Shave and a beating

Today is my day off, so after working out at the gym I dropped off my dirty laundry with the laundry service lady, went to eat and then went to the BX for a haircut. The barbers are all Indian or Pakistani or something, and apparently have very different traditions than Americans about haircuts.

The first thing that threw me off was just having hair all over my face, as the barbers at the BX at home have vacuum attachments hooked up to the clippers so that everything they cut off is immediately sucked away and sold to the hair clipping gnomes, who use it to make rope. Regardless of where the hair goes, it does not go in my face, which is lovely. I also discovered that the numbers on the clipper guards are different here than they are in the states, so when I told him I wanted a "3" on top, the clippers didn't even cut my hair because the guard was too long. So, we went with a two, for future reference.

The haircut proceeded as normal, except that he cut from the top to the bottom and they usually do it the other way around in the states, but at the end, when I thought he was done, he started punching me in the head! I had heard some strange slaps in the room from other barbers but did not see what they were doing, as I was looking straight ahead while my  hair was cut. But apparently it was part of some sort of scalp massage, perhaps it is common in their country? He basically punched me in the back of the head a few times and then started punching it from all sides with his hands cupped in a way that made a loud popping/clicking noise. He took off the tissue paper from my neck, rubbed my shoulders a few times and then started slapping me in the back with a good deal of force as well. He finished it off with a few open-handed slaps to the back/shoulders and a "Tank you sir" in his accent that sounded just like Apu from the Simpsons. It was a most interesting experience, but I can't really say it was bad at all. Perhaps barbers in the states should start giving a massage after a haircut! I didn't really understand the slapping or punching, but the rubbing on my shoulders and scalp was nice.  He also put some aftershave on my head, I suppose to avoid razor burn, but I swear it smelled just like paint thinner. I should probably avoid open flames for the next few hours, just in case.

I also bought a little travel mouse to use with my computer on my desk, which has improved my clicking speed and accuracy by a great deal. Expect to see a lot more clicks from me in the future.