Monday, January 10, 2011

New 'Do

Warning: Girly post regarding hair. Normal posting will resume again next time.

So I chopped my hair off. It is not the dramatic inch-long version that I did 11 years ago when I went to Asia the first time, but it feels pretty dramatic to me right now and I find myself waking up and touching the back of my head going, "really?"

Tundra tresses à la Canadian Arctic. 
After the Asia incident grew out I kept it pretty long. But I loathe having hair in my face so 98% of the time I wear it in a messy bun of some sort. Especially at work following a nasty catheterization experience wherein my hair fell from behind my shoulder into the dark, dank, yeasty thigh crease of a morbidly obese patient. I then had to sit in the ambulance transferring that patient for the rest of my shift and I can tell you I came pretty close to an ambulance hair cut on the way back from that drop-off!!

The permanent expression on my face in the hospital.

So the odd, odd time I'd wear it down, I didn't feel like it had any pizzaz to it. Mind you that might have had something to do with the fact that I spend about <1 minute getting myself ready to hit the town usually. 
To be fair, I was caught in an Irish rain storm that day. 
Ok let's be honest. I wore my hair like this. Almost. Every. Day. For probably the past 7 years. 
My, what a dazzling bun you've got there! 

 And once in a blue moon I'd mix it up with the Robert Palmer music video look. 
It was, in fact, a coincidence that we all wore stripes to the final exam in December.
I think we all felt an underlying 'imprisonment' vibe which we needed to express. 
So Tobie's sister is a killer hairstylist and she happened to be visiting over the holidays. Her take on style is that you should only keep one hairdo for 5 years and then you have to let go and mix it up or you'll end up looking dated. 

I let her at it. Still easing into it and deciding if I like it. I tried to take some nice photos to show y'all but every one makes me look like a complete tool. Ah well, here they are anyway! 

Tool: full frontal. Black and white unsuccessful at making me look
less "tool-ish". 

This is how it looks from the side when I am staring passively off in the distance. 

This is how it looks when I am self-consciously pawing at it and suspiciously staring to my right. 
This is how it looks when I've been doing CPR for 40 mins and can't
push it out of my face because there are questionable fluids on my gloves.  
So I did find the fatal flaw to the style a few days ago when, as mentioned, we had a very long code. It gets in my face when I lean over to try and do shit. This is annoying. I am going to have to figure out some pathetic way to bobby-pin it back or something at the hospital. And at the gym. But otherwise...meh. Change is good, so I've been told.

17 comments:

Grumpy, M.D. said...

SIZZZZZZZZZZLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

WHOA.

(My hair's been long for 5 years too, and if I thought it would look half as good as yours does when short, I would cut it off right now. That is GORGEOUS.)

OMDG said...

I have to tell you, I was really worried when you said you'd cut your hair. But it actually looks really really good. Like 100% better than your rainstorm-do. Chic. Modern.

It made me think that I should cut mine off. And then I came back to reality.

Grumpy, M.D. said...

It looks so good that it got me thinking about cutting mine short.

Then I remembered they mostly fell out years ago.

Albinoblackbear said...

Hahah, aw thanks guys! Well good to know it is being well received in Blogistan (where I spend most of my time anyway!)

It's gotten mixed reviews here or the non-committal "it suits you" which, to me, is like saying something tastes "fine".

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Beats saying "it tastes like chicken".

Frazzled-Razzle-RN said...

I think it looks great before, and after it looks even better. Like hip, trendy, and functional! I'm starting nursing school soon and my "plan" is to keep growing my hair for the next 2-1/2 years and then I'll cut it off right after graduation to about the length that you cut yours. I've done the 1" hair chop in my past too, not interested in going that short again. Thanks for sharing pics.

Medical Mojave said...

Looks cute.

When you go for a trim, experiment with a few more layers.

Like you I've gone from long to short (although mostly because I had a bald spot from hormonal hair loss) and layers are the secret, in my experience, to rocking short hair.

M

Heather said...

WoW! That is a *great* look for you, IMO. I think it really complements your face shape and everything. Very nice! FWIW, I had long, long hair for a long time (see that userpic? that's me in a French Hood that I made myself, entirely by hand for my re-enactment hobby; I mean LONG hair) and I chopped it off last year and it was just so great.

I do recommend bobby pins, yes, or barrettes that stay firmly in place. That said, my default has been bobby pins.

Man, this reminds me that I need to get mine trimmed again!

Absentbabinski said...

Very cute! Excellent choice :)

Albinoblackbear said...

Zazzy-Thanks! I found it nice to have it long in school as well because I certainly didn't want to be spending time that I could be sleeping on my hair.

I never thought about grad...suppose it'd be nice to have it a bit longer for that.

POP--Thanks! Yes, I agree with the multi-layer plan.

The only thing is my hair stylist (a.k.a Tobie's sister) lives in Quebec and I only see her every few months. She purposely cut it so that the grow out phase wont be too ghastly. I think layers only look good if regularly maintained. (And I can't afford the 70 Euro cost of a female trim here in town).

When I have an income again I'll get a little more adventurous. =)

M/H--Thanks! Yes I am definitely going to have to experiment with that. It was seriously nasty to have it in my face the other day at the hospital.

Plus you don't want your health care provider constantly fiddling with their hair. Looks unprofessional IMHO.

Albinoblackbear said...

AB-Thanks! See?!?! It WAS real!!

L said...

Hey! It looks great! I only wish I could pull off short hair...instead I look like a french poodle. Cheers to you rocking the new 'do.

Liana said...

Very nice.

Cartoon Characters said...

Love it! I have tried that type of "do" in the past but when it starts to grow out, it's too unruly. Mine is down to my waist and poker straight -it's great in a ponytail....or a braid....for now. I just can't take the time. At least yours is curly-sort-of.

btw,not to be picky but in the photo, u are looking to your left! ;)

Blonde Saffron said...

Looks great!!!

Albinoblackbear said...

Thanks "lads" as they say here in Ireland. =)

Funny, Cartoon Characters--I never pictured you with straight long hair. It occurs to me that it is kinda bizarre to have fairly frequent contact with a group of people whose names and faces I don't know!

Anyway--no, thank you for the correction--I had to double check but the computer camera flips images--I wear my ring on my left hand. It's a mirror image. =)