I like it when they seem to know what I want before I even tell them. It's great when they just go ahead and take charge without asking me any questions. Usually when they ask me they don't do it right anyway, so why not just dive in and get on with it? That's what I think, anyway.

I don't think I got the greatest haircut ever today, but at least I didn't have to negotiate the length on top and on the sides and in the back the way I do most of the time. I just told Melina it had been almost two months, and when she got over her shock and horror she started clipping away. I'm very satisfied, and all that extra gel she used that makes the top of my head feel like a cactus will wash out in the shower anyway.

It was a last-minute decision to get a haircut today. I've know for about three weeks that I needed one, and when this week started I put it on my to-do list. But I honestly thought I'd waited too long, what with school starting next week and all. I expected the whole mall to be crawling with kids of all ages.

The plan was to check the place out, and if there was no wait I'd get my hair cut. If there were a dozen people ahead of me, I'd just suffer through the weekend with my Andrew Jackson do and take care of it another time. It was a surprise to see the mall parking lot half empty, just a few days before the start of the school year. I walked right into the salon and didn't even have to use one of the waiting chairs or read a month-old copy of the Bohemian. I guess it was meant to be.

Maybe it's a better haircut than I thought, because nobody noticed it. I went to Eric and David's softball game tonight (they won twice and took the league championship trophy, yay) and had to tell Tammy (she who notices everything) that I'd got my hair cut. My dad was a barber, you know, and I seem to remember that the theory is you come out of the shop looking better, but nobody can tell why.

Yeah, let's just go with that.