Before and After

Long layers on the most cooperative and friendly model I've ever worked with.

To be a haircut model for your truly, send me an email with a recent photo of your hair (such as the above "before" picture) for consideration.

Turning a new page (or two)

First of all ...

this is really the way my cat drinks water. Actor portrayal.

My actual cat doing this.

Things don't always go the way you planned. It's not always bad, but before you see the good, you can only register disappointment. Sometimes it's something you can control (maybe you messed up), sometimes not.

New York City is a hard place to try something new. When I arrived, I was completely overwhelmed by all the people and the cramped spaces and the sheer overload of the senses (and suddenly Philly didn't look so bad anymore). I was also taking on a completely new career: hair. During this time, I also tried self-publishing my novels. All good stuff to try, but sometimes life throws you a curve.

a hairstyle I can really be excited about

The hair industry is tied heavily to the fashion industry and to editorial styling, much of which I don't give two s**ts about (probably why I've been pushed out of certain salons -- even one I loved very much). My co-workers were all about experimenting with pairing bowties and suspenders with pleated jeans and shirts you could see straight through, and pants that may or may not have been pajama bottoms. I wore something I thought looked professional (and felt comfortable enough cleaning toilets in).

When I decided to get into hair, I thought the best I could expect was to sell makeup to people at Macy's or work at Supercuts. Neither of those options are what you do in NYC. You style celebrities. Or old people who've had a lot of cosmetic surgery and wish they looked 25. They complain about why no one wants to wear tailored clothes anymore to a person making less than minimum wage. Often it feels like you're dressing in your absolute best clothes and coiffing your hair to get on your hands and knees to scrub the bases of the chairs: the best dressed janitor in town.

Finally, though, something miraculous happens and you're able to get your hands on a client's hair to do some styling yourself, and go at it with such gusto that you give yourself carpal tunnel syndrome within the first two months.

Someone loves you, regardless.

So I went to get some acupuncture on my wrists and cut my hours back at work (at a place now where I feel like I finally fit in, which is a miracle in itself). The only glitch is that I'm not cutting any hair at this place, but trying to fill those gaps with freelance work.

Somewhere in all that, I lost my love of hair. I was excited about it at the beginning, but now I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall and it might be better to give up than to try another place and another and another.

One of the biggest draws about this city is that there are a million different options. At the beginning of my hair career, I understood that if one place didn't work out, I would eventually find my perfect match and everything would be fine. That is still true. Somewhere out there is a salon where I won't feel like everyone's sneering at my sparkly t-shirt and uncomplicated hair, where I can cut a client's hair and get paid for it, and where I don't feel like I have to put on a costume and a fake persona to fit in. That place exists. But can I stop feeling wounded enough to go find it?

I'm adding henna to my resume, and enjoying it very much. Since I've been drawing most of my life, I've picked this up relatively quickly, because it just involves drawing with a different medium. It's artistic and involves "beauty" without being either hair or makeup. Kind of a fresh start.

I've taken down a few of my self-published works in an effort to only showcase my best and try again with traditional publishing. It feels like a step backward, but it isn't. The hair thing will work itself out, hopefully without me having to become an office temp again. I'll get my henna practice in and book some parties. I'll find an agent who loves my fiction and maybe make a moderate living that way.

Sometimes you have to step back. Sometimes you have to try something new to get something to work. I'm sure all this headbanging will prove productive in the end as long as I'm adjusting my approach each time. Or at the very least, it'll look like I'm rocking out pretty hard.

Not Writing

Inspired by Amanda Hocking's Things I've Done Today That Weren't Writing, here's a list of things from today keeping me from doing what I do:

• Inventory at work
• Chatting with hubby about moving and awesome apartment ads.
• Waiting 15 minutes to connect to the N train.
• Buying Chips Ahoy! cookies and having the clerk ask if I was having a chocolate chip cookie party tonight. Answer: no - went to work on my day off, therefore, they're all mine. He was satisfied with the answer.
• Watching the forced comedy of a recent Simpson's episode. Why do I do this to myself?
• Joined a new forum
• Watched some video clips on YouTube
• Heated up some tempura chicken from Trader Joe's
• Wasted time on various social media (which leads me here).

I had a great run of editing yesterday after work, and I was looking forward to doing it again today. However, counting some 1000+ hair products turned my brain to jelly, and I can't get in the groove. I did buy another proof copy of The Silent Treatment after making some adjustments to the last one I received. Probably not going to change anything else, regardless, because I can't afford to keep buying proofs. I think it's for sale on lulu.com, though, but won't distribute to Amazon until the proof is approved. Will let you know, as I'm sure you're all on the edges of your seats. I've had to price it much more expensively than I wanted to because the commission from Amazon is pretty low. So for now, I'm offering a 30% discount, which brings the price down to a reasonable $11.20.

So before I waste any more time, I'll go read, rest up for a long day of work tomorrow, and then go apartment viewing the day after that.

Please tell me: what did you do today?

What the hell is up with Melanie?

(Yes, I stole and modified the title from my friend Jenny, but only because I love her.)

Unless you count spending far too much time on social networking sites trying to get people to pay attention to me like an ignored 5-year-old, there isn't much to report. If I don't go food shopping soon, I'll be eating cereal for dinner (not that there's anything wrong with that). The pile of clothes in the corner of my room hasn't diminished for quite some time.

On the plus side, I got some comments back recently for the 2nd book in the Kat Shergill series, so I've been working on that. Still trying to come up with a title. Maybe I'll hold a contest. This ties nicely into the "wanting attention" category.

Also a plus: I love my job! This is good because I spent a lot of money to get a job like this. It still amazes me that some days I think, "Maybe I'll go in to work and get some highlights," or, "My friend needs a haircut -- I'll take her to work on my day off." I would have shot myself if I'd ever thought, "you know, those reinsurance status reports aren't going to process themselves. I have some extra time on Saturday ... think I'll go in for free."

my tools are even pretty!

I also re-watched The Lord of the Rings recently. Not only is the imagery in that movie gorgeous, but the characters are so dimensional. I appreciate things like this more now that I'm writing with a fury: not everyone is completely good or bad. Take Frodo for example: he's the underdog who saves the world and destroys the ring. Hooray! Except it wasn't as simple as that. He starts out friendly, loving, slowly becomes untrusting and weary, identifies more with someone who's been through similar trials more than his best friend, makes Sam cry, changes his mind about saving the world, and succeeds BY ACCIDENT. It's so beautifully done. Even when Frodo shows his ugly side, we still know he's a good guy.



Not in the same category, but I also re-read Kyra Davis' Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. The humor in this book is nothing short of charming. Still suspenseful even though I knew what was going to happen. (It's always disappointing to go back to a book or movie I thought I loved only to find I just hyped it up.) When my little monetary slump is over, I'll buy her newest in the series (she's now indie like me!).

Back to editing.

HAIR MODELS!

Because I'll be starting work at Arrojo soon, I will need hair models pretty desperately. Once I get the schedule, I'll post it here and on my HAIR page (above). The apprenticeship program will be going on for at least a year, and I'll need between 3-5 models per week (so you can do the math how many people that comes up to in total!).

Stay tuned ... 

The End = The Beginning

Just hanging with Nick

Preparing for my graduation at Arrojo Cosmetology School has me full of mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm excited to be on my way to getting a job I'm actually going to love (not tolerate--LOVE) ... to be able to do something with my hands that will make me happy to go out every morning. On the other hand, I've made some great friends at the school, and I feel like I could work in the student salon forever with the way we get along. Unfortunately, in about a week, we'll say goodbye.

It's crazy that the 7 months I've spent here have gone by so fast, and yet it's almost like I've been doing this my whole life. ... Like working in all those offices never happened.

So what's next for me? Not sure yet. The moment I get snagged by the best salon in town, I'll let you all know so you can come get a gorgeous haircut from me.

Meanwhile...

I've been editing like crazy on The Silent Treatment, getting it ready for whatever is next. Also starting to brainstorm about future volumes in the series -- and if that isn't a good use of my subway time, I don't know what is.

Year in Review

Magazines are good at this: recapping everything that happened during the year to make you feel nostalgic for something that's only just gone. I won't be doing that, but I will be saying goodbye to 2011 with a kind of bittersweetness that I don't often experience.

The bad could very well outweigh the good if I let it. My job as an office money finally got the better of me (and if any of my former coworkers are reading, I don't miss it), and I found myself hastily putting together the puzzle of what would ultimately make me happy. The answer wasn't in another office position or in nursing or in graphic art: it was hairdressing.

As a result of my hasty decision to go to one of the best schools in the country, I'm once again living alone (or rather, in a roommate situation), struggling to keep on top of my responsibilities while retaining everything I'm paying a small fortune to learn. New York is not the easiest city to live in, especially after having spent my life in spread-out places. On the other hand, it's freaking New York, and I've been having a great time exploring and getting to know the place that will be my home for the next chunk of time.

This year also brought me one of the greatest triumphs of my life: a publication for sale. Even as I form myself into the next great hairdresser, I've been furiously writing for whatever gets accepted next. It remains to be seen if my sales extend past my family and close friends -- but even if not, I'm PUBLISHED!

Next year will tell me a lot about the decisions I made in 2011. Maybe I'll have a job that doesn't make me want to kill myself. Maybe I'll garner a following in the writing world. Maybe my little family will be secure together, not to be separated again.

It's been a difficult year, but one that's (hopefully) been leading up to something great.

Changes for Melanie

So my view has changed somewhat. I have a window now, a cat for a boss, and work that better suits my personality. The only drawback? NO PAY!

I've also enrolled in cosmetology school, which will start at the end of June (and this will include a daily commute to New York City, which could be a good chance to catch up on reading/writing, or it might suck. We'll have to see). I am extremely excited about cosmetology, though! It's artistic, I'll be working with my hands, and best of all: no math paperwork! Play with makeup and shiny tools all day--what's not to love?


Pleasant Company

And yes, on the corner of my desk is a doll I've had for about 20 years. Seems like times of stress, I revert to my 10 year old self and get her out again. Oddly enough, when I was in New York the other day getting my enrollment sorted out, I went to the American Girl Place (formerly Pleasant Company), and discovered they have a doll hair salon in the store. ...And here I am about to start with the haircutting. And so, Felicity came out of storage, hairbrushing commenced, and hubby laughed at me. That's okay.

Josephina, the smaller doll, used to keep me company in my former cubicle -- kind of a bright spot where the numbers and jargon couldn't go. Now both of them watch me procrastinate while I'm supposed to be writing.

So, I've got a month to myself. If I don't get my current project edited and ready for agents to fight over, I'm an idiot.