I could use about two more cups of coffee right now: yes, please.

Haircut weekend was a success! The story is this: the story is that the salon I'd gone to for corrective color (and which I like quite a lot, actually - in theory, at least) canceled the cut/color appt. I'd made eight weeks prior. Their reason? "Oh, your stylist is going to be out of town." Really? I thought. Do stylists not have to put in for vacation time a few weeks in advance as do people in other trades? On account of this snafu/the fact that my bangs were getting out-of-control-long, I booked an appointment at the Chop Shop and I am so glad that I did. Betsy is not only a good conversationalist but an excellent stylist; indeed, she gave me angled, wispy bangs that I wouldn't necessarily have requested but that I love so much. So, yes: I guess it was fortuitous that the other salon bailed because otherwise, I might never have found this gem.

It was otherwise a pretty low-key weekend: Hook and I went to the Civic Center farmers' market yesterday and got about ten pounds of produce for ten dollars (I am dead serious). I love the Ferry Building's market, but it's more of an event than a practical means of produce acquisition. Every few weeks, I love to go and get baby white turnips and local, organic lavender and heirloom beans*, but the Ferry Building's prices prohibit buying in the quantities that I favor. While Civic Center doesn't quite have quite the variety and covetability of the Ferry Building's market, their vendors are no slouches: they have one local honey booth, a mushroom vendor, a baker, and several all-organic booths, one of which was selling baby greens with nasturtium blossoms(!) (Note: I totally tooted my own for correctly identifying the blossoms.) I still haven't been to the Upper Haight farmers' market -- travesty! -- but I'm hoping to make it there this Wednesday. I say that every Wednesday, but this time, I mean business.


*OK, I only bought those once, eight months ago, and they're still sitting in the cabinet under a partially-used bag of bulk quinoa. This is why I don't buy dried beans, people.

So much to report on this end that I don't know where to begin. (Note to self, others: it might be helpful if I updated this blog more than once a month, but oh, well. I'm still not convinced that switching over to strict use of my tumblr would encourage me to update more frequently. In fact, I tumbl even less often than I blog...)

The big news: I have a new job - my first actual adult job. By adult I mean 1) more than marginally related to my field of study; and 2) salaried, benefitted. Yes, friends: last week, I started working as a course captioning transcriber for the Academy of Art University. So far, so good. The work is interesting, the projects are varied; my coworkers are really friendly and stylish. This weekend, I bought a 4-cup coffeemaker for my desk! I commute! I just bought some office friendly wedges online!

Smaller news: I survived a legit hair disaster. Saturday, I went in to get highlights done. I asked for "sparse, natural-looking" highlights and ended up with hair that looked frosted and greenish. No joke, my hair looked like a toupee and/or an animal pelt. I did not cry, but I did wear a giant, decorated headband yesterday to cover the mess. Luckily, I was able to snag an appointment (today) at Edo, where Taylor reversed the horrible damage that had been done to me not 48 hours earlier. I kept the highlights but had the tone altered (they're now honeyish blonde, rather than chlorine-damaged grayblonde), the roots of my hair darkened/the ends brightened. Now, I'm happy to report, I look like a human again.

Medium news: Hook and I registered for the KP 5K (July 25th). Anyone wanna join us as we run?

PS:

Man, I just used the word "hair" a lot.
But what other choice did I have?

Hair-i-lujah

I think I've found a winner for Best Local Salon. After working the 12 to 2 shift yesterday at the Grad Conference Bake Sale, I headed to The Lift in Easthampton for a simple trim. I shouldn't say "headed to," since my trip was circuitous and I stopped twice for directions: once at a strip mall dry cleaning shop just over the Southampton border, and once at a weird machine shop type deal right near the Easthampton roundabout. Finally, though, I made it to Eastworks, an old home-goods factory recently converted into shops/galleries. I'd somehow managed, in my two.five years living here, never to visit Eastworks, but I'd like to go back. True, the few shops I passed en route to the salon appeared to peddle mostly "country-cutesy" gift items, but the galleries might be interesting.

Anyway: The Lift. Decor is pleasant: leather chairs in the waiting area, blond wood, grape-cluster shaped lamps hung above the reception counter. The chairs at the shampoo station are massage chairs (a la Sharper Image or whatevs), and I was given a warm towel for my eyes as my hair was shampooed. Product line: Bumble & Bumble. My stylist was friendly, not too pushy, and didn't take too much off the ends.

But there's more. In addition to having my ends trimmed, I had a special conditioning treatment applied to my hair, and oh. My. God. I don't think my hair has ever been so smooth and shiny. Not even when I was a kid, and had yet to damage my hair with heat tools and processing. This treatment, which reinvigorated my hair with protein, effectively repairing the cuticle(s), is something I would have poo-poohed a few years ago, but no longer. I even asked if I could buy this wonderful protein serum and treat my own hair, but I guess the product is only available for use in salons, so powerful it is.

Bottom line: if you're in Easthampton and needing a haircut (or treatment), head on over to The Lift. The staff are friendly, the wait time is short, the products they use are great, and they're considerably cheaper than other places in the area.

RAAAAH!

Again: RAAAAAH! Damn, it is Friday, and I'm more excited than I normally am on Friday mornings because this week was a minor shitstorm. So, hallelujah to doneness: doneness of the week. I'm freaking out a little because I didn't sleep well last night, I think I might be getting sick again (despite my efforts to chug as much Emergen-C as humanly possible), and there's revelry planned for the days to come. Not to mention all the stuff that needs to be done for Thanksgiving: a thorough cleaning of the house (so that my mom does not think that A. and I live in total squalor, which we sometimes do & which I HATE), purchasing of all the T-day foodstuffs, decorating of our mini-tree. The mini-tree (3' tall) is mostly decorated, being that there are so few branches. But, finishing touches.

Ali and I might get our turkey today, before all the turkeys are sold out. I wanted to pre-order a fresh, local bird, but my mom was like, "meh," and Ali doesn't eat meat, so frozen it is. Our fridge is pretty full, so Eric has graciously volunteered the bottom shelf of his fridge for the defrosting process.
ALSO: Has anyone ever cooked a turkey in a crock pot? My mom wanted us to do this (we were initially planning to get a turkey breast, rather than a whole bird), but I don't think it will work. Guess it's time to buy a roasting pan...

Monday will bring haircut joy! Or, trim joy, since Project Long Shiny Ponytail is still underway. My hair is longer than ever, but the last time I got it trimmed was late September & the ends are starting to look a little frazzled. Going to The Lift in Easthampton, based on LDS' recommendation. Excitement!

Decision!

A decision has been reached: I'm going to get my hair trimmed (not cut: trying to preserve some length, here) and highlighted. I'll likely go with a combination of highlights (honeyish shades) and lowlights (two shades darker than my natural color), making sure the strands of color are thin, as to be less apparent against my "real" hair. Thank you to those who shared their insight: sometimes, a little advice from friends is all one needs in revamping one's hair.

I have still not decided whether to get bangs cut, but I have time to consider and reconsider my options.

It's strange: I began dyeing my hair in high school, using drugstore color, and have dyed it fairly steadily ever since, but I don't consider myself - think of myself - as someone with dyed hair. Two factors lead to this misclassification: first, I don't dye my hair very often. (Embarrassingly, the last time I got highlights was January. Ouch.) The infrequency - or sporadicness, I should say - of coloring allows me to think of the process as an action of whimsy rather than a ritual or tradition. Second, I've never dyed my hair a "weird" color; Manic Panic wasn't allowed in my house, and after I turned twelve, I never had much desire for hair in a non-natural shade. Having hair that's "naturally" tinted, even if the tint isn't natural to my head, lets me feel a little less conspicuous.

Where was I going with this?

Yes: I'm really looking forward to these highlights. I used to love getting haircuts, and since I'm letting my hair grow out (i.e., no longer getting cuts), I've missed that specific excitement which accompanies ever-so-slightly modifying one's appearance.

Anyways: today is my last day of summer work. (Aside: I will be working in the key office one day/week during the school year.) I really can't believe that school starts on Tuesday - it barely feels like we're done with July - but start it will. And I'll have to be ready. Have been under the weather for the past few days; I hope to catch up on sleep and chug Emergen-C this weekend to recuperate.