pepper | More hair than wit.

More hair than wit.

I'm having a mad hair day, as a result of going to sleep with wet hair. It's all tied back at the moment, but if given half a chance it will be over HERE, up HERE, curling around HERE... I've decided I want to get it cut. Not short (which looks terrible on me), but just cut, period. I haven't been to a hairdresser in over ten years. I would infinitely rather go to the dentist. I actually quite like my dentist, whereas I've never, ever, in my life, come away from a hairdresser with a cut that doesn't make me want to hide under a blanket and cry - but I've decided I must get past this fear. They can't all be out to cut my hair into ridiculous, high-maintenance styles that don't suit me. They can't all be useless with curls. Friends who know what my hair is like have recommended hairdressers they know, and I must take them up on it. And if it works, I should go regularly, like normal people. I want not to have split ends any more.

*is resolved*

Also, I am re-reading 'Over Sea, Under Stone' by Susan Cooper, thanks to

holdouttrout's prompting, and it's just as intriguing and exciting as ever. I've mostly forgotten the plot, because it's been so long, but some of it is coming vaguely back to me as I read. Who are the mysterious strangers on the yacht? What is their connection to the sinister vicar? Who is Great Uncle Merry (and is he who I think he is)? Why can I never remember how to spell yacht? It's very like some of the Jon Pertwee era Doctor Who episodes, actually - I keep expecting the Master to turn up as Rev. Magister.

Oh, and I'm thinking I want to get some exciting and gothy film soundtracks (hopefully from my library when it reopens after being refurbished), because they inspire me. I want The Matrix (not the film score, but the one with Rage Against the Machine, et al), and Lost Boys, and The Crow, and also Dirty Dancing (because I do, okay?). Any recommendations along the lines of the first three?

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Not to be gender-stereotypical, but I've found at least here that male hairdressers are much more willing to comply with what you want and giving you things like "low-maintenance" (though part of that may be that I've had very few female hairdressers who believe me when I tell them how short I want my hair to be)

But going on recommendations is usually good!

The last person to cut my hair was a man - but then he was also a trainee, so he doesn't really count. I asked for short, and he gave me... well, long short, which grew out into a really quite distressing hairdo very quickly. I vowed never to go short again, no matter how cute it looks in photos of me as a little kid. :) I might someday, though - if I ever figure out how to deal with my hair.

*hides from scary hairdressers*

The Dark is Rising series is among my all-time favoritest ever. I'm planning to reread it as soon as I finish with the Belgariad series that I'm working on right now. Cooper is such a wonderful writer.

Yes, recommendations from friends whose hair you like is one of the best ways to find a hair person. And when you find a good one, you have to hang on to him/her like gold. (I had a scare a few years ago when it seemed like the person who's been cutting my hair for years and years had gone out of business. The panic at the prospect of having to find someone new was quite intense.)

Oh, hah, the Belgariad! Yes. Fun. My favourite character is Silk. Have you read / are you going to read the Mallorean?

Yeah, I just have to be brave and keep trying until I find a hairdresser who works for me, and attach myself to them like a limpet.

Not yet. I hope to get to the other series' soon too. :)

*barges into conversation*

OMG other people who have read the Belgariad! Yay! I actually just finished rereading the Mallorean before winter break ended (I love Silk, but I especially love Silk and Barak).

It's been too long - is Barak the beserker? I can't remember what they were like together. I did love those books, even though they did contain every fantasy fiction cliche ever written. Maybe I should re-read them sometime.

Yeah, Barak is the one who has the bear-tendencies.

Yeah, the books do descend into cliche a bit. But I have been quite enjoying them none-the-less.

Oh, completely - they're good fun. The cliches they use are ones I enjoy. :)

Yeah, Barak's the berserker. And he and Silk had that "Odd Couple" type relationship that I'm such a sucker for.

I did love those books, even though they did contain every fantasy fiction cliche ever written

They really did, but I love them anyway. I think because they didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. And there was lots of humor, which will get me to forgive a lot in terms of the cliche factor.

Eddings' other series, though? Took themselves too seriously and were not nearly as enjoyable. I actually gave up his books after awhile.

I read the Belgariad and Mallorean, and started the, uh... Crystal Throne? Something like that. Got bored, and didn't finish it.

I always felt like I was getting a lot of value out of those books. They're pretty consistent quality, and you get to see every step of the quest - it might not be innovative, but it's fun, and there's such a LOT of it. :)

*pets you and your curls gently* Hope you find some hair resolution that you are happy with! I think you do have to go in with the attitude that it's *your* hair, and no one knows it better. Let them know what you *don't* want (high maintenance style, etc.), and then it's their job to come up with something that meets the requirements. But it helps to have a 15 minute conversation with them before any cutting happens, just so everyone is clear!

I love the Run Lola Run and The Saint soundtracks. The Matrix one is really good. Um, Transformers isn't bad either.

See, I'm so bad at dealing with hairdressers, which may be part of the problem. They scare me. Although in the decade since I last went, I may have got more confident. :) We'll see.

Cool. Will have a look for those, too - thank you! I've not seen any of those films, but that doesn't really matter, because I get a lot of inspiration from songs that seem to have a story behind them.

You can do it! Channel Sam Carter punching Ba'al in the face. ;D That'll raise your confidence!

OK, I would highly recommend renting Run Lola Run (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130827/) - it's a fascinating movie. And you've never seen The Saint? With Val Kilmer? It's a little cheesy, but entertaining. And Transformers... robots turning into cars! Things blowing up! More things blowing up! What's not to love? ;)

Ah, I do want to see Transformers - it looks cool. As does Run, Lola, Run. The Saint... welllll, I might give it a go. I trust your taste. ;)

Because Dirty Dancing is exciting and gothy? I do like the X Files film soundtrack though, despite not having seen any X Files ever.

Good luck with the hairdresser, though (although low-maintenance and curly? Beyond one-length-in-a-ponytail, that exists!?)

*has to read some Susan Cooper, as feels sadly lacking*

I often tell people to stick with it with Over Sea, Under Stone (the first book in the series). It starts a little bit slowly, I think. But at about the half-way point, it really kicks in and becomes an impossible-to-put-down book. The second book in the series kicks all kinds of ass, and the other three are also very good. (Plus, as part of the story, The Grey King provides little tips on Welsh pronunciation which I quite appreciate.)

Thanks for the hint! I tend to make up my mind about books fairly early on, but if/when I ever find a copy, I'll stick with it. (although I might keep my Welsh pronounciation to myself - Liverpool is far too close to Wales to attempt it without being mercilessly mocked *g*)

Exciting I'll give you, but gothy? :) Yeah, I have the X-Files soundtrack - it's fun, and introduced me to the fact that Red Right Hand shows up in a lot of things.

Thank you! I'm sure I'll cope with the hairdresser. Posting about it here has meant I'm far more likely to make myself get an appointment.

Susan Cooper is excellent, and easy to find - her books show up in the kids section in charity shops all the time.

It always sort of astounds me when I hear that someone hasn't been to a hairdresser in years. I'm going on 12 years with my hairdresser. I had my hair butchered so many times before I found him. Dennis is the god of hair as far as I'm concerned. I can take him a picture and say 'I want that' or I can say to him 'I tired of this, I want something new.' It always come out fabulous. And he always takes the time to give me some tips on styling the new 'do and how to change it up. I've been obsessed with

vintagehair lately and Dennis gave me a little tutorial on pin curls and some setting tips. Not to mention he fixed my color after the unfortunate 'I'm going to dye my hair purple for DragonCon and then fix it before I go back to work, but I some how ended up with hair the color of Raggedy Ann' incident.

But enough squeeing about Dennis. Since he's on the other side of the Atlantic from you that doesn't help. It's been my experience with haircuts is you get what you pay for. You don't have to pay an outrageous amount for a haircut, but if you pay 10 bucks for a hair cut, your hair usually ends looking like it cost 10 bucks. Personally, I'd rather pay a bit more, than be too embarrassed to go to work the next day or have to pay someone even more to fix it.

Oh and music...

The 'Until the End of the World' soundtrack is sorta dark and gothy, but maybe a bit mellow.

They're not soundtracks, but Nick Cave's albums 'Let Love In' and 'The Lyre of Orpheus/Abbattoir Blues' are gothy, moody, and dark, yet lively.

I might be able to rec more (and/or send you some things) once I get home and examine the albums on my computer.

I can haz your hairdresser? :( I hated going to the hairdresser when I was a kid, and once I grew up and it became my responsibility, and I had a couple of really bad experiences, I pretty much decided 'to hell with it, I can trim my own damn hair'. But I don't think it's really working out. I really, really don't concentrate on my hair - so long as it's clean and out of the way, that's about as much as I'm willing to do on a daily basis. And, yeah, you may well be right about getting what you pay for - my bad experiences were all whilst I was an impoverished student.

Ta for the recs! I'll take a look into them. Mellow is good, too! I have a Nick Cave best of, and The Boatman's Call, but I've somehow never listened to them properly. I'll put them on my mp3 player and give them a go.

Hey, when you come over for Dragon*Con I can hook you up with Dennis. Savannah's not too far from Atlanta. : )

Muzak for you:

Nick Cave- Let Love In

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nbwnh6

Nick Cave- Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus

Disc 1

http://www.sendspace.com/file/yy0t1o

Disc 2

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j095zj

I've got some other stuff for you too, but I don't have time to upload them tonight.

^^;; I have a ridiculously good relationship with my hairdresser. She simply rocks. I have yet to have a bad cut from her and I'm so loyal that I only get my hair cut when I'm home. Granted, I also have a freakishly good relationship with my dentist... O_o

I wish you the best of luck conquering your fear!!!

Ta! Yeah, it seems like people find a good thing and stick to it. I totally get that - once I find somewhere good, I'll stick to it like glue. It's the "finding" part that has me nervous...

Good hair people are hard to find. I have curly hair, too, although mine seems to be of the "Don't do too much to me, and we'll get along fine" variety. This was a hard, painful lesson to LEARN, though.

I've come across all KINDS of Heyer references since I read some of her books. It's pretty awesome. And Simon the Coldheart was delightfully over-the-top. (He's cold, but kindhearted! And ugly! But attractive! And she's just the right hellcat for him!)

I wasn't even aware that was a Heyer reference - it was just in my head. She's probably the author I unconsciously quote the most. Simon the Coldheart is one of the few ones I can't actually remember - which maybe a good excuse for re-reading it. :) What others have you read? Have you tried any of the detective novels? They're generally not as good, but some are fantastic, particularly A Blunt Instrument.

Yeah, I mostly do the 'leave me alone' thing to my hair. It works out okay, except my split ends are getting out of control.

I haven't tried the detective ones yet. *scribbles on book list*

Some are kinda boring, and I've not read them all, but I like A Blunt Instrument, Behold, Here's Poison, and Why Shoot A Butler? All 1920s/30s-ish, very much in the tradition of Agatha Christie or Margery Allingham.

You have my sympathy. I have hair that is so thick I have to keep it very short and thinned or else I end up with really bad excema in it. I'm mid haircut at the moment so am sort of Daniel season four at the moment. It also has a mind of its own, and if not cut properly (not many people know what to do with it) looks terrible ...

Yow. I'm glad I don't get that. That's miserable. But I know what you mean about it having a mind of its own... yeesh. "Today, I am going to be BIG HAIR!"

Speaking as someone who also has uncontrollable curly hair, finding a good hairdresser is hard. The best one I ever had knew exactly what to do because both he and one of his kids had hair almost exactly like mine. But then he started getting really eccentric (cutting dog chewies with his hair scissors while I was sitting in the chair. Not the pair he was using on my hair, but still.) and I've been wandering in the wilderness ever since.

Don't be afraid to describe exactly what you do to your hair in the morning because sometimes the hair dresser's idea of low maintenance is 20 minutes of styling since they do this for a living. Or make them describe exactly what kind of styling and product the cut they're proposing would require. I've had hairdressers say, "Oh it's simple, you just do this, this, and this and use these three products, and you're done." And then I very gently explain that I don't know how to any of those things and that any morning routine longer than five minutes is going to be seriously incompatible with my lifestyle.

I really need to re-read The Dark is Rising series. I've re-read The Grey King recently but not the others since I was a kid. I was such a huge fan of them.

...Cutting dog chewies? Very strange. Good point about the hairdresser's idea of low-maintenance - I'm about the same as you: five minutes would be about my limit for a daily thing. I mess about with it for ages if I'm bored and have a lot of time on my hands, but that's only on weekends.

Over Sea, Under Stone is just getting to the good part, and it's terribly frustrating to have to stop and go to work. Man, if I didn't have to work, I'd have fantastic hair and have read all the books in my house. :)

I soooo feel you on the hairdresser issue. My hair has been doing that weird curly/wavy/straight thing the past couple of years, where the right side curls more than the left and the back isn't curling much at all anymore. But no matter how many times I tell most hairdressers this, they don't believe me and they cut both sides the same and one side always ends up looking shorter than the other. I finally found a hairdresser who knows what she's doing, but she's ridiculously expensive.

*sigh* What I wouldn't give for thick, straight hair sometimes.

Agh. I've grown to love having curls, but they're such a pain. I usually found that I'd ask for them not to cut it too short, because it's much, much longer when it's wet - and they'd wash it and cut it, and when it dried and curled, it would be TOO SHORT.

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More hair than wit.

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Susan Cooper

Re: Susan Cooper

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