I
have this love-hate relationship with my hair. I get my hair cut and I
love it. Then after a few weeks it starts to grow out and I hate it. So I
make an appointment to get it cut. Once I have made this appointment, I
then notice my hair doesn't look so bad after all and I love it again. But
since I have already made an appointment, I go to get it cut anyway. And
the vicious cycle goes on and on and on.

I am very lucky to have someone completely wonderful to cut my hair. I met
Erin at work four years ago. She was going to school to be a hair
stylist so I started making appointments at the school and requesting her.
Then we started cutting my hair in her house. Since then, I've followed
her from salon to salon.

The thing that I like about Erin is I trust her judgment. I am usually
pretty blasé about the cut I get. She asks me what I want and I tell her
"make me pretty" which usually solicits a "you already are"
or "these are scissors, not a wand". Then I just tell her to do
what she wants as long as I look freakish or like a "before" picture
on a talk show makeover.

Lately I've been getting listless with my hair. I want something
different. Something less the norm. Something that gives the
finger to the Man and says "Screw you! I won't conform to your
rules!" (Did you know hair style could say all that?) So I've been
growing it out. I've tried doing this several times over the past few
years yet always get irritated with it in the unmanageable phase and then order
Erin to "get rid of it". I've had long hair before but I don't
remember it taking this long to grow.

I'm pretty impressed that I've let it get to this point, which doesn't look very
long, but it's starting to do that freaky curling thing in the back and that
usually drives me crazy.

Erin is always trying to get me to color my hair. I am very conflicted
about this. On one hand I like the idea of having something other than
boring dark brown hair. Plus, I am noticing a few gray hairs that I
quickly ignore and pretend I don't have. On the other hand, the rigors of up keeping
colored hair go against my low key, low maintenance kind of guy attitudes.
(However the abundance of gels, hairsprays and other miscellaneous products may
give me away on the whole low maintenance perception.)

I suppose if I had the balls I'd dye my hair Jack Osbourne Blue or Kelly
Osbourne Red. However, that would be drawing attention to myself, which
would go against the whole low key, low maintenance kind of guy attitudes that I
like to think I have.