Hairy tales

Once a year, during the Chinese New Year period, I like to be bling bling, over the top Chinese. To me, it's the funnest thing in the world - I try to follow every strange outlandish Chinese custom that I know of. Wear red clothes, repay debts before the new year, and whatever strikes my fancy.

This year, in my enthusiasm to be the perfect Chinese girl, I decided to get a haircut before CNY. I know we're not supposed to cut our hair during the 15 days of CNY, and presumably it must be good to cut our hair before CNY because we are discarding our bad luck or something. - I'm not sure exactly... but either way, it sounds interesting, even if I might have made it up.

I decided to try out a new look altogether, while keeping my hair length long. Fringe? Yeah... why not. It's something different. New year, new look, sounds good to me.

Except that I ended up with a fringe that goes straight horizontally across my forehead above my eyebrows. I look like some ghastly china doll gone wrong. That, or almost like Cleopatra, really. In the correct light, if you squint a little... yeah tilt your head that angle, that's right.. - the spitting image, don't you think?

At work today, my VP commented: "New haircut." And I said: "Yeah. It was a mistake. I hate it." He replied: "The good thing about hair is that it'll grow back. Don't worry."

A suppressed laugh-cough from the other VP outside the meeting room we were sitting in. My VP challenged him: "What are you sniggering about? There's nothing wrong with what I said. I was just making a comment to say that I noted the haircut. I didn't say I didn't like it. Do you have something to say? Do want to come in and tell e* what you think you of her haircut?"

The other guy outside the room was pissing himself and trying to keep a straight face and avoid being baited into making any remarks on my hair. I was cracking up as well. Because I knew for sure they thought my haircut was disastrous and it was hilarious to watch them trying to avoid being rude. By their sheepish reactions, they must've been Truly appalled by my new look.

Ah well, but as my VP rightly said, hair will grow. Plus, it's a different look. And I'd like to think that I can possibly carry it off surprisingly, reasonably well. I've carried off worst hair disasters before, like once when I got bored and decided to cut my fringe slanted across my forehead because I thought it looked avant-garde. Or another time when I cut my hair so short in the back (and in an ugly V-shape too!) that you could see the blueish stubble where the hair was shaven off.

It's the personality and attitude, baby. And I've got plenty of both!!