The Oops Hair-cut

But First...

Julie Ann's Top Five Unique Observations of Things Spain Has in Large Quantities:
(well... at least they've stood out to me recently for one reason or another)

5) over-abundance of mullets... they are not only an acceptable, but also a "cool" do... this isn't new, but with the warm weather... they are apoppin' out all over the place

4) profusion of mayonnaise... (which is one of the most difficult words to spell, I'm just saying)... they eat it with anything and everything... french fries, salads, chips... you gotta break someone's arm just to find a little ketchup 'round here

3) plentitude of paper napkins... these things are not what we consider normal, practical (read purposefully absorbent) paper napkins... no, these are cousins to tissue paper and dispel liquids... right

2) popularity of in-line skaters... whoo-whoo... bust out the knee and elbow pads... this sport was never a fad... a fad implies an activity that was short-lived... viva in-line skating here

and finally...

1) copiousness of "jean on jean"... "denim on denim"... "the Canadian tuxedo"... no matter what you call it... it's all here... like the mullet... not only is it admissible... it is also attractive... I knew I was adjusting to Spain when I considered doing it myself... when the thought even crossed my mind... then in a desperate moment... during a trip to Marbella when no other jacket-layer was available and the cool (read freezing) Mediterraean Sea night breeze was ablowin'... I broke down... I'm not above that... I don't judge... drastic times call for drastic measures... and here is the picture to prove it.

This picture also brings to light a new, inadvertant chapter to Julie Ann's Spanish life.
So I went to the salon with a medium length hair-cut photo in hand... apparently, the girl mistook me for Meg Ryan because that's whose short hair-cut I left with.
I have to give it to myself because I held it together at the salon... but when I called Beth and then ran for refuge in her piso... there were tears... oh yes... as well as a few choice fuerte words that I must admit I did drop.
All I could think of was how after the girl made the initial hack to my head (to which I was oblivious thanks to a stupid magazine full of pictures of Victoria Beckham and Doña Letizia)... she said "si, es un gran cambio"... and how I wanted to respond "yeah, un UNITENDED gran cambio, punk."
My only condolence is that, yes, it will grow, and quickly.
Short hair is not "my" thing. It's weird. I feel weird. Oh well.
But the kids' reactions at school are the best... hilarious.

Although I would rather like to hide this until it grows... here are a few photos which include the new do... plus a good outline of my past few weekends. Thanks to the plethora of holidays in Spain, Beez and I went to the playa in Marbella (a fantastic, not to mention popular little vacation spot for Eurpeans) that has beautiful beaches and also mountains (ooooh). Then we went to Amsterdamsssss which, of course, was lovely and hilarious. (By the way, to clear things up, Amsterdam is a city in the country of the Netherlands in the province of North Holland where the people and language are called Dutch... and yes, I had just learned that.) We walked aaaaaall over the lovely city, biked through the Dutch countryside looking like refugees (note bags tied to bike with rope), and ate... a lot (mainly ice cream for me). Unfortunately... as it was just the two of us... most pictures are either of just one or the other of us... or the classic "self-taken" photo... at any rate... at least they give you a good idea of the hair-cut. And yes, these last two fotos of me were taken the same day... note the ice cream in both... and can I just say that on the left that is ice cream I had on my crepe-like pancake... foooooor breakfast. Oh yeah.