email: my hair

Subject: tv miracle!
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:07:02 +0000
dear mom and dad,

oh my gosh, i got home yesterday and you know what: the damn tv WORKS! i guess it wasnt broken after all. ha! well, i've already bought a new one, so i will do in the spirit of teresa and give this tv to my coworkers, they just live in the next building.

i was out with some friends the other night at a bar in itaewon. a brotha (English or African, not sure) came up to me to ask on behalf of the woman he was with at the bar (she is white) how i get my hair to look like it does. i explained to him that with hair as naturally curly as ours, locks are what happens when we dont comb it. he asked me how i wash it, b/c my hair doesnt smell. :)

as a side note, i have to admit that my hair did used to smell sometimes; friends told me after i cut them off once. it was b/c i didnt wash often, i didn't know how to care for them properly. now with time and experience, i know the idea of not washing your hair to make it lock is untrue (wash everyday if you want to, just dont comb it). hair locks easily w/clean curly hair. ive met several white self proclaimed rastas that dont wash b/c they claim it's better for their naturally straight hair... well, do what you do, whatever. anyway for me i now wash half at a time, it cuts the drying time (with the whole head, it'll stay wet for a day and smell of mildew), and i can wash more frequently. especially here in korea, i swear my hair dries 10 times as faster; i really do wash half of my hair every single day.

i explained that i wash the front half on one day, and the back half on the next, rotating so that i dont get all my hair wet at the same time, which is problematic b/c of the time it takes to dry and the incredible weight it has when it's wet. he thanked me and brought his report back to the woman at the bar.

"isn't that annoying" asks the sister next to me that i came to the bar with, referring to the hair question. she sports braids, and gets a lot of the same questions im sure.

"sometimes," i answered. "maybe i wouldnt have been so nice if she came and asked herself." sorry, but hey maybe...

it got me to thinking about how positive attitude means just about everything, everywhere. we talked about how sometimes there are things that you just cant control, and in such situations, one can only work on one's own reaction rather than the situation.

also i very much now believe in the power of positive thinking. at least the brotha came up and asked me about my hair. countless idiots have just come up and started talking to me with no introduction, and every jerk has a story about a friend with locks who cut them off and found bugs in his hair. (jeez) And at least the brotha didnt come reaching out to touch my hair, which happens often. maybe like pregnant women having their bellies rubbed: people think it's nice or complimentary, but really can be really annoying. so yeah, i did yet another interview about my hair, but it was nice that he was attentive and respectful.

anyway my parents, this is why i always write you with good news; because really there is no bad news. work is great, the kids are great, everything here is great and im happy. uh... i DO look forward to those magazines, tho :) ~daughter