Out & About #507 | Saturday Happenings

Today's schedule marked a deviation from the regular Saturday routine. Instead of taking advantage of the weekend to replenish one's sleep quota, I set out early in the morning to tend to several crucial assignments.

Several months have elapsed since split ends were to last eliminated, and approaching was (yet another) important event demanding my attendance. Heading to Koreatown on a weekend is quite the nuisance, so I began to review other similarly-priced options associated with a lower travel time.

Ultimately, I arrived at hb Salon - a spot that I had previously spotted while working nearby in the summer months. No longer was their thirty-five-dollar soft opening special in place, though the regular women's cut price of forty dollars wasn't terrible either.

The appointment had been booked two days prior, then changed to an earlier time slot due to previous arrangements. At precisely 10:00 AM, I marched up the creaky, wooden staircase; at the top was a door-less salon and several Korean ladies conversing between themselves. My arrival hadn't been met with the most pleasant of demeanours, but that changed for the better once I uttered the words, "I have an appointment for ten o'clock."

A petite girl with lavender-streaked locks reached for my jacket and bag to stash away, while an older lady - an ahjumma donning a black - and extremely outdated, if I may add - layered skirt began to arrange her hair-cutting station.

I took to the bathroom first, witnessing a bounty of unswept hair bits as well as a relatively slow flushing system. Returning to the floor, I was immediately directed towards one of the chairs. Seemingly the most senior member of the team, the ahjumma asked if I had any particular specifications towards the cut.

There wasn't much to say, to be frank. I simply wished for a neater rendition of my current style, while maintaining my existing thickness (or rather, lack thereof). The lady suggested trimming two inches from the bottom, while I lobbied for 1.5 inches at most.
In the end, it hadn't mattered what I said, since her scissors moved at the speed of light. Before the opportunity to speak up arose, she had snipped away majority of my already-thin treads. <i> Had there been a language barrier after all? I can't remember ever experiencing such an issue at other establishments.

Whether I had specified a maximum trim length or not did not make a difference in the amount the hairstylist was determined to remove.
"Is this alright?" She dared to ask after digging her scissors into my mane.
Not really...? I thought. "Uh, it's pretty short." I achingly tugged at the remnants of my longest layer. "No more than this!" I repeatedly warned.
Within a mere fifteen minutes, the cut was complete and I was whisked to the hair-washing station. I have several gripes about this dimly illuminated section:

• An artificial head of hair poking out from a stack of towels was downright horrifying.
• The lavender-haired girl not only failed to prevent water from entering my ears, but also didn't bother with the double-shampooing standard most salons abided by.
• There were no eye covers at this location, so a small towel had been arranged to prevent splashing.

I was then gestured back towards my seat. The lavender-haired girl began to work essence through my tresses, then reach for a hair dryer affixed underneath the salon chair. Might I add that these tools were positioned in ridiculously close proximity to the ground, where an unspeakable amount of fallen strands resided.

By this point, two more customers had walked in, both capable of understand Korean. Thew were greeted warmly, and clear instructions were promptly digested.

The drying process was tedious beyond belief. About twenty minutes later, the ahjumma returned to add some finishing snips. The ends of my hair were fluffed and styled, all while she commented on how "beautiful" the final product turned out to be. I was not in agreement with this statement, but the result still proved better than my last-minute, self-initiated trims.

Cash is the preferred method of payment, as customers using cards would be subject to applicable taxes on services. The total came to forty dollars, without tip and pre-cut hair-washing (an additional five dollars).
While there were no negative comments directed to my fresh cut, chances of returning to hb fall between zero to none. This conclusion is supported by the following:

• There is a massive language barrier present. Regardless of the gestures or simple terminology used to describe a basic haircut, the stylist remained foggy about my straightforward request.
• There is a higher ratio of operational staff (ie. hairwash-ers, sweepers, etc.) than stylists. Only one stylist was present during my visit and she refused to take her client's concerns into consideration before commencing the cutting session.
• The hair-washing procedure was utterly unprofessional. (Details can be retrieved above.)
• Both the environment and cloaks are filthy; I departed the premises with bits of hair on EVERY SINGLE CENTIMETRE OF MY ENTIRE BEING. Please note that these snippets may have been left from other patrons.
• Lastly, a password-secured Wi-Fi network is provided, but the connection was very unstable and utterly incapable of loading even basic Twitter videos.

And so, the hunt continues for a more reliable salon.

We returned home in time for lunch. The entire party was in favour of Wonton Chai, thus we vamoosed.

< Pictured above and below: Shrimp Wonton in Soup, Egg Noodles w/ Beef Brisket and Dace Fish Balls in Soup, Rice Noodles w/ Beef Brisket and Wonton in Soup, Deep Fried Fish Skin, Blanched Veggies >

One can never go wrong with Wonton Chai. To ensure speedy turnover rates, service is prompt and food delivery is swift. The Beef Brisket is tender, the Wontons delicious, and the broth is insanely comforting. The restaurant also offers the most delectable fried fish skin (炸魚皮).
It's the ultimate comfort food - takeout or dine-in.

Wonton Chai is the epitome of efficiency. As such, there was enough time to make a quick CoCo run before diving into the next task of the day.

As we eased into the evening hours, I was hit with the realization that errands were still pending. Walmart wasn't too far, and orangecane's slice-and-bake Christmas cookies had gotten the best of me.

In addition to the typical sugar cookie dough tubes, Pillsbury had launched a Hot Cocoa variation for the seasonal collection.

Specified in the sugar cookie recipe was 1/4 cup of plain flour; I later learned that 1/2 to 1/3 cup was the more appropriate amount.

On the flip side, the Hot Cocoa cookies were as straightforward as could be - and irresistibly indulgent too!

Now that December has hit, I do wonder when our Christmas tree is going to go up...

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