Happy New Hair!!

What started as a New Year’s Eve dare became a New Year’s Day catharsis


Happy New Hair!!

I had a somewhat quiet New Year’s Eve this year. Instead of some crazy NYC bar crawl or Hoboken party, I decided to spend some quality time with family. New Year’s Eve is a time of symbolism for me. I try to make any celebration one filled with meaning.

2010 was a strange year in a lot of ways, filled with change, success, failure, happiness, and stress. This was true for several members of my family as well. As it turned out, they’d all be at a party thrown by my godmother just a few towns over from me. I couldn’t think of a more symbolic celebration.

At one point in the night, as my cousin Joe and I cracked lewd jokes and busted the chops of older relatives (a kind of tradition for us), a funny dare arose. I was to go upstairs, buzz off all my hair, and come back to the party as if nothing had changed. We laughed at the mental picture of it all, but did not do it.

Finally, the ball fell and Dick Clark was wheeled out for his annual appearance. Some horrid excuse for music filled the air in Times Square as we watched the masses get corralled out into the night from the safety of my godmother’s home.

Everyone hugged and kissed. Some of us got a little choked up. This was the right way to ring in 2011. And that hair-buzzing dare faded away. That is, until the next morning.

The only reason why my hair had gotten as long as it did was due to the lack of a modern electrical outlet in my bathroom. The one that is there is a tiny, old outlet that most new devices do not fit. So, I figured I’d wait until Spring, call in an electrician to install a new outlet. By then I’d have a full on Einstein coiff.

But that dare was still sticking in my head. I checked the tiny, old outlet in the light fixture over my mirror and realized (to my surprise) that the plug for my buzzer would actually fit. This was a sign. Out came the scissors and buzzer. Off came the hair.

Happy New Hair!!

Years ago, I was told by a fairly unstable girl that cutting off all of my hair was a sign of and unstable mind (she would know). I, on the other hand, believe it to be a catharsis. A sort of cleansing therapy that helps me rethink my place in the world.

Now I can greet 2011 with my therapeutic new hairdo. If the rest of the year is anything like the last 14 hours, it’s gonna be a good year.


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