The Great Hair Saga

Well, I got my haircut last Saturday, and received another good cut from K. J was there during my appointment, and was very nice. She came over to say hello and returned later to show me pictures of her new baby. There seemed to be no awkwardness in the appointment. Still, I did not make another appointment yet. I was not sure who to choose.

After a week of styling my hair and looking at it in the mirror, I am still happy with my cut. So, I think I am going to have to make the next appointment with K. She does a good job, and I really like her. It is no bad reflection on J, but it just seems that K and I are on the same page. It is not a personal decision, it is purely business. I just hope J sees it that way.

A love of Reading

I was very lucky to be raised by two parents who loved to read. The love of reading was passed down to me at an early age. I can remember the first book I read - Richard Scary's I Am A Bunny. I actually bought a copy of that book a few years back and have it proudly displayed in my living room. It is still a favorite!!

I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. I recall finishing up my math problems as quickly as possible in high school so I could have a few minutes to be able to read my latest novel. I remember moving away to college and having no television. I remember thinking I would never be alone or be bored as long as I had a good book. I remember travelling to Europe for summer school in college and carrying 10 books for the six week trip. I could not be without a book! I still do not understand friends of mine who say they are not readers. I cannot imagine my life without books in it.

I still love to read, but it has become harder and harder to find the time to do it. Our library allows a three week period for each borrowed book. I used to laugh at the time period. Really, who needs three full weeks to read one book? Now I know - I do! I just recently finished reading The Help (fabulous book - you must read it!) and it took me the one day shy of three weeks to finish it. It took so long that I had to return the other book I borrowed unread. I have never had to return an unread book until recently.

To quote Charles Buxton "You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." I guess I need to start making time for reading. It is something I truly love to do, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I do know what I will be doing during my two week vacation this summer. There are a lot of books out there just waiting for me.

Is the substitute better? - Part 2

Please see my 2/6/10 blog post for part 1 of this saga.

So, I have a hair appointment this Saturday at 1:00pm. Last week, I received a call from the salon about the appointment. The receptionist told me that J, my stylist and friend who was on maternity leave, will be in the salon on Saturday. She said it did not matter if I wanted to keep my appointment with K or change over to J. She just wanted to let me know since it would be one of J's first days back at work. I was torn. I knew this decision was coming, but I still did not want to make it. K gave me a good haircut, and I thought I would get one more appointment to decide if I liked her styling. In the heat of the moment, I told her I would go ahead and keep my appointment with K.

Well, on Monday I received a phone call from J herself. She wanted to be sure I knew she would be in. I kind of stammered and said I wanted to keep my appointment for that specific time of day. She said she could take me in the same slot, so it was not a problem. Then she said it did not matter either way. Well, I stuck to my guns and said I would go ahead and keep the appointment with K. I can at least say (this time) that I had scheduled the appointment 6 weeks in advance (which is usual for me) and I felt I needed to keep the commitment to K. J seemed OK about it. I told her I was looking forward to seeing her, and she said she would bring pictures of the baby.

So, I have bought some time. I get another appointment with K, and I hope I have not ruined a relationship with J. I guess I will know on Saturday. I will keep you posted.

Baba O'Reilly Meets Slowhand

On Monday night, hubby and I had the great joy of being able to see two legends in concert - Roger Daltrey and Eric Clapton. Hubby says it was the best show he has ever seem, and I have to agree it is definitely near the top of my list, too.

The show took place at the RBC Center - home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State Wolfpack. The stage took up a good portion of the oval shape floor. We had great seats - row N on stage right about 3 sections from the stage. Those seats were worth every penny.

The show started promptly at 7:30pm (gotta love the more seasoned musicians - no need to stroke the ego by having the crowd wait). Roger Daltrey and his band (which includes Pete Townsend's brother, Simon) started the crowd rocking with a favorite from The Who "I Can See for Miles." Hubby and I were lucky to see Daltrey in another venue in October. His set list was a condensed version of that show, and just as fantastic as it was. He did several Who songs as well as a few bluesy covers and his own music. It was an absolute treat to be able to see him again. My hubby is a huge fan, and to see Daltrey twice in 5 months was just great. He finished with Baba O'Reilly, which is now on my short list for greatest song ever written, and the whole arena was on its feet. I have never seen an opening act receive a standing ovation, but it was no ordinary opening act.

Clapton took the stage about 20 minutes later. Again, no making the crowd wait. He said very little to the audience over the course of the show, but his guitar sure did speak. He is probably the most amazing guitar player I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and hearing. It was wonderful just to watch his hands. His voice sounded great - just like the new Cream of Clapton CD I purchased. His set focused mostly on the blues side of his music. I never realized just how much the blues influenced Eric Clapton. I know the blues brought about the birth of rock and roll, but I had always associated Clapton more with rock. I was glad to be introduced to these other songs. He did play some favorites - I Shot the Sheriff, Layla, Wonderful Tonight, and Cocaine. He closed after a single encore song - Crossroads.

It was just a fantastic show. I cannot say enough about how wonderful it was. I feel truly lucky to have been able to see these two legends in concert. The talent, both from years of experience and natural born, was great to see. Even over 60 years of age, these two men can put on one heck of a show. The younger guys should take note.

Photos courtesy of John Rottet, newsobserver.com

Up next - George Thorogood and The Destroyers

Oscar Wrap Up

I love all of the award shows, so I was, of course, seated on the sofa Sunday night for the big show, The Oscars. I watched the show in its entirety - from the Barbara Walters Special to the Red Carpet arrivals and all the way through the Best Picture announcement. Am I glad I did it? Two days later, I can actually say not really.

I loved the choice of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as co-presenters. They were fabulous every time they hit the stage. I laughed all the way through their monologue, but there was not enough of them. I thought we were off to a great start. What happened over the course of the next 3 hours and 45 minutes was not as exciting.

This year the Oscars doubled the best picture nominees from 5 to 10. They expanded the list because the chief complaint about the Oscars is that the show is too predictable. It's true. It is the last award show of the season, so we have already heard what the Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes), the actors (SAG Awards), the directors (Director's Guild), the producers (Producers Guild), and even the British (BAFTA) have decided are the best performances of the year. When it comes to Oscar time, it is really a moot point.

As it happened, the Oscars went to exactly the actors, director, and picture that were most often predicted to receive it. It was kind of a letdown. I almost wanted Jeremy Renner or Meryl Streep to win just to shake it up a bit, but the odds on favorites did win. The sad part is also that the actors knew they were all expected to win as well. None of them expressed any surprise when their names were called. In January, there was a little shock and an impromptu acceptance speech. Now, the speeches were all well rehearsed. Nice, but a bit too thought out before hitting the stage.

There were some nice surprises along the way - a great tribute to John Hughes, a funny give and take between Tina Fey and Robert Downey, Jr., and a special Modern Family commercial that had me laughing. There was also, however, and awful interpretive dance, an unnecessary tribute to horror films, and an awkward on stage appearance by all of the lead acting nominees.

Perhaps next year I will skip the staying up until midnight and just catch the highlights the following day. Or maybe I will DVR it so I can skip all the boring stuff and get right to the end. What I won't skip is the fashion photos and reviews. I think that is possibly the best part of the evening. My pick for Best Dressed at the 2010 Oscars? Sandra Bullock, hands down.

So, tell me, what did you think? Or did you even watch the show?