Oh Make Me Over ...

Since moving to San Francisco in March of this year, I have been able to further feed into my addiction to Lush Handmade Cosmetics.

It all started with Bare Naked Lady powder, purchased in Toronto, Canada about 2 years ago. (Yes, it was named for that group of Fully-Dressed Canadian Men - but smells rather lady-like.)

Then, on a visit to California, I bought some of the soaps: Karma, Red Rooster and a still-favorite, Honey I Washed The Kids.

Now, I live in California, where Lush is a short bus ride from home, or a brisk after-work walk from the office. I've tried a variety of the Bath Bombs and Bubble Bars - and have my share of favorites.

( Lust for Lush - Hair )

( Lush for Life - Skincare )

X-Posted from consumer_voice

Wasted Years

Time for a work rant - again, this is about my prior job. The current one is going rather well - but not so well that I feel like I could risk swirling into paranoia over it.

While I was going through the licensing class over the past several days, by the second day, I was feeling incredibly screwed over by the prior class I'd taken. That class had taught me what I needed to pass the licensing exam ... and left it at that. There were no real-world applications for what we were learning - just 40 hours of an instructor literally reading to us, and us highlighting the readings. Post-test (assuming that you'd passed), we were to essentially purge our pretty little heads of what we'd learned, and re-learn everything anew. *hangs head in shame*

I spent almost two years feeling like I was huge poseur ... putting up appearances of knowing what I was talking about, looking smart, whatever else. Coupled with having it out with the Noonday Demon (depression, that is), mentally, I was NOT a pretty sight at all. I hated talking to clients - and not just related to social anxiety, either. I dreaded calls from the clients when they wanted to get answers about coverages and/or exclusions, because I had no idea how to answer their questions. There were items on the standard applications that, to be honest, I had no idea what they were for exactly. I felt like a dummy for asking the same questions several times over about a particular coverage - especially since I had NO IDEA how it worked out. Just that it was absolutely discombobulating, because I didn't understand it. Until now.

You don't know how many nights I went home from work, paranoid. Worried that one day, the HMM would snap out of his seeming obliviousness - or someone would snap him out of it for him - and I would be fired because of my ineptitude. Even though I was told that I could ask questions, I felt like I shouldn't ask *too many* questions, or ask the same questions many times over, because it would be tantamount to a scarlet letter on my chest - an "M" for "Moron". That I should've learned these things in my licensing class and/or on the job - and because I didn't, somehow, I was just getting myself wrapped up into this neverending shame spiral. Partially self-inflicted, partially due to the sinister Demon, and partially due to a sub-standard insurance education.


The good thing is, it's getting better. I'd gotten a better education this go-round, I'm in a wonderful work environment - with co-workers and supervisors that are willing and able to help me out in any way possible. Now, I just have to sign up for a test date, and I'll be oh-fish-all! :-D