My Oasis Haircut and a Long Lost Reconnect

On Monday I tried to get a haircut. Tried three times, actually. Even tweeted jokingly about the whole ordeal. Jokingly but kinda frustratingly too.

First, I rolled by some Indian salon that specialized in eyebrow threading because WOW what a blog post, right? Also, there was a sign for $7 haircuts and I was like OH SNAP that’s so cheap and I’m so broke so this is perfect.

But when I walked into the desolate little salon, this precious Indian lady told me their haircut woman had the day off.

I suppose I could’ve gotten my eyebrows threaded instead — fickle things, those eyebrows — but I just wished Precious Indian Lady a good day and hopped back into my car. Drove aimlessly searching for another place to cut my ridiculous hair.

The next place I found looked promising from the outside…until I drove up to it and noticed the insides were completely gutted with a sign advertising a phone number anchored in the window.

So. That was a no-go.

I continued venturing toward another seemingly promising barber shop: the insides were fully intact, and a woman was indeed employed/cutting someone’s hair, not just threading eyebrows. But then I saw the dreaded sign at the counter: CASH ONLY.

And, like, who carries cash anymore?

I basically drove around the entire city Monday desperate for a place, any place to cut my horrendous hair. After three unsuccessful trips, I returned home and napped because I had a headache and couldn’t take the MADNESS anymore.

My long awaited haircut was delayed two days, as I finally found an open/available/card-friendly place. And it was one of the best haircuts I’ve ever gotten. Not for purely physical reasons — my teenage-esque “beard” still makes me less-than-desirable — as I just simply loved the woman cutting my hair. Lisa, her name.

Wonderful woman. Been cutting hair for 15 years, and she loves it. I told her I totally get it, likening the cutting of hair to writing. The sculpting and cutting of words.

It’s an art. And art is amazing.

After my haircut, I strolled around the shopping center. SUCH a beautiful day in southern California. I’d never ventured to this center before, and it was a really nice place. Kinda tucked away, a bit upscale. A Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, Panda Express, Subway, Bank of America ATM, and even a fancy fountain!

Minus a Panera, this magical oasis basically has everything I could EVER need or desire.

And I’d never have stumbled there had I not been denied a haircut thrice two days prior. Would’ve never met Lisa and compared haircuts to writing and found a magical place I’ll undoubtedly be frequenting many times in the days/weeks/months to come.

Yesterday was probably my favorite day of 2013. After some afternoon tutoring, I closed the day with my church’s monthly worship/prayer night — my first one since last April — and our old pastor from last year was randomly in attendance.

Well, I guess “randomly” isn’t the right word since he very purposefully flew into town for a wedding, but still. I just barely missed his departure from our church last fall, so it was just a wonderful moment to see him again. To hug him and reconnect when I honestly wondered if I ever again would.

So that was my yesterday: an oasis haircut and a multi-hour worship night with a long lost reconnect thrown in there too.

Loved yesterday.

How was your day?

9 Comments
David 23 February 2013
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well.. I thought I was having a good day Wednesday. I went to my small group and hung out with a couple friends from church after.

Stephen Haggerty 22 February 2013
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Wow… that’s a lot of work for a haircut. What, you don’t own a flowbee?!?

Rebecka 21 February 2013
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Sounds like a good day! I cleaned my apartment, it wasn’t very exciting (but it was necessary!) I definitely think you should go back and get your eyebrows threaded and then blog about it, I’ve always wondered what it’s like.

Allan F 21 February 2013
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Yesterday was awful for me, and I signed online to complain about it, but saw that your newsletter and new blog post had been done. I decided to read them first and now I don’t want to complain anymore. 🙂 You cheered me up.

I was thinking of only the negative parts of my day, but realized that I also had sushi with my good friend Katie, then came home and had awesome chats with Kirin, and enjoyed getting into pajamas and reading. You have made me decide to focus on those instead. Thank you.

PS – I would LOVE it if you got your eyebrows threaded in the future.

CoreySaxon 21 February 2013
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It’s amazing how a simple haircut really can make a day better. You just feel refreshed. My yesterday was pretty mundane. Just went to work and came home to rest. Nothing out of the ordinary! After work today, I plan on taking advantage of the sunny day and go walking.