Living a commercial (Or, "I love your hair!")

I go to the gayest hairdresser in the gayest part of town and -- as Seinfeld would say -- not that there's anything wrong with that. I wasn't even phased when the receptionist introduced himself to me last Halloween as "Penny. Penny Trayshun."

So why am I -- likely the only straight guy in the joint -- driving out of my neighborhood to get my hair cut at this place?

1) Bob, my stylist, is a hell of a cool guy. Interesting, reliable, talented.
2) He does an amazing job.

How do I know about #2?

Well, as I walked over to my gym after my most recent cut, the woman at the front desk said, "Thank you, enjoy your workout and... hey! Nice haircut!" as she smiled at me I think for the first time ever, "So modern!" And she's given me a flirty smile every time I've seen her since.

That would have been enough for my ego, but wait, that's not all (he says, infomercial-style). A few days later while kickboxing, the instructor interrupted one of his count-offs to boom in front of the class, "Nice haircut!" as he nodded in my direction. And while weightlifting this evening, the trainer walked over to me, tapped my shoulder, and said, "Grip a bit further in, good... oh, and nice haircut, Adam!"

Bushed after my weights class and resigned to grabbing food at home instead of sticking around for the step class I sometimes attend, a woman I recognized but have never spoken with caught me in the parking lot as she arrived, "Hey!" as she smiled at me, "Not doing step [class] tonight?" "Nah," I replied, "I'm beat!"

"See you Thursday?" she inquired hopefully.

Mind you, this is a hottie who I've seen a whopping two times at the gym and never even made eye contact with. And now I'm just imagining the kind of looks and flirting I'd get if I wore something other than cheap gym shorts and raggy t-shirts!

All I know is, next time I need to bring a bottle of wine for my hairdresser. :-)

January 26, 2004 -- Edited to add:

A couple of pictures, by popular demand :D



...and one "before" pic (albeit from about 2 years ago, but oh well):