Writer's Block: Hocus pocus

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I'm too skeptical to blow my money on things that seem too good to be true. In fact, I'm often too much of a cheapskate to even buy things which are proven to work if they're not in my budget. However, like anyone I've tried some things that didn't deliver on even their fairly believable promises.

The various varieties of "Learn Japanese in 5 Minutes a Day/Three Weeks/With No Teachers!" textbooks people often gave me for Christmases in middle and early high school gave me some vocabulary (and a lot of stickers to put all over the house :-P), but they definitely didn't give me fluency. It took a four-month homestay for that.

The birth control I got on last spring failed to eliminate my menstrual cramping AND gave me two full weeks of extra period. ("Spotting" my ass). FAILTASTIC. (At least I wasn't in a position to have it fail at the purpose of preventing babies!).

On the other hand, however, I have tried some things that promised a level of awesomeness I thought was exaggerated-- and worked. Biggest example would be Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant. After years of clammy armpits (making me feel colder as the sweat pooling there cools )-:) and all my white t-shirts turning yellow under the arms, I figured that antiperspirant was only ever going to do so much for me. How special could this one actually be? I was floored by how well it works. I seriously sweat 90% less where I apply it. The white shirts I've bought since I started using it are still white under my arms. LOVE this product.

And (this isn't a specific product, but) I was amazed to see the difference it made on my hair to use conditioners formulated for curly (dry) hair. There really is a fairly big difference between conditioner designed for normal and fine hair (the concern being not to weigh the hair down) and deep conditioners for textured hair.

Also, I love my ShamWows. While I don't know that they're any better than any other brand of chamois (Wippety Wipes, etc), theyre still a damn sight better than paper towels (and more eco-friendly!) and so I'm glad I have them.

Writer's Block: Hocus pocus

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I'm too skeptical to blow my money on things that seem too good to be true. In fact, I'm often too much of a cheapskate to even buy things which are proven to work if they're not in my budget. However, like anyone I've tried some things that didn't deliver on even their fairly believable promises.

The various varieties of "Learn Japanese in 5 Minutes a Day/Three Weeks/With No Teachers!" textbooks people often gave me for Christmases in middle and early high school gave me some vocabulary (and a lot of stickers to put all over the house :-P), but they definitely didn't give me fluency. It took a four-month homestay for that.

The birth control I got on last spring failed to eliminate my menstrual cramping AND gave me two full weeks of extra period. ("Spotting" my ass). FAILTASTIC. (At least I wasn't in a position to have it fail at the purpose of preventing babies!).

On the other hand, however, I have tried some things that promised a level of awesomeness I thought was exaggerated-- and worked. Biggest example would be Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant. After years of clammy armpits (making me feel colder as the sweat pooling there cools )-:) and all my white t-shirts turning yellow under the arms, I figured that antiperspirant was only ever going to do so much for me. How special could this one actually be? I was floored by how well it works. I seriously sweat 90% less where I apply it. The white shirts I've bought since I started using it are still white under my arms. LOVE this product.

And (this isn't a specific product, but) I was amazed to see the difference it made on my hair to use conditioners formulated for curly (dry) hair. There really is a fairly big difference between conditioner designed for normal and fine hair (the concern being not to weigh the hair down) and deep conditioners for textured hair.

Also, I love my ShamWows. While I don't know that they're any better than any other brand of chamois (Wippety Wipes, etc), theyre still a damn sight better than paper towels (and more eco-friendly!) and so I'm glad I have them.