Wednesday Wanderings

About 11 years ago, I got my hair cut by a new hairdresser. It was a perfect cut. I loved the choppy layering and the way the bangs fell. Right after it was cut, I went to Massachusetts for a wedding. When I came back, the hair didn't seem so perfect. I probably blamed my styling ability, or the way it was growing out or something. On one of my visits to my mother, still in Massachusetts, I realized the water up there was really good for my hair, because I loved it again.

Fast forward through the years. I have never had that good of a haircut since, despite going to the same person (with only two single-cut deviations, which also weren't as good as that first one) ever since. My mother died in February 2003, and I've only been back to Massachusetts once since.

So back in July, right before I went to San Francisco, I had my hairdresser do something a little different than the usual basic trim. I liked it, but the bangs were a problem. I had her revise them, and they were okay, though styling them was one-time-good/five-times-sucky. And even the "good" doesn't last more than a couple of hours.

But in San Francisco...I swear, it's all about the water. My hair looked great (by my standards--if you who were there and are looking at me all askance, going "oooo-kay," I don't want to know about it). It styled nice and stayed that way, and even when I had to restyle it late in the day and it wasn't quite as good, it was still better than it has been any day since I got home.

I'm done blaming myself, how long I let it dry, how I hold the brush, how much mousse and hairspray I use. It's 100% the water's fault, and now I'm depressed, because I'm not going to move from PA for at least a decade.

~~~~~~~
I found a new drink this weekend. I'm a pretty boring person when it comes to beverages (I'm talking non-alcohol, but it probably applies to alcoholic drinks, too). I drink mostly water, milk, and hot tea, with the occasional mocha or Coke or even more occasional orange juice. For bring-your-own-beverage occasions I've been taking Lipton's White Tea with Tangerine. But last weekend, I found this:



Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale. Wow, is it good! Crisp, and lighter than regular ginger ale. Now I have to see if I can buy it in bulk or just the over-priced convenience store bottles.

When I was looking for an image, I found a bunch of sites referencing the high amount of sugar in the drink. One said if you want the benefits of green tea, drink green tea. Well, I don't drink anything for the "health benefits." Plus, I just checked, and Coke has more sugar per ounce than this drink does.

~~~~~~~
I had another topic I was going to put in here and now I forget what it is.

~~~~~~~
Why do people use the word "sell" as a noun? It's a verb. You sell something by exchanging it for money. Once that's done, it's a sale. So when someone sells a book to a publisher, they have achieved a sale. It always weirds me out to see "congratulations on your sell!" If it was verbal instead of written, I'd think they were talking about going to jail.

~~~~~~~
I saw Tropic Thunder this weekend, and I said I thought it was the best movie I'd seen all summer. J said Hancock was better, but I haven't seen that yet. It was consistently hilarious. I laughed more than J, which itself is kind of amusing because it's more his kind of humor than it is mine. But I'm pretty into the whole film-making and TV-making world. Without, you know, being in it. So I felt like I was part of the insidery stuff. The whole auditorium was cracking up, though, so it's at least partly universally funny.

Someone asked on their blog last week (I think Cindy) if it was over-the-top. I think it comes really close, but doesn't go over. There were some gory parts that I closed my eyes at while I laughed, and a kid-related thing that I had to cringe away from, but they followed that one, at least, with an end shot that saved it from being unacceptable--and made it even funnier, actually.

It's crude and gross and the Tom Cruise (who did not impress me the way he impressed everyone else--I just don't get the awe of industry professionals and critiques when someone "goes ugly") and Matthew McConaughey characters can be truly offensive (though MM's agent character shows flashes of heart). This movie is definitely not for everyone. My mother, for one. But it's a really fun time, and well worth the price of a ticket.

~~~~~~~
I know I'm probably the winner of the 2008 Lamest RWA Attendee Blogger, not having any pictures up yet. I will try to do them tomorrow. Stay tuned!