Rally Report Part II: Where to Begin?

'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'

We say a darn good performance of "Hair" at the Kennedy Center Friday night. The only thing that spoiled it was some idiot singing all of the songs with the cast... never mind. That was me.

Manchester England England, across the Atlantic Sea, and I'm a genius genius. I believe in God, and I believe that God believes in Claude ~ That's me!

It ended at 10, but good ol' Washington construction meant it took close to an hour to travel the quarter mile to the bridge to get to Virginia. Our friends were there, we spent some time catching up, and bedtime came well after midnight. I know you can't tell, but I NEED MY BEAUTY SLEEP. I set my alarm for 5:45, figuring if I rush I can be ready in 90 minutes and we can get out at 7:15.

Not unexpectedly, I woke up early. I've been doing that every night for the past couple of weeks. This is normal pre-outing jitters, at least for me. (If anyone wants to share what's normal for them, y'all know how to reach me.) My hands looked pretty good from the waxing a few days earlier. I shaved close ~ close enough that I could feel only smoothness no matter which way I rubbed my hand on my face and neck. I touched up my chest and back of neck, and went over my arms again. My legs were good enough, behind tights.

Quick shower, then on to the makeup.

You know, it seems easy, unless you're doing it. My wife was doing hers and she'd keep saying "you're doing that the hard way. Watch" and she'd pull out a trowel and spackle and put on her foundation in about a second.

She doesn't understand: there are conflicting goals. I'd like to do it quickly, but putting on makeup is kind of zen. It's calming. It's relaxing. I focus totally on what I'm doing. Generally, no matter how nervous I am at the beginning, by the time I get to my mascara I'm calm and steady.

One other thing. I know some of my readers are where I was a few years ago: putting on makeup used to cause, um, a noticeable reaction. Heck, putting on ANYTHING femme used to do that. But that's a big part of why we do this, true?

I did say it was "generally" calming, didn't I? Saturday was a bit different, probably because of the opening audience. This was friends ~ pretty new and a bit scary. Somewhat scary. Mildly terrifying, and considering that, I was calm-ish.

My hands were steady when I got to my eyes. Since she was still there, I asked my wife to do my liner. She kind of slapped it on, but it looked OK. I did the bottom ~ she said "doing the bottom makes your eyes look smaller". I have two reasons for doing the bottom (about 2/3 of the outside, not all of the way around). First, I love that look. Second, Christine O'Donnell lines her eyes like that. I offered my wife the second reason.

She was done and left.

You'll be surprised to know that I look a bit different when I'm not Meg. To get from Me to Meg requires following my shave with:

Putting in contact lenses.
Moisturiser. This helps the foundation go on smoother. I NEVER skip this step, now that I discovered it.
Cover stick. Under eyes, above lips. Blend with finger.
Primer. This is new. The woman at Sephora gave me two samples ~ one for face but not eyes; one for eyes. I like it. I shall buy more.
Foundation. Apply with fingers or sponge. I think I get more control with fingers.
Brow pencil. Yes, I need to learn how to brush on brow colour. Pencil isn't ideal.
Eye liner.
Mascara. Usually two coats, then curl lashes. Some books say curl first. I need a quality curler.
Eye shadow. The Sephora lady drew a picture to show where I should use each colour. Very handy.
Blush. I know this can be used to contour your face, but I don't know how. Ditto for bronzer.
Lipstick and lip gloss. No liner today. Apply lipstick with a brush. Gurls, if you haven't done that, TRY IT. Tell me what you think.
Powder.

Before I did all the makeup I had put a band-aid on each little toe, to inhibit the blisters I get with some shoes. Then I put on panties and tights.

Now I was *finally* ready to get dressed.

Cinch, bra, pads. Someday, I'll shave my chest and try to glue the pads on. Just to try it. Maybe I can see how I look braless.
Full slip. I didn't need it; the suit was lined. I wore it because I wanted to add a layer, even though it was a light layer, and I Like Slips.
T-shirt and skirt.
Small silver hoop earrings, pearl necklace and bracelet. Christine always seems to wear pearls and hoops. I have never seen her wearing a ring. Too bad. I like rings.

Let me pause for a second and simply say I LIKE ALL OF IT. OK? I admit it.

Brush out wig. Someone gave me a tip: hold the wig against the wall and brush it that way. Layer the brushing. Start at the ends and do a few inches. When the tangles are gone, move up a few more inches. This prevents trying to yank out long tangles.
Jacket and my name tags.
Shoes!

Almost ready to go....

Make sure my glasses (in a case), a contact case, drivers license, cash, credit card, a metro fare card for each of us, lipstick, lip gloss, powder, and my cel phone are all in my purse.

Take purse. Check mirror. Take deep breath, hold doorknob until breathing is normal.

I need to add: after I put on my wig I looked in the mirror and said "no." I didn't look femme enough. I looked like a guy with makeup on.

If I was alone, planning an outing, I might have said "no" and stayed home. I didn't have that choice today.

One more deep breath. Open door.

It's time for my entrance!

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