at the Hard Rock Hotel. I was so excited to finally see headliners Angels and Airwaves and they gave a performance that surpassed my expectations! Angels and Airwaves is the new project of former Blink-182 vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge and former Offspring drummer Atom Willard. They first caught my attention with their 2006 hit "The Adventure" which remains one of my favorite songs to this day. If you listen to alt-rock radio, you've heard the chilling lyrics: "Hey oh, here I am/And here we go/Life’s waiting to begin/I can not live/I can’t breathe/Unless you do this with me". The most recent single off their new album I-Empire called "Everything's Magic" is currently in heavy rotation on 107.9 fm. DeLonge spent a lot of time telling jokes and stories to the crowd as it was obviously very important t...

There is something about every Friday that fucks with me. If I knew why, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog. Yesterday however, took f'ed up Fridays to a whole new level. I went to see Louis XIV perform at the Rio Thursday night and while driving home there was an eerie fog over the city. The top of Mandalay Bay was actually invisible, hidden by clouds. It was beautiful in a creepy way. When when I woke up Friday morning I went to the window wondering if there might be snow on the trees...I LIVE IN LAS VEGAS. What was I thinking?? I have greater odds of being dealt a royal flush on a video poker machine than I do of finding snow on trees here in November. However, it was raining like hell which is also something quite rare. So I went off to work in the rain and haze and I don't usually work on Fridays but it's mortgage week and I needed to make up for having Thanksgiving weekend off. In the break room was a plate full of these tiny lime-looking fruits. They we...

There are lots of reasons I haven't been around lately. These reasons have been brewing for a year and I'm tired. I'm so tired of so many things... I decided in October that I'm indefinitely boycotting concerts. I am beyond sick of paying exorbitant concert ticket prices. Never in my life have I ever missed the following performers when they've been through town: Collective Soul, Marilyn Manson, Alice In Chains. I missed all of them in one month's time and it would have cost me over $200. Not to mention I would have also liked to have seen Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades when they were here, add another $35. There were a handfull of small shows as well like Winger, Warrant, Kings of Leon, add $65. That doesn't even include having a couple beers at each show. So yes, I missed them all in just 8 weeks. I've been wondering for years why I can't ever seem to get my credit cards paid off and now I know. I just paid one off last week. If I continue t...

Back in Indiana I have a best friend named Vikie. Vikie and I have lived parallel lives for the past 20 years. We always seem to be going through similar experiences at the same time. For example, the day before I jumped on a plane to start a new life and be self-employed in Las Vegas, I helped her paint the walls of a new salon that she would soon be opening. During my most recent visit with beloved Vikie I learned that her life was going in a completely different direction than mine for the first time ever. I took a look around me and felt like I had fallen into stagnant waters. With the way I set my life up I have already reached the "glass ceiling" and can't get any further. I'm stuck with no way to achieve my future goals without sacrifices that wouldn't be worth it. I went into panic mode--a full blown mid-life crisis. I had myself so stressed out that the veins in my neck were twitching and throbbing visibly. I've never felt this helpless and hopeless. ...

I decided that the best thing I've written so far is my review of Jet's concert at the Hard Rock pool this summer. It was originally published online at Glam-Metal.com (http://www.glam-metal.com/jet.html) It was also printed in the June issue of Vegas Rocks Magazine. So I thought I would share it here as well, minus the photos. Enjoy... On April 27th Jet took the stage again in Las Vegas, this time at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino pool. I was so thankful to be in the front row since the Hard Rock crammed so many fans into the pool area I was almost afraid to look behind me! If you really crave guitar driven rock, the live show from this 4 piece Australian band will hit the spot every time. This performance, although shorter than their usual set, was no exception. Jet hit the stage with a squealing guitar opening with "That's All Lies" from their newest album, Shine On. If drummer Chris Cester's pounding industrial machinery beat on this song doesn't ...