...that and $.50

While heading to work this morning I noticed a Shell station that was offering a “free cup of coffee with every fill-up.” Words escape me. I filled up the Merc Galactica today for a mere $69.

A guy I work with was rolling his wedding band around in his hand yesterday and talking with another co-worker (they being the only two I speak with at work) about how much he could get for it (in a whisper: divorce). Having pawned a plain gold wedding band in my day, I had a general idea of what it might go for. The problem they have, being naval officers, is that they’re running numbers based on karat gold, the weight (measured on a postal scale), and the price of gold. What he’s come to is something like $120; this is what I hear as I walk in the office. I don’t even really need the back story but I ask anyway. I decide to play bookie/pawn broker and tell him that I’ll put the over/under betting line at $75.50. I know that’s way too high but I like to bait the hook. I tell him that if he’s seriously going to a pawn shop then I’ll set the number down around $25. He takes the over and I make some money - $5. In the hall this morning he tells me he went to a jeweler that buys gold for processing and they offered ----- $35. I smile in recognition of how little your old marriage means in the world of capitalism. Maybe he should have given them a story. As we laugh, as divorced men do, he tells me he still has his ex-wife’s wedding gown. Now we’re talking eBay…

The hair has been cut by my usual suspects. What I realized today while sitting in the chair is that even in Arabic the talk in any barber shop is the same. I bet if you do some research into shops in Saudi Arabia, Korea, Russia, or Greece, you’ll find the latest copies of Maxim, Swank, Esquire, Boater’s World, and Field & Stream. Haircutting is the language of the World – that whole music thing is a sham.

Today you get the amazing Todd Snider doing Nashville at the Americana Music Awards. If you look closely, and you should, you’ll see Buddy Miller over on the left of the screen leading the house band. Todd Snider is the most endearing live performer you’ll ever see.



love to all.

t.

P.S. Cubs win! Cubs win!

P.P.S. I'll get X to relay via her blog the joke told by her Bar Review lecturer. She told the boys in the car yesterday and I've never heard kids laugh so hard.

single beds

As the The Eleven was settling to sleep last night, I decided I wasn’t quite in the best position for a duvet-covered, tea-induced slumber. This led to some rustling on my part and X awaiting the finished product so she could then finalize her pouncing. As I’m flipping and adjusting I say, in jest, “I’m not the way I want to be…I want to be smarter and I want nicer hair.” To which she replied, “You have nice hair.” I’ll let you interpret her choosing agreement on just my hair.

X has come to a conclusion using her deductive (?) reasoning that she doesn’t much care about the primaries, caucuses, etc. – Hillary or Obama are both acceptable. The general election is even further off the scope. No arguments from me. But…I find the exploding Ron Paul support to be a blast to watch. The Republican candidates are in a major huff and would like nothing more than to ban him from debates or speeches. I still think we’ll see a John Edwards surge through the Fall and early Winter.

I’m lasso’ing the boys and taking them, and myself (unlasso’ed), for haircuts tonight. Expect a barber shop update tomorrow.

T.

ah jeez...

I’ve covered the new barber shop situation already but today I stumbled into the soon-to-be new place that’s still being manned by only one of the barbers I want cutting my hair. In I walk and up jumps some guy from his chair chattily directing me in for a ‘do. I’m hardly settled in with my backward superhero cape across my chest before he’s rattling on about something or other. I feel that barbers, new barbers with new customers, should stick to the weather-chat opening. I’ll eventually open up and gab if I feel the need…I usually don’t. His cutting style was way different than what I’ve grown accustomed to over the last 15 months – it makes no sense; it’s like X working all the across clues followed by all the down clues in a crossword before trying to crack corners or leading testimony. That makes no sense either; I put up with it because I love her. If it weren’t for that she’d be on probation, double probation. He’s got clippers when he should have scissors, thinners when he should have clippers – it’s painful to even think about.

You know you’re an upper-level Metro commuter when you recognize speed and flow. The main qualifying box to check is knowing that when you’re departing the train and heading towards the escalator you may need to stop and wait in order to not impede running guy flying down the escalator to catch the (ding ding) train. If he’s sprinting for the train, you need to hold steady and let him through. You’ll get a knowing look when he sees another master commuter.

T.

get a haircut and get a real job

I was getting the coif done on Friday at the Wilson Blvd. Barber Shop and I realized that even though I like the work of both barbers - they are different in their approaches to my pate needs. Faraj (owner-operator) has taken the admirable stance of deciding that if I'm actually going to man-up and grow my hair out than he'll perform nothing but a light trim. I'd think the term might be a dusting...maybe a waving of the implements of barberdom near my head. He does a fantastic job around the edges but he's fully commited to letting me suffer the wrath of my thick hair. Habib (ambassador-operator), on the other hand, is a little more consoling in my search for hair utopia. He spends the requisite amount of time working the equipment around the sides and back: trimming, brushing, trimming some more, cleaning up the the details, trimming some more, and then...the thinning shears. That is what saves me from looking more like a goofball than I already do. I told Kt today that what signals an overdue haircut is when I start to notice the exploding, animated blockhead formed by my shadow - something must done. The hilarity of my shadow as I walked from Metro to bus Friday morning was a real kneeslapper. Kids ran screaming, chicks thought I was a creature from Arlington, the bus driver let me ride for free!

As Habib finished up with the 'do he went to great pains to let me know, and show me, that I need to use hair product to keep everything in order. Hair product? The last time my hair sported product was in the early 80s.

T.