Free Haircut

Yesterday, I saved money on a haircut. I don't get many haircuts, usually waiting several months before trims. Tiff hates it, but I usually get my haircut far too short and let it grow back to being beautiful hair. It's never my intention to do this, but it always works out this way. Similarly, I let it grow out far past the point where it stops looking good and enters the phase where people start to wonder if I'm trying to go with a new look.

Last week, as my hair was getting in my eyes, I knew it was time for a haircut. I had the thought of playing guinea pig for some local beauty school, but when a quick search of the internet came up empty, I quickly moved to plan B, ask the in-laws.

Tiff's Mom has never been a professional haircutter, but she does cut quite a bit of the family hair. While nobody in the family has bad hair, I was a little concerned about what I was getting into.

I'm not sure if my worries stemmed from the fact that Tiff grew up in a small region between two small Virginia towns called "the Free State" and with just a quick haircut, I could throw on some overalls and say things like, "why that's brown and smells bad" to any nonsense talk. Or if my fear came from my own suburban childhood with my Dad asking me demonically if I want him to go grab The Buzzer. To be honest I don't even know if we had a buzzer, but the way my Dad made it sound, it was a modern marvel that could effortlessly chop through not only hair but ears, heads, brains, as well as I'm sure aluminum cans and probably any recyclables.

So yesterday, I tried not to be scared as I stepped into the barstool and put the official haircut apron on. I was hoping Tiff would direct her saying things like longer here and shorter here, but she didn't even stay in the same room, and I was left just explaining my desired haircut with the all too familiar, "Shorter. Just shorter."

I apologize as I don't have pictures of the cutting process as proof, but I think the final result is pretty good. It's still a bit long, but it sure does feel good. Looking back, I hope my mother-in-law wasn't more worried than I was, saying more than once, "I never cut anybody's hair short the first time; I'll get braver the more times I cut it." I think I look good though, and hey, you can't beat the price. And I got, not one, but two meals out of the deal!

Total savings (these are all guesses): $17 for haircut, let's say $10 for meals for Tiff and I, well $9, because I also cooked a Pasta-Roni as part of my dinner, -$6 for gas... for a total of, $20! Plus, I got to play some Wii!