What is so hard about the word "trim"?

I REALLY needed a trim a couple weeks back, so I thought "I'll just shoot across the street & get a quick trim. They can't hurt my hair too much by just cleaning it up"....boy oh boy oh boy was I WRONG.

I get to the salon- there is a woman there who looks pretty hip and capable of cutting my hair...then she passes me along to a 70+ year old woman who didn't speak English (having a language barrier when trying to communicate to someone how you want your hair is not ideal...)

The 70+ lady then proceeded to 'wash' my hair.  She tugged and shoved my head in various directions, got water all down my face and in my eyes, and I didn't even get that nice head massage always given when your hair is washed.

I ask for my hair to be TRIMMED! ...the woman cuts some off, shows it to me, and gestures as if to say "is that ok? good?" (remember we have the aforementioned language barrier happening...)  I look at the chunk she cut off (pretty close to 4-5 inches) & I say "no, no that is way too much!!!" Now of course the woman didn't understand what I was saying so the 'hip' lady had to try and translate for me.
The rest of the cut seemed to proceed pretty well with my head being yanked around only a small number of times...but then....

As the woman went on to dry my hair I ask to have it diffused, so that it will be curly (my hair varies depending on how it's dried).  Again, we have the language barrier and ms. hip helps us again.  Moments later....my hair is dry.  It is uneven. It is 3 inches shorter.  and I look like Farrah Fawcett.

I realize now that I should have walked out of the salon as soon as my head was tugged around as it was being washed.  But, alas, now I know my lesson.
Don't just 'pop-in' to a salon hoping to get a nice safe quick trim.

Why is May important?

Did you know that May is Stroke and High Blood Pressure Awareness Month?
As many of you know by now...I had a stroke on May 25, 2008.
There are many ways that a stroke can affect someone...some are unfortunate and loose their lives, some paralyzed, some can't talk, some go blind, the side effects can be quite scary.
I am one of the lucky ones.
Sure, I may have to be more fervent with certain tasks of life such as working out my left side more than my right...but these are small trivial side affects.  I have been able to go back to living my life as I did before.  I still play sports, I still can remember random moments from the past (as my friend KatieG is so keenly aware of...how do I remember the name of the random lady from childhood who's birthday is on leap year?), I can keep up with the pace of the NYC life, and I can praise God for keeping me alive.
In this blessing...I aim to raise awareness.
Get your exercise.  Drink Water. Eat healthy. Know your family's health history.  Definitely know your own body and health history.  Take preventative action.
Don't say "Oh, I'm young.  I'm not at risk for anything" this is just plain ignorance folks.
Take care of your body.