spontaneous day out

the weather today is absolutely perfect. it's my favorite kind of weather. blue skies and a decent breeze. in the sun, shorts and a tank top. in the shade, i was cold in said shorts and tank top. i needed a sweater as i sat down with a sesame cheese roll (SO good!!) and a caramel frappuccino (indigestion from coffee product eta: 15 minutes) at roppongi hills and people watched and iphone-d.

while i was sitting by the giant spider, i got interviewed by a guy from asahi tv about the 3 second rule and the name of the drug used in thriller/robbery/kidnapping scenes in movies the bad guys put on handkerchiefs and hold on their victims' mouth and noise to make them pass out.

i'm the kind of person who will eat something off the floor way after 3 seconds, but knew he wanted me to say 3 seconds, so in the end wrote "3 seconds" on the sketch pad. the whole interview was in japanese, but i wrote and said it in english, giving my best cheesy smile while showing the sketch pad to the cameraman. dancing monkey? yes, but whatever.

i felt bad for not even having an IDEA about the name of the drug used on handkerchiefs to make people pass out, even in english, but turns out most people don't either. (isn't that what google is for, if i really wanted to know?) anyway, maybe i'll be on tv at the end of october, but not holding my breath. actually, i will probably forget, like when i was on tv during hanami season and people kept emailing to say they saw me, but i had totally forgotten to watch for it.

as he was filming, i was thinking, "ooh, good thing i just got my hair done!" (vain much?) i had the sudden urge to get my hair cut this afternoon so i called up this place and made an appointment for an hour later (i love when you can actually get IN at salons instead of having to wait several days). one of my coworkers was talking about it yesterday at work, and she has really nice hair, so i figured if she was thinking about going there, it's probably a good place. turns out that same coworker had an appointment an hour after mine!

the last time i got my hair cut in japan was last july. then i got it cut in december when i was in ohio, in february in canada, and again in july when i was most recently home. the cut last july at sin den was fairly unmemorable (though i didn't leave hating the cut, so that's always good, right?) i do remember they straightened it, like just about every other salon in japan has done. thing is, my hair does NOT stay straight in the humidity of tokyo in the summer. getting the straightener out between may and october is pretty much a wasted effort.

the cut in december was just a trim but the cut in canada in february was amazing. it was a spur of the moment "at the mall walking past a decent looking salon and i have an hour or so to kill why not" haircut. and it was great. i look at photos of my hair in march and april and all i think is, "ooh, i want that hair again!" i got my hair cut in july in ohio and left liking it, but thinking she didn't clean up the ends enough and i should have had her take off another inch or so. so today i made sure the guy left some curl and took enough off.

i like the cut, but i'm not sure about the stylist. he didn't ask too many questions about my personal life (plus points for not be overly nosey) but he also didn't really seem to know how to keep a natural conversation flowing and it was sometimes uncomfortable. (maybe he had gaijin panic?) i know i shouldn't judge a stylist by their social skills, but half of going to the salon is enjoying the time you're stuck hostage in the stylist's chair, no? i want them to share a little bit about themselves too, so it's not all them asking questions and me answering.

he really awkwardly tried to "sell" the salon, as well as suggesting if i wanted highlights, they have really good colorists and it would make my hair even cuter (uhh...i think i already told you that i don't get my hair done often enough to deal with the upkeep of dying) and the hair products he was using (surely expensive) and made sure to point out as i was leaving that, as it shows on his business card, his days off are monday and tuesday, so he'd be in on either of my days off, hint hint.

i hate how now it'll be hard for me to go and request someone else, or not actively request him. if i run into him there, getting my hair cut from someone else, is it insulting? or am i just a push over? eh, whatever. i probably won't get my hair cut again for another 4 months or so anyway, so we'll worry about that then. for now, i like the haircut. i can never tell 100% about a haircut until i wash it and style it myself, but so far, so good. time will tell.

i came home to some fabulous mail in my mailbox: my visa application has already been processed. (it hasn't even been a week!!) man, the immigration bureau is impressing me left and right with their speed. so, another trip to shinagawa for that. i need to find/make something for Ro and i to wear to a friend's wedding celebration on saturday, but i'd really like to go tomorrow and get it all over with.

hopefully it's as nice tomorrow as it is today. i could really go for open windows and cool evenings for at least a couple days if not for the rest of fall.

prettypleasewithacherryontop???