Today, we celebrate Kat graduating from Aveda Fredric’s Institute
She did it! Kat is officially a graduate of Aveda Fredric’s Institute and is a licensed cosmetologist! To say we’re just a little bit excited is an understatement.
Of course, we’ve rather kept our excitement under wraps. There’s no huge party tonight. In fact, we’re just having five-bean soup for dinner. The kids will be in bed before she gets home. No banners. No cards. Just a kiss and a glass of scotch.
That’s how Kat prefers it, though. Don’t throw a spotlight on her, that makes her anxious. Leave her alone, let her do her thing, and watch her excel. She doesn’t yell, scream, and brag a lot when she does a great job because she tries to make every cut, style, and color the best possible. That’s how Kat handles everything. Go for the best.
However, I’m going to take a moment here and do the bragging she won’t because I know just how much of a challenge this has been.
Not What Anyone Was Expecting
When I first met Kat, she would have laughed in my face had I ever suggested she would one day be where she is now. She was still every bit a Marine. She was most comfortable in a green hoodie and sweats with the Marine Corp globe and anchor imprinted on them. She was cautious about everything: where she went, how she got there, what she said to whom, and with whom she associated. She carried a weapon at all times and made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to use it. During one of our earliest conversations, she confided that she knows seven different ways to kill a person with her bare hands. While I’ve seen a few people scoff that a “girl” with such a small frame could actually do that, let me assure you that I’ve seen her strength in action. Don’t doubt her.
Kat still admits that she’s not someone who likes to dress up all girly and go out. That’s just not her personality. However, when we first met, she hardly knew how to put makeup on her own face, much less anyone else’s. I still remember showing her how to apply eye shadow and a touch of blush without looking clownish. The first time she watched Danelle French apply makeup for one of my photoshoots, she tried to not stare but kept catching herself watch the way Danelle transformed the model’s face.
What Kat does like doing, however, is messing with her hair color. We had been together over a year before I knew her natural hair color. More often than not, her hair had multiple colors in it because heaven forbids that she be boring and only put one color in her hair. When she couldn’t find a color she liked, she’d experiment with mixing different colors until she found something she could tolerate. The sink in our bathroom is a testament to all the different dyes she’s washed out there.
The Challenge of Getting There
Somewhere along the way, as I pushed her to do more with makeup and even encouraged her to try her skill with models who would stop by, a spark caught and she realized that cosmetology was something she could actually do. We agreed that she needed to go to cosmetology school, but where? She did a truck-load of research, not only looking at the schools themselves, but talking to their graduates and their graduates’ clients. It never was about who had the cheapest program or where she could get done the quickest. After all, she’s still a Marine. The question was always which school is the best. By the time she finished asking questions, there was one clear winner: Aveda Fredric’s Institute.
Unlike many other cosmo schools, Aveda offered a three-day a week schedule. That was extremely important. While going back to school was nice, there was no putting life on hold. Kat couldn’t just hit the pause button on being a mom for 12 months. The three-day schedule meant that she’d still have time to work and occasionally be able to be at home before the kids went to bed. She was also impressed by their all-natural line of products, something that was important to both of us. I’d told her horror stories of models sitting in the makeup chair and suddenly having their face break out due to an allergic reaction to the chemicals in the makeup.
Kat going back to school would also mean making some serious adjustments here at home. I would have to be the one to handle the kids, her kids, on a daily basis. I would have to take them to and pick them up from the bus stop. I would have to help them with their homework. I would be the one handling discipline problems. I was already doing most the cooking, so that was no big deal, but it did mean that most nights Kat wouldn’t be here for dinner. Still, we knew the changes would be worth the results. So, taking a collective deep breath, she started.
Had the past year just been a matter of Kat going to school three days a week, we would have probably sailed through the time. Life, of course, always has other plans. Issues at the kids’ school grew severe enough that Kat had to take some time off to intervene on their behalf and find another school for them to attend. Then, there was prolonged illness that sometimes seemed formidable enough to scuttle all her plans. There were weeks when it felt as though every day came with a new punch to the gut.
There were changes to our family dynamic as well. We added a large dog and two rambunctious kittens to the pet mix. In July, my youngest son came for what we all thought was just a moth-long visit and due to unexpected circumstances he ended up moving in with us. We erected a fence around the entire yard. There was always something going on to make sure there were few days when she could actually relax for a moment and catch her breath.
As much as anything, Kat has had to put up with me. Ask anyone who’s had to put up with me more than 24 hours and they’ll tell you just how much of a pain in the ass I am. The grumpy old man thing isn’t an act. There’ve been many days where she’s come in from school and had to calm me down from having to deal with the kids, the pets, the neighbors, models, or technology that didn’t work as expected. She’s also been a constant source of comfort and encouragement as my physical limitations have become more severe and frustrating. She’s picked me up off the floor, hand-fed me medicine when I couldn’t take it myself, and carried me to bed when I couldn’t walk. Yet, no matter how little sleep she might get or how many nights she fell to sleep on the couch from sheer exhaustion, she still got up the next morning, found a smile, and went to school.
So, yeah, we’re more than just a little proud that she’s graduating. We’re also excited to see what comes next. Starting Friday, she’ll be available to take appointments at Snapdragon Salon in Glendale. You can call (317) 255-7965 to make an appointment.
There’s no telling what might happen next, but I’ve worked with over 100 hair and makeup artists over the years and I promise Kat’s going to quickly become one of the best. She surprised herself, and everyone else, with a natural knack for styling, cutting, and color and her makeup is next to impeccable now. The options she’s going to have are considerable.
Yes, I’m biased. I’m also extremely proud, though.
You made it, Kat. Congratulations!
I’ll have your celebratory soup waiting when you come in tonight. I love you.
5 Things You Should Know: 12.26.2016
The year just keeps getting worse
If you’re reading or watching this, then congratulations, you survived the holidays, which is more than a lot of people can say. We deliberately skipped over all the bad news on Saturday in an attempt to give the weekend a positive spin. It didn’t work, though, did it? The universe just couldn’t go two days without inviting some disaster into our lives.
So here we go, the last week of 2016. We have snow in the Northernmost states, rain across the South and Midwest, with a chance of tornadoes just strong enough to make sure the steps down to your fraidy hole are clear. Bubble wrap your favorite living musician, I have a feeling that fate might try to finish the year strong. From all the disasters, we chose 5 things you should know.
We’ve lost our Faith
Both the US and the UK is in mourning at news of the death of singer George Michael yesterday. The 53-year-old singer is said to have died quietly at his home in London of heart failure. Michael first came to prominence as half the pop duo Wham! but it was as a solo artist that his career really took off and captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. Tributes started pouring in the moment the word hit the news yesterday afternoon.
There are a number of songs for which George Michael is remembered. Faith, Freedom ’90, I’m never gonna dance again, and the holiday favorite of the broken-hearted, Last Christmas. These are the kind of songs that are likely to dominate many of the memorials we’ll inevitably see popping up all over the Internet today. However, the song that might be most responsible for catapulting him to stardom isn’t on most George Michael playlists: I want your Sex.
Released in 1986, the salacious song was wildly popular but left radio stations and the still=new MTV channel with a conundrum as to whether to play the song. Conservatives were outraged that the word sex had gotten onto an album without any warning. Most stations refused to play the song at all. Those who did, limited it to late-night hours. The singer also courted controversy with the song Outside after an LA police officer outed the singer as gay.
Rest In Peace, George Michael, and thank you for letting us know it’s okay to think about sex. Here’s the video:
Russia Loses A Choir
Unfortunately, George Michael wasn’t the only loss to the music world yesterday. There was at first a sense of suspicion when news hit the wire yesterday that a Russian plane in route to Syria had gone down in the Black Sea. The suspicion turned to sorrow, though, when it was announced that the group known widely as The Red Army Choir was on that flight, heading to entertain troops at a military base2.
Formally known as the Alexandrov Ensemble, the all-male group was known for their loud if not stirring recordings of Soviet and Russian anthems. However, they group had their lighter side as well and was especially popular for their cover of Daft Punk’s, Lucky during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Sixty-four members of the ensemble, including director Valery Khalilov, were aboard the plane yesterday. Russian officials this morning are saying that mechanical malfunctions were responsible for the plane going down, dismissing any idea that terrorism might have played a role.
While the full group has 186 members, most of the singers were on the flight. While the group will almost certainly rebuild, the loss for the people of Russia is significant. Here is a video of the group doing its cover of Lucky:
https://youtu.be/BYbtAZjB8QM
Carrie Fisher Is Hanging On
Fortunately, not all the news was bad yesterday. Star Wars fans around the world took a deep breath and held it when word was released late Saturday that actress Carrie Fisher had suffered a “cardiac episode” while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. We finally release that breath yesterday when Ms. Fisher’s mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, announced that her daughter was in stable condition and resting comfortably3.
While Ms. Fisher is both an accomplished actor and writer, it is her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise that made her’s a household name. In fact, the actress had been in London promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist, a memoir depicting her time filming her iconic turn as Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series3. In recent years, Ms. Fisher has not been shy talking about the amount of sex and drug use on the film sets of the 1970s and 80s.
Here’s video of her latest interview just a few weeks ago with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert:
Fake News Creates An International Incident
Fake news has reared its ugly head again and proven that even those in power can sometimes be fooled by an article that appears to know what it’s talking about. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif found an article on the site AWD News claiming that Israel’s former defense minister threatened to attack Pakistan if they sent troops to Syria. Naturally, that’s the kind of news that doesn’t set well with a defense minister. Asif did as other world leaders are increasingly doing and took to Twitter to register his objection. He reminded Israel that “Pakistan is also a nuclear power.4”
Focus on the key word, “also.” You see, Israel has never actually admitted that they have nuclear capability. Doing so would put any such program under United Nations observation, thus rendering it very much not a secret. Historically, the US has helped keep this not-so-secret secret by blocking attempts within the UN Security Council to demand inspections of the nuclear sites Israel won’t admit that it has.
With that same UN Security Council denouncing Israeli settlements in the West Bank last week, tensions between Israel and much of the world are very high at the moment5. The thinly veiled threat was considered very serious. Israel’s defense ministry tweeted back that the alleged news story was fake, but Pakistan has yet to reply to that tweet.
Is Your Makeup Too Heavy?
And finally, here’s something you might not think of too terribly often: the amount of lead in the makeup you use. The Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines last week on the amount of lead to be used in cosmetics made in the US6. The non-binding set of guidelines addresses the amount of lead in things such as lipstick, shampoo, eye shadows and body lotions. Generally speaking, most products have a lead content of less than 10 parts per million (ppm). However, there remain a few brands across every category that still have higher lead content.
The renewed concern about lead in products comes as an increasing number of cities are finding high levels of lead in their drinking water due to corroding pipes. Where lead levels in the body may already be higher than normal, lead in other products becomes a more serious issue as the lead builds up within the body and can reach dangerous levels. For people living in places such as Flint, Michigan or St. Joseph, Louisiana, this can be a very serious issue.
Complicating the matter is the fact that not all products list the amount of lead on their label. I talked briefly with Kat about the subject and she confirmed that most makeup artists don’t look at lead content as a point of concern and typically don’t check their products. Again, this new paper is not binding. However, it may indicate a much more carefully managed position by the FDA in the future.
That’s all we have time for this morning. We have some personal obligations today that require us to be on the road early, so we don’t have time to put this in video format before we need to leave. We’ll try and do that again tomorrow. Until then, please stay safe. Hear’s hoping this Monday is a good one.
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