Snip Snip Snip

I hate my haircut. Yes, I hated how my hair looked before but that doesn't mean that I love my haircut.

I think sometimes I expect my haircuts to change how I look. Like getting my haircut will automatically make my head look normal-sized, my nose smaller, and my checks less chipmunk-y (from the side). Sadly, my haircuts often tend to emphasize these points. It happens every time I get my hair cut. I wish I could make the vicious cycle stop. I'm going to have to endure a week of compliments on my hair with a forced smile and a 'thanks'. Yes, I'm an ungrateful girl. But it can 't be helped sometimes.

I had a boyfriend who was so good at complimenting me on when I got my haircut-and he always waited a few days after-that sometimes he would compliment me on my hair even when I hadn't had it cut.

It probably doesn't help that my back itches with the invisible hairs freed by the shears.

And it kills me that I keep getting my hair cut. It's probably because I like to look at the inches of hair fall during the cut. This time especially I'm disappointed because my hair wasn't long enough for the style I wanted. I mean, it's shaped that way but not as dramatic as I had wished for because of length issues.

Ask me again next about how I feel about my hair and my answer might have changed.

Say Anything Recap

So everything I feared about the Say Anything concert, I was right to fear. It took me over 2.5 hours to reach my destination. Several calls were made to my friend that I was meeting-she was at the bookstore flirting with cops and not too pleased to answer my pissy phone calls. Once I was off the highway, I stayed on the phone with my friend and she helped direct me to where she parked. Stood in line between some stupid high schoolers-no one is ever smart during that time, no matter if they think they are-who proceeded to bitch about the $1 cover charge if you were under 21. I'm pretty sure that's standard. And the club definitely could have made it over 21 only and still had a packed house.

While the first and second bands played, we got drinks and food. Saw my hs boyfriend walk in with his friends and made sure I didn't make eye contact. Even though we dated in high school and hadn't had any contact since my freshman year of college (different story), I really did not feel like dealing with that kind of thing that night. I was not in a pleasant mood at that point.

When Say Anything came on, my friend and I were able to work our way up to the front of the crowd. From there, we were manhandled beyond belief. We both found bruises the next day. The band themselves put on a great show-playing an equal amount of songs from all 3 albums. We left during the encore -too dehydrated and beat up to stay any longer. I've seen them before so it wasn't a huge deal leaving early. Normally I'll stay until the crew starts taking down the set.

While I'm glad that I was able to see them live, it made me realize how much I like my space to be able to dance during the sets. The Pietasters are an excellent example of this.

Sometimes when I get nervous, I stick my hands under my armpits and I smell them

Before I have a big event or something going on, I always get nervous. I'm not quite sure why because I know that everything will work out fine. Take tonight for example, I'm leaving work early to go see one of my favorite bands, Say Anything, perform. However, they're playing at a venue that I've never been to before. So I'll be nervous about everything until they actually appear on stage.

I've pulled up directions every day for the past week. Today, before I print them out, I'll go through the turn-by-turn directions provided by Google Maps. I will fret about the traffic beforehand and will most likely be unable to concentrate on anything fully today because of it. Once I'm driving, I will check the directions every five minutes or so, just to make sure that I'm going the correct way, though I know that I am-I know the general direction to go. Once I arrive at my destination I will become jittery unless I am able to find parking that does not involve street parking/parallel parking almost immediately. Chances are, I'll be on the phone with my friend who is meeting me there as I try to find parking. Once there, I'll try to make sure I'm in the correct line and will be able to pass along my extra tickets okay. I hate being late, so if I get stuck in traffic, I'll start to panic.

After the concert, I'll be nervous because of all the traffic leaving the area at the same time. I'm spending the night at my friend's place so somehow I'll have to leave the area and follow her/my directions at the same time. My hands will remain clenched on the steering wheel until I'm on a road that I recognize will lead me in the right direction. Because my friend also lives in a rural area, I will have my eyes glued to the road, music on low, driving well below the speeding limit in case of deer. Normally I wouldn't be be such a cautious driver but I know someone who recently got into a bit of a fight with a buck. And my car is a lot smaller than his. I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus and I'd rather not find out.

However, tomorrow leaving my friend's place, I'll be fine. I've done the drive enough not to need directions even though I'll print them out just in case. If I hit traffic, it won't bother me too much because I'm going home and I don't have to be home at a specific time-just a time period.

I will say that I'm proud of myself because I no longer stress out what to wear. Years ago, planning an outfit to go to a concert was a huge deal. I would agonize over it for days and try on several items before finding one one that was able to convey exactly how I felt. Now, I realize that I will be a sweat machine by the end of the show so I aim to dress comfortably. It probably helps that I don't buy anything that doesn't relate to who I am as a being.

Baby steps.

RunRunRan

So I ran the half marathon up in Pittsburgh yesterday. Holy crap am I sore today-though not as much as I would have expected. But I loved it. I'm definitely signing myself up for a full marathon and will continue running the longer distances.

Between miles 4 and 5, I tripped over a pothole grabbing a cup of water, scraping my hands and knees but my spandex remained intact. Around mile 11, I started to hit a wall. Physically, behind my knees was killing me and the rest of my body just ached. Mentally, I started to question myself and all that I could think of was a glass of Jameson, neat, to drink after finishing. That, and the idea that my friend that I ran it with, to pick someone and to slowly pass them to help us keep moving at pace. It worked. Coming down that last bridge, right in front of the mile13 marker, I just took off. I was at the point where my training and the adrenaline had come together, allowing me to churn on autopilot. As I crossed the finish line, I was elated. I had managed to beat my ideal score of 2:15 by five minutes. As this was my first half marathon-the longest distance that I had ever run at once, I was not expecting a time of 2:10:26.

I plan on taking this week off from running and eating well. However, this will not be a complete pig-out because I'm pretty sure that that would make me sick. I also plan to do some yoga to help ease some of my soreness.

My next run is a Thanksgiving 10k. This will take place in my neighborhood so I'm familiar with the route. My goal is to get a time under 55 minutes. I believe this is doable because when I ran a 10k several months ago, my time was 55:40 and I've only improved since then.

I know a lot of people think that I'm crazy because I enjoy running. Sometimes when I think about it, I'm agree with them. Because who in their right mind would run 13.1 miles? This girl. It gives me a confidence that I haven't received from past experiences. And it makes me want to stick with and to see how much better I can become.