Anyway, the microdermabrasion was really short and I think the only really effective thing was the facial peel, which only lasted about 10 minutes. Then I was finished a mere 20 minutes after I first entered the room (but it supposedly is meant to last on average around 45 minutes). The facial peel was good though, because I could feel it stinging and working its way into my skin, I just don't understand why anyone would pay $220 for that. I've noticed that my face is actually starting to get a bit dryer and parts of the skin are peeling (which is supposed to happen) but I still don't know if the thing is really effective. And you're supposed to do it every month or so, so I would definitely not go back to that place again if they charge that much.
But I did take a very valuable thing out of it. The lady that did my facial told me that we need to always reapply our sunscreens even when inside our home because there are UVB rays coming from our phones and computers and even just UVA rays from natural lighting. It's obviously in really small amounts but over time it can accumulate and do some damage to your skin, which is why I have these freckles (or splotches, rather) on my cheeks. The microdermabrasion helped to lighten it up at first but I'm not sure if it's come back already. Supposedly it was supposed to help lighten it and if I continue to reapply my sunscreen I could prevent it from getting darker...
Also, the place was this really old house. You could tell by the uneven paint and the cracks in the walls and things like that. It was also not even relaxing or comfortable. Facials are meant to be relaxing. I once got a facial done at Lattouf and because they are a massage/spa place, it was simply amazing. Relaxing bed/table thing, relaxing warm towels, arm massages whilst waiting for my face mask...Instead all I got here was a face mask left on for 10 minutes while the lady left the room, door wide open so I could hear the phone ringing and the employees walking all over the place and talking to each other...
All in all, I'm not sure if I should do microdermabrasion regularly or something, but even if I do I would go somewhere like Lattouf, which charges $99 for 60 minutes and would definitely make you feel so much more relaxed.
So enough about that! I also watched Captain America last night on DVD. I picked it because I thought I didn't watch it before, but throughout the film I kept thinking, "Hey, this scene looks so familiar". Then I searched Blogger and realised that I wrote in a post in November last year:
"I watched Captain America last night but I think I was too tired so I didn't really pay attention to it. The one thing I got out of it was that the special effects were terrible."
Okay, the special effects were quite terrible but I guess paying attention to what is going on in the film helps with that. The cast was great, Tommy Lee Jones is just hilarious and Stanley Tucci was really good too. Hugo Weaving was great too with the accent but I guess I'm a bit sick of seeing him as a villain (because when I look at him playing a bad guy I can't help but say, "Mr. Anderson!").
Watching the ending made me so excited for the Avengers even though I had already watched it, so I guess that just goes to show how well they did that part.
Another thing is this cool game called Riff Raff:
It's super fun and super intense! Basically there is this ship that you assemble onto a pendulum and you need to balance all these items on it. For example, here is a picture of the middle of a game my family was playing:
It looks pretty easy but remember, the entire thing is on a pendulum so you need to make sure you place everything really carefully onto the ship. I thought I'd be amazing at this but my hands are actually really unsteady (they even twitch when I try to keep them still, thank goodness I don't want to be a doctor) and I sucked quite a lot at this game (and never won). But it was still a lot of fun!
I also picked up the Dymocks list of 101 Favourite Books voted by the members. I thought I would have read quite a few of them because I've read some amazing books out there but it turns out I've only read... 15 (3 of which are series).
Some of them I've read and loved (Hunger Games, A Song of Ice and Fire), some are obvious (Harry Potter), some I don't agree with (The Bible), some are classics (Nineteen-Eighty Four, Pride and Prejudice), some I've read just recently (The Great Gatsby), some I really want to read soon (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Sister's Keeper) and some I will never ever read (Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey). Like, ever.
Anyway, this got me thinking: Which books do I love?
Thus, a list was born!
*(Note: I haven't even read that many books so this is just going off the limited amount of books I have read and can remember)
**Updated 24/11/13
1. (Series) A Song of Ice and Fire – George RR Martin
2. (Trilogy) [Children’s] The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
3. The Time Traveler's Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
4. [Children’s] Holes – Louis Sachar
5. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
6. [Easy Read] Animal Farm – George Orwell
7. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. Nineteen Eight-Four – George Orwell
9. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
10. [Children’s] The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
Noteworthy books that weren't included in the list because they were quite difficult to get through (but the endings and concepts make them fantastic):
Other Notable Books:
Before I get asked about why The Harry Potter series isn't included, I would like to say that I think the concept was really good, but I wasn't crazy about the series. I don't think it was an amazing read, I didn't really connect with it and it didn't really "change my life" like the others did (how cliched, but it's true). BUT, I will say that The Harry Potter series is a MUST read because of it's popularity and its uniqueness.
ALSO, I would like to add that I think Holes and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas are the best book-to-screen adaptations I have seen. Both the book and film for Holes are amazing, whilst I think the film for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is better than the book (and I was kind of sad that I had already read the book when I watched the film). Together with that, I think The Silver Linings Playbook was a great book-to-screen adaptation, but I may be biased towards Jennifer Lawrence and my memory may have failed me because I read the book at least 3 years ago (I think).
