Fish Tales

I got my first haircut in Singapore today. I didn’t plan on getting one, but while I was walking thru the Velocity Mall in Novena I happened upon something interesting. It was a haircutting kiosk, of sorts, and it brought a whole new dimension to an express cut. I knew it could be dangerous to try it, but what the heck… one of the benefits of thinning hair and receding hairlines is that everyone’s expectations toward your hair significantly decreases. They’re just happy if you keep it trim, clean and most importantly avoid the dreaded comb-over.

Anyway, this place was efficient. No incompetent greeter asking you for your phone number, or about a reservation, or anything like that. You simply take a $10 bill, slide it into the kiosk and then take your token. Next you queue up on the bench, where there are numbers designating your place in line. Once a space is clear, the next person moves into a chair, everyone shifts one place down on the bench and the next person takes their turn in the assembly line.

Once I got called to a chair there clearly was a communication gap, but I thought I had conveyed my usual cut. Well, let’s just say the #1.5 clipper made its way much higher on my head than normal. I got the traditional G.I. Joe cut. Maybe that’s what the stylist associated with Americans who want a short haircut. Who knows? Or, maybe she was in a huge hurry to get me out of her chair, because; after she put the cloth over me and snapped it around my neck I started getting hot, and then hotter, and hotter. Eventually, I felt the first drip of sweat beading up on my forehead. I kept thinking what a mess it would be if I *really* started sweating and then I started to imagine the poor woman with two hands full of sticky, little snippets of hair all glued to her hands. And, the more I thought of it, the more I started to sweat. Plus, it still was SO hot with that covering on me.

Eventually it was over. I know my fear was realized… at least a little bit. I couldn’t wait to get out of there!

I think the whole end-to-end experience took no more than 15 minutes. It definitely shows, but it’ll grow back in a couple of weeks.