Oh the memories… two years ago on this very day, I had been awake for over 48 hours, all for the Smashing Pumpkins. I lined up over a day in advance with other crazy Pumpkin-heads to an autograph signing session in downtown Toronto. The elements were not kind do us as it snowed quite heavily. We occupied the night talking and frequenting the local Tim Horton’s. That same evening, I went with a good friend of mine (along with all of the people in the line-up) to the concert. Unreal. Absolutely unreal. In retrospect, I know I would have done exactly the same thing. I was in a craze at the time, and there was no stopping me. If such an opportunity were to come now, however, things would be quite different. Coincidentally, Zwan will be in Toronto on the 25th of March. And yet, I’ll be here, studying. What a nerd!

O my God, I believe in Thee; do Thou strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in Thee; do Thou secure them. I love Thee with my whole heart; teach me to love Thee daily more and more. I am sorry that I have offended Thee; do Thou increase my sorrow.

I adore Thee as my first beginning; I aspire after Thee as my last end. I give Thee thanks as my constant benefactor; I call upon Thee as my sovereign protector.

Vouchsafe, O my God, to conduct me by Thy wisdom, to restrain me by Thy justice, to comfort me by Thy mercy, to defend me by Thy power.

To Thee I desire to consecrate all my thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings; that henceforward I may think of Thee, speak of Thee, constantly refer all my actions to Thy greater glory, and suffer willingly whatever Thou shalt appoint.

Lord, I desire that in all things Thy will may be done because it is Thy will, and in the manner that Thou willest.

I beg of Thee to enlighten my understanding, to inflame my will, to purify my body, and to sanctify my soul.

Give me strength, O my God, to expiate my offenses, to overcome my temptations, to subdue my passions, and to acquire the virtues proper for my state of life.

Fill my heart with tender affection for Thy goodness, hatred of my faults, love of my neighbor, and contempt of the world.

May Thy grace help me to be respectful to my superiors, compassionate to my inferiors, faithful to my friends, and charitable to my enemies.

Assist me to overcome sensuality by mortification, avarice by alms-giving, anger by meekness, and tepidity by devotion.

O my God! Make me prudent in my undertakings, courageous in dangers, patient in affliction, and humble in prosperity.

Grant that I may be ever attentive at my prayers, temperate at my meals, diligent in my employments, and constant in my resolutions.

Let my conscience be ever upright and pure, my exterior modest, my conversation edifying, and my life according to rule.

Assist me, that I may continually labor to overcome nature, to correspond with Thy grace, to keep Thy commandments, and to work out my salvation.

Discover to me, O my God, the nothingness of this world, the greatness of heaven, the shortness of time, and the length of eternity.

Grant that I may prepare for death; that I may fear thy judgments, and in the end obtain heaven, through the merits of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(This is as much as I could find/remember/piece together of the Universal Prayer for All Things Necessary for Salvation, by Pope Clement XI. I thought that I’d share this with you.)

OK. The day finally arrived when Kristin and Crystal were going to dye my hair blue. I go out, get 40 volume peroxide, and the powder hair bleach. 6pm rolls around, I knock in their door, and they’re all ready. We decide that we should do it in my room, so I put on a crappy t-shirt and we figure out what we should do. The powder is put into the bowl. The 40 volume peroxide is put into the bowl. Mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix. Scoooooop… PLOP! Honestly, that stuff feels like someone blew their nose on your head. Anyhow, Crystal mushes it all around and applies it fairly evenly except for behind my ears and at the front (but she would correct the front later). And then, the burning begins. It’s like having needles poking at all points on your head, and on the ears where that goop accidentally fell. The mixture was blue, and I had doubts about it turning my hair into anything else except black. I sit and wait. Something like 45 minutes pass, while I was getting lots of attention from passer-byers. Lo and behold, there were parts of my head where I was blonde. Yes, BLONDE. I couldn’t believe my eyes!! Hopes inflated since this is closer than I’ve ever gotten! I rinse that poop out, look in the mirror, and it looks like my hair is a fire: really bright at the roots, and gently fading towards the tips. All good so far. We get the dye mixed with 10 volume peroxide. Mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix mix. Scoooop… PLOP! Again, someone blew their nose in my hair. Except these boogers really smelled. Almost immediately, the hair turns darker. I was getting quite excited. It still burned a bit, but not nearly as much as it did with the bleach (obviously). The waiting begins. Another 45 minutes of gunk plopping out of my hair. Kristin, Crystal, and I look at each other. Nods are exchanged. I run to the shower, and I notice a whole lot of purple water dripping from my head. I’m slightly worried, but I can deal with purple. I begin using the special shampoo/conditioner Crystal let me use. The shampoo was originally clear, but the foam was blue! Eureka!! I’m really excited. I finish up, step out, look in the mirror, and let it all out: “DAMMIT!!!” Is my head noticeably different? Yes. In what ways, you ask? Let’s list them:

1. My ears are blue.
2. Skin around my hairline is blue.
3. My scalp is noticeably red. Poor scalp.
4. My hair isn’t blonde/orangey anymore.

But, the most important question is this: is my hair blue? To that, I answer a sad “no.” Alas, my hair is not blue. In fact, it is not so different to how it was before the whole dyeing procedure. Perhaps a little closer to my natural hair colour. Am I confused? Oh yes. VERY confused. Am I discouraged? Absolutely! Ugh… Not blue day, no… just bad hair day. 🙁