On Valentine's Day, 2012, I made a humble gift for mab, who was going through a very rough time. I wanted to show her that she wasn't alone, that she was treasured and loved.

Since then, Mab has made several iterative updates to the picture. Not only did she endow it with colors, but she added more ornate details to it each time. You can see her latest update to it from January.

I treasured each of those updates, for Mab is one of those rare friends who cherishes me through her actions. She has always given me more in our friendship than I have given her, and for Valentine's Day this year, I promised myself that I would gift her a new picture - a token and a vow to our many years of friendship.

This piece took about a week, and in spite of my best efforts, I was unable to finish it in time... The details in this piece were demanding, and I did not want to rush the work.

Mabbie, please forgive this being late - I hope you had a good Valentine's Day on which you were made to feel special and cherished. As for my part... I'll let the picture speak on my behalf. :>

(some unrelated ramblings below)

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I recently began playing with makeup, and quickly fell in love with it.

I can only describe the feeling as liberating. Very few men know what it feels like to be "pretty", but I suspect many would enjoy and embrace the feeling if they were to experience it (and yes, there are ways to do makeup on men that actually looks nice - i.e. not the drag queen look).

The experience is made even more special if you play with makeup with good friends or your special someone. Modern men don't really spend much time grooming themselves - it's very much considered a "girls thing". But may be that's not very healthy.

All social animals spend time grooming each other; it helps establish social bonds. Yes, one could say playing video games or watching TV together is social bonding, too, but it's simply not the same. There's something much more personal about grooming each other, making each other beautiful. It is far more than simply "spending time together" - because you have to be attentive to one another, and in so doing you feel cherished. The closest analogy I can think of is giving each other a massage.

Anyway, it's become one of my favorite things. :>