Bubs and I are finally settled back into living with sufficient oxygen. Whew ee, our bodies were wrecked from four days in the high mountains! Of course, in typical fashion, I had shit booked in my calendar for the very next day. Yup, I was scheduled to get my “bros” (brows) touched-up and then I was doing a uke lesson.

So, I’m not going to beat around the bush: the brows touch up session hurt. Like more than the first time. The lady suggested there was greater sensitivity, bc she was going over old wounds but shit… I wasn’t prepared for that level of pain! I started the session telling my lady that I was super pleased with the shape. My only constructive feedback? On the left brow, the bottom part has a really strong line and on the right brow, the end was turning bluish. Apparently, she preferred the line bc it made my brow pop more and she explained that the color uptake depends on so many things: blood type, skin tone, sun exposure, creams, etc. Seriously, with so many damn variables, who in their right mind would ever be a permanent makeup artist?!?

So she started with the topical numbing. I dunno what the deal is, but it didn’t help. This time, I was so much more uncomfortable, that I was like grabbing my own hands and fingers to keep myself from writhing. I dunno. Typically, I have a really high pain threshold, but the damn eye area is sensitive as fuck. She applied more numbing cream like twice more. It got better but then there’s that scraping sound!! After all was done (35 minutes), the shape looked different. Oh, fuck no!!!!! I had my uke lesson, so I had to get going. I thanked her and drove away, hoping that the increased thickness was just due to swelling and that the new wonky arch was going to settle down. Ugh. Yeah, kinda stressful. After my uke lesson, when I got home, I was internally spazing out. They just didn’t look as good. She said she went right over the old one… did she change something? I was totally despairing, and then Bubs was asking me questions about all kinds of other unrelated things. Argh! I don’t think he realized how much it was bothering me. I was pretty much obsessed and distracted for the next two days.

Later, when I would ask Bubs about my brows, he just kept telling me they were the same as before. Wtf does he know though? He can barely even tell one Chinese lady from another?? Somehow, I managed to still NOT freak out externally. Why? Bc what is done is done. What’s the point? I’ll just have to tweak it with the pencil once everything heals over. This is the risk I accepted when I opted for this shit, so pipe the fuck down!

So now it’s like Day 4 post procedure. Thankfully, the brow thickness has indeed gone down. The arch has also come down a bit… I’m still not sure if the arch high point is exactly where it was last time, but now the scabs are flaking so I can’t jump to conclusions. Today the brows are itchy and bc of the uneven flaking, the color is more mottled.

Geez, did this happen last time? Yes, similar but not exactly the same. Maybe I kept the brows drier last time and now with our new gym membership and my freaking out, I’ve gotten them damp more??? Who the fuck knows. Like I said, too many factors with this shit.

Would I do this again? Yes, bc I still like the added drama of tatted brows. And I am def loving my record 5 minutes get-ready time. The arch/shape still remains to be seen. At worst, I might have to pencil just a tad at the tip of the arch to get it to hit exactly right. But for the most part, it seems like it’s pretty damn close. The other conclusion here? Tatted brows are not for uber perfectionists. There are simply too many variables; And I mean, it’s a high-risk thing, right? Bc beauty is like art and art is subjective. The good news is that it’s not SUPER permanent. I mean, 1-2 years on average, so not the end of the world if I’m inconvenienced with having to tweak it. But for some people, 1-2 years of imperfect brows might still be too long.

But back to my uke lesson. You see, I recently discovered this amazing community program called LinkAges. Developed by a local medical foundation’s “innovation” center (who knew such groups even existed?), the membership timebank idea emerged after many physicians found social isolation to be a major issue among the aging population. So the solution? Create a community where members earn/use hours for any service from other members. The concept is so simple that I’m like kicking myself with “why didn’t I think of that?” Duh. And bc the timebank is based on trading knowledge/skills, it’s not limited by age at all.

After attending an orientation earlier this month at the library, I made plans to learn uke. I showed up at the member’s house, and well, immediately on stepping inside the door, I knew this was a Chinese household. Sure, her name was a giveaway, but I’m telling you: the mandatory shoes off and slippers on (bare feet is not acceptable), the oak furniture, the overall lack of decor, the smell… the lady was super nice and patient. And I really appreciated her bluntness. She said she had gone to several community uke jams herself, but she had trouble learning the songs (old white people songs), so she formed her own group with Cantonese-speakers. She said she’d invite me but they speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin, and they play songs from their generation.

Yeah, that’s definitely been the problem for me in the past. I attended several uke jams, but the songs were really old school and not knowing the tunes was a real detriment, bc I had no concept of the pace or melody. S suggested that I sing while I play bc that will set the melody (like the guitar, the uke is really just the accompaniment). Man, it’s too bad my gal G is in Seattle. When she lived in SF, she’d at least pick contemporary songs for us.

All in all, the lesson was a great first experience with LinkAges, and I was happy to bust out my Yuki for the first time in like a year. Now I just have to find a new tribe for it. As for the services/skills I’m offering, they include be tech support, EFL tutoring, eBaying, and maybe NuWave/pressure cooking tips.