Tea Tree Treatment

I got my hair cut yesterday.

It is tradition for me to, as I am driving, deliberate over whether or not to get it washed.

It is an extra six or seven dollars.

These past years I've been making between thirteen and negative ___ dollars an hour.

Six or seven dollars is a lot for shampoo and conditioner.

Especially because it is something I can do myself,

and do

every day.

I always decide to get it washed.

I never regret it.

Yesterday they had a special:

Tea Tree Treatment and scalp massage,

five extra dollars.

"What is included in, er, that?"

"A scalp massage, a hot towel over your face,

and you sit in a massage chair."

Five dollars and I got to live like a king

if only for a moment,

at the Supercuts off East Yale Loop. 

I Climb Some Fire Stairs

I have not been doing a very good job keeping up this blog. Now that I spend most my day on this computer I don't find myself particularly willing to get back on at night. Instead I go for walks around my neighborhood. I imagine my future, I enjoy the slant of the suns rays, the perfect (seriously perfect) outside temperature of dusk, I read, I indulge in dreams of creative projects I will never complete.

Then the weekend comes and I am off to see Kari. We spend three weekends out of four together and alternate who has to drive. If we are in Loma Linda we cook meals together, read and watch TV under the breeze of the ceiling fan. If we are in Irvine, we indulge in cheap meals out and explore the variety of destinations in Orange County (as opposed to the lacking variety of destinations in San Bernardino County).

We also try to plan a wedding. Right now we are in the middle of hunting for a venue and we use the free time of our weekends to visit various wedding sites. Some are comically corny. For example, Lake Fire Fountain is a venue we found in Temecula whose whole business is weddings. The ceremony takes place on a small peninsula into a small man-made lake. The lake is dyed blue and has fountains that light on fire at night. The bride is delivered to the site by horse drawn carriage and if you like, you can rent out the honeymoon suite, also on site, complete with jacuzzi. (Lake Fire Fountain is not the real name)

Some are more likable. Also while in Temecula we visited a few wineries and there was on in particular that was situated at the crest of a hill and had a beautiful, newly constructed courtyard with inset lighting, beautiful trees and impressive steel trellises.

However, we had not had much luck finding a place that felt like us until last weekend when we visited several parks run my the Santa Monica Mountain Conservation Group, at least I think that was their name. We do not know what it will take to plan a wedding in a park but there were a couple of locations that just seemed ideal. They were quiet, removed from the hustle and buzz of the Los Angeles basin. They were large enough to accommodate a wedding but small enough to ensure there will not be many (or any) onlookers.

This week I need to get in touch with the group that runs the parks. I know that they allow weddings at the two parks we are looking at but need to see what kind of limitations there are. However, this week I also have the Final Exam for my summer course in addition to finishing up two proposals for work: one for a multi-use (housing and retail) development in St. Helena and one for affordable housing development in Mission Viejo.