Ramblings of a Shear Freak

A snapshot of the future....

So I just had to share this fabulous moment of asshole-ness with all of you. So last Saturday we had a hectic busy day in the salon. Geordie and I decided that we would treat ourselves to a nice take out dinner from Krung Thai. Hadn’t had it in a long time so I was looking forward to it. I called it in so that I could just go and pick it up.
Well my OCD kicks in when I call in orders. If they say it will be ready in 20 mins, well dammit I wanna be there when it’s ready. Why is it that when you are in a hurry stuff happens…so Murphy’s Law. So we end up taking a little longer to close the salon, but when we finally do..we are on our way!! Woohoo….Pad thai here I come.
So we are driving and I get to the intersection of Almaden and San Carlos when a damn cop car pulls up in front of us and blocks us from crossing the green light. I was like…WTF? Something going on? I look to my left and notice people wearing green vests walking into the intersection. Oh I see, some sort of stupid march for something, but I didn’t see any signs and such. So I start to inflame up like a bad hemmroid. I start cursing up a storm. What the fuck is wrong with people marching through downtown at 7 in the evening? And how damn lazy are these people that they couldn’t even bother making signs so we know who to direct our anger towards. So we are still sitting there for a good 15 minutes..I’m hungry..food is probably waiting for me and I am getting way too irritated for my own good. And more and more people are just popping up out of nowhere. What the hell is going on?
Finally I see what looks like some sort of banner. Ahh..maybe this is a political march and I want to see what dirty politician is causing this.
I finally get a good look at what the banner says…….Chrohns and Colitis. So I say aloud….’Hmm…Chrohns and Colitis….well…those are 2 asshole politicians that are not getting my vote!! Damn them! Interrupting my drive home….how dare they?!?’
And then Geordie pipes up and say…’Babe, those are politician’s names, they are diseases and these people are marching to raise awareness’
Ummmmm……whoops!! So I started to laugh my ass off….what an idiot I am. Well they sure as hell made me aware…of how dumb I can be.
And if you are sitting reading this and thinking to yourself that I now have a one-way ticket to hell…wait till you read the next post. It will be the confirmation to the passage to the blazing infernos of hell!

I'm brainstorming ideas to generate more business. Was thinking of a contest where the person that refers the most amount of people to the salon would win a special prize. What is it? Well I have been told many times by clients how they would love for me to show up at their house in the morning to style their hair. I always joke back and say that as soon as they win the lottery I would be there to do it, because my rates would dramatically change for that. So what if.....I made that the grand prize? Show up at their house for a full week and do them up that morning? Wouldn't it be fun? What do you think?

So I am working in the salon today and I get a phone call from the casting directors for Bravo. They were looking for salons to be a part of Tabitha's Salon Takeover!! At first I thought, 'Is this a joke? It is April Fools after all'.....But lo and behold, it was not a joke. Of course when she realized that I was the Paulo from season 2 of Shear Genius, we just laughed our asses off. So she wants me to help her find 5 salons in the bay area that might be interested in being a part of the show. I have homework to do...LOL

This year, Ego Mechanix made a huge decision: to say good-bye to Rusk and say hello to AlfaParf Milano. We had been working with AlfaParf hair coloring products and have been achieving amazing results. The reds were vibrant, the beige and gold colors were rich and the blondes were clear and shiny. The over-all philosophy of AlfaParf is about the hair condition. The way it feels and looks is of the utmost importance, and that aligns itself well with the Ego Mechanix standard. An obvious path was emerging because of it. The more we learned about it, the more we loved. Another great bonus was the great education made available to us. One person in particular is a wonderful person named Artemis. You can’t help but to fall in love with her. From head to toe she screams COOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL….lol Her classes were amazing and captivating and always had us looking forward to the next class with her. So to Artemis, Christa, and Cindy…thanks for the awesome classes!!

Some ask why we said good-bye to Rusk. Simply put- we wanted change. We are very careful to thoroughly research the product line before we decide to carry for retail. Phyto is an amazing organic based products that again fit in with our approach to hair and beauty. Not to say that the Rusk product line didn’t. Let’s face it, Rusk has been a major part of my hairdressing career. It taught me everything I know about haircutting and innovative haircolor techniques. I learned to confidently teach a haircut in front of a huge audience. Most importantly, they taught me to really think outside the box. Many of the basic principals we adhere to at Ego are based on everything I learned while working as a Rusk educator. So then why the good-bye? Well one thing we always preach is that change is good. Embrace change. It keeps things alive and fresh. Keeps us on our toes. I wanted something new that would pull me out of my comfort zone; something that would challenge me to think of new textures for hair, a new finish for hair- a different feeling. Hair color, scissors, styling aides, blow dryers and brushes are all mere paintbrushes we use to create art on a canvas called hair. Sometimes we need to step out of the box and try something new. Good always comes of it. Even in failure there is a lot to gain and learn from. Failure, after all, is just genius laying low until it has it’s turn.

Anyone reading this who really knows me or has sat in my chair over the last 21 years will know how big a step this is for me. All I can say is that it was a hard decision to make, but it is one I stand by and feel good about. From the responses we’ve received so far, our clients are feeling it too!!

So come along on a new journey. Let’s change it up a little and live a lot!!