Shoe Spotter

As a follow-up to my last post, here are some more fun and slightly funky shoe ideas for all of you! There are more fun styles than ever available now, and if you ever want more examples than are posted here, check out the Fall Fashion edition of Vogue, Google Images, or any special edition celebrity magazine (ie Katy Perry or Lady Gaga) for extra pics of great, sassy, and often awe-inspiring click-clacking heels (or flats, thongs, boots, or even slippers!). Hope you enjoy :)

They're a bit high, but the patterns are super cute and keep it fresh and fun. These shoes have one of the most wearable patterns from any of the big names; the flower stencil pattern is fun, flirty, and has just the right amount of attitude!

Miu Miu

Katy Perry is glitter and glam. Do I need to mention that the second pair light up?

Katy Perry

Despite the model's leg being the tiniest thing ever, these are super cool shoes for someone unafraid to take a fashion risk. The heel is purely cool, and the black bow in front keeps it classy.

Louis Vuitton

Being honest, how could I write a post like this without putting something with sequins in here? Can you imagine wearing them?? With a silver dress, sleek hair, and layered bracelets? So shiny!

Miu Miu (different style)

Anyone's Fairytale

Shoe shopping is often a stressful affair. One mustn’t only ensure that a new pair of shoes looks good; it must feel good, last a decent amount of time, and be fashionable.  And it never hurts if the shoes are on sale. We all want to have that Cinderella moment where the shoe slides on perfectly and makes us the belle of the ball. And, please note, Cinderella’s glass slipper is an elegant, classy heel and is both graceful and flattering. We’d all LOVE to find that perfect shoe. And now, fortunately, is the perfect time to find the perfect shoe.

            Don’t worry: everyone’s been starved for good shoes. And this spread from Thursday’s style section is irrefutable proof of it. Titled “Fall’s Fury, Feathers Heels,” the half-page was dedicated to photos and descriptions of a collection of fabulously furry, fascinatingly feathery heels. While they may not be the most practical style of footwear, they are fun! And I have no doubt that in the next few months and next spring and fall collections, a plethora of fun, new shoes will be racing your way. My justification is simple, a truth you well know yourself: fun is contagious. And fun shoes? Chronically catching.

            Once the Croc epidemic ended, the gladiator sandal rushed in to popularity, right on the heels of booties and striped heels. Now, the fun and classy heel is back. A heel remarkably like Cinderella’s glass slipper, and flirty and fun as well J .

            When we were in Spain, I came home with two beautiful pairs of heels.  One was a pair of black platform wedges with multicolored fabric crossing on the front of the foot. The best part? They’re super comfortable.  Another pair is black and grey suede, with a small buckle and two inch high heels. Again, they’re comfortable.

There are also tons of new boots. The rule for a great new pair of boots? Furry, buckled, and tall. And by tall I mean at least halfway to the knee, if not just clearing it. And, while we’re on the subject—what is a new pair (or even old pair) of boots’ best friend? Tights, jeggings or leggings or skinny jeans, and tall socks. If you’re ever at a loss for what sort of foot accessories, as I call them, check out Harrods’ website. When we were in London this summer, they had a sale in the Hosiery department,  and to my delight (YES, DELIGHT, because I love tights and socks and the like) there are not only a wide array of awesome tights, footless tights, knitted stockings, and socks; there are also these possibly wildly impractical things that seem like the epitome of my new category of foot accessories. There are literally different pieces of hosiery for toes, arches, ankles, and lower calves. Basically: there is NO EXCUSE for not having great shoes and foot accessories this year!

The moral of the story? Shoes are becoming fun, comfortable, and fashionable. It’s the perfect time to go to a sale, a department store, or even (if you know your exact size) an online shoe site such as Zappos and find your perfect shoe. After all, everyone deserves to have the perfect shoe. And now Cinderella’s slipper can complete anyone’s fairytale this season. J J <3 

Alexander Wang

Brian Atwood

Diego Dolcini

Here are some awesome, fun, and hot shoes to inspire you this fall/ winter season!

The Pink Poodle

A fundamental rule of life: no girl is ever too busy to receive a present. And when I say "present", understand that there are two kinds of presents. Type one: presents from other people. Type two: (and no--I am not the least bit ashamed of it) presents from oneself.

Although we’re busy, there’s always a tiny little parcel of time that can be used to pamper oneself in just the tiniest little way, or to get to give a little gift. There’s a plethora of cute little things out there—and it’s up to you to find them for that day when everything’s just blue, or—better yet—you’ve decided that you deserve it!

When my parents and I were in San Francisco a week ago, we went shopping along a great shopping and walking street. We slipped into a furniture store as we passed by. A word of wisdom: never pass by a furniture store without going in (or, I suppose, if you have a phobia of leather or wooden tables or something, at least poke your head inside before fleeing the scene).  The past year or so, I’ve discovered just how amazing furniture stores can be. And, believe me, you soon shall as well.

For example: Z Gallerie. My friend pulled me in there in the mall one day; I’d never gone in, figuring that since I don’t have a house, I have no need to browse through furniture and home decorating selections. I soon became enlightened regarding furniture stores. Z Gallerie has more than tables and chairs (and no, I don’t mean sofas)! We found two great grabs: pens and a butterfly.  Do not feel confused; I shall explain the pens. 

When one attends high school, one realizes that no matter how many times the super irresponsible boy next to one asks to borrow a pen(cil) and promises to return it immediately, he never does. We bought these pens precisely for that reason. They are joke pens, and were quite amusing! Where an average pen would have a business name on the side or a phone number, these pens advertised (imaginary) companies and services such as “Stuffed with Love Taxidermy”, “Laser Hair Removal”, and other—more awkward—slogans (including company descriptions) on their sides. The idea is that if the boy borrows a pen again, he can keep it—and when he or someone else finally reads the pen, he’ll never want to borrow one again! In a sense, it even works; since we bought the pens, neither of us has been asked for a pen. Bummer!

And now, the butterfly. It’s not real—don’t worry. I found it around Christmas time in the ornaments section. The one I selected is about the size of your hand when you spread out the fingers, and is made of a sheer white fabric with silver detailing and sparkles (of course the sparkles!!!), and has a clip on the bottom of it so it can adhere to anything! They’re great for putting on light fixtures, chandeliers, curtains, or, I suppose, Christmas trees.

So there are two cute little gift ideas that can be found at furniture stores. I recently discovered one more, in San Francisco: Jonathan Adler! We were walking on Fillmore Street in San Francisco when we went inside to investigate. Not only is the furniture cute, chic, and fun—they also have fun little things and also a collection of furniture for kids. Basically, it’s quality designer furniture, but mini!!

So, if you ever go into Jonathan Adler, be sure to look at the stuff at the check-out counter. I found this adorable eraser that I decided to buy as an early birthday gift to myself. (Please note: I’ve never bought myself a present before, but I was in a very good mood regarding my birthday and my parents endorsed the idea so it’s not completely my fault :P ) It’s a huge, heavy eraser but, as someone pointed out at school today, it can double as a paperweight! So really it’s two for the price of one! It’s a pink poodle that comes in a really cute clear plastic little box. The lady even tested the eraser for me to make sure that it erases well—and don’t worry, it works perfectly. She even tied a bow around the little box when I told her it was my birthday present. It was a little pricey for an eraser, but since it’s not just any eraser, I have no regrets; in fact, I intend to enjoy and love my pink eraser poodle for a long, long time. 

So, the moral is: don’t be afraid to get yourself a little something! It brightens your day, and who knows? It could end up brightening your month or year, too. 

This is the poodle eraser! For school, we tied the green ribbon to make a little collar! (super chic, FYI). What do you think-- would Snoopy approve?

Peaches, Anyone?

Palisade is Colorado's wine country, and is home to most of Colorado's farming and agriculture. It produces a plethora of fruit, vegetables, corn, and wine as well. It's located in the middle of the mountains, about a two hours' drive from Vail. And, despite its rather obscure location, it is beautiful, fun, and definitely worth a long drive. We went out there today, and even though it's in Colorado and even though it's in the mountains, the palisades are warm, fruitful in the summer, and fun to be in! Today and tomorrow is the annual Peach Festival; there's a festival ground and plenty of opportunities to stock up on peaches. And by plenty I mean plenty, or maybe even more than plenty. In an average town, as you drive down the street you pass by a bank, a post office, a cafe or bakery, a furniture shop or boutique, and a restaurant. In Palisade, you pass by a peach stand, a fruit stand, a vineyard, a vineyard that sells fudge (no, please don't ask why), a peach farm, a cafe that sells peach smoothies and peach pie slices, another five peach farms, and a gas station. In short, the palisades are the fertile cresent of Colorado. 
And guess what. There is only one farm in the palisades where you can drive up, borrow a bucket, and pick your own peaches. And we found it!!!! So, we set off with two black buckets and one white one to the northeast corner of the orchard and began to pick peaches! This farm is amazing, and if you ever make the haul to the palisades (which you should, or else you'll never know what you're missing), be sure to stop by. 
So, when we left, we had a cost of $57 worth of peaches. What do I have to show for it? 55 pounds of peaches and a spray-on peach tattoo. From the festival. :P

The Curly-cue

Something you should know about me: I have curly hair. When people have curly hair, they don't just have curly hair. For example, my hair is not just curly; it is long, dry, and has an irritating tendency to be frizzy. However, curly hair has definite advantages! EX: I don't have to do a thing to my hair when I get up in the morning, I've never used a bottle of hairspray in my life (and please don't make me use one because I'd have no idea what to do with it), and I don't have to worry about my hair going flat. Ha. I have to worry about it going up! So, this post is about a couple of hair products that I use that are great for curly hair! 


I recently discovered a new brand of conditioner that I'd never used before. It's called Bumble and bumble. While it was a bit pricey, the initial purchase was imperative; it was the only bottle of conditioner on the whole shelf at the store that wasn't Volumizing!! A volumizing conditioner is literally my worst nightmare. It costs about $20 at some grocery stores. They've updated their products, so the new conditioners may be different, but the one I got is made with jojoba and tons of other stuff. Jojoba, in case you are curious, has become one of my new favorite words and is a shrub who's seeds are used to make a lubricating oil. It smells really good, so be sure to follow the (rather basic) directions and also to rinse only lightly after combing/brushing your hair out in the shower.

A few months ago, I finally found a hair product I liked that helped to shape my curls and tame frizz. Pantene Curly Hair Series Curl Shaping Gel can also be found at a grocery store, and I use it after toweling and brushing my hair. It's best to apply it to damp hair--and don't (in case for some reason you decide it's a good idea) brush your hair once you've applied the gel--and crimp it into your hair. I find it best to do this with my head down, and make sure to crimp a bit near your roots! Ignore some of the directions on the bottle and use as much product as you need!

Glorious Pearl

Tonight, my parents, grandparents, and I went to a restaurant in San Francisco called Atelier Crenn. We had a great time, and, of course, several exciting things happened.
The list of Exciting Things, in order of appearance
Exciting Thing Number 1: the compliments. I have never gone out to dinner and received more compliments in my life. First, the hostess who seated us was very nice, and we had a five minute conversation that began with her complimenting my dress. Then, when my mom and I were in line for the bathroom (this was bathroom trip #1, because we drank so much), a waiter came by and complimented me again. "Your hair is glorious," he said. "You are glorious, also." I am so flattered! I've never been called "glorious" in my life and in honor of my new status of Glorious, I put the adjective in the title of this post. Glorious :) !!! We had another compliment, as well. When my mom and I had just finished our second bathroom trip, we were talking to this woman who had been in line as well (there is one bathroom for both men and women and so the line can build up a bit--but this is okay because everyone's nice to talk to!). She was very nice, and literally smiled the entire ten or so minutes of our conversation (I was thoroughly impressed--I've smiled that long before, and my cheeks start to get a little sore). As we learned from her, her daughter has hair like mine--I don't know if it's red--and it's curly. She told me "I love your hair! You are so pretty, you look like a mermaid!" woohoo! I was so excited. I've never actually been compared to a mermaid before. If I could've told my ten-year-old, Ariel-devoted self that I would one day be called a mermaid, I would have collapsed from euphoric shock. She even asked permission to feel my hair (this has only happened two or three times before--I was quite surprised). So, it was a glorious--no! a Glorious evening. 
Exciting Thing Number 2: bathroom panic. During one of our trips to the bathroom, my mother and I decided to go in together because we didn't want to wait in the line any more. I stood in front of the door as she went about her business, and good thing I did. Because a man opened it right up! A scream followed, along with the door being shut as quickly as humanly possible by the man, who was already starting to run, in a very panicked and skittish manner, down the hall. Instead of freaking out, my mom told me "I knew that was going to happen. (In my head, Then why didn't you tell me you couldn't lock the door?) I just can't lock the door right!" When we came out of the bathroom, he was gone. I hope he didn't get so surprised he wet himself.  Then, it was my turn. I successfully locked the door--but I made my mother stand in front of it just in case--and got to the sink without a problem. But then came the soap. It was some modern soap dispenser on the counter near the sink, so I figured it was automatic. However, no soap came out. So I decided to take the top off. Off it came, and I accidentally spilled the soap all over the counter. In a panic, I tried to scoop it with my hands into the sink. My efforts were 90% successful. Then, I put the cap back on and pretended I understood how soap bottles work. Ha. I apparently don't.
Exciting Thing Number 3: birthday! My birthday is in two days, and I didn't know it but my dad had told the restaurant. So, after we'd paid the check and finished our dinner, the waiter put another spoon by my place. Then came my birthday surprise! It was this bowl filled with ice pieces, with a beautiful large oyster in the middle with a "pearl" surrounded by sea foam filling the rest of the shell. As it turned out, the pearl was chocolate mousse, and it was delicious!! So, I got a pearl for my birthday! Yum, plus it's pretty! :) 
Then, I got to drive home. I am the designated driver--a perk to being underage!

Banana Split

Yesterday, I had my first banana split. Ever! IT WAS SO GOOD!!
My mother and my grandmother and I went to Max's, in California, to have our banana split. A word of advice: Max's has the best banana splits--they're so good!
We entered the restaurant, and were seated by a waiter, who proceeded to hand us menus. Unfortunately, they weren't dessert menus. Horrified, we made him exchange our menus for dessert menus--there was NO WAY we were having food before my wonderful introduction to the deliciousness of banana splits. That might ruin our appetite! Then, we went on with our meal as we would with any other in a restaurant. We nibbled on California bread (and, yes, I have to specify that it's California bread because really there is so comparison between California bread and, well, bread from anywhere else in the world...) until the main attraction arrived. It was served in this huge glass dish, just shorter than a foot long. Beneath the fluffy, tantalizing layers of perfectly puffed whipped-cream sat three scoops of ice cream: coffee, vanilla, and strawberry. Never in my life had I tried strawberry ice cream; it was delicious. Never in my life had I not mourned the absence of chocolate ice cream; it was so yummy I didn't mind.
Each side of the oval-ish shaped dish had a half of a banana on it, and they were delicious. Clearly, this was healthy, because banana is fruit, so none of us had any scruples about our special treat. And I even convinced the waiter to substitute peanuts for candied walnuts! The three, perfectly ruby red Maraschino cherries topped it off perfectly, along with the drizzle of chocolate sauce.
The end result: I'm in love with banana splits, and I'm so glad I finally had one! Here's a challenge to all of you: before summer's over, have a banana split with family and/or friends to celebrate! And--before you even ask--celebrate anything! Because we all deserve to celebrate :)
Thank you, Mom and Grandma! xoxo

Waiter? Yes, I'm TRYING to talk to you...

In honor of our dinner outing to P.F. Chang's tonight, this blog post will be written from the perspective of a restaurant critic.

Upon arriving in the aforementioned restaurant, we were seated by a friendly, smiling hostess. All seemed to be going well. Then we began to peruse the menu. After careful searching, it was determined that there was no hot Jasmine tea anywhere in the P.F. Chang's vicinities. And, honestly? What kind of Chinese food restaurant doesn't have Jasmine tea? however, as the waiter pointed out, "there is an iced Jasmine tea available to order". Unfortunately, there is a problem with that particular menu item: it contains the word "iced".
We soon were faced with our next predicament; one member of our dinner party had ordered a glass of wine. But-and, as I've learned through my venerable experience, I must warn the wine-lovers out there to cover your ears (or close your eyes, since I suppose you are not having this narrated to you) for this part- the hot and sour soup arrived before the glass of wine. It wasn't just a minute or two late. It was fifteen minutes late. But, hey! We decided to give the staff a break. I mean, we know they had to grow the grapes, and then stomp on them, and then leave them to ferment in barrels for a few years... And to think that they only needed just under twenty minutes to complete a process that commonly (well, Always, if you must know the truth) requires at least three years.... Wow!
And then came thee rice. You see, I had specified brown rice rather than white rice, and at least they got that right! Well, mostly... They proceeded to fill the space in front of me with those cute little bowls of brown rice. FOUR of those cute little bowls. What, did they think i needed to eat two day's worth of rice in one sitting? And then came the white rice. We only let them serve two bowls of that before the table became so overfilled with rice that they began to doubt their authority regarding rice distribution.
Then, of course, the plates. Somehow, the other three people at the table had big plates, but I got a mini one. Which, I suppose, is only fitting- now it can match my little bowls of brown rice. Oh, well. I chose to consider it s polite reminder of portion control.
So, in short, the service was pretty bad. But I do have One good thing to say; it gave us some good laughs, and the eggplant is really good!!

So far there was no drama, no unforgivably lazy service,

The Bedtime Guest

Last night as I was busy in my room, my mom came running through the house and into my room, the dogs close behind her. Eyes wide, she looked at me as she explained, fending off our two over-excited dogs who decided the best thing to do at that moment was to attack her by jumping and licking her face.
      "I went into my room and turned on the light, and there was a bat, or a bird, or something flying around in there!" The intrusive creature had swooped and then been spooked, so we set out to search for it.
     It was no where to be found. Puzzled, I sat on the sofa in my parents' room, and wondered, if I were a bat, where I would be. We had to find the bat, because it's NOT SAFE to just let one of those little rodents-on-wings snoop around your house leaving "presents" for an unknown amount of time...(Apparently, though, I'm not good at thinking like a bat, because I didn't find it). Then, suddenly, I heard noise. Like shrieking and excited dogs noise. They'd found the creature! And it was a bat!
     It was in our entryway, right at the top of the red flagstone and hanging out up there near the ceiling. In my opinion, it was a neat little bat. It was clean, well-fed, and kind of cute! Plus, it was calm; there was no high-pitched squeaking (or whichever sounds bats make when distressed), flapping of the wings, or malicious dirty looks coming from our visitor. It was upside down--bat-style, I suppose--with its little snout facing downward and framed by the most perfect little coat of honeyed dark brown fur. My parents insist it wasn't cute, but I disagree. Scary, yes. Cute? Definitely.
      My parents considered finding the pool-cleaning net, getting the bat in it, and then somehow getting it outside before it decided to escape and, excuse my language, go batsh-t crazy all over our house. It seemed a rather complicated maneuver to me, and since I really didn't want to see the bat get hurt or upset, I went back into my parents' room and attempted to comfort one of our dogs, which really was quite simple because he didn't even realize that there was a bat to begin with (but hey, you can never be too careful, right?). We had the bedroom doors shut because we all know just how lovely it would be to have a vagabond bat flapping and swooping around your room all night, so I heard people in our entryway talking to my parents. I decided not to go investigate as to who was in our house, but when the conversation transitioned from talking to the pounding of running feet and more shrieking, I decided to see what was going on. 
     To my surprise, there were two police officers in our entryway. The excitement was coming from the fact that the bat was flying--and they were trying to catch it. Finally, they caught the bat with a little black butterfly net in our dining room. After releasing the bat outside--and hopefully far away from the door, but I didn't check--the policemen, my parents, and I talked about bats for a while and then they left.  It was a very exciting evening. Two high-stress things had happened after 10:30: I'd worn my pajamas--a tank top for sleeping and little shorts-- in front of two policemen who were in my house (plus, my hair was in a really awkward state of disarray in a terrible bun), and we'd had a bat fly through half of our house! 
     Well, that's enough to try to drive you batty! And yes, appreciate my lovely humor :)
      I wonder what kind of bat it was. If anyone knows anything about bats, feel free to comment if you know what kinds are most likely to venture into bedrooms during the evening!

A Notable Notebook

I love to write, and so, naturally, over the years my mother and I have accumulated a lot of notebooks. Since I'm in the lovely process of cleaning my room (yes, I'm drawing it out even further but only because we keep happening to go out of town and need to unpack and repack a lot which of course just takes up all the time I would spend cleaning my room...), I've been rediscovering a lot of things that have disappeared for a little while into drawers and cabinets. I've found a lot of notebooks :) :)  , and some of the coolest ones I've found are by a man named Jordi Labanda. I have a ton of these little notebooks! They are all in the same style--about four-and-a-half inches wide and six inches tall, with an extremely fashionably dressed woman on the cover and the name JORDI  LABANDA written near the bottom. He's from Uruguay and now lives in Barcelona, so if you check out his website, you can read it in either English or Spanish! Good way to practice! Plus, this is just more evidence that Spain has EXCELLENT fashion sense. I realize that my notebooks are older than the ones that you can buy now, but the current ones are still super cute! These notebooks can always brighten your day, make you smile, give you fashion inspiration, or help you write better! Here are a few pictures. 

Aren't they cute??
:) :)








Plus, they have address books, folders, and more notebooks! Look for more notebooks or info by Googling "Jordi Labanda" or checking out MiquelRius.

It's Summertime, so be Safe out There!

This blog post is all about sunscreen. The summertime's hot--today's going to be 100!--and we all love to go outside, play in the sun, swim in the pool, play sports, ect. Just make sure that before you go out in the sun, you're protected! And yes, don't even bother telling me I sound like your mother.
In case you're wondering if I'm qualified to advise you on the extremely important and irrefutably significant part of your life. tee hee tee hee and sadly, I'm not even kidding. I can attribute my perspicacity (oo, big word) on this subject to my fair skin. If you want proof of my fair skin, here it is: I've been at the Zonals tennis tournament in Utah for about a week, and my team played Team Hawaii yesterday morning. As I was cheering my teammates on, I started talking to a Hawaiian man who was a parent of one of our opponents. He was very nice, but rather blunt. The first thing he said to me: "You're impossible to miss on the tennis court because you're so fair! I keep wondering when you're going to burn up under the sun!" He was, actually, nice--and successfully reminded me (though I've never forgotten) how pale I am. He also reminded me why I don't burn up in the sun: I use sunscreen! It's a lifesaver. <3 (that heart goes out to you, sunscreen!)
So, here are some of my favorite sunscreens to use on the face:

Vichy

My parents and I started using this brand years ago. We discovered it in Europe (if you're ever there, go into the pharmacies and make sure to purchase some Vichy sunscreen or Anthelios). This one's even travel-size! It works very well on the face and feels relatively light. It has an SPF factor of 50+, and is good for walking around, working out, and using at the pool. If you're sweating a lot while wearing Vichy be sure to reapply every two hours or so, and same goes for wearing it in the pool.

Vertra

We discovered this sunscreen in Hawaii! It was stocked at the desk of a surfer shop and we were in a totally surfer town. AKA this is surfer sunscreen. Which is great, because that means that it's super water resistant and super sweat resistant! It's great for playing sports, and we bought three of them: two of the tubes that are on the far right of the picture, and one of the black stick sunscreen ones that you can see in the middle. You have to rub it in a bit, but these sunscreens work very well and are great for sports.

Clinique

I love this sunscreen. It's travel size, which is awesome, plus it goes on feeling pretty light and not too thick. It goes on skin color, so you don't look extra white after you put it on, which is always nice. I wear this sunscreen for walking around, playing tennis, and in many other places too. Plus, it has a cool bottle! This is also a good sunscreen to wear if you intend to put make-up on over it. I was in our Sectional tennis tournament earlier this summer, put this sunscreen on, and then my mom and I went to the mall during the two hour rain delay. It just so happened that Neiman's or Nordstrom's was having an event and NARS was doing professional make-up for free! I went in, (I didn't      tell them I was wearing Clinique :P) and they did my make-up beautifully! So, this sunscreen is definitely one that is safe to apply before makeup.

So, go out there and be safe in the sun!

The Pat-Down Experience

In times of need it is common for people to make physical contact with one another. For example, holding someone's hand or touching their shoulder can easily provide comfort to someone who is upset. When you're going through airport security, however, physical contact does not provide comfort and has a hit rate of somewhere around 100% in making people feel upset, unsafe, and rather unhappy with particular security officials.
I acknowledge that our government intends to reduce airport security risk by putting people through X-ray scanners when they go through security, but for a lot of people, the personal risk to their individual health can very well be just as dangerous, for them, as someone who goes on the airplane with a bottle of liquids that is--dare I say it?--3.1 ounces rather than the institutionalized 3. Despite reports that have been released claiming that these X-ray machines are relatively harmless and pose no threat to physical health, many doctors--and many travelers--disagree. The average person is not supposed to have many more than 2 X-rays per year, and with the added frequency of these X-ray machines in airports, it is becoming less healthy to travel than ever before.
My choice, whenever I am assigned to the film-canister-like X-ray box, is to opt out and get a pat-down; this is the only alternative provided to anyone. And it sucks. It just doesn't suck as much as damaging my body from too many X-rays.
I think they like to pick me to go through the X-ray machine because of my hair, or something. I have curly red hair, and sometimes, it gets big. It's not on purpose! It just loves to react that way to humidity... Anyways, they all seem to think that I'm capable of hiding explosives in my hair. This is the most ridiculous thing ever: A). I would never take an explosive on a plane--I'm not suicidal, and B). if I were to conceal one in my hair--which is insanely stupid, I might add--it would surely pull really hard and be super uncomfortable, and that wouldn't be good for my hair either. But anyways, back to my story. When my parents and I went to Hawaii over winter break, we had to take somewhere around 5 flights to get to our destination, and I got chosen to do the X-ray machine all five times. It was fun--SARCASM. The first thing they did? Well, after they give me the spiel about what side of their hands they're going to use to touch me where, they go for the hair! Every time! And I just love how as they're really awkwardly fingering it and poking it and touching my scalp and neck and hair they're telling me "I love your hair." At the same time. Well, if they love it that much, why don't they just quit groping me???
And then they go for the body. That's an experience every time. All I can say is at least I get a female grope-guard, as I call them sometimes. Let's just say that these grope-guards get to touch me--four times per grope, I might add--in places where my dad would murder a boy for touching me. And, yes, don't worry--they get to touch the insides of my legs with the front of their hands and the back of their hands, and from behind me and from in front of me.... Then they move to my arms and chest and everything else. It's horrible. And I'm ticklish.
Anyways, I think that our security system is not going about this the best way they could. By attempting to protect us, the system is also suddenly making it appropriate to be groped in a public place by a complete stranger (and you better hope you don't know your grope-guard because then it might be even more awkward--something like "hi, Sussie--I live down the street! I'm just going to feel the undersides of your breasts now with the back of my hand, so don't worry. And hey, I loved the pie your--" yeah. That'd be even more awkward.).