Just a trim, please

I have never been really picky about haircuts. I grew up getting cheap ones, and for better or worse, this led to me allowing my friends to cut my hair. I think when you live in a dorm for seven years straight, it isn't unusual to know someone a few doors down who likes cutting hair and does a decent job. In high school, Sacco cut her own hair and would occasionally cut mine as well. In college I would go to this place around the corner, but Quasi cut my hair a few times. She used to charge our friend Benzo a jar of Tostitos brand salsa con queso for each cut, but we were such good friends that she cut my hair for free.

I have had my hair different lengths. I've gone chin length a few times. (Not a good look for me.) I even dyed it black once, not because I was in a goth stage, just to see what it would look like if it actually matched my eyebrows. I liked it. My younger cousin still calls me Raven sometimes.

For the past year and a half I have been getting highlights. The problem with that is each time I get them, I become slightly blonder. And I don't want to be blond. I want to be a brunette with blonde highlights. The last time I had them done was the beginning of April. It is now the end of October. My hair is pretty healthy & grows at a good rate, so this means that I had a couple of solid inches of brown roots. My hair hasn't been a big priority for me over the past few months. I've mostly been pulling it back since I work a lot and it is so humid that it gets crazy if I even try to wear it down.

I finally made time to get it cut after a friend's friend commented on the "two-toned thing I had going on." I made an appointment at a salon thinking that I would get a trim and get my highlights touched up. My colorist was this big Asian guy who had platinum streaks in his hair and tattoos covering his entire arm. He looked seriously disappointed when I told him that I just wanted to make it look natural. And here comes the fun part. He says: Caucasian women never want to do anything fun with their hair. He challenged me with the race card! And I totally caved. I told him we could do something fun. So he made the base of my hair a chocolate color and added red and blonde highlights.

I am still not completely used to it, and I have a tendancy to hate my hair right after I get it done, but in all honesty, I think I sort of resemble a skunk. Sigh. At least I am a fun caucasian skunk.

It's all Greek to me

I was at KM8 (a beach bar located 8 km outside of S'pore - it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure out the significance of the name, by the way) last Sunday night with a group of friends. While I was sitting at a table, this obviously drunk guy(slightly stumbling)approached me. 'Are you Greek?' he slurred with a European accent. 'No, I'm American,' I replied. He didn't respond. Instead, he turned around and walked away. Yikes.

Pick me! Pick me!

We are staffing up at work, which means that I have been conducting a lot of interviews lately. My business tends to have very high turnover, so interviewing people is nothing new. There hasn't been much turnover here (although at this point I wish there was because some people are really not in the right seat on the bus).

Anyway, interviewing people here in the Pore is a lot different than in the US. Sometimes when I am reading resumes I feel like I am reading someone's personal ad or online dating profile. Everyone includes their picture. I always feel weird when I go to the reception area to meet someone and say, "Victor?" because although I know exactly which person in the waiting room I am going to interview, I never want to walk up to them and say, "Hi Victor. Nice passport photo."

It's also normal for people to put very personal details on their resume such as their age, religion (by the way, what exactly does 'free thinker' mean?), ethnicity, health, parents' professions - I'm not kidding, for each person I interview, I know what their parents do for a living and whether or not the interviewee suffers from high cholesterol.

My favorite part though is when I read about their interests - reading, meditation, shopping, traveling, brisk walks - yup, thats right, brisk walks. It is so hot and humid here - who can stand to take brisk walks? Maybe that will be my lead off question the next time I run across this as a hobby.

The Old Ball & Chain

Conversation earlier today with anono newly engaged friend:

ANEF: Yeah, it's a little weird being the first of our friends to be engaged. I mean, it's not like we're young.
Me: True. Maybe the rest of us are just a bunch of losers that nobody wants to spend the rest of their life with.
ANEF: Maybe.

Now that is what friends are for.

Speaking of...I don't think I have mentioned this, but I just found out recently that I am totally being played. Well, kind of. I mean, I guess you can't really be played in this kind of situation, so I really really should have expected this and I wasn't actually all that surprised when I found out, but still... I don't want to go into too much detail, but given my past history of internet research, let me just clear up that this information literally fell in my lap. I did not go hunting for it. It was casual "Oh did you hear..." I'm not sure what I am going to do about it, but I think that the most I am suffering from is a slightly bruised ego and i'llbelieveanylineyoutrytofeedme-itis. Vindication seemed like an option when I first found out, but now I think I am more amused than anything. I haven't been played in quite a while, but don't you worry, I am now 100% back in the game. Bring it on.

I win!

I used the hole-in-the-ground toilets (also known as squat toilets) this weekend. Twice. And there were no unfortunate consequences. I knew all those years of camping would be good for something.