A day at the pool, and a Summer job

Well, it's been a busy week, but I am happy.

Last Friday I finally was able to go to the pool for a relaxing day with my mom.  I did not take my tail along, mostly because she said she would be embarrassed to be seen with me while wearing it.  

I was concerned I would end up with sunburns because my skin is so white, so I spent the day using a sun protector factor 50 (no kidding!), and a t-shirt while not in the water.  I tried using it in the water as well but the lifeguard told me I had to remove it, because it was against the law to use clothes in the water and the Health Department could close the pool.  I was tempted to ask if I needed to remove the bathing suit as well, since it is cloth too, but I didn't.  Sometimes I do not understand rules.  I do not know if they would let me use the tail after that.  Good thing I am going to the beach in a couple of weeks...

But since now I am a mermaid, I found a treasure in the pool!  A white pearl.  It was a stud earring actually, just one of those plastic beads with a white cover, so I did not bother to take it to management.  Some days before I had been thinking about those wood boxes they sold at Michael's that were like a treasure chest, and found one just like it by chance at a local dollar-tree store:

So now I am keeping all my "mermaid treasures" on it.  I remember Don Mechanic used to have a tutorial to make this box look like an old pirate chest, but I have not been able to found it.  If you can point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

By the way, while perusing the net I found a great website for people interested in mermaids, the MerNetwork.  It looks like a great community, and they have a lot of interesting sections, such as tail making, tutorials, forums and reviews on tails.  I am not yet a member, but I definitely will.

And this Monday I started a Summer job!  I am working in a lab, as a technician, and I am learning lots of stuff.  It's a lot of work, and I do not have one minute of free time (except for lunch), but I am having a blast, and it is very rewarding to know that my work is anwering science questions.

I hope I can go to the pool again tomorrow with hubby, but we have to stop by the lab in the morning, so there are no plans yet.  Maybe next week...

In the meantime, here is a video of a pretty young mermaid in a pool (not me!).  Enjoy!

A mermaid's tale

Bear with me, because this is a long story...

I was probably about 12 or 13 years-old when I got a book called "La sirena perdida" (The lost mermaid).  It was not a book you read from begining to end, but a book in which you get to choose your own adventure by taking decisions and turning to a specific page to continue the story. 

Book "La sirena perdida"

Anyway, I got to meet a mermaid named Tana, and she and I spent a lot of adventures together, some ending better than others, but all of them exciting.  I was frustrated that nowhere in the book was an ending in which I got a tail and ended up living in the ocean with her.  I wanted to be a mermaid. My mom sewed for me a pair of wool tights, so I got my own rustic mermaid tail, and I always put it on while reading the book.  We did not have then, or now, a culture of mermaids for little girls in Spain, so there was nowhere I could acquire bedsheets, or accesories to transform my room into a mermaid cave.  Oh well... I had my imagination, right?

A few weeks ago, I don't even know what I was doing, I ended up in YouTube, watching videos of people swimming in mermaid tails (I assumed they were neoprene or some kind of latex).  I was completely mesmerized by them, and I was like "Oh my gosh, you can buy those tails?!".  It did not took me long to find the maker's website, and my goodness, what an amazing work.  But I was completely crushed when I looked at the prices.  "Well", I thought, "maybe some day, when I am rich..."

But then it ocurred to me that maybe some other people sold mermaid tails too, so I found this website with a list of vendors.  I visited them all, but only one got my attention as potential customer: MagicTail.  The tails came in a variety of colors and sizes, were affordable, and you could actually swim with them because a monofin was included.  I loved the fact that the fabric was printed as if it had scales.  I wondered if I would find YouTube videos of these tails in action or reviews, so there I went.  And yes, I found them.  Everybody that had one seemed very happy with it, so after several days of consideration, I decided to gift myself one for the good grades I got in my lab tech course.

Two weeks later the tail has arrived, and I am in awe!  Here are some pics of it:

It came with matching top and bikini bottom

Detail of the fluke

Detail of the waist

Isn't the fabric amazing?

I could not wait to open it, and yes, even try it on!  The top does not fit me (I was not expecting it to); even though it's an XL, it said in the website "up to C cup".  The bikini bottom fits like a glove and does not move.  The tail is swimsuit-like fabric (maybe lycra?), and it is very soft.  The monofin is on the fluke, covered by a protector so it does not rip the fabric.  The monofin fits snuggly, but I could adjust it to my feet without trouble.  There is no risk of it loosing the gripe while swimming.  And it's very floppy!  The tail is stretchy, and goes up to my waist perfectly, and as it says in the commercial "it fits like a second skin".  The tail is hot while wearing it on land, but I guess that will be OK in water.  I will not be able to try it in the water until next month, but I'll let you know as soon as I do.  I am so looking forward to it!

Regarding the MagicTail website, it's very easy to open an account and place an order, and you can choose to have the page translated into English from German.  I paid with PayPal, so no troubles there. It took them a week to ship my tail, and they sent me an e-mail when they did.  I got the tail one week later, in perfect condition, excellently packaged and protected. 

When perusing the page for colors, I found a gold and orange tail called "H2O", which I found out was for fans of an Australian TV series that features 3 mermaids (which I have never seen).  Researching tails, I found that the tails used in the show cost 20K each.  For people with not a lot of money to spare I think MagicTails are great, specially after seeing the prices of silicone and latex tails, which are not affordable to most people. 

These tails are a good investment for anyone loving mermaids, small or grown-up, and I would recommend them to anyone looking to buy a mermaid tail.  Maybe I should buy now an H2O locket, which are gorgeous too?

In any case, I should go and read again "La sirena perdida".  Now with a real mermaid tail to put on!!

A new absinthe antique

Topette for 2 dosages

Picture from the Absinthe Originals website

Since I have been a good girl and I have passed all my tests with good grades, my mom has gifted me a new absinthe antiquity.  This time it's a topette, also from Absinthe Originals.

Topettes were used as little carafes to hold up absinthe dosages.  They were divided in little chambers, each one marking how much absinthe one should pour into the glass to have the proper proportion of absinthe and water (normally it is 1 part absinthe to 3-5 parts water).  This topette has 2 chambers, so it can be used for 2 glasses of absinthe.

I cannot wait to get it.  It is only 11 cm (4.3 inches) tall, and it is the cutest topette I have seen.

So now I have two... This is getting dangerous...

The quest for absinthe in Madrid, part I

My husband told me about a wine shop near his place of work that had absinthe on its shelves.  Today I got there to take a look.  After looking around, I did not see it so I went to talk to the sales man and this is how the conversation went:

Me: Excuse me, do you have any absinthe?

Sales man: Yes, it is over here – goes to a shelf, looks around and says – Oh, I think I sold my last bottle.

Me: Oh.  What brand is it?

S.m. (Surprised): Brand?  It’s the only one that exists.

Me: (Puzzled look) There are about 50 brands of absinthe.

S.m: Oh, really?  This one comes in a slim bottle and it’s green.

Me, thinking to myself: "That is not much help."

S.m. # 2, joining the conversation: We have the one that sells the most.

Me, thinking to myself:  "It’s no wonder it sells well, it’s the only one you have."

S.m. # 1: It’s from Catalonia, that’s all I know.

Me: Well, thank you very much for your help.  Bye.

Note to self, living the shop: Do not come back here for absinthe.

My first absinthe antiquity

Isn't it a beauty?  Picture from the Absinthe Originals website

My first antique absinthe spoon arrived today, and I could not be more happy.  It was a gift from my mom, and the first truly antique Absinthiana object I own.  It has some marks that tells it is from the past, but that only adds to its beauty.  It is a "Cuillère Ouvrageé 2".  I still have not had the time to investigate about it, but I definitely will.

It came from Absinthe Originals, one of the most trusted places for absinthe collectors to get real antique items, and highly recommended by my friends at the Wormwood Society.  You can be sure the owner of the site is not going to rip you off, and that he offers real jewels over there.  Not only spoons, but glasses, carafes, spoon holders and many more absinthe related pieces.  Even though some of the pieces are expensive (of course!), there are also affordable ones, and one has to start somewhere, right?

My friends tell me absinthe antiquities are like tattoos, once you get the first you cannot stop.  We'll see if they are right...

On vampires and blood

Hematology is one of the subjects on the lab tech course that I am doing, and I just love it.  Not only because it is fascinating, but also because I am a vampire lover, and when I realized I was going to have 15 hours a week of talks on blood I thought life could not get better (I’m kidding!).  I secretly hoped I could discover what exactly nourishes the vampire, and if it could be explained by science. 

So if you want to take the journey with me…

CRASH COURSE ON HUMAN BLOOD – for vampire lovers and the scientifically inclined (or both at the same time) – PART ONE.

Blood is a very simple substance, and at the same time, terribly complex.  It cannot be created (sorry, Ms Harris, True Blood will never exist, and the Japanese will not be able to invent it), and if someone needs it, it has to be donated.  An adult person has about 68-77 ml of blood per kilogram of weight.  Do the math and see how much blood you have.

Blood is a tissue made of living cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets), and plasma.

Erythrocytes are the commonly called red blood cells.  They are red because of the hemoglobin, which is a protein they carry inside that contains iron and that transports oxygen.  Red blood cells live up to 120 days, and we have around 4,500,000 erythrocytes per ml of blood. 

These are my favorites.

Leukocytes are the white blood cells (you may know them as they are part of our immune system).  They are the only blood cells that have nucleus.  We have 5,000-11,000 leukocytes per ml of blood.  There are 5 types of leukocytes: 
Neutrophils
Basophils
Eosinophils
Limphocytes
Monocytes

It would be long to describe them all, so let’s say that most of them have a life of hours or days, except the limphocytes, that can last for years – these are the ones that keeps us free of diseases because they keep a memory of the agents that enter our body and how they got rid of them.  That’s why they last for so long.

Platelets have a life of 10 days.  They are the agents that close up wounds when we get hurt (they stop the hemorrhage) , and we have 140,000-400,000 platelets per ml.

Plasma is the liquid fraction of the blood.  Of the total amount of blood, 50-55% is plasma, and the rest are the blood cells.  Plasma is composed of:

- 91.5% of water

- 7% of proteins (55% albumin, 38% globulins, 7% fibrinogen)

- 1.5% of other substances such as glucids, lipids, electrolytes and waste products

The fibrinogen is a protein that helps the blood get clotted.  A blood extracted can get clotted as fast as 3-7 minutes.  That’s why labs use anticoagulants when they extract blood that has to be preserved, be it for lab work or a blood bank.

So, after all this info, what’s your take?  Why vampires like blood so much and what is exactly the component that nourishes them?

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

It cannot be the plasma – it is mostly water, after all!  Maybe the proteins on it? Albumin… You can get that of eating eggs.  Not the fibrinogen.  After all, vampires do not lick blood that has been spilled and it’s clotted.  Well, some do.  Eli from “Let the right one in”.  But they usually don’t. 

The globulins then?  They are proteins with medium molecular weight…

What about the cells?  Oh, how they love the red color… Maybe it’s the erythrocytes.  The thing the erythrocytes have the most is the hemoglobin, which is mainly iron and oxygen.  They do not need the oxygen, as most folklores insist they are dead. 

Leukocytes are not needed either.  As dead people, they do not have diseases or infections.

Platelets are very, very small.  If they needed them, probably a whole person would not be sufficient per night.

Hold the thoughts while I am being taught in a few days about blood banks, and we’ll talk about the honorable vampires that want to live off them…

In the meantime, here are some pictures of slides of dyed blood I made.  I took them with my camera through the lens of the microscope.

The orange dots are erythrocytes.  The two purple dots are two basophils.

More erythrocytes.  To the top right, a neutrophil.  To the left, a monocyte.  The one that is further down is a lymphocyte.

Erythrocytes and an eosinophil.

A monocyte.  The tiny purple dots at the bottom are platelets.

And if you have read up until now, go and reward yourself with an erythrocyte, a leukocyte or a platelet.

A bit about corsets

I had thought about writing a series of posts about corsets for newbies, but after finding about the lovely Lucy, I think you better check out her YouTube channel, as well as her webpage to find out anything related to corsets.

Not only she provides thorough reviews on all kinds of corsets; she also offers tips on how to mend them, storage them, as well as videos about corsets and health.  If you can sew, you can also find information about how to make your own corsets and patterns.  If not, you can always ask her to make you your very own customized corset.  I am a big fan of hers :)

Also, if you are a Steampunk lover, you may want to check out the new 2012 collection of fantastic steampunk corsets.  You have them available at Corsets UK, if you live in Europe, and at Corset Story, if you live in the US.  You have available a review on one of these corsets by Lucy here.

A sample of the Steampunk Corset Collection

I have purchased from Corsets UK, and I am happy both with the service and the merchandise.  The corsets are great quality for off-the-rack garments, and very affordable, specially if you like variety in your wardrobe.