I am a girly girl. I love clothes, hair and of course - makeup! However, I was raised in rural Alaska by a father without sons who was in denial that I was female. As the oldest of two girls, I was the one recruited to help out my dad with his endless projects. Our town was remote and you had to fix or install your own plumbing, heating, drywall, car, electricity, etc. I was often holding a flashlight in temperatures down to -60 below sometimes below the house and sometimes on the roof. I don't consider myself outdoorsy or rugged by this experience but I would say that it shed some light on the world of men. It isn't pretty and it can be dirty, stinky, lewd and gross. However, men are really good at living in the moment and they have a lot of fun. No one is worried about what they say, how they look, smell or sound. In the man's world a sign of affection is when they give you an embarassing or insulting knickname.
With this experience and knowledge, I agreed to work on the show Man Caves for the DIY Network. My friend and client Norma Vally (ToolBelt Diva) was doing a guest appearance and I came along to do her hair and makeup. Man Caves is a great show which gives men their ultimate room to escape which is usually choc-a-bloc full of gaming, sports, beer, and other man stuff. This was the first show where they tricked out a bathroom and it was quite amazing. It had two flatscreens tv on either side of the comode and of course there was a beer keg and gaming center included. Despite the ridiculousness of the concept, they ManCave team created a highend and rather sophisicated space. I am looking forward to watching the episode to see things like Tony "Goose" Siragusa pushing the homeowner, Shaun in a crash helmet down the street on his old pink toilet.
I had way too much fun being "one of the guys" and they were all great about me tagging along with the crew. The homeowners Zeehan and Shaun are expecting their first child any moment which only added to the drama of the renovation. I put together a little video of my Man Cave experience just for shits and giggles. You can see that Norma's hair and makeup stayed good all day even while doing carpentry!
