a post about hair

If you live in my neck of the woods, you know that it has been mighty hot and humid over the past few days (in the down-time between thunder storms and tornadoes, that is). And silly me, I have not yet put in my window A/C, so my top floor apartment is about 500 degrees hotter than it is outside. Even with all the windows open and all the fans going, it just will not cool down. So anyway, I have been forced to modify my habits a little in order to maintain a bit of comfort in the excessive hotness of my house. I would usually take a hot shower in the morning, and get dressed and do my hair before going to work. I've never been much for evening showers because after sleeping, my (curly) hair just never recovers. However, in an attempt to cool off, the last few days I have been taking a cool shower in the evening, and then, without any product in it at all, pulling my wet hair into a high ponytail and going to bed. And it's totally great! First and foremost, it cools me off before bed, so I sleep better. Score. And also, even though my hairstyle options are more limited in the morning, washing it in cold water makes my hair so much shinier and softer! (And maybe the product I was using was making it dull and it's really liking being naked?) So yay! I found a way to cool off my body and make my hair happy at the same time!

... but I still intend to put in that A/C ASAP.

Why does this bother me?

I have had curly hair for my ENTIRE LIFE. Until this week, I have never once successfully straightened it, so no one in existence has ever seen me with straight hair. Today I go to work with stick-straight hair for the first time in my life (yesterday doesn't count because I was kind of a hermit and it was in a ponytail anyway), and NOBODY NOTICES!!!! WHAAAA??

Okay, in all fairness, I shouldn't say nobody noticed. Two people in my department sort of noticed - one who is the most hyper-observant person I know, and one who mentioned in passing that it looked cute. But the people I sit with at lunch almost every single day did NOT NOTICE. Or if they did, they didn't say anything (which I didn't even think about until I just typed it and now it's made me a bit paranoid - does it really look that bad??). I make this gigantic change in my appearance and it does not even register on their radar. What gives?

Plus, I don't think I'm going to straighten it again. It took way too long this morning (freaking WASTE OF TIME I COULD HAVE BEEN SLEEPING), and as cute as I thought it looked during my trial run on Sunday, it was not-so-cute today. Maybe it's because it's winter and super cold and the air is dry, but the straight hair is just lifeless and stringy and very staticky (I added the "k" in there because the word looked funny without it - don't know if it belongs there or not). I basically have no choice but to put the sides up in barrettes for it to look decent, and even then it just looks flat. Curly hair just has more life and bounce - on me anyway.

Or maybe it's just because nobody noticed.

H

Sick, Sicker, Sickest

So, I stuck to the plan I mentioned in the last post and I am glad that I did cause I was sick as a dog this weekend. Thursday I woke up with a very sore throat, which is always the first sign of getting a cold. Insert Thursday/Friday plan here. Friday, symptoms worsened and now included a nasty headache and stuffy head (more like a head that felt like it was about to explode). I slept most of the day, then stupidly decided to leave the house and head out to my parents' house because I promised my Mom I'd go to a Pampered Chef party with her. Said party was nearly unbearable because I was feeling progressively worse. When I got back to the folks' place, I was shivering an inordinate amount for the temperature in the room, and though I didn't take my own temp, I'm pretty sure I had a fever. Sleeping was difficult that night, and I had to get up early to drop my car off to get the brakes fixed. I attempted to go shoe shopping with my Mama, but after one store, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to crash. So Mom drove me home where I slept the rest of the day until my car was ready, after which my parents convinced me to stay for dinner (cannot resist the Gen Hoe fried rice!!). I finally went back to my own place after dinner and spent the rest of the evening on the couch where I watched the most recent Freaks and Geeks DVD I received from Netflix, and then the second half of Back to the Future II on TBS. Then bed. Sunday was significantly better (mostly because I got to watch the first half of Back to the Future II!!). No headache, and the sore throat subsided in favor of an annoying cough (but I'd prefer the cough to the soreness any day). Today I am back at work and feeling like a giant ball of nastiness, but at least I'm here and being somewhat productive. The one work thing I was afraid would be an issue with my not being there on Friday was not an issue at all because something unrelated to my job had not been completed yet, so that made me happy ... sorta. Normally I'm annoyed when this happens, but in this case, it was a relief. Whatever. Work. Bah.

Oh, and I have made a change! Albeit a temporary one that I probably will not do very often except on weekends when I have more time. You wanna know what it is?? Of course you do! I straightened my hair!!!! I have never ever successfully done this before, and now that I have, I kinda like it! Now don't get me wrong, I still love the curly hair and I always will. It's just who I am! But I've always wondered what I'd look like with straight hair, and now I know! Pretty Damn Cute! The reason I attempted this at this particular point in time is because another curly-haired friend of mine has recently decided to tame the curls, and she looks absolutely adorable (not that she didn't before, of course). And she informed me that there are, in fact, straightening irons that can be used on wet hair, thus eliminating the blowdrying step, which I have, for my whole life, dreaded the very thought of! Yay for modern technology. Okay, maybe that's not really technology, but humor me here, folks.

Doin' the straight thing (wait, that sounds wierd ... but still true anyway),
H