To save money, Mom let Grandma cut her hair.A mistake was made on the bangs, and in the attempts to fix it, the problem only got worse.
Her bangs are now so short and shaggy that it looks like she has a severe mullet. I really can't express how awful it is. I love Mom way to much to take a picture. Seriously, it's so bad, Mom was considering calling in sick to work. (And she is not a vain person.) Grandma even told Mom she didn't want to see her for two weeks.
Lately, I've been struggling with too little time and too much to do. I was thinking of only half-heartedly editing my novel. What happened to Mom reminded me why that's a bad idea.
Taking shortcuts shows. If you try to save yourself money, time, or whatever else, you can end up costing yourself more. You could accidentally make your novel so bad, it can't be seen by the public. Even your family might back away.
So here's my advice. When you're trying to make your novel better, go to the right people. Don't let someone make changes if you feel they're unqualified. And, for heaven's sake, don't try to take the easy way. In the end, you'll only be adding more grief and stress.
Have you ever had a horrible haircut? Ever done something to save yourself money or time then later paid for it?
Yes! My sister, who's always been naturally good with hair, was cutting my bangs. Someone opened the back door and bumped her! Yikes!!!! Still, we managed to get it mostly alright and by the time I styled them, you really couldn't tell.
ReplyDeleteIf you're gonna take short cuts, make sure they're not with something really important. Cause you're right. It shows.
Hope her hair grows back quickly :)
Oh no! I hope it grows back quickly! I hate mistakes like that and I've had a few growing up!
ReplyDeleteAs for the writing I think this is one brilliant post. It's best to remind ourselves that slow and steady wins the race... going back to those childhood stories ;) The more patient I am and the more I let go the better I do. Sometimes faster isn't everything. I know as writers we want to be agented and on the shelves, that's our goal, but we don't want crap sitting there!
Even easy is hard with writing. Would someone explain that to me?
ReplyDeleteI'm not taking shortcuts, no way! And last bad haircut was as a child. Looked like someone stuck a bowl on my head and cut everything that was exposed.
ReplyDeleteand sometimes cutting your own hair can work out better than letting someone inexperienced take a whack too! Great post! Home your mom's hair grows out fast! Tell her to take some vitamin D.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Yeah, I've cut my hair myself a number of times. I'm usually pretty good at it, but one time I was rushing and it was a DISASTER. I ended up having to go really short :(
ReplyDeleteGood thing about bad hair is that sooner or later, it grows back. I cut my own bangs this weekend after calling the two good hair places in town and finding out they're booked until mid-June. Umm, huh? Better me than the butchers at the other place. :shudder:
ReplyDeleteHey, here's an idea. Buy your mom a cute hat to wear until her bangs recover. ;o)
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ReplyDeleteOh no!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to cut my sister's bangs. It was a tragedy.
That said, I cut mine because otherwise I'd visit the hair guy once a week. I don't have that kind of time or $.
That said, I hear you on cutting corners.
Um. Yeah. And some of them were self induced. =D
ReplyDeleteGood analogy because, yes, half hearted editing will only bring frustration and heartache when rejections roll in.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I gave each other "punk" hair cuts in 9th grade. Luckily, our parents didnt kill us!
ReplyDeleteIt does need to be said that normally your grandma does aa great job with cutting hair. She was a little scared when I was going to do it. Note- when having 4 inches cut off your bangs- sit down!!
ReplyDeleteOh, your poor mom! I am the odd bird who is never happy when anyone else cuts my hair. it is curly, but unevenly so, and they ALL fail to factor in the curl and make it too short. Every. Time. I've screwed up my kids hair a little, but never horribly... I sorta know what I'm doing.
ReplyDeleteAs for the MANUSCRIPT though... totally agree that a halfass job is just going to need to be done again... NO. Point. (then again, I DO the half ass job first because I can't give it the big read when the little stuff is driving me nuts... I know, I'm contradictory...
I cut my own hair so this post made me LAUGH! I have made my own mistakes but more often than not I hate the way other people cut my hair so I figure it can't be worse that 'that haircut'.
ReplyDeleteBut good crits are critical (pun intended) And sometimes the money is SOOO worth it!
Great analogy once again, Lady M. Your mom should have showed us her cut yesterday so we could see ;p
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about it though- we have to make it shiny and perfect no matter how long it takes.
Knowing that it will grow back is no help at all when you are staring in horror at the mirror, is it?
ReplyDeleteI've missed your blog presence. But working sometimes 18 hours straight -- I know all too well that sometimes you just can't do it all.
Have a great new week, Roland
Eek, messing up bangs is the worse. I once made the decision to get bangs in like middle school, and it was a bad idea. I pretty much swore never to do the bangs thing again, but then I went back to it like 2 years ago, and I love them. It really depends on the type of bangs and the skills of the person cutting them.
ReplyDeletePoor mom! I hope they grow out soon! And as usual, your real-life-to-writing analogies are terrific!
Oh man . . . that is exactly why I go to stylists. Though even then, I ended up with a Mrs. Brady cut once.
ReplyDeleteHopefully her hair grows fast! And good advice on the writing.
Poor your mom! I hope it grows back quickly.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully intelligent analogy AGAIN! You're so good at these!
Also hope you did manage to destress a bit! I worry about you.
No shortcuts. My last bad hair cut was two months ago. Seven inches cut off and it looked like the lady stuck a bowl on my head. :( I mean bad. So, yeah, I think I'll stick to people I trust.
ReplyDeleteOye, don't even get me started on bad haircuts! The tales I have could fill a book ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy :)
Now THAT'S a great comparison!!! Poor mama ;-(
ReplyDeleteOh my God, I can't stop laughing that your Grandma did the chop job and it's so bad that SHE doesn't want to see your mom for two weeks. Poor mom!! I cut my bestfriend's hair in high school because she had gum in it. I cannot cut in a straight line. It ends up being a serious slope. So Alicia had to go to the hairdresser to fix my mistake and she ended up with a bob. In the 80s. Which was suicide for your social life.
ReplyDeletegreat analogy! And omg. My hair is like super super curly, and one year I decided to cut myself bangs. Period. Just bangs.
ReplyDeleteI wore a barrette on top of my head for a YEAR waiting for that chizz to grow out... :D LOL!!!
Anyway, I feel your mom's pain~ :o)
My big downfall with timesaving is the infamous traffic shortcut. I'll be trying to drive somewhere really fast because I'm late, and will suddenly have the most fabulous shortcut epiphany which I'm sure will make up for not leaving on time. So, I take it, only to discover it takes even longer.
ReplyDeleteOh, lordy, yes! And once I got a terrible perm. It was awful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your sentiments here, definitely go to someone with experience.
BTW -I've tagged you over at my blog, do drop by when you have a few minutes.
Happy Friday! x
Amen and a half! I'm forever trying to find shortcuts (no pun intended)in order to get through my To-Do list quicker...and in the end, wind up causing myself twice as much work and frustration. Part of this might also stem from my great overestimation of just how quickly I can do things.
ReplyDeleteI'm not superwoman, but I tend to think I am.
I learned the hard way to leave haircare to the professionals. I purchased a two tone hair color kit that was supposed to give me a base color plus highlights I add myself as a second step. I ended up with clown orange hair. The nice beautician who saw me the next day didn't even laugh (at least in my presence). You know, the corrected hair color was the best hair color I've ever gotten in my life.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right about short-cuts though. In the end, it's usually better to do it the long way.
Yes! Bad haircuts and me go together naturally. The funniest/scariest/oddest experience I've ever had involved cutting part of my hair while sleepwalking, halfway waking up with scissors and a tuft of hair in hand, going to bed, then waking up in the morning and touching my hair to realize that it wasn't just a bad dream.
ReplyDeleteI had an emergency, professional haircut that morning. Layers are a lifesaver in situations like that.
As far as cheap mistakes go: there was the time we bought raincoats at a cheap store in little plastic baggies, and then read the labels afterwards - may be toxic when wet! What?! Toxic raingear - no joke.
Hey, you returned...and now you've gone missing!
ReplyDeleteYour poor mom! My mum had me cut the back of her hair once when I was a teenager. I was terrified and I cut it crooked, so it had to be cut a lot more. It was already short.
ReplyDeleteI hope her hair grows back soon.
A few years ago, I desperately needed to get my bangs and hair trimmed. The hairstylist I usually went to was away, so I decided to go somewhere closer. Turns out that was a big mistake! I had an older hairstylist who just winged it with my bangs. When she was finished I looked… I guess it looked like a 3-year-old had cut my bangs. I was so embarrassed to leave the salon. It gets better! This was around my brother’s birthday, so I had to be in photos (yes, there is evidence). For my mom’s 50th birthday, my brother made a slide show of all her family and friends to show at the big 50th party we put together for her. Without my knowledge, my loving and thoughtful brother decided to put the photo of me with my shitty hair cut in the slide show. As the slide show came to that photo, somebody actually made a comment out loud to the entire room about that picture. Talk about embarrassing… Never going back to that salon again.
ReplyDeleteMelisssssssa...are you okay? You haven't been around for a while.
ReplyDeleteI miss you.
ReplyDeleteHey, long time no stalk! Had to stop by and I'm so glad I did. I just finished a huge re-write and now I'm being lazy. But you're right. I can't end up with a mullet. I laughed out loud at this and I have to beg...BEG for a picture. Your mother may never forgive you for it but we will love you forever.
ReplyDeletehey Melissa! Just a quick line to say you are missed and I included your blog on my 'Oh How I Miss You!' blogfest entry today!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college and broke, I went to the Vidal Sassoon academy to be a head for the students to practice on. I came out looking like Peter Pan, and not in a good way. To make matters worse, the next day I met my future husband with that hair. Needless to say, it was not love at first sight.
ReplyDeleteHello! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which
ReplyDeleteblog platform are you using for this site? I'm getting sick and tired of Wordpress because I've had problems with hackers and I'm looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
My homepage ... stung