I love tips. Nail tips — I mean. I love the money kind of tips too, but I'm specifically talking about plastic nail tips today.

I just find them fascinating. Every shape, size, length, and color you can imagine. Thousands and thousands of them. I have about nine boxes of them and whenever I see a new style, it's hard to not buy them.

The problem is, I don't use tips. Seriously, I almost never use them! I have some that I use for nail art competitions. I have some that I like for most applications and nail styles if I have to use them in a service. I have some that I use for color samples on my gel polishes. But most of the tips I have, I have just to have.

I am trying to see if I can do nails at all yet. I got a practice hand and came into the salon. The neighbors are happy to see me, and the hairstylist across the hall has offered to help me with the "tear down" portion of most of my services. That's what I'm most concerned with — the drilling for backfills and such. So I got out my boxes of tips to put on the practice hand (yes, I'll practice forms too) and there were all those boxes of tips in my cabinet.

I had to get them all out and fondle them lovingly, even though I never use them.

And I thought I would write a little ode to the modern marvel of injection dye molding. It's just cool. Someday I'd love to visit a factory that makes these things and watch how it's done.