Evolution of a Facebook Self-Portrait

We took the side roads up to the hairdresser this morning. On the way up, pre-haircut, I noticed we were driving past miles of orange trees in full blossom. I opened the window wide and stuck my face out so that I could drink as much of the smell in as possible. Yes, Scott was driving. You can't stick your head out when you're in the driver's seat!

On the way back home, we went the same way and I did the same thing. I noticed that while I had my face out the window, I was holding me feet up. It was like I was flying. Through orange blossom air. Ahhhh.... That's when I noticed my hair in the side mirror...


Sadly, I'm just not artistic enough to pull off the proper composition of the side mirror photo. So I held the phone with both hands and tried again, concentrating on not letting the phone fly out of my iron grip!


Crazy hair? CHECK! Smile or appropriate goofy face? Not so much. Third time's the charm, right?Yep, third time's the charm! The hair doesn't look quite as awesome as in the second picture, but the face is the perfect mixture of joy and insanity. I mentioned the other day on Twitter that I was high on orange blossoms. Obviously, I meant it!

Please ignore my face in this last picture. It's the best one so far of the new 'do. It was actually taken after the photos above, which has got to be the mark of a great haircut - survival! You can't really tell how short it is here, but trust me when I say I actually had to suppress a panic attack in the chair from about the halfway point of the cutting until the end of the blow drying.

I like it though, and I'm curious to see what it looks like tomorrow when I have to style it myself! I told Scott that it's like 'grown-up hair,' and I think that's the best description I can muster for right now.

A Whole New Hair...

I got my hair cut two days after my birthday. I think I scared the stylist because I was trying to go basically from nearly shoulder-length bob to very short and very layered. I showed her three pictures, and she gave me a slightly longer version of the photo with the longest hair. She kept looking at me and saying "you sure?" I seriously had to promise her I wouldn't cry. So I left with not what I really wanted, but I was ok with a transition cut.

This picture was taken immediately after leaving the salon. Obviously, it wasn't worth advertising, "hey! new 'do!" And though I enjoy the look of it, the fact that even straight out of the salon I couldn't get a good picture leads me to believe it's not the best look for me. To me, this cut just looks like I'm in the awkward growing-out stage between short and long hair. So now I really think I want to go shorter.

Below are three looks I'm considering: porn star hair, Grey's hair, and lizard hair.

The porn star hair belongs to one of Tiger Woods' luvvahs. I saw the picture attached to this article and first wondered if it was a wig, and then wondered whether I could pull off that look. Obviously, my hair is WAY less thick than hers. I did a Bing search to see whether there were any other photos of her (clothed...) and found another angle, my guess is from the same day (again, because she's clothed) at the LA Times blogs. If you check out the last photo above the poll, it's sort of messy and sad...a look that I can definitely achieve. I'm just not sure I want to achieve it!

Up next: Grey's hair!

This is one of the new cast members on Grey's Anatomy this season. She's also sporting a shaggy pixie-ish cut similar to porn star hair. Since I watch Grey's every week, this image (or one similar) pops in my head every time I consider going shorter. This picture isn't that great. But hey - watch the show and you can see it in all its moving glory!

And finally, we wrap up with lizard hair.

This is Anna from ABC's remake of "V." I said something about her hair to Scott and his response was something like, "oh, you want to go that short?" I got the impression he was a little terrified of that particular prospect! And no, I am pretty sure I don't want hair that short. Just the same, I thought I'd include it here as an alternative to what I'm really considering.

Obviously, no haircut is going to give me a skinny face and a pointy chin. And I wasn't planning on going auburn again. But I really do think I'm going shorter, and most likely within 2 weeks. The current 'do is 4 weeks old now, and the bad part about layers is that they don't grow nicely at all!

So any opinions from anyone? You're not allowed to criticize when it's on my head, but you can do so now...

Dark Thoughts

I've been having dark thoughts since before Christmas - thoughts of dying. And after the events of the past few days, I decided to finally take action. So this morning I locked myself in the bathroom with a glass of water and a box of toxic chemicals and I dyed my hair!

It's true - I've been planning this since before Christmas. While doing some last-minute holiday shopping in the CVS near my chiropractor (gotta love the about-to-expire FSA funds!), I found the hair dye color that I haven't seen since 2001 - Clairol 112A.

I bought it immediately, but since I had dyed at the beginning of December, I thought it would be best to give my hair a little recovery time.

In the past week or so, my roots had gotten pretty horrible. What's with all that gray?!? Actually, I think it wasn't all gray. I had a lot more light blonde than the dyed color, and the difference between the two was striking.

I really do love this color. I'm curious to see over the next few months whether I keep it dark or go back to some shade of blonde.

For now, I'm thinking dark. And I have 3 days to psyche myself up to deal with the petty wenches at work.

Oh - and that second picture makes it abundantly clear that it's time to clean the bathroom mirror. I'll try to take care of that in the next 3 days, too!

Mullet Jamie and Clown

From the comments of my last entry:

mamajoy said...
you never had a mullet!

Here for your mocking pleasure is the photo I lovingly call Mullet Jamie and Clown. If that's not a mullet (and I still think it is), it is definitely the most tragic hair cut to befall a fourth grade girl. Ever. Plus, I'm looking a little "special" in that photo!

Mock-Worthy Things in this Photo:
1. The hair
2. The expression on my face
3. The multiple shades of pink that don't quite go together
4. The yellow sunglasses dangling around my neck by a red cord
5. The "totally 80's" white button-down shirt under a sweatshirt

Cool Things About this Photo:
1. That clown in the picture with me was the head clown - he had a whole page in the program
2. Grandpop bought me a PROGRAM! That's one of those things parents never shell out the money for!
3. I also came home with a stuffed elephant.
4. It's the circus! This was the only Ringling Brothers program I ever saw as a kid. I don't remember anything about the show, but I know I loved it and wanted to go back every year. I've only been to one circus since, and it was in 2002 with Eric. I probably paid for both tickets.
5. The expression on my face. Sure, it's laughable, but that's a kid positively squeeing with excitement.

Reality Sure Is Tough To Look At!

I have crow's feet. Is that what you call the zillion wrinkles accentuating the bags under my eyes? Well whatever they are, I have them. I also have a crooked smile, but I'd like to chalk that up to it being my fake smile-for-the-camera smile.

I took this picture because this is how my hair looks every day when I blow-dry it. I do the bottom layers first to curl them under, and then do the top. As you can tell, the layers really prefer to turn out anyway. But every day I think this messy twisted-up half ponytail is a fun look, and maybe I should just leave it that way.

I think this picture has cured me of that little delusion!

Chop!

Guess who got a hair cut today!

Please note: I didn't even attempt to do my hair for this picture. That's why there's a big bump on the top of my head. So far I'm loving it. I forgot how much fun having short hair can be!

...though I should stop doing that side-to-side head shake. I think I'm getting whiplash!

Guess What I'm Doing Today!

Yep... getting a hair cut! I'd say it's necessary. Actually, it was necessary two weeks ago when Scott looked at me and said, "I thought you were going to get your hair cut." When the husband notices, it must be bad!

Other plans for the day include going to Borders with Cat and wandering the aisles of various stores killing time before she gets off from work. Oh yes - and I also plan to not take any more pictures that show that my left ring finger is curved to the side. How weird is that!?!?

Ahh...Weekend

It is now officially my weekend. I really feel like I've earned this one - work was rather tedious the past two nights and I've not been sleeping well.

I'm seriously considering getting a haircut tomorrow. I've been trying to wait until the top (way too short) layer was long enough to be the longest layer so that I can cut it back into a bob, but the bottom layer is growing like weeds. I now have this 'do that is really bordering on mullet. The top few layers still form a nice frame around my face, but that last layer is a good inch longer and refuses to curl under no matter what tactics I try. The result: some sort of Florence Henderson circa Brady Bunch bubble hairdo with a flip at the bottom.

C'est tragique!

So I'm thinking maybe one more trim back to a non-60's style and then that ought to last me until that top layer grows in a bit more.

Jamie24601

This week, Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoot was a little perplexing: Take a picture of something that relates to your name. It can be your first name, or your last name, or of your middle name (we're not picky). Even nicknames work. And since this is AOL, if you want you may use your screenname as well. Basically, if a name relates to you, let's see a picture of a representation.

I decided to go with my AOL screen name. Why? Well, I'm not in the habit of broadcasting my last name or my maiden name. And what am I going to take a picture of that says "Jamie," besides a picture of myself?

And so I present my graphic representation of Jamie24601. Of course, the "Jamie" part is me. The 24601 is a reference to the prisoner number assigned to Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I suppose I could have taken a picture of me with the book, but the CD case was much more convenient (and lighter)!

I made up this screen name during my last semester of college. I was in a funk (ok, deep depression) and felt as though I was being unjustly persecuted by the world surrounding me. So I adopted a name that was a subtle slap in the face to everyone who was ticking me off. So subtle, in fact, that in the years that I have had this address, less than five people have ever gotten the reference... or at least commented on it to me. Sometimes people assume that 24601 is my zip code (sorry, I don't live in Amonate, VA). And my Aunt Rose once referred to me as "Jamie90210."

I got my first Les Mis tape when I was in the 8th grade, and it is still one of my favorite soundtracks. I saw the show once in Philly and was incredibly disappointed. And I saw the movie that came out a few years back. They took some creative license at the end and Valjean lived and walked away into the sunset. I almost gave up on Hollywood after that! The novel, in all its unabridged glory, took me two years on and off to finish. It was well worth it though, and I'm so glad that I own it.

By the way, this picture also answers the question of what my hair would look like the next day, with no special hair product or anything. Slightly scary, I know, but it was quite nice to spend all of three minutes blow drying it this morning!

Yep...It's Gone...

And there you have it, folks. Me, minus ten inches of hair. It turns out I had enough hair left that I *could* have gotten a bob, but I had already steeled myself for a bad haircut so I decided to get one anyway.

As you might be able to tell, the picture of the front of me was taken in the salon, all fresh and bouncy with "product" in my hair. I took the picture of the back when I got home, after Beth and I putzed around the Magic Kingdom for a while. The back looked so cute - all flippy and fun - when I first got it done, but my hair holds no style. It just flat-out (har har) refuses to do anything but straight.

I don't hate it, but I certainly don't love it. On a scale of 1-10, I'm sitting comfortably at a 4. It'll be interesting to see how I feel about it tomorrow when I actually have to attempt to style it myself.

Hair Today...

...Gone Tomorrow!

It's official - Beth and I are going to get our hair chopped tomorrow. (yes, tomorrow. I have wonky days off this week due to a trade with a co-worker) I've already steadied myself emotionally for the inevitable bad haircut. It's only hair, and of course it'll grow back. And it'll be nice to have a 5-minute blow-dry in the morning. And my shampoo/condititioner usage will be cut in half. And Locks of Love is a worthy cause deserving of 10" of my hair... much more worthy than the bathroom drain!

So here's my hair on it's last day of longness, complete with red line approximating how much I'm going to lose. **gulp**

Hair-Raising Photos

Monday Photo Shoot: Photograph a body part. Tell us something interesting about that body part.

I've mentioned before that I'm in the process of growing my hair out into a 10" ponytail so that I can chop it off and donate it to Locks of Love. I believe I'm close to the end of this journey (well, within 6 months). The hair at my temples is now 14" long, and this ponytail comes to almost 11". Of course, if I chopped of this particular ponytail, I'd have hair WAY shorter than I want to take it. But on the other side, after having my hair this long, I'm looking forward to having it much much shorter some day soon.

Bonus: there are some pretty nice salons in the Orlando area that will cut & style your hair for free if you're donating it. I have less anxiety about having a short cut if it's being cut by someone who has been out of beauty school for more than a month!