Ode to Vaseline

I've been thinking about a beauty staple that goes without much deserved recognition. Petroleum Jelly, or as it's more commonly(and affectionately) known,Vaseline, is my can't live without beauty essential. My skin only has to thank Vaseline for its lusterous sheen and baby soft feel. Vaseline can be used to do so much from remedying dry, cracked skin to being used as a base for eyeshadow. Some fast facts about Vaseline:

• It is flammable


• Vaseline is NOT absorbed by the skin


• It has NO medicinal properties


• Vaseline dissolves the latex in condems (so let's not use it as a lubricant, people)


• Often used by beauty pageant contestants to keep their lips from sticking to their teeth.

Vaseline as we know it was created by a chemist by the name of Robert Chesebrough. Mr. Chesebrough, from the bottom of my beating heart, I thank you! Without you, my days would be filled with loneliness and ashy feet. Neither of which I find particularly pleasant.

Now, I will admit I have strayed from the beaten path and turned to other moisturizers...but they were all charlatans. They duped me. Convinced me with their fancy names and famous ingredients, that they too would give me soft, supple skin. How they lied! Sure, I was happy at first, content with their wonderful smells and "botanical" ingredients. Content to slather myself in coco-butter-this and aloe-vera-that. Until the dryness set in, followed by the itching and finally the ashy flakes (maybe not in that particular order). It is a known fact: No one is cute with glow in the dark hands...in the daytime.

Alas, I soon realized the error of my ways and went back to my tried and true love, Vaseline. Thankfully, it didn't reject me and instead ushered me back into the fold of moisurized lips and shiny legs. Never shall I stray again. Vaseline has been by my side, my mother's, my grandmother's and will continue to fight the good fight against peeling, cracking and other forms of skin unpleasantries. So this is for you, Vaseline. A true unsung hero!

Lights, Camera...ACTION

As of February 11th, 2010, I, Miss Sarah Suzuki can officially call myself a "professional actress". It feels kinda good too. No more (well at least for the time being) school productions, I finally worked with an actual theater production company, Heads Up Productions. Heads Up Productions is the dream child of my friend and once fellow castmate, Ben Rexroad. It is a fledgling company that is sure to do amazing things in the future, feel free to take a look or get more info about the company on twitter at Heads UP Productions.

The show was an amazing experience. Directed by my friend, mentor and veteran actress, India Burton, the production has been one of the best theatrical experiences I have had thus far. The play, For Colored Girls Who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough, was written by activist and playwright Ntozake Shange and his her best known play to date. The play is actually a choreopoem, with 20 different scenes that tells the stories of seven women from various cities. The poems a hard-hitting, dealing with issues of love, racism, self-hate, abortion, and abuse.

I think it is the subject matter of the play, that makes it so enticing and at the same time, so difficult to understand. People clapped and enjoyed themselves; but never seemed to truly understand the pieces as they don't flow together like a plot(found in most storyline based plays). We've had a mixed audience the 3 nights we've performed the play, with black and white patrons. As expected the black and female members of the audience were more responsive to the subject matter; as the could more readily identify with the issues. But considering the fact that we garnered standing ovations 2 out of the 3 nights(with one performance left to go), I think we sufficiently entertained our entire crowd.

Looking back, I'd have to say the process of bringing it all together was quite daunting. I had to go through a lot of "ups and downs" to bring Lady in Green (my character) to life. From long rehearsals, to cattiness between the all-female cast, to constantly having to reschedule my hours at my job (dwindling them and my pay check down to almost nothing at all)...No one ever said theater was an easy business. But I'd go through it all again to see the huge grin plastered all over my mom's face after the curtain closed for our 3rd performance. Before that Saturday evening, she hadn't seen me perform in anything for at least a year. I was ecstatic, that my talent still brings her such happiness.

I definitely took a lot away from the experience. I am more behaved, I take better direction and I've learned how to deal with the madness of "tech week"(aka the week of hell right before opening night). I've meet incredible talents, not only my fellow actresses but lighting designers, choreographers, sound engineers, costume designers and the list goes on. I am truly blessed to have been offered a role in the cast. Not so secretly, I have hope that we will be able to take the show to another venue where we can bring the tales of seven colored girls to life for even more audiences.

Finding a Path

Robert Frost once famously penned the words, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." I wonder if Mr. Frost knew what an impact he'd have on the world of literature with those words. Even more, I wonder if he know why he was on that path. I mean, did he plan to find the path or did he just stumbled across it, as so many of us do? Did he wake up some morning before hand, setting out to find adventure or was it a last minute idea that occurred to him as he bent down to tie his shoe?

Personally, I believe knowing whether or not Frost's character intentionally set out to find his destiny or whether faith dealt him a blessed hand, changes the entire mood of the poem. It is a rarity nowadays to find people who truly know where they are going; at least at the level I am speaking of, which is the collegiate one. I attend a college of little more than 20-some thousand students, from all walks of life, and I am positive that less than 1/3 of them know what they (truly) want to accomplish in life.

Sure, some want to be police officers, because they're 3rd in a long family line of them. And of course, some want to become doctors because their homelands don't have enough of them and they want to make a "difference". Still others want to be pharmacists due to the fact that they happened to overhear that the profession earns a lot of money. But most, I am willing to bet, were told by numerous parents, teachers and friends that college was what you are supposed to do after highschool.

What a laugh!

We're told that without college(or some other form of formal education), we won't amount to anything. Advisors quote statistics showing the ratio of money a college graduate makes in comparison to someone without a degree. Parents point to the picture of big brother or sister so-and-so, "Don't you wanna be as successful as (insert name here)?"

Apparently, the only successful people in the world have college degrees under their belts. Does a signed piece of paper guarantee happiness? If it does, I need to stop writing this and do some(more) homework. See, that's just it...

A degree DOES NOT, I REPEAT, DOES NOT guarantee happiness.

Yes, this is coming from a sophomore/junior with no such degree to speak of. But I have come to the conclusion, that I must be right. Maybe, it's because I am in the middle of trying to decide which major I actually want to pursue (isn't it a little late for that, I keep wondering). Or maybe it's the fact that I've spoken to several of my friends and they feel the same way and have the same question.

"What the hell am I supposed to be doing with my life?"

And do not tell me, the answer involves me going to college with thousands of other people asking the same question. I like to have definate reasons for the things I do. And while the fact that I want to earn a substantial amount of money later in life is good, for me, it is insufficient. The repetitiveness of college is getting to me. The getting up in time for the same classes, to listen to teachers who teach the same way, walking the same familar campus...BORING.

Perhaps, I just need a change of scenery. Lately, I've thought about getting out of this small town. Away from the small-minded people and the never small snowstorms. As much as I'd like to up and book a flight to Hawaii or Cali, I know that's an illogical step right now. I have far too many credit hours to squander them. No, this next move will require careful, deliberate planning on my part. Only problem with that is I lack patience. It's a virtue I never inheirited from my instant gratification of a mother.

Hmm, I suppose I'll just have to see what cards fate deals me. Maybe with a little luck and a lot of prayer, it'll be a royal flush. I feel as though I am about to come upon my fork-in-the-road. Meet the two paths that will force me to choose. Will I take the red or the blue pill? Will I follow the rabbit down the hole? Is the force strong with me? LOL...we'll see...stay tuned.