LIKE HAIRS THROUGH A COMB, SO GO THE STRANDS OF OUR LIVES

I don't watch soap operas. I used to when I was in college - Days of Our Lives - the whole Bo/Hope saga - and Stefano, the most sophisticated bad guy of them all. I love that I can't remember what I did yesterday but that I remember. Although I don't watch daytime TV at all, I do have a place to keep up to date on all the dish. Where? My hair salon. Is yours like that? They know everything that's going on, not just in the local area but all over NJ. And the stylists? Their lives are right out of a soap opera.

Rick, the owner of my salon, lives with his partner of 30+ year, Julius. They are a wonderful couple of guys who take in every stray soul that needs help. I got to know them well when I worked for Julius' gift shop that was attached to the salon. The pay wasn't huge but there were some mighty nice perks. Free hair cuts and coloring, although I never went as bold as they wanted me to. Free nails. Discount on the stuff I sold and we carried some really nice stuff. And I got their company. Julius wasn't in all the time but when he was, he lit up the place. Rick is one of the steadiest guys I have ever met. Always next door, always calm, always a great friend to turn to when in need.

Julius found out he had cancer a few years ago and has been fighting an uphill battle since then. He has gone through several rounds of chemo and operations to remove tumors. He's still going strong but his less than steady work ethic has taken a hit. Without him there to run the day-to-day operation, the gift store is slowly getting smaller and smaller and is now carrying mostly jewelry and small items. Julius still loves to shop for things but Rick is the steadying hand in the relationship (much like Helen is to me) and keeps him in check.

First impression of the stylists is that many of them have funky hair colors and cuts, some are tattooed or pierced ... a lot. This might put some people off, but they are the nicest group of women you could meet. However, most of them lead way more colorful lives than I do. And they are secure enough in themselves that they don't mind sharing every detail with you. One is on her 2nd marriage to an admitted bisexual drug abuser. She gave birth to his child last year. Every time I go to get my hair cut, I get the updates on her life. However, this time she wasn't there. She just stopped coming one day. I need to find out what's going on now!

This all came about because I got my haircut yesterday. Scissors in professional hands have not touched my hair in about 11 months. In my seriously unprofessional ones, bangs have been cut twice. This is what my hair looked like on Friday.

I entered the Moosh's Hair Contest Extravaganza to get a free hair makeover complete with color and cut. I didn't win. But it put the idea in my head that I really, Really wanted my hair cut. Needed my hair cut. My head would explode if I didn't get the hair off my neck and soon. Yeah, I get all squirrely that way every now and then. So yesterday, I headed off to my favorite IRL soap opera and this is the outcome.

Just a little shorter. As you can see, there's a little bit of a curl to my hair. Very easy to care for. No blow drying cause it's dry before I'm done my after-shower routine - one of the perks of super fine hair. This is the way I really like my hair. But periodically, I see women with long hair that looks so nice. They have it with soft curls, or caught up in a french braid, or pulled back in a loose pony tail and I think "I wish I could do that with my hair." And I forget that my hair tends to frizz instead of fall into soft curls, and I don't know how to do a french braid, and I get really bored of ponytails after a while. And, as my mother pointed out, I don't want to waste the time in getting my hair to fall just so. Give the choice of taking an hour to work on my hair and an hour to read, you can find me curled up with my book. So I think I'll keep it short for a while, at least until the next "Rachel" becomes super popular.

There's a storm coming and the ravens have decided to take shelter on our dock. Having read The Stand, I know what having a raven show up and just stare at you means. So I'm sending them over to visit all the jackasses who think it's okay to talk down to women bloggers who question the placement of an article in the NYT and act condescendingly towards us because, you know, we're all tied up with mommy stuff and don't have much else to offer the world through our blogs. Hey! This is quality stuff, dammit!

Boy, talk about soap operas!