I am feeling quite brave and proud today. I had a haircut. It might seem like a small thing to a regular person but for me it’s one of those things that have always seemed rather life or death. I mean, with most other bad decisions no one needs to know anything but this one is rather in your face… or in your hair. I suppose it’s not just the thing going wrong which it usually doesn’t because I rarely do anything out of the ordinary but also the whole over-planning and over-strategising and overthinking in general that I end up doing before the fact. What should I say, how should I say it, do I venture a little bit further than usual, will they be experienced enough or will I get a trainee person thrust on me, how do I ask my hundred questions without putting them on edge… you get the drift? And with all of this stuff the added complication of getting it done in a new habitat where I am completely lost about the niceties and protocols in this department.

I had zeroed in on a haircut person back in Mumbai and I would always go to him time after time. So this conundrum had been unfamiliar to me for a while. I don’t want to sound completely feral but the last time I got it done was a bit more than a year ago in Dubai when I went for a visit. I thought I would feel more comfortable there or more closer to home in the way I could discuss what I wanted. Before that it was on earlier visits to Mumbai. That way I had avoided getting it done here in the UK so far. But now with the state of the pandemic ridden world not getting any better and nor the state of my hair, I realised I had to take courage in both hands and get the deed done.

I ventured half-anxious and half-determined. It being a Wednesday perhaps the place was not as crowded. Which put me immediately at ease. I had intended for a simple trim. I thought it might be a good idea to just do the bare minimum to see what they get up to rather than going my regular interrogation route. The chap who came over seemed benign enough (no reason why he shouldn’t have been…hehe!) and I felt a bit more at ease. He asked me if I wanted a bit more layering and it seemed like the jargon of the hair cutting people wasn’t all that different anywhere! I felt even more comfortable and before I knew it I had agreed to the layering thing as well. But not too much, that’s where I put my foot down. I have this one caveat that I always think prudent to mention: the length must not be compromised and I want it to look voluminous. It always seems like a good way to secure everything. If it looks more voluminous than before then I still had nothing to complain about! :)

The haircut chap snippity snipped barely five minutes and it looked as good as new, I must say! More than that it felt pretty good. I always feel like a bit of a new person after a haircut but I guess it was so overdue that I almost felt my hair thanking me with joy and happiness!

All in all, that went well. I got the chap’s name so looks like I have managed to settle matters for the future as well ;)