To everything there is a season

And this would be the season for haircuts, mild shoping, and trips to the beach house. Lets start with the haircut bit.

On Friday, I met for lunch with John Sauvey, who was here for an audition in the city. After he was done, he had jus enough time for lunch with me before running to the airport and going back home. Ah, well... at least we got to spend a little time. Anyway, it was nice, and we were both really grateful for the date. After parting ways, I went to the Lincoln Center campus to turn in some graded work and do a little busy work online. Then I decided I'd get some cigarette treats for people... beach house trip in a couple of days, you see, and I wanted to come bearing gifts.

When one wishes to buy fine tobacco products in New York, there's only one place to go: Nat Sherman. It's a posh cigarette shop just across the street from the New York Public Library, and the Nat Sherman products are the best all-natural whatevers anywere. I walked from 59th to 42nd, then turned the corner and found the place. When I got in there, I was overwhelmed by the poshness. Very swank. Lots of finery and shiny wood and all that kind of thing. Anyway, I bought some cigars, which are always nice at the beach, filled some orders for specific Nat Sherman cigarettes, and got a bag of pipe tobacco. WHen I left, I looked pretty damn cool with my super-neat Nat Sherman shopping bag. No, really. I actually had someone stop me and ask about it. Ooooooooh.

That being accomplished, I decided I would get a haircut. Someone once told me that you should have your hair cut before going to the beach so the harsh beachy conditions don't do too much damage. I don't know if it's true, but I haven't had a haircut since August, so it couldn't be a bad idea. I found a spot off of 40th street that seemed pretty nice and was run by a bunch of Russian women. In about fifteen minutes I had been convinced that not only did I need a haircut, but I also needed long layers and highlights. Who was I to argue? These are professionals. Besides, they kept yelling in a frightening combination of broken English and excitable Russian... and giving me wine. Three glasses later, I was theirs to toy with. And it was pretty good red wine, actually. Given that it was free, it couldn't have been much better. Anyway, here's the result:

I don't know if the photos show things very well, but I tried, so there you go. And the best news of all: I still liked it after the wine wore off.

Today will be a day spent preparing for the trip to Florida. John and Chuck are already on the road, and they'll arive at the end of their drive some time late tonight. Then they get a day's worth of private together time before I fly there on Tuesday morning. I would have gone sooner, but I have to do that silly teaching thing on Monday. Anyway, I'll be back on Saturday, so I'll be back in time for teaching again with no worries. That's the nice thing about having them once a week... I get the rest of the week to hop on a plane and do stuff.

So, in preparation for the trip, I have to do some light shopping. Target awaits me. I haven't bought a bathing suit since the weight loss, so that's definitely on the list. Mind you, I still have no business being seen in a bathing suit in public, but that's not going to stop me. Besides, who's out there that I have to impress right now? John could care less. Chuck's like a brother. And the whales might make an unprecedented visit to the gulf coast to visit a possible relative. So yeah, I think I'll be fine. I'll buy a cover-up, of course, but I think it'll be okay. There'll be pictures, sure, but don't expect too many to include me in my new swimsuit. I'm brave, but I'm no sadist. Okay, maybe a little bit of a sadist, but I have my limits, and so does the world of cyberspace.