Day Six - Hair hilarity

Event of the Day
Last Saturday I said goodbye to my lovely, luxurious locks and received my "mission cut." I am not particularly fond of having short hair, but alas, it was necessary. I had been growing my hair out for a while, knowing that the day of reckoning would eventually come. My one consolation was that at least it would be noticed, right? Being a guy, and being a guy who had pretty much the same hair for the last six years or so, I rarely had people comment on a hair cut. Now I don't rely on others' comments to form my self-image, but hey, it is fun to have people notice you, even if it is because you had a bad hair cut. Sadly, the "oh my gosh!" reaction I hoped for never really came to be. The funny thing is that most of my closest friends were apathetic, while some people I barely know have provided the reaction I yearned for. One such reaction - and subsequent hilarity - took place in my student success class. My student success professor, who I'm not particularly fond of, interrupted the middle of class, saying, "Wow! You cut your hair!" My zinger of an answer, "Yep." Followed by, "Wow, do you feel naked without it?" I answered, truthfully and reluctantly, "Yeah, a little bit." My feelings after what happened next could have followed a myriad of paths: Shock, Horror, Disgust, Embarrassment, to name a few. Surprisingly enough, I just thought it was funny. After admitting with a resigned tone that I felt naked without my hair, the Tongan girl in front of me exclaimed proudly to the class, "Well I think he looks good naked!" Cue awkward, incredulous silence. Then...laughter filled the classroom. You can't write it any better.

Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger
The tip of my illustrious hat goes to the Utah Jazz. The future was beginning to look bleak when a struggling Jazz team found out that they would loose top scorer and rebounder Carlos Boozer for 4-5 weeks due to injury. The Jazz have responded by going 5-1 since Boozer went out, thanks in large part to the improved play of Deron Williams, Derek Fisher, Paul Millsap, and incredible clutchiness of Mehmet Okur. I will be attending the Jazz game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 14th, hoping they can improve that record to 6-1. Ordinarily, I might be sad that I was yet again Valentineless for Valentine's day, but I've got a hot date with a hot team and I refuse to let that get me down. By the way, the wag of my finger of course, goes to Valentine's Day, or as many heartbroken souls call it, Single Awareness Day, S.A.D. Why set up a holiday where everyone loses? Guys with a Valentine invariably screw it up, and are sent to the dog house. Girls with a Valentine are heartbroken when the guys invariably screw up. Everyone without a Valentine is reminded of how pathetic they are because they don't get a chance to either screw up or be screwed. Wow, thanks St. Valentine of 269 A.D. I know you were probably upset that you were going to be executed for your Christian beliefs by the Romans on February 14th, but that doesn't mean you had to ruin the day for future generations.

That Other Gender
Recently a suave friend of mine has been giving me pointers on dealing with that other gender, and despite his track record of success I am still having a hard time. The past year has been a revelation of the subtlety, deception, and complete idiocy that is interaction between male and female. Having my first text conversation with a girl, my friend guided me on what to type in. Every time he told me to type, I gave him a "What!?!??" face, and he told me to trust him. It seems that flirting is some delicate and inexplicable balance between showing that they are the only thing you want, but you could easily live without them. That they are fantastic, but entirely ordinary. Flirting is a constant interplay between complimenting and teasing, giving and taking. How can something that is so fundamental to human relationships be so hard to understand? Anyway thanks to my friend, the conversation did seem to be constructive. Now he has given me an ultimatum to "get her" (still not entirely sure what that means) within two weeks or I have to move on to a new girl. This "player" or "lady-killer" style is completely foreign to me. It feels uncomfortable, but considering that my previous attempts at being friendly, nice, and a bit shy were all failures, a change up might be worth a shot.