STILL RAINING...

The rains have not let up. This typhoon is taking its sweet time leaving the country and it's just making the flooding worse for those places already underwater/partially underwater. I saw the news tonight and it's so distressing to see families still waiting for aid. In one report, a lot of people were still trapped in a mall in Pangasinan because waters flooded the first floor of the building. It's really worrisome. Are there old people in there? Are there kids? Do they have food? I'm kind of pissed that until now, the government has not done something concrete to help these people. The most obvious help I've seen so far are from the media. Is the government really that inept? And why am I asking this question when I already know the answer? Sheesh...

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Ruther has been working so hard for the past weeks. I'm kind of worried about him because when we spoke last night he looked a bit peaked. When he lacks sleep he usually gets eyebags or dark circles under his eyes the next day and he looked haggard last night. I worried of course. Plus, the fact that my high school classmate's dad had a heart attack from stress made me worry about the stress Ruther is having at work as well. I hope he'll take it easy this weekend and just relax for a change...

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I watched a documentary this afternoon on the Bio channel. It was titled "Can You Live Without Make-up?" And it was interesting in a psychological point of view. The woman in the documentary had to be without make-up for a week and the night before the first day she was getting anxious and worried about taking off her make-up. She said that she's always been with make-up and feels naked without it. During the first day, she just saw all her flaws. She believed that people thought she looked terrible and couldn't help asking people what they thought about her without make-up on. She was in her late 30s and I think she had a nice, sweet face. During the first night of the experiment, she was depressed. The next day she had to meet clients and even if everything went well, she was still anxious about her appearance. It was kind of sad because she knew how to dress well, she had a great personality but she said that her make up is like her "armor". I could go on about the psychological implications of that but to make it short, she lacks confidence without her make-up on. She said that she's willing to spend much on pretty-ing herself up because she needs to be pampered. She goes to a salon once a week. But she's not vain. When I watched the documentary, she presented herself as a person who was unsure of herself without make-up. She believed that people liked her more when she's "dolled up" as she said. (I so blame the media for this.) Anyway, on the third night, she went out with her 3 close friends again without make-up and she was having a great time and was starting to feel good about herself when a passing comment from a stranger brought back all her insecurities once more. I believe the comment went something like, "Go home and put some make-up on. You look like an ugly cow" or something to that effect. I was aghast of course. I wouldn't know what I would have said to that person (maybe something nasty) but she cried and got depressed. The next day she was even more determined to finish the experiment so she could use make-up again. She said that she was finally starting to appreciate the self-discovery but the comment the previous night made her realize that in a party scene she will not do without some make-up. Anyway, that night she had dinner with her best friend and good thing her friend had some sense to tell her that she was a beautiful person and she didn't make up for people to "see" her for who she was. Actually, her friend said a whole lot more but they were all positive and I would have said the same thing. Anyway, the next day, she was more happy, more accepting and came to realize that make-up did not make her. When she finished the experiment, she did use make-up once more but just to enhance her features. She was no longer overly done (she used to wear bright red lipstick, she said), she's not afraid for people to look at her flaws and she's more confident.

I love documentaries like this. I like those path-to-self-discovery stories. It's really inspiring. Imagine, something as simple as make-up can make you look at yourself and life differently.

Anyway, I for one, am not make-up dependent. I do use make-up from time to time but mostly, I try to just moisturize my face in the evening just to keep my face supple. God knows I've heard enough reminders from my mom (who has a nightly regimen, by the way and who is another person who wouldn't be caught dead without make-up on in public). Maybe when I start work I'll be wearing make-up more often but I'll still keep it to a minimum.

Anyway, would love to see more documentaries like this...