Monday, November 8, 2010

4 Stories: Hairdo's



1. Oops!...I Did it Again

When I was—I dunno—about seven maybe; my brother and sister got bored. When my brother and sister got bored, and the three of us were home alone, that generally lead to my getting messed with. This particular day was no exception.

"Do you wanna look cool like Noah?" my sister asked with a devilish grin.

After a bit of convincing from both of them, I was in. They sat me on the toilet and took a number two guard to my head. They didn't even have the decency to trim my thick bowl cut first! I grimaced through the pain, keeping my eye on the prize.

When it was said and done, I did, in fact, look just like my cool big brother. I was totally satisfied with my new look. Until my mother got home. Let's just say my big bro and sis were in trouble. My mom looked at me, doing her best to hide how mortified she was by what they had done to her favorite child. She failed and began to cry. I, being a momma's boy, followed suit. I was no longer happy with my new look.

Many, many years later, I would finally repeat this mistake, only by choice. I was having one of those "off" periods in life, and thought, hey–if Britney can do it, so can I! Also, I'd had every other hairstyle, so I kind of ran out of options.


2. The Male Updo

Throughout the second half of my college years, one of my best friends, Chelsea, did my hair. She went to cosmetology school prior to entering the fashion program at CMU, and worked part-time at the town's most upscale salon. I was so lucky to have a friend who was constantly looking out for the best interests of my hair. One of my favorite styles she gave me looked like this. Only normally it wasn't quite so windblown and messy.


For my first fashion show at CMU, I decided to model one of my looks. Chelsea modeled the other. I wanted the styling to be daring and bold, so I had her take creative control of hair and makeup. I ultimately ended up with this masterpiece. It was so fun to rock such a unique do for a night! I would definitely try it on again!


3. Fun With Faux Hawks

The following is the silhouette I think works best with my face. I've had variations of it all through my life, but Chelsea's expertise took it to another level. I love how she added a little fun to it with a chunk of platinum. Unexpected use of color is one of my favorite things! I think I'm going to have to go down this route again sometime soon!


4. (EMO)ting

A couple years later, I decided to try something new. I grew my hair out and dyed it black. Perhaps I was rebelling against the preppy atmosphere I had to work in every day. Sure it was emo, but it was ironically emo, so it's okay.


That wasn't enough though, I needed to take it a step further. So the next time I got a cut, I opted for my first ever asymmetrical do. Sometimes it feels good to stand out a little. I was thrilled with how it turned out—and with the feedback I got!


I play with hairstyles a lot for a guy, I guess it's because I'm constantly craving change. When it's time for a new chapter in life, I feel like going all out and changing my look to reflect it.

I didn't even mention my high school hair adventures! Like the time I had Aqua hair, and then tried to die it black, but it turned purple! As it grew out, my whole head got sort of splotchy with dull greys and greens. Everyone said it looked like mold! Did I just share a fifth story? Whoops, I did!

Anyway, if you want to check out other fabulous bloggers recounting their tales of past do's (and don'ts), head on over to The Freckled Nest. And don't forget to share your stories, be it in your own blog or in the comments!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

My Office

So I'm doing that thing again, that thing where I don't blog for days at a time. But this time, I forgive myself!

As you probably remember, November is a crazy month for people like me. NaNoWriMo is in full swing, and although it's consuming most of my days, I'm managing to stay on track. In order to be successful, you have to write an average of 1,667 words a day. We're on day three, and I'm about to hit 5,000, finish my second chapter, and I show no signs of stopping just yet!

It's been a continued struggle to keep myself off the brilliantly amusing but gravely distracting NaNo forums and back into my prose, but I'm feeling optimistic about this year. It's easy to when I have such an amazing office to work from!


My book has already attempted on several occasions to hurl itself in another direction. My characters are also sneaking in little changes to my original idea and taking control of the reigns a little. In the end, I can't wait to see what I come up with. It's going to be pretty bad, as all first drafts are, but magical things can happen when you turn that inner editor off!

In the coming weeks, I'll try to keep you up on my progress, reveal a bit more about my story, and possibly even share an excerpt.

To those of you who are participating, Happy Noveling!