Bootcamp and hair

Things are going pretty good. Bootcamp is finally over. For me, anyway. Officially there's two more days (today being gauntlet day, so sorry to miss that) but my classes that I paid for were up yesterday (and yes, I could have finished off the week anyway) but I got my hair done. And that's that. All that sweating would have messed up my Jane & Finch do. Sweating seriously messes up a sister's hairline.

I tried out a new place. It wasn't that far from here and the price was right. This place is crazy. It's part internet cafe/smokeshop, computer repair and hair supply. I actually drove by it the first time because I was looking for a typical hairdresser's storefront and awning. The wigs in the front was somewhat obscured by the security grill, international moneygram and lotto/internet /computer repair signage. I walk in there and am pleased to find that they do indeed do hair there and had tons of hair packages all over the place. Of course, it was more expensive than Toronto but not as expensive as it could have been. It's run by a very enterprising Nigerian family. The young woman I talked to swats her kid on the behind for stepping on the back of her brand new running shoes and then asks me how she can help me. Okay. Well, the braids on her head looked good, I checked out her book and she seemed eager for new business. It's not typically the type of place I like to go to, she's a little rough around the edges but she reminded me of my old hairdressers in Toronto. And did I mention the price was right? She gets points for being there on time and working quickly on my hair until it was done. Does it look good - yes, it does. Considering how much I've spent on getting ready for this wedding, I suppose I shouldn't be penny pinching, but I'm about tapped out. I could have lived without the gospel music/sermons and the constant loud chatter of Nigerian with her friend (which she did translate for me) but a girl has to get her hair did anyway she can. Girls in this town can end up paying to what amounts to rent money($$$) in other salons.

Back in the day, I used to get my hair braided by a girl who lived in subsidized housing with her kids in one of those huge highrises with steel plated elevators. She would stop to make lunch for her kids, do laundry, chat on the phone, sell cigarettes and weed to whoever dropped by. She was amazingly talented and if I had gotten famous I would have loved to have her be my personal hairdresser. With the amount of money she could have made , she could have moved her family out of that place, but some people are more interested in having things instead of doing things.

My other old hairdresser was the daughter of a good friend of mine and she is also really talented. She did relaxed hair. She took good care of my hair and I could always count on her. When I left Toronto, I actually had hair on my head. Then I moved here and it all went downhill. That's another hair story.

Back to bootcamp. OMG, I am not an athlete. I HATE burpees! Their motto is "We kick butt. Yours." Yep, that's pretty accurate. The instructor was a nice young man who moved like a coiled spring unsprung. Tested my mile run - shaved off 11 seconds to 5 min and 45 sec. Slow but good enough for me. 54 situps in a minute, lost count of my pushups, but I did 20 regular pushups and about 30 from the knee. Held a plank pose for 1 minute and 30 seconds which is an improvement of the 43 seconds when I started. Also doubled my leg squat. I've lost an inch off my waist and an 1 1/4 off my hips - if I had actually dieted I would have actually lost weight and more inches but kudos to me for perseverance! This shows that diet is more important than working out 5 days a week. Well, I haven't been on a scale lately, so I don't really know exactly how much I weigh. Probably a little more with the small Reese's peanut butter cup Blizzard I had last night. Fuck it. Okay and third of a can of Pringles. Fuck it. No spin class. Fuck it. I'm tired. I survived bootcamp and I have the t-shirt to prove it.

One more sleep til London!