Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Driving in Circles: My Beef with DC
Before the residents of the DMV (that's my new tri-state area, not the Department of Motor Vehicles) start twisting their mouths, I'd like to begin by stating that I like the District of Columbia a whole lot. In a future blog, I will do a top five list of all of the things about DC that kick the Beantown's tush. In the meantime, I've included a happy photo of my mom and stepdad enjoying my new neighborhood. However, I do take umbrage at some of the city's smaller details, all of which have to do with transportation:
1) Roundabouts - Coming from Boston, a town that's had a long love affair with the rotary, I thought that I'd immediately master the art of the DC circle. However, rotaries in Massachusetts don't have traffic lights in them. They also don't have inner and outer sections that can cause you to miss your exit if you're in the wrong lane. Last week, I drove Dupont Circle for 940 degrees before I could exit at Massachusetts Ave (of all streets). Absolutely ridiculous.
2) Gas stations - The price of fuel here is insane. I saw one place in a very touristy area that listed its cheapest gas at $4.19 a gallon. Now there are some stations that are more reasonable, but the problem with those is that you have to transport yourself back to 1989 in order to patronize those establishments. They don't take credit cards at the pump. You actually have to go inside, estimate how much gas you're going to need, and pay in advance. Seriously?
3) L'Enfant Plaza - I'm a fan of the Metro. I love that they tell you how much longer you have to wait for your train. It's organized by color (like Boston) and it's quite user-friendly. But I had to raise an eyebrow the first time the conductor approached L'Enfant Plaza. Why does no one in this town pronounce the first "N," inexplicably calling it "Lafant?" It's like everyone took a course in bad French. Very odd.
Any Washingtonians, DC squatters, or frequent visitors want to add on (or bite off my head)?
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Haircut as Metaphor: Life Lessons at the Beauty Salon
I was excited to go back to Boston for the Thanksgiving holiday to spend time with family, enjoy old friends at my high school reunion, and pay a visit to my favorite hair place (wash and set for 20 bucks - can't beat that). My ends were looking a bit scraggly so I asked my person to do a light trim. Quick definition of "light trim" (also known as a "dusting"): using a scissors to address only the most offensive split ends, while leaving in tact anything that might sacrifice the actual length of your hair should it be removed.Fast forward 15 minutes and I have 3 inches of hair staring at me from its discarded place on the floor. A salon helper unceremoniously sweeps the locks into a dustpan before I can fully process that I have just received a bona fide hairCUT. I left the styling chair with a deep crease of concern in my forehead and a quivering lip. But over the next couple of days, I realized that I was being absolutely ridiculous. There are many morals to this story; you can choose the take-away that most pertains to your issue of the moment:
1) Take care of the things you care about: I don't know how many times people have told me that if you want your hair to grow, you have to trim it regularly. I summarily ignored what I knew to be good sense until my ends got so bad that "dusting" was no longer an option. If we want things to last, we can't be careless with them. This can be as simple as dry cleaning the clothes you love, or as important as making sure you repair the cracks in your relationships with loved ones before the fissures become chasms.
2) Sometimes you have to let go: Most of us are made extremely uncomfortable by the idea of change. With change comes loss of the familiar and what could be felt as a loss of control. But while the growing pains can indeed smart a little during the transition, what we get in the end usually makes us better. This could be adjusting to a healthier, more flattering hairstyle or it could be dealing with the headaches of relocating to arrive in a city or job that will provide fulfillment.
3) Learn a second language: I didn't know the Spanish words for "light trim," so I had to settle for making a scissor motion with my fingers, followed by the universal sign language for "a little bit." Not having taken Spanish in school is one of my biggest academic regrets (yes, speaking French on my trip to Paris was cool, but how often am I going to be chilling at the Eiffel Tower?). Let me know if anyone has a free Rosetta Stone download. It's never too late to learn a new skill... and that, my friends, is all of my wise advice for the day.
Now your turn: anyone know any good tricks to make your hair grow faster?
