All Hallows Eve

I did something tonight for the first time in all my 32 years on this planet. I carved a pumpkin. Nothing spectacular, but I am a bit proud of myself seeing as it was my first time and all.
Spooky, huh?
Did pretty well for a beginner, if I do say so myself.
Wish I had photos of everyone else's. They came out a 100 times better than mine. Happy Halloween everyone!

Is it really that difficult...

... to find a decent barber? It's always a battle when I go get my haircut, especially lately since the shop I was going to closed up and moved to another mall. So unfortunately, I'm now in the process of finding a new barber. A process, as many of you know, can take quite a long time, and can be an unpleasant road to travel, making pit stops that can look like this along the way.
not me... but close So today, I tried a new barber. "George's Barber & Hairstyling Salon" in Culver City owned and operated by George, Stylist & Cosmetologist. That was clue #1. A barber should advertise that he's a barber, not a stylist. I don't need a stylist. I need a haircut. Clue #2, he's not black. Doesn't always mean he won't be able to cut black people's hair, but it's not a good sign. I get in the chair, and I tell him what I want. Now this is where the story requires a little background information. So this is the look I'm going for. In my opinion, it's nothing complex, a lot of men have it, and it's not hard to accomplish.
can't be that difficult... can it? So the problem I've had is explaining what I want to these fools. To all the black barbers I've gone to the explanation is this. "I want to keep growing it out a bit. Keep the length the same all the way around, and just taper the sides and back." The barber normally understands what I want, and hopefully it's what I get. If it's not exactly what I wanted, it's either due to a mistake or incompetence, but at least we both were on the same page as to what cut I was getting. Well, now that my normal barbershop is too far away, I've had to go to a couple of "non-black" barbers. They should know what they're doing, but... let's just say that "just taper the sides" can produce some FUCKED UP results. Ok, back to today's story. So, I tell him the normal details. He gets the "keep the length the same all the way around" part. He asks me how is it. I tell him that I'd also like the sides and back tapered. 10 minutes later, I end up looking like this.
fucked up then, fucked up now Maybe not that bad, but it felt that bad. Because it's a pointless exercise to battle back and forth with him on how to correct it, I immediately pay him and head out to another barbershop to right this horrible wrong. Since I can't trust anyone with a pair of scissors anymore, I give barber #2 of the day the simplest of instructions. "Cut it all off! I want it ALL even... and use a #1." Can't really mess that one up, and thankfully she didn't. She even listened to me bitch and moan about my awful haircut resulting in this semi-hilarious exchange: Me: I was butchered! Her: (laughing) It's ok. You just didn't get the style you like. How long ago did you get your haircut? (Probably thinking I'm referring to the last time I got a haircut, like 2-3 weeks ago.) Me: Today. Her: (more laughing and guffawing) Yeah, let's take care of this. So the summary is this:

1. Know who you're talking to. Different barbers speak different languages, and what might be a "taper" or "fade" to you and me, is a "blend" or "two-tone" to someone else. And by someone else, I mean white people.
2. Take a photo with you of what you'd like to get done. I've never done this because I'm not a woman, and I always assumed anything I wanted could easily be explained, but of course, you've read summary point #1.
3. Supercuts is actually not that bad. Never thought I'd say that sentence in my life. But I have to thank the stylist there for saving me from attending a wedding this weekend looking like someone took a weed-wacker to my head... in 1989! Maybe my next haircut will be at Fantastic Sams.

Best Highlight Montage. Ever.

The quality sucks! But hey, it took me NINE years to find it.

Ahh... Nostalgia

Don't think I haven't already purchased this on iTunes. The play count is at 10.

Believe It or Not...

... I've actually been somewhat busy, thus the lack of posts. Ok, not that busy. More like I just haven't really had anything to say. Part of it is my anger over the performances of my professional and college football teams this past weekend. Another reason is the fact that on Friday night, celebrating the lovely Rozanne's departure from the office, I got wasted! And of course, I have to keep up with my television shows, Heroes, Family Guy, and The Office. So that's my excuse... to the two people who actually read this, I'll try to post more often. Oh, and Melissa, this is who I'm putting on notice.
Create your own shit list.

Quick Hits 10/4

• Thinking back to that disastrous meal/happy hour at Koda, it's possible that we were just seeing another menu item.
• The Raiders are 2-2, equaling their win total from all of last year. Although the defense has regressed, the surprise this year is the running game.
• My California Golden Bears are undefeated and sit at #3 in both of the major polls! Good looking out to the fan voters on the ESPNU poll. Go Bears!
• I wiped out my laptop and re-installed the operating system, meaning I had to re-install a bunch of software. As I was installing the newest version of Windows Live Messenger, I came across this. Seems like a pretty cool idea.
• This relatively new music service seems interesting. Has anyone used it yet? Let me know.
• I know this only interests me, but as a web developer and programming hobbyist, this is actually a bit of exciting news. Yeah, I'm a geek, big whoop, wanna fight about it?