Monthly Archives: February 2012

Eventually I decided to try Mid-range Salon.  Mid-range Salon cost more, had impersonal service, and couldn’t seem to get my hair right no matter what instructions I gave or what pictures I showed. They also charged you if you wanted your hair blow dried after the cut.  I always thought blow drying was part of the cut, since you can’t really tell how the cut looks until it’s dry.  Not at this place! I tired of Mid-range salon pretty quickly.  I started to wonder if my hair just wasn’t compatible with the look I wanted.

And then comes High-End Salon #1. My first experience with a high-end salon came when i was getting my hair cut and colored for my wedding.  I waited for about a half-an-hour before I got taken back for my appointment.  Well, that’s ok, right? They’re pretty busy.  Once seated in the salon chair, I waited for my stylist.  I waited for her to come back and dry my hair.  I waited for her to mix color (does it really take 20 minutes to mix color?), waited as she disappeared to who-knows-where for a long time.  Basically I did a lot of waiting and had a 4-hour hair appointment despite the fact I was told it should take two hours at the most. But I was happy with how my hair looked, so I went back, thinking the waiting experience probably wasn’t typical. times two and three and High-End Salon #1 were just as long of a wait, and I thought that extra time must be the price you pay for good hair.

Then I was given a birthday gift to get my hair done at High-End Salon #2.  What’s this?  they’re taking me in on time?  The stylist stays with me the whole time instead of wandering off somewhere?  I didn’t know that could happen!  They also gave me a hot towel treatment and hand massage, which was all incredibly relaxing.  For about the same price as High-End Salon #1, I got much better service, more complimentary perks, and hair that I absolutely loved.  We have a winner!!  Each time I have gone back, the service has been exceptional.  The one time where they were behind schedule, they apologized profusely and treated me to a free eyebrow wax while I waited.  High-End Salon #1 never once apologized for the time I was kept waiting, and certainly never attempted to make up for it. I’m glad I went somewhere else and discovered that you can have great hair AND great service.

High-End Salon #2 does cost me more, but in the end I decided that it’s worth it.  I would rather spend more money and be happy with what I’m getting than spend less and be unhappy with it.  Spending money on something you’re not happy with is essentially the same as wasting that money.  Paying more to have my hair done does mean that I don’t get to do it as often, because I don’t want to live outside my budget.  However, I’ve found that when my hair is done right, I don’t NEED to have it done as often. It takes me a lot longer to get split ends, and my hair looks nicer as its growing out. So getting more frequent haircuts at cheaper salons probably amounted to about the same cost in the long run anyway, for something I wasn’t satisfied with.  As with many things, you get what you pay for, and hair is no exception!

I would like to hear some of your hair experiences, good and bad!

I went through a long, arduous journey to find a place where I enjoy getting my hair done.

It began with cheap.  In the beginning of my hair journey, all I wanted was cheap.  It didn’t really make a difference where you got your hair cut, right?

Enter Cheap Salon #1. No frills, and I soon learned, no talent, either.  This may not always be the case, mind you.  There are cheap salons out there with genuinely talented people.  But at this place I left with mediocre haircuts every time.  In the beginning I didn’t care much.  I didn’t really know any better until I realized that my haircuts there never really looked how I wanted, and I never felt fully satisfied.  I then started noticing uneven cuts, hacked off bangs, and general “meh” feeling about the job they did with my hair.  The final straw came when one of the stylists actually DAMAGED my hair.  I can deal with poor haircuts, but not actual damage.  No thank you.  I moved on to Cheap Salon #2.

The final straw at Cheap Salon #2 came when I went there with a friend.  The stylist LOVED me, or at least, she loved my hair.  During the whole process, she went on and on about how soft it was, how she loved the color, couldn’t believe it was natural, etc.  So my haircut was completed with my ego thoroughly boosted.  She was bubbly and friendly with me the whole time.  Then she got to my friend.  Right from the get-go her attitude changed.  Her friendly bubbly attitude disappeared and she became ice cold.  She didn’t compliment my friend’s hair.  She harshly said that it was dry and brittle and she should never color it again or it would fall right out.  This may have been good advice, but the way she said it was terrible.  She rushed through my friend’s haircut and didn’t bother giving her a shampoo.  Later I had asked my friend if she didn’t want a shampoo, and she said that actually, she was never even asked.  She didn’t want to cause trouble so she just let it be.  I left feeling totally steamed.  The stylist had been cordial and complimentary to me, yes, but the way she treated my friend was terrible and left me feeling extremely upset. My friend hadn’t behaved rudely or done anything to warrant the attitude.  I never went back.

There were various other Cheap Salons scattered throughout the hair journey.  None of the experiences at these were particularly memorable.  I only remember feeling dissatisfied, and frustrated that I was paying for something I wasn’t happy with, even if I wasn’t paying very much.

(To Be Continued…)

Yesterday a box came.  A large, heavy box.  Full of books!  My books! EEEEE!

I opened the box and it was a glorious shining moment.  Everyone oooed and aaahed.  We basked in the moment together.

Ok…it wasn’t quite like that.  The box arrived while I was at work (Yep. I still work full-time.  Having a children’s book published is not the way I pictured it as a child–where you write a book and become rich and famous instantly.  In reality, my income is pretty much unchanged!)  My husband was off for the day and like a child on Christmas, he couldn’t wait and he opened the box.  I’ll admit I wasn’t very happy about that.  But I forgave him quickly. 

I also got several messages throughout the day about people receiving their preorders.  So by the time I got home from work, I was basically the last person in the world who got to see it, or at least, that’s how I was feeling at that point. But upon seeing the book at last, the frustration I felt at being the last to see it melted away and turned into excitement.

The book is beautiful.  Even better than I imagined. The high-quality printing process shows off the detail I put into my artwork wonderfully. When I had my book printed at a print-on-demand press before I had submitted it for publishing, I couldn’t see a lot of the detail and I assumed that was just a natural consequence of going from digital to print.  Now I know that when you use a better printing process, you can get better results!  I’m so happy to know all the time and effort I put into the illustrations didn’t go to waste.

If you want a copy of the book before April, there is still time to pre-order!  I think it’s a very pretty book…though I may be a teensy bit biased.

I have a confession.  The other day…I Googled myself.  I know, I know.  It’s shameful!

The Googling came after I realized my book has been put up on Barnes and Noble.  That made me squeal a little.  Seeing my book listed up on a real bookstore’s website made it feel like this is really happening.  It probably should have felt like it was really happening at the point when the publisher said, “Hey, sign this contract,” but for some reason it didn’t really sink in until I saw myself on Barnes and Noble.  Now I officially feel like one of those people who write book thingies.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I was curious to see if my book was up on any other websites that I wasn’t aware of, so I went ahead and did a search.  I can see that my publishing team has been hard at work (thank you!) because the book came up on multiple sites.  What I was very surprised to find was a brief review of my book.

After reading it, I wanted to cry.  My first review, and it’s positive!  It’s such a simple little thing, but I felt overwhelmed.  Up to this point, aside from the publisher and distributor, only family and a few close friends have read the book.  They all had positive things to say, but these are people who love me.  What else are they going to say?  Not to imply that they were being insincere, but it’s always harder to believe praise from your sweet and loving family, right?  They have to see you on a regular basis, so nobody wants to tell you if they think it sucks. So seeing this review from a complete stranger who liked it was really fantastic.  It literally put a lump in my throat.  Maybe I’m too sentimental, but that’s how I felt.   

If any of you have the time, do check out Book Review Cafe. It’s where my review was posted, and I believe it’s worth checking out if you’re interested in reading up on some books that may not be out in the mainstream yet.  It is run by Teresa Brouwer, and she reviews many books by new and upcoming authors.  As an upcoming author, I am so appreciative of this!  It’s hard to get your work out there, in children’s books especially, so the fact that there are people willing to review unknown authors and books fills me with warm fuzzies.  If you have a book you would like reviewed, I recommend giving her a shot.  She also has no idea that I’m writing this post, and we have never been in contact with each other, so I hope she doesn’t mind. 

Now let’s hope I can keep up this (tiny) track record of good reviews.  Read the rest of this entry →